BattleMaster Community
Toms Other Games => Shopkeeper => Topic started by: Tom on June 09, 2015, 05:54:47 PM
-
As mentioned by James, there's some interest in writing quests, and I would certainly welcome it a lot if I didn't have to write them all by myself.
At this time, I can offer what's below and it is very, very rough. But maybe you can puzzle it out and make a quest or two, and if not at least let me know what exactly needs more details.
The basics is that every quest comes in two data files. They are both in YAML format. One contains all the texts (and can theoretically be translated, to provide quests in multiple languages) while the other contains all the technical information.
I will post an example quest below to demonstrate how it all works.
-
Translation file for the rats quest:
title: Rats in the Basement
summary: Barkeeper Joe has locked his basement after a rat infestation, and is looking for someone to take care of it so he can serve wine again.
intro: >
The party arrives at the Three Headed Horse tavern and is greeted by Joe and his wife. They explain that
there are really big rats down in the cellar, but they cannot afford to leave it like that, it's where
they store their food and barrels of ale and wine. The heroes agree to help them out for a small sum,
and enter the dark and dusty basement.
challenge:
pack:
intro: >
Around one corner, the party meets a pack of hungry, aggressive rats.
After a moment of hesitation on both sides, the rats swarm the group and attack.
success: There is a short battle with biting and scratching rats, but with their combined efforts, the party defeats the rats and continues.
failure: Surprisingly, a few rats are more than a match for this group of "heroes", and after a short battle, they flee the basement bleeding and ashamed.
big:
intro: >
As they turn into a dead end, they suddenly spot the giant rat, the size of a dog. Red eyes glow in the darkness and yellow
teeth shine in the light of torches as the creature approaches, growling.
success: >
Drawing their weapons, the group prepares for combat just as the giant rat jumps on them. After a few blows and bites,
it is over and the beast lies dead and defeated on the ground.
failure: >
Drawing their weapons, the group prepares for combat and is immediately attacked. Blows are struck and bites pierce armour
and the battle rages for some time. Finally, the monster prevails, too strong and too big for the heroes.
room:
intro: >
As they find their way through the basement rooms, suddenly a small draft makes one of the torches flicker and they stop.
A quick search reveals a hidden door. Carefully, they open it.
success: >
Just in time they see the tiny mechanism that is inside the frame and with some swift fingerwork, disarm it. As the door
opens, a vial of poison gas becomes visible above the door. Inside is a storage room with long forgotten valuables.
failure: >
Too late they notice the trigger and the vial that falls from the ceiling and shatters on the ground, releasing a cloud
of poison gas. Coughing, they run back to the surface, barely reaching the fresh air outside. The poison flows into their
muscles, drawing their strength.
result:
tpk: >
Like this or similar it must have happened, because nobody has seen any of the heroes since, and The Three Headed Horse
is still not selling any wine. If nobody else can manage to defeat the rats, very soon it will have to close.
failed: >
And so they retreat, defeated by a simple basement and its furry inhabitants. A shame to all adventurers, they crawl back
into the tavern and then the street, where they collapse into a puddle of water from last nights rain.
success: >
All the foes vanquished, the party returns victorious, collecting their promised reward and free drinks for the rest of
the month.
Explanation:
- First, syntax is important in YAML. The number of spaces in front of every line is not arbitrary, it structures the document.
- Texts can be in one line, or using the > + 2 indents syntax can span multiple lines
- There's an intro section containing texts for:
- ...title - name of the quest
- ...summary - what you read in the overview, when the party has accepted the quest but not started it
- ...intro - the first paragraph of the quest log when the party runs the quest
- Then comes a section containing all the challenges. For every challenge there are three texts:
- ...intro - always shown, when the challenge is begun
- ...success - shown when the party successfully completes the challenge
- ...failure - surprise, surprise, shown when they fail
- ...trophy - additional(!) text shown when they take a trophy
- At the end is a results section:
- ...tpk - everyone died (total party kill)
- ...failed - they failed the quest
- ...success - they completed the quest successfully
Challenge names have to be unique within the quest, so you cannot have two challenges of the same name in the same quest (but you don't have to worry about other quests).
This is all very simply and should largely explain itself.
-
The actual quest file for the same quest, this is a lot more tricky:
# Quest: Rats in the Basement
# written by Tom Vogt <tom@lemuria.org>
min_level: 1
max_level: 2
challenges:
pack:
level: [0,2]
progress: 1
test: [damage, 15]
success:
damage: 6
xp: 100
gold: 10
failure:
damage: 10
big:
level: [2,3]
progress: 1
test: [damage, 20]
success:
damage: 8
xp: 200
gold: 20
trophy: ["Giant Rat Tail", 3, 1]
failure:
damage: 20
room:
level: [3,4]
endboss: true
test: [dexterity, 15]
success:
xp: 100
gold: 60
failure:
group_damage: 5
attribute_damage: [strength, 2]
Ok, what's going on here?
Firstly, it also has a generic section, that spells out the minimum and maximum character levels for this quest.
Secondly, one by one all the challenges are listed.
Every challenge has a generic, a success and a failure part.
In the generic part, you have these elements:
- level - array of "dungeon levels", min and max. this is used by the progress tree, see below
- progress - by how much to increment the progress counter if they succeed. This is missing on the endboss(es)
- endboss - is this an endboss? An endboss is always needed, it ends the quest. A quest is successful if and only if the party succeeds at a challenge marked endboss.
- test - which attribute to test and what the target value is. This determines success or failure
The success section is used only if they succeed (i.e. reach or beat the target value on the challenged attribute). It contains the xp and gold that they gain on success. It also has optional damage sections (see below), used for combat and other encounters where even upon success, the heroes will take some damage. There is also a trophy section. If you use it, your translation MUST have a trophy line. The trophy section has a name, a chance (in %) that the trophy will drop and how much reputation it gives. Note that if the trophy name is not unique, the reputation value will be shared between all of them (i.e. all Giant Rat Tails will give the same reputation, no matter which quest they are from).
