Faction Brainstorming Session 1 - House Dres

[Deeza]

Inspired by giskard's suggestion in the faction list forum, I've decided to kick off a discussion about one of our factions, in the hope that others will contribute and we can make up a detailed backstory for them. Basically, these guys are Dunmer who invaded Black Marsh after the Arnesian war and have settled there. I have combined this with what we now know about the discontent in Morrowind since Helseth's reforms from PGE3 to invent a backstory: these are very traditional Dunmer who are trying to preserve their old way of life outside Morrowind.

Here's a quick bio I made for the leader of the Dres in Black Marsh to get things started:

Main Character: Rethan Dres

Rethan Dres is a very angry old man, who feels that the world long ago left him behind. When he was a youthful noble of the Great House Dres, life was simple. The Tribunal were to be respected, outlanders were to be distrusted, and slaves were to be kept in their place. But nowadays an outlander king rules Morrowind, Imperial ways are spreading everywhere, people openly claim that the tribunal are dead, and Argonians are given the same rights as Dunmer. Rethan hates the new Morrowind and what he views as the desecration of its proud and ancient culture.

Like many Dres nobles, Rethan was part of the uprisings that greeting King Helseth's abolition of slavery. Unlike his more foolish comrades, however, Rethan soon realised that this was a futile gesture, and that they were hopelessly outmatched. Helseth ordered Rethan's titles and lands be confiscated, but he was already long gone. Gathering discontented traditionalists from all over southern Morrowind, Rethan fled south across the border, joining the Arnesian colonists who had settled there following the war fifty years before. With his expertise gathered from a lifetime of tracking escaped slaves through the swamps, Rethan was soon accepted as the Dunmer colonists' undisputed leader.

His open defiance of both Helseth and Imperial orders to withdraw from the Marsh won him further support, and refugees from Morrowind flocked to join his forces. Rethan now commands a sizeable army, and in effect has converted Arnesia into a kingdom within a kingdom, answering only to traditional Dunmer law. He has not been afraid to use this power, attacking and enslaving whole tribes of Argonians to man the farms that feed his colony. In his most audacious attempt yet, he took advantage of the over-stretched Imperial navy to sieze control of the ancient Velothi port of Thorn, much to the discontentment of the inhabitants, Dunmer who have lived in Black Marsh far longer than the recent arrivals and who have reached an accommodation with the Argonian tribes.

Rethan cares nothing for their objections, viewing them as heretics for their ancient Daedric religion (they are similar to the Ashlanders in this respect). The brutal reinstatement of Tribunal Temple orthodoxy in Thorn only increased resentment among the Velothi, but won Rethan the endorsement of a prominent dissident cleric in Vivec and finally convinced the Royal Court of Argonia that something had to be done to remove the Dres. Thus far, however, they have been unsuccessful, due to the fact that the Royal Court is almost as hated by the tribes as the Dres.

Currently, Rethan still dreams of vengeance on King Helseth, but knows that this will not be accomplished within his lifetime. He is content for the present to carve out his own kingdom, secure in the knowledge that his two sons will succeed him and carry on his fight to preserve the renmants of ancient Morrowind.

So in summary, Rethan is basically a noble enough character (or at any rate he believes himself to be). But that doesn't help you much if you're an Argonian who happens to fall into his clutches.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Nice, but I would like the Dres themselves to be less outwardly anti-Argonian and for Rethan to be more of a cynical despot than a brutal tyrant. He might regard the Royal Court as worthy of his honourable status but still regards the Argonians as being beneath him and subject to the mercy of the Dunmer. The Trillium Magnata, however, are the old slave-masters and, as such, are most likely to continue their old practices.

Furthermore, I wouldn't say the Royal Court were totally ineffectual with the tribes. Although not highly regarded, the Court and the tribes nonetheless respect each other but it's them bowing to the Dunmer in this way that makes them less worthy.

Therefore, Rethan would be a great character as long as the emphasis placed on this Faction is centred around the back-stabbing of the Dres Faction rather than the brutality committed against the Argonians. To this extent, some might have dealings with the Trillium Magnata (an underground movement...literally), some might seek peace with the Argonians, some might be entranced by the untold treasures hidden deep in the marshes and others may seek the approval of Helseth in establishing connections with the Royal Court....I haven't changed anything here, really, just provided a background context.

Anyway, further work on the 'look' of the Dres would also be good besides the ideas. I'd particularly like to see how a Faction looks with maybe a few screenies of the design ideas (try downloading different weapon and armour sets and trying them on your character before taking a screenshot).

For the Dres, it's fairly easy as it's mainly just Bonemold and the relevant weaponry but it's just to get an idea of their appearance. And thanks for the extra info, Deeza! :goodjob:

[Deeza]

Ah, I understand now. I wasn't aware that the slavers and the Dres were meant to be separate organisations - I kind of assumed they were branches of the same group. Of course, with your suggestion they would still be closely linked in the case of some individuals, and overall I think your plan is good since it allows more complexity to the faction.

I'd like the conflict between the new colonists and the older Velothi to stay though, because it would make for some interesting possibilities for quests involving multiple factions.

As for the Royal Court, I'm hoping to get on to starting their own brainstorming session soon, including their complicated relationship with the tribes. Kukulza had some interesting ideas in this regard, so I'll be summarising and expanding on them.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Thanks, Deeza! And yes to the point about colonists.