Switching Sims mid-quest to multi-task skill development

[Theo]

Is there a way to switch Sims mid-quest or must I wait till the start of the next quest? I don't want to switch Sims for quest purposes but while one hero is busy, I'd like to develop another Sim's skills.

[Joria]

Good question but why would you want to do this?  Have you tried going into map mode and seeing if you can pull up the quest menu again?  That might be a way to do it but you also might just lose what you were already working on.

[Theo]

Good question but why would you want to do this?  Have you tried going into map mode and seeing if you can pull up the quest menu again?  That might be a way to do it but you also might just lose what you were already working on.

I will try your suggestion.

Here is an example. My wizard is on a quest. To develop her skills she needs to research. Research takes an hour per episode so if I queue two research sessions back to back, I have a couple of game hours that I could develop the skills of another hero. The king could spare or pass edicts, the knight could train, spare, or patrol. When the research is almost finished I could then switch to the wizard and continue the quest line.

I hope that clarifies my goal.

Thank you for your suggestion.

[Titus]

I don't think you can change your sims during a quest

[Joria]

Ok, now I see what you want to do but I don't think it's possible unless you are playing a two or more person quest.  Some quests do have more than one person so you then can set one to doing a task and focus on another, but if your wizard is your only character you're stuck with toughing out the research.

[Ricalynn]

I think you're thinking more Sims and less TSM with that question.   Pretty much the moment you decide who is on the quest that is the only person you're going to get to interact with until the quest is complete.  I would suggest speed 3 and checking the forums! 

[HtFde]

Well, there are a few quests where you have control of more than one hero - I had one where my magician and my spy were in it together (getting rid of an evil magician) and one where my priest and my healer were after the body of a fatally sock person. Those were the only quests where I could "level" two of my heroes - since some quests require a level 5+ hero I think in my next game I shall pay more attention to those "more than one hero" quests.

[Carl]

You can cancel quests on the Kingdom screen, but can't multitask unless those Heroes are involved at the outset. I'm wondering if your Heroes keep all experience and money gained when you do this, which could make the game a little easy. Sometimes those exploits can be game-breakers.

(Later) Nah.. you still lose the QP for doing that. Good.

[Ricalynn]

I'm fairly certain you lose the quest points.  Probably keep the xp and money but for some kingdom ambitions losing the QP could mean you don't reach your ultimate goal.

[Carl]

Yeah, it's for sure. I did a couple of them and lost the QP in my test file. But if you want to multi-task, you'll have to watch for Quests with Secondary Hero. I don't know of any with a third Hero just yet.

(later) Oh yes, the Supporting Role will allow for a third Hero. That's a good deal of juggling to do. I'd watch for that type for various reasons, particularly a Kingdom Ambition involving income or Hero level. Afraid picking those types of quests are your only option.

[Theo]

Thank you for the help and advice.

I have started the two hero quest, Cutting Edge, with my blacksmith as the primary hero and my peteran priest as the supporting hero. I understand now what was said about swapping between heroes. I find working with two hero sufficiently challenging that I am not going to hurry to any of the 3+ hero quests.

As for loosing quest points, can it be avoided by saving a "check point" backup while in kingdom mode before selecting the next quest? Hopefully a simple restore to the "check point" save file will effectively drop the quest without loosing the quest points.

[Ricalynn]

Yes you can go back to before you spent the QP but you also would lose all xp/gear/money/levels that you earned after you had taken the quest

[Deborah]

I'm fairly certain you lose the quest points.  Probably keep the xp and money but for some kingdom ambitions losing the QP could mean you don't reach your ultimate goal.

When we quit a quest, we are warned that we will lose all progress. That I imagine includes experience and money. I guess someone is going to have to test it 

Idit: I guess Ricalynn has already tested it.