Curses and Gifts are modifiers that are linked to you, specifically, rather than the whole server. They are usually things that change *how* a prompt is completed rather than the prompt itself. (Color limitations, using a previously drawn background in a new scene, etc.)

All you have to do is put it into your next submission, and if we see that the requirement has been fulfilled, you'll break the Curse or activate your Gift!

If the moderator doesn't see the requirement, and you want to contest the decision, explain your thought process and we'll be happy to reassess.

EXP is a guild-centered currency, not a measurement of your artistic worth. It's used to track your adventurer's growth within the world of Demorrah, but your own creative growth is something only you can measure. Different levels of completion are doing different work. Through sketches, you can explore form, flow, anatomy, and pure creative storytelling that might be more difficult in a fully rendered piece. Not taking it all the way to the end result does not mean you're not learning from it, and it's not our place to tell you whether you are pushing yourself or playing it too safe.

That said, there are many modifiers that will add or subtract from the EXP you get from any submission. Daily Modifiers, Buffs, Curses, and moments where we can clearly see you've pushed outside your comfort zone can all influence the amount of EXP a submission receives. We can only recognize that growth if we’ve seen your baseline.

It all boils down to this: The more you engage with QUEST, Modifiers, and the creative systems themselves, the more accurately we can reward you. It's never about personality or socializing, or even about churning out HIGH QUALITY(tm) work. While we do offer rubric-based grading so you can measure your own growth, your artistic skill level will never affect your EXP gained.
It's about presence in the system. If EXP matters to you, interacting with the system lets it work for you. If it doesn't, that's fine too, and the tools are here when you want them.

A Quest is the backbone of The Painted Drake’s creative system. It is a narrative art prompt that lets you shape the living world of Demorrah. Completing one earns EXP for your adventurer, and may even cause permanent changes to the worldstate, towns, or events.

Each Quest is formatted with several key parts:

🏷️ The Quest Tag (Mini Image on the Listing Page)
This tells you at a glance:
- Border Color: Reflects urgency.
White = no real impact
Black = critical worldstate risk
Most will fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

- Tassel Count: Shows the Tier (1–4).
Lower tiers = more freedom.
Higher tiers = tighter prompts with more details and less flexibility.

📜 The Full Quest Card Includes:
- Info Box: Top section with the Quest Type and Location
- Description: An in-world request or narrative hook
- Guild Notes: OOC guidance, flavor, or character reactions
- Your Art Challenge: Optional drawing challenges or prompts to help you decide what you're going to draw.
These aren't required, but Quests that use them may be prioritized for canon world effects

- [Type] Challenge: Some Quests include an extra art challenge tied to a secondary Quest Type, often with a bump in EXP
- Bottom Info Box: Shows the tag, again, and the EXP given for completing the quest.

To start, you’ll have access to Tier 1 (T1) Quests. These are designed to give you broad creative freedom while introducing you to the world of Demorrah.

🔼 Want to move up to higher Tiers?
Complete 10 T1 Quests to unlock T2 access
Complete 15 T2 Quests to unlock T3
Complete 5 T3 Quests to unlock T4

At 50 total quests, your adventurer becomes a legend and retires (Tier 5)

🆙 But what if you want to do a higher-tier Quest now?
You have options!

Every week, a Weekly Quest is brought into the Discord.
Anyone can complete it. If you go above your own tier, you get extra EXP!

You can also request an official TPD Grading.
A Mod will assess your work and may bump you up early based on an internally built rubric.
(This doesn’t lock you out of lower Tiers; You can still do T1s forever if you want.)

So how do you choose a Quest?

- Filter by your Tier
- Look at the quest types (Battle, Explore, etc.) to match your mood.
- Check the urgency. If the border is black or the Mirror bells are chiming, that quest could shape the world.

🧭 Still unsure, or not connecting?
Look at the Locations and start there. Find a Location you like, and then see if there are any Quests associated with it.

The Guildmaster prefers to keep a low profile.
She isn’t hiding, and she isn’t trying to be sneaky…
She simply never announces herself.

She is the candles lit before late-night studies, the sound of a quest pinned to the board while everyone else sleeps, the quiet comfort of knowing someone saw your work, even if no one said so.

Her name is Ember.

She carries a bell much like Beep’s and is the one who watches the Mirror of Mourning.
Sometimes, she appears as a passing traveler. Sometimes, she roams Evesta, quietly handing a scale to a new adventurer so they can begin their journey.
She’s always there. Watching. Supporting.
Her love for the Guild is impossible to miss.

But it’s Beep who makes sure everyone knows it.

Everyone has seen Ember at least once…
They just didn’t realize they had.