miniquest to get Niluva Hlaalu as a follower

[ndreams]

I would like to help create a MOD to have Niluva Hlaalu as a follower, she works in Riften and has problems with the skooma, she has debts and can't pay Haelga.
I find her an underused and interesting character, coming from the very traditional old Hlaalu house of Morrowind, she has good dialogues despite being a generic NPC and her voice allows her to be a follower, wife and administrator.

I would like to get a miniquest to get her as a follower as long as:
1 we give her a Potion of Cure Disease to cure her addiction and she offers herself as a follower,
2 or pay her debts and she then offers herself as a follower,
3 a more shady option in which we give her skooma and she offers herself as a follower.

Currently I can only get her to be a common follower, I have tried but I have not been able to do it in any other way.

Ej: Pandorable version modified

 

[ZeroOblivion27]

I think Niluva Hlaalu is such an interesting and underappreciated character—it's a fantastic idea to bring her to life as a follower! Her backstory, especially the struggles with skooma addiction and debts, could make for a really compelling personal arc for a miniquest.

The three options you've suggested for recruiting her are fantastic—each one opens up unique roleplaying possibilities. The idea of offering her a Potion of Cure Disease as a way to help her overcome her addiction, or paying off her debts, makes sense for a more honorable or compassionate approach. The more shady option of giving her skooma adds an intriguing darker side to the story that could make for some morally complex choices. There’s a lot of potential for interesting dialogue and character development, especially given her ties to the old Hlaalu house.

I’d love to help you develop this mod further! I'm particularly interested in seeing how you might approach the miniquest mechanics, especially the dialogue and how we can trigger those follower options based on player choices.

I also have experience with Pandorable's follower mods (I’m guessing that’s a reference to a Pandorable NPC version) and could offer some insight or assistance if needed. If you’d like, I’d be happy to contact you directly to discuss more details and see how we can make this happen.

Feel free to reach out to me!

[DirebearCoat]

I had to look up that character.  It made me think of the Argonian, Wujeeta, who also has an addiction to skooma.  In the Argonian's case, giving her a health potion fixed it right up.  However, I'll imagine that health potions have a different affect on Argonian physiology, and that's why it would not work on Dunmer, or other mer or men.

So, I imagine that in one of your encounters with her, she tells you not to judge her and she doesn't care if you're an important Thane in Lady Lawgiver's court (or in Maven Blackbriar's court).  And that act of defiance and disrespect to a thane of the Rift, starts the quest.  "Help find a cure."

So, maybe part of the quest might involve, your character overhearing a conversation between a couple of Khajiit in one of the caravans, about needing moonsugar, and the other one scolds her.

Perhaps, after that discussion is completed, a quest comes up for your character to approach the one scolding the addict, to ask about a cure for skooma addiction.  He could talk about knowing a herbalist who has been working on alchemical cures for certain addictions, and this leads you to the herbalist, Lami, in Morthal.

She talks about her failed experiments and inconclusive results.  She talks about a useless weed that only grows in the ash of the Red Mountain.  The only things she knows about the weed is that it's useless to men and mer, but that Reaklings prize it.

Then she asks you for help.  She can't go to Solstien, and since you've been to the island before (don't know how she knew that.  Dragonborn doesn't remember telling her about it.  Maybe Lami heard it from one of his followers...), maybe - if you ever head that way again, you could talk to the Reaklings and obtain a large bushel of the weed for her studies.

The Reakings (the ones not mad at you for siding with the Nords at the Meadhall), tell you that that particular sacred herb is a moss that grows on wet ash covered stones.  However, you have to contend with dangerous predators that make that area their nests.

So, you find the ash covered rock field with a small trickling brook that keeps some of those ash covered rocks wet, and the moss that grows on it.  You have to fight a pack of warebears that live in a rock shelter/cave near that small brook before you can acquire the moss.

The Reakling shaman prepares the moss for you in a sacred ceremonial process (it's alchemy but with "wooo wooo magic" included (fake shaman magic to impress the other Reaklings, causing them to say, "Woooo!  Woooo!" with excitement)), which you record in your notes.

Then you return to Lami, giving her the prepared moss, a sample of the unprocessed moss, and your notes on the process the Reakling shaman used to prepare the moss - without the "wooo wooo magic."

