Wow. Lots of votes. This was a highly contested episode, and it wasn't easy to tally votes. Some people were phrasing suggestions in the form of questions. Some were posting pros and cons for both sides of an issue without clearly settling on either side. Some people wanted to do things...but only if in a certain manner. And some are listing reasons to not do something...but then saying that they don't necessarily think it's a bad idea to do it anyway. Is a post like that a yes or a no vote? It's not always definite. And unfortunately a LOT of people are making suggestions that are not immediately applicable. And some are making posts like "if thing X that we don't know is like this, then I'd like to do Z. But if it's not, I'd rather not do Z." But nobody knows about thing X yet. Is that a yay or nay vote to do Z? Who knows? It's great that this is apparently a very popular thread...but yeah, was kind of difficult to determine what the consensus was for this episode. I've done my best to sort through it and this is what I'm seeing:
Join the Imperial Legion - yay +7
Join the legion.
let join up
it wouldn't necessarily be such a bad idea to join them
I say we join the Legion.
Yeah, free training is good.
it probably wouldn't hurt us to spend a year in the guard
the legion sounds good.
Join the Imperial Legion - nay +5
Hell no to joining the legion.
Oppose joining the legion.
I really, really think long-term alliance with Legion is a bad idea.
-1 Joining the Legion and letting the PC's head start get even greater.
I vote against joining the legion
Bandit - yay +4
Could we conceivably spend some money on scrolls and take him out pretty safely with magic? Was he far from town?
At the very least, I think it would be a good opportunity to try and legitimately talk our way through a problem that only has a violent solution in morrowind. And then blast him when it goes south.
I really think the best course of action is to simply talk to the bandit
+1 Diplomacy (convince to leave) or Guile (poison) with bandit.
Bandit - nay +3
As for the bandit, we're not ready to take him head-on.
I would NOT go for the bandit. That's a baaaaad idea.
I vote against...getting near the bandit.
Magic +5
Should really be focusing on magic training and the mathematical connection, along with alchemy.
Yeah, using magic is also a good idea
Well... Training magic seems to be one thing that seems fairly consistent. We can start there.
+1 Training Magic
I think we should ask around to see if anyone who only knows the basics of magic is willing to teach us the basics for manual labor (or the funds we could get from what we have).
So...biggest vote for any specific action is to join the legion, with 7 votes. But there are also 5 votes against it. Whereas while only 5 people are suggesting magic, nobody opposes. So, if we subtract nay votes from yay votes, this is what we get.
Magic: 5
Join the Legion: 7-5 = 2
Bandit: 4-3 = 1
Magic wins.
Episode 20: Travel to Pelgiad, Interupted
join the legion
don't join the legion
:
"Sounds like you guys are really divided on this. I could go either way. I guess a majority are saying to do it, but I'm hesitant to do something with that many people advising against it. Ok, how about this: those of you who say to not join the legion, what would you suggest I do instead?"buy some magical scrolls and kill wealthy people no one will miss.
:
"I don't have the money to do that."there's about 7 Telvanni outside Tel Branora that Therana (or rather, her lackey) will pay you good money to eliminate.
:
"Wait...last time I fought ONE opponent, I died. And you're suggesting I take on 7 at once? And you want to me to do this in hopes that I'll get a reward for it from Therana, the insane Telvanni mage-lord who hates men and has trick quests that kill you if you do them as described? Uhh...think I'll pass."figure out another way of making money quickly
:
"That sounds like a good idea. What do you suggest?"I suggest trying to get the drop on that bandit
I would NOT go for the bandit
:
"...ok, sounds like no consensus on the bandit idea. Plus, Hla Oad is almost all the way back to Seyda Neen, and we'd need to go to Fort Moonmoth to turn it in. The bounty's only 100 gold, we'd pay probably half that much for silt strider travel, and I crossing that ground on foot to save money is likely to get me killed. Any other ideas?"alchemical training
and alchemical training
:
"Ok, but I still don't have any alchemy tools. Somebody suggested borrowing Ajira's earlier, but I don't see that happening. I'm not a member of the guild, and Ajira was watching when I first showed up in Balmora escorted by two Ordinators, and also when the guide guild accused me of being a stalker. I don't see her going out of her way to do me any favors."see if we can't steal ourselves a set of alchemy tools to get ourselves started.
:
"Sure, that sounds reasonable. The Caldera mage guild has a full set that'scompletely unguarded. But we know that dunmer girl we're guessing is a PC sold Nalcarya a bunch of potions...and if I were to guess, I'd guess that the Caldera set is probably what she used. The arena canton in Vivec has a couple assorted pieces in a storeroom, but I'd have to deal with at least one giant rat to get to them, and possibly two rats plus a locked door. Caius has a skooma pipe that be used as an alembic, but that's a low quality piece and I'd have to deal with Caius to get to it. The Ald'ruhn mage guild has a full set...but it's behind a locked door with a nasty magic trap on it. Worst case, if I can get a little money together, there are merchants in Balmora, Sadrith Mora and a few other places that sell the basic apprentice pieces for under 100 gold each."Should really be focusing on magic training
Yeah, using magic is also a good idea
Training magic seems to be one thing that seems fairly consistent. We can start there.
