interlude 2, the MSQ, How I might do it, part-2
Egg over Queasy, Surveying the Damage, and A soldier’s breakfast, I might turn into a supply run for a group in an area cut off from the others. Something simple overall, fighting creatures for their eggs, maybe gather ingredients to make poultices. Things that still matter, but would be performed by members of the militia, if any were available. If I wanted to end on a high note, I’d have the Ixal push forward while we are there, and together, we push them back. In this fight, we aren’t The Hero, we’re just another soldier.
Spirithold Broken
To this one, I do something similar to the Lifemend Stump quest. We aren’t sent directly to Spirithold. This time, the group didn’t show up to… let's say the boat that was to talk them away. The last time they were seen was at the Conjurers in Gridania. From there, we have a series of investigation stops where we finally learn that before they were going to leave, they would go to Spirithold and perform a ceremony.
When we get there, the 1 guard is sleeping standing up. It’s his third shift because there’s no one to replace him. No, he didn’t see anyone come in, but he’s not too proud to admit he’s been nodding on and off for hours how. Has he heard strange sounds from within Spirithold? Laughing, he tells us the creatures in there are always making sounds. So we go in, to be certain.
To be honest, I am tempted to make this a small, one-person dungeon, where we need to find each member of the expedition and then escort them back to the entrance. But even if not, Spirithold needs to be larger, and the people we need to find further in. It ends the same way, with us fighting the golem. But I would make it clearer if we do or don’t notice the masked mage.
Then I have a few small quests. Their goal would be to continue to show how stretched the Gridanian forces are as we do more tasks, ending at the Matron’s Lethe.
In the Grim Darkness of the Forest.
This one changes slightly. Because of the shortage of personnel, Theodore is the only one there, and the only reason he braved the root to get to his post is that the person who was assigned to it had a family emergency, and Theodore wasn’t going to force them to choose between duty and family. He’s terrified of heights, but he does his duty, which is why he spotted a suspicious campfire in the wood at the foot of the root.
That starts an investigation, the clues we bring to the militia leads into the “to Guard a Guardian” quest.
This one I leave mainly untouched. But again, I would time the arrival of Yda and Papalymo depending on how well we fare.
The following quests I leave mainly the same. The changes I’d make are borderline cosmetic instead of something that matters.
So, that’s what my version of the MSQ could look like.