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favorite/memorable quests?

Esterhaze

Augur
Joined
Jan 15, 2012
Messages
123
The Codex gold standard for the RPG Quest seems to be the branching double-double-crossing skillcheck-heavy investigation with a plenitude of ambiguous choices and horrifying consequences. But I can’t actually think of very many particularly interesting small-scale examples of the above. There may have been a few in Prelude to Darkness. You could probably say “the whole Fallout find the water chip quest” and be technically right. This might mostly be a problem of my poor memory and my almost excusive jump to strategy games in recent years, so help me out here. What are some really great memorable quests? Particularly well written? Ones with satisfying branching? Interesting premises?


I find it a little hard to consider quests in isolation because so much of what makes a memorable quest is usually not in some self contained elegance but in how it fits to the greater context of the game. Like how it works with the games mechanics, how much it allows you to feel like you have some agency in advancing a broader goal, how it updates the gameworld to some new state of affairs.

Like that arms deal in Fallout 2 you are supposed to broker for the Salvatores with some big shots, who turn out to be the fuckin Enclave! (whose name you may not know at this point). Apparently you could even stow aboard their copter and get taken to their base. There wasn’t a whole lot going on in the quest, and I don’t even know how viable a path to the Enclave it ended up being. But that really stuck with me, that I was taking a break from what I thought was the main trail to do some big pimping in Reno and all of a sudden here are the assholes I’m looking for. Some high level faction quest providing another door toward the main goal is a really appealing idea, and in an investigative/strategic sense has its own sort of logic: follow the power to the top.

From an action perspective, infiltration/escape type quests tend to be pretty good if the mechanics of the game can support a little creativity. Another really memorable quest was the break in to save that priest woman from the Ministry of Truth in Morrowind. Maybe because for like the first or second time in the main quest instead of clearing a dungeon and then having some task giver tell you some more of the story, what you were doing actually was the story for once. I guess the key here was that just fighting your way in was pretty hard at non-high levels and would pretty disastrous for your relationship with the Ordinators, and so was a pretty dumb approach. And Morrowind actually had the mechanics to make breaking in interesting (various stealth/magic/Temple faction ranking/items like keys etc could all come into play).

Anyway I should probably play AoD at some point
 

sea

inXile Entertainment
Developer
Joined
May 3, 2011
Messages
5,698
For me, a sense of mystery is key to most engaging quests. Not knowing the motives of one or more parties involved is great, better still if you can influence the outcome or use outside quest knowledge to out someone.

Interactions between individual quests are also great to have where possible, even if it doesn't necessarily lead to unique outcomes. Just the acknowledgement that a quest doesn't take place in a vacuum is often enough to elevate it for me.
 

visions

Arcane
Joined
Jun 10, 2007
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1,801
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here
The Ministry of Truth thing was quite memorable the first time around. I killed a bunch of Ordinators with my first character because fuck those losers, and then the bitch didn't want to come with me because of the bounty. For some reason I couldn't join the Thieves Guild either, to get rid of the bounty (a couple of Fighters Guild's quests were anti-TG, maybe because of those? I really have no clue), so I had to fall back to an earlier save and redo the quest less violently.
 

Abelian

Somebody's Alt
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
2,289
I like quests that allow the player to take a "third option", like the dragon eggs quest in BG2's Underdark. I also like quests that allow the player to take a non-violent solution, either through stealth or dialogue.
 

Cadmus

Arcane
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
4,264
Well I sure as fuck remember picking flowers for that guy in Mage guild, so if not my favourite quest, maybe the most memorable for some reason. Also Fargot.

Strange how these things stick with you.
 

Borelli

Arcane
Joined
Dec 5, 2012
Messages
1,261
Any Morrowind quest that gives you geographic descriptions you need to follow. This is less "favourite quest" and more "favourite exploring experience" but w/e.
Any quest with multiple solutions. So basically the whole of Age of Decadence and some Arcanum quests.

EDIT: when i say multiple solutions i also mean multiple ways to finish one quest, so throw VTM:B and FNV on the list too
 
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ERYFKRAD

Barbarian
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Sep 25, 2012
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28,240
Strap Yourselves In Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Any quest where info's scarce and you have to work shit out for yourself etc.
Hammer and Sickle was good in that aspect- "Adapt to the situation and report on anything important."
 

Lemming42

Arcane
Joined
Nov 4, 2012
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6,043
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The Satellite Of Love
The vampire cure side-quest in Morrowind, which put a lot of emphasis on the player investigating for themselves without guidance.

