Speaking of the starting zone…
Should I add something magical to the starting zone? Well, nothing too outstanding, at least. Well, at least more magical than they already are. No, of course, in theory, if I have already decided to create something magical, I can create any place, but some astral desert with tears in reality is not very suitable for a 'starting zone'.
How will I be able to jump higher than that in the future, creating something more significant, more suitable for 'endgame content', if from the very beginning I create something too incredible?
That is why in old JRPGs before ending up killing god, you first start with slimes.
Therefore, I had to lower my, and the Players' expectations by magnitudes. And so, as the final, seventh starting zone, I think I should create something that would definitely be magical, but still not too incredible and outstanding.
Thoughts about reusing, that is 'creative recycling', of previous locales immediately came to mind, but I dismissed them. While I should save the crystal cliffs and the gem fields sparkling in the sun for last, just palate swapping starting zones would make them too similar. And too lazy to boot.
I will instead only do that for the next major location, when the Players will have slightly forgotten about the starting zones.
So, how can I make something magical without involving changing the textures of existing landscapes? Adding magical creatures seems like an easy way to do so, but I have already done this in all starting zones, so it won't work.
Magical artifacts and structures? No way, if I add some kind of glowing portal arch in the center now, even just as decorations, the Players will find a way to activate it. And then I will have to urgently drop all work and create another dozen locations, fifty quests and two hundred NPCs.
So what else can I add to the starting zone, that would be interesting but wouldn't lead to it making even more work for me? Something interesting to look at… I got it!
Natural phenomena! That is Field effects that are interesting to look at, I could even add effects later should I want to.
A simple and understandable idea! In fact, like the storm I've made, or just the Players being pyromaniac and creating large fires, those are terribly natural phenomena, almost mundane in fact. But due to their significance, they still attract the eyes of Players, even if these same Players know that their own actions could be just as captivating to look at.
After all, there is a reason why when people think of magic, they first imagine a 'fireball'.
So, let's make good old reliable plains, but put an ongoing natural disaster on them…
My mind immediately turned to what I've already created before, storms, but creating some kind of 'cradle of storms' that will periodically respawn monsters and drive players into Shelters is really inappropriate for a Starting Zone. Earthquakes also had to be discarded, otherwise I risk Players constantly being thrown into the abyss whenever the shaking happens whenever they stood near the Island's edge for some reason.
If that were to happen, the entire forum will be littered with complaints at the snap of a finger.
Some kind of Fire hazard? In theory, it's possible, but an island entirely consisting of unquenchable fires is too grand a picture for a starting zone, so let's slightly reduce the scope of such events – and… Lava fields!
Well, just the appearance of lava fields, without the actual lava.
Lava, being liquid, though not the most viscous, still flows. Sooner or later the lava on the islands would dissipate as it falls off of the edge. I just want the appearance of lava. So, maybe create a hilly area with red-pulsating stones, add in some pits and elevations randomly. Of course, the red-pulsating stones are just cosmetic – there still isn't any elemental damage system in the game.
In fact, even the explosions from the Explosive Potions that the Players bartered happily for, are just Physical Damage in the end. Thank god that the Players haven't noticed the fact that Strength actually matters for the 'Explosion' damage.
Perhaps it is time to actually program that in…
On another positive note, such a hellish landscape, would make for a very fitting background for the Demons that had defiled Paradise. The actually most ideal place for the starting zone for new Players!
At the same time, I will introduce new spells, now fire ones, and demons protected from fire attacks.
That's how, gradually, the game begins to grow with content!
***
The Storm that had appeared just as suddenly, if a warning that is blaring for a good while could be called sudden, and had killed scores of Players that had then descended on the forum in a heavy huff, only to be laughed at by the survivors that had nothing to do but troll the forum. Especially when it came out that surviving the Storm had been as easy as finding and taking shelter in the many dotted Shelters around the new island. It had disappeared as sudden as it had appeared, and this time actually suddenly.
Jabberwocky emerged from his shelter along with his security group right after a Player who ventured outside demonstrated that the world was safe for travel again. Of course, it was as obvious as looking at the fact that Players could actually look out beyond the Shelter again.
But then, better safe than sorry. Dying because of lag would only be funny when it happens to other people.
