Feels like yesterday to me. ^_^ And I STILL find things now and then that I didn't know were there.

Finally remembered a couple of suggestions that sporadically jumped in and outside of my memory.



- The earlier idea that people have mentioned about making the Telepathy Rings not actually equip at all when you use them appeals to me too.

- It'd also cut back on my awkward conversations with guards if Julan was not unintentionally lootable whenever he passes out.

- While it wouldn't make sense, it would be convenient to be able to have basic spell control with Julan or Shani. (Shame you can't assign a specific animation to a specific spell from what I hear. If that was possible, an excuse to use spells with them could be that they're imaginary hand signals. Which sounds like something Ashlanders would probably rely on alot.)

*On possible additional scenes:

- Julan still promised a wedding to romanced players. (He really should stop making wagers and promises if he knows what's good for him. )

- A Pink Cliff Racer?

- I have it from a reliable source that Shani likes to dance. It would be something to see her do one. (If there happens to be a dancing animation modder resource lying around. I know that http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=5019 can dance. But I think she said somewhere that the animation file was already in Vanilla Morrowind though.)

* On the subject of "Why doesn't Julan have Companion Share right out of the Box/I can't progess in the Main Quest because I need to do something with Julan and I'll be danged if I can figure out WTF it is!"



Edit: Oh yeah. Thanks to theskymoves, a couple suggestions from Okida, and my old post on a possible Bloodmoon segment idea has been revived.

__________________________________________________________________________

Okida:
Julan has his own slant on events, I guess its just figuring out what she'd say about it in contrast. perhaps even threeway arguments between the player and the two of them over quest... maybe to do with factions that Ashlander's don't like, such as the Temple or the Imperial Legion and such.

Deadra Lord:
I like that idea. It worked out pretty well when:



Okida:

If there was ever an update for bloodmoon interaction, perhaps julan could start out suspect to nords and their culture 'like all dunmer' and then gradually grows more accepting throughout the main quest.

Deadra Lord:

:lol: I can see it now...

Player and Julan approach the Skaal Village to investigate Carius' disappearance. The player studies the settlement when Julan interrupts his/her thoughts by starting a conversation.

Julan: "So this is the village you're looking for right? Can you explain to me why you brought me into the freezing cold island, that I hate, to investigate a village of Nords, who I also hate, on behalf of the Empire that I despise?!"

Player: "Keep quiet, they're going to hear us."

Julan: "I couldn't care any less what those filthy s'wits hear! I could already smell them when we were climbing the hill! erm, well... I thought it was the stench of that skull of theirs you're carrying at first. Wait! Why are you actually carrying that thing anyway? That's disgusting!"

Player: "Just because I'm holding it, doesn't mean I like doing this."

Julan: "Well then quit doing that! You're disturbing me, more so than usually as a matter of fact."

Player: "Alright then, thanks for volunteering to hold onto it while I wash my hands off in the lake."

Julan: "SHEOGORATH NO! PLEASE! Keep it by all means then! I just want to know what you plan to do with it, while not getting involved in whatever that is..."

Player: "The Legionary told me to give it to them to sow the seeds of trust, so that I can figure out what happened to Carius. Or... not get torn to pieces on sight by the villagers at least."

Julan: "Pah! Like that would really stop them. They are barbarians after all."

Player: "All the more reason for you to tag along and get better acquainted with them then! Just pretend they're a bunch of axe-wielding, mead-drinking, Ashlanders. Only twice as smelly, don't herd Guar, live in the cold, and have an actual roof over their heads!"

Julan: "*Julan gasps and his face almost instantly swells so red that you swear he would've had a heat stroke if not for the fact that you're on a frozen island.* YOU IGNORANT N'WAH! TAKE THAT BACK! NOW!"

_____________________________________________________________________________

Double Edit: Oh another blasted idea just came up.

Triple edit: The above idea would almost definitely require to Julan to temporarily have a surper-sized health boost since most of my veteran characters can 1HKO him upon melee friendly fire.

-DL :chaos:

Yay for epic feedbackage! Thanks!



Interesting! I'll think about it. I honestly never noticed.



This is a personal preference thing. I like being able to wear the ring, so I set it up that way on purpose.



Hmm, not sure this is alterable. Does he really pass out that often? I can only think of one time he's scripted to do that where there are people around who would report you, and it's rather out of the way (Thirsk). His fatigue is set to be high, so he shouldn't pass out normally.



What sort of spell control? Shani doesn't cast any spells beyond levitate/waterwalk in any case. I'm changing Julan's conjuration to be on-command only, and he already has a lot of on-ask healing stuff. What do you want to be able to do, exactly?



