Well, now that I've tried out the server some, I'd like to say a few words about the quest system. I must say I like this much better than just having groups of monsters standing around waiting to get killed by adventurers in various areas. Now, these quests, coupled with the high server-population, ensures that there are few moments of boredom. This is all well and good, but sometimes I have the feeling that this gives little time to breathe in between quests, and sometimes makes players "rush" through quests just to get to the next one. I've often felt that I don't really get to play my character properly, because scripted quests seem to make some players want to finish them off as quickly as possible, not bothering to RP while they do so (for example, discussing hints and clues left at the end of a quest).

I'm not gonna say anything about whether this is the scripted quest's fault or the player's fault, but I think the whole situation could amount to bad RP-culture, where quests are regarded mainly as a source of income and xp, and less as an arena of character interaction. DM-run quests are of course a way of relieving this, yet, as a low-level character I have as of yet not participated in one of these (although I know that many quests are run here, so this is no criticism of the DMs).

This is of course a generalization, and I'm not accusing any players in particular of being bad roleplayers or anything, merely pointing out something I perceive to be a potential problem. Any other comments on this?

The obvious problem, which I'm sure you'll soon notice as well, is that discussing the same clues and same aspects of scripted quests again and again and again does get old, even if you have some characters in the party that haven't done the quest before. I see what you're getting at, but keep in mind that you're a new player and your perspective is bound to change as well.

Moreover, it's kind of difficult to, say, arrange an investigation into the reason for a drow being revealed as commanding monsters X at the end of quest Y when said drow gets killed several times during every reset. And that's just one example of the problems associated with taking elements of a scripted quest out of their context.

Now, I'm not saying your observation is entirely without merit; but I am pointing out that there's another side to the matter that you may not have taken into account.

Well, yeah, I'm the first to admit that doing scripted quests is hard to involve in much roleplaying, since it has inevitably been done a gazillion times before. The fact that it is, however, is in my opinion no excuse for ditching roleplay altogether in favour of plowing through the scripted quests at lightspeed. At the very least, I think the pace should be such that one has a chance to play off each other's characters, and interact with one another, but not necessarily in regards to the scripted quest undertaken. Everyone with a bit of experience knows that gets old real fast. DM quests usually helps a lot on this part, and as far as I have seen so far, the DMs are doing a great job of including these as a counterpart to the scripted quests.

There are some groups that you will find that will rp their way through the whole quest (my personal favorite) while others may, as you stated, rush from one to the next and rp is fairly scant. The rushed feel to a quest is entirely driven by the players on the quest. Injected rp, good dialogue, and even well placed emotes not only slow the quests down but add the needed flavor to a scripted quest that you may have done a few times in the past. The variables are what change the experience, and the variables on a scripted quest come in two flavors, DM spice and good solid rp between characters.

If by the second quest you are not getting much out of the rp category and being overburdened by too much questing, just take a break for both IC and OOC reasons. Usually there is some rp you can poke your head in on in any of the inns if those in your party do not want to be engaging.

As The Beggar pointed out, there are people who will rp scripted quests. I myself enjoy bringing something new to them, otherwise I would get so bored that I would not do them ;)

But yes, sometimes there is also ooc hurry to do the quest as soon as possible, maybe because there is only a certain amount of time to be IG or some other reason. Well, for me it is mostly the limited time issue, though I try to not to quest if I have no time to rp at least somewhat.

This is something that can't be avoided I think, but as I see you live near my timezone, maybe we can get together IG sometime and do some quests together :)

kill_you_dead Well, yeah, I'm the first to admit that doing scripted quests is hard to involve in much roleplaying, since it has inevitably been done a gazillion times before. The fact that it is, however, is in my opinion no excuse for ditching roleplay altogether in favour of plowing through the scripted quests at lightspeed. At the very least, I think the pace should be such that one has a chance to play off each other's characters, and interact with one another, but not necessarily in regards to the scripted quest undertaken. Everyone with a bit of experience knows that gets old real fast. DM quests usually helps a lot on this part, and as far as I have seen so far, the DMs are doing a great job of including these as a counterpart to the scripted quests.

