Fallout-style quests

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>>52784386
Go along with the solutions the players come up with, this way you have literally infinite choices and ways to complete.

>>52784386
Write quests as bunch of NPCs having conflicting interests with each other and the party members. Don't write set in stone endings for the quest but roll with the punches as the players act in the world. Have NPCs react to player actions, and make the players react to NPC actions in turn. Remember that unlike in a computer game you have unlimited reserve to improvise!

>>52784450
I have no idea how to improvise. Are there any guides for this sort of thing?
>>52784409
Got it. Now... How do I set up quests for them? I hated Skyrim's long-ass "Fetch this/kill those in a linear dungeon" quests, but Medic/Sniper and both Han Solos loved the shit out of them. Money Ghoul and Vault Dweller only ever played Fallout 1 on Medic/Sniper's laptop.

>>52784574
Remeber, traveling isnt such a hassle. The players just say they walk somewhere and for every day roll a d20 and if its a 19 or up throw one of those encounters from the wild wasteland perk. 14-18 random creature attacks or use this to set up more plot with quests.

>>52784633
>use this to set up more plot with quests.
How?

>>52784971
If they keep getting attacked by radscorpions then maybe the nearby settlement has a radscorpion problem the party will have a vested interest in clearing. Once that is done reduce the chance of creature encounters or make them easier.

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>>52784971
Say maybe the quest is tracking down a new disease that springs up in a town, infects a few people and then disappears as quickly. The party is traveling along they high way and find an jackel hideout. They go in thinking its just a hide out but find in the back they have been infected to but the disease here is different. Have them make a few perception checks and if anyone beats a 20 have them find a enclave(sorry if i spealed that wrong i picked up fallout at nv) and have them find a few leftover computers amd have it looks like they were making new strains. Now the parts that were left out arr the parts saying that thet were trying to make a cure by modifing the original disease but only made it worse and they tested it on the jackels.

>>52784386
Here's a dead simple guideline that practically all good fallout quests follow. Make it so that all of your quests can be resolved by killing, talking, sneaking/stealing, or any combination of the above.

3 approaches and solutions to a problem are plenty enough to be fun and meaningful.

>>52784971
Most DM's will do things a bit differently, find a style that works for you. I tend to come up with a couple details for a lot of quests, like a couple characters and the big picture of what's going on, and start to drop small hooks or related encounters here and there.

Being DM isn't easy, but you'll find your flow. If you have an idea of what your players like, that helps a lot. Quests should be fun for everyone first and foremost.

With regards to having fallout levels of choices, you can come up with a few solutions, but as long as you can improvise your players will do a lot of the work for you. Mistakes, or things you didn't plan for, can organically grow into great quests.

Forgive me for phoneposting.

>>52784386
A good way to think about quests in general is to have each town have about 2-3 people or groups who want something, with each groups goals or methods conflicting with the other people/groups' goals.
A group of people should probably have a leader/spokesperson for the players to interact with, and at least 2 of these people/groups should have need of outsiders (the players) to complete their plans.
Also, most of the time, the groups should be willing to compromise, but only if the players go to great efforts.

An example of this could be seen in Freeside in New Vegas.
The NCR troopers want to protect their citizens even at the expense of the locals, the Kings want to protect the locals against the NCR squatters, and there are limited resources to go around, and radical elements in the Kings.
Both sides need someone who'd not obviously affiliated to do their investigating and negotiating.

Groups don't always need *directly* conflicting goals, think Novac and the Bright Brotherhood. Novac want the ghouls gone, and the Brotherhood wants to go, but things are more complicated than that, as you know from the quest.
Also there's a third party in the Nightkin, who want a non-existent stealth-boy shipment and are crazy.

That's the Fallout quest formula, as I understand it.

>>52784386
What you can do is ask the team about a common goal, or just plain give them one. Don't let players create characters in vacuum, have them create a team that had a reason to come together. That alone often gives enough momentum to kick off with some idea of a team objective that is far off enough to drive them for a bit before new stuff comes up in the meantime.

Also, never ever create a whole world beforehand. It's likely it'll be a huge waste of time, build around the characters as they go, occasionally putting a "hill" somewhere in the distance to have them think there's more than they can see immediately around them. E.g. far off islands, towers on the horizon, but also rumours, legends, news and travellers from far away.

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>>52784386
All of the advice these guys are giving is real solid for post apoc/fallout quest building, but another thing you should think about (maybe not right away) is the consequences of the players actions on the world. That was one of my favorite things about FO3 and project purity. If you did the "right thing" and gave pure water to everyone then after that(with the dlc of course) you regularly saw BOS water caravans going from town to town giveng out water, and they even set up shop outside of Rivet City for anyone in need.

This also lead to more quests such as the ghouls and ghoul worshipers that though the pure water was evil and kept stealing the "tainted" water and "purify" it with rads.

The tenpenny tower quest with those ghouls is another good example of good quest building. literally not a single good option for that quest. you can either take the ghouls side and kill those pompous bastards, take tenpennys side and kill those filthy ghouls. Or if you have the patience and skill you can broker a deal between them where the filthy ghouls are aloud to live in the best accommodations the wasteland has to offer alongside those stuck up pricks. But if you come back a little while later Roy and his ghoul friends have killed all the tenpenny residents and stiffed 'em in the basement.

The no good way out is what makes it my favorite quest of all time.

>>52790242
>Bringing up the tenpenny tower quest
I remember reading a rant about that and how it's a terribly-written quest and Roy is the true enemy.

http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=2010

>>52790242
The tenpenny tower quest is possibly the worst in the game.
The 'evil racist' human argument falls apart when you consider that only 2 or 3 people in the tower actually hate the ghouls, who are flagged in game as evil (no karma loss on kill), however all the ghouls are flagged as 'good' despite the fact that they murder everyone else without provocation.
The in game DJ criticizes you for killing the ghouls that wiped everyone else out
They dindu nuffin apparently

>>52784386
I'm running a Fallout RPG myself, even though I ain't a huge fan of the series. Here's what I'd recommend:

Create a single large quest that the players want to achieve. Later on it branches out into something that becomes important not only to the players but to the whole world itself. Each Fallout game follows this basic formula (Fallout 2: Get the GECK turns into blow up an oil rig, while F:NV's find out who tried to kill you turns into lead a huge battle at a dam). I'd recommend something less abstract at first, finding something, going somewhere, carry something or killing someone seems like the best bets.

Each session your players should get closer to the goal (even if not by much) but also sprinkle in some other quests to them. Along the way they might meet cannibals, ghouls being abused, abandoned shelters, miniscule settlements, cults, etc. etc. And it will be up to your players to deal with them.

Bethesda games are way more linear than a typical tabletop RPG (you can't really derail them TOO much) so keep in mind that the main quest should be their goal and don't like the sidequest overshadow it. It's great for the players to feel threatened (or even die) during a side-quest, but don't let them forget their goal.

Finally, be prepared to improvise. People will learn that they have way more freedom than in a vidya, so they will try their best to derail, at least until they get the hang of things.

>>52784971
>Has played FOV and doesnt know how random encounters could lead to quests.

LUCKY
FUCKING
STARS

>>52790242
>No good way out
Hard Luck Blues from FOV