Overhaul continues.
bah, it's like there's more and more work to get done on this
Scamp wrote:There's but one thing I dislike, but I can't quite put my finger on it. The trees surrounding the village don't seem right to me - somehow they don't fit the surrounding flora density/overall style very well, or their arrangement looks unnatural. I'd try either more trees to fit the nearby forest, which is quite dense, or significantly less trees. Generally it seems like there's too many pines up there, too.
Maybe you could try some of these ideas in a separate copy of the file for me?
I tried to, but I ended incorporating this ideas in the main file, giving the village a small redo. I think it looks much more realistic now, I will eventually get down putting more trees around the village cliff, so I think that should nail it. Still, I can remove some more trees and bake that separate esp for you if you wish, no problem.
worsas wrote: The persarine and the honey lilly we intended to keep exclusive to Vorndgad Forest and Aldkarth Lowlands. Upon crossing the region borders, even with a transition zone, the player shouldn't encounter the container plants of the previous region anymore.
As for the plants by the village, I imagined the matriarch to be quite a herbalist (descending from the tribe of forest folks and so on), so she can maintain persarine, taragetis and honey lilly there for sacral meanings and her alchemical needs. I can replace them with some Druadach native plant, though. I will remove those plants found outside the village.
worsas wrote:Third-last post should reflect our current distribution of container plant types. Maybe edit your own region design description to account for this:
viewtopic.php?f=87&t=222
Sure, I'll try to give it a go in a forthcoming week.
roerich wrote:How old is this village supposed to be? Either way it could have been placed on the clifftop in order to be more protected against the warbands from east and west, using the Reach as their battleground.
Well, I tried to wrote down the vision I had while working on the village (and other interiors of this claim), so that can lighten up some things. I believe that cliff could have been used as a hiding place for long ages, but the village in current form dates back to the times of Bend'r-mahk war.
Village
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http://i.imgur.com/S5vU1uA.png[/hsimg]
Size: Small (7 interiors )
Population: 11 (7 Bretons, 3 Orcs, 1 Redguard).
Tribal identity: Ennflaith
Wealth: High
Religiousness: High
Main deities: Trinimac, Mara
Hostility: Low. Maintains stable, but far from warm, trade-based relationship with the Bear Clan
Economics: Trade (honey, furs, leather, ingredients, goat milk products) - serves as a middleman between other, more isolated tribes [Western Canyon village comes to mind] and the Bear Clan; Hunting; Pasturage (goats); Banditry? (with usage of local goblins?)
Other distinguishing features: Orsimer population; centre of Trinimac cult; Nova Orsinium connections
Permanent residents:
1 - The Big House
A matriarch - Breton. well-respected across the hills witch in her fifties. Of notable magical power and sphere of influence; machiavellian personality. Important persona on the local political scene, "Barenziah of Druadach Highlands". Months-old gossip says she's really close to achieving the inner circle in the hags' hierarchy. Has unhealthy admiration for warlord Gortwog and Nova Orsinium, keeps some letters he send her in response to her messages as relics, even though there's nothing of real importance written in them (mostly kind "That's a good idea, thanks", "Thank you for your compliments" etc). She daydreams about creating (and then co-leading) united Orcs-Reachmen nation and wouldn't hestitate commencing bloody revolt when she feels that dream is possible; on the outside though she remains cold and sharp. That whole raving fascination for the Orcs can be the thing holding back her Hagraven transformation.
A husband - Breton. retired travelling merchant married to the matriarch, slightly older than his wife. Officialy old and harmless, well hidden in his wife's throne's shade, this man in fact is the main reason the tribe went through the Bend'r-mahk war mostly unharmed and begun to thrive once it was over. The merchant used his contacts and his wit to assist his wife in leading the tribe, making deals and truces with the commanders of either side when it was profitable, only to backstab them later and go into hiding, fighting partisan war. Eventualy the tribe sided with winning Nords, leading them through the cliffy paths to take Dragonstar by surprise. In the postbellum reality, when the tribe ended claiming the Village Cliff for living, he used his old contacts and the money from looting to estabilish trade relations with Karthgad and Dragonstar, what brings good profit to this day. Despite all of that, he accepts his position as husband to the chief. He is more clever and meaningful than it seems, yes, but by no means he can be considered to be the grey eminence ruling the village. Offers Mercantile training?
