DDO Quest Creator - Special Anniversary Edition, Part 5

[MysticTheurge]

In this edition of the quest creator, we're building two quests, one for the Searing Heights (level 7) and one for Tangleroot Gorge (Level 6).

In our Tangleroot quest, the troglodyte conjurer, Dark Mardza, and her lackeys have kidnapped loyal Stormreach citizen Giles Goodman and taken him to their lair of half-sunken caves. Mardza favors summoning mephits, and has populated the caves with them.

Meanwhile, in the Searing Heights, the Sulatar druid, Sekara has begun a dark ritual designed to expand the Manifest Zone of Fernia, helper her to expand the Sulatar's territory further from their Volcano home. The party must battle though a canyon, past Sulatar, fire elementals and other Fernia natives, to stop the druid from performing her fiery rites.

This week, we finalize the party's motivations and flesh out the body of each quest a bit more.

1) Tangleroot Gorge - Who, in the One-Eared Bugbear, sends the party to rescue Giles Goodman?

A) Berrigan Enge, who had previously sent Giles out to do research on the Troglodyte menace.
B) Baudry Cartamon, who lost Giles when one of his caravans was attacked, and hopes to salvage his reputation.
C) Acolai Irbanto, who was supposed to meet Giles to discuss important documents, but Giles never showed.
D) Demodrius Meele, who wonders what happened to his fellow scholar.

2) Tangleroot Gorge - Is Mardza a fiendblood troglodyte or a normal troglodyte?

A) Fiendblood Trog
B) Standard Trog

3) Tangleroot Gorge - In addition to her pet mephits, Mardza has also summoned what for the final fight?

A) A small air elemental
B) A fiendish troll
C) Fiendish scorpions
D) Giant rats

4) Tangleroot Gorge - Once freed, should Giles Goodman join the party in their fight against Mardza?

A) Yes
B) No
C) Give the party the choice to have him join them (and risk failure if he dies) or send him back to safety

5) Searing Heights - Which of the following best describes the sequence of events in this quest?

A) The party must fight past guards at the gate, battle through the canyon making their way ever higher, to finally battle Sekara at the very lip of the volcano.
B) The party enters the valley, fighting through the Sulatar fortifications there, to find a cave leading to the heart of the mountain, where deep within, they battle Sekara amidst the fiery caverns of the volcano.
C) The party must battle through a series of caves, fighting past Sulatar drow, to finally emerge in the canyon as the rite nears its fiery conclusion. There they must battle Sekara, fire elementals and the like to keep the druid from finishing the ritual.
D) The party must battle up the side of the volcano as it erupts, dealing with pools and rivers of lava and falling debris, finally reaching summit. There they must traverse narrow bridges to fight Sekara on a mystical platform above the mouth of the volcano.

6) Searing Heights - Should this quest be timed, with failure if the party doesn't stop the ritual in time?

A) Yes
B) No
C) It's "timed," but without failure. The longer the party takes, the more elementals they have to fight at the end.

7) Searing Heights - What sort of animal companion does Sekara have?

A) Bat
B) Hyena
C) Lion
D) Scorpion

8) Searing Heights - Is there a mini-puzzle involved in the last battle against Sekara (a la Stormcleave)?

A) Yes
B) No

In the interest of not setting too many details (to allow the Devs to tailor these quests and better fit them into the game), this will be the last week of voting. Next week's quest creator will involve the creation of Optional Objectives and Named Items, so get your creative juices flowing.

This part's polls will be open until 5 PM easter on Wednesday, April 23rd. So get your friends to vote!

[Yaga_Nub]

1) Tangleroot Gorge - Who, in the One-Eared Bugbear, sends the party to rescue Giles Goodman?

D) Demodrius Meele, who wonders what happened to his fellow scholar.

2) Tangleroot Gorge - Is Mardza a fiendblood troglodyte or a normal troglodyte?

A) Fiendblood Trog

3) Tangleroot Gorge - In addition to her pet mephits, Mardza has also summoned what for the final fight?

A) A small air elemental

4) Tangleroot Gorge - Once freed, should Giles Goodman join the party in their fight against Mardza?

C) Give the party the choice to have him join them (and risk failure if he dies) or send him back to safety

Add bonus xp if you take him and he survives. Reduces xp, not fails, if he dies.

5) Searing Heights - Which of the following best describes the sequence of events in this quest?

D) The party must battle up the side of the volcano as it erupts, dealing with pools and rivers of lava and falling debris, finally reaching summit. There they must traverse narrow bridges to fight Sekara on a mystical platform above the mouth of the volcano.

Very Episode 3ish.

6) Searing Heights - Should this quest be timed, with failure if the party doesn't stop the ritual in time?

C) It's "timed," but without failure. The longer the party takes, the more elementals they have to fight at the end.

7) Searing Heights - What sort of animal companion does Sekara have?

C) Lion

8) Searing Heights - Is there a mini-puzzle involved in the last battle against Sekara (a la Stormcleave)?

A) Yes

In the interest of not setting too many details (to allow the Devs to tailor these quests and better fit them into the game), this will be the last week of voting. Next week's quest creator will involve the creation of Optional Objectives and Named Items, so get your creative juices flowing.

This part's polls will be open until 5 PM easter on Wednesday, April 23rd. So get your friends to vote!

Responses above.

[Mad_Bombardier]

1. Giles can't have gone missing... he's in 3 places already! That said, for the love of the Host, please use a new NPC. There is nothing worse than current implementation of multi-use NPCs. C)
2. A)
3. B)
4. B)
5. combo of B) fortifications+ D) volcano exterior (which goes against my previous vote for lava caves)
6. C)
7. A) Bat Swarm is nice
8. A)

[geoffhanna]

1 D
2 B
3 D
4 B
5 A
6 C
7 C
8 A

Thanks MT

[MysticTheurge]

Giles can't have gone missing... he's in 3 places already! That said, for the love of the Host, please use a new NPC. There is nothing worse than current implementation of multi-use NPCs.

You know, I felt this way at one point, but I don't any more.

Multi-use NPCs aren't really any different than repeating quests. If you think of the game as one, linear progressive storyline, then (for example) you first see Dalsamira Courdry in the Wavecrest, and then later, once she hears of your talents, she asks you to recover a lost tome for her.

Similarly, Giles Goodman hangs out in the harbor for a while, collecting tome pages and what not, before moving on to the Marketplace where he's gathering something else. In our scenario, he simply goes on from there to be kidnapped by troglodytes.

[sirgog]

Please note - I changed my answer to Q8. I've put some extra suggestions in there too.

1) Tangleroot Gorge - Who, in the One-Eared Bugbear, sends the party to rescue Giles Goodman?
A) Berrigan Enge, who had previously sent Giles out to do research on the Troglodyte menace.

2) Tangleroot Gorge - Is Mardza a fiendblood troglodyte or a normal troglodyte?

A) Fiendblood Trog

3) Tangleroot Gorge - In addition to her pet mephits, Mardza has also summoned what for the final fight?

A) A small air elemental

4) Tangleroot Gorge - Once freed, should Giles Goodman join the party in their fight against Mardza?

C) Give the party the choice to have him join them (and risk failure if he dies) or send him back to safety

5) Searing Heights - Which of the following best describes the sequence of events in this quest?

B) The party enters the valley, fighting through the Sulatar fortifications there, to find a cave leading to the heart of the mountain, where deep within, they battle Sekara amidst the fiery caverns of the volcano.

6) Searing Heights - Should this quest be timed, with failure if the party doesn't stop the ritual in time?

C) It's "timed," but without failure. The longer the party takes, the more elementals they have to fight at the end.

7) Searing Heights - What sort of animal companion does Sekara have?

D) Scorpion

8) Searing Heights - Is there a mini-puzzle involved in the last battle against Sekara (a la Stormcleave)?

