I am guessing this would take considerable time to code, but that it would delight near-everybody.
I would like to propose that players be able to pay a considerable sum in the Crown Store to start a quest ending in an AI spouse, same as in TES V: Skyrim except with some differences. Customizable kid companions should also be available (see lengthy explanation below.) A medium to large home should be required for this.
Just before I say anything else, these must never be allowed in Cyrodiil. The entire PvP scene would be a smoking ruin within a week, if our computers don't melt down from stress first. It will also probably be necessary to keep the spouse and kids out of gigantic PvE events like trials and super-dungeons such as Spindleclutch.
The player should be allowed to choose the race of the spouse, but not their abilities and class. Abilities and class should be decided by having a good (the more, the better) number of candidates for each race so Spouse A isn't cookie-cutter equivalent to Spouse B. Having a lot of choices for each race will also allow the player to pick the gender and appearance of the spouse. The marriage should follow a very lengthy quest, depending on the spouse's race or perhaps even race combined with gender; this is because while in Skyrim you just wear an Amulet of Mara and lovely Lydia falls madly in love with you because she finds the amulet pretty, I am guessing Bethesda will want other requirements in, say, High Rock or Summerset. There should be several possible quests for each race, to make things as non-cookie-cutter as possible. Once you complete the requirement, you get hitched in the Temple of Mara and the spouse runs around with you through Tamriel and helps you substantially in PvE in situations, (a lot of the temporary NPC companions do next to nothing, the spouse must give a substantial amount of aid.) In TES V: Skyrim, you get a small sum of gold and food from the spouse, but there's also an option to keep the spouse at home so you can adventure with others. I suggest making a bit more gold for the player if the spouse is at home simply because the spouse is not as busy helping you and game-wise isn't helping with game situations.
I am not totally sure the spouse/kid would be well-compatible to large groups; maybe have the companion poof while you're in a party and re-appear when you are alone. Or, maybe have the spouse while in a reasonably-sized group. Not sure about that one.
Regarding kids, make the player buy a Shrine to Akatosh in the Crown Store for his or her home and make them buy a child's bedroom. Adopt orphans like in TES V: Skyrim, of different genders and races. The kid, based on the race and random chance, will badger you for various things that interest them. Then, you bring the kid things that he or she wants and that interest them, either by finding them in dungeons or by buying them from vendors in town. The process should be somewhat like feeding a mount, with a finite total number of boosts being possible to various attributes and those attributes influencing what the kid becomes. For optimal customization allow rare or Crown-store-bought items (like 1 possible per child,) that bequeath special traits similarly to Mundus Stones. After "feeding" the kid stuff like wooden swords, books, or lessons in appreciating fine loot, (with customization such as the books being for a Templar/Sorcerer/Warden or the wooden weapons being wooden swords or axes, or 1h/2h, shields, dual wield and such) the player prays at the special shrine of Akatosh and the kid is time warped to the age of about 16 where those lessons have progressed to adulthood and instead of having the spouse running around with you, it's your customized kid. It should be more likely that a Nord or Redguard kid is interested in swords or axes, but there are Nord healers and such, and it should be possible to raise such a kid. So, if you want your kid to be a Nord Templar magicka healer, that's possible, though interest in that would be more likely in a Breton.
Person should be limited to one companion at a time; so, if he/she wants to travel with the spouse, the kid should stay at home or vice versa. If it's a spouse and 2 kids, only one should be able to come with you, etc.
Finally, allow the player to customize appearance by being able to ask his or her spouse to wear gear and Crown costumes and customizable items that the player can wear him or herself. So, if you want the spouse's Medium Armor to be in the Imperial style (or be in the Imperial style but the hat is in the Nord style, or all in Nord style etc etc etc,) let the player do that. If the player wants the spouse to wear the Crown Store Blacksmith's outfit or Lion Guard Elite costume, allow that too. It will probably be necessary to create an option to toggle hat on/off like the player can do. Aside from making the players happy, this'll make ZOS happy, because guy players who never before had a use for, say, the Wedding Dress just found one. Also allow the player to ask for other appearance-related stuff, like for the spouse to sport a particular earring, flower in the hair, hairstyle, etc. The exceptions to this customization should be very few and related to the player's personal fame and progression, such as the Emperor's Regalia costume.
I am not sure I can figure out how many things I am not thinking of right now that should have been thought and how much more can be gotten out of something like this, but it would 1. make ESO much more customizable, 2. earn ZOS tons of money and 3. make things MUCH more fun for us. Housing would immediately become more fun and necessary due to it no longer being cosmetic, and, let's face it, most of us don't have a Ring of Mara spouse with another player.
Hope you guys like the idea. Also hope I am not making an idiot out of myself.
Edited by Quantact on March 30, 2019 9:45PM