About

A game i've recently been playing with a few friends on vent, and i thought might be interesting for the forum, Questipedia uses the website http://www.wikipedia.com to generate three things with which the player must then create a quest around.

In the end it can be a fun and creative exercise to see who can take three seemingly random things and craft a compelling quest out of them, as such im posting it here, a chance for others to participate, in this case it differs slightly as opposed to each person getting their own set of three the players will all have the same set, the goal is to craft the best quest out of everyone who participates.

I'll even toss a 250k in game reward for the winner, i'll give you all until friday to post your quests, at which time the winner will be selected.

Rules

• Using the random article button @ wikipedia I must locate three things, these things can be locations, phenomenon, items or even people, however for the sake of simplicity these are often "adapted" to better fit an RPG set up.
  
  
• The answer MUST be in the form of a quest, the imaginary players must be engaged and given a goal to accomplish and you must follow the quest to its conclusion.
  
  

Example

Spoiler:

Clicking on Random Article i arrive at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Wood in and of itself this person is not useful, however i quickly scan the article for something i can use, a book written titled "Raw Magic: Recipes for the Revolution", this has several parts i could use, a revolution for example, but i am more drawn to the much more nebulous "Raw Magic". So, the quest must involve something that is referred to as Raw Magic. The next pages are one on Elijah Duke and Brad Peyton, A Duke seems worthwhile and Peyton made a move about a evil dead girl. So the three things are: Raw Magic A Duke Evil Dead Girl The Player then uses the three items to form the basis or parts of a quest, for example: A Duke contacts the PC's to look into a rise in undead and strange creatures such as golems of the most odd materials in the surrounding region, venturing out and facing these results in the party wizards magic going haywire and upon further investigation discover a wound in the fabric of magic itself, slowly unraveling and spreading, if not dealt with it will destroy magic forever. To discover the source they are tasked by a diviner to locate a few rare components, upon completion they track down a girl of 9, undead and evil of the most foul. In a epic battle the players manage to defeat her and in the process seal the weave and prevent raw magic from leaking out into the world imbuing the dead with false life. Upon further searching the chamber they find a journal detailing the truth behind the event, it would seem she was the dukes daughter and had died in the winter, driven near mad by his dispair he attempted a forbidden ritual but it went wrong, tearing into the weave and unleashing raw, unfiltered magic on the land. players return and are rewarded for their heroics, and must now decide if they should reveal the truth of the cause to the people or forgive the duke his recklessness.

Game I - Ended April 3rd, 2009

Spoiler:
	Your Three Items The Moon Deadly Nightshade (Belladonna) A Vineyard Winner - Froth

Thanks for participating!

I'll give it a shot myself

If anyone can be bothered to listen to a fairly long, rp heavy story... then sure. I have a few things I had written back when LoME was going that I never got round to running. With a few tweaks I think one or two could fit the bill.

... Although I think the word file I had them all under also included a fair bit of dialogue I had planned. This would not be a short post

knock yourself out, really it is just about being creative and having fun seeing what you can do, i find it fun and apparently a few others do as well so i thought merpers might enjoy it.

In terms of "winning" it will mostly be about whoever's event seems the most fun and makes the best use of the three props. If that means the event was very long and detailed or is short and amusing it doesn't matter so long as the players would have fun.

Watchout though, friday fast approaches.

Notice:

Help Wanted!!
I call for the aid of all adventureres,
any who answer and sort out the
mess I am in shall be rewarded!




Farmer Todo Millstone: Good day mighty adventurer(s)! I am the owner of Moon'n Stars Vineyard Estate and I thank you for coming with such short notice and information. I am recently being investigated by the local authorities due to three recent deaths. I wish to clear my name as fast as possible for the local authorities to not like me so much and neither do locals period. I fear if left in their hands I would be found guilty despite evidence or not.. It is bad for me and my business. It would normally take the locals many months to sort this out, but the sooner it is over the better, which is why I have called you here.
I have recently just finished my first vintage of wine, sent a bottle out to my competitors, so they can taste the finest wine in ALL the shire, so they can taste the revolutionary flavor. Perhaps Start your search at the homes of those who died for any clues to my innocence.


