An RPG Quest - Pull this one apart

At the moment a few people have been talking about standard things in RPG's. Typical quests, typical responses and so on. So, I thought I'd post in here one of the last quests I made for my Arcanum Module, before I gave up Arcanum modding and moved onto Fallout some months ago now. Some of this ties over from this thread. I thought I'd see what you all thought in terms of its "standardness". IE: Is this just another cliche quest? Is it interesting? If you encountered this quest would you roll your eyes at it, or would it be fun?


The Setting
This quest originally started off as one of the first quests the PC (player character) could do in my Arcanum module. The PC starts on a boat, in the decks of that boat is the ship's cook, Rasputin the Mad Cook (A slight rename of a modder on the Arcanum forums). If the PC goes below deck, he finds Rasputin running about the kitchen floating things like "Here chicky, chicky, chicky!" above his head. Two chickens are running loose around the kitchen.

NOTE: The rest might confuse you. If it does, you should just be able to read the dialogue and understand it from that. Don't worry about the script or anything like that if it's too hard (The script is more for my benefit than for yours).


The Problem

DarkUnderlord said:

Actually, one of the quests I made for my Arcanum module was something I liked. I feel it fits the "grey" category. The PC (player character) starts off on a ship and can go below deck to find the cook. The cook's chickens have escaped and they're running around the kitchen. The PC can either help the cook, or insult his cooking and never get to talk to him again (I like "permanent" results. I never agreed with the "Oh, I'm sorry" that a lot of games gave you to make up for "mistakes" you made.) Once the PC helps the cook and catches the chickens (using stillwater rabbit cages) he gets the option to sample one of the cooks new recipes. At this point, the PC can insult him again, politely decline or accept the offer. After accepting, you get this:

[After a while you start to choke. You can feel the blood draining from your face and you start to turn a slighty purple colour. Rasputin carries on as if nothing is wrong] Tastes pretty good doesn't it? It's become my favourite recipe. Why, I reckon this'll make me a fortune!!
* [Spit the horrid tasting substance out onto the floor before you choke to death]
* [Put on a brave face, risk certain death and swallow what you're still trying to chew]
* [Throw up all over Rasputin]

My point is, which option do you choose? I tried to make it so that it's not clear cut. This isn't a "right or wrong". If you spit it out, you insult his feelings and he never talks to you again. If you throw up on him, he "mumbles something about you being ungrateful and wipes it off" IE: Not as bad as spitting it out and insulting him. If you swallow it though... You get blessed with +1 strength. (I was/am thinking of putting in a random thing here so that the result varies, or even checking a stat to determine if you pass out instead of getting the blessing)

Click to expand...

Sharpei_Diem said:

But you made a decision to reward the player if they chose the 'politically correct' options. In effect, you're saying 'to get the cheese, ya gots ta be nice', which is fine, but also farely standard fare for most rpgs(and perhaps the reason why many on this board seem displeased with the current state of them). True, you made the options harder to guess(which is good) and you made effects permanent(which is also very good - few things in an rpg are as ridiculous as being able to have the same dialogue tree sprout up with the same person even after you've just insulted them), but you also buried it beneath several layers of one-solution dialogues (which isn't that good).

It'd be cool if you were rewarded for playing the response that best represents your current alignment, or your abilities(and if you give a response that differs significantly from your alignment, your alignment shifts). So in that situation in the kitchen, if your character was good at bluffing, and bluffed a response (and it succeeded), and that response approximated their alignment, they get an increase to bluffing, or a gift or something...

hmmm, that just made me think of something else, in current rpgs you very rarely see any recognition of your pc's class or alignment represented in the dialogue tree. In certain cases you'd really expect this; the CE assassin isn't gonna want to open up just cause the paladin's asking, whereas the church locals would probably be gushing with enthusiasm(and gifts).

good choice on not putting the random event there; i think that kind of coding only promotes reloads (kinda like the point allocation system vs rolling - people will just keep doing it until the result is pleasing).

Click to expand...

The Script
Whenever you click to talk to an NPC in Arcanum, their script runs. The script checks a few things like "what state is quest X in?", "has the PC met this NPC before?" and so on. The script can be called from the dialogue (explained below).

description "Dialogue for Ships Cook"
MAX_LINES_ALLOCATED 28

0. change script attached to Attachee at point 19 to script 0

1. IF local flag 1 is set
THEN dialog 70
ELSE goto line 6

2. return and SKIP default

3. IF local flag 2 is set
THEN return and SKIP default

4. change script attached to Attachee at point 19 to script 36

5. return and SKIP default

6. IF PC Triggerer has quest 1010 in state 2
THEN dialog 80
ELSE goto line 8

7. return and SKIP default

8. IF PC Triggerer has quest 1010 in state 4
THEN dialog 110
ELSE goto line 10

9. return and SKIP default

10. IF PC Triggerer has quest 1010 in state 6
THEN dialog 200
ELSE dialog 1

11. return and SKIP default

12. add blessing 50 to Triggerer

13. dialog 190

14. return and SKIP default

// Vomit sound
15. play sound 122 at Triggerer

16. dialog 210

17. return and SKIP default


The Dialogue
The best way to show you the quest is to give you the dialogue and let you follow it yourselves. The dialogue is in this format:
The first line is the NPC line. IE: What Rasputin says. The number between the first pair of curly brackets is the line number. The part between the second pair of curly brackets is what he says to a man, the part between the thired pair of curley brackets is what he says to a woman. Like so:
{Line number}{Hi, you're a bloke!}{You're a woman!}{}{}{}{}

Every block of text starts with one of these lines. Anything else in the other sets of curly brackets for that first line in each you don't need to worry about.

PC (player character) lines are below the first line in the block. They're a bit harder to understand. Basically:
{Line number}{An option for what the PC gets to say/choose}{If this is a 1 only a woman can say this line, if it's a 0, only a man can say it (if my memory got that right, could be the other way around, it's been a while)}{An intelligence check}{}{What line number the dialogue continues on from if the player chooses this option}{}

If the line number is negative, it means its' calling the script. A "-15" for example, means that the script is called at line 15.

