Concept: Custom NPCs for housing

Azurephoenix999 · June 2018

It sucks to have large houses but nobody in them. Would be much better if there was an option to add NPCs to the place (far more than the three Assistants we can currently have), and it would be even better if we could customize them via outfits and services (e.g. have a Blacksmith NPC who functioned as a smithing station when interacted with).

I saw someone on the forums suggest guards, I think that's an amazing idea. For Guild Halls, you could decide on a signature look for members of your guild, and make it so the guards are all wearing the appropriate outfit. You could even give them Guild Tabards.

The same individual also suggested "Lusty Argonian Maids". First off, I think that would be amazing, secondly, the whole concept of servants in general just fits with the housing theme, particularly for the larger houses like the Ebonheart Chateau. I think servants with appropriate outfits should be available (either via the Crown Store, or through Master Writs). Not sure what service they'd provide, but we should be able to choose things like race, sex, and clothes for them (e.g. make one of our servants into a Lusty Argonian Maid).

I also think it would be cool to give NPCs in your house custom names. You could have a "captain of the guard" NPC with unique armor, you could even have a head butler, who leads all the other servants. You could even use this to give your guild a figurehead, a Guildmaster NPC, with a unique armor set of his own. A Guild Trader for your house, which would function as a trader for the guild the house owner is the Guildmaster of.

I just think there are tons of things that could be done to make things seem more lively in some of the larger houses, and letting us add our own NPCs seems like a really good feature.

Fiktius · June 2018

I would like to get guards to my house which would always arrest players and charge a small fee, if they shut lights off.

And now serious:
I would love to get a bard NPC which would play an instrument of my choice and sign a song I could select.
Now that's NPC I would pay for!

I also find that idea interesting of having a trader NPC at house for guild, but if that would become a thing, I would suggest enabling player choose to which guild the trader would function for. (Selection limited of course between guilds the player is part of!) Then that NPC would be useful for even those players who are not guildmasters.

jaschacasadiob16_ESO · June 2018

I'd love to start having the chance to customize the Merchant and the Banker. Given their price, I think we do deserve this option. That said, depending on the quests you do, and their outcome, it would be nice to have specific NPCs at your house.

But that's a lot of work with little to no return of the investment, so not going to happen.

Bruccius · June 2018

That's not a bad idea. I remember in TES IV that you could hire a servant for your house in Skingrad, and that wasn't even that big of a house.

Considering how huge some houses in ESO can be, making them a bit more alive sounds more than fair.

Alex_Lex · June 2018

There is a way better idea

Make our alts present in houses as NPCs.

Old idea, sure

the_other_Alice · June 2018

Maybe we have to address the monetarization manager xD
´cause honestly most stuff on crown store I would not spent a Nickel on, on the other hand there is way too much overprized stuff in the housing section - so pls Mr Moneymaker consider those new (old) ideas and get a more balanced price policy on the way :-)
It would be an win win situation I promise ;-)

Juju_beans · June 2018

Wishlist:

I would like a butler, a cook, housekeepers, guards, bards, guests (npc's that just stand around talking to each other).

dtsharples · June 2018

I'd like a cheerful, plump old Orc lady in the Kitchen.
A really miserable Dunmer as a Butler.
A totally mad Breton chap blowing things up in my lab.
And an attractive Redguard lady reclining by the fountain.

..probably too much to ask, but we can hope

Blave_Kaiser · June 2018

I know they said no companions, but yes a customization Housecarl who is also I companion.

ZOS_Holden · June 2018

Custom housing NPCs sound like a great idea! We love the thought of a whole cast of characters populating a home, and can definitely understand how this could liven up a player's home and just generally be a fun option when decorating.

We obviously can't promise anything, but please don't hesitate to share in the future, we love hearing all your great suggestions.

Azurephoenix999 · June 2018

ZOS_Holden wrote: »

Custom housing NPCs sound like a great idea! We love the thought of a whole cast of characters populating a home, and can definitely understand how this could liven up a player's home and just generally be a fun option when decorating.

We obviously can't promise anything, but please don't hesitate to share in the future, we love hearing all your great suggestions.

Oh! My suggestion got the attention of a ZOS employee! That's awesome! I just wanted to say that the guy above who said:

Alex_Lex wrote: »

Make our alts present in houses as NPCs.

Is a freaking genius. I think if we're going to do my idea, we should do this one too. Doesn't have to be at the same time, but I think that ideally we should be able to do both.

I'd also like to double down on my suggestion to be able to modify the appearance of our NPCs via outfits. I think maybe we should be able to choose any outfit from any of our characters, and apply it to NPCs. We should also be able to give each NPC a custom name, and modify their Race/Gender/Service at any time. We should also be able to slap Guild Tabards onto any of our NPCs too (they should appear over existing costumes and/or outfits).

I think it would help the roleplay aspect of this game so much, and allow us to give our guilds more depth than just "a group of people who do X together".