OK guys....

This is a try to inject some life in our RP again. In this first post I'll make a list of who's still interested in this RP.

I'll check in daily and add more names. You may pm or mail me if you're interested or just simply post here..

When we get a fairly good list we will try to come up with some kind of plot...







The LIST

minque
Fuzzy Knight
Lord Veneficus
Soulseeker
Jack Cloudy
Lord Revan
Olen
The Bean

edited by minque nov 12

Okay, you've gotten me interested. Someone PM me a summary of what's happened so far.

Thanks,
Lord V.

Sorry folks, but count me out. I've regretfully lost interest in roleplaying. Real life has been way to hectic.

Count me in. I need to do something about my activity (or rather, lack thereof) anyway. With a bit of luck, this will get me back in the TES vibe.

Anyway, quick question. About the revamp, are you looking for a changed version of the To Heir is Human story, or are you actually looking towards starting a new rp altogether? On the one hand, I've grown rather fond of Flint and I'd hate to see him go but on the other hand, I think THIH has grown a bit overcomplicated for its own good. I honestly can't imagine THIH without its core characters, like Flogir, Veric and of course the triplets of destiny.

Anyway, if the idea is to change To Heir is Human but to keep it To Heir is Human, perhaps we should try to find a plausible reason to remove all the inactive characters from the rp? While working on a way to tie the remaining characters into a more coherent storyline. Part of the problem with THIH currently is that too many characters are just wandering around by their lonesome because they can't find a realistic way to get involved with and advance the main plot.

If it is a complete revamp could I join. I've done several collaborative pieces of fiction and as far as 4 can tell they're pretty similar. And I have an idea for a mage who can control the weather-that sound good?

Actually...I'm pretty fond of Brianna and the triplets so I'm thinking of keeping THIH but as you also mentioned Jackie, make it more coherent and if we come up with a good plot not overcomplicated and also containing more conversations, then we're on our way!

I'll add you to the list Jackie!

And Beanie! If you like to join you're welcome....but it's gonna be THIH...in a new improved version!

Sweet! Could you PM me a plot summary please?

Two things I want to see happen:

1. I want to ditch THIH. It's gone on too long, I think, and now there are a lot of key players missing and not enough other players to pick up the slack. It died for a reason; it wasn't fun anymore.

2. I want to make a story that is completely separate from our other RPs. We have too many recurring characters and too many well-established relationships before we even start. The fact that we always build on top of our old stories makes it hard for newcomers to get in, since they don't know what we did back in 2005. We need a whole new story, and all new characters.

(Side note: I don't know how many of you guys have played Fallout 3 yet, but it would be awesome to start an RP set in that universe)

Hmmm ok...I see.. Now I haven't played Fallout, but I know a great deal about nuclear things...

We'll have to do this properly anyway, and we'll have to agree on a storyline, whatever we choose.

So let's see what ppl say here! Oh I have one solemn wish, which I refuse to go back on....

NOT just slash and bang!!! Let there be some interactions between the players, not just killing and fighting! Otherwise I'm open to most suggestions..

Unlike Minque, I have played Fallout (2)....for five minutes. Then the cd broke.

Anyway, I say that Dantrag has a point. Established characters, backgrounds and relations may be all neat in a "Oh yeah, I remember that!" way for old-timers, but it will only confuse newer members, or annoy them.

As for the Hack-and-slash, I'm with Minque on this one. I don't mind some from time to time, but I'd like to see opportunities for developing characters as well. I think that one thing THIH III did right was to grow a bit out of it, which unfortunately might be one reason why it died. Yeah, I guess our goal of political intrige and scheming was a bit too ambitious.

So let's talk about that. We can't just ban hack-and-slash alltogether, but combat could be minimized by placing consequences. In other words, we should make sure that whatever characters we'll use WILL NOT BE GODMODED. I can't stress this enough. If people can play what essentially amounts to a level 30+ in full enchanted Daedric, they may easily resort to fighting to solve everything because well...they can't lose so why worry? We all saw what happened in THIH. First we had a few godmodes, who proceeded to steal the show, forcing everyone else to go godmode just so they no longer felt like the fifth wheel. And things escalated from there.
And I take responsibility for being one of those guys who started throwing around godmodes everywhere while I really shouldn't have. So, sorry.

