UESP Forums

I think that one of the most potentially interesig things about the Hlaalu perspective will be that they're more on the defensive, something that normally doesn't happen to them. With a faction containing mostly quests for expanding the House's interests and power, giving them a defensive twist could freshen up some Hlaalu gameplay a bit.

The quest givers and ranks are something to consider. I think that awarding faction reputation for completing quests would mess up the natural progression through the houses, so I suggest we leave this out and keep the rewards outside of the faction. To give a reason for this, we can refer to the entire war as 'private business' outside the normal bounds of Hlaalu politics. Ideally, I think some new NPCs would be the best choices as quest givers. As there are a few ways to alter the balance of exactly who's governing Caldera, there are two many variables to hand to an existing NPC. Perhaps we could introduce a character with a very specific role to suit his quests, like the administrator of the mining operation.

I think the general quest order could be something like this:

-The first quest could have nothing to do with House Redoran. It could be about exploring the mines for some reason, such as clearing out a creature infestation or a quest similar to the Telvanni Agents one from the Fighters Guild. It's important to give players a feel for the area they'll be questing in regularly and an introduction to the kind of mod they should be expecting.

-The second quest in could be the clincher. It could be something like tracking down a smuggler who's escaped from town, or rooting out a sabotage operation with the residents in the town. The player could find a note on the criminal's body that somehow links him/her to the Redoran.

-To stop players from getting too cramped in the same area, I'd suggest that the next quest could be something like a Thieves Guild-style job in Ald'ruhn, to gather some information on exactly why the Redoran were in contact with the criminals.

-With the information in hand, the quest giver could give the player time to wait, similarly to Caiusand Mibani in the main quest. When he's ready to make a request, he could send you to assassinate or neutralise the Redoran responsible. My best advice would be to mix the methods up here. Some agents might be stopped by stealing their equipment or funds. Some might surrender or stop when confronted with evidence. Some might attack on sight or fight when prompted to surrender. They can also be spread out across Redoran and Hlaalu land.

-Obviously just killing off a few Redoran would be a bit anti-climactic to the story, so we should go out with a big finisher. Players should be aware that it's approaching however, so I'd suggest a short and quick quest to travel to Ebonheart and negotiate the terms of the house's defense of Caldera with Duke Vedam Dren. At this point, the Camonna Tong could also come into play. If you've managed to take control of them or have assisted them in the past (such as completing the Fighters Guild quests to kill the Thieves Guild leaders or the quest to lead the Argonian assassin to the abolitionist by Suran) then they will be willing to assist the Hlaalu and you'll get an extra few helpers in the final quest. If you've never helped them or killed Orvas Dren, they won't help you. We might also be able to integrate other factions in to help depending on your stading with them, such as the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild, but that might prove difficult to implement.

-Now for the final quest. I'd suggest returning to Caldera to find an impending attack from the Redoran on both the mines and the town itself. I'd suggest that we spend a lot of time putting this ques together, as we should finish the mod off with a bang and a challenge. This quest could be kicked off by entering the keep to find hostile Redoran inside, who are keeping the Hlaalu retainers hostage. Once you've wiped them out, the hostages can inform you of your long-time quest giving pal, who's been taken to the mining office. So head there and kill some intruders to rescue him, and learn the location behind the attackers. I'd advise setting them up either deep within the bowels of the mine, or in a nearby dungeon of some form. So go there and fight your way to the Redoran leader, who could issue you with an honourable challenge or something typically Redoran. Once he's gone, return to the quest giver to complete the Hlaalu side!