TheLonePhantom Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Please forgive me if this is the improper place for such things. The quest that goes with this dungeon would be a thieves guild one. After you become guild master you would receive a ransom letter telling you that some bandits have gotten hold of the newest thieves guild recruit and are demanding an outrageous amount of Septims in exchange. Basic layout Basic layout. 1: It would be an under water tunnel, long enough that you'd have to be an Argonian or have some underwater potions or enchantment to pass. I feel as Skyrim needs more of these. 2: A circular cavern. Acts as the bandit's living area/bed rooms. Depending on the hour the Dovahkiin might find sleeping bandits or dining bandits, or bandits just chilling. 3: A cavernous hall with some patrolling guards. Maybe some traps. 4: A wooden wall large enough that it can have some bandit's patrolling the top that shoot at the Dovahkiin with arrows. Ideally with no way to get up to them the Dovahkiin would have to use magic, arrows, or shouts to kill them. At the center of the wall there would be a door that lead to the other side. Optionally this would be a zone divider. 5: The last slither of hallway of the cave that leads into the basement of the house the bandits keep the hostage in. With one or two guards having normal bandit chatter. 6: The basement itself. With the bandit leader and a handful of henchmen. The usual loot and such is there. 7: A cell where the NPC is being held. This quest is heavily inspired by Pinewatch. Though I hope it's different enough that it can stand on it's own.The pay off of this would be the normal loot from these kinds of dungeons, but mostly a new NPC who could be fully voiced and usable as a companion. An additional perk of being Guild Master of the Thieves Guild. This is just a rough initial draft, but what do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidzebra Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Hey, I like all new quests. MOAR QUESTS! ;) I just wonder how the bandits get to their hideout if only the underwater tunnel connects it. Unless they're all argonians or have waterbreathing potions. Which could be interesting in its own right. Maybe somewhere in the swampy marshes near Morthal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLonePhantom Posted November 18, 2012 Author Share Posted November 18, 2012 Hey, I like all new quests. MOAR QUESTS! ;) I just wonder how the bandits get to their hideout if only the underwater tunnel connects it. Unless they're all argonians or have waterbreathing potions. Which could be interesting in its own right. Maybe somewhere in the swampy marshes near Morthal?Sorry I didn't make it clear. I thought that there would be a staircase from the final room into a cabin or house. Though an Argonian gang might be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidzebra Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Ah, okay. So you will block the house/cabin entrance? Because otherwise a clever player might short-circuit your elaborately built dungeon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLonePhantom Posted November 18, 2012 Author Share Posted November 18, 2012 Naturally. All it takes is a bar over the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kryptopyr Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 (edited) First... I'm very much in favor of any additional quests that add to the factions, particularly the Thieves Guild, and that give you something to do after becoming Guild Master. So, yes, this sounds great! I like the idea of having a primary route that is blocked and having a hidden or secret entrance that would be unguarded (or at least not well guarded). Given that you are making this a Thieves Guild quest, the more you can do to emphasize sneak and stealth, the better. Good stealth quests are in short supply in the game. I would try to add strategic cover points (stacks of crates, walls, rubble, etc) that the player can duck behind in order to time their movements to avoid the guard patrols, or play with the placement of light and shadows to allow sneaky characters a way to maneuver around the bandits for stealth kills (or to just slip past them undetected). 4: A wooden wall large enough that it can have some bandit's patrolling the top that shoot at the Dovahkiin with arrows. Ideally with no way to get up to them the Dovahkiin would have to use magic, arrows, or shouts to kill them. At the center of the wall there would be a door that lead to the other side. Optionally this would be a zone divider. I would consider adding some way to reach them because 1) they had to get up there somehow, 2) it allows for more options depending on type of character the player is playing (many thieves may not use magic or shouts), and 3) as silly as it sounds, it often drives me nuts when I can't reach a body to loot it. If you want to make it less accessible, you could make it only accessible from another branch of the cave or have it only link back to a room in the other zone (so the player would have to circle back around in order to . You could also add stairs or a ramp, but make these very well lit so the player couldn't get to the upper area without being detected. Or place a trap or drawbridge to restrict easy access while still providing an optional work around. Ideally, I think it would be awesome if a really skilled player could complete the quest without killing any of the bandits...or at least get to the captured guild member without alerting the bandits (escaping with a follower without alerting anyone would probably be incredibly difficult). I'm not suggesting that this be a requirement for the quest, or that it be at all easy to accomplish it this way, but it would be nice to have that option. Another thought would be to have the underwater tunnel actually come up in the lowest/deepest part of the dungeon, possibly even near