River Rock Falls

[aeronwen]

Yes, this is an actual Morrowind post.

This morning I was browsing house mods at Nexus and this one caught my eye: River Rock Falls by The Wanderer and Denina.

I must say, I'm intrigued and tempted to use this when Aeronwen and Neldor are able to afford and maintain an actual home. Granted I'm very attached to the Ascadian Rose Cottage, but it's not perfect for their needs. There is little to no room for Oliver, let alone any additional large animals. River Rock has plenty of room for fields of crops as well as some livestock.

Another thing I like is that the interior looks quite cozy. While the manor at the Pegasus Estate is impressive, it's not really all that cozy and in fact seems to be built for separateness. It's more like a stronghold than a home.

It wouldn't take much to tweak the River Rock mod to make it NoM compatible. Plus the mod creators left plenty of room for users to add their own personal touches to the interiors. The walls and shelves are empty, allowing Aeronwen places to hang her paintings, tapestries, and display her pottery. I think I would also include the pretty glass display cases that came with the Rose Cottage.

River Rock is in its own "interior as exterior" cell, but I can easily imagine that the place is nestled somewhere in the West Gash foothills.

I haven't opened the mod in the CS yet, but I think making the NoM tweaks and adding a few other personal touches will give me something to do while waiting for the day of my surgery. While I haven't officially decided to make River Rock Aeronwen's and Neldor's primary home, I think I can imagine them feeling quite content there. I'll just need to play around with it and see how the place feels.

Comments

[darth_eldritch]

I've been looking at River Rock Falls, too. I haven't decided if I want to do anything with it.

The interior looks like it has a lot of potential, plenty of room to do things with. I really like the fields and the flowers.

[aeronwen]

I took a look at it in game. There are a few things I'd like to change, but for the most part it's very nice.

One thing I'm a little disappointed with is the alchemy area, which is basically just some sorting cabinets at the end of the kitchen and tucked under a staircase. I think I've been spoiled by the Ascadian Laboratory. Plus I realized that I would really miss Aeronwen's interactions with Nerst the talking rat.

[darth_eldritch]

It would be cool if someone would mod an alchemy shed or cave into the "interior exterior" area, since there is plenty of room.

[aeronwen]

That really would work well. Then maybe some elements from other mods to make music, art and crafting rooms and the place would be on its way to being perfect.

[darth_eldritch]

I haven't looked at this in the CK, but it appears from the pics there is a lot of area in the top most level that can be converted to areas that you want. It's just shelves and tables, a trophy display room.

[aeronwen]

I ended up deciding not to use this. The thing that put me off is that there isn't an actual sky since the cell is actually an interior. I went outside after nightfall and the sky is just a dull light gray. No moons, no stars...just gray. That broke immersion for me.

On a bit of an amusing note, every time I look at the Rose Cottage I find myself wondering why I even bother looking at other houses, especially with the pottery area in the basement, the musical instruments upstairs and the other details that make it look like creative, artistic people live there.

[darth_eldritch]

Okay, that puts me off, too. I was wondering about the sky and weather there. It would be better to put a house in the West Gash somewhere. There doesn't seem to be too many houses in that region, unlike everywhere else.

The Rose Cottage does have a certain charm. I always put it in, even if I haven't gotten around to using it in game, and I actually went through the time and trouble to patch the place with my grass mod. Now that I've decided that it will be Aryc's wedding gift to Amaryllis, I'll be using it. Korana seems to have the best house mods for Morrowind.

[aeronwen]

It would be better to put a house in the West Gash somewhere. There doesn't seem to be too many houses in that region, unlike everywhere else.

Agreed. In fact I think that is the reason I keep browsing the house mods. My characters, Neldor in particular, would probably prefer to live in a wilder area like the West Gash. But as you said, most people don't mod for that region. I've tried to make one myself, but it's difficult to find an area of ground that would be suitable for a house along with a shed/barn-type building for animals.

I recently checked out The Cottage. I love it, but it's just too small for two people. Sure I could replace the single bed in there with a set of bunk beds, but I don't think those are the sleeping arrangements that Neldor has in mind for their shared home. ;)

[darth_eldritch]

Yeah, a lot of the West Gash is hilly. Hard to find some sort of plains suitable for a house and barn, unless you get really creative or something.

I like that little house. It's a good place for someone who wants to get away and live in solitude.

[aeronwen]

Hard to find some sort of plains suitable for a house and barn, unless you get really creative or something.

Yes, they would probably do better in the Grazelands for that sort of thing. Not that there's any hurry. Roleplay-wise, the only sort of house that they could afford right now is the Abandoned Shack.

Speaking of, I just looked at this one in game: Seamless Abandoned Shack. It's very nicely done, but I can imagine Aeronwen, and probably even Neldor, being leery about how easy it is to see through the wall slats. They would both wonder if some weirdo might come along and peer in at them while they're sleeping.

[darth_eldritch]

And it's close to Ilunibi and the nuked dreamers dancing about...

It looks nice, but, yeah, all it takes is one weirdo out and about.

You could go through the old archives of MMH House mods. I wish there were more screenies for those, though.

[aeronwen]

Oh that's right! With MCA, after a while the Dreamers start spawning.

When looking at the spaces between the slats, I could also imagine the practical Neldor saying, "Those are all well and good on clear nights, but the wind would blow the rain in all over us during storms."

Wow, that's quite a list of house mods. I'll browse through them and see if any jump out at me. Thanks.