Any, but short races (ie-gnomes, halflings and dwarves) will have an additional problem to solve.
Tricks & Traps
Non-existent
Roleplay
Medium
Hack & Slash
Non-existent
Classes
Any, but bards might uncover an amusing conversation route.
Scope
Small
DMNeeded
No DM Required
Single or Multiplayer
Single Player
Max Character Level
Any
Max # Players
01
Min # Players
01
Min Character Level
Any
Content Rating
Everyone
Gameplay Hours
<1
Description
This is my entry to the Bioware writers competition. The player assumes the role of someone lost in a blizzard who is searching for a bard and stumbles across a house, which by coincidence, is home to a bard. The problem is however that this one is sleeping, and his servant will take some convincing to awaken him.
It's possible to breeze through this in no time, but don't presume that just because you do that there is little present. Several routes through the conversation may only appear depending on class or race, and it's possible to annoy the servant which will slow things down.
As I spend 4 hours a day just travelling to and from work, this has been a major achievement for me, particularly as I have had to prepare the scripting myself. This simply wouldn't have been possible in what little time I had without Lilac Souls Script Generator. One thing was beyond me though, and that was making the conversation pause when the Quillmaster calls for his servant, but as this is only meant to display conversation skills, I'm hoping that will be overlooked.
It's worth right clicking on some items for further descriptions which help add to the story.
Leave giving the book to the servant as a last resort when trying to appease him, as this is the only item that will cancel all his bad feelings if you annoy him, and there are other means of lowering his annoyance level. Annoy him too much once the book is gone, and you'll never get to see the Quillmaster.
I thrive on story creation. If you want to find out more, visit my website.
Enjoy! :)
Version 2 notes:
***Changes Made***
The Dwarf is no longer angered by the presence of an elf, which may have led to players not knowing why they had offended him.
The Dwarf is no longer angered by those who haven't heard of him.
Success/Fail routes now accessable.
Alternate ending built in.
Spelling corrections and minor dialogue changes.
Deleted Bard/Monk conversation route to allow for Success/Fail visibility taking up extra space.
***Note regarding Dwarf getting stuck***
As I'm not terribly proficient in scripting (all scripting present is done via wizards or Lilac Soul Script Generator), I couldn't figure out how to make quillmaster conversation pause until the Dwarf was present, and depending on where the Dwarf is, he has been known to get stuck. The best way to avoid this so you can see all the dialogue is to follow the Dwarf when he goes to waken the quillmaster so that he stops closer to where he is needed. Simply click on him to continue once he has failed to open the quillmaster bedroom.
A good effort for the contest. I saw a number of spelling mistakes, about 4 in total, and it was original in a post-modern way, but ultimately I found it let down by the obvious pandering to Bioware and the lacklustre dialogue. I think you spent more time trying to be clever than on the writing.
Posted by Lance at on02/06/06
Hi Quillmaster, Your comments and vote were greatly appreciated. I thank you for the care and consideration you gave before making the vote as well. BTW, I looked at your website after playing yours, so it obviously does do the trick (for some of us). ;) Lance. _________________________ World of Althéa Blog: Link
Posted by Quillmaster at 2006-02-0713:37:53
Emperorzog - I checked the download here and it doesn' appear to be broken. Maybe it got corrupted when you tried to download. I suggest you download it again. _________________________ View my blog regarding the Relbonian Chronicles project --> Link
Posted by herrjeff at on02/07/06
Funny and original way to demonstrate the author's interest to work for Bioware. However, more time should have been spent on the story and NPCs backgrounds to show actual mod writing abilities.
Posted by BFlowers at on02/06/06
This was a resume, not a writing sample. You must have exceeded the suggested word count by a wide margin if one was to count the item descriptions (in which you crammed samples of your poetry) and journal entries. And yet, it seemed like I saw very little of this writing when I actually played through. Probably because I got irritated with the puzzles and skipped to the end using thief skills. I will give that you have good talents with scripting, but as a writer, that's not your job. And when evaluating writing entries, we are specifically asked NOT to do that so the judges can run through a module in a short amount of time and actually evaluate the writing. If you catch them up in puzzles you're keeping them from seeing the very thing they want to see. Also, while we're talking about requirements, you're short one character, or rather I should say you're at least short one character, since the other two didn't really seem like "characters" at all. Just more promotion for your writing abilities. Writing abilities, which frankly, didn't show in this uninspiring module. The whole thing was an exercise in shameless self-promotion without actually meeting any of the demands that Bioware laid out for you. The irony of the very first word of the module being mispelled (Hale = adj : To compel to go; Archaic. To pull, draw, drag, or hoist.; Free from infirmity or illness; sound. Hail = To salute or greet.) in a writing module is too much for me to bear. Modules are supposed to be about the player having fun, not about the author showing how "clever" they can be. I didn't find your entry entertaining, I found it tiresome.
