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Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 1:23 pm
by Kashim
Zukero wrote:I'm leaning towards being against closing it until we have enough starter quests to prevent the otherwise necessary grind to level 15.
I can't decide. No new person is going to find this and be able to actually complete it. While it is a shocking amount of experience, the run is sufficiently hard that you aren't going to have new people actually explore that far. There are too many other things to see in the middle.
That said, I'd actually like to see this changed so that it has some kind of combat requirement if you choose to side with Buceth. Maybe you have to fight a guard or something who walks in on your conversation? That'd more or less close the loophole, and would even the quest out. Right now, my Feygard aligned character that I just started can't take the easy path because he could never compete with Buceth at level 5. If anything, I'd like to see the two factions actually be equal: either remove the fight with Buceth and have the character acquire "evidence" in some other way, or add a fight with a guard or some other character from Feygard.

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 2:08 pm
by Zukero
So, we need something to close the Duleian road.
Some chasing mobs? Like flies?
Guards holding a barricade? With some fight-involving quest to remove it? Maybe they're protecting the guardhouse from some monster you have to kill?
Ideas?

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 3:01 pm
by rijackson741
Rough idea:

There's a big hole in the road, with a guard. The guard tells you that there are men trapped in the hole by monsters. If you descend into the hole there are men in a corner, and to get to them you have to kill the monsters. If you can do that, they thank you and tell you they will be up shortly. You go back up and speak to the guard, and he thanks you and says that now they can fill the hole to make the road passable again. A map change event then removes the hole.

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 3:44 pm
by Kashim
I like guards holding a barricade, maybe against the Highwayman? Maybe they won't let you through from that side until you bring them proof that the Highwayman is dead, because they don't know what he looks like, so you could be the highwayman, and he has been a plague on the road and they won't let him anywhere near Feygard?
Easy, makes use of existing characters, just gotta add the barricade. Also gives the highwayman a legit purpose, since for some reason you can always just hit leave if you accidentally run into him and avoid the fight (he should really be aggro). Strangely, the game doesn't actually have a mechanic for him to steal anything from the player, which makes him somewhat pointless, but still. Could also go with a group of highwaymen that all aggro onto the player, which would expand the group combat stuff like you said you wanted to do in a Cleave article, or just more of them spread out along the road so you have to kill 5 or something, or 5 and a leader, who knows.
It would be interesting to have that in the southward direction too, as those larval burrowers aren't really a challenge for level 5 characters, and that still lets them in for that 5->10 boost. There is another highwayman south of Fallhaven...

Thoughts about the dialog:
Guard: Halt! No admittance while the highway is unsecured.
Player: What's wrong?
Guard: Highwaymen have been spotted on the Dulein Road. They will not be allowed into Feygard.
Player option 1: Are they that big of a problem?
Player option 2: Isn't it your job to protect us from the Highwaymen?
Guard: The area is not secure. None shall pass.
Player option 1: Sounds reasonable.
Player option 2: So, the road is littered with thieves, and your solution is to lock me out here with them?
Guard: We cannot verify your identity. You could be one of them.
Player: So how can I get past?
Guard: Thanks to our lookout, we are aware that there are 5 Highwaymen on the road. When she reports that they've been slain or moved on, the road will open again. Until that time, no admittance.
Player Option 1: I'll get to work. -> Start quest
Player Option 2: Ugh, so I have to do your work for you, huh? -> Start quest
Player Option 3: Fine, I'll wait until you've dealt with them.
Guard response to option 3: Could be a while. We are understaffed and haven't sent out a patrol in months. You're welcome to wait as long as you'd like, just outside the gate.

Thoughts?

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 3:45 pm
by Firefly84
rijackson741 wrote:Rough idea:

There's a big hole in the road, with a guard. The guard tells you that there are men trapped in the hole by monsters. If you descend into the hole there are men in a corner, and to get to them you have to kill the monsters. If you can do that, they thank you and tell you they will be up shortly. You go back up and speak to the guard, and he thanks you and says that now they can fill the hole to make the road passable again. A map change event then removes the hole.
Sounds a bit like a tollhouse.
But a tollhouse or quarantine barricade would make more sense. (at both entrances to Loneford)
You have to go to the the Crossroad Tower to get a permit to investigate the disease there. But you have to fulfill the delivery quest first.

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 6:11 pm
by ace
How about one simple thing: fix some monsters to block the way in a group, such that when in combat it's hard to flee so players will avoid going there at lvl 1.

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 6:49 pm
by rijackson741
This should slow down a level 1 character :D
Road block.png

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 8:43 pm
by Kashim
See, I feel like Feygard would be obligated to actually DO SOMETHING about that.
Also, nice sprite, assuming it's a new boss not yet in the full version.

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:14 pm
by Zukero
I think it is important not to make it obvious that we want to block players out. The path from Crossglen to the guardhouse is narrow, so it was easy to have a legit-looking blockade. On the Duleian road, it's not as easy. A guard's barricade sounds like a good option, but it would break the openness of the world in a way that's too artificial and common in games.

Re: Subsequent Character Starting guide

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:29 pm
by Kashim
Firefly84 wrote: quarantine barricade would make more sense. (at both entrances to Loneford)
Actually, this is a great idea, a quarantine would totally make sense: all of the people of Loneford are sick. Feygard wouldn't want to let anyone else in. Also, there is a place right at the well that is a single entrance. Maybe have the guy move if you can complete the Rogorn quest (either way). If a low level character gets past that river troll, they deserve to get into Loneford.

Alternatively, block the west enterance just outside the fields, block the south entrance by either posting a guard just to the right of the guardhouse, or seal up the fields and put a guard where the fences meet.

Another idea: Make people sick. The idea is that the well is poisoned right? Have a trigger point right at the well that makes the main character sick as soon as he walks past the well and takes a sip, taking constant damage. Low level players will die to the sickness quickly, while high-level players with some healing items will be able to take it for long enough to complete the quest. Make it so that once the quest is solved, the main priest in Loneford sells an antidote for the sickness, or make it so that the antidote requires certain ingredients that are hard to find. You'd also have to make it so that you can't get a bed in Loneford until that quest was done though. Valid RP reason: "All of the beds are currently full of the sick, I'm sorry, we have nothing open right now."