All the rest in the other bits of curly brackets you can ignore. They're just checks to test what state the quest is in (completed, accepted but not completed, botched) and other things you don't need to worry about.

So, for example, we start talking to Rasputin. We check the script, all the cheks against flag 1 and the quests at this stage ar negative so, according to line 10 of the scriptm, dialogue starts at line 1. Rasputin will say line 1 which is: Here chicky, chick...... Ohh! Hello @pcname@! What do you want? Come back for some more of my good cooking hey? Didn't you eat enough on our trip over here from Tarant?

The PC gets a choice of options. If his intelligence is below 4 {-4} he can only choose those lines with -4 in the intelligence check field. In our example, we'll say he's got an inteeligence of 7, so he can choose anything with {5} in the intelligence check field. Lets' say the player choose line 2: Uhhh.... What are you doing?

According to the goto line, dialogue will continue at line 20 where Rasputin will say: What am I doing? Well... You see... I WAS cooking some very nice "Three Bowl Bread" from a Halfling recipe I found in one of my old cookbooks. You know, the one by Grandma Cookhill? Anyway, the recipe calls for a nice fresh Hen's egg. Sooo.... I was trying to get the Hen's egg out from one of my Hen's cages when all hell broke loose!!

And so on... ($10 says I've lost everyone back on paragraph 2) Anyway, here goes.

Start reading here if you're lost and confused:
// Rasputin the Mad Cook
// lf0 - 1 = PC has asked Rasputin what he is doing but has NOT mentioned/accepted quest to get chickens.
// lf1 - 1 = PC insulted Rasputins' cooking, so no quest for PC, Rasputin just tells PC to bugger off.
// lf2 - 1 = PC HAS given Rasputin a reason to stop looking for his chickens. (Quest 1010 is accepted or completed)
// Global Variables used to control the situation with Rasputin the Cook and the loose chickens.
// (So, 1 chook can be dead, while another is caught. Lets me catch all possibilites.)
// gv8 - 0 = Both chooks free, 1 = 1 chook caught, 2 = Both chooks caught.
// gv9 - 0 = Both chooks alive, 1 = 1 chook dead, 2 = Both chooks dead.

{1}{Here chicky, chick...... Ohh! Hello @pcname@! What do you want? Come back for some more of my good cooking hey? Didn't you eat enough on our trip over here from Tarant?}{Here chicky, chick...... Ohh! Hello @pcname@! What do you want? Come back for some more of my good cooking hey? Didn't you eat enough on our trip over here from Tarant?}{}{}{}{}
{2}{Uhhh.... What are you doing?}{}{5}{lf0 0, qu1010 0}{20}{}
{3}{Uhhh.... Wat yoo doin'?}{}{-4}{lf0 0, qu1010 0}{20}{}
{4}{Is there something I can help you with Rasputin?}{}{5}{qu1010 0}{40}{}
{5}{Dere some'ting I kan helf yoo wit Rarspooten?}{}{-4}{qu1010 0}{40}{}
{6}{Hi Rasputin, I think I can help you with your chicken problem.}{}{5}{qu1010 1}{40}{}
{7}{Hallo Rarspooten, me dink me kan helf wit yoor chikkens.}{}{-4}{qu1010 1}{40}{}
{8}{Good cooking? Hmmph!! Your cooking tasted worse than a dead sea-urchin rolled up in belly button lint!}{}{5}{}{60}{}
{9}{Hah! Yoo bad cook! Yoor cookin' tayste liyke ded see-erchen in belly button lint!}{}{-4}{}{60}{}
{10}{E:}{}{1}{}{-3}{}

{20}{What am I doing? Well... You see... I WAS cooking some very nice "Three Bowl Bread" from a Halfling recipe I found in one of my old cookbooks. You know, the one by Grandma Cookhill? Anyway, the recipe calls for a nice fresh Hen's egg. Sooo.... I was trying to get the Hen's egg out from one of my Hen's cages when all hell broke loose!!}{What am I doing? Well... You see... I WAS cooking some very nice "Three Bowl Bread" from a Halfling recipe I found in one of my old cookbooks. You know, the one by Grandma Cookhill? Anyway, the recipe calls for a nice fresh Hen's egg. Sooo.... I was trying to get the Hen's egg out from one of my Hen's cages when all hell broke loose!!}{}{}{}{}
{21}{What happened?}{}{5}{}{30}{}
{22}{W'at 'appen?}{}{-4}{}{30}{}

{30}{What happened? I'll tell you what happened! My Hen escaped is what happened!! It just up and jumped out of its' cage! So..... No problem I thought, I'll just use my other Hen... And then it happened again! I was opening the cage and then, next thing I know, I've got TWO Hens running around and clucking madly in my kitchen! They're in on it together if you ask me.... Some kind of conspiracy to escape or something.....}{What happened? I'll tell you what happened! My Hen escaped is what happened!! It just up and jumped out of its' cage! So..... No problem I thought, I'll just use my other Hen... And then it happened again! I was opening the cage and then, next thing I know, I've got TWO Hens running around and clucking madly in my kitchen! They're in on it together if you ask me.... Some kind of conspiracy to escape or something.....}{}{}{}{lf0 1}
{31}{Would you like some help then?}{}{5}{}{40}{}
{32}{Yoo wan' helf den?}{}{-4}{}{40}{}
{33}{[Laugh] Okay.... I'll let you get back to catching them then.}{}{5}{}{-3}{}
{34}{[Laugh] Okay.... Me let yoo try an' katch 'em den. Buh-bye.}{}{-4}{}{-3}{}
{35}{Maybe they just didn't want to be a part of your bad cooking?}{}{5}{}{60}{}
{36}{Mabbe dey didn' wanna be part of yoor bad kookin'?}{}{-4}{}{60}{}

