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Author Topic: Marooned in Morrowind (FINISHED)  (Read 432701 times)

WillowLuman

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #435 on: June 21, 2013, 06:14:15 pm »

We almost didn't get away with a trivial theft...

But anyway, I don't know of anyone of the family that tomb belongs to who lives near Peligaid.
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Urist_McGamer

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #436 on: June 21, 2013, 06:16:09 pm »

Posting to watch, don't have anything meaningful to add to the discussion right now.
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But others might prefer to have the mess contained behind windows to avoid tracking blood all over the their nice, color coordinated floor patterns. Kind of the Ozzy Osborne vs. Martha Stewart debate.

LordBucket

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #437 on: June 22, 2013, 02:53:15 am »

Episode 25: Necros and Nordics and guilds, oh my!

Quote
let the Orc know we're interested but that we aren't strong enough to try it yet

: "Thank you, Sharn. I'm definitely interested in your proposal. But I don't think I can rush right out and do it just this instant. I think I need to get a bit stronger first."

: "I have no use for a weak ally. The offer won't be available forever. Once I'm done here I'll go out and do it myself if you haven't already."

: "Done with what?"

: "None of your business. Now go away and let me get back to it."

Quote
check out the fighters guild while we're in town as well

You head next door to the fighter's guild and talk to Eydis Fire-Eye, the local guildhall leader.



: "Hello. What can I do for you?"

: "I was considering joining the guild. What can you tell me about it?"

: "We operate under an official charter from the Emperor to regulate and train mercenaries. Anyone wants to hire a merc, they come to us. Want work? Join the guild. It's that simple."

: "Is training limited to members only?"

: "No, we'll train anyone who can pay. We give a discount to members though. Membership also gives you access to our barracks for sleeping and temporary storage, as well as to the guild chest, which people drop the occasional odds and ends into. Membership is by examination only, and costs 25 gold per month. Guild chest donations count towards that though, so members can have their fees waived by contributing to the survival of our junior members."

: "What kind of donations?"

: "Mostly low end arms and armor. A few of us make healing potions to toss in there too. It's in our best interest to keep new recruits alive. It makes us look bad if you get killed on an assignment. If you want to make a donation, talk to Fasile one level down and she'll write it up for you."

: "What kind of jobs do you usually get?"

: "Anything people want mercenaries for. Clearing out monster dens, guard and patrol duty, merchant and caravan escorts...I've got two jobs on my desk right now. East Empire company is looking for a warehouse guard, and some Telvanni wants us to try and track down some escaped slaves."

Interesting. You don't recognize either of those as vanilla quests.

: "What's the pay like?"

: "I think you might be getting ahead of yourself, partner. You want in? Great. But you don't carry yourself like a veteran and that fluffy hat you're wearing makes me guess you've never seen a fight in your life. Head downstairs and talk to Hasphat. If he says you can join, give me 25, sign a contract and then we'll talk business."

: "What's the entrance exam like?"

: "Just need to prove you can handle yourself in a fight. I don't care if you poke, slash or stab, but dying's not an option. Remember you represent us too."

You hear someone walking up the stairs behind you, and Eydis looks over your shoulder. You turn to see a massive Nord wearing mixed fur and chitin armor and carrying an axe as big as your chest on his waist. He looks back at you, then at Eydis, then looks nervously at the ground.



: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Go right ahead. I can wait."

Apparently he's the strong, quiet type.

: "Bjorn! Welcome back. Everything taken care of?"

: "Yes. I do feel bad for the rats, though. They weren't hurting anyone."

: "According to Miss Thelas, they'd broken into her storeroom and were chewing up her pillows."

: "They were teething! Chewing on pillows would be very good for them."

: "Maybe, but this 100 gold payment is better for you than the pillows were for the rats. Here you go."

She hands him some coins.

: "Thank you."

...wait. This guy just turned in a quest. Is he a PC? How would you know if he was? Can npcs do quests too? You rack your brains for something to say, but nothing clever comes to mind.

: "Hi."

He glances at you then goes back to looking at the ground.

: "Hello."

: "Bjorn, was it?"

He nods, but doesn't look up.

: "...yes. Bjorn....Death-Dealer. I'm sorry. I didn't choose the name."

Silence reigns as nobody says anything. The conversation obviously isn't going anywhere, so you decide to go for broke.

: "Are you a PC?"

He frowns and looks up in confusion.

: "...am I...a what? I don't understand."

Eydis folds her arms challengingly and interrupts.

: "Hey. Stop harassing my members. "

: "Umm, sorry."

: "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry. I'm still new at this. I don't know all the words yet. I'm sorry. I'll just be going now."

Bjorn backs away and bumps into the wall, turns around abruptly and starts to apologize to that too before he realizes it's a wall, then rushes down the stairs as if embarrassed. You want to give chase, but Eydis is still watching you.

