Quest

The Quest is a great journey which all must embark upon. Somewhere above the Castle, between the dungeon levels 11 and 18 you will receive a message from your quest leader, saying they need your help. Search the level, and you will find a magic portal to the start level of your quest. Assuming you are of at least 20 alignment and experience level 14, you will be allowed on the quest to recover a magic artifact stolen from your people. The entrance to the quest proper will be a down stair on the same level as your quest leader. The bottom level of the quest will hold your quest nemesis. Kill the quest nemesis, take the artifact and the silver bell back up to your quest leader, and continue onwards down the dungeon.

Quest structure

The exact composition and inhabitants of the Quest depend on your role, but some features are consistent for all of them.

• The first level, also know as the "Home" level, is always the same for a given role. It contains your Quest leader and several Quest guardians -- friendlies to add flavor to the level. The only exits from the Home level are the portal back to the main dungeon and a down staircase. In order to go down the staircase, or proceed on the Quest in any way, you must receive permission from the Quest leader. If you meet the requirements, simply walk up to the leader and #chat if (s)he doesn't initiate conversation automatically.

• The second level is a randomly-generated filler level, and depending on your role could be a room-and-corridor level, a cavern, or a special type of level.

• The third level is the "Locate" level. This level is always the same for a given role, and a message will be displayed each time you enter until the Quest nemesis is killed. Other than that, there is nothing special about it.

• Below the Locate level will be one to three more filler levels, which may be the same or a different type than the upper filler level.

• The last level is the "Goal" level. It is always the same for a given role, and a message will be displayed each time you enter until the Quest nemesis is killed. The nemesis will be generated asleep and meditating, carrying the Bell of Opening and with the Quest artifact on the floor on their space.

Monster generation in the Quest is biased toward monsters that fit the theme of the Quest -- undead for the Priest Quest, centaurs for the Ranger Quest, leprechauns and nymphs for the Rogue Quest, etc. There will still be randomly-generated monsters, however.

The locate and filler levels are eligible to leave bones; the home and goal levels are not.

Quest leaders and nemeses

A quest leader is the one who verifies that you are ready to go to the quest and assigns you the mission. If you attack the quest leader before being given permission to do the quest, you will probably forfeit the right to do the quest making the game unwinnable.

A quest nemesis is the one who you must defeat to reclaim your quest artifact and the Bell of Opening. It's possible to ascend without killing your quest nemesis, but this is exceedingly rare.

Every quest nemesis resists stoning, but nemeses follow the usual rules of respecting Elbereth (e.g. nemeses symbolized by @ ignore Elbereth).

Role	Leader	Nemesis
Archeologist	@ Lord Carnarvon	& The Minion of Huhetotl
Barbarian	@ Pelias	@ Thoth Amon
Caveman	@ Shaman Karnov	D The Chromatic Dragon
Healer	@ Hippocrates	H The Cyclops
Knight	@ King Arthur	D Ixoth
Monk	@ The Grand Master	@ Master Kaen
Priest	@ The Arch Priest	& Nalzok
Ranger	@ Orion	s Scorpius
Rogue	@ The Master of Thieves	@ The Master Assassin
Samurai	@ Lord Sato	@ Ashikaga Takauji
Tourist	@ Twoflower	@ The Master of Thieves
Valkyrie	@ The Norn	H Lord Surtur
Wizard	@ Neferet the Green	@ The Dark One

SLASH'EM

In addition to the quests above, SLASH'EM also has quests for the new roles of SLASH'EM and for the different alignments. Check out SLASH'EM quests. For individual quests, see:

• Flame Mage quest
• Ice Mage quest
• Necromancer quest
• Undead Slayer quest
• Yeoman quest
• Lawful Quest
• Neutral Quest
• Chaotic Quest

Encyclopaedia entry

Many, possibly most, Tours are organized as a Quest.  This
is like a large-scale treasure hunt, with clues scattered
all over the continent, a few false leads, Mystical Masters
as game-show hosts, and the Dark Lord and the Terrain to
make the Quest interestingly difficult.  [...]
In order to be assured of your future custom, the Management
has a further Rule:  Tourists, far from being rewarded for
achieving their Quest Object, must then go on to conquer
the Dark Lord or set about Saving the World, or both.  And
why not?  By then you will have had a lot of practice in
that sort of thing and, besides, the Quest Object is usually
designed to help you do it.
[ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ]