Because of the new quest system and how it works, we've added a thread dedicated solely to quest questions, to reduce the amount of PMs we may receive.
Here you can ask anything about your character's quest that you may need to know, like what we're looking for in your quest, what the flow should be in the quest, if you want to run an idea by us before you proceed, etc.
Once you ask a question, you will be quoted with the answer, so it's much more informal than the FAQ. You can also ask questions about the new quest structure if you're unsure of how it works, since this system is brand new to the shop.
Any key points that we feel will help others will be posted in this post for fast reference.
Quest Information
Quests will now follow a word count format. All quests will have to reach an approximate 1,000 minimum in order to pass.
They will be user run adventures that can include NPCs of their own creation as well as official shop NPCs. They cannot include playable characters other than the quest taker.
Quests will be reviewed during growth grading.
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:56 am
Official NPCs
You can use official NPCs in quests if they suit the situation. Below are the NPCs and their personalities and additional information.
Stage: Legendary
Antiope is a younger member of Jauhar, practicing the healing arts, she's found her calling as a soul linker. She is a leading force for the shifters and heads most exploration/movements of the shifter people. She is a member of the council of elders that meet about the war efforts.
She is usually found in Jauhar in the shifter settlements, but is known to travel occassionally.
Personality Antiope is very bubbly and energetic, though she is wise for her years, helping to tone down some of her exuberance. She is willing to help anyone she can, and will stick up for anyone in need of assistance that she feels can't defend themselves.
Besian is Freya's husband, and a large wall of a man. He is trained as a berserker and now that the war is over, can be found helping to lead the training of the Oban army for internal defense rather than for war. His skills in hand to hand combat are more useful now, working with those needing to learn to apprehend a thief or suppress a drunkard than they were in the war, leading to a higher standing in Oba.
He resides in Oba during most of the year, spending the other odd times with his wife Freya in Zena.
Personality When they say opposites attract, they mean it with Besian and Freya. While Freya is cold and closed off, Besian is warm and friendly and always open for a good laugh. He treats most with patience, and is more likely to chuckle over a mistake than to chastise, though don't mistake his friendly attitude for soft or weak; his size and skill make him more than enough of a formidable opponent.
The Dretch (The Bug Mages)
Widely known as the Bug Mages, this ancient evil has hid in the darkest corners of Tendaji for an untold amount of time, finally arising from their slumber in the wake of the war and unrest brewing in Tendaji...
|| Brief Overview || - Subterranean species that consists only of males - Preferred class is Mage (wielding specifically fire and dark arts) - Cannot speak common, their own language sounds like clicking and humming/buzzing - While the Dretch cannot speak the common tongue, they are cunning creatures. - Insect like appearance, often wearing a cape /cowl combination - Known to be experts at escaping a situation, usually blending back into the forest without a trace
The Dretch are above all not trying to be sympathetic to the other species and will not try to communicate without hostility.
|| Dark Arts || - Soul Possession -This spell is used to freeze a target and requires the use of an item that has a reflective surface. Glass, gems, high shined metal are a few examples. Since the bug people are crude at creating elaborate things like mirrors such things would be stolen from earthlings.
The purpose of the spell is that once a earthling locks gazes with the talisman for longer than a few seconds they are trapped. Frozen on the spot, over a period of time their life force is drained from them and their soul trapped within the item. If an earthling is unable to break their gaze from the item within a twenty-four hour period their soul is trapped within the item.
It is unclear what the bug mages do with trapped souls but it is an effective trap they lay down for humanoids. The empty body although 'alive' only has forty-eight hours to survive without its soul. To retrieve the soul the item must be broken.
- Curses - Most elaborate of their curses involve the spreading of an incurable illness refereed to as the 'wasting sickness' that spreads quickly from one person to another. This illness is born from dark magic and can crop up just about anywhere. No mundane cure is known, and though treating symptoms can... slow down the progression of the sickness it will not be able to cure it. The only way to cure it is through magic using these ingredients: spore mushroom, small glow mushroom, and dirt near the roots of the great tree Aisha.
