Ancient Catacombs: A new way to play! (Campaign idea)

  • All of the following were inspired by Greek, Japanase, Welsh and Norse mythology. All were considered to be usable in game permanently, after the time limited campaign is over.

    Theme: Ancient Catacombs
    ~ This new campaign would see crews step away from the seas and their ship and journey far beneath, into a maze of wonder requiring an iron will, and stomach.

    Story: Goddess of magic, crossroads and ghosts
    ~ Hecate grows tired of our endless voyages and seeks to liven things up, inviting pirates to test their mettle. She resides in a special maze that she created full of traps, snakes, skeletons, and best of all... ghosts! Entrance can only be granted once you retrieve the necessary stones, depending on which difficulty you choose those can change. A special stone can be found within the Catacombs, they call it Vaidurya, encased in gold and emeralds, thought to give it's owner access to a magic long forgotten... and an unknown source wants it. The Merchant Alliance is paying handsomely for any pirates who can locate it, but all who know of its existence seem to underestimate Hecate herself. However, appearances of ghosts have been recorded as of late, and the Merchants have heard of one at The Sunken Grove who might have more information? (The ghost will be revealed to be the last person who attempted to retrieve her gift, Pere. He will tell you of his excursion into the catacombs, of the illusions and demons he saw, the traps that wiped out his crew, and of Hecate and her wicked laugh. Bestowing the Bethel stone, he presents you with a puzzle, which at the end has you take a leap of faith into The Sunken Grove, which normally would kill you. The Phalos stone will then be retrievable from the pool of water at the base of the island. If you choose either Medium or Hard difficulties, you will need to solve more puzzles, which will be on multiple islands)

    Can you make it all the way through to the end of the Ancient Catacombs and defeat Hecate at her own game?

    Quest Starter NPCs

    The Shores of Plenty ~ 1-2 Players
    *Sanctuary Outpost, Chief Trader Mollie
    "Our business is expanding, and you are at the right place, at the right time. It seems an unnamed client believes there to be an artefact below the seas, normally I would not ask a mere pirate such as yourself to retrieve a high value item, but Mavis has already recruited more of your kind."

    The Ancient Isles ~ 2-4 Players
    *Ancient Spire Outpost, Senior Trader Mildred
    "Oh Deary! Great to see you again! Matter of fact, there is special cargo that must be found and retrieved at once! I cannot guarantee you'll make it out alive, but you must go below the depths you're accustomed to on this voyage! Good luck, love."

    The Wilds ~ 2 crews of 4 Players
    *Galleon's Grave Outpost, Senior Trader Meg
    "Let me finish me grog! ... Okay, what now? Yes, yes. An artefact, some ruins, ghosts, just take it, grab it and dump it will ya? Go get em!"

    Mechanics: Stones of Hecate
    (Second half of description is for use AFTER the time limited campaign is over)

    • Bethel & Betyl; received from the ghost at The Sunken Grove, endowed with life, these pair of stones become mobile respawn points. (instead of spawning on your ship)
    • Ahd & Dehr; these stones protect against evil charms, and allows players to see through traps if looked at through the middle of the stone. Recovery from snakebites, when held.
    • Phalos; rewarded after solving the puzzle at The Sunken Grove, this stone locates the exact entrance to the catacombs. Can banish a skeleton captain. (Disappears once you reach the center)(Single use, Auto-kill)
    • Urim & Thunim; these stones reveal supernatural knowledge, a magical map of the maze that only the wielder can read. Can be used to find buried treasure.
    • Singha & Steinn; speaking stones, used to communicate between two crews. Only the wielder can hear the other.
    • Gjoll & Dovik; these stones bind the goddess, bring them together to release her. Fire emits from them, reaching farther than the lantern.
    • Vaidurya; the most precious stone, beauty beyond compare, the prize for slaying the goddess. (Can be turned in to the "Exploration NPC"? For a large amount of gold and title. Turning in "X" amount of Vaidurya unlocks the Hecate Hat, Jacket and Dress)
      Side quest Only available in 'Hard' difficulty
    • Seki; if your Alliance is brave enough to steer away from using the map, go off the beaten path and defeat the waiting traps, this stone will be rewarded. Kills anything it comes into contact with. (Can be used on Hecate, comes with a skull vessel allowing for transport, but you must leave behind either Bethel or Betyl)

    Easy ~ requires only Bethel and Phalos stones
    Medium ~ requires Bethel, Ahd, (Urim for crews of 3+) and Phalos
    Hard ~ requires ALL stones

    Entrance: The Isle of Last Words

    Once you enter the Ancient Catacombs your ship will disappear, this will be a seperate instance, and you will spawn inside upon the Bethel (Betyl) stone. Make sure you leave all worldy possessions behind! (Don't leave any loot!) Bananas are scarce, as mostly you be faced with traversing a maze, and disabling (or cheesing) traps! The harder the difficulty, the longer the maze! (Multiple paths can be taken, some shortcuts can even be found, but beware as there are also deadends.)

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  • Creative and imaginative. Rare, I look forward to exploring this new campaign!

  • Very interesting. What inspired you when designing this quest format?

  • @isaac-occam Great question, thanks! Definitely a mixture of Indiana Jones and a scene from Jurassic Park. John Hammond walks Dr Sattler through getting the park’s power back on. Took great communication and an understanding of a schematic! ;)

  • @the-arcanedaddy Interesting. I'm hesitant on forcing to be 2 full 4 man crews...what if people drop etc. Maybe just require 8 people instead?