: "New recruit?"

: "Yes, just arrived from Skyrim this morning. Great with an axe, but poor guy's heart isn't really in it."

: "I'll say. "

: "Ehhh...I've seen his type before. It's not as uncommon as you might think. Big, strong guy like that probably grew up breaking things and accidentally hurting people. Never got close to anyone, and always feels like he's walking on eggshells. That's my guess."

You're not convinced of that explanation. But you can't think of any suitable reply. Instead you thank Eydis for her time and head downstairs to try to catch Bjorn. Unfortunately you didn't see which way he turned after the corner at the bottom of the stairs. Stepping outside the guild, you see no sign of him. So on the off-chance that he went downstairs instead, you go back inside and look around.



No sign of anyone in the barracks.



And no sign of him in the training room either. Looks like you lost him. But that's Hasphat Antabolis, so you may as well talk to him while you're here.

: "Hi. You conduct entrance exams?"

: "Yes, I handle all exams and combat trials. Are you here to join the guild?"

: "Maybe later...not now, thanks. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't qualify. But since I'm here, Eydis mentioned that you provide training to non-members. How much and what do you teach?"

: "Lessons are one hour, and cost 100 gold for members, or 150 for non-members. I'm a certified combat trainer for all major weapon and armor types, as well as shields, unarmed defense and fighting. Guild admission requires basic knowledge of both one offensive and defensive style."

: "So, for 150 gold you'll teach me the basics of any one style?"

: "Yes. Or for example, since you're not a member, if you wanted to meet membership requirements, for 300 gold and in two hours I could teach you basic competency in long blade and heavy armor. Or axes and shields. Or unarmed defense and fist fighting. Anything you want. I only offer introductory lessons though, and honestly you could learn just as much on your own through trial and error in live combat. But if you have the gold, it's would be both faster and much safer to learn it here. "

: "You mentioned combat trials earlier. What are those?"

: "They're for internal promotions within the guild. Nothing a non-member needs to worry about, but if you join and want to advance through the ranks, to do that you'll need to defeat conjured monsters in a controlled environment."

: "You summon monsters for rank tests? Like what?"

: "Not really allowed to talk about it with non-members. But yes."

You thank Hasphat for his time. So far, it seems like every guild operates a bit differently, both from vanilla Morrowind, and from each other. Still one more here in Balmora you'd like to check out before you decide anything though.

Quote
Go to the Thieves Guild, tell them you have someone interested in acquiring an item.
If asked, tell them what it is, but do not mention Sharn.
Quote
See if the Thieves Guild can offer help if we join them.
Quote
Go to the Thieves Guild and let's see if we can join up.
Quote
check up on Thieves' guild.

Quote
Do not, under any circumstances whatsoever, join the Thieves guild.

Acrobatics is now 19

You head to the South Wall cornerclub. Since you know exactly who the local guild hall leader is, you skip the smalltalk and walk straight to Sugar-lips Habasi.



: "Sugar-lips?"

: "Yes? What can Sugar do for you?"

The last khajiit you spoke to was wearing clothes that obscured his body shape enough that he mostly just seemed like a regular guy who happened to have a furry head. Everything about Sugar-lips reeks cat. Her body and her disposition, the way her body is slightly crouched as if to pounce, the way her ears are folded back on her head, the adorable accent...you really want to glomp her but from the way she's edging one hand closer to a dagger on her belt, you're pretty sure it would end badly if you tried.

: "I received a letter asking me to join the guild."

: "Oh? Show us this."

You slowly take off your backpack and dig through it, trying to be as non-threatening looking as possible. Out of the corner of your eye you see that Sugar-lips never takes her left hand off the hilt of that dagger. Left hand...dagger on left hip. That seems...odd. How would she draw? Shaking your head, you pull out the Thieves Guild letter and hand it to her. She reads over it, visibly looking up at you 2-3 times during the read.

: "You wish to be toad?"

: "You mean, join the guild? Maybe. I was hoping you could tell me more about it first."

: "You are a thief. But not one of us. This is not good. Join us and be thief. This is good. Don't join us and be thief, we kill you. Is good for us. Not so good for you. Or, don't be thief and we won't kill you. It is up to you. But most who come to us can't not be thief, so choose to join."

: "Hmm. Well, when you put it that way. Honestly...I was kind of thinking about becoming a wizard. Stealing is just something I've been doing to get by. If it really came to it, I think I could give it up. Are there any other benefits to joining, besides not being dead?"

: "Yes, when you steal, you bring back to us. We buy, is good for you. We take half, is good for us. If you are good thief, is good for all. If you are bad thief, get caught, we help you be free."

: "You do jailbreaks?"

: "Yes, we can do this thing. But more bribe than break free. Bribe now, pay us back soon. More fast to pay through steal than wait in jail. This is good. If break free, jail time grow. This is not good."

: "Half seems like a lot. What if I sell to traders rather than the guild?"

Her eyes shrink to slits.

: "Then you are not bad thief, but good corpse."

: "I see. Anything else?"

: "Yes, good thief does not hurt or steal from good thief. If you do this, you are bad thief. Don't be bad thief."

: "So...don't hurt or steal from other members. I can steal anything I want that belongs to anyone else, but as a member, anything I steal I have to sell to a guild fence, that will keep half the profit. If I'm a member in good standing and get arrested for stealing, the guild will help me either with a jailbreak or by arranging for a cheap bribe for early release, which I'll then be expected to reimburse."

: "Yes. You wish to be toad?"

: "I have another question actually. "

Quote
tell them you have someone interested in acquiring an item.
If asked, tell them what it is

: "What if I gave up stealing myself, but needed somebody else steal something for me. Is that something you could arrange?"

Her ears shoot forward and her demeanor changes completely. She begins purring, and reaches out and touches your arm. Though you notice she keeps one hand on her dagger while she does this.

: "...oh, *purr*. Yes, Sugar can help you with this. Tell Sugar, what is it you want us to get for you?"

: "I need a specific skull from a tomb."

: "Oh? *purr* tell us more."

She walks around you and rubs herself up against your side from behind. It's possible she might be flirting with you. It's difficult to tell. Cats do this same exact thing when they want you to pet them. You consider scratching behind her ears, but think better of it.

: "I need the skull of Llevule Andrano from the Andrano ancestral tomb just south of Pelagiad."

: "Oh, do you? Hmm. This is not a good task. That tomb has guards. Dead guards that fight. Sugar good for sneak and good for steal. Sugar not so good for fight."

: "So you can't help me?"

: "Sugar not say that. Yes, *purr* Sugar can help you. But will not be cheap."

She leans her head onto your shoulder, and you can feel the vibrations of her purring through your chest. Unexpectedly she licks your exposed neck with a long, sandpapery cat tongue. It's...unpleasant. You're not sure, but you think you also feel her fangs brushing across you while she licks. It occurs to you that her bite could probably tear out a fairly large chunk from your neck without much effort. You suddenly don't feel so much like glomping her anymore.

: "How much?"

: "Hmm, *purr* 300 and Sugar get this skull for you, *purr*"

You're right on the edge of whether it's easier to think of her as a big, dangerous cat that can't decide whether to cuddle with you or eat you, or a girl who's very blatantly trying to use her body to manipulate you, and failing badly. And through it all, she still manages to keep one hand on her dagger while brushing you affectionately with the other. Wait...other hand? Where is her other hand? You immediately reach for your coinpurse to check if she's taken your money. The weight feels about right. You don't think you've been robbed. But you suspect she could have while you were distracted, if she'd wanted to. Sugar-lips laughs and steps away from you.

: "You are smart one, yes. Sugar knows you don't have the gold to pay her. Your purse is too small. You wish to be toad now?"



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What do you do?

Iituem

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #438 on: June 22, 2013, 03:08:20 am »

Join the Guild - We aren't expected to steal, but it means that if we do steal we won't get knifed in an alleyway for it (so long as we fence appropriately).  It's not a bad offer, it just gives us a pass to freelance.

Then... I'd say train up our stealth enough that we can steal things to get to 300 septims, then get that basic training from the fighters and look into joining.

My argument is this; we could spend the money getting Sugar-Lips to procure the skull for us, but sooner or later we are going to need to be capable of surviving a fight, even if we end up being primarily a mage.  We want Sharn to train us, but she won't do it for a weakling, and we're on a time limit (do it before she finishes up).  This strikes me as the best current option that combines long and short term goals.
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WillowLuman

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #439 on: June 22, 2013, 03:12:11 am »

Alright, if we steal something, we'll fence it, since that's safer. We might also hire their help if need be, or the Fighter's guild, since they're not above tomb raiding. Thieves will probably keep quiet about it though. But let's not run missions for them. Just agree to sell to their fences, so we only have to worry about the law, the victim, and our conscience when we steal, and not sneaky assailants.

Oh, and I slap myself for neglecting to mention before, but let's never again admit weakness to an Orc. They dislike nothing more in a person.

I doubt Bjorn is another PC, seeing as he talked, unlike the first, and acted more like a person. No reality bending gamey aura there. Let's keep an eye out for more people who aren't explicitly in the game, though. If we meet him again, chat him up. He seems like someone we could befriend.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2013, 03:17:21 am by HugoLuman »
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Gamerlord

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #440 on: June 22, 2013, 03:14:00 am »

Maybe we can negotiate with Sugar for a 'discount'...

