Malchik

Such a long time since I have been active on this forum and the same discussions as we had years ago! I am here now because I received a message from another member from years back and dropped in, as it were. Morrowind is a great game - I am replaying it now after a few years away from it - and for me it is the immersiveness that is unbeatable. The graphics are of its time but not so bad and with all the mods out there you can quickly resolve that. There is the annoying 'topic' list that grows longer and longer, which needs to be worked around. But you'll soon get the hang of it and there are mods such as Less Generic NPC's that fix it for many towns. Check out the LGNPC website. They stopped adding to their work a while back but still have several towns and villages to their credit and it helps. The main quest takes a bit of time to get going but there is so much else to do. 11 joinable factions, three joinable clans of vampires with their own quests plus 10 miscellaneous vampiric quests, lots of side quests. With the expansions there are over 550 quests compared with Oblivion's 150. And the factions have requirements. I always found it odd that I could become Archmage in Ob with no magic skills to speak of and at level 1. You certainly can't get away that easily in MW. If you want to get to grips with the game, restrict yourself initially to graphics mods. If you can't get into it at least you tried. There are some excellent quest mods out there too but adding too many mods can cause problems and there are often conflicts between them so add these others a few at a time. Ah well, nostalgia avenue.... If you persevere with the game you'll almost certainly come to understand why so many of us like it still. Bon chance. Malchik

When the MQ was designed it had two possible endings. The first time I tested it only one ending was available (this was just before the previous forum update) and even that was missing the very final reward. Now that the rest is in place I could simply test the alternative ending. However I decided to go through and check it all from start to finish. I will have done so by the end of next week. At that point the Main Quest will be 100% tested as well as 100% in game. Pov is currently working on the Temple district quest and checking out the books which needed minor punctuation changes for irritating but unimportant reasons. With these two completed and the testing I mentioned done too we hit our, in racing parlance, final furlong marker. Pov will be starting the last quest and I will be doing the 'extra' mod myself by adding the rural dialogue (a bit more 'hands-on' than everything else I've done). When we started, the whole thing seemed too huge for just two and I kept telling Pov we needed help. He persuaded me he was okay with it even though every time he said this he was to discover I'd added half a dozen more quest ideas. I must thank him for his faith and persistence, it certainly kept me up to the mark. As he says in the intro post there are many references to literature, folk lore and fairy tales but usually they are given a twist - such as Grumpy being bad tempered because Doc says skooma is bad for him etc. Somtimes many references are mixed up together. In one of the seven deadly sins quests Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, the film Raging Bull and Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake are all involved with characters from Snow White. If anyone can spot all the references they'd be very observant and learned indeed. But the fun thing is that you don't need to know any of them to enjoy the quests. Pov's exams being a major issue for him but one I know nothing about (we are not even based in the same country) I cannot say when the mod will be finished but I am crossing my fingers for June. Cheers, Malchik

emperor

OOC> Shall we end there?

Auran accepts the inevitable and tells you to leave him while he and Damiel make their goodbyes to each other and to Auriel. A little while later he summons Esha alone and sends Auriel to be with Ritz and Druce. What happens within the room is a secret that Esha will never divulge. When she reappears drawn and exhausted there is no sign of either of the mages alive or dead. It is time to leave. Auriel, silently leads you to the gate. Before you open it he says. "They smiled. I have not seen them smile in thousands of years. They are happy at last. I must be happy for them." The heavy, solid bronze doors lead to what should be freedom but you all know is a dangerous to you as anywhere you have ever been before.

Damiel, who has said nothing since she transformed back, sighs. "I fear that superstition is at the root of the villagers' fear. We have caused them no trouble for generations. But the invisibility potions might work. If you hurry to the dock and steal a vessel you can escape to Selma. No one there will bother you. Can you make these potions you talk of?" She looks to Druce and Ritz for confirmation.

Esha is convincing in her explanation. For a moment Auran closes his eyes. Then he looks at Damiel. "I would love to give peace to my wife and do not want to live without her. But the world is a dangerous place for my son. You say you will look after him but he cannot go questing with you. Is there a place where he will be welcomed, looked after, even loved?" You tell him about Ocoranda, the Child of Air, in her secret city within the City of Kolokon. He seems happier. Auriel says. "I have not seen either of my parents smile for years and years. You have made them smile. I will follow you to Kolokon." "But," Damiel intejects, "realistically, how are you going to leave the castle and get off the island unnoticed?"

OOC> Until Esha tells Auran what to do I can't really move the story on. Esha, as you have already told the team members you need only note that you DO tell Auran (no need to repeat the detail). Then I can give you his reaction. After which the story will advance.

OOC> Sorry, I was acting a piece I'd written and directing another one. Took more time than I'd thought for it was important I got it right. Still OOC Esha needs to tell Auran what must happen and ideally Auriel too. On topic After collecting the herbs, Ritz and Druce go into the laboratory to make the potions needed leaving Esha alone to tell the family what they must do. As Esha has pointed out, one way or another Damiel will be saved but Esha might die in the process. Druce and Ritz need to be sure how to deal with this should it arise. They need Auriel to go with them which may be easy if both his parents die but if Auran survives... How can they persuade a father to give up his sole remaining prop? Auran, Damiel and Auriel sit in their cold, formal living room awaiting instructions.

OOC> Is there anyone left alive here?

Auran seems concerned that Esha is unwilling to tell him all he must do but as she is stern faced he does not push the matter. He takes everyone through to the garden and identifies all the plants he had mentioned leaving each of you to pluck those needed. He then leaves you alone and takes Auriel with him.