I think you have the ideal approach to quests. I don't like to see parties rush through them either. It's definately better when you get to see the characters come through. Scripted quests are opportunities to roleplay, just like everywhere else.

kill_you_dead ..."Now, these quests, coupled with the high server-population, ensures that there are few moments of boredom."

I don't know about everyone else, but I find PLENTY of moments for boredom, most of the time actually.

dead_alewives

I don't know about everyone else, but I find PLENTY of moments for boredom, most of the time actually.

Well something keeps you logging in, so it cant be all bad :D

I know for a fact that I am not always the ideal roleplayer on quests. Yes, I do roleplay things often enough, but closely examing the barf of the dead (and formerly) drunken Hobgoblins is only fun to some point. After the tenth time, I came to the conclusion I was looping. I am sorry if I may make it seem dull for some, but real roleplay wouldn't occur mostly on scripted quests. Roleplay occurs out of quests.

I am really sorry if this doesn't live up to the expectations of some, but I can only repeat the same action over and over and over and over and over again, but not beyond that. At one point it can drive you nuts (and I'm mostly speaking about the low-level, quick-to-run-through quests, i.e. Mausoleum, Crazy Jane, Brewery and so forth).

Well I find the solution for roleplaying on qeusts you've done before is not basing all your roleplay solely on the plot of the qeust but perhaps on alternative things. I mean even when you do get aqeust its never really the same your group usually gets hit in different ways by different things.

I can usually find some reason to roleplay in one way or another all through a qeust. Although in saying that its not always the case with certain smaller qeusts.

Meh, if you're bored doing the same emotes for a quest, don't. Start a conversation while you fight. (This is assuming the quest is old hat to you and your group). Like if you're killing rats for the umpteenth time for a quest, talk about what your characters are doing in Sanctuary, their goals, whatever you want to find out. You might look stupid at first, or the mysterious shadowy person might figure "what the hell I'm bored too" and you'll learn something you wouldn't have otherwise.

geez man when your doing it over and over again and lets face it, you GET SICK OF It you wanna just get it done and over with, the only time you should really be RP ing on a scripted quest if the DMs are taking control of it, that way you CAN rp something new

That is all I have to say

MexicanGunslinger geez man when your doing it over and over again and lets face it, you GET SICK OF It you wanna just get it done and over with, the only time you should really be RP ing on a scripted quest if the DMs are taking control of it, that way you CAN rp something new

That is all I have to say

Emmm did you forget [/sarcasm] ?

MexicanGunslinger geez man when your doing it over and over again and lets face it, you GET SICK OF It you wanna just get it done and over with,

Then don't do it anymore. Questing isn't all there is to this, or am I just a complete idiot :roll:

True, if you have done some quest like hundred times, it feels old, but there are so many quests to do, and so much other things to do as well. I on my behalf can say, that the little amount of time I have to play nowadays, I am not going to be spending it to grinding the same quests over and over if they feel so boring that I don't find anything to rp in them anymore.

Though I still haven't done any of the quests in efu so many times I would find them boring. :wink:

Naga Well I find the solution for roleplaying on qeusts you've done before is not basing all your roleplay solely on the plot of the qeust but perhaps on alternative things. I mean even when you do get aqeust its never really the same your group usually gets hit in different ways by different things.

I can usually find some reason to roleplay in one way or another all through a qeust. Although in saying that its not always the case with certain smaller qeusts.

Dagam Meh, if you're bored doing the same emotes for a quest, don't. Start a conversation while you fight. (This is assuming the quest is old hat to you and your group). Like if you're killing rats for the umpteenth time for a quest, talk about what your characters are doing in Sanctuary, their goals, whatever you want to find out. You might look stupid at first, or the mysterious shadowy person might figure "what the hell I'm bored too" and you'll learn something you wouldn't have otherwise.

