Hi,

As some you you may have seen in Enhanced Economy's thread, I've built a simplified quest engine, that makes me able to easily create new quests by filling in quest data in arrays. Each quest will be given my a merchant and has unique dialogue, within certain strict limits. But since I will add 30 or so such quests, I ask for help to come up with dialog lines. So anyone feeling a bit creative, please post suggested lines for dialogue, and maybe the merchant you think should say it.

Each quest will be a simple fetch quest, but the actual place it can be found will be determined randomly from any container within 2-4 caves/ruins/mines/forts/sewers that see no (or very) vanilla action. I will try to pick places that match with your dialogue, and you can suggest some, but selecting the final 2-4 for each quest is a small puzzle.


The dialog MUST be formatted like this:

1. My most valuable item has been stolen.
2. I would love to get it back.
3. A fine Ayleid carafe
4. I bought years ago
5. I think it can be found in a nearby bandit hive
6. Thanks, this carafe was the pride of my shop.

Lines 1. and 2. are the merchant's intro.
Line 3. and 4. describes the object he/she wants found, and it is important that they can be combined in one sentence.
Line 5. describes where it can be found (names of possible places are also given)
Line 6 is said when you give the item back.


So if you have any creativity floating in your veins, please try creating a dialogue or two and post it here


P.s. See also post 4 below for more detail.

Merchant: Rohssan (or) Urbul gro-Orkulg.

1. Petty crooks! They won't get away with this!
2. You look adventurous, care to recover some stolen goods?
3. An authentic dwarven war-axe
4. I had restored it myself
5. From the smell of them, they're probably camped out in the sewers.
6. I knew they couldn't really handle that weapon. Or you. Thanks!

Go fetch quests? Isn't that what Kragenir is for?

1. I'm being undersold/outsold!
2. Please help me get XYZ items to improve my selection.
3. Wood from a certain region (not sure if that would require extra meshes/textures).
4. Only in blackwood (or wherever).
5. From a lumber sales merchant/trees themselves, etc
6. Thank you with these materials my furniture will outsell those 3 snobs.

... OK I'm no Shakespeare.

While fetch quests may be the easiest I'd think that real merchant quests would not be about regaining items stolen but about improving their businesses. Or even ruining the business of others.
Maybe also collecting debts & delivering payments.

Isn't there an option to invest in businesses? What if that were expanded with the aims of running others out of business, quests to help collectives of businesses, freeing people from their debts. Carving out markets.

Thanks for the suggestion :thumbsup:

I see now that I needed to give a few more details. Before the dialogue you control, the merchant will say (randomly picked) one of:
Would you consider helping me with a problem?
Maybe you can help me with a problem?
I am looking for someone who can help me.
Do you think you could help me with something?


After line 5. he/she will say:
Probably in xxx, yyy or zzz (where xxx, yyy or zzz are the names of the paces to look for it - which must be interiors, thus sewers are fine)
And then finish off with:
Will you help me?



You can see the reasoning in the EE thread, but in short, this is a simple way to give roleplaying reasons to enter vanilla caves/ruins, and the place the item can be found is randomly chosen between the caves/ruins listed for that quest. And it is 100% compatible with any quest mod.

While I don't disagree with any of this, this is out of the scope of what I'm doing. My aim was to fix the IMHO broken fact that there are numerous caves/ruins in Cyrodiil, and no roleplaying reasons for entering them, and I therefore added this general script engine to EE which makes you visit those caves/ruins if you want to help the merchants out.

How about simply to explore? Clear out possible threats to the populace and/or wildlife of Cyrodiil? Seek guarded or unguarded items of value?

I don't see any lack of "roleplaying reasons" when it comes to adventuring in general. Perhaps I tend to create different types of characters... :shrug:

I tend to play good characters, and don't really feel that going inside a seemingly empty ruin to kill everyone there, in order to get rich, is a good enough roleplaying reason. I have no problem with others feeling differently, but for me it would help knowing that someone asked for help, so that's why I added this.

But it is completely optional (You can say no to any merchant, and you can even prevent the merchants from asking you in the first place by disabling the quests in the ini file), so if you don't like it, it will not interfere.


But really, the premise is that I have already built this script engine within EE, and just need the dialogues. So if you have some dialogues ideas, please share them. If you have other suggestions for improving Enhanced Economy, please take that in EE's main thread.

Making the world a safer place is a key reason my (good) characters do such things. The one you missed, iow.


Oh, absolutely. And I actually *like* the sound of your mod, by the way! I can see no issues with *it*, but rather the justification for its existence that you gave. Personally, I don't think it needs one. But indeed, I won't argue any further here, because it's getting into areas that are not specifically to do with this mod.

Sorry for the sidetrack.