The failure section is used only if the challenge fails. It contains several fields, all of which are optional:
- damage - the total damage that is applied in marching order to the party
- group_damage - damage that each party member suffers
- attribute_damage - attribute and points it gets reduced, again for all party members
- continue - if they can continue the quest after failing this challenge, or if failure means the quest is over (and failed)
The section itself has to be there, if nothing happens on failure (no damage, continue false) you can specify "failure: ~" which is the YAML shortcut for "use default values for everything"
To keep in mind about damage is that group_damage is applied to everyone, while normal damage is distributed. So damage: 20 is, for a four-character group, about equivalent to group_damage: 5. Also keep in mind that damage is applied in marching order, and the first characters (usually fighters, then priests) will take more damage than the softer thieves and wizards, while group_damage applies to everyone equally.
Progress
This is where all the magic with branching and alternate endings is. The system is simple and powerful:
- After each challenge, select the next challenge randomly from among all that your current progress level falls into (their min-max levels)
- Complete the challenge successfully, and you get the progress value added to your progress
- Fail and you get +1
- If the random selector picks the challenge you just completed, add +1 and select again (no challenge is ever repeated immediately).
This gives you lots of power. Here are just some things that you can do with it:- Random encounters - simply have a bunch of challenges all within the same range and with low progress numbers. Group will tackle these challenges in random order until it has accumulated enough progress to trigger the first challenge outside that range.
- Branching - make a high progress value (+10 or +20), make sure only one quest falls into that target range, and have another quest ready at +1. On success, it will continue with the high-value challenge, on fail the next one.
- Alternate endings - have two or more endboss challenges with identical or similar levels.
There's a lot more you can do with this progress thing.
-
Worth posting the link to this thread elsewhere on the forum? There may be people who aren't fussed about playing the game for now, but would enjoy writing a quest or two.
-
It will be on their "unread postings" list anyway.
-
There is a new parameter called "break", optional for both the success and failure sections. It defaults to 1 (so you should set it explicitly to 0 for some challenges) and is the percent chance that items get lost or break during this challenge. It should be low, because it is tested for all items, so a 5% setting (the max I recommend) means the group loses 5% of its items, statistically speaking, not a 5% chance of losing one item.
-
I've done a couple of outlines for quests now, just need to get the in the format you need. Hopefully they'll be ok and work... :)
-
I can try to write a few after sunday but yeah I will need you to double check them because I've never written one ever ;)
-
I will, of course, check everything carefully. Don't worry.
-
title: Ogre in the Forest
summary: Woodsman Ralph needs someone to deal with an ogre he found in the eastern forest. The ogre has already claimed two of his co-workers.
intro: >
The party arrives at the woodsman Ralph's house where Ralph greeted them with open arms.
He quickly led the party to the place where he first met the ogre. The party could found tracks and traces of the ogre leading back to its cave.
The party advances to fight the ogre.
challenge:
pack:
intro: > // A) Test intelligence and strength to build a bridge to get across / B) Test dexterity to connect a rope to get across but requires a theif to do this
Before entering the cave, the party is stopped by a large swamp.
A) The party quickly cuts a nearby tree to make a log bridge to get across.
B) (THEIF-NAME) crosses the swamp by jumping from one tree to another. Then he throws a rope back to his party to help them get across.
success: The party quickly crosses the swamp and enters the cave.
failure: The party has no way to cross the swamp. Ashamed and frustrated, the party leaves the area and heads back to their town.
big:
intro: > //Test for strength + dexterity (high) or strength + magic (medium - due to magic being more effective against the ogre)
As they reach the end of the cave, they finally encounter the ogre. It is tall and large. Taller than any creature the party has seen so far. Angered by the sight of intruders, the ogre grabs a nearby club and lets out a battlecry.
success: >
After a fierce battle, the ogre is finally silenced. Drenched in their foe's blood, the party beheads the ogre to keep its head as a trophy.
failure: >
After a fierce battle, the only one is left standing and it is the ogre. The creature is proven to be too strong for even these veterans.
room:
intro: >
As they enter deeper into the cave, they find an space big enough even for a giant. It is filled with hostile bats, hungry enough to eat anything they can get.
success: >
As the party draw their weapons, bats swarm them as they fall from the ceiling of the cave. The sound of battle soon dies down, leaving only the party behind. Piles of dead bats are the only thing filling the empty space beside the party.
failure: >
As the party draw their weapons, they are swarmed by the bats. They are quickly overwhelmed, forcing them to leave the area.
treasures found (rare):
intro: >
After slaying the ogre, the party finds a pile of stuff gathered by the ogre. Mostly coming from its slayed foes, the party digs through the pile to see if anything is worth any value.
success: >
The party finds bags of gold and gems. They finds many other valuable stuff but they are too much to carry so they grab the most valuable things out of the pile then leaves the area in joy.
failure: >
The pile is mostly made of ogre dungs and broken equipment. There is nothing useful. The disappointed party leaves the area.
result:
tpk: >
Woodsman Ralph waited outside for days but there was no sign of the party that went in. He still needs someone to defeat the ogre if he were to continue to make a living off of the forest.
failed: >
Bruised and broken, the party retreats. The king of the cave was too much for them. They barely made to Ralph's house only to see Ralph shut his door before them.
success: >
With the ogre defeated, the party returns proudly with a bag full of gold and a trophy to show off to. They drink and celebrate their victory in the town.
great success: > Killed the ogre + found treasures
With the ogre defeated and its treasures in the party's possession, they return proudly and happily with a wagon full of gold, gems and other valuables to show off.
-
Feedback would be appreciated.
-
firstly: please use fixed formating (insert code, # button).
second: use your own challenge names, not pack, big and room. :-)
third: don't reference trophies this way, they have their own syntax (I'll add it soon).
-
So, are you looking for something like this?
title: Zombies! Assemble!
summary: Local priest Father Simeon has sounded the alarm bell as more and more of his crypts seem to be disgorging their occupants.
intro: >
The party meet a shaken Father Simeon at the local tavern, fearful as he is of staying too close to the cemetery next to his small chapel on the outskirts of town. He tells them of strange barely
audible music coming from the forest near to the cemetery, and of the dead who wake and leave their coffins to find its source. They don't seem to be very interested in traditional living dead activities
such as menacing the living, but he can't tolerate the sanctity of the cemetery violated in such a manner. He pleads with the party to find the source of the music and remove it, so that the dead may
rest again.
challenge:
gates:
intro: >
Approaching the cemetery gates, the party is confronted with several living dead attempting to shamble away from their not so final resting places. They ignore the party, intent on shambling past
towards the woods.
success: The party correctly assumes they can safely follow from a distance and follow the dead into the forest.
failure: >
Attempting to send the living dead back to their graves backfired in the worst manner possible. The dead, putrid though they may be, are victorious.
