---
key: mechanic/role-playing-systems--t058
type: mechanic
id: role-playing-systems--t058
lang: en
title: 'Quests, contracts and consequences'
summary: >-
  A quest defines a commitment and completion conditions, while consequences
  preserve differences between solutions.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/role-playing-systems--t058/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/role-playing-systems--t058.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/role-playing-systems--t058.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Role-playing systems
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-3817d420df0baa92
  - source-b36b38ceb4ac23e1
sources:
  - id: source-3817d420df0baa92
    title: 'Robert Nystrom: State'
    url: >-
      https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-b36b38ceb4ac23e1
    title: Borderlands 2
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations:
  - type: uses
    direction: outgoing
    label: Sources in the selection
    key: resource/state-pattern
    title: 'State: Game Programming Patterns'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern'
    jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json'
    markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md'
placements:
  - catalogId: role-playing-systems
    id: t058
    title: Role-playing systems
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/role-playing-systems/#t058'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Quests, contracts and consequences'
    description: >-
      A quest defines a commitment and completion conditions, while consequences
      preserve differences between solutions.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/borderlands2-mission-log-manual.webp
      width: 499
      height: 281
      game: Borderlands 2
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/'
      originalUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/#page=11'
      credit: >-
        Gearbox Software / 2K; screenshot extracted from official PC manual, PDF
        page 11
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Screenshot supplied in the
        official guide; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: The log shows a mission objective and reward
      alt: The log shows a mission objective and reward
      markers:
        - x: 31
          'y': 34
          label: Mission completion condition
        - x: 31
          'y': 80
          label: Reward for completion
    tips:
      - 'Distinguish meeting objectives, turning in a quest and claiming rewards.'
    examples:
      - title: Borderlands 2
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/role-playing-systems
---
# Quests, contracts and consequences

id: role-playing-systems--t058
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/role-playing-systems--t058
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/role-playing-systems--t058/

A quest defines a commitment and completion conditions, while consequences preserve differences between solutions.

## At a glance

![The log shows a mission objective and reward](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/borderlands2-mission-log-manual.webp)

[Borderlands 2](https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Screenshot supplied in the official guide; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Mission completion condition
2. Reward for completion

- Distinguish meeting objectives, turning in a quest and claiming rewards.

- [Borderlands 2](https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/)

## How it works

A quest defines a commitment and completion conditions, while consequences preserve differences between solutions.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t058-variants"></a>

- Alternatives allow completing an objective without combat. <a id="t058-v1"></a>
- A deadline changes the situation after a delay. <a id="t058-v2"></a>
- Conflicting jobs force a commitment choice. <a id="t058-v3"></a>
- Consequences change the world after payment. <a id="t058-v4"></a>

## Design example

Medicine can reach the paying client or be given to a sick village encountered on the route.

Prototype check: Test quest completion after an important NPC dies and when the required item is obtained before acceptance.

## Context and limits

Role-playing systems connect character identity, party composition, equipment and consequential choices. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials

- Sources in the selection: [State: Game Programming Patterns](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern) (key: resource/state-pattern)

## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Robert Nystrom: State](https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown) (id: source-3817d420df0baa92)
- [Borderlands 2](https://store.steampowered.com/manual/49520/) (id: source-b36b38ceb4ac23e1)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors