The Quest Giver [Einmal Mod Account]

The Office of Hero Activity Indexing is just down the hall from the Lazy Boy (tm) Throne Room and is almost always staffed by a pair of rather bored looking gnomes, one of which is always sitting at the back desk with a book that suspiciously looks like yet another version of "How To Succeed at Kingship Without Really Trying" is hiding a copy of "Baudy Bards Tales")

On the main desk is what you, the hero, was sent down for; a large book that looks an awful lot like the most hipster 3 ring binder ever made, only with a long scroll attached to the rings instead of regular pieces of paper.

Next to the binder is a scroll reading: "For Reporting of Adventure Compilation (AC)"

"For Each Reported Period, Heroes shall Mark upon this scroll a Record of their Adventures. Upon verification of this Activity, Heroes shall be given a Token. These Tokens may be collected and exchanged for Rewards. If a Hero wishes to gift or trade their Tokens to another Hero, said Hero must be sure to Record this Transfer with the Office of Hero Activity Indexing, or else such Trading shall be Tossed into a Void."

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To report AC, create a toplevel with your character journal and your character name in the subject. AC can take the form of:

• One post with at least one response
• 4 comments

Each approved AC submission will come with a Token that can be redeemed in the following ways:

• 1 Token: One small (pocket sized), simple/non-electronic item
• 2 Tokens: One medium (up to 1 foot), simple/non-electronic item
• 3 Tokens: One medium, complex item
• 4 Tokens: One large (up to 5 foot) item.
• 6 Tokens: One friggin' huge item. (Includings buildings and infrastructure) 

Items can be either from the characters homeworld or native to Einmal, and are subject to mod approval (aka, please wait until getting the "Approved" reply before assuming your character has their item)

Tokens can be transferred to other characters, but all exchanges must be noted on this page so that the mods know who has what tokens.  Token trading does not need to be mod approved, but does need both characters to report the trade so that the mods know it was player approved. 

Tucked away on one of the shelves in Hero House is a small book, leather bound with no title, but with indents on the cover that indicate that it was once held closed by a leather strap. Inside, the contents are hand written, with what looks like a ballpoint pen, various dates on the tops of each page, not at all using the date format that the natives use.

Looks like you found someone's diary, Hero. Will you read it? (Silly question, you're a hero in an RPG, of course you're going to read it. You found the thing, after all! And if they hadn't wanted it to be read, they wouldn't have left it were just anybody could spot it, right?)

Along with basic living expenses, all of the Heroes of Schwanheim get a place to stay. For most, the default living space is in the castle. There's a few sprawling wings that are now dedicated to the heroes, providing they can put up with living with so many nosy NPCs, well meaning maids, and the hustle and bustle of day to day castle life. Princes and Princesses get the more grand rooms, Wizards and Sages get to live up in the towers (where it's quieter, but dreadfully hot), and Knights get the wing by the stables. Everyone else is just shoved in whatever room is empty this week.

The Drunk Duck Tavern and Inn has plenty of rooms, also free of charge. Here, the annoyances of NPCs involve the drunks and reliance on the questionable cooking of the innkeeper. Still, it's quieter than the castle in terms of busybodies, but still a temporary rest at best.

The Monastery is another place heroes can stay, so long as they don't the monks going about their business at the godly hours of morning. The lodgings are minimal, but comfortable, and the food plain, but hearty. It's quiet, but anyone staying they may be pestered to attend services. Or at least given Looks until they do.

If one thinks to pester the King or his minions, a hero can gain ownership (or at least free rent) of a house in or near town. These houses are the better accommodations for non royalty and those who just want to see to their own needs. Ranging from 2 to 6 bedrooms of various sizes, these homes have all the basics, kitchen (with wood stove and mostly running water if you take good care of the pump), pantry, sitting room, outhouse, and some even boast their own private bath! It's encouraged that heroes share these homes, and single people asking for them may be told to go find a roommate or something because empty homes in the capital are hard to come by. A map can be found that lists the homes available.

In addition, the Hero's Headquarters in the Rich district has quiet a few rooms open. It's an old manor, not in the best of shape, as it was abandoned many years, but it's in the process of being repaired. Be prepared to put in some elbow grease to help clean and fix up the house if you move in here! But it's free of NPCs and there are many secrets to be discovered still about why it was left abandoned and what it holds in all those hard to reach areas. See this entry for more.

Outside the town there is a scattering of old farm houses, cottages, huts and hobbit holes that can be found and claimed. It's advised that a hero be sure that the home is unoccupied before planting his or her flag on the soil.


If you would like your character to claim a home, please reply here with your character name and where you want them to be living.

NPCs in Einmal come in three flavors, reoccurring, one shots, and background.



Reoccurring NPCs

Reoccurring NPCs are the more important ones. Most of them have their own accounts and have a bubble of fate-based immortality to them, much like important NPCs in video RPGs have.

