((Writing out the guide now. WIP: started losing consciousness halfway through due the very late/early hour. Most of what's still needed is compiling links and lists, and a final check or the old forum document and here to see if u missed any rules.))

EDIT: now with link to the draft in my Google Docs. This draft will be more up to date: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1msSuFj1eW1ArTNWKl7bg92Irtx2FwTNsPZuA6cvgDAc/edit?usp=sharing

Getting Started

Planning Documentation

Your first task to review the planning documentation for your claim and make note of any important NPCs, locations, or plotlines that are going on in the claim's location. These will factor into your claim in various ways.

Loading Order

As with all other claims, you want to use TR_mainland.esp (in ESP form, not ESM), Tamriel_Data.ESM, the Tamriel_Data Add-on if there is one, and the appropriate section file for your claim. Your claim’s new NPCs and dialogue will go into your own claim .esp file, naturally.

Dialogue Placeholders

Tamriel Rebuilt adds placeholders to common dialogue topics to better organize the massive amounts of dialogue in our mod, as well as to keep things from breaking upon merging claim files. Check that placeholders have been created for your claim’s area, and if not, ask a Senior or Lead Developer to add them to the appropriate section file. Do not ever place dialogue outside of these placeholders! Things WILL break.

Ownerships and Merging Etiquette

Making any changes to any pre-existing objects (whether NPCs, locks on doors, object placements or stats, or interior cell names) will result in those changes disappearing upon your claim file being merged. Other times, they will break your claim and the section file very messily. For this reason, any changes to pre-existing objects MUST be left alone in the Construction Set and INSTEAD noted down in the Merging Notes part of your changelog, that you will submit with the rest of your claim.

Dialogue

Dialogue Proofreading

You should include a text file with your claim that has all the dialogue you've added to your claim. This makes a proofreader's job easier when it comes to catching grammar or lore mistakes. Google Docs and Google Sheets are easily shareable and free to use, while you can also create a text dump directly from the Construction Set by going into (dropdowns). TES3cmd will also generate a text file of dialogue with the command (command).

 

This must be included with the final submission of your claim, but it is often helpful to have a proofreader check your work before you start putting the dialogue into the game. Sometimes, dialogue will also already be written for your claim by other TR Developers. 

Dialogue Filtering

There are three main filters that should be used on a lot of your claim’s dialogue. 

Map Scripts

All NPCs must include a map script. NO EXCEPTIONS. 

 

TR's map script filters dialogue according to which map in Tamriel Rebuilt the NPC resides in. The NPC's personal script assigns the map number, while each dialogue entry may be conditioned with the local variable (map variable). It's recommended to use this filter even if your dialogue will have another location-based condition, as this keeps the filtering from breaking if the player brings a follower through the area.

 

To attach a map script, pick the appropriate scriptfrom the following:

(basic map Scripts)

 

As slaves and vampires have some further scripting attached to them, for your convenience we include variations of the map script to use for these types of NPCs. These are:

(alternate scripts)

 

Note, if your scripting work or the scripting of a Quest Developer after you makes changes to an NPC's script, you must save the script under a new name. Be sure that the new script still has (map code) somewhere inside it.

Which Map?

Choosing a map is easy. Locate your claim's location on the below master map and use its corresponding number for your script. For towns or NPCs on the edge of the maps, consider what locations your NPC is more likely to be interested in and talk about. Note that being on the borders is never an excuse to not assign a map script. All NPCs must have a map script. NO EXCEPTIONS.

(Map)

Beyond a geographical location, maps are also roughly divided among political and faction lines.

(Atrayonis' comments)

NoLore

NoLore is a method of filtering out the Wikipedia-like dialogue that is meant to explain the world and its lore. Most NPCs who star in quests are tagged NoLore so their quest-specific dialogue doesn't get buried in the topic list, while many of your NPC claim NPCs will not be.

 

To properly use NoLore, you must include the code (code) in your NPC's attached script, AS WELL AS conditioning any generic and lengthy lore-discussing dialogue with the local variable NoLore. For your convenience, we have included NoLore versions of the map Scripts that satisfies the first requirement, but you still must remember to properly condition new dialogue as well.

Disposition

Finally, all generic NPC dialogue should carry the Disposition filter of 30. This prevents the NPC from talking to the player when they really dislike the player, and makes for a more realistic world.

Dialogue Topics

Though you're allowed to include small quests when creating an NPC claim, your primary role is to flesh out the local greetings and topics for your NPCs. Most of these topics’ purpose is to give an overview of the local area: its landmarks, its people, its politics, its overarching plotlines, and a few things that the player may find of interest, such as shops, dungeons, or miscellaneous quests.

 

There are three main categories of topics that you will need to either check or write new dialogue for.

 

The below topics come to us from the vanilla game. You don't necessarily have to write more dialogue for these if the filtering is fine; that said, always test the filtering ingame!

little advice

little secret

Solstheim

Morrowind lore

Greetings (specifically 9)

my trade

 

These topics also come from the vanilla game and will require new entries in your claim:

services

someone in particular

specific place

latest rumors (keep in mind quest claims will add more entries here, so only need 1-2)

Background (unlike vanilla, TR convention is that more text goes in here beyond "I am %Name, %Class.")

 

These topics are added by Tamriel Rebuilt. For the specific names of landmarks, towns, regions, leaders, shops, etc, please refer to your section file's planning documents.

local area

local economy

name of the NPC's city, region, or important NPCs in the area (refer to planning documents for these)

The NPCs Themselves

Characters, Character, and Not Going Overboard

Some of your NPCs will already be fleshed out in personality and appearance for you, as detailed by planning documents and the claim's design. Others are left almost entirely up to you. Beyond flavorful dialogue, this is the most impactful piece of your claim in portraying the world to the player, but it can be easy to overdo.

 

While you are populating your claim, keep in mind that we are creating a living world, so do not get too "special snowflake-y" with your NPCs. Unusual or counter-culture people are usually put into the game via quests; your job is to instead make the background actors, and so present a variety of slice-of-life, ordinary, everyday average Joe's. They may have a little flavor to differentiate them from each other, but no more than one or two should really stick out in the player's mind. 

 

When in doubt, ask what a town needs to sustain itself, and what your NPCs will be doing on any given day. What is their job? What faction do they belong to and how does that color their worldview? Who are their friends, their family, their bosses, their underlings? What might they think of the player coming into their town or home?

 

Most importantly, ask yourself: What do they offer to your world space? In Morrowind's representative game design, one house may be the equivalent of five to ten actual houses if the world was truly to scale, so consider what kind of ratio you are imparting to your claim as a whole when picking races and personalities.

 

Finally, though your claim design will frequently make suggestions here, you're allowed to deviate from the claim design as befits your taste and needs. That said, be aware that interiors and questlines are often planned around these NPCs, so take care in not making your changes too extreme, or get them cleared through a Lead Developer first.

 

IDs and Names

The ID format for NPCs is TR_m#_Name_Surname , where # is the map number. 

 

Slaves will get an additional “S” in their ID, as so: TR_m#_S_Name_Surname 

If for some reason you are adding dead NPCs, they get an additional “D” in their ID, as so: TR_m#_D_Name_Surname 

Finally, outlaw NPCs that are expected to be kill-on-sight (such as in bandit caves), receive an “O” to their ID: TR_m#_O_Name_Surname 

 

An NPC's in-world name is usually based on their race. The important NPCs in your region will already be named for you in the planning documents, but for everyone else, it is up to you.

 

Dunmer - Most Dunmer have a first name and a second family name. It appears that wives take their husband's names upon marriage (or equivalent ceremony). Some outlaw Dunmer choose not to take a family name. Very few law abiding citizens would dare drop their family's name, however. Stylistically, there are occasionally some subtle differences between the names of Dunmer from different factions - most noticeable with the Ashlanders. There are much harder to detect trends between Great Houses as well.

 

Altmer - Usually only a first name. Sometimes 'of [Summerset Isle location]' as a title. (e.g. Nalcarya of White Haven)

 

Bosmer - Usually only a first name.

 

Imperials - Most Imperials have a first name and a family name. Often Latin sounding, with men frequently ending in -us and women ending in -a. Don't overdo this, but do note it as a means of maintaining stylistic consistency.

 

Nords - Generally only a first name, occasionally with title (e.g. Eydis Fire-Eye). Surname '[fathersname]son/dottir' is used in some Elder Scrolls places, but not in vanilla Morrowind. Can be used sparingly. If you want to get 'real worldy', names sound Scandinavian and Germanic, moreso than Slavic or Russian. (e.g. Beowulf rather than Vladimir) So if you want to look for inspiration, go to the Viking Sagas or Saxon England.

 

Redguards - Usually only a first name. Occasionally, Redguards have 'modern' names that we would recognize in the real world (e.g. Garry, Katie). Don't overdo this, and don't use really obvious names - maybe use a twist in the spelling.

 

Bretons - Most Bretons have a first name and a family name. Often French sounding. As a general note for Bretons and to a lesser extent Redguards and Nords too, remember that they might be Imperial citizens with Imperial fathers - and thus have an Imperial name rather than a Nordic/Redguard/Breton one. (in ES, as a side note, children inherit the majority of their racial traits from their mother)

 

Orcs - All Orcs have a first name and a second name (their father's name), the latter preceded by the prefix gro- or gra-, depending on gender. Male orcs are gro, females are gra. (e.g. Dul gro-Dush, Dura gra-Bol)

 

Argonians - Two types of Argonian name. Some have pure Argonian names, others have the translated Imperial versions. (e.g. Jeelus-Tei, Skink-in-Tree's-Shade) As you should know from Suran's Haj-Ei quest, all Argonians have both. Argonians with multi-part names tend towards hyphens, though apostrophes are occasionally used.

 

Khajiit - There is a TIL document where Jobasha speaks about Khajiit names, which you could use - but don't be bound by it. Many names are prefixed by one or two letters, followed by an apostrophe (hyphens are occasionally used). 

 

For other ideas, TR's in-house naming generator can be found here: (llink)

 

Another method is to check the (wiki name)'s list of all NPCs by race and then choose a similar name. These lists can be found here: (link)

 

Picking Races and Faces

The race and gender of important NPCs will already be chosen for you, and your claim design will often include more information on who can be found in each part of your claim. For everyone else, it is up to you!

 

Some things to keep in mind: while on vanilla's Vvardenfell, the ratio of Dunmer to outlanders is around 50:50, outlanders are much less populous on the mainland, and in TR's towns the ratio will be more like 75:25. (Obviously, this will change a bit depending on the location and purpose of your claim.) Some races are more common amongst slaves in particular. In general, Indoril prefer men and mer races, Hlaalu keep mostly beast races (Argonians, Khajiit, and the occasional Orc), Dres keep almost exclusively Argonians, and Redoran, when they actually do have slaves, prefer Nords and Orcs for their strength and the proximity to their snowy homeland. Telvanni and wealthy Velothi generally keep a mix of all the races. Note that sometimes Dunmer are also enslaved, though this is usually implied to be a lighter sentence than it is for the other races of Tamriel.

 

For gender, males and females are about equal, both in population, profession, and general politics. (Children, outside of older teenagers, are, by choice of the original game's developers, not represented in-game, and so any mention to them in dialogue should be used sparingly if at all.) Ashlanders are the exception and  have strict gender roles, where men are warriors and both types of 'khans, while women are wise women, healers and soothsayers. (Both may be hunters.) 

 

Tamriel_Data includes more face and hair options for NPCs. A visual guide to these can be found here: (link)

 

(Do not use which faces??)

Picking a Class

A NPC's services, ability list, and some dialogue topics are all based on their class. 

Services

Most classes that have services are special classes with "Service" in the name, but there are some exceptions. Picking the right class and clicking Auto-Calculate in the NPC window is usually enough to set up these services, but there are exceptions, as found below.

Vendors

Vendors are based out of a shop or stall already present ingame, so it is generally not feasible to add more of these than your claim already dictates. Vendors will sell everything they "own", but that is not currently equipped, including stuff in their inventory and stuff lying about their shop (including inside containers).

Note that Pawnbrokers and Trader Service are the only classes that sell (almost) everything. Pawnbrokers are usually used for cheap and sometimes illegal goods while Trader Service is more applicable to a general store. (Despite their names, Merchants and Traders do not sell anything at all and are instead to be used for the non-service version of these classes where applicable.)

The classes for Vendor and what they sell by default go as so:

Alchemist Service (Potions, Ingredients, Alchemy Apparatus)

Apothecary Service (Potions, Ingredients, Alchemy Apparatus)

Assassin Service (Thief Tools)

Book Seller (Books)*

Clothier (Clothing)**

Enchanter Service (Weapons, Armor, Clothing, Books*, Magic Items, Miscellaneous)

Healer Service (Ingredients, Potions)

Pawnbroker (everything)

Priest Service (Books, Ingredients, Potions)

Publican (Ingredients, Potions)

Savant Service (Books)

Smith (Weapons, Armor, Repair Tools)

Thief Service (Thieves Tools)

Trader Service (everything but Thieves Tools and Alchemy Apparatus)

Wise Woman (Ingredients, Potions)

*Books include Scrolls and Papers.

**Clothing includes Jewelery and Shoes (not boots).

Trainers

Some classes by default give training services to the player. It is possible to restrict training services to a player’s faction membership and rank by (stuff)

Agent

Assassin Service

Drillmaster Service

Master-at-Arms

Monk Service

Savant Service

Scout

Thief Service

Publicans

Publicans are the class that owns taverns and rents out beds. To offer beds to the player, special dialogue and scripts are needed.

(publican script template)

Travel Services

Travel services must be set manually. In TR, for the most part, these are already handled in TR_Travels. However, dialogue may still need to be added to the “destinations” topic detailing what places this particular NPC offers travel services to.

Caravaner (silt strider)

Gondolier (gondolas in Vivec)

Guild Guide (mage portals)

Shipmaster (boats)

Misc. Services

NPCs may also be set to sell spells, repair items, and give spellmaking and enchanting services. Just as with trainers, these can be restricted based on the player’s faction and rank.

Battlemage Service (sells spells)

Enchanter (enchanting services)

Healer Service (sells spells)

Mage Service (makes and sells spells)

Nightblade Service (sells spells)

Priest Service (sells spells and makes spells)

Smith (repairs items)

Sorcerer Service (sells and makes spells)

Trader Service (repairs items)

Wise Woman Service (makes spells)

Other Class Restrictions

Aside from services, some classes have very specific roles to play in the game world.

Loremasters

Savants and Scouts carry the role of being the game’s loremasters, and so are never marked NoLore. Savants have something to say about almost every topic, while Scouts have information about locations, regions, and some monsters. If you want a NoLore Scout, instead use the Hunter class. If you want a NoLore Savant, instead consider classes like Noble, Pilgrim, or Mage.

Slaves

Slaves are all given the “Slave” class. Slaves that are to be sold or set free need special dialogue/scripts and a key item placed in the world somewhere. 

(slave script template)

Guards

Guards are, well, guards. There is hardcode attached to them that drives their law-enforcing behavior, so any NPC you want functioning in this capacity has to have the Guard class. This class affects some dialogue too. Ordinator Guard is an Ordinator with Guard capabilities, and should be used for Ordinator Guards found in Temple-based locations.

Dialogue and Faction Restrictions

Some of the classes from the base game have dialogue entries that are specific to Vvardenfell or a certain faction. If you are considering an NPC that doesn’t match this “my trade” dialogue, you should consider picking a different class for them or correcting the “my trade” entry specifically for that NPC.

