Trapped in Rubber (updated 2015-08-02)

[El_Duderino]

So I finally played that mod recently and finished it yesterday. Greyspammer, this is a work of art! I didn't look at the quest spoilers before I jumped in, and now I'm completely blown away by how detailed and long this quest mod was. It took my char 22 game days at  timescale 8 to complete this mod's quests, without taking any time off for other quests, thanks to no fast travel other than by expensive (BFT mod) carriage, RND and others.

 

This really is a huge mod! The story is excellent, it was intriguing from the first quest on. I really enjoyed the slow pace at which it evolved and the numerous turns and surprises it offered. You have created some fascinating characters for this mod, some of whom, in particular the Mistress, I simply loved to hate. Nothing in this mod felt out of place, whatever one may think of rubber fetishes I must say you did a great job weaving it into the Elder Scrolls lore. For me, this rubberist madwoman with the big heart and the very dark side (my personal take on her) and her slaves somehow belong there now.

 

I'm playing a heavily modded Skyrim, I'd like to share some thoughts on mod compatibility. I'm putting these in spoilers, because that's just what they may be if you haven't played this mod yet.

 

PerMa+combat difficulty enhancers: these make a certain quest roughly in the middle of the mod and the final showdown very tough. Even after reuniting with my follower for these quests, I still had to resort to console-killing some of my opponents or I just would not have been able to complete these quests.

 

Expanded Towns and Cities: I'm running the latest version of the complete version of this mod and had no problems whatsoever reaching all the dead drop barrels in the 'Rubber Mail' quest.

 

Populated Forts, Towers, Places: this mod I think adds some additional guards to the Thalmor embassy, patroling the garden. They were however not hostile during 'Rubber Spy' and your mod happily ignored them too, so this was just a bit immersion breaking but it did not interfere with the actual quest (which I found pretty hard, by the way).

 

Frostfall: in my opinion essential for this mod, as it makes escape from the basement so much harder! My char once managed to escape without the suit on but had to return with her tail between the legs so she wouldn't freeze to death.

 

 

There were also a few minor issues that I noticed during my playthrough of this fine mod. I could complete it successfully without having to use any too drastic measures on the console, but I'll list here what I noticed. Maybe it'll be of some help to you.

 

 

• In the last third of the mod, the Mistress refused to be in the Tower's main hall to greet me or give the next quest. Instead, she was always sitting on that throne in the party room and even if I used "moveto player" on her, she would then start walking towards the party room. That didn't seem to cause any issues with the actual dialog with her or the questing. At some point I just console-unlocked the party room door and went there directly to fetch my next quest.
• The final quest, Epilogue, didn't start automatically (if it is in fact supposed to). I followed the Mistress's instructions to take a couple of days off, did stuff in and around Solitude for three days or more. Nothing, no courier. I then force-started the quest from the console and "setstaged" my way to where I should have gotten the letter, added a copy of it by console, and went from there. All worked fine from then on.
• Some of the suits seemed to loose their enchantment. At the beginning, I switched colors often and put the old ones back into the chest. Not sure if that was the cause for that, but when I put these back on then they were just normal clothing, without message boxes and also not recognized by the guard at the basement exit.
• The Finale quest had a confusing quest marker. It sent me to that Nordic ruin near Markarth, which after looking at it is the same one that you've placed near Falkreath.

 

 

 

Let me again emphasize how impressed I am with this mod! Thanks for many hours of great entertainment!

[Jayleia]

 

 

 

 

Frostfall: in my opinion essential for this mod, as it makes escape from the basement so much harder! My char once managed to escape without the suit on but had to return with her tail between the legs so she wouldn't freeze to death.

 

 

I agree about that one...and here's my own somewhat dark idea...

 

 

 

 

Mistress knew about the escape tunnel the whole time, the escape was not only allowed to occur, but planned to occur, so you would eventually find out about the escape path and attempt your own escape...only to show you that it is impossible.

 

And eventually, it will be your turn to "escape" and a new slave will be assigned to chase you...

 

 

[greyspammer]

Thanks for the praise.

 

As to the Mistress wandering off: I have rewritten the script fragments that control when which quest is started. Previously, quests were only started and then I relied on Skyrim to properly terminate them once they reached their final stage. It seems like that didn't always happen and so AI packages from those (still active) quests kept interfering.

 

Now, whenever the next quest in the chain is started, the previous one will be stopped. Hopefully, that'll address the issue. At least that's what I think might be the cause of these problems. I was never able to reproduce the problem myself, so I'm stabbing in the dark here.

