In need of creative ideas

[Tawnttoo]

I'm trying to continue with my map after a break of a month or so. However, I can't seem to come up with anything creative.

My terrain lacks interesting details, right now its quite plain and empty. Instead of a field of ice, I would like there to be something to remember.

I'm starting to create quests, but I can't come up with anything but "kill X of Y" or "collect A of B" which, obviously isn't interesting and looked after.

So, I need ideas concerning the boldened words. Thanks.

 

[johnnymra]

About the terrain i don't have ideas as i don't have a vision over your type of map...

About the quests i think there may be something.
It would be a double sided quest:

Light Side- You find a priest (let's say in front of an abbey (probably icy if your map is in a northrend terrain or so). The priest asks you to take a Talisman of the Blessed from the abbey's dungeon/graveyard, and you fight a boss for it. If you accept you go, kill the boss, take the talisman and then he sends you to a village to help it. There you have to use the talisman on each villager in a certain time before some plague or so comes, giving them a protective blessing. If you would not bless all of them in the needed time you will lose the quest.

Dark Side- If you go pass the abbey you find some heretic acolyte near a tree by the graveyard. He tells you to do the same, but instead of taking the Talisman of the Blessed, to take the Talisman of the Damned. After getting it he sends you to the same village to use the talisman and convert each villager making it some sort of zombie. The hard part would be that you must catch all villager (they will run from you) and if one at least escapes from the village you lose the quest.

EDIT: this quest is more like an optional quest for campaign maps but would work on most RPG maps. Also as reward you could use some special item... let's say it gives you a one-use talisman that gives you invulnerability or let's you ressurect yourself (depending on which side of the quest you did) and also some experience.

 

[B0ndo]

What about some Collect the load and return it withing X minutes. That'd be a twist instead of the boring Kill X of Y monsters.

 

[johnnymra]

Here is another quest... and maybe also can affect the terrain somehow.

You find a ghost somewhere in a dark place... a cave or the peak of a mountain between other higher mountains. There the ghost asks you to help it recover it's peace. To do this it gives you a riddle "Under the waterfall / peace you may find / where is fall / yet the talisman bind" I just made them up... not very sure if they're fine. Anyway the idea is that somewhere under a waterfall there is a hidden item that has a model to blend in the water (hard to see) and is a special talisman. If you give it to the ghost it disappears and it leaves you some gold... maybe an item.. i don't know.

 

[educator]

escorts, dungeon bosses, search for items, search for "secret areas", talkn to peeps, all these are different quests and i think their good (although i get a little pissed of when i have to go all over the map talkn to people). rewards can be gold, lumber, mercenaries, items, spells, reveal areas, ect. good luck with ur map

 

[Tawnttoo]

Those are all vey nice quest ideas, but I need terrain ideas as well. So far my map is quite devoid of any details. I'm using Icecrown Glacier as the tileset. The map features orcs, tuskarr, and creatures from underground (such as kobolds and faceless ones) and also, of course, wild animals such as wolves and mammoths. Of course I can feature a forest or a plain of snow but the areas have to be rememberable, have some details you can recall and go "oh I'm here, and that means that place is over that way"

 

[johnnymra]

Well then you could use my previous quest but do this modifications:

About the terrain i don't have ideas as i don't have a vision over your type of map...

About the quests i think there may be something.
It would be a double sided quest:

Light Side- You find a priest (let's say in front of an abbey (probably icy if your map is in a northrend terrain or so). The priest asks you to take a Talisman of the Blessed from the abbey's dungeon/graveyard, and you fight a boss for it. If you accept you go, kill the boss, take the talisman and then he sends you to a village to help it. There you have to use the talisman on each villager in a certain time before some plague or so comes, giving them a protective blessing. If you would not bless all of them in the needed time you will lose the quest.

Dark Side- If you go pass the abbey you find some heretic acolyte near a tree by the graveyard. He tells you to do the same, but instead of taking the Talisman of the Blessed, to take the Talisman of the Damned. After getting it he sends you to the same village to use the talisman and convert each villager making it some sort of zombie. The hard part would be that you must catch all villager (they will run from you) and if one at least escapes from the village you lose the quest.

EDIT: this quest is more like an optional quest for campaign maps but would work on most RPG maps. Also as reward you could use some special item... let's say it gives you a one-use talisman that gives you invulnerability or let's you ressurect yourself (depending on which side of the quest you did) and also some experience.

Instead of an abbey and graveyard there would be some sort of ice palace... then instead of a human village there would be a kobold tribe (let's say something like "the kobolds from the ki'rook tribe have are actually humans transformed by the great mage Arfirus, the ice summoner. you must help them re-become humans/ transform them into zombies") And as terrain to be rememorable you could use something like... the kobolds will be in a vast plain... with many icy claws... somewhat an ice desert and one mountain to the left... with some storms around it... like a citadel of the mage i said before. (the names were made up just now so you can change them)

 

[TheLegend]

about the terrain, try making rivers (dont use warcraft cliff's cause they look like monsters) using the enforce water limit disableed and lowering the terrain until you get to water... ad some waterfalls and special areas (giving them sound and cinematic would be great). Try adding light sources and darkening the whole map (so cool for realistic RPG maps). I could give you the link to my deprotected map so that you could "steal some ideas" but pm me for that