The Voice to Calm Me Down

Priority: 

Stage: 

  • Merged

Development Progress: 

100

Merged into: 

Claim Type: 

Description

In valley south of Sailen lives a healer called Nelyn Fethis. (house/tent and NPC would need creation). Nelyn Fethis furiously attacks anyone who approaches with his staff (The npc would have zero Luck and zero skill in Blunt weapon, so you could stand there indefinitly, minding your own business, while he tries to whack you. Also it would be required that he does not speak, because he’s mute, meaning some scripting work is required).

In Sailen, latest rumors indicate that Nelyn Fethis attacks everyone, but because he's had such terrible luck, he's never harmed anyone. The villagers have made it a habit to bring him food every so often (so the NPC's dwelling and surroundings should have evidence of plates and cups and silverware left.) If a guard is spoken to, they ask the player to bring Nelyn to the attention of the hetman Veradul Delvas. Veradul Delvas says Nelyn is a skilled healer who has helped many in their village and so they wish to help him. He asks the player to use a Calm Humanoid spell on Nelyn so they can speak to him without being attacked.

Once calmed, Nelyn passes the player notes and/or a journal explaining how he lost his voice, littered in curse words and anger about the villagers. A new woman had moved to town that Nelyn had believed was a witch. However, none of the townsfolk believed him, saying he was being paranoid, prejudiced, etc. He became angry enough to confront the woman in public, further making him into a laughing stock when she twisted his accusations to appear innocent. Later that night, the woman came to Nelyn under the guise of making amends, and instead cursed him to take his voice so that he would no longer spout lies about her. When Nelyn tried to get help from the townsfolk, they continued to believe he was just being difficult, some joking that he had yelled at the woman so much he had lost his voice, and Nelyn left the town in a rage.

When returned to, the hetman expresses regret about not dealing with the woma. He then says that in his younger years he used to traffic with Telvanni, and knows of a Telvanni mage who collects voices in little jars (an existing Telvanni NPC/house would need to be retrofitted to fit this). The hetman gives the player directions to this mage.

The Telvanni mage would say she could help and that she has already a certain voice in her mind, but that she needs the player to get some ingredients first. She gives the player a list of what she needs, about ten different “ingredients” of the usual weird things a Telvanni would want. After collecting everything on the list, the Telvanni has to be asked again if she'll make the voice using the ingredients. The Telvanni responds with "What? Are you stupid? This is my grocery list!" but then acedes and gives the player a jar named "Indoril Squeak" She says she used the voice of a famous Indoril theologian, though she forgot the name, because they anyways sound all the same.

(The store of the alchemist could actually have a shelf full of those jars, labeled with interesting names such as, “Seductive Godess”, “Hard Negotiator”, “Lovable Sweetheart”, “Intimidating Dremoralord”,  “Elfis Preslyn”, “Uriel Septim”, “Singing Nightingale”, “Leader Of Men”, “Stuttering Idiot”, “Naging Wife”, “Whimpy Scrib”, “Grunting Alit”, etc.)
 

After that you bring the voice back to Nelyn (some scripting propably needed here, to give Nelyn a "squeaky" Bosmer voice). Nelyn is thankful, and while he still doesn't quite forgive the villagers and chooses to stay away from the town, he agrees to heal any villagers who seek him out. He offers the player his staff as a reward (casts a healing spell or shield/sanctuary on strike perhaps?). When returned to, the hetman also thanks the player and gives them a gold reward.

Comments

Is this good as it is? Some

Ateiggaer's picture

Is this good as is? Some time ago I had intentions to change some things in the story, while also making this proposal a bit more clear to read, instead of those walls of text. Unfortunatly I haven't currently much time at hand and only check the forums from time to time, but let me now if this needs some changing.

Edit: Scratch that, I just saw that you already tidied up the quest, so I guess everthings fine. :P

No, not really, I just

Ateiggaer's picture

No, not really, I just thought the cliffracer snatching his clothes was still somewhat silly, so I wanted to go with something a bit more 'realistic', like an indoril noble woman passing his town searching treatment from a healer. While treating her sprained ankle he boast about his wonderful healing skills. Turns out she's not a noble woman but a witch, so she curses him with a spell that lets him permanently lose his voice. Until he can make the other villagers clear what happend to him she's long gone. But yeah in essence he's still mad at the villagers for letting her escape.

