Town Quests

Towns are where people live, play and work. It is not a place that NPCs stand around, waiting for the fabled 240th Avatar to come initiate a conversation with them to automatically give the Avatar a quest. Or to just buy or sell things. Nay!

We already know about the diverse conversation system and that NPCs will have schedules. We also know that areas will be besieged upon by the Malevolent Forces and we'll eventually find out why. This at least means there will be a sense of "randomness" throughout the world which is an excellent thing to us players. Obviously at some point there will be wikis about everything but not everyone rushes to a wiki... many enjoy solving it themselves.

I would like to propose all settlements have some sort of activities/quests that people living there would typically do as part of daily life. Meaning, there might be more opportunities to do night watch jobs in a village but because a city is heavily defended, assaults happen less frequently. I would also enjoy your suggestions and feedback.

There are a few different categories of quests that could happen in town. I'd like to see some town specific ones to promote the local communities. The more these activities are done, the more the town prospers and advances.

Upkeep and Maintenance
If a city is properly maintained, it should have an influx of new NPCs, goods, etc. On the opposite side, if not maintained, a city might begin to look uncouth and attract unsavory types while some NPCs might choose to leave. What kinds of activities might be done to upkeep the town?

• Supplies are Needed - depending on some factor (random, seasonal, area specific, etc.), the town needs more of Resource X, Y, and/or Z. Pretty standard but necessary. Sometimes repeatable quests are repeatable because they need to be constantly done.
• Courier Services - Messages, goods, you name it, we'll ship it. Perhaps an NPC would like you to deliver a letter to someone on your friend list or even a random OPO player you might encounter in a nearby town or dungeon. What the NPC wants is a whole quest line/subject of its own.
• Groundskeeper - For a second, Animal Crossing weed removal popped into my mind and I chuckled. As odd as that might seem to some people, it can be quite relaxing and enjoyable for certain people (myself included). Imagine a town overgrown with brush and debris. That would add character to the area (as well as keeping it tidy, players choice). It wouldn't just be weeds though, you might be required to go to the nearby canal or moat... and you never know what you'll find doing that. There have been stories of toshers that became rich scavenging the local poo-ways. What if the Fishing skill improved your luck of unearthing items? Shut the front door!
• Pest Control - another somewhat standard but necessary activity. Depending on location it could be vermin, game, undesirables... they've got to be dealt with.

Night Watch
These types of quests are more action based. Although the name has night in it, these types of events have a chance of happening during the day as well.

• Capture or Kill the Thief - could be an NPC thief or even a player thief on the opposing side of the questline and both players would know they would be flagged for PvP beforehand)
• Animal/Monster Incursion - small groups of critters are killing the livestock. Fight them back... aahhh the wolves are coming!!
• Light Them Up - Some duties might seem pointless, but someone has to light the torches/lanterns that help with visibility during the night. If you fell asleep or went to get a pint and didn't light the torches quick enough, vandals might appear or a siege might come!
• The Roof is on Fire! - Random (or another PvPer doing an opposing quest?) fires break out and you've got to put them out. How? You should have listened to the Marshal.

Town Type Advantages

• Lords, Barons and Dukes of their town could issue Decrees on certain quests that would reward players that completing them.
• Lords, Barons and Dukes could receive taxes from these accomplishments themselves, if they were active in the process (and even not so active to simulate real life lol)

Now this fun and all for a multiplayer scenario but what about solo players? They work as well and I imagine can easily be tailored to your current skill level. My suggestion would be if the player purchased real estate in a town, options would open up for them to do these types of quests. But what if the player did not want to do "mundane tasks" but still wanted a "nice" town?

Hire help! For a price, the player could train a peasant to become a Groundskeeper, whom the player might see going about his tasks throughout town. Same goes for hiring and training guards for the town.

What other types of activities/quests might happen in a town? Any suggestions, comments, musings on this topic would be excellent! I know I've missed a bit but it's laaaaaate!

Some good reads on this subject include:
Emergent scenarios, Player and/or NPC driven ad-hoc Missions, The Quest for Questees Questing for Questers and the search feature.

 

I think you've pretty much covered the main types of activities/quests. I suspect that most players would opt for the night watch and guarding and retrieving supplies because presumably they would be more dangerous -i.e., stop the monsters/invaders terrorizing the town by slaying them near the town walls or venturing into the underground lair/camp and slaying them, capture or kill the notorious thief, griefer, protect the supply caravan from roaming groups of bandits, etc. - and hence more rewarding. You will probably have a hard time finding players willing to do the more mundane tasks. As a homeowner who would initially start off playing SPO (Single Player Online), I'm not sure how easily these more difficult tasks/quests (which are clearly designed for groups of players) could be scaled down to my current skill level.

