Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

We have a few quests to introduce players to the server and provide some reliable gold/XP. As areas are added/revised/replaced, we could theoretically add additional quests to expose players to those parts of the server.

Before addressing how to balance the rewards or where quests might be added, we need to make sure players actually want more quests. I understand that some have suggested repeatable, weekly quests are immersion-breaking and that they'd rather earn XP/gold in other ways, so I just wanted to take a quick strawpoll to gauge sentiment, at least among the players active on the forums.

Feel free to discuss below and share your thoughts on quest design, repeatability, immersion, and balancing gold/XP from quests.

I think the repeatability could use some work. As it stands now unless I take notes with the date I completed the quest, I won't remember or know when I can repeat it next.

Ewe wrote: ↑Fri Oct 25, 2019 3:18 pm I think the repeatability could use some work. As it stands now unless I take notes with the date I completed the quest, I won't remember or know when I can repeat it next.

The completed quest should be removed from your journal when you are able to repeat it.

I think it would be good if we can make like, more quests locked to classes, like make quests for each one of the base classes, that could work as a nice addition, I would volunteer to write these. But I know nothing of scripting and stuff.

or Quest for Guilds

loveling wrote: ↑Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:06 pm I think it would be good if we can make like, more quests locked to classes, like make quests for each one of the base classes, that could work as a nice addition, I would volunteer to write these. But I know nothing of scripting and stuff.

This is a fantastic suggestion. You could add religion-based quests to these, too, only given to adherents of a faith by a clerical NPC of the same. Most of the major religions (Good, Neutral & Evil) are already well represented in terms of NPCs available to issue quests.

Moreover, ensure that new quests (especially if they are difficult) are one-time only with larger-than-usual rewards (ie. instead of 1,000xp, give 10,000).

Imho,

the quests we need more of are the durlag style ones.

Quests you take entering a dungeon with some kind of puzzle yor challenge. These would make dungeoneering over grinding more valuable xp wise.

On quests.

- please let’s stop caring so much about balancing. Balance has been the bane of so many good projects, a tool for those who don’t like something to stop an idea and in the end slows everything down. I’ve been around for years and have seen it all, leaving me with the opinion that for every step taken to Balance the more fun has been stripped out. So please make fun awesome quests and let balance fall to the back seat.

- what kinda quest would I like? More yes, but maybe some group quests that will only work if you have 3+ people in your party. Maybe they scale with even more people. Be it maybe escort an npc, deliver a package or destroy an enemy.

Such a quest would mean group role play. Encourage group play and not needing to solo your weekly quests for your rp. Balance becomes less issue because a group is getting it instead of solo. It just be fun to have group quests, to run with friends or new players. The key is you can only get them and compete them in a group.

Obviously I haven't played in years, but I'll add what I always thought would be a good idea.

Having an adventurers guildhall in BG (perhaps eastern farmlands) that is open to all and have an NPC who has conditions on his dialogue when you talk to him. So depending what level range you are, you would get a different dialogue option, with a different quest that is relevant to your level range. Something like this would encourage players like myself (who aren't very good at RP), to "get a level relevant quest" and then find others to assist with the quest.
Anyway, I think something like that would be cool and best of all, it would be easier because it would all be done from one dialogue.

I did the weeklies, a lot.
It was a chore. But it allowed me to listen to podcasts running through them utterly on autopilot mode. I needed something to do while listening to pods and quests were a good filler.
But now I have a bunch of level 30 toons and I have decided to find other things to do while listening to my podcasts.
The character building side of this game has gotten dull. But I have been doing it for longer than I care to admit- so it is pretty cool that this aspect of this game held my attension for as long as it did.

But, this game has another totally interesting aspect to it. Yeah, not just one cool aspect but two (most games do not even have one amazing unique characteristic).
Its an interesting game for both those that want the actually Roleplay and are who are into character building.
Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one. But my arsehole opinion here is that the objective should not be to get to 30th and earn your 1.5 mil in gold for epic items, as fast as possible. It should be to have fun and develop a 3-dimentional player character (not just a tough level 30 toon).

Once you hit 30, if you are a quester/grinder thats pretty much it. So unless you make lots of alts, it will get old pretty fast. This server has made it super easy to get to 30 now, creating more of a a curse than a blessing.

What is the unified main goal of all players on this server?
-we all want to get to 30.

What happens once this goal is met?
-Only a few of us can answer this definitively!

What other unified main goals exist among all players on this server?
Perhaps:
1)Get to 30 and save up to 1.5 million gold for epic gear.
2)Rule supreme in all DM events, destroying anything the feeble so called Dungeon Masters throw at you! (Pffft..dungeon masters, more like dungeon losers! -you mad? Come at me brah!)

We need more collective goals than this, on this server- not more quests.
That's why I always push for more support of evil RP. Its the classic goal of trying to see who wins, Good vs Evil.

I will say, I really liked Hoihe idea of more group quests for the dungeoneering. (Im still confused on this persons view on permadeath, but whatever- I like the dungeoneering idea.)

Time and effort, should be put into, fostering growth of various guilds/factions where the support is there to:
-have strong RP'ers and or leaders support weaker RP'ers or noobs to the server.
-add your individual goals to a team who will help you achieve them.
-have highlighted guild goals for the players who are looking for direction, or simply something to do after reaching level 30.

These things are amplified with DM support, true- but it can be done with just players too.

There needs to more time and resourses applied to non questing and grinding aspects of the game.
The game is already too easy, and waaaaay too politically correct.
PLEASE MAKE US ANGRY AND UPSET!!!

Admin, please show favortism to those that need a bit of favour! Use your discretion, your allowed to be wrong. Rock tha boat- I am pretty sure you wont get sued.
And if you are granting wishes- I wish you would help bring back the evil factions.

Okay rant over Im going to go get another Strong Bow and then vote to remove all quests from all games everywhere!
It's for your own good!

I actually like the quests, not necessarily for themselves but they offer a chance for RP where a higher level character can escort a weaker, a character can simply be tasked to do them and get further rewarded from a player side if the character might have an interest to gain influence on the quest giving npc (not that there will be any progress but I don't mind just imagining it)

My character has sent people to aid the wizard find his mushrooms just so to be on a better standing with a possibly experienced colleague. Which can be rped on the forums.

Tekill my goal in the server is not to get to level 30 but to have fun playing the game and RPing with the players around me. I've grinded a bit more in the last couple of days to get back to my initial level before I rerolled K'yon to have a better build that would better cope with the servers content but also have more fitting skills for the way I RP him.

I like the idea of group quests, would be cool if they were scripted in a way that you'd need to do things simultaneously so it would really require you to be of a certain group size. Important would be to state that very clearly in the quest as to not cause frustration.

The other good point to quests is, that people can focus on RP instead of grinding and still have a gradual gain of xp by doing the quests every once in a while.

Quests that lead into other areas sometimes could use a little bit more direction I find some of the existing quests are tough to find if you're not one of the people that's already done them a million times, but then again it could be intentional to encourage player interaction which is yet another positive effect.

Cheers

Tekill wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 12:25 am (Pffft..dungeon masters, more like dungeon losers! -you mad? Come at me brah!)

sounds like the challenge of someone who has never had troll boss, troll necromancer or the 30 CL beholder thrown at them.... and have the DM leave right after

If I could add more quests, it would only be quests that work to lead Players and their Characters to near and far reaches of the Server, to gain both IC and OOC experience of the Server.

Though currently there exists the issue of a vast Server and lower player population, it can be argued the Server could use some Area culling, or, Area swapping in/out depending on active storylines.

The above is important because then making quests that ask a PC to travel make no sense if those Areas will come and go. Thus a direct challenge to my idea for type of new quests.

So perhaps the problem could be mitigated by having the “fetch” item(s) be found in various Areas, thus making a quest to be possibly completed via options of destination Area.

Besides my suggestion of type, I do also appreciate the idea of tfunke to have a “hub” Quest Giver, which I think would have another affect of bringing Players together at this “distribution center.” The DMs could also thenoperate this NPC to give out custom quests. It is a big win.

The downside of course is if the Quest NPC crashes or gets borked, then a group of quests would disappear. So unless good backups and other things can save this from happening, maybe a Quest Hall-like installation where Quests NPCs congregate, each with their own need?

Lastly, weekly grinding quests are very immersion breaking, and they speak to all that tekill brought up. A solution is to Level Cap them, in the way that the Lizardman Egg Quest by Cooky in the FAI caps at Level 19.

I am very aware that Quests provide comfortable progression for those players who despise grinding mobs. But if quests received an XP bump across the board AND Level Cap, they would still be useful to do but not turn into an OOC affair (and as well a near guaranteed progression without risk).

Cheers.

So a lot of what I've heard is:

- Be more sadistic with the quests
- Limit quests to alignments/religions/classes that make sense
- Send people to obscurer places for quests
- Be as evil as you like in designing quests, we'll go to Avernus for Stewart Hipp

gedweyignasia wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2019 3:13 am So a lot of what I've heard is:

- Be more sadistic with the quests
- Limit quests to alignments/religions/classes that make sense
- Send people to obscurer places for quests
- Be as evil as you like in designing quests, we'll go to Avernus for Stewart Hipp

Uhm, not entirely true?!?

1. It is true that most existing Surface quests are goodly natured. Problem is many existing quests have “sadistic” response options that grant your PC nothing (way in the Server past, these choices would shift alignment). Perhaps giving all the options some form of reward, would then already increase the quests, in a way.

2. I think the comments on limitations to a/r/c were bit sincere and sarcastic! However, if you take my point above to the next level, then if all existing quests were given Options for “success,” right there we’d reduce the immersion breaking aspect.

3. Obscure wasn’t the word I used. What I said was have quests be a initiation to wide ranging experience of the Server VIA travel. One learns about the dangers of the Tradeway by fulfilling Maltz’ Quest, yes?!

4. The sarcasm meter is red lining! But truly, the existing Quests are super easy, especially when your PC rises above the CR of the Area. That is why Level Limiting Quests makes a boat load of sense.

5. Which leads me to a new Number: with no real Epic Level Quests, if you Level Limit, all the Epic Toon Players will get super pissed because they can no longer power level 8500 XP per week, guaranteed. So throw those Epics a bone (or two).