I have 3 spontaneous ideas, still have to be fleshed out, but I wanted to bump them in
The first would be a quest in Ruma Soanix`s Manor, that house with the "mad" noble. It would be interesting to portray Ruma Soanix relationship to her servants (and the relationships of the servants to eah other) and to that rat Pelagius.
Lets say Ruma wants a special meal with some odd ingredients. You have to gather them first and explain Ninnethel or Laughs-with-the-emperor how to cook the meal, which causes a little conversation about the strange customs and character of Ruma and maybe her family. When its finished bring it to Ruma.
The second is about Hastophos Velifer, that vampire necromancer. There is very much potential in this character. my first ideas are collecting the common necromancer literature that naturally isnt commonly accepted in the dunmer culture (corpse prep. v1 seems to be the only important book that he doesnt have).
Concerning his vampiric nature, I think it would be good to have the possibilities of
1. ignoring it
2. confront him and kill him
3. confront him and report him
4. confront him and promise that it will remain secret
I think it would be very interesting for the player to hear his opinion about necromancy, necromancy in morrowind and vampirism (dialogues).
Then Raleth, that pauper in front of his house, why not making one or two quests of helping him? Lets say the player helps him getting a job, money.. and with his problem with alcohol(in his house is really much of it in a certain closet)^^
Old Ebonheart Misc Quests
Moderator: Lead Developers
Random Ideas**:
--A khajiit is dealing in black market skooma and moon sugar. He approaches you as a potential buyer. You can turn him into the guards at this point for a small reward, or keep dealing with him. If you keep dealing with him, he tells you about some local Camonna Tong who use khajiit and other slaves to smuggle around moon sugar in their stomachs (a'la that one Hla Oad/Balmora quest), and he asks you to put a stop to a local instance of this for sake of his kinsmen.
--A Dunmer wants to start a new egg mine in the area near OE, and has the egg of a kwama queen all ready to go. Several different ideas for the actual quest: 1) The Dunmer, annoyed with the politics of his Dunmer land owners, has come to the Imperials instead to get a charter for a new egg mine. He wants you to negotiate with the authorities for him and perhaps protect him from backlash from the other Dunmer, as this would be a break in tradition. 2) Someone has stolen the kwama queen's egg and he wants you to get it back. 3) He needs to buy some kwama workers and foragers to get his mine started. After that, he needs a special kwama pheromone to keep the "adopted" kwama from attacking his newly hatched queen.
--An old, somewhat crazy NPC has been complaining about a rat infestation in their house, but the Fighter's Guild has decided they aren't going to take on anymore jobs involving killing rats after the <cough cough> Balmoran Fighter's Guild fiasco, so it's now the job of common mercenaries. Turns out there's not an infestation of rats, but other, bigger nasties! (I was thinking wererats, but I doubt we have the models for them...so nix-hounds or some Morrowind insect might work just as well)
--A shopkeeper wants you to go into a nearby dungeon (Daedric ruin? Ancestral tomb? Velothi ruin?) to recover a historical tapestry. To make it less of a fetch quest, the quest involves a lot of interesting lore about <insert history topic here>, or the dungeon itself may involve a puzzle or two.
--NPC X hasn't been paying his taxes. The player is sent to "remind" him. The player discovers NPC X haven't been paying his taxes because he's dead! The player is framed for this, and in the process of exonerating themselves, they learn NPC X got involved with the Sixth House cult: originally because he wanted to smuggle ash statues, later because he got caught up in the cult itself (as a victim, assuming NPC X is an outlander). The player learns about this as they troll through a Sixth House cult dungeon, finding bits and pieces of NPC X's journal. The journal pages are enough to clear the player's name. Alternative ending: NPC X is a Dunmer, and is found alive at the end of the dungeon. He says how he staged his death to cut all ties with his former life and dedicate himself to Dagoth Ur. The player will probably find this to be enough reason to just kill him, but NPC X can also be persuaded to give the player the evidence they need to prove themselves innocent, if the player agrees to leaving the dungeon and not telling anyone about its presence.
**I say he for the NPCs here, but gender is interchangeable.
--A khajiit is dealing in black market skooma and moon sugar. He approaches you as a potential buyer. You can turn him into the guards at this point for a small reward, or keep dealing with him. If you keep dealing with him, he tells you about some local Camonna Tong who use khajiit and other slaves to smuggle around moon sugar in their stomachs (a'la that one Hla Oad/Balmora quest), and he asks you to put a stop to a local instance of this for sake of his kinsmen.
