Brief meta note: it's getting pretty boring for me to keep saying that I don't remember these quests. Let's just take it as read from here on out that I don't remember any of these, unless I specifically say otherwise, k? It'll save everyone some time.
Observatory Quest starts out with a pretty simple premise: goblins have broken the telescope, and your help is needed to find materials to repair it. We're not being asked for anything too complicated (three planks, a bronze bar, and molten glass), which somewhat begs the question of why the Observatory Assistant couldn't have done this. I mean, I'll grant the premise of the nearby goblins is enough to leave at least one person behind, to guard the telescope against further vandalism, but the goblins aren't even aggressive. It's not like you couldn't spare a man to go fetch these easily-obtainable objects. And it's not like they have any work to do, the damn observatory isn't functional!
But whatever, I need a quest so I'm doing it. So far there's not much to it, although there are two things I like:
- The slightly combative relationship between the Professor and Assistant is an amusing bit of characterization
- The quest introduces the idea of glassblowing, which otherwise isn't very well tutorialized (unless you go to Entrana, but most players have few reasons to go there unless it's for quests)
After the molten glass, things start to get more interesting: I need to get the lens mould from the naughty goblins who have stolen it. The assistant directs me to the dungeon underneath the observatory, but I decide to go chat with the goblins first to see if I can learn anything interesting, but no dice. A couple of somewhat amusing conversations, but nothing more. So I head down into the dungeon (which isn't marked on the map, so it took me a minute to find the entrance; not great design).
Oh dear. This doesn't look like very much fun. Luckily the enemies aren't aggressive, so I start exploring the dungeon. I spent a fair bit of time down here, so I'll condense my story a bit:
- There's what appear to be two goblin housewives down here gossiping, and nobody draws attention to it. I actually kind of love that little story element
- I found the kitchen with the sleeping guard in front of it. I poked him, he attacked me, and I killed him, but the door was locked anyway so I've got to find a key
- First four chests I come across contain poisonous spiders, which is just peachy
- I find the stairs up to the observatory proper, which doesn't help me tremendously at present
- Three more spider chests, and one with a dose of antipoison. I'm sure that was very helpful in the pre-EOC era, but now that I've got Regenerate the poison damage isn't really bothering me
- Finally found the kitchen key! In the last-but-one chest, naturally. Okay, back to the kitchen, and I have to kill the guard agai
At last, I have the lens mould:
Waste not, want not. Okay, I'm finally heading back to the Observatory Professor, I make his lens, and he asks me to come to the Observatory. Alas, I'm back into the dungeon, but at least I know the way this time. A quick astronomy quiz, and I get my reward: an amulet of defence, and a tease at a future quest:
Foreshadowing...does nothing, because this quest was never made.
Seriously, Jagex. We have the Construction skill, we can fix this bridge. It's only been 17 years, there's still time!
Quest complete.
Overall I liked this quest. I actually enjoyed the dungeon part more than I expected to, and in hindsight I wish more of the quest had taken place down there. Though I'm sure that, at the time of release, it would have been a far more harrowing experience for a young noob.
It's also interesting that part of the quest reward is randomized. All of the reward items are easily obtainable in-game, so it's not a big deal that you only get one out of 12 possible rewards, but it does feel like something Jagex could never do anymore; the completionists would revolt. On the one hand that's a shame, because it's an interesting idea, but on the other hand quest rewards are so unique these days, it somewhat makes sense that they wouldn't do it. Times change, I guess