An example of a fun 'nearly impossible' quest I would pay to see.

[Akas]

There have always been suggestions for like the ‘impossible raid’ or quest thrown around, and although epics have given a bit of a challenge, the fact that people are solo farming them makes it seem as though it too has been conquered. So to give people a new ‘goal’, here’s my take on the new ‘impossible’ quest:

The Legendary hero (N\H\E\L difficulties, 6-man):

Background: Ever since you were a novice adventurer, you always knew you were something special. On a whim, you talked with a random girl in the street named Lockania and she said your bloodline had the power to manifest dragon marks. Since then, you grew in power and renown, proving yourself worthy time and time again, from the humble Waterworks to the nightmarish Tower of Despair. But one day, as you sat with companions in an inn, you were challenged yet again. A grizzled band of veterans came up to you and your party and boldly asked “Are you a legendary hero, or were you simply carried through by others?” They claimed to have set up a gauntlet of trials for you, and taunted you to accept. Finishing your drink, you stood up and followed them. You would prove to everyone that you achieved power entirely on your own.

Instead of the “epic” difficulty setting, there is the “legendary” setting: regardless of whether you fail or succeed, as soon as you enter you’re set on raid timer. This is prevent a ‘zerg this till we win’ sort of feeling. The other addition to legendary difficulty is a 2-death policy (sort of). You cannot cast Death Pact, Raise Dead, Resurrection, etc. on anybody. Instead, everyone is awarded a 60 minute ‘airship buff’-type buff, where it lasts through rest. This buff will auto-rez anyone who dies, but then disappear. Upon dying a 2nd time, the person is transported to a penalty box that cannot be accessed until part 3. So a person lagging/etc. once can still recover, but not someone stupid/ill-prepared/etc.

Objective: clear the gauntlet in 60 minutes.

This adventure is divided up into 3 parts. In the first part, it is simply a regular dungeon: there are a variety of monsters (outsiders, undead, elementals, constructs, etc.), traps, the ‘general 3’ of runes to clear (wis, int, and cha), and doors that require str to bash through. Basically, a balanced party is recommended, or people with enough of each of the stats to clear things. This part shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.

The second part, however, is where things stray from the norm.
“As soon as the last door is bashed in, you stumble upon a strange altar, with the rest of the room blanketed with the stars in the night sky. From this altar, there stretch six paths with stairs that seem to ascend into infinity. There are door frames in front of each path, each one ascribing a path to a single word: ‘Power”, ‘Nimble’, ‘Protector’, ‘Sacred’, ‘Elemental’, and ‘Charm’.” (background narration)

Essentially, each of the six paths leads towards six different rooms. On Normal and Hard, up to two people can go on one path, but on Elite and Legendary, only one person can enter. That means even if you have 3 dps on Legendary, if they all enter the ‘Power’ path, they’ll be in separate instances. For multi-classes, you will have access to each path any of your classes could normally enter. So, for example, an 18/2 wiz/rogue could go on the ‘elemental’ path, or he could go on the ‘nimble’ one.

The paths:
‘Power’: (Classes expected: Barb, Fighter. Other classes available: Paladin, Monk, Ranger.)
Objective: Survive to the exit.
Power is for melee DPS, essentially. Monsters here, though, have a special gimmick: a timer. Upon aggroing, a timer will start to tick down. The DPS will have approximately 10-20 seconds to kill each mob. If they do, then they are healed for the amount of time left (so anywhere between 1-20 hp). If, however, the mob isn’t killed within that time, it will self-destruct and deal an automatic 30 hp of (probably) force damage that bypasses SR and that can be ranged (a la magic missile). While this may not seem like much, the pulls will gradually become larger and larger, until the boss.
Red-named Boss: Kragor the Red. He sits on a throne with 10 followers: half of them normal for the difficulty, and half of them normal (so on legendary they‘re almost always a guaranteed +20 hp). He is a dwarven barbarian, although he isn’t called the red for the reason you’d think. As soon as you engage him, he jumps into the fray with his followers, but in addition to having crippling blow/hamstring/knockdown/etc., he has a gimmick. His followers continually respawn, and sometimes he’ll jump back, pound his chest, and roar. When this happens, you’d best be prepared: this roar will set the dungeon alert to red. If you don’t kill his followers as well as harming him…well, you may become red as well. A fine red paste.

‘Nimble’: (Classes expected: Rogue. Additional classes: Ranger, Monk, anyone with rogue splash)
Objective: Survive to the exit.
‘Nimble’ is for the trap monkeys and evasion-based toons. There are traps abound here, from elemental damage to blade/spike/etc. traps. DC’s at the beginning (on Legendary) start around DC 40, but rapidly increase to very high (DC 70+). Around 3/4ths of the traps will have trap boxes, but sometimes it almost seems like it would be better to leave a few untouched to deal with the monsters. The gimmick to this one is that traps, whether the ones inside here or ones you make through trap making, deal double damage. So be careful.
Red-named boss: Jinx Shimis the Green. Older brother of Jeets, his natural inclination for thievery and pranks fell way towards thuggery and dastardly deeds. Still, he hasn’t lost his prankish ways: you fight him in an arena filled with traps and falling floors. Jinx knows better than to fight a fair fight: though you may disable the traps around him while dodging constantly resetting breakaway floors, he’ll disappear at times when fighting you and reset trap boxes on you. But maybe, just maybe…you can get him to fall into his own traps.
(Optional): Kill Jinx with his own traps. Reward: extra chest.

