Earn EXP, IRL.

Hello, adventurers, and good news! Your dev team have finally returned after months of wandering in the icy wastelands of Gross Overcommitment, and we come bearing a new feature. Introducing En Masse Task Creation!

Many of you have said that it would be great if you could add multiple tasks quest at once. This has always been possible on the quest creation screen, but there wasn’t a way to do it once the quest was in your Quest Log, or to mass add tasks that weren’t part of any quest. No more! Now you can create many tasks all in one fell swoop, either as part of a quest or on their own.

(And remember, you can set a default skill and a default attribute to all tasks created within a specific quest by visiting its quest management page!)

Oooh, an interesting question! Here's what your Dev Team thinks:

Dev #1 says, "Well-Being (did it for themselves); Wanderlust (did something new); Artistry (customized their person); Prevailing (That HURT)!" 

Dev#2 says, "I would probably go with Well-Being, Fancypantsamancy, or maybe even Fannishness! And for attribute, I would DEFINITELY pick Bravery!"

Hello, adventurers! Dev#2 here, with some small bits of news regarding class tiers, the Hero’s Handbook, Twitter, &etc.

The class tier revamp is officially finished! We added three new tiers per class, and changed the math so that the tier structure extends from Lv. 0 all the way to Lv. 100! We’ve got exciting plans for what happens AFTER Lv. 100, so stay tuned.

We’ve nearly finished a revamp of the Hero’s Handbook. It’s not quite done, but you can check it out here.

Adventurers who follow us over on Twitter will already know that we’ve been posting a semi-daily FLASH CHALLENGE over there, just to keep all y’all on your toes. We’re planning to start posting these challenges here on Tumblr, also!

Speaking of Challenges, eagle-eyed (owl-eyed?) observers will note that we’ve changed the Raz Challenge to no longer adhere to a set timeline. Instead, there is now a “featured” challenge, as well as an archive of past challenges. It’s not a huge change, but we figured we’d tell you about it anyway.

We do have a few feature updates in the works, but Dev#1 is currently working full time, teaching two classes, volunteering, and moving house, while Dev#2 recently threw off the shackles of her Corporate Employer and is now frantically trying to find herself a new job, so our Quest Logs are a bit full at the moment. As always, if you need to get ahold of us, Twitter or email are your two best bets! Hopefully, the crazy should die down soon.

We are currently in the process of slightly altering the class tier system. The revamped system will:

extend from levels 0 through 100 (whereas the current system only goes from 0 to 50)

feature EIGHT rad tiers per class instead of five

incorporate an exciting NEW FEATURE for adventurers who reach level 101+

be 100% more awesome

Now, the change in the system means that your current class tier is most likely going to change. In fact, you may very well find yourself back at a tier you thought you’d already passed. We get that this might be a bummer for some, but take heart! You can, and you WILL, make your way back up to the tier from which you were displaced, and you will then continue to go on and ascend the dizzying heights of tiers even more spectacular! We believe in you.

What are the words of power that inspire you as your ride out to face a challenge? What word or phrase best solidifies your own inner strength? What can you say to remind yourself that you have what it takes to face whatever monsters your quest might throw at you?

Basically, what is your BATTLE CRY? This week, Raz challenges you to find out.

A good battle cry is: + Short. Ideally one sentence, or even just one word. + Memorable. + Personally meaningful. + Easy to imbue with righteous determination and productive fury!

Now, your battle cry is a deeply personal thing. One adventurer’s “TONIGHT WE DINE IN HELL” is another adventurer’s “FLUFFY PUPPIES AND KITTENS!” Only you can decide what phrase best buoys you up and reminds you of your own strength and capability! Here are a few suggestions to help you find your own words of power:

“{Positive affirmation of your own ability!”}

Example: “YEAH GIRL, YOU GOT THIS!”

Example: “I AM STRONG AND CAPABLE AND AWESOME!”

“{Definitive statement}!"

Example: “I’M GONNA DO THE THING!”

