NPC Dialogue about prophecy

I had a thought about those NPCs that talk about the prophecy and have broken dialogue. Many of the NPCs that mention the prophecy in their dialogue do not respond when asked questions about what is the prophecy. For RP'ing purposes and also game functionality, each character should have a different iteration of the prophecy based on their own virtue - those NPCs that secretly support the Obsidian order should have a different version of the prophecy than those that support the Oracle. Those that are more "religious" should have a more standard version of the prophecy (not always exactly the same) and non-religious folk that mention the prophecy only have bits of the prophecy.

blah.

 

Good idea! Which NPCs have broken dialog for that entry though?

 

Sorry for the delay in this, but most of the NPCs and the towns they are in.


William the Reagent Trader in Owl's Head: "It is not that I needs help, but you I fear if the prophecy is true." when asked what the prophecy is - he only talks about outlanders and mainlanders - and references the prophecy again. He never goes into detail on what the prophecy is.

Todd in OH has incomplete dialogue about the fall. He discusses Daedalus and mentions the fall, but nothing else.
Emily the crafting goods merchant - "The Dire Prophecy is a mainlander legend... we don't hear much about it here." well, what do you know of it?
Thomas Strongbeard: I like his response - outlander is supposed to destroy the world or some such foolishness...
Whycliffe: "You pretend to not kow the Dire Prophecies, 'traveller'? For your sake you had better learn." His conversation at least tells you that he isn't your teacher and to look for others. This is an invitation to ask every NPC about the prophecy!
Tanderly the Farmer: "The Dire Prophecy is a mainlander legend...we don't hear much about it here." well, what do you know of it?
James the Baker: decent response - "destroy the world or some such..."

Ardoris:
Pintar: "I have enough to think about of late without the impact of what havoc you outlanders might wreak." needs more detail.
Siranto: good response
Banting: good response: "not enough time to give history lessons"
Johann Morton the Alchemist: when asked about the prophecy: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Adranus Silk the Tailor: "If you say so."
Tanya Cumpston: directs you to the oracle.
Wuylith the Butcher: "If you say so."
Sockeye Salmon: "Hmm."
Samuel Redstone: "Hmm."
Saera Nightbloom: "Hmm."
William McCavity: directs you to the oracle.
Adelade the Baker: "I'm not sure what you mean."
Laoric the Fletcher: "I'm not sure what you mean."
Jeffrey Post: "I only know the basics on the prophecies" - ummm, what are the basics?
Captain Cugel: directs you the oracle
Digit: "if you say so"
Simone von Eglinger: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Farrokh Bulsara: "The oracle can tell you more of the prophecies" That implies that he could tell me something....
Guildmaster Naoko Khan: good answer - doesn't look to the future for answers.
Akiel von Strife: prophecy and avatar creates a vicious circle of the same text with different underlined words.
Draulius: "If you say so."
Emma the barmaid: consult the oracle
Keirnon - "The oracle can tell you more" - well, tell me something before you tell me that the oracle can tell me more!
Griselda, Birko Babbage, and Kamran Khan = no dialogue.
Blackmoor the Trainer: not yet prepared to chat.
Min Liang Tan: good answer: "I am not a follower of prophecy. rocks...stream..."
Doris Jeanette: "If you say so"
Christoph Schneider: "If you say so."
Darcy of Paxlair: go consult the oracle
Shaaria Barista: go consult the oracle
Alaina Post: only knows the basics, but won't divulge what those are.
Samael: "The ages have seen many prophecies. It is not for me to judge their worth." Well, you should tell me some prophecies then.
Kardan Marbane: blah "tales of legend" be specific man!
Zangoff: "Hmm."
Sheng Lau: good answer - do I look like I care?
Torin Silverfoot: go talk to the oracle
Jude: good answer - "can you spare a coin" more information should be divulged after that what kind of beggar doesn't have some tidbit of information.
Beatrice Arrondale: good answer - don't worry yourself with that, buy a house!
Ingvar the carpenter: I don't understand. Could you explain"
Ensorcio: "I've seen your kind before!" really now? and what is the prophecy pray tell?
Sabine Eichner: I'm not sure what you mean."
Oracle: *bug* "dirae" word that means Furies - but no other mention of the furies? Is it supposed to be "dire"? Gives the oracle's version of the prophecy in ALL CAPS!
Damai & Chantik: "not my role to reflect on the prophecy"
Khasi: Avatar and prophecy create a dialogue loop - at least she gives the prophecy in a non-riddle way.
Daria: "Hmm."
Martin: ""I'm not sure what you mean."
Elizabeth: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Timothy: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"


Soltown:
Refugees from Solace Bridge
Raymond: "Hmm."
Jeanne: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Linda: "I'm not sure what you mean."
NPCs that are sitting refuse to budge and talk.

