Obviously having all the
equipment and items and food and water which you would normally need will
be essential. But packing some extras can be a good idea. This applies
in a large part to weapons. Many mobiles will attempt to relieve you of
your poker and if you are so misfortunate as to leave the scene without
it, your entire plans for success can be shot down. There are few things
as sad as a warrior without a weapon.
Also, where it applies,
many MUDs have the option of having your gear become broken or damaged.
It will be a great idea to pack along extras of anything which is likely
to be destroyed during the course of some hard use. Prepare accordingly.
Another very important thing to r emember to bring along and bring extras
of are torches and lights. Having your light become destroyed or lost
can be seriously bad news. Often you don't have the time to be trying
to fetch stuff like lights while running to save your sorry, soon-to-be
carcass.
In the quest scenario,
the boy-scouts most definitely have something with the whole "be prepared"
deal. If there is the chance that you need it, bring it along. Most players
are somewhere near full in their holding capacities at all times. So therefore,
leave your nonessential stuff with someone you trust or in a safe hiding
place and bring what you need only. As a side note, players are often
sadly unequipped to deal with digging or climbing. It would be wise to
bring a shovel and a rope wherever you go, questing or not.
The preparation part mostly
resolved, we will now dive into what to expect and how to deal with it.
You should tailor everything on the disposition of the immortal who is
administering it or setting it up. An imm's tastes and conceits will often
give a very good idea of how to approach individual tasks.
However, there are some
very basic formats which I will break down on how to approach.
1) One dominant
format is the "Rid us of ______" scenario. Here we see the request by
someone or something to find something and kill it. Be it the scary dragon
marauding across the countryside or the big troll in the forest snacking
on innocent travelers. It is usually the same kind of excersise no matter
how it is presented. One major thing you need to get used to doing is
thinking about what you are doing. Understand that imms are proud of their
creations and usually want it to make sense. Usually the situation is
thought out and they build in certain strengths and weaknesses to the
system. So that said, lets talk about killing the bad-guy.
The first thing you need
to do is understand what you are supposed to be hunting. If it is something
such a dragon, what kind of dragon is it? Most all dragons are a certain
color and as such have certain strengths and weaknesses which affect how
you should attack it. Similarly, if you learn it is something like a troll,
ask yourself, "what do trolls not like?" After coming to the conclusion
that it is "fire" try and find a way to make sure that you can attack
it with fire or have someone there who can.
Know where you are passing
through. If you have to travel through desolate hills or deserts, make
sure you have the tools necessary to deal with the local creatures who
may be there to stop you. Bring corresponding equipment.
When you are nearing the
creature's den, this is where strategy and behavior will be most essential.
Here is where the planning happens. Make sure that you know very well
what your escape route is. If you have to suddenly leave the area in a
hurry, it will be nice to be able to vacate quickly. Also, you should
have a good idea of how to navigate in the immediate area around your
target mobile. Knowing this will enable you to be able to possibly maneuver
the creature into a better place.
Learn to recognize that
most any situation can be changed to your benefit. Look for clues around
the monter's lair to see if an alternative attack plan is feasible. It
almost always is. Having slayed your creature, remember to bring something
which proves it. Most of these types of quests will have the creature
leave some token behind like a head or a horn or a claw -- or something
that signified the creature like a sword or helmet. Take this with you
and follow instructions carefully. Woe to you if you do all the killing
asked of you and then fail to bring back something to prove it.
2) The next quest
will be the "solve a puzzle" quest: These quests are much harder to plan
for. However, there are certain themes which will be ever present no matter
where you do it. One of these concepts which you will see over and over
is the riddle quest where you can only proceed inwards or into a special
place after you can correctly guess the answer. I will give you some clues
here. For starters, most immortals are not blessed with the ability to
be able to make up good riddles with logical and creative answers on their
own. So they will borrow riddles from established sources which they know
the answer to, and will have selected it because they thought it witty.
But if an answer doesn't immediately strike you, don't give up and head
home, a disgrace to all of your followers. There are other methods.
Think about context. Riddles
are rarely random and will have an answer pertaining to who or what is
giving the riddle. Secondly, it will be logical. The answers to good riddles
always will be clear and afterwards you often could say "doh, why didn't
I think of that before? " Also, the imm who made the quest is likely to
have had other imms critique the riddle to make sure that it makes sense.
