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Cadwell's Almanac and the Alliance Story

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When I started writing this, it was originally going to be split into three threads, but then ZOS combined the AD, DC, and EP categories, so it makes more sense for me to combine all this into one as well.

This is a thread discussing the flow of the Alliance Story through the initial alliance zones, how the critical path quests for Cadwell's Almanac fit in to the story, and any associated alterations or improvements that can be made to improve story progression. With One Tamriel, you can go anywhere at any time, and having a coherent story to follow while you're doing that is an important part of the game for many people. I'll be working through the storyline zone by zone, following the critical path and branching out as necessary.

Since this thread discusses the storyline, there will be spoilers galore.

On numerous occasions, there's a side quest or two that need to be completed in order to tick off the Almanac at a certain location, none of which are related to the storyline at that location. This occurs quite a bit throughout the game, but is inconsistent, as there's no logic for when quests are required and when they aren't. For consistency, it's best to not include any concurrent side quests in the Almanac.

There are also a few quests marked as "Intended to be completed by yourself", in which you are forced into a Solo Instance. These will be detailed individually, but in summary, there should be no Solo Instances, and thus no Solo Quests, during the Alliance Story. If control is needed over the state of the instance that doesn't work well in a group setting, the instance should be phased into different layers, which is something that is already common throughout the Alliance Story. While the phasing situation is not popular, and many instances of it have already been removed from quests for that reason, it would still be preferable to a completely forced-Solo instance.
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    Daggerfall Covenant
    The DC storyline is put together pretty well, and aside from a few chaining issues, it flows together nicely as well. It is notable for having a great number of storyline quests which extend the plotline of a zone but which are not required for Cadwell's Almanac, and as such, strikes a nice balance between the two. It does however have quite a few relevant story quests, required for completion of Cadwell's Almanac, which are not indicated in the Almanac, and a few other quests which conclude the story chains which should be part of the Almanac for completion.

    Stros M'Kai and Betnikh
    Stros M'Kai
    Stros M'Kai has a very well-linked, self-contained story. If you miss the first story quest, "The Broken Spearhead", you are still able to link into the chain whenever you complete one of the story quests, as a secondary pointer quest appears to direct you to it. You can cut the story short by taking "Tip of the Spearhead" early, or you can complete all the optional story quests to earn the "Famed Recruiter" achievement. Once "Tip of the Spearhead" is complete, you can travel to Betnikh.

    Betnikh
    Other than Coldharbour, Betnikh is the only zone in the game which is quest-locked after One Tamriel, as you get there during the story after "Tip of the Spearhead", and Gilzir the Boatswain (in Daggerfall and Port Hunding) does not allow you to travel there until you complete that quest. To address this inconsistency, Gilzir should offer passage to Betnikh immediately. To maintain story continuity, you would still be required to complete "Tip of the Spearhead" before "The Bloodthorn Plot" becomes available. A pointer quest would direct you back to Stros M'Kai if you get to Betnikh before the storyline takes you there - this could be an alternate entry point to the existing pointer quest "The Spearhead's Captain", given by, for example, Lambur. Side quests on Betnikh would be immediately available, as aside from "Farsight" (see below), they have no story relevance. Once the story arrives, it chains together well and directs you off to Glenumbra at the end.

    Extended continuity - The "Farsight" quest on Betnikh offers visions foreshadowing "possible futures", which are future Covenant storyline events (the end of the Betnikh story, Faolchu in Glenumbra, and Sir Hughes in Stormhaven). This makes little sense if you've already done them. A dialogue option could be added at the end of the quest saying "But some of those events have already happened", with an appropriate response from the quest-giver Magula.

    Glenumbra
    Daggerfall
    Daggerfall is a bit of a unique situation. For some inexplicable reason, "Bloodthorn Assassins" gives a Skill Point on completion, meaning there are 4 Skill Points in Glenumbra (and as a result, completing "Bloodthorn Assassins" gives one tick on the "Ritual Destruction" achievement). This gives an unfair advantage (temporary) to players who complete the DC storyline first, as players who complete AD or EP first do not get this skill point until later. It's also inconsistent with the rest of the zones in the game, where only 3 skill points are gained for the storyline. For consistency, the Skill Point should be removed from "Bloodthorn Assassins" (and Daggerfall's objective removed from the "Ritual Destruction" requirements). So it's not lost completely, the skill point could be shifted somewhere else - for example, give it to "The Weight of Three Crowns", the only quest in the Main Story which does not grant a skill point.

    Given the importance of the quests to the stability of the Covenant ("if King Casimir dies, the entire Daggerfall Covenant could fall apart", according to the journal), and the fact that it has a skill point and is required for the zone achievement (but as stated above, it shouldn't have these), the Daggerfall objective should be added to Cadwell's Almanac. Beyond that, the Daggerfall quests are not actually prerequisite to any other Glenumbra quests; since the internal storyline of Daggerfall is not itself directly related to the others, only to the Glenumbra story as a whole, it should remain as not prerequisite. After Daggerfall, the story chain is broken (see below).

    Deleyn's Mill
    Back in PC beta, upon completion of "Bloodthorn Assassins", the NPC Babineaux Redain would run up to Daggerfall Castle and give you the quest "Turning of the Trees", which takes you to Deleyn's Mill to continue the storyline. She was since removed, completely breaking the story chain through Glenumbra (without her, there is no direction at all following the conclusion of the Daggerfall objective, and players are at a loss of where to go next). The quest can still be picked up from Bernard Redain outside the mill, but to ensure story continuity, Babineaux Redain needs to be put back in the game to give you "Turning of the Trees" when "Bloodthorn Assassins" is complete.

    Deleyn's Mill is not part of Cadwell's Almanac. This is fine, as it only serves to extend the storyline, and is not directly relevant to the Covenant or the conclusion of the Glenumbra story. Once Deleyn's Mill is complete, you are pointed to the Vale of the Guardians.

    Vale of the Guardians and Beldama Wyrd Tree
    As you progress through the Vale of the Guardians, you free the Guardians of Earth, Air, and Water from their imprisonment by Angof. The Guardians are directly responsible for your success later on at the Beldama Wyrd Tree, and yet you can currently complete the quests there, with the Guardians' help, without actually freeing them first. To address this discontinuity, Vale of the Guardians needs to be added to Cadwell's Almanac and "Champion of the Guardians" should become a prerequisite to "Reclaiming the Elements". If you arrive at Beldama Wyrd Tree before starting the Vale of the Guardians objective, "Seeking the Guardians" should be given to you by Wyress Gwen instead of "Reclaiming the Elements".

    Beldama Wyrd Tree itself is already required for Cadwell's Almanac, and that makes sense as the final quest of the Daenia subzone storyline. Upon completion of "Purifying the Wyrd Tree", you receive the "Wyrd Friend" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Ritual Destruction", consistent with other subzone completions. The rest of Glenumbra is not directly related to the Daenia storyline, so it makes sense that this is not prerequisite to anything further on. The story chain then takes you on to Aldcroft.

    Aldcroft and Glenumbra Moors
    Aldcroft introduces the werewolves plotline of the Cambray Hills, and helps to expand on the lore behind the rest of the quests in this subzone. But since its own plot is not directly required for completing the storyline as a whole, it makes sense that it is not part of Cadwell's Almanac.

    Glenumbra Moors can be completed without doing Aldcroft beforehand, but you will get pointed there if you complete Aldcroft first. Glenumbra Moors also expands on the werewolf storyline without being directly required for later quests; you learn of Faolchu's weakness to fire, but it is quite possible to head straight to Camlorn without discovering this info, which is fine, as you don't need it.

    Camlorn
    The quests at Camlorn conclude the Cambray Hills storyline, and as such are required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "The Fall of Faolchu", you receive the "Faolchu's Bane" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Ritual Destruction", consistent with other subzone completions. The rest of Glenumbra is not directly related to the Cambray Hills storyline, so it makes sense that this is not prerequisite to anything further on. The story chain then takes you on to Lion Guard Redoubt.

    Lion Guard Redoubt and Cath Bedraud
    The quests at Lion Guard Redoubt and Cath Bedraud are directly chained together, and if you approach Cath Bedraud beforehand, you are pointed straight back to the Redoubt. As the climax of the Glenumbra storyline, it is appropriate that these are part of Cadwell's Almanac. There is a slight discrepancy in continuity, in that it is possible to start the final quest "Angof the Gravesinger" before the previous quest "The Labyrinth" is actually fully completed - this could be addressed by having Darien as the turn-in for "The Labyrinth", and being required to talk to him before entering Angof's Sanctum. Upon completion of "Angof the Gravesinger", you receive the "Savior of Glenumbra" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Ritual Destruction", consistent with other subzone completions. If you've been following the storyline in order, this will be the final piece required for "Ritual Destruction" and you'll get that achievement too.

    Back at the Redoubt, where the final quest turn-in is located, a runner will appear to give you the first quest for Stormhaven.

    Extended continuity - Darien turns up again in Rivenspire, and Gabrielle turns up again in Alik'r. This isn't particularly important, as none of their actions are directly related to what happened in Glenumbra. However, any incidental dialogue referencing Glenumbra events should be disabled if the related Glenumbra quests have not been completed.

    Stormhaven
    Koeglin Village
    Upon entering Stormhaven, or when you complete the story of Glenumbra, you will be given a pointer quest that eventually takes you to Koeglin Village. The story chain does not quite match up here - the quest turn-in for "A Dangerous Dream" is inside the inn, while the starting quest for Koeglin Village, and by extension the whole of Stormhaven, is in the Town Square. To address this, Captain Jerick should give you the quest "False Accusations" when you turn in "A Dangerous Dream" to him. For continuity, he could be wondering why a Knight of the Flame is in the stocks, and ask you to investigate.

    "False Accusations" itself, which completes the Koglin Village objective, is not particularly relevant to the whole Stormhaven storyline, so it makes sense that it is not required for Cadwell's Almanac and not a prerequisite to any future quests. Once the issues at Koeglin are solved, Dame Dabienne will send you off to Alcaire Castle.

    Alcaire Castle and Firebrand Keep
    The questline through Alcaire Castle is relevant for maintaining the stability of the Covenant, so it makes sense that it is part of Cadwell's Almanac. Similarly, Firebrand Keep concludes the Alcaire subzone storyline, so that being required for Cadwell's Almanac also makes sense. These two locations are self-linking, so if you complete most of Firebrand Keep before Alcaire Castle, you'll be sent to the Castle to finish the story there before being sent back to the Keep. Upon completion of "Sir Hughes' Fate", you receive the "Dreamslayer" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Rude Awakening", consistent with other subzone completions. However, completing "The Safety of the Kingdom" also gives a tick towards "Rude Awakening", which is wholly inconsistent. Completion of the Alcaire Castle objective should not give progress towards the "Rude Awakening" achievement.

    Despite being a major piece of the Stormhaven storyline, and being part of Cadwell's Almanac, completion of "Sir Hughes' Fate" is not a prerequisite to later quests, but for continuity, it should be; this will be addressed later.

    Pariah Abbey and at-Tura Estate
    Pariah Abbey starts the Menevia storyline, and is also the start of a linear chain that leads right to the end of Stormhaven. As such, it's required for Cadwell's Almanac. However, there's also a side quest at Pariah Abbey that needs to be completed in order to tick off the Almanac. For consistency, it's best to not include any concurrent side quests, so "Injured Spirit Wardens" should be removed from the Pariah Abbey objective.

    Once you complete "A Prison of Sleep", you are given a tick towards "Rude Awakening", which is inconsistent, as that's not the end of a subzone story. If you've already done Firebrand Keep, you'll also unlock "Rude Awakening" at this time too, which is also inconsistent, as you haven't come anywhere near completing the story of Stormhaven (and you haven't ended the nightmares in Stormhaven, per the achievement description, either).

    After "A Prison of Sleep", you are directed through Wayrest to at-Tura Estate on the quest "Pursuing the Shard". If you miss this quest, and follow the Almanac listing to at-Tura Estate, you'll be stuck, as the pointer quest at the estate which goes back to the Abbey only exists if you have not yet started "Fire in the Fields". The pointer quest "An Offering to Azura" should exist right up until "Pursuing the Shard" is started. "Pursuing the Shard" itself, despite being a prerequisite for the rest of the Stormhaven questline, is not covered by Cadwell's Almanac, because it is not part of any POI objective. To address this, "Pursuing the Shard" could be added to a new Wayrest POI objective (see below).

    Once you're done at the at-Tura Estate, you're sent back to Pariah Abbey with the Dream Shard in the quest "Returning the Dream Shard". This quest is another one that's prerequisite to the rest of Stormhaven, but not covered by any Almanac objective. Since it involves resolving the situation at Pariah Abbey that started earlier, "Returning the Dream Shard" should be added to the Pariah Abbey objective, which would automatically make it part of the Almanac. The tick for "Rude Awakening" would then be gained at the correct time, as this is the end of the Menevia subzone's story. Consistent with other subzone completions, you receive the achievement "Spirit Warden Champion" and one Skill Point; those facets being another reason that the quest should be added to the Almanac.

    Another Omen
    When "Returning the Dream Shard" is completed, you're given the quest "Another Omen", which sends you through Wayrest once again, so it should also be added to that new Wayrest POI objective (below), and then on to Shinji's Scarp. This would be a good place to add in a check for completion of Firebrand Keep, to address the continuity issue that crops up later. Abbot Durak says that Azura told him of another omen in Gavaudon, so if Firebrand Keep is not completed, it would be reasonable to assume that Azura would also tell him about the omen in Alcaire. This could be added as an extra screen in Durak's dialogue when you ask him about "Another Omen in Stormhaven".
    • Another Omen in Stormhaven? (Example dialogue)
      • I'm afraid so. The Knights of the Flame in Alcaire have been suffering from increased anxiety over the situation at Alcaire Castle, and have become divided. Azura believes that an omen is responsible for this. But unfortunately, that's not all.
    • You mean there's a third Omen?
      • Yes. Menevia is secure, but ... (dialogue continues as normal)
    This quest would then continue as normal until you report to Captain Ernele in Wayrest. If you haven't yet completed Firebrand Keep, Captain Ernele will have new dialogue:
    • King Emeric said you just returned from Gavaudon. (Example dialogue)
      • Sure enough. I was acting liaison to General Godrun out at Shinji's Scarp, but he's worried that the ogres might break through and attack Wayrest. I'm more concerned with the situation in Alcaire, however.
    • What's happening in Alcaire?
      • The Knights of the Flame haven't reported in for days, and there's an army of Redguard warriors outside Alcaire Castle. The Redguards are our allies in the Covenant, but with the Supernal Dreamers around, I don't want to take any chances. The Knights of the Flame may need reinforcements.
    • What should I do?
      • General Godrun will be able to hold Shinji's Scarp for now. Please head to Firebrand Keep in Alcaire and see if you can assist the Knights of the Flame. When you return, I should have an update for you from Gavaudon.
    • I'll make my way to Firebrand Keep. (dialogue ends)
    New objective: Report to Firebrand Keep. The quest marker would be on Sir Edmund, since he is the quest-giver for all Firebrand Keep quests. As you approach him (or when you talk to him), the objective will change to Assist the Knights of the Flame in Alcaire. This objective will be completed when you turn in "Sir Hughes' Fate" to Duke Nathaniel, and update automatically to Report to Captain Ernele. When you return to Ernele, he would have a couple of new dialogue screens, which then tie back into the existing dialogue.
    • (Initial greeting)
      • I trust the situation in Alcaire has been resolved?
    • Yes. The Knights of the Flame are ready and able to defend the region.
    [*] Excellent. I have checked on the situation at Shinji's Scarp. General Godrun is adamant that the ogres will attempt to break through and attack Wayrest. He suggested to the king that I be assigned to organize defenses here, so here I am. (dialogue continues as normal)[/list]
    [/list]
    With Firebrand Keep complete, this quest continues to Shinji's Scarp as normal.

    Shinji's Scarp
    Shinji's Scarp is part of Cadwell's Almanac, but has an unrelated side quest attached to it; for consistency, "Ogre Teeth" should be removed from the Shinji's Scarp objective. Once "Godrun's Dream" is completed, that's the end of the Almanac for Stormhaven, but the story is not yet over, as High King Emeric has fallen ill! "Azura's Aid" and "Vaermina's Gambit" must be added to the Almanac. The easiest way to do this would be to add a new Wayrest POI objective, as first mentioned above.

    Wayrest
    Wayrest is the capital city of the Daggerfall Covenant and the most important city in Stormhaven. But it doesn't have a map marker! The existing POI map marker for Dreughside should be changed to a Town 20px-ON-mapicon-Town.png, and Wayrest should be given its own City POI map maker 20px-ON-mapicon-City.png. Along with this, a new Wayrest POI objective should be created, covering the quests "Pursuing the Shard", "Another Omen", "Azura's Aid", and "Vaermina's Gambit".
    • Wayrest Objective: Ensure High King Emeric has pleasant dreams.
    • Wayrest Completed: You have defeated the Night Terror and saved the High King.
    Since completion of "Vaermina's Gambit" marks the end of the Stormhaven storyline, the new Wayrest objective should be added to Cadwell's Almanac. "Vaermina's Gambit" already grants a Skill Point, consistent with other subzone final quests. The Gavaudon subzone achievement, "Azura's Ally", is currently unlocked by completing "Azura's Aid", but, for consistency, "Azura's Ally" should come from "Vaermina's Gambit" instead. Finally, the third and final tick for "Rude Awakening" should be attached to completion of the new Wayrest objective, instead of the Alcaire Castle objective.

    Once he is rescued from his nightmares, High King Emeric sends you off to Rivenspire.

    Rivenspire
    Shornhelm, Crestshade and Ravenwatch Castle
    The entire Rivenspire storyline is a complete Cadwell chain from Shornhelm to the Doomcrag. The number of pointers is perhaps lower than it could be, but given that it is quite hard to miss the start of the chain in Shornhelm, that probably doesn't matter. There are also no non-Cadwell quests in this story chain (except the last one, see below), despite a couple of locations being story-relevant. Crestshade is the most pronounced one of these, as you have to go right through Crestshade to reach Ravenwatch Castle. As such, Crestshade should be added to the story chain. Since it's not a necessary quest to end the situation in Rivenspire, it's only being added to the story chain for padding; it would remain out of the Almanac and not prerequisite to anything else. Instead of High King Emeric giving you "Dream-Walk Into Darkness" directly, he could give you a new pointer quest "To Crestshade" (using the same dialogue - Emeric already asks you to look in on Crestshade anyway - just change the player response from I'll go to Ravenwatch Castle right away to I'll go to Crestshade right away). This quest would direct you to "Find Verandis Ravenwatch", but would end at the outskirts of Crestshade near Gurhul gra-Khazgur or Toura, who would then give you "The Blood-Cursed Town". Once "The Blood-Cursed Town" is complete, you'd get "Dream-Walk Into Darkness", perhaps from the mayor's ghost or a conveniently-located Adusa-daro, and continue to Ravenwatch Castle.

    Camp Tamrith
    "The Blood-Splattered Shield" starts as soon as you finish "Dream-Walk Into Darkness", and has you defeating Reezal-Jul. Upon completion of "The Blood-Splattered Shield", you receive the "Hero of House Tamrith" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Curse Breaker", consistent with other subzone completions. From here, Gwendis sends you straight to Lorkrata Hills with "The Concealing Veil", completely bypassing Moira's Hope, where Lleraya has been turning people into bloodfiends.

    Moira's Hope
    As with Crestshade, the events in Moira's Hope are directly related to the Rivenspire zone story, and the focus of the Westmark Moor section on Lleraya's activities, so Moira's Hope should be added to the story chain. This can either be done by Gwendis sending you here from Camp Tamrith, or by Adusa-daro recruiting you for the job directly from Camp Tamrith herself instead of Gwendis. Once "Hope Lost" is complete, Adusa-daro can give you "The Concealing Veil", or Gwendis can pop in to do so.

    Lorkrata Hills and Northpoint
    Lorkrata Hills and Northpoint bring the subzone of Westmark Moor to a close (despite Northpoint actually being in Boralis - never mind). Upon completion of "The Liberation of Northpoint", you receive the "Hero of House Dorell" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Curse Breaker", consistent with other subzone completions. You're then sent off to the Doomcrag for the final set of Rivenspire's quests.

    The Doomcrag and The Crown of Shornhelm
    The story through the Doomcrag works fine. Once "The Lightless Remnant" is complete, you receive the "Sword of Ravenwatch" achievement, a Skill Point, and the third and final tick towards "Curse Breaker", consistent with other subzone completions. However, there is still one quest left of the Rivenspire story chain; "The Crown of Shornhelm" has you crowning a new ruler for Rivenspire, and should be added to Cadwell's Almanac because of its importance to the Covenant storyline as a whole. In order to be added to the Almanac, it needs to be attached to a POI objective; as such, "The Crown of Shornhelm" should be attached to the Shornhelm or Doomcrag objectives. There's two options here; Shornhelm because that's where the quest takes place, or The Doomcrag since that's the final objective in the Rivenspire Almanac and this quest follows directly on from the events there. Both of these are already Almanac objectives, so it doesn't really matter which one the quest is added to.

    Once you've picked your ruler, Queen Maraya sends you off to Alik'r to help her father.

    Alik'r Desert
    Sentinel Docks and Sentinel
    If you're coming from Rivenspire, you'll end up on Sentinel Docks, and be given the story quest "Risen From the Depths"; if you're coming from anywhere else, you'll most likely get "Rise of the Dead" first. "Risen From the Depths" adds context to the story but is not relevant to its completion, so it's fine that this can be missed (you can still come back to it later). "Rise of the Dead" and "The Impervious Vault", on the other hand, are very relevant, as you witness the Ansei Wards being stolen. As such, it makes sense that these are required for Cadwell's Almanac and are prerequisite to the rest of the Alik'r story. After completing "The Impervious Vault", the story sends you off to Morwha's Bounty.

    Morwha's Bounty
    The storyline at Morwha's Bounty is great for adding context and background to the storyline in Alik'r, but it is not directly relevant for reclaiming the Ansei Wards. As such, it makes sense that Morwha's Bounty is not part of Cadwell's Almanac.

    Tu'whacca's Throne
    During "Tu'whacca's Breath" and "A Reckoning with Uwafa", you reclaim the first Ansei Ward and in doing so complete the Myrkwasa subzone story. Consistent with other subzone completions, this is required for Cadwell's Almanac, and you get the achievement "Uwafa's Ruination", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Consecrated Ground". Farvad then gives you "The Scholar of Bergama" to find Zohreh.

    Bergama
    The story chain is slightly kinked here; when you turn in "The Scholar of Bergama", you aren't given any new quests, but you may have already picked up "Gone Missing" on your way into Bergama, which is the next story quest. To address this inconsistency, if you didn't pick up the quest when you entered the city, Qadim should give you "Gone Missing" directly when "The Scholar of Bergama" is turned in, by appearing inside Zohreh's place. Something similar happens at the end of "Gone Missing"; Meriq, who gives the next pointer quest "Trouble at Tava's Blessing", has been known to appear early, before "Gone Missing" is complete. For consistency, Meriq should appear to give you "Trouble at Tava's Blessing" only and exactly after "Gone Missing" is turned in. Bergama is not required for Cadwell's Almanac, as it is only expanding on the story of the necromancers, and not directly related to the Ansei Wards.

    Tava's Blessing
    During "Alasan's Plot", you reclaim the second Ansei Ward and in doing so complete the Hollow Wastes subzone story. Consistent with other subzone completions, this is required for Cadwell's Almanac, and you get the achievement "Alasan's Devastation", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Consecrated Ground". Shiri then sends you off to HoonDing's Watch to gather info about the final Ansei Ward.

    HoonDing's Watch
    As with Morwha's Bounty and Bergama, HoonDing's Watch only expands the storyline and doesn't actually help find the Ansei Wards, so it makes sense that it is not part of Cadwell's Almanac.

    Satakalaam and Motalion Necropolis
    In pursuit of Shiri, you end up at Satakalaam, which has been taken over by the Imperials. Satakalaam is therefore part of the story, as reclaiming cities from the Imperials is important to your alliance, but it's not relevant for finding the Ansei Wards, so it's not part of Cadwell's Almanac. Motalion Necropolis, on the other hand, is the site of your final confrontation against the Withered Hand in Alik'r. As such, it is required for Cadwell's Almanac. Completion of "Amputating the Hand" gives you the achievement "Ash'abah Hero", a Skill Point, and the final tick for "Consecrated Ground", but it actually shouldn't do all of these things. Yes, technically it's the end of the Tigonus subzone, so the achievement and Skill Point make sense, but there's still one quest left: "Restoring the Ansei Wards". As with Rivenspire and Stormhaven, the last quest of the Alik'r story is not actually part of Cadwell's Almanac. For consistency, "Restoring the Ansei Wards" should be added to the Motalion Necropolis objective; as a result of this, the final tick for "Consecrated Ground" would occur after restoring the Ansei Wards, which makes sense, since it's the Ansei Wards that protect the consecrated dead. "Ash'abah Hero" and the Skill Point could be moved to "Restoring the Ansei Wards" as well, for consistency.

    Fahara'jad then sends you off to Bangkorai because King Eamond appears to have died, leaving the kingdom open to attack from the Reachmen.

    Bangkorai
    Evermore and Northglen
    The story in Evermore has you countering a Reachman invasion and an Imperial invasion; it's therefore important to the Covenant storyline and makes sense to be part of Cadwell's Almanac. From there, you're sent off to Northglen to push the Dark Witnesses back - however, since this isn't directly related to getting them out of Mournoth, it's not required for Cadwell's Almanac. For that, you're sent off to Jackdaw Cove.

    Jackdaw Cove and The Parley
    "Heart of Evil" at Jackdaw Cove sees you allying with the Glenmoril Wyrd to kick the Reachmen out of Mournoth for good. As the end of the Mournoth subzone's story, and the final Mournoth quest that's part of Cadwell's Almanac, it would make sense for the "Evermore Defender" achievement, Skill Point and "End of Empire" tick to be given now; however, you only get "Evermore Defender" and the "End of Empire" tick.

    What you get next is "The Parley", another one of those prerequisite quests that's not covered by Cadwell's Almanac. That missing Skill Point comes from this quest; it would make more sense if it all came from the same quest, and there's two ways to address that. As an important story prerequisite, "The Parley" needs to be added to Cadwell's Almanac - either add "The Parley" to the Evermore objective, and move "Evermore Defender" to this quest, and the "End of Empire" tick to the Evermore objective or add "The Parley" to the Bangkorai Garrison objective, and move its skill point to "Heart of Evil" (my preference). Whichever is chosen, "The Parley" is added to Cadwell's Almanac, and the Mournoth achievement, Skill Point and zone achievement tick all come from the same place.

    Bangkorai Garrison
    "Storming the Garrison" sees you kicking the Imperial Legion out of the Garrison and out of Ephesus, and as such, ends the Ephesus storyline. Consistent with other subzone completions, this is required for Cadwell's Almanac, and you get the achievement "Bangkorai Garrison Liberator", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "End of Empire".

    There's a slight discrepancy with the Garrison itself, as before you start "Storming the Garrison" it's supposed to be locked. The north entrance is fine, but the south entrance is unlocked. The south entrance needs to be locked too, for consistency. It would also be nice if there was an NPC in the vicinity of the Garrison to mark the Sunken Road to the map, and reveal its purpose as a hidden passage, as otherwise it appears that the whole of southern Bangkorai is locked off to you until you open the Pass, when it actually isn't.

    Striking Back and Hallin's Stand
    "Striking Back" is a pointer quest given by High King Emeric once you liberate Bangkorai Garrison. It sends you to Hallin's Stand, and then immediately sends you to the Hall of Heroes, without checking that you actually do everything that Emeric wants you to do there. Once you find Septima's office, "Striking Back" should have you liberating Hallin's Stand, consistent with other city liberations being part of their respective alliance storylines. To enforce this, Septima's office could be locked until the Imperials are driven out. The respective objective, Liberate Hallin's Stand from the Imperials, which would appear when you arrive at the office, would automatically update upon completion of "The Shifting Sands of Fate", and become Read Septima's Research Notes, directing you back to the office and then sending you on to the Hall of Heroes as normal. Since Hallin's Stand is not required for Cadwell's Almanac and is not a prerequisite, adding in the requirement to complete Hallin's Stand as part of "Striking Back" won't affect anything, as "Striking Back" is already completely optional.

    Hall of Heroes
    The objective at the Hall of Heroes ends the subzone story of the Fallen Wastes, and ends the storyline of Bangkorai. Consistent with other subzone completions, this is required for Cadwell's Almanac, and you get the achievement "High King Emeric's Savior", a Skill Point, and the third and final tick towards "End of Empire" once "To Walk on Far Shores" is completed.

    Messages Across Tamriel
    Congratulations! The Covenant story is over, and you're off to Stirk with Vanus Galerion. With all the suggestions in bold above implemented, the story should actually have brought you this far without you having to go looking for it, while the critical path should be easier to identify and follow.
    UESP: The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages - A collaborative source for all knowledge on the Elder Scrolls series since 1995
    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
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    Aldmeri Dominion
    Overall, the AD storyline flows quite well, but there seems to be an overabundance of storyline quests that are required for Cadwell's Almanac, while certain other quests in the zones that are relevant to the story get sidelined. A major continuity hole that appears in AD, more than in any other alliance, is the constant references made to events which occurred in previous zones, something that causes no end of issues to players who tackle the zones out-of-order. This is an issue that One Tamriel promotes with abundance, and there is no easy way around it if we want to keep that freedom of exploration.

    Khenarthi's Roost
    Storm on the Horizon
    The quest "Storm on the Horizon" is the umbrella quest covering the introduction to the zone at Eagle's Strand, and the two objectives at Shattered Shoals and Temple of the Mourning Springs. Starting points for this quest are all over the island, meaning it's very hard to miss unless you actually want to.

    Mistral
    If you do miss "Storm on the Horizon", you are still able to start "The Perils of Diplomacy" at Mistral. This one links straight into "The Tempest Unleashed" at Cat's Eye Quay. Completion of "The Tempest Unleashed" grants the achievement "Maormer's Bane", regardless of whether the rest of the story is complete; this is inconsistent with other starter island achievements, which require you to complete most of the optional quests as well before they are unlocked. Since "Cast Adrift" and the "Tears of the Two Moons" are directly relevant to stopping the Maormer, completion of the Shattered Shoals and Temple of the Mourning Springs should be added to the requirements for "Maormer's Bane". Mistral might as well be added too for totality. The achievement would then have an objective checklist just like the other starter island achievements ("Famed Recruiter" and "Hero of Bleakrock"):
    • Disrupt the Maormer ritual at the Shattered Shoals.
    • Disrupt the Maormer ritual at the Temple of the Mourning Springs.
    • Disrupt the Maormer ritual in Mistral.
    • Disrupt the Maormer ritual at Cat's Eye Quay.

    Extended continuity - The deaths of the Silvenar and Green Lady in Mistral are relevant to later storylines, as the new Silvenar and Green Lady are revealed in Greenshade and Malabal Tor, and the Mistral Green Lady is laid to rest in Treehenge. There's not really much that can be done about that discontinuity if you decide to play Khenarthi's Roost late.

    Auridon
    Vulkhel Guard and Silsailen
    Arriving in Vulkhel Guard from any direction will put "Ensuring Security" in front of you. Throughout the quests here you find out about the Veiled Heritance, so it makes sense that this is a prerequisite for the rest of the story in Auridon (although there's a bug here - see Skywatch), and is required for Cadwell's Almanac. At the end of "A Hostile Situation", Queen Ayrenn automatically gives you "To Tanzelwil", which causes you to miss the story-relevant location of Silsailen, which is under attack by the Heritance. There's already an additional quest-giver for "Silsailen Rescue" added after "A Hostile Situation", so it's clearly intended to be connected to the story, but with "To Tanzeilwil" appearing, it is not chained as such. Her dialogue doesn't need to change, but Queen Ayrenn should not give "To Tanzeilwil" if Silsailen has not been completed; instead, Aldunie, who gives "Silsailen Rescue", should be moved to the Temple courtyard so that becomes the next quest in the story chain. Once Silsailen is complete, Raz is already there with existing dialogue to remind you to go to Tanzelwil, so Raz should become a quest-giver for "To Tanzelwil" once "Teldur's End" is completed. Silsailen would then be properly part of the story chain, but would not be added to Cadwell's Almanac as it is not critical.

    Tanzelwil
    Tanzelwil sees you eventually defeating one of the Heritance leaders, and also ends the first story segment of Auridon, that of the Lluvamir subzone. As such, it is required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "Rites of the Queen", you receive the "Sunder the First Veil" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "A Rule Unquestioned", consistent with other subzone completions. You're then of to Mathiisen to investigate further Veiled Heritance activity.

    Mathiisen and Skywatch
    As another town that is under the influence of the Veiled Heritance, it makes sense that Mathiisen is part of the Auridon story chain, but it has no relevance to discovering the identity of the Veiled Queen or maintaining the integrity of the Dominion as a whole, so Mathiisen should be removed from Cadwell's Almanac. Once Mathiisen is complete, you are sent "To Skywatch", and are immediately able to start "Lifting the Veil", regardless of whether you have already completed the quests at Vulkhel Guard.

    This is most likely a bug - when following the story in order, "Lifting the Veil" becomes available after completing "A Hostile Situation", implying that "A Hostile Situation" is intended to be a prerequisite. This is reinforced by the fact that "Missive to the Queen" is still available, which is the pointer quest that is intended to get you away from Skywatch and back to Vulkhel Guard if the story hasn't reached Skywatch yet. There's no reason for "The Unveiling" at Mathiisen to supplant "A Hostile Situation" in the prerequisites, as it has no relevance to the overall critical path of the Veiled Queen (where Vulkhel Guard does). As such, "Lifting the Veil" should only be available if "A Hostile Situation" is complete, and not immediately on completion of "The Unveiling".

    With that discrepancy-likely-bug out of the way, the story through Skywatch flows quite well, but if you leave Errinorne Isle without taking "Wearing the Veil", you may get stuck when trying to get back to the story again, as it's not obvious how to get to the island, and you may even have forgotten that this is where you're supposed to be. Since he is just standing around in the Manor doing nothing, Raz could be added as a secondary quest-giver for "Wearing the Veil", to help people get back into the story. Skywatch also ends the Calambar subzone, and is logically part of Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "The Veil Falls", you receive the "Sunder the Second Veil" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "A Rule Unquestioned", consistent with other subzone completions. You're then sent to Dawnbreak, unless you've already done that, in which case, you're sent all the way to Firsthold.

    Dawnbreak and Torinaan
    "Through the Ashes" at Dawnbreak deals with the after-effects of the Veiled Queen passing through the village, and makes sense to be part of the story chain. Since it does not directly involve stopping her, it also makes sense that it is not on Cadwell's critical path. Once "Through the Ashes" is done, Captain Landare gives you "To Firsthold", but also mentions that you should be finding out where the Veiled Queen has gone and warning the rest of northern Auridon - it would therefore make sense that warning the holy site at Torinaan was part of that directive. Without new dialogue being required, Captain Landare should offer a new quest "To Torinaan" instead of "To Firsthold", which takes you to Aldarch Colaste at Torinaan. Colaste already has dialogue in which you tell her that the Veiled Queen has attacked Dawnbreak, so this would become the end of the "To Torinaan" quest instead of additional dialogue in the "Blessings of the Eight" quest.

    Torinaan is as relevant to the story as Dawnbreak, since it is somewhere else the Veiled Queen has passed through and set Daedra loose. It may even be more relevant, as you find out during "Blessings of the Eight" that she has gone to Firsthold, which is something you otherwise don't know until you get there. Aldarch Colaste would then give "To Firsthold" once you complete "Blessings of the Eight".

    Firsthold
    Firsthold marks the end of the storyline of Auridon and the end of the Vafe subzone, as you defeat the Veiled Queen and kick the Heritance out. Upon completion of "Sever All Ties", you receive the "Sunder the Third Veil" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "A Rule Unquestioned", consistent with other subzone completions. If you've also completed Tanzelwil (which is not a prerequisite to anything), this will be the final piece required for "A Rule Unquestioned", and you'll get that achievement too. Queen Ayrenn then gives you "The Great Tree", and you're off to Grahtwood.

    Extended continuity - Prince Naemon is the source of most continuity holes in the Dominion storyline. If you've already completed Grahtwood before tackling Auridon, Naemon should be dead, despite the fact that he turns up in a number of Auridon quests. Continuity could be maintained if Naemon is removed from the Auridon quests if Grahtwood is already complete. Usually, he only serves the purpose of additional dialogue, so you don't miss much other than extended storyline details. The primary issue is that he's the turn-in for "To Tanzelwil" and one of the starters for Tanzelwil's "In the Name of the Queen". This could be addressed by making another member of the Queen's Entourage fill these roles. Mentions of Estre's betrayal and death are also thrown around quite liberally in the later Dominion zones; if you have yet to complete Auridon, such dialogue lines should be removed.

    Grahtwood
    Haven
    If you're following "The Great Tree" from Skywatch, it won't stop off in Haven and you'll potentially miss out the quest there, as it appears to be unrelated to the story. However, "Unsafe Haven" is important for introducing Lord Speaker Gharesh-ri and setting the scene for General Endare's role later on, as well as being important for reclaiming a strategic Dominion harbour from invading forces. As such, Haven should be properly integrated into the story chain; "The Great Tree" should end with Captain Jimila when you arrive in Grahtwood, and not continue to Elden Root. Since Jimila is a quest-giver for "Unsafe Haven", this small change to "The Great Tree" to make her the quest turn-in instead of King Camoran will easily attach Haven to the chain. There's already a pointer quest from Haven to Elden Root, "Trouble at the Tree", so the rest of the chain already exists anyway.