:
"I could go to Pelagiad and talk to Ranis' friend, but she said it would probably cost a couple thousand septims for training. I have 44, and it will probably take most of that just to get there. But at the very least I can talk to the guy, show him my letter of introduction from Ranis and see what he says. Whether or not we can actually make a deal right away, we should at least be able to find out if the offer is good. Does that work for everyone? Yes? Ok. Fastest way to Pelagiad from here is to walk from Seyda Neen."
:
"So what will it be, son? Join the legion and make something of yourself, or set out on your own and die a fool's death?":
"I think I'll go with option C. Thanks for the offer...and I'll consider it. But this isn't quite what I expected.":
"It's your loss and mine both. If you change your mind, the legion is always recruiting."You head back to the silt strider.
Ok, yeah, you
really need to solve the money problem at some point. Fortunately you have
exactly enough money to get you to Seyda Neen, and since there's no travel service to Pelagiad you were planning to walk the rest of the trip anyway. You hand over the last of your gold and ride to Seyda Neen. It's dark again by the time you arrive.
Also, next time we are back in Seyda Neen, actually ask the
lighthouse lady what's wrong and if we can help.
Passing by a guard carrying a torch on the way, you head back to the lighthouse and knock. The distraught girl you saw earlier answers. She's an even worse mess than before. Her hair is tangled, her face red, and she's obviously been crying heavily. But as soon as she sees you her eyes go from teary to furious.
:
"You! You miserable thief! How dare you come back!":
"...ummm, I...":
"Guards! Guard! Help! Thief!":
"Wait! No, I...umm...can't we talk about this?"Unsure whether to run or try to talk her down, she gets in your face and physically pushes you back with her forward momentum while she continues screaming at you. You begin seriously considering jumping into the water to escape when the guard you passed a moment ago comes running up the wooden platform leading to the lighthouse.
:
"What seems to be the trouble?":
"This miserable fetcher was here not 12 hours ago. He stole my book! It was a gift from...from...Processus..."She collapses to the ground in tears. Fear strikes you. How could you have forgotten? This girl is the taxman's girlfriend. She was upset earlier because her boyfriend was murdered and his body found outside of town. It was a quest that you considered doing, but kind of glossed over.
check in with the census office and see if tax-dude is missing
anything you can do might reveal if or if not tax-guy's still unfound, and if he is still missing,
then Seyda Neen's probably mostly untouched and we should probably loot what's relatively moral to loot.
...yeah. That one.
:
"Hand over your bag, please."You hand your backpack over to the guard and stand there uncomfortably while he goes through it. To his credit he passes over your Rainbow Dash t-shirt without comment. But your heart stops for a moment when he opens up the small pouch of your backpack. The part that
still has the bottle of greef that you stole earlier. To your mild surprise he passes over it without notice, finishes searching your bag then returns it to you.
:
"This man does match the description that was provided to me earlier, but I find no stolen contraband on him. Did you personally witness the theft?.":
"No, I didn't...personally see it...but it HAD to have been him. He's the only person who's been in here all day! The book was right where I left it this morning, that CRIMINAL came through, and I went upstairs minutes after he left and it was gone!":
"I'm sorry, miss. Without an eyewitness, and no sign of the stolen merchandise, there's nothing I can do." He turns to you.
"You're free to go."Then he walks off. Thavere just sits on the ground in a miserable heap, crying on herself. You feel really bad. The fact is...you
did steal her book. You stole several of her things, including the greef that you still have. You're not entirely sure why the guard didn't identify it as stolen. Maybe he had no way to know. Maybe the girl only reported the book as stolen. Maybe not everything from the pile was flagged as belonging to her. Maybe...something else. Who knows? Your thoughts are interrupted as Thavere stands up. Sort of. She's cradling herself with her arms and refuses to look into your eyes but you can hear her well enough through her sobs.
:
"...please."It takes her a moment to continue. You wait.
:
"...I just...need to know. Please...what did you do with the book? Where is it? I won't tell the guards. I promise. Just please...it's the last thing I have of his....all I have...to remember him. Please."
Known stats
Health 40/40
Armor rating: 1
Attributes (Values in parenthesis are starting values)
21.6 Strength (20)
30.4 Speed (30)
31.6 Agility (30)
30.4 Endurance (30)
41.0 Intelligence (40)
41.6 Personality (40)
Skills
16 Acrobatics (0)
9 Athletics (5)
14 Speechcraft (10)
4 Mercantile (0)
5 Alchemy (0)
Worn:
* Steel tanto, with scabbard and carrying straps
* Colovian fur "helm"
* Commoner's shirt
* Commoner's belt
* 'Expensive' pants
* Tennis shoes
* Interior coinpurse, empty
Backpack
Main compartment:
* Yellow notepad with 57 pages left
* 1 pen
* 1 Standard Restore Health potions
* 1 Greef
* 2 soulgems of uncertain size
* "20% cooler" Rainbow Dash t-shirt,
* Denim pants
* a cellphone and wallet with picture ID and $30 in cash
Small compartment
* 3 saltrice
* 1 kwama cuttle
* 1 bread
Alchemy Knowledge
Bread - [1] Restore Fatigue
Small Kwama Egg - [1] Restore Fatigue
saltrice [1]Restore endurance
kwama cuttle [1]Restore health
luminous russula [1]Paralysis
What do you do?