Yeah, Kragenir's is for fleshing out the vanilla NPCs and locations with story heavy fetch quests (a part of it anyway).

This sounds like the randomized quest thing that I wanted to do at some point but never did, though there is a simple limited version of it in Kragenir's with 8 fixed locations of which 1 is randomly picked every time.

Having some repeatable random quests with a 6 line background story and a large variety of possible locations would be nice indeed.


As for dialogue, I'm no good at making that up myself.

Huh ... well then I should have drawn contrast to Thieves Arsenal, which has random quests but is difficult to play with overhauls like FCOM/OOO/TIE where you would have to be a god of sneaking to get in and out of a dungeon and not kill anything. Also with that mod you basically had to get teh job done prior to the next time you entered the city or that darn brat would give you another quest without being able to turn it down and meaning you failed the previous one.

Anyway - well I hope the quests/items match the destinations and the dungeons that are rarely used even in vanilla quests are favored.

Still lost items are a bit overplayed - other reasons for going in could include clearing the way for others (not that they have to be seen or be there when you are), general scouting to find out what is in there ... or even to leave something there. Now why I don't know - but I like the idea of that. Maybe drop something off and leave something behind.

Sorry not dialogue - hopefully the writers will show up soon, but I think that once the reasons and types of quests are known then the dialogue is nothing - easy.

1. "Ite...some gee innit"...oh wait this isn't GTA...erm "BLASTED THIEVES. They've stolen me [insert generic object here]!!!! My wife is going to KILL me"
2. "How would you like to earn some Gold? I'll give you [insert amount here] if you get it back and kill those damn thieves"
3. "Well, not too long ago I went travelling around Tamriel. On my way back through BlackMarsh, I stumbled across an Argonian. By the Nine, I'd never seen someone in such a state. He'd just been attacked by bandits, and had all of his gold taken. I managed to get him back to an Inn where I nursed him back to health. As a way of saying thanks, he gave me an Ayleid Carafe. Its more of sentimental value really, but I'd do ANYTHING to get it back."
4. See number 3
5. "Well, I saw the Thieves running off towards [insert town name here]. You might want to ask with the Guards if anyone strange has been seen recently.
6. "By Azura you found it! Thank you, thank you. I am forever in you debt"

It will not be completely random, and not repeatable, but each merchant will tell you about 2-4 (usually) places his item can be found, and the item will then be found randomly in any one container (even mod-added ones) within a random cell in one of those places.


In my quests, nothing bad happens if you visit the merchant again without having found the item yet. The merchant will even be able to provide more hints about where the correct location can be.

But if you actually find the item and don't take it with you (or drop it), the merchant will bug you about it until you find it where you dropped it, or tell him that it's lost for good - in which case you'll get worse deals from that merchant thereafter

There's an ini setting for whether the items will be quest items or not, depending on what you prefer.


As said above, each merchant will tell you about 2-4 places, and I pick those out among the places that see no (or very little) use in vanilla quests.

But that's not how it works. See post #1 for added clarifications.

For alchemists:

1. I have been robbed, and I don't know what to do.
2. I need all my apparatuses to create my renowned elixirs, but that devil took my retort!
3. A fine Master's Retort
4. it is essential for the distillation of the most obscure magical essences
5. He was very powerful - might have been one of the conjurers who occupy XXX, YYY or ZZZ.
6. Thank you. The customers were already starting to complain. Hopefully, I can restore my good name now.

Alright, first, a pretty good place to look for lore-styled generic quest dialogue would be http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall:Quests. Just scroll down to the guild quest sections and look at the dialogues included. I suspect a *lot* of it could be adapted.

For example, using http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall:The_Loose_Pet_Imp, I can easily make the following dialogue for a Mage's guild merchant.

Pre-quest intro:
"I have a minor problem that would be embarrassing if it were to get out."

1
My student's pet imp has stolen a very important object for my research.

2
I don't want anyone to know my student can't control his imp.

3
It took my [dummy's guide to alchemy/stash of dragon ovaries].

4
It was a personal gift from the archmage of [nearest province].

5
My scrying has determined that the imp has hidden it in [dungeon].

6
What a relief, I owe you a small debt.

If you like this adaptation, I could write some more for you?

Vac

I totally agree. Most any of my characters over level 15 have all the money they could ever want or need in two lifetimes, and the veterans have nothing to prove to anyone. There is no logical reason for them to go into ordinary caves or ruins, and most don't bother. Younger characters might be broke and in need of experience, but are not ready for the big stuff. But blindly entering dungeons in FCOM will probably sooner than later get one killed ... a good reason or the promise of a certain reward may make it worth the risk.

I love quest mods, because they help in role-playing any character. But the larger ones are not always suitable for every PC, and that's what makes the small ones like this and Kragenor's invaluable.

A few more thoughts:
A reward does not have to be a tangible item--if the quest-giver is a merchant, it could also be a significant discount on the items he sells, or a better exchange rate on items he buys.
Complex npc's are cool. Lying, cheating, and even trying to kill you for what you know--it's all good.

I like the idea!

1. I was out yesterday, gathering some herbs for my experiments.
2. As I tend to get quite absent minded sometimes, some robbers got the jump on me.
3. They took with this amulet I've had from my mother and would have probably killed me.
4. But I managed to drink a invisibility potion and flee back to town.
5. The rabble must have a camp nearby.
6. Oh, bless you! I shan't forget this kindness!

1. It's been a while since I went exploring a ancient ruin on my own.
2. I quite miss the adventure, you know?
3. Last time, I went and nearly got myself killed.
4. Lost my sword too!
5. Blast my mind, for I can't remember where. It's all a haze from that day.
6. My sword! Thank you! Thank you! Now I need to remember where I left that cuirass.

1. I was handling a delivery to Gottshaw Inn, and I left home later than usual.
2. It was dark and something must have attacked me, because the next thing I remember was a guard walking me up.
3. The goods were still there, and I was unhurt. But I realised I had no shoes on my feet!
4. That was my favourite pair of velvet shoes!
5. Whatever dark intentions the thief must have had, he can't have gone far! I would search the nearby caves.
6. Ah, they're so dirty! I'll surely need some water breathing when cleaning these.

1. Itius Hayn asked me to do some research into the old fort ruins.
2. I figured the best way to do that was to visit some myself.
3. It took me a whole day, and I got home exhausted.
4. Only the next day I realised I had lost my lucky coin.
5. Could you search for it for me? I'm behind on store business, or I would go myself.
6. I knew I could count on you! May the Nine bless you!

1. I was expecting a shipment from Bruma two days ago.
2. I got no word and I fear the carrier met his end somewhere along the way.
3. You can keep anything you find.
4. As long as you return the Fine Mithrill Cuirass to me.
5. If I were you, I'd start on The Silver Road.
6. Good! You kept your end of the bargain admirably! I thank you.

1. Well, I'm always looking for rare books to add to my collection.
2. The other day, this Dark Elf comes in, looking for The Real Barenziah, volume 3.
3. One thing led to another and he mentioned having lost Palla, the first volume, on the way to Cheydinhal a few weeks back.
4. He had been robbed at night, you see, while resting in a makeshift camp.
5. I think whoever took it has no idea of its value and probably stashed it in a chest somewhere. Could you search that area for me?
6. I'm impressed, I must say! Truly, I find myself in your debt for this! Thank you!



Hey, it's the least I could do. Thank you for all the cool mods!

Cheers!

cc

Thanks for the suggestions so far, but please provide more - there are still many left until I reach the 30 or so I plan to add

@crimson.cosmos: I really appreciate that you made up several, but they have one problem (I see I haven't been clear enough):


Lines #3 and #4 must follow two strict rules:

1. They must be able to be combined into one line.
2. The merchant must be able to say things like "Have you found the #3 yet?" or "I appreciate you're looking for #3".

Taking Fearabbit's suggestion as example it works well (I just need to adjust a word or so), but yours need bigger changes. I can of course do it, but would prefer (and find it appropriate) if you do it

Rewards will be better deals, how significant is adjustable in the ini. I plan to have 5% (of the items' base value) as default, which will also increase all merchant's barter gold by 5%.

Ok, I'll rework them. I do have a question though: how do you tie in #2 with #3?

If I change my first example there with:

would that work? If I'm still missing something, feel free to edit this same example and I'll figure out the rest of them.

Cheers!

cc

Here ya go

For a dunmer merchant
1. My caravan was ambushed the other day.
2. Ontop of that, they were delivering to me a expensive item that was most difficult to procure.
3. A precious Varla Stone
4. For a potential investor
5. I'm told the N'wah's that robbed me tend to stay in [bandit base]
6. By the Nerevarine! You found it! I can't thank you enough.

For a nord merchant
1. They took 'em! Right from under my nose!
2. Just the other night, I was mindin' my own business at the local pub when I felt my belt lighten. When I looked down my purse was missing..and with it my family jewels!
3. Two lucky rubies.
4. They're my pride and joy.
5. The sneaky bastard probably hangs out in [bandit base]...with the rest of the honorless low-lifes.
6. I'll be damned! You found them! I'll tell ya, I didn't feel like much of a man without 'em, so here's somethin' for ya trouble.

[quote name='crimson.cosmos' date='26 April 2010 - 09:14 PM' timestamp='1272309247' post='15885869']
Ok, I'll rework them. I do have a question though: how do you tie in #2 with #3?[/quote]You'll have to make it so that it makes sense to split it up there. 1 and 2 is sort of introduction, 3 and 4 description of the item and 5 description of where it can be found.