Fallout had the potential scenario of being tortured by Lou and then imprisoned at Mariposa. Breaking out was a lot of fun because it required you to actually think and use your characters skills to escape Mariposa.
 

octavius

Arcane
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Bjørgvin
The quest that was not in the quest log: finding the King's Mail in Morrowind.
Having to learn Lizardman language in order to free a mute prisoner in Ultima Underworld.
 

MicoSelva

backlog digger
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Many, many quests from PST, especially the one that lets you become a mage and the unbroken circle of zerthimon.
The quest to create your first lightsabre from the original KoTOR. Sith academy questline was pretty neat too.
Planar Sphere and Spellhold from BG2. I also liked the whole whole sahuagin city and drow questline.
 

Abelian

Somebody's Alt
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Nov 17, 2013
Messages
2,289
I also like when quest objectives change based on your actions. For example, in Fallout, Killian Darkwater sends you to investigate Gizmo, but you can end up working for Gizmo instead. Or you can turn back on Decker after he hires you.
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
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Any quest that actually requires to you do stuff in the environment. The Liz language was a good one in Underworld along with many others... the whole chain of events involving the bullfrog puzzle...

All of the things you had to do to gain rep, do favours and just survive in Gothic.. Many of the most memorable for me don't involve explicit instruction or finding something, the goal is obvious but the means to the end is not laid out and not trivial. You have to figure it out using in game mechanics.
 

No Great Name

Arcane
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
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572
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US
Definitely the quest in Arcanum where you investigate the gnome conspiracy regarding half-ogres.
Very memorable and a very mysterious ending.
 

Hormalakh

Magister
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
1,503
Arcanum had multiple awesome quests:

The gnome conspiracy.
Getting the dwarf king to join you.
Finding out the truth about St. Mannox (following the crazy directions, etc)

I liked Modron Cube "adventure" in PS:T.

I can't remember where it was, but in BG2 where you have to use detect evil to figure out that there are people trying to kidnap some children.

Slaver quests in BG2.

Ultima IV's quest - the entire thing.
 

deuxhero

Arcane
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Jul 30, 2007
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11,328
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Flowery Land
I really wonder if just being able to go west to the river and then north (something like that) in the St. Mannox quest instead of following the steps was intended.
 

Abelian

Somebody's Alt
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
2,289
I can't remember where it was, but in BG2 where you have to use detect evil to figure out that there are people trying to kidnap some children.
It was one of the paladin "stronghold" quests, and the game would randomly decide whether the guy who showed up to accompany the girl was being honest or intended to kill her, so you had to use the detect evil class ability every time you received the quest. I put the word stronghold in quotes because the reward kind of sucked compared to other classes: you basically got a place where you could sleep for free in a game where you could easily collect over 1 million gold.

And speaking of the slaver quest, it's cool when a quest results in a permanent change in the game world, like the freed barbarian taking over the Copper Coronet.
 

Gondolin

Arcane
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Oct 6, 2007
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Purveyor of fine art
Definitely the quest in Arcanum where you investigate the gnome conspiracy regarding half-ogres.
Very memorable and a very mysterious ending.

That and the quest to recover that piece of jewelry for Madam Lil where you can convince the servant girl to become a prostitute. I definitely remember that one. :D
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
Pretty Princess Glory to Ukraine
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Mar 10, 2003
Messages
24,924
The quest to find the woman's missing children. No easy 'win' choice at the end of that one.
 

ColCol

Arcane
Joined
Jul 12, 2012
Messages
1,731
The gnome conspiracy quest was ruined by the fact you are punished with negative karma for killing those gnomes near the end. The quest also kind of ends with a , "you can't do anything about it lol"! This would be okay if the player character didn't have access to large number of resources.
 
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The great fex ex quest (the cursed box) from Torment. It ticks all the boxes for 'worst quest ever' - almost entirely linear, uses punishment instead of reward as a motivator, player doesn't really know what he's taking on when he 'accepts' the quest, lots and lots and lots of walking - but for some reason it really worked for me.
 

RK47

collides like two planets pulled by gravity
Patron
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Feb 23, 2006
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Not Here
Dead State Divinity: Original Sin
Entire arc of Alpha Protocol.
Tight, choices with consequence.
I was literally raring to go after finishing one playthrough that I finished the game 3 times in a week.
 

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