Where Is the Horse Gone?

Priority: 

Stage: 

  • Merged

Development Progress: 

100

Merged into: 

Claim Type: 

Description

This is a misc quest for Old Ebonheart which tries to tap into the idea of an overarching “Last Days of Old Ebonheart” theme that was drafted by gro-Dhal in the old forums. The quest should have its comedic/pompous moments, but the ending should leave a bitter, tragic vibe.

File also depends on Dondril section for the following and should not be merged into OE until sections are merged,
otherwise: mind the cell condition in INFO: 313963941963517317
and preserve the edits in CELL: aanthirin region (7, -20)

Dialogue:

 

 

TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse Where is the Horse Gone?

Hormidac Farralie's horse, Roz, has gone missing from the Old Ebonheart stables. After investigating the player will find out that some Ashlanders have stolen the horse and have already, regrettably, eaten it.

 

Comments

WhereIsTheHorse? NPC :

VarangainBard's picture

WhereIsTheHorse?

NPC : Hormidac Farralie

Greeting 1:

Hail, %PCRace! You haven’t seen a horse around have you?

Greeting 2 (Journal 1):

Have you reconsidered? Will you help me find Roz?

Greeting 3 (Journal 2): Have you talked to Unesa Sadrathi yet? She’s the only one who might know what happened to Roz.

 

seen a horse

My beloved Roz has been missing for three days now! I came to Old Ebonheart following rumors that a grand tourney was to be held here. I arrived on Morndas eve, tired from my journey only to find that the city didn’t even have a proper stables! What they call a tournament here is nothing more than a glorified arena fight, on foot no less! This was no place for a knight such as myself, and for my horse Roz even less so, the poor beast. With no stables, I was forced to leave her among those wretched Guar; disgusting animals! Unesa Sadrathi, the local guar herder assured me that she would be looked after. I should have never trusted that worthless elf! When I returned the next morning I found the Guar pit empty, and Roz missing! Please stranger, will you help me find Roz?

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 1

Seen a horse (Journal 1)

Please stranger, help me find Roz.

Seen a horse (Journal 2)

Have you found Roz? I can’t bear the thought of her being out there all alone.

Roz (Journal 1-5)

Oh, you can’t miss her! She’s a beautiful chestnut mare, mix of a Nibenean courser and a Valusian wild horse, with a tail docked in the Imperial cavalry tradition and crystal blue eyes, and loves carrots and yams! That fetcher Unesa Sadrathi was supposed to take care of her, and now she’s missing!

Unesa Sadrathi (Journal 1)

That’s the Dunmer that was supposed to watch over my darling Roz. I demanded she tell me what he’d done with her, but she just blithered that IT must have escaped when she wasn’t looking. IT! I explained to her that SHE was a trained imperial warhorse, and would stand her ground against an entire Indoril army, let alone a few stinking Guars in a barn! Now the fetcher won’t even talk to me. I need you to get the truth out of her.

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 2

Unesa Sadrathi (Journal 2)

The Dunmer who was supposed to look after Roz. I need you to get the truth out of her.

 

NPC: Unesa Sadrathi

Greeting 1: Standard dunmer greeting

Greeting 2 (Journal >2): Back again? I’ve told you all I know, just leave me alone.

Unesa Sadrathi

Yes, that’s me. What do you want?

Roz (Journal 2, Relationship <65)

Did that s’wit knight send you? I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. The horse must have escaped during the night. It was a stupid thing to bring to Morrowind in the first place. Now leave me alone.

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 3

 

Roz (Journal 2-3, Relationship 65-80)

Fine, you want the truth? The horse was stolen. I was busy buying grain in the market, and when I came back the horse was gone. I have no idea who took it or why. Please, I have nothing more to say on the matter.

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 4

 

Roz (Journal 2-4, Relationship >80)

Sigh. Very well, I’ll admit it. A pair of Ashlanders came by at dusk, with a fat stack of drakes, far more than the knight was offering to watch the damn beast. He’d been so rude to me, and the purse was large enough that I gave in, and sold them the horse. Please, don’t tell Farralie. The Ashlanders’ names are Yavan and Sainat, from the Obainat tribe. Theres still a chance you can find them before… well…

Roz (Journal 5)

I’m sorry about the horse. It was a mistake. Please don’t tell the knight.

