Maina's List-o-Scholar-Tasks

[Maina]

The topic of 'what are scholars meant to do for riln?' has been brought up before, and I believe the answer was something along with 'lots of tasks' to the warrior's 'lots of combat' and the adventurer's 'lots of loot'.

And so, as a player with a weakness for scholars, I have been pondering task ideas.

The XP/Riln rewards are just rough guesses. I am awful at game balance. I think more in terms of what is flavorful and thematic.


ARCANIST - Some/all of these can also be available to anyone who knows the proper glyph. As Arcanists get more unique glyphs and things to do with glyphs, it should be easier to have unique tasks for them.

Task: Bring Light to the Dark at [Location]
Details: A miner is lost in the dark at [Mine Location], which is in [Location], and requires light. Find them and draw [distyr or shaol].
Pay: 500/800 riln
Experience: 250/400
Notes: For anyone with access to Distyr or Arcanists with Shaol. The Shoal option should pay more and provide a lantern which should be given to the miner or placed in the glyph, whichever one is easier to code.

Task: Mercenary Requests Extra Protection at [Location]
Details: A mercenary is presently at [Combat Location], which is in [Location], and desires extra protection before they complete their task. Go there and provide the Dorun glyph for them.
Pay: 800 riln
Experience: 400
Notes: Only for Arcanists with Dorun. Maybe gives +1 Arcane practice? Less than the copy task, definitely. Better pay than some others due to sending the Arcanist to hostile locations.

Task: [Rogue/Spy] Requests Aid at [Location]
Details: A rogue is presently at [Rogue Location], which is in [Location], and desires a little extra insurance before they begin their work. Go there and provide the [iquaj or terlu or uyto] glyph for them.
Pay: 500 riln
Experience: 250
Notes: For Arcanists and Rogues/Thieves/Nightblades with the relevant glyphs. Maybe gives +1 Arcane practice? Should target locations like the Twin Daggers Tavern. If the task requires uyto, it should say 'spy', while 'rogue' works for the other two.

Task: Client Requests Information from [Location]
Details: A client [is being blackmailed by/wants to blackmail/suspects infidelity from/wants to steal research from] an associate at [City Location], which is in [Location]. Go there with the uyto glyph active and eavesdrop on the target's conversation. Bring the transcript back to us so we may give it to the client.
Pay: 500 riln
Experience: 250
Notes: For Arcanists and Rogues/Thieves/Nightblades with the uyto glyph. Maybe gives +1 Arcane practice? Should target rooms that are sparsely populated within a City and require being adjacent to the target room with uyto active. Entering the room should fail the task with the target getting angry and leaving. Success should give a document in-hand that must be turned in like the copy task. There should be an implication that the Library (or whatever other organization offers the task) is keeping a copy for themselves.

Task: Town Crier at [Location]
Details: A Town Crier is required at [Town Square Location], which is in [Location]. Please go there and draw the solco glyph [for the town crier to use/for yourself and then make the announcement.]
Pay: 100 riln
Experience: 50
Notes: For anyone with the solco glyph. This one could be offered from the Town Hall instead of the Library, if it makes sense. If not, the pay probably needs to be higher. Maybe gives +1 Arcane practice? It can either be for the character to act as town crier or the character is providing the glyph for a town crier.

PHYSICKER - Physickers can already make a living by treating NPCs, so I don't know that they need much more, but I had an idea or two anyway.

Task: House Call at [Location]
Details: A wealthy citizen is ill at their home off [Street Location], which is in [Location]. They would like to pay a premium to be treated at home.
Pay: 200 riln
Experience: 100
Notes: Ideally, this would spawn an instanced home like thief tasks die on The Other Game. You would go inside and treat the rich person with your own materials. You could also just spawn them in the street if this isn't viable. Likely assigned from infirmaries, not the Library. +1 to Medical, maybe?

Task: Field Medic Requested at [Location]
Details: A [mercenary/wyvardn/soldier/adventurer/villager] is currently injured at [Road/Combat Location], which is in [Location], and desperately requires assistance. Hurry and save them!
Pay: 800 riln
Experience: 400
Notes: The mob should be spawned upon accepting the task and set to bleeding. The task is failed if the mob bleeds out before the Physicker reaches them and treats them. It should be able to spawn on roads (maybe have a bandit spawn nearby?) or in combat zones. Hopefully encourage hiring an escort with some of the pay, but certainly shouldn't be impossible without one. The NPC should probably not aggro mobs because you really don't need to worry about them getting murdered on top of bleeding out.

