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About this mod
Meet four companions with full main quest commentary, new quests, and a new tavern to visit.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
The Strider's Nest
New in 1.2:
This mod adds four companions, a new tavern in Balmora, a simple player house in Balmora, a few new dungeons, and several quests.
The companions are the main feature, and they have full commentary for the main quest, and many faction quests.
They have a lot to say about many things in the game, so hopefully you will find them to be fun and interesting companions to have at your side!
The companions can also interact with each other at the Strider's Nest, the new tavern in Balmora, where you can relax at a table as a group for unique multi-sided conversations.
Andren and Amelie have a series of personal quests. Iona and Lucan are more limited in this regard but have the same level of commentary on vanilla quests (originally intended for all four to have questlines but ran out of steam). There are also optional romance routes for Andren and Amelie for characters so inclined.
The Party
Iona is a warrior professing membership in a knightly order called "The Order of the Mushroom". Obsessed with chivalry and honor, she follows a rigid code of conduct which governs many aspects of her life. She will be your party's most steadfast melee fighter, and she excels in defending against blows with a shield and heavy armor.
Amelie is a noblewoman on the run from the Morag Tong. Originally hailing from Cheydinhal, she is a fully westernized Dunmer from a mixed family, having a Breton father (hence her name) and a Dunmer mother. Her privileged background has made her meek in the face of danger, but her determination to survive will make her a valuable member of your party.
Andren is a healer from the Summerset Isles. He is a devout follower of Auri-El, the chief god of the High Elves, but his faith is challenged when he is afflicted with a terrible curse. A skilled spellcaster and healer, Andren can keep you and the party healthy as you adventure.
Lucan is a former Morag Tong assassin. He is a crude, violent individual who lost his position in the Tong due to misconduct. Originally hailing from a High Rock peasant family, he bears a grudge against Tamriel's nobility. He is skilled with blade and bow, and can serve you as a versatile fighter.
Companion Features
In addition to have a large amount of commentary and some quests, the companions have some useful features. They are "essential", so they will collapse after taking damage rather than dying, and Andren uses scripted healing so he can heal you and the other followers automatically (which can be toggled by talking to him about "healing magic").
Their skillpoints and attributes will increase after certain quests, conversations, or when the player reaches certain levels.
How to Play
The companions are recruited via quests that start in and around the new tavern in Balmora, the Strider's Nest. Iona is found near the Balmora Fighter's guild, Amelie is recruited through a mission starting at the bar's job board, Lucan is recruited after Amelie's quest, and Andren is found standing near the bar.
The tavern is located directly under the silt strider port.
Many of their quests are unlocked only after you recruit all four, so take note of that. Try to recruit them all relatively early on for a good experience.
Some quests are also unlocked by talking to them as a group under the "get a table" dialog with the bar's owner, so try that periodically (it can be done once per day).
They can also discuss certain quests this way, so stop in after each MQ mission to chat. You will have to explain the situation with Caius to them before you can discuss these things, so visit the bar with them after you deliver the package.
Installation
Extract everything to your data files folder and tick the plugin in the launcher, or install with your mod manager.
Note: there are some MCP features you should use for a better experience. The mod uses scripted music sometimes so apply the "scripted music uninterruptible" patch under "Mod specific" patches and "StreamMusic / master volume fix" under "Bug fixes". If you don't want to use those patches or you don't want scripted music in general, disable the music as described in the "options" section below".
Q&A
Q: They are not commenting on the main quest, what's wrong?
A: Speak to them about "report to caius cosades" at the bar to fill them in on things first.
Q: How do I bring them back to life when they've been knocked down?
A: If you try to activate them in combat, you won't be able to. You can recover them by activating them after about 30 seconds of non-combat activity from the player--no swinging weapons, casting spells, getting hit, etc.
Q: I lost someone, how can I find them?
A: After the "Lucan and Andren" dialog at the table, the bar's owner will be able to summon them to their rooms. You can also get telepathy rings after an early quest from the bar owner.
Q: Four companions is too many! How can I manage all these NPCs? Won't it be OP?
A: You don't have to use them all at once! You can swap them out and use just one or two at a time if you want, the quests don't require everyone to be following you at once.
Q: Why is their HP so high?