Lami thanks Dragonborn, giving him a fair amount of gold as payment, and he goes on his way.  She completes her research and experiments, and a courier finds you, one in-game month later, with a request from Lami for you to see her finished results.  Lami tells you how to administer the potion, and it takes three phials taken once each week.

After obtaining the three phials of the special potion from Lami, you approach Niluva Hlaalu and offer it to her.  She listens with cautious optimism, yet still not respectful of the title of the Thane of The Rift.

However, one of the conditions of the curing process is that Niluva Hlaalu has to stay away from skooma.  The only way she knows how is to stay out of Riften, away from the skooma dealers.  So, you offer to take her on your adventures to help her stay away from skooma.  She accepts.

You give her the first phial, and during your adventures, on the first in-game week (could be anything, clearing out bandit hideouts, fighting dragons, wandering around Skyrim exploring canyons and valleys you've never been to before, standing guard while you build one of your manor houses), she's going through withdrawals.  However, the cravings are not painful and, thankfully, also manageable.  She complains a lot, though (while also complimenting Dragonborn on what a fine steading he has).

The second in-game week of your adventures, you give her the second phial (an automatic timer keeps time, and tells you it's time to give her the second dose).  Her cravings are a lot less pronounced, and her complaints are less annoying.  After giving her the third phial at the start of your third in-game week, she hardly has any complaints whatsoever, and she even feels her mind and spirit freed and she's become strong.

Maybe make up some kind of back story that she tells you about herself and her past, and why, because of skooma, she had to leave her family, to protect them from the shame of one of the daughters of the main family branch being addicted to the vile drug (or appropriate word that fits in Skyrim.  The word drug is not used in Skyrim, but there seems to be an in-game way of referring to illegal drugs).  Each time you give her a phial, after she's taken the potion, she tells you more about herself.

I think, there should be three special missions that take place in the Rift, one special mission per week.  A courier finds you with a letter from the jarl (Lady Lawgiver or Maven Blackbriar), with a request for you to appear before her.  The Thane appears before the Jarl with Niluva Hlaalu just behind him, and is given the mission, a very serious problem that has to be solved because it threatens the stability of the jarl's control over the Rift.

(EDIT: Or rather than something that threatens the Jarl's control of the Rift, it is a mission to destroy the powerful group that was responsible for the Skooma affecting the denizens of the Rift.  Taking out the guys at the warehouse and in that cave was just the small fry.  The powerful interests behind the Skooma might be a powerful, and wealthy individual who is trying to destabilize the Jarl's control of The Rift, by poisoning it with Skooma.  So, destroying this powerful individual would save the people of The Rift, and secure the Jarl's ability to maintain law and order within The Rift.)

After each time you appear before the Jarl, after being given a mission, from the jarl, she has something to say about how dangerous, or absurd the mission is.  After returning to the jarl upon successful completion of the mission, she speaks in amazement that they actually lived to tell about it, and her respect for your character grows.  Her respect for the Thane of the Rift grows.

At the end of the third week, you return to Riften, and she thanks Dragonborn, respecing his title of Thane of The Rift in the court of (current jarl), and returns to work at the Meadery.

However, one day, while the Thane of The Rift, Dragonborn, is walking down the street, she approaches your character and asks to become one of your permanent followers.  Your character comments on her bravery and skill with a sword (axe, or mace) and shield during those three weeks of adventures, and that you'd be honored to have her service.  It is implied that she is now employed by you so there is an implied salary with her post, and she should be shocked and surprised at how much a follower makes (you pay your followers well).

Plus, you put her up in Honeyside.  You have to put an extra bed downstairs, in the mod, for her (however, with a mod like "Amazing Followers Tweaks," you could always have her live at any of your other estates.  However, as your follower, Niluva Hlaalu should live in Honeyside with Iona your Housecarl.  Therefore Iona, being the official housecarl is senior to Niluva, and from time to time gives words of wisdom and tips and tricks to Niluva.  As your follower, Niluva, should live in Honeyside, not in the bunkhouse).

(EDIT: a patch might be needed to accommodate those who use the mod, "Honeyside Thane of The Rift.")

Edited February 26 by DirebearCoat