"Well, at least it passed quickly." Jabberwocky stretched his body as he went outside and surveyed his surroundings. While his body didn't actually get stiff, the game was so realistic that he felt the need to stretch after being stuck inside in cramped spaces all the same.
He wouldn't know what to feel if the Storm had lasted longer.
Luckily the Storm this time was very short, the two dozen Players gathered as his personal guard didn't even have time to get properly bored from being in the Shelter. However, this in any case led Jabberwocky to ponder about how such Storms could seriously disrupt the gameplay in the future.
The Storm does kill any game progress dead, in the future, as soon as the Storm warning comes, every Player would drop everything they do to seek shelter. And plus, no one would be crazy enough to risk anything while stuck inside the Shelter.
So what about his planned city in the future? The first Player settlement. The Game Master wouldn't be expecting the Players to abandon the city each time a Storm happens, right?
Jabberwocky doubts the Developers would miss something that obvious, which led him to a realization.
There must be plans to allow the Players to create their own Shelters. It would be a great draw to his own planned settlement. Such a plan must exist, because according to the forums, in the page focused on collating the various lore bits and tidbits about the game, the Pirate apparently had arrived at the islands after suffering through a massive Storm.
Plus, since no one had posted something about spotting a Pirate ship or even a singular Pirate among those taking shelter from the Storm, unless they are ludicrously strong, a distinct possibility, it is obvious that the Pirates have something that protects them from the Storm.
'A simple deduction.' Jabberwocky smiled to himself as a picture swiftly developed in his head.
Given the fact, the forum is full of people bitching and moaning about getting deleted from the Storm, unless the Pirates are some kind of end-game NPCs, or have immunity to the effect of the Storm. They must have some kind of protective Shelter themselves.
Jabberwocky had seen, by his own eyes, the effect of the Storm. A random Player in his shelter, thankfully not one of his followers, had stuck his hand out of the barrier separating the Shelter from the Storm. Jabberwocky had no idea why the Player had done so, boredom, or perhaps his time online was limited. But what he knows, however, is that the Player had been wiped out as soon as his finger left the confines of the barrier.
It was so quick that it almost looked like the Player was deleted from the world.
Back to the matter of the Pirates and their probable buildable Shelter. The only way Jabberwocky would know for sure, would be to ask the Pirates, however, so far, no Players had actually been able to join the Pirate factions. Therefore, there would be no way to absolutely confirm Jabberwocky's conjecture.
But, still, he remained convinced that the Pirates had something like that. Such a thing would be critical to his plans for the future, so he must have it.
He was also sure that never in his life had he spent so much time, effort, and nerves solving a problem as he was spending now – trying to figure out exactly where he should build his planned settlement.
The beginning islands, seems like the most logical choice, in his opinion. Being the starting point of the game for all Players would mean that his settlement would not lack new blood to add to it, letting its population grow. Second, the starting Islands are also the most fully explored of the Islands, also the most clear of Demons. There would be no safer place in the whole game.
However, at the same time, the first city, his city, in addition to the symbolic significance of it, should also have practical uses.
So far, the Players have not yet coordinated, and will not coordinate to such an extent for a long time, to create full-fledged forward bases. Places where they could actually rest their head without having to worry about monsters, where they could build up – which means that the first full-fledged settlement will become a large hub for attracting Players. It would attract both those looking for a possible company to play the game with and those who want to establish a semblance of trade in the game world.
If he were to build such a settlement too far from the resources, then the flow of Players into his city would become much smaller.
Sure, at the beginning, with the constant influx of new Players, his city would grow. But, with the surrounding lands cleared of Demons, soon those same Players would disperse away, with anyone choosing to stay in his city only growing weaker and poorer. The distance from resources, both literal and monstrous, would only make things cost a lot more in his city, making it even less attractive to Players.
Of course, this remains a game, no matter how realistic, he has no need to actually think of the logistics of City Planning in such detail. Sure, planning the urban layout, and the logistics of a city was necessary, but he wasn't actually planning to build a city in the real world. Resources in the game could respawn, for example.
No, the totality of what is necessary is simply to find a plot of land that he liked before planting the foundation of his city, the rest was simply his preference. He does want his city to flourish, after all.
"Flying imp!" A sharp call from one of his comrades made him turn to his guard, before a second shout made him pause. "Three of them!"
Actually, the flying imps were definitely not a problem, and even less so a novelty. The Flying Imp is a fairly common low-level mob, more annoying than a true threat with its flight, forcing players to throw sticks at it with curses or wait for its attack dive.