I KNOW, I am a total cop-out artist. Guilty as charged. I Do have a few ideas for doing this "for real", it's just be a lot of work, and I'm avoiding it!



OH MY GRAVITY YOU'RE A GENIUS.



Already in the works.



Yeah, it's hard to predict how players think sometimes. Your ideas are duly noted!



Yeah, that's the general idea. Or, you get a topic from Julan that you can then go and ask Shani about later.



I considered this when I was first making J, but didn't want to look like I was ripping off Emma's Laura! I'll think about it again, it's certainly scriptable, just dunno if it's something I want to include.

Thanks so much for all the thoughtful suggestions (and silly Bloodmoon dialogue! )

This might be more work than you're willing to take on, but I always wondered about the fact that Julan's grandmother was a kidnapped Redoran. Surely there must be someone in the House who remembers her? If his mother was around 18 when he was born, and he's now in his early 20s, it can't have happened all that long ago (at least by Dunmer standards). He might have living relatives under Skar! (Plus, it would be hilarious to see Julan confront the fact that he's related to the snotty House people...)

Actually, a subquest involving that's been on my mind for a long time, so yeah!

Keep up the good work with julan (a.k.a the best companion mod out there) Kateri !

There's that, there's when he's being chased around by the Ahemussa ancestors (Though there's thankfully no guards to trouble me on that part), I think he also did so shortly after he got drunk in South Wall, and there's whenever he catches a common/blight disease and you tell him to svck it up for a minute. (The damn Imperial Cult Shrine was just next-door! D: )

Alot of the time it's my own fault for not knowing any better by now, but it sure got me good at first. Plus he'll get up and walk up to you before fainting again when you walk away from him, so I keep on thinking he's suddenly better, try to talk to him, then I'm looting him while he's in mid-air, then I find all the townspeople of Sadrith Mora screaming "Bloody thief!" at me.



Sorry I was way too vague. Let me back up a the cost of getting a little off-topic. My newest aspiring character is a Telvanni, so I naturally had to go download new versions of some Telvanni classic mods. One of them that I picked up (And love) is http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=5997, it packs many different quests, companions, and features into your new tower. The companions are

-Gavyn Helrnim
-Sara N'tashra
-Ash-Kosh Virash
-Verena Uvirith (Not a full companion but can follow you and has companion share)

And through another of the many quests, there's a recluse wizard who will teach you four spells:

-Companion Follow
-Companion Wait
-Companion Wander
-Companion Stop Combat

They are, of course, spells that activate the same commands you'd otherwise have to go into dialogue individually with them about. They work wonderfully with Sara and Gavyn, don't work with Ash-Kosh for some reason, and dunno about Verena because she's not my bag of saltrice. Unsurprisingly, the spells do not work with Julan since he employs different scripts, and in his case I think it would be kind of corny anyhow to command him with spells anyway. But they are very convenient and would be even more-so in his case I think since Julan and Shani's commands, responses, and dialogue often take a bit of time to load up compared to most other things (and if you have them both with you, you'll need to speak to both of them for whatever you want of the group as a whole). That thought led me into the other part about hand-signals, which was just wishful musing of mine on something I'm almost certain is impossible to do. (Example: Say Julan and Shani had such spells, and I cast companion Follow while they're standing nearby. Instead of a glowy-noise making spell, in this perfect imaginary world it would be a completely different noiseless animation in third person mode of the player waving them over). Which would feel more like something Julan and Shani would be alot more accustomed to. Rather then some silly will-bending spell.

But again, I don't think that's possible to do, even with LizTail's animation kit.



O_o Had yet to consider that old bit?

Huh... Never knew she had that. I downloaded Laura once but became certain rather quickly that she also wasn't my bag of saltrice. Mmmmmm... saltrice. Oops. Well, it has been years like you said. People are well aware now that Julan isn't a rip-off of anything and that he's great for reasons all his own while incorporating a few features that fit the status-quo of companion functionality. Since he has a telepathy ring feature that has obviously been done by a companion mod before him, does that mean he's ripping off the older mod? Not at all. Whoever introduced companion rings merely pioneered the feature, they didn't stamp a trademark on it's forehead. I doubt anyone is going to yell at you for doing something like Laura's feature so long as you write your own scripts.

It's your decision of course. Me, I just really felt the urge when I first met Mashti to showcase my progress with Julan to her and gain her favor with a telepathic: "IN YOUR FACE!"



It would be very amusing to chase down this lead. But my guess is that while Ashlanders maintain a legal rite to raid the settled people for things such as this slave-bride, were this Redoran Noble lady a direct relative to a Vvardenfel councilor, then that councilor would not sit idly by. (They are all about that honor after all.) I figure Mashti's other family is either puppet nobles on the mainland of no true significance aside from their name, and/or their biggest asset is only one of the random Kinsman-House_Fathers that wander the Council Hall all day, again with no real purpose. Nonetheless that is a great idea.