forest:
intro: >
The forest is dark and foreboding, but then, it always is. In the distance witchfire leaps from stone to stone in some kind of clearing. However, before they get there, they are confronted by a
tombstone golem. "I smell the stench of life on you," it grumbles and attacks.
success: >
The group hastily grabs its weapons and shield, just in time to stop the murderous blows the golem deals. In a war of attrition, they manage to whittle the stone abomination down to a beligerent
pebble before dispatching it with a final blow.
failure: With little time to prepare, the group gets hammered by heavy blows. Soon, they find themselves defeated by this stone abomination.
clearing:
intro: >
In the clearing, a hooded figure sits cross-legged, playing a flute made of a dark wood. The assembled dead, hundreds of them by now, stand swaying around the figure. As the party enter the
clearing, the music stops and the figure pulls back its hood, revealing a gaunt, yet somehow striking feminine face. The woman stands and bows before barking commands in a language that
makes the party's ears hurt. The dead fix them with their empty stares and advance.
success: The party manages to wade through the masses of decomposing flesh to confront the figure at the center of it all.
failure: Overwhelmed by the hordes of living dead, the party's quest ends most abruptly.
necromancer:
intro: >
Her hordes of living dead defeated, the woman stands tall and snarls. Her fingers form complex arcane signs and she starts muttering strange incantations. The party waste no time and attack
before she can do any damage.
success: The woman attempts to wreak dark havoc on the party, but to no avail. As the final blow is struck, her dark magic dies with her.
failure: >
Too little, too late. As the party attacks, the necromancer unleashes spells that suck the life from her opponents. The party is horrendously defeated, leaving the woman in the woords to her dark
schemes.
result:
tpk: Father Simeon waits and waits, not knowing that the woman in the woods has added another few minions to her flock.
failed: >
After reporting back to Father Simeon, the party drowns its sorrows in the tavern. It's not long before another party is approached to solve the Father's problem. Perhaps they can succeed where
this party has failed.
success: Having subdued the necromancer's apprentice, the party reports back to Father Simeon and receives a token of his appreciation.
Edit: input linebreak markers and rewrote failure texts.
-
Perfect!
Now all I need is the other .yml with the quest data and I can immediately use it.
In the first posting you used > linebreaks. That was good, you should have kept it.
From the content, my feedback is:
Title could be a little shorter.
In some failure texts, you might want to make them more ambigeous, as they could result in a TPK, so nobody actually flees, for example.
-
Actually, the first one was from Lappalanch. ;)
I'll rework and provide the YAML file.
-
title: King of the Eastern Forest
summary: Woodsman Ralph needs someone to deal with an ogre he found in the eastern forest. The ogre has already claimed two of his co-workers.
intro: >
The party arrives at the woodsman Ralph's house where Ralph greeted them with open arms.
He quickly led the party to the place where he first met the ogre. The party could found tracks and traces of the ogre leading back to its cave.
The party advances to fight the ogre.
challenge:
Entrance:
intro: >
Before entering the cave, the party is stopped by a large swamp.
success: >
The party quickly crosses the swamp and enters the cave.
failure: >
The party has no way to cross the swamp. Ashamed and frustrated, the party leaves the area and heads back to their town.
Ogre:
intro: >
As they reach the end of the cave, they finally encounter the ogre. It is tall and large. Taller than any creature the party has seen so far. Angered by the sight of intruders, the ogre grabs a nearby club and lets out a battlecry.
success: >
Despite its monstrous strength, the ogre was still just a monster. After a fierce battle, the ogre falls against the party's might.
failure: >
After a fierce battle, the ogre is the only one left standing. Even for the heroes, the ogre was too much to handle.
Cave Chamber:
intro: >
As they enter deeper into the cave, they find an space big enough even for a giant. It is filled with hostile bats, hungry enough to eat anything they can get.
success: >
As the party draw their weapons, bats swarm them as they fall from the ceiling of the cave. The sound of battle soon dies down, leaving only the party behind. Piles of dead bats are the only thing filling the empty space beside the party.
failure: >
As the party draw their weapons, they are swarmed by the bats. They are quickly overwhelmed, forcing them to leave the area.
Treasures: >
intro: >
Behind where the ogre once stood, the party finds a pile of stuff gathered by the ogre. Mostly coming from its slain foes, the party digs through the pile to see if anything is worth any value.
success: >
The party finds bags of gold and gems. They finds many other valuable stuff but they are too much to carry so they grab the most valuable things out of the pile then leaves the area in joy.
failure: >
The pile is mostly made of ogre dungs and broken equipment. There is nothing useful. The disappointed party leaves the area.
result:
tpk: >
Woodsman Ralph waited outside for days but there was no sign of the party that went in. He still needs someone to defeat the ogre if he were to continue to make a living off of the forest.
failed: >
Bruised and broken, the party retreats. The king of the cave was too much for them. They barely made to Ralph's house only to see Ralph shut his door before them.
success: >
With the ogre defeated, the party returns proudly with a bag full of gold and gems to show off to. They drink and celebrate their victory in the town.
great success: >
With the ogre defeated and its treasures in the party's possession, they return proudly and happily with a wagon full of gold, gems and other valuables to show off.
-
Fixed it up a bit.
-
Technical comments to that last one:
Fix spacing, please. Check the example I posted. success and failure, for example are on the same level as intro.
-
I should really write a wizard to create quests, but I don't have time at all.
-
Okay I think I am just going to avoid doing this. I can't seem to get the spacing right.
I am using Note++ to do this and it is really hard to fix it here.
Hard as in too tedious...
-
title: King of the Eastern Forest
summary: Woodsman Ralph needs someone to deal with an ogre he found in the eastern forest. The ogre has already claimed two of his co-workers.
intro: >
The party arrives at the woodsman Ralph's house where Ralph greeted them with open arms.
He quickly led the party to the place where he first met the ogre. The party could found tracks and traces of the ogre leading back to its cave.
The party advances to fight the ogre.
challenge:
Entrance:
intro: >
Before entering the cave, the party is stopped by a large swamp.
success: >
The party quickly crosses the swamp and enters the cave.
failure: >
The party has no way to cross the swamp. Ashamed and frustrated, the party leaves the area and heads back to their town.
