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LORE QUESTS.
LORE QUESTS
The world of Kenos has many mysteries to explore, and not all of them are directly tied to the ongoing plot of Meridian and Zenith struggling against each other to claim the Oracles. This page is for compiling the token-purchased lore-related quests for the game.
Lore quests are multi-part questlines that focus on uncovering a greater idea of what is going on behind the scenes, peering behind the curtain and uncovering information that might make or break how a character relates to the world, factions and their own goals or dreams. To be clear, these are all separate from Side Quests, demand a higher level of participation and planning, and are posted as areas get added and/or Loremasters get ideas for quests.
( There is a section for players to submit key interests their characters would have, for Loremasters to take into account while crafting future lore quests! )
While uncovering the lore is it own reward, sometimes players may gain other rewards based on their participation in lore quests; not every lore quest you undertake has universally good outcome, but every quest will affect the swing of relationships between the cities and factions. We are considering allowing players to pool their AC tokens in the future, but currently this practice is not allowed.
OOC, you will spend the correct number of tokens in your AC reward, then comment under a side quest to “claim” it by noting all participating characters. Players will receive additional details and information once the claim is made. After the thread/log/etc. for the mission is complete, you’ll return to the comment and turn it in. Loremasters will then tell you the further rewards + outcomes. As a note, you can only have one active lore quest per character at a time. If you're expecting upcoming time constraints, please consider your purchase, as dropping from the quest may cause the party to have to redo it.
Unless noted, the lorequests are bound to a single purchaser ( and their entourage ). Once purchased, the questline is tethered to the purchaser, but participants can change as the questline develops.
UPDATE 01/30/24: If unsure whether a personal goal is something you can simply play out yourself, or if it would qualify as a Lore Quest/AC Reward, the key question we use to assess for this is: will it affect the world of Kenos or multiple other player characters as the result of my character's actions? If the answer is "yes", we would consider that something you need to use tokens for, develop over time via threads/reporting on your Notable Actions, or working together with mods to achieve! If the answer is "no", you have every right to craft your own narrative for your character.
So, without further ado, get to questing!
Lore quests are multi-part questlines that focus on uncovering a greater idea of what is going on behind the scenes, peering behind the curtain and uncovering information that might make or break how a character relates to the world, factions and their own goals or dreams. To be clear, these are all separate from Side Quests, demand a higher level of participation and planning, and are posted as areas get added and/or Loremasters get ideas for quests.
( There is a section for players to submit key interests their characters would have, for Loremasters to take into account while crafting future lore quests! )
While uncovering the lore is it own reward, sometimes players may gain other rewards based on their participation in lore quests; not every lore quest you undertake has universally good outcome, but every quest will affect the swing of relationships between the cities and factions. We are considering allowing players to pool their AC tokens in the future, but currently this practice is not allowed.
OOC, you will spend the correct number of tokens in your AC reward, then comment under a side quest to “claim” it by noting all participating characters. Players will receive additional details and information once the claim is made. After the thread/log/etc. for the mission is complete, you’ll return to the comment and turn it in. Loremasters will then tell you the further rewards + outcomes. As a note, you can only have one active lore quest per character at a time. If you're expecting upcoming time constraints, please consider your purchase, as dropping from the quest may cause the party to have to redo it.
Unless noted, the lorequests are bound to a single purchaser ( and their entourage ). Once purchased, the questline is tethered to the purchaser, but participants can change as the questline develops.
UPDATE 01/30/24: If unsure whether a personal goal is something you can simply play out yourself, or if it would qualify as a Lore Quest/AC Reward, the key question we use to assess for this is: will it affect the world of Kenos or multiple other player characters as the result of my character's actions? If the answer is "yes", we would consider that something you need to use tokens for, develop over time via threads/reporting on your Notable Actions, or working together with mods to achieve! If the answer is "no", you have every right to craft your own narrative for your character.
So, without further ado, get to questing!