-DL :chaos:

Oh yeah, those times!



Oh, totally. But if you're being threatened with death, I'd guess "Don't kill me, my family are rich high-born Redoran and will pay for my safe return!!" sounds like it might buy you a few days, if you're lucky!

Heh. Yeah, I did wonder why her family hadn't searched for her. I figured they were either all killed in the raid, or they didn't have the power and resources to launch a massive search (if she really was a Redoran at all, of course...)

Wow, Julan 2.0 is in work with even more snide remarks, dumb statements and irritating habits. Like everyones had already stated it I don't really see how your mod could be made better since it's already nearly perfect ( As you've said it , a bit more on Shani and Bloodmoon and it will be perfect).

However if it's mission imposible to ameliorate the mod it's possible to worsen Julan evenmore. After all he is so irritating as a person I cannot get rid of him in my games He had grow on me like a fungus or maybe more of a Telvanni tower...

As so lovable this wrinkly Nix-Pup can be, it's for his boobs, blunders and clangers that I love him : Starting a brawl with Berel Sala just after the "Control the Ordinators" quest, eating Yanna's cosmetics, drinking the equivalent of what should be a yearly production of various liquors of Vvardenfell, using Secrets of Dwemer's Animunculi as privy ( I gave him the book at Galom Deus and never seen it again...).
But THE ultimate boner (sorry for the pun) was when the three of us ( Julan, Constance and my female Aureal) got drunk like the Oblivion Gates should be open the tomorow morning. The game crashed and two week in-games later Constance found herself pregnant ( the joy of stranges bug due to the Romance mod) while Julan and I were in a relation.
The happy mother and the baby (Julgoth) are fine and healthy, the irresponsible father not so much...

So after so much ado, there are my kicks for Julan : each times Julan or his Script go wonky, instead of start combat/stopcombat I hit him from a nimble punch to a dwemer warhammer on his cute but empty head depending on my humor. I've also developped four spell to keep him on his toe : Shut up( silence 10 sec on touch), Will you shut up ( silence 10 sec, blind 25 % 10 sec on touch) ,You're being reppressed(silence 30 sc, blind 100% 10sec,paralyse 15 sec, burden 75 on 25 sec on touch) Attitude Adujster (bound mace 10 sec self).

I would like more possibility to counter his insult or his opinions, maybe challenge him with other clichés like Nord being bloodthirsty drunkard with a mind duller then their blade, Dunmer being bigoted zealot with backstabbing tendancies, lazy ass bretons,...

and I would love a return of Mommy Kaushibael, herself or through Julan or Shani flashback. I love this old harpy strict as a imperial drillmaster, with a persoality to match, a cliff racer voice but who love her son dearly and see every woman gravitating around her son as to be terminated with extreme prejudice.

The wedding : I laught my ass off just by imagining Julan whining while Shani or the player drag him, screaming and kickingduring, for the preparation of the festivities.
Nothing grand for the ceremony itself but the sheer number of possibilities posed by the wedding of the Nerevarine is breathtaking. It could start as a simple ceremony the middle of no-where with a ash-kahn/wise woman as minister and a few friends/family when barge in representatives of the other Ashlanders tribe, factions and other partycrashers...

For correction strictly could you close the Assisting an Ald'Run trader quest after saving Julan of the Clannfear, then updating it for shani or even restarting it altogether for future entries.

BEST. BUG. EVER.

Just so you know, I had to run and tell Emma about this, we are both now going to laugh about the WONDER and HORROR of this story forever and ever and ever.

JULGOTH?? *falls off chair laughing again*

If I was Mashti, I'd be committing ritual suicide right about now.

-DL :chaos:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l12/Daedra_Lord/MGEScreenshot459.jpg

-DL :chaos:

Is there anyway you can make him react to the player having slaves?

I remember him being quite vocal about the issue when you get that slave for the main quest but when I have bought every other slave in both the Telvanni slave markets he doesn't make a sound. Just felt odd to me when my slave trading Telvanni went and bought pretty much every other slave some time after that incident and not once did he ever mention it. It would have been interesting to have Julan be able to call the PC out on it. Maybe have him try and change my characters views for once instead of the characters trying to make him consider his views (temple, imperials ect.), of course with the option to remain as stubborn as Julan if you wish. :tongue:

Hmm, I'll take a look at the dialogue and see how it's set up. Might not be something I can "detect" without replacing the entries for the existing topic, which might cause conflicts with slave mods - but maybe there'll be a way! Will see.

