Seems Like The Lore Doesn't Really Match The Gear....

[tjneuron]

Everytime I think about the role-playing aspect of the story, I wonder why the hortator items are so ghetto...

 

When I try and imagine how important it would be for a Great House to elect a Hortator, and what the title of Hortator implies, I'm left thinking about how disappointed this great war leader felt, when the best that House Telvanni could do is this rag they call the Robe of the Hortator.

 

 

 

Overheard in the Counsel Chamber in Sadrith Mora...

 

<Some_Random_Telvanni_Mouth_01>

"We might as well just evacuate Vvardenfell and leave it to the other Great Houses, because we SUCK. Did you hear that the Hortator quit? Yeah, seriously. Right before quitting, he came out of the restroom with our great Robe of the Hortator hanging out of his pants. Apparently, we ran out of toilet paper this morning..."

 

 

 

 

I would think that the designers of the robe, stood to gain considerable favor within their House by their association with this project. I'm imagining something like the movie "Contact", where only the best and most talented were afforded such an opportunity to build something so important. We are talking about the survival of House Telvanni, after all. Those people really fell short. They should have snatched young Aryon from his Conjuration 101 classes, at the academy. He was doing very well in school, but he spent too much time getting into trouble with (deleted name of well known boy wizard played by Daniel Radcliffe on film) Hell, Aryon's Helper and Dominator were practically his first enchantment projects, and those items just crush that silly robe.

 

As the Archmagister of House Telvanni, any one of my characters would tell Aryon to feed the stupid robe to his helpers. He would require their services regardless, as I would have no choice but to kill my Patron, but I would like a little warm-up session with his friends, first; what an insulting gift for such a lofty station, Hortator. It does make role-playing my character, and making congruent RP decisions very difficult. Everyone knows that Telvanni are all about power. Whether it be magical, political, financial. I always end up just keeping all of the Hortator items in my inventory, for the sake of role-playing. I mean, I need to go for the juice, but for RP purposes, I would never whip that robe out before a big fight. Are you kidding me?

 

I think that Bethsoft forgot the whole Hortator concept when they came up with these items.

 

Any output from my input?

[Malchik]

These 'badges of office', many equivalents of which exist in the real world, are purely honorary. They are not meant to be either of value or use. They are if you like little pieces of tradition probably dating back to the time when the world was less powerful/dangerous. So the fact that the items are not powerful in themselves does not bother me. I think it was a bit cheap of Bethsoft not to give them a specific design though. They did with the nerevarine items from the Ashlanders and it would not have been a great effort to make them unique in appearance. It applies to all of the Hortator items. So I agree in terms of appearance but not in terms of power of the items.

 

As for killing off your Patron etc. there is nothing to stop you. You cannot get the quests but you can declare yourself Hortator of house Telvanni whether there are any council members left alive or not. Indeed Archmage Trebonius is in favour of just such action after the main quest is finished.

 

(As a small point you will note in the rules that mentioning bespectacled boy wizards, directly at least, is illegal. I have adjusted your post to reflect this.)

[tjneuron]

These 'badges of office', many equivalents of which exist in the real world, are purely honorary. They are not meant to be either of value or use. They are if you like little pieces of tradition probably dating back to the time when the world was less powerful/dangerous. So the fact that the items are not powerful in themselves does not bother me. I think it was a bit cheap of Bethsoft not to give them a specific design though. They did with the nerevarine items from the Ashlanders and it would not have been a great effort to make them unique in appearance. It applies to all of the Hortator items. So I agree in terms of appearance but not in terms of power of the items.

 

As for killing off your Patron etc. there is nothing to stop you. You cannot get the quests but you can declare yourself Hortator of house Telvanni whether there are any council members left alive or not. Indeed Archmage Trebonius is in favour of just such action after the main quest is finished.

 

(As a small point you will note in the rules that mentioning bespectacled boy wizards, directly at least, is illegal. I have adjusted your post to reflect this.)

 

 

Thanks Mal, I will never mention That Little male without a father :)

 

And I do see your point about the Hortator items being ceremonial badges of honor. Even a stronger argument for the other point you made about Bethsoft's cop-out of creating a couple new item designs for these unique items.

[VaanicOne]

There are many occasions when the Lore and the gameplay do not add up, but this is not one of them.

[theRAIDER]

You're complaining about the robe? The robe looks like a full suit of Daedric Armor compared to some of the crap you get in the Cave of the Incarnate. What the hell is up with Peakstar's "Travel-Stained Pants"? Was it a game designer joke? Now that is some pretty awful stuff.

[Peregrine]

You're complaining about the robe? The robe looks like a full suit of Daedric Armor compared to some of the crap you get in the Cave of the Incarnate. What the hell is up with Peakstar's "Travel-Stained Pants"? Was it a game designer joke? Now that is some pretty awful stuff.

 

At least those make some sense. After all, you're getting them from the failures who weren't good enough and died. I guess seeing their horrible items gives you a hint as to why they died.

[Dilvish]

The failed Incarnates are also trying to give the new Nerevarine some gifts of wisdom. I think these are some of the lessons:

 

Peakstar failed because of her ignorance. She was a common woman who didn't learn how to fight or how to deal with the powerful.

 

Hort Ledd was a mage or a savant. He enjoyed knowledge too much and neglected to act when it was necessary.

 

Erur-Dan was a noble. His great pride led to hatred, vengeance, and finally despair.

 

Idrenie Nerothan was a thief or nightblade. She succumbed to her greed and died for some extra loot.

 

Conoon Cholada was an Ashkhan. He loved battle and craved glory. He failed because he thought too little.

 

Ane Teria was a crusader. She put her faith in the wrong institution and was blinded to the greater truths.