A) Yes. I'd suggest something similar to, but easier than, Tempest's Spine - perhaps a floor puzzle with 5 tiles you can light up, for each one that is lit up a particular buff on Sekara is disabled (say one removes Haste, one removes Stoneskin, one removes Resist Elements 30: All, one removes Greater Heroism, and the fifth disables Sekara's Evasion). The puzzle is designed so that it is relatively easy to turn off 1 or 2 of the buffs, but it is actually impossible to turn all 5 off simultaneously. Sekara should be designed like Xan'tilar in Stormcleave, but possible (very difficult) to beat when fully buffed.

[VonBek]

1) Tangleroot Gorge - Who, in the One-Eared Bugbear, sends the party to rescue Giles Goodman?

D) Demodrius Meele, who wonders what happened to his fellow scholar.

2) Tangleroot Gorge - Is Mardza a fiendblood troglodyte or a normal troglodyte?

A) Fiendblood Trog

3) Tangleroot Gorge - In addition to her pet mephits, Mardza has also summoned what for the final fight?

D) Giant rats

4) Tangleroot Gorge - Once freed, should Giles Goodman join the party in their fight against Mardza?

B) No

5) Searing Heights - Which of the following best describes the sequence of events in this quest?

A) The party must fight past guards at the gate, battle through the canyon making their way ever higher, to finally battle Sekara at the very lip of the volcano.

6) Searing Heights - Should this quest be timed, with failure if the party doesn't stop the ritual in time?

B) No

7) Searing Heights - What sort of animal companion does Sekara have?

D) Scorpion

8) Searing Heights - Is there a mini-puzzle involved in the last battle against Sekara (a la Stormcleave)?

B) No

[sirgog]

I've changed my Q8 vote (was previously No) to:

8) Searing Heights - Is there a mini-puzzle involved in the last battle against Sekara (a la Stormcleave)?

A) Yes. I'd suggest something similar to, but easier than, Tempest's Spine - perhaps a floor puzzle with 5 tiles you can light up, for each one that is lit up a particular buff on Sekara is disabled (say one removes Haste, one removes Stoneskin, one removes Resist Elements 30: All, one removes Greater Heroism, and the fifth disables Sekara's Evasion). The puzzle is designed so that it is relatively easy to turn off 1 or 2 of the buffs, but it is actually impossible to turn all 5 off simultaneously. Sekara should be designed like Xan'tilar in Stormcleave, but possible (very difficult) to beat when fully buffed.

[Hafeal]

1) Tangleroot Gorge - Who, in the One-Eared Bugbear, sends the party to rescue Giles Goodman?

C) Acolai Irbanto, who was supposed to meet Giles to discuss important documents, but Giles never showed.

2) Tangleroot Gorge - Is Mardza a fiendblood troglodyte or a normal troglodyte?

B) Standard Trog

3) Tangleroot Gorge - In addition to her pet mephits, Mardza has also summoned what for the final fight?

B) A fiendish troll

4) Tangleroot Gorge - Once freed, should Giles Goodman join the party in their fight against Mardza?

B) No

5) Searing Heights - Which of the following best describes the sequence of events in this quest?

B) The party enters the valley, fighting through the Sulatar fortifications there, to find a cave leading to the heart of the mountain, where deep within, they battle Sekara amidst the fiery caverns of the volcano.

6) Searing Heights - Should this quest be timed, with failure if the party doesn't stop the ritual in time?

C) It's "timed," but without failure. The longer the party takes, the more elementals they have to fight at the end.

7) Searing Heights - What sort of animal companion does Sekara have?

B) Hyena

8) Searing Heights - Is there a mini-puzzle involved in the last battle against Sekara (a la Stormcleave)?

B) No

In the interest of not setting too many details (to allow the Devs to tailor these quests and better fit them into the game), this will be the last week of voting. Next week's quest creator will involve the creation of Optional Objectives and Named Items, so get your creative juices flowing.

This part's polls will be open until 5 PM easter on Wednesday, April 23rd. So get your friends to vote![/quote]

[MysticTheurge]

Remember to vote!