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Gavial, Amos and Rin are lead through the Manor to a nondescript door; plain and unassuming, it also has no handle with which to open it. Yima's attendant rests a hand upon the frame, and the cool rush of Zenith's power illuminates the trim and vanishes the door before their eyes. A curling stairwell of stone leads down into a cavernous basement, and it is at that entrance that the attendance wishes them well and informs them that the basement is like a labyrinth, with two potential paths: one with psychological dangers and one with physical obstacles.
The group will have to select one path to travel ( which will determine the type of obstacles we provide them with ). This quest will be structured roughly like the Beyond Side Quest where the group will be given sets of obstacles to overcome, but how/why they occur will be left to player discretion so that it’s a fun, customizable opportunity. They will encounter 2 moderate obstacles, 1 difficult obstacle, and will locate the creature at the end of their labors ( among some other fun wrenches that are To Be Thrown ).
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MODERATE OBSTACLE 1
As they’re waylaid from their chosen path, the group eventually encounters a shrine decorated with imagery of… cats? Nothing seems that odd about it, it’s just a strange detail. However, regardless of whether they interact with it or not, eerie voices from their pasts start to echo through the tunnels, speaking of long-forgotten secrets, regrets, and tragedies. These voices are audible to all present.
MODERATE OBSTACLE 2
Do you like spelunking? Now you definitely don’t. Because as they pass through these corridors, it almost feels like every twist and turn is meant to separate them. Feelings of isolation and claustrophobia take root in their minds. Characters may experience a growing sense of unease and vulnerability as the area narrows into tight spaces. The group is forced to walk in a line, and some of the bigger party members might find passages where they’re forced to exhale just to make it through. And leaving anyone on their own for too long will cause them to temporarily lose the ability to see and hear their other party members (though everything else will still work just fine).
DIFFICULT OBSTACLE
As they descend further into the depths, they’re overcome with the same kind of feeling they had when first arriving in Kenos. Whatever they felt upon leaning their home was destroyed, they feel it again. They find themselves in Communion with each other very much against their will, drawn into visions of the end of each of their worlds. They cannot save these worlds. But they can save each other. How the illusion/Communion is broken in specifics is free for the group to decide, but should center around helping and relying on each other.
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The team full of physical and magical bruisers think they’re being smart by choosing the path that seems likely to bombard them with physical obstacles, only to find as they progress that… wow, it sure seems like a pretty easy way forward to start? It’s once they bypass the cat shrine that they realize that something seems kind of off when they collectively start hearing voices—familiar ones that don’t have any business speaking in a place like this. A little rattled and a little pissed off, they decide to hurry forward while wondering if this was the work of the creature they’d been sent to hunt down.
The path forward narrows to an uncomfortable degree, and despite their earlier frustrations, Gavial, Rin, and Amos make their way forward together with care and relative ease… right up until Rin takes a tumble down an easy-to-miss slope. A mishap with her axe in the confined space means it takes a moment for Gavial to leap down after her, leaving poor Amos stuck and feeling increasingly claustrophobic. They’re just out of each others’ sight long enough for the catacomb’s trickery to obscure them from on another. The three then try to wrestle down their increasing panic as they scramble around to find one another, which involves a lot of very undignified tripping and yelling and hair-pulling until they all manage to grab a hold of each other just long enough for whatever magic was at play to finally drop the veil of invisibility it had put on them.
The final obstacle on the way to their target is one that, ironically, probably ends up being the easiest for these three to navigate. For Amos and Rin, who hold a steady commitment to Zenith ideals and the goal of creating a better world, the prospect of the forced communion space making them relieve the deaths of their home worlds is much easier to shake off. Gavial struggles to move forward at first when reminded of everything she had left behind, but her two companions arrive to remind her of what they are here to broadly accomplish, and together they manage to pull free of the encompassing communion space.
By the time they finally step into the feline creature’s lair, Gavial is mad enough that she goes charging at the thing the moment she lays eyes on it. It pierces her with its root-like antennae and force her to obey its will, turning on her companions. While the creature itself begins this fight seemingly impervious to their attacks, it leaves Rin in the position to try to hold its attention while Amos has to fend off an angry crocodile. Neither make it out unscathed, but they eventually work together to blind both Gavial and the creature with a light spell from Rin to give Amos the opportunity to swiftly behead Gavial, thus (unknown to them just yet) ending the cat-like creature’s invulnerability. They have just enough time to grab Gavial’s Shard and tend to a few wounds before the feline rushes for them. A combination of explosive spells and immobilizing magic deal a devastating blow to the creature, which Amos follows up on to finish the job with his sword.
Amos and Rin collect the creature’s Shard and make their way out of the catacombs, intending to hold onto it and perhaps question Yima about the creature and what it was doing down there once Gavial has a chance to revive at the Tree.
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Upon Amos and Rin's return from the labyrinth, the cow-headed attendant thanks them for their work and passes along her genuine regrets about Gavial's fate. She is glad they were able to rescue her from the creature's influence, and invites them to return when Gavial has revived at the Tree to meet with Lady Yima. Once Gavial has revived, the three are invited and escorted back to the depths of the Manor, where the attendant holds open a door that leads into an elegant, darkly-decorated room with silk veils and starry ceilings. In the center, awaiting them with food and drink, is Yima herself.
Through the conversation, Gavial, Amos and Rin receive the following information ( and rewards ): If you have any follow-up questions or need clarification, lmk! The results of this quest and Gavial/Rin/Amos's participation will have an effect on the next Setting Update, as well.
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Some days before the Oracle, and well after Amos, Rin and Gavial have begun any supportive/recovery efforts ( for Highstorm, or even just for themselves! ), they are contacted by Kathova, who invites them to one of the grand households that surround the center of the Court. The grand estate is made of dark stonework in the style of a Victorian-era house, although it is possessed of far too many windows ( the infinite number of windows are oddly impossible to see through, despite their obvious transparency and the warm, inviting glow from within ).
Within, Florence Deshayes greets the trio at the foot of a grand stairwell, inviting them into one of the adjoining parlors. She explains that her household is also the seat of Yima's most loyal and long-lived followers, known as the Waru, but that is neither here, nor there. What is important is that she is aware, as Zenith's Shard-Beares must be! that the next Oracle is nearly upon them. Silken and confident, Florence coos that she doesn't feel the need to impress upon them that Zenith is, well, a little behind the cut and that while nobody blames their dutiful Shard-Bearers... they are meant to be inspiring the people of Highstorm.
To this end, she indicates that she has a task for the three of them to perform, during the Oracle. Win or lose, she is not keen to completely leave the fate of Zenith up to the whim of the very thing that they are meant to master. Without a scrap of hesitation, she places two objects upon the table that stretches between her and the trio: dark iron rods, with a twisted shape upon one end and a bound-leather handle. They're branding irons, small and discreet.
The summary she provides them is thus: Amos, Rin and Gavial are to target and mark two Meridian-aligned Shard-Bearers during the Oracle with the provided tool(s).
Upon completion of their mission, they will be granted one boon from Florence Deshayes, the acting leader of Zenith while ( as she loftily will declare ) "Yima is away on other business". The boons that the three can choose from are as follows: an honorable title bestowed upon Highstorm's upper echelon that will give greater opportunities to access information/be heeded by citizens, a single question that will be answered honestly by Florence ( who reserves the right to answer it privately to only the asker, and swear them to secrecy following the answer ), OR the opportunity to receive direct aid/instruction from Florence herself.
She will explain that the Meridian that are chosen and branded by the trio will eventually be targeted by her and the Waru and taken into their "care" as the subjects of an important rite that will help strengthen Zenith and Highstorm as a whole.
To complete this Quest and acquire your rewards, we would like 1-2 threads focused on the targeted attack on the Meridian Shard-Bearers! Obviously these need to be successful efforts, but the methodology and plotting is up to you all!
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