[quote]If I change my first example there with:
1. I was out yesterday, gathering some herbs for my experiments.
2. As I tend to get quite absent minded sometimes, some robbers got the jump on me. They stole
3. the amulet from my mother.
4. and they would have killed me too, had I not saved myself with an invisibility potion and fled to town.
5. The rabble must have a camp nearby.
6. Oh, bless you! I shan't forget this kindness![/quote]
It still has to be reformatted and shortened a bit, to something like:

1. I was out yesterday, gathering some herbs for my experiments when some robbers got the jump on me.
2. I saved myself with an invisibility potion and fled to town, but they stole something.
3. the amulet from my mother.
4. [See below]
5. The rabble must have a camp nearby.
6. Oh, bless you! I shan't forget this kindness![/quote]

For #4 one could either split up #3 into "The amulet" and "from my mother", or add something like "that I always carry with me".

Did it get clearer now?


Edit: @ BadCompany: Yours seem fine. Just note that the actual place will not be part of this dialogue, but automatically added as a separate additional sentence, "Maybe in ...."
But I can just swap your "[bandit base]" with something that suits, like "nearby caves"

[quote name='TheNiceOne' date='26 April 2010 - 03:46 PM' timestamp='1272311178' post='15886000']...

1. I was out yesterday, gathering some herbs for my experiments when some robbers got the jump on me.
2. I saved myself with an invisibility potion and fled to town, but they stole something.
3. the amulet from my mother.
4. [See below]
5. The rabble must have a camp nearby.
6. Oh, bless you! I shan't forget this kindness![/quote]...
[/quote]

Was your mother also there?
It would be better "My mother's amulet" or something.

I just wanted to say that I'm kind of excited with this new quest system, I think that it's ingenious!

Yes, it did. Now the only concern is line length. I'm not sure if any of these are too long. Let me know though, I'll edit this post instead of making yet another one.

1. I was out yesterday, gathering some herbs for my experiments when some robbers got the jump on me.
2. I saved myself with an invisibility potion and fled to town, but they stole something.
3. The amulet from my mother.
4. that I always carry with me.
5. The rabble must have a camp nearby.
6. Oh, bless you! I shan't forget this kindness!

1. It's been a while since I went exploring an ancient ruin on my own, and I quite miss the adventure, you know?
2. Last time, I went, and nearly got myself killed. I got out, but I had to leave something behind.
3. An Akaviri Blade.
4. I had received as a gift back in the day.
5. Blast my mind, for I can't remember where I left it. It's all a haze.
6. My sword! Thank you! Thank you! Now I need to remember where I left that cuirass.

1. I was handling a delivery to Gottshaw Inn, and I left home later than usual.
2. It was dark when something attacked me and I fell. A guard woke me up, and I realised something was missing.
3. My favourite pair of velvet shoes!
4. The ones with the gold trim!
5. Whatever dark intentions the thief must have had, he can't have gone far! I would search the nearby caves.
6. Ah, they're so dirty! I'll surely need some water breathing when cleaning these.

1. Itius Hayn asked me to do some research into the old fort ruins, so I decided to visit some myself.
2. It took me a whole day, and I got home exhausted. The next day, I realised I had lost something.
3. My luck coin!
4. that I've had ever since that misshap with the Minotaur.
5. Could you search for it for me? I'm behind on store business, or I would go myself.
6. I knew I could count on you! May the Nine bless you!

1. I was expecting a shipment from Bruma two days ago, but I got no word of the delay.
2. I fear the carrier met his end somewhere. Keep anything you find, as long as you return something to me.
3. The Fine Mithrill Cuirass
4. was the most important item in the transport for me.
5. If I were you, I'd start on The Silver Road.
6. Good! You kept your end of the bargain admirably! I thank you.

1. Well, I'm always looking for rare books to add to my collection. The other day, this Orc comes in, looking for The Real Barenziah.
2. One thing led to another and he mentioned having lost a precious book on the way to Cheydinhal, a few weeks back. He was robbed at night.
3. Palla
4. the first volume.
5. I think whoever took it has no idea of its value and probably stashed it in a chest somewhere. Could you search that area for me?
6. I'm impressed, I must say! Truly, I find myself in your debt for this! Thank you!

Wow, those already sound like very cool quests just reading the dialogue involved
(But, water breathing for cleaning your shoes? How's he doing that?!)

Hehe, well, he needs so much water that he figured it's just easier to go into the sea and wash them there.

Glad you think they're interesting!

cc

The length is fine, at least for me , using Darnified UI. I really appreciate your contribution, and urge more people to try their hand on a quest dialogue

Bumping because this is pretty neat.

Also, does Cliffworms know about this? I know that dynamic quests are on his Oblivifall to-do list.