EDIT: I updated the quest to incorporate the suggestions. The original post is hidden in the spoiler. The implementation should be much simpler now.
Premise: A merchant with an ulterior motive wants you to broker a suspicious business agreement with the overseer of a nearby plantation.
Locations:
The grounds and slave pens of a plantation
The road nearby
Assets needed:
5 scripted pillows. The pillows should have a weight of 16.0 and use the metal sound when dropped or clicked. If the player tries to activate/equip them, a note pops up that says "It feels like there is something hard hidden inside the pillow."
NPCs needed:
Gothrak gro-Wraz, an Orc merchant
Talisa Direnys, Athram's overseer
Melos Athram, a plantation owner
Delyse Inaro, a plantation guard
Meldrim Thelan, a plantation guard
Hleras Garis*, an elite plantation guard
Ordilan Garis*, an elite plantation guard
Kihrazar, a Khajiit slave**
Sits-On-His-Tail, an Argonian slave**
Ra’Ghiharr, a Khajiit slave**
Water-Lily-Ripple, an Argonian slave**
Long-Tongue, an Argonian slave**
*These NPCs do not exist unless the player causes outcome C or D to occur. If so, they stand apart from the other guards.
**The slaves should all have special birthsigns that fortify their Blunt skill.
Summary:
On the road outside a plantation, the player encounters an Orc, Gothrak, pacing nervously. The player can talk with the Orc to learn that he is a merchant who has come to deliver a “special delivery” to the plantation. He tells the player to speak to the overseer of the plantation, a Dunmer named Talisa, to confirm the order with her, as it was placed months ago and has been delayed until now. He asks the player to get him a letter of credit first before he can make the transaction.
If the player asks why Gothrak cannot simply do it himself, he answers evasively, mentioning that he has previously run afoul of plantation owners and has no wish to repeat the experience.
If the player agrees to help him, he hands the player a copy of the contract to remind Talisa of the purchase. The “contract” uses exceptionally vague language, calling the supplies “the goods” and asking if “the time is right”.
If the player chooses to instead approach the owner of the plantation, he is confused by the letter, claiming that he had no outstanding special orders. He is suspicious and asks the player to proceed, and to watch Talisa more closely. He also promises to increase security around the plantation. This gives him the dialogue option overseer. If pressed, he mentions that his last overseer left suddenly last year under mysterious circumstances, and that Talisa showed up too soon for it to be coincidental. He has never fully trusted her, but she has given him no reason to fire her outright, though she is a bit soft on the slaves.
The player can approach Talisa, and hand her the letter. She reads it and sends you back with a “letter of credit”, warning you not to break Athram’s seal. This letter is in fact nothing of the sort; it confirms with the Orc that the time is right and asks whether the player can be trusted. The letter uses the phrase “may the lamps light your way” – a hint towards their motivation. Reading the letter updates the journal.*
When the player returns to Gothrak, he is glad for the reply. If the player's disposition towards Gothrk is insufficiently high (<65) then Gothrak thanks the player for their assistance, but doesn't appear to trust the player any further. The player can return any time to raise his disposition. Alteratively, the player can join his faction*, and he will trust them completely.
If Gothrak's disposition is sufficiently high or the player is a member of his faction, he asks the player to make the delivery: 5 pillows, ostensibly intended for each slave as a comfort. He requests that you bring them to the overseer at midnight, so that the slaves get them just at bedtime.** This is followed by a forced goodbye and creates a new dialogue option, pillows.
If the player is suspicious and talks to Gothrak about the pillows, go to A.
The player can choose to simply make the odd delivery and return to Talisa at midnight. If so, go to B.
The player can choose to betray Gothrak by taking the delivery to Athram, regardless of whether or not they spoke with Athram earlier, and before or after discovering the secret in the pillows. If so, go to C.
If the player spoke to Athram earlier, but chooses to take the delivery to Talisa, go to D.
If the player kills any of the slaves, Talisa, or Gothrak, the quest ends with no reward except for the loot on the bodies.
A: The player confronts Gothrak. He stammers before sheepishly admitting that he is smuggling weapons to the slaves and asks the player not to let Talisa know he let them know about the ruse. However, if the player is a member of his faction, he is proud of his subterfuge. In any case, go to B.
B: Talisa inspects the pillows. Satisfied, she asks the player to hand them out to the slaves. If the player took path A, she tells the player that all will be explained, but meanwhile asks the player not to blow her cover. The player can then hand a pillow to each slave using the topic delivery. If the slaves have a high enough disposition, the player can ask about the delivery again and they will show the player the contents of a pillow - an iron mace. Otherwise, if asked about delivery, they will reply, "It is a very nice pillow, muthsera." and force a goodbye. The player must return to Talisa after handing each slave a pillow, and can confirm with the topic delivery. If her disposition is high enough, she admits that the two planned to arm the slaves tonight and break them out; otherwise, she thanks them for their help in distributing the pillows. She then suggests that the player get ready for a fight, and forces a goodbye. At this point the two guards Inaro and Thelam become hostile to the player, the slaves, and Talisa, and the slaves equip their maces. The guards are not meant to be particularly difficult, and the fight should be one-sided in favor of the slaves, especially with the player's assistance. The slaves, being unarmored, may be hurt or killed, so the player may want to help them out. Once the guards are dead, the slaves and Talisa run away to the road where Gothrak is standing, and if any slaves survived he gives the player the primary reward. If all the slaves died, he gives the player the secondary reward.
C: The player takes the pillows to Athram. He asks to inspect them, and reveals that each contains an iron mace. Rather than confiscate the weapons, he sabotages the maces (using a script), breaking them so that they will be ineffective weapons. He asks the player to play along with Talisa, claiming to want to teach the abolitionists a lesson. The rest proceeds as in D, except the guards are not hostile to the player. The battle should be fairly one-sided against the rebels, if the player chooses not to aid them. When the slaves are dead, along with Talisa, the player recieves the tertiary reward from Athram. Gothrak becomes hostile.
D: The player alerted Athram to Talisa’s suspicious activities but does not give him the pillows. The process of arming the slaves proceeds either as in A or B, depending on whether the player confronted Gothrak about the pillows. However, instead of two hostile guards, there are four; Athram has hired extra help (the Garis brothers), who are much tougher than the original two guards. The fight should be harder, and slaves are likely to die without aid, as is Talisa. If the slaves all die, Gothrak gives the player the secondary reward; if any survive, the player gets the primary reward.
*If the player is a member of the Twin Lamps faction, i.e. knows the code, they can speak it to Gothrak to hear more about his plan and gain a disposition boost. He confesses that he is a new member, and that he came up with the plan all by himself. He had heard that the slaves on the Athram plantation were particularly msitreated, and he wants to prove himself by taking on a big job, so he is going to smuggle weapons to the slaves inside pillows. If Talisa can open their bracers, then the slaves can fight their way to freedom. This confession leads to path B.
The player can also talk to Talisa to learn that she is an undercover Twin Lamps agent whose speciality is infiltrating plantations. She is a bit nervous about the mission because she has never worked with Gothrak before, but she feels his heart is in the right place. More importantly, she feels Athram has grown suspicious of her, and that the time to act must be soon.
**There are two copies of the slave key. One is carried by Talisa, the other by Athram. The player can choose to bypass the quest and pickpocket the key from either to free the slaves earlier after starting the quest. The key does not exist until the quest begins. If the player frees the slaves early, Gothrak is disappointed that he never got to try his plan, but thanks the player all the same and gives them the secondary reward.
***Though the player never actually frees the slaves, this should count towards the number of slaves freed for the Twin Lamps missions.
Reward:
Primary Reward – an enchanted mace called Sleepbringer (damage fatigue, drain fatigue on strike), three random potions, and two random scrolls.
Secondary Reward – Two random potions and a random scroll.
Tertiary Reward – an enchanted shortsword called Obedience (command humanoid, damage willpower on strike) and a leveled amount of gold.
Spoiler: Original Post
Note: This is much more complicated than my last submission. If necessary, I can simplify it.
Premise: A merchant with an ulterior motive wants you to broker a suspicious business agreement with the overseer of a nearby plantation.
Locations:
The grounds and slave pens of a plantation
The road nearby
Assets needed:
5 copies of a scripted pillow that, on “equip”, stores or removes a particular scripted mace. The pillow should come with two forms, a heavy filled form and a light empty form.
5 copies of a scripted iron mace that can be “hidden” inside the above pillow. When hidden, the mace disappears from the inventory, and the pillow takes on a new, heavier weight. When the full pillow is emptied, the mace reappears and the pillow weight returns to normal.
A script that sets the condition of the above maces to 0.
NPCs needed:
Gothrak gro-Wraz, an Orc merchant
Tuundir, a Bosmer overseer
Melos Athram, a plantation owner
Delyse Inaro, a plantation guard
Meldrim Thelan, a plantation guard
Hleras Garis*, an elite plantation guard
Ordilan Garis*, an elite plantation guard
Kihrazar, a Khajiit slave**
Sits-On-His-Tail, an Argonian slave**
Ra’Ghiharr, a Khajiit slave**
Water-Lily-Ripple, an Argonian slave**
Long-Tongue, an Argonian slave**
*These NPCs do not exist unless the player causes outcome C or D to occur. If so, they stand apart from the other guards.
**The slaves should all have special birthsigns that fortify their Blunt skill.
Summary:
On the road outside a plantation, the player encounters an Orc, Gothrak, pacing nervously. The player can talk with the Orc to learn that he is a merchant who has come to deliver a “special delivery” to the plantation. He tells the player to speak to the overseer of the plantation, a Bosmer named Tuundir, to confirm the order with her, as it was placed months ago and has been delayed until now. He asks the player to get him a letter of credit first before he can make the transaction.
If the player asks why Gothrak cannot simply do it himself, he answers evasively, mentioning that he has previously run afoul of plantation owners.
If the player agrees to help him, he hands the player a copy of the contract to remind Tuundir of the purchase. The “contract” uses exceptionally vague language, calling the supplies “the goods” and asking if “the time is right”.
If the player chooses to instead approach the owner of the plantation, he is confused by the letter, claiming that he had no outstanding special orders. He is suspicious and asks the player to proceed, and to watch Tuundir more closely. He also promises to increase security around the plantation.
The player can approach Tuundir, and hand her the letter. She reads it and sends you back with a “letter of credit”, warning you not to break Athram’s seal. This letter is in fact nothing of the sort; it confirms with the Orc that the time is right and asks whether the player can be trusted. The letter uses the phrase “may the lamps light your way” – a hint towards their motivation. Reading the letter updates the journal.*
When the player returns to Gothrak, he is glad for the reply and then outright asks if the player is trustworthy. If the player replies in the negative, Gothrak refuses to speak any further. Tuundir also refuses to speak to the player. The quest ends with no reward.
If the player says “yes”, then Gothrak gives the player the delivery: 5 unusually heavy pillows, ostensibly intended for each slave as a comfort. He requests that you bring them to the overseer at midnight, so that the slaves get them just at bedtime.**
The player can choose to ignore the strange request, and return to Tuundir at midnight. If so, go to A
The player can equip the pillow to shake it, at which point an iron mace falls out. The player can confront Gothrak about this; if so, go to B.
The player can choose to betray Gothrak by taking the delivery to Athram, regardless of whether or not they spoke with Athram earlier, and before or after discovering the secret in the pillows. If so, go to C.
If the player spoke to Athram earlier, but chooses to take the delivery to Tuundir, go to D.
If the player kills any of the slaves, Tuundir, or Gothrak, the quest ends with no reward except for the loot on the bodies.
A: The player goes along with the request. Tuundir takes the pillows from the player, then changes her mind, and returns them, much lighter than before. She asks the player to put them on the slaves’ beds for her, as she is “much too busy”. The player must go into the slave hut and place the pillows on te beds (dropping them anywhere will do). When the player exits, they see Tuundir and the slaves, who have dropped their shackles and are wielding the maces, attack the guards (Inaro and Thelan), who become hostile to the player***. Tuundir is a capable fighter, and the guards are not particularly strong. If the player helps, the only danger should be to the unarmored slaves. Once the guards are dead, all the slaves and Tuundir will leave and go to Gothrak. If any of the slaves survived, he gives the player the primary reward. Otherwise, he gives them the secondary reward.
B: The only difference between B and A is that Tuundir knows the player is in on the conspiracy. She asks the player to give the pillows to the slaves and return to her. Once the player gives a slave a pillow, they begin following Tuundir. After the player has delivered all the pillows, they confirm with Tuundir, who then frees the slaves. Upon exiting the dialog window the slaves drop their bracers and the pillowcases, and equip the maces***. The fight and aftermath proceed as in A, and the reward is the same.
C: The player takes the pillows to Athram. He asks for them, and he sabotages the maces (using a script). He asks the player to play along with Tuundir, claiming to want to teach the abolitionists a lesson. The rest proceeds as in D, except the guards are not hostile to the player. The battle should be fairly one-sided against the rebels, if the player chooses not to aid them. When the slaves are dead, along with Tuundri, the player recieves the tertiary reward from Athram. Gothrak becomes hostile.
D: The player alerted Athram to Tuundir’s suspicious activities. The process of arming the slaves proceeds either as in A or B, depending on whether the player confronted Gothrak about the pillows. However, instead of two hostile guards, there are four; Athram has hired extra help (the Garis brothers), who are much tougher than the original two guards. The fight should be harder, and slaves are likely to die without aid, as is Tuundir. If the slaves all die, Gothrak gives the player the secondary reward; if any survive, the player gets the primary reward.
*If the player is a member of the Twin Lamps faction, i.e. knows the code, they can speak it to Gothrak to hear more about his plan and gain a disposition boost. He confesses that he is a new member, and that he came up with a plan all by himself. He wants to prove himself, so he is going to smuggle weapons to the slaves inside pillows. If Tuundir can open their bracers, then the slaves can fight their way to freedom. This confession leads to path B.
**There are two copies of the slave key. One is carried by Tuundir, the other by Athram. The player can choose to bypass the quest and pickpocket the key from either to free the slaves earlier after starting the quest. The key does not exist until the quest begins. If the player frees the slaves early, Gothrak is disappointed that he never got to try his plan, but thanks the player all the same and gives them the secondary reward.
***Though the player never actually frees the slaves, this should count towards the number of slaves freed for the Twin Lamps missions.
Reward:
Primary Reward – an enchanted mace called Sleepbringer (damage fatigue, drain fatigue on strike), three random potions, and two random scrolls.
Secondary Reward – Two random potions and a random scroll.
Tertiary Reward – an enchanted shortsword called Obedience (command humanoid, damage willpower on strike) and a leveled amount of gold.
2016-06-10 21:48
10 hours 46 min ago
the pillow mace script seems like a nightmare
I would just make pillow items that are heavy, and if you equip them it just says “there is an iron mace inside” or something like that. No need to generate items and be able to put them back in.
2016-01-19 19:35
2 months 1 week ago
Overall, I like it! Very clever and I like how you can involve the Dres guy to betray the slaves. Commenting on a few minor details now:
If this is Dres territory, the overseer is probably not going to be a Bosmer. I’m not sure how to get around this as it’s important she’s in a position of power for the rest of the quest logic to work, though. Perhaps just a Dunmer sympathetic to the abolitionist cause, and have Athram mention he’s suspicious of her loyalties as of late, and asks the player to keep an eye on her too if the player brings the whole conspiracy up to him.
Asking outright if the player is trustworthy is also a little strange. People just don’t do that! Perhaps have this part be hidden: base it Gothrak’s on disposition. High disposition, he says he trusts the player and offers them the next step of the quest. Low disposition, a cool thanks for their trouble and turns them away. The player then also has a chance to raise his disposition at a later time to pick back up the quest.
Pondering the scripting now...I agree with just making the pillows extra heavy and not try to have an item fall out of them. (Athram’s actions of taking the maces out can be handled in the dialogue without any scripting.) I think we might also be able to change the sound they make when they’re clicked on in the inventory and dropped—have them clank rather than use the pillow sound. Just to make the player go wtf.
That still leaves how the player confronts Gothrak on how heavy they are. I think the simplest way to handle this is to add the “pillow” topic Gothrak’s dialogue. Coding would go something like this:
Gothrak: Here, take these pillows. Be careful now. Bye!
-->player gains pillows.
-->Quest journal update 10
-->Forced Goodbye
-->Tag the topic pillows to then only appear after quest update 10. IF the player thinks to turn around and talk to Gothrak again (and they really have no reason to) Gothrak would fess up. Otherwise, player never even notices and quest continues as usual.
Then we come to Tuundir. Instead of telling the player to put them on the beds, she tells them to give them to the slaves. Some of the slaves then commnet on how heavy the pillows are. The player is then given the dialogue choice of either questioning them on that or blowing them off. If they question, and the slave likes them enough, they show the player the mace (again just using the dialogue and no scripting, like Athram). If the player doesn’t have a high enough disposition, or doesn’t ask, the slaves make an excuse and a force a Goodbye. After the pilows are all given out, quest journal updates to step 20.
The player can then go back to Tuundir. The pillows topic now shows up for her (for it is scripted to show up on quest step 20). Based on disposition, she either tells them the truth with this topic, or continues to make excuses, and advances the quest in either direction.
2016-06-07 00:41
1 year 11 months ago
Actually it might not be that difficult to have the maces fall out of pillows. I had a mod project once that did something similar. I never finished that project, but if you're interested I can try a mockup of the scripted pillow this weekend.
2016-06-14 05:24
8 years 6 months ago
I added the revisions and replaced the original post.
2016-01-19 19:35
2 months 1 week ago
Please, and let us know how it goes! If we can get that scripting working, it’d make more sense than the deux ex machinas I’ve added. I like it when unconvering a hidden portion of the plot is done by the player connecting two and two together, not when it’s handed to them on a silver platter due to story mechanics.
2016-01-19 19:35
2 months 1 week ago
Transferred to asset browser. Please keep this thread open so the special scripting for the original draft can be discussed.
2015-12-12 23:47
3 years 4 months ago
This thread can remain open for a bit, but if anyone has scripting discussion it should really go into the asset browser:.
Does: concepts, textures, youtube vids, admin stuff e.g. PR, handbook, assets, small website things. Activity level: wildly unpredictable. Still active. Find me on Discord.
2016-01-17 16:36
5 years 8 months ago
I'm going to speak out about this right now in this state that I don't think it should be held in the dres lands. the reason being is that an orc outsider outside of a Plantation in the dres lands just would not make sense. characteristically that orc would probably be killed. and while I do think that the dres lands is a good place to explore the possibilities of the twin lamps this is not a good idea. staging a slave uprising would be far more complicated than this and the way that the orc would ask the player or suddenly trust them by simply asking if they can be trusted is really weird. in such an environment they would probably be incredibly hesitant towards any kind of outside help in general. I think that this quest would work better in the hlaalu lands, possibly in the plantation areas west of old ebonheart.
2016-01-17 13:07
1 year 10 months ago
I agree this quest would probably be a better fit for Hlaalu territories. I’m not sure we should really be portraying slavery as a contentious issue at all for Dres lands; I think both the slavers and enslaved of the Dres would view the tradition as an inescapable. If we have any kind of ‘slave rebellion’ in the region, I’d much rather see it fail miserably despite the player’s efforts; either due to the implacable Dres, or the hopeless Pavlovian mentality of the slaves.