Need more "bad guy" content

Urvoth

Besides the obvious Dark Brotherhood, being the bad guy isn't really a thing. Vampires and werewolves don't even really get their own "bad guy" questlines even though they are often considered enemies of the general populace. Would anyone else really like some "bad guy" content? A necromancer or some other cult guild line could be great for this. You join the cult and gradually work your way up the ranks, killing your superiors, etc. Having more "bad guy" options would definitely make sense as part of an Elder Scrolls game.

nemvar

Being a bad guy requires agency. ZOS doesn't like that. Need more linear questlines.

Pink_Violinz

Urvoth wrote: »

Besides the obvious Dark Brotherhood, being the bad guy isn't really a thing. Vampires and werewolves don't even really get their own "bad guy" questlines even though they are often considered enemies of the general populace. Would anyone else really like some "bad guy" content? A necromancer or some other cult guild line could be great for this. You join the cult and gradually work your way up the ranks, killing your superiors, etc. Having more "bad guy" options would definitely make sense as part of an Elder Scrolls game.

Maybe I'm wrong but even in the single player games there aren't that many opportunities to be evil. Besides the Thieve's Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and the Morag Tong it's rare you can turn against a group or do anything outright evil. I don't know Morrowind quite as well but in Oblivion and Skyrim it's very rare you can change the outcome of a story. Only examples I can really think of include killing Paarthurnax and joining the Vampires in Dawnguard.

Morrowind you can be far more evil, but as for the two most recent games and ESO you're usually pigeon-holed into being the good guy.

If they did another story like Dawnguard, where you could be good or bad, I'd be all for that. I personally don't like playing evil characters, but there is no reason why others shouldn't be able to.

Tandor

I have no problem with an option in quests to follow a dark route, as long as there's a light alternative. It frustrates me no end that my holy paladin type Templar who is lawful good by nature gets partway through a main quest or festival event and can only then proceed by either trespassing or stealing. There should be other options for those who avoid such activities. By the same token, therefore, there should be alternative options for those who don't always want to follow the lawful good way through a given scenario.

TheShadowScout

Tandor wrote: »

I have no problem with an option in quests to follow a dark route, as long as there's a light alternative. It frustrates me no end that my holy paladin type Templar who is lawful good by nature gets partway through a main quest or festival event and can only then proceed by either trespassing or stealing. There should be other options for those who avoid such activities. By the same token, therefore, there should be alternative options for those who don't always want to follow the lawful good way through a given scenario.

^This!^

Oh, there at least could be some "lawful" choices to bypass the "questionable" quest parts, as least for the "commonplace" questings. Sent to tresspass in a house to steal some dwemer bits? Have a choice to travel to a far off dwemer ruin instead to find them there. Sent to pickpocket a guy for a key or whatever? Have an alternate option to get the key or whatever, like bribing someone, persuading someone, or finding the key someone else lost in a dungeon somewhere (they did this very nicely during the "Scarlet Judge" quest!)

Multiple quest part completion options are always nice! Consequently there were quite a few quests where I was missing the "evil" option... where I was left thinking "What? Why would my vengeance-happy DC-hating character let that covenant soldier just walk away after they attacked a friggin school? She'd have gutted him with a dagger so he'd bleed out in agony for hours and fed his corpse to the nix-hounds..."

So, more choices for everyone would have been a good thing, made the game a lot more fun! Even better with actual consequences... like, spare the soldier, and at some later point (like for example a DC-based DLC, craglorn, orsinium, TG) that soldier shows up again in a position to repay you by giving you a shortcut past some questing or something...

...

DLCs are another thing, its everyones choice if they play through it with this or that character... (tho they -really- ought to remove thieves guild from anyone who doesn't do the introductionary quest, but only visits abahs landing for the skyshards!) - Tho it would have been realy nifty if DLCs came with multiple playthrough options. LIke... your immoral characters can play through the thieves guilkd as we all know it, your moral characters can play through the same area as new recruit in the iron wheel, and tackle the same main quest from the other side... sadly, paths not taken.

I for one would at least like to see some "either-or" choices in DLC guild selection, to "refit" this feeling of choice...
Like... add some lawful guilds your character can only join if they are not members in the dark brotherhoor or thieves guild (removing all those membership "offers you cannot refuse", and adding an "retire from the thieves guild/dark brotherhood" scroll to the crown store) But then, that thought is one I added to: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/387560/additional-guild-ideas-mk-ii

Finviuswe

You got DB, TG. Stealing and killing is a huge part of the game. What more do you need?

Urvoth

ESO_GOD wrote: »

You got DB, TG. Stealing and killing is a huge part of the game. What more do you need?