Yavan and Sainat

They’re Ashlanders. They’d seen Farralie ride into town on his horse and, well, they’d always been curious about how it tastes. There’s some obscure Ashlander ritual where they believe they’ll absorb a noble animal’s strength by consuming its blood. The ritual takes some time to prepare, though, so theres a chance you’ll catch them before they’ve finished. The Ashlanders are camped out right across the Thirr from old Ebonheart. If you want to bring the horse back alive, you should hurry.

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 5

NPC: Sainat.Hassanibi

Greeting: Talk to Yayan. I’m busy. (force goodbye)

NPC: Yavan Ajurnsar

Greeting: Yes outlander? What is it you want?

Yavan and Sainat

Yes, that’s us.

Roz

Oh, you mean the horse? You’re a bit late. We’ve already started eating the creature. Doesn’t taste anything like guar, even less like alit. Strange beasts they have in the west. As for our deal, we were under the impression your friend the knight had sold it to the Guar herder. Our trade with her was fair and forthright; We suspected no ill doing. If what you say is true, and the herder sold us what wasn’t hers, then take this bow and arrows to the knight with our apologies. We would, however, appreciate it if you did not tell him where we are. Outlanders tend not to be understanding. Or forgiving.

Receive Bonemold bow of the steed (+15 speed cast when used), 25 Bonemold arrows of fire damage

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 6

Roz (Journal 6)

She was a good horse. Full of fire. Very nourishing. May her spirit give us strength.

 

(player goes back to Hormidac Farralie)

NPC: Hormidac Farralie

Greeting (Journal 3-6): Have you found Roz yet? I would give anything to feel her mane again. To hear the rustle of her snout. To see her hooves crush our enemies beneath us as we ride them down. Oh Roz. Please come back to me.

Roz (Journal  6)

She’s… she’s dead? Roz… my sweet Roz…I had a bag of yams waiting for when you came back… How did she die? Who was responsible?

  1. Wild animals
  2. Yavan and Sainat
  3. Unesa, Yavan and Sainat

 

If choice =1:

She… She ran away? Gods, I never should have put her in that filthy hovel. How could I have been so careless, so stupid? All because I wanted to sleep indoors for a night. This is all my fault. I never should have brought her to this forsaken country. Morrowind! Land of adventure! Land of opportunity! My dreams lie buried beneath the bones of my darling Roz. Goodbye, friend. I’m leaving this wasteland for good. Here, take my lance. And my yams. I won’t be needing them anymore.

Receive: Lance of the Fiery Hoof: silver spear, fire enchant

5 Ash Yams.

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 7

 

 

If choice =2:

They… ate her? And tried to apologize? I don’t want their damn bow! They took the only thing in this world that matters to me, all for some savage ritual and their primitive curiosity. I’ll show them pain. I’ll show them what it means to lose everything! Where are they?!
Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse
8

4: refuse

5: give location

 

If choice =3:

They… ate her? And tried to apologize? I don’t want their damn bow! They took the only thing in this world that matters to me, all for some savage ritual and their primitive curiosity. I’ll show them pain. I’ll show them what it means to lose everything! Starting with the fetcher that sold Roz to them! Unesa Sadrathi, you’re a dead woman!

(force goodbye, Hormidac Farralie runs to go kill Unesa)

Greeting (while he’s running): Out of my way! Unesa will die! (force goodbye)

(He kills Unesa)

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 9

Greeting (Journal 9): She got what she deserved. Now tell me, where are Ashlanders who ate my horse?

#(These are the same two options following choice 2)

4: refuse

5: give location

If choice =4

You’re defending them? They’re thieves, they’re murderers! Clearly you are no better. I misjudged you, %PCname. I thought you were my friend. Now get out of here before I kill you.

(-50) relation points

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 10

 

If choice=5

Follow me, %PCname! Those wretches will pay for what they did! For Akatosh and all the Divines! For Roz!

+50 relation points

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 11

 

(He runs to the Ashlander camp, proceeds to fight and kill ashlanders)

Greeting ( Journal 11)

It is done. Now Roz may finally rest in peace.

Roz

You’ve done me a great service. You’ve proven yourself as an agent and a friend. But now, as I stand beside the carcass of my beloved horse, I wonder… What was the purpose of all this? I came to this land seeking glory and adventure. But I’ve found only death, heartbreak, and pain. Roz died for what? That I might win a tournament in a backwoods town in the darkest corner of the empire? I may as well have killed her myself. Goodbye, friend. I’m leaving this wasteland for good. Here, take my lance. And my yams. I won’t be needing them anymore.