Ogre:
intro: >
As they reach the end of the cave, they finally encounter the ogre. It is tall and large. Taller than any creature the party has seen so far. Angered by the sight of intruders, the ogre grabs a nearby club and lets out a battlecry.
success: >
Despite its monstrous strength, the ogre was still just a monster. After a fierce battle, the ogre falls against the party's might.
failure: >
After a fierce battle, the ogre is the only one left standing. Even for the heroes, the ogre was too much to handle.
Cave Chamber:
intro: >
As they enter deeper into the cave, they find an space big enough even for a giant. It is filled with hostile bats, hungry enough to eat anything they can get.
success: >
As the party draw their weapons, bats swarm them as they fall from the ceiling of the cave. The sound of battle soon dies down, leaving only the party behind. Piles of dead bats are the only thing filling the empty space beside the party.
failure: >
As the party draw their weapons, they are swarmed by the bats. They are quickly overwhelmed, forcing them to leave the area.
Treasures: >
intro: >
Behind where the ogre once stood, the party finds a pile of stuff gathered by the ogre. Mostly coming from its slain foes, the party digs through the pile to see if anything is worth any value.
success: >
The party finds bags of gold and gems. They finds many other valuable stuff but they are too much to carry so they grab the most valuable things out of the pile then leaves the area in joy.
failure: >
The pile is mostly made of ogre dungs and broken equipment. There is nothing useful. The disappointed party leaves the area.
result:
tpk: >
Woodsman Ralph waited outside for days but there was no sign of the party that went in. He still needs someone to defeat the ogre if he were to continue to make a living off of the forest.
failed: >
Bruised and broken, the party retreats. The king of the cave was too much for them. They barely made to Ralph's house only to see Ralph shut his door before them.
success: >
With the ogre defeated, the party returns proudly with a bag full of gold and gems to show off to. They drink and celebrate their victory in the town.
great success: >
With the ogre defeated and its treasures in the party's possession, they return proudly and happily with a wagon full of gold, gems and other valuables to show off.
-
I tried to line them up a bit better. I don't know if I will be able to do it better than that. I'd like to avoid rewriting the whole thing.
-
I don't quite understand how progress works.
So if you set the first part of the quest to be progress 3 then they will gain 3 when they complete the first part?
So if they finish let's say 3 parts with 3 progress each, they will reach 9 progress and if there is another part that requires 9 progress, you trigger that part?
-
# Quest: King of the Eastern Forest
# written by Lapallanch
min_level: 5
max_level: 8
challenges:
entrance:
level: [5,5]
progress: 1
test: [strength, 25] || [dexterity, 22] || [intelligence, 19]
success:
damage: 0
xp: 350
gold: 0
failure:
group_damage: 8
Cave Chamber:
level: [6,6]
progress: 1
test: [damage, 24]
success:
damage: 15
xp: 500
gold: 80
failure:
group_damage: 10
Ogre:
level: [7,7]
progress: 5
test: [damage, 30] && [strength, 25] && [toughness, 20] || [damage, 30] && [strength, 20] && [intelligence, 17]
success:
xp: 2000
gold: 240
failure:
group_damage: 25
attribute_damage: [strength, 3] && [toughness, 3] && [dexterity, 3]
Treasures:
level: [8,8]
endboss: true
test: [intelligence, 20]
success:
xp: 300
gold: 560
failure:
xp: 150
gold: 0
-
I don't quite understand how progress and level work so I just put random numbers for those.
-
Thanks for working on this so we can streamline everything.
Firstly, spacing in YAML is everything, so it has to be 100% perfect. In your text, now the text lines are off. If you use the > and continue on next line, that line must be indented 2 spaces more than the key line.
Secondly, in the quest thing, you cannot at this time use more than one attribute for a test. It just doesn't work.
Thirdly, you are mixing up character and progress levels, and I'm sorry that I named both of it "level". One is meant to be something like a dungeon level. 5-8 for a quest is very high, no characters at this time are that level.
Progress works like this, yes. In your example, the quest would fail immediately, because there is no challenge with progress 0 (where it starts). And because after "entrance" it won't find another valid challenge - it gains 1 progress for completing "entrance" and it's then looking for a challenge with progress 1. It seems you had the right idea but mixed up the two different levels. If you substract 5 from all of your challenge levels, it might work until "Ogre". Then it adds 5 and looks for a challenge at level 12.
I didn't think it's so difficult. I probably need some much better documentation.
-
So dungeon levels and character levels are different?
Isn't it something like a lv5 dungeon can be cleared a lv5 party? It is pretty confusing.
I hope this is better.
# Quest: King of the Eastern Forest
# written by Lapallanch
min_level: 4
max_level: 6
challenges:
entrance:
level: [0,1]
progress: 1
test: [strength, 30]
success:
damage: 0
xp: 350
gold: 0
failure:
group_damage: 8
cave Chamber:
level: [1,2]
progress: 1
test: [damage, 24]
success:
damage: 15
xp: 500
gold: 80
failure:
group_damage: 10
ogre:
level: [2,3]
progress: 5
test: [damage, 35]
success:
xp: 2000
gold: 240
failure:
group_damage: 25
attribute_damage: [strength, 3]
treasures:
level: [3,4]
endboss: true
test: [intelligence, 20]
success:
xp: 300
gold: 560
failure:
xp: 150
gold: 0
-
title: King of the Eastern Forest
summary: Woodsman Ralph needs someone to deal with an ogre he found in the eastern forest. The ogre has already claimed two of his co-workers.
intro: >
The party arrives at the woodsman Ralph's house where Ralph greeted them with open arms.
He quickly led the party to the place where he first met the ogre. The party could found tracks and traces of the ogre leading back to its cave.