Task: Discover the true cause of poisoning and clear farmer Todo Millstone`s name,
Goal: Find the deadly nightshade in the vineyard


The players investigate the three locations where the murders took place finding clues.The players upon finding the clues where some them back to Farmer Todo Millstone`s Vineyard where they find Deadly Nightshade being cultivated. It is up to the players to decide what took place and how to act upon the clues to come to a conclusion where Farmer A is guilty or is being framed..

Siding with the farmer; Greater reward.
Siding against the farmer; Minor reward and reputation with the local authority

The players are asked by someone close to Arthedain to go to an undisclosed location to perform an undisclosed task, which would greatly advance the interests of the kingdom. Assuming they are intrigued, they follow the agent to an old and rustic Vinyard owned in secret by the kingdom of Arthedain, for while its vines no longer produce wine in any fine quality or amount, its secluded location and dubious official ownership make it perfect to hold meetings which the kingdom hopes to not be known to the general public.

With the agent and a pair of other Arthedain men, they reveal that a apothecary from a distant land and of unknown origin and loyalties but with a great deal of skill has recently come into the Kingdom, and upon investigating him the agents learnt he was illegally growing deadly nightshade in a small plot of land he owns. Because of a suspected ‘slip’ inside their own organization and to maintain plausible deniability they send the players out upon a moonlit night to destroy the plants, suspected of being harvested for poison.

As the players near the land they encounter a handful of thugs guarding the land, however it is possible to either talk them away, use force OR wait for a chance to perform their task by stealth. If they convince them to go elsewhere or use stealth an exp reward, if force is used some treasure is to be had, however it might attract more attention and make it harder to maintain plausible deniability.

Once the players have reached the plot of land, and quickly destroy the nightshade they notice an odd smell in the air, an odd prickly sensation and as they leave the land they notice how the moon seems so…hazy…so very hazy and unclear. Meeting a chance townsfolk, said person describes the moon as full. Either through the townsfolk or from their own knowledge and deductions they realized they have been poisoned!

The players have two options, return to the Vinyard and hope for healing while praying they were not sold out, or go to the very apothecary whose plants they destroyed knowing that some corruption exists within the agents of Arthedain.

If they go to the apothecary, a large exp reward but a gold penalty after convincing him to help the players, revealing Arthedain’s ‘plot’.

If they go to the Vinyard, they must fight one of the corrupt agents who happens to have treasure and the antidote but a lack of proper identification will make further perusal difficult. Less exp but more treasure.

# The Moon
# Deadly Nightshade (Belladonna)
# A Vineyard

It is a moon lit night and by the morning a king will lay dying. When the players awake from a night of rabble rousing, drink and possibly fornication they will gain knowledge that the King is dying and that the king’s advisory has dispatched requests for aid.

When given the quest the players will be told that there has been a secret organization working against the kingdom for some time and they have three know operatives in the region since there is no way to tell who may have poisoned the king they players must find all three or get lucky.

The locations the players are given would include a small cottage by the river in which they would find a alchemist you has been hording away herbs for years and has got a touch of the crazies, the other would be a vineyard locally owned and operated by a CO-OP of growers, and finally in the deepest dark cave to the west of the city.

If the players choose the Vineyard, they will be offered to sample wine and if they take the offer they will have a grand old time if they deny the wine they shall find that some strange men passed though asking if the peppers had been picked.

If the searchers go to the deepest dark cave in the west they will fine one thousand gold each and a skeleton that has a sign around its neck that would read *I ate my own hand* and on more careful inspection they will find that hand lodged in its ribcage.

Finally if they go to the cottage by the river they will run in to the crazy old man who will keep mumbling about the peppers have been picked and try to give them copious amounts of belladonna.