{40}{Help? Sure! If you can nab the two loose chickens that are running around my Kitchen, I'll give you a special bite of my latest recipe. What'dya reckon?}{Help? Sure! If you can nab the two loose chickens that are running around my Kitchen, I'll give you a special bite of my latest recipe. What'dya reckon?}{}{}{}{qu1010 1}
{41}{I reckon you got a deal. What do I need to do to catch them?}{}{5}{}{50}{}
{42}{Me rekon yoo got deel! W'at me need ta do ta katch dem?}{}{-4}{}{50}{}
{43}{I think you're insane. Offering me your horrible cooking for catching chickens? I don't think so.}{}{5}{}{60}{}
{44}{Me dink yoor nuts. Me not wan' yoor horruble kookin' fer katching chikkens.}{}{-4}{}{60}{}
{45}{I don't think so. I'll leave the chicken catching to the experts.}{}{5}{}{-3}{}
{46}{Nuhuh. Me not dink so. Me leeve da chikken katching to da eggsperts.}{}{-4}{}{-3}{}

{50}{Okay, well here, [He gives you two wire cages]. Just use these Stillwater Traps to catch the chickens. My only problem is they keep running away from me whenever I get close enough! So, you need to get pretty close to the chickens before you can use the cages to catch them. Within about two feet I'd say. It should be easy enough, I'm just not as fit as I used to be....}{Okay, well here, [He gives you two wire cages]. Just use these Stillwater Traps to catch the chickens. My only problem is they keep running away from me whenever I get close enough! So, you need to get pretty close to the chickens before you can use the cages to catch them. Within about two feet I'd say. It should be easy enough, I'm just not as fit as I used to be....}{}{}{}{qu1010 2, lf2 1, in -5609, in -5609}
{51}{Right! Use cages on chickens. I got that. I'll see what I can do.}{}{5}{}{0}{}
{52}{Rite! Yoose kages on da chikkens. Me got dat. Me see w'at me kan do.}{}{-4}{}{0}{}

{60}{So that's how you feel about my cooking is it? Well then, as far as I'm concerned, you can bugger off! Go on, get out of here! I don't want to see you in my Kitchen again!!}{So that's how you feel about my cooking is it? Well then, as far as I'm concerned, you can bugger off! Go on, get out of here! I don't want to see you in my Kitchen again!!}{}{}{}{lf1 1, re -20}
{61}{I'm sorry Rasputin. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings...}{}{5}{}{70}{}
{62}{Me sorry Rarspooten. Me not meen ta hert yoor feelin's...}{}{-4}{}{70}{}
{63}{Fine. I'm leaving.}{}{5}{}{-3}{}
{64}{Okay. Me leeving.}{}{-4}{}{-3}{}

{70}{What!? Are you still here talking to me? I thought I told you to go away! Go on, get lost! I'm not talking to you ever again!!}{What!? Are you still here talking to me? I thought I told you to go away! Go on, get lost! I'm not talking to you ever again!!}{}{}{}{}
{71}{[Leave]}{}{1}{}{-3}{}

// Quest 1010 Accepted.
// gv8 = 0, 1 or 2 Chooks caught
// gv9 = 0, 1 or 2 Chooks dead
{80}{Oh, hey there @pcname@! How are you going with the chickens? Have you caught them yet?}{Oh, hey there @pcname@! How are you going with the chickens? Have you caught them yet?}{}{}{}{}
{81}{Well, I've only caught one chicken at the moment.}{}{5}{gv8 1, gv9 0}{130}{}
{82}{Uhhh, me onlee katch wun chikken at da moment.}{}{-4}{gv8 1, gv9 0}{130}{}
{83}{Here you go Rasputin. Both of your chickens, all safe and sound.}{}{5}{gv8 2, gv9 0}{120}{}
{84}{Heer ya go Rarspooten. Boaf yoor chikkens, all sayfe an' sownd.}{}{-4}{gv8 2, gv9 0}{120}{}
{85}{Chickens? Oh that's right.... Uhh... No I haven't. But I'll get onto it right away!}{}{5}{gv8 0, gv9 0}{0}{}
{86}{Chikkens? Uhhhh... Me forgot. Me go get dem now.}{}{-4}{gv8 0, gv9 0}{0}{}
{87}{Yeah... About those chickens.... I uhhh... Well... I've killed one.}{}{5}{gv8 0, gv9 1}{250}{}
{87}{Uhhh... 'bout dose chikkens.... Me uhhh... Errr... Me killed wun.}{}{-4}{gv8 0, gv9 1}{250}{}
{89}{Chickens... Yeah.... Well uhhh... The funny thing is.... I err... Killed them both. Sorry.}{}{5}{gv8 0, gv9 2}{290}{}
{90}{Chikkens... Uhhh.... Well uhhh... Da funny t'ing is.... Me err... Killed dem both. Sorry.}{}{-4}{gv8 0, gv9 2}{290}{}
{91}{Well... I've caught one.. But uhhh.... I accidentally killed the other one. I hope you don't mind.}{}{5}{in 5610, gv8 1, gv9 1}{250}{}
{92}{Uhhh... Me kort wun.. But uhhh.... Me ack-see-dent-lee killed da otha wun. Me hope yoo don' mind.}{}{-4}{in 5610, gv8 1, gv9 1}{250}{}
{93}{E:}{}{1}{}{0}{}

// Quest 1010 Completed (You stop that! You scare my chickens!!)
// Need to be able to ask a few questions about Ship/Journey and so on in here.
{110}{Hello again @pcname@. Thanks for your help with the chickens before. I don't think I'd ever have caught them myself!}{Hello again @pcname@. Thanks for your help with the chickens before. I don't think I'd ever have caught them myself!}{}{}{}{}
{111}{E:}{}{1}{}{0}{}