The current reoccurring NPCs are:

King Erasmus the Randomly Biased(offyougonow)

For the king of a place being threatened by darkness, Eramus is a rather flippant, light hearted sort who really just can't be bothered with the whole thing. It was his big idea to cast the spell to summon the great hero. While he has no troubles coming and talking to the new arrivals, don't expect any useful information out of him. He's only in charge of the place, can't expect him to know anything! Or let on that he knows anything, anyway...

Kori (littlemuffinmage)

Kori is a elemental mage (though he'll say he's a White Mage) of the highest level, having been trained since he was very young. The down side to all that training was that the intensity of training led to the utter neglect in the teaching of day to day skills, or even just anything else. As result, Kori will go back and forth between acting like a 60 year old man like his master who trained him, and a 6 year old brat. He knows nothing about the world, sees in an alarming shade of black and white and will refer to someone by their character class. This concept that people are individuals is still very new to him, as is the whole world. He is often accompanied by his very patient guardian, Tom.

Tom (herbalistmonk)

Tom is a young member of the local monastery. He's been through all the rounds of training and recently took his final vows. He has two main jobs: tend the herb garden, and tend Kori. The second one is far more the cause of his unending patience. If the hero needs a cold remedy or other herbal cure [or even a good, strong homemade wine], Tom is definitely the person to talk to.

The Witch(thequestgiver)

The crankest old bat in the Kingdom, the Witch lives in the Two Face Forest in a candy house and would like you damn heroes to keep off her lawn and stop trying to knock down her house. Never without a bitter word or insult, the Witch doesn't care about much and thinks even less about the people around her. She's been around since well before the Wall Fell and doesn't plan on dying any time soon. She seems to be one of the only sane ones in the Kingdom and doesn't beat about the bush when it comes to telling it like it is. Just don't piss her off too much, there's a lot of power in that old frame and age seems to have only sharpened her wits.

Sven (svenandcompany)

Recently, a mustachioed crystal dragon has started coming down from the mountains. Sometimes, he is selling his wares, which range from junk to more junk to garbage to random items from other worlds buried in the junk. Sometimes, he's just bored and looking for business to meddle in. He's a shrewd bargainer (he'd like to think so, anyway) and an incorrigible gossip (which he'd probably deny), and he's got a penchant for starting drama. He apologizes for nothing...sincerely, anyway. The Mysterious Peddler has not been seen since Sven started visiting. When asked about the Peddler, the only answer Sven was able to supply anyone was a loud burp and a quick change of subject.

Joan (thequestgiver)

A 3 foot tall pixie with nut brown skin and silver-green leaf like hair who often blends in far too well with the woods. There is some debate if she's the helpful sort, or the sort who purely exists for mischief, but there's no denying that she often can be found hoving around in the shadows whenever some sort of spectacular tomfoolery is going down. ...sometimes with popcorn.

Snow (demonsintheoven)

One of the Heroes called before the Kingdom took it's long nap, Snow is a Blind Seer. Oh, wait, sorry, a Blind Drunk Seer. Not one who has ever taken that whole seeing visions of the future thing well, Snow is drunk more than she is sober, which doesn't stop the visions any, but when you can't tell if the pink elephant winking at you from the end of the bar is because you're about to pass out from drink or a warning of the circus coming to town, it doesn't much matter. Most of her visions are small, useless bits of information, but every now and then, something far more serious will shake her into sobriety in an attempt to be able to try and stop the future. ... Or at least warn people about it.

One Shot NPCs

One shot NPCs will be plot device characters, played by the mod account (thequestgiver) with only one or two icons per character. These will be the NPCs who's fates are up to the players.




Background NPCs

There are a whole lot of people in this kingdom. Most of them are split between generic, boring people who don't care about what's going on outside of their own lives, happy to have the new heroes about, because it means they can get back to their own worries and leave all that heroing crap to the newcomers. The rest are gossip feeding masses who will stalk and swoon over the new heroes and be as annoying as a fanclub can be, regardless of the gender of the NPC or hero.

NPCs in general are rather willing to give the new arrivals any help they need, providing they don't ask for too much. However, there is an expectation that they won't make a nuisance of themselves and will actually do what they where summoned to do.

This is where the roles chosen start to be a little important. If you're a Princess, you'd best be wearing your tiara and keeping yourself looking pretty, or be able to ignore the stink eye you'll be getting from the locals. A mage or wizard without a robe? Blasphemy! Someone trying to break away from their role is scandal and will be gossiped about in the bars in disappointed parent voices.

The background NPC voices will have a mention in almost every day change or bulletin board post. The town gossip has a poster she affixes every day with juicy tidbits about what's going on, or what she thinks is going or, or just flat out lies to get people talking.

