by Jeff Woleslagle on Aug 16, 2005
So, you're fresh off the boat from the Isle of Refuge. Things on the Isle were pretty straightforward; an introduction to questing, plenty of goblins to slay, even a bit of tradeskilling too. But now, now you've decided to pledge your allegiance to the Overlord, and things are feeling a little unfriendly around Freeport. No worries, this guide is here to help you on your way.
First of all, your race determines what "racial village" you'll land in when you step off the boat:
Big Bend - Ogres & Trolls Stonestair Byway - Kerra & Erudites Temple Street - Ratonga & Gnomes Beggar's Court - Half-Elves & Humans Longshadow Alley - Dark Elves Scale Yard - Barbarians & IksarOnce you step off the boat, you'll see one or more racial mentors. These quests have replaced the original citizenship and the majority of the running around quests that used to be in the game. These will provide some money as well as get you acquainted with your new home.
I know there's a certain allure to spending virtual money, but in your early days, you simply won't have much to spend. My advice: don't upgrade much at all until you hit tenth level. The reason: most fighters and some scouts get an armor and weapon skill upgrade at level 10, and its worth saving for. Mages and priests might want to look at buying an apprentice 2 (from the village scribe on your map) of their favored nukes, pets, and heals, but upgrading spells just for the sake of upgrading is a good way to run through your coin quickly. Food and drink don't become very important until the early teens too, so you can certainly use what you quest for while adventuring and save the coin for later. Also, keep in mind that a good many of the low level villiage quests are meant to provide you with most of what you will need. The rates of spell drops have increased as well, and with the tradeskill changes in effect, spell upgrades are cheaper than ever if you go through the broker. Money isn't as scarce as it once was, although still not exactly sparkling in the streets.
Your first unofficial lesson starts now, learn to use the mariner's bell! It's the fastest way to get around Freeport. It should appear on your map quite clearly, and if you go there you'll see two different bells: one for "Travel Within Freeport " and one for "Travel Outside of Freeport" (which includes the Commonlands, Sunken City, and The Ruins.). The only pertinent zones you cannot reach with the bells are the Graveyard (whose landlocked entances are in Stonestair Byway, Longshadow Alley, and through the Sunken City), the Sprawl (can be entered through Big Bend and the Ruins), and Thieves' Way (which can be reached from any sewer grate).
The best way to get started is to go through the whole of your racial quest. You'll then be sent on to secondary zones to further your education and make your name in Freeport. Before heading off to the second level of quests, make sure you run through each of the villages and pick up the quests there. The major quests (ones which don't involved a lot of zoning about for no good reason) are still there and have a lot of mobs in common. You can make progress on a few at once as you go along.
The ugly thing about the city-adventure zones is that there's no auto-map provided. I've included some notes about the zones themselves however, plus player drawn maps that will help you find your way around. One other introductory note, on harvesting: take the time to keep your harvesting skills up, no matter where you go! In the endgame, harvesting is a great way to earn a lot of money (your rare finds can also be crafted into great equipment).
I've also provided some quests for each of the city adventure zones. I've not included the quests you'll find in the adventure zones themselves nor quests that require you to be level 10 or higher; this is essentially a "shopping list" for your first run around the village zones.
Don't stress out over these quests, by any means. Most of the mobs are readily found as the zones are fairly small, but if you can't find a mob, skip it. You can always delete these quests if you outgrow them, or come back later when the mobs are trivial to you to touch up your quest journal.
The Ruins (map): These quests are available for the Ruins, a zone which is reached through the Stonestair Byway. This zone in particular seems quest update-rich.
Ruins Quests (found in villages) Starting Zone Starting NPC Easy Acceptance Stonestair Byway Lirosi Funny Rat Smashing Big Bend Muzmog Jezrina's Prophecy Stonestair Byway Jezrina Preventative Maintenance Scale Yard Verin Ithelz Rori's Back Stonestair Byway Rori Silenced Speech Longshadow Alley Captain L'Nek Special Perfume Longshadow Alley Zelina T'Von Tasty Tears of the Thralls Scale Yard Dyerth Shiraz The Contest Stonestair Byway Lirosi To Spite a Darkleaf Beggar's Court Mariana Darkleaf Vleko's Plan Temple Street Merchant VlekoThese quests are available for The Spawl (map here):
Sprawl Quests (found in villages) Starting Zone Starting NPC ...Let Me Count the Ways Stonestair Byway Tobial An Errand For The Queen Beggar's Court Tullia Donma Dwarven Payback Big Bend Dwarven Slave Frizi's Stolen Book Temple Street Scribe Frizi Figglesnip Slaying the Giants Scale Yard Colin Stoutfist Sorio's Giantslayer Problem Big Bend Captain Sorio The Nyghtfallow Heirloom Beggar's Court Tsuul Nyghtfallow Verin's New Thralls Scale Yard Verin Ithelz Teeth For Sparzit Temple Street SparzitThese quests for the Graveyard (map here).
Graveyard Quests (found in villages) Starting Zone Starting NPC Are You There, Tom It's Me Pona Stonestair Byway Pona Bring Out Your Souls Scale Yard Zekvila Dizelle Free Wares For Silentblade Beggar's Court Arms Dealer Silentblade Improving the Design Temple Street Sparzit CogsnibleThese quests for Thieves' Way (map here). The sewers are a good place to group, but a nasty place to solo. If you're like me and get lost easily, save these quests until you're level 10 or so.
Thieves Way Quests (found in villages) Starting Zone Starting NPC A Shady Clearing Longshadow Alley Imnat D'Vren Ending the Fury Scale Yard Dunn Coldbrow Keys For Sempronia Temple Street Banker Sempronia Gallus Vermin Reduction Big Bend Ratcatcher Zarbt Netherot Name Calling Temple Street Armsdealer ShinskaAnd finally, here's the kill quests for Sunken City (map) found throughout the villages.
Sunken City Quests (found in villages) Starting Zone Starting NPC 99 Bottles of Beer in my Hand Beggar's Court Festus Septimus Dead Man's Eyes Longshadow Alley Divek L'Narr Exotic Soup Longshadow Alley Tilzak N'Lim Icebrew's Secret Recipe Scale Yard Bartender Icebrew Joining the Gang Beggar's Court Manius Galla Skins for Skagga Big Bend Merchant Skagga Taking it Out on The Raiders Longshadow Alley Maliz T'Raan Twergo's Plan Temple Street Merchant Twergo
Now that you're a full fledged Freeport citizen, you'll want to start in on your "class quest" - both to unlock new abilities and to be able to reach level 10! You'll need to first talk to your class trainer:
Fighters: Commander Tychus in the North Freeport Temple of War (on the second level of the city, near the middle of the map) Mages: Arcanist Sonius in the North Freeport Academy of Arcane Science (the southeast part of the zone) Priests: Priest Kelian in the Temple of War (on the second level of the city, near the middle of the map) Scouts: Emissary Millia, on the 2nd floor of the Jade Tiger Inn in North Freeport (in the southern portion of the zone).Good luck! And though you might be tempted to venture out into the Commonlands, remember that the city-adventure zones are a great place to level through the early teens!