The Basics of QoD

Quest of Destiny™ (or QoD™) is a medieval fantasy RPG, allowing you to enter a wondrous world of heroes and monsters. QoD provides everything you need to populate your fantasy setting: dangerous and mythical creatures, powerful spells, and heroes of every variety. As with many RPGs, QoD uses dice to determine the outcome of random events, allowing for successes and failures to alter the plot of the story. One player will take the role of the Gamemaster, serving as the narrator of the story and providing plot and challenges for the characters.

QoD is a game system that combines the best parts of traditional RPGs with new and innovative ideas. Our goal is to provide an in-depth, realistic world for our players, while making the game a fun and entertaining experience for all. Also, unlike other RPGs, everything you need to play the game can be found for free on this site.

Telling the Story

QoD is set within a medieval fantasy world and transports you to an older time, where most people hardly travel outside their home towns. However, the life of an adventurer, as the characters within QoD are often called, tends to be different. Adventurers travel extensively throughout the world, facing the dangers that keep many tucked safely within their homes. They are a different sort of person, having a naturally curious and adventurous attitude and often seeking something that can't be found in the small village confines: fame, fortune, excitement, glory, power, honor, or even revenge.

A QoD story arc is often referred to as an adventure or campaign (a campaign being a string of connected adventures). Within it, a group of adventurers, the main characters of the story, band together to achieve a common goal. The course of the story twists and turns, shaped by the actions and decisions the characters make, until the final conclusion is reached. How long this takes depends on the scope of the story and the speed with which the adventurers confront the story's challenges.

Playing QoD

QoD is typically played in a group of 3 to 6 players, though it can be played with more or as few as 2. Gaming groups can have different and varied styles of game play. For example, some groups like to focus more on Roleplay and social interaction within the story, while others prefer more challenge and combat-oriented stories. Some groups like to leave most aspects of play up to the imagination, while other groups utilize game aids to enhance the experience, such as battle maps, miniature figures, and terrain pieces. To see which style suits you best, observe the games of others and test out a variety of styles. What's so great about QoD is that it can support any style of game play, and no way is right or wrong as long as everyone is having fun.

Gaming groups form in a variety of ways. Commonly, a group of friends will gather to try something new, often with one or more members already familiar with the RPG to be played. Other groups are formed by individuals who meet within the gaming community, often at game stores that host RPG events. However you plan to begin your QoD adventure, make sure the group members are prepared to stretch their imagination and explore a fantasy world full of magic, monsters, and fantastic treasures.

Roles within QoD

In QoD, you will perform one of two roles within the game: Either the Gamemaster (GM) or the Player. Only one Gamemaster is chosen within a gaming group, typically the player with the most experience with the game, and everyone else is a Player. Depending on your role, you have different responsibilities and a different gaming experience. Typically those new to QoD begin as Players, and then may become a Gamemaster as they gain more experience playing the game, but you can be a GM even if you've never played before. Both roles within the game are essential and of equal importance.

The Player's Role

As a player, you create and portray a character (also known as a Player Character or PC), which serves as one of the main characters and heroes of the story. Your character joins with other PCs to form an adventuring group, whose exploits serve as the main plot of the story. You are responsible for bringing your character to life, and for inspiring the imaginations of the players around you. You speak for your character and give detailed descriptions of your character's actions. The fate of your character, and in part the story as a whole, is in your hands, as you control your character's decisions and actions. Ultimately, you and the Gamemaster work together to tell your character's part of the story.

The Gamemaster's Role

As a Gamemaster, you create the plot and shape the story around the Player Characters. You provide the setting and environment the PCs interact with, using vivid descriptions to paint a picture of the scenes and scenarios. You control all Non-player Characters (or NPCs) and create challenges for the PCs to overcome. You serve as the narrator of the story, reacting to the actions of the PCs and moving the story forward toward its goal or conclusion. You are also responsible for serving as the arbitrator of the game rules, determining when players must roll dice and mediating disagreements between players when they occur. The rules do not totally govern your actions, however, because the GM has the ultimate power to alter the rules of the game when necessary to make the game fun and propel the story forward.

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