LE Massive underground tunnel system with factions, NPCs, quests, ect.

[Nexusaurus]

Ok, I've read about D&D, and while I prefer the elder scrolls, something that really did captivate me is the Underdark.

The Underdark is an entire continent's worth of underground tunnels and caverns, home to a variety of strange creatures and races. I thought it would be interested to bring something like that to skyrim.

here are some plans to make this happen.

 

1. Doors connecting the dungeons.

So, I think that all these tombs, caverns, and ruins could all be connected with doors. Imaging placing 2 or 3 doors in each dungeon connecting them to the closest dungeons nearby, and those would have some doors connecting to other dungeons, thus allowing underground travel across great distances. it could be used as a shortcut to get from on end of the map to the other, by traveling through a few dungeons rather than the expanse aboveground. It could also be used, if one has installed mods that greatly increase aboveground spawns or strength, as a way to avoid all that fuss with dragons and the like.

 

2. Importance of scavenging.

If you intend to make a living in the underground, then you will need a steady source of income. This will come in the form of all the ancient artifacts you can find in the tombs.

you can become an explorer, boldly going where no man or mer has set foot in centuries. Or, that is what you will think, because for this mod to really shine, there should be a...

 

3. thriving ecosystem and economy.

 

The underground is not without its perils. in addition to the draugr, there may also be some other beasts placed as random spawns. Cave spiders, foul cannibals, plague rats, and other beasts that lurk in the dark may make an appearance. But animals aren't the only things that make their home here. in other random encounters, one may find a group of scavengers, merchants, explorers, or hunters, along with those who would prey on them. While there are some not-entirely-evil people living here, there are just as many who would slit your throat for a few light sources.

The bandits could be wearing falmer armor, due to the fact that leather would be hard to come by here.

due to different amounts of resources, item values will be much different than they would be aboveground. Ores and gems, being common in the depths, are worth little to the merchants of the underground. All those food items in jars and such, however, will fetch a high sum, as uncontaminated food is rare in the underground.

 

4. villages and towns.

there could be a few doors that don't lead to any vanilla dungeon, but to an entirely different worldspace, in which you could find a village. these could be anything from a small repurposed tomb with villagers sleeping on rags in the alleyways, to a great city that would rival Blackreach.

the first scenario is of course more feasible, but we must be open to all options. they would function the same as aboveground villages, with merchants and a few guards, though perhaps not as organized.

 

5. factions.

there could be several factions vying for dominance in the

underground.

 

5a. the bandits, of course, will want to attack and pillage the towns, and will attack village patrols on sight.

 

5b. the small towns and there random patrols will have varying levels of hostility, and some may be at war with each other. they look after themselves, and don't care much for outsiders.

 

5c. the independents are the wandering merchants and scavengers. they will trade with anyone except bandits, and

are always paranoid about strangers.

 

5d. obviously this is probably not going to happen, but remember the large city I mentioned a few sections back?

well, I can see them as a civilizing force, trying to bring order to the underground. wether you see them as benevolent bringers of order or tyrants bent on contorlling all they can see is up to you.

 

6. Quests

you can do quests such as gather food or kill bandits to earn the respect of the villages, as well as personal quests for people, much like in vanilla skyrim. I don't have that many ideas for a story yet, and I would prefer the basice groundwork to be made before we get to the details.

 

So, does anyone want to work in this? If you want to volunteer or have a question, feel free to ask. feedback is appreciated.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Nexusaurus

[RepublicOfDavnation]

Are you making this? I think this is more work than you realize. What you are going for is something like Falskaar, if not more complex because of all the scripting, writing, and overall work that comes with making factions to join, side quests, and a continent worth of tunnels. Do you have anything at all made so far? If not, I think it's going to be hard to get people on board, if you have nothing more than concepts.

[Nexusaurus]

No, I'm not making this, but it is probably less work than you imagine.

for the first (or final, a watered down version is better than none) version, all that is needed is:

1. random encounters with bandits and scavengers. just some scripting, I think.

2. there are no new worldspaces except for potentially the towns. all that is needed is a series of doors that act as portals to a door in another dungeon. The tunnels themselves would be fairly uninetersting, so I think they should just be implied.

3. the towns need not be complicated. you could merely copy a segment of a dungeon, set it as a unique worldspace, and add some NPCs to sandbox around in it.

 

quests, factions, new monsters, ect can appear if the first version is taken up by someone.

this isn't an easy task, I understand, but it is possible if someone thinks its a good idea.

and it is definitely not as big as falskaar, I think that would be a bit too ambitious.

I'm banking on the idea that i'm not the only one who would like to see this happening.

[AndyDocHolliday]

+1, been wanting to do something like this for a loooooooong time. However, I would make it as inhospitable as possible and forget about bandits and the like. It should be completely unknown to outsiders except a select few that have discovered it and delved within to unlock its secrets and uncover its treasure. Something I wanted to do for the start was you literally falling for 30 seconds down a hole until you splash into a massive underground lake in the pitch black, making it impossible to get out until you make your way through.

 

I'd make it as open-world as possible and only separate different caverns and such if 100% necessary. There would probably have to be some sort of alternative fast-travel system implemented (think the Forgotten Vale teleporters).

 

tl;dr, go read the first three books in the Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore. Set in the Underdark, perfect example of what the mod should go for.

[Nexusaurus]

+1, been wanting to do something like this for a loooooooong time. However, I would make it as inhospitable as possible and forget about bandits and the like. It should be completely unknown to outsiders except a select few that have discovered it and delved within to unlock its secrets and uncover its treasure. Something I wanted to do for the start was you literally falling for 30 seconds down a hole until you splash into a massive underground lake in the pitch black, making it impossible to get out until you make your way through. I'd make it as open-world as possible and only separate different caverns and such if 100% necessary. There would probably have to be some sort of alternative fast-travel system implemented (think the Forgotten Vale teleporters). tl;dr, go read the first three books in the Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore. Set in the Underdark, perfect example of what the mod should go for.

where do you think I got the idea from? :smile:

I like what your saying, but I'm trying to keep it smaller to increase the chance of a person deciding to work on it.

[charliemckee418]

That sounds freaking awesome, unfortunately, good luck finding someone willing to do it. Skyrim Underground seems like a close second, though.

[Roadhouse699]

Something like this already exists.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14351/