Morrowind Mod Review: OAAB Brother Juniper's Twin Lamps
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I'm back with another review! This time, a Morrowind mod that fleshes out an existing faction in the game, an abolitionist group called the Twin Lamps. To clear things up, I would like to note that I started this mod already having completed the main quest, Tribunal, Bloodmoon, and (this is especially important) my character, PlayStation 2, is the Archmagister of House Telvanni. Also, spoilers for the mod and, to a lesser extent, the main quest, ahead.
In order to be able to do quests for the Twin Lamps, you have to free 15+ slaves and learn the password. PlayStation 2 has freed all the slaves that can be freed with a key, which proved to be more than sufficient. She did not use Command Humanoid on the remaining ones, as that is quite time-consuming, not to mention the questionable ethics. In spite of this, she had a low reputation with the Twin Lamps due to her status in House Telvanni. No matter, all she had to do was admire Jarodan (the questgiver for the majority of the quests in this mod) until he eventually let her in.
The first quest starts you off by persuading local booksellers in Balmora and Ald'ruhn. Since PlayStation 2 was already well-acquainted with these folks, this was a non-issue. This leads me to the first thing that was underwhelming to me, in that the book they had the player character pass out, “A Slave's Life,” only described details of what the book was like, with a transcript at the end. I'm not asking for a 24-page book like some of the literature within Morrowind, but it would've made the mod more believable and alive if there were more than a measly 2 pages to read.
The next quest was more exciting, as Jarodan has you deliver a scroll of Divine Intervention to Tiras Bitterblade, a fellow abolitionist under siege by slave hunters. Tiras turns out to be a major player in the quests to come, but the quest that followed had PlayStation 2 searching for new recruits for the cause. After speaking with all the Twin Lamps members she knew of, Sterdecan, a Redguard abolitionist she met during one of the vanilla Twin Lamps quests, points her to Balur Salvu, who volunteers his nephew, Nagera, to preach for the end of slavery in Balmora. At this point, a pair of slave hunters accosts PlayStation 2, but they are no match for her.
It is at this point that we come to the first frustrating quest. Jarodan is looking for a strategy to unite the people of Vvardenfell against slavery, but he has PlayStation 2 speak with other members to see what they think. Im-Kilaya at the Argonian Mission in Ebonheart wishes to go directly to the Houses, Bitterblade wishes to incite a violent uprising, and Jarodan himself wants to unite the common people of Morrowind first. The other Twin Lamps members are mostly ambivalent. Here's the kicker: There's no actual choice. Your player character WILL have to do Jarodan's quests in order to progress, so the other decisions lead to a dead end. I understand why this is, since having different endings would be a lot of work, not to mention the existing hard work on assets, locales, NPCs, and the like, but I almost wish PlayStation 2 wasn't given a choice.
Immediately after this is the second frustrating quest. Jarodan has PlayStation 2 convince the Farmer's and Laborer's Guild to stand against slavery. The guild then has her speak with all the farmers individually, who all have their own stance and perhaps a quest. The reasons this is frustrating? Most of the farmers cite Orvas Dren's hostility to be the main factor in their fear of positioning themselves against slavery. The problem? PlayStation 2 killed Orvas Dren when she freed his slaves. The second frustration is the Arvels. When PlayStation 2 initially brought up the prospect of anti-slavery to them, they dismissed the idea completely. However, they also indulge in hinting at family lore, revealing more Arvels living in Ald Velothi. That's right. You have to go all the way from Arvel Plantation to Ald Velothi to Stendarr's Retreat Inn back to the plantation AS AN ESCORT QUEST. If you know me, you know there is little I hate more in video games than escort quests. I have yet to come across ONE that is done well.
Thankfully, the next quest, involving the Miner's and Tanner's guild, is mostly just a waiting game. PlayStation 2 took this time to complete Bitterblade's quests. He sent her out to Tel Aruhn to investigate a slave ship that had just arrived there. Turns out the whole thing was a trap to try to kill her, but she did find a note from a “Marcion" within the ship. Bitterblade then had her go out to find Marcion. She asked Sterdecan, who directed her to ask at The House of Earthly Delights in Suran. While wandering around Suran, however, she found a pair of sneaky Dunmer talking with one another in an alleyway, one of whom, Tholdrun Oran, had a shop just outside the tradehouse. PlayStation 2 took it upon herself to steal from his small chest, in which she found a fair few incriminating documents, including the location of the bounty hunter. She approached Oran about it, and he confessed to writing the notes. She then approached Bitterblade about it, who sent her out to Fatleg's Camp northwest of Gnaar Mok.
After finding a ship captain in Hla Oad willing to take her there, PlayStation 2 made quick work of the slavers and freed the slaves within. The bounty hunter offered her a proposition to kill the Twin Lamps in exchange for a great number of septims, but no amount of septims would have changed her mind about these degenerate fools. She did find it quite amusing that the slavers admired her for being Nerevarine, even until their last breath. After looking around the kingpin's shack, PlayStation 2 found a note revealing a spy within the organization. She immediately brought it, and the news of the bounty hunter's death, to Bitterblade, and the pair took out the traitor.
At this point, the Miner's and Tanner's guild consented to freeing their slaves, so it was time to take on the Great Houses. Im-Kilaya had PlayStation 2 speak with Duke Vedam Dren personally to recruit House Hlaalu to the cause. He agreed without question. The next quest followed House Redoran, who had just declared their support for emancipation, in their siege in Tel Aruhn's slave market. PlayStation 2 made it there as quickly as she could and took out the remaining Telvanni. This part is why I emphasized that PlayStation 2 is Archmagister of House Telvanni. That situation could have been avoided entirely if she had the option to use her political power to free all slaves, whether that be through persuading the councilors or the “iron fist” method. It's never clear just how much political power the Archmagister has in House Telvanni, but with how some of the councilors resented the previous Archmagister, she should have some degree of political power here. The quest directly after this even has PlayStation 2 using her position as Nerevarine to speak with Vivec directly to free all the slaves, so what gives? I understand that it would have slightly conflicted with Rise of House Telvanni, but that mod has very little consequences when you go through its slave emancipation questline, so I don't really see the issue. Regardless, the Twin Lamps questline ends with a full ban on slavery in Vvardenfell, and that's it. Some mention of Telvanni protest here and there, but unfortunately, you can't do anything about that, even as Archmagister.
Overall, I quite enjoyed my experience playing this mod, and I felt that I started it at a good time in my character's story. Unlike Rise of House Telvanni, I felt that the world actually meaningfully changed in Vvardenfell, and I even think that House Telvanni's protest at the end made sense, although I am sad I can't use PlayStation 2's position to do something about that. In general, it would've been nice to have a shortcut when the player character is the leader of a Great House, but the quests were still mostly fulfilling nonetheless.
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