[Map not to scale. May or may not be accurate. Beware the goblins.]

The Kingdom
Sometimes known as Einmal, but mostly just called "The Kingdom" because the locals are totally self centered, it stretches from the Sea to the Fire Mountains and down to the Unknown Lands. Or rather, to the Thorns that came from the Unknown Lands.

The Kingdom is... oddly modern, for looking like something out of a medieval storybook. Under all the old stone and thatched roofs, there is a mix of modern conveniences hidden in the antiquity, all magic powered, created by former heros. This includes indoor plumbing with hot and cold running water, clawfoot bathtubs and pull-chain flush toilets, and even refrigerations, ranging from literal ice boxes-- boxes made of magical non-melting ice inclosed in either wood, stone or clay-- to the small dorm-style fridges in hero house, courtesy of a former resident. There are fewer of these, as one ventures father from where the heroes were summoned, but signs of former heroes who went out in search of saner pastures can be found even in the far reaches of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom also has a surprisingly high literacy rate and small, one room school houses can be found in every city. The curriculum is very basic, however; simple reading and writing so that every citizen of the Kingdom can partake in the long standing tradition that is posting gossip on the town bulletin boards.


Schwanheim

The capital of the Kingdom, where the King resides. A simple but sizable town in a small valley, where the people are friendly and children play happily in the streets. You can comfortably make a home here to have somewhere to return to between epic quests. There is no shortage of shops here, though don't expect any of them to open their doors to you after dark, as the townspeople are very superstitious. And rumour has it they have very good reason to be...



The Two-Faced Forest
In the daytime, the forest that surrounds the town is a lovely place, lush and full of berries and plenty of game. A perfect place for an afternoon ride. In the daytime, that is. After sunset, legend has it the forest grows over with thorns, and strange beast stalk its perimeters, searching for townspeople who’ve strayed. These are, however, different than the thorns that are destroying the kingdom and are far more easily defeated, something that has caused no end of confusion and false hope for would be heroes.

The White Tower
A tall white tower(source) in the woods not far from the monastery just outside of Schwanheim. Impossibly and almost arrogantly white, this tower puts out and air of dignity that seems to keep most of the lesser forest creatures away. The forest is however, slowly creeping closer and it looks as if it mounted an attack on the top floors...


Fire Mountains
The two tallest mountains in the range of that makes up the eastern border of the kingdom, are home to two equally wise, yet equally fearsome dragons. Rumoured to be sisters, these dragons have been in a sort of cold war for centuries. Now, with the thorns encroaching upon their homes, this war has broken out into violent conflict, which is bad news for the towns near by. Travelers are warned not to approach either mountain, for each dragon sister will think the other is the cause of the disturbance.

West Haven, the town that wasn't. And still isn't.
About a half day's travel from Schwanheim, by all reports this was a quiet little hamlet even before all it's inhabitants vanished. Rumours of it being cursed or besieged started flying once the town was found empty, and it has now been all but forgotten about now that it turns out it was all just an illusion.

The Old Capital
Long ago this place used to have a name. Dang it all if anyone can recall it, though, it's been The Old Capital since the King moved to Schwanheim. Not that anyone can blame him, even the stubborn natives of the Old Capital say Schwanheim's the nicer place to live. While not quite a ghost town, it's still rather sparsely populated and seems to mostly be a retirement and tourism town. The castle's outer wall crumbled days after the King left and plenty of adventurers have been bilked out of lots of money by the natives for the chance to explore it's ruins and that of the abandoned houses the depopulation has left behind.

On the surface, the Old Capital looks much like Schwanheim, only without the two rivers flanking the castle. It's much smaller, the houses father apart and older looking that the more crowded capital, and far more ordered. It has the feel of a city that was planned out. The semi-ruined castle stands in the center acting as gateway to the 4 wide streets that slice through the circular town like the spokes of a wheel, dividing it into sections. One quarter is the market and craftsman district, the road leading to the castle lined with stalls and merchants with goods on blankets, side streets winding down towards the less sightly businesses. Flanking it on both ends are two housing districts, the smaller homes closer to the market, getting larger as they head for the 4th district, full of large mansions and an impressive church.

There's a large clock tower in the market district that matches the one back in Schwanheim, and a bulletin board much the same.

Soul Seeker Valley

Not too far from the Old Capital lay the Soul Seeker valley, a place of vision quests, mirror gates, tumultuous emotions and manpain. Highlights include the Cave of Angore, hidden in the forest of Enthymema, near the where the River of Reflection cleaves through the Gorge of Pretentious Latin. Within this cave, it is said that echoes of the past are strong enough to be touched and if one is not careful, they will wander forever in memories and illusions build of their own inner turmoil.

Which of course makes it the premier destination of teenage poets, bards and wobegon lovers. Due to so many people visiting this cave, there's almost always someone posted just outside of it to take note of who's gone in, and to send up the alert back to the capital when said soul seeker doesn't turn around and run back out, regretting their life choices.

