How to Track when the Party Has or Uses an Item in Solasta COTM Dungeon Maker

 

(Copied from Discord with names erased cause I have no manners.  This is good advice and could now show up on Google to help future searchers.)
How to Track when the Party Has or Uses an Item in Solasta COTM Dungeon Maker

Question:

    First off, I'm sorry for asking simple questions, this is my first dungeon and I try to make things right by doing a bunch of variables that change the lore depicted. Google sadly brings no relevant results.
    I ran into a problem, that I can't figure out how to stick a variable to a certain item, like: Item picked up--> add 1 value --> depict different dialogue later on. Do I have to run a hidden quest, which allows me to choose the validator "Own Items" to update it or am I missing an option?

    Can you change an NPC that you can talk to just attack you after the dialogue? Right now I kill them and replace them with a hostile NPC, but you can't do that on the same spot and it looks goofy in my opinion.

    I also haven't been able to change elevation, as I'd like to have an upper floor. I have played other maps that had at least some kind of elevation, but I can't figure out how to do it. Any help would be appreciated 🙂


YYYYY:
    1. No, you are not missing anything. Hidden quest with Own Item validator that sets a variable, which is checked later on.
    As an extra immersion, you can use Use Item instead of Own Item if your object is readable (book, note, crafting recipe). This will trigger variable change not on item pickup, but on its use / read.
    2. You can do that on the same spot using Cervando's trick. Check out the video tutorial by SirMadness (pinned in this channel).
    3. Depends on the tileset. Town Interior has partly and fully elevated rooms; Sewers and Catacombs have rooms where part of the floor is lowered. Woodland and possibly Swamp have props that create elevation points (esp. the former - you can build a whole castle with walkable walls and towers, for example).
 
ZZZZZZ:
    I will add to (above) post that if you use the "on item used" situation, think to clearly mention it in your quest step so that player can have the hint into it's diary. Too often players struggles with "what should I do now ?!" (you also have to actually read the book that you just took...) concidere that players are not in our sickcreatorsmind.
 
 XXXXX:   
    Thanks, but as I said it just changes dialogue and characters reaction to lore expositions (imagine you now know the name of a god or not. If you don't, you call it "a god" and if you do, you call it by name), so it really is just flavor for people that are actually interested in my lore. I like to reward players interested in something with that exact thing 😅
    
DDDDDD:    
    * Yes you need Hidden Quests to track picking up and using items
    * NPC attacks are.. strange.. not really something to use, I "Creature Destroy" on them and replace with Enemies
    * only some maps have different elevations, and using platforms stacked on different elevated spots help make more elevation changes
 
BBBBBB:
    A way to avoid having a million hidden quests for activators like the one above is you can put them all in one hidden quest. Have it auto start, have step one automatically complete, and then split it off into as many quest steps from there. Each quest step can be another hidden activator like that "use item" or "own item" which changes a variable. That way you aren't cluttering your campaign with a hundred hidden quests