Example: “IT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN.”

“{Inspiring phrase from an ancient or foreign language}!”

Example: “AD ASTRAAAAAAAA!”

Example: “ALLEZ CUISINEEEEEEEEE!”

“{Phrase drawn from fiction that activates your own strength}!”

Example: “IN THE NAME OF THE MOON!”

Example: “KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAA”

“For {somebody or something that reminds you why you fight}!”

Example: “FOR FRODO!”

Example: “FOR MY FAMILY!”

“{Made-up word conveying conviction and strength}!”

Example: “SLKJ;ADSFJAKSDLF;ASD!!!” (Okay, we’re not sure how you’d pronounce this one, but again, your battle cry is a deeply personal thing!)

Any adventurer worth her salt knows that proper preparation is the key to a successful quest. Did Alethea the Blue set out to defeat the Villainous Slurge without a plan, or a carefully packed adventurer’s kit? NO SHE DID NOT. Because Alethea understood the importance of preparation.

That’s why this week's Raz Challenge is to BE PREPARED FOR ADVENTURE! Of course, since adventure can take all kinds of forms, preparing for an adventure can ALSO take all kinds of forms. Here are some suggestions.

Stretch! Your sword-arm won’t thank you for neglecting basic warm-up stretches when you’re charging into battle! Getting your body ready to MOVE can be a great way to get your blood flowing and get you into adventure-mode. Find a set of stretches that work for your body, and try to work them into your pre-adventure routine.

If your battle is a non-physical one, you can still stretch your brain! For example, if your task is to slay a calculus test, you’ll probably want to stretch your math-muscles by studying and doing practice problems. If your task is to make a scary phone call, “warm up” by making less-scary phone calls to build your confidence. For the purposes of this challenge, “stretching” is whatever will get you prepared to face your task!

Hydrate! No, seriously. Drink water. It’s good for you.

Stock your adventurer’s kit! Take some time to think about what this adventure is going to require of you. Will you be out in the wilderness? Will you be braving the urban jungle? Will you be facing down the terrifying gauntlet of a university campus during finals week? Equip yourself accordingly! Some possible suggestions include:

Energizing snacks. (KEY.)

Spare pencils and pens.

Directions.

Tissues.

Enough change for bus fare.

Painkillers.

A good book.

A mini sewing kit. (This item has saved D#2’s bacon more times than she would care to admit.)

Pick appropriate theme music. Many an adventure has been lost or won on the strength of the playlist accompanying it. D#2 frequently rocks this Songza playlist and also the [Bastion soundtrack].(http://supergiantgames.bandcamp.com/)

Make a plan! Visualize the task ahead of you, and the steps you’ll need to take to complete that task. How will you get there? What will you need? Who else will be there? What skills or attributes will you use? Be thorough: doing this will help you figure out if there are any other resources you might be able to call on to help you in your quest.

Chances are pretty good that right at this VERY MOMENT, are avoiding doing a task—big or small—because you think it’s going to be difficult and scary.

Maybe it will be—some tasks are. But you need to do it. The longer you put it off, the MORE difficult and scary it’s going to seem. But in reality, the hobgoblin is generally the same size as it was to begin with, which you’ll realize once you venture forth to do battle against it.

This week, Raz challenges you to screw your courage to the sticking place and do the scary thing.

When in doubt, break the scary thing down into smaller steps. A lot of the time, you don’t have to do everything at once: set out to accomplish just one step today.

Get help from your party. You don’t have to do the scary thing alone: your friends are with you, and often times they can lend their assistance, even if it’s just cheering you on!

Remember; the harder the task, the more EXP you earn by completing it! No matter the SIZE of the task itself, you get to decide how difficult it was for you. Even the smallest thing can sometimes be a boss battle.

The astute adventurer will realize that, in the Quest Log, alphabetical order reigns supreme. While this can be useful for overall organization, it can also be frustrating when you have a series of tasks that need to be completed in order, but are scattered all over your quest log by the whims of the alphabet.