    Elden Root, Part 1
    The first part of the story in Elden Root is to maintain the integrity of the Dominion, and during "The Honor of the Queen" you find out about Ayrenn's ratification ceremony that is to take place soon. "Fit to Rule" comes next, and sends you off around the rest of Grahtwood looking for the components and people needed to fix the Orrery. "Fit to Rule" is a prerequisite to the final quest in Grahtwood, but is not part of Cadwell's Almanac; to address this, "Fit to Rule" should be added to the Elden Root objective, as Elden Root is already required for the Almanac.

    Southpoint
    It's not immediately obvious when you arrive at Southpoint that you actually need to complete the Southpoint quest "The Grip of Madness" in order to find Conservator Daraneth, as there's only a quest AoE circle in the vicinity of Southpoint. An active quest-marker on the giver for "The Grip of Madness" (in addition to his New Quest marker) would alleviate any confusion over what to do in Southpoint.

    "The Grip of Madness" is an oddity amongst Normal Quests, as it is one of the only ones marked as a Solo quest. This is due to the Cathedral of the Golden Path being a Solo instance, but there's actually no need for that to be the case. There are a number of other interiors like the Cathedral that are visited in Normal Quests that you have to complete puzzles in order to go through, and they work just fine without being Solo instances. If the different states of the bridges are the issue, then there could be separate local instance phases for each bridge state; while I realise phasing is something that is trying to be avoided as much as possible, local phasing is better than making the whole instance forced-Solo, as you'd only be separated from your group members for a short time, rather than for the whole instance. For consistency with most other Alliance Storyline quests, the Cathedral of the Golden Path should not be a forced Solo instance, and "The Grip of Madness" should not be a Solo quest.

    "The Grip of Madness" is the only story quest in the Long Coast outside of Haven, and since it is needed for the ratification ceremony, it's part of Cadwell's Almanac. Consistent with other subzone completions, you get the achievement "Southpoint Savior", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Iconoclast" upon completion.

    Reliquary of Stars
    You're here to find the Heart of Anumaril for the ratification ceremony, and as such, need to complete the quests "Lost in Study" and "Heart of the Matter". These are the only story quests in Green Hall outside of Elden Root, and since it is needed for the ratification ceremony, it's part of Cadwell's Almanac. Consistent with other subzone completions, you get the achievement "Reliquary Retriever", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Iconoclast" upon completion of "Heart of the Matter".

    "Iconoclast" currently only has Southpoint and the Reliquary of Stars as required objectives, but to be consistent with other full zone achievements, it shouldn't be awarded until the zone is complete. This will be addressed below.

    Falinesti Winter Site
    You're here to find Rajhin's Mantle for the ratification ceremony, but it seems General Endare has other ideas. (Without Haven being in the story chain, you may not know who she is, which is a reason to add Haven to the chain.) By completing "A Lasting Winter", you freeze that idea in its tracks. This is the only story quest in Tarlain Heights, and since it is needed for the ratification ceremony, it's part of Cadwell's Almanac. Consistent with other subzone completions, you get the achievement "Hero of Falinesti" and a Skill Point, but you don't get a tick towards the zone story achievement "Iconoclast" because that only has two requirements. To be consistent with other zone story achievements and subzone completions, Falinesti Winter Site should be added as a requirement to "Iconoclast". Ordinarily, that would be the third and final tick for the zone achievement, but the zone story itself isn't even over yet, so a fourth tick should also be required (see below).

    Elden Root, Part 2
    Grahtwood is unique in that it has a very short story, with only one critical objective in each subzone, completion of which ties back into a final story quest in the capital city of Elden Root. Once "Fit to Rule" is complete, and the three subzone quest chains are done, it's time for the ratification ceremony, and you get "The Orrery of Elden Root". For some reason, "The Orrery of Elden Root" is another Solo quest, and The Orrery itself is another Solo instance. This is unnecessary, as there are many other zone finale quests which take place in their own separate instances (Angof's Sanctum in Cath Bedraud (Glenumbra), Silvenar's Audience Hall in Silvenar (Malabal Tor), Valenheart in Hectahame (Greenshade), Den of Lorkhaj in the Two Moon's Path (Reaper's March), etc), none of which are forced-Solo instances. For consistency with those, and most other Alliance Storyline quests, the Orrery should not be a forced Solo instance, and "The Orrery of Elden Root" should not be a Solo quest.

    Completion of "The Orrery of Elden Root" ends the story of Grahtwood, but under the existing setup, you'll have already received the zone story achievement "Iconoclast". To match the fact that it indicates completion of the zone story, completion of the Elden Root objective should also be added to "Iconoclast", as a fourth requirement. "The Orrery of Elden Root" is already part of the Elden Root objective (and therefore Cadwell's Almanac too), so adding Elden Root to the achievement is all that's needed here. While this does not match the three-point requirements of most other zone story achievements, it would match the fact that they are usually given at the end of the relevant zone's story.

    Extended continuity - Prince Naemon dies at the end of the Grahtwood story, sending continuity holes throughout the Dominion storyline. We've already mentioned above how this affects Auridon and how that can be addressed, but the bigger issue is going forwards. The entirety of the Greenshade storyline (barring the Wilderking section) exists because Naemon is dead. Pelidil goes off his rocker and steals the Staff of Magnus directly as a result. He even raises Naemon as a lich by the end of the Greenshade story. There's not really any way to sort this out without destroying the story, so it's a hole that unfortunately can't really be patched. And of course, Naemon is partly acting this way because of the death of Estre, which will only have happened if you've completed Auridon. Go figure.

    Greenshade
    Marbruk
    You're given "The Staff of Magnus" as soon as you finish "The Orrery of Elden Root", or if you arrive in Greenshade before then, there are quest-givers for it all over the place. "The Staff of Magnus" is a prerequisite to most other Greenshade quests, as it introduces the eponymous relic (and the fact that it's been stolen), setting up the stage for the rest of the zone. However, despite its prerequisite nature, it's not part of Cadwell's Almanac. A reason for this could be that Marbruk does not have a POI objective - it's just an Explorable POI, without any attached quests. Marbruk should be given a POI objective, covering the quest "The Staff of Magnus".
    • Marbruk Objective: Secure the Staff of Magnus for the Dominion.
    • Marbruk Completed: The Staff of Magnus has been stolen!
    Since completion of "The Staff of Magnus" is already required for the rest of the Greenshade storyline, the new Marbruk objective should be added to Cadwell's Almanac. Pelidil is the suspect, but Raz doesn't know where he is. While he's looking, Raz sends you off instead to the Court of the Wilderking, to get the Wilderking to support the Dominion.

    Bramblebreach, Spinner's Cottage and Greenheart
    Bramblebreach is the start of the Wilderking set of Greenshade story quests, which are not related to the Staff of Magnus quests (aside from a passing reference or two). As such, the Court of the Wilderking story is self-contained, without prerequisites going either way. You need to complete Bramblebreach before going to see the Wilderking, as "Audience with the Wilderking" exists specifically for that purpose. As such, Bramblebreach is required for Cadwell's Almanac.

    "The Witch of Silatar" at Spinner's Cottage expands on the story of Aranias, and is relevant to the story at Greenheart, but it's not essential, meaning that Spinner's Cottage is not a prerequisite or part of Cadwell's Almanac. At Greenheart, during "Throne of the Wilderking", you get the support for the Dominion that you were seeking, and that concludes the Court of the Wilderking subzone. As such, it's required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "Throne of the Wilderking", you receive the "Court Ranger" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Spirit of the Bosmer", consistent with other subzone completions. The Wilderqueen suggests you try looking for the Staff of Magnus in Woodhearth.

    Woodhearth and Serpent's Grotto
    In Woodhearth, you and Raz are on the trail of Pelidil and the Staff of Magnus. Through "Veil of Illusion" and "Double Jeopardy", you find out that he's actually not here, and you need to go to Seaside Sanctuary. Treethane Fariel gives you "Before the Storm", and suggests you go through the Serpent's Grotto to get to Seaside Sanctuary, but this is actually completely pointless, as it's quicker to go straight up the coast from Woodhearth. It can be assumed therefore that directing you through Serpent's Grotto is intended to get you to the Grotto's quest "The Serpent Lord". Since that quest has you defeating a sea serpent that the Maormer want to unleash on the whole of the Drowned Coast, it makes sense that this should be part of the story, so "Before the Storm" should be checking that you actually do "The Serpent Lord". (Currently, when you get into Serpent's Grotto, it just fizzles out, and tells you arbitrarily to "Travel to Seaside Sanctuary" without telling you how to.) The guard standing at the gate to the Sanctuary has two bits of dialogue, one that exists when "Beyond the Storm" is active, and one from before it's started, so if he uses his 'before' dialogue when you arrive, that would prompt you to secure the grotto before you can go through. New objective: Secure Serpent's Grotto. Once "The Serpent Lord" is complete, that would update to "Travel to Seaside Sanctuary" and you can continue and turn the quest in. Since this quest isn't prerequisite to the next one, you'd still be able to just go to Seaside Sanctuary of your own accord.

    Seaside Sanctuary
    You've chased Pelidil to the sea, and found out that he's formed ties with the Maormer. "A Storm Upon the Shore" sees you ridding the Sanctuary of the Maormer, and "Pelidil's End" should be self-explanatory. That's the end of the Drowned Coast subzone, so completing the Seaside Sanctuary objective is required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "Pelidil's End", you receive the "Veil Lifter" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Spirit of the Bosmer", consistent with other subzone completions. A couple of pointer quests now have you going after Prince Naemon, since Pelidil decided to raise him as a lich. Eventually you'll come to Driladan Pass.

    Driladan Pass
    If you're following the story in order, this will be the first time you meet Indaenir. This quest also introduces Mane Akkhuz-ri, and you have to rescue him from a cave. This quest is particularly relevant to the story of the Green's Marrow subzone, as it reveals the Shade of Naemon's plans. Indaenir directly shows his connection to the forest throughout this quest, and as such, means this quest is critical to what happens later at Hectahame. "Retaking the Pass" is therefore a necessary prerequisite quest to Hectahame, and Driladan Pass is a required objective for Cadwell's Almanac. At the end of the quest, Bodring tells you to go to Hectahame, but also suggests looking in on Verrant Morass and Dread Vullain through the umbrella quest "Shades of Green".

    Verrant Morass and Dread Vullain
    "The Blight of the Bosmer" at Verrant Morass is a standard corruption-cleansing and sprits quest, and the Shade's involvement is tenuous at best, making the quest relevant to the story, but not critical for defeating the Shade. Similarly, "Right of Theft" at Dread Vullain is just standard undead stuff with a 'scenes of the past' angle; the involvement of the Shade here is unnecessary, but since he is involved, that keeps the quest relevant to the story. Again though, nothing here makes Dread Vullain critical to defeating the Shade. Combined with Indaenir's hands-off approach (he's just there as a companion rather than a plot point), Verrant Morass and Dread Vullain should be removed from Cadwell's Almanac, as they're not really noteworthy to what comes next. Indaenir even mentions that going to Hectahame is the most important thing.

    Hectahame
    At Hectahame, you bring the search for the Staff of Magnus to a close by defeating Prince Naemon, again, who is now a lich. The Shadow Wood is heavily involved, as it is at Driladan, Vullain, and Verrant Morass, but only Driladan really explained what it was all about, so aside from a couple of passing references (which can be cut if the quests are not done), there's nothing that happens during "Striking at the Heart" which requires Dread Vullain and Verrant Morass to have already been completed. As such, "The Blight of the Bosmer" and "Right of Theft" should not be prerequisites to "Striking at the Heart". Even so, they are still story-relevant, so once removed from Cadwell's Almanac and removed as prereqs, if they are not yet done, Indaenir could offer "Shades of Green" once Hectahame is complete. His dialogue would be something like:
    • The Shade of Naemon may be defeated, but its corruption lingers on in the Valenwood. We must cleanse Dread Vullain and Verrant Morass.
    "Striking at the Heart" is the last quest of Green's Marrow and the whole of Greenshade, so it makes sense that Hectahame is required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion, you receive the "Valenwood Protector" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Spirit of the Bosmer", consistent with other subzone completions. Indaenir is revealed as the Silvenar, so you need to head to Malabal Tor to start preparations for his wedding to the Green Lady.

    Extended continuity - Prince Naemon is raised as a lich, which means he must already be dead. But if you haven't yet completed Grahtwood, he won't be. As mentioned before, there's not really much that can be done about that without overhauling the story, and that's not really practical. Heading in the other direction, Indaenir being revealed as the Silvenar is the entire reason for the Malabal Tor storyline to exist. The only way that could be addressed is, if you do Malabal Tor first, he must already know he's the Silvenar, and what happens to him in Valenheart is not a surprise. I don't think that really makes sense though. Beyond that, in Driladan Pass, you rescue the Mane, but if you've done anything in Reaper's March, he's not the Mane any more. This could easily be addressed simply by him being able to retain the title without holding the position. Some dialogue may need to be addressed though.

    Malabal Tor
    Velyn Harbor
    You're supposed to be in Velyn Harbor to receive the new Green Lady, but it seems a gang of Ra Gada and Drublog have other ideas. During "House and Home", you have to clear the landward gate to the Broken Coast so a runner can be sent to Deepwoods, which will be relevant in a minute. During "One Fell Swoop", you kill the leaders of the invasion forces, thus reclaiming the harbour for the Dominion and sealing Velyn Harbor a place in Cadwell's Almanac. The fact that the Green Lady can only arrive in Malabal Tor once the harbour is clear further cements the importance of this quest.

    Deepwoods
    Currently, the Green Lady will send you straight off to Dra'bul with "The Drublog of Dra'bul" once Velyn Harbor is complete, completely bypassing Deepwoods. Deepwoods is pretty relevant to the zone's storyline, as it introduces the Houndsmen, introduces the background of the Green Lady, and has you rescuing the Green Lady's sister. Considering Deepwoods is also where the Shrine of the Green Lady is found, and is her home, you'd have thought she'd be more concerned as to its status. But never mind; she's clearly more concerned with Dra'bul. This is where the runner from earlier comes in; Sergeant Linaarie would know that Lieutenant Ehran has sent the runner, so she should send you to check up on them and ensure Deepwoods got the message. This would start the new pointer quest "To Deepwoods", but to ensure the Green Lady's dialogue on Dra'bul is not missed, you'd have to talk to her before leaving as part of this quest. When you arrive at Deepwoods, you would turn in the pointer quest to Rondor, who would continue with his existing dialogue starting at "Haven't you heard? The Green Lady's sister has been kidnapped!" This would start "The Hound's Men". Upon completion of "The Hound's Men", Lieutenant Minangor would appear in Deepwoods with "The Drublog of Dra'bul".

    Dra'bul
    When you arrive at Dra'bul, the Green Lady cements the importance of Deepwoods in the storyline, as she already has dialogue when turning in "The Drublog of Dra'bul" thanking you for saving her sister if you've already done "The Hound's Men". "The Drublog of Dra'bul" is also prerequisite to the main Dra'bul quest "Reap What Is Sown", but is not in Cadwell's Almanac to indicate this. For clarity, "The Drublog of Dra'bul" should be added to the Dra'bul POI objective, as the Dra'bul objective is already required for Cadwell's Almanac. This makes sense, as this quest serves to reveal the Hound's plan for the Green Lady and Silvenar. It's also the last quest in the Broken Coast subzone. Upon completion, you receive the achievement "Hound Hinderer", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Matchmaker", consistent with other subzone completions.

    Jathsogur (and Belarata)
    Once you arrive at Jathsogur, you eventually rescue the Silvenar from his captors. "The Prisoner of Jathsogur" is the only story quest in the Xylo River Basin subzone, and so grants the "Silvenar's Friend" achievement. However, for some inexplicable reason, the Skill Point and progress mark for "Matchmaker" have been attached to "Buyer Beware", a completely irrelevant side quest in the Belarata ruins. The quest in Belarata sees you helping a merchant resolve some issues between a pair of spirits, and has no relevance to the Silvenar and the Green Lady, or the Dominion as a whole, and is not part of the zone story. In order to be consistent with other subzones, the Skill Point and progress mark for "Matchmaker" should be removed from Belarata and "Buyer Beware", and attached instead to Jathsogur and "The Prisoner of Jathsogur".

    Valeguard and Silvenar
    After rescuing the Silvenar from Jathsogur, he gives you the quest "A Wedding to Attend", which immediately sends you to Silvenar. However, there's a story-relevant plotline in Valeguard which should be addressed on the way; Valeguard is where the Handfast is kept, and the Handfast is a vital part of the wedding ceremony in Silvenar. The Silvenar should ask you to check on preparations for the Handfast ceremony as part of "A Wedding to Attend". This would direct you to Spinner Parwen, who already has dialogue saying "The story's all wrong", which would give you the new objective: Help the Spinners restore the story of the Silvenar and the Green Lady. Once "A Tale Forever Told" has been completed, the journal text would update to indicate that you have corrected the story and restored the Handfast, and that you should now travel to Silvenar for the wedding.

    Completion of "Restore the Silvenar" in Silvenar ends the story of Malabal Tor and the subzone of Silvenar Vale. It therefore makes sense that it's part of Cadwell's Almanac. Consistent with other subzone completions, this gives you the achievement "Hero of Frond and Leaf", a Skill Point, and the final tick towards "Matchmaker". You then meet Gharesh-ri who has you chasing the Mane to Reaper's March.

    Extended continuity - Malabal Tor itself is pretty self-contained as a storyline, as it makes sense without any external influences. But the storyline here only exists at all because the previous Silvenar and Green Lady died on Khenarthi's Roost. The issues with continuity continue if you play through the last quests of Greenshade after Malabal Tor, as it is during those that Indaenir has his "first reveal" as the new Silvenar. If you've already been chasing him all over Malabal Tor, this will make no sense.

    Reaper's March
    Fort Grimwatch and Arenthia
    Whether you arrive in the Northern Woods from Malabal Tor or of your own accord, you will eventually complete both Fort Grimwatch and Arenthia, and be directed to the other one, and then eventually to Rawl'kha, as the story here is well linked together. Since they are critical to the storyline, both of these places are required for completing Cadwell's Almanac. During this quest chain, you discover you are the Moon Hallowed, through the prerequisite quest "A Door Into Moonlight". However, despite this quest being a prerequisite to the rest of Reaper's March, it's not part of Cadwell's Almanac like the others. To address this, "A Door Into Moonlight" should be added to the Rawl'kha POI objective, as Rawl'kha is already required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "Stonefire Machinations" in Arenthia, you receive the achievement "Clanmother Inaugurator", which makes sense as it is the last required quest, in story order, of the subzone. It is however possible to do this quest before completing Fort Grimwatch, meaning it might not be the last story quest the player completes in the Northern Woods. Never mind though; what is more of an issue is that the Skill Point and progress mark for the "Hallowed Moons" achievement are not attached to Arenthia with the subzone achievement; see below.

    Rawl'kha
    The missing Skill Point and achievment progress mark are here, attached to "The First Step", which is the first story quest of the Jodewood subzone. To be consistent with other subzones, the Skill Point and progress mark for "Hallowed Moons" should be removed from Rawl'kha and "The First Step", and attached instead to Arenthia and "Stonefire Machinations". As a prerequisite for the rest of Reaper's March, it makes sense that Rawl'kha is required for Cadwell's Almanac (and, as mentioned above, it would make sense for "A Door Into Moonlight" to be added to the Rawl'kha objective too).

    Do'Krin Monastery and The Path to Moonmont
    After completing "The First Step", Kauzanabi-jo gives you "The Path to Moonmont" and tells you that there is "an additional task you could undertake" which "might improve your chances at Moonmont", that being to recover the Golden Claw from Do'Krin Monastery. This directly infers that "The Golden Claw" at Do'Krin is relevant to the story, but "The Path to Moonmont" does not record this information, and sends you straight to Moonmont. Do'Krin should be added as an intermediate step on "The Path to Moonmont" with the objective being to Recover the Golden Claw from Do'Krin Monastery. The quest would therefore need to be given after the relevant dialogue by Kauzanabi-jo, rather than before it, but the dialogue itself would not need to be changed.

    New objective text for "The Path to Moonmont": Kauzanabi-jo has suggested I search for the Golden Claw at Do'Krin Monastery while on my way to Moonmont. The relic may be useful during the trials there.

    There is a slight issue with this pointer quest, as if you leave Rawl'kha Temple without picking up "The Path to Moonmont", there is no way to re-enter the temple to get it later. To address this, and maintain the story chain, Kauzanabi-jo should be located outside the Rawl'kha Temple, as well as inside, to offer "The Path to Moonmont". For example, she could be placed inside the small shrine next door to the main entrance, on the right-hand side.

    Moonmont
    Once you arrive at Moonmont, you are to cleanse the temple, and then you have to make your choice of who will be the next Mane. Despite what Kauzanabi-jo said though, I never did find a use for the Golden Claw here (or anywhere else), so either I missed it or she's talking nonsense. It would be good if the Golden Claw were useful for something here, as it would make the storyline more interesting. This is the last quest in the Jodewood subzone, and is therefore required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "Motes in the Moonlight", you receive the "Dark Mane Incarcerator" achievement, a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Hallowed Moons", consistent with other subzone completions. You're then sent to Dune to walk the final path.

    Dune and Two Moons Path
    During the quests at Dune, you kick out the Daedra and help the surviving Lunar Champion become the Mane, as well as defeating the Dark Mane for good. It is however possible to get right to the Temple of the Dance without encountering any enemies, meaning that ridding Dune of the Daedra is not actually critical to reaching the Two Moons Path. What's more, "The Fires of Dune" has nothing much within it that could not theoretically take place after the Two Moons Path quests, aside from some disembodied Dark Mane and Javad Tharn dialogue that could just be removed in that instance. In the Shrine of Lorkhaj, there is also a ghostly Javad Tharn projection, but he does not actually appear in person. The projection could be renamed "Javad Tharn's Shade" and the existing objective Face Down Javad Tharn could just be changed to Face Down Javad Tharn's Daedra. With those changes, and a bit of altered dialogue from Shazah/Khali, you could realistically complete this after the Two Moons Path, and so Dune could be removed from the critical path and Cadwell's Almanac. It would no longer be prerequisite to starting "The Moonlit Path", so that would instead have "Motes in the Moonlight" as a direct prerequisite. "Motes in the Moonlight" would still be a prereq for "The Fires of Dune" as well, though.

    Aside from Shazah/Khali and Raz, the other NPCs outside the temple would only be there if you have already saved Dune. The first part of the journal text, "I saved Dune from the plots of Javad Tharn", would need to be removed, and could be replaced with "I have arrived at the Temple of the Two Moons Dance", or something else that is agnostic to whether or not Dune is complete. If Dune is not complete, Shazah/Khali could offer "The Fires of Dune" directly after "The Den of Lorkhaj" is complete, or it could just be left as something to pick up on the outskirts of the city from Queen Ayrenn. Once you're in the Temple of the Dance, you're walking the final path with the Lunar Champion. This marks the end of the Dawnmead subzone and the whole of Reaper's March, and as such, is required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "The Den of Lorkhaj", you receive the "Two Moons Once Pathwalker" achievement, a Skill Point, and the final tick towards "Hallowed Moons", consistent with other subzone completions.

    Messages Across Tamriel
    Congratulations! The Dominion story is over, and you're off to Stirk with Vanus Galerion. With all the suggestions in bold above implemented, the lengthened story should actually have broadened your experience of the zones as a whole, while the shorter critical path only covers those quests that are absolutely necessary.
    UESP: The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages - A collaborative source for all knowledge on the Elder Scrolls series since 1995
    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
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    Ebonheart Pact
    The storyline in EP zones starts off well, but goes downhill as you proceed through the zones, wherein you start coming across quests from further along the chain without having completed the quests that come before them. Usually, within zones, this doesn't happen, as such quests have appropriate prerequisites assigned to them when necessary. It also has a completely unrelated and unchained side quest location as part of its Almanac requirements.

    Bleakrock and Bal Foyen
    Bleakrock Isle
    Bleakrock has a very well-linked, self-contained story. If you miss the first story quest, "A Beginning at Bleakrock", you are still able to link into the chain whenever you complete one of the story quests, as you'll be given "The Missing of Bleakrock", which is the umbrella quest that covers the rest of the island. You can complete all the optional objectives to earn the "Hero of Bleakrock" achievement, or talk to Captain Rana and evacuate everyone early. Once "Escape from Bleakrock" is complete, you travel to Bal Foyen.

    Bal Foyen
    Bal Foyen is another self-contained story which extends from Bleakrock Isle. You battle through some invading forces, and then make haste for Davon's Watch in Stonefalls. It is notable that Bal Foyen has an either/or objective during the "Crossroads" quest which determines the survival of a number of your friends from Bleakrock.

    Extended continuity - The storyline of Bleakrock and Bal Foyen introduces the Covenant invasion that persists throughout Stonefalls. If you do anything in Stonefalls first, this storyline doesn't make much sense. This could be addressed by adjusting the cause and effect inferences, in that, instead of the invasion at Bleakrock being a precursor to the invasion of Stonefalls, they could be concurrent.

    Stonefalls
    Davon's Watch
    The quests at Davon's Watch introduce the Covenant invasion of Stonefalls, and set the stage for the Brothers of Strife storyline. They are prerequisite to the rest of the Stonefalls storyline, and as such, are required for Cadwell's Almanac. The entirely of the Stonefalls storyline is actually just a well-connected linear chain of critical quests, and since they are all directly relevant to the storyline of the zone, they all need to be part of Cadwell's Almanac. This makes Stonefalls one of the longest critical paths in the game.

    Othrenis and Ash Mountain
    Due to what happened at Davon's Watch, you now need to rebind Balreth in Ash Mountain, but only by visiting Othrenis first do you find out how to do that. Consistent with other subzone completions, this is all required for Cadwell's Almanac, and you get the achievement "Balreth's Bane", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Hearts of Darkness" upon completion of "The Death of Balreth".

    Ebonheart and Vivec's Antlers
    Ebonheart is the main city of Stonefalls, and is having issues with their citizens that means they can't unite against the Covenant invaders just along the coast. Since the basis for this quest is a fear that the town may fall to the invaders, "Restoring Order" could be added to the story chain between Ash Mountain and Vivec's Antlers, by having an interception during the quest "In With the Tide" which would end that quest at Ebonheart instead. Alexandra Conele even appears during this quest as a live-time projection, which wouldn't make much sense if you've already killed her at Vivec's Antlers. After completing "Restoring Order", you'd continue on to Vivec's Antlers by a new quest giver for "The Coral Heart" turning up directly in Ebonheart.

    At Vivec's Antlers, you're supposed to be driving off another Covenant landing party, but in addition to that, you end up getting the Coral Heart too (if the Coral Heart wasn't critical to the story, Vicec's Antlers could be removed from Cadwell's Almanac to shorten it a bit, but it apparently is, so never mind). Anyway, with Coral Heart in hand, you're off to kick some more Covenant out of Fort Virak.

    Fort Virak
    At Fort Virak, you defeat the leader of the Covenant forces, and end the Covenant invasion and the subzone story of Zabamat. Consistent with other subzone completions, this is required for Cadwell's Almanac, and you get the achievement "General Serien's Demise", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Hearts of Darkness" upon completion of "The General's Demise". Tanval then steals the Coral Heart and runs off with it, claiming he will use it to release Sadal. If the Coral Heart was removed as a plot device, and Sadal could instead be released without it, that would enable Vivec's Antlers to be removed from the critical path to thin things down a bit.

    Kragenmoor and Tormented Spire
    Due to what happened at Fort Virak, you're now chasing your former ally Tanval Indoril around the Varanis subzone, as he wants to release Sadal from the Tormented Spire. But to get into the Tormented Spire, you need permission from Omin Dres in Kragenmoor. Once you complete "Saving the Son", the next story quest is "To the Tormented Spire", but Grandmaster Omin Dres, who is the turn-in for "Saving the Son", will give you "Vengeance for House Dres" instead, which is a side quest, and you need to talk to Sen Dres to get the story pointer. This could be confusing, as it is inconsistent with most other story chains (if the turn-in is going to give another quest, it's usually the next story quest, not a side quest).

    Once you've finally bound Sadal at the Tormented Spire, you've completed the Varanis subzone and the storyline of Stonefalls. Kragenmoor and Tormented Spire are therefore required for Cadwell's Almanac. Consistent with other subzones, completion of "Sadal's Final Defeat" grants the achievement "Sadal's Overthrower", a Skill Point, and the final tick for "Hearts of Darkness". After that, a messenger appears with a letter for you to take to Serkamora in Deshaan.

    Deshaan
    Quarantine Serk
    The questline at Quarantine Serk introduces the Llodos Plague, which is spreading across Deshaan. Throughout the quests here, you discover that the Maulborn are behind it, and you attempt to create a cure. Despite the fact that this introduces the plague, it's not a prerequisite to later quests in Deshaan involving the plague, meaning you could potentially complete those first, and this later. Having already discovered the Maulborn are the enemy, the revelation to that effect here would not be so revelationary, so if you complete those other quests first, it should be addressed by the plot concepts of this quest not making a big deal about it.

    Narsis
    As you continue chasing the plague around Redolent Loam, you end up in Narsis, where you find out more about the Maulborn's methods. This makes the quests here important for the storyline, but not critical to the eradication of the plague, so it makes sense that Narsis is not required for Cadwell's Almanac.

    Obsidian Gorge
    You've finally traced the creator of the Llodos Plague to Obsidian Gorge, and are there to defeat him. This ends the story of the Llodos Plague, and as such, the story of Redolent Loam. Because this ends a subzone story, it is required for Cadwell's Almanac, but since the Llodos Plague is not directly related to the rest of the Deshaan story, it is not a prerequisite for anything else. Consistent with other subzone completions, upon completion of "Plague Bringer" you receive the achievement "Plague Ender", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Plague Eater". You have to report your findings to Mournhold.

    Mournhold and Tribunal Temple
    While in Mournhold, you're investigating further activities of the Maulborn, who are now using Daedric magic to undermine Almalexia. You eventually discover the identity of their leader and find out she's stolen a big hammer, and that's the end of the Lagomere subzone's story. Consistent with other subzone completions, upon completion of "The Seal of Three" you receive the achievement "Temple Knight", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Plague Eater". Almalexia sends you east to Selfora.

    Selfora
    Magistrix Vox passed through Selfora, but she's not there any more. You still have to clean up after her, though. Since this quest deals with the after-effects of Vox passing through, it makes sense that it is part of the storyline, but it's not critical to tracking her down, so it also makes sense that it's not required for Cadwell's Almanac.

    Shrine of Saint Veloth
    Vox has attacked the shrine, and the spirit of Veloth is not doing so well. You have to help him out, and he'll give you protection against Veloth's Judgment, that big hammer Vox stole from the Temple. Since this blessing is necessary to defeating Vox and freeing the souls she's stolen, it is logical that "A Saint Asunder" is part of Cadwell's Almanac and a prerequisite for the last quests in Deshaan. There's another quest at the Shrine which sees you closing some Daedric portals, which is essentially a side quest as it has no relevance to Vox; for consistency, "The Wounds in the World" should be removed from the Shrine of Saint Veloth objective.

    Eidolon's Hollow
    You've finally caught up with Vox, and the quests at Eidolon's Hollow will ensure she doesn't steal anyone's soul ever again. "The Judgment of Veloth" is the last quest in the Siltreen subzone and the final quest of the Deshaan storyline, and as such, is required for Cadwell's Almanac, gives the achievement "Vox Slayer" and a Skill Point on completion, and provides the final tick for "Plague Eater", consistent with other subzone completions. Apparently, you're now needed in Shadowfen.

    Shadowfen
    Stormhold
    Shadowfen's story is pretty well chained, and if you end up in locations later down the line it is usually easy to find a pointer to get you back to where you are supposed to be. For Stormhold, this takes the form of a "Dominion Correspondence" letter, but there doesn't seem to be one of these at the Hatching Pools like there is at Loriasel and Ten-Maur-Wolk. Or if there is, it's not easily located. "Dominion Correspondence" for "Hushed Whispers" should be placed in an easily-discoverable location at the Hatching Pools, such as the camp where you later find Vicecanon Servyna. Once you actually get to Stormhold, the story flows through nicely and sends you off to Ten-Maur-Wolk. Since it sets the scene for the rest of Shadowfen, it makes sense that the Stormhold objective is required for Cadwell's Almanac.

    Ten-Maur-Wolk
    At this Argonian ruin, you're on the trail of Dominion soldiers who have used Daedric magic to steal people's appearances. Since this quest ends the story in the Reticulated Spine subzone, it is logically part of Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "The Skin-Stealer's Lair", you receive the achievement "Skin-Stealer Destroyer", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Egg and Root", consistent with other subzone completions.

    Alten Corimont
    After completing the quest at Ten-Maur-Wolk, you're given "Cracking the Egg", and Vicecanon Servyna asks you to meet her at the Hatching Pools to find out more about the Mnemic Egg. However, there's also an issue at Alten Corimont that the Vicecanons are interested in (the journal entry for "Warm Welcome" states "Shadowfen's Vicecanons are concerned about the Dominion running supply lines for their troops through Alten Corimont"). That makes Alten Corimont relevant to the story, as it involves the Vicecanons, so should be added to the story chain. Since it is not critical to the defeat of Ruuvitar however, it makes sense that it's not required for Cadwell's Almanac. Given that the Vicecanons still have to rally the troops before going to the Hatching Pools, Servyna could instead send you to check on the situation at Alten Corimont. Since the journal entry is all set already, Vicecanon Servyna should give "Warm Welcome" instead of "Cracking the Egg". She would direct you to find out what happened to Senil Fenrila, since he is the Vicecanons' assistant. Her existing dialogue could stay, except for "Rendezvous with our forces at the Hatching Pools. We must learn what the Dominion plans for the Mnemic Egg." Instead, you'd get the following dialogue:
    • What can I do? (Example dialogue)
      • Vicecanon Heita-Meen and I must rally the remnants of Stormhold's forces to the Hatching Pools. If the skin-stealers took Vicecanon Hrondar, they'll know what he knew. In the meantime, I would like you to investigate where the Dominion are getting their supplies from.
    • Any leads?
      • There's a privateer port just to the east of here, Alten Corimont. We sent Gerent Senil Fenrila to assess the situation, but we haven't heard back from him. See if you can find the Gerent, and help him to identify who is running the Dominion supply line.
    She turns up again at the end of the Alten Corimont quest chain, so once "A Pirate Parley" is complete, Vicecanon Servyna should then offer "Cracking the Egg" to take you to the Hatching Pools. (If Ten-Maur-Wolk is not yet completed, she wouldn't offer anything.)

    Hatching Pools
    At the Hatching Pools, you're attempting to find out what the Dominion are doing there, and what's so special about the Mnemic Egg. Since this is relevant to the rest of the Shadowfen storyline, it is a prerequisite to later quests, and a requirement for Cadwell's Almanac. There's also a quest here called "Outside Interference" in which you learn about a process developed by Ruuvitar to kill a Hist tree after extracting its sap, and while Ruuvitar is the primary antagonist of the Shadowfen storyline, the quest itself isn't relevant to the story or critical to Ruuvitar's defeat, and isn't chained into the storyline, so is not really much more than a side quest. Yet it is required for completion of the Hatching Pools objective, and therefore Cadwell's Almanac as well. For consistency, "Outside Interference" should be removed from the Hatching Pools objective.

    Once you complete "Keepers of the Shell", you learn that the Argonian's connection to the Hist exists through the Mnemic Egg, which holds the Hists' memories. This ends the story of Leafwater. Consistent with other subzone completions, you receive the achievement "Egg Protector", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Egg and Root". Vicecanon Servyna then sends you off to Loriasel, as that is where the Vicecanons believe the Dominion have taken the Mnemic Egg.

    Loriasel (and Murkwater, Zuuk and White Rose Prison)
    Once at Loriasel, you're into the final stages of the Shadowfen storyline, as this leads to the final defeat of Ruuvitar and the recovery of the Mnemic Egg. But before you get there, there are actually three Loriasel Keystones which can be found in the rest of the Venomous Fens. However, there is only a bit of passing dialogue from Kazdi inside Loriasel that these even exist; you only find out about them properly if you go off and do side quests around Venomous Fens. The related quests, "Scales of Retribution" at Murkwater (Relleis Lor keystone), "King of Dust"/"Into the Temple" at Zuuk (Sedormis keystone), and "And Throw Away The Key"/"The Keystone" at White Rose Prison (Bellael keystone), are not themselves directly related to the storyline, so it makes sense that they aren't chained, but there should be some further mention of the Loriasel Keystones inside Loriasel itself so that you know that they are actually something to look for. For example, a copy of the "Keystones of Loriasel" lore text could be placed near Kazdi when you find the first door that a keystone can open, and she could have more dialogue about where to find them. She already has dialogue if you've already found a keystone, as she tells you how to use it, so it would make sense for this to be expanded to include helping you find them in the first place.One keystone can be used to open the Inner Bailey door without having to trek all around Loriasel. The second can be used to free Ruuvitar's Argonian prisoners in the Inner Bailey. The third can be used just inside the Vision of the Hist to bypass the first obstacle.

    When you come to talk to the Hist Brothers, they refer back to the objectives at Ten-Maur-Wolk and the Hatching Pools, so it is logical that those quests are prerequisite to this one. "The Dream of the Hist" is an oddity amongst Normal Quests, as it is one of the only ones marked as a Solo quest. This is due to the Vision of the Hist being a Solo instance, but there's actually no need for that to be the case. There are a number of other interiors like the Vision of the Hist that are visited in Normal Quests that you have to complete puzzles in order to go through, and they work just fine without being Solo instances. The Plume Puzzle, for example, could be locally phased to the player/group, with one phase layer containing the puzzle in progress, and one containing the room afterwards. A similar puzzle that is not in a Solo instance is the Varlasel puzzle in the Puzzle of the Pass at the Doomcrag (Rivenspire). The rest of the Vision instance is just dialogue with NPCs, and that certainly doesn't need to be forced-Solo. For consistency with other Alliance Storyline quests, the Vision of the Hist should not be a forced Solo instance, and "The Dream of the Hist" should not be a Solo quest.

