A good point was made about the Mines of Moria on the latest Shut Up We're Talking and that is: why, after all I've been through to get to the gates of Moria, especially if I've completed the epic story up to that point, am I delivering Dwarven sandwiches? The whole of Eriador that's in the game knows me as the hero that came after the fellowship. If we really want to get into a bit of roll playing with it, I should be one of six heroes. After all that notoriety, the Dwarves trying to take back Moria still send me on lunch runs to prove my worth and enable their continued laziness. I should be treated with respect, maybe awe, even from a stubborn dwarf. It's quite silly.
That said, I hardly remember the sandwich run, but I know I did it. I know I did it without complaining, but my first sentence is the key - I hardly remember it. You don't remember what's not epic. At best, you just do the quest and forget about it. In between, you grumble. At worst, you either don't do it or give up on the game. I love this game too much to do the last one. I might grumble from time to time on things I think are broken or need tweaking, polishing etc. But it doesn't negate the fact that this game still uses the tried and true method of fetch quests, delivery quests, kill quests, talk to NPC quests. And after so many of these in the game, you've got to run out of ideas for these types of quests. It's just inevitable. I think I've probably delivered lunch or some other meal/food stuff to someone of every race and perhaps in every zone.
On the good side is that the quest text does a very good job of twisting the basic formula into something that is logical and lore-centric... most of the time. It doesn't change the actual activity, but if I'm willing to work hard enough, I can convince myself I'm not doing a menial task, and focus on the story of it all. I think that's what I do most of the time - absorb myself in the story. And besides, with as many of these quests as I've done, I'm not only known as the Hero of Eriador, but the guy that'll do every menial task he runs into. The yes-man. And a dwarf would use any and every opportunity to take advantage of that. Especially if he were another race. Glad I'm not an elf. Might be shoveling goat feces instead of delivering sandwiches.
That said, I hardly remember the sandwich run, but I know I did it. I know I did it without complaining, but my first sentence is the key - I hardly remember it. You don't remember what's not epic. At best, you just do the quest and forget about it. In between, you grumble. At worst, you either don't do it or give up on the game. I love this game too much to do the last one. I might grumble from time to time on things I think are broken or need tweaking, polishing etc. But it doesn't negate the fact that this game still uses the tried and true method of fetch quests, delivery quests, kill quests, talk to NPC quests. And after so many of these in the game, you've got to run out of ideas for these types of quests. It's just inevitable. I think I've probably delivered lunch or some other meal/food stuff to someone of every race and perhaps in every zone.
On the good side is that the quest text does a very good job of twisting the basic formula into something that is logical and lore-centric... most of the time. It doesn't change the actual activity, but if I'm willing to work hard enough, I can convince myself I'm not doing a menial task, and focus on the story of it all. I think that's what I do most of the time - absorb myself in the story. And besides, with as many of these quests as I've done, I'm not only known as the Hero of Eriador, but the guy that'll do every menial task he runs into. The yes-man. And a dwarf would use any and every opportunity to take advantage of that. Especially if he were another race. Glad I'm not an elf. Might be shoveling goat feces instead of delivering sandwiches.
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2 Responses to "Dwarven Sandwhiches"
I guess we are all yes-men in this game. Nice entry.
Indeed. I think there's something in me that just likes to be told what to do. I really don’t mind the fetch quests. In fact there's a part of me that feels relieved when I see "gather 8 wolf pelts and 6 bear hides" appear upon the screen. I know exactly what is expected of me and now I can go off and do it. Don't get me wrong, the quests that are more involved and require a bit more thought can be very rewarding to complete, but mixed in with these I certainly don't mind a healthy dose of fetching.
RC
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