Clearing the Moathouse

Discussion in 'The Temple of Elemental Evil' started by maalri, Nov 24, 2005.

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  1. rufnredde

    rufnredde Established Member Veteran

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    Hey guys I checked my globals database, which I haven't posted yet because I have gotten so busy with other things. Guess its time to finish it up and get it out there.

    CN gets the Moathouse quest from Jaroo, They need to clear the Moathouse to complete the opening Vignette quest. Jarro's dialog ends both quests simutaneously once the flag for the moathouse cleaner is set. All the flags are in place and fire correctly, I have tested it. As far as the other alignments. I am not sure, the flags seem to be in place but I have not gone through and verified then individually.

    Thanks for this post its time to finish the database and get it posted. Anyone who wants a working copy of what I have already completed is welcome to PM me and I'll send it to them. The works a bit tedious, but I will finish it promise :)

    I just reread this posts IIrc the moathouse quest, for CN completes reguardless of the sequence of events, but I'll check that.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2006
  2. Cerulean the Blue

    Cerulean the Blue Blue Meanie Veteran

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    IIRC, Terjon and Jaroo both give out the quest to any alignment, but only complete the quset for NG and TN respectively.
     
  3. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    I'm not sure this is entirely correct, Ruf, as the CN opening vignette involves finding the Rainbow Rock lead in the "dungeon beneath the Flaeness" and going to Hommlet to get more information. I do believe that LN indirectly involves the Moathouse - you are sent to see Kenter Nevets regarding bandit activity and he sends you there. Ironically, that scenario never made clearing the Moathouse a quest at all in the past. :shrug:

    I'm afraid I can't remember who gave my CN party the quest this time, but I've been to see all the major Hommlet players since and it's still no-go.
     
  4. krunch

    krunch moving on in life

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    @gaear: Are you, thus, suggesting there is a need to have someone with dialogue in Hommlet [one NPC for all alignments] who can give the quest and, or finalize the quest for a party clearing the moathouse?
     
  5. Zebedee

    Zebedee Veteran Member Veteran

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    This is why I've been going through all the files since you posted your problem with this to see what's going on and to see if I could put some proposals down. Burne can give you the Moathouse location, but it doesn't seem to flag up as a quest with him either.

    So far I'm reviewing the .dlg files for Terjon, Burne, Jaroo, Ran&D and Nevets. Anyone else who gives the location to the moathouse or the quest? (Other than playable NPCs who also can point out the location - such as Spuggy and Zert :) )

    I think this is going to be one we need to ask the community about because it's a little pot-luck at the moment whether it actually comes up as a quest or not. And as the completion check relies on the flag being raised for the quest being accepted, it's quite possible to clean the moathouse out without any effect on your logbook. Not sure whether that is intentional or not ><
     
  6. Lord_Spike

    Lord_Spike Senior Member Veteran

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    Where did I read that this was not a quest at all until someone modded it into a quest? Maybe that's why it isn't flagged as a quest from everyone who gives you the location. If this is true, the easiest fix might be unquesting it altogether rather than trying to make it a quest from the perspective of every alignment. I'd rather see it as a quest given to all alignments by one or two sources, though.
     
  7. Zebedee

    Zebedee Veteran Member Veteran

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    Was hoping you'd see this thread Spike - just PM'd you about it too.

    So this wasn't a quest to start off with? Might explain a lot. It looks like it was only a quest for a couple of alignments and it has been modded to be a quest for more.

    Not sure where to start with this to be honest - do we want to see the moathouse only shown by just a few people? Because that's the only real 'solution'. Otherwise, it's a bit of a mess as you can know about Nulb without 'clearing' the Moathouse. And that is the only game-state check I can think of which follows meeting and dealing with Lareth.

    Going to leave this for today and return to it Sunday when I've got a clearer mind. Logic statements make my head hurt :writersbl
     
  8. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    Maybe we should just remove it as a quest then. It certainly isn't on par with fetching flour for the church worker lady. Likewise, clearing the temple is not considered a 'quest.'

    If we were to limit the contacts we'd have to remove quite a bit of material, as half the town will mention it and the associated bandit activity. I wonder how Vicks & wedge did it anyway?
     
