Cleaning Up Hommlet

Ahh you wonderful show off! :hug:

 

As it turns out, I happen to have a lot of free time available to do with pretty much whatever I please. With the exception of my weekends (or are they the Mrs's weekends?).

In any case, thanks to ShiningTed and others, I'm steadily learning the nuances of "modding" which I prefer to call "tweaking", and discovering that even more is possible than I had anticipated.

However, I'm a firm believer in avoiding redundancy and such. So, I'd prefer not to work on anything that someone else may have already claimed, etc.

With that in mind, I'd appreciate being introduced to any and/or all others who may currently be endeavoring to tweak (or in your words "mod") Hommlet as well. After all, new quests have been added to the game and the creators of those had/have their own ideas in play (and I'm not one to step on any toes).

My thoughts, at this time, are to start at the Inn of the Welcome Winch and work my way out from there. I'll start based on a Lawful/Good party and again work my way out from there.

I am, of course, as open minded as one can possibly be and willing to listen and/or discuss things with any/all that wish to make their thoughts available to me (beginning with yours).

So, let me know what you truly think of the whole idea and how you feel I/we should proceed.

Stohrm

PS. What's in it for me? A chance to show others that "Idea Men" often have far more to offer than just their opinions.

 

Tweaking the Winch

Ahhh, yes: I believe those are actually called Spouses! They just think their men; probably due to the fact that very few of'em ever wear dresses any more, etc. "The problem with Dwarf women is you can't tell them apart from the men."

In any case, I've been delving into good ole Ostler. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to rework all the existing mp3's for him; as there just isn't enough dialogue to "cut & paste' and still have the right inflections (let alone the lack of words).

So, if anyone would like to volunteer to be the new voice of Gundergoot; let me know. Other wise I'll find some poor fool around here to assist me with that makeover.

In the meantime, I have to do some serious hashing out of just how much he actually knows about everyone in town and what tidbits he's willing to dish out to whom and under which circumstances (where's the Tylenol?).

I'd love to think out loud here, but that might spoil some of the fun. So, I'd best close 'e' for now and open Word or Notepad and do some scribing.

I'll check back with y'all later.

Stohrm

PS. Yes, yes, I'm sort of a Texacan Dwarf; a Clerical error to be sure.

 

In that case, I'll figure out a way to work around it for now and keep my ear out for someone with a similar voice. Of course, there's always the (albeit slim) possibility of finding the original voice and hoping for the best; but that's a dream that can be explored at a later time.

Plus, I was reading the original module (specifically the parts concerning Hommlet) and although Ostler knows "a plenty", he's actually a pretty tight lipped fellow.

I already knew, from my original readings way back when, that Hommlet is actually a hamlet and not a true village. I did a thorough head count last night however and the place is over flowing with NPC's (Hommletians). The majority of them are children, to be sure; but children tend to cause more trouble for adults than other adults.

In fact, the odds are that a lot of the (basically good) quests that the characters find themselves undertaking should probably be the result of said children (either directly or indirectly).

And, although chasing after missing children should (no doubt) be a problem for their parents; I'm sure that (basically good) parties will get themselves involved.

On the other hand, a party of (basically) evil characters might be inclined to kidnap a child or two... Art imitating life and such.

Hopefully, in between shoveling snow and running errands, I'll get a chance to actually start tinkering with Ostler and others (beyond the research I've been doing). As I believe I mentioned, I did fiddle around with Ostler's MP3 files (had to dig out the old line 30 for part of what I was looking for), so I will be able to use the existing voice for a few things; and odds are I'll leave it at that.

After all, Ostler is a busy man and certanly doesn't have time to answer all the players' initial questions.

Speaking of questions; I'll probably have a few of my own here shortly. I've been finding most of the answers to them here and there and will continue to dig around for them. The bottom line, though, is that I'd like to know a little more about the Co8 organization itself. So, I trust there are threads out there that I have yet to discover and hope you'll point me in their direction(s).

Stohrm

 

I definitely agree with you there. I also hate the ones where you have to say the same set of lines before you can simply get into barter mode. I see that's been fixed with Brother Smyth, but there are others that still need to be fixed.

In addition, it would be helpful if at least one character (perhaps Kenter Nevets in Hommlet and Mother Screnge in Nulb) sort of guided the characters into discovering some of the quests.

There is a certain lack of flow, in my opinion; as some of the quests are haphazzard at best. For instance; the grain for the church quest. The characters don't really have any reason to go down to the basement...

So, perhaps Calmert needs to have a reason to send the characters down there, or better yet they might bump into the cook's husband (who is mentioned in the TSR module and is sort of a caretaker). Heck, he might even have a small quest of his own to send them on.

If there was a more difinitive flow to the game (and a different one for each of the party allignments) it would be easier to fine tune.

Then again, maybe that should only apply to the lawful vinues; as the chaotic ones should probably be just that (chaotic).

Later, as the quirks get worked out, one might even go as far as subtly advising the party as to which member is best suited to lead the players on particular quests. I don't know if that's even possible, but it's just another notion that sort of popped in there.

Stohrm

 

A noticeboard with some new quests is a mighty fine idea. A few low/moderate CR/XP quests would be cool and not cause a balance issue. Sounds like a plan to me.

 

I think that's an excellent idea. I have yet to endeavor with map location changes and stuff like that, but I think I have all the tutorials describing the procedure.

I've been spending more time playing lately than tweaking (had a blast with the new Hickory Branch area), but I've also been making a lot of mental notes (and a few physical ones). Besides, 'tis the season to be jolly...

Seriously, though, I take it the best way to accomplish the above is to create new characters (Mrs_Mathilde & Mrs_Althea) and remove the old. I have yet to attempt anything like that either, but with any luck it'll be like riding a bike (once I get the hang of it, it should be a breeze).

Now, I have a question; as I have yet to encounter the DH quest(s): which housewives are they and is that quest included in the 5.5.0 Beta? Mind you, I haven't looked very hard; as I was having too much fun (as I mentioned above).

Stohrm

 

The DH quest is not included in the 5.5 pack. It'll be added later on, as a separate add-on, when Ted and Geaer feel we're worthy enough for it!

 

I was going through the TSR Module (T1-2) and compiled a complete listing all the Hommlet NPC's if it's any help. I see though that I need to go back through and add the spec's for the various NPC's; as per the details. Might as well be as thorough as possible.

Stohrm


View attachment Hommlet-Notes.txt