Now of course if they went to the vineyard first they will go "AH!" this must be the agent and take him back for questioning and an antidote will be made or they may take the belladonna, give it to a local alchemist and an antidote will be made. Then they can choose begin their search for the real operatives.

Few of Melkor's servants have survived into the present age. But those who have are truly feared creatures, and Hrothcarcoth is one of these. He is one of the spawn of Carcaroth, the most fearsome werewolf to ever have existed. For many years he has wandered the world without a master, serving Sauron or some other evil being if the mood suited him, hunting men for sport and good food when it didn't...

Our quest begins when the players are called by the Minister of Farming (alright, that's kind of stupid sounding for a medieval kingdom, but...) in Fornost. The vineyard west of town has been trampled, and for the last few full moons strange howls have been heard. The heroes are sent to investigate, and encounter a werewolf that night (Hrothcarcoth) and barely escape it. They know they must slay him before the night is over, and they question the owner of the vineyard, Telmor Hoss, a man knowledgeable in folklore, about the weaknesses of werewolves. The finest thing he can think of is to weaken it with Beladona, and slay it with silver.

The players must go out of the way to the other end of Fornost to collect belladona, while timed to finish before the night is over. They must also get a silver weapon by special request from the smith in Fornost.

If they have returned in time, they can hurl the belladona at the werewolf, causing him to be paralyzed, then stab him to death with the silver weapon, thus killing one of the few surviving of Melkor Morgoth's servants, and doing Middle-earth a fair deed.

Alright, time has come for the judging to begin!

The three items were admittedly a far tougher set of items then usual, and i think that by making it set in middle-earth some of the imagination was taken out, i don't think i'll do that next time, assuming there is one. you can do alot more with the moon in say, the forgotten realms or other fantasy, maybe visit a planar mages holdout, lycanthropes, etc, in middle earth there are less options due to it being low magic.

To be honest i myself was somewhat at a loss by the three items.

The entries will be judged on a 20 point system of which there are three parts:

• 5 points go for the fun factor, how fun would it be to take part in the quest as described?
  
• 5 points go to innovation, is it something original?
  
• 10 points go towards use of the theme, how well were the parts listed implemented?

Phillip Philibert

Spoiler:

Phillip Philibert wrote: Notice: Help Wanted!! I call for the aid of all adventureres, any who answer and sort out the mess I am in shall be rewarded! Farmer Todo Millstone: Good day mighty adventurer(s)! I am the owner of Moon'n Stars Vineyard Estate and I thank you for coming with such short notice and information. I am recently being investigated by the local authorities due to three recent deaths. I wish to clear my name as fast as possible for the local authorities to not like me so much and neither do locals period. I fear if left in their hands I would be found guilty despite evidence or not.. It is bad for me and my business. It would normally take the locals many months to sort this out, but the sooner it is over the better, which is why I have called you here. I have recently just finished my first vintage of wine, sent a bottle out to my competitors, so they can taste the finest wine in ALL the shire, so they can taste the revolutionary flavor. Perhaps Start your search at the homes of those who died for any clues to my innocence. Task: Discover the true cause of poisoning and clear farmer Todo Millstone`s name, Goal: Find the deadly nightshade in the vineyard The players investigate the three locations where the murders took place finding clues.The players upon finding the clues where some them back to Farmer Todo Millstone`s Vineyard where they find Deadly Nightshade being cultivated. It is up to the players to decide what took place and how to act upon the clues to come to a conclusion where Farmer A is guilty or is being framed.. Siding with the farmer; Greater reward. Siding against the farmer; Minor reward and reputation with the local authority

Ok, he has made use of the three items, and he has crafted a quest and it is set in middle-earth, so the qualifications have been met.

In terms of fun i really like the idea of a murder mystery that is open ended, guilty? not guilty? it is up to the players to decide based on the clues they find. I would enjoy this quest i think but while it is i think enjoyable it lacks something to really blow me away. I also like that it seems to be free of combat, it is a quest that focuses on rp and investigation over epic combat making it so a large variety of characters could potentially be involved regardless of level.