I am not a complete munchkin :lol: .

Then don't do it anymore. Questing isn't all there is to this, or am I just a complete idiot Rolling Eyes

I have done 3 quests since playing on EfU. One repeated with two dif chars.

Play drunk! No quest remembered! Every quest a brand new experience!

Just my two penneth.

P.S. You owe me a beer....

Fur Cough Play drunk! No quest remembered! Every quest a brand new experience!

Just my two penneth.

P.S. You owe me a beer....

Or one could design intricate plotlines where a mysterious amnesia gets triggered by certain events (which, co-incidentally, are the very same events that happen when you collect your reward for a quest), thus one would live in a constant experiental loop! That would solve everything! Just find a reason for why everyone has it...

Do you realise all the time you have been typing this thread, how many scripted quests you could have raced through? :lol:

kill_you_dead

Or one could design intricate plotlines where a mysterious amnesia gets triggered by certain events (which, co-incidentally, are the very same events that happen when you collect your reward for a quest), thus one would live in a constant experiental loop! That would solve everything! Just find a reason for why everyone has it...

Sounds like the aftermath of a decent party, I return the gentleman to my previous answer. *Hic* :D

I will admit to not being the biggest fan of the "scripted quest" in general but that turns into a long diatribe and of course no DM can be here 24/7 to provide for my entertainement.

However I have seen how more then a few of them could be turned into a continuous string of events as opposed to a repeat/forget/repeat/forget sort of scenario. There are more then a few I could see expanding as well to get to the root of an issue. Later Posts for that of course.....need to get to work in a few minutes.

One thing that helps to inspire some more RP of course is the DM RP award. DM's can't be everywhere but perhaps trusted Faction folks could be handed something of a token to present to others that is worth a few XP for Role Play. Hell.....worked well in my old NwN Home, and that had NO scripted Quests (Did have things you could do such as researching spells for a few XP, doing cleric things like praying/sermon for a few xp, Bard performances for the same, etc etc etc ...... and you could starve to death for not eating/drinking :twisted: I miss my Hunger Thirst Fatigue. Food Should be useful. There's an Idea, have various Food, generate some XP :D Wouldn't be throwing out that rancid fish so fast then I would say.

Anyway Work Beckons. Gotta pay the bills, that sorta thing.

~Rex :twisted:

The nature of scripted quests is something that has been an issue for a lot of servers. The do it and forget part of things is especially important due to things like traps.

Some quests make sense to do multiple times. Others make less sense. As we do rework quests, I'd eventually like to get to the point where most of them make sense to redo, along with the OOC aspects changing enough so that remembering doesn't hurt the quest.

Great minds think alike Rex. I suggested something very similar during early alpha but alas, it was shot down.

My problem with RPing on quests must be an underdeveloped corpus callosum. When I'm in tactical combat mode my creative thinking is severly hindered. Also my slow typing skills hinder the amount of RPing I can do in such a faced paced situation. Coincidently, I suppose intigrated voice chat is one of the main reasons I enjoy DDO. I wonder if anyone has ever tried setting up a team speak server for nwn use.

That has been done on a server I was on, although it was only for ooc chat and even music reqeusts XD

Rex

One thing that helps to inspire some more RP of course is the DM RP award. DM's can't be everywhere but perhaps trusted Faction folks could be handed something of a token to present to others that is worth a few XP for Role Play.

This was discussed in a different thread and it was generally agreed that rewarding tokens actually ends up encouraging the wrong sorts of things. I prefer to just see DMs give story awards where they deem it appropriate.

Rex

...... and you could starve to death for not eating/drinking :twisted: I miss my Hunger Thirst Fatigue. Food Should be useful. There's an Idea, have various Food, generate some XP :D Wouldn't be throwing out that rancid fish so fast then I would say.