{120}{[He takes both of the cages from you] Oh thank you @pcname@! I was beginning to think I'd have to live with them running around the Kitchen forever! No matter now though, they're all safe and sound. Well, thank you very much for your help. Now, how about a taste of my special recipe then?}{[He takes both of the cages from you] Oh thank you @pcname@! I was beginning to think I'd have to live with them running around the Kitchen forever! No matter now though, they're all safe and sound. Well, thank you very much for your help. Now, how about a taste of my special recipe then?}{}{}{}{in 5610, in 5610, qu1010 4}
{121}{Special recipe? Sounds good. Give me some!}{}{5}{}{170}{}
{122}{Speshul ress-ar-pee? Sownd good. Give me sum!}{}{-4}{}{170}{}
{123}{Uhhhh.... What do you call it? This special recipe of yours?}{}{5}{}{150}{}
{124}{Uhhhh.... W'at yoo kall yoor speshul ress-ar-pee?}{}{-4}{}{150}{}
{125}{What!? Suffer through your horrid cooking again? NEVER!!}{}{5}{}{60}{}
{126}{Ewww.... Suffa moore of yoor horrid kooking? NEVA!!}{}{-4}{}{60}{}
{127}{No... I don't think I'll have any. I have uhhh.. Other things that I have to do.}{}{5}{}{140}{}
{128}{Nuhuh... Me no dink me haf any. Me have ta uhhh.. Go do utta t'ings...}{}{-4}{}{140}{}

{130}{Well.... What are you talking to me for? Try and catch the other one of my chickens please. It's no use having one of my chickens still running around the place!}{Well.... What are you talking to me for? Try and catch the other one of my chickens please. It's no use having one of my chickens still running around the place!}{}{}{}{}
{131}{Oh... Yes, you're right, I'll go and catch it now then.}{}{5}{}{0}{}
{132}{Uhhh... Me go katch otha' chikken now den. Me be rite back!}{}{-4}{}{0}{}

{140}{No matter then! It just means there's all the more for me!!}{No matter then! It just means there's all the more for me!!}{}{}{}{}
{141}{E:}{}{1}{}{0}{}

{150}{Ahhh...... My special recipe? I call it "Ships Rat Burger"! What do ya think?}{Ahhh...... My special recipe? I call it "Ships Rat Burger"! What do ya think?}{}{}{}{}
{151}{"Ships Rat Burger"? Sounds great! Let's have a bite.}{}{5}{}{170}{}
{152}{"Ships Rat Berger"? Sownds grate! Me want some!}{}{-4}{}{170}{}
{153}{Uhhhh.... Is it made out of REAL rat?}{}{5}{}{160}{}
{154}{Uhhhh.... It mayde owt of REEL rat?}{}{-4}{}{160}{}
{155}{Oh gee, is that the time? I'd better be going now....}{}{5}{}{140}{}
{156}{Akshully, me better be goin' now....}{}{-4}{}{140}{}

{160}{Why of course @pcname@! It's made from rats caught right here on this ship!! They're just PERFECT for cooking on the open sea!}{Why of course @pcname@! It's made from rats caught right here on this ship!! They're just PERFECT for cooking on the open sea!}{}{}{}{}
{161}{Oh well in that case... Let's try some.}{}{5}{}{170}{}
{162}{Oh well in dat kayse... Me betta try some.}{}{-4}{}{170}{}
{163}{I think I'll pass on your offer...}{}{5}{}{140}{}
{164}{Me not dink me wan' any.}{}{-4}{}{140}{}

{170}{Okay then.... [He rumages among the food stuffs and pulls out a small, brownish patty like thing] Here, have a small bite of my "Rat Burger"!}{Okay then.... [He rumages among the food stuffs and pulls out a small, brownish patty like thing] Here, have a small bite of my "Rat Burger"!}{}{}{}{}
{171}{Thanks! [Take a bite]}{}{5}{}{180}{}
{172}{T'anks! [Take a bite]}{}{-4}{}{180}{}
{173}{Uhhh... On second thoughts, I'm not really that hungry right now.... So uhhh... I think I'll pass.}{}{5}{}{140}{}
{174}{Uhhh... Me dink me not reely dat hungree no moor. Uhhh... Me not wan' rat burger.}{}{-4}{}{140}{}

{180}{[After a while you start to choke. You can feel the blood draining from your face and you start to turn a slighty purple colour. Rasputin carries on as if nothing is wrong] Tastes pretty good doesn't it? It's become my favourite recipe. Why, I reckon this'll make me a fortune!!}{[After a while you start to choke. You can feel the blood draining from your face and you start to turn a slighty purple colour. Rasputin carries on as if nothing is wrong] Tastes pretty good doesn't it? It's become my favourite recipe. Why, I reckon this'll make me a fortune!! }{}{}{}{}
{181}{[Spit the horrid tasting substance out onto the floor before you choke to death]}{}{1}{}{60}{}
{182}{[Put on a brave face, risk certain death and swallow what you're still trying to chew]}{}{1}{}{-12}{} // Bless player
{183}{[Throw up all over Rasputin]}{}{1}{}{-15}{}

{190}{Anyway, thank you for all your help with the chickens @pcname@! I don't know what I would've done without you.}{Anyway, thank you for all your help with the chickens @pcname@! I don't know what I would've done without you.}{}{}{}{}
{191}{E:}{}{1}{}{0}{}

// Quest 1010 Botched (Da chickens be ded. Rasputin has already been told.)
{200}{I TOLD YOU!! I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!! What are you doing talking to me!? GET AWAY CHICKEN KILLER!!}{I TOLD YOU!! I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!! What are you doing talking to me!? GET AWAY CHICKEN KILLER!!}{}{}{}{}
{201}{E:}{}{1}{}{0}{}

{209}{[He mumbles something about you being ungrateful, before taking out a small rag and cleaning himself off]}{[He mumbles something about you being ungrateful, before taking out a small rag and cleaning himself off]}{}{}{}{}
{210}{[Your mouthful of "Rat Burger" projectiles through the air and onto Rasputin the Mad Cook, who looks none too happy about the situation] What the!?}{[Your mouthful of "Rat Burger" projectiles through the air and onto Rasputin the Mad Cook, who looks none too happy about the situation] What the!?}{}{}{}{}
{211}{Gee... Awfully sorry about that Rasputin...}{}{5}{}{0}{fl 209}
{212}{Uhhh... Reel sorry 'bout dat Rarspooten...}{}{-4}{}{0}{fl 209}
{213}{Heheh.... Seems it doesn't taste that good, hey?}{}{5}{}{60}{}
{214}{Heheh... Seems it not tayste dat good huh?}{}{-4}{}{60}{}

