General Mod Questions
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Q: I hate Altmer. Why would I bother with this mod?
A: This mod was especially designed for gamers who enjoy playing Altmer characters and are disappointed not only in the lack of Altmer followers in Skyrim, but also in the broad, one-dimensional "villain" brush that Bethesda used to paint them. There are some nice rewards at the conclusion of the mod that should satisfy everyone.


Q: How many hours of gameplay are added by "An Altmer Intrigue?"
A: During beta tests, the main questline of "An Altmer Intrigue" added between 2 and 4 hours of gameplay. It depends heavily on how quickly you move through the quests and read the content.


Q: What is the difficulty level of "An Altmer Intrigue?"
A: "An Altmer Intrigue" started as a backstory questline for custom follower, Pelin Varlais, and became an extended Favor quest to incrementally award the potential follower and potential marriage candidacies. Therefore, it is light to moderate difficulty.


Q: How do I start the main questline?
A: Pick up the Stolen Item Warrant on the bar counter of The Bannered Mare in Whiterun.


Q: I'm stuck and/or confused. What do I do?
A: Try speaking with Pelin, if he's following you throughout the mod's main questline—and especially if he makes a quest-related remark. That's generally a hint that he has more to say. If you are really stuck, I also recommend visiting the "Hints, Walkthrough, and Spoilers" discussion thread for assistance.


Q: How do I craft lockpicks?
A: Bring an iron ingot to a forge and choose "Lockpick" from the forge's Misc menu item. You can craft 10 lockpicks per iron ingot.


Q: I finished the questline, but it feels open-ended. Am I missing something?
A: The original mod story script included a radiant quest at the end. Time and growing mod size eliminated the option to include it here. The radiant quest is in draft form, however, and may be included as an add-on mod in the future.


Q: I had fun and want more!
A: There are other stories in the works for Pelin, and I hope to eventually release add-ons in addition to the missing radiant quest.


Q: Is the red and white gown on the character in the screenshots available in this mod?
A: That gown is Urshi's gorgeous "Noble Wedding Dress[www.nexusmods.com]" replacer mod, available on Skyrim Nexus. It is not in "An Altmer Intrigue" and can only be downloaded from Nexus.


Q: What about the skirted armor on the character in the screenshots?
A: That armor is MsMatching's tough and beautiful "Freya's Raiment" mod, available here in the Steam Workshop. It is not in "An Altmer Intrigue."


Q: How'd you make a female Altmer player character with the Nord hairstyle?
A: I created a tiny, personal mod to do it. You have to add the Nord hairstyle object to the list of available hairstyles for Elves. If enough people are interested, I can release it to the Steam Workshop.


Q: "I've got this great idea for..." or "It would be really great if you could..."
A: Please keep your ideas coming! The heart of this mod is a custom follower, and it was inspired by a Skyrim Workshop subscriber's observation that it's unfortunate that followers don't seem to truly befriend or love the Player's character. I may not be able to accommodate an idea in "An Altmer Intrigue," but it could inspire a new mod!


Q: Please, please, PLEASE make a female Altmer version of this mod! I want to take advantage of all the extras that come from marrying Pelin, but I don't want a male spouse.
A: This is a serious undertaking, since it will require rerecording hundreds of lines of dialogue, both for the Altmer lead (i.e., Pelin) and for all the NPCs that speak to or of him. It also involves extremely thorough regression testing on the quests. This is a "back burner" possibility, but given the complexities involved, I have no immediate plans for it.


Q: I've noticed a couple of irregularities in the design and lore. Was this deliberate? How can you say this is canon-friendly?
A: Yes. In order to build a rich, cohesive experience in "An Altmer Intrigue" where some elements were not entirely developed in Skyrim, I took several design and lore liberties. It's my sincere hope that these deviations aren't too severe for the TES lore loyalists. For everyone who is a stickler for adherance to canon, I offer the following disclaimers:

• The Summerset Isles banner throughout Varlais Hall is a pristine version of the banner of the elven thieves' guild, Summerset Shadows. For the purposes of "An Altmer Intrigue," I have treated this banner as a symbol of patriotism and homeland pride among Altmer. (Therefore, this isn't the strict usage of the graphic.)
  