Posted by Ythaniel at on02/06/06
Nice concise prose. Interesting characters, though I would've liked to have seen one more. Another guest perhaps. Really creative concept and great attention to detail. I thought this module was a bit too linear and narrow in scope by design to be among the highest rated modules. *spoiler* One slight logic error when conversing with Gerboss: I apologized to him for not knowing him and he said it would take more than that for him to be offended. When I returned, he asked if I was there to make amends for offending him.
Posted by emperorzog at 2006-02-0617:46:38
Ok Quillmaster, I was about to vote on your module but I am going to hold off on that. I am pleased that they are letting us update our modules, for both myself, and for you. Your module has some points that are broken in it which I will now list for you so you can fix um. I hope BioWare has not gotten to this yet. After meeting the Quillmaster I get options (buff, persuade, and intimidate) all of which lead to a broken path in the dialogue. I couldn't end the game. I have not read all your other votes but certainly someone else noticed this. I believe it was as I was asking him about helping me it just ends the conversation. You have an excellent talent for writing and I loved your story. I really hope you get these broken paths fixed quickly though. Please give me a ring as soon as things are running smoothly so I can try this out again. I will hold off my vote and my full comments until that time. PS. When fixing those broken paths please also remember that BioWare ask that if you use persuade or other options like it that you provide them with failure and success so they can see it all. You did not do this and I would hate to see such a talented writer discounted over not following minor rules. However, they have been very specific on the BioWare official boards that this contest is very much about writing to specifications and they WILL be looking at things like "did this writer follow the rules we gave?"
Posted by Quillmaster at 2006-02-0615:30:39
Thanks Emperor, that's really nice to know. I'll happily try it again and will keep an eye out for the update. And Lance Botelle, thanks for your comments, I found them to be very objective. :) _________________________ View my blog regarding the Relbonian Chronicles project --> Link
Posted by emperorzog at 2006-02-0614:56:05
Hi Quillmaster. I have just played your module and am about to give it a vote. Before I do however I would like to thank you for your vote on my own module "The Badger, the Cat, and the Book." As I am sure you are aware the contest rules have recently been changed to allow us to update our modules. Of everything that has been said about mine your comments were by far the most constructive and helpful. In retrospect I feel you were totally right about Felix and I have taken that into consideration. I feel the game will be better for your having played it and commented on it. Feel free to give it another try and see if you like it more. Thanks!
Posted by Lance at on02/06/06
7.5 THE QUILLMASTER: (56TH TESTED MODULE) My intention is to give feedback on both the writing (competition) and design (not necessarily competition) for every module I have the chance to play. NB: Judging any material is always subject to personal taste. I have tried hard to be as objective as possible and apologise if I have appeared harsh in any of my scores. Also remember this is only my opinion; Bioware?s is the one that counts! WRITING: The writing was refreshing and straightforward to read. The whole concept of the story was quite good; the moment I read who I worked for, it became obvious. There was not much personality to the characters though, and I felt they were rather two-dimensional and acted more to sell the author than serve the plot ? but I can understand why. ;) DESIGN: A nice design ? I liked the room layout. The adventure may have been a little quaint, but I still enjoy that kind of thing when there is a more solid plot behind the module. FINAL: This is a good module and fun to play, but I have seen other modules with less game play and better writing. NB: Not many others! MY SCORE SYSTEM (IMHO): 5 Not up with the competition. 5 - 6 Average. 7 - 8 Above average. > 8 An exceptional piece SCORING FACTORS (IN ORDER OF MY PRIORITIES): GRAB FACTOR: How quickly am I involved in the action? Do I have direction? PLOT: Is the story engaging? Is subject interesting? Varied conversation choices? CHARACTERS: Are they easily identifiable? Are they rounded/memorable? SPELLING GRAMMAR: Is the text easy to read? Are there quite a few errors? OTHER FACTORS (MINOR INFLUENCE): Design for atmosphere scenery, including sounds props. Quality of module stability; does it break easily? _________________________ World of Althéa Blog: Link
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