Zsade Fleming

Context: The following was designed as a fictional quest/mission that could exist within The Elder Scrolls: Online universe.

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DEAD RINGER DELIVERER

 

Summary

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This quest introduces players to a new location, Lastrose Cavern, in Gold Coast.

 

The player encounters Cirra Thramlock, a male Altmer, in the city of Anvil in Gold Coast. He offers the player gold to collect a package from Julnaava Kaydesh, his contact in the city, and deliver it where Julnaava tells them. He says that Julnaava will not speak with the player unless they are wearing a uniform to prove they are working for him, and gives the player a uniform identical to his to wear.

 

The player meets with Julnaava who assumes they are Cirra because of their uniform, which they can either deny or pretend to be Cirra. They are given a package and told to travel to Lastrose Cavern, hidden southwest of Knightsgrave.

 

Outside of the cavern the player is cornered by thugs who assume the player is Cirra, and move in to rob/kill them. After defeating them, the player has several options: They can kill the thugs and proceed alone, or they can spare them and either reveal that they are not Cirra or they can lie and pretend to be Cirra. They will have the option to invite the thugs to accompany them to get back at Cirra for setting the player up.

 

After entering the cavern the player must fight their way through to reach Cirra’s Stash Room. Upon arriving the player encounters Cirra, who admits to setting up the player so that they themselves could avoid the thugs. The player then decides Cirra’s fate before collecting their reward.

 

Player Action and Information Learned

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• Player is hired by Cirra Thramlock to acquire and deliver a package while wearing his uniform

• Player is mistaken for Cirra and told to deliver the package to a dangerous location

• Player makes a choice to either pretend to be Cirra or explain that they are not Cirra

• Player travels to Lastrose Cavern to locate Cirra’s stash

• Player is attacked by a group of thugs that mistake the player for Cirra and must survive until they surrender

• Player makes a choice to either kill or spare the thugs

• Player makes a choice to either pretend to be Cirra or deny being Cirra to thugs (if thugs are spared)

• Player makes a choice to ask the thugs to accompany them to Cirra’s stash or enter the cavern alone

• Player encounters Cirra inside of Cirra’s Stash Room

• Player makes a choice to demand more gold from Cirra to spare them, either kill Cirra themself, or have the thugs kill Cirra (if they are accompanied by them)

• Anvil, outside of Mudcrab and Suds: Location of Cirra Thramlock and quest starting point (~2 minutes)

• Anvil, behind Coastal Clothiers and Fabrics: Julnaava Kaydesh’s location and place where player retrieves package for delivery (~2 minutes)

• Outside of Lastrose Cavern: Ambush point and place where the player defends themself from the thugs (~3 minutes)

• Lastrose Cavern: (~5 minutes)

• Cirra’s Stash Room: Final encounter with Cirra (~2 minutes)

 

Quest Locations

World Building Notes

 

Gameplay is split mostly between Anvil and Lastrose Cavern. Cirra could be placed on any street in Anvil not within the sight of guards. Julnaava could be placed anywhere outside in Anvil that is considerably far away from Cirra.

 

Lastrose Cavern could be located anywhere on the map, but the land around the gulf southwest of Knightsgrave could be an ideal location. Within the cavern (in Cirra’s Stash Room) there should be some indication of a secret/back entrance that bypasses the main entrance the player uses, so that it makes sense for Cirra to have gotten past the thugs and into his stash room without passing the player on their way in.

• The encounter with the thugs should have a trigger point that is close to the entrance of the cavern to make sure the player hits it before trying to enter

• If possible, the player should not be able to enter the cavern without first interacting with the thugs

• Enemies within Lastrose Cavern should be just enough above the player’s level to provide a decent challenge. If the player agrees to be accompanied by the thugs, they should feel the relief of having a few party members to help make quick work of the enemies

• If the player is accompanied by the thugs, they should become non-hostile to the player for the duration of their time spent in the cavern, and should not be able to be attacked/killed by the player

 

Encounter Design

Monster List

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• Outside of Lastrose Cavern

  • Orcs

  • Melee

• Lastrose Cavern

  • Minotaur

  • Minotaur Shaman

  • Melee and Ranged

  • Player should not be able to stealth in this area

 

Quest Activity

Repro Steps:

 

Ensure the character is eligible for the Dark Brotherhood DLC

Travel to Anvil and locate Cirra Thramlock within the city

Speak with Cirra Thramlock

 

Step 1: Change into Cirra’s Uniform (Interact with Object, Instance)

The player equips Cirra’s Uniform from their inventory, which visually replaces their current armor.

 

Step 2: Locate Cirra’s Contact (Talk To, Instance)

The player finds Julnaava Kaydesh behind Coastal Clothiers and Fabrics and speaks with them. Julnaava assumes the player is Cirra.

 

Step 3: Pretend to be Cirra or Reveal Self to Julnaava (Choice: Talk to, Instance)

If the player pretends to be Cirra, Julnaava remarks how Cirra’s stash – located at Lastrose Cavern – is rumored to be a very dangerous location. If the player denies being Cirra, Julnaava comments that chances are Cirra is knowingly sending the player into a death trap. He gives the package to the player and tells them if they deliver it anyways, they can probably demand more gold from Cirra.

 

Step 4: Go to Lastrose Cavern (Enter Subzone)

The player travels to Lastrose Cavern, located in the gulf southwest of Knightsgrave.

