Linked Quest (Ashby Style)
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So people ask for this quest to return or a new 'linked quest' in this style?
Why? What was it about this quest that made it so much more interesting than others we have?
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I could see that it can help build on a story from a quest line.. if they spread over levels and are of interest to your PC for any reason it helps tie "I do things to fight this" together in a way.
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First of all, it was a tough nut to crack at times and the reward for that was good.
It also got harder after each level (1st part was kind of piece of cake for the right group) and you had to plan ahead.
And it also gave your high level group kind of epic scripted quest to do.I would like to see a quest series where you have a low level quest that activates a medium level quest when done, and the medium level activates a high level when done. Preferably so that the against cap low levels can do the medium and against cap mediums can do the high.
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First of all, it was a tough nut to crack at times and the reward for that was good.
It also got harder after each level (1st part was kind of piece of cake for the right group) and you had to plan ahead.
And it also gave your high level group kind of epic scripted quest to do.I would like to see a quest series where you have a low level quest that activates a medium level quest when done, and the medium level activates a high level when done. Preferably so that the against cap low levels can do the medium and against cap mediums can do the high.
Possibly by having the boss drop an item that gives the new quest? Sort of like the notebook quest? Just have the new quest min level be the cap of the current quest?
Or if possible have the party checked for any valid lvl PC and have the quest item get a % chance to drop then?
I like that as well. -
The reason it was so popular was the story,you go on a simple job and suddenly it's not so simple,you finish it report back and low you off on a harder more dangerous part of an escalating adventure,finish the middle and then it's suddenly a server wide event.
So to sum up it's an adventure with high risks good story that can draw in the whole server as the party that starts changes and grows or shrinks as the parts are completed.
TBH i never finished the third part due to the massive lag the end of part two caused not a fan of that coming back purely for that reason,the rest of the quest line was epic adventure where you didn't need a DM online.
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It was the closest thing you could come to a scripted DM quest. The first part was done nearly every reset. Took 30 -60 min. Second part, took at least 2-3 hours, maybe four. First, you had to get through the Hullack, then through the orc camp, -then- through the caves.
The rewards also matched the quest. So it was a brilliant way to spend a rainy sunday, with a slight hangover, as you had a rough idea of the time you needed, but you still got all the feeling of a long, well planned DM quest.Finally, it was a quest with a partial human enemy. So it actually made sense, for the setting, for Lord Lhal to give the quest, etc.
I think the quest could easily be replaced by a similar length scripted adventure. But with the option of not having to set aside 4 hours each time.
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@O'louth:
I think the quest could easily be replaced by a similar length scripted adventure. But with the option of not having to set aside 4 hours each time.
How? By serializing it? So you get a persistent token/flag/item that allows you to do the parts in stages to help break it up?
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I never saw this quest :(
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Sadly I have never played this quest. I heard is was the best and even got my interest up.
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I do not want to be dependent on other people to be able to take a quest.
What was epic about it was the deadliness. It was deadly, wrong move and you were screwed! The sheer size and scale of the part 2 (which is my favourite by in server history) and the epic feeling of literally storming a stronghold. The deadly mobs, the dreaded gate spawn. It FELT like an epic adventure. Danger, loot, gold! I don't care in the least about the slums invasion at the end, but part 2 was just… just yummy!
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the reason behind multiple spawn points were influenced by this quest, since I for one logged into the aftermath a few times and had nothing to do with why an orc horde was ripping me to shreds.
never ran the first two sections but had plenty of time with the slum invasion, the ninja looters, the dry looters, the lag from everyones spell vfx running cpus to the brink at the time.
something similar would be nice, with everything now learned incorporated to make it better then the original
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Sorry to just pop in and out of the server from time to time but I think some things to consider about Ashby's quest that made it cool:
1. Finishing part of it changed the server (albeit in a way that was a laggy mess of tpk and full looting by griefers, but it was still cool). This meant that everyone on the server was unofficially part of the quest whether they wanted to be or not. Maybe not something so drastic this time: maybe the ships leave the harbor, stranding people on the islands if you don't finish or tougher and themed spawns in old town until someone finishes the final quest.
2. You got to return to town in between sections. You could add-drop party members as needed and in case someone needed to log. Instead of one massive 4 hour long slog in a QA with dwindling party members, you got to go back, RP a bit about whether you needed to find another meat-shield or buy more of something- or whether you just weren't cut out for it. It was nice to have it broken up because (at least after the days of teams who could 3 man it) it often wasn't finished.
3. One of the toughest parts of the quest was actually through an open (non QA) area (the old Hullack version at least) that no one ever went to while not doing the quest because it was super deadly. You could recruit high level escorts to get you through that part or go invisible or run like hell or fight and hope for the best. It was open with no choke points and the spawns were usually at places that made sense so you had to chose your tactic and path and just go for it but you had to get your team on board with your plan or it was death.
4. Resting for spells was OK and made sense in most cases/places you could do so.
5. It was so epic (and it paid so well - at least in some versions of it) you didn't need to quest for a day or two afterwards. You could go back, celebrate, RP and move on to plotting and other stuff you wanted to do. It really satisfied the itch to kill NPCs for a bit.
I guess if I were going to structure it now:
Part 1: Medium, killing boss triggers , decent gold and expendables so you're tempted to do:
Part 2: Long, finishing this part solves so it doesn't go on forever.
Part 3: Somewhere far off through open exploration areas, fairly complex end-game.It would be nice if you could use blueprints you can change so you can switch out NPCs to match current plots.
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@O'louth:
I think the quest could easily be replaced by a similar length scripted adventure. But with the option of not having to set aside 4 hours each time.
How? By serializing it? So you get a persistent token/flag/item that allows you to do the parts in stages to help break it up?
It would be cool if you got two items at the end of each section of the quest. One that allowed your current level party to continue on (with adds and drops- as long as one person had the token) and one that players could give to a level 1-5 party that went to a different QA that would clear up the problem.
I am wondering if the add/drop party members was taken out at some point due to exploits… sorry, was a long time ago.
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Why wasn't I around for this? It sounds awesome!
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I liked the epic feel of the quest but also that the Ashby sometimes just attacked the city. It wasn't just a quest, it was the sort of ultimate event for the module. The part that felt like a CRPG that bleed into the RPG that is normal CoA. Deadly Black Raven spawns ftw.
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Ah deadly black ravens so many fireballs so many rage quits.
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This is…. surprisingly similar to a design idea we had (and I began developing) for V5, that never really got implemented. Possibly the closest thing ,was the recent blood war ward, and demon attacks, though that was very simplified.
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Had some fun on this quest….design was great IMO. Was pretty scary and needed people to be on their game a bit. I didn't love the ubertrap-seemed like it was either metagamed or people sadly sacrificed themselves to it in order to RP not knowing it was there or how bad it was. Slum invasion was kind of fun except for the lag and the ninjalooting that sometimes occured. Definitely be cool to see something like this again.