Vvardenfell Mages' Guild

[Vrenir]

Stemming from the discussion of the Vvardenfell Mages? Guild, I decided to draw up this tentative plan. Take it or leave it, tear it to pieces or accept it with open arms, it?s here for you to enjoy.

LOCATIONS:

1) Vivec: Headquarters. Has offices, shops, and everything you?d expect in a well-equipped headquarters. Trebonius is no longer there and has been replaced by a new Archmage. (I kind of want him to be a Breton named Arvil Bren, but since he?s not also the Nereverine, I don?t know if Tim the author of the story would let us.)

2) Balmora: Base. Basically the same as in TESIII, well-equipped but not too fancy. I believe that the Balmora thread has already established that Gebraletir is in charge now.

3) Ald?ruhn: Base. Again, basically the same as in TESIII, well-equipped and a little better-off than the Balmora base. Again, we need a new person in charge (see proposed quests to understand why).

4) Ebonheart: Shop. Not really anything for the PC to do here, just a small MG presence.

5) Caldera: Closed. As part of the high tensions, the Redorans decided that the Mages, and especially their Guild Guide, were a security risk. They have shut down the base and turned it into something else, perhaps a Redoran governmental office building.

6) Wolverine Hall: Closed. Though the fort is still in Imperial use, the Telvani insisted that the Mages officially clear out of their territory. Wishing to avoid armed conflict, the Imperial Union politely asked the Mages to comply and they did. If any trace of them remains, it is only a small shop.

7) Gnisis: Shop. Standard, small Mages? shop, but recently the center of a MG community in Gnisis. This group spends most of their time researching in the expanded Dwemer ruins where they have a sizeable base-camp. The expedition is led by former Ald?ruhn guild-head and Dwemer expert Edwinna.

Summary: 7 locations, three of which are substantial bases, two of which have been closed down, and two of which are small shops of strategic importance.

QUESTS: (* are optional)

I) Recruitment: if the PC is of a certain high rank in the Cyrodill MG, they are invited to join upon entering any MG base. If they accept, they are given a letter of recommendation and sent to the Vivec office for approval. From there, the PC is told to report to Gnisis, where Edwinna needs some help with the Dwemer expedition.

1) Gnisis, Lost Researcher: One of the junior members of the team has gone missing in the Uninhabited zone of the ruins. The PC is sent to find him. In the ruins, the PC has to journey through a complex maze of passages and finally finds the researcher badly injured. He must give the researcher a Restore Health and bring him back to the base-camp. Reward: a good sum of gold

2) Gnisis, Analyze Relic: Edwinna is overwhelmed with the number of finds in the ruins and asks for the PC?s help in analyzing something. He is led to a room with some kind of Dwemer puzzle. (This could involve moving pieces on a wall or floor in combination or some such thing.) When the puzzle is completed successfully, a hidden door in the room will open, revealing a Dwemer safe with a unique set of items (helm, sword, something else cool). Reward: one of the items found in the safe

3) Gnisis, Explore: Having been informed by the lost researcher from Quest 1 about several interesting things in the Uninhabited Zone that he was going to pick up on his way out but couldn?t due to his injury, Edwinna sends the PC to check them out. This is basically a retrieval mission for some inexplicable Dwemer things like the puzzle box from TESIII. You find say three items in the maze based on loose descriptions and return with them. If the PC gets lost, he may end up meeting Dwemer ghosts or centurions or other nasties. He may also end up finding a long and secret passage that connects to the lower levels of Arkengrad (but that?s just a bonus for those who really really get off the beaten track). Reward: a good sum of gold and a promotion

4) Balmora, Arkengrad: Edwinna has received word that the Hlallu are opening up Arkengrad for research and want an experienced Mages? Guild member to help them; she selects the PC. Upon checking in at the Balmora guild hall, the PC is sent to Arkengrad where he meets a group of Hlallu. The director of the Hlallu is arrogant and seems to have forgotten that the Mages have more experience in this than he does. He orders the PC to clear the lower levels for him. The PC does this, killing a substantial number of enemies. (The mission doesn?t require him to find and clear the passage to the Gnisis ruins) Reward: a good sum of gold and loot from the enemies

5) Balmora, Smugglers: The Hlallu official informs the PC that several relics have disappeared and that he suspects foul play. The PC is ordered to figure out who is smuggling the relics out and stop them. There is no suggestion about how to do this, but the best option is to find a hiding place in the relic storage area and wait. Eventually, a couple of NCPs will come and take something. The PC then reveals himself; they attack, he kills them, and reports back to the Hlallu in charge. Reward: a good sum of gold and loot from the enemies.