If however, everyone is playing a mook-level character, things change. Fighting one-on-one becomes a challenge and charging even a small group becomes straight suicide. No more rushing the 100+ snakes and slaughtering them all by yourself.

Now I'm all for mook-level, but I suppose we could compromise a bit and allow some higher than average abilities.

While a severe power-limiter like that won't be able to ban fighting alltogether (and really, it shouldn't although it would be nice to see people just fleeing a hard situation for a change.), I do hope that at least it would promote thinking and teamwork more. And from teamwork would flow rp-ing.

Oh, and if we're changing universes and playing Fallout or some similar post-apocalyptic environment, I'll play a mad inventor type.

I don't have any suggestions on storyline however.

Count me in!

I don't mind whether THIH stays or goes, its a bit of a monster and very difficult to get into so would need something drastic done to it really. But then I haven't invested anything into it so if people want to keep it...

As for slash and bang/ godmodes I couldn't agree more, its much more fun to play normal people and to roleplay rather than kill droves of meaningless enemies. So yea I'd base it around more normal people.

I don't mind what universe its played in, I've never played fallout but I'm sure five minutes on the internet could fill that in.

So long as there's a strong storyline to keep things moving it shopuld be fun.

Wouldn't mind playing in another universe as well, wether it would be something like Fallout 3 (haven't played any of the games in the series though) or something like the D20 universe where you play in a modern or futuristic setting but still have special abilities and creatures.

Perhaps not Fallout 3, as not everyone knows all the important details, but maybe we do something crazy wit Nirn, something like...jumping the timeline forward 1000 years, to a similar period to the 21st century, with rifles and tanks and helicopters.

It's only an idea, but how about the United Federation for a Liberated Morrowind go to war with the Rebublic of Tamriel-and a squad of soldiers (ie. us) are thrown into thick of the fighting (And yes, I want to be a Nord with a machine gun).

Your thoughts?

Uhhh machine-guns in Nirn?? I just can't imagine that. Now we once tried a futuristic one...but it didn't last long..well anyway the universe is one thing but I think if we coud come up with a solid interesting storyline, it could be a hit...

Whatever universe we use it has to be well defined, there are hundreds out there, or we could make our own (and banging machine guns into nirn would be tantamount to that). But if we do make our own then someone has a lot of work finding out whats wanted then building the world.

Maybe its better to stay with premade ones, then everyone knows what they're getting...

We could use nirn going back in time a bit, maybe a bit before morrowind?

Maybe if I typed up a bit of background for this idea-I've given it some thought and I think I can work a modern twist into the Elder Scrolls universe without losing its flavour. Just give me today to get it worked out.

Look, I'll apologize up front for not being around. I've been on an internet hiatus for the last two weeks (not even glancing at the forums) and my comp got a trojan horse on friday (or was it thursday?). And I just got it back.

I think it would be okay to move on, this RP was the one that got me into role-playing. If we can't finish it well, then let's just remember it for the fun parts. Personally, I'm in a dystopian mood right now. While I've been gone I've been brainstorming new stuff to try to get my career here back in the air.

....... By the way, I'm also very into guns right now.

Right, this is my idea for a possible setting for the story-tell me what you think (I’ve got some weapon/uniform/vehicle designs in the works too, if anyone’s interested).

Modern Oblivion-a concept by The Bean

It is one thousand years since the Oblivion Crisis, and Cyrodiil is at war. Morrowind, and old enemy of the nation, has launched a devastating offence against the empire, capturing the city of Cheyindal and much of the eastern borders. Led by the fanatical Athres Oliess, the Morrowindan forces have pushed forwards through the province. With resistance being gathered, soldiers from all over the nation are gathered together to fight the enemy as they approach the Imperial City. The fate of the nation hangs in the balance-if the ancient city is taken, the rest of Cyrodiil will fall, and there is little doubt in anyone’s mind that Athres Oliess will not stop there.

A history of Cyrodiil

The great Empire of Tamriel, stretching from the furthest shores of Morrowind to the most northern Fjord of the Skyrim coast, collapsed seven hundred years ago, creating the foundation of Nirn’s modern nations. After the infamous Oblivion crisis, it seemed the Empire would collapse were it not for the political cunning of High Chancellor Ocato. He remade old alliances, sent reinforcements to critical forts, and most essentially of all, opened a dialogue with Morrowind, using the people’s hero, the Nerevarine, as a mediator. Though it seemed that any revolution would start soon in Tamriel’s notoriously dissident province, thanks to his diplomatic prowess the High-Chancellor managed to keep the peace for a few more years.

Indeed, the Empire dissolved three centuries later, without a single sword being drawn in anger. Morrowind, always fiercely independent, began to call for autonomy from the Empire. Though no request such as this would normally be granted, calls from both Skyrim and Hammerfell resulted in Tellus Horatian, the High-Chancellor at the time, to fear civil war. Instead of allowing the Empire to collapse into a bloody power struggle, where the people would most likely live under the yoke of a tyrant, Horatian wisely opted to allow the provinces to form their own nations, withdrawing legion soldiers to reinforce their borders. For another six hundred years, as technology and society advanced, peace was bought about.

Yet it was shattered by one important event-the assassination of the Nerevarine. Having become both a political and spiritual leader, the death of the vanquisher of Dagoth Ur caused a massive power struggle to erupt around the nation. While the country tore itself apart in the bloodiest war in Nirn’s history, the rest of the planet held its breath, knowing that whoever triumphed would most likely have gained a taste for blood.

When Athres Oliess rose to power, conquering the province his elite army, the situation could not have looked worse for Cyrodiil. Olies was infamous for his hatred of foreigners, branding them oppressors invaders, and with a special loathing reserved for Cyrodiil, which he held a grudge against for years of occupation. He expelled all non-dunmer from the province, forcing them to seek refuge in their home nations, and re-introduced the enslavement of Khajiit and Argonians, citing it as an ancient tradition. With war an immanent fact, Oliess took the offensive, sweeping over Cyrodiil’s eastern borders and now threatening to capture the Imperial city itself.

No offense to anyone, but the futuristic Tamriel doesn't really appeal to me for some reason. I did like Olen's idea of going back to pre-Morrowind times. Cursed ashlands and blight are pretty epic backdrops.

Yeah....honestly, after reading through this thread I agree with Danny....pre-MW sounds thrilling...

No offense to you, Bean, but I'm with everyone else on this one. I honestly can't see Tamriel working with relatively modern technology. Apart from the medieval stasis that it has been in for the last few thousand years, just the idea of modern tech vs magic is a bit weird. If anything, I'd guess that there would be an advancement in enchantment techniques rather than mechanical know-how.

That said, the political setup you've presented sounds pretty good. Unfortunately, we pretty much tried the whole republic of Tamriel thing with To Heir is Human. Maybe one day we'll put it to use but for now, it seems that people prefer to go back in time rather than forward.

Speaking of which, I'll be honest with you. I'm a tad burned out on fantasy setups, but I'll stick with you guys despite that. I know that my own interests are too niche to appeal to most people.

So let's run with the 'just before morrowind' idea. How much earlier do you think? Maybe set it during the Simulacrum? (AKA: Jagar Tharn's reign) My knowledge on that part of TES history is a bit rusty, but I seem to remember that it was a pretty chaotic time, with the empire creaking on its foundations and on the brink of civil war. Or rather, there was a civil war going on in Morrowind (I think. Didn't Barenziah's husband get killed by an anti-empire group?), Valenwood and Elsweyr were going at it again, and High Rock was a mess of tiny citystates fighting amongst each other, same thing with Hammerfell. (Note: I'm just going by memory here, so I could be wrong.) Oh, and then there were the Orsimer trying to revive Orsinium.

Ah well, it was just a concept-if nobody's that interested then I can always use it for a story.

A story in pre-Morrowind Vvardenfel would be interesting, but how pre would pre be?

When I suggested pre morrowind I literally meant just pre maybe a decade.

http://www.imperial-library.info/history/3.shtml < history of that time

A few key dates in a nutshell:
3E 407 - construction of the ghostfence begins
3E 410 - sixth house spreading
- 414 - Vvardenfell opened to non temple people
- 415 - Sixth house everywhere, its strong
- 417 - The big one. The tribune loose keening and sunder and so most of their power to dagoth Ur. They keep this secret (as they had the source of their power)
- 426-7 - several assassination of prominent figures by sixth house
3E 427 - Neverine comes and kills dagoth ur three years later

Now as to why I think then would be good. Firstly its very fronteer, Vvardenfell is new territory and powers are changing, its all far more 'fronteer' than it was by the time morrowind was set. Everyone has secrets and stands to make, or lose, a lot. There are several factions all warring, the thieves guild/ commona tong, great houses, the temple within itself and with the dissident priests who would be appearing at this point. The imperials. The blades. The twin lamps. The ashlanders. Essentially everyone wants something and no one can have it all.

The other reason is because the most exciting times, especially for role play is not when it all blows up but is rather the lead in (that'smy opinion at least).

I think with different people on slightly different side (though probably not totally opposing) it could be good fun playing out what came before, we could make it follow what happened or if that isn't whats happening go our own way.

That was my thought but if anyone has another suggestion I'm happy any way. I just love morrownd becuase it has so much politics and conflict and this was one of its more strained times.

So we have the when, so now we need the what and the who.

What kind of character is wanted and what are this group doing in Vvardenfel?

I'd personally like to be a daedra worshipper, preferably one of Sheogorath or Mehrunes Dagon (or both).

I'll have to study up the events of that period a bit more before I can say anything definite.

Anyway, running with the year 417 and using Olen's short list for now. The way I see it, there will be several factors we could use. If not as part of the story, then maybe just for worldbuilding.

It's only been three years or so since people from the empire entered Vvardenfell enmasse. Seeing how isolationist and traditional most Dunmer are, this leads to some big friction especially since people aren't used to all those foreigners. Now I'd say Balmora is likely to be the most Imperialized city, followed by tourists in Vivec. When you move into Telvanni, Redoran territory, Outlanders become extremely rare.

Speaking of which, I always wondered about the Foreign Canton in Vivec. Till now, I assumed it had been around for decades but if that date is correct, there is no real reason for it to be any older than ten years. Then how was it constructed? I only see two options. Either it is a brand-new Canton, or an older Canton was remodeled and handed over to the foreigners. If so:
1: A newly constructed Canton would be a mayor project, equal to and likely even bigger than a fortress for a high-ranking member in one of the Houses. Then how was it constructed? Now unlike the game where you can get a village-sized Crab/Magic Mushroom/castle plopped down in just a few weeks, I'd say that a timespan in the order of months to years is a more realistic one.

So, did A giant mob of Dunmer/slaves pile bricks on top of each other? Or do we have to assume that Vivec performed a miracle? (Wasn't the cities' origin explained as the spine of some giant beast Vivec had slain or something?)
2: If it was an already existing canton, its original inhabitants would be less than pleased with the news that they have to give their house to some Outlander. This leads to friction again. (Sabotaging efforts against the remodeling crew? Threats against the new inhabitants?)

Because Outlanders are still a new phenomena, instead of the cold reception/open hostility you see in the game, there might be instances where an Outlander is treated as some sort of exotic, rarely spotted animal. As a curiosity, rather than an invader. (Note: This only holds up as long as the outlander in the matter is either alone or with a very small group.)

Beastfolk will pretty much deal with the same issues they dealt with ingame. Namely, being treated as non-sentient slaves whose only reason for existing is as a cheap workforce for the richer Dunmer.


That's it for now. I had more, but I forgot it while typing this down. Silly, I know.

Wait, I do remember this bit. How did Vivec know where Sunder and Keening where hidden? That always felt a bit odd to me though. I seriously doubt he walked in there, saw Sunder/Keening sitting on an altar, then just turned around and walked away while making a note of it. If he had seen it, he would have tried to recapture it. (And most likely Sunder and Keening would have been moved somewhere else again after that attempt fails.)

Though in all fairness and speaking as a gamer, I would have been seriously pissed if Vivec said:"Sorry Nerevar, but I have no idea where to find them. Try all the thousand caves of Vvardenfell, look under every pebble outside, pick every Dreamer's pocket and don't forget to check the rest of Nirn to see if Dagoth Ur didn't ship them off to Akavir. I'll be waiting right here in case you need some advice."

Now either he used some godly power of vision, or he sent in spies or something. (Which also gives a good excuse for why Sunder/Keening is still there. Spies don't have Wraithguard to keep the damn things from killing them after all. Though Dagoth Ur still should have just moved them to his bedroom or something.)

