Before I get into any data I have from my attempts on this, I'm going to include links to places this particular quest has been discussed in the forums before. If anyone finds one I missed, feel free to point it out and I'll update this post.
Post from 2013 in Quest Discussion
Post from 2014 in Tech Support
The quest's wiki entry
Glade Keeper's Pants (the reward) (note: the reward is most likely expable as the rest of the set is)
The druid NPC that starts the escort portion of this quest is in the far back section of Warrens (very close to the Stonebrunt Mtn zoneline from back on EQ). The first time I tried the quest, after telling the NPC I was ready (with a group of 20 mnk/20 dru/18-19 bard, after having invised to the quest npc), he ran off at top speed (seemed faster than sow) and died to a pile of mobs a few rooms away. After more than an hour (possibly 2 or so), we gave up waiting and left for the night. When next I was able to try again (tonight), it was just my two characters (monk and druid), but the zone had been killed by a level 65. I started the escort and managed to make it through the first ambush...then the respawns started. The quest NPC was red to me and able to walk by all of the respawning mobs in the room between the first and second ambush spots with no incident. The same could not be said of my duo, but while I got jumped I was able to see what happened with the NPC. When the second ambush began, all of the kobolds (I think just kobolds, not the bats) in the room chain agro'd one after another until they were all (at least the ones that weren't already beating on me) beating on her (yes, the druid changes sex between spawns apparently...at least this one didn't run like a bat out of hell to their death, just casually strolled LOL). The NPC died quickly again with 10-20 mobs beating on her.
So, good news I guess? It isn't the 'entire zone' as suggested in previous posts, however chain agro of things that previously didn't agro via proximity which still gets the NPC dead but changes the circumstances.
I admit to intentionally posting this here (instead of Quest Discussion) because I'm curious on the broader topic of risk vs reward from so-called 'newbie quests' here on SoD. My human monk's entire outfit was done by lvl 10 and is all expable armor (Windwoven armor...not indicated as expable on the wiki, but you can clearly see levels on the pieces in Tonbarry's fomelo linked in my sig...even though even fomelo has the stats wrong on some of the pieces). My druid's newbie tunic is listed as needing lvl 30 to complete and even has a recommended level of 30 on it...isn't that when Starfall quests are supposed to be getting done?
Post from 2013 in Quest Discussion
Post from 2014 in Tech Support
The quest's wiki entry
Glade Keeper's Pants (the reward) (note: the reward is most likely expable as the rest of the set is)
The druid NPC that starts the escort portion of this quest is in the far back section of Warrens (very close to the Stonebrunt Mtn zoneline from back on EQ). The first time I tried the quest, after telling the NPC I was ready (with a group of 20 mnk/20 dru/18-19 bard, after having invised to the quest npc), he ran off at top speed (seemed faster than sow) and died to a pile of mobs a few rooms away. After more than an hour (possibly 2 or so), we gave up waiting and left for the night. When next I was able to try again (tonight), it was just my two characters (monk and druid), but the zone had been killed by a level 65. I started the escort and managed to make it through the first ambush...then the respawns started. The quest NPC was red to me and able to walk by all of the respawning mobs in the room between the first and second ambush spots with no incident. The same could not be said of my duo, but while I got jumped I was able to see what happened with the NPC. When the second ambush began, all of the kobolds (I think just kobolds, not the bats) in the room chain agro'd one after another until they were all (at least the ones that weren't already beating on me) beating on her (yes, the druid changes sex between spawns apparently...at least this one didn't run like a bat out of hell to their death, just casually strolled LOL). The NPC died quickly again with 10-20 mobs beating on her.
So, good news I guess? It isn't the 'entire zone' as suggested in previous posts, however chain agro of things that previously didn't agro via proximity which still gets the NPC dead but changes the circumstances.
I admit to intentionally posting this here (instead of Quest Discussion) because I'm curious on the broader topic of risk vs reward from so-called 'newbie quests' here on SoD. My human monk's entire outfit was done by lvl 10 and is all expable armor (Windwoven armor...not indicated as expable on the wiki, but you can clearly see levels on the pieces in Tonbarry's fomelo linked in my sig...even though even fomelo has the stats wrong on some of the pieces). My druid's newbie tunic is listed as needing lvl 30 to complete and even has a recommended level of 30 on it...isn't that when Starfall quests are supposed to be getting done?