  • I would absolutely love to see a dungeon crawler event within Sea of Thieves. One of my hopes since this game was announced, was having the ability to find deep caverns or caves that lead to a dungeon style instance, where you and your crew would fight off NPC's and a boss for a hefty reward at the end. I also imagined that your crew would be able to run into another player crew attempting the same goal, which would result in some PVP with the victors claiming the reward.

  • @dragonsire2016 I completely understand the concern. I think within the specific mechanics it shouldn’t only have to be two crews of 4, absolutely should be able to be 8 people. As long as half the group is separated the stones will still work. Thank you! Great feedback

  • @thestjestery I hadn’t even thought of that! Wonderful feedback thank you! Would be very interesting if other crews were somewhere in the maze as well, I could see rival crews killing each other and hiding the other crew’s stones. So chaotic and evil!

  • Love the idea, and all the stone properties (favorite being Singha & Steinn). A catacomb, and a nice quest to find them sounds perfect.

    One challenge in completing them would be the amount of time it might take to take on this challenge of finding the stones, unless the stones were specific to a singular region like Cursed Sails. Maybe 3 variations of Hecate's maze (ex. single 1-2 player crew, single 3-4 player crew, and multi-crew--this being the largest maze) to ensure people can still experience them if they're unable to find a worthy alliance.

    The only reason for the above is if the stones get lost with each server session.

    Another thing is just having your ship somewhere, unattended, for so long, unless you're sailing into a place where only the stone wielders have access to. An awesome thing would be sailing into something equivalent to entering Athena's Fortune (with the rumbling and lights).

    This is definitely something I would want to play and experience in Sea of Thieves. The game, to me, is missing some more Indiana Jones type moments of adventure and discovery.

  • @the-arcanedaddy Overall a very creative idea that I think would add another adventure to the game. The only issue I see is the crew size requirement. There are far more 2 and 3 man crews on the seas than 4 man crews. I also know of a great number of people that prefer to sail alone, while I have a normal crew, I also enjoy sailing solo sometimes.

    While I have enjoyed the additions of alliances, not everyone has. And forcing people to join larger crews than what they are used to can also have a negative impact on their enjoyment level. Give some thought on how to change this to be inclusive of all crew sizes.

    But as I said, overall what a fantastic idea this would be. Hopefully this is something Rare takes notice of or already has their own plans being worked out that closely resembles this.

  • Very creative and interesting. I too think more exploration is needed. Finding and solving mysteries of sunken temples, uncovering secrets buried in ancient ruins, and discovering meanings of the pictographs covering the stones on all the islands. A little more magic flavor mixed in with the Order of Souls could be a lot of fun. Players could even be cursed as skeletons and have to search for a cure. There must be more than skeletons to fight.

  • @theghostgalleon said in Ancient Catacombs: A new way to play! (Campaign idea):

    Love the idea, and all the stone properties (favorite being Singha & Steinn). A catacomb, and a nice quest to find them sounds perfect.

    One challenge in completing them would be the amount of time it might take to take on this challenge of finding the stones, unless the stones were specific to a singular region like Cursed Sails. Maybe 3 variations of Hecate's maze (ex. single 1-2 player crew, single 3-4 player crew, and multi-crew--this being the largest maze) to ensure people can still experience them if they're unable to find a worthy alliance.

    The only reason for the above is if the stones get lost with each server session.

    Another thing is just having your ship somewhere, unattended, for so long, unless you're sailing into a place where only the stone wielders have access to. An awesome thing would be sailing into something equivalent to entering Athena's Fortune (with the rumbling and lights).

    This is definitely something I would want to play and experience in Sea of Thieves. The game, to me, is missing some more Indiana Jones type moments of adventure and discovery.

    I appreciate the feedback and input a bunch!
    I agree, time would be a major factor into how much players would want to partake in this campaign. With that being said I've made adjustments and changes to how the campaign works, also your ship would not be left unattended, once you find the entrance to the Catacombs, your ship is rendered useless, you cast it away, and the Bethyl & Betyl stones become your new spawn point. Your crew, if you are in one, must vote to leave the Catacombs (Instance, similar to the Legend Hideout). Your ship will then spawn as if it sunk, on a random island.

    As for the finding of the stones themselves, that part will be part of the "Storytelling" side of the campaign, much like locating Wanda's journals and lab, or Merrick's journals and ship.

  • @nofears-fun Changes made for players that like to sail alone, or only sail with a certain size crew/ship. :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback!

  • @The-ArcaneDaddy nicely done. Hope rare takes notice and adopts some form of this. Though we both know they will make their own changes if for no other reason than to claim the idea as their own. Lol

  • Some solid work there I’d love to see something like this in game

  • @isaac-occam said in Ancient Catacombs: A new way to play! (Campaign idea):

    Very interesting. What inspired you when designing this quest format?

    WoW, @#$! off instances

  • @savagetwinky I’ve never played WoW. Are you against the instance, separate location away from the world you spawn in?

  • @the-arcanedaddy Yes, the game is a sandbox. I want more toys for the sandbox, not separate side activities that take people out of the sandbox. Its not really appropriate for this type of game.

  • @savagetwinky they went and did it. Figured out a way to make it work.

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