Quests
A quest is a moderated session led by a GM (Game Master) who sets the scene, provides an objective, plays the NPCs and enemies that the characters may encounter, calls for dice rolls, and determines the results of those rolls.
A quest can be almost anything. Some are combat-heavy, some might focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, some quests might be only social interaction, and some might be a little bit of everything. Assassination, investigation, adventure, drama, violence, world-shattering events or personal tales of revenge – all of it can happen in a quest.
Quests can last from 1 hour for a quick, story-light 'shoot em up' session to 3 hours for an important, plot-heavy session. EXP and money is awarded based on the length of time a quest takes, ranging from 100/$100 for a quick quest and over 300/$300 for a longer one.
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JOINING A QUEST
A GM will usually schedule a time in advance to run a quest. However, if there are enough people online at the same time, they may run one on the spot.
The GM will tell all interested players to join the quest channel. Quests are run in a separate channel from the main RP so that those who don’t want to participate can continue to RP as normal. Players should be using the nicks of the character they are questing as.
[Asking for stats bit – may be redundant depending on site functionality]
HOW QUESTS WORK
Quests can be structured very differently depending on the story, characters involved, and the GM’s style. But USUALLY you can expect the following:
- There will be some RP at the beginning of the quest to set the scene
- The GM will introduce an event that sets the quest plot in motion
- The characters will RP their various actions and reactions as they participate in the plot
- The GM will call for dice rolls to determine if certain actions are successful (for example, breaking down a door or spotting a hidden clue)
- The characters may engage in combat against enemies
- The characters reach the conclusion of the plot and receive a reward of EXP and money
Players RP their characters as normal. The only difference is that they do not dictate the state of the scene, or the successes and failures of their characters. The GM will relay information about the environment and NPCs, and will also interpret the dice rolls. Players will roll their own dice using the channel’s dicebot.
If a player needs to drop out of a quest at any time, they may do so at no penalty to their character. They will be awarded partial EXP based on how long they were in the quest.
Sometimes, a GM may also need to cut things short due to RL. Or, a quest could be running longer than expected, or it’s a part of a multi-part scenario. In either case, the GM may opt to cut a quest short, award EXP, and continue it again on another day.
Example Quest Scene
GM: You are all sitting in Lucky Sevens on a rainy afternoon when a man in a long grey overcoat and wide brimmed hat walks in. His presence seems to chill the room and give you all an uneasy feeling.
*Joe watches the man walk in without any particular interest until the strange and uneasy feeling passes over him. He knocks back his drink and then tries to see if he can deduce anything about the man that might explain his unusual presence.
*Fred looks at the man curiously and attempts to focus his arcane sight to see if this man's strange presence is mystical in nature. [using Arcane Sight skill]
*Steve nods to the man in spite of the strange feeling.
GM: Joe, roll perception/lvl.
Joe: !roll 1d20+2
Dicebot: 18GM: Joe catches a glimpse of the face behind the tall collar of the jacket, beneath the brim of the hat. Sickly pale skin, a smiling mouth wider than it should be and filled with too many sharp gleaming teeth, and a faint red glow around the eyes. As Fred uses arcane sight he notices that instead of a normal mystical aura, the man's aura seems to be one of pure darkness, absorbing mystical energy into it like a black hole. It begins to give him a headache to look at, the pain gradually growing in intensity. When Steve nods at the man, the man gives a little wave back, and immediately Steve feels an icy shock run through his spine.
Cool Points
Cool Points allow a character to designate an action as having advantage, or negate disadvantage, at GM's discretion. Cool Points are awarded by the GM to individual players for good RP during the quest, including but not limited to: realistic portrayal of a character's negative traits or the negative consequences of their actions; being a positive group leader and pressing the action forward; going out of their way to include all characters in the party's plans; coming up with interesting, creative solutions to problems in the quest.
All players start with 0 Cool Points. As a guideline, as GM should not award more than 1 Cool Point to a single character in a single session.
QUEST ETIQUETTE
Players in a quest should not RP in the main channel at the same time. Your full attention needs to be on the quest, out of respect to the GM and fellow players.
Players who take issue with a GM’s ruling during a quest should wait until AFTER the quest has finished to speak to them about it. A GM has every right to remove a player from the quest who is challenging them in the middle of it, which disrupts the quest and negatively affects all the other questers.
Players must refrain from ‘rules-lawyering’ during a quest. Understand that the two most important words in any quest are ‘GM DISCRETION’. A GM may employ house rules or interpret game rules in a different way than you.
Players should post as quickly as they can to keep things moving. This is not Shakespeare and your writing does not need to be perfect. If you are taking more than 5 minutes to post when it is your turn, this significantly slows the quest down.
Players must keep OOC chatter out of the quest, unless notifying the room that they will be AFK (allowing the GM to skip their turn).
THE END OF THE QUEST
The quest will end when any of these conditions are met:
- the characters complete the objective
- the characters completely fail the objective
- the characters all die
- the GM must cut the quest short
At the end of the quest, everyone will receive their EXP and cash rewards. Shop items will never be given out as quest rewards. Souvenir items of no value may be given out.
If the party fails their objective or dies, the quest may end with only an EXP reward and no cash.
In certain situations, the GM may award bonus EXP/$$ to players who did an exemplary job in the quest by pushing the plot forward, playing well with everyone in the party, and/or implementing interesting and unexpected strategies during the course of the quest.
PLAYER QUESTS
Players may run their own quests (PQs) when there is no GM-run quest scheduled. A player quest follows the same rules as a standard quest, however the rewards given out are lower.
A PQ is not considered 'canon' to the game unless it is monitored by a GM. A monitored PQ has a higher reward than an unmonitored PQ.
Character deaths during a PQ will not be counted on a character's sheet, even when monitored.
[stuff about submitting logs etc. for a PQ to get updated]
QUEST TYPES + REWARDS
|
Quest Type |
Duration |
Reward |
|---|---|---|
|
PQ - Unmonitored |
Any |
50/₾50 |
|
PQ - Monitored |
Any |
75/₾75 to 125/₾125 |
|
Shoot em up |
~1 hour |
100/₾100 |
|
Standard Mission |
1 1/2 to 2 hours |
150/₾150 |
|
Minor Plot Arc |
~2 hours |
175/₾175 to 225/₾225 |
|
Major Plot Arc |
~2 to 3 hours |
250/₾250 to 300/₾300 |