The party advances to fight the ogre.
challenge:
entrance:
intro: >
Before entering the cave, the party is stopped by a large swamp.
success: >
The party quickly crosses the swamp and enters the cave.
failure: >
The party has no way to cross the swamp. Ashamed and frustrated, the party leaves the area and heads back to their town.
ogre:
intro: >
As they reach the end of the cave, they finally encounter the ogre. It is tall and large. Taller than any creature the party has seen so far. Angered by the sight of intruders, the ogre grabs a nearby club and lets out a battlecry.
success: >
Despite its monstrous strength, the ogre was still just a monster. After a fierce battle, the ogre falls against the party's might.
failure: >
After a fierce battle, the ogre is the only one left standing. Even for the heroes, the ogre was too much to handle.
cave Chamber:
intro: >
As they enter deeper into the cave, they find an space big enough even for a giant. It is filled with hostile bats, hungry enough to eat anything they can get.
success: >
As the party draw their weapons, bats swarm them as they fall from the ceiling of the cave. The sound of battle soon dies down, leaving only the party behind. Piles of dead bats are the only thing filling the empty space beside the party.
failure: >
As the party draw their weapons, they are swarmed by the bats. They are quickly overwhelmed, forcing them to leave the area.
treasures: >
intro: >
Behind where the ogre once stood, the party finds a pile of stuff gathered by the ogre. Mostly coming from its slain foes, the party digs through the pile to see if anything is worth any value.
success: >
The party finds bags of gold and gems. They finds many other valuable stuff but they are too much to carry so they grab the most valuable things out of the pile then leaves the area in joy.
failure: >
The pile is mostly made of ogre dungs and broken equipment. There is nothing useful. The disappointed party leaves the area.
result:
tpk: >
Woodsman Ralph waited outside for days but there was no sign of the party that went in. He still needs someone to defeat the ogre if he were to continue to make a living off of the forest.
failed: >
Bruised and broken, the party retreats. The king of the cave was too much for them. They barely made to Ralph's house only to see Ralph shut his door before them.
success: >
With the ogre defeated, the party returns proudly with a bag full of gold and gems to show off to. They drink and celebrate their victory in the town.
great success: >
With the ogre defeated and its treasures in the party's possession, they return proudly and happily with a wagon full of gold, gems and other valuables to show off.
Fixed indentations. I think...
-
So, I've reworked the story file and including the YAML file for the backend. Some of the values were guesswork, most definitely the one for the trophy. But I'm sure you'll happily edit anything that's amiss. ;)
title: The Necromancer's Song
summary: Local priest Father Simeon has sounded the alarm bell as more and more of his crypts seem to be disgorging their occupants.
intro: >
The party meet a shaken Father Simeon at the local tavern, fearful as he is of staying too close to the cemetery next to his small chapel on the outskirts of town. He tells them of strange barely
audible music coming from the forest near to the cemetery, and of the dead who wake and leave their coffins to find its source. They don't seem to be very interested in traditional living dead activities
such as menacing the living, but he can't tolerate the sanctity of the cemetery violated in such a manner. He pleads with the party to find the source of the music and remove it, so that the dead may
rest again.
challenge:
gates:
intro: >
Approaching the cemetery gates, the party is confronted with several living dead attempting to shamble away from their not so final resting places. They ignore the party, intent on shambling past
towards the woods.
success: The party correctly assumes they can safely follow from a distance and follow the dead into the forest.
failure: >
Attempting to send the living dead back to their graves backfired in the worst manner possible. The dead, putrid though they may be, are victorious.
forest:
intro: >
The forest is dark and foreboding, but then, it always is. In the distance witchfire leaps from stone to stone in some kind of clearing. However, before they get there, they are confronted by a
tombstone golem. "I smell the stench of life on you," it grumbles and attacks.
success: >
The group hastily grabs its weapons and shield, just in time to stop the murderous blows the golem deals. In a war of attrition, they manage to whittle the stone abomination down to a beligerent
pebble before dispatching it with a final blow.
failure: With little time to prepare, the group gets hammered by heavy blows. Soon, they find themselves defeated by this stone abomination.
clearing:
intro: >
In the clearing, a hooded figure sits cross-legged, playing a flute made of a dark wood. The assembled dead, hundreds of them by now, stand swaying around the figure. As the party enter the
clearing, the music stops and the figure pulls back its hood, revealing a gaunt, yet somehow striking feminine face. The woman stands and bows before barking commands in a language that
makes the party's ears hurt. The dead fix them with their empty stares and advance.
success: The party manages to wade through the masses of decomposing flesh to confront the figure at the center of it all.
failure: Overwhelmed by the hordes of living dead, the party's quest ends most abruptly.
necromancer:
intro: >
Her hordes of living dead defeated, the woman stands tall and snarls. Her fingers form complex arcane signs and she starts muttering strange incantations. The party waste no time and attack
before she can do any damage.
success: The woman attempts to wreak dark havoc on the party, but to no avail. As the final blow is struck, her dark magic dies with her.
failure: >
Too little, too late. As the party attacks, the necromancer unleashes spells that suck the life from her opponents. The party is horrendously defeated, leaving the woman in the woords to her dark
schemes.
result:
tpk: Father Simeon waits and waits, not knowing that the woman in the woods has added another few minions to her flock.
failed: >
After reporting back to Father Simeon, the party drowns its sorrows in the tavern. It's not long before another party is approached to solve the Father's problem. Perhaps they can succeed where
this party has failed.
success: Having subdued the necromancer's apprentice, the party reports back to Father Simeon and receives a token of his appreciation.
# Quest: The Necromancer's Song
# written by Ferry Bazelmans <crayne_vamp@hotmail.com>
min_level: 3
max_level: 6
challenges:
gates:
level: [0,2]
progress: 2
test: [Wisdom, 15]
success:
damage: 0
xp: 150
gold: 0
failure:
damage: 15
forest:
level: [2,4]
progress: 1
test: [Damage, 20]
success:
damage: 15
xp: 300
gold: 0
failure:
damage: 30
clearing:
level: [3,5]
test: [Damage, 25]
success:
xp: 100
gold: 60
failure:
group_damage: 5
attribute_damage: [strength, 2]
necromancer:
level: [5,8]
endboss: true
trophy: ["The Necromancer's Flute", 3, 1]
test: [Magic, 25]
success:
xp: 400
gold: 100
failure:
group_damage: 10
attribute_damage: [Toughness, 4]
-
So dungeon levels and character levels are different?
Isn't it something like a lv5 dungeon can be cleared a lv5 party? It is pretty confusing.
Yes, QUEST levels relate to CHARACTER levels. Basically, parties will look for dungeons that are within their character level range.
However, CHALLENGE levels have nothing to do with either, they should be called "steps" or "progression" or something. They relate only to the PROGRESS parameter.
-
title: The Necromancer's Song
My review:
- It's not a 3-6 quest. Level 6 is quite high. Maybe a 2-4 quest, or if you want to keep damage values high, 3-4
- 150 xp for the first challenge seems high, it's a simple test with no bad consequences. 50 or 100 maybe?
- Also the 1st challenge could be one that can be continued even if they fail the test, in which case there would be battle with damage, but they follow the next group or something.