That does make more sense,

Kevaar's picture

That does make more sense, though maybe rather than "let her escape", the townsfolk didn't believe him, and she cursed him partly to keep him from telling them about it. Let me change this..

Quest developers: Please don

Jani's picture

Quest developers: Please don't take this claim if you have any better options. This is one of the easier claims, and it's reserved for showcase purposes.

Added the latest file. All of

randonaut's picture

Added the latest file. All of the issues pointed out in my showcase have been fixed.* As far as I can tell, the quest is complete and functional. However, the following needs to be taken care of before merging:

  1. Exterior dev should probably take a look at Nelyn's shack and/or make a better version. I added the shack and some items necessary for the quest background, but I am not an approved exterior developer and there are probably a lot of mistakes. Cell is "Sacred Lands Region, (37, -19)"
  2. The shack should have an interior, yes? Again, I am not an interior developer so I simply made the door permanently locked. Interior claim should be made for this.
  3. "Tel Muthada, Varden Alvis: Enchanter" -- I moved around some items in this cell to make room for the shelf of bottled voices. Not sure what this means for merging, etc. Also an interior dev should probably look at this.
  4. Need someone to decide if "hetman" is the correct term for the leader of an Indoril village. If not, what should that word be replaced with?

*(I left the door script as is because it works and does what I need it to, even if it's a little unorthodox. Also I don't think you can disable an NPC from within it's own script, so I think it's necessary to use the script on the door. Lmk if I'm completely wrong and I will change it.)

MERGING NOTES: Exterior cell

randonaut's picture

MERGING NOTES:

  1. Exterior cell "Sacred Lands Region, (37, -19)" was modified. A shack for Nelyn was added, as well as some discarded plates and silverware from the villagers who brought Nelyn Fathis food. I should also mention there is probably some floating and bleeding, as I am still learning the ropes of correct object placement.
  2. "Tel Muthada, Varden Alvis: Enchanter" -- This cell needs to be slightly modified in the mainland file. All items that were on the top shelf need to be relocated or removed, to make room for Varden's collection of bottled voices.

Sorry for the time this took

Arvisrend's picture

Sorry for the time this took me. A few first observations:

- There should be a way to start the quest without "latest rumors". The rumors topic is notoriously unreliable and can easily be swamped out by other quests. This can be as easy as adding a Greeting to some (otherwise unused) NPC in Sailen that mentions "Nelyn Fathis the mute".

- People tell me that he lives in the hills south of Sailen, but no one says it's just east of Evos. That sounds like a reasonable landmark to mention.

- This dialogue:

Nelyn Fathis lives in the southern hills. They say he's an old and powerful healer. Very territorial, but he's never hurt anyone. We bring him food sometimes. He is our elder, after all, and we should respect that. I'm sure one of the guards could tell you more.

is a bit on the euphemistic side. If it's as they describe, there is no reason to contact the guards. Mention that he has been getting more and more aggressive.

- TR_m3_Veradul_Delvas has two responses to "Nelyn Fathis" that say "It's good that he is dead.". At least one of these responses can be heard right after mentioning Nelyn's state to Veradul. Clearly, Nelyn is not dead yet at that point; Veradul has only just promised to send out guards against him.

- "But in truth, he was simply so unskilled that his offensive spells had restorative properties." -- or he wasn't as crazy back then and only went mad from solitude and lack of a voice. Better leave the question of his true nature open.

Hey Arvis, all good notes. I

randonaut's picture

Hey Arvis, all good notes. I've gone ahead and implemented everything you suggested. New file is up there with the changes. 