However, the fact that it not only appeared nearby, but also was not alone, instantly made Jabberwocky take a closer look at them.
Fortunately, judging by its appearance, it was not a new monster, the same ordinary Flying Imp that the Players had already gotten used to. The only curiosity was why they had appeared near the Shelter with such a large group.
Of course, being located on a freshly 'spawned' island, it was no surprise that the locale would be teeming with Demons, their spawner still intact. However, this Shelter, being located near one of the cleared islands, had been cleared of the naturally spawning Demons.
So how could there be Flying Imps ending up here? Jabberwocky could think of three possibilities…
"And they keep coming and coming!" Another Player's shout, equally worried and excited, made Jabberwocky shift his gaze, and he could only open his eyes wide in surprise.
"Their spawner is back up again over there!"
With that last confirmation, Jabberwocky understood, the correct option was that the Demon spawners had reappeared.
And this, in turn, meant that he should not worry so much about creating a city in an already cleared starting zone.
Since, indeed, the enemies in an MMORPG are never-ending.
***
Having dealt with the re-spawning of mobs, and having made the AI, Herald, monitor how quickly the Players would deal with them, in order to determine which place it's best to create new Demons. It made no sense, by lore at least, for the Demons to reappear where they are most readily culled.
With that done, I returned to planning. Namely, after noticing Jabberwocky making short work of the reappearing Imps using the main ability in this game – the power of friendship, I returned to creating a settlement system.
After all, what can even be considered a full-fledged game settlement? Just a place where a large group of Players ended up? A place where they periodically return with pacified game trophies? A place where there are non-player merchants?
In general, what constitutes the first 'city', made by the hands of my own Player base, had to be outlined completely. Even if I can still justify some teething issues by blaming the Players, that it was all a unique quest given to the Players, a main framework of the city system still needed to be worked out. After all, if I could get this working the first time, it would help when it comes time to create other cities in the future, as part of my extensive and definitely well-established lore so it's all good… I just shouldn't forget to write out this lore later.
And so I had to think about everything. Let's start by the most simple – boundaries. As in, how large could the city be?
As large as an entire floating island? The islands, of course, while large, were still created and designed for two hundred Players to roam about it in mind. And yes, while there is still enough space that the Players could still have space to explore without having to interact with another Player, the entire island could be crossed in about twenty minutes of unhurried walking. Or ten by running.
In other words, the islands are not at all that large, perhaps more like a large city block.
Now the problem is, if I would allow the city boundary to be that large from the start, would the Island then be empty if the inhabitants are running around the game world to hunt Imps. And that if the settlement starts with a large number of inhabitants like a hundred, what if it only houses like twenty Players?
But then making the boundary small would only mean that there would be more work for me in the future when more people gather into the city. Of course, the main marketing feature of MMORPG remains the ability for players to personally take up arms and go kill monsters with their own hands, so perhaps worrying about Players staying permanently in the city is an unnecessary worry.
However, the Players have started trading using experience, so there exists Players that don't need to hunt on their own to level up. Of course, not every Player would want to play store clerk and stand behind the counter or carve spears all day, but one should not underestimate the power and allure of grinding.
For example the Alchemists' guild mostly did just that, checking one recipe after another using trial and error. They have already calculated and created three more recipes, even when the AI has made it to be the most random of ingredients and procedures to create. And they liked it.
The Alchemists are the kind of Players that enjoy doing busy work all day long.
Just like people who, after returning from a hard day's work, play simulators, sometimes even the same ones with their real work, and find them to be relaxing. Some Players wanted to brew potions and sell them to Players, essentially doing work while in a virtual world.
This means that after some time, some of the Players will become permanent residents of the space allocated by me for the city, and after a while, it will not be enough for everyone…
Should I introduce a system to increase the city space? It's logical, but how exactly should this increase be done? The requirement of resources for it is quite logical, as it's basically just creating 'more' city.
Hmm, let's introduce some kind of 'settlement development points'… But the increase in the size of the city cannot go in all directions, otherwise, the city would soon balloon up in size even if Jabberwocky or the Players just want to increase the size of the city in small increments. The square cube law and all that.
And I doubt that Jabberwocky will put the settlement perfectly in the center of the floating island, especially considering that the islands themselves were not perfectly round either.