Perhaps my summary was a little misleading, I think there would have been outlanders (and most certainly native morrowind dunmer) on Vvardenfell before 3E 414. It was opened to 'colonisation' as the temple could no longer ban 'trade and additional settling'. So I'd think smuggling would still be rife and ther would be foreigners around but they would be on tempory 'visas' similarly to the real world - if I want to travel or work outside the EU I need the right documents (or transport to an out-of-the-way bit of border).

But I'd agree the whole dynamic of it will have changed hugely, and there will be a lot more outlanders around as I'd imagine getting the right documents would be easier for non-outlanders. I'd imagine there would be a big population swing going on and all the hatred, anger etc that seems to cause.

As for Keening and Sunder the only other explaination would be that they knew where Dagoth Odros and Dagoth Vemyin lived as it was they who stole Keening and Sunder.

I would definitely be in on the pre-Morrowind idea, I love that province and miss it haha. We'd need a good plot so we don't have a War of the Houses again.

(well, in doing lore research, i realized that the timeline says the blight didnt come along until 427, while the ghostfence construction began in 407, supposedly to keep out the blight that had not been reawakened yet...)

inconsistencies aside, I would like to center it around the time of the ghostfence construction, and say the blight's already back at this point.

We're still at a loss as far as plot, though.

Crap. I had a lot written down, but then I had to go and accidentally press the 'previous page'-button. Go me.

Anyway, I was in the process of making a short and dirty list that might just help get us an idea of the kind of plot we're looking for. Or it might muddy up things. Thinking of it, it would probably muddy things up.

So far, we have pretty much agreed on the place and the time. We have also agreed that it should not overly focus on hackity-slashy. So here is my quick idea.

How about playing a more investigator-type? Like agents for a certain person/organization? It could be highly official. (Good morning, this is the Temple Internal Affairs department. We would like to ask you a few questions regarding the recent dissappearance of the donations bowl.) Or it could be of the more shadowy behind the scenes thing. (My rival has opened an Ebony mine and wants to move in on my bussiness. Shut it down, discredit him.)

Now there is one question I'd like to ask. Do you guys want to have just one player-group? Or do you want to go with the 'good guys' 'bad guys' setup of THIH? I personally prefer the one-group idea, since having two groups could be problematic if neither is willing to compromise and let the other succeed from time to time. (Then again, this only really applies if the two groups would be at conflict with each other.)

On the other hand, having one group makes it a bit harder to add stuff to the rp coming from outside the group. But if done well, it could be a good source for rp-ing. So my personal suggestion would be to go with one group, with one purpose, but with everyone having his/her own idea on how best to achieve it. It could lead to some quality arguing/compromising time.

Oh, and one last thing. The Moral compass. Do you want the PCs to be gray , pure good ...or pure evil?

I like the one group idea but how a bout a little twist...

Say we were to play investigator types but rather than all being from one organisation we were all investigating the same thing (perhaps the source of he tribune's power, or why the ghostfence must be build, they're fairly linked, or something totally different, I don't mind) so they will all come together as one group but with slightly different interests and spins. We could (and proabably should) still have multiple PCs in the same group to help it hold together but the multiple groups could add a bit of spice. Maybe the temple one trying to hush what he finds while a dissident trys to proclaim it and an imperial tryies to cash in on it... That way we could be whatever alignment takes our fancy because there will be people wanting to be any of three.

Of course to hold it together more we could have a set few groups people could be in, or we could leave it more open.

Just a thought.

It would, but that does seem a tad too restrictive, and why would a temple person investigate something that they would hush up?

And it wouldn't work for the character I had in mind either (a psychotic, Mehrunes Dagon worshipping, anarchist).

agreed. and at that time, people knew why the ghostfence was being built, and they knew the source of the tribunal's power, right? i thought the heart itself was common knowledge, it just wasn't common knowledge that the tribunal was pretty much cut off from its power since dagoth ur stole sunder and keening.

http://www.imperial-library.info/mwbooks/p...ess_truth.shtml

According to the somewhat biased dissidents various aspects of the tribune are secrets, including the source of their power and various other little embarrasments.

And you have to remember the temple was collapsing by 3E327 though perhaps mainly due to the fall and insanity of the tribunes.

But whatever, I don't really mind how we structure this and we still need some sort of driving story.

Bean, I don't know how well your character would work in a team, honestly. Anarchist, and Mehrunes-Dagon worshipper. That sounds like he won't get along with people and have a desire for destruction. Unless of course, everyone plays the same type of character, but I doubt that. Maybe he is an anarchist and Mehrunes worshipper, but usually hides that under an illusion of civilized behavior. Because he is the eyes and ears of his cult in the cities?

Anyway, here is a quick, and far too brief plot-idea. Chew on it, shoot it, whatever.

With the loss of the tools, the Tribunal has pretty much panicked. Almalexia is going crazy, Vivec has sheltered himself in his palace and Sotha Sil...he was never much of a public person anyway. But despite all that, they still want to keep society function as normal as possible. So, to avoid doubts and questions from the people. Vivec (or Almalexia, in one of her more sane moments) has decided to form a team of...do-gooders.

Their mission, to seek out those who doubt the Tribunal. To restore people's faith in the Tribunal by doing good deeds and upholding the lessons of the sermons. And perhaps to achieve some personal goals while they're at it. (Hey, a bit of extra money never hurts.) And their missiongiver also ordered them to pick up those who wished to travel with them. So they could witness the good deeds of those in service to the Tribunal. (A bit like reporters travelling with military groups, actually. And a handwave to allow non-temple members to be in the group.)

i don't want the RP to be a missionary trip...

maybe we could say that the ghostfence is being built, but construction crews are constantly being assaulted by Dagoth Ur's minions. So in addition to Temple folk (armigers and healers) there would be all the Great Houses helping out, as well as additional mercenaries.

this would be before the colonization of Vvardenfell, though. (as far as outlanders go)

My guy was going to be the dangerous kind of nut-the kind that you don't realise is a nut until it's too late. So he could go around do gooding, but he will be quite happy to torture, kill and maim should he wish.

And if we do do the do-gooders idea (which I prefer-less chance of godmoding in that way, and more politcal intruige), I'll have him as a temple fanatic instead.

Ah, the joy of headcases and literature...

*Cackles*

Well, looks like I was wrong then. You can make your character work after all.


Anyway. Dantrag, you're suggesting that the PCs will be mercenaries hired to help make sure the construction goes smoothly? (perhaps in a mixed group that includes house members and temple members, depending on the characters people will make.) If so, I'm fine with it.

For starters though, maybe an assignment like escorting a supply-caravan through the ashlands towards the ghostfence might be a good idea to get a feeling for it. Sixt I'd rather deal with normal wildlife and maybe a territorial ashlander tribe, till we've gotten used to each other's characters. Protecting construction-workers from Ash-slaves and all is better left to the professionals, at least at first.

Of course, you also said that it is before the colonization. This means that unless folks can give a very good reason for theirs, characters will be limited to Dunmer and the Beast races. I don't have a problem with that myself.

ok...sounds good to me! Gives us the opportunity to actually interact with each other...talk, sleep, eat, make love..yeah whatever! I like it! Since I'll probably play a woman...(as usual) it will be fine!

Sounds good, especially the caravan guarding prologue, but we should be careful-it'll be all too easy for us to turn the story into one where we battle a meatgrinder of Dagoth Ur's minions. While that would be awesome as a climax, maybe we shoule make sure it's just the climax. Not to say the occasional raid is out of the question, but with this story we'll have to take extra care to make sure that combat takes a back seat to character development.

Before we start we need answers to a few questions:

The story

How do our characters all come together? It would be nice to set it up so it isn't forced, probably they are all going to work (fight, build, trade, heal, whatever) at an outpost camp where the fence is being built. But there could be other options.

What is the central conflict of the plot? In many ways this is most important. Obviously Dagoth Ur but how exactly. "They want to build the fence uncle Ur wants to stop them" falls a bit flat really. I think a few more specifics would keep things much more exciting and tight.

What, if anything, directly ties our characters together? Will they just happen all to be at the same camp, will there be anyone else at the camp? If not then the question is answered but it's a small camp, if so then there must be something to make them interact as I doubt the range we will end up with would hang out together normally...

