Belariath

Quest, Events and Storylines;
The What and the How's of Running them.

Quests and Events are terms used to define a series of happenings that are run by one or more players for the benefit of others. These can be small, impulsive events that last a few hours and no more, to large and intricate storylines that affect the populace and can run for a pre-determined amount of time. Anyone can run a Quest, and in most cases only a few simple steps are needed to create an exciting and adventure packed event that involves fellow players.

First, let us define what type of events there is, to distinguish what steps are required on your behalf – the player.

• Events - Planned activities to which all characters are normally invited. Shop Owners may wish to sponsor a ball or contest to stimulate interest; while characters may wish to throw a party for a wedding or personal event; yet still Temples may design grand festivals surrounding known rituals of their Pantheon for all followers and converts. Events may last several hours or several days. These do not often require Op approval because they are organized, hosted and paid for by the player’s character.

• Mini-events - Usually run on the spur of the moment, these tend to be thrown in at random to liven up roleplay. Typically they will last a couple of hours and may comprise something such as a raid on the town by a band of goblins or a rampaging dragon. All these really require is the approval of an Op on duty, making sure to cover all pertinent points, such as NPC’s used, how long, what, where and who. If you are a player, remember, anything that widens beyond the scope of a small isolated incident should still be fleshed out and run through the Quest Team for approval.

• Quests - Actual quests usually involve a party going somewhere in search of something of value. No doubt you are familiar with the concept which is a staple of just about every fantasy ever written or played on a computer. A quest will generally run several hours but multi-part quests played over a series of days are not unknown. These should be outlined with how the Quest should progress, including NPC’s, a small back ground, motives and objections as well as any payment or memento’s you may wish to include. Then submit your write up to any member of the Quest Team, in which case there will be comments or suggestions made before final approval is given.

• Tournaments - As you might expect, tournaments are structured competitions which usually aim to find the best fighter or the best magic user. They may have zones so that similarly ranked characters compete against each other and will go through a series of knock-out rounds until the winner triumphs. The approval process runs the same as Events, though exceptions may need to be run by an Op for approval for clarifications or special requests that go above a character’s normal ability.

• Storylines - These are often ongoing for weeks, months or even years. They don't require the full attention of characters all the time but they continue to surface periodically as new twists are revealed. A typical storyline could emerge gradually by strange things happening or strange creatures being seen. Or perhaps an expedition is launched to explore some unknown kingdom and they disturb the previous equilibrium, the consequences of which do not become apparent until much later. In brief then, storylines can give a sense of continuity - a concept of time passing rather than the roleplay being made up of a series of random events with no past or future, and no real consequences. Those Storylines that run on a more personal level for a character do not often need Op or Quest Team approval, but if you are looking to run a Storyline that has the potential to affect more then your personal character, and may run longer then a few hours or days, the complete outline should be submitted to a member of the Quest Team for comment and approval before initiating.

Now that you understand the definition of what constitutes Quests, Events and Storylines, what next? Well, you know you want to do something, the question is, what it is and how do you go about bringing it to fruition. What rules should you be following while hosting such an event?

1. Events and Tournaments do not need Op approval; unless a clear exception has been defined that goes above and beyond the character’s means and ability. Example: The use of Shop resources when you are not the Manager or Owner. Public and privately owned venues may of course be used, such as the Arena and Amphitheater or the character’s own property.

2. Mini-Events do not need to be submitted for approval, they only require a discussion and ok from an Op on duty. If one is not available, then feel free to submit the event in question to a member of the Quest Team, but please give some time for response and approval.

3. Remember, your character can not be in a Quest; you run it for the benefit of other players and should not use it to advance your own personal storyline. Gamewide storylines can include your character but again should not be designed for personal advancement.