6) Ald?ruhn, Gem Hunter: You are told that the Balmora guild hall has sent for you. Upon arriving, the PC is promoted and sent to Ald?ruhn, where his special services are required. There, he is told that there has been a large order for constant-effect soul gems. There is a site in the Ashlands known to be protected by Golden Saints. The PC is given a special staff or shortsword with a soul-capture enchantment as well as five grand soul gems and is sent to get them filled. Reward: a good sum of money and the enchanted staff/shortsword

7) *Vivec, Dangerous Liaison: The PC is sent to Vivec on special assignment, but before he leaves, he hears from the guild enchanter that the soul gems were delivered to the Redoran for who knows what usage. The enchanter fears that the guild headmaster is allying them too closely with the Redoran; to survive, the Guild has always embraced a policy of neutrality in House matters. (Note that this could work before, during, or after the war, whenever the PC does the quest.) The enchanter has kept track of multiple such incidents in recent days and suggests that the PC use his trip to Vivec to deliver the record. If the PC does so, he is told by the Archmage that it is indeed a grave situation and that he will deal with it. If he turns the record over to the Ald?ruhn guild-head, the enchanter?s disposition lowers toward the PC while the guild-head?s rises considerably. Reward from the Archmage: congratulations Reward from the Ald?ruhn guild-head: a good sum of money

8) Vivec, A Delicate Situation: In Vivec, the Archmage congratulates the PC on his achievements both in Cyrodill and on Vvardenfell. He says that a delicate situation has developed in the ______ region. There are no large guild halls there, but several of the locals are closely allied with the Mages and have recently complained of harassment by Telvani who are encroaching on the area. The allies there are essential to the guild (perhaps due to a resource in the area) and the Archmage wants the situation dealt with, peacefully or otherwise. The only catch is that the PC must not implicate the guild in any way if it comes to violence. Arriving in _______, the PC talks to the guild connections and is directed to the local Telvani. At this point, he can use very high levels of persuasion and good dialogue choices to diffuse the situation and convince the Telvani leader that the Mages present no threat to them, or he can wipe the base clean. If the PC chooses to attack, then he must make certain that nobody alerts the guards or escapes. If they do, then the PC will be expelled from the Mages upon returning to Vivec in order for the guild to save face. Reward for negotiating: a really good sum of money, a promotion, a rise in reputation, and a nice item of some type like a constant effect robe. Reward for slaughter: a good sum of money and a promotion.

9) *Ald?ruhn, Guild-Head: If the PC reported the Ald?ruhn situation to the Archmage earlier, then he will send the PC back to Ald?ruhn with orders to confront the guid-head and tell him that he is being recalled from his post to serve in Vivec. If the PC has high speechcraft and chooses the right dialogue, the guild-head will be compliant. Otherwise, the guild-head will challenge the PC to a duel in the local arena. Reward: in recognition of notoriety, good sense, and values in keeping with the guild, the PC is given command of the Ald?ruhn guild hall with a nice office and access to some good supplies, perhaps also a regular stipend (if the game allows).

[KuKulzA]

looks good... but I think it should be two camps...
one side wanting to ally more with Hlaalu but stay neutral and another totally with Redoran...

[batman]

LOCATIONS:

Good job! :goodjob: only 1 minor problem i see, Gnisis is every much a Redoran town as Caldera now (maybe even more so). So the Redoran will let the mages in in one town but not another? the only reason for that would be the ebony in caldera i suppose, but its not like the mine is right smack in the middle of town...

oh, and i think that there should be a little bit for the player to do in ebonheart, the guild is imperial friendly after all.