Signs of the illness include but not limited to: - high fever leading to unconsciousness - blisters on the skin - weakness in body
It would be unusual for them to waste their efforts to single out a single person as most of the curses known to them were created for the soul purpose of mass destruction.
- Domination - Perhaps the most barbaric of spells, domination allows the bug mages to control other (non humanoid) species. They have an easier time with insect types of creatures as they themselves are insect like, but this does not limit them as they have been able to control mammalian or reptilian species as well.
Typically a single 'bug man' can choose to dominate a single species of creature. A favorite is the Menzuri as they are large, intimidating and can be used as mounts. With insect species the bug men use a type of mind control which is why they are favored as a creature to dominate.
Another species is a subterranean creature called a 'Benruzi'. A larger mammalian creature which is basically blind and uses its heightened scent to track down creatures the bug mages are targeting. With large claws meant for digging and shaggy hair to keep it warm down underground this creature can be driven to climb up tries. This creature is harder to control and brute force as well calming medicinal herbs are used to keep it reigned in.
A reptilian creature found in 'the dying forest' called a 'Snariora' lives in the murky waters and is an ambush predator. Low to the ground these creatures are used for water mounts as well to dispose of prisoners they no longer have use of. Snariora is not a picky eater and will eat just about anything its serrated teeth can latch onto, often dragging its prey underwater drowning them before working on biting off large chunks and eating their quarry. Slow on land the Bug men typically use these creatures to patrol the borders of the dying forest using them to lay in wait in the still waters.
- Effigy's/Illusions - Effigy's are created to mimic a person's loved one, unable to move or react the image or illusion often is represented as unconscious, dying or sleeping. Strangely tangible, the mind is tricked into thinking that when handling the effigy that it is indeed a living person. Only upon killing the caster of the illusion will break the spell or if the effigy is broken.
- Portals - The bug people are able to use a spell that allows them to be transported to a desired location. They generally are limited to knowing the location prior to the move else it could lead to disastrous results.
- Summoning - The bug people are able to 'summon' a targeted humanoid. They MUST of have prior interaction with said humanoid and often requires a piece of hair or dried blood to bring a person to a desired location. Often times these spells fail if the person is too far away often dropping said summoned person in the 'wrong' place leaving the bug people to have to search for their quarry instead.
|| Other Classes || - Sword master - using 1-3 scimitars/short swords at once - Beast Handler - often dominates a specific species and uses them for battle or torture - 'Witch Doctor' - the 'healer' of sorts you may wish you were dead by the time he is done. Often crude in methods of healing, the witch doctor actually focus's more on fetish's/soul possession and enhancements/curses
Enki is the younger brother to Enlil and one of the leaders of the Tale people. He chooses to use custom made gauntlets as weapons, and is a member of the council for the war efforts as a voice for Tale.
Enki is usually found in Tale, though he frequently travels to Jauhar and Sauti.
Personality Enki is brash, but as a member of Tendaji's council he is also known to be able to settle a skirmish with ease. He can be hot headed, and can lash out if things are taken too far, but his arrogance and confidence usually tend to help his leadership role rather than hurt.
The older brother of Enki, Enlil joins the ranks of the other NPCs as a member of the war council. The leading practitioner of elemental magic in Tale he is usually sought out for guidance. He is also very well versed in plant life and their usage in the healing arts, though he tends to be more of a scholar than a fighter or healer. He finds his niche in researching.
Enlil rarely ever leaves Tale unless there is a very good reason to go.
Personality Enlil is calm, collected, and soft spoken. It takes a lot to ruffle his feathers, but he has a sore spot for those who are overly loud about their business, especially in public.
Eshe is the leading mystic of Alkidike and the only trained mystic at this time. She is in the process of training Kadriye, the only Alkidike that has been born so far with mystic abilities since Eshe was born. As the mystic, she tends to be preoccupied with the children of Aisha and with speaking with Aisha herself. While she is a leading member of the Alkidike, she has opted out of dealing with the war and leaves that to Yansa.
Eshe never leaves Aisha's base, traveling only so far as the elder's hut to conference with them.