The affected classes:

Hunters, Paupers, and Witches have Vvardenfell-specific dialogue in "my trade".

Priests are only for the Imperial Cult due to “my trade” dialogue.

Mages have Telvanni-specific dialogue in "my trade".

Dreamer is a servant of Dagoth Ur.

Champion is an Ashlander only class, often used for ashkhans and gulakhans. Mabrigash and Wise Woman are also Ashlander-only classes.

Miner is typically for egg miner, not ore miner (they get some special dialogue about kwama). Tamriel_Data adds Ore Miner for glass, ebony, silver, etc.

Battlemages, by lore, are usually Imperial or Breton, or at least connected to the Imperial Legion.

Gender Restrictions

Witches are always females. (Try Warlock for guys?) Wise Women and Mabrigash are likewise always females, while Champions are male.

Equipment

Everyone needs clothes! After creating your NPC, you will have to give them something to wear. While choosing items, note that NPCs automatically put on equipment that is best for them, based on the item's quality and their own skills. They also do not carry around their life's savings (I mean, do you?) and so gold coins should not be standard issue in NPC inventories.

 

A good rule of thumb is to clothe your NPCs based on their implied wealth. Most commoners wear common clothing, merchants start to wear expensive, while nobles wear expensive and exquisite clothing. Usually, only unique NPCs like faction leaders wear anything extravagant.

 

Just like furniture, some clothing is tagged to be specific to certain factions. (examples)

 

Except for the following exceptions, most NPCs in vanilla do not carry around random items outside their own clothing, and for the most part we follow this convention in TR. However, sometimes it is nice to reward an enterprising pickpocketing player, so items outside of clothes and basic equipment can be added sparingly to NPC inventories (no more than 1-4 per claim). As far as jewelry and gold goes, roughly a third of Morrowind's NPCs carry jewelry or a sum of gold appropriate to their economic class in their inventory, so place these thoughtfully.

 

Now for the exceptions:

--Though shop-keepers sell everything they have ownership to, restockable items are best put in their inventory. These will be things like common potions, arrows, and lockpicks or probes.

--Bandits, mercenaries, and Ashlanders will have one weapon and up to 4 pieces of armor, typically. The level of their equipment should be roughly based on the average level of your claim's location. (Some powerful encounters will carry better, of course.)

--Guards have standard uniforms (define this?), though their commanders may go a little upscale with special helmets, skirts, or shields.

--Miners may carry pickaxes and some of the appropriate ore (or eggs, if they're that kind of miner)

--Thieves may have lockpicks and probes.  

--Mages and priests might carry a magic item, which includes scrolls and potions. (Note that scrolls and potions are automatically used all at once should the player engage any of your NPCs in combat, so don't overstock them.) 

--Slaves always have slave bracers and rarely have shirts.

 

A visual guide to equipment can be found here: (link)

Ownerships and Keys

You're responsible for what's in the inventory of your NPCs. You are not responsible for their ownership of objects in their house or shop, including any keys or locks. In fact, never touch these. They will break or disappear upon your claim being merged. Instead note any changes you would like made in your changelog when you submit your claim.

 

The only exception to this is the key for slave bracers, since these are handled through scripts in the "go free" dialogue topic rather than being applied directly to lockef objects. Not all of your slaves need keys, but it's a nice thing to include.

 

AI

Wander

How to set Wander

Idle Animations

How to change the frequency of Idle Animations

Fight/Alarm/Etc

Other AI components and what they do.

 

Miscellaneous Things to Check

--It's good immersion to make sure there's a bed in town for every NPC you add. It's also good immersion to let some of your NPCs walk the streets instead of sitting around in their house all day. (Just be sure to tell the file merger to lock their front doors then.)

 

Resources

Test Character template

Script templates

Visual guides to equipment

Visual guides to faces

Name Generator

Questing Tutorial (for Dialogue basics)

Little Topics

Planning Documentation