// Option: Make it a possibility for PC to use cages on chickens found at one of the farms. Let PC catch them and bring them to Rasputin to make up for it? Quest complete but with less XP and no option for rat burger?
{250}{YOU DID WHAT!!!! You KILLED one of my chickens!! What in the name of the Void did you go and do that for?}{YOU DID WHAT!!!! You KILLED one of my chickens!! What in the name of the Void did you go and do that for?}{}{}{}{re -15, qu1010 6}
{251}{Well... It was an accident... You know how these things happen....}{}{5}{}{260}{}
{252}{Uhhh.... It waz an ak-see-dent... Yoo know how dese t'ings happen....}{}{-4}{}{260}{}
{253}{Well... I did catch the other one. See... [Show him the cage].}{}{5}{in 5610, gv8 1, gv9 1}{280}{}
{254}{Uhhh... Me did katch da otha wun. See... [Show him the cage].}{}{-4}{in 5610, gv8 1, gv9 1}{280}{}

{260}{An ACCIDENT!!! How do you ACCIDENTALLY kill a chicken? What happened? Did you step on it with your big feet or something?}{An ACCIDENT!!! How do you ACCIDENTALLY kill a chicken? What happened? Did you step on it with your big feet or something?}{}{}{}{}
{261}{Well... I uhhh... Hey! How about I catch the other one for you? Will that help?}{}{5}{ni 5610}{270}{}
{262}{Uhhh... Me uhhh... Hey! How 'bout me katch da otha wun for yoo? Dat gonna helf?}{}{-4}{ni 5610}{270}{}
{263}{Well... I uhhh... Hey! What do you want me to do with the other one I've got here?}{}{5}{in 5610}{280}{}
{264}{Uhhh... Me uhhh... Hey! W'at me gonna do wit da wun me got heer?}{}{-4}{in 5610}{280}{}

{269}{I want you to go away and NEVER come back! You hear me? GET LOST!! GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN! SHOOO!! GO AWAY!!}{I want you to go away and NEVER come back! You hear me? GET LOST!! GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN! SHOOO!! GO AWAY!!}{}{}{}{}

{270}{WHAT!? YOU!? After you just KILLED one of them? NO! Stay away from my chicken! In fact, you can GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN ALTOGETHER!!}{WHAT!? YOU!? After you just KILLED one of them? NO! Stay away from my chicken! In fact, you can GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN ALTOGETHER!!}{}{}{}{}
{271}{Gee.... There's no need to be so uptight about it.... It's just a chicken...}{}{5}{}{0}{fl 269}
{272}{Sheeesh.... Dere no need ta be so angree 'bout it.... It jus' a chikken...}{}{-4}{}{0}{fl 269}

{280}{[He snatches the cage from you] There you are girl. All safe and sound now. Away from that bad man. [He looks at you] NOW!! As for YOU!! You can go away and stay away from my chicken! In fact, you can GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN ALTOGETHER!!}{[He snatches the cage from you] There you are girl. All safe and sound now. Away from that bad woman. [He looks at you] NOW!! As for YOU!! You can go away and stay away from my chicken! In fact, you can GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN ALTOGETHER!!}{}{}{}{in 5610}
{281}{Gee.... There's no need to be so uptight about it.... It's just a chicken...}{}{5}{}{0}{fl 269}
{282}{Sheeesh.... Dere no need ta be so angree 'bout it.... It jus' a chikken...}{}{-4}{}{0}{fl 269}

{290}{You did WHAT!? You killed them BOTH? How on EARTH did you manage that? Just what did you do? Step on them with your big feet or something? How can you POSSIBLY kill BOTH my chickens!?!?}{You did WHAT!? You killed them BOTH? How on EARTH did you manage that? Just what did you do? Step on them with your big feet or something? How can you POSSIBLY kill BOTH my chickens!?!?}{}{}{}{re -15, qu1010 6}
{291}{Well.... I was..... Uhhh.... It was an accident.... You know how these things can happen...}{}{5}{}{300}{}
{292}{Uhhh.... Me waz..... Uhhh.... It waz an ack-see-dent.... Yoo know how dese t'ings kan happen...}{}{-4}{}{300}{}

{300}{WHAT!? ACCIDENT?? You ACCIDENTALLY killed BOTH of my chickens!?? GO AWAY!! GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!!}{WHAT!? ACCIDENT?? You ACCIDENTALLY killed BOTH of my chickens!?? GO AWAY!! GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!!}{}{}{}{}
{301}{Gee.... There's no need to be so uptight about it.... They're just chickens...}{}{5}{}{0}{fl 269}
{302}{Sheeesh.... Dere no need ta be so angree 'bout it.... Dere jus' chikkens...}{}{-4}{}{0}{fl 269}

// {Y}{}{}{INT}{}{XXX}{}

// Rasputin Dot Point Notes
// - Rasputin is cooking for crew.
// - His 2 chickens/rats/whatever have escaped and he is looking for them.
// - PC talks to him, finds out, asks to help.
// - Rasputin gives PC 2 Chicken Cages (1 for each chicken) and tells PC to trap the chickens.
// - PC does so (chickens are in cargo hold) and returns to Cook.
// - Level 1 quest completed.
// - Rapsutin says thank you, asks if PC would like to try his special "Ships Rat Burger" made from real Ships Rat!!
// - If PC accepts, PC gets a boost in some skills (good thing)
// - If PC refuses, then no matter, cook says "No matter, all the more for me then!!"
// - If PC talks to him later, all he does is say, thanks for the help with the chickens before.

// - Problem with checking if BOTH cages (with same internal names) are in inventory.
// - As soon as a chicken is killed, dying script sets quest state to botched (What if PC only kills 1 chook?)
// - WHAT if PC kills chicken FIRST then talks to Rasputin?
// - Set 2 Global Variables, gv8 = number of chooks caught, gv9 = number of chooks killed


The Question
Those of you that are still here (Anyone? Anyone at all?) I ask you, what do you think of that quest? Is it still cliched (pretend the accent mark is in there)? Is it predictable? Is it old hat? Or would it be an interesting quest?

