13 réponses à ce sujet

[PJ156]

I am working up my new town area now but have hit a stumbling block.

The party are 14th level and arrive in a new town. The main plot is decided but what can I do for subplots. I cannot do the same 100 exp quests as you can at Lv 1-5  so what can I do? I would like 1 - 2 subplots to give some interest but I am not sure what would be relevant to a 14 th level character. Fetch and carry becomes a harder model to use as levels rise and subplots that are meaningful are eluding me right now.

Thoughts on a postcard please

PJ

[Lugaid of the Red Stripes]

The first act of the Danaan Unvanquished is basically a FedEx quest for a level 12 character, but I'm sure you want to humiliate your characters in quite the same way.

I think that the first thing you have to do is stop thinking about chores the townsfolk might need done, and start thinking about how your party is going to experience the new town, the sorts of things they need to see, the places they need to go, and how the townsfolk are going to interact with them. Then you can start building side quests that explore those different issues.

So, killing legendary dire rats from the 9th circle might be a bit ridiculous, but taking a bet and wrestling the mayor's pet grizzly with nothing more than a loincloth and a wooden spoon might not be, depending on how drunk the party got at the tavern and whose daughter they inadvertently insulted. A drunken wizard fight would be interesting, too, come to think of it...

But in general, you can still do all the normal social quests, all the courier service and matchmaking and conflict resolution, as long as it makes sense within the world, and helps the player understand more of what is going on. A high-level party might not want to run errands for pocket change, but they'd still might want to forge friendly connections with the town, discover new information, or just help (or hurt) people simply because they can. If you're using your own companions, you can give them peculiar interests or particular ties to the town in order to open up a sidequest.

As for combat, undead make good high-level enemies, as any town would have its ghosts that the locals know enough to stay away from. The party could always bring trouble with them, as well, either former enemies sworn to vengeance, or thieves pursuing the well-equipped foreigners, or even some magic that the party brings with them that turns townsfolk into monsters. (Maybe after you unload your junk at the pawn shop, the shop takes the magic gear and goes mad with power, terrorizing the townsfolk)

[PJ156]

Thanks LotRS, there are some seeds in there that I can work the old brain juices on. In the end they dont have to be high rewards quests, just interesting in content.

Thanks again,

PJ

[nicethugbert]

You can do psycologically or philosophically or metaphysically or ..... based themes at any level. Can even make them auto level. You can take inspiration from anything. Take the US presidential elections. If you hate Obama, you can have some witch doctor looking npc named O'Slama or whatever there for the player to mouth off too and punch or humiliate in some way. Basically, self gratification. It can be deep or shallow, long or short, amusing or serious.

Maybe you can mock one of your neighbors in effigy. Or reference favorite TV sitcoms. Seinfeld's Soup N A Z I could inspire the Horse Shoe Tyrant.

Maybe the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will prove inspiring?

Modifié par nicethugbert, 21 octobre 2012 - 11:15 .

[Claudius33]

There are several ways you may use to build side quests for a high level party.

1/ Recurrent NPC : (usually the well I'm gifted to put me into trouble type). Even if you haven't planned anything, perhaps have you some specimens whom quests can be enhanced in the late game?

2/ Social skills rewarding quest : for instance in one of 16 Cygni 3's last town, a theater stage manager is looking for artists.

3/ Sidequests related to your main quest : for instance an enigma to find a key NPC (instead of having him just waiting for you) or location.
4/ A companion is kidnapped by baddies ...

5/ Recurrent secondary theme : for instance in 16 Cygni, I implemented a kind of large multi national trust versus "free trade" conflict. An opportunity to set up many side quests : to which side will you sell a mine you have found, investigate on exclusive selling  rights, help "modernists" or "traditionalists", ...

6/ Use a fedex or a "rats" quest but make it fun. For instance in 16 Cygni 3 your bring a "special" gift from a temple priestess to another temple priestess. Can't tell more  ... Put a dressed up rat quest in my incoming mod, but of course can't tell more ...

Hope it helps.

Modifié par Claudius33, 21 octobre 2012 - 02:05 .