the cage where the hostage is held, then the player would have to fight their way back up to the main entrance. Though, I guess if you did this you would have to trigger a cave-in or something to block the underwater tunnel, so the player couldn't just exit out the tunnel again. Anyway, those are just some thoughts. Obviously, you can take them or leave them. Overall, I think your idea sounds great, and I hope you decide to pursue it. Edited November 19, 2012 by kryptopyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLonePhantom Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 Given that you are making this a Thieves Guild quest, the more you can do to emphasize sneak and stealth, the better. Good stealth quests are in short supply in the game. I would try to add strategic cover points (stacks of crates, walls, rubble, etc) that the player can duck behind in order to time their movements to avoid the guard patrols, or play with the placement of light and shadows to allow sneaky characters a way to maneuver around the bandits for stealth kills (or to just slip past them undetected). I thought I'd have them patrolling. That way the player can sneak up behind em, snipe em from a distance, or if they have the skills. Watch the patrols then when they are away, put down runes where they will be returning. Sneaking by undetected is a viable option as well of course. It would be easy enough to add side passages that are hidden and locked up. I would consider adding some way to reach them because 1) they had to get up there somehow, 2) it allows for more options depending on type of character the player is playing (many thieves may not use magic or shouts), and 3) as silly as it sounds, it often drives me nuts when I can't reach a body to loot it. If you want to make it less accessible, you could make it only accessible from another branch of the cave or have it only link back to a room in the other zone (so the player would have to circle back around in order to . You could also add stairs or a ramp, but make these very well lit so the player couldn't get to the upper area without being detected. Or place a trap or drawbridge to restrict easy access while still providing an optional work around. No you are right. Having a place a way to get to them is best. I have the thought that you can enter the next zone from where the archers were perched and then snipe the next few guards from the elevated spot. Another thought would be to have the underwater tunnel actually come up in the lowest/deepest part of the dungeon, possibly even near the cage where the hostage is held, then the player would have to fight their way back up to the main entrance. Though, I guess if you did this you would have to trigger a cave-in or something to block the underwater tunnel, so the player couldn't just exit out the tunnel again. Ah see you DO enter at the deepest part. The basement where the prisoner is held is actually higher up compared to the natural caverns which the bandits have mined into. It works better if I don't have to add a cave in. It's unnecessary and since I'm incredible inexperienced. The less complicated the smoother. That's another problem, I AM inexperienced. The most I've ever done is add a chest with god items to Oblivion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kryptopyr Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I like it. I think your description sounds like a nice layout. I admit, the cave in is a needless complication. It sounds as if you have a pretty good design figured out. From your description of the cavern, I don't think this is the solution for you, but another thought would be to make the upper ledge a circle-back point (where it would be initially inaccessible, but your trek through the dungeon would eventually circle around and place you on top of the ledge, thereby with a simple jump, returning the player to an earlier point in the dungeon without having to backtrack through the entire cave again). I could see possibly setting it up this way if there were a reason the player would have to backtrack to get something in the dungeon (searching for the key required to open the cage maybe?). Otherwise, it's probably not the most useful idea for what you have planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLonePhantom Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 Thank you! That means quite a bit since I like your thieves guild requirements mod. That sounds like a good plan. Since I want an initial ambush in the first room (2) That way there can be an archer where the player eventually backtracks. Here is an idea! What if the player gets to the cage, talks to the thieves guild recruit and the recruit mentions that the leader went to an inn but doesn't know which one. He did however manage to pick a note from one of his kidnapper's pocket when trying to get the key. The note does not say which inn outright tough but rather uses a riddle! So the player has to solve the riddle to figure out which inn the leader is drinking at. Once the player figures it out, they go to the in and have a choice of slitting the kidnapper's throat in his sleep OR picking his pocket for the cage key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kryptopyr Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 As long as it's not too far away. It wouldn't make much sense to have to track the guy half way across Skyrim if he just went out for a drink (and quests that zigzag across the entire country can quickly become annoying). You'll also have to watch how you assign factions to the bandits. I'm not sure regular bandits can go have a drink at an inn without attacking/getting attacked by the other citizens because of the way the faction relations work. However, you should be able to create your own bandit faction and make them non-hostile to town folk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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