QUESTS:

I like that you'll be asked to join immeadietly if you're already a member (i don't think it should be rank-dependent)

a note about the quests, i like them, but you have to remember that bethesda has explicitly stated that they will be much deeper and more involving, and i think that we should follow suit (this may sound hypocritical considering i haven't fully fleshed out all my quests) but basically what i'm saying is that all the quest ideas and stories are good, but i think we're going to just need more gameplay to lengthen and flesh out the quests.

Most of your quests are "go one place, do one thing" (i know it's unrealistic to expect a perfect draft the first time, sorry) but i think it'd be better to say "go one place, do many things" or "go many places, do one thing at each" and hey, you've done this already with some of the quests, so i know we're on the right track!

man, i need to get up some of my new redoran quests too

[Vrenir]

I guess I see the archeological group being very much in favor of total neutrality. After all, Gnisis is Redoran and Arkengrad is near Balmora (Hlallu). The MG has bases in all territories but Telvani, so to side with anyone would result in at least one guild hall or operation coming under fire. Therefore, the Archmage, having an eye on Vvardenfell as a whole and living in the pro-unity city of Vivec, would want the guild to stay seperate. So would Edwinna, the other workers in Gnisis and probably some in Balmora. Only members with a steak of local or residual Imperial patriotism should want to rally behind a side in the House War, and such elements would be regarded by the leadership as foolishly endangering the whole guild's interests. If we want to have more gossip about alliegances, we could always put it into NCPs' dialogue.

Also, by keeping the MG neutral, we don't have to bother changing anything for before / during / after the war. They do their own thing and don't get involved. If the Ald'ruhn people are supplying the Redorans before the conflict, it's stupid and creating foolish political ties. If they do it during the conflict, it's even stupider but for the same reason. If they do it afterwards, it's still stupid because tensions are still elevated. It works in all situations.

One more note. The difference between Gnisis and Caldera in policy toward non-Redorans is political. Gnisis is not a hugely strategic place with valuable resources. The MG also have a valid reason for being in Gnisis, the research project. Caldera is a hot spot in the conflict with the Hlallu. There are problems with non-Redorans smuggling and spying, and having a prominently outlander organization, even one that claims neutrality, sitting smack dab in the middle of town with the ability to transport people in and out at will makes for a security risk.

[KuKulzA]

Originally posted by Vrenir
it's even stupider but for the same reason.

it stupider, me gooder :yes:

[batman]

Originally posted by Vrenir
I guess I see the archeological group being very much in favor of total neutrality. After all, Gnisis is Redoran and Arkengrad is near Balmora (Hlallu). The MG has bases in all territories but Telvanni, so to side with anyone would result in at least one guild hall or operation coming under fire. Therefore, the Archmage, having an eye on Vvardenfell as a whole and living in the pro-unity city of Vivec, would want the guild to stay seperate. So would Edwinna, the other workers in Gnisis and probably some in Balmora. Only members with a steak of local or residual Imperial patriotism should want to rally behind a side in the House War, and such elements would be regarded by the leadership as foolishly endangering the whole guild's interests. If we want to have more gossip about alliegances, we could always put it into NCPs' dialogue.

Also, by keeping the MG neutral, we don't have to bother changing anything for before / during / after the war. They do their own thing and don't get involved. If the Ald'ruhn people are supplying the Redorans before the conflict, it's stupid and creating foolish political ties. If they do it during the conflict, it's even stupider but for the same reason. If they do it afterwards, it's still stupid because tensions are still elevated. It works in all situations.

One more note. The difference between Gnisis and Caldera in policy toward non-Redorans is political. Gnisis is not a hugely strategic place with valuable resources. The MG also have a valid reason for being in Gnisis, the research project. Caldera is a hot spot in the conflict with the Hlaalu. There are problems with non-Redorans smuggling and spying, and having a prominently outlander organization, even one that claims neutrality, sitting smack dab in the middle of town with the ability to transport people in and out at will makes for a security risk.

cool, i'm all for the total nuetrality, as well as the caldera explanation :goodjob: