A Look at Morrowind (with a few mods) - Part 2

After a long period of time, it is time to continue the tale of Anna Valerian and this look at Morrowind. Last time, Anna had begun exploring Addamasartus, the smuggler caves near Seyda Neen.

Anna has been staring at this door for quite a long time now. Now at last, she can proceed.

Anna first attempts to sneak into the dimly lit cavern ahead.

But this Dunmer mage spots her and he does not look friendly at all, especially with that fireball being prepared.

Good thing he is only capable of magic.

Full disclosure, Anna died twice here. I am quite rusty when it comes to Morrowind so I underestimated the mage's fireballs until Anna died. It does not help that I am used to playing as a Dunmer with their innate resistance to fire.

The next hostile smuggler is this Dunmer woman who is chucking throwing stars at Anna. Annoying though nothing as dangerous as the fireballs.

Problems when using ranged weapons in a cave: insufficient space to maintain distance and easier to be cornered.

During all this, Anna has improved with her Long Blade skill.

Pictured here is the corpse of the throwing star user. Highlighted above is a handy probe. Its purpose? I will show it later.

Now to loot the crates. Inside this crate are smuggled goods including skooma. Elder Scrolls fans would immediately recognise the stuff right away but for you newcomers, skooma is a highly addictive narcotic that happens to be a banned substance here in Morrowind.

Moon sugar is the main ingredient of skooma and a narcotic on its own. It too is a banned substance in Morrowind.

Here is another key in case one happens to not loot the bodies.

Items in many of these crates are randomly generated and dependent on the Luck attribute if I recall correctly. In any case, a superb potion of Restore Speed is always great.

Seeing how there is a waterway near where Anna killed the mage, the logical act to perform is to head into the darkness to explore.

Doing so reveals this skeletal corpse of presumably a fisherman. Some coins are strewn around it so that is nice. 

Surfacing for air, a rusted chest can be found tucked away on a rock.

Looking closely, one may see a passage leading further into the caves.

Unlocking the gate that bars further access reveals this passageway.

Said passageway leads to yet another pool of water. At the bottom of said pool is this useful potion of Levitation. One part I miss from Morrowind (and Elder Scrolls titles featuring said part) is levitation. The freedom of movement and accessibility provided by it is something that modern Elder Scroll games lack.

Using a sloping ledge, Anna reaches another passageway, high above the one she originated from. Here she finds more gold strewn about.

Note that these bloatspores do no exist in the vanilla game. These plants are part of the MGSO mod.

Looking closely, the Thief Ring can be found. While I personally never found much use for it, having a minor Attribute boost is always handy.

Following the passage, it ends past the mushrooms pictured above.

The ledge after mushrooms turns out to overlook the original cave where the entrance is.

With the cave mostly explored, it is time to check the last unexplored part of the cave.

Inside are some Argonians and a Khajiit. Wearing a collar on either their right or left wrists. Wonder what that could mean?

In case the key did not give it away, let me make this unambiguously clear. These are slaves. Morrowind still practices slavery and often uses members of the Beast races in the setting as slaves.

So as an Imperial with altruistic tendencies, Anna's first instinct is to free them all.

Doing so raises their Disposition through the roof.

Note that the response to this topic changes as more slaves are freed. More on that when it does come up.

Now for the rest. Incidentally, Anna has improved her Athletics due to all of her running around.

As one can see, the slave bracelets work by constantly draining the victim of Magicka until they are barely capable of casting any magic that can overcome a gang of heavily armed slavers. Why slaves are unable to fight back with fists or normal weapons is not clear but I can guess that slavers would come in numbers while wearing proper combat gear.

Now back to the Bitter Coast.

Now some may recommend walking to Balmora to save on silt strider fare and to gain loot and/or experience from the journey. Note that the player character would not have too high a level yet and their highest weapon skill would not be that reliable yet. Hence, I lean towards taking the silt strider immediately to Balmora. Less risk that way.

Behold, Balmora! Since Anna arrived in the early mornings, a morning fog is still present.

Time to get some info on Balmora from the local silt strider caravaner.

Here are some of what he says. Note the mention of the Great Houses, that may come up later on.

An optional addition of the MGSO mod would be the presence of these animated NPCs. While they do not have any unique dialogue, their presence does add some variety to the locations they can be found in. Whether such variety is valuable depends on personal taste.