One problem I see with it is that the dumb dialogue is just the normal dialogue made to look dumb. Instead, it would be nice if the dumb dialogue offered something different for the player.

For example, a dumb person probably wouldn't go beyond tasting the food, and then throw a fit about it. The dumb person might not understand what the cook wants the chickens for, either. Hell, the dumb character might even find the living chickens to be cute, and therefore try to save them from the cook, not knowing that's where the food comes from. He might not be smart enough to work the cages.

Really, one of the main purposes of dumb dialogue is to make the game act differently for the characters that can't quite grasp situations that average or above average people do. It allows you to present things differently for those people. Just taking the normal dialogue and making it "dumb" comes off as it just being a joke and not a device for role playing.

Perhaps if you swallow it, you get +1 to one stat and -1 to some other.

If you vomit all over the cook, he might ask you to go and get a new apron out of the storage cupboard for him(You get a key to get some minor items)

If you spit it out, he refuses to talk to you. Perhaps if you come back later you find out the cook has poisoned the crew with some mysterious rat substance.

Otherwise it seems good. Pretty original, except for the reward at the end, and the dumb dialouge just seems to give the player a speech impedement.

Not really very "grey" tho is it? You help someone, and if you're polite, you get a positive stat adjustment. Helping a cook (potion maker) get ingredients and then getting some sort of stat reward is a bit of a cliche, so I think you need more options to spice it up.

If your character has good speech you would gladly collect his chickens thursday for a rat burger today. You could threaten to go tell the captain the cook cant control his livestock for money/a burger up front.

Tho I've no clue where the mod goes from here, howsabout evil characters being able to kill him, and you can try to dump the body overboard and take his stuff, if caught or if you tell the captain they need a new cook, as long as you're somewhat intimidating he comments that none of the crew could stomach his cooking anyway and you get his wages, or if not intimidating you get tossed in legirons and have to serve as ships cook for the remainder of the voyage, where you get a +Constitution for slaving over a hot stove in a nauseating environment, or you could then poison the crew leading to another set of problems...

Thats one hell of a runon sentence

Anyway I can appreciate the amount of work going into the quest just the way it is, but to make it truly "grey" you need something for sneaky/evil/greedy characters to do. Further to make it seem like a real world actions need consequences, so if you kill the chickens/cook the crew goes a bit hungry and you get to your destination later, or if you capture them and cant stomach the burger at least the cook has some free time (since he's not chasing chickens) that he'll teach you a skill. Much more work, but the end result is a more rewarding game experience.

...prolly not worth it for a mod tho

comment

My only comment, beyond agreeing with saint p, is that the quest is pretty easy. Don't take that the wrong way (cause i'm certain the dialogue tree WASN'T easy to write and check), let me explain:

The solution for the problem is in the same location as the problem.
The npc tells the pc exactly what the problem is.
The npc gives the player the tools needed to solved the problem.

Essentially, the pc is being lead and not given a chance to do anything but jump the hoops, or not. Here's a broad suggestion(using D&D terms here and xp points just to demonstrate relative value):

Talk to cook;

after some confidence building the cook relates that he forgot to salt the fresh meat, and it's spoiled. He's afraid the captain's gonna flay him if he finds out.

Players options:

Tell the captain: cook gets flayed, player gets 1000 xp if lawful or evil. quest complete.
Buy new food: party loses 100 gp. if good/neutral or chaotic/neutral, gets 500 xp. quest complete
Find empty liquor bottles, confront cook. Only with high int/wis. PC finds out cook is a drunk. If tell the captain, and pc lawful, bonus 500 xp. if good/neutral, help cook overcome his problem(+1 wis)- maybe extensive subquest. if evil, blackmail cook to get him to divulge secret location of hidden item.
Find cookbook in city(coping with rancid meat): gain 1000 xp(all but lawful or evil)
Stage 'great food robbery' (for high chr/dex). stage a break in into the ship and steal the food and salt. 1000 xp, +50 gp for stolen salt.

one of the important things here is that the player has to think of the solution themselves. Another thing, is that the player is only rewarded with xp if they do something in line with their alignment...

just some thoughts...

I also agree with Sharpei_Diem on the subject of having a quest take place in a small area. While this works in some cases, like the hydroponic farms thing in Fallout, it might be better to have to chickens somewhere on that deck, and not just in that one room.

Saint_Proverbius said:

One problem I see with it is that the dumb dialogue is just the normal dialogue made to look dumb. Instead, it would be nice if the dumb dialogue offered something different for the player.

Click to expand...

You're all a bunch of work Nazi's, you know that? Do you have any idea the amount of time I'd have to spend if I made every quest have a completely different dumb dialogue tree? Damn I wish I had a team of grunts behind me

Saint_Proverbius said:

For example, a dumb person probably wouldn't go beyond tasting the food, and then throw a fit about it. The dumb person might not understand what the cook wants the chickens for, either. Hell, the dumb character might even find the living chickens to be cute, and therefore try to save them from the cook, not knowing that's where the food comes from. He might not be smart enough to work the cages.

Click to expand...

It's a good point. I avoided it because of the work involved though. Hmm... I suppose that means I'd be good for a job in this industry then. I'd get to pump out the same old trite constantly using "too much work!" and "but it won't help the game sell!" as my excuses for poor quality filth.

Your ideas are good. In the spirit of things, I'll rework the dialogue (when I get the chance) to include a proper dumb path. Then I'll post it in here and see how well that works.

Megatron said:

Perhaps if you swallow it, you get +1 to one stat and -1 to some other.

Click to expand...

Arrgh. I hate that just as much. If I went that way, I'd just make it a negative and leave it at that. I'm not much one for "minus one, increase another", it's too "balancing" so too speak. I prefer good or bad consequences, not a half and half.

