Homecoming Apocalypse Discussion

First topic message reminder :

Homecoming Apocalypse

Many lives were spent during the war erasing Him from memory; desecrating His name and burning the remnants.

Stories from the time before Guthix speak of an Age of Darkness and that a matrix that was constructed to conceal the shadows; to imprison them and the filth that dwelt within. Though the matrix has remained sealed since, the feuding lords would not risk otherwise. And so efforts were made to conceal the matrix and prevent the empty rising. Keys scattered. Locks disguised. The shadows would forever be His prison.

But more than the likes of the light dwell within the unblinking darkness.

Each guardian within the quest is to be treated as a miniquest in itself, not merely a task within a quest. Storylines and such may be miniquest specific. Such as Malak, the creature you fight my not actually be the Guardian; combat isn't even necessary, as with Raunton.

Jaldraocht, the Desert Beacon
• Blood, guarded by Malak the Vampire. || Leaches health.
• Shadow, guarded by Damis the Shade. || Zaps attack skill.
• Ice, guarded by Kamil the Knight. || Freezes target.
• Smoke, guarded by Fareed the Warrior. || Poisons target.
• Illusory, guarded by Adyna the Harlequin. || Conjures false targets.

• Ash, guarded by Dherok the UNDECIDED. || Wilderness || Zaps defence skill.
• Moss, guarded by Raunton the Snake-tongue. || Draynor || Decays food.
• Occlusive, guarded by Adyna the Harlequin. || UNDECIDED || Disorientates target.
• Bark, guarded by Colossus the Ent. || Unknown || Splinters target.
• Gust, guarded by Ragnos the Dragon. || Crandor || Conjures projectile shield.

• Bone, guarded by Xercus the Lycan. || UNDECIDED || Leaches run-energy.
• Venom, guarded by Weaver the Cryptspider. || Wilderness || Diseases target.
• Tar, guarded by Ramesh the Tarbeast. || Dorgesh'kaan || Slows target.
• Magma, guarded by Zenerka the Sorceress. || Karamja || Burns target.
• Facade, guarded by Adyna the Harlequin. || UNDECIDED || Conjures a proximity shield.

• Miasmic, guarded by Zuriel the Warlock. || UNDECIDED || Zaps attack speed.
• Mud, guarded by Arandar. || Arandar || Zaps strength skill.
• Fog, guarded by Thrip the Banshee. || Mort Myre || Blinds target.
• Thorn, guarded by Eirwyn the Songstress. || Tirannwn || Entangles target.
• Static, guarded by Thorg the Giant. || Taverly || Conjures a conductor/statics the target.

• Flesh, guarded by Neurosha the Fleshling. || Varrock || Zaps constitution.
• Soul, guarded by UNDECIDED. || UNDECIDED || Leaches prayer points.
• Sand, guarded by Yantos the Strykewurm. || Kharidian Desert || Stalls target.
• Mind, guarded by Adyna the Harlequin. || UNDECIDED || Aggravates target.
• Stone, guarded by Drystan the Fallen King. || UNDECIDED || Conjures melee shield.

Colour key:
Jagex, 3mptylord, Blaze FF8, Dark Avorian, Dragon78114, Handeath, Ruy112 and Tatorz.

Status effects (all would have a screen border to graphically represent it):

---

Rambling;

Spoiler:

---

Some of the planning on Adyna the Harlequin

Spoiler:

---

Ancient Spellbook

Spoiler:

I still dislike that a phoenix could be greedy.

Also, there were no guardians before Zamorak, and it's unlikely Zamorak would ever return to a guardian - thus, he would not notice it go from the original guardian to the phoenix.

Also, purely in response to Handeath, is a phoenix not already immortal? How could Zamorak make it more immortal? Or do you mean immortal without the rebirth?

It could be criousity instead of greedy, the moral changes but meh.

Well, what do you have?

Immortal without the rebirth.

Wait, doesn't Drystan have the same theme?

Drystan is immortal to his enemies, is the exact wording (it's one of those play-on-words immortalities, like "no man can hurt me"). He is defeated by making him damage himself. By the end of the fight, he commits suicide by ripping the diamond out and giving it to you... then falling lifeless to the ground/crumbling (depending on how dramatic his death should be). He didn't steal it though, he was granted it in order to protect his kingdom - who eventually cast him out in disgust. He's a sadface guardian.

I like the idea of the phoneix, but you could just have Zamorak directly giving it to the phoenix. I'd still like some theme involving the spirit realm - thus relating it to the soul diamond.

Also, one concern, although it might be unprecedented (as Dusk hasn't yet written anything about this)... but how do you defeat an immortal phoenix?

I don't know and who was Drystan, and hey this werewolf who had the bone diamond, do is he zarosian?

It's like this everytime he "rebirths" he rotts more, fulffiling a cycle

Duskcurse wrote:I don't know and who was Drystan, and hey this werewolf who had the bone diamond, do is he zarosian?

Drystan is the Stone Guardian.