So… Let's come up with some pre-planned construction plans!
It is impossible to predict everything, what if the Players want to build a casino that accepts Imp Skins as payment for example – how can I predict something like that? Therefore, let's add the 'blueprints' and 'free plots' bar to the systems…
For a second, the thought that I am turning my Fantasy Action RPG MMO into some kind of 'Farming' simulator itched in my head. Before I know it, I will have to add a system for agriculture…
But I drove this thought away from my mind. If it will help me further create cities, and even distract Jabberwocky from trying to break the game before I have even built anything that he could try to break, I'm ready to go for such a low act!
So, let's create the barebones of functions, and the needed subsystems for the settlement management. And since it had worked so well with the Pirates, let's create the same kind of ranking for Settlement Creation as well.
So, for the first rank of Settlement Creation… Let's call it a 'Camp'? So that Jabberwocky wouldn't get too ahead of himself and start thinking of a sprawling city with Cathedrals or something like that.
In this 'Camp', we will have one manager, Jabberwocky himself, who has the ability to choose places for plots for future expansions. It will be necessary to strain the AI later so that they correctly learn to fit the construction of various structures into the terrain. Here we don't have a perfect simulator; we don't have perfectly flat surfaces here, so it will be necessary to work out the placement of buildings on uneven surfaces, and at the same time prescribe where they cannot be placed.
I have no desire to increase the size of the island due to buildings hanging in the air… At least at the moment.
Next, what would be the draw for Players to move to this place at all, and not demand that the camp move to them? What bonus can there be from the settlement itself so that Jabberwocky does not decide to cheat and just pretend that all the participants gathered around him are already part of his settlement, instead of the hassle of allocating plots?
Increase in experience gain? Like a bonus to gaining experience and leveling skills related to all kinds of crafting and trading as long as a Player is inside the settlement… A small bonus to start, so that the Players wouldn't kill each other for a plot of land.
That, and so that I don't immediately have a headache coming up with new recipes.
But it still should be a noticeable bonus, so let's say… A five percent bonus? Enough to stimulate Players to immigrate into the settlement, especially if Jabberwocky 'guesses' right, that this bonus will increase along with the growth of the importance and rank of his settlement.
And Jabberwocky will get this one right, I believe in him…
So, back to the question of the settlement itself… Let's allocate a bit of starting territory, which Jabberwocky can calmly set around it and cut into separate plots and assign to Players. Heh, let the battle for housing begin!
And in order to avoid problems with numerous scattered buildings scattered around the game world, all these plots should be connected to each other…
My hands are itching, to create a system like in some tycoon or city-building simulator, to demand laying roads, power plants and toilets, but I preserved in holding myself back. I'm not creating a game within a game… At least not when it's exclusively just for one person right now.
Jabberwocky is, of course, one of the most well-known Players in my game, but if we focus only on creating features that only he could play with, the other Players would riot. But for the connecting of plots, roads should be an easy enough feature, one that cannot be built over, and one that cannot be owned by individuals.
I could easily imagine some smartass buying a certain plot of streets and forbidding all other Players to walk on it. Or some other genius creating buildings with only a one-millimeter wide gap in between them. I could easily see that happening with my kind of Player base.
So, we have a limited resource, land that Jabberwocky can outline for himself and assign to his 'main building'. When it's a camp, let it look like a large tent, no, maybe more like a field marquee.
Further, let's make a limit on how much territory a Player can have at this settlement level and the ability to divide this territory into plots. Sure it's going to be a bit monotonous when all the plots are all the same size – but I'll think about implementing variable sized plots of land later. The whole Settlement Creation system is not even done yet, to think about renovations and the growth of guilds seems like thinking too far ahead.
On what could be built on the plots however… Eh, just let the Players build whatever they want. Though then again, if I have to look at the stupidity that an unbound Player creation model could create, maybe just having presets might be a better idea.
I could see the Players making some kind of stupid construction, like a giant banner with 'Jabberwocky is a nob!' written on them day one, or just good old dick buildings. Sure, there's probably some creative type that could create the recreation of the Forbidden City, or the Sistine Chapel, and all other sorts of Wonders of the World, but that is not going to be happening any time soon. And all the while my game world would be plagued by dick buildings… Yeah, templates and presets alongside the limited land plot sizes is definitely the way to go here.
