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Guide Chains

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Taeguk edited this page Jun 9, 2026 · 2 revisions

Guide Chains

A guide chain is a multi-step quest. Each step has its own trigger. The chain advances one step at a time — step 2 only becomes active after step 1 fires, and so on. The chain is complete when the final step fires.

Active chains appear in the HUD tracker and in the Codex.

Defining a Chain

Add a steps list to a guidance entry. When steps is present, the parent entry's trigger, display, and once fields are ignored — each step has its own trigger and message.

- id: forge_bronze
  title: "The Bronze Age"
  category: "Progression"
  steps:
    - trigger: { type: item_acquired, item: CopperOre }
      message: "Mine Copper from deposits in the Black Forest."
    - trigger: { type: craft, item: Bronze }
      message: "Smelt Copper and Tin at a Smelter to make Bronze."
    - trigger: { type: craft, item: SwordBronze }
      message: "Craft a Bronze Sword at the Forge."

The player sees step 1's message when they pick up their first Copper Ore. Once that fires, step 2 activates, and so on.

Step Fields

Each step in the steps list supports:

Field Type Description
trigger TriggerSpec What causes this step to advance.
message string Text shown when this step fires. Supports {playerName} etc.
display DisplaySpec Override the default display mode for this step (optional).
description string Tooltip shown when hovering the HUD tracker row for this step.
progress_goal int If > 0, this is a counter step — fires only after this many trigger events.
progress_trigger TriggerSpec The trigger counted toward progress_goal. Required when progress_goal > 0.
progress_label string Label shown in the progress bar (e.g. "Trophies", "Kills").

Counter Steps

A counter step requires the player to perform a trigger action multiple times before advancing.

- id: troll_trophy_quest
  title: "Troll Hunt"
  category: "Bounties"
  steps:
    - trigger: { type: npc_interacted, npc: Haldor }
      message: "Haldor wants Troll Trophies. Bring him 3."
    - trigger: { type: npc_item_submit, npc: Haldor, item: TrollTrophy, count: 3 }
      message: "Trophies delivered! Haldor rewards you."

Or using a progress_goal counter:

steps:
  - trigger: { type: biome, biome: BlackForest }
    message: "Hunt 5 Trolls in the Black Forest."
    progress_goal: 5
    progress_trigger:
      type: kill
      creature: Troll
    progress_label: "Trolls"
  - trigger: { type: entry_finished, entry: troll_hunt_chain }
    message: "Quest complete! Return to camp."

The progress bar in the HUD tracker shows Trolls: 2 / 5 as the player kills them. The step fires when the counter reaches progress_goal.

Inventory seeding for item_acquired: When progress_trigger.type is item_acquired, the counter is seeded from the player's current inventory the moment the step activates — so any qualifying items already carried count immediately toward the goal. If the player already holds enough to meet progress_goal, the step fires right away without waiting for another pickup.

Chain Rewards

Add a rewards list to the parent entry to grant rewards when the final step completes:

- id: forge_bronze
  title: "The Bronze Age"
  rewards:
    - type: skill_exp
      skill: Swords
      amount: 500
    - type: buff
      effect: SE_Rested
      duration_override: 600
  steps:
    - trigger: { type: craft, item: Bronze }
      message: "Smelt Bronze."
    - trigger: { type: craft, item: SwordBronze }
      message: "Forge a Bronze Sword."

See Reward System for all reward types.

Discord Notification on Completion

Set discord_on_complete: true to post a Discord webhook when the chain finishes:

- id: boss_prep_chain
  title: "Prepare for Eikthyr"
  discord_on_complete: true
  announce:
    discord: "**{playerName}** has completed the Eikthyr preparation quest!"
  steps:
    ...

Chain State in the HUD Tracker

While a chain is in progress, the HUD tracker (top-right by default) shows:

  • The chain's title
  • The current step's message (truncated if long)
  • A progress bar for counter steps
  • Hovering the row shows the step's description tooltip (if set)

Once the final step fires, the chain row shows a completion animation and is removed from the tracker after a short delay.

The tracker badge (corner hint) shows the count of active chains even when the tracker panel is hidden.

Chaining Entries with entry_finished

Chains can trigger each other. Use trigger.type: entry_finished to start a follow-up entry or chain when another completes:

- id: reward_forge_bronze
  trigger:
    type: entry_finished
    entry: forge_bronze       # fires when the forge_bronze chain completes
  display:
    mode: message
    position: Center
    text: "Quest complete! Rewards granted."
  rewards:
    - type: item
      item: SwordBronze
      amount: 1
      quality: 2

This separates reward delivery from the chain itself, which is useful when you want the reward entry to have its own display message.

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