Since the main quest require the character to buy a slave and groom her as a future bride for Kaushad, maybe you could use it for inserting an expanded dialogue on the subject, or filtring the dialogue for interior dedicated to slave trading like Suran Slave market or Tel Aruhn Tunnels.

Now, this is some kind of weirdness:



Bohemia and I, in unison: "I've seen Julan drunk before, but never THAT drunk!!!" :ermm:

Edited to add that I just went through all of my screenshots for yesterday, and was just tickled by how often Julan's If Looks Could Kill Look shows up:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/chyral/Morrowind%20screenshots/lokken__u.jpg

(insert standard double post mea culpa here)

ARRRRRGHHH! I typed up a HUGE response and then went totally STUPID... I X'ed out of the browser after spellchecking, but before I hit "Add Reply". :banghead:

Oh well... shorter is better, right? And remember, kids... this is all just one old broad's opinion...

- Here's one vote for leaving Julan's telepathy ring as equip-able. I wear it all the time (especially with the MCP allowing for three ring slots, now!) b/c I hate having to search through my inventory to find it.

- I'm totally neutral on the question of adding an in-game book/whatever ("Dunmer Warrior Companions for Dummies"?) of useful console commands... I'd never use it, but I can see how it would be useful for someone with different needs. My only request would be that it NOT be something that automagically respawns in the PC's inventory if it is jettisoned (I'm looking at YOU, Census & Excise Office Log....), and that any console command info also be included in the ReadMe.

- Would myself not use an in-game book/whatever with quest hints... I found that if you pay attention to him, Julan is VERY good about telling the PC exactly what his wants and needs are, and you are very good at providing all of the information needed to move forward in the quest... I played through as unspoiled as possible (I only used the ReadMe and finally resorted to the FAQ but once when I got totally stuck early on, re However, if you do decide to include something walkthrough-ish or hinty for players who want a speedier play-through, my preference is that it be either optional (via a second or alternate esp) or at the very least non-respawning in the PC inventory.

- Finally, and I will shut up and go away after this, have you given any thought to adding some "reliable narrator" dialog to some of the Ahemmusa regarding Julan and Shani's relationship? Or perhaps Minabibi might provide some perspective... she seems to be their contemporary, and the player is already likely to have some interaction with her.

Thanks once again!

~tsm

(edited because it occurred to me that not everyone joins the Mages Guild...)

Thanks for the feedback, theskymoves! I'll look into that marriage dialogue bug. Regarding "reliable narrators", I'm not sure they exist! I'm working on the principle that by combining different viewpoints, you can get closer to a full picture, though. I would love to give Minabibi some dialogue, but as you say, only Mages would get it!

Was going to ask if Julan will ever cool off/sober up to the point where he'll let me back in his inventory again (he was carrying close to 2 million gold for me) but 'tis moot... he and my character must have had Mashti put a curse on my game, because all of my post-wedding saves CTD on loading. :lmao:



Charles dikeens used exactly the same approach in The! Best! Book! Ever! IMO! (Little Dorrit)



I am inordinately fond of her, for some reason... I think it's a combination of how much fun I imagine she must be having hanging out with Skink vs hanging out with Sinnammu, and her odd, hesitant acknowledgment of Julan.

~tsm :bolt:

edited b/c I managed to salvage a save w/ Wrye Mash, to actually necessitate the question: Will Julan will ever cool off/sober up to the point where he'll let me back in his inventory again, so I can retrieve the $$$ he was holding for me? :facepalm:

Kateri: you WILL let us know when there's a testable version out (I know this may be far in the future)? I adore Julan and would be more than happy to start a new game just to test a possibly broken version of new stuff.

Doesn't he? He throws a fit, sure, but once he's drowned his sorrows, you can pick him up from the Ald Skar Inn.



Aye, will do.

Thanks, Kateri. Finding Julan was easy, but I've waited/rested a week of game time, and he won't follow or interact beyond followed by a forced goodbye. If it works for the rest of the world, my game is probably just bugged. (No surprise there...) I've got pre-Lokken saves that work, so I'll just roll back and take things in a different direction.

~tsm

I'm also very fond of Minabibi -- does she actually join the mages guild? Why would only mages get the dialogue?

She's involved in a Mages Guild quest.

~tsm

Ohh, I remember now. If you marry Wulfren, you can travel with Julan again, but if you marry Arnand, you can't - not because Julan won't, but because Arnand forbids you from seeing Julan again. I was always slightly "wtf, talk about controlling!" about that! Anyway, that bugged "married Arnie" text line is actually not located in Julan's .esp, it's in the TLG .esp, so I'll have to look at that, hang on...