Receive: Lance of the Fiery Hoof: silver spear, fire enchant

5 Ash Yams.

Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 12

 

(If Hormidac Farralie dies at any point, Journal_ TR_m4_OE_WhereIsTheHorse 13)

Greeting (Journal 7, 12). Thank you for help finding Roz. I'm taking the next boat out of this god-forsaken land.  

Roz (Journal 7, 12). I don't know how I'll go on without her.

Unesa Sadrathi (Journal > 6)
The fetcher who was supposed to look after Roz. I hope she rots.

Journal 0. Where is the Horse Gone? (Quest name)

Journal 1. A knight named Hormidac Farralie has requested my aid in finding his lost horse

Journal 2. I have agreed to take up the search for the missing horse. I should start by talking to Unesa Sadrathi, the guar herder looking after the horse Farralie thinks she knows more than she lets on.

Journal 3. I have questioned Unesa Sadrathi, but she refuses to say anything. She is clearly hiding something

Journal 4. Unesa Sadrathi has admitted that the Roz was stolen, but she still seems to be holding something back.

Journal 5. Unesa Sadrathi not only saw the horse being stolen, but accepted money from the thieves. She claims that they are Ashlanders called Yavan and Sainat, and are currently camped out across the Tihrr, opposite Old Ebonheart. Apparently they are planning on eating the horse in some sort of Ashlander ritual. I should hurry if I want to stop them.

Journal 6. I was too late. The Ashlanders had already begun eating poor Roz. They were very apologetic, offering a magic bow and arrows to Farralie in consolation. However, they ask that I do not reveal their location, as they fear the knight’s wrath. I should report back to him immediately.

Journal 7. I told Farralie that Roz was eaten by wild animals. He didn’t take it very well, but rewarded me with a magic spear and a bag of yams. He plans to leave Morrowind for good.

Journal 8. I told Farralie that Roz was stolen and eaten by Ashlanders. He demands to know where they are

Journal 9. I told Farralie that Unesa Sadrathi sold Roz to the Ashlanders. Enraged, he sought her out and killed her. Now he demands to know where the Ashlanders are

Journal 10. I refused to tell Farralie where the Ashlanders were camped. He was upset, and angrily told me to leave. I should not expect any reward.

Journal 11. I told Farralie where to find the Ashlanders, and he rushed forth and slayed them. I should talk to him, and see if he’s clamed down.

Journal 12. Farralie’s rage has given way to remorse. He blames himself for Roz’ death. He rewarded me with a magic spear and a bag of yams. He plans to leave Morrowind for good.

Journal 13. Farralie has died in combat while trying to avenge his fallen steed.

 

Notes: I tried to follow the description as best I could. Stuff I omitted:

A lot of the exact wording of Farralie’s quotes. I found it hard to fit into normal dialogue

Unesa talking about how the horse was being erratic and tying her up

Farallie’s war cry as he engages the Ashlanders. I have no idea how to implement this, since its not directed towards the player.

If any of these things are important let me know, I’ll try harder to fit them in.

None of the things you

Rats's picture

None of the things you omitted were important. I think you've done a simply marvelous job here! Ten outta ten.

The use of quotation marks is something I would avoid in NPC dialogue, though, and I would replace all semicolons with a --

Another minor thing is that in the first Journal entry I would call him "a knight named Hormidac Farralie" instead of just "a man". 

Uploaded a WIP file.

Kevaar's picture

Uploaded a WIP file for backup.

Changelog:
File not clean.

All dialogie added, and a spear for a quest reward.

Scripts and a copy of the Knight have also been added in readiness for the scene where he runs off to attack Unesa/the Ashlanders, but I'm having trouble implementing it--NPC AI doesn't happily cross exterior cells. To anyone else who wants to pick this up and tweak things, note that some of the dialogue is currently tied to the copy, instead of the original NPC.

Finished version added, but

Kevaar's picture

Finished version added, but needs some play-testing.

Changelog:
Added scripts which work through copies of the quest NPC.
Some dialogue tweaked to suit scripting arrangments.
Bow for the Ashlanders added.
File CLEAN

Finished and (mostly) play

Kevaar's picture

Finished and (mostly) play-tested.

Changelog:
--stomped misc. bugs
--added a MessageBox and a yell so the knight's disappearing is not so sudden

Tried to playtest but crashed

Rot's picture

Tried to playtest but crashed on using topic "Roz" at the stables,
Looks like an old journal ID, adding a file that uses the existing one.