- "clearing" lacks a progress parameter
- In general, the progress is not entirely clear. You seem to want it linear, why not use simple +1 everywhere?
- The forest / golem fight - 30 damage is a LOT. It can be done (I've done it in Deathtrap Dungeon), but understand that it really is massive.
- I don't understand why the clearing fight deals no damage on success. If that's intentional, make the text more clear as to why.
- Likewise, why it deals group damage and attribute damage is not clear. Fights usually cause normal damage (in marching order), so the fighters can shield the squishies.
- 10 group damage in the end fight will almost certainly kill one or two squishies. Group damage is EVERYONE. On a typical 4-character-party, this is the equivalent of 40-50 normal damage.
- Toughness -4 is just insane. -1 is normal, -2 is serious, -3 I would reserve for dragons and djinns. It will take 6-10 quests to recover that damage!
Aside from those things, it looks like a really cute quest.
-
# Quest: King of the Eastern Forest
My feedback:
- again, group damage everywhere, and very high values.
- strength 30 is a very high test. Characters typically have 5 or so in most attributes, on average, ignoring class. So a 4-character party can bring on average about 20 to a test, plus items. +10 from items is rare, they will have to use magic already.
- you give a LOT of xp for all challenges. My challenges typically have around 100 for normal challenges, 200 for tough ones, and 300 for extremely difficult end-bosses. Don't forget that all of them add up.
- "cave Chamber" - yaml keys cannot contain spaces and should be all lowercase.
- with ogre being 2-3 and progress 5, treasures will not be reached on success, because 2+5 = 7 (and 3+5 = 8).
- again, attribute_damage above 1 should be rare.
- gold 500 is also quite a lot. Again, remember it adds up. In this quest, they can take almost 900 gold, wow.
- group_damage 25 is a nearly guaranteed TPK. That should be reserved for much higher level quests.
- in general, by the story and events, this is a low-level quest and should be scaled down accordingly.
aside from that, it's a nice read and a cute small quest. Very nice.
-
Values are high because I was originally aiming this quest to be a higher level quest, dangerous but worth the effort for parties so they can replace their items to buy magical items.
Also, I don't think it is not necessarily a bad thing to make people use magic more. We are starting to see parties with too many potions and scrolls. They are being lost more often than being used at the moment.
-
title: King of the Eastern Forest
summary: Woodsman Ralph needs someone to deal with an ogre he found in the eastern forest. The ogre has already claimed two of his co-workers.
intro: >
The party arrives at the woodsman Ralph's house where Ralph greeted them with open arms.
He quickly led the party to the place where he first met the ogre. The party could found tracks and traces of the ogre leading back to its cave.
The party advances to fight the ogre.
challenge:
entrance:
intro: >
Before entering the cave, the party is stopped by a large swamp.
success: >
The party quickly crosses the swamp and enters the cave.
failure: >
The party has no way to cross the swamp. Ashamed and frustrated, the party leaves the area and heads back to their town.
ogre:
intro: >
As they reach the end of the cave, they finally encounter the ogre. It is tall and large. Taller than any creature the party has seen so far. Angered by the sight of intruders, the ogre grabs a nearby club and lets out a battlecry.
success: >
Despite its monstrous strength, the ogre was still just a monster. After a fierce battle, the ogre falls against the party's might.
failure: >
After a fierce battle, the ogre is the only one left standing. Even for the heroes, the ogre was too much to handle.
cave_chamber:
intro: >
As they enter deeper into the cave, they find an space big enough even for a giant. It is filled with hostile bats, hungry enough to eat anything they can get.
success: >
As the party draw their weapons, bats swarm them as they fall from the ceiling of the cave. The sound of battle soon dies down, leaving only the party behind. Piles of dead bats are the only thing filling the empty space beside the party.
failure: >
As the party draw their weapons, they are swarmed by the bats. They are quickly overwhelmed, forcing them to leave the area.
treasures: >
intro: >
Behind where the ogre once stood, the party finds a pile of stuff gathered by the ogre. Mostly coming from its slain foes, the party digs through the pile to see if anything is worth any value.
success: >
The party finds bags of gold and gems. They finds many other valuable stuff but they are too much to carry so they grab the most valuable things out of the pile then leaves the area in joy.
failure: >
The pile is mostly made of ogre dungs and broken equipment. There is nothing useful. The disappointed party leaves the area.
result:
tpk: >
Woodsman Ralph waited outside for days but there was no sign of the party that went in. He still needs someone to defeat the ogre if he were to continue to make a living off of the forest.
failed: >
Bruised and broken, the party retreats. The king of the cave was too much for them. They barely made to Ralph's house only to see Ralph shut his door before them.
success: >
With the ogre defeated, the party returns proudly with a bag full of gold and gems to show off to. They drink and celebrate their victory in the town.
great success: >
With the ogre defeated and its treasures in the party's possession, they return proudly and happily with a wagon full of gold, gems and other valuables to show off.
-
# Quest: King of the Eastern Forest
# written by Lapallanch
min_level: 4
max_level: 6
challenges:
entrance:
level: [0,1]
progress: 1
test: [strength, 22]
success:
damage: 0
xp: 200
gold: 0
failure:
group_damage: 5
cave_chamber:
level: [1,2]
progress: 1
test: [damage, 17]
success:
damage: 15
xp: 200
gold: 80
failure:
group_damage: 10
ogre:
level: [2,4]
progress: 2
test: [damage, 20]
success:
xp: 300
gold: 100
failure:
group_damage: 12
attribute_damage: [strength, 1]
treasures:
level: [4,8]
endboss: true
test: [intelligence, 20]
success:
xp: 300
gold: 220
failure: ~
-
Values are high because I was originally aiming this quest to be a higher level quest, dangerous but worth the effort for parties so they can replace their items to buy magical items.
Also, I don't think it is not necessarily a bad thing to make people use magic more. We are starting to see parties with too many potions and scrolls. They are being lost more often than being used at the moment.
It's absolutely not a bad thing. I just wanted to make sure you are aware of what it is that will happen there.
-
# Quest: King of the Eastern Forest
This is getting very good!
One more thing I spotted: You can't give gold or XP on failure, only on success.
-
This is getting very good!
One more thing I spotted: You can't give gold or XP on failure, only on success.
Changed to 0.
-
Changed to 0.
