I want to write something, and I have for a long time, but I always get distracted by another new idea or a lack of motivation. Here I want to lay out the basic premise for a number of quests I've come up with over the years, but never started. It's my hope that getting something started in an interactive format with an active audience will keep me focused on writing.
The quests are ordered in roughly the order I came up with these ideas and some of them have more details planned than others. I have an interest in writing all of these, so vote for whatever one you would want to read or participate in.
Some things to keep in mind:
1) I'm going to leave the initial vote open for a while and while I do, I'll answer most any question about any of the ideas that come up. If anything crosses over into Spoiler territory, I'll mark it as such. If it goes into something beyond mere spoiler into major twist, I'll dm the answer to the first person who asks and confirms they want to know.
2) Depending on the number of votes and how close things are, I might have a runoff of the top three ideas.
3) A number of the quests will feature Character Creation at the beginning to determine the basic skills, personality, and desires of the player character. The first vote that will be asked in those cases will be, 'will people want to do character creation step-by-step or by plan'?
4) That is an overarching question to consider for all the quests. Plans are effective ways to streamline the vote, and collectively work towards a specific goal in mind, but it can get complicated, especially with multiple similar plans that have just one or two differences, and also runs the risk of a small number of planmakers dominating the discussion due to the difficulty of making plans. Meanwhile step-by-step votes allows greater freedom to individuals to influence the narrative as they want, but can make the votes more point to point, with synergy and planning taking a backstep.
5) All of these ideas will not be taken off the table once one has been picked. I would like to visit some of them again in the future.
Format
*Working Title
- Synopsis of concept
- Style of Quest
- Additional thoughts
+ Story snippet/Showcase of the concept
[] Power of Will*
-Choose one of three genres of story, a Mecha about defending the world from aliens, a Magical Girl/Magic Academy about [incomplete data], or a Supernatural story about overcoming a Vampire conspiracy. But you aren't the main character of this story, instead you play as a love interest/major side character helping to manage and teach the Hero. Each story has a pre-built heroine character, a fiery test-pilot unable to join the fight, a knowledgeable scion of a powerful magical family with no ability to cast magic, or a young vampire hunter forced to retire early from crippling wounds, or you can build the MC's Childhood Friend as a custom character. Whatever your backstory, interact with the Hero of the story and aid their quest to Save the World*
-A heavily narrative quest, with dice rolls for skill gain and interactions.
-Each of the Player Characters will have some kind of handicap or disability, and the idea is the more severe it is, the more points are granted to be put into different skills. Will you double as a nurse or doctor to help heal the MC, a mechanic to trick out their mech or weapon, or join mission control as a communications officer?
[] My Best Friend, the Extra Boss of the Hidden Dungeon
-A dual-character quest where you play as a young child and the new friend they make, the titular super boss of a fantasy RPG world's hidden dungeon. Possible Boss designs include Beasts like dragons and ancient giant animals, advanced machines from a lost civilization like superweapons or AI, or sealed aspects of Conceptuals or Gods.
-Probably a heavily narrative style quest, I can't imagine constant combat from an overpowered needing a lot of dice rolls.
- This is probably one of the least formed ideas that I would commit to writing because the concept fascinates me, but it's a bit hard to plan out some kind of long-term plot before knowing the kind of boss monster being played, as each one plays into a different kind of plot.
+ The Farm Girl/The Orphaned Thief/ The Pariah explored her parent's farmland/the ruined slums where they discovered a hole/a metal door/a haze settled in the center of a ruined shrine. The Child fell down the hole/touched the door and it swung open/entered the haze. There they discovered the resting place of a great beast/an enigmatic machine/a sealed god. After eons the exhausted beast/depleted machine/weakened god could only watch as the child approached them and gave them a small kindness. Meagre, one could almost call it worthless. But for a being trapped, isolated, and reduced for so long, it still meant something. When the child returned, again and again, complaining about their lot in life, doing chores/bored by stakeouts/begging for scraps, the monster did not harm them. Instead they talked, offered advice and training, gave them magnificent one-of-a-kind goods, and a friendship blossomed.
[] Warhammer 40K Demon of Malal Quest*
-A Quest from the perspective of a demon of Malal as it ruins the lives in a System of the Imperium that has recently drawn the gaze of the Ruinous Powers. Vote for how powerful, and thus how noticeable their presence, as they interfere with the schemes of the four major Chaos cults by inspiring suicidal and depressive thoughts and encourage cultists to fight and die in the name of your literal death cult.
- Narrative based, with moderate dice rolls for things like Cult growth, hero generation, and random events.
