Within the BrowserQuests™ platform, campaigns are collections of individual quests that are (more or less) presented in order to tell a grander, overarching story. Hence, an author will want to create an initial set of first-level quests for players to get started with, then introduce additional quests that become progressively more challenging as the player's party becomes stronger (and the overall storyline matures). Note that campaigns themselves cannot be created by authors on their own--they must first be reviewed and then created by a full system administrator of BrowserQuests.™ If you are an aspiring author interested in developing a campaign, simply contact us to get started!
Six general forms are used to manage campaigns within the BrowserQuests™ platform, typically in the following order provided below. Only those already assigned to the Authors role can see and interact with these forms.
Locations Form
Locations are general places within the world of Sisalus such as a smaller town (or section of a larger city), an overland ruins or an underground dungeon. Once a location is entered into the system, encounter areas (and their specific encounter details, monsters and resolutions) can be entered into the platform as well. Locations also drive the BrowserQuests™ mapping system, which utilize grids of 10 x 10 units to display where individual encounter areas are located on a map. Typically, a smaller quest will utilize just one location, while a larger quest will likely involved multiple locations.
Quests Form
Quests are the individual stories themselves that comprise an overarching campaign. Smaller quests will normally take the player 15-30 minutes to complete, while larger quests should take the player several to many hours to complete. Quests have a definitive beginning and end, and all major events associated with the quest are automatically added to a player's quest log (via the Encounter Resolution Form). Keep in mind that players should be rewarded for completing individual quests, which will help them maintain interest in your campaign and keep returning to it!
Lore Form
Information about a particular country, quest or even the entire Sisalus world can be entered and maintained via the Lore Form. Typically, such lore is added as information about a specific country or quest and made available to the player in a variety of ways (visiting a city tavern and listening for rumors, enjoying a play at a local city theater, conducting appropriate research at a city library, etc.). Lore can even be found by simply asking a player hero about a particular subject (so long as the lore element is not country-specific). Note that lore elements require a certain intelligence to learn or know, and that not all lore is factual (some lore elements are merely rumors intended to confuse or sidetrack the player).
Characters Form
Humanoid creatures (dwarves, elves, humans, halflings and such) that the player and his adventuring party meet throughout their travels are generically referred to as "characters" within the RPG, and, as such, are defined in certain ways. For example, all characters possess abilities (strength, dexterity, wisdom, etc.), behaviors (altruism, diplomacy, reason, etc.) and traits (such as "evil" or "good"). Characters can also own and possess items such as weapons, armor, potions and such. While all manner of characters exist within the Sisalus fantasy world, many will serve as either protagonists (friendly toward the player) or antagonists (villains that will need to be overcome and defeated). Note that once a character joins an adventuring party, that character becomes a "hero" and is separately tracked and managed.
Areas Form
Also known as "Encounter Areas," these are individual places within a particular location where the player and her adventuring party will physically reach and interact within. For example, a merchant's shop within a city or village is an encounter area, as is a wooden bridge spanning a gentle river beneath it, or a dusty burial crypt within an underground dungeon. Encounter areas are actually highly detailed so the game master can present those details to the player and referee any and all actions taken within. Accordingly, areas consist of several subforms of information: Exits (which determine how areas are connected to one another), Objects (those permanent things within an area--such as tables, chests, trees and such that cannot be removed from the area but can be searched and even manipulated) and Object Possessions (items that CAN be found by an adventuring party and removed from the area).
Encounters Form
Finally, encounters are highly-specific events that occur within the various areas of the fantasy world. Each area typically utilizes at least two encounters, the initial encounter (when the area is first entered) and a final encounter (when there is nothing more to do within the area). Many areas consist of more than two encounters and some may utilize a dozen encounters or more (in theory, a single area can have up to 100 encounters, but 3-12 is typically the norm). All encounters consist of introductory prose that is provided to the player, along with an intended resolution that completes the encounter and allows the next encounter to proceed. Accordingly, encounters consist of two subforms: Monsters (that track any potential enemies the party may face during the encounter) and Resolutions (that detail all that occurs within the game once the encounter itself is successfully resolved).