‘Protector’: (Classes expected: Fighter, Paladin.)
Objective: escort Lockania to the exit.
‘Protector’ is for AC/threat tanks. At the beginning, you meet up with Lockania, the NPC who first told you of how dragon marks ran through your veins. Depending on your choice, though, she can either be a favored soul or a sorcerer. She will give you a scroll that you must use (to essentially make her a hireling), with the following layouts:
Favored Soul: Heal, Death Ward, Blade Barrier, Holy Aura
Sorcerer: Haste, Displacement, Greater Heroism, Fire Wall
The path splits early on as well into the high and low path. The low path offer combat against intelligent undead, while the high path is against evil outsiders. There is a gimmick to this one, though: each mob you successfully intimidate will drain ten points of hp and sp from them and give it to you.
Red-named boss: Qezzix the White. The closest thing to a beholder priest, intent of killing this woman who has offended the deity of the Great Mother. To protect herself, Lockania sealed herself in globe of magic, but that didn‘t stop Qezzix: he constantly dispels her globes, though he will not kill her in any other way except by draining her levels until she is nothing. Throughout the fight, no matter how much damage you’ve done to him, his aggro will reset, and he will try and get at Lockania. You must stop him from killing her, by any means necessary.

‘Sacred’: (Classes expected: Cleric, Favored Soul. Additional classes: Paladin)
Objective: Cleanse the desecrated altar
‘Sacred’ is for all of those that love Turn Undead and its’ variants. When you first enter, something stirs behind you, something that chills your bones and tells you to keep moving. It is the darkness, something that will consume you if you linger too long. The gimmick here is that turn undead regenerates twice as fast, but you’ll need it to survive. Streams of undead pour at you, chasing you through blade barriers and positive energy bursts, all the while something gradually comes closer. You must make it to the heart of the altar and cleanse this place before it consumes you.
Red-named boss: Noctus the Black. A vampire, intent on stopping you before you purify the altar. He commands all forms of undead to constantly spawn and attack you, but that isn’t all: he knows high level necromancy, one that can swallow even the purest light. As soon as he turns into bat form, he will blind you, bypassing even blindness ward and blanketing the world in darkness for a minute at a time. You must survive in pure darkness, as undead close in all around you, in order to defeat him.

‘Elemental’: (Expected classes: Wizard, Sorcerer.)
Objective: Defeat the Conjurer Kant.
‘Elemental’ is for those that do incredible burst DPS. The gimmick is simple: for each enemy you kill with a spell, you gain 5% of the spell’s casting cost back in sp, and 3% of that in hp. Though hordes of different mobs of all elements assail you, you should prevail easily with some planning. It almost seems as if this path is the easiest…
Red-named boss: Kant the Green. Kant, knowing you were coming, purposefully made his dungeon easy, to crush you himself. Knowing you were an elementalist, he prepared his resistances and a special magic shield. If you cast more than two spells of the same element within a certain time-frame, he’ll switch his shield to the element not only nullify it, but heal for half of the damage it would have done. But that’s not all: he is a conjurer, after all. He can summon up high level elementals and giants of each element. Chuckling, he waits to see you, hoping for a duel for the ages.

‘Charm’: (Expected classes: Bard. Additional classes: wizard, sorcerer).
Objective: Take the ‘Sacred Heart’.
‘Charm’ is for bards, but also charm/cc specced casters. There are two choices you can take upon entering on your opponents. One makes them ‘normal’, with blanket immunities but average hp. The other makes the ‘brutes’, with high damage and hp but lower will saves. Whether you fight them or make them fight each other, you must make your way through the dungeon, always careful to keep others incapacitated else they turn on you.
Red-named boss: Eden, the Pink. Eden holds the ‘Sacred Heart’ around his neck, and draws upon the colors of both Red and White. From Red, he draws upon the followers, of which he has many: constantly respawning, and enough to overwhelm you if you are not careful. From White, he draws the power to dispel magic, although he cannot dispel bard songs. You must take the ‘Sacred Heart’ from him, although a part of you wonders if perhaps you can do it without killing him…
(Optional: take the ‘Sacred Heart’ without killing Eden): once you incapacitate Eden (otto’s, hold person, etc.), you can go up to him and press the ‘use’ key. This will start a timer (a la open door, disable device, etc.) rolling against his fortitude (probably using CHA/Dex modifier and something). If you succeed, you grab it.

