Ever..."Quests"

[drktmplr12]

Burning Rapier anyone?

disclaimer: i didn't figure this out, just transposed it from an old forum. Credit should goto Turlo at thesafehouse.org

Bryan McGee says 'The oblong bottle is a legend. They say one drink and you're off to oblivion, but just before that you feel the best you've ever felt and relive all your finest memories in the blink of an eye. The last I heard, some guy by the name of Turgin Swillfod turned up in Freeport spouting that he had found it. He was never heard from again.'

this should spur you to go to the freeport docks and ask everyone "what oblong bottle?" to which a bard suggests to sing you a song for 300pp (for a HINT!).

The song mentions how the owner hosted a ocean party, they sailed to Butcherblock, then turned around to come back. As the ship was threading the needle, his friends dared him to drink until he can drink no more, and as he did, they counted. At the count of 10, he passed out, and fell overboard with the bottle, never to be seen again.

this means if you jump off the boat 10 seconds after passing the rocks, you will find the bottle. Assuming you knew what "threading the needle" meant with respect to nautical terminology.

TLDR: Burning Rapier is a great example of good quest design, imo. Finding the oblong bottle wasn't entirely abstract, but not very straightforward either.