So, now let's create some bog-standard templates, something simple, but enough so that Jabberwocky understands that he is really actually engaging in urban planning to set the direction of his actions, and at the same time to attract Players. The more they sit in the city, the easier it is for me, I can build the world while they don't see it. So… what kind of structures and what effect should they have so that the Players would feel like staying in the city full-time?
Well, houses when the settlement is still called a camp is a no-go, and in that a tavern or an inn is thinking too far ahead. Plus no one has figured out cooking yet, not that I have created a system for such yet since all the monsters so far have been classified as Alchemical Ingredients. And since no one has tried to eat another Player yet – I suspect the first Demon Worshiper would come from that. It was not like I have created a hunger system yet, so putting a 'Cooking Pot' into the game to allow the Player to experiment, seems not necessary either.
Okay, enough about systems that I'm too busy to implement yet, the preset buildings!
I think the first and easiest to implement is some kind of central Bonfire, it's a nice little landmark for the Settlement, and maybe I'll even add an effect where it speeds health regeneration around it. Next should be some kind of specialized Tent, some kind of Workshop Tent? Add a nice simple five percent bonus to crafting experience and the Alchemy Guild would pester Jabberwocky for it.
Actually, should I make it specialized? Make a Tent specifically for Alchemy, one for Magic… Okay maybe not that last one, I haven't even made the first spell yet. Put it off for the next level of the Settlement, maybe call it a 'Big Camp' or something simple like that.
Next should be a Warehouse, especially since Monster Trading is still big here… Maybe I'll even double it up as a Bank. A building specialized for storing things, where the size inside corresponds with the plot of land used to build it, making it larger on the inside than the outside.
Violation of the laws of physics? In the game, you can do even more!
Tannery workshop, where the dismantling of Mobs occurs faster, and has a higher chance of success… And finally the crème de la crème, a Player made Shelter, one that protects the city from Storms and prevents the spawning of Mobs near them. Let the Players themselves move the city in the direction they want and defend themselves from the appearance of new mobs!
Next, would be the resources needed to make these structures, in other words I need to create them. As in literally creating them, as unlike a Strategy game, I couldn't just input like twenty ores and timber to create a structure. Since it's the Player's job to collect them, and then to build the structures themselves, I am hitting the 'Hardcore games' level for sure with this.
I'll make the units like a cubic meter or something like that… I hope the Americans don't get themselves confused here. But it's an international Game, there's no way I'll make the unit of measurement something stupid measuring things in Football fields.
And, lastly, the method to level up the 'settlement level', something dead obvious… Maybe something simple like having to build all the template buildings, and to use up all the plotted lands? And, maybe, for him specifically, having to meet up with all the Angels. Should buy me a couple of days before I have to think up further levels about the Settlement.
It should also be enough time for me to read the trends of the game, and 'borrow' some inspiration to keep the new Player count rising, and maybe be able to space out the new 'expansions' as needed. It's literally a matter of life and death for me, after all.
Now… to come up with the new name for the new settlement rank. Big Camp? Field camp? Fort? I have no idea… So, let's leave that to the me of the future!
Finally, after all of my work, it was just in time for Jabberwocky to plant the foundation of his Settlement, right in the border between the starting zones, and the floating dust bowl, right in the middle of three Pirate ships. It was a good spot – near to the source of new Players, but also to the resources, and far enough away so as to not get in the middle of the brewing Pirate war.
Especially since Jabberwocky has no chance in hell of winning any clashes between him and the Pirate. He might have a dozen or two 'followers' but the number of Players that had joined in with one Pirate Crew or the other already number in the thousands. All itching for the next 'Story Event'.
Well, the Pirate Clash looked like a proper Story Event at least. In this game, where apocalyptic events, and some random dragon is not 'waking up' to threaten the world, didn't happen every week, a simple factional war was enough to get the Forum brewing with tactics and plans.
Herald had even informed me that the most savvy ones are beginning to create the first 'combat groups' and making their own combat plans. In other words, the Players wanted the Pirate War almost more than myself…
And this realization led me to a stark thought.
What, in fact, is the main plot of this game I am making?
That is, all these wars with Pirate Factions vying for the treasure or the summoning of angels, the exploration of floating islands, even the hunting of demons and the creation of settlements – this is all just 'one of the quests'. Well, or a set of quests, but not the central idea of the game, not the 'Main Quest' as it were.
