[Quest Design] - Simple Life

[sasquatch2o]

The Simple Life:

Somewhere in the mainland the is a small shack with a small garden and a tired old guar. The interior is neat has few items clutter and what i there is very modest. The hut is owned by a retired adventurer. He lives a simple, but self sufficient life. In years past he has improved the nearby land, hunted and foraged in the distant wood and fished nearby stream. The containers and furniture and tools he has, he has made. In recent years has begun to slow down however and as you speak with him he will mention he knows his years are growing short and his hand unsteady.

The man tells a couple old stories of his and mentions he would to preserve his legacy. For several years Old Man has recorded his adventures with the intention of combining them into a book. At first the writing was to pass the time but as years passed he took to the task much more earnestly. In the he would rehearse the lines as he tended the garden or walked through the woods. In the evening he would write. The daily ritual brought closure to of his early years. However in his old age the man's hand has become too unsteady to fill the remaining pages. His remaining blank pages were to build fire after he abandoning his writing.

If player's INT is high enough you may offer to help complete his written work, but you must first return with more plain_paper(10x), quill and ink. Ink and quill are on a small table in the shack.

Once player returns with quill, inkwell and 10 plain_paper in inventory the man will recite the remaining pages to be transcribed. Old Man thanks player. (gain 1 wisdom, gain 1 int)

Reward:
The Simple Life is added to player inventory.
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Optional:
Old Man requests that The Simple Life be submitted to the library at X location to preserve his legacy. Surprise, few still remember Old Man. The work is accepted into their library for a small reward due to condition of the pages and obscurity of author. Submit book. (The Simple Life placed on dusty shelves)

Reward:
200 gold

FOR DISCUSSION

[arvisrend]

Repeating what was said at http://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24744 :

arvisrend:
This can be good if someone can come up with an interesting lifestory and write it down well -- once in dialogue form, once as a book. This might be a challenge, though. A simple life wouldn't do, but a "simple" one could.
I suspect that some of the questlines will lead the player to some hermits (definitely the FG one, but we cannot use that hermit). This misc quest could then be obtained from said hermit as a sidequest.
I generally think we should play around with the idea of employing the PC as a ghostwriter some more.

sasquatch:
The dialogue would be short maybe even just be "he tells you a story." The good stuff is in the book you receive. This would again be a fade screen. Maybe player wakes up one week later. This quest is intended to only be done by high intelligence characters so a MG questline could be used to draw player here. Other players could encounter the hermit and complete quest without ever engaging in MG business, but only with a very high intelligence. This is meant for scholarly players.

arvisrend:
OK, so it's just the book, but still, someone really good at writing should write the book, particularly if the quest requires a high intelligence. Despite the quest name and the hermit's own avowals that his life is simple, the lifestory should be memorable or the quest isn't good.