Quest Program Commands

Quest programs use the same command table as area programs (area_cmd_table) — all 44 commands available to area progs are also available to quest progs. The only difference is the command prefix: quest programs use quest instead of area.

For the full area command reference, see Area Script Commands. This page focuses on the commands most relevant to quest scripting, organized by usage pattern.

Table of Contents

Command Prefix

All commands in a quest program must be prefixed with quest:

quest echoat $n You feel the quest calling to you.
quest varset quest_stage 2
quest mload 50100

Using the wrong prefix (e.g., mob or area) will cause the command to fail. Always use quest in quest programs.

Complete Command List

All 44 commands available to quest programs:

# Command Description
1 alterroom Modify properties of a room (flags, sector, name, etc.)
2 call Call another script as a subroutine with return value
3 churchannouncetheft Announce a theft to members of a church/religion organization
4 dungeoncommence Start/begin a dungeon encounter or phase
5 dungeoncomplete Mark a dungeon as successfully completed
6 dungeonfailure Mark a dungeon as failed
7 echoat Send a message to a specific target character only
8 event Interact with the event system (create, modify, query, manage events)
9 instancecomplete Mark the current dungeon instance as completed
10 instancefailure Mark the current dungeon instance as failed
11 mail Send an in-game mail message to a player
12 mload Load/create a mobile by vnum into the game world
13 mute Mute a character (prevent them from speaking)
14 oload Load/create an object by vnum into the game world
15 phaseevent Advance an event to its next phase
16 quest Interact with the quest system (start, complete, set step, etc.)
17 questechoat Send a quest-related message to a specific character
18 reckoning Trigger a reckoning event (world event system)
19 resetroom Reset a room to its default/template state
20 sendfloor Send a dungeon floor transition to players
21 specialkey Create or manage a special key item (dungeon keys)
22 stageevent Advance an event to its next stage
23 startevent Start a world/area event
24 startreckoning Start a reckoning world event sequence
25 stopevent Stop/end an active world/area event
26 stopreckoning Stop an active reckoning event
27 treasuremap Create or interact with a treasure map item
28 unlockarea Unlock a locked area (make it accessible)
29 unlockdungeon Unlock a dungeon (make it accessible to players)
30 unmute Unmute a previously muted character
31 varclear Clear/delete a script variable from the current entity
32 varclearon Clear a variable on a different entity
33 varcopy Copy a variable from one name to another on the current entity
34 varsave Mark a variable for persistent save
35 varsaveon Mark a variable on a different entity for persistent save
36 varset Set a variable value on the current entity
37 varseton Set a variable on a different entity
38 wildernessmap Generate or modify a wilderness map overlay
39 wildsanchor Set an anchor point on the wilderness map
40 wildsoverlay Apply a tile overlay to the wilderness map
41 wildstile Set or modify a specific wilderness tile
42 wildsvlink Create a virtual link between wilderness and interior rooms
43 wiznet Send a message to the immortal communication channel
44 xcall Execute a cross-entity script call (call script on another entity)

Commands by Quest Usage Pattern

Player Communication

The most common quest scripting task is sending messages to the player as quest events occur.

echoat

Send a message to a specific character. This is the primary way to communicate quest status to the player.

quest echoat $n {CYou have accepted the quest: The Lost Artifact.{x
quest echoat $n {cSeek the ancient ruins north of Millhaven.{x

questechoat

Send a quest-related message to a character. Similar to echoat but specifically designed for quest system messages.

quest questechoat $n {YQuest Updated: Stage 2 has begun.{x

mail

Send an in-game mail to a player. Useful for delayed quest notifications or rewards.

quest mail $n The Council of Elders Your bravery in completing the quest has not gone unnoticed. Report to the council chambers at your earliest convenience.

wiznet

Send a message to the immortal communication channel. Useful for debugging quest scripts.

quest wiznet Quest prog: $n accepted quest, level $j

Variable Management

Variables are essential for tracking quest state — custom data that persists across trigger firings.

varset / varseton

Set a variable on the quest entity or on another entity.

** Track quest start time on the quest itself
quest varset quest_start_time $T

** Set a variable on the player's token
quest varseton $n token_quest_progress 1

varclear / varclearon

Clear a variable from the quest or another entity.

** Clean up temporary quest state
quest varclear temp_target
quest varclearon $n token_quest_progress

varcopy

Copy a variable value to a new name.

quest varcopy old_stage_target saved_target

varsave / varsaveon

Mark a variable for persistent save (survives server restarts).

quest varset quest_completions 1
quest varsave quest_completions

World Interaction

Quest programs can spawn NPCs, create objects, and modify the game world.

mload

Load a mobile into the game world. Useful for spawning quest-specific NPCs when a stage begins.

** Spawn the quest boss when stage 3 starts
quest mload 52100

oload

Load an object into the game world. Useful for creating quest items or rewards.

** Create a reward item
quest oload 65200

alterroom

Modify room properties. Useful for changing room descriptions or flags during quest progression.

** Open the sealed door when stage 2 completes
quest alterroom 31050 flags -sealed

resetroom

Reset a room to its default state. Useful for cleaning up after quest events.

quest resetroom 31050

Script Flow

call

Call another script as a subroutine. Useful for sharing logic between quest triggers.

** Call a shared reward calculation script
quest call 50010

xcall

Execute a script on another entity. Useful for triggering behavior on NPCs or objects as part of quest progression.

** Tell the quest NPC to react
quest xcall 52100 mob 50020

Quest System Integration

quest

Interact with the quest system directly — start quests, complete quests, set steps, and more. This command is available within quest progs for self-referential quest manipulation.

quest quest complete $n

Event and Dungeon Integration

Quest programs can interact with the event and dungeon systems, enabling quests that span world events or dungeon instances.

startevent / stopevent / phaseevent / stageevent

Manage world events from quest scripts:

** Start a world event when the quest reaches stage 3
quest startevent 80010

dungeoncommence / dungeoncomplete / dungeonfailure

Control dungeon encounters:

** Begin the dungeon encounter for this quest stage
quest dungeoncommence 90001

instancecomplete / instancefailure

Manage dungeon instances:

quest instancecomplete

What Quest Programs Cannot Do

Because quest programs share the area command table, they do not have access to commands that are specific to other entity types. Notable commands that are NOT available in quest programs:

Not Available Entity Types Reason
echo, echoaround Mob, Obj, Room, Tok Use echoat or questechoat instead
kill, damage, flee Mob Combat commands are mob-only
transfer, teleport Mob Movement commands are mob-only
give, take, junk Mob Inventory manipulation is mob-only
remember, forget Mob Target memory is mob-only
cast Mob Spellcasting is mob-only
force Mob Forcing commands is mob-only
tokengive, tokenremove Mob, Obj, Room, Tok Token management is not in area table

To perform these actions from a quest program, use xcall to call a mob program on an NPC, or use the related quest triggers on mob/obj/room/token entities.

See Also