Now to talk to this person just in front of the silt strider port. And he seems pleasant... like a rabid dog.

So this guy is part of a group known as the Camonna Tong... who hates outlanders. Like Anna...

Said pleasant chap has been standing in front of the Balmora Council Club.

His friends on the rooftop terrace are just as friendly as he is. Best steer clear of them for now.

While Anna's here, she catches up on some rumors with the locals. Seems like the local magistrate is corrupt and there is a powerless lawman trying to stop him in the mix.

Here are the two most important buildings in Balmora for new players. Unless players choose not to avail themselves of these places.

Looks like there has been a murder in Balmora as well. Of a rather important person it seems. Also this person has informed Anna of where South Wall is.

Here is the inside of South Wall. This is Sottilde.

Asking her about Caius reveals that she is aware of who he is though not where he is. Wonder why Anna needs to deliver a package to someone described as a sugar tooth.

Note however that South Wall is one of the headquarters of the Thieves Guild in Vvardenfell. Unlike Oblivion and Skyrim, the Thieves Guild operates openly but are opposed by the local thieves guild, the Camonna Tong a.k.a those 'lovely' chaps in front of the Council Club.

Heading upstairs, we find Bacola.

He is the person the player rents rooms from while staying in South Wall. It may seem like a bad idea to sleep in a place that is home to thieves but when one needs a bed for the night, one's ability to rationalize is severely suppressed.

Oh and he knows where Caius lives. With exact directions to boot.

This is Sugar Lips Habasi. She is the head of the Balmora Thieves Guild and is the person who can recruit the player.

Interestingly, these thieves do follow a code of honor. It is simple but useful in maintaining loyalty and trust among members especially when you are opposed by a local guild of thieves. 

Like the Thieves Guild quest givers in Oblivion, Habasi and other Masterminds are the ones who can remove bounties on the player character. To use this, the player character must become a member of the guild

One nice aspect of Morrowind is how certain trainers and merchants can refuse to offer their services to the player character. Such reasons may be part of a quest or because the player has contraband in their inventory.

Now that this is done, it is time to meet Caius. Hopefully the package is not some fresh moon sugar for Caius.

Looks like the place. Followed the directions and everything.

Meet Caius Cosades. Yes, he is shirtless and remains so for the rest of his time here.

Time to deliver that package.

Orders? Well, at least Anna is not delivering drugs but what does he mean by orders and more importantly, how is this man getting direct orders from the Emperor?

Oh... looks like he is in charge of the Blades. As the reader may observe, the moon sugar addled addict that Caius is regarded as is a cover. This man is the top agent of the Blades in Vvardenfell.

Interesting, tell me more.

Through Caius, the player can get summaries on the various join-able factions in the game.

In addition, asking about rules nets the player a journal entry to remind players of the rules for the faction they are in. The rules here are for members of the Blades.

I missed my opportunity to show Caius's initial response to the topic. Curious readers may check UESP to see it (IIRC they had an entry for his dialogue there before).

Here are his reponses to Ashlanders and the Camonna Tong. He even points out that it is impossible to join the Camonna Tong at all due to their anti-foreigner ways.

Here he mentions guild guides and the Fighter's Guild.

Now for the three join-able Great Houses and the Imperial Cult.

Now for more entries on the nearby Imperial fort, lay servants and some advice. The advice itself is sound and highlights how enemies in this game are not level-scaled unlike Oblivion and Skyrim, which I highly appreciate.

Now for notes on the Mages Guild, Morag Tong (the assassin guild) and local services.

Here are his points on the Temple and the Thieves Guild. Note that while he criticizes the Tribunal Temple for being narrow-minded and superstitious, he does recognize that the religion does actual charitable acts and that they allow outlanders to join. Not a bad recommendation. Also note his commentary on the Thieves Guild and the fact that there is a war going on between them and the Camonna Tong. 

Now to ask about the Blade Trainers. Anna has plenty to learn so she will need to know who to learn from.

Asking him about each nets a journal entry to remind players on who to look out for.

Here are the rest. Note that Elone does provide direct aid to the player if they ask her for directions to Balmora.

Coming here at low levels makes Caius note how much of a greenhorn the player is and encourages the player to explore more of the world in order to develop further, even offering gold to help them along. Coming here at high levels has him praise the player for having created a solid cover for themselves as an adventurer. Rather than creating false urgency in the Main Quest like Oblivion and Skyrim, Morrowind acknowledges how the player would take their time before trying the Main Quest and actively encourages this slower approach in order to allow them learn and acclimatize themselves to the setting and its culture.

