[WIP] Shrine of Falzan

[midgetalien]

This is a mod that I had for years that I have been working on. I am finding very little time to work on it and I am debating about releasing it just as a resource. I also debating about merging it with the other two Falmer mods. As it stands I am posting this here to help spark ideas and to kick myself in the behind into actually doing some work on it. Never say never.

Falzan Cover Art

 

Previous thread

 

The Shrine of Falzan is a small Falmer dungeon mod that aims to expand upon the the lore and experiences that the Neverhalls, Forgottenhalls and The Snow Prince Enhanced provided. Collectivly these mods are the Falmer Project.

The mod itself will focus primarly upon lore but it will see traps and challenges such as those seen in the past Falmer mods. Currently I am working on the exterior to the shrine and working on the lore that will be found within. While there will be no "back story" to the shrine itself, other than one of the last places of worship for the Falmer, I am aiming to use the mod to expand upon what the Neverhalls and the Forgottenhalls offered and ultimatly offer another dungeon that is equal with the depth and character that Morrowind provides us.

"Falzan is a holy place. It is a shrine where we gather to give worship to Varla, mother of us all.
Praying for peace, for an end, to a war that we brought upon ourselves."
- History of the Falmer Vol. (The Tides of War)I

Lore: - For Lore please see the second post!

Old Exterior (CS):

Ruins 1
Ruins 2
Ruins 3
Ruins 4
Ruins 5
Ruins 6

New Exterior (CS):

Ruins 1
Ruins 2
Ruins 3
Ruins 4
Ruins 5

In Game Shots:

night 1
night 2
night 3
day 1
day 2
day 3
sunset 1
snow 1
snow 2

Interior Shots (CS)

screen 1
screen 2
screen 3
screen 4

The new Sila Golem

Sila Golem

Constructs made by the Falmer, these golems roam forgotten ruins. The Sila stones which make up part of their construction infuse them with great power. Due to their durriablity and strength they were often used to guard shrines and other places the Falmer deemed holy.
Old // New
Old //New
Old // New
Old //New

close up:

1
2

New Falmer ChestS

Chest 1
Small chest


Falmer Clutter

Pot 1
Pot 2
Plate
Tankard
Goblet
Platter
Bowl
Key
Bed
Bench

glow maps!

cup
tankard
plate
bowl
pot

Falmer Hammer

Pic 1 - Pic 2 - Pic 3

ok so updates need pictures:

Sila Construct
pic 1
pic 2

Falmer Spirit
Pic 1
Pic2

Crysila Flower
Pic 1
Pic 2

New Falmer Arrow Texture
Pic 1

working on the "inner Cavern" - a large ravine which leads to a dead end

pic 1
pic 2
pic 3
pic 4
pic 5
pic 6
pic 7
pic 8
pic 9


New Interior shots:

pic 1
pic 2
pic 3
pic 4
pic 5
pic 6
pic 7
pic 8

New Book:

Golems and Sila

New Features:

Falling Spiders

New Weapons and Armor:

Chaurus Helm
Chaurus Shield
Chaurus Bracer
Chaurus Sword

Falmer Full Helm, 2

 

 

Falzan Afterlife

 

Falzan Afterlife in game shots

 

Falzan teaser shot 1

Falzan Teaser shot 2

 

Armor:

 

Chaurus Bracers

Chaurus Helmet

Chaurus Shield

Falmer Helm

 

Weapons:

 

Chaurus Staff

Chaurus Sword

 

Ingrediants:

 

Chaurus Chitin

Chaurus Eggs

 

Creatures:

 

Chaurus

Falmer

Falmer Soldier

Falmer Warrior

Falmer Chief

 

 

Playing around with some scripted movement: Rotating stones

 

Skyrim style Falmer statics:

 

Fence

Hut and chests

 

 

The Amulet of Samarkand

 

The might and power of the Goddess Varla echoes throughout the ages but her might has never before been forged into an item more powerful than the Amulet of Samarkand.

It is said to grant the user the power to absorb negative magic, to protect against vile acts of darkness. Used to help fight the hordes of Oblivion that once threatened the land, the amulet became a tool which many feared and many loathed. Over time those that used the amulet became corrupted and cruel; their mind became clouded as their ideas of justice became twisted. It is not understood why the minds of those who controlled the artefact should become destined to such madness but many have theorised that the amulet itself is symbiotic in nature – it absorbs the magic and over time dispenses it throughout the wearer’s body. I have thus concluded that this excess of magic could distort the user’s senses and make them feel more powerful than they actually are. As most who wear the amulet have faced off against great and dark magic, it must be presumed that the absorption of that dark magic, combined with the feeling of being invincible, can cast a shadow upon the purest of hearts.

