User:Pulseczar1

"The hardcore mode of Minecraft!"

What is Totemquest?
Goals in Minecraft are mostly created by the player; Minecraft is a sandbox game. Totemquest provides the player with a sophisticated goal and gameplay ruleset. It involves a lot of risk and has a high degree of replayability. The theme of Totemquest is hunting and gathering. You are a Nomad. Your final goal is building an awe-inspiring Totem, made up of material gathered along your quest.

From the author, Falcord: "My point when designing Totemquest was doing my best to keep alive the sense of survival and thrill that dies so easily in 'normal' survival mode as soon as you build a shelter. While Totemquest doesn't focus in creativity as you're unable to build things, it still makes use of the amazing depth of Minecraft in many other aspects. Also, I try to offer replayability in the shape of a choice at end-game. In this mode, players have the choice to finish the game preemptively when they fulfill the basic objectives or keep on playing and going for harder secondary achievements. The score, as you will see, can be kept in the shape of a beautiful souvenir =P."

What do I need to play Totemquest?
Totemquest can be played with just the original Minecraft Beta client, although Falcord advises using Cryect's Handheld Torch Light mod. "Due to the nomadic nature of the challenge, having a portable light source will make it possible to travel by night more comfortably."

How many people can play?
That is up to the player(s). Totemquest can be played solo or in teams. An ideal Totemquest group would be between 2 and 5 people.

What is the objective of the game?
In Totemquest, you play as a Nomad. You and your team are subject to a set of restrictions -- such as not being able to build structures (aside from the Totem) -- and special rules regarding gathering materials and items. Constantly on the move, you must travel across the map gathering certain, very specific, materials in order to build a Totem.

Building the Totem is the ultimate objective of the game. When you build it, the game of Totemquest ends, and you've won. This doesn't mean you must build it right away, though. The quality of your Totem dictates your score, as detailed under Scoring and Achievements. Since Totemquest is quite challenging, you might want to gather the strictly-necessary materials to build a basic Totem and secure your victory, but more experienced players will aim for a spectacular Totem, and surpass your score.

The Rules

 * 1) Totemquest may be played in Easy, Normal, or Hard difficulty. Peaceful mode is not allowed.
 * 2) Totemquest may be played with any mods the player wants to use. However, to apply for the Hall of Fame, Falcord will take into consideration mods that substantially change the difficulty of the game.
 * 3) Totemquest must be started on a newly-created world for the purpose of a new Totemquest game. Worlds already explored or modified are not suitable for Totemquest.

Gameplay Restrictions

 * 1) A Nomad must never place any object or block that constitutes an obstacle (unless it is part of the Totem). This includes any cubic-shaped block, as well as fences, doors, stairs or any tangible items. Items such as ladders, torches or redstone wires, which don't constitute an obstacle, are permitted. Boats and minecarts are allowed as long as they're not exploited to constitute a barrier. Planting trees is allowed. The use of buckets and the generation of blocks through the properties of fluids is also allowed. There are three exceptions to this rule:
 * 2) Furnaces and workbenches may be placed only in direct substitution of another block (you must break a natural block and immediately after place the furnace or workbench in its place). Only one furnace and workbench may be in your line-of-sight at once.
 * 3) TNT may be placed in direct substitution of another block for combat or exploration purposes, but only immediately after removing the block that occupied its space.
 * 4) A Nomad may only build a Totem once, following the Totem-building rules, detailed below. Then, the game is over.
 * 5) A Nomad may not spend more than one night under any given shelter. If a Nomad gets disoriented and reaches a previously-visited area, he/she must immediately abandon it until finding new horizons.
 * 6) A Nomad may not gather any precious material (coal, iron, gold, diamond, redstone, and any added to Minecraft) that wasn't directly visible before his/her intervention. This means, for example, that only ores that are visible at the surface in caves can be gathered (although the full vein may be extracted as long as one piece of ore was visible). This rule ensures that Nomads aren't allowed to use any mining techniques and must find their ores through pure exploration.

End of Game
If your entire team dies, the game is over: You lose. You are given only one life in Totemquest. A dead member of the team may not again participate in the current game. So be very careful!

In order to win in Totemquest, the team must build a Totem. The materials making up the final Totem are directly translated into score. The rules for building a Totem are as follows:


 * 1) The Totem must be a completely vertical structure with the width (northward and eastward) of one block. No Totem blocks may lie next to each other on the horizontal plane (no branches). The Totem must not contain any gaps. No Nomad may stand on top of the Totem at any time while building it, as to not dishonour the Totemic spirits. The Totem must be built from the bottom up -- never from top to bottom.
 * 2) The Totem must be built in one sitting. Placing some materials, gathering more and then coming back to perfect it is NOT permitted. Once Nomads start to build a Totem, they forfeit any chance of gathering more materials, although they're allowed to defend themselves and to illuminate the area while building.
 * 3) A Totem must have exactly one of each of the Divine Blocks. A Totem lacking any of the Divine Blocks will make the spirits furious and invalidate the Totem. The Divine Blocks are:
 * Cactus
 * Clay
 * Obsidian
 * Mossy Cobblestone
 * Pumpkin
 * 1) A Totem must not have two or more blocks of the same material. Every block must be visually different for a Totem to be valid.
 * 2) You're still subject to the building restrictions when building a Totem, aside from placing actual pieces of the Totem. So it's NOT permitted to create a structure (via placement) to stand on while building the Totem. You must find a suitable place that allows you to achieve the desired height.

Scoring and Achievements
A Totem is worth more the higher it is. So your base score is equal to your Totem's height in blocks. That means that a 12-block-tall Totem will have a base score of 12, as long as the Totem is valid.

Then, special Achievements worth extra points are applied:


 * Bling!: The Totem has a full gold block. +3 points
 * Pretty!: The Totem has a full diamond block. +5 points
 * Spiritual Conquest: The Totem sits on top of a mob spawner. +15 points
 * Cunning like the Devil: The Totem has a lightstone block (it is doable within the rules). +15 points
 * Goddamn Algorithms: The Totem crosses the cloud height level. +15 points
 * Innocence: You take a screenshot showing a neutral creature on top of your Totem. +10 points
 * Corruption: You take a screenshot showing a hostile creature on top of your Totem. +20 points
 * What are the odds of this?: You take a screenshot showing a slime on top of your Totem. +30 points