In spite of the fact that these two had been married to each other even before the war started, there have never been much (or any love) between them. They both perceived the marriage as a political contract that can strenghten their position in Reachmen's hierarchy (in which it succeeded indeed). Still, they conceived and upbrought a son (or two?), who runs a small trade estabilishment in deserted Dragonstar, serving as a spy for Hagravens as well.
2 - The small house
An apprentice - Breton. Young woman from another tribe. Shows some magical potential, sent here to learn witch's trade by the feet of the matriarch. She's having some hard time, as I imagine the matriarch must be rather bitchy (and training to be a witch among the folks of the Reach cannot by an easy thing by default I bet). Well respected by the rest of the tribesmen, though, on account of being a hag in spe.
3 - Shaman's yurt
A shaman - Orc. Orcish priest of Trinimac estabilished in this village some months ago by Gortwog himself. Technically the head of Trinimac cult for trans-Dragonstar Reach, though it doesn't require him to be very high in general "church's" hierarchy. I bet he should be quite young, yet talented and promising. Honestly, he doesn't bear much power nowadays, as most of local orcs are hostile towards him, due to their remaining faith in Malacath [as our "Peoples of the Reach" book states]. The matriarch really values his opinion and relies on his counsel more and more often, what wasn't left unnoticed by the Hagravens. The shaman is a clever and careful man, keeping both of his feet on the ground. For now he's mostly devoted himself to gathering inteligence data, as one of many Gortwog's spies set around the Orsinium. I bet some of more aggresive Reachmen around the hills hate this guy, both for the influence he's slowly reaching and for the fact he's supposed to teach THEM about their own god.
4 - Yurt
Orc. Just your average orcish hunter/commoner.
5, 6 - Commoner's houses.
I wanted them to be occupied by mixed couples:
Orc - Breton
Redguard - Breton
I imagined that Redguard guy/gal could be a Bend'r-mahk veteran, forcefully recruted in the Hammerfell's ranks in his/her teen years. [Or just some more recent deserter, it wouldn't make sense to have so many folks that old here] The Redguard found peace in this village, now he/she is just one the tribesmen.
Still, I'm not sure abour that Orsimer-Breton couple; acceptance for it may be a cool way to highlight Reachmen's bizarreness (seeing how other cultures
see the concept ), but it's something to be approached carefully. We can always just snap that mer for another Breton.
7 - Hunter/huntress house
Breton. No real thoughts on him/her
Some other tribesmen of this tribe could be found as merchants/soldiers of fortune/adventurers around the Reach. Overall, the way I see it, for the long ages this tribe had lived as forest-concealed mystical gathereres, of no real power among the tribes, Ahemmusa-style. Just recently the tables turned, and in the postbellum reality these folks earned themself some real significance. They've been cleverly playing their cards right ever since.
Barrow
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I'm trying to make it remind
Scamp's mesa barrow in style, as these two were likely founded roughly in the same time. It will be much less grand, though, and more concealed - perhaps it served as a final rest place to just one lesser leader/war hero?
As this tomb lies in hard hit and eventful area, it had been devastated for ages even before the war started. During the Bend'r-mahk small Redguard war-team stationed here, it eventually got wiped out by the Nords. Their corpses dots this place to this day.
I was thinking we could have a questgiver (Arkay priest? Jarla's clerk?) in Dragonstar that would task the player with clearing this barrow out of the undeads and lead a construction crew with a priest there, so they revive this place as a resting side for now Nordic city of Dragonstar.
Goblin cave
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I thought it would be cool to make it lead through the cliff as far down as to the Western Canyon and have another exit there; there is a cave already roughly in the same line with it in -112, 17. It could be a passage used by the Reachmen, as those two villages would likely be able to keep goblins in line.
Resistance hideout
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I think it is well hidden enough to act as a hiding place for Redguard insurectionists, but it can be some bandit cave or whatever, really.
Ruined cave
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http://i.imgur.com/yckm3fy.png[/hsimg]
Yet another testimony of Bend'r-mahk conflict. Possibly some more Hammerfell forces used to station here. The doors have noPickup script on them, so this place isn't really an interior.