A: It isn't *really*. If you check their HP with the console or a healthbar mod it will seem high, but they are scripted to be "knocked out" after taking a much smaller amount of damage. I just set their health arbitrarily high so they won't be one-shot by anything and the script can do its thing.
Options
General Companion Tips
Morrowind's AI wasn't really made with permanent companions in mind, so there are some common issues
Compatibility
As of 1.1, I've tried to fix all the OpenMW bugs I could find. Please let me know if you play in that engine and still encounter bugs.
This mod makes very minor edits to Balmora, basically just adding a door in the area near the silt strider. There are no landscape edits. It should be fine even with other Balmora mods, but there might be some clipping if another mod adds objects to that specific area.
There is also a small edit to the Ebonheart Grand Council chambers. Just adding a door and an NPC.
Some caves/dungeons have been added in the wilderness that are unlikely to conflict with anything. Specifically, a cave near Marandus in Molag Amur, a ruin near Arkngthand, and a cave south of Ebonheart, and an underwater cave between Balmora and Hla Oad. No landscape edits have been made.
The companions have commentary for the main quest, but the main quest is not altered in any way. So the mod should be fine with other companions that interact with the MQ more deeply, such as Julan or Arvesa.
Specific mods with conflicts that I know of:
Credits
Thanks to UESP editors for displaying all the vanilla journal indices for quests so that I don't need to use the dialog window when adding quest commentary. Location descriptions helped a lot too.
The mephala daedra creature used for Rachna is from Neighgoth's "Spiderkith Resource"
The faces for Andren, Iona, and Lucan are from Emma's facepacks
Lucan's hair is from Rhedd and Gorg
Amelie's face/hair is from Rin's Beautyshop, and so is Iona's hair
Andren's hair mesh is also from Rin's Beautyshop, edited by Zennorious for movement for Slof's Goth Shop II, and the texture is from Kateri's Rin's Beautyshop expansion.
The companion scripts came from grumpy's companion template.
The instrument-playing animations seen at the bar are from Archmaestro Antares' Animated Morrowind I.
Cushion & chair seated animation from The Sitting Mod by Vidi Aquam.
Various animations in bar from "misc animations" and "NPC animations" by Qarl and rx31
Laughing and clapping sitting animations are from "Sea Dog Tavern" by Billyfighter
Sitting scripts were copied from "Tel Aruhn Chronicles" by RandomPal
The landscape meshes used in some quest locations are from "Lingarn's Landscape Meshes"
Ring teleport script by CDCooley
Usage
My only original content with this mod is the scripts/quests/dialogue, most of the unique assets like the faces and animations are not made by me. So there's not much you could re-use in your own mod, but if you want to copy/paste scripts for your own use or something that is fine with me.
Contact
If you see bugs or issues please contact me on the nexus or AlandroSul#0291 on discord.
New in 1.2:
- I've squished the OpenMW bugs I could find. Mod is not fully tested in that engine, but I think everything should mostly work. But note that though the mod suggests using Easy Escort, you can't use that mod in OpenMW: use something like "Attend Me" instead.
- New commentary for some Hlaalu, Thieves Guild, Redoran, and Tribunal Temple quests. Not every faction is 100% but I think their quest awareness is pretty well-rounded now.
- New table talks for factions and some other things.
- Added conversations or comments about some companions from other mods
This mod adds four companions, a new tavern in Balmora, a simple player house in Balmora, a few new dungeons, and several quests.
The companions are the main feature, and they have full commentary for the main quest, and many faction quests.
They have a lot to say about many things in the game, so hopefully you will find them to be fun and interesting companions to have at your side!
The companions can also interact with each other at the Strider's Nest, the new tavern in Balmora, where you can relax at a table as a group for unique multi-sided conversations.
Andren and Amelie have a series of personal quests. Iona and Lucan are more limited in this regard but have the same level of commentary on vanilla quests (originally intended for all four to have questlines but ran out of steam). There are also optional romance routes for Andren and Amelie for characters so inclined.
The Party
Iona is a warrior professing membership in a knightly order called "The Order of the Mushroom". Obsessed with chivalry and honor, she follows a rigid code of conduct which governs many aspects of her life. She will be your party's most steadfast melee fighter, and she excels in defending against blows with a shield and heavy armor.