The plot line submitted should include a synopsis or brief of what the quest is about; then following that, the major plot points and decisions to be made from that point going forward. Very brief example (you should turn in something more verbose than this)

Princess Rescue

Synopis: A request has been made to rescue a princess from an evil dwarf named bob. The questers will travel to her tower, and attempt to rescue her. Unknown to them, the princess is the evil one, and the dwarf her prisoner. She wants more victims.

Plot point one: The questers meet Jack, the princesses minion in the forest. He explains the situation, then leaves, after giving them a map. The Tower 2 days travel to the north.

Plot point two: The questers travel...along the way they are beset by 5 goblin bandits. Bandits are level all 3 npcs , 3 warrior class and 2 thief class.

Plot point 3: A fork in the road that is not on the map. They need to make a decision. If they choose left, they will come to a slaver encampment. The wolven slavers will attempt to capture them. 10 slavers. 2 level 1s , the rest no more than the highest level quester in level. They are a mixture of mages and warriors. If they continue on the road after this, they will find it leads to a massive swamp, miles wide, impassable and reeking of foul odor, and many bones on the shore. They will see something disturbing the water something massive and dangerous. They should go back and take the other fork. If they take the right fork, all is calm till they get to the tower.

Plot point 4, once on the right road, they reach the tower and reconnoiter it. Description of tower etc.

And so on and so forth. At the plot points, consider what will happen if the questers do not do as expected. This will definitely happen and you must be flexible.

On first draft, give levels of npcs, monsters etc.

4. NPC’s: In terms of Non-Playable Characters, try to stay with current races/classes and approved npcs. If you want something other, run it by the Quest Team or Op. Help is also available from the Quest Team to run NPC’s. You do not need to run them all yourself. Casual players often will help too, anyone can NPC on a quest. Just ask around.

5. When holding any event, player participation is optional. All events may be carried out in any of the recommended channels. #TLI-Arena, #TLI-Forest, The Inn, Town and Temple are best used for events and mini-events that relate to shops, temples etc which are naturally played in those channels; however, this should not force other players already in a scene to abandon the channel or be forced to play along when such an event is occurring, not unless by specific Op request if the event is too large or world altering, or a mini-event such as an Inn raid cannot reasonably be ignored by any character in a public area. #TLI-Borderlands and of course #TLI-Quests are most often used for questing to new locations and will more often be considered exclusive to the ongoing quest.


6. Guidelines for Rewards:

Rewards for participation in a quest can range from 50-100 MHL per member of the party, requested as a payout via Ops, and depending on size of quest. Short, 3-5 hour impromptu quests: 50-100MHL, larger events up to 150MHL, per character.

Jewelry, books, trinkets, clothes, scraps of things, items of purely RP worth. (No combat use)

mIoP’s. Requests for specific mIoP’s can be made here: viewtopic.php?f=103&t=8166 Currently available mIoPs can be found here: http://www.belariath.com/php/arms/miop.php

Vouchers for shops, weapons, armors, as well as low level items already pre-enchanted for certain cases (Katana +2, chainmail +1, etc). These are often solicited from the shops themselves, paid for by the character themselves, or requested through game Admin.

7. We strongly advise typing up descriptions before hand, before you actually run the quest. For example descriptions of lands they will be traveling through, npcs. This way you can just copy and paste when appropriate, speeding the quest up.

8. After the quest plot has been approved, you will receive notification that you can proceed. At that point you can post the Quest in the Quest Forum and people can sign up. Keep it to 5 at max, if you have never run a quest before.

Your post should have a subject of: Quest Name - Sign Up replacing quest name with the name of your quest.

You can specify levels allowed to sign up etc or other special requirements. Make sure you include date and time zone for your quest when you post it. Most quests take 7-8 hours.

The plot does not need to be complicated. Players love simple hack n slash, puzzles or whatever. If you have any questions, whether you are a new player, a seasoned player, or even an Op, feel free to ask one of the Quest Team members for clarification and advice. Above all else, have fun; this is your chance to give back to the game and your fellow players, so enjoy it!