Let's get the ball rolling on this by starting to lay down all the rules. First up is the main feature of the game, the Quests. These appear in the Battlegrounds app as you unlock them, populating the entire D&D universe for you, and you get to choose between any of the ones that you've unlocked (though sometimes the Quest is mandatory, more on which below). Completed Quests will show as such on your maps, and if the Cult Games crew can figure out a way to store chat logs of the game sessions during which you beat them, we'll store those in your Battlegrounds app save file, so you'll have a complete history of your moment-to-moment adventures in the universe, perhaps even with links to the streamed video content of everything that transpired.
The Quests come in eight flavors of roughly increasing scarcity and difficulty.
TRAVEL QUESTSWhen traveling via the Battlegrounds app from one location on the map to another, your group's trip will have a chance of being blocked by a Travel Quest, the chance of which depends on the length of the trip, and the percentages of which will be visible to you in the app while you're making your choice, so you can make an informed choice depending on circumstances and the various destinations that are open to you. Travel Quests are short adventures pulled from the countless ones published in D&D magazines like
Dragon and
Dungeon. You will have to deal with the Quest, in one way or another, in order to proceed. Running away is an option only if you've tried your best and been defeated, and are running for your life, which will be determined at the discretion of the DM, at which point the "Run" option will appear in the app for you. As long as it doesn't appear, you are expected to press on with the Quest, and will not be allowed to leave the area in which it's taking place before that.
ADVENTURE QUESTSThese are the main Quests of Battlegrounds, consisting of all the officially published D&D adventures. These will appear in the app as long as you are in the vicinity of which they take place, and as long as your party meets the recommended power level to tackle them. Once you've picked one, and arrived at it (which trip might involve a Travel Quest if the app determines so), you are locked into it until its conclusion, whatever that may be, at the DM's discretion. It will usually be obvious when the Quest has been completed, but in case it isn't you can always check the app, and see if the Quest has a checkmark next to it, and if the map has been unlocked for travel.
TRANSITION QUESTSTransition Quests are Adventure Quests triggered specifically when traveling between settings. There are three ways to travel between settings, the three Transitional settings: the Planescape setting, the Spelljammer setting, and the Ravenloft setting, each with its own rules for setting travel (to be elaborated elsewhere). You will not be allowed to jump between settings for free, using e.g. Planescape like an elevator or Spelljammer like a taxi service; every time you want to switch settings you will have to go through a Transition Quest. First, the "Switch Setting" option will have to show up for you in the app, which has a certain percentage of happening every time you clear an Adventure Quest successfully (i.e. not running away from it). The percentage rises as the combined group level rises, so that the more powerful the group, the greater the chances that the Switch Setting option will appear for them in the app, with all the math being visible to you. Once you activate the Switch Setting command, the app rolls to determine which of the three transitional settings will be used (with unequal percentages, with the most likely Transition setting being Planescape, then Ravenloft, and finally Spelljammer). Once the Transition setting has been determined, the DM picks an Adventure Quest from that setting appropriate for your group's power level, and activates it, at which point it will show in the app with its cover and description. At the end of the adventure you are in the Transition setting, and will have to navigate it according to its rules in order to reach your destination setting, with whatever Travel Quests that might imply. You can also opt to stay in the Transition setting for as long as you desire, and pursue further Adventure Quests there, unless you've already activated a higher-priority quest like e.g. a Versus Quest, in which case you will be locked into whatever sequence of Quests is the shortest route to get you there.
VERSUS QUESTSThese are Quests set up as rivalries between competing groups of players. Every time you successfully complete an Adventure Quest, the app rolls a Versus Roll to determine if a Versus Quest will become available to you; the higher your group combined level, the higher the chance that this will occur, with all the math visible to you once more. When your roll is successful, the app will show you a list of all competing groups in the entire D&D universe who are of roughly equal combined level to you (within a 20% margin) or above, with a number next to each group that is the group's combined levels. At that point, you can pick a group to attack, at which point the Versus Quest is activated, with its detailed resolution rules described elsewhere. If the roll is successful, but no rival group is available that's roughly equal to your group's combined level or above, the app will show the roll as having failed. You can also decline to attack a group, in which case the Versus Quest will disappear until your next successful Versus Roll.
VERSUS ADVENTURE QUESTSWhen two groups unknowingly activate the same Adventure Quest at the same time, they are thrown in the adventure simultaneously, and must compete for its conclusion. The DM will modify the adventure to introduce a competitive element to it; if for example, the adventure is about clearing out the haunted ruins of a castle, perhaps the mayor of the town will offer a large prize to the group that clears it first, or induct its members as officers in the town's military, which can lead to strategic-level ramifications and so on later in the campaign. Whatever it is, the prize to be fought over will be very valuable, on top of whatever spoils the adventure already contains. Since the groups will likely not activate the adventure at the exact same time, and one of them will likely already be in the midst of it when the other steps in, the DM will adjust the adventure in such a way for the newcomers' entrance to make sense plotwise. The DM will also make sure that the challenge is balanced for both groups, aiding the weaker group if necessary with such aids that roughly equalize the power levels. If, for example, one group has a combined level of 20, and the other 25, the weaker group will receive more favorable treatment from the NPCs populating the adventure, up to and including some of them joining up with them, and less aggression from the villains. Both groups will be made aware of the Versus Adventure Quest as soon as it is activated in the app. Both groups will be locked into it until it is resolved, not necessarily with one group being wiped out, but with the Adventure Quest being completed. At that point, the groups might decided to continue their rivalry for as long as they want, or pursue other Adventure Quests in the area, and drift apart.
REVENGE QUESTSIf at least one character from your group is killed by a rival attacking group in a Versus Quest, a Revenge Quest option will appear in the app as long as any surviving team members of that character exist in your group, or if the dead character is resurrected. This applies only to the defending group, the attacking group that initiated the Versus Quest does not get such an option no matter how many of its members were killed by your group. The Revenge Quest option remains visible in the app even as you clear other Quests, continually tracking the rival group's combined power level for you, though not its location in the universe, and you can activate it at any time in which no other Quest is active. Once you've activated it, Versus Quest mechanics take over to guide you to your prey, effectively condemning attacking groups into living the rest of their lives with a mark on their backs, not knowing when the next act in the ongoing vendetta will unfold. On the other hand, if they kill everyone, they won't have to worry about revenge.
EPIC QUESTSEpic Quests are Adventure Quests consisting of the greatest epic sagas ever published for the D&D universe, such as the Forgotten Realms Bloodstone Saga, or Dark Sun
Dragon's Crown. These appear in the app for you immediately after you've defeated another group, even if the saga is way above your level, though not if it is significantly below it. Unlocked Epic Quests remain visible in the app even as you pursue other Quests, and can be activated at any time you're not engaged in a Quest, unless your group's combined level exceeds 20% of the Epic Quest's recommended level, at which point the option disappears.
CO-OP QUESTSThere are a few epic D&D adventures that, instead of requiring the typical 4-6 player characters, require larger numbers of characters up to 8, and these are the Co-op Quests. They will appear in the app after successful completion of an Epic Quest, and will stay visible there according to the same rules by which Epic Quests remain visible. On activation, the app gives you a list of all groups in the universe with their combined levels, and you can choose to message them via the app to team up for the Co-op quest, with both groups being locked into whatever sequence of Quests is required to get them to the starting location. If the invited group is wiped in the process, you can choose to message another group. If the initiating group is wiped, the Co-op Quest disappears also for the invited group.