WillowLuman

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #441 on: June 22, 2013, 03:19:22 am »

She seems a bit dangerous to negotiate with. We might do well to ask other "toads" if they're interested.
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Gamerlord

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #442 on: June 22, 2013, 03:20:26 am »

I don't mean that kind of discount I mean the other kind of discount, *nudge nudge*.

Man of Paper

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #443 on: June 22, 2013, 03:42:43 am »

Just remember to be cautious with the Balmora Fighter's Guild. If I remember correctly, Fire-Eye is affiliated with the Tong.

Let's join the Thieves Guild. The people are nice and friendly. And the bribe for freedom is very nice.It'd mean we're indebted to the Guild should it happen to us but at least we'd be out of prison.

Once we join, ask for advice on any easy marks for the budding item acquisition specialist. Preferably locations, as I doubt we're good enough to pick someones pocket yet. Then we can gauge which targets are within our ability to hit and act on it.
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Supercharazad

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #444 on: June 22, 2013, 03:47:00 am »

Join the Thieves Guild. We can start building up our money reserves for when we're preparing to ascend to Godhood.
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hostergaard

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #445 on: June 22, 2013, 06:05:08 am »

What about stealing that damn book? Maybe its cheaper to get them to steal it for us rather than buying it?

Ask about the price for stealing Thavere's book from the merchant.

Mike, how difficult would you think it would be to steal it ourselves? Good chance of success? I guess we should ask about what their rules are on giving a stolen object to someone rather than selling it of to one of their fences. Returning items you stole to their rightful owner. And what about keeping stuff for yourself for personal use, rather than selling it of?

Oh, and we to check to see if any of their fencers have Processus Vitellius' Ring maybe someone sold it of to them.

Ask if there is any downsides to joining the thieves guild. Monthly fees? Duties? Your name in some record? Limitations?

Joining the thieves guild is fine if there is no real downsides; we can just become a member and forget about it until we need to steal or if there is an opportunity we cannot miss without worrying about their retaliation. If we somehow get in trouble with the law they can fix the problem for us with some bribes. That seems like a good way to ensure we won't stay in jail for too long in the worst case scenario. I mean, if all it takes to be a member is to sell our goods to their fences then that is acceptable price for not getting murdered if you happen to steal something.

If there is no passive or active downsides or penalties; join the guild.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2013, 06:39:24 am by hostergaard »
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Cerol Lenslens

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #446 on: June 22, 2013, 07:51:04 am »

If we join the Thieves' guild, there's a couple of Swords of White Woe in Balmora that I recall being somewhat easy to get if you're patient. Selling one would pay a lot of our costs, including allowing us to buy back that book.

Of course, the main difficulty is that things aren't as easy for Mike as they are for a standard PC. The guards in the guard tower may not feel like letting us out of their sight or going off-duty while we're in there, for instance.

Opinions?
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"I've got a plan, hear me out on this one... I want to almost murder you."
"Boy, sure wish as Queen of the entire realm I had somebody to help me out with this. Advisor, tutor, anyone who knows what the hell they're looking at really.

Alas, the life of a Queen is a lonely one. Do the things with the whatsit."

WillowLuman

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #447 on: June 22, 2013, 12:30:25 pm »

I have a feeling those guards while notice if someone steals their nifty swords. And, as a stranger, we'll be the primary suspect. We do not want to fight guards, ever. They outclass most NPC's in the game in melee combat, and this is especially true for the Great House guards and Ordinators. I have a feeling they're still highly trained warriors here.

If there are any other downsides than the fence thing, don't join. Or at least see if we can negotiate a "we'll just sell to you exclusively" deal.

I don't mean that kind of discount I mean the other kind of discount, *nudge nudge*.
I knew that's what you meant, and I still say that's dangerous. It sounds like a good way to get robbed or killed.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2013, 12:33:07 pm by HugoLuman »
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Man of Paper

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #448 on: June 22, 2013, 01:18:34 pm »

Oh, and remember to practice sneaky moving by placing the toe down first and rolling the foot flat as you step forward. Also if you're crouched sneaking around, you want to keep your knees slightly bent and extend them as you push off of the floor (basically think of how you regularly walk, but switch around when the knee extends) and even though, as my friend said, "you look like a Turian", you can get your footsteps very light and silent.

Figure I'd see if practical information is of any use for Mike. Maybe some know-how complements plain skill.
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ShoesandHats

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Re: Marooned in Morrowind, a suggestion game
« Reply #449 on: June 22, 2013, 01:29:47 pm »

Left hand...dagger on left hip. That seems...odd. How would she draw?

This is how. Except substitute his right side for his left, and you can get a pretty good idea of how not-hard that would be, especially assuming that she's left-handed.

Er, I don't mean to be a big poopyhead by pointing that out, but...time for a productive suggestion! Hopefully!

While carrying out these other suggestions, practice sneaking by trailing behind wandering citizens. If they catch you, try your best not to seem like someone who needs to be arrested.
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