Thirteen Telvanni - a Dunmeri Card Game

This mod was inspired by Tamriel Rebuilt's new Hortator game, which is a single player solitaire variant you can play at a few taverns on the mainland. It was also inspired by the real card game Love Letter and, to a lesser extent, Coup.

Thirteen Telvanni is a 2-to-4-player card game you can play at various taverns and other gathering places on Vvardenfell. Yes, the NPCs actually play against you! The game uses the Telvanni suit and Morag Tong card from Tamriel_Data's Dunmer card set. While your own decisions are the driving force behind your success or failure, your character's luck plays a small part in determining how often the other players guess your card correctly.

For most locations, there is a main host NPC, who offers to start a round of the game through the topic "game of Thirteen Telvanni". At the present time, there are also two short quests to unlock games in Molag Mar and Suran. Each location has unique ways of choosing the starting player and a specific betting and winning amount.

You can download an optional Tamriel Rebuilt addon to get several more locations on the mainland, with even more variety in how the games are set up. Load the addon after the main Thirteen Telvanni ESP.

Be sure to check out my other minigame mods, Nine-holes and Playable Game of Ur, which nicely complement the locations of this game.

Neither MWSE nor OpenMW are required. This mod uses only native Morrowind scripting.

Tamriel_Data is required. The latest releases use loose files, so you don't need to register BSAs.

How to Play

A rule and strategy book is added to most locations, which NPCs suggest you read. Here is an excerpt from the Rules section:

The card ranks, in order from least to greatest value showing how many are in the deck:

• 2 DUST ADEPTs, least value
• 2 ALCHEMISTs
• 5 GUARDs
• 2 ENCHANTERs
• 1 WIZARD
• 1 MAGISTER
• 2 ASSASSINs, greatest value
  

(15 total. 13 not counting the Assassins, hence the name "Thirteen Telvanni".)

From the deck, each player is dealt a card face-down. Play proceeds clockwise. On a player's turn, they draw a second card. They can choose either card to put into play on the table, taking the actions described below. Actions will affect another player's card in some way and/or the current player's card that they didn't play. When the action is complete, the card is discarded at random within the remaining deck, with the exception of the Magister (stays out of deck) and Enchanter (discarded later). If a player is put out of the game, their card stays out of the deck.



       DUST ADEPT                        ALCHEMIST                            GUARD

The DUST ADEPT lets you peek at another player's card. No other players should be able to see this exchange. Should the viewing player announce their discovery, they are out. Expect more than just the loss of your gold and being called an n'wah if you opt for foolery of this sort in a Dunmer establishment.

The ALCHEMIST gives you the power to require any player, including yourself, to draw a new card and discard the old one.

The GUARD allows you to make a guess at another player's card, though you cannot guess the Guard himself, as it is the most likely. Should you be correct, that player is out. Again, any sly-minded individual who thinks to lie about having a correctly guessed card would be advised not to frequent Dunmer establishments.


       ENCHANTER                          WIZARD                            MAGISTER

The ENCHANTER has no target. Rather, place it beside your card to indicate that you are protected from all other actions targeting you until your next turn. When that turn arrives, discard the Enchanter into the deck as usual.

The WIZARD lets you trade your other card with another player's card.

The MAGISTER must not be put into play, or you are out. You will lose if another player forces you to discard it using an Alchemist. The only way to remove a Magister is to trade it using the Wizard. Once the Magister is discarded, it does not go back in the deck.


         ASSASSIN

The ASSASSIN lets you choose a player to attack. If your other card is greater in value than that player's card, they are assassinated and out. Equal ranks are still failed assassinations. The player assassinating discreetly compares the two cards and announces the result, revealing the inferior card if successful.


Once a player is out, they are out until the end of the round, when the last player standing collects the pot. As fewer players compete for the pot, you may run into a situation when Enchanters protect all other players. In this case, any card targeting a player is simply discarded with no effect.

Card Game Locations

On Vvardenfell, there are seven places to play a 4-player game and four places to play a 3-player game.

On Tamriel Rebuilt's mainland, there are three 4-player games, four 3-player games, two 2-player games with the winner determined by winning a certain number of rounds first, and one location that can be 2, 3, or 4 players.

4 Players (Vvardenfell)

Balmora, South Wall Cornerclub

• Host:Phane Rielle
• Bet:15 gold (win 55 -- publican charges a 5 gold fee)
• Goes First:you until character level 5, then random
  

Ald-ruhn, Ald Skar Inn

• Host:Skeetul
• Bet:20 gold (win 80)
• Goes First:random
  

Gnisis, Madach Tradehouse

• Host:Talms Dralor
• Bet:20 gold (win 80)
• Goes First:random
  

Sadrith Mora, Fara's Hole in the Wall

• Host:Tedril Vandram
• Bet:25 gold (win 100)
• Goes First:random, then the winner for each subsequent round
  

Vivec, Black Shalk Cornerclub

• Host:Hylf the Harrier
• Bet:25 gold (win 98 -- host charges a 2 gold fee)
• Goes First:random, then the player left of the winner for each subsequent round
  