Other Kingdoms

The Kingdom of the Giants
The Kingdom of the Giants is up in the clouds (yes, even on a clear day where there are non, shush) and can be accessed via the Fire Mountains. Or by beanstalk, but if you aren't careful, you'll punch a hole in some giant's floor.

The Kingdom of the Giants is full of giants, easily three or four times the height of a grown man. Other than their size, giants are are strange people, clad in polyester, the men traveling long distances to work at a mysterious place called "the office", the woman staying at home and watching small boxes that hold such magical things called "Soap Operas" and "Variety Shows" and instead of a King, they have a Mayor, who's replaceable. Even their dates are different, calling the year 1953. But they seem mostly harmless.


The Unknown Lands
The land to the south east of the Kingdom.

...what, you were expecting something more? It's called the Unknown Lands for good reason, you know! ... Oh fine.

Currently, the lands are thought to be utterly devoured by the Thorns, and to be the origin of where the Thorns themselves. Rumor has that more was known about these lands before the wall fell, but that was long ago and no one cares enough to bother keeping track of these things. Far more mysterious to just call them the Unknown Lands, right? Of course right.

◆ While most posting will happen in mingles/group logs, you are free to make your own logs as it suits you! Just keep it to a reasonable frequency and don't overwhelm the com.

◆ If things are going to get pronographic, please take if off the comm to a character journal. You can link to it in thread, but be sure to mark where it's heading (Some people do tag at work, be kind to them)

◆ Be considerate of your fellow players. We're all here to have fun, not to compete with each other, so there's no need to try and one-up each other. If your threads are starting to resemble "Let there be Guns" make sure the other player is on board with it.

◆ Communicate, communicate, communicate. Even if it's just in the subject lines of comments, make an effort to talk to people. You can avoid a lot of confusion and misunderstanding by just talking to people.

◆ Exercise your scroll muscle. You're not required to read and reply to every post and every comment, so if something you don't like appears, just scroll on by. Your blood pressure will thank you.

Application:
[Player] <b>Name/Handle:</b> <b>Age:</b> [Are you over 16/18/21/legal age of adulthood?] <b>Contact:</b> [Aka, what's the easiest way to contact you?] <b>Email:</b> <b>Current Characters: </b> [If already in the game] [Character] <b>Character Name</b>: <B>Source (Please mark AU or OC)</b>: <b>History/Pull Point</b>: [Give a link to a reputable or wiki type source of information on your character's canon and explain his/her pull point] <b>Personality</b>: [This is the big one so feel free to TLDR!] <b>Abilities/Special Powers/Non average skills</b>: [Please note that any god-tier abilities will be nerfed down to a reasonable level and/or altered to fit the world build. This is also your space for talking about any odd quirks of existence such as immortality, non aging, living despite a condition that would leave other dead, etc. All things that are deviations from normal, average human abilities. Also, if your character is bringing in any enchanted items, please list them and their abilities as well. Also, please note that we're not looking for high detail! A simple summery or bullet list is preferred.] [Game Specific] <b>Character Role</b>: [See https://thequestgiver.dreamwidth.org/4812.html for a list of suggestions. If you want a role that is not on the list, please describe it here!] <b>Powers/skills to be gained by being that role</b>: <b>Ridiculous over the top title the locals can call your character by:</b> [The longer, the better!] [Samples] <b>Log sample</b>: [This is a prose entry that would be used as a log. Typical prompts for this include your characters reaction to arrival or your character encountering something native to this world. Need a specific prompt? Check the current logs and write a top level! You can also link to a log from another game or musebox.] <center>


Reserve:
RESERVE [Player] <b>Name/Handle:</b> <b>Age:</b> [Are you over 16/18/21/legal age of adulthood?] <b>Contact:</b> [Aka, what's the easiest way to contact you?] <b>Email:</b> <b>Current Characters: </b> [If already in the game] [Character] <b>Character Name</b>: <b>Source</b>:

Leather bound and stiff backed, this book seems almost too new for the library that it's in. Cracking open the cover, the paper is far finer than the clearly hand made papers of the time.

The type on the pages is crisp, clear and almost impossibly even.



An Index of the Strange Occurrences in the Kingdom

1. The Strange Story of West Haven



2. The Rise and Fall of the Hero of the Mountains



3. The Strange Spot in the South Field



4. The Tragedy of the White Forest



5. The Curious Coma of the Wee White Mage



6. The Haunting of the Hero's House



7. The Strange Whims of the King

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[[Each mod-posted top comment will represent a page in the book. Entries appear overnight with no indication to who or what has written them and there is space for the characters to add their own notes. Please feel free to reply ICly and have your characters write their thoughts and observations in the book!]]

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