Quests
In short: the notice board offers one quest at a time. Find the first sign, follow the trail the next day, then face a named foe at its end. A quest takes at least two days, pays better than any hunt, and is a good reason to come back tomorrow.
How it works
Taking a quest
Your quest lives on the Rumours tab, above the day's rumours. When one is on offer, the tab tells its story, how far out its first stop lies, and has a Take the quest button; the tab's number counts the offer until you take it. You can take it wherever you stand, and taking it costs nothing.
| Quest | What happened | Who waits at the end |
|---|---|---|
| The Missing Caravan | A merchant caravan vanished on the road | A named bandit, such as Varn the Red |
| The Stolen Reliquary | A chapel's holy relic was stolen | A named thief, such as Ysolde Crowfoot |
| The Beast of … | Something is killing livestock in a region, named after it | A beast, such as the One-Eyed Wolf |
You can hold one quest at a time. Once it is finished or abandoned, the board stays bare until the next daily reset: a finished quest is a good end to a day, not a treadmill.
Three stops
A quest leads outwards from Oakhaven in one general direction. The first stop is about 3 tiles out, plus one tile for every 2 levels you had gained when you took it; each later stop lies 2 to 4 tiles further on. Every stop is on dangerous ground, never on a site, a lair or a settlement.
- The first sign. Walk to the first stop. You find a clue there, and the trail it points to cannot be followed until the next daily reset.
- The trail. Walk to the second stop, a little further out. Arrive before that daily reset and the trail is cold: nothing happens, so come back after it. Arrive after it and the trail leads you on to the foe.
- The foe. At the third stop the foe waits for you alone. Press Confront on the location card.
The quest card on the Rumours tab always says what to do next and where, with coordinates, and a red pennant marks the next stop on your map. The dawn screen lists it under Today, and once you have found the first sign, the chronicle ends with a line about where the trail leads next (see The chronicle and the story).
Reaching a stop is its own event: no encounter, and no other hero, meets you on that step.
The foe
Confronting the foe costs one turn and is settled like any fight (see Combat). It is tougher than a normal monster there: 1 level above what its ring would give you, with 1.6× the health. A beast is also brutal: it hits harder, for a little less health, and its panel says so; fight it Boldly, the stance that takes the sting out of brutes (see Combat). There is no slipping away from a quest's foe, even Warily. Its level is set when you take the quest, so every level you gain on the way makes it easier. Under a Blood Moon it is 1 level stronger for the day and its purse 1.4× as rich; its panel shows the day's level and reading, and it will still be waiting tomorrow (see Omens).
The foe's panel reads the fight honestly, as a boss's lair does (see Bosses): the foe outmatches you (come back stronger: a level, better gear, full health or a blessing), it would be a close fight, or it is within your measure, worked out from your level, gear, current health, today's blessing and your stance. Change your stance at the foe and the reading changes with it.
Winning ends the quest and pays:
- gold worth 8 kills of a monster at the foe's level, and experience worth 4, both with the usual bonus for being far from Oakhaven;
- a piece of gear 1 tier above the usual for your level, still capped by the bosses you have beaten (see Levels and gear);
- the usual after-fight heal, and a line from the narrator.
Losing is a death like any other (see The daily loop), but the quest stays open: the foe keeps waiting at the same place until you come back.
Giving up
Abandon this quest on the quest card (after a confirmation) ends it with no other cost. A new quest is offered after the next daily reset.
Tips
- Take a quest early in the day and reach the first sign: the overnight wait starts when you find it.
- The second and third stops lie on the same line outwards, so tomorrow's walk covers both.
- Arrive at the foe with full health and turns to spare. Drink a potion first, and against a beast set your stance to Boldly; a blessing of Might or Warding from the temple helps too (see Oakhaven, settlements and gold).
- The foe is fixed at the level you had when you took the quest. If the panel says it outmatches you, hunt a day and come back: the quest waits.
- The foe's tile is still dangerous ground, so you can hunt there while you wait for the right moment.