The great houses...

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At what point do I have to make a decision about joining one of these? I'm
a little reluctant at this point, since I know you can only choose one.
I've been around, trying to make a decision, and I'm tossed. Playing a Nord
Barbarian, so mostly a fighter class.

House Redoran - Probably my first choice, since they've been the most civil
to me, though that alone might not be enough reason.

House Hlaalu - Seems to be associated with the Thieves' Guild, and that's
the only one of the 3 not to let me join, so they're not such a good idea, I
think. However, they are in Balmora, which is pretty much my home-town most
of the time.

House Telvanni - These guys are jerks. Every Telvanni city I've been to
they treat me like dirt. And you have to be able to fly to get to certain
places in their cities - not really a nice thing to have to deal with.
However, if I joined, they might be nicer to me. Another thing is they seem
to be in with the Mages' Guild, and I'm not really much of a mage. (I am a
guild member, though.)

House Indoril - Has the distinction of being the only house that hates me so
much they've actually tried to kill me, just for wearing their armor. On
the other hand, if being a member of their house means I can wear that armor
legitimately, it might be worth it. (Indoril armor kicks ass.) Also might
be nice to not have the Ordinators call me scum all the time.

House Dren - They seem to be all about slavery, and since I've pretty much
been freeing slaves every chance I get, I think they might not like me very
much.

And I think House Dagoth is probably out of the question.

On the other hand, I could just not join any of them, and keep doing work
for Caius and the Fighters' and Mages' Guilds, though I imagine at some
point I'll run out of jobs for the guilds. Is there any reason why you'd
HAVE to choose a house to join?

 

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Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 23:50:18 -0500, "Darrel Hoffman" <i.dont@think.so>
wrote:

>
>On the other hand, I could just not join any of them, and keep doing work
>for Caius and the Fighters' and Mages' Guilds, though I imagine at some
>point I'll run out of jobs for the guilds. Is there any reason why you'd
>HAVE to choose a house to join?
>
You do not have to join any Great House if you don't want to. I think
you only ones you *can* join (in the basic game, anyway) are Redoran,
Hlaalu and Telvanni. The main advantages to joining a House are that
you eventually get your own stronghold built for you and becoming
Horator fo a House you belong to is supposed to be easier (don't know,
haven't tried it yet).
--
Nyctolops

 

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Darrel Hoffman wrote:

> House Hlaalu seems to be associated with the Thieves' Guild...
>
> [...]
>
> House Telvanni [seems] to be in with the Mages' Guild, and I'm not
> really much of a mage (I am a guild member, though).

Although House Hlaalu caters to thieves and House Telvanni caters to
mages, they are not associated with their Imperial counterparts -- in
fact, they very much hate each other. House Hlaalu is influenced by the
Cammona Tong, which is virtually at war with the Thieves' Guild (because
they are taking orders from the extremely anti-Imperial House Dagoth),
while House Telvanni openly scorns the Mages' Guild for bastardizing magic
by making it fit for public consumption (explaining why you -- a Mages'
Guild member -- are so despised in Telvanni towns).

If you care about how you will relate with other factions when you choose
a house, remember that once you choose a house, your relations with other
houses will be strained, and dealing with the Ashlanders will become quite
difficult. In addition to these consequences, there are other caveats of
inter-guild relations that you must take note of that happen on a
per-house level.

As a Hlaalu, you will cozy up quite nicely to the Imperial guilds (to the
exception of the Thieves' Guild, which has a bit of restrained animosity
toward you).

As a Redoran, you'll fit in very well among the Temple faithful, and the
fighter-inhabited Imperial guilds will have a sort of respect for you, but
the rest of the Imperial guilds (with the exception of the Imperial Cult)
will dislike you.

As a Telvanni, pretty much everyone much everyone will hate you,
especially the Mages' Guild, which does so with a passion.

--

Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real
information available.

- Benford's Law of Controversy

 

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Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

> At what point do I have to make a decision about joining one of these?
I'm
> a little reluctant at this point, since I know you can only choose one.

Joining great house is optional. You can do it anytime you want - if the
house would take you in.

> I've been around, trying to make a decision, and I'm tossed. Playing a
Nord
> Barbarian, so mostly a fighter class.

Redoran seems the logical choice. Gaining ranks in great houses requires you
to do quests for them, and have high enough skills. A Nord Barbarian won't
advance quickly in spellcasting or thieving skills, and thus progression in
Hlaalu and Telvanni would be slower. Not impossible, but just slower.

Redoran, Hlaalu and Telvanni are the three choices you have... unless you're
running some mods that open up the others.

> On the other hand, I could just not join any of them, and keep doing work
> for Caius and the Fighters' and Mages' Guilds, though I imagine at some

Yes you can (for Figher, Mage, Caius and either Telvanni or Redoran).
Telvanni might question where your loyalty lies if you're a Mage Guild
member, but that won't stop you becoming the leader in both.

> point I'll run out of jobs for the guilds. Is there any reason why you'd
> HAVE to choose a house to join?

What, you mean you don't want to have a not-so-useful castle built for you
in some difficult-to-reach, barren-as-desert area?

I'm sure I want one ; )

 

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Archived from groups: alt.games.morrowind (More info?)

On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 23:50:18 -0500, "Darrel Hoffman" <i.dont@think.so>
wrote:

>At what point do I have to make a decision about joining one of these? I'm
>a little reluctant at this point, since I know you can only choose one.
>I've been around, trying to make a decision, and I'm tossed. Playing a Nord
>Barbarian, so mostly a fighter class.

You don't _have_ to join any of them. If you want to do so, it can be
done at any time, from level 1 to after you've finished the main quest.

>House Redoran - Probably my first choice, since they've been the most civil
>to me, though that alone might not be enough reason.

Honourable warriors.

>House Hlaalu - Seems to be associated with the Thieves' Guild, and that's
>the only one of the 3 not to let me join, so they're not such a good idea, I
>think. However, they are in Balmora, which is pretty much my home-town most
>of the time.

Friendly to the Imperials, some are corrupt while others are more
honest. No actual ties to the Thieves Guild. Prefer thief-type skills.

>House Telvanni - These guys are jerks. Every Telvanni city I've been to
>they treat me like dirt. And you have to be able to fly to get to certain
>places in their cities - not really a nice thing to have to deal with.
>However, if I joined, they might be nicer to me. Another thing is they seem
>to be in with the Mages' Guild, and I'm not really much of a mage. (I am a
>guild member, though.)

Totally amoral magic-users. You'll need to be a mage to get far, though
they don't care what methods you use to accomplish their quests. Most
commoners distrust members of this house.

>House Indoril - Has the distinction of being the only house that hates me so
>much they've actually tried to kill me, just for wearing their armor. On
>the other hand, if being a member of their house means I can wear that armor
>legitimately, it might be worth it. (Indoril armor kicks ass.) Also might
>be nice to not have the Ordinators call me scum all the time.

Can't join. The Ordinators aren't members of the house, since it died
with Lord Nerevar, they are a branch of the Temple that seeks to honour
his memory.

>House Dren - They seem to be all about slavery, and since I've pretty much
>been freeing slaves every chance I get, I think they might not like me very
>much.

The other House is Dres, and you can't join them either. The Drens are
members of House Hlaalu, on the more corrupt side.

>And I think House Dagoth is probably out of the question.

Unless you've got certain mods running, yes.

>On the other hand, I could just not join any of them, and keep doing work
>for Caius and the Fighters' and Mages' Guilds, though I imagine at some
>point I'll run out of jobs for the guilds. Is there any reason why you'd
>HAVE to choose a house to join?

Only if you really want a stronghold.