Xercus (the werewolf) has no alignment that's relevant to this quest. If Zamorak gave it to him, he's unlikely Zarosian. If he acquired it himself then his alignment would be entirely unknown - although most werewolves were Zamorakian during the war.

Ok, could someone put me all the guardians in cronollogical order please

All guardians are on the first post, in an appropriate order. It's hard to chronologically order events that can happen in almost any order.

Sop the flesh diamond is the first one?

Huh? Flesh is the 21st in the list.

Oooh, you're looking at the list of threads. No, no. Post one of THIS thread.

Tell me 3mpty what guardians are currently finished

Ummm... I don't know. Those with a personal thread, excluding Derohk, have been started and are mostly finished.

I guess we should return to Adyna. I say we should fight her for the 5th Diamond at the end of each beacon.

WAIT, I thought Adyna was guarding the Soul Daimond as well!! Crap, Dusk!

Sure, so long as that doesn't create too much of a red-herring as to her importance in the quest as a story.

Perphas she could be the servant of Caedis, it's the name of the rotten phoenix

Adyna is actually the antagonist of the whole quest, she was the "Mysterious Stranger" and she is also trying to collect all the diamonds. However, she is doing so because Zamorak told her to protect the Mind Diamond and it/Enraka cursed her to protect them all.

3mpty, the location of the Adyna fights shouldn't be a problem, the timing was, due to the eposodic nature of the quest.

I suppose. But it's perhaps too much of a coincidence if she's the 5th diamond everytime... given there's no reason for it.

I'm possibly over thinking it, though.

Maybe instead of it being when you get each beacon's 4 diamonds, its every 4 diamonds you obtain, regardless of which beacon they belong to.

We need to organize the Beacons again, don't we.

I have a better idea; how about let people find the diamonds at will like in Desert Treasure? Scrap the complex timelines and this project will be made easier to do by the player. The player has already over 16 more diamonds to find, and if the player is bogged down by an insanely complex story, this quest will lose its fun.

Elaborate

To carry this story, you don't need an elaborate plot muddling the fight. Not every quest is designed to have a story be the central part. Remember in Desert Treasure, the only impetus to find these diamonds were to get them for that archaeologist, remember? That is a very weak story in itself, but the rest of the quest and the rewards make up for it.

When you killed the bad guys, you had a quick introduction with them, and the fight commenced. In fact, you only knew little about them as a plot tool to keep you from making a strategy before you fight. Yet, you still had the impetus to fight them and go extremely out of your way to find them because you wanted those diamonds. Honestly, when I did Desert Treasure, I had no care about the plot; I just wanted it over. Now in Homecoming Apocalypse, this will be fourfold load larger.

I think because we are all such talented writers, we keep making EVERYTHING have a story and a back story when one isn't necessary.

Keeping your options open to the player will allow them to formulate strategies at will without any pressure to complete it. Honestly, it would scare the hell out of me to complete ALL 16 diamonds in a sequential order. If a boss is too hard for me at the moment, I can move on to another I can easily defeat, using my time much more wisely.

Oh, I see, you're wrong.

Homecoming Apocylasdasf is a special quest, you may obtain the diamonds in any order you wish. However, like Desert Treasure, there is an over arcing story, the identity of Atlas and our conflict with Adyna (DT was about freeing Azzanandra.)

That isn't to say that we can't give each guardian a backstory. Drystan surrendered himself for his kingdom, Neurosha was mis-summoned and respawned with her diamond. These backstories can be inferred, or told by NPCs (for example Malak wanted a vampire noble dead).

Desert Treasure wasn't about freeing Azzandra. We never even knew about him before this quest!

EDIT: And only at the END of the story it was like a side effect of winning the quest! We had no idea we also would free a spirit in the process, and that's only after the archaeologist told us to put them back in their place in the pyramid!

EDIT 2: If the quest was about freeing him, then the archaeologist would have gone into a long description of who he was, why he was trapped, and how and why were had to save him!

EDIT 3: And even that was a simple plot. Please do not make the plot for Homecoming Apocalypse will involve gods... That is too grand of a plot. -.-

No?

Each beacon has her once. One exception being Zurial, but she kills Zurial at the start of the quest and takes his place.

Wait... WHAT?!

When it said "new post" I thought that meant that I would have one... how did I miss a whole conversation. I'm backtracking now. This is a response to Handeath saying something about reordering the beacons.

then perhaps complete each beacon in sequential order, and each diamond for that beacon will allow you to complete it in any order?

If this Adyna(sp?) character once as a reoccurring character, then I would imagine each diamonds you would find will each have a boss and she will have to be on top of it. Also, to REALLY spice things up, she could randomly with one diamond per beacon instead of he be the boss in an expected manner.

I think her being random is interesting... but that means her current forms need non-Adyna models in such cases they aren't randomized to her. Also, would that effect the fight scene? Or would she essentially be used in the same fight instead of the actual guardian...

Acutally, when I think about it, whilst cool it'd be a shame. Some of the guardians have quite good stories behind them and it'd be a shame to not play them on accounts of bad luck.

Sorry, I was replying to another thread... reading the last page or so now.