Other entrants, ignoring your own entry (if you entered the contest), what quests caught your eye? Here, in no especial order, are ones I liked:
EXPERIENCED HEROES ONLY: The quest title warns that this is for veteran heroes only. That's no idle threat! After a few encounters to soften the party up and, more importantly, set up a crucial plot point, the party reaches the finale: three mini-bosses and a spellcasting undead army, all of which must be fought using hand-to-hand combat and under the penalties imposed by the quest itself.
THE AURA OF HONESTY: As the Evil Wizard player, you should interpret the efficacy of the Aura of Honesty based on your audience. This gives you a lot of latitude. Young players should be given more leeway ("You didn't roll enough for movement, but you followed through with the intent to the best of your abilities"), whereas old hands might find themselves in trouble if they say "I'll move up and kill the orc" and then either fail to roll enough to reach the orc or fail to kill it. Of course, this could lead to players making legalistic statements like "I'll move toward the orc and, if I roll enough to reach it, I will attempt to slay it." That's deliberate: it reinforces the whole "courthouse" feel of the quest and really pushes on the fourth wall.
STRATEGY NOTES: The Judge is almost unkillable, but the heroes (hopefully) have two Fire spells, Genie and Tempest, in addition to the four extra random spells they found in the scrolls at the start of the quest. They should either take the Judge down fast or whittle out both of the Jury's healing spells. The Battle Axes were added to the quest to give the heroes a 1/16 chance of inflicting a point of damage, if they lack any other options. These odds can be improved with Courage, Future Sight and Potions of Strength.
WHERE CAN I GET MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS?: A slightly different version of The Halls of Honesty will appear in my Remastered Version of The Frozen Horror. (~55% complete at the time being) If you enjoyed this quest (or just want to steal some of the ideas from it), please check out the other Remastered Versions of quest packs I’ve written. There's eight so far, covering all of the European quest packs plus the Mage in the Mirror and Rise of the Dread Moon! You can find them in the Files section of the YeOldeInn Facebook group. Each Remastered pack not only reworks the original quests, but adds in many new ones as well, using some of the best fan-made quests from the last 35 years.
EXPERIENCED HEROES ONLY: The quest title warns that this is for veteran heroes only. That's no idle threat! After a few encounters to soften the party up and, more importantly, set up a crucial plot point, the party reaches the finale: three mini-bosses and a spellcasting undead army, all of which must be fought using hand-to-hand combat and under the penalties imposed by the quest itself.
THE AURA OF HONESTY: As the Evil Wizard player, you should interpret the efficacy of the Aura of Honesty based on your audience. This gives you a lot of latitude. Young players should be given more leeway ("You didn't roll enough for movement, but you followed through with the intent to the best of your abilities"), whereas old hands might find themselves in trouble if they say "I'll move up and kill the orc" and then either fail to roll enough to reach the orc or fail to kill it. Of course, this could lead to players making legalistic statements like "I'll move toward the orc and, if I roll enough to reach it, I will attempt to slay it." That's deliberate: it reinforces the whole "courthouse" feel of the quest and really pushes on the fourth wall.
STRATEGY NOTES: The Judge is almost unkillable, but the heroes (hopefully) have two Fire spells, Genie and Tempest, in addition to the four extra random spells they found in the scrolls at the start of the quest. They should either take the Judge down fast or whittle out both of the Jury's healing spells. The Battle Axes were added to the quest to give the heroes a 1/16 chance of inflicting a point of damage, if they lack any other options. These odds can be improved with Courage, Future Sight and Potions of Strength.
WHERE CAN I GET MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS?: A slightly different version of The Halls of Honesty will appear in my Remastered Version of The Frozen Horror. (~55% complete at the time being) If you enjoyed this quest (or just want to steal some of the ideas from it), please check out the other Remastered Versions of quest packs I’ve written. There's eight so far, covering all of the European quest packs plus the Mage in the Mirror and Rise of the Dread Moon! You can find them in the Files section of the YeOldeInn Facebook group. Each Remastered pack not only reworks the original quests, but adds in many new ones as well, using some of the best fan-made quests from the last 35 years.
I've uploaded a quest, but it doesn't seem to be showing in the submissions. (The Halls of Honesty by Jacob Busby) Any advice on how to get it to submit, as if I'm having this difficulty, others might too?
These notes explain some of the thought processes behind this quest, as there are a number of subtle nuances which might not be readily apparent at first.
It should be clear from the title but this quest sits between the online quest Knightfall and the first quest in the Rise of the Dread Moon pack. The background helps establish Ragnar a little more and gives the heroes a solid reason for travelling/returning to Elethorn.
Hawthorn is traditionally associated with the fae and is involved in a number of legends and superstitions.
Natghga Goblins are a call back to Rogar's Hall, whereas the mention of Ælfgār provides a credible link to the popular Sundayquest series.
Barghest are fae hounds - they felt like an appropriate enemy for an unseelie mound - and the wolf tokens from Mage in the Mirror were too good a resource to waste. The chances of generating a Barghest are 1 in 12 - so one should be spawned once every three hero rounds or so. This should be enough to keep the pressure on so the players can’t optimise every move without overwhelming the party.
Section B gives the heroes a chance to see the central conceit of the quest - how to reach and repair the Mirror gate without being killed by the brambles. I gave the orc a scroll of Pass Through Rock in case the heroes didn't have that spell in their load-out and got trapped in the central room.
The three stooges in Room D teach the heroes everything they need to know about the Zombies in this quest without explaining the rules. If they still charge in, chop the Zombies up and get infected, that's their shout.
The Elven Altar in Room G follows the rules for elven altars, but it also establishes the conceit that the elves worship the moon, helping cement some of the cultural background, long before the heroes raid the Temple in Rise of the Dread Moon.
The ashes in Room J show that Ragnar was trying to cover his tracks - it very nearly worked too - if nothing else it demonstrates that their foe is very shrewd and they will need their wits about them to bring him to justice.
There's a very subtle trick in this quest that may go unnoticed at first. With the exception of Room I, searching for Secret Doors actively harms the party as it gives the Barghest access to the sub-quadrants. This subverts the expectations of experienced players who have probably gotten into the habit of checking every room for traps and secret doors! A cunning Zargon might have several Barghests congregate near 3, then burst through the rubble when one of the secret doors to the inner corridor is found!
I hope you enjoy my quest. I certainly enjoyed writing it.
