Also, this quest, despite being about RATS, shows a picture of a spider.  When choosing to battle the rats in the crypt, you actually battle a spider instead of a rat.

you only get one chance on quests.

Interesting...whenever I get that quest I never ended up fighting the rats...it just says I took care of them and I proceeded to turn in the quest.  It has been this way ever since WoM.  Did they change this quest in 0.914?

i just got that quest too... i think it's bugged now.

Its random.  sometimes you get to clear out the place without a battle and complete a quest and sometimes there is a spider you have to fight.

I would like to change the quests so that losing them doesn't fail the quest.  But as is they are working as designed.

When you fail the monster is released on the main map.  I kinda like that.  Also I love that it is random as to whether you fight the spider or not.

Maybe replacing the Spider with a R.O.U.S. would keep the Quest more in keeping with it's original intent.

hahahaha

Yesterday I released a Slag (sp?) by failing a quest. It took out one of my cities and generally wrecked havoc

yeah i'm not buying the kill a rat quest, fight a spider, reward is rat guts thing.  let's either fight rats or make it a kill a spider quest.

The other day I did this quest and instead of rats, or a spider, Richard Simmons jumped out of a cake. I shook my head and cursed Derek. True story.

I played a game a couple of weeks ago where I got a quest to kill a named bandit. I ended up killing the named baddie but lost my army in the process to the remaining goons. Apparently, that counted as a failure.