I'd like some bad guy options as part of the normal story lines. Also DB and TG are more along the lines of generic criminal behavior. I'm more so talking about "bad guy as part of a fantasy world" behavior like joining a cult and killing the leader so you can take over or something along those lines. Think more along the lines of the sith storylines in swtor.

ezio45

i wouldnt mind some more rouge / thief / dark magic stories

TheShadowScout

ezio45 wrote: »

i wouldnt mind some more rouge / thief / dark magic stories

The main issue with that is... not everyone likes playing the bad guy. And the people at ZOS like selling DLCs, so they want stuff that -everyone- can enjoy.

But it can be done.
For example, take a "Necromancer" DLC. It could be based on an "infiltrate the remains of the worm cult and foil their next big scheme", with "good" characters just playing the spy and infiltrating as "witless minion", while "evil" characters get the chance to join the cult itself and learn how to necromance while they play the story... much like you can play Summerset with or without joining the Psijic order, as you like.

firedrgn

Urvoth wrote: »

Besides the obvious Dark Brotherhood, being the bad guy isn't really a thing. Vampires and werewolves don't even really get their own "bad guy" questlines even though they are often considered enemies of the general populace. Would anyone else really like some "bad guy" content? A necromancer or some other cult guild line could be great for this. You join the cult and gradually work your way up the ranks, killing your superiors, etc. Having more "bad guy" options would definitely make sense as part of an Elder Scrolls game.

Um stealling and murdering. How much more bad guy stuff is there.

VaranisArano

The best way to do it for good and evil roleplayers is basically something like Dawnguard with its full alternate playthrough for if you sided with Harkon or the Dawnguard.

I suspect that works better in a single player game that can have a lasting impact on the game world.

Urvoth

firedrgn wrote: »

Urvoth wrote: »

Besides the obvious Dark Brotherhood, being the bad guy isn't really a thing. Vampires and werewolves don't even really get their own "bad guy" questlines even though they are often considered enemies of the general populace. Would anyone else really like some "bad guy" content? A necromancer or some other cult guild line could be great for this. You join the cult and gradually work your way up the ranks, killing your superiors, etc. Having more "bad guy" options would definitely make sense as part of an Elder Scrolls game.

Um stealling and murdering. How much more bad guy stuff is there.

That's more like generic criminal stuff. Think along the lines of the sith from swtor.

Urvoth

VaranisArano wrote: »

The best way to do it for good and evil roleplayers is basically something like Dawnguard with its full alternate playthrough for if you sided with Harkon or the Dawnguard.

I suspect that works better in a single player game that can have a lasting impact on the game world.

Yeah, pretty much like that. It could work with alternate storyline options in quests or a joinable cult or something, though. Your quest results don't really have much visible impact on the game world atm anyways.

mateosalvaje

I miss the option to side with the dark, like in other Elder Scrolls games. Don't get me wrong, I love ESO and play daily. I just miss things like sacrificing priests and cannibalizing them. Hopefully ES6 has some gnarly/brutal options to make up for ESO's ever flowery disposition.

max_only

I need more dialogue options that are “mean” or “evil” or my favorite Bethesda characteristic “snide”.

Lying to and tricking npcs is quite fun, I have an alt dedicated to choosing the “bad” option.

ESO does have some “choose a side” stuff like in the Coldharbor quests and for each character that part of the world is forever changed. They can do it if they put their mind to it.

SickleCider

I want more agency. Don't make me eat that frog. In fact, I want my character to be less okay with putting weird things in his mouth.

ApostateHobo

There's actually a decent bad guy route in Morrowind if you become a vampire. Have to go about the whole main quest line completely different, and kill certain important characters not gonna spoil it in case anyone decides to try it out. There's a full run down of it on uesp though for those that are curious.

Darkhorse1975

This thread reminds me of...

ArchMikem

I don't enjoy being evil and i don't like being excluded from content because of that. The Dark Brotherhood already was a stretch for me and had to tell myself i was just using them to rid Colovia of the Red Sails as justification.

FrancisCrawford

Urvoth wrote: »

Besides the obvious Dark Brotherhood, being the bad guy isn't really a thing. Vampires and werewolves don't even really get their own "bad guy" questlines even though they are often considered enemies of the general populace. Would anyone else really like some "bad guy" content? A necromancer or some other cult guild line could be great for this. You join the cult and gradually work your way up the ranks, killing your superiors, etc. Having more "bad guy" options would definitely make sense as part of an Elder Scrolls game.

In Elder Scrolls games, being a GOOD guy commonly involves killing your superiors. At least, that was the case in Morrowind, which was my Elder Scrolls experience before ESO.