  9. Lord_Spike

    Lord_Spike Senior Member Veteran

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    I just answered Zeb's PM with an idea or three...I'll send you a copy. I fear that you are correct; the work may not be worth the effort. Sux that doing hook-ups for the village MILF's is more important.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2006
  10. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    Hmmm . . . that PM's got me to thinking: we could easily enough edit down Terjon-Jaroo-Nevets dialogue to eliminate references to marking maps. If Zeb could close the door to everybody but Burne code-wise without too much effort, this just might be doable. Personally I like the notion that Burne would be the guy to assign this mission, for Spike's stated reasons.

    I may be talking out of my ass here, but I would envision the sequence as being - get quest from Burne, clear Moathouse (which for every other purpose means simply killing Lareth), report to Burne after Lareth=dead flag is set and get quest completed. Although I suppose complications would arise from Lareth being alive and let go or alive and in the party.
     
  11. Zebedee

    Zebedee Veteran Member Veteran

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    Ruf - could you send me your list of flags? simonlwilliamsAThotmail.com

    Gracias :)


    --------

    Burne would work for most alignments but maybe not the evil ones or solely for those specifically linked to an opening vignette. ie he should be able to complete the quest as well as give it for those linked to a vignette but leave the existing 'contact' to offer and complete it too. Maybe. I just don't like the idea of Burne becoming a 'clearing house' for a quest no matter which alignment the party is.

    Not sure if there is a check for Lareth being dead - the current check is whether or not Nulb is known.

    Meh. Bed time now. Definitely! :)
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2006
  12. Lord_Spike

    Lord_Spike Senior Member Veteran

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    If Lareth lives, then the quest is "botched". Evil guys shouldn't take it in the first place. Burne wouldn't necessarily know the party's alignment; He'd just be asking adventurers to perform a task. But, I admit to not knowing enough about how this works with the vignettes to comment further in regard to them. :chew:
     
  13. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    Was having a look/listen through his dialogue and he seems to have Moathouse-related responses for good, neutral, and evil groups. In (what I assume to be) the evil one he talks about how he doesn't "care for your threats," but he marks their map anyway.

    I think the only vignette directed related to the Moathouse is LN, where you are sent to see Kenter Nevets. We could fairly easily have him simply point you in the direction of Burne to get the quest, while allowing him to still hold forth on it all like he does. Plus, we can change the dialogue to anything we want without inserting eerie silences, because that's a Zorn voice. ;)

    Hecks yes. Why didn't I think of that? That's the answer right there. :mrhappy:

    I agree this wouldn't be ideal. But if by going that route we can straighten this mess out, then well . . .
     
  14. Zebedee

    Zebedee Veteran Member Veteran

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    True but it does leave massive holes in the logic of the game world if only Burne can mark it on your map.

    Going to wait on the flags Ruf has identified, because there might be a usable one there. (Or we could add one or three in... maybe? Not sure quite how the flags work so going to have to dig up the info again from last time I was playing around). That would allow Burne to finish the quest if a party so chooses as well as avoiding going in and hacking out dialogue.

    That would perhaps be a more elegant way to solve things (and I should have thought of it sooner).
     
  15. Kalshane

    Kalshane Local Rules Geek

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    LN is the only one where you're sent directly to someone to specifically deal with the bandits in the Moathouse. However, LG sends you to talk to Valden, who immediately asks you to check the moathouse for his wife. CG sends you to Black Jay. Jay then mentions the kidnapped elves might be in the moathouse. NG sends you to the Church to tell Terjon about Y'day's death. I'm pretty sure the moathouse gets mentioned immediately after that. TN gets you sent to Jaroo, who sends you to the moathouse. LE sends you to Turuko, you then sends you to the Moathouse. (Which brings up a thought. The ambush in Co8 5.0 doesn't trigger for a LE party, I hope. Because it makes absolutely no sense if it does and would prevent them from completing their Vignette quest.) CE sends you to Ramos and Gremag, who send you to the moathouse. CN and NE are about the only ones where you could conceivably wander until someone sends you in moathouse-ward, in which case it wouldn't really be a quest.

    It either needs to be removed as a quest, or correctly implemented for the majority of alignments. Taking away the ability of Black Jay, Terjon, Kenter Nevets, Jaroo, Turuko, Valden and Ramos/Gremag to send people to the moathouse seems like a cludge to me. It also would require a lot of dialogue re-work. "Sorry Valden/Black Jay/Turuko, your wife/the elves/Fragrach weren't in the Moathouse. I know you didn't even mention it to me earlier, but I felt you should know she/they/it's not in this place we've never spoken about. What do I do now?"
     
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