Misc: A quest that could go in any town, really.

[TheMann777]

Setting: Any town, a large city with many households and a thieves guild would work best, maybe a sewer if at all possible.

How to get: You ask for rumors around town, or you could stumble upon it, which would not be likely unless you are a thief. When you ask townspeople, they say that they have heard screams and foul odors coming out of an Imperial's household. He was a cruel person who enjoyed making fun of and pulling pranks on others. He and his wife have not been seen for several days.

Background on the Imperial: The Man is Servius Brutus, who purchased a lot of the shops when the Imperials took over. He disregards the feelings of all others, which is why he is not at all popular with his employees. His wife, another Imperial named Metella, also gets annoyed by all of his pranks and annoyances. She absolutely cannot stand the man. She is also well-known and well-liked by the townspeople, which is why the two have not been forced out of the city.

The Rumor: Foul odors, screams coming from the house. The townspeople believe that this is just another trick being played by the man to annoy them. He had pulled something like this before, and the person who went in to investigate, a young dunmer, was brutally attacked and seriously wounded by Servius Brutus. Nobody wants to take that chance. The character, probably pretty strong by now, should take up this opportunity.

The Beginning: You walk into the house and hear see a trail of coins leading from the study. You follow those coins and see a dead body laying next to a chair (is in the chair possible?) that faces away from the entrance. There is a book (any book, really) about the culture of the Dunmer (one about the great houses might work well). There is a book on a small table right next to the lavish chair. It is Brutus's journal.

The Journal, entry one: My wife has been giving me a lot of trouble recently. She keeps saying that I have a terrible anger problem and that I should write in this stupid book to sort out my angers, and I think it is a huge waste of time. A tycoon like me needs not sort anything out. All men desire to be me. I am rich, wealthy, and have a lot of money. I have a monopoly on the armor trade business. This is a huge waste of time.

The Journal, entry two: These slaves in my house are pathetic. They really are terrible. You ask them to do something, and it doesn't get done for at least 2 hours. I asked one to tend to the garden last week and there is still a weed out there. Worthless. If they were my employees they would have been fired by now. I need to teach them who is the boss. I need to show them that laziness will not be tolerated.

The Journal, entry three: I did teach those slaves a lesson. One of them is on his death bed right now. They are just Argonians, though. There is no need to worry about them. How can a lizard feel anything? He is not human. He doesn't resemble a human. I don't trust those cats. They are too sneaky. I only get the Argonians, because they are stupid and unable to think for themselves.

The Journal, entry four: That worthless slave died. Good ridence. There is no use having someone around who will die so easily. The other slaves do not seem very happy, though. As a matter of fact, I have noticed that they glare at me whenever I walk by them. I have no clue of what is happening. I am their master, they should respect me at all times. Someone else will be taught a lesson. Oh well. I have been reading books on Dunmer culture recently. I am hoping to find some sort of loophole that will give me a whole lot of power in this land. I did some research on this idea of a "Nerevarine" and was very annoyed that someone had already fulfilled the prophecy. I am sure that I will be able to empower myself with the knowledge of culture, though. I must get back to my studies.

The Middle: If at all possible, I would like for a scream to sound after the character puts the journal down. After searching the house, the character will come to a locked door (the kitchen) with a note pinned to it: "Plees tel mistris that we ar soree we didnt want hur to tel the gards abowt wat we did there is a key on the grownd." You unlock the door and open it. The wife of the dead man is in there, having survived off of the uncooked food. She tells you that the slaves forced her into the kitchen and told her that they would not harm her. She doesn't understand, though, and she thinks that they are trying to slowly starve her and force her into isolation. She tells the character that the slaves killed him and took all of their money. She is distraught that she is now destitute and without a husband. She asks you to seek revenge against these murderous thieves by getting her money back and killing them. The character has to ask around about escaped slaves. They point out two locations that are popular for runaway slaves: a compassionate Imperial's house, Decimus, and the thieve's guild. When you approach either of these slaves, they forcetalk to you, and ask for mercy. They tell you that they will return the money if you let them go. If you accept, they tell you that the woman is crazed and has been corrupted by Brutus. They ask you to kill her, and you will be allowed to keep the money yourself.

