LE [IDEA] Helgen Rebuilt

[Faust327]

Introduction:

With the strange letter still in your possession, you enter “The Bannered Mare” in search of the warmth of some Nord Mead before you continue on to Riverwood. As you head to the bar, you hear a cry from behind you.

“Dovahkiin!” The patrons of the bar spin their heads curiously towards you. You turn around to face the crier as he strolls up to you. Have my actions already spread through the land, you think to yourself. You fill with pride as the noticeable courier pants in front of you.

“You sure don’t waste time,” his speech marred with gasps for air, “I tried to catch you at Morthal, but they said you didn’t even stop there to rest.” The patrons had lost interest and you loosened your shoulders, realizing they had been stiff from all the attention. You gave the courier an expectant gaze, ordering him to continue.

“Yes, well, anyway I have a very important message for you.” Oh great... Another message. I swear if something else is being held for ransom… You take the note that he pulls out of his satchel and begin to read.

“Dear Dovahkiin,

I have great need of assistance. I have a task that needs complete, one that, if you act now, will become very profitable for you in the future. There is a note hidden in a hollowed out tree-stump south of Riverwood. You will get your next instructions there. I hope to meet you soon.

Sincerely, Dacien Aventus”

Looking up from the letter, you find that the courier was gone. With a sigh you slip the note into your pouch. Great. Another idiot who can’t solve their own problems…

 

Overview:

Many people have been calling out for a town/castle/city they can build and govern. While these cries will be heard and acted upon, unfortunately many will be overpowered or will feel like it is obvious you are playing a mod. This seamless incorporation with the game world is one of the hardest thing for any modder to be able to do and can make a great mod idea stumble on itself or make a small mod a much more enjoyable experience. These city mods end up, to my dismay, being overpowered. They end up, simply put, handing you a full city or town where you most likely get free services of some sort or some uber-powerful weapon that you "earned". If I wanted a cheat mod, or some uber-weapon there are plenty of other mods out there. If you like that sort of stuff that's fine and if that's so then you may want to stop reading because this will probably not be what your looking for.

 

Now with that fairly long pre-introduction out of the way, I will move on to my idea for the mod. As you have probably already figured out this is going to be an idea for a city/town/castle mod. In this case, for now, we will go with town. As I stated above, I like to see mods that flow with the rest of the game. I also like to be able to govern and "build" a city. For awhile, after the announcement of the CK (Construction Kit), I sat there hoping someone would put my idea into motion without me having to do what I'm doing now. I realized if I wanted something like this, I had better at least pitch the idea into the community. And so, here we are. After some careful thinking, which I will explain later, I decided on a mod surrounding the rebuilding and improving of the town of Helgen. You know, that town form the beginning that got turned into a smoldering ruin? Yes, that one. My plans for the small ruined town are large (well large enough.). So, now that this overview is done I can get right into explaining in full detail my idea.

 

 

*P.S. If someone has already thought of this mod, then please inform me.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Faust327

[Faust327]

Why Helgen?

I wanted to have a town mod that was lore-friendly, so my first obvious plan of action was to find a way to integrate a "need" for a town mod. This also involved placement in the the over-arching story-line of Skyrim itself. Going in I knew that the quests to get the settlement would begin after the "Dragon Crisis" was done and over. However, I thought to myself, "What if someone wanted to play my mod and didn't want to play through the main story line?" Skyrim is a game about no boundaries, so I instead looked at another feasible story line. The Civil-War. As my one-track mind couldn't process back then, I ran into the same dilemma. "What if I don't WANT to play through the Civil-War quest-line?" And so I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. In my head I HAVE to place the mod quests after one of these storylines. Having it randomly pop up in the middle of them wont make any sense, freedom vs. logic. In all honesty, the choice between which one is still up in the air.

 

With these two starting points in mind, the next step is to choose a location to rebuild. I looked through EVERY fort and town and found that the one with no other quests (Other than one, but w/e) was the settlement of Helgen which just happened to be the starting point of the game. I went into Helgen, in-game, and found it was occupied with a few bandits... that's it. OH! And some randomly generated chest at the top of the tower (spoiler?). The layout, lore-wise, was kind of perfect in the regard that it was abandon. Now, one of the flaws of the Helgen area are when you inevitably want to upgrade the hamlet. The area around Helgen is rocky and packed together. The only area outside the walls that aren't already taken up by rocks or mountains are the roads that run along it. This can be overlooked for the time being.

 

With Helgen location pretty much official, I went to the next step, which would be researching Helgen itself. I found, to my surprise, that Helgen was actually part of Falkereath hold, instead of the presumed Whiterun hold. During the Civil-War, Falkereath is a Imperial owned hold, lead by the Jarl Siddgeir. Looking into him and his quests I found that he was a corrupt man that relied on others, like his steward, to do things for him while he reaped the benefits. A perfect set up, IMO.