The use of the three items is not its strongpoint, as seems to be the case for most entries the moon is made into a largely minor backdrop with the name of the vineyard, the vineyard itself seems to have been largely marginalized and even the belladonna doesn't seem to have a very major role.


End Total: 11

• Fun: 4, i like the overall feel and concept and would enjoy rping it i think.
  
• Innovation: 4, No combat and mostly rp focused, open ended, its good.
  
• Theme Items: 3, they were used, but they didn't seem to have that great of a role.
  

Froth

Spoiler:

Froth wrote: The players are asked by someone close to Arthedain to go to an undisclosed location to perform an undisclosed task, which would greatly advance the interests of the kingdom. Assuming they are intrigued, they follow the agent to an old and rustic Vinyard owned in secret by the kingdom of Arthedain, for while its vines no longer produce wine in any fine quality or amount, its secluded location and dubious official ownership make it perfect to hold meetings which the kingdom hopes to not be known to the general public. With the agent and a pair of other Arthedain men, they reveal that a apothecary from a distant land and of unknown origin and loyalties but with a great deal of skill has recently come into the Kingdom, and upon investigating him the agents learnt he was illegally growing deadly nightshade in a small plot of land he owns. Because of a suspected ‘slip’ inside their own organization and to maintain plausible deniability they send the players out upon a moonlit night to destroy the plants, suspected of being harvested for poison. As the players near the land they encounter a handful of thugs guarding the land, however it is possible to either talk them away, use force OR wait for a chance to perform their task by stealth. If they convince them to go elsewhere or use stealth an exp reward, if force is used some treasure is to be had, however it might attract more attention and make it harder to maintain plausible deniability. Once the players have reached the plot of land, and quickly destroy the nightshade they notice an odd smell in the air, an odd prickly sensation and as they leave the land they notice how the moon seems so…hazy…so very hazy and unclear. Meeting a chance townsfolk, said person describes the moon as full. Either through the townsfolk or from their own knowledge and deductions they realized they have been poisoned! The players have two options, return to the Vinyard and hope for healing while praying they were not sold out, or go to the very apothecary whose plants they destroyed knowing that some corruption exists within the agents of Arthedain. If they go to the apothecary, a large exp reward but a gold penalty after convincing him to help the players, revealing Arthedain’s ‘plot’. If they go to the Vinyard, they must fight one of the corrupt agents who happens to have treasure and the antidote but a lack of proper identification will make further perusal difficult. Less exp but more treasure.

Items? check, Quest? check, middle-earth? check.

Overall this entry appears quite solid, it has lots of options as to how things go, be it stealthy or whatever the group wants and i think it is amusing that the players may have to go beg the very guy whos crop they destroyed to save themself. I am unsure how exactly they were poisoned and some additional info in regards to that would have been nice, what if the characters had taken precautions? small these such as this tend to bother me.

In terms of the three items to moon is barely in, the vineyard is there but nothing special, however the belladonna has a prime role.

End Total: 12

• Fun: 3, the part where i am told i was poisoned but not how takes a point off, it would nag at me if i were in this event.
  
• Innovation: 3, points for having to beg the guy you were just after for help.
  
• Theme Items: 6, the moon is barely there, but the vineyard is used and the belladonna takes a prime position.