Personality Eshe is distant to say the least. She's not cold in any way, but she's constantly elsewhere even when you're talking to her. It would be a rare thing for her to actually make and hold eye contact for long periods of time, but she is often full of advise and words of wisdom for other Alkidike. She takes the children of Aisha to heart and can be very emotional if something is wrong with one of the babies in her care.
Freya is not only an ice council member in Zidel, she is also a member of the council in the war efforts and the secret wife of Besian, a fire earthling and the sole reason that Tendaji knows of the war that is falling on them. Freya has followed the path of the Beast Master.
Freya is normally found in Zena, but she has a long lasting friendship with Vescillea that brings her to Sauti on occassion.
Personality Freya is a no nonsense sort of person. Cold is almost an understatement and it is hard to see what he husband sees in her. She almost never smiles, and doesn't have much of a sense of humor so don't expect jokes to go over well with her. She takes her job on the council and as a beast tamer seriously and has an intense sense of justice.
Suhuba is a merchant in Jauhar, and collects wares from around the known world to be sold or bartered. She seems to know what the gossip is in town and knows more than most about the goings on not only in Jauhar, but in what seems to be the rest of Tendaji. No one really knows how she has so many ears in so many places.
Suhuba is known to only stay in Jauhar. She doesn't travel anywhere else, but has one of the best and most successful shops in Tendaji.
Personality Suhuba is a fun loving woman, but gets too deep into gossip for her own good. She's always starting her stories with "Haven't you heard?" or "You wouldn't believe". She's nosy and somewhat pushy, but she has a keen eye for fairness and don't even think about stealing or trying to get something by her. She's often seen around with her cousin Antiope when she isn't taking care of her shop outpost.
Vescillea is one of the best known members of the wind earthlings and also has a permanent place in the council of Zena, though she rarely is seen in the council. She wanders Sauti and visits with old acquaintances, popping up in the least likely of places. Friends with Freya, she's known to soften up the cool ice earthling.
Vescillea stays mostly in Sauti, though she occasionally will travel so far as to go to Zena.
Personality Vescillea is brash and easy to rush into situations without much thought given to the consequences. She doesn't think to hold her tongue and will often get frustrated and impatient with the task at hand, sometimes giving up. This doesn't mean she can't be a good mentor, or push herself to be patient when the situation requires. She has a soft spot for the older generation and can usually be found joking with elders.
Stage: Legendary
Yansa, despite her young age, is one of the most respected elders to the Alkidike. Because she is so young, she can handle the task of leading the warriors of Aisha and is the battle head to their society. She is the spokesman for the Alkidike during war time, and even during the times of peace, being one of the only elders willing to travel.
Yansa resides on the Islands, but often travels to Jauhar. Unless given a very good reason, she will not leave her Alkidike sisters.
Personality Yansa is quiet and reserved, though head strong. She has a strong sense of loyalty and a passion for her Sisters and their way. She's known to be a woman of few words, but when she speaks it is with the wisdom of the Alkidike elders that she does so. She would not be caught speaking out in anger, managing to her head level at almost all times.
How much freedom do we have in the making of these quests?
How will you prevent characters from behaving in a stupidly overpowered manner?
Can we work with another person to produce the story, as long as it meets the word/story requirement? (as in, someone sets up prompts to assist/resemble the old format or runs it like a tabletop game (with a DM and a player) that is then transcribed)
Can we request assistance with our quest, like a refreshing prompt?
Will completion of the growth quest come before or after the sending in of the growth form?
When will character art become available?
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:00 pm
Do we have to use our Racial NPC's? Or can we have their quest involve a different one? Cause Senja will be far away from Jauhar by the time I grow her...
robot kitten
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Suhuba Captain
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Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:05 pm
robot kitten
Do we have to use our Racial NPC's? Or can we have their quest involve a different one? Cause Senja will be far away from Jauhar by the time I grow her...
You do not have to use your race's NPC. You can make your own NPCs (though they probably won't have a position of power, just common residents) or you can choose to use an NPC that would be feasible in the circumstances. I've provided where they can be found, so as long as they can be found in the area you're in you can use them. :]
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:11 pm
DraconicFeline
All right. A few questions:
How do we get a grade? How are we graded?
