Table of Contents
Introduction
Initial Structure Concept
Part 1: Psst! Over here!
Part 2: Rosemary’s Worry
Part 3: No Sage in Sight
Part 4: Briar’s Demise
Part 5: Seeking Sage
Follow-up Quest: The Warrior Sage
Follow-up Quest II: Avenging the Fallen
Alternate Follow-Up Quest: Floria Family’s Fallen Ones
Training Armor and Weapons
Introduction
This quest was written with games like Ashes of Creation and New World in mind, where a corrupting force taints the land and shows no mercy to anyone that comes within its reach. While New World has a combination of the whole land being tainted and having corruption events popping up for players to resolve, Ashes of Creation is about returning to a world that has spreading corruption but does not affect the entirety of the land.
Between the two examples, this is more geared towards Ashes of Creation, based on what I’ve seen of quest design from the Alpha 1 pre-testing era. This would make sense for any settlement that is at a Village level (T3) or above, since it would be populated enough to support the presence of NPCs, and for corruption to manifest itself to a degree that would work for the quest. As it can make for a cumbersome document that may be otherwise left unread, I’ve chosen to hold back on adding dialog to the quest, wanting instead to focus more on the content of the quest chain. I may write a playable Twine version of the quest with dialog in the future.
All names are subject to change, based on the context and people in the area where the quest takes place. For now I’ll provide the following names: The father is Briar Floria, mother is Rosemary Floria, daughter is Marigold Floria, and the son/daughter who is the subject of the quest is Sage Floria. Sage and Marigold are around 15-16 years old, youthful but not so young that they are small and can’t use a shorter adult skin with a youthful face and voice. The vendor is Bruce Varsmith, who is an armorsmith that sells armor, including some padded “training” armor, and a few “training” weapons that don’t deal much damage, all at a very low price.
Initial Structure Concept
Sage tries to trade some nice gems they found for coins to players, and when successful, tries to go to the vendor to purchase training-quality equipment afterwards. The armorsmith vendor Bruce Valsmith won’t sell it to them without their mother’s permission, so they steal it at night, leaving a bag of gold that covers the cost of the gear, to sneak off from home with it after taking a copy of an old map their mother brought when they returned to Verra. This map showed where their ancestral home was thought to be, but when they arrived nearby as a family, the corruption in the area set itself upon them before they could get to the location of where their ancestral home would be located. Their father Briar was slain in holding off, while the rest of the family retreated. Sage is now heading back there with hopes of being a great warrior and reclaiming the land, but the players must bail them out and return the child to their home.
Sage’s mother asks if you can find Sage’s sister Marigold, who is probably wandering about town playing with her bird whistle, and to ask if she knows where her sibling and the map went. At first Marigold is shy and runs off, but once you’ve found her, you explain that Sage has disappeared along with the old map. She says Sage was gathering gems that were left in the grass from a recent caravan that spilled its goods when a wheel broke, and that they were planning to get gear from a certain vendor before setting out to reclaim their old home from the orange-red creatures. She gives you the bird whistle so you can try to call out to Sage, as they would recognize the sound. Talking to the armor vendor Bruce at this point will reveal that he had been robbed of some equipment, but there was more than enough money to buy the stolen basic training gear which was left behind in a bag, and he provides a tincture that will reverse any corrupted maladies from the Sage if they are found.
Return to the mother and convey this, and she’ll reveal that she was permanently wounded from fighting off creatures that tried to attack her and the children when escaping the corruption, and instead marks on the map where to search for the missing kid. Unless you were a jerk the whole time, she provides a blessing that will decrease corruption aggro for the next 30 minutes, and urges you to use Marigold’s bird whistle to call to Sage. Without her blessing, the whistle will draw out additional creatures. With the blessing, the child only has one creature chasing them, one with some enhanced hit points but otherwise normal attributes. Once Sage is rescued, they can be provided the tincture, and must be brought back home safely. If Sage dies before they get the tincture, the mission is failed, and the player is unable to take the quest again. If Sage dies after getting the tincture, they’ll reappear by their mother, lacking the armor they stole but having been spared from death by the very power that keeps players respawning. Success allows for a follow-up quest to help train Sage, and eventually take them on a quest to survey the corruption with their mother’s blessing.
Part 1: Psst! Over here!
This part entails Sage Floria selling the player some small jewels for a low price of 50 gold. If the player refuses, no quest is accepted. If the player accepts, they make the transaction, leading to Part 2, after one in-game day has elapsed. The quest shows up in the log as The Vengeful Youth, and each part shows up as the steps of the quest.
Part 2: Rosemary’s Worry
After a day has elapsed, talking to various NPCs will reveal that Rosemary Floria seems to be worriedly asking for help finding Sage around town, and ask you to check on her. This continues until the player speaks to Rosemary. Bruce Varsmith will also mention about the curious theft and payment, but this will not advance that part of the quest.
When the player speaks to Rosemary, she communicates that she hasn’t seen Sage all day, and that an old family map is missing. She asks if you can find Sage, saying to check along the roads out of the village to see if they are playing or gathering wood outside somewhere. After checking, the player returns to Rosemary to report the result, and she pays 100 gold for your troubles.
Part 3: No Sage in Sight
After checking around, Rosemary asks if you can keep looking, and to check on Sage’s sister Marigold, who can be heard walking around town playing with a bird whistle. When the player approaches and says Rosemary sent them, Marigold runs off behind a building or large obstacle at full sprint speed. This happens again when you find her, and by the third time she gives up and is out of breath.
After catching her breath, Marigold reveals that she did not want to betray Sage’s intentions, but warned Sage that they shouldn’t return to the corruption that took their father until they are well-trained and have a force of allies to assist them, but that didn’t seem to sway Sage from trying to obtain gear and return to where their father Briar died to save them. Marigold tells the player to ask their mother for more details about it. Upon returning to Rosemary, she is horrified, and gives another 100 gold, but requests that you hear her out.