But until we get a fully re-orderable quest log up and running (it’s in the works, we promise!), alphabetical order is secretly your GREATEST ALLY. Because, although it might not SEEM like it, alphabetical order actually gives you a great deal of control about where tasks appear in your Quest Log. Here are a few tips and tricks you can use to take your Quest Log organization to the next level!

(NOTE: all of the tricks I’m going to talk about in this post work for tasks, quests, and odysseys. For the sake of brevity, rather than typing tasks/quests/odysseys every time, I’m just going to say “tasks.” Cool? Cool.)

To make tasks appear in a specific order, just add numbers in front of them! BUT if your list is going to have more than nine tasks, make sure you number like this: 01, 02, 03… 10, 11, 12, &etc. This will keep your list in the order you want it. Click here to see an example of good numbering versus troubled numbering.

To bump a task to the very top of your quest log, add a space before the task name. You won’t be able to SEE the space, but it will affect the alphabetical hierarchy. The more spaces you add, the higher up in the hierarchy you bump the task: tasks with five spaces will appear above tasks with four spaces, which will appear above tasks with three spaces, and so on. Here's an example of using spaces to organize your Quest Log.

Another method for bumping a task up in the quest log is to use a symbol before the task name. The more symbols, the higher up the list a task will appear. Note: different symbols have different places in the alphabetical hierarchy, as seen in the graphic below. Also, beware of ^ and _ (underscore), because these symbols will actually bump your task to the BOTTOM of the quest log! For a somewhat ridiculously comprehensive look at how symbols can help you organize your tasks, click here.

Tasks that are unaffiliated with any quest or odyssey will ALWAYS appear at the very top of the quest log. If you want to keep something RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, keeping the task unaffiliated might be your best option. You can always go back and add it to a quest later on.

Good questions, adventurer! 

1. 'Epic battles' refers to the little adventurous happenings that pop up every so often. A reminder: if you have ideas for potential adventurous happenings, you can submit them to us and we'll totally add them to the site!

2. 'Gold' is something that we PLAN to add at a later date, once we've made more improvements to the site's functionality as a to-do list. (Re-orderable tasks, WE'RE COMING FOR YOU.) 

3. As it stands currently, the only thing that can be COMPLETED is a task. Quests and odysseys can be marked as "inactive" via the "status" dropdown menu on the quest/odyssey management page.

NEW BLOG POST! It takes gold to run a website: or, Challenge Accepted's Financial Health & Wellness

Hey all! D#2 here to talk a little bit about a thrilling subject: Challenge Accepted’s finances! (I planned to have this post finished around our first birthday back in early December, but then… the holidays happened. /o/ SORRY.) My goal with this post is…

We've added a new feature! Introducing default skills/attributes for quests and odysseys.

You can now set default skills/attributes for any quest or odyssey, via the quest/odyssey management page. These skills/attributes will apply to all tasks in a given quest/odyssey!

…That’s a lot of forward slashes. To sum up: the quest and odyssey…

This week’s challenge is deceptively simple. So simple, in fact, that we’re not even providing you with any resources and suggestions for completing it. That’s because this week’s challenge is intensely personal. It’s going to mean something completely different to every adventurer who undertakes it.

This week, Raz challenges you to finish something.

There is a task, or even a quest, that you are on the cusp of completing. Maybe it’s something very small that you’ve just been putting off completing. Maybe it’s something big that requires one last push. Or maybe it’s something you haven’t even started, for whatever reason—a lack of deadline, fear of the unknown—that’s just sitting there in your Quest Log, waiting.

Finish it. Break it down into simple steps, and finish it. Put aside your excuses*, and finish it. You can do this. You WILL do this. And when it’s done, the trumpets will sound your triumph!

(*Note: “excuses” are different than “reasons”. If you haven’t finished building that grandfather clock you’ve been working on because you have a broken arm, maybe pick something different to finish for this week’s challenge.)

What are you going to finish this week? Share your quests on Twitter or Facebook!