[DagazUlf]

1) A) Berrigan Enge
2) B) Standard Trog
3)B) A fiendish troll
4) B) No
5) A) The party must fight past guards at the gate, battle through the canyon making their way ever higher, to finally battle Sekara at the very lip of the volcano.
6) C) It's "timed," but without failure. The longer the party takes, the more elementals they have to fight at the end.
7) B) Hyena
8) B) No

[JacknCoke]

Is this someone who works for DDO or a player asking from a fanboy perspective?

[MysticTheurge]

Is this someone who works for DDO or a player asking from a fanboy perspective?

It's rather complicated, but the answer can be found here.

[sirgog]

Come on all, let's have some more votes!

[fefnir3284]

In this edition of the quest creator, we're building two quests, one for the Searing Heights (level 7) and one for Tangleroot Gorge (Level 6).

In our Tangleroot quest, the troglodyte conjurer, Dark Mardza, and her lackeys have kidnapped loyal Stormreach citizen Giles Goodman and taken him to their lair of half-sunken caves. Mardza favors summoning mephits, and has populated the caves with them.

Meanwhile, in the Searing Heights, the Sulatar druid, Sekara has begun a dark ritual designed to expand the Manifest Zone of Fernia, helper her to expand the Sulatar's territory further from their Volcano home. The party must battle though a canyon, past Sulatar, fire elementals and other Fernia natives, to stop the druid from performing her fiery rites.

This week, we finalize the party's motivations and flesh out the body of each quest a bit more.

1) Tangleroot Gorge - Who, in the One-Eared Bugbear, sends the party to rescue Giles Goodman?

C) Acolai Irbanto, who was supposed to meet Giles to discuss important documents, but Giles never showed.

2) Tangleroot Gorge - Is Mardza a fiendblood troglodyte or a normal troglodyte?

A) Fiendblood Trog

3) Tangleroot Gorge - In addition to her pet mephits, Mardza has also summoned what for the final fight?

B) A fiendish troll
OR
C) Fiendish scorpions

4) Tangleroot Gorge - Once freed, should Giles Goodman join the party in their fight against Mardza?

C) Give the party the choice to have him join them (and risk failure if he dies) or send him back to safety

5) Searing Heights - Which of the following best describes the sequence of events in this quest?

A) The party must fight past guards at the gate, battle through the canyon making their way ever higher, to finally battle Sekara at the very lip of the volcano.

D) The party must battle up the side of the volcano as it erupts, dealing with pools and rivers of lava and falling debris, finally reaching summit. There they must traverse narrow bridges to fight Sekara on a mystical platform above the mouth of the volcano.<i like this one best BUT it sounds more like a level 15 quest so it doesnt fit here>

6) Searing Heights - Should this quest be timed, with failure if the party doesn't stop the ritual in time?

A) Yes

7) Searing Heights - What sort of animal companion does Sekara have?

B) Hyena (if boss is troll)
D) Scorpion (if boss is scorpions)

8) Searing Heights - Is there a mini-puzzle involved in the last battle against Sekara (a la Stormcleave)?

A) Yes

In the interest of not setting too many details (to allow the Devs to tailor these quests and better fit them into the game), this will be the last week of voting. Next week's quest creator will involve the creation of Optional Objectives and Named Items, so get your creative juices flowing.

This part's polls will be open until 5 PM easter on Wednesday, April 23rd. So get your friends to vote!

....

[GORAK]

If Giles Goodman gets kidnapped by troglodytes, then I would feel sorry for the trog's since Giles would be sending them out to collect rare documents for him :-)

[GreyRogue]

1. C
2. A
3. A
4. B
5. D
6. C
7. D
8. B

Good work, MT!

[MysticTheurge]

Remember... voting is open through Wednesday!

[Vorn]

Here you go:

1. C
2. B
3. A
4. A
5. D
6. C
7. C
8. A

Thanks for the effort!!

[JosephKell]

7) Searing Heights - What sort of animal companion does Sekara have?

A) Bat
B) Hyena
C) Lion
D) Scorpion

[/INDENT]

The Sulatar should not have Scorpions. The Sulatar worship fire, so her companion should be an elemental (rules be damned). Or at the very list it should be a creature with the Fire Subtype or some sort of "Fire Elemental" version of a creature.