Quest structure and triggers

[TheUnknownChemist]

Okay now with the mod I am working on now I want to add a bit of quest to go with it. I have a story but no idea how to create quests. The tutorials are good in the fact they have given me a sense of what quest building involves but I can't seem to find out how to build the quest the way I want it.

The idea is in basic terms.

Read a book to activate the quest, tells of a weird unnatural crystal cave. you get a journal update saying blah blah you need to find the location by deciphering the clues in the book (there will be no map markers)

When you find the cave second journal entry I found crystal caves maybe I should investigate this mystery further ect.

Inside the cave you find a journal telling you in more detail about the cave and a group of high elves and bretons that unlocked the secrets of tempering the precious stone into a heavily enchanted weapons.

You find the white crystal sword (the ultimate of the crystal weapons) and quest ends.

Rather simple in theory but with zip experience and the overwhelming nature of many quest tutorials I have found I have no idea where to start how to start, will I need script ect. So any help on this will be great, I don't need the answers spoon fed to me but a good jumping off point would be fantastic.

I thought also that for te end of the quest you had the choice of three white crystal weapons an axe a sword and a bow, the thing is though you could only choose one. Maybe they are locked behind a cage and as soon as you use the key to open it the key disappears, however if this is to complex I would rather leave it till I get more exp.

thanks in advance

[DaMage]

The biggest part of this is knowing how to script...all quest updates are triggered by scripts.

In your example:

You'd have the book with a script on it, that when you read it, you get a journal update.

Then you'd have another script (this one would most likely be best in the quest script) that detect when you enter the cave, then give a script update.

Again, use a script on the book in order to trigger the update.

A script on the sword that triggers the final journal update.

Im not up to date with tutorials, but Im sure there would be some around that teach how you can script each of these situations.

[Lanceor]

Yah, quests and scripts go hand in hand, so you'll need to learn the two together. NPC dialogue is closely tied to quests as well, so you may as well make your first talking NPC at the same time since they cover much of the same ground. The good news is that quests require relatively little scripting compared to say moving lights around.

I used the tutorial at the CS wiki:

http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/A_beginner's_guide%2C_lesson_4_-_Anatomy_of_a_quest%2C_part_1

Edit: Check the scripts in Anduril Reforged to see how I updated the quests.

- There is a trigger zone outside Cadlew Chapel that updates the quest "I should check inside."

- The Cadlew Chapel Memo updates the quest when read

These two scripts are very simple and is similar to three of the updates that you want to do. Believe it or not, Anduril Reforged was my first mod and I used it to try a bit of everything.

Edited February 16, 2011 by Lanceor

[TheUnknownChemist]

Okay well thats good to know script does not seem to be my strong suit, I get annoyed very quickly with it. I am in the process of downloading every wiki tutorial and TESA tutorials on quests