Stanley the guard: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Evans: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Chad the beggar: I'm not sure what you mean"
Richard James: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Porto: "Hmm."
Japeth: "Hmm."
Bentley: "I'm not sure what you mean."
Stan Clarke the Bard: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Emma the Bardmaid: "Hmm."

Solace Bridge:
Edvard: You need to seek out the Oracle.
Kiakis: "If you say so."

Solania:
Tyler: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Tania: "I'm not sure what you mean."
Corven: "I'm not sure what you mean."
Meredith: "I'm not sure what you mean."
Andrew: "Hmm."
Holly the Fisherwoman: "I'm not sure what you mean."
Beverly: "If you say so."
Mark: "I don't understand. Could you explain."
Janice: "Hmm."
Terrence: "I don't understand. Could you explain?"
Cerrith: It seems designed to scare people, and reality is frightening enough...?" answer to her question = "if you say so."
Craigstone: ask the oracle.
Allen: "Well, I didn't pay much heed to it until the undead started killing everyone they could catch up to. Now, it makes you think, doesn't it." there should be more.
Sally Hoyt: I'm not sure what you mean."
Gerald Hoyt: good answer - we were supposed to learn it as children, didn't pay attention....ask Sally...^^
Guard Captain Thornhill: "I'm not sure what you mean."
Prefect Zhou: "If you say so."

 

Some of this is my fault. I submitted dialogue for the non-plot NPCs in Owl's Head (and I'm doing the same for Ardoris). They don't have good answers about the prophecy for two reasons.

1. The Hidden Vale is intentionally removed from the mainland and the Oracle. Many of them are not experts on the subject.
2. I don't know because I've never seen full text of the Dire Prophecies anywhere myself. I can't write something I don't know when it comes to plot.

The funny thing is I just found this thread because I want to write better responses for that topic and I was searching again to see if the prophecy was ever expanded upon somewhere that I missed.

This means for the 80+ NPCs I'm submitting dialogue for in Ardoris, you're going to get more vague responses like you saw in Owl's Head. But each will be unique. None will be a copy/paste, the same I did with Owl's Head. It is no small feat finding 100+ ways to say the same thing within the context of the unique personality of each NPC.

As we see more details of the prophecy in game (beyond the basics I can infer) I might go back and change some of the responses (especially in Ardoris where they have an Oracle Confirmatory and they should be more knowledgeable about the prophecy).

To make up for it I can tell you this. Everything I wrote for Ardoris is much better than what I wrote for Owl's Head. That was literally a rushed proof of concept. The NPCs I wrote do a poor job of exposing terms you should be asking everyone (like prophecy). In Ardoris, I think every NPC I wrote responds to at least 30 topics and is roughly 900-1,000 words of dialogue. Each has a really unique personality (including 60 guards). I put a lot of time and thought into fleshing each out. I still stayed firmly in the lore and context of what is already in game, but I expanded a bit more out of the box than I did in Owl's Head. For example, I split the guard in Ardoris into 5 groups, each with a different purpose and loyalty. You can get a feel for what they think of each other. So if one guard tells you their thoughts on the Shogun, it isn't a copy/paste of 60 other guards. It is from the perspective of both their unique personality and the skewed loyalty of that faction of guards.

The guards in Ardoris are better than any NPC I wrote in Owl's Head. I don't expect most players will speak to most of them, but I intend to make it rewarding for any NPC you speak to. And if you want to speak to every NPC, you should see a different perspective from each.

The only thing I really took away from Owl's Head that I'm maintaining for Ardoris is balance of tone. Ardoris has a different culture, but I'm trying to strike the same balance of tone. Owl's Head had a grieving widow who was really emotionally distraught. It also has a silly peasant who really loved him some mutton and wanted you to know about it. There is a fun group of guards in Owl's Head where two are fighting because of an "incident" that got them in trouble, while the other two are repeat pranksters. One has a lovely lie to sell you. There will be a small smattering of NPCs that are humorous, but most will be pretty serious.

BTW, I was a slacker and didn't write for six months while my day job got nuts (had to split eBay and PayPal as companies) and dealt with family issues. But I've just started again and will be finishing up Ardoris and moving to other cities soon. I have 50+ of the 80 done and I tend to knock out 2-3 per day. I should be done in two weeks and handing it over fully. My goal is to contribute as long as they will let me and make sure every single NPC in the game has a unique personality and unique dialogue when I'm done.

Lastly, I love criticism. If there is something I did poorly or can do a better job at (such as the prophecy topic), let me know so I can improve my work in the future.