This was originally a quest claim, but was moved to the hidden N/A section during the forum reorganization, mainly because I figured it would be better to post the ideas here first. Yeti included the quest hooks for these quests in the Vhul section of the Indoril-Thirr dialogue document.
Miscellaneous quests for Vhul (http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24672), a small Velothi town in Indoril lands. As such, important themes are the relation between local Velothi and the Temple and local Velothi and the Indoril. This town is home to a tong of swindlers, the Syvvit Tong, and as such relations between local Velothi and outlanders should also be explored.
Here are the quest designs I thought up while working on Vhul. I think three is a pretty good number of quests to go with, though I'm not against having more. Once these designs are either polished or replaced with better ones this can move on to implementation.
Quest 1 - 'Burden of Proof'
Ilvi suspects a House Hlaalu-Syvvit Tong link and asks the player to investigate.
The player will not be able to find any conclusive evidence of such a link, as the link does not actually exist, but the player will manage to dig up some dirt on the Syvvit Tong nonetheless:
a. one of the top members of the ST (the one who lives in Vhul #5, formerly 'Othrensis, Seran Draylis' House') regularly pilfers a bit of the Velk brew while 'helping out' at the brewery to enjoy in his hut. Much worse than just theft, by imbibing the drink of nobility he shows a (to Indoril) shocking lack of humility and awareness of his station.
b. other than that, there could be a few random rumours floating about that are nothing more than rumours about the guild and its various members.
c. finally, with some persuasion the player will be able to convince some members of the ST to voluntarily leave the organization.
After his investigations, the player will be able to report back to Ilvi:
1. if the player defends the ST of all wrongdoings, Ilvi will remain unimpressed, leading to a small disposition drop and probably ending the quest. The player either gets no reward or a very paltry one (loose change).
2. the player can also defend the ST, but point out the individual misdeed(s) he has uncovered. Ilvi might apply to the Order of the Inquisition or something to restore faith in Vhul, but will otherwise leave the ST be. The player is decently rewarded for his troubles; maybe a nice Indoril item or something.
3. finally, the player can use the information he has uncovered -- real or imagined -- to paint the ST black. Ilvi will shut it down, effectively removing most of Vhul's services, but in return non-Indoril players will gain access to Roa Dyr's services, while Indoril players will get some other nice reward.
4. if the player tries to discredit the ST without any evidence, he will get a minor disposition drop with Ilvi, who will tell him to do his job properly so that Ilvi can pass judgement properly, but otherwise the quest will go on.
The important points of this quest are that only one member of the ST is doing something explicitly demanding reprimand; and that the Syvvit Tong are already guilty of subversion in Ilvi's eyes, but he feels duty-bound as an Indoril to properly weigh the case before rushing to judgement. Ilvi cannot be convinced that the ST is above reproach due to his prejudice, but can be convinced to lay the blame on a part of the organization rather than the whole.
Quest 2 - 'Honns in Luck'
A Nord staying at the local inn, Honns, suspects he is being swindled by the townsfolk. (Which he is). He asks the player to get to the bottom of it.
The player goes around gathering proof, which will probably mostly involve either persuading or giving gifts (such as alcohol) to locals until they admit to their bit of swindling.
After the player gathers all of the/enough of the confessions, he can report back to Honns.
If the player relays the confessions to Honns, Honns will thank the player for being honest with him, and state that he is tired of the attitude of the locals and will head back west. To reward the player's honesty, he will give the player a (say) moonstone, the most valuable item he had brought with him and the only one the locals were unable to swindle off of him. He will disappear from the interior on cell change never to be seen again.
If the player claims that Honns has not been swindled, Honns will get in a huff and accuse the player of being just like the other townsfolk, and will disappear on cell change.
It may also be possible for the player to convince the swindlers to return the things they swindled, probably via the player. This would probably require very high disposition, and will likely get the player the best reward. It would also kind of ruin the reference (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_in_Luck), though.
Given the similarity of premise and general structure of this quest and the first one, but the distinction that the questgiver of the first is Indoril Ilvi while the questgiver for this one is an n'wah, I think the two quests can be played off of each other quite nicely for contrast.
Quest 3 - 'Cleansing of the Temple'
A priest in Vhul's temple will complain to the player about the peddlar who has set up shop within temple grounds. He wants the player to convince the peddlar to leave. (If the player disbanded the Syvvit Tong in Quest 1 this quest will be resolved, and the priest will simply thank the player for getting rid of the troublesome peddlar and give him the reward. Similarly, the player can complete this quest as part of Quest 1).
Other than ratting the ST out to Ilvi, the player can complete this quest by:
1. intimidating the peddlar or outright attacking him. In the latter case the peddlar will flee a certain distance, and then combat will stop and the quest will update.
2. perhaps blackmailing the peddlar in some way.
3. if the player improves the peddlar's disposition past a certain point, the peddlar will agree to stop peddling.
4. finally, the player can preach to the peddlar. (This will probably just involve the player quoting a semi-significant line from a book. Maybe there's a good line in one of TR's saint books?)
The reward will be greater if the priest likes how the player handled the situation. (The solutions are ordered from worst (1) to best (4)). The best reward will include a service discount for that priest (or even that whole temple), or, if the player is not a Temple member, will allow the player to do business with that priest/that temple.
Vhul miscellaneous quests
Moderator: Lead Developers
Good point. The quest as a whole and solution 1 in particular were inspired by the story of Jesus expelling the money changers, but, as indicated by the fact that solution 1 gets the worst reward, I was specifically trying to establish a contrast there. I don't see the Temple, which at least among faithful Dunmer is such a force of stability and reason, accepting such a violent solution to a relatively minor problem. (Obviously for its part Christianity was anything but stable and well-established at the time, and the money changers were not Christians, so the situation is a little different). That being said, I could see them giving the Nerevarine a carte blance. Or a high-ranking member of House Indoril, probably. So the contrast might not be so large after all...