Amelie is a noblewoman on the run from the Morag Tong. Originally hailing from Cheydinhal, she is a fully westernized Dunmer from a mixed family, having a Breton father (hence her name) and a Dunmer mother. Her privileged background has made her meek in the face of danger, but her determination to survive will make her a valuable member of your party.
Andren is a healer from the Summerset Isles. He is a devout follower of Auri-El, the chief god of the High Elves, but his faith is challenged when he is afflicted with a terrible curse. A skilled spellcaster and healer, Andren can keep you and the party healthy as you adventure.
Lucan is a former Morag Tong assassin. He is a crude, violent individual who lost his position in the Tong due to misconduct. Originally hailing from a High Rock peasant family, he bears a grudge against Tamriel's nobility. He is skilled with blade and bow, and can serve you as a versatile fighter.
Companion Features
In addition to have a large amount of commentary and some quests, the companions have some useful features. They are "essential", so they will collapse after taking damage rather than dying, and Andren uses scripted healing so he can heal you and the other followers automatically (which can be toggled by talking to him about "healing magic").
Their skillpoints and attributes will increase after certain quests, conversations, or when the player reaches certain levels.
How to Play
The companions are recruited via quests that start in and around the new tavern in Balmora, the Strider's Nest. Iona is found near the Balmora Fighter's guild, Amelie is recruited through a mission starting at the bar's job board, Lucan is recruited after Amelie's quest, and Andren is found standing near the bar.
The tavern is located directly under the silt strider port.
Many of their quests are unlocked only after you recruit all four, so take note of that. Try to recruit them all relatively early on for a good experience.
Some quests are also unlocked by talking to them as a group under the "get a table" dialog with the bar's owner, so try that periodically (it can be done once per day).
They can also discuss certain quests this way, so stop in after each MQ mission to chat. You will have to explain the situation with Caius to them before you can discuss these things, so visit the bar with them after you deliver the package.
Installation
Extract everything to your data files folder and tick the plugin in the launcher, or install with your mod manager.
Note: there are some MCP features you should use for a better experience. The mod uses scripted music sometimes so apply the "scripted music uninterruptible" patch under "Mod specific" patches and "StreamMusic / master volume fix" under "Bug fixes". If you don't want to use those patches or you don't want scripted music in general, disable the music as described in the "options" section below".
Q&A
Q: They are not commenting on the main quest, what's wrong?
A: Speak to them about "report to caius cosades" at the bar to fill them in on things first.
Q: How do I bring them back to life when they've been knocked down?
A: If you try to activate them in combat, you won't be able to. You can recover them by activating them after about 30 seconds of non-combat activity from the player--no swinging weapons, casting spells, getting hit, etc.
Q: I lost someone, how can I find them?
A: After the "Lucan and Andren" dialog at the table, the bar's owner will be able to summon them to their rooms. You can also get telepathy rings after an early quest from the bar owner.
Q: Four companions is too many! How can I manage all these NPCs? Won't it be OP?
A: You don't have to use them all at once! You can swap them out and use just one or two at a time if you want, the quests don't require everyone to be following you at once.
Q: Why is their HP so high?
A: It isn't *really*. If you check their HP with the console or a healthbar mod it will seem high, but they are scripted to be "knocked out" after taking a much smaller amount of damage. I just set their health arbitrarily high so they won't be one-shot by anything and the script can do its thing.
Options
- The mod uses scripted music at various times. If you dislike this, all scripted music can be disabled with a global variable. Enter "set LACK_qac_NOMUSIC to 1" in the console. Any currently playing music won't be stopped immediately, but after the current track is done no more scripted music will play unless the variable is set to 0 again. You can also disable music in the bar only by talking to the orc bard. There is also an esp in the "optional esps" folder which sets this global to 1 by default
- If you want vanilla faces (or faces from your pluginless replacer), use the Vanilla Faces esp in the "optional esps" folder
- By default the companions are "essential" and are virtually unkillable, and just get knocked down after a certain amount of damage has been taken. If you prefer to have them die, enter "StartScript LACK_qac_PermadeathScript" in the console. I do not recommend this, there is no dialog to recognize deaths and it will break quests. I've just included it for purists who might prefer to reload on death for the sake of challenge or something.
- You can disable companion leveling by entering "set LACK_qac_NoLevel to 1" in the console, if for some reason you don't want them to gain skillpoints as you progress through their quests or if you want to customize their stats yourself with the console.