 

Oh, and the wrong quest marker for Khurvangard is already fixed in the development version. The rest, I'll have to look into.

[El_Duderino]

Hi, let me emphasize again that none of these minor niggles that I mentioned in my previous post detracted from the gameplay in any way.

 

I had an idea today for a roleplaying solution when stuck in the suit after the final quest.

 

My char set Raynila free in the Boon quest. But now what? Walk all over Skyrim in a shiny suit for days on end? No thank you. Not after all these weeks of terror, pain, and that glimmer of hope to be set free again in spite of all that has happened.

 

So what is going to happen now is a visit to the College of Winterhold to ask the boffins there if they can't do something about the enchantment of the suit. Surely the Mistress can't be the only insanely powerful sorceress in Skyrim. I suppose the wizards at the College will need a few days to come up with a solution, and probably charge several thousand septims for their services. But all that should be worth it! In the end of course they'll present their latest invention, the Amulet of the Broken Seal.

[greyspammer]

I had an idea today for a roleplaying solution when stuck in the suit after the final quest.

Unfortunately, there's already something that's going to happen after that.

[El_Duderino]

 

I had an idea today for a roleplaying solution when stuck in the suit after the final quest.

Unfortunately, there's already something that's going to happen after that.

 

Oh, excellent! That is great news. So the end is not actually the end. I look forward to that.

[dra1c]

could someone maybe post a picture which shows the exit of the escape tunnel? I used it to put the questline on halt and now I can not find it in the water anymore to continue with the content

[greyspammer]

could someone maybe post a picture which shows the exit of the escape tunnel? I used it to put the questline on halt and now I can not find it in the water anymore to continue with the content

 

Just put the suit from your inventory back on and enter the Tower normally. No one will notice.

 

If you didn't take it with you: As long as the Mistress doesn't see you, you should be able to just enter the Tower normally, head straight for the basement, put the suit back on and resume the currently active quest as if nothing had happened. The other people in the Tower won't react if you walk around without rubber. Only the Mistress will.

[dra1c]

 

could someone maybe post a picture which shows the exit of the escape tunnel? I used it to put the questline on halt and now I can not find it in the water anymore to continue with the content

 

Just put the suit from your inventory back on and enter the Tower normally. No one will notice.

 

If you didn't take it with you: As long as the Mistress doesn't see you, you should be able to just enter the Tower normally, head straight for the basement, put the suit back on and resume the currently active quest as if nothing had happened. The other people in the Tower won't react if you walk around without rubber. Only the Mistress will.

 

 

The basement is locked and I cant enter it

 

[greyspammer]

The basement is locked and I cant enter it

Huh. Ok.

 

This is the location where the exit is:

[DistrictGlamour]

I see you're adding squeaky-sounds, and I also see you provided a simple overlay in the Open-eyed Hood Helmet thread-- absolutely love the idea of both.  Wearing the suit is the big thing during this mod, and improving upon the immersion is great!

[ZofaSoldier]

 I see you're adding squeaky-sounds, and I also see you provided a simple overlay in the Open-eyed Hood Helmet thread-- absolutely love the idea of both.  Wearing the suit is the big thing during this mod, and improving upon the immersion is great!

Thanks for this post. I had a look in the open eyed hood topic and it looks great. Can't wait for the next version!

 

And I am not sure if Greyspammer will add the sounds to the game, but here's the YouTube Audio Library - try searching for rubber. Sound should be free for use.

 

https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/soundeffects

[greyspammer]

And I am not sure if Greyspammer will add the sounds to the game, but here's the YouTube Audio Library - try searching for rubber. Sound should be free for use.

 

https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/soundeffects

Yeah, some other users posted links to other sound files as well. But they either didn't sound "rubbery" enough or or were too "cartoonish". So I just made my own. I kind of like the result. What the audience will think remains to be seen, however.

[ZofaSoldier]

 

And I am not sure if Greyspammer will add the sounds to the game, but here's the YouTube Audio Library - try searching for rubber. Sound should be free for use.

 

https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/soundeffects

Yeah, some other users posted links to other sound files as well. But they either didn't sound "rubbery" enough or or were too "cartoonish". So I just made my own. I kind of like the result. What the audience will think remains to be seen, however.

 

 

Great, can't wait! Rubber squeaks and the gasmask hood will be great additions.

 

Any idea when the next release will be ready for the public?

[greyspammer]

Any idea when the next release will be ready for the public?

Nope. Probably still a few months.

[dra1c]

 

The basement is locked and I cant enter it

Huh. Ok.