Megatron said:

If you vomit all over the cook, he might ask you to go and get a new apron out of the storage cupboard for him(You get a key to get some minor items)

If you spit it out, he refuses to talk to you. Perhaps if you come back later you find out the cook has poisoned the crew with some mysterious rat substance.

Click to expand...

WORK NAZI! Good ideas though. I'll see about implementing something of that nature in my later revision.

HanoverF said:

Not really very "grey" tho is it? You help someone, and if you're polite, you get a positive stat adjustment.

Click to expand...

You'd prefer to throw up or insult the cook and get a positive stat adjustment? And that makes sense... how? I mean, I suppose I could work that in, but you usually have to be polite to people if you want them to actually do something for you. I don't know too many people who "give up the cake" when you insult them.

HanoverF said:

Helping a cook (potion maker) get ingredients and then getting some sort of stat reward is a bit of a cliche, so I think you need more options to spice it up.

Click to expand...

WORK NAZI!

HanoverF said:

If your character has good speech you would gladly collect his chickens thursday for a rat burger today.

Click to expand...

Collecting the chickens Thursday is a moot point. By then, I'd presume the cook to have caught them himself, or gotten one of the other crew to collect them.

HanoverF said:

You could threaten to go tell the captain the cook cant control his livestock for money/a burger up front.

Click to expand...

I didn't think of this, mainly because the captain of the ship is a nice guy.

HanoverF said:

Tho I've no clue where the mod goes from here, howsabout evil characters being able to kill him, and you can try to dump the body overboard and take his stuff, if caught or if you tell the captain they need a new cook, as long as you're somewhat intimidating he comments that none of the crew could stomach his cooking anyway and you get his wages, or if not intimidating you get tossed in legirons and have to serve as ships cook for the remainder of the voyage, where you get a +Constitution for slaving over a hot stove in a nauseating environment, or you could then poison the crew leading to another set of problems...

Click to expand...

WORK NAZI!

Good idea though. To clarify, the quest is after the journey, not during. So the ship has landed and the PC goes beneath docks. It is a good idea though. I'll see about working this in as well.

HanoverF said:

Anyway I can appreciate the amount of work going into the quest just the way it is, but to make it truly "grey" you need something for sneaky/evil/greedy characters to do. Further to make it seem like a real world actions need consequences, so if you kill the chickens/cook the crew goes a bit hungry and you get to your destination later, or if you capture them and cant stomach the burger at least the cook has some free time (since he's not chasing chickens) that he'll teach you a skill. Much more work, but the end result is a more rewarding game experience.

Click to expand...

WORK NAZI! WORK NAZI! WORK NAZI!

*adds it to the list of things to do*

HanoverF said:

...prolly not worth it for a mod tho

Click to expand...

I disagree though. One of the reasons I stopped modding was because I had all these ideas but lacked the time to implement them. I know I'm capabale of making some kick-ass mod, it's just the amount of time needed. I always wanted my mod to have "just that little bit more" than the other mods out there. Otherwise there's not much point making the mod. I think people want something interesting to play, not just standard quests.

Sharpei_Diem said:

My only comment, beyond agreeing with saint p, is that the quest is pretty easy.

Click to expand...

It's a level 1 quest. It's supposed to be easy. It's designed as one of those trite quests you do when you first play the game, as a level 1 character. Point noted though.

Sharpei_Diem said:

Don't take that the wrong way (cause i'm certain the dialogue tree WASN'T easy to write and check), let me explain:

The solution for the problem is in the same location as the problem.
The npc tells the pc exactly what the problem is.
The npc gives the player the tools needed to solved the problem.

Essentially, the pc is being lead and not given a chance to do anything but jump the hoops, or not. Here's a broad suggestion(using D&D terms here and xp points just to demonstrate relative value):

Talk to cook;

after some confidence building the cook relates that he forgot to salt the fresh meat, and it's spoiled. He's afraid the captain's gonna flay him if he finds out.

Click to expand...

Presuming the Captain is a guy that would flay his cook...

Sharpei_Diem said:

Players options:

Tell the captain: cook gets flayed, player gets 1000 xp if lawful or evil. quest complete.
Buy new food: party loses 100 gp. if good/neutral or chaotic/neutral, gets 500 xp. quest complete
Find empty liquor bottles, confront cook. Only with high int/wis. PC finds out cook is a drunk. If tell the captain, and pc lawful, bonus 500 xp. if good/neutral, help cook overcome his problem(+1 wis)- maybe extensive subquest. if evil, blackmail cook to get him to divulge secret location of hidden item.
Find cookbook in city(coping with rancid meat): gain 1000 xp(all but lawful or evil)
Stage 'great food robbery' (for high chr/dex). stage a break in into the ship and steal the food and salt. 1000 xp, +50 gp for stolen salt.

Click to expand...

Now you're just changing the quest. WORK NAZI!

I'll see what I can cook up though, in terms of options.

Sharpei_Diem said:

one of the important things here is that the player has to think of the solution themselves. Another thing, is that the player is only rewarded with xp if they do something in line with their alignment...

Click to expand...

*Insert WORK NAZI here in big font*

I understand your point. Telling the PC how to do everything is trite. In my defence, it is supposed to be a simple quest. One of my concerns at the time was making sure the player understood how to catch the chickens (perhaps I over simplified?).

Saint_Proverbius said:

I also agree with Sharpei_Diem on the subject of having a quest take place in a small area. While this works in some cases, like the hydroponic farms thing in Fallout,

Click to expand...

??? You mean the XP a high intelligence player gets in Shady Sands for telling them to use Crop Rotation? If you do... Heheh. I "borrowed" that quest for Grayhills (sic). Only you have to have read the book in the library first...

Saint_Proverbius said:

it might be better to have to chickens somewhere on that deck, and not just in that one room.

Click to expand...

Slight problem, on that deck the only other room is the cargo hold, which is the room right next door. So it's not a big difference in terms of travel distance. I also have problems with chickens opening doors to escape into other rooms too...

Anyway, taking all of what's said into account:
New path for dumb dialogue
- A dumb person probably wouldn't go beyond tasting the food, and then throw a fit about it. The dumb person might not understand what the cook wants the chickens for, either. Hell, the dumb character might even find the living chickens to be cute, and therefore try to save them from the cook, not knowing that's where the food comes from. He might not be smart enough to work the cages.