  
• According to www.uesp.net, "Justiciars are the official enforcers of the terms of the White-Gold Concordat, specifically enforcing the ban on the worship of Talos" (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Thalmor#Justiciars). In "An Altmer Intrigue," I have used the title "Justiciar" to specifically indicate the head of a corps of Thalmor soldiers, and these Justiciars are always wearing the black Thalmor wizard robes. In addition, each has a captain in glass armor heading a team of guards in regular Elven armor. This was deliberate to impose a clearer sense of hierarchy and order. (Therefore, this is a liberty with the names and military structure.)
  
  
• On a side note, most of the dialogue in "An Altmer Intrigue" is remixed from the original Skyrim voice files. This was necessary primarily to give Pelin the voice talents of the excellent Jon Curry[www.imdb.com]. The remixing took hundreds of hours and was inspired by the outstanding work of Ilhe on her mods such as "Obedient Ulfric." Newly-recorded voices may have contributed to a more evenly delivered performance. Furthermore, some dialogue was hobbled by the unavailability of words that would have kept tighter lore alignment (e.g., there is no recording of Jon Curry saying, "Justiciar.").

Quest Questions
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Q: What types of quests are included in "An Altmer Intrigue?"
A: Dungeon crawl, scavenger hunt, infiltration/undercover exploration, combat, and social/conversational quests are all included in "An Altmer Intrigue."


Q: Will I get quest target icons, or am I on my own to stumble on the quest objectives?
A: The scavenger hunt objectives do not include quest target icons for the collectibles. Unlike in other scavenger hunt mods, the locations should be relatively easy to find, provided you are examining the items as you collect them. All other quest objectives have quest target icons.


Q: I won the Civil War for the Stormcloaks—where do I get the quest to help one of Pelin's friends?
A: Click through Pelin's "May I ask you something?" conversation options. The quest is started from a comment that he makes.

Varlais Mountain Glen Questions
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Q: Why can't I fast travel from inside Varlais Mountain Glen?
A: Varlais Mountain Glen is actually a separate world space, like Sovngarde or Solstheim. Therefore, you'll need to exit through the Pass to Varlais Mountain Glen before you can fast travel to other locations in Skyrim.


Q: Do I need to worry about dragon or other enemy attacks here, like I do in the towns and at the HearthFires houses (e.g., Lakeview Manor)?
A: No. Varlais Mountain Glen is a protected worldspace. Dragons cannot spawn or fly into the glen, and there are no other enemy spawn points. You and the manor residents are safe. All bets are off for ingame console users, however. Using the "COC" command to enter Varlais Mountain Glen from another Skyrim location can drag a dragon into its sky space.

Varlais Hall Questions
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Q: Can Varlais Hall be used as a custom player home?
A: Yes! If you choose to marry Pelin at the conclusion of the main questline, Varlais Hall will be an option for your residence, since it is your spouse's home. You will receive the "Well Rested" (or "Lover's Comfort," if near Pelin) bonus while sleeping within Varlais Hall. In addition, its containers (chests, dressers, etc.) are all safe to use for storing your loot—only the Varlais Hall Treasury's "Treasury Transfer" sacks respawn (to your perpetual benefit!). Since Varlais Hall is Pelin's family property, however, it will not be fully available to you as a home if you are not married to Pelin.


Q: Once I marry Pelin, can I also move my adopted children into Varlais Hall?
A: Yes! There are two options available to you. I strongly recommend the mod "Custom Family Home," available here in the Steam Workshop. This mods allows you to make ANY custom player home (with enough beds and chests) adoption-compatible.

If you have no interest in the ability to make any custom home adoption-compatible, you are interested in only Varlais Hall for a full family house, or you simply wish to minimize the number of mods you have, please feel free to subscribe instead to "An Altmer Intrigue: HearthFires Edition." Details can be found on its mod page. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the reasons to use it—only select that edition if you want children with Pelin and are NOT running "Custom Family Home" or "Hearthfire multiple adoptions." It is otherwise identical to this edition.


Q: What's up with the locked door in the basement? Why can't I get inside? Am I missing something?
A: Patience, grasshopper. You'll get access to everything by the end of the main questline.


Q: The rabbit painting in the child's room is fantastic! Where'd that idea come from?
A: That rabbit is none other than Mickyan's "Dovahbit!" The painting is my personal and unofficial ad for a wonderful mod. If you haven't met Dovahbit yet, he's a terrific animal follower and available for subscription here in the Steam workshop.


Q: Why didn't you lock down the clutter inside Varlais Hall? I've knocked things over and ruined the feng shui!
A: For realism, most items are placed and playable. Don't worry, though: nearly everything outside containers will respawn. If you desperately want to set an object back where it belongs, however, press the [~] key to enter the ingame console, click the object to select it, and type Your character will then replace the item in its original location. This goes for the Varlais Ancestral Sword after you've returned it to Pelin, too, if you weren't able to keep your hands to yourself in the Varlais Hall armory!


Q: Varlais Hall seems pretty bland. Why didn't you make the space more customized?
A: I minimized nonstandard architecture and objects as much as possible to keep "An Altmer Intrigue" feeling like a natural extension of Skyrim.


Q: I used up all the perfumes. How do I get more?
A: Nearly everything outside containers will respawn. If you don't want to wait, visit either the Varlais Manor General Store or the Khajiit caravan. Both carry the perfumes in their inventories.


Q: What would happen if I stole the Varlais Ancestral Sword and gave it to Kalaril?
A: Nothing. You won't get the option to give it to Kalaril. The original mod story script included this option, however, and the quest shell ("To Extinguish the Light") is still present in the mod. Upon giving the sword to Kalaril, and ultimately following Kalaril's direction to also kill Pelin, the Player would be able to forceably seize Varlais Manor and slaughter all its residents. Including this introduced an incredibly complex forking quest structure, and I abandoned it in favor of a single, more hopeful and inspiring storyline.


Q: Can I use the bathtub, too?
A: Yes! You can sit in the bathtub at any of the "Bathtub Bench" seat locations.


Q: In the Treasury, can you add Dragon Priest mask busts for the Dragonborn masks?
A: Including busts for the DLC Dragon Priest masks would force "An Altmer Intrigue" to require the DLCs. To avoid alienating any gamers, I have therefore elected to not include them.


Q: Stuff isn't respawning. Why isn't stuff respawning??
A: Grasshopper is so impatient! Respawn times are typically a few to 15 days. To ensure respawning, you'll need to stay out of the location for that lead time.


Q: Why are there so many load doors? I hate waiting.
A: Varlais Hall is large with many objects, and its floor plans prevented the use of other performance optimization techniques. Load doors are only used between floors and when moving from Varlais Hall to the outside Varlais Mountain Glen. Putting each floor in its own load area eases the processing strain on computers. "An Altmer Intrigue" was beta tested on systems ranging from an Intel i-7 3.6 GHz with dual GeForce GTX 660 cards and 16 GB RAM to a simple laptop with onboard graphics. In all cases, performance in Varlais Hall was good.

Pelin Questions
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Q: Why doesn't Pelin's Daedric Sword, "Wight's Bane," appear in his inventory?
A: "Wight's Bane" is not a playable weapon. Only Pelin can wield it.


Q: Where can I find Pelin's base outfit?
A: As with his Daedric sword, Pelin's unique, green velvet overcoat and brown leather boots are not playable clothing. There is only one copy of each ingame, and only Pelin can wear them. There are several copies of the white sleeping robe in Varlais Hall, however, and you are free to help yourself to them.


Q: Why isn't Pelin changing his outfit?
A: Pelin will remain in either his default green velvet overcoat or any provided armor while he is following you. Furthermore, Pelin will only change his outfits while living at Varlais Hall. If you have married Pelin and moved to another home, he will not change clothing. Pelin's also smart enough not to change into his linen bath pants or his white sleeping robe while wandering around outside—if you dismissed him, and he's heading back to Varlais Hall, he'll wisely remain in proper gear until he's safely indoors.


Q: Speaking of outfits, why the heck is Pelin wearing pants in the bathtub?
A: He's a prude. All kidding aside, I designed the mod to be friendly and acceptable to a wide variety of gamers.


Q: I'm married to Pelin and want to see him leave love poems and flowers for my character. Why hasn't he yet?
A: If Pelin is following you, dismiss him and let him return to his regular routine. In the mornings, he'll wander around the manor shops. Stay near him and watch. He should strike up a conversation with the Bosmer hunter, Andriath, at some point. That triggers the gifts.


Q: Pelin says "hi" to his friends in Skyrim, when he sees them! Will he ever strike up a conversation with someone like Nelacar or Calcelmo?
A: He does with only one, and only when that friend is at Varlais Hall. This is due to a limitation with NPC random dialogue.


Q: Is something going on between Faralda and Pelin? I asked him, but is he dodging the question?
A: No. The letters in the mod reveal that many, many years ago there was an "understanding" between them, but it's long over.


Q: You say Pelin is talkative. What's special about his comments, and how do I hear them all?
A: Pelin has many more random comments than the base Skryim NPCs, and he'll spontaneously make observations about towns, ruins, and forts that you're visiting. Pelin has a strong personality: he hates the cold and will say so, repeatedly; he comes from a position of privilege, wealth, and power, and he'll be critical of clothing choices. Try putting on outfits alternatively of rags and of finery extremes. Pelin also thinks he's really witty and will sometimes try to impress you with snark when you initiate conversation with him. Pelin will greet his friends in Skyrim when you travel to their homes. Pelin has extra conversation topics under "May I ask you something?" Asking him any of these questions will let you hear his opinions on select subjects. During "An Altmer Intrigue" quests, Pelin will make non sequitors, which are signals to you that he has additional hints or instructions. Pelin also has quest-specific conversation options that you'll only see if you initiate dialogue with him. Finally, Pelin has random conversation scenes with the residents of Varlais Manor—these only occur when he's not actively following you.

NPC Questions
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Q: Aldaril isn't giving me the option to recruit the Varlais Manor Honor Guard. What am I doing wrong?
A: You need to complete the main questline first.


Q: Can you please make the Varlais Manor Honor Guard soldiers followers? I'd love to take Aldaril, Mithnar, Irinwe, etc. with me.
A: Unfortunately, no. The Varlais Manor Honor Guard are designed to be "teammates" rather than "followers." Changing them to potential followers conflicts with their recruitment and dismissal.


Q: I'm out and about with Pelin and the Varlais Manor Honor Guard, when all of a sudden they started fighting Pelin! They're beating the snot out of each other—why isn't this listed as a bug?
A: Because it's not! Pelin's got a wild throw with his fireball and lightening bolt spells, and occasionally he catches a few friendlies in his cross hairs. If Aldaril suddenly swings his warhammer at Pelin's head, it's probably because the Altmer lord has it coming to him. I advise sitting back and enjoying the festivities for a bit (they're all essential, so none of them will die). When you've had enough, fast traveling usually resets their aggression levels.


Q: No voice acting credit for Engrid? That's not very nice.
A: That's because it's me, doing a pretty rough imitation of the Nord accent! I don't want that recognition on the front page. :p


Q: Will I ever see Engrid again?
A: Yes. She heads back to her home town, Kynesgrove, after you take the Stolen Item Warrant job. You can find her in Braidwood Inn for the rest of the game, though she has nothing further to say to you.


Q: Any plans to make Engrid a follower?
A: Yes, but it would be in a future add-on.


Q: What happens to the Nords, Ljota, Solvaar, and Frothnar?
A: As noted in Pelin's Journal, they were intercepted at Embershard Mine. When the coast is clear, they head home to Riverwood. For the rest of the game, they will be loitering in Sleeping Giant Inn.


Q: When Gevaldr parted ways with me, he mentioned he'd be honored to accompany me. Is he a potential follower?
A: Yes. Gevaldr is a Nord barbarian (light armor, 2-handed weapons). His home is in Shor's Stone, and he'll happily join you, if you need him. Gevaldr is also a marriage candidate.