The next major branch
within the "puzzle quest" tree is the quest where you are asked to traverse
a map which circles back upon itself and loops forever if you go the wrong
way. The best way to approach these is to do it methodically where you
start at the beginning and find all the ways which lead you back to where
you came. Dropping things on the ground can be a great way to keep track
of where you have been and where you have not. Look for distinctive things.
Usually in an area of rooms with similar descriptions, one of them will
be slightly different at the point where you have to make a critical direction
decision. These are going to take a lot of patience, so don't get frustrated
if you can't find it right away. One of the favorite tricks of immortals
is to have rooms where if you go "west then east then west, " you are
in a different room then where you started. Don't forget to try this approach
if you get stuck.
The combos are next where
you have to solve a riddle which tells you which direction to go. These
are nice because at least you can be fairly sure that the answer to the
riddle is going to be something which starts or ends in either "e,w,n,s,u,d."
Or similarly, you will look at some object such as a scroll or wall and
it will have a keyword. Use these wisely, they will literally spell out
your solution.
The puzzle quest will
be the "scavenger hunt/treasure hunt" quest: This will be the most general
of quests. In the good ole fashion of "find the switch, flip the switch,
get your prize" tradition, many quests are done like this. In the first
version of the quest -- the scavenger hunt -- you will be required to
gather a bunch of smaller items scattered across the realms and trade
them all in for a single reward or rewards for the party. Nothing difficult
is usually asked of you, but for this type of quest you will often need
a variety of tools in order to complete it.
Splitting a party up may
be necessary if an item you collect is set to expire within a certain
amount of time. Be logical, if you need an item that has a timer set on
it, make sure you get that item last. Make sure you think it through before
charging into the wilderness after an item. Sometimes it will be necessary
to take alternatives routes which are longer in order to complete something
on time.
If you are doing the simple
treasure hunt game, it is imperative to plan for the unexpected. Often
these quests are done by little to no planning and is often done for relatively
low-mid level quests. In this, it would be smart to have packed a shovel
as burying is a common option. Remember that although this is a fairly
low level commitment from an immortal, they often know of exotic and difficult
places where to hide stuff. Keep it in mind that any time you visit unusual
spots in the mud, they are fair game and will be likely spots in the future.
Grouping for quests: If
you are able to be commissioned as a group to finish a task, there are
some important things to append to the above. Most importantly, have those
hot-keys setup to specifically help certain people in the group. So warriors
should have "rescue so-and-so" ready to go. Similarly, the healers should
have "heal what's his name" as a key. This will help immensely and will
remove much confusion.
One major confusion in
smaug MUDs especially is the role which styles play in combat. Very simply,
it will allow players to switch to the front or back of a group by switching
from aggressive to defensive. This system allows players who are hurting
to shuffle backwards and not flee while someone else takes the beating.
Use this system to your advantage.
Remember that if you were
put together as a group for a quest, the quest will likely have parts
which each member is required to help out in. Work together and solve
problems with thought rather than with actions. I have designed many quests
and the such and have found invariably that people don't slow down and
look at stuff.
The last word:
I do not think it is possible to emphasize a few points as much as they
deserve. First and foremost is this: interact with your worlds.
If you have decent immortals, they are making mobs which make you part
of the world. If a mob says something to you or asks a question: answer
them! If you are playing in a mud where mobs just say stuff and blithely
ignore you otherwise, go find a different mud. They exist, I promise.
It is far more worthwhile to spend time in an environment where the mobs
and immortals make you a part of the world, not just a spectator. Also
remember, these quests are supposed to be involved and challenging. Don't
expect immediate help if you get stuck. But there are things which you
can do to help yourself get out of the situation you are in. Be sure to
pay attention and look at stuff. If something looks suspicious, it probably
is.
READ DESCRIPTIONS.
It will NEVER hurt to
read descriptions. Often the only clue in a puzzle is a word or description
of something on an object or mob. Be sure to learn from your mistakes.
My motto is: "If no one died during a quest, it probably wasn't hard enough."
It is not fun to just run through a quest. Solving problems is an innately
human desire and it might as well be a rewarding experience, right? So
don't wish you already knew the answer. It will rob you of a quest. And
if you have already done a quest, doing it again just isn't the same.
If you have been there, you know what I mean.
And always, this will
be good advice for all in the future: