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Darkness Falls

NPCs & Quests

When you walk onto an NPC's square, a conversation opens automatically. NPCs speak to you, and you respond by choosing from a list of numbered options (up to 4 choices per response).

Last updated: October 16, 2026

NPC Conversation System

When you walk onto an NPC's square, a conversation opens automatically. NPCs speak to you, and you respond by choosing from a list of numbered options (up to 4 choices per response).

How Conversations Work

  1. You enter an NPC's location
  2. The NPC greets you and describes the scene
  3. You see numbered dialog options — pick one by saying the number or the option text
  4. Conversations branch based on your choices
  5. Some options award gold, XP, items, or start quests; others carry penalties

Say "goodbye", "bye", "leave", or "exit" at any point to end the conversation.

Locked Options

Some dialog choices are locked until you meet requirements:

  • Level requirement: "Requires level 15" — come back when you're stronger
  • Clue requirement: You need to have discovered something in the world first
  • NPC state: The NPC must be in a specific condition (e.g., you must have helped them first)

Locked options are shown with [LOCKED - reason] so you know they exist and what's needed.

Clues & NPC States

As you explore and talk to NPCs, you can discover clues — pieces of information that unlock new dialog options elsewhere. Some conversations also change an NPC's state (HEALTHY, INFECTED, QUEST_COMPLETE, DEAD), which affects what they say and what options are available when you visit again.

Conversation Effects

Choosing dialog options can reward or penalize you:

What You Can Earn

  • Gold, Experience, Soul Shards (Lesser/Royal/Sovereign), Crafting Runes
  • Blood Emeralds (tracked as a premium transaction)
  • Items placed directly into your inventory
  • Quest starts — a new quest automatically begins

What You Can Lose

  • HP damage (if reduced to 0, you're downed)
  • Gold
  • Soul Shards
  • Items removed from inventory

After each choice, you'll see a summary: "You received: 100 gold, 50 experience." or "You suffered: 25 damage taken, 50 gold lost."

Quest System

Quests give you goals to pursue as you explore the world. They're started through NPC conversations and tracked automatically as you play.

5 Quest Types

Type Goal
Kill Defeat a certain number of enemies or specific enemy types
Collection Collect certain items
Exploration Visit specific locations or zones
NPC Talk to specific NPCs
Boss Defeat specific boss enemies

Quest Rewards

Completing a quest can give you: gold, soul shards, crafting runes, blood emeralds, XP, skill points, and items. Some quests are part of chains — finishing one automatically starts the next.

Your Quest Actions

Action How
View active quests (with progress) Say "quests", "active quests", "quest progress", "check progress", or "quest status"
View completed quests Say "completed quests", "finished quests", "quest history", or "completed missions"
Abandon a quest Say "abandon quest [name]" (not yet wired — see Player commands below)

Quest Lifecycle

Talk to NPC → Quest starts → Play normally → Progress tracked automatically:
  → Kill enemies (Kill/Boss objectives)
  → Visit zones (Exploration objectives)
  → Talk to NPCs (NPC objectives)
  → Pick up items (Collection objectives)
→ All objectives complete → Rewards given → Quest marked done → Next quest starts (if chained)

NPC Types

Type Role
Shopkeepers Buy and sell gear at level-appropriate prices
Quest givers Start quest chains, provide story context
Trainers Class-specific services
Story NPCs Lore, world-building, branching narrative

NPC Directory