The staff will grade you based on how well you met the quest's criteria. We give certain marks you have to hit in the quest in order to pass. More words does not necessarily mean better grade, but there is a minimum. A's will be almost unattainable, so don't feel bad if most grades end up being B's or C's.
How much freedom do we have in the making of these quests?
As long as it's feasible in Tendaji, it's okay to use in a quest. Just nothing that doesn't exsist and if you're using official NPCs they need to stay as in character as you can.
How will you prevent characters from behaving in a stupidly overpowered manner?
We fail them. Plain and simple. It's part of the grading process. If we feel you've god modded your way through, you will not pass because it's part of our rules as a shop to not god mod.
Can we work with another person to produce the story, as long as it meets the word/story requirement? (as in, someone sets up prompts to assist/resemble the old format or runs it like a tabletop game (with a DM and a player) that is then transcribed)
No. You will be able to write it yourself. If you're stuck, or not doing well, a staff member will step in to help guide if necessary. Grades of "D" also result in continuing the quest with staff guidance.
Can we request assistance with our quest, like a refreshing prompt?
Like we said above, if you need help, yes, but you must have shown (or explained to us) that you've tried and can't get through it.
Will completion of the growth quest come before or after the sending in of the growth form?
After. We are still trying to get the art done before the quest is finished, so we need to know what kind of items you're using for edits, and the staff comes up with the quest prompt, so you have to have posted for growth for us to set it up.
When will character art become available?
We're hoping to stick with having it ready when the quest is finished, but we know that some will be very fast in finishing their quest so it might take an addition week or two before art is officially available.
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~Kiana_Nala~
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Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 5:07 pm
I'm already thinking this is a silly question to ask but just want to make sure this is alright before I go too far with this post.
Q: Are we allowed to have multiple parts to a quest? What I mean by this is, in Winta's quest she will first find out about the gold and isn't able to get a chunk of any that was brought to town, she makes the choice to go to Sauti. That would be part one. Then part two would probably be her heading to obtain some and so on. So would this be acceptable to split it up like this? Or should I try to keep it all in one post?
That's my only question for the moment but I'll try to come up with one that'll be more helpful for future quests! <3
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:29 pm
~Kiana_Nala~
I'm already thinking this is a silly question to ask but just want to make sure this is alright before I go too far with this post.
Q: Are we allowed to have multiple parts to a quest? What I mean by this is, in Winta's quest she will first find out about the gold and isn't able to get a chunk of any that was brought to town, she makes the choice to go to Sauti. That would be part one. Then part two would probably be her heading to obtain some and so on. So would this be acceptable to split it up like this? Or should I try to keep it all in one post?
That's my only question for the moment but I'll try to come up with one that'll be more helpful for future quests! <3
Nope that's totally fine. It's sort of what I mean in the first post about breaking it into smaller chunks. You can do multiple posts, and you can have separate sections, as long as it goes together as a whole and resolves all of the things we ask.
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bobaTJ
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Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 1:03 pm
How do we properly alert staff that our quest is finished? o:
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 1:12 pm
grasshopper pie
How do we properly alert staff that our quest is finished? o:
Quote Suhuba and tell us :] It can be here, the main thread, or in the quest itself. Just something that flags us down so we know. heart
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Lavender Hues
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Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:52 am
JUST A QUESTION.
The man Rastian is healing is experiencing a disease that inhibits his ability to communicate and his ability to respond when spoken to: "He is not lucid and cannot answer back to anything spoken to him."
However, given that as it is, what if Rastian were to somehow, by accident, trigger a memory using another type of sense, such as smell or touch, which the man would have a profound, but brief reaction to? (Screaming something completely unrelated to what is going on around him, suddenly gasping before falling back into bed as if nothing happened, or maybe even something as simple as opening his eyes or pushing the thing in question away before falling back asleep)
The man would only do this once to the specific stimuli and just go right back into the coma, but it would give Rastian a clue to what might be ailing him.
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:40 am
Pidgeons Go Meow X3
JUST A QUESTION.
The man Rastian is healing is experiencing a disease that inhibits his ability to communicate and his ability to respond when spoken to: "He is not lucid and cannot answer back to anything spoken to him."