No, remove the line entirely. It will never even be read.
-
Removed the failure section.
-
Removed the failure section.
ah. my bad, sorry.
You can't leave out sections. If you want it to have default values, they syntax is:
failure: ~
(tilde character)
-
ah. my bad, sorry.
You can't leave out sections. If you want it to have default values, they syntax is:
failure: ~
(tilde character)
Done.
-
It's not a 3-6 quest. Level 6 is quite high. Maybe a 2-4 quest, or if you want to keep damage values high, 3-4
Edited
150 xp for the first challenge seems high, it's a simple test with no bad consequences. 50 or 100 maybe?
The reason I put it that high is because from an OOC perspective it's an important lesson: don't always attack just because you can. But yeah, 100 is fine too. Will edit. :)
Also the 1st challenge could be one that can be continued even if they fail the test, in which case there would be battle with damage, but they follow the next group or something.
Right, so change the failure text and the way I think quests work. ;)
"clearing" lacks a progress parameter
Will add
In general, the progress is not entirely clear. You seem to want it linear, why not use simple +1 everywhere?
I thought all quests are linear. Still not sure how progress works in that respect. When they do a challenge and succeed, it checks whether there's a challenge with the new progress level, if not, it repeats a previous one until they do gain enough progress to advance to the next challenge?
The forest / golem fight - 30 damage is a LOT. It can be done (I've done it in Deathtrap Dungeon), but understand that it really is massive.
Eh, it can go down. I was guessing there.
I don't understand why the clearing fight deals no damage on success. If that's intentional, make the text more clear as to why.
Probably an oversight on my part. Will reread and edit accordingly.
Likewise, why it deals group damage and attribute damage is not clear. Fights usually cause normal damage (in marching order), so the fighters can shield the squishies.
Probably a remnant of a copy/paste action, since this quest contains one challenge more than your Rats example. Will edit.
10 group damage in the end fight will almost certainly kill one or two squishies. Group damage is EVERYONE. On a typical 4-character-party, this is the equivalent of 40-50 normal damage.
Will tone down.
Toughness -4 is just insane. -1 is normal, -2 is serious, -3 I would reserve for dragons and djinns. It will take 6-10 quests to recover that damage!
Let's not do that then. -2 should be enough.
-
Edited:
title: The Necromancer's Song
summary: Local priest Father Simeon has sounded the alarm bell as more and more of his crypts seem to be disgorging their occupants.
intro: >
The party meet a shaken Father Simeon at the local tavern, fearful as he is of staying too close to the cemetery next to his small chapel on the outskirts of town. He tells them of strange barely
audible music coming from the forest near to the cemetery, and of the dead who wake and leave their coffins to find its source. They don't seem to be very interested in traditional living dead activities
such as menacing the living, but he can't tolerate the sanctity of the cemetery violated in such a manner. He pleads with the party to find the source of the music and remove it, so that the dead may
rest again.
challenge:
gates:
intro: >
Approaching the cemetery gates, the party is confronted with several living dead attempting to shamble away from their not so final resting places. They ignore the party, intent on shambling past
towards the woods.
success: The party correctly assumes they can safely follow from a distance and follow the dead into the forest.
failure: >
Attempting to send the living dead back to their graves backfired and the dead are victorious while the survivors lick their wounds.
forest:
intro: >
The forest is dark and foreboding, but then, it always is. In the distance witchfire leaps from stone to stone in some kind of clearing. However, before they get there, they are confronted by a
tombstone golem. "I smell the stench of life on you," it grumbles and attacks.
success: >
The group hastily grabs its weapons and shield, just in time to stop the murderous blows the golem deals. In a war of attrition, they manage to whittle the stone abomination down to a beligerent
pebble before dispatching it with a final blow.
failure: With little time to prepare, the group gets hammered by heavy blows. Soon, they find themselves defeated by this stone abomination.
clearing:
intro: >
In the clearing, a hooded figure sits cross-legged, playing a flute made of a dark wood. The assembled dead, hundreds of them by now, stand swaying around the figure. As the party enter the
clearing, the music stops and the figure pulls back its hood, revealing a gaunt, yet somehow striking feminine face. The woman stands and bows before barking commands in a language that
makes the party's ears hurt. The dead fix them with their empty stares and advance.
success: The party manages to wade through the masses of decomposing flesh to confront the figure at the center of it all.
failure: Overwhelmed by the hordes of living dead, the party's quest ends most abruptly.
necromancer:
intro: >
Her hordes of living dead defeated, the woman stands tall and snarls. Her fingers form complex arcane signs and she starts muttering strange incantations. The party waste no time and attack
before she can do any damage.
success: The woman attempts to wreak dark havoc on the party, but to no avail. As the final blow is struck, her dark magic dies with her.
failure: >
Too little, too late. As the party attacks, the necromancer unleashes spells that suck the life from her opponents. The party is horrendously defeated, leaving the woman in the woords to her dark
schemes.
result:
tpk: Father Simeon waits and waits, not knowing that the woman in the woods has added another few minions to her flock.
failed: >
After reporting back to Father Simeon, the party drowns its sorrows in the tavern. It's not long before another party is approached to solve the Father's problem. Perhaps they can succeed where
this party has failed.
success: Having subdued the necromancer's apprentice, the party reports back to Father Simeon and receives a token of his appreciation.
# Quest: The Necromancer's Song
# written by Ferry Bazelmans <crayne_vamp@hotmail.com>
min_level: 2
max_level: 4
challenges:
gates:
level: [0,2]
progress: 1
test: [Wisdom, 15]
success:
damage: 0
xp: 75
gold: 0
failure:
damage: 15
forest:
level: [2,4]
progress: 2
test: [Damage, 20]
success:
damage: 10
xp: 250
gold: 0
failure:
damage: 20
clearing:
level: [4,6]
progress: 2
test: [Damage, 25]
success:
damage: 10
xp: 100
gold: 60
failure:
damage: 15
necromancer:
level: [6,8]
endboss: true
trophy: ["The Necromancer's Flute", 3, 1]
test: [Magic, 25]
success:
xp: 400
gold: 100
failure:
group_damage: 6
attribute_damage: [Toughness, 2]
-
title: Punch the Cultist
summary: Priest Anthoni needs a party to deal with a strange cult that has settled in his town. He wants these heretical practices to stop before it threatens the holy faith.