Q: Desfina is gorgeous—is there any way to marry her?
A: No. She's quite content to work her culinary craft at Varlais Hall, even if it means putting up with Sildriel's micromanagement. Depending on how your Skyrim world is unfolding and on what you choose to do in "An Altmer Intrigue," there's already an NPC destined for her.


Q: Please tell me there's a quest to put Sildriel in his place.
A: Not in "An Altmer Intrigue," but some light-hearted, casual quests are planned for a future add-on.


Q: ...Why Ondolemar? Why? Of all the Altmer to use for Pelin's best friend, you chose him?
A: I think he's hilarious. His arrogance and condescension are completely over-the-top. Whenever I was in Markarth, I used to make a stop just to hear his pompous comments. I won the Civil War for the Stormcloaks for the first time while playing on XBox 360, and I was actually disappointed to see that he's scripted to be killed and disabled at its conclusion. When I started modding "An Altmer Intrigue," I decided to give him a second chance. Since Ondolemar is completely removed from the game at the Stormcloak victory, he's essentially free for new adventures. After all, the character wouldn't be used ever again by the base game. If you haven't won the war for the Stormcloaks, there is no change to the Ondolemar character, and you won't notice anything different.


Q: Are the dog Porkchop or the Summerset Horse Rielle going to die on me?
A: Nope. They're both essential.

I have got the book and the note and when I read them it does not trigger the next qwest Help please love the mod!

How do you feel about folks borrowing Pelin and some aspects of your quest line in fanworks (ex: fan fiction)?

Hi, redcat_22 -- my apologies for the delay! I'm thrilled if elements of my mod serve as an inspiration for fan fiction, art, etc.! I can't think of a nicer compliment. :)

Just a couple of considerations, as the author: I only ask that the characters not be used in/for any inflammatory contexts (i.e., discrimminatory/hate speech such as racism, sexism, etc.) and that credit of the mod's characters and thematic elements be attributed to me with this statement:

'This is a work of derivative fiction, based on original characters and thematic elements created by Steam user dysphorya (http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197994334839/) in the Skyrim mod, "An Altmer Intrigue."'

I'd love to see any fan creations, if folks are comfortable with that. The fact that Skyrim continues to inspire so many years after launch is one of the things that make it such a great game. :)

Awesome :) I'll be sure to credit per your instructions when Pelin finds his way into one of my stories ^_^

Originally posted by Tchii01:

Hello amazing person! :-D

I am sorry for disturbing you but I just wanted to thank you for this awsome adventure! ^O^

I couldn't stop swooning over Palin the moment I discovered that he was a knight in shining armor! ^///^

Yet, after I married him, he disapeard. Vanished. Do I need his code to bring him back to me? 0_o

Stay away from my prince Faralda! This female khajiit shall tear you apart if you touch him! X-D

Sorry for the stupid question. ^^

Thank you for making my day and stay awsome! ;-3

Kindly,

Tchii01 ~

P.S: Sorry if my English is bad, French is my mothertoungue. ^^'

Found him!

He was lurking in the shadows of the mansion and since I always walk in circles, thanks to my amazing sens of orientation, I didn't stumble across him after a long while! X-D

Have an amazing day, night or evening! ;-D

How do you get Pelin to marry you? I can't figure it out. I finished the quest A Starry Knight but I still don't have the option. Is there something else I need to do?

I got one. I married him in oh three playthroughs. console commanded out some of the bugs. ANyways, he said some thing sexually suggestive in the first two playthroughs, and now he wont say it. I wonder if it was taken out to placate the younger gamers? I hope not, because I enjoyed the kinky dialog.

I have a question, dysphorya. I'd like to include Pelin/ An Altmer Intrigue in a story I'm writing, may I do so if I credit you as his creator and link this mod in?

Originally posted by jsturch:

How do you get Pelin to marry you? I can't figure it out. I finished the quest A Starry Knight but I still don't have the option. Is there something else I need to do?

I have the same problem!