 

Step 5: Encounter the Thugs (Script Action, Instance)

The player is cornered by three Orc thugs before they can reach the entrance of Lastrose Cavern. The thugs think the player is Cirra and claim they owe a lot of gold to their boss, Sloaz, and plan to kill and rob the player. The player fights them, and once the player has gotten each thug down to about one third of their health the encounter ends and the thugs beg the player to spare them.

 

Step 6: Pretend to be Cirra or Reveal Self to Thugs (Choice: Talk To, Instance)

If the player pretends to be Cirra, the thugs will believe them and say that their boss can get their payment some other way and that they won’t bother the player again. If the player denies being Cirra they can explain how Cirra set them up and most likely won’t be paying the thugs’ boss.

 

Step 7: Spare the Thugs or Kill Them (Choice, Scripted Event, Instance)

If the player spares the thugs, they will have the option to ask the thugs to accompany them inside of the Lastrose Cavern. If the player is pretending to be Cirra, they will offer to ‘hire’ them to guard them while inside the cavern, and will pay for their service and pay what is owed to their boss (using Cirra’s stash). If the player denies being Cirra, they will ask if the thugs want to accompany them into the cavern, with the offer that they can help themselves to Cirra’s stash. If the player kills the thugs, they will be able to initiate a ‘fight’ with them, but the thugs will only try to run away until the player defeats them. If the player spares the thugs but would rather enter the cavern alone, they will have the option to do so, which causes the thugs to run off.

 

Step 8: Enter Lastrose Cavern (Enter Subzone, Instance)

The player enters the cavern (with or without the thugs depending on their choices) and engages in a few encounters with some slightly-above-level monsters (see “Encounter Design”). Stealth should not be an option, and the encounters should be semi-challenging.

 

Note: If the player wishes, they may choose to hang back and let the thugs deal most of the damage to the enemies. However, the enemies should do enough damage to the thugs that, if the player does not step in to help at all, they will all eventually be killed.

 

Note: If any of the thugs are killed within the cavern, the remaining thugs should continue to accompany the player. Perhaps they could say a bit of dialogue about their fallen comrade in passing.

 

Note: If all of the thugs are killed, the player will continue on their own. If the player is killed and any number of thugs still remain, when they respawn they will only have the number of thugs with them that they had before being killed. If the player is killed after all the thugs are killed, when they respawn they will have to continue through the cavern on their own.

 

Step 9: Enter Cirra’s Stash Room (Enter Subzone, Instance)

The player will enter through a door that is located at the back of the cavern. If the player has thugs accompanying them, the thugs will not enter with the player immediately.

 

Step 10: Talk to Cirra (Talk to, Instance)

The player will find Cirra already inside the stash room, dressed in an outfit that is not his uniform, gathering up bags of gold and supplies. Upon noticing the player, he stops and addresses them. He admits that he used the player in hopes that they would be targeted by the thugs instead of him so he could slip away unnoticed. He then offers to pay them the gold they had been promised.

 

Step 11: Decide Cirra’s Fate (Choice, Scripted Event or Script Action, Instance)

The player will have a variety of options, some of which are only available depending on the player’s previous choices.

 

If the player is alone in the cavern:

The player has the option of demanding more gold from Cirra, and after a bit of prodding he will pay the player a slightly larger (but still relatively small) sum of gold, and will remain alive in the stash room. The player can also refuse the offer, and instead choose to attack and kill Cirra. They can then loot their ‘reward’ off of Cirra’s corpse and help themselves to their pick of Cirra’s stash.

 

If the player is accompanied by any amount of thugs:

Before the player has a chance to accept or refuse Cirra’s original offer of gold, the thugs will enter the room behind the player. If the player has denied being Cirra, the thugs will kill Cirra and raid his stash room and leave the player alone. The player can then loot their ‘reward’ from Cirra’s corpse and help themselves to any of his leftover stash. If the player is pretending to be Cirra, the player will be able to claim that Cirra is a common thief and demand that the thugs kill him. They will dispatch him, and the player will ‘pay’ them for their services and for what their boss is owed using Cirra’s stash. The thugs will leave, and the player can loot their ‘reward’ from Cirra’s corpse and take what they want from Cirra’s stash.

 

Note: If the player has the thugs with them, they will remain neutral and unable to be engaged in a fight while they are leaving the cavern. Therefore, the player cannot kill them in order to loot the items/gold they were paid/took.

 

Quest Ending

Ending 1: The player convinces Cirra to pay them more than the original agreed upon amount of gold.

Ending 2: The player kills Cirra and has access to their entire stash.

Ending 3: The player allows the thugs to kill Cirra, they loot his stash, and the player can loot whatever is left over from the stash.

Ending 4: The player commands the thugs to kill Cirra, gives some of the loot to the thugs as payment, and has access to most of Cirra’s stash.

 

 

Art Requests

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Animation

• An NPC falling to their knees with their hands clasped together in a begging motion, to be used after the player defeats the thugs and is given the chance to spare them

 

Fixture/Interactable

• Cirra’s Uniform (could be a re-skinned version of a preexisting robe asset)

• Cavern Interior (could be repurposed from preexisting cave systems)

 

Theater Moments

Ambushed by Thugs (Step 5, outside of Lastrose Cavern)

Upon approaching the cavern, the player is stopped by three Orc thugs and the player must stand and witness some theater:

• Orc thugs surround the player

• The lead thug mistakes player for Cirra and says they owe their boss, Sloaz, a lot of gold

• The thugs taunt the player and say they’re going to kill them and then rob their corpse

• The thugs initiate the fight with the player

 

Quest Reward

The player will receive gold, and the amount of gold received will depend on the ending they earned. The player will also be able to keep Cirra’s Uniform for themselves.