 

Now with the background, for the most part, out of the way I had one more thing to look towards and that was the NPC's that would occupy the rebuilt town. This was also a very small, but crucial detail as I find it odd in most town rebuild's, that the NPC's seem to come out of nowhere and are pretty much random. I realized I may have to stray to that path as all the NPC's that originally were in Helgen (at the start of the game) were deceased or simply gone. After an attack by a dragon is to be expected I guess. However, this also means that those NPC's also had no quests or importance in game if they did not exist.

 

Now with the reasons I choose the area of Helgen out of the way, I will move onto the Planned Features.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Faust327

[Faust327]

Planned Features:

• An epic and engrossing questline to follow
  
• A lore-friendly (new) town
  
• An extensive upgrade system for the town of Helgen
  
• A new player owned home
  
• New radiant quests such as Tax Collection, duels, and more!
  
• A steady income system
  
• Finally give Ysolda that inn she's always wanted!
  
• Choose what Helgen Exports and Imports
  
• And other thing's I have yet to think of...
  

 

Now, I know some of these things are un-realistic, technically wise, but these are the things that would give this mod life. Will add more as I think of them.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Faust327

[Faust327]

Plot Outline:

*Warning! Entering Spoiler Territory to not only this mod, but the main quest as well. If you hold surprise close to your heart then skip this post!*

 

Act 1

 

 

Alright, So to start, right after The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller main quest you will get a quest start and prompt to enter the Bannered Mare. Upon doing so a courier will come up to you an give you a letter telling you to continue the quest go to a hollowed-out tree stump south of Riverwood. The note in the stump explains that the town of Helgen has been overrun by bandits and you are to clear the town of them. After a lot of hacking and slashing the town will be cleared and you will have to wait a 2 day period to receive a note explaining that the job has been done and that you will be contacted once your reward is "ready". This "starting phase" will have a time limit to it, something like if you go past this point in the main quest without completing it the quest will fail and you will not be able to continue to the next phase.

 

After Alduin has been defeated and the land purged of the Eater-of-Worlds, after 3 days the same courier will come up to you and hand you a note. The note will explain that you are to meet Dacien Aventus, a redguard, at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood. Dacien Aventus will explain to you that He comes from a prestigious family in Cyrodill and that they want someone to get Helgen back up and running. He explains that his family is neither for the Stormcloak or Imperial cause; they are out for themselves and you, of course. You can further question Dacien to learn more about his past. Moving on, he explains that during the time you have been saving the world he has been making the preparations to re-settle Helgen. He has compiled a list of tasks that you must complete, the first being to effectively rebuild the town itself. You will have to go and find three architects to help in the reconstruction of this town. Once they have all been gathered you will be prompted to meet Dacien outside of Helgen at his makeshift camp. There he will explain that they will need to spend time re-building the town. Waiting 5 days will clear the town of rubble and advance the quest line to the next phase.

 

Dacien will again send his courier to tell you to come meet him again (Because of complications sake may make it so it is just a prompt in your journal. Will deplete the realism of how you know in the first place though…). Once you arrive at Helgen you will find that the camp is gone and the rubble in the town has been cleared. You can meet Dacien and the three architects in the tower you jumped out of in the beginning of the game. There Dacien will explain that the architects have gathered a few builders, but they require more resources. You will be tasked with going to Kolkseggr Mine (After you have completed the quest there) and Falkereath to retrieve the resources needed to supply the workers. These people will either need to be persuaded or done a favor for them to send the supplies. Once you have completed both of their tasks and have gotten the resources, you will go back to Dacien. He will again congratulate you and give you a small amount of money. He explains that this is only the beginning of the fortune. Wait 10 days to start the next phase.

 

The courier will come to you and give you a letter as always. When you go to Helgen you will find that the all the houses have been rebuilt and Dacien has taken shelter in the fort, which has yet to be fully cleaned up. Dacien explains that the next and mostly final step of rebuilding the town is to get people to want to come to the town. He says that he will need three people to move to the town before more can start showing up. These people will provide services that will convince others to take up residence. The first will be an Orc Blacksmith who has recently run into debt problems in Markath. Help him and he will take up residence. Blacksmith area added. The next person is a inn keeper, or potential inn-keeper. Could use Ysolda but may be too complicated and buggy. If not Ysolda, another innkeeper will be available in Solitude. She will need you to give her a 2000g tribute before she will come with you, can be persuaded as well. The last is a merchant by the name of Hedi. She will join your settlement without any quest. With all 3 of the services complete, Dacien will tell you to wait 7 days before people start arriving.