After all, to my great joy, note the sarcasm, the Developers hadn't even managed to put pen to paper to the whole 'plot' of the game, not even an inked letter of it, so I am free to do as I wish. Of course, this level of freedom had led me into creating quite the cliché plot line of angels and demons. In fact, the 'plot' as it were, was more Player driven than anything that I have put out myself. So even something simple is enough to drive the Player to try to 'find;' even the smallest scrap of the Plot.
But now, where I actually have some downtime, where there were no immediate crises I needed to solve lest it risk death, the leeway allowed me to think about the future more.
What, in fact, is the essence of my game?
It would be easy enough to say that it was just a 'life simulator in a fantasy world', however, this requires much more freedom, places, mobs, quests, lore and other things than I had at the moment. Even if at some point I can provide all Players with actual complete freedom and declare all their past achievements a 'prologue before an incredible open game world in which, please, find entertainment for yourself', which would probably take a while to say the least.
Until that moment comes, I will need some kind of game plot, the main idea for all story events and quests. The 'Divine post-apocalypse' allows me to set the game setting with one rough stroke, but these two words alone are not enough to fend off questions about quests, and characters. In general, the plot.
I need a central, axial plot, even if it's short and vague, for which the whole game revolves around. It doesn't need to be too well-thought-out or covered by ten volumes of lore and explanations, with subtle references to twelve religious practices at once, but it must exist.
A quick glance at the game forums and a look at the lore section made me think and sigh, trying to piece something legible with all the pieces of lore that I have 'given' out to the Players. We have ruined heavens, sleeping angels, roaming demons, storms, the awakening of angels, an unknown Enemy who decided to look at this world for the first time in a long time…
So, in short – a great war in the heavens, demons against angels. Let's also create some sprinkling, just in case, that there are not only demons and angels in this game, but an infinite number of different races in general. So that later I can assign any number of different races to this central plot to patch whatever holes I missed.
So, there was a war, but a long time ago – it happened so long ago that, in fact, there are no facts known about it left except that 'there was a war'. The lack of detail will be very useful in the future, prescribing new details and plot facts about this war. From this war, the world was literally torn to pieces, even Paradise itself is now nothing more than broken islands floating in the air. A desecrated Paradise, countless great empires falling, and the world was moving towards an apocalypse, after which the whole world would have to be created anew…
But the final battle did not happen.
The angels suddenly disappeared, and the Enemy did not even appear personally for battle, and no one knows why this happened. This way, we will immediately get rid of any possible questions about how the gods had not destroyed the world if they are so powerful. Because they did not fight!
Oh, and right, multiple gods as well, to which the Angels simply belonged to one of them. More places where I could add more things.
After that, the Great War, simple… Fizzle out. Without the commanders to command them, the armies gathered for the Great War began to disperse, keeping some thought of returning to battle later, but it's been… Let's say, a hundred million years. Or billions. In general, an incredible amount of time. The former armies of light and darkness have already forgotten that they once fought in this place, the destroyed fortifications themselves were long ago robbed by scavengers, and no one is now interested in the legends of long-forgotten events.
Where did the angels go? Why didn't the Enemy come to the last battle? How did the Players reincarnate in this world, and why were the pirates not at all surprised by the semi-immortal creatures running around with sharpened sticks in this place? And what does the awakening of angels have to do with it?
I have no idea!
But as long as I continue to feed the Players with more and more plot points, meaningfully hinting to them that 'everything is not so simple' and 'of course there is an answer to this question, you just need to find it!', I will continue to exist. After all, if the Enemy and the angels never came to the war, then in the future I will be able to ascribe many more great heroes who kept their powers for the final battle that never took place. Why do I need this?
In order to subsequently retroactively increase the level of these ancient heroes' powers. By doing so also increasing the level of the requirement in Player levels to uncover the secret of this plot.
Which means that I can infinitely lead the Players by the nose with Red Herrings, without revealing information about the plot to them, for as long as I want. Maybe even for Years or Decades, until I could be returned to my physical body.
As to how I will be getting out of the game world? This will become a problem for other, much more competent people than me.
Well, until that moment comes, let's deal with creating the new mobs, spells, and potions.
And the plot?
Who cares about the plot anyway? It's an MMORPG! Nobody actually reads the quest descriptions!