Such examples have been recorded across our history with the latest recorded putting the amulet in the hands of the priestess Seylina, who served Varla at the shrine of Falzan. It is written that a necromancer cursed the servants at the shrine, causing them to become seriously ill but the protection of the amulet shielded Seylina. It is believed that instead of hunting the Necromancer down to break the spell, the priestess killed her sisters to relieve their suffering. When a high priest who had returned from a short trip, he found Seylina singing children’s rhymes as she painted the walls in her Sisters blood. When asked what she had done, Seylina responded with laughter and glee, yet there were tears upon her check. In her mind she was saving them from their pain – but the fact that she enjoyed it however, was not something she could explain.

It is for this twisted sense of morality that the amulet was hidden, deemed too powerful for any regular person. The amulet itself has become a legend in song and prayer, often being described as a test of faith and loyalty to Varla. Those who submit to the darkness are considered to have turned their back on their Goddess.

So the amulet remains hidden, waiting for the right person who has the will to control it.

The Fierce People

 

 

 

The arrival of the Nordic people to our shores does not come as a surprise to many of us. People from Atmora have made regular trade with us in the past and there has also been the occasional hostile raider.

Reports of harsh weather, civil wars and dying crops have been passed on from these traders for many years. It was only a matter of time before the men of Atmora sought refugee elsewhere.

The shock that seems to come with this migration of the Nords, seems to come from the fact that only a handful of us Falmer have actually seen one. Having contact with various native races of men the Nord were not what we expected.

They are large and loud, strong like the trolls with deep harsh voices and they are a violent people. The Nords are not a patient folk and their memories are long – they hold a grudge over generations of families and in fighting is common.

Compared to the other races of men the Nords are completely alien to us. The Imperials, native to the heartlands, are smaller in general but resilient, peaceful and quick minded. The Nords show occasional cunning but their minds seem slower at best. Nords think of themselves first while the imperials have the gift of foresight and plan for the worst.

It is quite possible this is why the Ayleids, our brothers, use the Imperials as a servant race. It is as if the Imperials were made to serve our brothers or perhaps they were moulded this way over time... but this is not the place for ethics.

It is hard to imagine the Nords being forced into such servitude and I daresay if we tried we would have a full scale war on our hands.

The Nords compare to the Imperials could be no further different from a rock to a boulder – both are of similar origins but both are different in extreme ways.

With this difference in mind I now turn to the other race of man, the Bretons, to which we can compare the Nords and show how different they are.
They are not entirely human, having elvish blood but being more man than Mer they are sometimes shunned by their elven ancestors.

I have found Bretons to be refined characters and while they look more like men their character is more elvish. They seek the use of magic to enhance their lives, they search for enlightenment and wish to better themselves as a society and race,

But the Nords! They don’t trust magic. Preferring iron and steel they are an earthly people, distrustful of spiritual matters and they see magic as something that must be destroyed not coveted.

I cannot decide who fears more the most. Do we fear the Nords more than they fear us? Their brutal ways and their violent attitudes are a threat to our existence and yet they fear and loath our magic.

 

 

 

Tides of War (History of the Falmer Vol 1)

"I sit now within the halls of Falzan, cowering, hiding, stuck with what seems to be the last of my kind. I come to the temple to await my fate just as these other souls have for you Falzan is a holy place. It is a shrine where we gather to give worship to Varla, mother of us all. Praying for peace, for an end, to a war that we brought upon ourselves.

 

These are the chronicals of the events that led to this moment. I hope someday that history will find my scribbles and learn from the folly of the Falmer and understand the hatred within men.

 

They came from across the sea clad in worn clothes, their skin cracked from exposure and their bellies empty with hunger. But their spirit was strong and they rejoiced to find land and gave thanks to their gods that we were there. They were men, that was obvious and had they never seen our kind before, in fact they had never even seen a Mer.

We had seen men from the north before. A few small raiders had beached upon our shores many summers ago and to be sure that these men did not have similar intentions we sought to question them and as such met them with a bit of suspicion. That suspicion soon disappeared as the men were open from the beginning and they told us their tale. Tales of vast lands, strange creatures and the increasing cold were told within our halls as we tried to determine who these people were.

Atmora, the land they called home and where they came from, was experiencing strange weather patterns. The winter had apparently stayed, for five summers they had endured snow storms, heavy frosts and longed for the heat of the sun. Their forests had died in the meantime and their game had disappeared. Being hunters there people struggled to survive over the years and their numbers dwindled. They claimed the gods were at war and they were suffering.