However, given that as it is, what if Rastian were to somehow, by accident, trigger a memory using another type of sense, such as smell or touch, which the man would have a profound, but brief reaction to? (Screaming something completely unrelated to what is going on around him, suddenly gasping before falling back into bed as if nothing happened, or maybe even something as simple as opening his eyes or pushing the thing in question away before falling back asleep)
The man would only do this once to the specific stimuli and just go right back into the coma, but it would give Rastian a clue to what might be ailing him.
He can speak just fine, though it's garbled and gibberish mostly. The point was he can't carry a conversation or answer any questions or to any cues, since he's basically lost his mind to the illness. It's our way of saying Rastian can't communicate anything to him.
He occasionally will try to throw a fit or mutter out something incoherent, but it happens at random. He would not be lucid enough to open his eyes and push something away, and he's not strong enough at this point to cause any physical damage to anything around him (aka can barely lift his arms/legs/etc)
Does this help? The man's not in a coma, so much as… a debilitating fever. Sweats, chapped lips, pale and clammy, eyes don't focus etc.
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Lavender Hues
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Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:14 am
Suhuba
He can speak just fine, though it's garbled and gibberish mostly. The point was he can't carry a conversation or answer any questions or to any cues, since he's basically lost his mind to the illness. It's our way of saying Rastian can't communicate anything to him.
He occasionally will try to throw a fit or mutter out something incoherent, but it happens at random. He would not be lucid enough to open his eyes and push something away, and he's not strong enough at this point to cause any physical damage to anything around him (aka can barely lift his arms/legs/etc)
Does this help? The man's not in a coma, so much as… a debilitating fever. Sweats, chapped lips, pale and clammy, eyes don't focus etc.
Alright, I wasn't sure if he was in a coma or not, I'm not terribly familiar with the terminology you used. |3
Okay, so i think I can make my next part work anyway. The "stimuli" could be coincidental, but seem connected to the man's illness due to how the "stimuli" happens at the same time the man runs through a bout of gibberish. Of course, this wouldn't do anything more than make Rastian go on another book run, but it would help move things along.
Basically, what I'm saying is, Rastian might drop a bottle of incense by accident and think that a random bought of gibberish from the man is actually a reaction to the smell of the incense, which causes him to go look for more answers. Would that be a plausible thing?
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:24 am
Pidgeons Go Meow X3
Suhuba
He can speak just fine, though it's garbled and gibberish mostly. The point was he can't carry a conversation or answer any questions or to any cues, since he's basically lost his mind to the illness. It's our way of saying Rastian can't communicate anything to him.
He occasionally will try to throw a fit or mutter out something incoherent, but it happens at random. He would not be lucid enough to open his eyes and push something away, and he's not strong enough at this point to cause any physical damage to anything around him (aka can barely lift his arms/legs/etc)
Does this help? The man's not in a coma, so much as… a debilitating fever. Sweats, chapped lips, pale and clammy, eyes don't focus etc.
Alright, I wasn't sure if he was in a coma or not, I'm not terribly familiar with the terminology you used. |3
Okay, so i think I can make my next part work anyway. The "stimuli" could be coincidental, but seem connected to the man's illness due to how the "stimuli" happens at the same time the man runs through a bout of gibberish. Of course, this wouldn't do anything more than make Rastian go on another book run, but it would help move things along.
Basically, what I'm saying is, Rastian might drop a bottle of incense by accident and think that a random bought of gibberish from the man is actually a reaction to the smell of the incense, which causes him to go look for more answers. Would that be a plausible thing?
That's fine, it's up to how you want to play it out. :]
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ladyumbra
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:28 pm
Questions for Kadriye's quest 1. She and Eshe do know it's triplets inside the blossom right or at the very least would assume it was twins do to size and gestation time?
2. Do you care if the parents were ones who asked Aisha for children or do you want the triplets just to be from Aisha?
3. Can I include small flashback sections in my reply? I.E Kadriye thinking about when she lead the couple to plead with Aisha long ago or if the triplets have to be unique thinking of when when she was assigned to find an appropriate set of parents and how she went about doing it?
