Questing in Cradle is not about crossing off items on a to do list, but embarking on a journey to discover lost secrets or overcome momentous odds. Rather than having a “quest log”, in Cradle you have a journal of information that keeps track of your progress on your various adventures.
Your main quest, to save yourself from the Wrath of Ostia and restore Aderyn’s lost lands, is only part of your adventure in Cradle. Additional quests are given by the guides or survivors of the Soulfire Crisis, acting as calls to action, not tasks on a to do list. Furthermore, for many “quests” in Cradle, the quest giver will be the world itself or items discovered rather than an NPC. From treasure maps and diagrams of catacombs long forgotten, to lost scrolls detailing battles from a time past, Cradle gives the player vital clues about the world, and leaves it up to them to explore and solve mysteries. In Cradle, you’ll never have to collect 15 boar skins or kill 25 beetles. This is an adventure for you to discover and explore, not a list of chores.
Imagine coming to an old library at the heart of the Bayou. As you explore the recesses of that forgotten place, you come across a scroll that tells of a great weaponsmith who lived high in the cliffs of the Quarry, with a clue as to the location of his forge. The description of the location along with its context is then recorded in your Journal, for you to refer to in the future. Sometime later you may journey to this place, and discover that this smith had once forged a weapon of great power, specific to your class, located somewhere in the lowlands of the Quarry.