Andothren
The state of Andothren in a picture.
The green area is finished and “will mostly stay as it is” according to Gnomey, although “some interiors may still need tweaking, one or two relocating, and the left side will get two or three Hlaalu manors”. The manors will be “in open spaces on the left side”; thus there is no necessity to remove any existing ints.
The red area, including the Temple island, “was basically never finished or tidied up”, so expect lots of change. “The Dwemer ruin still needs its proper exterior, and there was a planned western harbour”. The Western harbor, in particular, can profit a lot from showcase interiors: “Even if we can't use showcase interiors, which is still probably a viable route, I think the western harbour would be relatively small risk for large reward; it doesn't contain anything especially fancy, but makes Andothren's docks more prominent, creates a nice contrast with the outlander manors above them that will pay dividends when outlining the conflicts within Andothren and Hlaalu society in general, and gives the Camonna Tong some space to work with. And I have a nice idea for how it could look which contributes to my bias in favour of the idea.” “Originally, my plan was to largely use showcase interiors for the western harbour, as a lot of the showcases around that time were small one-level Hlaalu houses with fishers and stuff.”. (Gnomey)
Outlander manors would go in the northwest, on the cliffs overlooking the planned western harbor.
Existing plans (“solid” according to Gnomey):
https://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=326304#326304
Another Gnomey pic: http://s54.photobucket.com/user/Gnomenator/media/AndothrenCityPlan01.png.html
Asylum says “Andothren needs some custom models”.
Hlaalu trade
On the role of Andothren (Copied from old discussions):
Through smart maneuvering, the Hlaalu have established monopoly rights on the export and import of certain goods. Both Andothren and the nearby Imperial citadel of Old Ebonheart command seafaring trade on the Inner Sea. They would likely be rivals if a Hlaalu-Imperial deal hadn’t been struck. Andothren trades a variety of goods such as foodstuff grown on Hlaalu plantations and Khajiit slaves [deprecated]. In return, Old Ebonheart has retained international export rights on limited luxury goods like ebony, gems and Dwemer artifacts. As the Inner Sea has recently been ruled Imperial waters, that means that Old Ebonheart maintains an effective monopoly on the trade of those goods in perhaps Morrowind's most important trade region.
The part about Khajiit slaves is out of date, since the Inner Sea is Imperial waters and thus slavery is outlawed on it. Thus, the Hlaalu rely on smugglers to shuffle around slaves between their Vvardenfell and Mainland holdings.
The Hlaalu also rely on bandits (including but not limited to Camonna) to make certain land routes dangerous for traders -- thus the bandit activity in Roth Roryn and near Kragen Mar -- in order to get wares to pass through the ports and the tools. Note that these bandits may be friendly to the player when the latter isn’t visibly transporting riches; they might even warn him of bandit activity :) (If they become too brazen, the Redoran in Kartur will raise a punitive expedition -- self-defense is allowed even outside of your House territory, after all. Also, attacking pilgrims is a faux-pas and may raise the ire of the Temple.)
The Imperial Legion is not strong enough to hold this machine in check, but some parts of it may be trying to disrupt its worst excesses. The Fighters Guild is also often tasked with guarding caravans and keeping the roads safe, but the local chapter is under the sway of the Camonna Tong, and so are very selective with their targets.
A map of roads and their safety for traders; need not always be equivalent with difficulty for players (the “Hlaalu secret” route is a tunnel/cave-system through the Armun crest).
Another nice, if outdated, map.
Sellswords
Hlaalu country -- particularly places like Krangenmaar and Hlan Oek, where outlander traders would want to pass through -- may be hubs for sellswords. As a traveling merchant, expect locals to offer protection against the dangerous wilderness for a reasonable price. (And if you decline, expect the news to reach the ears of the local bandits before you’ve gotten on your way. There should be bilaterally beneficial connections between these “bodyguards” and the bandits they’re protecting you from.)
Several quests can easily flow out of these ideas: Cyrodiilic merchants thirsty for revenge, local guards playing hold-the-thief to distract from their role in it, etc.
Hlaalu vs. Redoran
The history section of the Thirr Valley document mostly covers the Gnomey's stance on it and has as of yet not caused much opposition. It does not cover more recent developments in Roth-Roryn and Vvardenfell, however.
Roa Dyr
Gnomey has planned out the NPCs in this forum topic.
Existing quest design 1 (from the brainstorming thread):
RD: A slave of Ilvi Manor is stealing from one of the traders. The trader wants you to stop the thievery while preventing the slave from getting disciplined too harshly (the punishment would quite possibly lead to death depending on Ilvi's character). The first part can be done by catching the slave in the act (some scripting required); the second probably requires some persuasion.
Main problem: There are no traders in RD. Maybe a merchant passing by? Gnomey suggests that the slave steals from the Ilvi manor, and it’s a tollmer (not a merchant) who needs help dealing with it discreetly. Most goods going through Roa Dyr would effectively belong to House Indoril rather than independent merchants. Otherwise, it is possible a merchant might be staying at the layover post or sleeping in the yard at the gates of Roa Dyr.
Later suggestions: Ilvi is secretly aspiring to minor-saint-hood, while still being strict and resolute particularly as far as the Hlaalu are concerned. So the merchant or tollmer is worried that the slave will be disciplined harshly, but in reality if Ilvi gets his hands on him he will send him on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Aralor.
Quest idea by mort: someone tries to rob the Daedra room in Roa Dyr and it ends poorly for everyone involved.
