Raising this from the dead like a skeleton?
Patch notes suggest the earliest this quest could have been completed was 14 May, 2003
I can't find any sources to show that "The Skull of Torture" existed on Live servers prior to 9 Oct 2003. I also can not find any thing about it *not* having "Burning Affliction I" as a focus effect or it being a random drop in Kurns.
Edit: Read the other thread Nilbog responded to. I guess regardless of what happens to the quest, the glowing skull should have it's Identify changed and it's NO-RENT status removed.
To put it simply, to complete this quest, you need to combine the following in the 'Hollow Skull' dropped by the 'skeleton cook':
2 Zombie Flesh (unattainable until 9 Oct 2003)
1 Salt Minnow (unattainable until around 11 June 2003)
1 Bone chip
This will yield "Kurn's Jerky Delight"
Combine the following in the "Hollow Skull":
a preserved eyes (left)
a preserved eyes (right)
a dried tongue
Kurn's Jerky Delight
This will yield "a glowing skull" (NO-RENT)
Hand this into the cook to receive the Skull of Torture.
Alternately, at some point after 14 May 2003, you could just loot "a glowing skull" and give it to the cook.
I have not personally checked in game, but it appears that most of the above is unfinishable and implemented correctly, with the exception of:
A Glowing Skull (might be "Glowing Skull") should not be NO-RENT during the Cla-Vel era, it was changed to be NO-RENT around 15 Aug 2003.
A Glowing Skull should identify as "Skull of Torture", not "The Skull of An Undead Cook".
A Glowing Skull should not be able to be turned in to the cook to complete "The Skull of Torture" quest during the Cla-Vel Era. Rendering the quest broken and the reward unattainable.
It's a shame, as I am a low level quest connoisseur. I'd bet that the original plan was for you to complete the skeleton cook quest and turn in the Skull of Torture in order for you to receive your Knight's Khukri.
Alternately, the dev who "fixed" this quest was a bit drunk and accidentally combined the original "glowing skull" (used for the #3 Iksar Khukri quest) with the "A Glowing Skull" outcome of the Hollow Skull combine and stole the name from the ID. IMO, just differentiate the 2 skulls so they can't complete each others quests and add in the salt minnow and zombie flesh. The reward has been on P99 long enough, who's to say it's *not* classic?
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Timeline
24 Apr 2000 - Ruins of Kunark Release
28 Jun 2000 - First mention of “Glowing Skull” - For Khukri Quest
https://web.archive.org/web/20020310....html?quest=71
No mention of NO-RENT Status
3 Oct 2000 - First Mention of the Hollow Skull / Skeletal Cook
https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/...97056550711523
13 Dec 2000 - Glowing Skull noted to ID as “Skull of Torture”
https://web.archive.org/web/20011126...html?item=2874
No mention of NO-RENT Status
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4 Dec 2001 - Shadows of Luclin Release
14 May 2003 - Patch notes specifically mentioning (what appears to be) this quest as fixed.
http://www.tski.co.jp/baldio/patch/20030514.html
Throughout this time, there appears to be a series of fixes slowly being pushed through to live.
11 Jun 2003 - First time Salt Minnows found on Live servers
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/oldu...php?p=493#p493
15 Aug 2003 - First mention of the Glowing Skull being No Rent on the TEST server
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/oldu...php?p=522#p522
10 Sept 2003 - First Mention of The Skull of Torture - Added to Magelo the day before
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/oldu...php?p=404#p404
This looks to be completed by turning in a looted glowing skull on the test server.
This Skull of Torture has a focus effect on it.
14 Sept 2003 - Mention that “The no-rent skull is now on live servers”
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/oldu...php?p=410#p410
Possible that the quest was complete-able here with the new glowing skull going live.
9 Oct 2003 - Zombie Flesh is attainable and what looks to be the first few completions of the combination turn-in on live.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/oldu...php?p=450#p450
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/oldu...php?p=453#p453
https://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/...06579829579519
9 Mar 2004 - A Glowing Skull noted to ID as “The Skull Of An Undead Cook”
https://web.archive.org/web/20040926...html?item=2874