Boar

Spoiler:

Boarthephoenix wrote: # The Moon # Deadly Nightshade (Belladonna) # A Vineyard It is a moon lit night and by the morning a king will lay dying. When the players awake from a night of rabble rousing, drink and possibly fornication they will gain knowledge that the King is dying and that the king’s advisory has dispatched requests for aid. When given the quest the players will be told that there has been a secret organization working against the kingdom for some time and they have three know operatives in the region since there is no way to tell who may have poisoned the king they players must find all three or get lucky. The locations the players are given would include a small cottage by the river in which they would find a alchemist you has been hording away herbs for years and has got a touch of the crazies, the other would be a vineyard locally owned and operated by a CO-OP of growers, and finally in the deepest dark cave to the west of the city. If the players choose the Vineyard, they will be offered to sample wine and if they take the offer they will have a grand old time if they deny the wine they shall find that some strange men passed though asking if the peppers had been picked. If the searchers go to the deepest dark cave in the west they will fine one thousand gold each and a skeleton that has a sign around its neck that would read *I ate my own hand* and on more careful inspection they will find that hand lodged in its ribcage. Finally if they go to the cottage by the river they will run in to the crazy old man who will keep mumbling about the peppers have been picked and try to give them copious amounts of belladonna. Now of course if they went to the vineyard first they will go "AH!" this must be the agent and take him back for questioning and an antidote will be made or they may take the belladonna, give it to a local alchemist and an antidote will be made. Then they can choose begin their search for the real operatives.

Theme Items, quest and middle-earth? ... close.

Entries for the moon have been thin around the board, but just being a moonlit night in and of itself i don't think qualifies, in froths example the moon was used as something the players in a fashion interact with to realize they have been drugged and in philips it was the name and symbol of the vineyard, this entry has again used it as imagery, but has no player interaction.

This quest seems somewhat interesting but confusing, what is the point of the guy in the cave? and the peppers as a code? and begin the search for the real operatives? isn't that who these three were? Seems a bit rushed.

End Total: 8

• Fun: 2, some of the parts seem interesting but i feel like i'd be confused the whole time.
  
• Innovation: 3, another more rp centric quest and i like that.
  
• Theme Items: 3, belladonna and vineyard put to relatively good use, but the moon hurts.

Silvereel

Spoiler:

Silvereel wrote: Few of Melkor's servants have survived into the present age. But those who have are truly feared creatures, and Hrothcarcoth is one of these. He is one of the spawn of Carcaroth, the most fearsome werewolf to ever have existed. For many years he has wandered the world without a master, serving Sauron or some other evil being if the mood suited him, hunting men for sport and good food when it didn't... Our quest begins when the players are called by the Minister of Farming (alright, that's kind of stupid sounding for a medieval kingdom, but...) in Fornost. The vineyard west of town has been trampled, and for the last few full moons strange howls have been heard. The heroes are sent to investigate, and encounter a werewolf that night (Hrothcarcoth) and barely escape it. They know they must slay him before the night is over, and they question the owner of the vineyard, Telmor Hoss, a man knowledgeable in folklore, about the weaknesses of werewolves. The finest thing he can think of is to weaken it with Beladona, and slay it with silver. The players must go out of the way to the other end of Fornost to collect belladona, while timed to finish before the night is over. They must also get a silver weapon by special request from the smith in Fornost. If they have returned in time, they can hurl the belladona at the werewolf, causing him to be paralyzed, then stab him to death with the silver weapon, thus killing one of the few surviving of Melkor Morgoth's servants, and doing Middle-earth a fair deed.

I really like the flavor here, of all the entries it seems the most middle-earth like and the enemy oozes with awesome, however the usage of the moon hurts again, and it seemingly has such a perfect opportunity to use it but misses it. (a prophecy saying it will die only under the light of the moon or such for example.)

As much as i like the style and theme presented im also not sure about getting beat up, sent on a fetch quest and then returning to kill a creature that cannot move, it has great style and feel but kinda falls down i think on the mechanics of the quest, unfortunate especially when i can really see the potential here.

End Total: 8

• Fun: 2 i start off wanting to score high based on the imagery it creates in my mind but getting beat up at first and then the end game results in beating a helpless opponent.
  
• Innovation: 3, superb use of the middle-earth theme, i wish i could give it more but other issues force it down.
  
• Theme Items: 3, the moon is barely even mentioned and the vineyard is barely there as well but the belladonna is a key part.