 

TR_m3_Hormidac Farralie00000000    Old Ebonheart (7,-19)    62424    -151055    585    "greeting 'around have you' comma?"    
TR_m3_Hormidac Farralie00000000    Old Ebonheart (7,-19)    63383    -150689    460    "refers several times to sadrathi as 'fetcher', rather characteristic of morrowind, do P:C or the later games spread it?"    - others consider it local to Morrowind too, should replace with another insult from a fresh Imperial
TR_m3_Hormidac Farralie00000000    Old Ebonheart (7,-19)    62424    -151055    585    "topic 'seen a horse' sounds like it's only used to introduce the other topics, but opportunity for bonus generic comedy lines from the locals" - or additional directions to the thieves if there are any characters on the way  
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi00000000    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    59618    -157112    833    "crashed on first time talked to on topic 'Roz'"   

edit: more betacomments
edit2: finished playing all paths, last fight doesn't work though (and the quest doesn't resolve if the knight dies either)

 

TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi    "first time asking about Roz with normal disposition, she says 'nothing more to say on the matter.' but when asking again immediately says 'Look, I like you, but not enough to tell you that.'"  - it's actually generic info refusal (when another line is available but requires more disposition) so should be fine
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi    "if disposition already high when first asking she spits it out directly. If the intention was that the player should ask twice, the higher disposition entry would need the first one's journal as added condition"

TR_m3_Hormidac Farra000 "can't say anything different to him on any topic after she admits her deal with the ashlanders (but before looking for them), he still says 'need you to get the truth out of her'"    

TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi    "Roz: missing space in 'gave in,and sold'"    
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi    "Roz 'Ashlanders came by at dusk with a fat stack of drakes' - coins are already not the most characteristic barter goods for ashlanders, explicitly imperial coins less so"    
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi    "same entry 'Theres still a chance' There's"  
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi    "same entry 'before...well...' missing spaces"    
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi    "her saying the ashlanders are going to bleed the horse and curious about its taste removes any surprise from the story - in fact the whole idea of 'obscure ashlander ritual' sucks out all the humor out of the situation, where it doesn't do any harm to leave their reasons to the imagination. in any case, advise removing this from her dialogue if only because otherwise the knight's lack of acknowledgement above is even worse - and if told it would be too weird for him to stand there and rely on player instead of running off = having knowledge that the horse's life is in danger makes adding a response both necessary and overly complicated"

TR_Sainat_Hassanibi00000000    Aanthirin Region (1,-20)    8487    -161887    775    "this NPC is floating above a rock, position on land or if already on land remove/reduce Wander radius from his AI"    
TR_Yavan_Ajurnsar00000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    8128    -161206    737    "this NPC is standing in the fire"    
TR_Sainat_Hassanibi00000000    Aanthirin Region (1,-20)    8489    -161889    775    "both need at least _m3 or m4 added in their ID for consistency, or/and something showing the quest they belong to - _q_ , perhaps a quest ID"
TR_Sainat_Hassanibi00000000    Aanthirin Region (1,-20)    8491    -161886    776    "since they have no map ID they may be missing TR NPC scripts too"
TR_DeadRoz00000000    Aanthirin Region (1,-20)    8256    -160949    677    "items like this one should also have more info in their ID, at least _m and _q so they don't float anywhere in the list of IDs"
light_pitfire00    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    8156    -161196    717    "not a unique ID - aren't the camp and the NPCs supposed to be disabled before the quest? or are they created by a script?"    
TR_DeadRoz00000000    Aanthirin Region (1,-20)    8256    -160949    677    "same question on this, did the dead horse already exist?"    

TR_DeadRoz00000000    Aanthirin Region (1,-20)    8256    -160949    677    "is there a reason for this location here rather than the ashlands east of OE? is it because they must be from Obainat camp? logistics, can they cross the thirr right there (not to mention with a reluctant horse) or did they have to go by through Almas thirr and then somehow back north away from their camp? practically, this location means the quest can't be merged in OE section before both OE and this section are finished and in Mainland. Also had to look them up in CS since no directions are given other than 'across the Thirr River, opposite Old Ebonheart' - that's too big an area to simply comb through since they're actually a few cells south-west of what would be the symmetrically opposite point. Should be able to ask NPCs in that area or on the way there - maybe Othras Plantation just north of it or others. ('seen a horse' topic useful here)"    
    
TR_Yavan_Ajurnsar00000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    8122    -161208    737    "is he supposed to be a trainer or is that just a result of NPC copy"    
TR_Yavan_Ajurnsar00000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    8119    -161221    738    "'Outlanders tend not to be understanding.' - words on the kind and tolerant side for an ashlander, though perhaps because apologetic and talking to outlander player"    
TR_Yavan_Ajurnsar00000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    8118    -161224    738    "has Vvardenfell dialogue on 'geographic regions'"    

