Quest Design
A Soldier’s Regrets
André Figueira – An open-world RPG sample quest chain
Summary:
Game Sample Overview: Third-Person Open World RPG. In medieval Europe, the Player is a knight, tasked with finding the king’s missing daughter.
Number of Quests: 1 to 2 possible quests.
Story Summary: The player comes across Solomon’s flower shop. Here he will learn more about Solomon’s story, where he will tell the player about how his wife died almost half a century ago, and before dying some teens had raped her. (To see the story in more detail please refer to Solomon’s character sheet). In the first quest, Solomon asks the player to serve justice on the man that had raped his wife, as he wants to make them pay. If the player agrees and kills these men, a second quest will appear, where Solomon will ask the player to kill him.
Characters:
Quest Giver: Solomon
NPCs that get in the player's way: Theo and Marsha (Objective of the first quest).
Location(s):
Main quest locations:
Blackfort is a small village to the south of the capital city. Mostly a farming village with no more than 30 people.
Theo and Marsha’s house.
Solomon’s flower shop. Situated just outside Blackfort, in a plain before the forest.
Backup Locations: Quest is adaptable to any other village, not having a specific dialogue for Blackfort, this allows for the flower shop and Theo and Marsha’s house to be placed in any other village in case the need for it arises.
How quests affect Solomon (Read after Quests)
If the player didn’t complete the first quest, as in, he didn’t kill Theo and Marsha or successfully tricked Solomon, Solomon will live, and his flower shop will remain open. However, the prices in his shop are inflated for the player.
If the player got to the second quest, two things can happen:
If the player doesn’t kill Solomon, he will close his flower shop and disappear. The player will not be able to go inside the shop and won’t know what happened to Solomon.
If the player kills Solomon, then the flower shop will remain open, as Solomon’s friend Jordan will become the new shopkeeper.
A Soldier’s Regrets – Part 1
Old wounds burn stronger.
Future Dialogue Cues:
Solomon needs to tell the player about his life, about how those men raped his wife, and say his wife died but not how.
Theo and Marsha need to show indifference to the player and tell how they cannot control their actions when they are drunk.
Narrative Beats:
Conversation: The player speaks with Solomon and receives the quest.
Find: The player needs to discover where Theo and Marsha’s house is.
Conversation: The player needs to talk with Theo and Marsha and decide their fate.
IF THE PLAYER DECIDES TO KILL THEM:
Combat: The player decides to kill Theo and Marsha.
Retrieve and Return: The player takes proof of Theo and Marsha’s demise and returns to Solomon.
REWARD: XP, Solomon’s rapier. UNLOCKS SECOND QUEST.
IF THE PLAYER DECIDES NOT TO KILL THEM:
Dialogue and Persuasion: The player needs to know how he will handle the situation.
THE PLAYER LEAVES THEO AND MARSHA ALONE:
Return: The player returns to Solomon and says he didn’t kill them.
REWARD: XP.
THE PLAYER PERSUADES THEO AND MARSHA TO LEAVE BLACKFORT:
Return and Persuade: The player returns to Solomon and tries to convince him that he killed them. Without proof, Solomon doesn’t believe it.
REWARD: XP.
THE PLAYER PERSUADES THEO AND MARSHA TO LEAVE BLACKFORT, AND ASKS FOR THEO’S NECKLACE AS PROOF:
Return and Persuade: Return to Solomon and convince him that you killed them. By showing the necklace, Solomon believes the player.
REWARD: XP, Solomon’s rapier. UNLOCKS THE SECOND QUEST.
A soldier’s regrets – Part 2
Until death do us whole.
Future Dialogue Cues:
Solomon tells the player how he threw his bags at his wife, causing her to miscarry.
Solomon explains to the player, how they were married after one year of dating, and he came back after four years at war.
Solomon tells the player how his wife was terminally ill, and how he spent her last months next to her, feeling guilty for what he had done to her.
Solomon must show remorse for making the player kill Theo and Marsha, as that didn’t solve anything.
Narrative Beats:
Conversation: Solomon talks with the player, saying that he has nothing to live for, and wants the player to help him reunite with his wife.
IF THE PLAYER DOESN’T AGREE:
Combat: Solomon will force the player to fight him.
IF THE PLAYER KILLS SOLOMON:
Solomon says “thank you” in his dying breaths, and the quest ends.
REWARD: XP.
IF THE PLAYER DOESN’T KILL SOLOMON:
Solomon will fall to the ground and start to cry. He will scream to the player for him to go away. The quest ends.
REWARD: XP.
IF PLAYER AGREES:
Fetch and Meet: Solomon asks the player to fetch a bleeding heart, his wife’s favorite flower, and meet him by sunset.
Dialogue: Solomon talks about his life, and explains he wants to die as a soldier. Asks the player to fight him and ultimately, kill him.
IF PLAYER DOESN’T AGREE:
Combat: Solomon will force the player to fight him.
IF PLAYER KILLS SOLOMON:
Solomon says “thank you” in his dying breaths, and the quest ends.
REWARD: XP.
IF THE PLAYER DOESN’T KILL SOLOMON:
Solomon will fall to the ground and start to cry. He will scream to the player for him to go away. The quest ends.
REWARD: XP.
IF PLAYER AGREES:
Dialogue and Gives Item: Solomon thanks the player for bringing the flower and speaks about his wife, and how much this flower meant to her.
Dialogue and Statsh Reveal: Solomon says there is a hidden door under his house, containing some of his best war equipment and gold. Tells the player he can take whatever he wants from it and reveals the location of the key.
Combat: Solomon will fight the player until he dies. At this point, the player cannot change his mind and cannot knock down Solomon. Solomon says “thank you” in his dying breaths.
Explore and Loot: The player needs to find the key, and loot Solomon’s stash.
REWARD: XP, SOLOMON’S STASH.