- Malal is of dubious canon, but just because he opposes the other Chaos Gods doesn't mean he's a good guy. This would definitely not shy away from Tags like Abuse or Mind Break in non-sexual manners. Breaking people's wills to make them do what you want them to might hit some sensitive topics. It sounds fun to try and do, but I'm also worried I might not be able to do the whole 'evil manipulator' well or like doing it for a prolong period of time.
+ The scent of incense burned his nose as his latest victim was finally reduced to mewling whimpers. Blood covered gloves were pulled from his hands and dumped, those same hands, free of blood yet stained crimson all the same are pressed into his face, massaging it. Trying to keep awake him from the tumultuous emotions and pain from the days of sleepless work you forced him to work, supposedly in the name of his duty. He turns back to the crippled form of his own doing and briefly you exert the briefest influence on his mind, nothing heavy handed, nothing even cruel, you just remind him of his younger brother. You make him picture his smiling face; a wisp of power expended no greater than the smoke from a lighter's flame exposed for a trick and then gone. He is the one who conflates the two images, the one in his mind and the one in his eyes, and sees his sibling in the chair instead, bloodied, teeth missing, cuts, bruises, scorch marks, welts, and his eyes full of pain and betrayal. You see the exact moment he breaks. The subtle shift of his shoulders, the hang of his head. The way his gaze focus on the knife. You manifest a pair of hands, cold and skeletal, and hold him back. 'Not yet.' You croon. 'Soon, but not yet. You die on my time now.' He stops and breaks down, crying softly. You leave him to it. Now you need to decide how to use your latest pawn. Do you keep him around to feed false information to the Arbites? Or do you send him to murder that annoying investigator that's keener to hunt you down than the cult of the Tempter?
[] The EDF Deploys!
- Based off of the video games Earth Defense Force 2017 and 2025 (4.1 Shadows of New Despair), play as the [Vote to Name] Legendary Hero who's saved humanity from the Ravagers, a race of mysterious aliens that have attacked Earth with armies of giant insects and giant robots, for the second time and has now been promoted to the Commander-in-Chief of the Earth Defense Force, placed in charge of defending the remains of human civilization from their inevitable return plus whatever other threats pop up.
- Would have to be more CK style quest, or even plan quest, with a degree of tactical/strategic phases for combat. I imagine two phases for turns, Phase 1 would deal with setting a plan for logistics, research, manufacturing, and propaganda, and Phase 2 would focus with dispatching EDF units to regions and conflict zones, and possibly a Phase 3 for socials. I imagine it as like an Adviser Quest with a Martial focus.
- This is a quest I put a lot of thought into since 2018, even if I stopped planning it a while back. This quest also has a definitive End Goal, completing Project V, and some unique mechanics I came up with, like the Regional Logistics Ratio, elite weapon restrictions, and a custom dice ruleset and combat flow.
+"Our friends were all killed yesterday, as were our families,
Today we might not make it, facing these atrocities"
"Cut that depressing crap!"
"Then how about this?"
"A legendary hero soon will lead us to glory
Eight years ago he sunk the mothership says history
Tomorrow we will follow this brave soul to victory
The EDF deploys!" - A modified EDF chant, recorded in action during the day before Operation Star Eater, where Storm 1 led a vicious offensive on the World Eater Brain unit. In the following weeks following this crippling blow on the Ravager's forces they would once again be driven from Earth, saving the remains of the human race. For his bravery and due to the significant casualties suffered among the command staff, Storm 1 was given a promotion to the rank of General and assigned to overall command of the Earth Defense Force.
[] Stone Steps of the Pathway to the Heavens*
-The original concept was a rip on Wuxia novels, but I think the idea can be more broadly, and more familiarly, be applied as "Mayor of an RPG town/city quest", where you manage a settlement while being forced to deal with overly powerful and wild adventurers and hoping they get around to doing your quests.
- Modified CK2-like quest. I actually had the idea of a system where each population type; farmers, merchants, craftsmen, etc, provide different skills that can be used to contribute to projects. Farmers farm but can also be called up to perform basic labor or serve as basic militia units, while merchants can also act as spies or diplomats. So the more you grow your city, the more actions you can take at once. The first vote will be determining the size of the town, the mayor's characteristics, and whether the quest takes in a real world that has RPG aspects, or an actual video game.
+ With the Harvest coming up, many of the farmers will be focused on that, limiting the amount of labor they normally provide. You can call in some favors with them or make some payments to get the extra labor to finish the new building before Winter, but it runs the risk of not harvesting all the fields before the first frost. Meanwhile the 'scout corps' made of the youngsters reports a roving pack of boars has come close to the region. It might be worth the gold to hire an adventurer to take of them.
[] Warhammer Fantasy Border Ranger Quest
- Under the command of a newcomer Border Prince with grand aspirations of not dying like most Border Princes, you are one of the first generation of their Ranger Program. One part Dwarven Ranger one part Witch Hunter, you have been entrusted with the authority to traverse (part of) the Borderlands, to enforce the law, protect the innocent from wild animals, bandits, and orcs, and to hunt down vampires, necromancers, and Chaos Cults.
- Narrative quest with moderate dice rolling for a combat system. This is probably more of an RPG quest, where the story follows the perspective of the pc and rarely, if ever, leaves, with voters driving most major and minor directions of the quest.
- The Borderlands of Warhammer Fantasy are shockingly wild for a place right next to the Empire and the Karaz Ankor. Necromancers and Vampires, Cults of every God good and bad, Orcs and who knows what else? It's the wild west of Warhammer Fantasy, and it feels like a fun playground for a quest. The original concept was to play as the Border Prince, but my feelings towards CK2-style quests are that they're fun to read but seem complicated to write, so focusing the quest on the most action-orientated and involved part of the concept seems like a more engaging premise.
[] Republic Commando Quest
- Create and play as the squad leader of a Clone Commando squad, starting from the beginning of the Clone Wars. Will you die in the service to the Republic? Live long enough to serve the Empire? Or perhaps pick a third option?
- Narrative/Tactical system, where combat heavily relies on choosing tactics based on the environment, enemy, and equipment available, rolling with bonuses, and gathering Momentum and taking Risks to race against the clock and achieve your objectives. Will you play it slow with stealthy infiltrations, gathering intelligence for fast and accurate attacks, or smash through all obstacles like an explosive wrecking ball? In between missions, socialize with your teammates and other characters, modify your equipment, and build connections for what might happen after the war comes to an end. Surviving all three years of the Clone Wars is Win condition of the Quest.
- Initial character options I envisioned include a preferred combat style; basic sharpshooting (+2 to all ranged combat rolls), melee specialist (+4 to all melee combat), or Grenadier (+6 to combat, as long as you have explosive grenades), and then 1 or 2 support skills (like medicine, communication, or engineering) as well as what kind of personality you take after from your trainer, which in the interest of adding a fun twist, is also a Deathwatch spy.
+ The cant of Vode An echoes in the darkened bay of the ship. Streaks of light stream past from the descent, highlighting the paint of your brother's armor. The hiss of tibanna gas as rifles are checked and double checked. Suddenly light sprouts from the holoprojector, your handler for the mission appearing with a burst of static. "Commandos, welcome to Obar. Now I won't mince words. Republic intelligence has reason to believe that the CIS has a research facility on the planet, being led by a known researcher in virulent strains of diseases by the name of Dokot Pak. The fear is, of course, that they are working on some kind of bio-weapon. We've narrowed both the facility and the Professor's location down to the continent of Kincik, where you'll be dropping down. It's heavily wooded with some light mountainous terrain and scattered settlements. Obar is officially neutral in the war, so try not to do anything that will set them off. Beyond that, your objectives are to locate the research facility, Dr. Pak, and then either secure or neutralize him. You'll be dropped off with a set of speeders to facilitate transport and a set of civvie clothing to use when questioning the locals. I'd recommend everyone not going in at once. Finally, this mission is considered low interest, so we don't have much time dedicated for this mission. You'll only have two weeks to do what you can before your ship returns for exfiltration. Good luck Commandos."
[] New Boss in the Bay (Worm/Saint's Row Crossover)
- Play as Taylor Hebert, who is fed up with the state of Brockton Bay after the Locker Incident and decides the only way to stop the gangs in her city and keep it safe is to make one of her own. She is also unknowingly possessed by the spirit of the Boss of the 3rd Street Saints from another dimension who can't do much but does find three major gangs all but warring with each other and law enforcement over a port city to be familiar territory and is willing to share all their knowledge in gang warfare as rent for a good time.
- City Scaled Strategy game, with a focus on making a strong gang by befriending independent capes, recruiting from the homeless and the dispossessed, and getting an in with Law Enforcement with moles or sympathizers. Level up your relationships with your Homies to increase their capabilities and the support they will provide the Gang. Turns would involve assigning basic units and Homies on missions.
+ She stood in front of a window in her house, looking out towards the lit-up downtown, praying tomorrow would be better. [Emma looks down at her, "I'm sorry do I know a weakling like you?"] She stood at her hospital room window; fist clenched around her IV stand cursing the failures of justice. ["What's her name?" "No clue, just some High School girl, they say it's a prank gone wrong."] She stood looking down at the downtown in their rented office space, checking her weapons and going over the plan. ["Just who the hell do you think you are?!" They petulantly screamed at her over the gunfire.] She stands at the window of a penthouse suite, wearing a fine suit with purple highlights and sensible shoes, with the sounds of cheers and celebration behind her and a satisfied smile at a job well done. ["I'm Taylor Hebert and I'm The Boss of the 3rd Street Saints."]
[] Bird of Peace in a Galaxy of War (A Metroid/Warhammer 40k Fusion)
- You are a Chozo, a bird-like alien race that reached the heights of power in technology and spiritualism, once fearsome warriors now turned to pacifism. After a malfunction with your ship's FTL drive you find yourself in the distant future on the 42 millennium. The Galactic Federation your people forged to represent an era of peace is long dead and the last Chozo Warrior, Samus Aran, has been missing long before that. The light of the galaxy has gone out leaving only darkness, hope in something better is heresy, and there is only war. You will not any of that stop you reforge the Galactic Federation, unite the disparate races from their fear and hate, heal the wounds of millennia of war, and face down the cruel Fate the galaxy is set upon.
- Although sounding like a CK style quest, the idea here is closer to Maugan Ra's Primarch quests. The Player Character is a paragon-tier character who doesn't have to worry about leveling up; they are the mysterious third actor working behind the scenes, or at the forefront, to achieve their ambition. From your personal starship, lend your aid in improving scientific and technologic advancement, construct a new united culture that can withstand the harshness of the galaxy, and perform diplomacy between even the most adversarial of rival powers. Each turn the PC will start with 10 action points, which can be added to or subtracted from by different factors and can be put toward projects that can range from engineering new breeds of crops to aid the development of colonies to (re)designing technology that can be replicated by the Federation to leading diplomatic missions to divining the future. These actions can shape the development and culture of the Galactic Federation and the state of the galaxy.
- Originally conceived as a Kirby/Dreamland quest, the re-release of Metroid Prime made me realize how easily Metroid can be worked into the Warhammer 40K universe. I've spent the past year working it through my head, and I have a lot of cool ideas for the story to progress, but little of it is written down. Expect the new GalFed to draw a lot of design influence from a number of other sci-fi universes like Star Wars and Halo, plus whatever else has caught my fancy.
- The idea is also based a little on a game called The Last Federation, where you fly around aiding and manipulating the different factions to accomplish your goal. The PC won't be as manipulative or cruel as the last Hydral as they are bound by the Chozo's Vow of Peace, meaning they can not harm another living being without feeling near-crippling amounts of pain and emotional turmoil. It's always a more interesting when a character has a strong limitation in one field or another.
[] Gundam Universal Century Mercenary Quest
- As a veteran of the One Year War unable or unwilling to return to a peaceful life, ply your newly formed and honed skills as a soldier to form and run a mercenary company. Lead a team of veterans, adventure seekers, and mechanics or run as a lone wolf while trying to make enough money to support the heavy mechanical needs of your mobile suits, armored vehicles, transport vessels, and even battleships.
- After character creation, the quest will alternate between picking contracts, this could involve a short or long mission, and managing the company and its resources.
- Inspired by The Return of Johnny Ridden, very specifically the PMC Themis featured in the story. This quest currently has the most written up for it, including most of a first post that details the first draft of the rules and most of character creation.
Vote Options
[] Power of Will - An Anime Side Character Quest, be the waifu
[] My Best Friend, the Extra Boss of the Hidden Dungeon - Befriend and be the most powerful boss of a fantasy RPG story
[] Warhammer 40K Demon of Malal Quest - Be the manipulative and poisonous voice turning people to Chaos so they can fight Chaos.
[] The EDF Deploys! - As the greatest soldier humanity has ever produced, face your most terrifying foe yet, no not the giant aliens/insects, the bureaucracy.
[] Stone Steps of the Pathway to the Heavens - Manage a town set in an RPG world and try not to break down when Adventurers forget to finish your quests.
[] Warhammer Fantasy Border Ranger Quest - Roam the wild lands south of the Empire, taking on every threat Malus has to offer with your trusty revolver and silver star.
[] Republic Commando Quest - Lead a team of Clone Commandos through the Clone Wars, maybe even survive.
[] New Boss in the Bay (Worm/Saint's Row Crossover) - Make a gang to fight the gangs of Brockton Bay, it makes more sense than it should.
[] Bird of Peace in a Galaxy of War (A Metroid/Warhammer 40k Fusion) - As an alien heretic pacifist confront prejudice, hate, and war and rebuild the Galactic Federation.
[] Gundam Universal Century Mercenary Quest - Manage a company of giant robots in the aftermath of the One Year War.
Please allow me to reserve 4 posts below this for Informational purposes.
