Andothren Section Characters & Dialog

[immortal_pigs]

For the discussion and brainstorming of Andothren Section Characters & Dialog.

some sample dialog:

[Khajiit Imperial inspector of goods]

Plenty of legal produce enters the docks every day. It's what leaves the docks that's of interest.

This smells a bit... sugary.

[Camonna Tong thug]

It takes guts to set foot in The Rotten Corkbulb as an outlander.

Aversion to loss is a more powerful motivator than the promiss of gain.

[Imperial entrepeneur]

Apples. I miss them so much. Colovian Greens, Skingrad Reds, even the Nibenese Yellows... Everything here is bitter & salt. I want sweet & sour. So here's my plan: introduce apples to Morrowind.

[Disgruntled Old Fart]

They say power corrupts? Oh no, it is age that corrupts. Old age, and the countless disappointments in your fellow mer that take their toll over the years.

Loyalty? Yes, it has a tangible shape. It is round, metallic and shiny. Known synonyms are "septim" and "drake". That's loyalty for you.

[Paranoid wealthy person]

Spies? Are you a spy? Are you a non-spy? Are you not a non-spy? You can't trick me. Nobody can trick me. I know you want something from me. They all do. They want my property. Mine! Well it's not going to happen. Not as long as my name is Tholas Horaren!

Straight to the point, I like that. Though I also like subtlety. But I also like silence. I like a lot of things. Where were we?

[Yeti]

It takes guts to set foot in The Rotten Corkbulb as an outlander.

"It takes guts for an outlander to set foot in The Rotten Corkbulb" would sound more natural.

Here are some new additions:

[Dunmer Catcatcher]

There's nothing much romantic about being a catcatcher in this day and age. Instead of raiding the coastal villages of Elysweyr, we're stuck guarding slave caravans and snarling plantation runaways. Not much glory in corralling tamed beasts.

What little prestige we catcathers have left is preserved in the tales of our forefather's exploits.

[Khajiit slave employed by catcatchers]

Among the Catcatchers of Anothren, there's an old saying: "takes a cat to catch a cat." Better to be the catcher than the one who is caught.

See this slave bracer? Call it a formality. %Name has earned his masters' trust; first as bait for runaway slaves and now as a fellow hunter. Call me a traitor all you want. %Name isn't the one being worked to death in the corkbulb fields, now is he?

[arvisrend]

Aversion to loss is a more powerful motivator than the promiss of gain.

Please. When did you hear a thug speaking like that?

Apples. I miss them so much. Colovian Greens, Skingrad Reds, even the Nibenese Yellows... Everything here is bitter & salt. I want sweet & sour. So here's my plan: introduce apples to Morrowind.

Is salt vs. sour a real dichotomoy? Also, I'd replace the last sentence by some moaning about not enough interest in apples.

They say power corrupts? Oh no, it is age that corrupts. Old age, and the countless disappointments in your fellow mer that take their toll over the years.

Loyalty? Yes, it has a tangible shape. It is round, metallic and shiny. Known synonyms are "septim" and "drake". That's loyalty for you.

Niiice, but maybe use in some story context rather than as random dialogue?

[EJRS]

[Khajiit slave employed by catcatchers]

Among the Catcatchers of Anothren, there's an old saying: "takes a cat to catch a cat." Better to be the catcher than the one who is caught.

See this slave bracer? Call it a formality. %Name has earned his masters' trust; first as bait for runaway slaves and now as a fellow hunter. Call me a traitor all you want. %Name isn't the one being worked to death in the corkbulb fields, now is he?

These are good, but I'd say they would need to be a bit khajiitified.

"Among the X of Y, there's an old saying" feels awkwardly cliche. I would change it to: "The Catcatchers of Andothren say: "takes a cat to catch a cat". %name would rather be the catcher than the one who is caught."

How could the khajiiti difficulty of grasping the concept of property be applied to slaves and stealing other people? I think it could be rather in character for a khajiit catcatcher to run with some sort of "survival of the fittest"-resoning ("survival of the sneakiest"?): if you can steal another khajiit, if it is to your gain, fair game?

"Aversion to loss is a more powerful motivator than the promiss of gain"

I'd agree that this doesn't sound very thuggish. But it does sound very Hlaalu.

[Yeti]

What major characters do we need to plan before we begin NPCing Andothren?

I know we need to determine Tholer Andas, the local councilman's, personality for one. What should the other major players in the city be like?

I like the idea of a decadent Imperial merchant who lives in Andothren, does frequent business with the Hlaalu, and owns and employs Khajiit slaves as housekeepers because, "why not, it's legal and I'm rich." He can represent the highest level of outlander bourgeois in the city.

[Yeti]

I felt inspired the other day, so I did some character brainstorming for Andothren. Here are the results:

Tholer Andas - Male Dunmer Noble - A Council Elector of the Hlaalu Council living in Andothren. Quite wealthy (a shipping magnate, perhaps?) but not untouchable in the political free-for-all that exists in the city, with many other House Peers in Andothren vying for influence. A two-faced opportunist, he sees nothing out of the norm with hosting Imperial dignitaries in one room while speaking with Camonna Tong members in another. He has family members stationed in bureaucratic posts around the city, including down at the docks and at the local Hlaalu Council Hall. Nearby planters who ship their goods through Andothren tend to resent his growing clout.

Ienan Ular - Male Dunmer Drillmaster - Local Camonna Tong kingpin. Very business-like. Personal dislike for outlanders comes from them intruding on his business (Imperial cutters obstruct smuggling on the Inner Sea). Background in smuggling. Runs the local syndicate from behind a desk. He's the kind of boss who orders bodies dumped in the sea while calmly counting the day's take. Stone-cold in person.

Enuane Ular - Female Dunmer Priest - Head priest at the Tribunal Temple. Serious and strict. Sister to Camonna Tong boss, Ienan Ular. Siblings not especially close, but not estranged either. More or less apathetic towards each other. I think it's important to tie the people standing in the Temple to people in the rest of the city in some way. Makes it seem like the Temple is part of the community.

Drilayne Ordran - Female Dunmer Nightblade - Cutthroat Camonna Tong enforcer with a hands-on approach. Trusted by Ienan Ular. Apathetic racist, couldn't care less about outlanders as long as they stay out of her way.

Murio Clavian - Male Imperial Merchant - Decadent outlaner bourgeois. Lives in Andothren. Does frequent business with the Hlaalu, mainly acting as a middleman between them and merchants in Old Ebonheart. Employs Khajiit slaves as housekeepers, mainly because "why not? It's legal here and I can afford them."

Dolam Urovan - Male Dunmer Merchant - A disgruntled old Hlaalu Tradesman. Betrayed and used throughout his life by fellow House members. Might work as an inside source for the player in their Hlaalu questing in the city, teaching them about the backstabbing that goes on. See Immortal Pig's dialogue.

Tholas Horaren - Male Dunmer Noble - Paranoid Hlaalu House Peer. Clings to his wealth after a lifetime struggling to rise above the political fray in the city. Has gone a little stir crazy. Might be doing something that the Hlaalu Council Company doesn't allow members to do (lend money with interest?) Possible quest could have the player uncovering his offences against the House. See Immortal Pig's dialogue.

Tarani Llendo - Female Dunmer Agent - Ranking House Officer working at the local Hlaalu Council Hall. Assigns jobs to low-ranking members. Took advantage of her former business partner, Dolam Urovan, to gain the capital needed to secure her position. Always seeks to benefit herself through her work representing the Hlaalu Council Company.

[arvisrend]

Yeti: I like your characters.

