Heroic Adventuring NPCs

[NellSpeed]

That definitely sounds entertaining, and it also sounds as if you're making very steady progress on this. You deserve a lot of credit for taking your idea and working to make it happen-- congratulations to you!

[Arturius997]

Thanks. But I seem to have run in to a little obastacle.

 

The worldspace had a bit too much activity going on at one point and crashed completely. It happened a little over two hours ago.

 

I ended up separating the Hero and Villain Sides into two worldspaces to lower the activity.

 

I also added in some new stuff.

 

The Realm of Heroes has a building called the Hall of Endless Bounty. It's a Nordic style hall that is similar to Thirsk from Bloodmoon.

 

Has a long table for feasting and a basement for sleeping. Has a respwning chest of ebony weapons and another for armor. I'm trying to figure out how to make my heroes use the stuff in the chests when they go adventuring.

 

The Villainous Realm is now similar in appearance to the Shivering Isles.

 

The Fort was remodelled to be similar to Xedilian and I'm trying to get my guards to use the traps like in the Xedilian quest. I've added a servent for each villain.

 

My villains are:

 

 

Evrin the Gruesome - Strongest Villain

Imperial Sorcerer

Level 50, not levelled to Player.

Takes a long time to respawn

Uses Glass Armor and Daedric Claymore.

Has a Gatekeeper for a servant.

 

The Jester - Second Strongest

Argonian Assassin

Level 40, not levelled to Player

Takes an hour or so to respawn

Uses Black Hand Robe and Hood, wields a Daedric Bow

Has a Vampire Orc named Grok as his servant

Grok uses Dwarven Armor and a Ebony Warhammer

 

The Adoring Nemesis - Weakest

Bosmer Scout

Level 20

Respawns almost immediately after death. Comes back the same way Spriggans did in Bloodmoon

Uses Black and Gold Clothing and a Rusty Iron Mace

Has a Scamp as a servant. Can summon more scamps (up to four at a time.)

 

It's really annoying to have my character come to the Villainous Realm. Here's what she has to say on my creation.

 

"I hate that blasted place. That fetcher that happens to be my creator always has me wandering the place. I get into a fight with bandits and marauders every few minutes and that blasted Nemesis tracks me down wherever I go. The stupid s'wit just won't stay down. If he attacked me every so often, then I wouldn't mind. But he just stalks me, proclaiming us archenemies and plots out my 'inevitable defeat' at the top of his lungs.

 

If I have to kill the frickin Bosmer one more time...!"

 

And that's what Eyra has to say on the Villainous Realm. She isn't allowed in the Realm of Heroes due to her Infamy being 25. Your Fame has to be at least 20 and your Infamy can't be more than 5 if you want to go there.

 

The Villainous Realm doesn't care at all how evil you are. You're gonna die anyways. My creatures are all levelled to be 30 levels higher than you at any time. You're really supposed to die there anyways. The guards will help you however, but charge 1000 septims a day in exchange...

[NellSpeed]

The Villainous Realm doesn't care at all how evil you are. You're gonna die anyways.

The Zen of Villainy.

 

This sounds like more and more fun as it goes along.

 

Edited to add: Where fun == "something that will totally get you repeatedly killed"

[Arturius997]

Thoughts on my mod:

 

-Thinking of adding it to TESNexus

 

-Have a few ideas for a name:

-The Realms of Might and Magic (Nothing to do with the series)

-Forests of Mystery

-Send me you own ideas!

 

-Thinking of getting rid of the Hero Realm. Don't have any recent inspiration for it. The Heor Realm is rather stagnant and dull while my Villain Realm is getting really cool.

 

What my mod currently has:

 

Forests of Chivalry

-Mostly woods with a few caves and a small Ayleid ruin. Random NPCs with smalll jobs run around

-Now has a dragon that roams the forests. Docile unless you're an npc in my new Hunter faction

-Factions include:

-Heroes

-Wanderers

-Hunters

-Explorers

-Creatures roam the realm. All levelled 15 higher than Player

-Boss Creatures levelled 40 levels higher

-Features dragons, giant ogres, land krakens, and a Alpha Wolf

 

 

Vile Planes

-Woody areas with parts similar to the realms of Oblivion. A few caves and a couple towers decorate the realm. The lost fort of the infinite legion rests at the western edge of the realm. You enter the realm here.

-Random NPCs wander around killing each other. They all respawn.

-Now has a Dremora that wanders the realm. Docile unless you're one of the a Super Villain

-Factions include:

-Trinity of Evil

-Killers Anonymous

-Fallen Heroes

-Creatures of great power roam this realm. All levelled 20 higher than Player

-Bosses levelled 50 levels higher

-Features Daedroth Omegas, Xivilai Hunters, Everscamp Swarms, and much more

 

Please vote if I should upload this nad whether I should ditch the Hero Realm

[NellSpeed]

I think that, for now, you should ditch the Hero Realm-- not because it isn't an interesting idea (which I think it is), but because you're finding it dull. Modding can be frustrating enough without trying to make yourself take an interest in it. You can always incorporate a Hero Realm later on.

 

Before adding it to TESN, I'd suggest getting a few beta-testers to help stomp out the most obvious bugs.

 

Other things to consider:

- What does your Realm have to offer for lower-level characters?

- Is there a way to retreat if the player needs to repair items, rest, etc? Or are there areas for those things?

 

As for names... when in doubt, Seventh Sanctum can help!- http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php

[Arturius997]

I think that, for now, you should ditch the Hero Realm-- not because it isn't an interesting idea (which I think it is), but because you're finding it dull. Modding can be frustrating enough without trying to make yourself take an interest in it. You can always incorporate a Hero Realm later on.

 

Before adding it to TESN, I'd suggest getting a few beta-testers to help stomp out the most obvious bugs.

 

Other things to consider:

- What does your Realm have to offer for lower-level characters?

- Is there a way to retreat if the player needs to repair items, rest, etc? Or are there areas for those things?

 

As for names... when in doubt, Seventh Sanctum can help!- http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php

 

Sorry it took so long to respond, I was actually following your beta-tester advice. I had some friends of mine download it onto a few of their systems to see how it worked out.

 

So far:

-my mod doesn't seem to work well on Dells (for some odd reason, haven't figured out why yet). Tested with 4 Dell laptops and 3 Dell desktops.

-doesn't work correctly with Knights of the Nine (causes crashes on any system). An error with the Crusader's Curiass that I haven't worked out yet.

-haven't tested for Vile Lair. None of us have it.

-tested and works with Armored Horses

-Works on both Windows 7 and Vista

-works well enough on laptops, but will start to lag a bit in some combat-intensive areas (editting them to make it easier on low-end computers)

-looks awesome on desktops

-Works with any mod that doesn't change the IC Lighthouse or the date and time. The portal to the Realms appears there.

 

As for your questions:

-I've made two versions of this mod: one easy version and one insane version.

--Easy version has half the enemies, weaker super-villains, and loads of free loot. Also has a map to the Realm that is given upon activating the portal for the first time.

--Insane version has regular amount of enemies, strong super-villains (unless your in the hundreds...), and loot that lessens with each level. Map has to be taken off of a corpse hidden in the woods.

 

-Low-level players will have some difficulty since the monsters and NPCs are pretty strong. Weakest monster is level 15, weakest NPC is 20.

 

--[insert salesman] "And also for the rookie adventurer, we have an expansive realm for the mto explore where deceit and murder are the least of your worries. Monsters roam the land, each hungry for blood while lawless brigands stalk the night. Expect to be attacked when resting and hunted when not. Never stand too close to an 'innocent' NPC for too long or you will find your valuables...lessened..." [the land is shown on a huge screen] "We have over 20 different caves that wait to be discovered, 10 bandit camps to run across, 18 pwerful highwaymen ready to slit your throat, and a ruin that lays deep within the Forest of Night. The Ruin can be easily found and many explorers entered to discover the untold riches within...none have returned..." [insert salesma's nervous chuckle]

 

"The Ruin itself is expansive, easily spanning the land, underground. Over 80 rooms to be explored, at least 8 have riches beyond your wildest dreams. Beware, for the ruin is trapped, full of perilous pitfalls and monsters around every corner. Expect the walking dead, daedra mad as Sheograth himself, and a beast that walks this labyrinth, nigh unkillable, unless you happen to find a legendary weapon, long lost..."

 

"And more still lies in the lower levels..."

 

Ruin Specs (uses the easy version's specs and will be somewhat vague):

-a minimum of 80 rooms, spread out on the first floor. Ruin may have more than three floors.

-expect traps every third step...expect monsters every fifth...

-at least eight treasure rooms...expect to strike rich after finding just one...quarter million at least...

-may or may not have 5 armories, filled with the best armor imaginable (do not guarantee that they are enchanted or trapped)

-bonuses include a magic sword capable of slaying anyone, a shield that can block anything, and a spell with endless possibilites.

 

As for the retreats, there really aren't any completely safe ones... I made it so there's a pretty good chance you'd be attacked in your sleep. or be pickpocketed at any time (only if there is someone else near you).

 

There are shops, but they don't always have everything you need. And their inventory is supposed to change depending on the day. (works on the stuff I've tested it on)

 

If you die, you die. I just hoped you saved recently...

 

There's a church that you will never be attacked in, but actually charges you money to stay there, like an inn. An absurdly-priced, understocked, absolutely filthy inn...

p.s. I take no responsibilty if:

-"your system crashes." I've listed a number of bugs in the readme. Please download and read beforehand.

-"can't find something." There's a map. Either read it or find it, then read it. Map is vague on purpose.

-"Annoying Nemesis stalks you wherever you go." That's what he does.

-"you die too quickly." Get stronger...period.

Edited July 21, 2011 by Arturius997

[Arturius997]

I've decided to wait til Skyrim is out and see if I can recreate this mod in Skyrim.

[NellSpeed]

How did I miss seeing the update on this-- sorry!

 

Anyway, it sounds like you did a lot of great work on this, and I'm really sorry to hear about the constant crashing.

 

The best guesses suggest that Skyrim scripting will work much the same way that Oblivion scripting does; if anything, it may work more smoothly, which would be great.

 

You might consider putting out a call for beta-testers to see if anyone can track down the KotN bug. That's definitely an oddity.

 

Anyway, congratulations on taking the time, effort, & initiative to teach yourself how to do this!

 

In the meantime, you might consider looking over here: Have you ever wanted to be a quest-coder?

[Arturius997]

How did I miss seeing the update on this-- sorry!

 

Anyway, it sounds like you did a lot of great work on this, and I'm really sorry to hear about the constant crashing.

 

The best guesses suggest that Skyrim scripting will work much the same way that Oblivion scripting does; if anything, it may work more smoothly, which would be great.

 

You might consider putting out a call for beta-testers to see if anyone can track down the KotN bug. That's definitely an oddity.

 

Anyway, congratulations on taking the time, effort, & initiative to teach yourself how to do this!

 

In the meantime, you might consider looking over here: Have you ever wanted to be a quest-coder?

 

Thanks for the link and the praise!

 

I really hope the scripting is mostly similar in Skyrim. It took a long time for me to get it down pat. Also, I've already reserved Skyrim, all I gotta do is pick it up in November. Ijust really hope my laptop can handle the new game...

 

Also, I figured out the KoTN bug. There's a conflict in three different areas. The first one seems to be for the Crusader's Greaves, haven't found the part that conflicts. The second is an AI pathway conflict, mainly due to my free-roaming NPCs. The third is the Chapel of the Nine. I used the base and recreated it, but with different facilities for the Church of the Destitute (the church in my mod.) You don't actually need KoTN. I'vr tested this mod with a clean Oblivion game, no KoTN or SI. Works alright without SI, but you miss out on some good fights and loot if you don't have it.

 

As for Skyrim, if it all works out okay, I'll have a dragon guarding the Great Ruin at all times. And I hope to be able to scale the 'number' of dragons depending on your level.

[NellSpeed]

Did you try using TES4Edit to find the conflicts? That's a pretty good way to see where the problem is and remove it, although it may take some time to fix things.

 

Scripting is an amazing challenge... IMO it's partly because the more you do, the more you learn, and it gets tempting to go back and "fix" earlier scripts, which sometimes just causes more problems....