Part 4: Briar’s Demise
Rosemary explains the tragic story of how her husband Briar died. When they returned to Verra, they had an old map that detailed where their ancient ancestors had lived before departing Verra to Sanctus. Their hope was that some remnant of their home land and homes remained, and set out to explore the location and see if they could return to ancestral homes. Both Briar and Rosemary were capable fighters, and Sage had desired to learn combat like the parents, but when they got too far into what they hadn’t realized was corrupted territory, they were attacked and overwhelmed.
Briar sacrificed himself by drawing the enemies to him, to hold them off while Rosemary fought through the stragglers to get Sage and Marigold back to the nearest settlement. Rosemary was wounded severely from the attack, and is still recovering, so she feels uneasy with trying to search for Sage herself. She asks for you to check in with Marigold to get her bird whistle, as it should help with getting Sage’s attention among the corruption. She also asks that you check in with Bruce Varsmith to see if he provided Sage with any equipment.
After checking in with Marigold, she hands over the bird whistle, and states that she’ll return to her mother to comfort her while you search for Sage. Checking with Bruce reveals that he understands the nature of the 250 gold left behind in exchange for the padded training armor and training battleaxe which were stolen, and he offers a tincture designed to remedy any immediate and acute effects of being among the corruption.
Returning once more to Rosemary, she grants a blessing that reduces aggro among corrupted creatures, and marks where on your map to try using the bird whistle to get Sage’s attention. She also provides 100 gold.
Part 5: Seeking Sage
The player is to immediately set out for Sage, and utilize the short-term one-time blessing from Rosemary. If the player reaches the area while the blessing is in effect, only one creature chases Sage when they are summoned with the bird whistle. Once the blessing has expired, using the bird whistle successfully summons additional creatures that will attack the player, nearby players, or Sage. Before enemies engage, the player may talk to Sage and provide the tincture.
Once the enemies have been defeated, Sage will follow the player to the edge of the corruption, thank the player, offer a chance to ask questions freely, then run home at a full sprint and without aggro from enemies. One of the questions will reveal that Sage saw what looked like their father Briar, but tainted and overtaken by the corruption. Another asks if Sage found the location, and it is revealed that whatever may once have been there is now long destroyed. If Sage is defeated, they have a revive timer similar in length to a player. If Sage dies, but had the tincture before then, they will reappear at home without their gear, and that will end their quest line. If Sage did not get the tincture, death and lack of a revive within 2 minutes leads to permanent death. 1000g is given if Sage survives, only 250g is given if Sage dies permanently.
Follow-up Quest: The Warrior Sage
If Sage survives with their gear, they are not admonished and grounded by Rosemary, but offered to train with the town guard or a guild. In order to get them ready, the player must purchase a full set of training gear and equip it, then battle with Sage trading low-power attacks until they’re low or the player is low. Return to do this again after a day, then return again a day or more after that fight, and they’ll start to use special moves and connect better with their hits. After the third time, give your assessment to Rosemary, who is happy to see Sage progress as a fighter. Thankful for your efforts, Rosemary provides 1000 gold and a voucher for a commissioned item from Bruce, who can make one well-rounded high-quality piece of gear for any gear slot.
Follow-up Quest II: Avenging the Fallen
After The Warrior Sage is completed, coming back a real-life week later gives Sage the confidence to train and join either the town guard or a guild. They’re now well-armed, and at a much more competitive level to the content in the corrupted area. Sage requests your aid once again, this time to join them in tracking down and slaying the corrupted who bears the visage of Briar Floria, seemingly more powerful than the already strong and fast man he was in life. It is suggested that the player brings a few sturdy companions, and that Sage will be “close behind” during the search, and the bird whistle similar to Marigold’s version can be played to help Sage close in when you’ve found the corrupted Briar Floria, labeled now as Briar of the Desolation. A small arena encircled by large crystals and tainted flora marks the area where the battle will occur, but Briar will only appear if at least one player has the quest. If Briar is defeated, Sage will be available to speak for a moment, but stays behind to burn and sanctify their father’s body with a ritual before returning home.
When returning to the Floria family home, Rosemary and Marigold thank you for your efforts, and provide 1000 gold and a voucher for a single high tier gear slot item to be made by Bruce Varsmith. Sage also thanks you, and offers to become your champion if you should attempt to become the mayor of a Military node.
Alternate Follow-Up Quest: Floria Family’s Fallen Ones
If Sage permanently dies at the end of Seeking Sage. Rosemary requests that the player sets out to return the body of Sage so she can sanctify their remains and give a proper burial. She gives you Marigold’s bird whistle, and explains that she had to purify the corruption it took on from being in such a foul place. Now carrying the sanctified bird whistle, she asks the player to return to the site of Sage’s demise, where she will be waiting from a distance for the player to find the remains. Once you return to the location, the corrupted forms of both Sage and Briar come to attack. Once they have been defeated, use the whistle and Rosemary will shortly appear to sanctify both bodies by burning them with a ritual. Upon return to her home, Rosemary provides 1000 gold, and asks to remain in solace and not be disturbed again.
Training Armor and Weapons
Players can take up Training Armor and Weapons if they want to do non-lethal open PvP. Anyone using training gear gets a cumulative 80% reduction to damage taken by training weapons and spells cast when using them, and training weapons do 50% attack and spell damage and casting/use cost. Additionally, attacking a player in full training gear with a training weapon will never reduce their HP to 0. This allows for long and drawn-out fights that are not over quickly on account of alpha strike damage taking the opponent down immediately, and allows for more tactical and competitive sparring.