PRIMALIST - While any druid could do some of these, I feel like they should be Primalist-only. It just feels weird to have a crazed rage-warrior tending your corn for you, I guess, and they really need some love.

Task: Failing Crops in [Location]
Details: A primalist is requested to travel to [Farm Location], which is in [Location], and enhance the growth of the crops there.
Pay: 250 riln
Experience: 200
Notes: Only for Primalists with Growth. Maybe gives +1 druidry practice? Less than the copy task, definitely.

Task: Animal Attacks in [Location]
Details: A primalist is requested to travel to [Farm Location], which is in [Location], and calm the beasts there. Beasts are known to gather together and grow more violent in response to being culled, so druidic calming should be used instead of violence.
Pay: 500 riln
Experience: 250
Notes: Only for Primalists with a Druidic Bond. Killing the beasts should immediately fail the task and spawn more. Inspired by the GM wolf event.

Eventually, as more abilities get released, I'd like some tasks for a more shamanistic bent - NPCs going to primalists to ask permission to fell trees or catch fish to avoid angering the wild. Maybe doing the opposite to sabotage rivals. The present set of abilities seem to mostly just benefit the druid without much opportunity to help out NPCs.

WARLOCK - Also should probably be restricted to only Warlocks; I feel like most nightblades try to (and should) keep their true career secret.

Task: [Golem/Pale] Repair
Details: The Dominion graciously allows independent sorcerers to aid their efforts at [Dominion/CvC Location], which is in [Location]. Go their and restore their [constructs/pales] for the glory of the Dominion!
Pay: 100/800 riln
Experience: 50/400
Notes: To be offered at the Mistral Lake Town Hall or keep or whatever makes sense. In-town nether restorations should give the lower pay. Garrisons out in CvC zones should have the higher pay. If there are other outposts which are neither in town or in CvC zones, they can probably have a middling amount of pay. I tried to think of something similar for Shadgard, but I feel that will probably be something for other guilds to handle.

Task: Observe Netherwell at [Location]
Details: There is a font of nether somewhere within [Location]. Find it and test its strength. Note down your observations and bring them back that we might tell if its power is changing over time.
Pay: 500 riln
Experience: 250
Notes: Sends you to a zone with a nether well. You must find the well, channel sorcery, and linger long enough to make a roll to resist losing control. Perhaps a command could be added to force the roll sooner for the sake of the task. Generates a document to be returned to the task location and increases Sorcery skill by a point or two.

Task: Tame Netherwell at [Location]
Details: There is a font of nether somewhere within [Location]. Find it and assert your will over it. This will [weaken the well/help advance our studies/grant us greater power.]
Pay: 500 riln
Experience: 250
Notes: Sends you to a zone with a nether well. You must find the well, channel sorcery, and linger long enough to make a roll to resist losing control. You must succeed at the roll to pass the task, but you can try multiple times. The flavor text should be whichever option is most lore-friendly. Maybe a small, beneficial effect? If the goal is to weaken the well, maybe it reduces nethrim spawns in the area for a time. If it's for research, greater Sorcery gain. Power, a temporary buff to sorcery skill. If no extra benefit, it should be adjusted to pay better than the Observe Netherwell task. Either way, due to the much more difficult requirements, should have a minimum sorcery requirement to even take the task. Maybe 400 or even higher?

Task: Exorcise Spirit at [Location]
Details: There is a spectral nethrim haunting [Location]. Find it and deprive it of its animating force with Essence Leech.
Pay: 250 riln
Experience: 125
Notes: Requires Essence Leech. Ideally, it should target an instanced building within a city that is set to ignore the law system (whenever that is implemented). If this requires too much work, it could spawn roaming the streets and, hopefully, disallow any legal repercussions that occur with destroying it.

Warlocks are also another tricky one. The two clients I can foresee would be either the Dominion or the Library itself in most cases, rather than working for the general populace.

[Rias]

This is a great list-o-inspiration, and I'd love to see even more! (Pardon my greediness.)

[Maina]

After doing many Copy tasks, I thought:

You spend all this time copying work others did and learning from it.

What if, after a certain skill level (or even once you've maxed it), you are instead the one writing documents for others to learn from?

A more advanced version of the Copy task where you write textbooks/treatises on commission or go find an NPC to tutor.

No longer gives +skill but pays much better, for Scholars who are too good to learn from Copy tasks anymore.