In desperation their king had sent them out to look for a new home, lands which had escaped the might of the gods and could help restore the people of Atmora. Some had taken the words literally, which they said could explain the small raids upon our shores over the years, but ultimately word had reached the king of these new lands. He had seen an opportunity to save his people and at the same time create allies for it was said his seat of power was failing.

For three weeks our king talked with the captain and a pact was made. The Falmer would help the strangers. They were to travel to Atmora and tell the survivors of the lands that laid south and that we welcome them with open arms. Shelter would be built while the men took the two month journey it would take to reach Atmora, spread the word of safe lands and then for their return.
As their ship was loaded with supplies and our healers provided balms to protect their skin from drying up little did we know about the plague, the destruction of their people and ultimately the beginning of the end for our own.

Unkown Song

"Cold like stone, we stood strong,
with diamond skin but now we're gone
Rubble lies where we once stood,
whispered tales of ghosts in wood.
But hidden deep beneath the earth,
our spirit lives, awaiting rebirth"

Golems and Sila

 

Golems are magical creatures brought to life by infusing various materials with magicks and spells. They are in essence a type of living enchantment. Because of this many who wield the skill of Golem craft use Golems as servants and guardians.

The material used to craft a Golem determines their strength and durability. Crude materials such as wood and iron which cannot hold a vast amount of magic make for the basic of all Golems. These Golems are weak and unreliable as the magicks used to make them disintegrate pretty quickly while materials such as ebony and silver make for longer lasting Golems, albeit more expensive Golems.

The strongest of all Golems are those that serve the priests and priestess of Varla. She has granted upon them the wisdom of how to craft the Sila ore into in a durable material which lasts for a life time.

Sila ore is a highly dense magical rock which acts as a conduit for magicka, allowing it to be shaped and moulded to the users will. It is also capable of holding vast amounts of magicka while having no effect on the strength of the stone. My associate Laram believes the stones don’t actually store magicka but absorb it constantly from the environment to replace that which it consumes .If this is true than the construction of a Sila Golem must have some sort of mixed mineral in order to prevent the spells placed upon the ore being absorbed.

I asked the Priests at Falzan if the ore used to construct the Golems was different from the regular Sila ore but they refused to answer my questions, halting my advances by divine right and secrecy.

However I was able to study a Sila Golem. These golems are large, consisting of rock which has been infused with Sila ore and stones. How this is done I cannot say as its near impossible to craft Sila stones while they are still active. They have a central Sila stone which is used as an eye of sorts and their hands are large; one golem demonstrated immense power by ripping a boulder from the ground and throwing it fifteen feet.

Having seen the Sila Golems myself it is no wonder why they are the guardians of our most sacred of places. Their skin, if I can call it that (perhaps hide would be a better word), their body is hard and resistant to both physical and magical damage. They are highly intelligent (well as intelligent as a magical command lets them be) and they are strong.

The only weakness I can see is that they are slow but don’t let this fool you. Having worked with Sila magicks before I was curious as to how the Golem would respond to an infused Sila stone, such as the Dark Sila stones. Needless to say there was no reaction what so ever and the priests would not let me attempt any magical experiment upon the Golem.
I have attempted, from what I have learnt, to replicate a Sila Golem using regular Golem making techniques but I fear to experiment too much as these particular Golems are Divine servants sent to us by Varla. I can understand why their creation process is hidden from us for if their making was to be common knowledge it would not be hard for our enemies to learn how to make them and use them against us.

 

Edited January 31, 2017 by midgetalien

[Oblivionaddicted]

It looks nice, I'd like to test it.

[Dragon32]

Bloody hell, it's MidgetAlien! Good to see you, MA.

[midgetalien]

Hey Dragon :D

Long time no see! How you doing?

 

Oblivion - sure once I have something to test I will let you know.

[Zimnel]

Gorgeous work, very appealing pics and nice background.

Yes, it would be nice seeing this ingame! :D

[midgetalien]

*cast raise dead*

 

So I found my old files to this on an old Hard Drive while sorting out some bits this morning. Tinkered with it this evening and it seems to be "functional" with most of the resources in place. I have no plans to continue this mod with the story line I had in mind but I can finish of the areas that need working on interior wise and add in the creatures if people just want a dungeon to kills stuff and explore like the Neverhalls.

[leonardo2]

So you like the Falmer so much in Skyrim and that couldn't stop you to create a Falmer mod for Morrowind. :tongue:

 

It's nice to see you back in the Morrowind modding community. :smile:

[Dragon32]

It's always good to have new stuff to do, and a dungeon crawl would be just the ticket. If you're able to finish it off then I think many people would appreciate it, MA.