Tholer Andas - Male Dunmer Noble - A Council Elector of the Hlaalu Council living in Andothren. Quite wealthy (a shipping magnate, perhaps?) but not untouchable in the political free-for-all that exists in the city, with many other House Peers in Andothren vying for influence. A two-faced opportunist, he sees nothing out of the norm with hosting Imperial dignitaries in one room while speaking with Camonna Tong members in another. He has family members stationed in bureaucratic posts around the city, including down at the docks and at the local Hlaalu Council Hall. Nearby planters who ship their goods through Andothren tend to resent his growing clout.

Could you elaborate on this political free-for-all, or did you already in another topic? That could be interesting.

Enuane Ular - Female Dunmer Priest - Head priest at the Tribunal Temple. Serious and strict. Sister to Camonna Tong boss, Ienan Ular. Siblings not especially close, but not estranged either. More or less apathetic towards each other. I think it's important to tie the people standing in the Temple to people in the rest of the city in some way. Makes it seem like the Temple is part of the community.

This one is gonna need some well thought-out dialogue. I as a player am interested in how the Dunmer reconcile piety with a life of crime, and I'd expect an NPC like this to share an opinion (given the right topics, on high disposition or via a quest).

Drilayne Ordran - Female Dunmer Nightblade - Cutthroat Camonna Tong enforcer with a hands-on approach. Trusted by Ienan Ular. Apathetic racist, couldn't care less about outlanders as long as they stay out of her way.

Is this really racist by Hlaalu standards? I don't think they could care less about their own folk either.

Murio Clavian - Male Imperial Merchant - Decadent outlaner bourgeois. Lives in Andothren. Does frequent business with the Hlaalu, mainly acting as a middleman between them and merchants in Old Ebonheart. Employs Khajiit slaves as housekeepers, mainly because "why not? It's legal here and I can afford them."

Possible twist: The CT are deliberately keeping him around because his open use of slaves serves their political agenda.

Dolam Urovan - Male Dunmer Merchant - A disgruntled old Hlaalu Tradesman. Betrayed and used throughout his life by fellow House members. Might work as an inside source for the player in their Hlaalu questing in the city, teaching them about the backstabbing that goes on. See Immortal Pig's dialogue.

I'd imagine NPCs like this to be found in other places as well (as hermits, in Temples, maybe even in the IC?). Of course, this is not to say that this one is bad. Generally, any faction questline could use some NPCs which give the player an alternative viewpoint (either impartial or opposing the questgiver, see Percius Mercius). They don't always have to be disgruntled ex-members, but in the Hlaalu case this is the most natural thing.

[Yeti]

Could you elaborate on this political free-for-all, or did you already in another topic? That could be interesting.

Basically, we already have Andothren pegged as the place where Hlaalu players start their rise in House Hlaalu before heading south to tackle the main grit of the Hlaalu questline. This likely means the power brokers in the city shouldn't be as entrenched as in Narsis, for example.

s this really racist by Hlaalu standards? I don't think they could care less about their own folk either.

I suppose she could stand to be a tad bit more racist, though I wanted to highlight that the Camonna Tong in Andothren care more about making money than engaging in race politics.

I'd imagine NPCs like this to be found in other places as well (as hermits, in Temples, maybe even in the IC?). Of course, this is not to say that this one is bad. Generally, any faction questline could use some NPCs which give the player an alternative viewpoint (either impartial or opposing the questgiver, see Percius Mercius). They don't always have to be disgruntled ex-members, but in the Hlaalu case this is the most natural thing.

I didn't really see him as an ex-member, more like a current member who just isn't very active anymore, due to his age and cynicism.

Thanks for the commentary, arvisrend.

[arvisrend]

Basically, we already have Andothren pegged as the place where Hlaalu players start their rise in House Hlaalu before heading south to tackle the main grit of the Hlaalu questline. This likely means the power brokers in the city shouldn't be as entrenched as in Narsis, for example.

Ah, I see -- less stability and more possibilities for an outlander to influence things. That's good; I just read "free-for-all" as some kind of anarchy, and that would require some good backstory.