Will there be an antagonist? Again obviously Ur is one but he's a bit beyond our reach if we don't godmode (and we shouldn't) so will there be another (or several) more reachable (but still challanging) 'boss(es)' so to speak. Whose side will they be on, ashladers? Sixth house? Will they be sitting in their cave/tent or will they be a hidden enemy within the government or even camp? I'm sure others would have objections to the project, I can't see the ghostfence doing good things to the value of real estate on Red Mountain...

Do we need to work out any NPCs or PCs we will require in advance? Leaders, politicians, priests, etc?

Characters

Is everyone happy to be limited to dunmer (and incomers if not aligned with the temple as before 3E414 there were no great house holding on Vvardenfell) or slaves (possibly escaped though this could be difficult)? I'm fine with it but it does limit some poeple.

Will mixed races occur? I dare say all humans can mix but can mer? What about mer and man (I don't think this happens in game)...

Setting

Has the blight appeared yet? I think we shuld go against the lore here and say it has as it would be a cool twist but perhaps it's less widespread but also harder to treat as its less well known. What about corpus?

Where on the ghostfence are we initially going?

Will there be ashstorms? Again these went with Ur so it would follow that as his power is less they would be less. However they're really cool so I say keep them.

Do people know how the tribunal get their power? The lore says no and I'd say go with it, it adds another thing we can play with if we want and gives the dissidents more reason to be active.


Answers to these will sprout more questions but once we have a fair idea of where we stand its much less likely to run aground. Indeed perhaps people should post what sort of characters they want to play so we know more what we're aiming for.

I think I'll go a priest with disticnctly dissident tendancies trying to find out things some at the temple would rather stayed hidden.

While I am still greatly confused about what the plot is exactly, I think it will be nice to have a cleaner slate to work with. Vvardenfell before the houses sounds interesting, could we maybe place it at a time when the houses are about to be allowed to colonize the island? Then we can have drama with that as well. I would definitely say main characters should not be from houses at all, but possibly secondary characters could.

Just for the sake of it...races can mix...I'm pretty sure of it! Anyway I'm fine with playing a Dunmer...no problems..oh no.

I'm fine with your suggestions so far, escorting some kind of caravan sounds fine!

So now we have to decide how our charachters will come together.....hmm

Perhaps they simply end up in the same caravan? It would make things work without them being too complex.

While it becomes awfully similar to 'We met in a tavern, then decided to hook up and loot the cave of ultimate doom together after knowing each other for five minutes', it actually makes sense enough here. Just have everyone be assigned to the same caravan by pure chance for whatever reason the faction's character needs.

Speaking of characters, how about we use this thread to set up a few test characters so we can make them work in the initial caravan-setting? (as well as see what everyone had in mind.) I'd rather use this thread than set up a character thread. People might think those characters are final and that the rp has started while we're still essentially in the planning-phase.

Yeah I definitely think we could set up characters now. But first what is the caravan doing?

I'd say it's ferrying supplies to some part of the yet to be built ghostfence. (Admittedly, that could be half Vvardenfell. Anyone have some good ideas for a slightly more specific location?)

The supplies could be tools, food, blankets, sanitary stuff, a new bunch of workers to relieve those currently on duty, perhaps some of the stuff (whatever it is) that is used in making the ghost-bit of the fence, spare weapons for the on-site guard detail, arrows to replace those lost against wildlife, mail, anything else we can think of.

Err and here's a question. What would a properly themed caravan look like? Guars dragging carts/carrying sacks tied to their backs? A Silt strider carrying loads and loads of bricks in a basket suspended from its belly? Flying carpets? (Too expensive)

I would say guars carrying tons of sacks, more camel nomadic looking. And I can definitely dig that, so the characters could have many roles, some could be guarding it, some can be merchants, some can be members of the company who is supplying the material, some could be guar herdsmen.

yeah, we could set up a few charchters here, now correct me if I'm wrong....we should be dunmers all of us, right?

We don't all have to be Dunmer but it would make things easier. Theoretically, any race is still possible (with an emphasis on Khajiit/Argonian). However, anything other than Dunmer means that you are very likely to be a slave, with a big lack of freedom in choosing your actions. So yeah, Dunmer is the way to go.

Anyway, here's the idea I had for mine character. I suppose it still needs some work.

