Also while you get some monologue from your target (usually, I find in my case, on up to three separate occasions in-between me sneaking into their lair and me having killed them outright whilst still, or barely out of, sneak-mode), and no doubt the megabeast enemies wouldn't be interested in talking, maybe some of the more mortal (but still dangerous) targets might want the opportunity to ask you to spare them, or even to reciprocate against those that sent you?
I'm not
immediately thinking of the possibility of a bandit chief asking if you want to join ("...just bring back some spoils, and you've got a friend, a place to stay in the wilderness and I'll even loan you some of my best followers if you impress me..."), although that might work, but once the moral compass is somewhat degaussed by the leader of one civilisation having a (from their own POV) just and honourable vendetta against the leader or chattels of another civilisation (who, naturally, considers any Adventurer fulfilling such a mission to be a
persona non-grata) then you get the intriguing possibility of
whose agenda do you follow? With the possibility[1] of it not being a mutually exclusive situation if you play your cards right, of course.
Including non-combat missions, this might mean that you can start a courier mission, but actually deliver the valuable mcguffin (or a reasonable replacement?) to those who you were supposed to protect it from. Your mapping mission can involve negotiating with a secretive (or boastful) leader of a given region that your maps under- (or over-)play their presence and military might for that particular territory. Or come back with a picture of the situation that's somewhat made up ("there might have been a few more armament factories and not
quite as many elephants"). These all presuppose that the game can recognise a variety of "win conditions", some honest and true (though not
necessarily believed without proof[2]) and others with less than thorough or legitimate degrees of accomplishments (but which are sufficient when approaching a sufficiently credulous reportee).
Motives for that, though..? I'm minded of the early GTA games where you had three 'factions' that you could perform missions for. Killing Group A's footsoldiers makes you less liked with them, but gives you a higher standing with Group B. Killing those representing Group B lowers rep with them but ups your friendliness with Group C. And it wraps around so that dispatching Group C goons gets you back into the good books of Group A. IIRC, higher amity with a group gave more missions (usually against the group you've just depleted all good will with, and who are more likely now to kill you on sight unless you've also been killing the successor group to make
them angrier, and bring your footings with the
predecessor/twice-successor group back to non-KOS status), and it's all a bit sort of Rock-Paper-Scissors in its strictness and adherence.
However, if reputation is no longer global (and positively polarised) but starts to be entity-specific (or on various levels, from entity to entity-groupings, according to the scope of the action) and capable of being reduced through "bad" decisions, or as a result of a contradictory fulfilment, then it could result in as complicated (or simple) a political juggling act as you think you might be able to handle.
[1] Hasn't there been talk, a year or two back, of being able to take different identities? ISTR the idea that you might even get "Ah, hello Ranger Of Loneliness, would you please dispatch that despicable rogue The Pimpernel Of Scarlet, who has been raiding our towns in the name of Otherkingdom, we don't know where he is now, but he was last seen at...", when you actually don't need your Tracking skill at all because (with a different hat and rather particular sword)
you were The Pimpernel, and next time you go to Otherkingdom in that guise you're as likely to be asked to pursue that dastardly Ranger guy, who has been troubling Otherkingdom's honest citizens...
[2] I always think it's rather silly having the "Hey, I killed that monster someone else was talking about" conversation with a third party, for her to reply "Oh great! What? No, I don't need to see its decapitated head for proof, I'll take your word for it... hang on a moment..." <telepathically informs
everyone else in the world that you're even more of a hero than before> "...now, if you'll kill this bandit that's been troubling us? You know the score. Just tell someone that you've succeeded... Anybody friendly... Yup, and we'll give you the credit if you
found him dead, as well..."
Author
Topic: End the annoyingness of quests (Read 3215 times)