The prison (Part 1)

[greengecko]

Ok, so Lastmerlin told me, that there are not enough sidequests in the current existing storyline
(Ok honestly, I think that, too).
So I had an great idea. I never understood why the terrain you enter when you take the northern way out of Joringsbridge is empty. Well however I found a good use for it
And I also thought, due to the many bandits there that it could be a bandit quest.
So I had the idea of a prison. And I thought maybe we could make a second sidequest out of that.
And maybe we can also link that with Rob the Robber later (if you have nothing against that kalimgard).
So, here it is
What do you think?

The prison (Part 1)

When we talk to the sergeant in Joringsbridge he tells us that there are a few persons missing since a few days. He tells us there is a rumor that the bandits have taken prisoners to let them work for them.
When we take the northern way out from Joringsbridge we entry the joringsforest. Normally we would just turn left for our main way. But if we go to the northeast corner we gonna find many bandits sitting round a fire. They´re talking about prisoners. We decide to hide behind a tree and listen carefully to them. Now it is sure that the bandits have taken prisoners from the town. While the bandits are talking we find out that they have their prison in the deeper fairy forest. When the talk is over and the bandits wanna leave, we block their way and attack them. After killing those bandits we go visiting the deep
fairy forest. After defeating Rob the Robber (which we were going to do anyway..) we go to the northwest corner and there we find a cage with some prisoners working in it. It seems that they´re building a catapult. In front of the cage there are 4 bandit guards. Before we can attack them and free the people they shout out that there are invaders. Quickly other guards are coming and in the end there are 20 guards. They attack us. When we killed them we find the cage´s key in a box near the northern fence. We take it and free the prisoners. One of them tells us, that the group got splitted when they were taken prisoners. That means that there must be a second prison, but we don´t know its location. We decide to hear around for information, that´s all we can do for the moment. The prisoners run back to town. Back in Joringsbridge we talk to the sergeant and as a reward he gives us 4000 gold and some nice helmet from a thankful prisoner.

[dezGusty]

Sounds like a good idea. I went through the region twice, thinking that I've missed something before finally accepting that it really is pretty much empty

[kalimgard]

Hm... I think this may fit in. Just a two concerns:

What are the bandits doing with a catapult?? Are they raising their own army of outlaws to assault Aisen? Or is it just meant to break through the walls of smaller Villages like Joringsbridge (That village has a real lot of trouble, allright  )?

The second thing is more of an explanation: There is no practical way to ensure the exact location of anything on a random map. I know it seems different because we deactivated the randomization of maps at the moment and you get the same map everytime you play. It's just impossible to say: That chest is at the northern fence. What you can do is make smaller bits of a region and throw them in, like a small bandit camp etc. But you may stumble upon it as soon as you enter the region. Of course I could always hardwire the deep fairy forest, but I'd rather avoid that as much as possible.

[greengecko]

The catapult is for raids.

Ok after talking with kalimgard we decided us for the following changes:


We place the prison on another map: The normal fairy forest.
The rest about the prison is the same, except one thing:
We don´t find the key, but we get it from Rob after killing him.

[dezGusty]

I don't think you can use catapults for raids , catapults are slow, raids are meant to be fast strikes in undefended or poorly defended points.

[greengecko]

I think you can..
Catapults are slow, but highly effective.
And the best about catapults:
You can start the attack before you are seen by the enemies.. You just fire and then quickly run into the town and start raiding.
So catapults are tactically very good, don´t you agree?

[dezGusty]

Effective, tactically good... maybe. But not useful for raids, which need to be quick: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_%28military%29

[kalimgard]

I agree with dezGusty, but at the moment the army of Aisen has better things to do then keep order inside the borders. So I could live with a catapult

[greengecko]

Let´s say they´re building a cart to transport all the stuff they steal.

[dezGusty]

A cart works better for realistic purposes, but the game doesn't have to be realistic.

And as a side-note, you should know, just because I or someone else doesn't agree with your idea doesn't mean you should give up on it or change it immediately.  If we would need unanimous consensus, the project would reach a stalemate in no-time. It's good to be able to take criticism, but you don't need to give up on what you like. You could have them build a catapult, the hero would come and ask "what is it for?" and the bad guys could answer "for raiding". The hero would then ask "don't you need something fast for raiding?" and you could either say "yeah, I didn't think of that", or "this is a modified PS8 catapult (pushing slave , top of the line, it's pushed by 8 slaves and reaches a fabulous running speed of 7 mph in 5 seconds. that's raiding speed." ...or something like that...

Democracy does not work in software development. What most successful projects have is someone who's good on one topic rule all decisions on that topic with an iron-fist.

[greengecko]

I know, but a cart fits better I think

[greengecko]

Ok here we got the dialouges:
What do you think?
Are they ok?
I think slowly I´m understanding the branded one´s mind



In Joringsbridge:

Sergeant: Have you heard about it? It is said that there are some strange things going on these days..
Some people are missing.

Choice:
[I don´t care]
[tell me more]

if [tell me more]

You: Hm.. Sounds interesting. Tell me more.
Sergeant: Sorry, but that´s all I know. Maybe it´s just some rumor, but I have the feeling that it is really happening.
You: Hmmm, maybe I´ll look around a bit when i get bored of cleaning the surrounding area from bandits..

if [I don´t care]

You: Hmpf, as I´d care about that! Learn to handle the problems in your city yourself.

after [I don´t care]

Choice:
[changed mind]
[never mind]

if [changed mind]

You: Hm, I´ve changed my mind. I´m bored of this place. I need an adventure.. Tell me what you know!
Sergeant: Have you heard about it? It is said that there are some strange things going on these days..
Some people are missing.
Sergeant: Sorry, but that´s all I know. Maybe it´s just some rumor, but I have the feeling that it is really happening.
You: Hmmm, maybe I´ll look around a bit..


_____________________________________________

When finding the campfire:

You: Hmmm, a bunch of bandits sitting round a campfire? Let´s see if we can eavesdrop and get some information!


_____________________________________________

After eavesdropping and killing the bandits:

You: A prison? I should look around for it! I´m sure I´ll find it with my pathfinding skills.


_____________________________________________

After killing Rob:

You: Oh, what do we have here? A key? I shall be cursed if I don´t find the door it´s for!


_____________________________________________


When finding the prison:

Bandit guards: Invaders! Come and help us!
You: Oh my.. Time to fight.


_____________________________________________

After killing the guards:

[if you don´t have key]

You: Oh no.. the key is missing! Now I have to search it...

[if you have key]

After setting the prisoners free:

Prisoner Jonas: Thank you for rescuing us! But the group of prisoners got split up by the bandits!
So there must be a second prison, but unfortunately I don´t know where.. They were making us work on a cart to transport stolen stuff.
You: I´ll watch out for it. Now get home!


_____________________________________________

Back in Joringsbridge:

Sergeant: I heard you have rescued that people. So the rumor was true.. Well as a reward take this helmet
from a thankful prisoner and some gold. I really appreciate your help!
You: Ah, I can always use some gold and some new piece of armor.

[kalimgard]

I think this quest deserves a little more work:

• The Sergeant should know about the missing people for sure, but he can't do anything about it, because he is missing soldiers (The prince took all of the remaining except a handful)
• The bandits should say something when the player decides to eavesdrop

[greengecko]

Is this one better?




In Joringsbridge:

Sergeant: There are some strange things going on these days.. Some people are missing.

Choice:
[I don´t care]
[tell me more]

if [tell me more]

You: Hm.. Sounds interesting. Tell me more.
Sergeant: Sorry, but that´s all I know. I´m too busy to look out for it.
You: Hmmm, maybe I´ll look around a bit when I get bored of cleaning the surrounding area from bandits..

if [I don´t care]

You: Hmpf, as I´d care about that! Learn to handle the problems in your city yourself.

after [I don´t care]

Choice:
[changed mind]
[never mind]

if [changed mind]

You: Hm, I´ve changed my mind. I´m bored of this place. I need an adventure.. Tell me what you know!
Sergeant: There are some strange things going on these days.. Some people are missing.
But that´s all I know. I´m just too busy to look out for it..
You: Hmmm, maybe I´ll look around a bit..


_____________________________________________

When finding the campfire:

You: Hmmm, a bunch of bandits sitting round a campfire? Let´s see if we can eavesdrop and get some information!


_____________________________________________

Bandits at the campfire:

Dob: Guys, we just got some new slaves. We took prisoners after the last raid.
Den: Great. Where are they?
Dob: We´ve hidden them in the forest. They´re building war machines for us now.
Den: Hm, I´ve got the feeling that there is someone spying on us.
Dob: Hm, let´s leave this place..
Den: Look out! There behind the tree, a spy!


_____________________________________________

After eavesdropping and killing the bandits:

You: A prison? I should look around for it! I´m sure I´ll find it with my pathfinding skills.


_____________________________________________

After killing Rob:

You: Oh, what do we have here? A key? I shall be cursed if I don´t find the door it´s for!


_____________________________________________


When finding the prison:

Bandit guards: Invaders! Come and help us!
You: Oh my.. Time to fight.


_____________________________________________

After killing the guards:

[if you don´t have key]

You: Oh no.. the key is missing! Now I have to search it...

[if you have key]

After setting the prisoners free:

Prisoner Jonas: Thank you for rescuing us! But the group of prisoners got split up by the bandits!
So there must be a second prison, but unfortunately I don´t know where.. They were making us work
on a cart to transport stolen stuff.
You: I´ll watch out for it. Now get home!


_____________________________________________

Back in Joringsbridge:

Sergeant: I heard you have rescued that people. So the rumor was true.. Well as a reward take this helmet
from a thankful prisoner and some gold. I really appreciate your help!
You: Ah, I can always use some gold and some new piece of armor.