Name : Eno Arval

Race : Dunmer

Class : instrument maker/seller

Age : 56

gender : male

Appearance : Of average height, with an angular face. Black hair that’s kept short and well-cut. A goatee. His clothes consist of a brown shirt, with matching pants and cloak. His shoes and the lower half of his pants have some light chitin plates sewn onto them. This is more to protect against barbed bushes than for use in combat. He walks with a bit of a limp.

Equipment : A small toolset (think swiss army knife), a belt with several pouches and a long walking stick. A guar carrying a small tent, some traveling rations and his merchandise.

Personality : Hmm, I don’t know yet. I’m thinking of a relaxed old dude who never rushes himself needlessly.

Brief History : Eno Arval is nothing special. Born in Ald-ruhn, his parents wished for him to join the House as a warrior, which would have raised his social standing considerably. Eno didn’t disagree, and enrolled for basic training. However, he always remained a poor fighter no matter what training he underwent. His last mission had him sent to eradicate a Cliff-racer’s nest together with some other trainees. He was knocked to the ground by one of the birds and broke his right leg. The injury never healed properly and as a result his leg remains somewhat crippled to this day. Of course, with only one properly functioning leg, there was no way for him to become a Redoran warrior.

In the end, he abandoned his goals of joining the house and turned towards the construction of musical instruments, an art at which he showed considerably more skill. His expertise lays in the use of organic materials. (chitin, wood etc) Nowadays, he owns a small shop in Ald-ruhn.

Reason for joining the caravan: He sees a business opportunity. In his mind, the workers will be bored and as such more than willing to pay for any form of entertainment after a hard day of work. It should be possible to sell some instruments to them.

Other Relevant info : While he makes instruments, he’s absolutely awful at playing them. He also makes his own tools. Hey, it’s cheaper than buying!

Ok here’s some ideas:

We all have some interest in the ghostfence be that building, money-making, spying, tourism, etc. And we all happen to be in the same caravan (makes sense – I wouldn’t fancy wandering across the ashlands alone) and so meet. Perhaps this caravan is going to an outpost camp, like a temporary village which services a length of the construction.

Where this is could have a fair impact, perhaps the top of Foyada Ashur-dan? It’s right out in the wilds but within striking distance of various places (though remember that several of the Telvanni towns will be non-existent or at least much smaller and other than a wizards tower there won’t be as many mushrooms). The most obvious place to start would probably be up the River Nabia from Suran or maybe up towards Ghostgate from Balmora then cut east. I’d say the first though.

Now initial plot – how about we’re in the caravan and a big ashstorm hits? Perhaps bigger than any character has seen before? Then we’d need to find somewhere to hole up and might pick somewhere which would offend the local ashlanders? It would get things moving quickly though if anyone could come up with something better do.

The plot further on – I’m pretty stumped here but I’m not sure its entirely wise to carry on without thinking, it may lead to thing running aground. We could revolve it around a few key characters (local ashlanders, a local sixth house base leader, some temple big-wig, maybe a rouge Telvanni base (could offer ‘friends in strange places’ later)). But perhaps some idea of where this is going would be better.


A somewhat briefer idea of the character I’m thinking of:

Name:

Age: 25

Race: Dunmer

Class: Pilgrim-priest. Good at Alchemy, Mysticism, Speechcraft, and Hand-to-hand fighting (if he has to). So-so at enchanting.

Gender: Male

Equipment: Although he likes hand to hand he keeps a small cudgel for which hands won’t suffice. A mortar and pestle, preparation knife and a battered alembic, a few random herbs and food. Some books. Yes he travels light.

Personality: Deeply sceptical and free-thinking but clever enough to know to hide this in his line of work. He is deeply pragmatic. He is fairly friendly to most people but certain things can bring about an incongruous streak for ‘righteous fury’, for example his is avidly against the opening of Vvardenfell and any doubts he has are of the temple system and not the tribunals (at least of yet…).

History: Brought up staunchly religious in Maar Gan he joined the temple to become a priest fairly young and as a result isn’t wholly balanced. He studied to get his priesthood (and learnt a few things about the world during various pilgrimages, which he deeply enjoys). In his time he has noticed certain irregularities in the temple doctrine and read a couple of banned books, he is very close to becoming dissident.

Reason for being in caravan: To watch the construction for a temple elder because he knows something about enchanting. Also he’s interested.