TR_Q_Heartseeker    "'cast when strike' enchantment doesn't actually work on a bow, right? - same about the ID, should maybe use OE_ and/or make up a quest number following the convention already used in the files qX_..."    
flame arrow    "are flame-enchanted steel-tipped arrows typical of ashlanders? they could instead give bonemold/chitin based or custom ones"  

 

TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi00000001    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    59616    -157096    833    "after coming back, she still has same dialogue on Yavan and Sainat ('bring the horse back alive, you should hurry'). topic Roz is unavailable as it should be"    
TR_m3_Hormidac Farralie00000001    Old Ebonheart (7,-19)    62864    -150894    511    "if option 1, tell him wild animals: he says he's leaving morrowind but isn't disabled when exiting and re-entering cell, nor several days later"

TR_m3_Hormidac Farralie00000001    Old Ebonheart (7,-19)    62903    -150886    505    "if option 2, not mention Unesa and tell him it's ashlanders, then refuse to say where they are: threatens to kill then forces Goodbye. But then his greeting is illogical: 'There is no time for talk! Action, PCName! My beloved horse is in danger!'"    
TR_m3_Hormidac Farralie00000001    Old Ebonheart (7,-19)    62901    -150885    506    "he also lingers forever in this case too. needs a different force-goodbye greeting, maybe with a small ModFight in case repeated"

TR_m3_Hormidac Farralie00000001    Old Ebonheart (7,-19)    62903    -150886    505    "if option 3, tell him about Unesa selling: he is suddenly disabled onscreen. should have at least a screen fade before something like that, but since the stables isn't far it's better to just make him run there"    
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie00000000    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    58974    -156968    743    "if defend Unesa when he attacks her: nothing happens when he dies, no journal update and quest stuck in the log with no conclusion"    
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi00000001    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    59565    -157085    833    "she also still has the same line on 'Yavan and Sainat'"    

TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi00000001    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    59132    -157164    746    "if let him kill Unesa... (takes a couple minutes because he has only 17 skill in spear)"    
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie00000000    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    58868    -156930    745    "... and refuse to tell him where they are, he's brutally disabled again. Should be disabled on cell change + enough distance conditions instead"    
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi00000001    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    59132    -157164    746    "journal 'Enraged, he swears to kill her.' present tense inconsistent with previous sentence"    
TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi00000001    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    59132    -157164    746    "journal 'However, they ask' same issue with tense"    
TR_imp_archer_s00000004    Old Ebonheart (7,-19)    57588    -153945    1747    "good thing this guy doesn't mind the murder"    
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie00000000    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    58868    -156930    745    "his greeting after she's dead isn't given if player contracted a disease on the way back from ashlanders, should be greeting 1 instead of 5+"    

TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie00000000    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    58868    -156930    745    "if tell him where ashlanders are, same brutal disable. Should use a screen fade - not Morrowind's style but they're too far to make the NPC run there in this case, so no better idea"    
TR_Yavan_Ajurnsar00000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    8119    -161231    738    "this one doesn't react while knight is attacking his buddy. add mutual 'Follow' in their AI settings"    
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie200000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    7946    -162196    705    "looks like he's going to die here, with his pitiful spear skill, stats will need tweaking if both are to fight him"    
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie200000000    Roth Roryn (0,-21)    7931    -165039    420    "if help the ashlander kill him when he runs out of arrows, again nothing happens, no journal, no dialogue from them"    
TR_Sainat_Hassanibi00000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    8016    -162152    711    "if by miracle he manages to kill the ashlander, nothing happens. doesn't attack the other one. only greeting 'Justice will be done!' goodbye"
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie200000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    7871    -162170    729    "his Hello AI should also be set to 0 before he leaves to attack anyone"    
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie200000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    7871    -162170    729    "is there a reason why this is a different ID instead of the same NPC? 'Position' function should work well enough to move him here"    
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie200000000    Roth Roryn (0,-20)    7872    -162170    730    "if you kill the remaining ashlander yourself, use topic Roz - again brutal disable. No screen fade needed here, can be disabled on CellChanged + enough distance from player"    
TR_Q_Hormidac_Farralie00000000    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    58868    -156930    745    "quest greeting after ashlanders dead, while not essential this time, is also skipped if player diseased, should be in greeting 1"    

TR_DeadRoz00000000    Aanthirin Region (1,-20)    8256    -160949    677    "they're here on a new game, dead horse included. shouldn't they be disabled before the quest?"   

"Fetcher" is a term used by

Kevaar's picture

"Fetcher" is a term used by all races in Oblivion and beyond, I also think there's some Bosmer who say it in vanilla Morrowind.

Probably not going to add more dialogue to 'seen a horse' at this point, except maybe as directions near that plantation.

Camp does not need to be disabled (vanilla conventions don't do this), but the horse probably should be.

The Ashlanders are positioned where they are as offshoots of Obainat. When I looked around on the other side of the river there wasn't really a place to put them that would make sense (some Indoril landlord would chase them off). And vanilla Morrowind was never one to conveniently put the quest NPCs all in the local region to save the player's feet, so I won't either.

I looked for chitin/bonemold arrows enchanted with fire (or anything, really) and there was none. All enchanted arrows seem to have a steel or silver model; silver arrows were overpowered, and it wasn't worth making special arrows just for this quest when you're also getting a special bow and spear, so not really something I'm going to worry about. Cast on Strike bows is something I forgot about though, will need changing.

Onscreen disable is handled by him giving a Messagebox readout that says he's running off. Him disabling on cell-change but then poofing to be up front of the player (if player goes directly towards the stables), was even weirder, so this is my work around. Screen fade could make it look better, yes. Unfortunately, the stables are in a different exterior cell than where you first find the knight, so there is no easy way to get him to run the entire way.

The knight dying when attacking two Ashlanders is his own problem...lol. Though Ashlanders should probably get their own dialogue if this happens, yes. Same with Unesa. Ashlanders could also probably stand to have their stats lowered.

Player being diseased is also their own problem, imo. I can somehow see the knight being finicky enough to have his RAWR JUSTICE! stopped short by ewww...you've got a disease.

Position--maybe? I'm not sure if it makes a big difference, in the end.

Other bugs are something I have to look at when I have the time...

Editted the file and posted

Kevaar's picture

Editted the file and posted the fixed version.

Changelog:
--corrected all grammar errors pointed out
--removed overt mentions of the ritual
--added Yavan and Sainat to Map 4, as their location would indicate. Also given map4 nolore scripts to suit, which should fix the Vvardenfell dialogue filter errors.
--Yavan being a trainer is apparently a part of his Scout class default settings. Class has been changed to Archer to avoid this.
--disable script added to the horse
--fixed journal entries, greeting orders. Hormidac refusing to talk about anything else was apparently due to a missing journal update.
--added directions to the Ashlanders in the Mundrethi Plantation cell
--added subtle hints to "seen a horse" and "Yavan and Sainat" dialogue about Ashlanders looking for ways to get a horse across the river. Conditioned some of them to pop up during and after the quest, as otherwise I'm not sure if anyone would see them.
--fixed the enchantment for the bow
--gave Hormidac a longsword so he stops derping around when attacking the Ashlanders

Couldn't resolve the knight never disappearing issue. I'm not sure if I got the wrong coding, but the cellchanged snippets are there, they just appear to not be doing anything?

EDIT: Also forgot to add some unique dialogue should Hormidac die, but...later.

Cellchanged: only looking in

Rot's picture

Cellchanged: only looking in notepad but it seems you've placed them in dialogue results? Those are only processed once so the condition will never be met,
CellChanged needs to be in the NPC's local script instead, with journal conditions. Also need to check distance because changing exterior cells counts, and you don't want the npc to go poof while you're walking backwards through a cell border, so should look something like this:

 

if ( GetDisabled )
elseif ( GetJournalIndex ... )
   if ( CellChanged )
      if ( GetDistance, player > ... )
         disable
      endif
   endif
endif

 

--disable script added to the horse

If the NPCs are present before the quest, might as well disable the quest if the ashlander you talk to is dead (I'm usually willing to let player take the blame for breaking quests if they attack peaceful npcs but they're isolated ashlanders, and you're used to those attacking you first...)

Player being diseased is also their own problem, imo.

No, it's a bug, not just illogical. Remember disease/nudity greetings don't actually prevent you from talking to a NPC, they just bypass the greeting you wanted them to have. So you can (in the file I played) come back to the knight with a disease, rat out the stablehand in topic dialogue, then after he's killed her he'll be perfectly willing to stand there and chat about anything (and give outdated topic dialogue) except the greeting that advances the quest. That's why quests can be introduced in greeting 5 but afterwards any greetings that are essential to the progression (like force greetings, greetings with results, or those that introduce new topics) need to be in greeting 1.

Unfortunately, the stables are in a different exterior cell than where you first find the knight, so there is no easy way to get him to run the entire way.

That might not be due to different exterior cells but rather to the npc moving functions being finicky... The assassin in Necrom, Refuge of St. Aralor for instance walks across exterior cells, only the trajectory is divided. OE has rather straight streets so 2-3 steps could be enough?
 

"Fetcher"

As always PT usage is more relevant than that of oblivion/skyrim, though I don't think they'd needed to consider that one before I asked (nor I before noticing it made this character sound not like a foreign knight)

Changelog v3.0 --moved

Kevaar's picture

Changelog v3.0
--moved Ashlanders to east of Dondril and updated their scripts and dialogue accordingly
--removed the horse and instead added bones and a pelt. The pelt may look too obviously like a boar's? Was the only one that I could find that came staked to the ground, though.
--moved applicable dialogue to Greeting 0

Random thought: PC and SHOTN

Rot's picture

Random thought: PC and SHOTN have custom classes that generally shouldn't be used in TR, but this knight might be one of the exceptions (so that it would eventually get P:C's cyrodiil generic dialogue if they add any)

Putting this back up for

Kevaar's picture

Putting this back up for review. I'm getting sick of looking at it, unless it's another quest-breaking bug.

Journal TR_OE_WhereHorseGone

Arvisrend's picture

Journal TR_OE_WhereHorseGone 5 lies twice: First, it claims that Unesa told me where the ashlanders are, which she didn't. Second, the location is wrong -- they are in (10, -21), which is on the road to Dondril (perhaps a better landmark than the Sundered Scar, btw), not on the other side of the Thirr.

I wish Sainat had a non-generic response to "seen a horse".

Sainat answers the "Roz" topic by saying that she "would have sustained us for months". This squares badly with the fact that she is already reduced to bones.

Farralie wants to kill Umesa, but fails at climbing the     ex_de_docks_steps_01    Aanthirin Region (7,-20)    59428    -157026    788. Pathgrid bad? (Ah, the cell has no pathgrid at all!)

Uploaded latest version,

Kevaar's picture

Uploaded latest version, after arvisrend kindly went through and stomped some bugs.

Merging notes: pathgrid needs to be added to Old Ebonheart (especially around the stables--the Knight can't figure out how to get up on the platforms to attack the woman otherwise)

Also, jerky or pieces of horse meat should probably be added around to the Ashlander camp.

New version: https://www

Arvisrend's picture

New version: https://www.dropbox.com/s/w4bkrlue04ln9it/TR_Q_WhereHorseGone-0_0_0_0.ESP?dl=0 

This one is essentially reviewed, except for a few points (see below). I've fixed many little issues, mostly wrong dialogue conditions. On the "seen a horse" dialogue topic I've made some more serious changes:

* The Apothecary response used to be very similar to the Alchemist response; I've replaced it by "You after horseflesh? Afraid you're in the wrong place. Rare enough as they are in Morrowind, you won't find any in Old Ebonheart, as the Imperials are rather repelled by the idea of raising them for slaughter."

* The generic OE response "A horse? In Morrowind? Don't be silly. The natives think them good eating. No wise Breton would risk their horseflesh by bringing one here." has been conditioned to Bretons only (because why "No wise Breton" otherwise?), and I've extended the "good eating" part to "The weather doesn't do them well, and the natives think them good eating".

* Generic Non-Bretons in OE now respond with "This side of the Velothis? Don't think so. Every time so far, either the ash storms did them in, or the locals made a meal of them to spite the outlanders. Old Ebonheart may look like Cyrodiil, but you're still surrounded by Morrowind here."

Use your favorite file comparison tool to see the full changes (here are the before/after dumps: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0dcyldw12r96907/horse-dumps.7z?dl=0 ; "old" is 4.0).

Todo:

- Someone should playtest all major paths through the quest (lie to the knight; only rat out the ashlanders; rat out all three). There's always the danger that something went wrong, and I'm out of time for today. Keep in mind that the fight with Unesa normally doesn't work for want of a pathgrid; use "setpos" to move both NPCs to the same coordinates. [EDIT: Pathgrid has been fixed.]

- Not sure if IDs are up to standards. Things like "TR_Q_Heartseeker" (for a weapon, not a quest) leave me a bit worried about collisions. [EDIT: Rot has fixed these, I think.] On a similar note, I haven't checked whether the greetings have been added in the right points, as I don't know what those are.

- What if I decide to help Unesa or the ashlanders against the knight? The quest ends with stage 14 as it should, but some dialogue for Unesa or the ashlanders might be nice.

- What if a careless player kills the ashlanders before starting the quest?

- Finally, as mentioned in the preceding comment: I don't see visible remains of a mostly uneaten horse near the ashlanders (and there should be; two guys won't eat a horse in a day). This might require TR_Data.

Uploaded new file: - fixed

Rot's picture

Uploaded new file:
- fixed some missing dialogue conditions (nolore/journal)
- fixed bad IDs, edits objects and scripts
- finish/restart so quest isn't stuck in journal if not accepted

Todo list in the above post not addressed and did not test or review the rest, but can confirm that there are bugs remaining (like CellChanged in dialogue results, some journal text is outdated)

I playtested it, twas fun -

The Violet Euphemism's picture

I playtested it, twas fun - but here are some issues (I only skimmed the comments on this page so if any of what I said is said elsewhere then I apologize):

- It appears Farralie is enabled just a ways from the Ashlanders early. Like, the start of the quest early.
- Farralie fights the guar herder just fine, but doesn't fight the Ashlanders.
- It seems after telling Farralie just about anything you want you can come back to the Ashlanders to get infinite bow/arrows.

Everything outside of these issues seem to be working as intended^

Rawr.

New file: https://www.dropbox

Arvisrend's picture

New file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g71tdxd73zdpdzp/TR_Q_WhereHorseGone-2018-06-02...

Changelog:

- Scripts TR_m3_OE_q_MurderousKnight and TR_m3_OE_q_MurderousKnight2 optimized, handling the most frequent situations first and SetDelete'ing the disabled NPCs after the quest is over.

- The instance of Farralie that fights the Ashlanders now has Alarm 0, so he doesn't attack the player if the player fights the ashlanders. (For the sake of completeness, I've also done the same change to the instance that fights Umesa, although I was never able to make this bug happen.) Also, just in case, "StopCombat, Player" and "SetFight, 0" are now executed when the ashlanders are both dead.

- Added responses to "Roz" given when Farralie is dead:

TR_m3_Sainat Hassanibi: "A stupid idea. Thank you for not aiding him, at least."

TR_m3_Yavan Ajurnsar: "Thanks for the help. You could have avoided the whole bloodshed altogether, though, had you followed my advice."

TR_m3_Unesa Sadrathi: "I thought I'd asked you not to tell the twit. What did you expect to happen?"

- You can no longer get infinitely many flame arrows from the Ashlanders by asking "Roz" over and over. (That answer has been conditioned to quest stage < 6.) This addresses one of Violet's bugs. I couldn't reproduce the other two.

- Quest played through a dozen times, with different decisions each time. Not a full guarantee of correctness, but I'm rather convinced.

TODO:

- I haven't checked whether the greetings have been added in the right points, as I don't know what those are.

- What if a careless player kills the ashlanders before starting the quest?

- There should perhaps be more traces of the horse around in the ashlander camp. There are just two ashlanders; they couldn't have devoured the whole horse in a day. Also, maybe scale the T_Glb_Var_SkeletonCattleBone_01 up a bit, or are horse skeleta really that small?

 

You could make the ashlanders

Ragox's picture

You could make the ashlanders not show up until the quest has started. The quest in Fort Ancylis where you help a Khajiit recover an ancient nordic axe has a script like that, so that the axe will only show up after accepting.

Reviewed. This one is good to

Rats's picture

Reviewed. This one is good to go.

Notes/changes:

  • checked the Greetings; they are all appear at the right stages
  • added a ( GetDistance, player ) block the murderous Hormidacs' scripts, so that the player gets a better view of the mayhem he causes
  • made a "horse" skeleton, added pieces of chopped up horse meat and removed the boar skin (looked too much, well, like a boar)
  • Sainat now has less arrows and a Chitin dagger, so he won't back up too far away from the campsite during combat.
  • the two Ashlanders will now defend each other if attacked by the player.
  • the two Ashlanders no longer share the same face.
  • added an ending in case the player has already killed the two Ashlanders.
  • added an ending in case the player murders Unesa Sadrathi.
  • added a couple of new responses for Unesa Sadrathi in the topic "Roz" (was repeating the Journal entry inducing lines earlier); also checks for the player's Speechcraft in addition to the Disposition.
  • Hormidac Farralie now carries a Wooden Heater Shield, which he will also give to the player as a reward for a job well done.