UESPWiki:Style Guide/Quest Layout

This page describes UESP's guidelines for the layout/organization of articles that describe quests.

Note, however, that these are just general guidelines. Many quests have unique characteristics that require special treatment, especially in terms of the specifics of how to handle the detailed walkthrough.

Overview

This shows the overall structure of a quest page.

<!-- The "Trail" entry creates the breadcrumb trail and page categories.  "Main Quest" should be replaced by whichever quest category is appropriate for this quest. -->
<!-- Remove the <nowiki></nowiki> tags around the following line.  They are included on this page only to prevent this sample page from showing up in the quests category. -->
<nowiki>
{{Trail|Quests|Main Quest}}
</nowiki>

{{Quest Header
|Giver=        <!-- The name of the NPC to whom you must talk to start the quest -->
|Reward=       <!-- The reward for completing the quest -->
|Prev=         <!-- Link to the previous quest (if quest is part of a series of quests, such as the Main Quest) -->
|Next=         <!-- Link to the next quest (if quest is part of a series of quests, such as the Main Quest) -->
|Loc=          <!-- Primary location(s) that must be visited for the quest -->
|Image=none        <!-- Image to display in the quest header -->
|ImgDesc=      <!-- Description (caption) to display beneath the quest image -->
|Icon=         <!-- Icon used for this quest -->
|description=  <!-- A one-phrase description of the quest -->

}}

==Quick Walkthrough==
# Steps on how to complete the quest
# With as few spoilers as possible
# Should go here as a numerical list
# For very simple quests (e.g. Go here and kill so-and-so), this section may be omitted.

==Detailed Walkthrough==
In paragraph form, you should explain exactly how to complete the quest. When necessary, use
===Subheadings===, and other wiki-formatting to organize the quest; additional images may also
be included.  Spoilers should be included in the detailed walkthrough as necessary (and do not
need to be hidden in any way).

==Notes==
* Extra notes about the quest.
* Should be a bulleted list.
* Notes should only be used for information that does not belong anywhere in the walkthrough.
* Omit this section if there are no notes.

==Bugs==
* Information about any bugs specific to this quest
* Should be in a separate section to enable direct links from other pages (such as the general glitches page)
* Omit this section if there are no bugs.

<!-- For series quests (such as the Main Quest) the quest footer template is used. -->
{{Quest Footer
|Prev=         <!-- Link to the previous quest (if quest is part of a series of quests, such as the Main Quest) -->
|Next=         <!-- Link to the next quest (if quest is part of a series of quests, such as the Main Quest) -->
|Up=           <!-- Link to the main page for this series of quests -->
}}

Specifics

This is preliminary information This page is in the progress of being rewritten and expanded, in part in followup to from previous discussions on the Community Portal. If you have any comments, please contribute to the talk page discussion.

Quest Header

Uses the {{Quest Header}} template. See the template page for a complete list of parameters.

Quick Walkthrough

The quick walkthrough should be a sequential list (each line should start with '#' to create an auto-generated number) summarizing the steps that must be done to complete the quest. It should provide an overview of what needs to be done during the quest, without revealing how to solve puzzles or other similar spoilers.

Detailed Walkthrough

This is the main section of the quest page, and should explain exactly how to complete the quest in paragraph form. Most walkthroughs will contain multiple sub-sections (each created with a level-three header, e.g. ===Subsection===). Additional images are generally part of the walkthrough. Spoilers should be included in the detailed walkthrough as necessary (and do not need to be hidden in any way).

The quest walkthrough should focus on quest-specific information: what the quest objectives are and how to complete those objectives. It should not try to provide comprehensive information on all locations visited during the quest page. Each of those places should have pages that provide separate place-specific walkthroughs (see Place Layout).

Suggestions and guidelines for what specific information should be covered in the detailed walkthrough are:

• Quest Choices. Any time you are given alternatives for how to proceed with the quest, the walkthrough should specify what the alternatives are, any conditions that need to be met to get the alternative (e.g., required disposition), and the consequences of each choice.

• Dialogue. Key quest-related dialogue should be quoted as part of the walkthrough. In particular, if there is information from an in-game dialogue that would otherwise need to be paraphrased as part of the walkthrough, it is generally preferable to quote the dialogue instead of paraphrasing it. However, the walkthrough should not attempt to include every piece of dialogue that you hear during the quest.

• Treasure. The quest walkthrough should not provide information on every piece of loot that you may collect while going through a dungeon -- the place page is where that type of comprehensive information should be provided. Instead, the quest walkthrough should only describe any "notable" treasure. That typically includes:
  • Quest-specific items (required to complete the quest, or rewards for the quest)
  • Unique items that cannot be obtained anywhere else in the game
  • Skill books
  • Extremely rare items (e.g., Daedra Hearts, Flawless Rubies, Pearls)
  • Boss chests

Bugs

The bugs section of the page should always be titled "Bugs" (for consistency, so other articles can reliably link to the bugs section). It should include information on all quest-specific bugs, in particular bugs that may prevent you from starting or completing the quest.

Layout Tips

• You can learn more on how to use the quest header on its template page.
  • The quest header is made up of optional parameters: only those parameters that are needed for the current quest need to be included. See the template page for a complete list of the available parameters.
• Similarly, you can learn more about how to use the quest footer on its template page.
• Looking at existing quest pages can be useful, for example, Oblivion:The Path of Dawn or Morrowind:Ahemmusa Nerevarine.
  • Existing quest pages generally include a "Journal Pages" or "Quest Stages" section. These sections have been generated by scripts that can read the game data files, and do not need to be manually created.
• You can use 3-tier (===Example===) headers to separate content on the "Detailed Walkthrough" section.
• The quest footer should only by used with series quests. (Ex: Dark Brotherhood, Main Quest, etc.)
• When in doubt, an experienced member can be contacted to help you. Asking someone on their talk page or looking for help on the Discord server will help you greatly.