At some point during this discussion ([url]http://forums.tamriel-rebuilt.org/viewtopic.php?t=5199&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=80[/url]), I suggested a way to handle the inclusion of Nerevar's armor that would not break lore whatsoever, not add anything overpowered, and still allow the player the satisfaction of obtaining a unique armor set.
A few people liked my idea, and Eraser suggested I post it in here.
If you do not want to read the original thread (which you don't have to, it goes off-topic a lot, but does contain discussion of Nerevar's "real" armor, if you're interested; I present the thread as background to how I created this quest idea), here is my idea, copy-pasted from the original post, followed by pertinent discussion:
---------------
Nerevar's Armor
Here's an idea. Imagine asking about "latest rumors" and hearing something along the lines of "The other day I heard someone saying he had seen the armor of Nerevar." This would be modified based on the race and/or location of the person speaking; anyone mostly ignorant of Dunmer history would add "...some Dark Elf hero or other." etc.
By asking around in different places, you could eventually find out that "Nerevar's armor" was being carried from town to town by a caravan that was "kindly offering to mere pilgrims a chance to see the very Armor worn by Saint Nerevar." At some point you might bump into a townsperson whose "latest rumors" mention that a friend saw the armor of Nerevar and the caravan is just outside town or has just passed through.
You could find the caravan yourself, and be greeted by a group of "pilgrims" who loudly emphasize their holiness among a lot of (curiously nonspecific) religious ramblings. Only a couple of the group are Dunmer. They would explain to you the amazing story of how they came to be blessed with the task of shepherding the Holy Armor of Saint Nerevar all over Tamriel to inspire everyone they came across. And you too can be so inspired, at the low low price of 10 gold (which might be less than pocket change for you, but significant for the little old Dunmer ladies you often found doing pilgrimages on Vvardenfell). Upon paying, you will be allowed to enter the shrine and see a set of Indoril armor that has been recolored to gold and red.
Basically, these guys are running a scam in the spirit of P.T. Barnum. Ordinator armor? Nerevar? In perfect condition? Ridiculous. If you investigate their personal quarters, you'll find dubiously large amounts of gold collected by these "poor pilgrims" along with an extensive stash of illicit substances, exquisite clothes, and other evidence of thieving behavior. If you confront the "pilgrims" you will learn the true story: while living in the city of Vivec the two caravan leaders were caught robbing a house. They killed the Ordinator that found them, and then began to panic because they feared trial for murder. However, they came up with a plan. They collected the dead Ordinator's armor and dumped his body in the sewers. An escape to the mainland, and some shiny red and gold paint, and they were free to make cash by displaying an "artifact," therefore profiting from armor that they would never have been able to sell without attention.
You can swear to secrecy, or kill them and loot their wagons, gaining all of their ill-gotten gains including the "Nerevar armor." It would be a perfectly average set of Indoril except with different colors. There would be no point in even having it except to have recolored Indoril. Wearing it around Ordinators would still get you attacked (and probably thought of as a murderer as well).
Obviously not all townspeople in the rumor mill would be fooled by such a thing; many of them would express degrees of skepticism. Some of them wouldn't care either way. Some of them would believe they had seen a holy relic (if they see you wearing it, they just assume it's a replica--no random attacks from pious but gullible townspeople).
This whole thing would be a very, very minor feature in the game; not even a "quest" per se, almost an Easter egg. Hearing the rumor would be rare unless the caravan had been to that specific town within the last month, and unless you happened to come across them while they were in town, they would be extremely hard to track down. It should be a VERY minor and obscure semi-quest, yet still have a chance to be encountered by a player who is just in the right place at the right time.
So there you have it: Nerevar's armor. It's a scam because it's unlikely Nerevar even wore armor (and especially not Indoril...I mean, please, it might fool some rural Temple yokels, and anyone without knowledge of Nerevar, Morrowind history, or the Dunmer might just take it at face value that they've seen a relic because they want it to be true), and even if he did, it would be long gone.
Now...an interesting twist to the story would be if the Temple, for any reason, started saying the armor was genuine. A political move, perhaps...or the delusions of old priests desperately wanting to believe in something special? (Hmm...a religion fooled by its own fake holy relics...)
Anyway, thoughts?
Posted by Garriath
I like it. The only issue might be killing a full-fledged ordinator, but if an old woman with a knife could, so could a band of thieves.
Posted by Devon8999
I like it. I also think you could have made a book out of that and it could be hard to make but I like your idea
Posted by Cavanoskus
Am I wrong think the hardest part would be to get the caravan moving from town to town and have its presence in the rumors of various towns be on the same schedule? I seem to be all right with whatever graphics programs I play with, so recoloring the armor wouldn't be all that bad. Just change the blue to red and brighten the gold a bit. That's not too difficult, right?
Yeah....killing an Ordinator is risky business. Maybe the guy got a lucky shot.
Posted by Stalker
I like the idea too.
Posted by Devon8999
That is 3
maybe someone might be able to make your quest and randomize where the caravan is...
not me though...
Posted by Eraser
Not that hard to script i believe.
I like the idea, post about it in the quest forum. It adds a nice twist to the typical "quest for the super artifact"
(The original thread has concept art from Dres, but since the quest calls for Ordinator armor, I did not include it or related posts)
Posted by sirwootalot123
retextured, poorly painted ordinator armour? if this is indeed made into a real quest, I would like to volunteer to make this armour. All I would need is some quick recolouring in photoshop, and a few effects to make it look as if it is plain and cheap paint over regular ordinator armour.
Posted by Garriath
I think it should be relatively pleasing to look at, though. Not too obviously a scam. Maybe just a tiny bit of the paint rubbed off on the back or something.
Posted by Stalker
Nah. I think it should look like a scam, uncovered and obvious.
Posted by Cavanoskus
My idea was for the blue to be repainted red and the gold to be brighter. The "shoddy" part of the scam is that the player ends up with nothing more special than recolored ordinator armor with no special stats whatsoever. It is unique, but not that special, and will still get you attacked by Ordinators.
I meant for the paint job to be decent. Part of the suspicion relies on the fact that the armor is "in perfect condition," and some of the occasional skeptical townsfolk would mention that.
------------------
End of reproduced posts
So, please tell me, what do you think?