    You've saved the Mnemic Egg, and finished the storyline of Venomous Fens and Shadowfen. As such, completion of the Loriasel objective is required for Cadwell's Almanac. Consistent with other subzone completions, you receive the "Mnemic Egg Guardian" achievement, a Skill Point, and the final tick towards "Egg and Root". At the end of this quest, you wake up on a ship in Alten Corimont (which further emphasises the fact that Alten Corimont should be part of the story chain earlier on, as you wouldn't use a port that was not friendly to you), and you're off to Eastmarch.

    Extended continuity - The Mnemic Egg turns up again in Eastmarch, as a relic for presentation at the Great Moot. If you've already done that questline, there's no need for Heita-Meen to be taking it to Eastmarch at all, so the "Swamp to Snow" quest shouldn't happen, and the Mnemic Egg should not be present on the ship.

    Eastmarch
    Windhelm
    When you arrive in Windhelm, you find the Konunleikar in full swing. However, dark forces are at work in the shadows, and you eventually find out that Jorunn's brother Fildgor has returned, and you have to stop his assassins from killing the Skald-King. Since this introduces the plotline of Fildgor and the Stormfists, it makes sense that it is part of Cadwell's Almanac. However, it is not prerequisite for the later quests in Eastmarch. In order for the story to make sense and flow properly, "One Victor, One King" at Windhelm should be a prerequisite for "Blindsided" at Fort Morvunskar. "One Victor, One King" also provides a Skill Point and one tick towards "Blood Feud", which is inconsistent as this is not the end of the Giant's Run subzone, and is also inconsistent as it doesn't provide an individual achievement.

    Fort Morvunskar and Cradlecrush
    The Stormfists have also attacked Fort Morvunskar, so you're sent up there to clear them out. During the quests here, you discover that Fildgor has stolen Queen Nurnhilde's body. What's more, Fildgor himself is present in this quest, which would be very odd if you completed this objective after killing him. Since that is critical to the quests later on, Fort Morvunskar should be added to Cadwell's Almanac, and "Sleep for the Dead" should be made a prerequisite to "Sleeping on the Job" at Fort Amol. Once "Sleep for the Dead" is completed, you receive a quest to deliver news to Fort Amol, and you also hear about the Stormfists at Cradlecrush. But there's no quest to direct you to Cradlecrush.

    Cradlecrush is required for Cadwell's Almanac, which is odd since it isn't critical to defeating Fildgor, isn't a prerequisite for anything else, and isn't properly chained into the story, making it little more than a pair of side quests. As such, Cradlecrush should be removed from Cadwell's Almanac. It also has the missing Giant's Run subzone achievement "Giant Friend", but as mentioned above, it isn't attached to the Skill Point and progress mark for "Blood Feud" because they're in Windhelm. The situation at Cradlecrush is introduced by Lieutenant Koruni when she gives you "Victory at Morvunskar" (the pointer quest to Fort Amol), but it's then left at that. While it should be removed from Cadwell's Almanac, Cradlecrush still has you going up against the Stormfists, so it should be properly chained to the story. To do this, either an optional objective that is part of "Victory at Morvunskar" could have you looking into the situation at Cradlecrush or an addtional pointer quest by Lieutenant Koruni could be created, since she already has the dialogue.

    While it isn't currently the end of the Giant's Run subzone, Fort Morvunskar would become so if it replaced Cradlecrush in Cadwell's Almanac. To be consistent with other subzones, the "Giant Friend" achievement should be removed, and a new achievement created to be attached to "Sleep for the Dead". It could be called "Skald-King's Champion", since that name matches the style of the others in this zone, and is consistent with what you've been doing in this subzone, or it could have a name relevant to Morvunskar, since that is where you would obtain it. Additionally, the Skill Point should be removed from "One Victor, One King" and attached to "Sleep for the Dead", and the progress point for "Blood Feud" should be removed from Windhelm and attached to Fort Morvunskar.

    Fort Amol
    While not directly relevant to previous quests yet (the events at Fort Morvunskar only become relevant at the end of the zone), it is easier for story flow if "Sleeping on the Job" has "Sleep for the Dead" as a direct prerequisite, as already mentioned. Because of these new prerequisites, a new pointer quest is needed to direct you to Windhelm from Fort Amol, which could be as simple as an advertisement for the Konunleikar celebrations and an invitation for you to join them. This invitation could be all over the place like other pointers (not just at Fort Amol) to make sure you get to where you need to be. Once you have done Windhelm, it makes sense for Jorunn to be here, and the story can continue. Eventually you discover that the Stormfists have infiltrated the town, and have poisoned Jorunn (this is why Windhelm at least should be required before you come to Fort Amol, since Jorunn is present and not poisoned in that quest).

    You're given the quest "Lifeline" to find components for a ritual to save King Jorunn. This quest is prerequisite to all later quests, but is not itself required for Cadwell's Almanac; to address this, "Lifeline" should be attached to the Mistwatch POI objective (Mistwatch is where the ritual is to take place; see below).

    Darkwater Crossing
    One of the components is at Darkwater Crossing. The Darkwater Crossing POI does not have an attached objective, but is instead required for the "Eastmarch Pathfinder" achievement as a Striking Locale. This is inconsistent with other Pathfinder locations, as it is the only one using a Town icon 20px-ON-mapicon-Town.png instead of the dedicated Striking Locale icon 20px-ON-mapicon-Locale.png. To be consistent with everything else, Darkwater Crossing should be removed from "Eastmarch Pathfinder" and given its own POI objective covering the quest "Our Poor Town".
    • Darkwater Crossing Objective: Aid the Dreamwalker following a troll attack.
    • Marbruk Completed: You helped the Dreamwalker complete his ritual.
    Since completion of "Our Poor Town" is already required for the ritual to save Jorunn, the new Darkwater Crossing objective should be added to Cadwell's Almanac.

    Wittestadr and Mistwatch
    The other component is located at Wittestadr, and Wittestadr is already part of Cadwell's Almanac. Once all the components are gathered, you are to find the Ternion Monks at Mistwatch, which is the end of the Frostwater Tundra storyline. Oddly, the first quest "Eternal Slumber" is the one that gives the Skill Point; for consistency, the Skill Point should be moved from "Eternal Slumber" to "Gods Save the King". "Gods Save the King" already provides the achievement "Skald-King's Salvation" and one tick towards "Blood Feud", so that much is already consistent with other subzone completions.

    Jorunn's Stand and Skuldafn
    Ramping up to the final confrontation with Fildgor, you're off to Jorunn's Stand to make final preparations and find out what he's up to. (This is where Nurnhilde's body and the Crown of Freydis become relevant, so Fort Morvunskar should at least be a prerequisite to here; if Fildgor uses the Crown at Skuldafn, and you see Nurnhilde's body in Sovngarde, he needs to actually have them.) Since this leads to the end of the Icewind Peaks subzone and the whole Eastmarch storyline, it makes sense that these quests are required for Cadwell's Almanac. Upon completion of "Songs of Sovngarde", you receive the achievement "Skald-King's Arrow", a Skill Point, and the third and final tick towards "Blood Feud", consistent with other subzones. It would be nice for continuity if the portal to Sovngarde closes after you leave, since you can't get back there anyway.

    Jorunn's Stand would be a logical place for one instance of the Konunleikar advertisement initiating the new pointer quest to Windhelm (mentioned above), as well as being another starting point for "Sleeping on the Job" at Fort Amol (like the one outside the Ternion Monks cave at Mistwatch). Since Hlotild the Fox here already has dialogue mentioning Fort Amol, she could be the quest giver for that one without needing any new dialogue.

    Extended continuity - At the end of the Skuldafn quest, the Great Moot is held. During this, the Dunmer present the Judgment of Veloth (from the Deshaan storyline), and the Argonians present the Mnemic Egg (from the Shadowfen storyline). These items are stolen during their respective storylines, so it would make little sense for them to be available for presentation if they are still in a state of having been pilfered. Separately though, if the zone storylines are considered non-concurrent, it doesn't actually matter whether they are presented to the Moot before or after they're stolen in their home zones.

    The Rift
    Shor's Stone and Fallowstone Hall
    Apparently something's going on in the Shor's Stone Mine involving a clan of Reachmen, so you need to go and clear them out. Unfortunately, they've resurrected the giant Sinmur, and they've also stolen Wuuthrad from the nearby Fallowstone Hall. That's the introduction to the questline here in the Rift, but these quests aren't actually prerequisite to the rest of the zone, and aren't required for Cadwell's Almanac. Since they're technically only background and introduction, that's fine, but all dialogue and scenes at Shor's Stone and Fallowstone Hall should be referencing the past rather than the present, since these quests could technically be done after the entire situation is resolved. The resurrection of Sinmur is already a 'vision of the past' but the stealing of Wuuthrad is viewed as current. This can easily be addressed by turning that into a 'vision of the past' as well. Dialogue by recurring NPCs such as Vigrod also needs to be addressed if this quest is done after other parts of the story.

    Either that, or both Shor's Stone and Fallowstone Hall need to be installed as prerequisites for "Shattered Hopes" at Honrich Tower, and added to Cadwell's Almanac, but I don't really want to make a long Almanac even longer.

    Vernim Woods
    At Vernim Woods, you're finding out why the Reachmen are working with the Worm Cult. Since this is related to Sinmur, it makes sense that this is required for Cadwell's Almanac. It's also the end of the Reachmen-focused storyline of Stony Basin, and as such, completion of "Through the Shroud" grants the achievement "Reach Crusher", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Shattered Remnants", consistent with other subzone completions. Since it's not critical to the final defeat of Sinmur, it's not a prerequisite to anything else in the Rift.

    Nimalten
    You're then sent off to Nimalten to warn them of the Worm Cult, but they're already there. An old friend betrays you, and you're then off after the Worm Cult elsewhere. Since this isn't critical to the defeat of Sinmur, it makes sense that Nimalten is not required for Cadwell's Almanac and isn't a prerequisite to anything else.

    Pinepeak Caverns and Taarengrav
    Depending on what order you tackle these two, they are nicely chained together in any order and the story will ensure you've done both before you head off to Honrich Tower. During these locations, you're saving some of Ysgramor's Companions who the Worm Cult are attempting to bind to Sinmur, and their knowledge is critical to his defeat. As such, they're both required for Cadwell's Almanac and are both prerequisite to Honrich Tower.

    Honrich Tower
    At Honrich Tower, you're supposed to be taking down the Worm Cult. However, Thallik has other plans. When you kill him, Wuuthrad shatters, and he fuses with Sinmur. The Worm Cult may be scattered, but Sinmur is more powerful than ever. Since it's relevant to the overall storyline, Honrich Tower is required for Cadwell's Almanac. However, it's not actually a prerequisite to the rest of the Rift, but certainly should be. This will be addressed below. That's the end of the Ragged Hills subzone, and as such, completion of "Shattered Hopes" grants the achievement "Wormsquasher", a Skill Point, and one tick towards "Shattered Remnants", consistent with other subzone completions.

    Riften
    Sinmur's heading towards Riften, but by the time you get there, he's gone. You get to clean up after him though, and make sure the Worm Cult are kicked out in the process. Since this isn't critical to defeating Sinmur, it's not required for Cadwell's Almanac and isn't a prerequisite to anything else.

    The quest you get after completing "Pulled Under" in Riften is "To the King", which says that "it's vitally important I recover the shards of Wuuthrad scattered through Smokefrost Peaks", and then proceeds to not give that as an objective, and sends you straight to Jorunn without the shards. As such, none of the quests which result in you finding fragments of Wuuthrad are part of the story chain, which is a bit silly really, as they are rather relevant to the story. "To the King" should have an objective for you to recover the Shards of Wuuthrad, with area markers over Fullhelm Fort, Forelhost, and Lost Prospect (since that's where the shards are).
    New objective: Recover the shards of Wuuthrad.

    Only once all the shards have been collected should the quest objective update to Talk to Jorunn the Skald-King. However, since the shards are not actually required for defeating Sinmur, none of the quests need to be added to Cadwell's Almanac or made prerequisites.

    Trolhetta
    If you arrive at Trolhetta without doing anything else in the Rift at all, you are immediately able to start "Securing the Pass". This makes no sense, as there are numerous parts of the story that should be completed before you take on Sinmur; most notably, his fusing with Thallik, and the shattering of Wuuthrad. As such "Shattered Hopes" at Honrich Tower must be made a prerequisite to "Securing the Pass". There's already a story pointer ("The Shards of Wuuthrad") at Trolhetta which takes you back to Honrich Tower, so it may even be a bug that this prerequisite is not in place already.

    There's also a side quest at Trolhetta which is part of the POI objective, but it's not related to defeating Sinmur. For consistency, it's best to not include any concurrent side quests (and the other one at Trolhetta, "Names of the Fallen", is already not included), so "Worm Cult Summoner" should be removed from the Trolhetta objective.