[kamal_]

After the King of Shadows was defeated, it's forces scattered. All remnants were hunted down, except for one that went into hiding...

Or the fire giant remnants of Yaga Shura's army. The Bhaalspawn didn't defeat the entire army after all, just Yaga Shura.

[MokahTGS]

In my personal opinion, there is a point at which sidequests actually should be fewer and far between.  I think that is a malody that a lot of games fall into, and at some point the game should be about a tighter, more epic story.

I've started asking myself "does this module really need this bit?" or "do the gains from doing this quest really matter?"  If the answer is anywhere near a "no" for either of those, then don't add the side quest at all.

The gaming community would be better served with many more shorter, tighter stories instead of hundreds of fedex filled game worlds.  There are very few quests in Skyrim that would have passed those two questions.

In Jabberwocky, I'm actually starting with the reward as the criteria if it gets a quest or not.  I want the player to be focused on the task at hand, not wandering off aimlessly right after I just spent all this time explaining to them that the world is in peril and they need to do something about it.

[kamal_]

Sidequest that affects the main quest, doing x will make the main quest easier or gives a different option in the main quest.

Player is given a sidequest but taking the time to do it affects the main quest, often harder since the "evil wizard" will have more time to gather his forces.

Does the npc know who the heroes are, or know they are powerful, or know the world is in danger and the player is the one charged with saving it? If not they might try to give them lower level quests because they just think they're adventurers.

Highly influential npc's might want to give high level heroes quests even if they are "minor", because the npc thinks a lot of themselves (a noble for instance).

Heroes may get asked to carry out sidequests from their hirelings, guild underlings, stronghold people, other people that report in some way to the heroes.

[PJ156]

Thanks, there is a lot of ideas here and I have a way forward I think. I agree with MGS however and the quests should be plot focused and not send the PC spiralling off the main thread of the story.

I shall try to do one that is head on violence and once that is more about the politics of the situation. In this case I wll steer away from non plot related principals tasking the PC though there are some ides in the text that have got the juices flowing in a more generals sense. Thank you for your help and thoughts guys,

PJ

[Dorateen]

I don't know if this fits, PJ, but how about an escort quest? Where you actually have someone join the party and have to bring them to a destination, without them being killed.

One of the parts I enjoyed from BG2 was in the Underdark and the rescue of Phaere the drow princess. She had to kept alive during the initial mind flayer attack, before returning to the city.

Modifié par Dorateen, 22 octobre 2012 - 02:17 .

[Dann-J]

How about an 'escort the fetch and carriers' quest:

Someone has a quest that's only suitable for a level 1 party of adventurers, and they refuse to insult you by letting your level 14 party do it. You have to find the missing low-level adventurers and escort them back to safety so they can do the crappy fetch and carry quest. No doubt they've got themselves into trouble too deep for a level 1 party to deal with.

If all ends well, they promise to do more crappy fetch and carry quests until they've enough experience for something more dangerous. You can suggest they try a stint at rat extermination as well.

[Shaughn78]

With a higher level party they will more likely be involved with more of a political role. Leaders of the community will turn to you because have influence and correct domestic problems. If a community is faces with a goblin infestation they will send anyone who shows up and wants to help, and if they die the die. But if one the the community leaders or "big-wigs" is causing trouble, like manipulating the local economy for their own benefit then the community will likely turn to a well known group of adventurers. They don't a group to do a hack and slash through the local townhall, instead a more tactful solution will be needed. Once a solution is reached then the economy and trade returns giving the player a new group of stores with higher level items.

The same store improvement can be used for the local magic vendor or even the blacksmith. They need components to create items for you, perhaps special items that will bypass some of the resistances and immunities of the future bad-guy you have to defeat.

These type of side-quest don't necessarily have the big xp or gold payoff but instead open new stores and better items for the player without drifting that far from the main plot line. You could even change the store buy and sell percentage or what they will or will not buy.

By adding to rival factions the player can choose which group will gain the economic control of an area increasing one factions wares while decreasing the other. With this scenario you can create one of those moral ambiguous outcomes where there is no truly evil or good side.