Quests are the meat and potatoes of Hero-dom in Fable. If you don’t do quests, you’re just a funny-looking man with a whacking great sword. Thankfully, you can barely move a foot in Albion without someone chucking a quest at you—so why not just accept your lot in life and get stuck in?
You’ll encounter three different types of quest during your time as a Hero, each slightly different in scope but all showering you with Gold and significant quantities of Renown. That’s good; you’ll like Renown.
GOLD QUESTS
Gold Quests are required to advance through Fable’s story. You’ll be notified whenever a new Gold Quest is available, and most are accepted at the Map Table in the Heroes’ Guild. Should you have a sudden, pressing, real-life engagement mid-way through play, never fear—Fable Anniversary’s new checkpoint system automatically saves your progress as you move between regions during Gold and Silver Quests. If a quest isn’t currently active, you’re free to save at any time.
SILVER QUESTS
Silver Quests are entirely optional but often bring significant rewards. Check the Map Table at the Heroes’ Guild frequently for new Silver Quests.
BRONZE QUESTS
Bronze Quests are a little different from the others insofar as they’re largely open-ended, ongoing affairs based around item gathering. Bronze Quests won’t earn you a whole lot of money or Renown, but their rewards can still be valuable. Unlike Gold and Silver Quests, Bronze Quests are usually initiated by talking to characters around Albion.
ESCORT MISSIONS
Many quests demand that you bring a civilian along for the ride - and keep him alive for the duration. Given that Albion’s great unwashed rarely show much proficiency with a blade, escort missions can be testing affairs. However, there are a couple of tricks that should make your life easier.
- Learn the Heal Life Spell as early as possible. If used close to your companion, he’ll enjoy a bit of a health top-up, too.
- You can leave and return to certain locations without causing enemies to re-spawn. These areas are an escort’s dream—simply command your charge to “Wait” in the previous zone, then collect them once the path ahead is clear. Unfortunately, you won’t always be so lucky. In locations where enemies reappear on your return, make your charge “Wait” near the entrance and ensure that opponents don’t slip through your wall of whirling blades and Spells.
Boasts
Real Heroes don’t just quest, they quest with finesse. Often, when perusing a quest’s description, you’re given the option to “Take Quest and Boast.” Select it and you’re transported to Lookout Point where a crowd of admirers awaits. Here, you can choose from a list of Boasts—essentially, wagers in which you bet reward money on your ability to complete a quest in a certain way. Boasts range from the mundane to the fearsomely challenging (including some special, quest-specific Boasts), but all pay handsomely in Gold if completed successfully.
No Protection
This boast is a naturist’s dream, demanding you do an entire quest in nothing but your undergarments. Unsurprisingly, No Protection makes the going considerably tougher so it’s best saved for older quests that pose little challenge—unless you’ve always quite fancied the idea of being buried in your grumble-dingers.
Fist Fighter
If you opt for the Fist Fighter Boast, weapons and offensive spells are off-limits. It’s best to reserve this Boast for quests that require little in the way of combat—unless you have a right hook that would shame a pirate.
Without A Scratch
As its name suggests, this Boast requires that you complete a quest without taking any damage. Doing so is no mean feat, but the monetary reward is often significant. Ranged weapons and magic can help you avoid risky close-quarters combat, while the Physical Shield spell is invaluable here.
Rampage, Massacre, Etc.
These Boasts are the domain of Evil characters and mainly involve the wholesale slaughter of innocents. For that reason, Good characters should avoid these at all costs, unless you especially want to see that halo clattering around your ankles.
Guild Seal
You get the Guild Seal once you’ve graduated from the Heroes’ Guild at the start of the game. This mysterious artefact has many uses but primarily enables the Guildmaster to contact you telepathically—either to dish out advice or alert you once a new quest is available. More practically, though, the Guild Seal enables fast-travel around Albion, either dumping you back at the Heroes’ Guild or an active Cullis Gate, if you prefer.