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Style guidelines for quests
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The style guidelines for quests are a set of rules that should be followed to ensure that the quality, discoverability, and accuracy of the quest pages are kept at as high a bar as possible. Additionally these rules, particularly concerning templates, should be followed rather strictly to reduce the burden of correctly formatting pages for readability.
Naming pages
Quest pages should have the name given to the quest in the journal, if a journal entry has been created for that quest. If a quest does not have a "journal name" then Quest giver's quest should be used.
In the case of a series of quests, favor roman numerals for numbering (I II III not 1 2 3).
The exception to this rule is when a larger quest is organized in to a number of sub-quests; in this instance it is acceptable to name the quest in the format: Quest giver's quests - - Part I.
Quests with sections should have an overview page, using the {{Quest overview}} template to link them all together. For an example, see Starfall Quests or any of the class quest pages it links to (that is actually an article serving as an overview of quest overview pages.)
Sections
See also: Page template for quests
See also: Style guide
The Infobox
The vital information of the quest is contained in an infobox template at the top of the page. Please include as much of this information as you can and use the markup {{unknown}} for information you can't provide. Information should be provided after the equal signs. Use a <br> to separate multiple entries. Many of the parameters in this template should not be written as links - the template will automatically make them links, as well as use them for creating categories. The parameters otherzones, classreq, questitem, itemreward, factionpos, factionneg can all be expanded (factionneg2 = can be used for a second worsening of faction, for instance).
The relevant portion of the page template for quests.
{{Quest infobox
| name = Name of the quest. If you remove this line, it will default to the page name.
| giver = NPC that begins the quest Auto links, don't use [[ ]] or <br>.
| sub = Provide y for this parameter if it is part of a series
| next = Next quest in the quest series.
| prev = Previous quest in the quest series.
| startingzone = Zone the quest begins in. Auto links, don't use [[ ]] or <br>.
| endingzone = The zone the quest ends in. Only use if different from starting zone.
| otherzones = Other zones involved.
| classreq = Class requirements. Do not use if any class can do this quest.
| lvlreq = Minimum required level
| racereq = Required race.
| alignreq = Alignment required
| factionreq = Faction required. Auto links, don't use [[ ]] or <br>.
| factiontypereq = Type of faction required. Ally, Warmly, etc
| questitem = Items involved in quest. This includes both loot and items given by quest npcs
| itemreward = items rewarded from quest (not quest items)
| currency = $ reward. Use {{platinum}}, {{gold}}, {{silver}} and {{copper}} after the number about. So 4pp would be 4 {{platinum}}
| factionpos = Positive faction rewards
| factionneg = Negative faction rewards
| alignment = Alignment changes from completing quest
| xp = experience reward
}}
The basic overview section
The basic overview section begins with the basic overview heading. Use the markup == Basic overview == for this heading.
The basic overview section should include a brief description of the quest including the quest giver and the quest objectives. This section should be brief and should not contain any sub-headings.
The walkthrough section
The walkthrough section contains information about each step of the quest, including the specific quest dialog, highlighted item and NPC names. Names should be linked only the first time they are mentioned, and not linked at all in the text if they are included in the infobox. Use the markup == Walkthough == for the walkthrough section heading ABOVE the infobox.
The walkthrough section may contain sub-headings if the quest involves many steps, the steps in the quest are involved, or the quest page describes a large quest made up of sub-quests (super-quest). If the quest page describes a super-quest each sub-quest should have its own sub-heading. Use three equal signs for a sub-section (example markup: === Sub section title ===). Use lowercase letters for the second and subsequent words in sub-headings if the words are not proper nouns.
If you are adding sub-sub-headings to your quest page consider splitting the page into a series of quest pages.
Formatting
See also: Style guide
See also: Available templates and when to use them
Formatting NPC dialog
Format dialog by using the {{questdialog}} template.
This template uses unnamed parameters:
- 1
- Player dialog
- 2
- NPC dialog
- 3
- Action
A pipe should be used to separate each "part" of dialog. If you're not familiar with pipes, check this link. The following is an example of using this template:
{{questdialog|You say, 'Hail, a Wiki NPC'|A Wiki NPC says, 'I do not know when the plague first consumed me, but I am ever grateful that is is now gone... '}}
The results:
In situations where NPCs are talking to other NPCs, use {{questdialogNPC}}. This template uses unnamed parameters:
- 1
- NPC dialog
- 2
- NPC dialog
- 3
- Action
Formatting quest rewards
Quest rewards should be placed below the dialog. Leave a blank line between each reward, whether NPC gives an item, faction or experience.
The following is an example of the correct format for quest rewards in dialog:
{{questdialog||A Wiki NPC says, 'Thank you... <player name>. Properly formatting this quest helped everyone!}}
You gain '''3,000''' experience!!
Your faction standing with '''Newport Guards''' has gotten better!
Your faction standing with '''Newport Citizens''' has gotten better!
You receive '''Newport Captain's Insignia''' from '''A Wiki NPC'''.
You receive '''Counter Agent Vial''' from '''A Wiki NPC'''.
The results:
You gain 3,000 experience!!
Your faction standing with Newport Guards has gotten better!
Your faction standing with Newport Citizens has gotten better!
You receive Newport Captain's Insignia from A Wiki NPC.
You receive Counter Agent Vial from A Wiki NPC.
Do not include links in dialog.
Links are rarely used in the walkthrough. The first time a new NPC is introduced, use {{NPCtag}}. This will give the NPC name as well as their zone and location, if it is listed on their NPC page. If it's not listed on their NPC page, please add it there if available.
Replace your name with <player name>.
Notes and warnings
Vital information that is not something you must do to complete a quest should be encosed in a {{note}} template.
The following is an example of a note:
{{note|You have about 5 minutes to hand in the rings from your group before the captain dies and disappears.<br>The entire quest takes about 20 minutes to complete depending on how many guards and skeletons you need to kill.}}
The results:
Lists
For a list of items for which sequence is unimportant use the unorder list (*). For a list of items for which sequence is important use the ordered list(#).
Categories
The infobox will automatically provide the necessary categories! The only time categories need to be added manually to quests is when there is more than one quest giver (this usually applies to bounty quests.) [[Category:Giver's quest]] for example. Categories should be added at the very bottom of the page.
Making modifications and leaving comments
Do not add a sentence disputing something claimed in the page without removing the old entry (example: soandso will give you a note at this point - I didn't get a note when I did this quest, but the next part worked just fine). Please correct the information on the page if it has changed or is, for any other reason, incorrect.
If you wish to comment on something on the page, use the page's talk page.
If you want to mark a specific section of a quest as disputed, add {{disputed}} into the relevant section.
Do not leave your name or the date of your edit on the page. Please use the talk page or a hidden comment.