House Telvanni in Solstheim feels like a missed opportunity

[ScrollsOfTamriel]

The more I think about it, the more I realize how undercooked House Telvanni is in Dragonborn. You've got Neloth, who's genuinely interesting - this arrogant Dunmer mage who's been isolated on an island for god knows how long, still clinging to Great House politics that don't really matter anymore. And then... that's kind of it? You do a few fetch quests for him, get some spells, and move on.

Compare that to Morrowind where the Great Houses actually felt like factions with real weight and internal conflict. Here Telvanni is just a questgiver with a tower. I get that Dragonborn is focused on Miraak and Hermaeus Mora, but it feels like there was room to do something more with the remnants of House culture on Solstheim. Even just a few more quests showing how the House is struggling to maintain relevance after the Red Year and everything that happened in the mainland would've added so much texture to the whole DLC.

Anyone else feel like Neloth's questline should've been longer, or am I just nostalgic for Morrowind politics?

 

[EbonyWarrior]

Nah, you're hitting on something real. Neloth is a great character - that mix of arrogance and genuine isolation works - but yeah, the questline feels thin. In Morrowind the Great Houses were factions, you know? You had to navigate politics, do favors, climb ranks, deal with actual internal conflict between House members. Here it's just "go get me this, go get me that" and then he's done.

The thing that gets me is Solstheim already has that history baked in. The Red Year happened, the mainland got wrecked, and House Telvanni probably retreated there as one of their last strongholds. That's a story right there - a Great House in decline, clinging to old ways on an island that's not even really Morrowind anymore. You could've had quests about maintaining authority over the other Dunmer there, or conflicts with whatever's left of the other Houses, or even just showing how Neloth's attitude is a liability when resources are scarce.

Instead we get fetch quests and he just... exists as a vendor basically. It's the same problem Skyrim had with a lot of its factions honestly - they're less like living organizations and more like questlines with a coat of paint. Morrowind spoiled us.