General Companion Tips
Morrowind's AI wasn't really made with permanent companions in mind, so there are some common issues
- Stuttery/weird walking where they don't follow properly can usually be fixed by opening the console, clicking on the npc, and typing "startcombat player" in the console (and then "stopcombat" if they continue attacking you)
- NPCs can't follow through recall/intervention without scripts, so I strongly recommend a mod such as "Easy Escort" (which allows them to follow even through coc's and scripted movement). Note for OpenMW users: Easy Escort is an mwse, use something like "Attend Me" instead
- NPCs get in the way sometimes. I recommend a mod like "Jay's place swap" or abot's "Move or Take my Place", which add a hotkeys to switch positions with a follower so that they dont block doorways
- NPC stats reset if they are not in the same cell as the player for 3 days or more. This means that after the companions gain skills, they will lose those if they've been alone for too long. However, a script runs that re-levels their skills each time you sleep in a bed while they're following you, so if their skills seem incorrect, just take a nap.
- That 3 day bug also prevents talking to NPCs too, so the telepathy rings won't work if you've been away for too long. If you lost someone and can't contact them with the ring, use Sallustius Atian's "where is x" topics instead.
Compatibility
As of 1.1, I've tried to fix all the OpenMW bugs I could find. Please let me know if you play in that engine and still encounter bugs.
This mod makes very minor edits to Balmora, basically just adding a door in the area near the silt strider. There are no landscape edits. It should be fine even with other Balmora mods, but there might be some clipping if another mod adds objects to that specific area.
There is also a small edit to the Ebonheart Grand Council chambers. Just adding a door and an NPC.
Some caves/dungeons have been added in the wilderness that are unlikely to conflict with anything. Specifically, a cave near Marandus in Molag Amur, a ruin near Arkngthand, and a cave south of Ebonheart, and an underwater cave between Balmora and Hla Oad. No landscape edits have been made.
The companions have commentary for the main quest, but the main quest is not altered in any way. So the mod should be fine with other companions that interact with the MQ more deeply, such as Julan or Arvesa.
Specific mods with conflicts that I know of:
- Morrowind Crafting places an NPC which will clip at the tavern's entryway.
- Morrowind Rebirth
- Beautiful Cities of Morrowind and Imperium - Castle Ebonheart change the interior of Ebonheart's Grand Council Chambers in such a way that it blocks off the door this mod adds there. There is an esp compatible with these mods in the optional files section.
- Character Sound Overhaul has a minor conflict with their knockout scripts which will make it so that it is possible to revive followers even in combat. If you're using that mod, just... honor system, wait until fighting is over.
- Vivec, God the City changes Vivec's interiors in such a way that one Strider's Nest quest cannot be completed.
Credits
Thanks to UESP editors for displaying all the vanilla journal indices for quests so that I don't need to use the dialog window when adding quest commentary. Location descriptions helped a lot too.
The mephala daedra creature used for Rachna is from Neighgoth's "Spiderkith Resource"
The faces for Andren, Iona, and Lucan are from Emma's facepacks
Lucan's hair is from Rhedd and Gorg
Amelie's face/hair is from Rin's Beautyshop, and so is Iona's hair
Andren's hair mesh is also from Rin's Beautyshop, edited by Zennorious for movement for Slof's Goth Shop II, and the texture is from Kateri's Rin's Beautyshop expansion.
The companion scripts came from grumpy's companion template.
The instrument-playing animations seen at the bar are from Archmaestro Antares' Animated Morrowind I.
Cushion & chair seated animation from The Sitting Mod by Vidi Aquam.
Various animations in bar from "misc animations" and "NPC animations" by Qarl and rx31
Laughing and clapping sitting animations are from "Sea Dog Tavern" by Billyfighter
Sitting scripts were copied from "Tel Aruhn Chronicles" by RandomPal
The landscape meshes used in some quest locations are from "Lingarn's Landscape Meshes"
Ring teleport script by CDCooley
Usage
My only original content with this mod is the scripts/quests/dialogue, most of the unique assets like the faces and animations are not made by me. So there's not much you could re-use in your own mod, but if you want to copy/paste scripts for your own use or something that is fine with me.
Contact
If you see bugs or issues please contact me on the nexus or AlandroSul#0291 on discord.