 

Thanks for the reply @nightshadow. You'd be surprised though how many people do "mundane tasks" in games. The Sims, Animal Crossing, even in Ultima Online there were folks that would just raise plants or bees and not do much else. Especially for people that want to be part of a town, but not be in the militia or a combat position. With so many Explorer/Acheivers, I actually see Groundskeeping as a viable past time that could lead to rewarding interactions and RPing.

As for adjusting encounters, I'd imagine a system like Skyrim's difficulty settings that adjust encounters to your skill levels. Also, you might want to hire Companions more often in SPO than OPO.

 

People who have a house in that town I could see wanting it to look good.
But how many have a house there?
There might have to be another way for us to belong to a town for us to want to work there.

 

RelExpo - You're right. I guess I just never realized that there would be so many people interested in concentrating on the"mundane tasks" while others were out exploring or trying to kill each other. I also really like the idea of a Skyrim-style difficulty setting system

 

jondavis - I'm thinking most of the village lots will be spoken for by launch, town and city lots not so much (because of the high pledge cost). For those who won't have a house at launch (i.e., the majority of the players because of the limited number of lots available), presumably you'll be able to rent a room at the local inn or in someone's home (although none of this has been confirmed yet), so you'll still be able to be part of the community and perform quests. I can't imagine the developers forcing the majority of the players to camp out in the wilderness in tent cities.

 

I'd think even if you didn't own property in a town, you should still be able to do certain tasks/quests to at least raise your reputation in the area. Many won't have housing so it'd be unfair to completely restrict it.

There was a thread about questing for housing. Not necessarily for a castle or even large home but maybe for a temporary stay at an Inn for helping the Innkeeper with some issues. This might fall into that category.

 

Yea, I like that idea
I would help cleanup the area if I thought the town folk might like me better.
And maybe you would be able to find out rumors easier with a better reputation.

 

If doing those groundskeeping tasks improved your farming skill you might get more takers

 

RelExpo...a brilliant post. An elegant solution to bringing V/T/C to life. It's a great way to introduce players to new locations and the possibilities available when speaking to NPC's. It's a crime that your original post doesn't have 200 likes. And...speaking of crime...

I noticed that there is no mention of back alleys. Nothing is stirring in the shadows. Something foul is not afoot...let us change that.

Nefarious Shenanigans
Not all players will be heroes. Not all players will be "good." The path they choose to walk is darker. Yet, not everything is about assassination, kidnapping, and theft. Criminal activity comes in all shapes and sizes and one must begin somewhere...

• Supplies Are Needed - A thief steals. A fence sells. And in between is you. Where did those supplies come from? "I dunno...they fell off the back of a boat somewhere." Everyone makes a little coin.
• Collection Services - Gambling debts and over-due loan payments need to be gathered. No killing...but "leaning" is encouraged for those unwilling to pay.
• Forging Ahead - People pay great sums of money for documents, scrolls, books, and art. A copy is just as good and if they can't tell the difference...who does it hurt? One can simply drop off items, negotiate a better price or perhaps even find a new buyer.
• Information Broker - NPC's have schedules. Knowing who goes where and when can be valuable. Simply following someone about could net a small profit. Add in some light spying and eavesdropping and things can become interesting.
• Prep Work - Even the best assassins and thieves need a helping hand at times. Dropping off a bottle of poison here and hiding a dagger there can turn some coin. Perhaps leaving a gate open or distracting a NPC can be equally as profitable.

So these are just some types of work for the "darker" players. What I like is that they are "kind of" criminal activities but nothing that really lands you in jail (if there is such a thing) or having guards chase you. You can earn some gold and legimately RP being "not good."

 

There could be long-term event-style quests as well. Perhaps one in connection with the theatre we were promised? His Grace the Duke is bored. Ruling a small land in Lord British's name, whilst rewarding, involves a LOT of paperwork, and His Grace would like something to take his mind off the neverending task, and neverending bureaucracy, of Duking. He takes it into his mind to sponsor a play! He calls for actors, a script, costumers... all that he needs to turn his Theatre into a place of great entertainment, with great financial reward to those Players who entertain him the most.

What do you think?

 

Hmm.. didn't see this thread when it first came through, but in the three months since we don't have any more information on how town landholders will be able to interact with their communities other than just having a house.

These are killer community-building ideas. How many will make it in initially I don't know, but I don't think I'm hopeful. And how many will be able to be accomplished with selective multiplayer. I mean in any mode - even open - will you automatically 'see' everyone else in the town?

In essence, still so many questions about VTC.

 

I had forgotten about this topic I made. Thanks for reviving it and basically adding a whole new section that adds even more to do. I really like the idea of causing mischief. This might be something that could also flag you PvP and start encounters among players.