Ward of Akavir - The Siege at Firemoth
by quorn, based on the work of Bethesda Softworks

Release: http://www.sendspace.com/file/0m5lqd

Screenshots:
http://llamahunter.homestead.com/files/Firemoth_Crew.jpg
http://llamahunter.homestead.com/files/Firemoth_undead.jpg

The Ward of Akavir was lost when Firemoth Fort was overrun by an army of undead. Head an expedition to Firemoth Fort to retrieve the lost relic for the Empire. Ask around about "latest rumors" for details.

Based on the official plug-in "Siege at Firemoth", this is an updated version of the Firemoth expedition. Deactivate the original Siege at Firemoth plug-in when using this version.

Updates include cleaning dirty references left in the original Siege at Firemoth plug-in, improved follower support (better equipment, better following, better survivability), improved terrain texture mapping (no more visible seams), and a few surprises in store for players. Overall difficulty has increased, but not overwhelming to prepared players.

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Since I shelved the interior version due to glitches and performance, I've ported the changes to the exterior version and improved on it from there. I've cleaned up the exterior cells of texture seams and jagged terrain, and made many changes to the followers and foes encountered. I've also cleaned up the dirty references left in the original plug-in.

This is basically finished, but I would like feedback before I officially release this (so I can prevent frequent updates ), areas I'd like feedback is terrain, follower support, and overall difficultly (overall difficulty is increased, but so is follower strength/survivability), as well as any issues/suggestions. ^_^

Thanks!

Well I found one issue I need to address, I need to add another condition check to the rumor so that if you already spoke with Sellus Gravius about the Firemoth expedition, you won't get the rumor he's looking for help (since you already know, or already completed the quest ).

I also plan to tone down the overall difficulty a little after testing with the slider at 100 difficulty, and possibly expand the dialogue around the quest, to add more information about the background and quest-related hints.

I was going to do a Creatures version of this, which basically replaced all the hand placed creatures with spawn points allowing for replayability (whenever you want a mass of skeleton killing) and a levelled challenge (so it's not always a case of one shot kills and then an uber boss).

So, all I'm really saying is, have you used spawn points now? That would be the biggest improvement.
You could also have a script on the companions that boosts their level based on the players level, so that the companions can cope with the tougher opponents.

After the initial quest, the surviving companions could be found in an Inn, and at any time you could talk to them to return to the island (for skeleton killing).

I was thinking about adding spawn points, though I haven't thought about replayability since once Grurn is destroyed, there wouldn't be a source left to animate the undead. It could be reasoned that the tomb unearthed under Firemoth Fort has enough unholy magic to animate skeletons now that the tomb is no longer contained, and it would be worthwhile to add replayability to the fort.

I haven't thought much of the followers either, as they are meant to be disposable. I'm thinking Sellus Gravius either underestimated the difficulty of the expedition, or knew it was a suicide mission and recruited outside help rather than risk another Legion embarrassment. I kept scripting at a minimum to preserve performance when working with the interior version, though I have added scripts so they won't block the player in crowded corridors, and also allowed the mage to drink restore magicka potions. I gave the followers better-suited equipment, which greatly helps their survival at least to the interior of the fort with the current difficulty.

I'm releasing this as a master file, so that other projects can release patches/tweaks to this mission without needing to package the whole plug-in, and also to facilitate multiple tweaks (like one tweaking the creatures, and the other altering the fort post-mission, another moving the fort location, etc.). In theory it sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll take it into consideration as I work on this.

The Firemoth area makes a great home for we water-dwellers after Grurn is defeated. Respawning skellies would make me a sad panda.



I like that rationale.

I would make respawning skeletons an add-on, easy enough with this as a master file. ^_^

I wish to bear your live young.

From the look of your picture, you're both too young and of the wrong gender to fulfill your promise.

sounds great! can't wait! anything new?

There's a few new things added, most just to compliment the setting. I'm making some changes to the dialogue too, which will better explain to the player what to expect, and offer some supplies for the expedition (some potions, a few long-lasting torches, and a scroll of divine intervention for desperation). The actual Ward of Akavir has been changed so that it reflects its priceless status among the Legions.

I'll have the new version ready later today or early tomorrow. ^_^

Awesome, looking forward to it.

I'll have the next update ready later today, I'm finishing up tweaking the scripting for the followers so they conserve potions. I've changed the archer's weapon from a bow to a crossbow so that her ranged attacks are more reliable. I've also expanded the dialogue for the expedition, which'll help the player learn what to expect.

While the mission itself is basically the same, this should breathe some new life into Firemoth. ^_^

Thank you for this one, I could never get the dang boat to show up so I had to trudge there myself and go through it solo. Painful.

I've posted the next version update. This update includes better equipment & potion management for the followers, and tweaks to the dialogue and creatures. Let me know any feedback! ^_^

Excellent work quorn, I'd always wanted to remake / tweak / whatever the original since playing it :goodjob: Be sure to post a link to the RELz once testing is over!

Edit: you should probably put a note in saying that this will overwrite any mesh/texture replacers for the standard Liche (or use a different Liche mesh & texture, either by renaming these or using one from eg. The Undead, MCA, etc.).

Some peoples think that Akavir is only myth, and Akavir as an landscape/island is not real...

"Ward of Akavir" is merely the name of a shield. There's nothing Akaviri in the rest of the plugin -- a little volcanic atoll in Morrowind's inner sea (not Akavir), an Imperial Legion Fort (not Akaviri Fort), overrun by undead (not Akaviri) led by a lich (not an Akaviri).

o, thanks. Sorry, now understanding.

Sounds excellent quorn. I'll be sure to run through this as soon as I get a stronger character going - restartitis strikes at the worst times after all!

I'll add a note about the lich model, it's the Tribunal one that came with the original Siege at Firemoth plug-in. I kept it included since this master file is only dependant on the Morrowind.esm like the original. I'll add that if the user has Tribunal, you don't need to install the meshes & textures folder.

The majority of work has been on improving the landscape, the dialogue, and the followers. I've made the skeletons more of a threat, but they are still manageable to prepared players, and the followers now provide good support. I still need to balance Grurn and his guardians as I mainly focused on the upper levels of the expedition for now. I'm still debating how difficult Grurn should be, and whether the expedition should require his defeat. I'm playing around with options.



Yep, only the shield has anything to do with Akavir. It could be a relic from when Akavir invaded Tamriel, or when the Empire sent legions to Akavir. Or it could just be a name. ^_^



I'm still working on a good balance for the recommended level of this expedition, the difficulty has increased noticably over the original plug-in. Depending on skills and equipment, the expedition should be do-able around level 10-20, until the final encounter, which I'm still working on. ^_^

cool, i've give this a runthrough and tell you what i think. I'll run through the original too and compare them.

things that stand out:
1) getting supplies at the beginning
2) texture work on the islands
3) better equiped companions
4) tougher skeletons, painful archers
5) smarter companions drinking potions & using torches
overall i enjoyed the playthrough, it's a big improvement to the original. I didn't get to the end as we all got slaughtered in the great hall when my armor fell to pieces, and they ran out of potions.

I posted a new update, let me know any feedback! ^_^

This update changes how the player retrieves the Ward of Akavir, it's magically bound on an altar rather than carried by a foe. It also finished up a few of the surprises in store for the player, and makes the final encounter more interesting to say the least. ^_^

:twirl: This sounds cool, thanks for sharing :goodjob:

I guess I'm glad I haven't gotten to play through it yet - every time I check this thread you make it better! Haha.

Thanks quorn.