 

 

Act 2

 

 

After 7 days all the buildings will be furnished and moved into. Dacein will once again send for you. The fort will be mostly completely renewed. Dacien will explain that the Jarl of Falkereath has taken notice of the now renewed town and is demanding an audience at his keep. Whoever the Jarl may be, they will want to place a leader to guide Helgen. Head back to Dacien and he will explain that his family needs you to rule over Helgen. The Jarl will tell you that you will need to become thane in order to be accepted as the leader. Once you become thane you will need to do one more task for the jarl. This will be to find a signet ring said to be lost in Moss Mother Cavern. Once found you will be officially named Lord of Helgen. The Jarl will also send a guard detachment there (Normal Falkereath or Stormcloak depending on Civil War.). Dacien will also congratulate you and say that his family will allow you to keep 75% of the town’s income. From here he will tell you that one of the architects has decided to stay and is offering to help upgrade the town as you see fit. This phase is mostly upgrading the keep and town and even getting a player owned house.

 

Once EVERY upgrade has been bought Dacein will urgently summon you. He will explain that the Aldmeri Dominion is trying to get the rights to rule over Helgen. Soon enough the Jarl of Falkereath will send a courier for your immediate summon. A Thalmor Justicar will be having a debate with the Jarl about who owns Helgen. If Stormcloaks won war then will declare Helgen apart of the new Skyrim. If the imperial’s still hold Falkereath then the Jarl will be only hesitant. Regardless, the jarl will end the discussion and go back to his duties. If Stormcloak then will warn of possible/inevitable retaliation. Dacien will tell of the Thalmor Justicar holding up somewhere. He will task you with going to that somewhere and assassinating the Thalmor Justicar there. Reeturn to Dacien to get a “job well done”. (May add option for ‘invasion’ of some sort for more direct people opposed to assassination.) The Jarl will also congratulate you on clearing one of his many issues.

 

 

Act 3

 

 

 

The third act will be the last and final act; one I am not going to spoil as it has the big climax. Suffice to say it will get fairly epic from here on out. I will say it will start with a mysterious note to meet with the player at Helgen at midnight… If you do want to know how it will end then just email me or pm and I'll send the rest to you.

 

 

So far that is the plot outline for now. Obviously it is subject to change.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Faust327

[Faust327]

Reserved.

[Faust327]

Reserved.

[ryanwh]

As for populating the city, something could be done in the way of various prisoners being escorted around Skyrim. Imperials escorted by Thalmor, Stormcloaks escorted by Imperials, etc. As far as I know freeing them at the moment just sends them off where they're never seen again. You could populate Helgen with various faction buildings based on how much you've done for a faction. So once you've joined the Companions, you can make a building. Once you choose either Imperial or Stormcloak, you can make a building. Then the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Bards College, Mage College, etc. Building a faction in the town would autopopulate your town with allies of the cause. So build a mage college building, now apprentice mages are walking around, etc. along those lines. Which in turn could act as a conduit for user made quests based on the various factions out of Helgen or general quests like defending it from trolls or hagravens, etc. which are both nearby.

[Faust327]

As for populating the city, something could be done in the way of various prisoners being escorted around Skyrim. Imperials escorted by Thalmor, Stormcloaks escorted by Imperials, etc. As far as I know freeing them at the moment just sends them off where they're never seen again. You could populate Helgen with various faction buildings based on how much you've done for a faction. So once you've joined the Companions, you can make a building. Once you choose either Imperial or Stormcloak, you can make a building. Then the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Bards College, Mage College, etc. Building a faction in the town would autopopulate your town with allies of the cause. So build a mage college building, now apprentice mages are walking around, etc. along those lines. Which in turn could act as a conduit for user made quests based on the various factions out of Helgen or general quests like defending it from trolls or hagravens, etc. which are both nearby.

 

As far as populating the town with freed prisoners of war, I doubt the imperial Jarl would take kindly to harboring "fugitive" Stormcloak. The Thalmor prisoners are much more likely, but I imagine that it would be better to have more of a... "connection", so to speak, with the villagers. For instance having actual names and backgrounds. I do like the idea of having factions play apart in it, but, lore-wise, none of those factions would have anything to gain by funding a charter in Helgen, or Falkreath Hold for that matter. Technically wise, there would be too many variables and not enough space for the faction buildings, villagers, fort, and eventual player building. Plus, the actual "plot" I have planned doesn't merge well with any factions really. Nonetheless thank you for your comment and advice :).

[dolavr]

So when can we see it in action? O and btw there could be (just a guess) terrtories not on the map more like land marks small villages outside helgen that you rule, look after, guard etc. Feuds with the jarls about who gets this plot of land, setelment etc. Maybe ad buying terretories from jarl expanding and new villages might pop up that grow over time. Or if you are a agressiv leader conquer/build/occupie forts/towns(will fix the surondings of the map/ add waraiety) maybe some diplomacy( have your own advisors like jarl of whiterun) call together jarls to feast or to talk privately etc.

[dolavr]

o and forgot to add, bandits may raid the country side and your villagers that may be living outside the walls come to ask for your aid arange guard patrols on the roads etc. Atackk bandit outposts camps or they may atackk your mine farms etc. maybe add some animal trouble as well