Caius even notes the kind of freelance work that players can perform in this game.

With all that in mind, it is time to visit the Blade Trainers. Starting with Nine Toes.

In his house is this skill-book.

And here's Nine Toes!

Another neat part of Morrowind's Main Quest is how each Blade Trainer gives the player advice that is added as a journal entry but said advice is only given if the player character is of a low level. High level player characters only net generic responses as such players would obviously know what their advice is all about. It is always nice when games acknowledge the player's progress in-universe with actual effect.

As Nine Toes pointed out, no one will buy Skooma or Moon Sugar except for Khajiit. One person he suggested was Ajira of the Mages Guild, another would Ra'Virr.

This is Ra'Virr. He supposedly sells Daedric weapons and other ...Wait, Daedric?!

No, wait. There's the asterisk attached the promotion. Way to oversell there though admittedly bound weapons can be useful.

As the reader can see, Khajiit merchants do buy Moon Sugar along with Skooma. Since both items are of high value, it is always worth grabbing some wherever they may be found though note that no other merchant else will buy them and worse, they will refuse to offer their services to you until said items are not in your possession.

Now to check on the other Blade Trainers in Balmora, starting with Rithleen.

Here is another skill-book in Rithleen's house.

From Rithleen, Anna gets a Steel Cuirass and a Steel Helm. Useful were it not for the Steel Cuirass and Helm she already possesses.

Now for Tyermaillin.

Tyermaillin offers an alembic to Anna for Alchemy. Due to how low Anna's skill with Alchemy though, she will probably sell it. That said, Alchemy can be used to break the game so players who wish to do so would be wise to master Alchemy.

Here is a demonstration of service refusal due to Moon Sugar and/or Skooma.

Since Anna can only use Ajira's services as a member of the Mages Guild, it is within reason for Anna to join up even if her magic skills are appalling.

This is Ranis, she is the person in charge of the Mages Guild in Balmora.

Joining the guild allows Anna to purchase spells for her own use. While she does not use Destruction magic, knowing other spells from other schools with multiple ways of application could prove useful at least when there are no potions or scrolls at hand.

Here is another person to buy spells from. Incidentally, this person is the guild guide of the Balmora guild. Her role is to teleport the player to other Mages Guild throughout Vvardenfell for a small fee. It is quite useful to say the least and something I miss from future incarnations of the Mages Guild.

This is Ajira. Talking to her about the potions she sells allows her to elaborate further. Note the entry for Telvanni Bug Musk.

Now for more spells.

Do take note of this person's unique dialogue response. She will be important later and also, way to beat the stereotype.

Do take note of what she says. This comes up in the Mages Guild questline.

What a strange outlook on the Mages Guild. Looks like this person is more into research.

Now to get the entries for the guild rules, the requirements and duties. Seems like Anna is too low-ranking to try out Ranis's quests though with said low-rank, we can assist Ajira. See what I mean by Sharn's words being important.

Now to get a quest from Ajira and... it's mushrooms picking for her report. This may seem like menial labour but that is entirely the point. The player character (Anna) is a lowly member of the guild and thus will be saddled with the busywork until they reach a rank that indicates their suitability to more difficult and epic tasks. This is proper progression for guild quests, something that Skyrim has forgotten. Even Oblivion had progression (at least with the recommendations from the Mages Guilds throughout Cyrodiil). 

Since Anna has been collecting mushrooms, she turns them in to Ajira.

Now to rank up.

Take note of this emphasis on duties and requirements for advancement.

Tied together with progression in guilds are requirements for advancement. In Morrowind, players must complete a certain number of quests to advance while being able to meet the criteria for the next rank by having the appropriate Attribute and Skill level. While the latter is sensible as an obstacle for advancing through the ranks, it is the second that I like more. This solves the issue of a non-magic user or non-thief being able to advance in a guild opposing their role by restricting their means of advancing in the guild until they meet the requirements for those guilds. Forcing players to invest in appropriate skills to advance in a guild simulates the player character putting genuine effort into mastering the skills required by their faction and lends more credibility when they are able to advance. 

This is leagues superior over what Skyrim does with their guilds especially with the College of Winterhold whereby non-mages are able to become Archmages even if they barely have any knowledge or skill with magic.