  • Quest can now be started by speaking with the Dunmer lady under the gazebo, just in front of Delvas manor (her name is escaping me right now). She gives this greeting: "Please, give me a moment. I've just returned from Evos, and I had a very frightening encounter with that old lunatic, Nelyn Fathis. I'm quite shaken up about it." which triggers the topic and the quest.
  • Inserted Evos mention into Delvas' directions to find the hut, and to the new NPC greeting.
  • Fixed the euphemistic dialogue, made it clear that he is frightening villagers and becoming more aggressive.
  • Fixed the Delvas "he is dead" response when he isn't dead yet.
  • Retooled the Delvas dialogue to leave Nelyn's true nature unclear.

Thanks! I'll be doing my

Arvisrend's picture

Thanks! I'll be doing my changes now. Changelog:

- Script TR_m3_q_NelynFathis: replaced "=" by "==" in "if ( GetJournalIndex "TR_m3_Sa_TheVoice" = 80 )".

- Journal entry 30: mentioned the hermit's location near Evos.

- Journal entry 10: "The villagers here still respect him and bring him food" -> "Apparently he is still respected by the villagers in Sailen, who keep bringing him food" (keep in mind that journal entries should be from the distant viewpoint of the wandering player rather than of whoever the player was talking to). A few more changes to style.

- Journal entry 20: "One of the guards in Sailen" -> "A guard in Sailen" (just feels more natural to me). Added location of Veradul's manor.

- Occasional stylistic changes to the journal.

- Script TR_m3_q_NelynFathisDoor would startcombat the guards every frame. This is not a good idea. I've moved all the Nelyn- and guards-related functionality from this script to TR_m3_q_NelynFathis; check out the latter script in my file.

- Gave NPC TR_m3_Nelyn_Fathis some clutter (paper, inkwell, quill, basic food).

- One of your poop rocks (Terrain_rocks_WG_01) was doing what poop rocks are best at: caspering.

- Moved a bucket to cover the floating base of the fishing pole. A few more minor float adjustments.

- The voice bottles in Varden's shop are now owned (by "a shady smuggler", so that he doesn't sell them).

- You can now jump over stage 20 by talking to Veradul directly after hearing of Nelyn first.

- "self defense" -> "self-defense".

- Added new stage 150, which is attained by speaking to Veradul at stage 140. This prevents Veradul's dialogue at stage 140 from being repeatable.

- Added post-mortem responses by the general populace and by Sadali Areth.

- Stage 90 is no longer finishing, since you still have to report Nelyn's death to Veradul from here.

- Varden Alvis no longer says "Now be gone" after giving you the voice. He's a trader; he doesn't want the player to "be gone".

TODO:

- Review dialogue starting with "Nelyn Fathis" topic.

- Add responses to Evos inhabitants? (Might need a new empty "Evos" interior cell, just for filtering of dialogue.)

- Stage 110 aftermath. This shouldn't be that hard to do -- add a timer that reminds the player to revisit Sailen after a few days. None of the inhabitants has heard any news from Nelyn, but Veradul tells you that he tried to pay Nelyn a visit and Nelyn was aggressive as before, but now with insult added to injury. He had to kill Nelyn. He thinks that Nelyn must have had some grievance against Sailen.

- Write a rambling note for Nelyn to put in his shack. Should be mostly unreadable but have some semi-coherent curses at the locals who're bringing him food.

New file is up. Took care of

randonaut's picture

New file is up. Took care of everything on your TODO list.

  • Evos inhabitants will mention Nelyn to the player through "latest rumors", prompting a trip to Sailen to look for answers.
  • Stage 110 aftermath implemented.
  • The new note for Nelyn's shack is called TR_m3_Sa_FathisNote2.