This was one of the main reasons I didn't play long on the City of Arabel server (where a lot of EFU's players come from). Having to remember to take a drink of water every ten minutes has the opposite of it's intended effect for me and actually wrecks immersion, reminding me I'm playing a game. I'd rather concentrate on my character's personality, relationships with other characters, and involvement in ongoing plots than worry about keeping him fed. Most books, movies, etc. skip the "boring parts" so why can't RPGs? Some concessions to realism are good, but others tend to take the focus away from roleplaying and put it on Sims style micromanagement.

We're quickly veering off topic, but I wouldn't mind having some more food added to the game. It'd add to the immersiveness and give players yet another toy to have fun with.

As long as the quest isn't extremely specific, like Mary, I don't have any trouble roleplaying through quests. "Oh, sounds like they're having trouble with elementals again..." Doing a quest for the first time is obviously the most exciting, but there's still fun to be had going on yet another rat hunt, as long as your group isn't so powerful that you march right through.

That has been done on a server I was on, although it was only for ooc chat and even music reqeusts XD

Great minds think alike, this also was on a server I played on

Rex! always good to have your pearls of unholy wisdom. A shame you can't win this one :) . My main problem with quests, though, is the level boundry. Redoing them can, at most times, be easily excused (i.e. if someone loses something constantly - hey, it happens - plank-stupid people exist, after all!). But the real problem is when a level 4 cleric, level 4 mage, level 4 fighter and level 3 bard come to a man that needs say a certain group (which does makes sense, since basically going alone into most places is suicide and is ilogical - plus this encourages RP... though pathetic at most times, since it involves purely H&S, from what I've seen) - but suddenly the quest doesn't work. Whoops! bard level 3, while still having TONS of useful equipment that makes him look like level 7, much charisma resulting in much of spells and plus lots of lore that makes him know much more than any of the party members - but he is simply a level too low to enter the quest! he has to get more powerful, even by little, to do this quest.

I see the merit. The player needs a certain level, or it'll be a kamikaze mission. But can the quest system really rule out giving low-level players a chance? it might be better letting the players decide that a certain player seems too ill-equipped, or know him better and his skills before taking him with him.

This would be more efficient with Permeneant Death activated, though I know it's too much of a dangerous thing to insert, at least at the moment. It's the best thing to make the RP level rise huge, though, since players won't be able to respawn and thus will value characters better.

While we're at it lets make those CR 15 drow clerics spawn randomly around the outskirts of sanctuary!

Low levels getting into qeusts can also be an exploit, it lowers the parties over all CR and make spawns easier, sounds like a level 9 could get pretty easy end xp from alot of qeusts if he brought five level 2's and an 8 along. Which is most likely one of the reasons low levels can't do it.

Also there are cases of people not having "omg uber buildof doom" woudl you have them not being able to do the high level qeusts and instead make them have to do the low level ones? Don't think so :P

Actually they're a GREAT thing for rp-culture, most of the quests arent overly long.. some people will always be coming back to taverns etc in between quests.

a) They allow people to do something when they'res no d.m on. And I appreciate this given my time zone.

b) It allows the d.m to OFF-SHOOT a quest on top of a group already in a dungeon somewhere. (much faster for the d.m)

c) People can do as much Rp or as little as is comfortable to them, they can find like minded people and choose the percentage of whatever. Even a heavy roleplayer has the taste for a little action now and then.

d) I was on a server with no scripted stuff, and it had no soul, no flavour and felt like a bad MMORPG. Creatures were just fodder or with obscenely strong abilities that you couldnt even approach. This did two things it FAVOURED power gamers because only a power build would survive against these things. Combat was boring and pointless maybe by design but this didnt make you feel like you wanted to sit around town socialising all day either. In other words although it called itself a roleplaying server it didnt have any of a facilities that encouraged it. Immersion and believability are the KEY things to making roleplaying work, you put players THERE and the rest comes out of it. And I think this server is very strong in this department.