Now recall what the orc mentioned about Ajira and someone named Galbedir? Well this is Galbedir.

She is the local enchanter and as such sells enchanted gear along with scrolls and charged soul gems.

Seeing as Anna barely has any skills in magic and how embarassing it would be to be stuck at the lower ranks, Anna decides to pay for training. While this is an easy way around putting effort in mastering these skills, the counter would be the rising costs for training (though this is countered by how rich the player character can become by the late-game).

As for more duties, Ajira now seeks to sabotage Galbedir. Their bet is that Ajira would be able to reach the rank of Journeyman before Galbedir does. Seeing how Ajira is busy working on her mushroom report, she wants Anna to stick a fake soul gem in Galbedir's desk to slow down her own research.

The reason why planting the soul gem is possible is because Galbedir has decided to leave her post to engage her colleague in conversation (or rather because a script activates to move her downstairs).

This leaves her desk unguarded with all of her charged soul gems and items in the locked chest ripe for the taking. Stealing the soul gems however locks her out as a enchanter as she will regard any soul gem of similar type as stolen merchandise which can result in a bounty and being expelled from the Mages Guild.

However seeing as Anna would not be able to sell limeware platters to Galbedir in any situation, platters are not off the list of items to not steal.

Now to plant the fake gem inside.

Note that Galbedir can end up stuck downstairs if the player runs into her and causes her voiced dialogue call to activate. While it can be useful for players who want her to be with the other guild members, it can be immersion breaking since Galbedir is meant to be at her desk most of the time.

So Anna lets her walk back up.

Now to turn in the quest.

Talking about the bet with Galbedir shows that while she is invested, she has her own ways of sabotaging the competition like Ajira. The two are rather alike.

For completing the quest, Anna... does not get any advancements. She lacks the skills required after all.

Now to ask about the bet and looks like this competition is about which race is sneakier than the other. 

Now to sell that alembic.

After using the money from selling the alembic (and the platter) for training, it is time to advance to Journeyman. Hah, take that, Ajira and Galbedir!

Now for Ajira's next errand. Flower picking. Specifically, flowers from the West Gash region. Ajira advises Anna to head to Lake Amaya by going through the nearby Foyada but that is too much of a hassle. Easier to explore the area around Balmora.

Seeing how flower picking may take some time, it is time to head next door to join the Fighter's Guild. Seeing as Anna is a natural warrior, advancements here should not be too tough.

Here are some of what Eydis says.

Now to learn the guild's rules.

And for Anna's first assignment, cave rat extermination!

Take note of the equipment chests in guilds. Members are allowed to take the supplies in said chests like potions, scrolls and other assorted items of varying usefulness. Do take advantage of them like Anna will.

Now to see Drarayne Thelas about those cave rats.

She seems to be the correct person.

Okay, the task; kill the rats and ensure that Thelas has good pillows remaining. Quick question, why the obsession with pillows?

Opening the door to her bedroom next to her reveals the first cave rat. Cavern originating it may be, it is still a rat.

Here is another skillbook in said room. Note that unlike other skillbooks, the Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec are a more peculiar read than the usual assortment of books. I will not delve into them to avoid spoiling them but avid readers should give the entire series a read.

With all that out of the way, it is time to handle the other rats.

And immediately, Anna gets swarmed by rats.

Yeah, the room is dark and I forgot to equip a torch for Anna. But there would be no point seeing as Anna is busy failing at using Destruction magic (or rather succeeding in this case).

With Sneak icon lit up, it is safe for Anna to plunder some loose change from Thelas. It is not like she will complain seeing how Anna just saved her pillows.

Her baskets stuffed with pillows. I would mock further but I can relate to one loving pillows. A long day of work makes the feel of pillows all the more satisfying.

Alright. First contract done. Now here's hoping Anna does not get forced to fight mudcrabs or something like that.

With the job done, Eydis allows Anna to advance in rank.

Here Eydis highlights the need to perform duties to rank up. So Anna asks for more tasks which is to head to the Shulk Egg Mine and kill some egg poachers. I will explain more on what egg mines are later.

With that job at hand, Anna heads to the front gates of Balmora and now, it is time to end this look at Morrowind with Anna staring out into the distance without her helmet. Join us next time as Anna attempts to gain enough experience to be able to fulfill her duties as a member of the Blades.