Suran, Suran Tradehouse

• Host:Ashumanu Eraishah (via Jamie)
• Bet:25 gold (win 90 -- publican charges a 10 gold fee)
• Goes First:random
• Note:must be unlocked through short quest "Half a Deck"
  

Molag Mar, St. Veloth's Hostel

• Host:Goron Lleran (via Geor Matreinace)
• Bet:36 gold (win 144)
• Goes First:Goron Lleran, then random for each subsequent round
• Note:must be unlocked through quest "Sacred Pastime"; quest disabled after Curate rank in Temple
  

3 Players (Vvardenfell)

Seyda Neen, Arrille's Tradehouse

• Host:Elone (via Raflod the Braggart)
• Bet:12 gold (win 33 -- publican charges a 3 gold fee)
• Goes First:you
  

Buckmoth Legion Fort, Interior

• Host:Aldaril
• Bet:15 gold (win 45)
• Goes First:random
• Other:Legion only
  

Vos, Varo Tradehouse

• Host:Hairan Mannanalit
• Bet:15 gold (win 45 + drink)
• Goes First:Hairan Mannanalit
  

Sadrith Mora, Gateway Inn

• Host:Nalion
• Bet:30 gold (win 85 -- publican charges a 5 gold fee)
• Goes First:random, then the winner for each subsequent round
  

4 Players (Tamriel Rebuilt)

Port Telvannis, The Avenue: Subterranean Balconies

• Host:Fedura Drenim
• Bet:40 gold (win 153 -- publican charges a 7 gold fee)
• Goes First:random native Dunmer, i.e. not you or the High Elf
• Other:requires Hospitality Papers from The Avenue, or you have to bet 10 more gold to receive the same reward
  

Bodrum, Varalaryn Tradehouse

• Host:Gols Sarinith
• Bet:16 gold, increasing in increments of 4 up to 40 (win 64–160 -- publican charges an 8 gold fee if not in House Redoran)
• Goes First:random
  

Hlan Oek, Council Club

• Host:Rernel Verilni
• Bet:30 gold (win only 90)
• Goes First:random club member, i.e., not you
• Other:you get targeted more often by other players
  

Arvud, Lucky Shalaasa's Caravanserai: Rooms

• Host:Bazug gro-Sharbazug
• Bet:65 gold (win 195)
• Goes First:random
  

Andothren, Golden Moons Club

• Host:Murio Clavian
• Bet:25 gold (win 67 -- publican charges an 8 gold fee)
• Goes First:random, then the winner for each subsequent round
• Other:must purchase a Gambling Pass for 60 gold before playing the first time if not in House Hlaalu
  

Tel Rivus, Andvaryon: Upper Level

• Host:Llera Danmil
• Bet:15 gold (win 45)
• Goes First:random
• Other:can also choose to Practice for free
  

Andar Mok, Andalus Tradehouse

• Host:Mervyn Andalas
• Bet:10 gold (win 30)
• Goes First:random
• Note:when Merro Galvix leaves at the end of the quest "Flin Galore!", he is replaced with a new NPC named Fendros Drethan
  

Tel Ouada, The Magic Mudcrab

• Host:Hinstil
• Bet:30 gold (win 60)
• Goes First:random
• Rounds:first to win 4
  

Tel Gilan, The Cliff Racer's Rest

• Host:Haran Llevara
• Bet:20 gold (win 40)
• Goes First:random
• Rounds:first to win 3
  

Tel Mothrivra, The Glass Goblet

• Host:Fillim
• Bet:15 gold (win 30, 45, or 60)
• Goes First:random
• # of Players:2, 3, or 4
  

Compatibility (Modular Version)

A separate Modular version exists to let you pick and choose which locations you want. You may even opt to just have the core files for use as an asset for some other mod. If an incompatibility exists with any location, you can use all the locations that do work. You can always merge them together in the CS if you wish to minimize your plugin count.

Make sure the 00 Core file is always loaded first, before any locations.

Built-in compatibility exists through the modular files.

• Beautiful Cities of Morrowind (BCOM) — Replacement versions for Madach Tradehouse and Black Shalk Cornerclub. All other locations compatible by default.
• Atmospheric South Wall Cornerclub — Replacement version for that location.
• South Wall Den of Iniquity — Use Atmospheric version.
• Concept Art Gnisis — Uses same interior as BCOM.
  

Use the "BCOM All Merged" option on its own if you use BCOM and don't care to pick and choose for compatibility with other potential interior mods. Use "BCOM + Atmospheric All Merged" on its own if you use BCOM as well as either Atmospheric South Wall Cornerclub or South Wall Den of Iniquity.

I am not currently supporting a merged version of South Wall on its own, since this seems like an unlikely combo without BCOM. You can merge the plugins yourself.

Credits

• Tamriel_Data and Tamriel Rebuilt team, specifically:
•   Steppenwolf, as the designer of the cards
•   Why, as the main developer of the Hortator card game
  

My Other Mods

• Playable Game of Ur
• Moving Minecarts
• Questline - Vivec Lighthouse Keeper
• Nine-holes
• Writer of the Third Era
• Quick Character Creation
• Preview Warning for Tamriel Rebuilt (and Creating Your Own TR_Preview)