--------------- [b] tr_m3_sa

Arvisrend's picture

This is just for myself:

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 0

The Voice to Calm Me Down
QUEST NAME: The Voice to Calm Me Down

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 10

I have been told of a silent hermit named Nelyn Fathis, who lives in the hills south of Sailen. Supposedly, he used to be a great healer, but now attacks anyone who visits him. Apparently he is still respected by the villagers in Sailen, who keep bringing him food, although he never speaks a word. Perhaps I should ask one of the guards about this Fathis character.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 20

A guard in Sailen told me to speak to Veradul Delvas -- the hetman of the town -- about the old hermit. Veradul's manor is at the northwestern end of Sailen.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 30

I have agreed to parlay with Nelyn Fathis. The hetman of Sailen, Veradul Delvas, is concerned for his well-being. I should look for the old man in the hills south of Sailen, east of Evos, and see if he needs help.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 40

I met with Nelyn Fathis. He did not seem able to speak, but he did pass me a note, in which he claimed that his voice was stolen by a witch named Ilmeni. He wants me to get his voice back for him. I should return to Sailen and tell the hetman what I have learned.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 50

Ilmeni died years ago, and it appears she took the location of Nelyn's voice with her to the grave. But Veradul Delvas knows a Telvanni mage who collects bottled voices, and thinks he may be able to supply me with a replacement. His name is Varden Alvis, and I should look for him in Tel Muthada.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 60

Varden Alvis has agreed to give me a voice, but he needs some ingredients first. I must gather three ash yams, five marshmerrow stalks, and two stoneflower petals.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 70

I gave Varden what he asked for, and was given the voice of an Indoril theologian in return. This should restore the hermit's ability to communicate. Time to pay him another visit.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 80

Nethyn Fathis is now speaking with his new voice. However, he is a raving lunatic. The old man speaks only in insults and disturbing threats and has not lost his appetite for violence; he also invokes the name of Mehrunes Dagon. Perhaps there was a good reason his voice was taken from him all those years ago... I should return to Veradul and inform him of what has happened.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 90

Nelyn Fathis attacked me, and I defended myself. The old man is dead.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 100

I told Veradul Delvas that the old hermit carries a dangerous disease, and he paid me for my services. As the disease is supposedly incurable and highly contagious, it is doubtful that the old hermit will receive any more visitors from the village of Sailen.
FINISHED!

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 110

I reported to Veradul Delvas that the old hermit is speaking again; while doing so, I quipped that he has become a learned theologian full of wisdom. Apparently, this got him invited to speak at the Temple of Sailen. The result should be amusing, to say the least. I got paid for my help.
FINISHED!

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 115

Several days have passed since Nelyn Fathis was supposed to have been invited to speak at the temple in Sailen. I should return to the village and see what has transpired.

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 120

I told Veradul Delvas what happened, and described the hermit's insane ramblings in detail. Delvas became deeply offended by the old man's words -- so much so that he decided to execute the man for heresy. Still, he paid for my work, and thanked me for unmasking the "true character" of Nelyn Fathis.
FINISHED!

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 125

It appears Veradul Delvas did attempt to invite Nelyn Fathis to speak at the local temple. However, the mad old hermit was executed for heresy during their encounter. I learned this from Veradul Delvas himself, who was furious about the whole situation and seems very eager for me to leave Sailen.
FINISHED!

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 130

I described Nelyn's insane ramblings to Veradul Delvas. He became deeply offended by the old man's words -- so much so that he would have executed Nelyn Fathis himself, had I not already done so. In the end Delvas paid me for the deed, and thanked me for silencing the old man's heresy.
FINISHED!

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 140

Nelyn Fathis attacked me, and I defended myself. The old man is dead.
FINISHED!

tr_m3_sa_thevoice Stage 150

As expected, Veradul Delvas was dissatisfied to hear of Nelyn's demise.
FINISHED!

Review complete, new version

Arvisrend's picture

Review complete, new version uploaded. Good job, randonaut!

To-do list after merge:

- Add this shack: https://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/claims/nelyns-shack and link it to Nelyn's so-far unlinked shack exterior (search for TR_m3_Q_NelynShackDoor to find it). Remove the script (TR_m3_q_NelynFathisDoor) that blocks the unlinked door (TR_m3_Q_NelynShackDoor).

- Put book TR_m3_q_FathisNote into the shack.

- Don't remove the dirtied latest rumor ("I had a not-so-bright pilgrim in here the other week"); it actually fixes a bad wording.

- Remove the stuff on Varden Alvis's upper shelf (so that they no longer bleed into his bottled voices). It's in cell "Tel Muthada, Varden Alvis: Enchanter".