Ending: Kill the Slaves: When the character reports back to Metella, she tells the character that she had second thoughts about the revenge, and that she just wants the money back. She is annoyed to hear that the character actually did kill the ones who were innocent. She gives the character a very small reward, and when the character leaves the house, she is gone from the game forever. The townspeople are confused by her sudden flight. No disposition change, because she never told the reason for her departure.

Ending: Kill Metella: The character gets to keep the money that the slaves were able to steal from the house, probably somewhere around 2,500 gold. However, Metella was beloved by the town, so the character will take a 20 point disposition hit with everyone in the town, except the slaves who are very thankful.

Ending: No Death: The character approaches Metella and convinced her to meet up with the slaves. The character has to approach one of the two slaves and ask them to meet with Metella. The other slaves will come out of their hidding spots, and appear at the house. After the character talks to Metella, she will give a descent sword to the character, one that is named after Servius Brutus. It was actually his sword. Everyone in town shows their approval that Metella is so happy and Brutus is dead. Metella tells everyone in town about the character's deeds, which results in either +1 reputation (if reputation is indeed still in the game), or a +5 bonus to disposition for everyone in town. Also, if possible it would be nice for the shops formerly owned by Brutus to give you better deals now that someone is in charge who will not take full advantage of the monopoly.

[EDIT] Hmm...I don't know much about what happens after Morrowind ends. If this doesn't work out, I am sure that small pieces can be tweaked out, such as the cruel man being a Dunmer. I don't know how Dunmers are named, which is why I avoided that. Also, the thought occured to me in the middle of writting it that slavery had possibly been abolished. Did this happen? That would ruin a lot.

Also I read about the thieve's guild not being in it. That portion could easily be changed to finding the slave in the sewers.

Are there any faults? Please tell me and I will revise.[/EDIT]

[Razorwing]

Hi TheMann777, and welcome to Silgrad Tower!

:wave:

I enjoyed reading your quest draft. It seems well thought-out.
Definitely one of the best drafts I've read here.

I asked BlueDev in the end of January -06 if he could share information with me as to the developments in the Tribunal Temple in Oblivion's timeline. He's always struck me as the dev who's most interested in the lore they've created. Mark's answer was:
"I'd love to be able to answer you, but I can't. I believe that all of your questions are answered in Oblivion and its companion materials, though. Wish I could tell you more."
So, as to the developments in Morrowind in general in Oblivion's timeline, we'll just have to wait for the new Pocket Guide to the Empire before we get solid proof about the updates to lore and official history.

I think your quest would be even better - from the biased viewpoint of our mod, sure, but still - if it was tweaked to fit in with one of the towns we're planning. Perhaps you'd consider browsing our little "Silgrad Lore" section and see if you find a town description you think would be appropriate?

[TheMann777]

Reich Parkeep looks perfect. Brutus could be one of those few imperial citizens that won't give up. Metella is an all-around charismatic and easy-to-like person, I guess. She doesn't see a racial separation, and wants to help the Dunmer in the long run.

With the legion gone, too, there are no Imperial guards to check the place out, and the Redoran guards both don't care enough about Brutus to help him and are probably influenced by the thought of it being another trick.

The slaves could run off to either Maar Mok or Legio Argonis as well. In Maar Mok, they would hide out in the fields and pretend that they were supposed to be there. The farmers might not even mind the extra help. This could cause another leg in the quest. One of the farmers takes the slave in, and if the character approachs that slave, the farmer gets angry with the character. He attacks, and if the character kills him, then the character loses a lot of disposition with the other farmers in Maar Mok, and maybe a small disposition hit in town, because they view the character as murderous.

The Argonians at Legio Argonis could be pursueded to hand over the slave by telling them that he will definitely have a better life than he previously had under his new master, Metella, who feels sympathy for all races. The work would be less difficult, and she would even lend a helping hand in the gardens and kitchen. She would also realize how much money she truely had, and supply the Argonians with as many slaughterfish as they can eat. If you later visit the Maar Mok farms after the quest, the farmer will complain about that good for nothing slave who offered help and then ran off soon after.

[Razorwing]

That's a good choice I think, and the tweaks fit in perfectly as far as I can tell. =) :goodjob:

[TheMann777]

Over the coming weeks, I will think of more quests.

That one was quick and easy, took me five minutes to think of, an hour to write and revise.

I am thinking of a few Hlaalu-Redoran conflicts, but I like the idea of the Dunmer-Imperial relationship and the ideas behind escaped slaves and helping or returning them.

I will gather ideas. I am quite excited about this.

One more thing: All of my quest proposals will be similar to this. I will have it all thought out from beginning to end, and hopefully I will pick up any leg that could branch off from the quest. I have no experience at all with the CS, so I want these to be a blueprint for a modder to make it quick and (hopefully) easy to make my quests.

Or, if I eventually learn how to work the CS, I could do them. I don't know exactly how well that will go, though. I have no background in any sort of programming.

I have to go to school soon. I will get back to you all later with more ideas.

[TheMann777]

Originally posted by TheMann777
Reich Parkeep looks perfect. Brutus could be one of those few imperial citizens that won't give up. Metella is an all-around charismatic and easy-to-like person, I guess. She doesn't see a racial separation, and wants to help the Dunmer in the long run.

With the legion gone, too, there are no Imperial guards to check the place out, and the Redoran guards both don't care enough about Brutus to help him and are probably influenced by the thought of it being another trick.

The slaves could run off to either Maar Mok or Legio Argonis as well. In Maar Mok, they would hide out in the fields and pretend that they were supposed to be there. The farmers might not even mind the extra help. This could cause another leg in the quest. One of the farmers takes the slave in, and if the character approachs that slave, the farmer gets angry with the character. He attacks, and if the character kills him, then the character loses a lot of disposition with the other farmers in Maar Mok, and maybe a small disposition hit in town, because they view the character as murderous.

The Argonians at Legio Argonis could be pursueded to hand over the slave by telling them that he will definitely have a better life than he previously had under his new master, Metella, who feels sympathy for all races. The work would be less difficult, and she would even lend a helping hand in the gardens and kitchen. She would also realize how much money she truely had, and supply the Argonians with as many slaughterfish as they can eat. If you later visit the Maar Mok farms after the quest, the farmer will complain about that good for nothing slave who offered help and then ran off soon after.

I eventually want to name a place for all of his slaves to go. I am thinking that he has 6 slaves to work around his house. Sewers, Maar Mok, Decimus's house, Legio Argonis...

Does anyone have any ideas for the other two?

[TheMann777]

We have to replace "slave" with "servant" or "butler" or "cook" or "housekeeper" to make it fit with the lore...

The "servants" can now be of any race, and can still hide to get away from the wrath of the evil house master.

[raggidman]

It's nice to see that you are using flexibility in the changes you consider to actually improve the story lines and add interest. I suspect that once we see what Radiant can and cannot do that flexibility will stand you in good stead.

In any case only 2 days more 'till Friday is Oblivion Day in England and we will begin to see.

Welcome 2 too

[TheMann777]

Okay, 6 servants.

Cook - cooks food, Imperial Male (an Imperial would know how an Imperial likes food cooked)
Assistant cook - Assists the cook, Imperial Female
Housemaid - Cleans up, Dunmer Female (More Dunmer than any other race, so it would be easier to find Dunmer)
Butler - All-around servant - Dunmer Male (older. This is the one that was closest to Brutus, and thus was punished the most for small msitakes)
Market Runner - Gets supplies for the house, leaves once a day to go to market, Imperial Male (young looking, Imperials have higher charisma, thus will be able to get goods more cheaply)
Gardener - tends the garden, Bosmer Female (I am pretty sure that bosmer are talented in botony, please correct me if I am wrong)

Where they run off to:

Cook - temporarily start working in a bar
Assistant cook - takes up work in a different bar
Housemaid - moves in with a friend in town
Butler - runs to the sewers. If you talk to him, he will be extremely scared. He will talk a lot about how he thinks his master's ghost will come and kill him.
Market Runner - picks pockets in the market, he knows the area very well, and is quick.
Gardener - Hides out on one of her friend's farms.


Is that good? I couldn't think of anything to replace the assistant cook, and I do not believe that having an assistant cook would be totally necessary. I was also wondering if the market runner should be in jail for his pick pocketing...

[Remux Dreadfire]

The cook and assitant cook should work in thw=e same bar because they would have probably forged a friendship and want ot keep there jobs under another master and the butler should start working some were else