Table of Contents

Quests

Moongate quest authoring is Lua-first, but runtime execution stays server-owned.

  • Quest definitions live under moongate_data/scripts/quests/**/*.lua
  • Authors declare quests with the quest DSL
  • The server compiles and validates those files at startup and during hot reload
  • Accepted quest progress is persisted on the player entity, not in Lua tables

This keeps authoring ergonomic without moving quest rules or persistence into ad-hoc script state.

Runtime Flow

The shipped quest experience uses two shared Lua gumps:

  • moongate_data/scripts/gumps/quests/quest_dialog.lua
  • moongate_data/scripts/gumps/quests/quest_journal.lua

They are wired through:

  • moongate_data/scripts/interaction/quests.lua
  • the quests runtime module

Player-facing behavior:

  • the NPC quest context menu opens the shared quest dialog
  • the client Quests button opens the shared quest journal
  • accepting and completing quests goes through server validation

Quest DSL

Quest scripts are declarative. A typical quest looks like this:

quest.define({
    id = "new_haven.rat_hunt",
    name = "Rat Hunt",
    category = "starter",
    description = "Cull the rat infestation near the mill.",
    quest_givers = { "farmer_npc" },
    completion_npcs = { "farmer_npc" },
    repeatable = false,
    max_active_per_character = 1,
    objectives = {
        quest.kill({ mobiles = { "sewer_rat", "giant_rat" }, amount = 10 }),
        quest.collect({ item_template_id = "rat_tail", amount = 10 }),
        quest.deliver({ item_template_id = "rat_tail", amount = 10 })
    },
    rewards = {
        quest.gold(150),
        quest.item("bandage", 10)
    }
})

Top-Level Fields

  • id: stable quest identifier
  • name: player-facing title
  • category: free-form category label used by UI
  • description: player-facing description
  • quest_givers: quest giver NPC template ids
  • completion_npcs: NPC template ids allowed to turn the quest in
  • repeatable: true or false
  • max_active_per_character: current V1 value must be 1
  • objectives: ordered list of objective definitions
  • rewards: optional ordered list of reward definitions

Use stable templateId values for NPC and item references. Do not key quest behavior by display names.

Objective Helpers

Supported objective helpers:

quest.kill({ mobiles = { "sewer_rat" }, amount = 5 })
quest.collect({ item_template_id = "rat_tail", amount = 5 })
quest.deliver({ item_template_id = "rat_tail", amount = 5 })

Rules:

  • quest.kill(...) requires mobiles and amount
  • quest.collect(...) requires item_template_id and amount
  • quest.deliver(...) requires item_template_id and amount
  • amount must be a positive integer

Objective progress is tracked by compiled objective identity, not by Lua table position alone.

Reward Helpers

Supported reward helpers:

quest.gold(150)
quest.item("bandage", 10)

Rules:

  • quest.gold(amount) adds gold to the reward bundle
  • quest.item(item_template_id, amount) grants item rewards by template id
  • reward amounts must be positive integers

Hot Reload

Quest scripts are not treated like generic lazy Lua chunks.

When Scripting.EnableFileWatcher is enabled:

  • a changed file under scripts/quests/**/*.lua is recompiled and revalidated through the quest file loader
  • a broken reload does not replace the last valid quest snapshot
  • explicit quest file deletes remove the deleted quest from the compiled registry

This means quest authoring gets validation-oriented hot reload instead of “load later on next require”.

quests Runtime Module

The shared quest UI scripts use the quests runtime module:

quests.open(session_id, character_id, npc_serial)
quests.open_journal(session_id, character_id)
quests.get_available(session_id, character_id, npc_serial)
quests.get_active(session_id, character_id, npc_serial)
quests.get_journal(session_id, character_id)
quests.accept(session_id, character_id, npc_serial, quest_id)
quests.complete(session_id, character_id, npc_serial, quest_id)

Use it for dialog and journal presentation, not for defining quest templates.

Current V1 Scope

The first quest slice is intentionally narrow:

  • supported objectives: kill, collect, deliver
  • no branching quest graphs
  • no timers
  • no scripted per-quest callbacks
  • no multiple simultaneous instances of the same quest on one character

That keeps the authoring model simple while still covering classic quest-giver gameplay.

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