    Eventually, you get around to defeating Sinmur and Thallik for good. That's the end of the Smokefrost Peaks subzone and the whole Rift storyline, so it makes sense that Trolhetta is required for Cadwell's Almanac. Consistent with other subzone completions, you receive the achievement "Ysgramor's Prodigy", a Skill Point, and the third and final tick towards "Shattered Remnants" once "Stomping Sinmur" is completed.

    Messages Across Tamriel
    Congratulations! The Pact story is over, and you're off to Stirk with Vanus Galerion. With all the suggestions in bold above implemented, the story should actually have made sense by the time you get this far, and the critical path should be no longer jammed up with all those unnecessary side quests.
    UESP: The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages - A collaborative source for all knowledge on the Elder Scrolls series since 1995
    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
  • Enodoc
    Enodoc
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    Have you missed something in the alliance story chains, and you don't know what it was? Cadwell's Almanac covers the critical storyline, but not all the story-relevant quests. UESP has the full Covenant, Dominion, and Pact storylines, in order, with all relevant chaining and prerequisites.

    There's also the Almanac listing itself of course, which is a useful progress tracker, but there's an inherent problem with it in that there's no record for your own alliance; Cadwell's Bronze is the answer here.

    I hope some of these suggestions are considered for the future, as they would go a long way to making an already excellent set of storylines into a coherent and enjoyable narrative experience.


    (@Byucknah, @Rune_Relic, I seem to recall you were interested in seeing this thread once it was ready :) )
    UESP: The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages - A collaborative source for all knowledge on the Elder Scrolls series since 1995
    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
  • Rune_Relic
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    Bookmarked
    Thanks for the heads up /thumbsup
    :smiley:
    Anything that can be exploited will be exploited
  • skrigger
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    Excellent work here, @Enodoc. As someone who enjoys questing and the storyline in every game, reading this made my day.
  • SpAEkus
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    @Enodoc
    To address this inconsistency, Gilzir should offer passage to Betnikh immediately.

    Have you passed this to ZOS as a request yet? I am seeing others get Maps and Surveys for Betnikh now with One Tamriel in other forums and then they are also stuck behind the Quest requirement.

    I was going to /feedback it in game or make a request post if you haven't already.
  • Enodoc
    Enodoc
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    SpAEkus wrote: »
    Enodoc
    To address this inconsistency, Gilzir should offer passage to Betnikh immediately.
    Have you passed this to ZOS as a request yet? I am seeing others get Maps and Surveys for Betnikh now with One Tamriel in other forums and then they are also stuck behind the Quest requirement.

    I was going to /feedback it in game or make a request post if you haven't already.
    No, I haven't yet. Go ahead! Sometime I may remember to do the same :)
    UESP: The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages - A collaborative source for all knowledge on the Elder Scrolls series since 1995
    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
  • Enodoc
    Enodoc
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    SpAEkus wrote: »
    Enodoc
    To address this inconsistency, Gilzir should offer passage to Betnikh immediately.

    Have you passed this to ZOS as a request yet? I am seeing others get Maps and Surveys for Betnikh now with One Tamriel in other forums and then they are also stuck behind the Quest requirement.

    I was going to /feedback it in game or make a request post if you haven't already.
    @SpAEkus I assume they've addressed this now? You're screwed in the New Life Festival quest if they haven't.
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    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
  • SunfireKnight86
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    They need to rework Cadwell's quests to drop the whole time travel angle. It's a confusing vestige (lol) from the old system that makes the story somewhat more convoluted than it needs to be.
  • Enodoc
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    They need to rework Cadwell's quests to drop the whole time travel angle. It's a confusing vestige (lol) from the old system that makes the story somewhat more convoluted than it needs to be.
    They don't really, they just need to make it obvious as soon as you start. @tinythinker had a good suggestion for how they could implement it:
    When you first arrive in a different Alliance than the one you start the game with, add a glowing ball of light that appears only to you and that is heavily synthesized or continually altered in tone, pitch, etc. to make it seem other-worldly and unrecognizable. Something like this:

    Mysterious Voice: You have strayed into lands that may see you as an enemy. My master sees great potential in you, and will cloak you from detection. In the eyes of those you meet here your true identity will be unknown. Your reputation here will be born anew according to your actions.

    Player: Wait, I don't understand. Who is your master?

    Mysterious Voice: All will be revealed...if you show the qualities my master anticipates. Fare thee well, mortal.

    When you enter the other "enemy" Alliance, the original line from the Mysterious Voice changes a bit to this:

    Mysterious Voice: Ahhh, mortal, once again you have strayed into lands that may see you as an enemy. My master still cloaks you from detection. As before, your reputation in this place will be born anew according to your actions.

    So, you know, there you go. When you finally figure out who is pulling what strings (and why) later on this will make sense, but until then it adds another layer of intrigue. Now ZOS just needs to have a coder put in an NPC with the form of a glowy sphere at location x,y,z triggered by a new player entering zones a,b,c, then add in the text dialogue and set it to auto-play upon arrival, and grab a voice actor for a few minutes of work. Nothing too complicated or overly expensive/time-consuming.
    Enodoc wrote: »
    Ooh I like this :) That would work very well. There's a number of things associated with Meridia that could appear in front of you:
    • Ball of light, as you say. She is the Lady of Light, after all. An aspect of Meridia appeared in Skyrim as a ball of light, so this has precedence.
    • Meridia's Beacon, also from Skyrim. Meridia can speak to you through the Beacon, and the Beacon itself could be the cloak. The item could remain in your Quest Items, and the tooltip would always remind you of its cloaking capabilities. To avoid spoilers, it would first be introduced as "A Strange Gem", or something.
    • Auroran, Meridia's Daedric servants. Could be introduced as "A Mysterious Figure".

    UESP: The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages - A collaborative source for all knowledge on the Elder Scrolls series since 1995
    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
  • SunfireKnight86
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    I think we're all in agreement the current introduction to other alliances is a bit sloppy. They never ironed it out after they dropped the veteran thing. It feels fine when we're just questing and wandering around, and the question of why we're there and where it fits in a timeline never actually comes up. Right after beating Molag Bal we get zipped off to Cadwell to talk about time travel when we've already been trapsing through those zones the whole time. (For new players, anyway)

    Honestly, they could dress it up as a Dragon Break. It seems weird to pull time travel into the story when we already have in lore explanations for wonky choices. Hell, they could probably just remove Cadwell's altogether at this point without causing a continuity stink. Never really understood the choice of the veteran system. Glad they've moved away from it, and I look forward to seeing its last few tatters (like the Cadwell's Quests) put to bed.
    Edited by SunfireKnight86 on December 25, 2016 1:29PM
  • Enodoc
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    Dragon Break is a poor excuse to use when other options are available (such as Meridia hiding your identity). They're supposed to be rare :stuck_out_tongue:
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    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
  • SunfireKnight86
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    I guess my issue is that it's unnecessary. We see the "wrong" races in faction zones everywhere. It wouldn't be weird to have a Dark Elf in Auridon unless you drew attention to it being weird in the first place. That's exactly what Cadwell's does. Not only am I a spy, but it seems to be that I'm a time traveling spy with no qualms about killing my own people. One who literally saves both enemy nations multiple times.

    The only place faction loyalty actually matters is Cyrodil. In "disguise" or no, weird time travel "nobody knows you" silliness or no, you're still killing AD in Shadowfen as AD. (And they're still eating babies) Trying to shoehorn faction loyalty into the PvE makes little sense, especially since we drop the whole charade to save the world on a regular basis anyway. You're right about the Dragon Break, so I think the other solution is more elegant. It would be much less intrusive if they turned the Cadwell's quest rewards into achievements and just dropped the whole thing at this point. Now that we can freely go to other factions areas and adventure with them the whole post game story makes less sense than ever, and it never made much to begin with.
    Edited by SunfireKnight86 on December 25, 2016 3:14PM
  • Fudly_budly
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    The Main Quest and guild quests are also in need of a rework because of One Tamriel and VR removal. Specifically, I had a level 14 alt in DC with ~300 CP's. I leveled her to 50 during Witches Festival. She earned her "Enemy of Coldharbour" title farming dolmens. Stupidly, I neglected to join the Fighter's Guild first. Then, I need to get her skill points up so, I started doing Harborage quests which fired one right after each other all the way to Isle of Stirk and into Coldharbour my DC mage went before she completed the DC questline. On Stirk, my DC mage interacted with EP and AD monarch but not DC. It gets better though, as my DC mage has already completed quests from Cadwell's Almanac in AD zones prior to completing the DC questline. So, will these tick later or not when I have Cadwell's fired?
    To further complicate things, my DC mage, now CP 350, joined the Fighter's Guild (for skill points) having completed both General Executioner and Enemy of Coldharbour Achievements but none of these ticked FG rank progression which seems odd to me.
    It seems there should be added prerequisite flags to prevent some of this convolution.
    Rule #1: RL trumps gaming.
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  • SunfireKnight86
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    My ideal next major patch would look like this:

    --They release Murkmire, the Clockwork City, and Vardenfell and call it an xpac. Not DLC, an xpac. This would also allow them to rebrand the game in the public eye. Something it needs badly. Those old reviews are what people are looking at. (And they throw in Red Mountain as a trial and I die happy)

    --As part of that xpac, they rework old quests that no longer fit into the vision of 1T. There is no denying ESO is a different (better) game than it was at launch, but it still has the old quest and story structure that doesn't quite work anymore. They could rearrange old content and add just a few quests to streamline the narrative considerably. Think of it like WoW Cataclysm-lite.

    I know we're well past that point now. If they were going to release an actual xpac they would have started marketing months ago. But it's something they should consider. Hell, they could just call it an xpac to get new reviews and treat it the same as they do the old DLC.

    I also suspect they're going to spread the love out. Why release all the major content they've been working on at once when they could spread it out over 6-12 months? That would mean a new area every 2-3 months, which keeps content fresher longer than just dumping it onto the table.
    Edited by SunfireKnight86 on December 25, 2016 3:34PM
  • keto3000
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    I am loving this thread! Very much needed for those of us who really enjoy the ESO game story/lore. I wish that, periodically (where appropriate), ESO devs would add story prompt's & encouragements from each alliance's leaders ( i.e. Queen Ayrenn- AD) in voice or text, to acknowledge player's achievements in both PvE & PvP content. This would greatly help to keep the alliance-specific storyline in the players' minds. :)
    I think we're all in agreement the current introduction to other alliances is a bit sloppy. They never ironed it out after they dropped the veteran thing. It feels fine when we're just questing and wandering around, and the question of why we're there and where it fits in a timeline never actually comes up. Right after beating Molag Bal we get zipped off to Cadwell to talk about time travel when we've already been trapsing through those zones the whole time. (For new players, anyway)

    Honestly, they could dress it up as a Dragon Break. It seems weird to pull time travel into the story when we already have in lore explanations for wonky choices. Hell, they could probably just remove Cadwell's altogether at this point without causing a continuity stink. Never really understood the choice of the veteran system. Glad they've moved away from it, and I look forward to seeing its last few tatters (like the Cadwell's Quests) put to bed.
    “The point of power is always in the present moment.”

    ― Louise L. Hay
  • Enodoc
    Enodoc
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    As part of this investigation, I've been creating a flow chart for all the base-game storyline quests, which is now complete.

    http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Story_Quests#Quest_Map

    If you're stuck in the middle of a storyline, or are looking for the prerequisites to a particular quest, you can find the quest in the Zone or Alliance story chart and track the chain backwards.
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  • SpAEkus
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    @Enodoc

    I just checked PTS as I forgot, but so far Gilzir is fixed for a L49, no quests completed Template Character.

    There is now a "what else do you suggest" dialogue that will rollover between Stros and Betnikh.

    Hope it holds until Homestead Live for actual new characters.
  • Enodoc
    Enodoc
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    SpAEkus wrote: »
    @Enodoc

    I just checked PTS as I forgot, but so far Gilzir is fixed for a L49, no quests completed Template Character.

    There is now a "what else do you suggest" dialogue that will rollover between Stros and Betnikh.

    Hope it holds until Homestead Live for actual new characters.
    Oh cool. Will need to check that out tomorrow. Thanks!
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  • Enodoc
    Enodoc
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    Enodoc wrote: »
    SpAEkus wrote: »
    @Enodoc

    I just checked PTS as I forgot, but so far Gilzir is fixed for a L49, no quests completed Template Character.

    There is now a "what else do you suggest" dialogue that will rollover between Stros and Betnikh.

    Hope it holds until Homestead Live for actual new characters.
    Oh cool. Will need to check that out tomorrow. Thanks!
    I think you're right. My copied character who has never been to Stros or Betnikh was able to get the option from Gilzir. Nice find!
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