intro: >
The party arrives in a small town where they are greeted by Priest Anthoni. He asks the party to search the hideout of the vile cult and stop them before they begin to influence the minds of the good people of the town. The party departs immediately to find clues about the cult.
challenge:
investigation:
intro: >
The party goes around the town, asking people about the strange cult that has rooted in the town.
success: >
The party finds someone who claims to have attended a sermon held by the cult.
failure: >
The investigation comes to a halt due to being unable to find a lead. Disappointed, the party returns to the displeased priest.
predicament:
intro: >
The person who claimed to have attended a sermon turns out to be a cultist! He has led the party to a trap! The cultist and corrupted townsfolk surround the party.
success: >
Despite being outnumbered four to one, the party manages to defeat the cultist and his underlings. Now it is time to find the rest of the cult.
failure: >
The party is quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of townsfolk surrounding them. Soon no one from the party shows any sign of resistance. Relieved by their victory, the cultist and townsfolk leave the devastated party behind.
trap:
intro: >
After defeating the first cultist, the party enters what seems to be the cult's hideout. It leads to an underground compartment. As the last member of the party enters the underground structure, the party hears something trigger beneath them.
success: >
The moment they hears the sound, everyone jumps to a nearest room. As they jump, streams of fire burn the place they stood just a moment ago.
failure: >
Before the party could react, streams of fire engulf the party. The trap burns the party to a crisp.
panther: >
intro: >
As the party travels deeper into the structure, they find a cage big enough to imprison a large beast. Strangely enough, the gate of the cage is not closed. As they approach the cage, they realize that someone... or something is watching them from the cage. The party throws a torch into the cage to check and at the same time, something dark jumps out of the cage to attack the party.
success: >
The party strikes the dark creature down before it can harm anyone. The creature gets a quick death. The creature turns out to be an abnormally large panther. What is it doing here?
failure: >
The shadowy figure strikes the party's most vulnerable member down first then one by one it brings the party to submission. The figure turns out to be a large panther, bigger than anything the party has seen before.
cult: >
intro: >
The party finally arrives in a large room, full of armed people wearing black robes. It is obvious that these people are what the party has been looking for. Behind the armed cultists, one person stands out. He is the only one wearing a red robe. He shouts in a strange language which makes all the cultists to attack the party.
success: >
The party leaves only dead bodies in their trail. There is only one enemy left to deal with. The leader of the cult.
failure: >
The cultists defeat the party without trouble. They corner the party quickly then attack them until they finally break.
vile_cultist: >
intro: >
The party draws weapons as the cult leader recites a some sort of mantra in an unknown language. Before the party can do anything, his robe expanses along with his body. The cult leader turns out to be a demon in hiding! Time to put this vile creature down before it can cause more chaos!
success: >
The demon showed why people are so afraid of its kind. Its inhuman strength and speed cornered the party few times. Its fire breathing mouth turned nearby objects to ashes. However, at the end, the party manages to strike a fatal blow into the demon's heart. As it turns into ashes, the party leaves the room.
failure: >
The party fought valiantly but it wasn't enough to defeat the demon. The demon quickly crushes the last standing member of the party. As the last member falls to the ground, the demon's mocking laughter echoes through the whole underground compartment.
tpk: >
Priest Anthoni awaits for the party to return but he soon realizes the party has failed. After all, he is the one who is called for their funeral.
failed: >
Bruises and cuts are the only reward they are getting for today. The party returns without much to show. At least they are alive.
success: >
With both the cult and the demon leading it vanquished, peace has returned to the town. The party returns to the town with Priest Anthoni's blessing and rewards he has promised.
-
# Quest: Punch the Cultist
# written by Lapallanch
min_level: 4
max_level: 7
challenges:
investigation:
level: [0,2]
progress: 2
test: [Wisdom, 18]
success:
damage: 0
xp: 100
gold: 0
failure: ~
predicament:
level: [2,4]
progress: 2
test: [Strength, 18]
success:
group_damage: 2
xp: 200
gold: 40
failure:
group_damage: 4
attribute_damage: [Strength, 1]
trap:
level: [4,6]
progress: 2
test: [Dexterity, 17]
success:
damage: 0
xp: 250
gold: 0
failure:
group_damage: 5
attribute_damage: [Toughness, 1]
panther::
level: [4,6]
progress: 2
test: [Dexterity, 20]
success:
damage: 0
xp: 300
gold: 0
failure:
damage: 20
cult:
level: [6,8]
progress: 2
test: [Damage, 20]
success:
damage: 12
xp: 300
gold: 100
failure:
group_damage: 5
attribute_damage: [Toughness, 1]
vile_cultist:
level: [8,10]
endboss: true
test: [Toughness, 22]
success:
xp: 400
gold: 250
failure:
group_damage: 6
attribute_damage: [Strength, 2]
-
I think I need to write a quest-checker. That would be really cool to have.
-
You can now check basic syntax and consistency here:
http://shopkeeper.lemuria.org/game/questmaker
It is not yet complete, but it already checks a lot of things.
-
Okay. Despite Panther section having a failure parameter, it doesn't recognize it.
Same goes for the text one. It doens't recognize panther challenge at all.
-
My two quest files (as per the latest version on page 3 of this thread) give the following results (which I'm pretty sure aren't correct ;)):
There were errors parsing your quest:
Error parsing texts: Unable to parse at line 4 (near "The party meet a shaken Father Simeon at the local tavern, fearful as he is of staying too close to the cemetery next to his small chapel on the outskirts of town. He tells them of strange barely ").
texts for challenge gates are missing
texts for challenge forest are missing
texts for challenge clearing are missing
texts for challenge necromancer are missing
Challenge trophy: unsupported parameter trophy
-
For me this:
Challenge investigation is missing the mandatory failure parameter.
texts for challenge panther: are missing
-
There's one bug where it doesn't recognize failure: ~ as correct, yet.
I'll put the others into it myself and check. I'm not 100% happy with this beast at the time, I would like to merge the importer with it or something, to get a cleaner structure and a lot better feedback, but that's a bigger task. This one was reasonably fast.
-
Necromancers Song and King of the Eastern Forest have been added as quests.
I will update the documentation for quests shortly.
-
I'm also working on a new quest builder interface:
(https://scontent-fra3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/1921204_1616311391964432_5336473262205193748_o.jpg)
In fact, you can preview it yourself (does not yet work completely):
http://shopkeeper.lemuria.org/game/questbuilder