Clean the cook if you vomit
- If you vomit all over the cook, he asks you to clean him up or he'll beat you up. This is only done for weak/low level characters. He'll give you the key to the cupboard to get some water to wash himself off with. In the cupboard will be some healing salves - IE: Suck it down and get some healing salves, fight him, or walk away

If you swallow and say the food was good...
- You come back later you find out the cook has poisoned the crew with his rat burgers - slight variation on idea mentioned

Threaten the Cook
- You can threaten to go tell the captain that the cook can't control his livestock for money/a burger up front. If your persuasion works, the cook will bend, if not, he calls your bluff, you go tell the Captain and the Captain doesn't care.

Kill the Cook
- characters are able to kill him, and you can take his stuff, if you tell the captain they need a new cook, as long as you're somewhat intimidating (persuasion + strength combination) he comments that none of the crew could stomach his cooking anyway and you get his wages, the vrew will then go hungry for a while. If not intimidating you get "teleported" to the prison in town. You can then use what Saint said in another thread to escape. Talk/lockpick your way out etc...

Forced Vomitting
- if you capture them and cant stomach the burger at least the cook has some free time (since he's not chasing chickens) that he'll teach you a skill, how to make lemon and potato charges

A *POSSIBLE* follow up Quest
- after completing the chicken quest and gaining the cooks confidence, the cook relates that he forgot to salt the fresh meat, and it's spoiled. He's afraid the captain's gonna throw a hissy-fit (hey, he's a nice guy) if he finds out.

* Tell the captain: cook goes nuts and fires the cook, player gets some xp if evil alignment. Quest Complete.
* Buy new food: Player loses 100 gp. if good/neutral or chaotic/neutral, gets 500 xp. Quest Complete.
* Find empty liquor bottles, confront cook. Only with high persuasion. PC finds out cook is a drunk. If tell the captain, and pc lawful, bonus 500 xp. if good/neutral, help cook overcome his problem(+1 wis)- maybe extensive subquest. if evil, blackmail cook to get him to divulge secret location of hidden item.
* Find cookbook in city (coping with rancid meat): gain 1000 xp(all but lawful or evil)
Stage 'great food robbery' (for high chr/dex). stage a break in into the ship and steal the food and salt. 1000 xp, +50 gp for stolen salt.

Chickens are staying in the Kitchen
- I have issues with chickens that can jump out of cages and then open doors.

DarkUnderlord said:

You're all a bunch of work Nazi's, you know that? Do you have any idea the amount of time I'd have to spend if I made every quest have a completely different dumb dialogue tree?

Click to expand...

Good point. If you treat the dumb character as special in one instance, you pretty well have to be consistent...and i'm not sure the return is worth the investment

Now you're just changing the quest.

Click to expand...

Sorry, just rattled off an example from the top of my head to illustrate my points. I didn't intend to mean for you to change the quest. I'll stay in line next time, sorry

One of my concerns at the time was making sure the player understood how to catch the chickens (perhaps I over simplified?).

Click to expand...

That's a good question. It's a pretty hard line to follow: on the one hand you have people who don't want to be led/want to figure it out, want it to plausible and not simple(not like infamous Infocom games). On the other, you have people that don't want to spend tons of time trying to figure out stuff (I think alot of these people have lost faith in QC. How many times is it that you've solved the quest/have the item needed, but it's just a bug in the system that prevents the quest from being completed).

As far as items to solve quests go, i personally dislike them(mostly due to bioware games). Since there are so few items to pick up, the ones that you can almost scream "I'M SPECIAL. KEEP ME IN YOUR INVENTORY SO YOU CAN COMPLETE A QUEST LATER". And then when they don't disappear after you complete the quest.....(urge to kill, rising)



....time...



(urge to kill, fading)

back to point,

another idea to maybe throw some randomness into the mix, how about a chicken-killing cat in the room belonging to the captain(or someone)?

Heh.
Great quest, and I hope you add the above material.
Why not adds some sort of vague historical reference to the real Rasputin? Why not name the captain Nicholas, and if Nicholas kicks Rasputin off, why not have a mutiny on board? It could be worth a laugh, though I know it sounds stupid.
Might I ask what this mod entails? Are you just adding it to Arcanum, or what?
Honestly though. I cannot wait to see this done.
Also, why not add completely different results to different paths and the alignment you use? Say, for instance, if you are Lawful Neutral and you help the cook out, you could get some XP. However, if you are evil/money motivated, you could simply get money.
I would actually like to see more of that in alot of games. I am tired of just getting XP.

DarkUnderlord said:

HanoverF said:

Not really very "grey" tho is it? You help someone, and if you're polite, you get a positive stat adjustment.

Click to expand...

You'd prefer to throw up or insult the cook and get a positive stat adjustment? And that makes sense... how? I mean, I suppose I could work that in, but you usually have to be polite to people if you want them to actually do something for you. I don't know too many people who "give up the cake" when you insult them.

Click to expand...

No not a stat adjustment, but they should get something, they have afterall returned with two trapped chickens. As first described its a very White Hat quest. Grey, to me, means its morally vague, like the old stealing bread to feed starving kids. Its about doing the wrong thing (stealing) for the right reason (starving kids) or the right thing (helping someone) for the wrong reason (money).

Putting my Work Nazi helmet back on, maybe with the right stats (Perception or Int?), or by inspecting the coups, you realize these aren't the cooks hens, that they've been shipped to someone, and the cook fesses up that he's been taking the eggs since they'd likely just break from the ship rocking or what not and if he doesn't get them back in their coups before the guy comes to collect em hes in trouble. Maybe you get a little coin and can still get the reward from him, or take the caged chickens to their owner on the outskirts of the town (there is a town by these docks right? heh) for a reward, and maybe a little more reward for tattling on the cook. Or if evil you can kill the chickens and tell the guy the cook did it, Mwahaha

Schnell Schnell!!