The timer doesn’t stop until all six of your party members have arrived at this place, although there are new objectives that pop up upon arrival or someone dying in the path.
New objective: At least four members must survive the path. (failure = failing the quest)
(Optional: all six members survive the path): additional chest (unsure whether or not epic) and guaranteed 2000 guild renown)
This is the time when you can raise anybody who died and was sent to the penalty box.

“As your party members emerge, one by one, you spy something strange. From the ‘protector’ path emerges an NPC, one that you remember seeing long ago. Lockania is her name, the researcher studying dragon marks.
‘Why am I here?’ she exclaims, as soon as she catches sight of you. ‘I am just a simple researcher, why did I end up here?’ She says in panic, and you are unable to answer why. ‘Wait, what’s that?’ She says, spying something in your hand. Opening it up, you see a small colored gem that seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Leaping to life, it springs from your hand and dances in the air, and other gems join with it, no doubt from the hands of your party. The colors mix in the sky, bleeding into one another, but looking at Lockania, you sense that she knows something.
‘No, it’s not possible! The legends spoke of it, but…’she mutters, but another voice cuts her off.
‘There are legends written? I suppose it has been a while.’ A vicious laugh quickly escapes soon after, and you can hear a pulsating, rhythmic beat in the air. ‘How futile, all of these different colors.’ It says, as the gems bleed into colors. But you notice something strange: slowly, the mixed colors begin to darken. ‘In the end, there is only one color that remains.’ The voice says, as gusts of wind grow closer, almost sounding like the flapping of wings. The colors continue to blend until they are but one single one: black. With a thud, something lands in the distance, something clearly distinguishable even amidst the starry background. ‘Come, mortals, and face against the end of all things.’ The black dragon says, as you prepare yourself for the ultimate battle.”

Part 3 is the black dragon battle. While Gianthold Tor might have already exposed people to the basic premise of such a battle, this is on a far greater scale. There’s pits of acid all over the place, with only a few safe spots to stand, but this will constantly change throughout the battle. She’ll have cues like many of the other bosses, and these include:
-Stomping her feet. When this happens, a few platforms will glow for a few seconds before letting loose a geyser of acid. This is insta-kill if it hits.
-Lowering her head. This means she’s about to fire off a cloud-kill. Like Velah’s flame breath, it’s lethal.
-Raising her head. This means she’s about to fire off a breath attack. Anyone caught in this suffers extreme acid vulnerability (3x damage) and gets hit with an melf’s (doing somewhere along the lines of 50-75 damage a tick with vulnerability probably).
-Shaking her head. This means she’s putting up an acid shield. Any melee attack, if it not done with an everbright weapon, will take 2d4 durability damage per hit.

-Again, 2-death policy is in effect, although if you die twice you’re sent to the penalty box and no one can raise you, so be careful.

Rewards:
If you succeed in your path, you will be granted one epic level chest (with guaranteed full token). You are then taken to the third part. However, that is not the only reward: upon completion of your specific trial, you gain two bonuses. Each time you complete this part, you get a 2% legendary bonus towards gaining guild renown (doing it on elite caps it at 5%, on legendary at 10%), and the other is a 2% legendary bonus/discount with not only the vendors, but the AH as well. So instead of the AH taking 30% of your profit, it can be reduced to 20% (in addition to getting essentially free haggle at all vendors). This is rewarded BEFORE part 3, so even if your party members fail, you’ll still be rewarded for your hard work.

If you succeed against the black dragon, then you get a legendary chest. Its’ drops are almost exactly like an epic chest, but with one addition: gems. The big reward you get from this are the gemstones that were initially in your hand.

What do these gemstones do? Most of them fit into the epic slots of augmented items (I.e. like purple slots, green slots, etc.), but the colorless gem is different. The most valuable of all, this can fit in any slot. So besides epic weapons, any guild-slot can as well (although this will set the ML to 15 and the guild level + 25). You can only have two ‘legendary’ items (items crafted this way) on at a time: one weapon and one armor. However, these gems are powerful.

Some examples of what weapon gemstones could do:
-add x1 to the crit multiplier
-add 2d6 force damage on each successful hit
-make a weapon a +8
Etc.

Sure, it sounds broken, but this should be a hard quest, ’almost impossible’ on legendary. It’s an eternal goal to strive towards, and it’ll give a sense of accomplishment to anyone who manages to make it through. Besides, doesn’t it sound more fun than Tring 34 times? :P

Advantages: Many. In addition to being a plat sink (repairing, buying pots/etc. to accomplish this, etc.), I’m sure more than a few people will buy bells of opening or lasting stat potions for the first part (perhaps even the second). In addition, on the lower difficulties I’m sure people would buy spirit cakes (considering they’d be trapped there but not kicked out).

[Ybbald]

you would pay to see it and not play it?

[EricZanzibar]

it would be interesting... any adventure/quest is appealing to be honest. You've put some thought into it and it doesnt sound too bad. The story is a bit cheesy but the concept is good.

[Noctus]

Red-named boss: Noctus the Black. A vampire, intent on stopping you before you purify the altar.

Wrarrrr!