--A Dunmer wants to start a new egg mine in the area near OE, and has the egg of a kwama queen all ready to go. Several different ideas for the actual quest: 1) The Dunmer, annoyed with the politics of his Dunmer land owners, has come to the Imperials instead to get a charter for a new egg mine. He wants you to negotiate with the authorities for him and perhaps protect him from backlash from the other Dunmer, as this would be a break in tradition. 2) Someone has stolen the kwama queen's egg and he wants you to get it back. 3) He needs to buy some kwama workers and foragers to get his mine started. After that, he needs a special kwama pheromone to keep the "adopted" kwama from attacking his newly hatched queen.
--An old, somewhat crazy NPC has been complaining about a rat infestation in their house, but the Fighter's Guild has decided they aren't going to take on anymore jobs involving killing rats after the <cough cough> Balmoran Fighter's Guild fiasco, so it's now the job of common mercenaries. Turns out there's not an infestation of rats, but other, bigger nasties! (I was thinking wererats, but I doubt we have the models for them...so nix-hounds or some Morrowind insect might work just as well)
--A shopkeeper wants you to go into a nearby dungeon (Daedric ruin? Ancestral tomb? Velothi ruin?) to recover a historical tapestry. To make it less of a fetch quest, the quest involves a lot of interesting lore about <insert history topic here>, or the dungeon itself may involve a puzzle or two.
--NPC X hasn't been paying his taxes. The player is sent to "remind" him. The player discovers NPC X haven't been paying his taxes because he's dead! The player is framed for this, and in the process of exonerating themselves, they learn NPC X got involved with the Sixth House cult: originally because he wanted to smuggle ash statues, later because he got caught up in the cult itself (as a victim, assuming NPC X is an outlander). The player learns about this as they troll through a Sixth House cult dungeon, finding bits and pieces of NPC X's journal. The journal pages are enough to clear the player's name. Alternative ending: NPC X is a Dunmer, and is found alive at the end of the dungeon. He says how he staged his death to cut all ties with his former life and dedicate himself to Dagoth Ur. The player will probably find this to be enough reason to just kill him, but NPC X can also be persuaded to give the player the evidence they need to prove themselves innocent, if the player agrees to leaving the dungeon and not telling anyone about its presence.
**I say he for the NPCs here, but gender is interchangeable.
A Breadcrumb Trail
Urien Poralia, a nobleman's son from Cyrodiil, is living his life to the fullest. That is he spends most of his days drinking away his family's fortunes. Recently Poralia went on a horrendous bar crawl which has left him with a paralyzing, amnestic hangover and some of his possession's missing. The door to Poralia's house is locked, but the key can be found lying on the ground at the door. Urien Poralia, almost too hungover to speak, asks the player to help him. The player is to follow a breadcrumb trail of drunken mayhem and find the missing items:
*a family ring
*a pair of wolfskin gloves
*Urien's journal
*a Poralia family heirloom shortsword
Urien Poralia says he can't remember much, but knows that the first place he visited was the Moth and Tiger inn. Valia Vautere, the publican in the Moth and Tiger, says that she has the missing family ring, but she won't give it back until the situation in the upstairs room which Urien Poralia used is taken care of (â€ÂWhat situation? Oh, you'll see.â€Â). The player is given a key to the said room where they'll find that there is an empty crate and a number of mudcrabs there. Apparently, Poralia thought it'd be funny prank to leave them there. Once the mudcrabs are dead Valia Vautere will give back the family ring and tell the player that after the Moth and Tiger Urien Poralia crossed the street to the Legion Boarding House.
Ulka gra-Bol, a legion recruit in the Boarding House, will tell the player that she won the wolfskin gloves from Urien Polaria in a fair game of dice; she challenges the player to win them back (a Luck check?). After winning the gloves back they player is told by Ulka gra-Bol that Urien Polaria said he'd be going to the Empress Katariah next.
Naamalvu Erendi, the publican of Empress Katariah, says that Urien Poralia came in, drank a lot and left without paying or saying a word and leaving his journal on the bar. She will agree to give the journal to the player after they've paid Urien Poralia's bar tab (50 drakes?). She doesn't know where Urien Poralia went next, but if the player reads Poralia's journal–which he kept as â€Âlog book†during the drunken crawl–they'll find out that Poralia headed to the Salty Futtocks next.
In the upstairs of the Salty Futtocks the player will find Alcibius, an acrobat, who tells the player Urien tried to pay him with an old heirloom sword and broke its blade trying to demonstrate its 'awesome power' whilst swinging from a chandelier. Alcibius will give one part of the blade to the player. The other half, he says, Urien Poralia went and threw in to the dungheap in the alley behind the tavern. The player finds the rest of the heirloom shortsword there and returns back to Urien Poralia.
Urien Poralia will thank the player for returning his missing possession's and gives them a reward of some gold as well as three bottles of wine (â€ÂNever going to drink again.â€Â).
Urien Poralia, a nobleman's son from Cyrodiil, is living his life to the fullest. That is he spends most of his days drinking away his family's fortunes. Recently Poralia went on a horrendous bar crawl which has left him with a paralyzing, amnestic hangover and some of his possession's missing. The door to Poralia's house is locked, but the key can be found lying on the ground at the door. Urien Poralia, almost too hungover to speak, asks the player to help him. The player is to follow a breadcrumb trail of drunken mayhem and find the missing items:
*a family ring
*a pair of wolfskin gloves
*Urien's journal
*a Poralia family heirloom shortsword
Urien Poralia says he can't remember much, but knows that the first place he visited was the Moth and Tiger inn. Valia Vautere, the publican in the Moth and Tiger, says that she has the missing family ring, but she won't give it back until the situation in the upstairs room which Urien Poralia used is taken care of (â€ÂWhat situation? Oh, you'll see.â€Â). The player is given a key to the said room where they'll find that there is an empty crate and a number of mudcrabs there. Apparently, Poralia thought it'd be funny prank to leave them there. Once the mudcrabs are dead Valia Vautere will give back the family ring and tell the player that after the Moth and Tiger Urien Poralia crossed the street to the Legion Boarding House.
Ulka gra-Bol, a legion recruit in the Boarding House, will tell the player that she won the wolfskin gloves from Urien Polaria in a fair game of dice; she challenges the player to win them back (a Luck check?). After winning the gloves back they player is told by Ulka gra-Bol that Urien Polaria said he'd be going to the Empress Katariah next.
Naamalvu Erendi, the publican of Empress Katariah, says that Urien Poralia came in, drank a lot and left without paying or saying a word and leaving his journal on the bar. She will agree to give the journal to the player after they've paid Urien Poralia's bar tab (50 drakes?). She doesn't know where Urien Poralia went next, but if the player reads Poralia's journal–which he kept as â€Âlog book†during the drunken crawl–they'll find out that Poralia headed to the Salty Futtocks next.
In the upstairs of the Salty Futtocks the player will find Alcibius, an acrobat, who tells the player Urien tried to pay him with an old heirloom sword and broke its blade trying to demonstrate its 'awesome power' whilst swinging from a chandelier. Alcibius will give one part of the blade to the player. The other half, he says, Urien Poralia went and threw in to the dungheap in the alley behind the tavern. The player finds the rest of the heirloom shortsword there and returns back to Urien Poralia.
Urien Poralia will thank the player for returning his missing possession's and gives them a reward of some gold as well as three bottles of wine (â€ÂNever going to drink again.â€Â).
I like most of these quest ideas. I do have a few issues with three of them, however:
My issue with this one is that I don't really see eggmines starting up that way. It seems like far too much trouble to try and start an eggmine from square one when all across the province kwama are digging out mines of their own accord which can merely be occupied and harvested.Kevaar wrote:--A Dunmer wants to start a new egg mine in the area near OE, and has the egg of a kwama queen all ready to go.
The Fighters Guild in Old Ebonheart probably wouldn't know or care about what happens in the Fighters Guild in Balmora.Kevaar wrote:--An old, somewhat crazy NPC has been complaining about a rat infestation in their house, but the Fighter's Guild has decided they aren't going to take on anymore jobs involving killing rats after the <cough cough> Balmoran Fighter's Guild fiasco, so it's now the job of common mercenaries.
I don't think there should be any Sixth House dungeons on the mainland, certainly not at the start of the game. I do, however, think we should show limited Sixth House activity on a more individual basis in places like Old Ebonheart, so this idea could work.Kevaar wrote:--NPC X hasn't been paying his taxes. The player is sent to "remind" him. The player discovers NPC X haven't been paying his taxes because he's dead!
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Yeti
- Lead Developer
- Posts: 2061
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:50 pm
- Location: Minnesota: The Land of 11,842 Lakes
Quest Giver - Rothis Thalur
Latest Rumor
"Rothis Thalur seems to think there’s a choir of dreugh living in the waters off Almas Thirr. Says they’re living in a wrecked ship or grotto. Unusual for dreugh to swim in these parts. Maybe the old gaffer should lay off the mazte."
Summary
An old fisherman living in Almas Thirr thinks a choir of dreugh have made their home in a nearby grotto or shipwreck. They're nasty and making it hard for him to take his skiff out to his favorite fishing spot. He tips the player off about where he or she can find the dreugh, asking only that the player shares some of the wax taken from their corpses as a finder's fee.
After killing the dreugh close to the shipwreck north of Almas Thirr, the player can split the wax with Rothis Thalur, or take all of it, which will implement a small disposition drop from all Dunmer living in the town.
Latest Rumor
"Rothis Thalur seems to think there’s a choir of dreugh living in the waters off Almas Thirr. Says they’re living in a wrecked ship or grotto. Unusual for dreugh to swim in these parts. Maybe the old gaffer should lay off the mazte."
Summary
An old fisherman living in Almas Thirr thinks a choir of dreugh have made their home in a nearby grotto or shipwreck. They're nasty and making it hard for him to take his skiff out to his favorite fishing spot. He tips the player off about where he or she can find the dreugh, asking only that the player shares some of the wax taken from their corpses as a finder's fee.
After killing the dreugh close to the shipwreck north of Almas Thirr, the player can split the wax with Rothis Thalur, or take all of it, which will implement a small disposition drop from all Dunmer living in the town.
-Head of NPCs: [url=http://www.shotn.com/forums/]Skyrim: Home of the Nords[/url]
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Ironed Maidens
- Developer
- Posts: 415
- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:03 pm
Well, good to know you agree on that part. I think it would be worthwhile to explore the idea.Gnomey wrote:I don't think there should be any Sixth House dungeons on the mainland, certainly not at the start of the game. I do, however, think we should show limited Sixth House activity on a more individual basis in places like Old Ebonheart, so this idea could work.
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ihavefivehat
- Member
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 1:39 am
Hmm. He could be an Imperial trying to start the eggmine, who couldn't get permission from the Dunmer Houses to claim an existing one. Cue shenanigans as he realizes it's quite hard to start an eggmine this way and needs the player's help to do it.Gnomey wrote:My issue with this one is that I don't really see eggmines starting up that way. It seems like far too much trouble to try and start an eggmine from square one when all across the province kwama are digging out mines of their own accord which can merely be occupied and harvested.
Alternatively, I suppose it could be a Dunmer wanting to claim an existing eggmine instead. Same general plotline, of the Dunmer needing help to navigate the political system of the Imperials vs. the Houses and who has rights to the mine.
Or, something I came up with while writing this, and probably a questline better suited to an area where two Dunmer Houses are in conflict: The NPC wants to control an existing eggmine, and asks the player to kill off the current supervisors and then plant some evidence and recommendations so that the NPC inherits ownership rights.
Haha, I put that in there more as a reference for the players to enjoy than an important plot point.The Fighters Guild in Old Ebonheart probably wouldn't know or care about what happens in the Fighters Guild in Balmora.
I suppose it would be just as easy to say the Fighter's Guild isn't helping because they've had prior experience with the NPC's nuttiness, or just never mention the Fighter's Guild at all.Hmm. I wonder if it's possible to script this so it's a developed Sixth House base if you encounter it further into the Main Quest, but otherwise just a mysterious outpost of an unnamed cult if you encounter the quest earlier on...I don't think there should be any Sixth House dungeons on the mainland, certainly not at the start of the game. I do, however, think we should show limited Sixth House activity on a more individual basis in places like Old Ebonheart, so this idea could work.
Anyhow. My views is that I think it's a bit of a shame we don't get to see more of how Sixth House affects the general populace in vanilla. It's our opportunity to play with that in the mainland (particularly if we decide to broaden the Main Quest to include being named Hortator and Nerevarine by our new factions). The mainland would also probably start seeing Sixth House cultists in the regions closest to Vvardenfell, such as Old Ebonheart.
But I could see how giving the gab away too early in the game could be a problem, especially considering how close this area is to Seyda Neen. Sixth House is practically a myth in early game, only becoming real once Dagoth Ur has really committed to coming out and taking over. We might be able to move this quest's location up to an area more remote, like in the north (make NPC X a Nord), so the player is not expected to come across it until later in the game. Or else somehow script it to be dependent on the advancement of the Main Quest, again.
The other alternative is to keep the reference light. The "cult" the NPC got shafted by is unnamed, there's little mention of who or what they worship, hardly any Sixth House paraphernalia in the dungeon (beyond ash statues), etc. (If the NPC is a cultist themselves, they're too incoherent with sleep sickness to give many details.) Players who have played the game all the way through could connect the dots, but we don't explicitly come out and say it.
Maybe it's a fake Sixth House base: some crook heard of the Sixth House and decides to start up his own personal chapter? When you talk to the guy he'll try to convince you to join, but he doesn't really know what the Sixth House is about.Gnomey wrote:I don't think there should be any Sixth House dungeons on the mainland, certainly not at the start of the game. I do, however, think we should show limited Sixth House activity on a more individual basis in places like Old Ebonheart, so this idea could work.