Quest Overview

August is over, blessed be. I knew far in advance that many events, Mundane and otherwise, would occur in August. I also knew the scheduling of each of these events was entirely out of my control. Literally, there wasn’t a blessed thing I could do but try to be as prepared as possible as far in advance as possible. August is over, and there is no one happier about that fact than I am.

One of those events was my own shire’s event, Midsummer Knight’s Dream (MSKD). Yes, it was held Labor Day weekend. Yes, we know that doesn’t even remotely qualify as Midsummer. Why do we keep the name? That’s a good question, and the best answer I can offer is “tradition.” This event was originally held in early June, but various circumstances over the years eventually led us to Labor Day weekend. The day will come when I give a longer (better?) answer, but that day is not today.

During those years of transition, the traditional “Quest for the Shrine of St. Dunstan” was moved from our former winter event, “The Feast of St. Dunstan” (which wasn’t held anywhere near Dunstan’s feast day), to MSKD. Seamas became our most-of-the-time Questocrat, though lately he has been sharing that task with Dante in alternate years.

This year, however, the task of Quest Design fell to me. OK, yes, I did volunteer. Then panic set in. Sure, I’d participated in the design of numerous Quests over the years, but it had never before been my responsibility. Seamas is really good at designing Quests, but he also obsesses over his designs for months. The worst thing about Quest Design is, you can not play-test a Quest - the first time the game is played is when it’s for real. This year’s pilgrims came up with a few things I didn’t expect (Seamas and I call this the “Brandr factor”), but the denizens did a fantastic job of improvising.

To play a Quest, pilgrims join together and form teams. Teams usually consist of 6-8 people, and must include at least one child under the age of 12. There is always an element in the Quest that requires the presence of a child. The Quest denizens are given their roles and props, and are sent out to their stations. Some Quests are linear, which means one team at a time goes to each station in a particular order. Other Quests are non-linear, which means the teams are sent out to find the stations and accomplish a task within a certain time period. Smythkepe’s early Quests were linear, but they have become decidedly non-linear in recent years. This year’s quest was definitely non-linear.

Below is the text from the sign-up sheet:

Forget the canals, can you navigate the Venetian underworld?
A Quest for St. Dunstan

Instead of adding her two bits from the sidelines, this year our own THL Moira has rolled up her sleeves to bring you a Quest straight from the Canals of Venice during Carnivale. There is no doubt that this Quest will be fun for all – in the finest of Smythkepe traditions! Still, we had hoped she wouldn’t be quite as secretive as her predecessors…. Which reminds us: where are her predecessors? And what was that splash?

Choose your companions wisely, for the Quest is limited to 5 teams – no exceptions. Teams must include at least one child under the age of 12.

Tomorrow…this year’s Quest Premise and Pilgrim Instructions…