 

This is the location where the exit is:

tir_sewer_exterior.jpg

 

 

found it and this worked. Thanks =)

[wooaa]

 

Any idea when the next release will be ready for the public?

Nope. Probably still a few months.

 

And it will be worth it. This is the best quest mod out there. 

[CogNeato]

I am attempting a play through of the mod now. It looks like a very well scripted and well built mod. I did have one minor issue with it. In the party scene the teal servant walks back to get whatever order you ask for, which while cool looking does tend to drag out the game play and slow the pacing of the story. I can appreciate the scripted walking sequences to get the items, but maybe have them stop after three or four times. Waiting through the locked down teal walking sequence 20+ times made it the least favorite part of the mod.

 

I've spotted a weird issue. I was stuck in the Gauntlet after the quest failed. Is there not a way out of the Gauntlet without console if your character is honest?

 

Once in the Rubber Spy quest I also ran into an issue. The popup states there is no point in getting back in the barrel and I'm on my own, but the quest marker still stays on the barrel and the quest does not change. I though the marker was just an error and returned to the tower after leaving the embassy. The Mistress just seems to have normal dialog though and nothing pertaining to the quest at all.

[greyspammer]

I've spotted a weird issue. I was stuck in the Gauntlet after the quest failed. Is there not a way out of the Gauntlet without console if your character is honest?

No, there isn't. From the story's point of view, that makes perfect sense. The Mistress built the gauntlet to do exactly that: Weed out anyone who is not willing to submit and be loyal to her.

 

And if you peek behind the curtain, one of the reasons you have to submit is that from now on, the main story will pick up pace. The outcome of the previous quests was not really relevant to the central plot. That allowed me to give you the freedom to botch these quests or even sabotage the Mistress on purpose (like letting slaves escape).

 

Now we enter a phase where each quest builds upon its predecessor to form a coherent narrative. And then we get into a logic dilemma: If you keep messing up, why would the Mistress keep entrusting you with ever more important missions? The only way around that would be to offer some other quests to make up for previous failures. And what if you botch those, too? It's a problem that could be solved, no question. But all in all, this is just too much work for me to handle all on my own.

 

Therefore, as a concession to my limited amount of free time, many of the following quests and dialogues will not allow you to mess up or act defiantly. And to justify that from a roleplaying perspective, your character has to give up on the notion of freedom and accept her role as a slave.

 

That's what this quest does.

[CogNeato]

 

I've spotted a weird issue. I was stuck in the Gauntlet after the quest failed. Is there not a way out of the Gauntlet without console if your character is honest?

No, there isn't. From the story's point of view, that makes perfect sense. The Mistress built the gauntlet to do exactly that: Weed out anyone who is not willing to submit and be loyal to her.

 

 

 

 

I started noticing that in the later quests. The dialog options to remain a good character still remain but seem to have no impact after the party quest. I pressed on as I wanted to see the content and see if the story returned to player driven. It seemed too at the end, and it may have been a glitch but when my character killed the villain with the arrow there was a brief conversation but the quest would not update. It still had the kill objective and still had a quest marker on a dead body. I loaded twice and had the same error.

 

Greyspammer, I really liked the first half of the mod. It was one of the few I've seen that are branching and actually have different ways to complete them. The story I got to experience was about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of evil, and it was a very cool story. Keep up the good work.

[Inte]

Most underrated mod. Good job @greyspammer
 
Few thoughts,

• Not sure if anyone else has this problem, but only the first sentence of a conversation shows up. If I speed it up, then more will show up, but never all of it, so I will miss like 70% of what has been said, the NPC's just stay there flapping their lips.  
• There is a really easy way to escape your rubber prison once you are in the basement, and no it does not involve cheating. But, since I do not want all those rubber slaves running around rubber free, and tricking their 'Mistress', I will only say that it has something to do with a key. 
• Hmm ... now this is only my opinion but I do not agree with the Mistress vs Master argument.
  • Master should be genderless, (you know what I mean ) just as there is no gender for 'Slave' there should not be one for 'Master'.
  • In this case Master/Slave would represent the relationship and not necessary the gender of the people involved. When you say 'Mistress', that forces gender into it, and gender should not be that important in a Master/Slave relationship.  
  • For example how 'master/slave' represents how a set of hard drives are controlled or communicate with each other.  
• Perhaps we can get more bondage quests in the future releases? Like the pony race and rubber toy quests.

[ZofaSoldier]

 

I've spotted a weird issue. I was stuck in the Gauntlet after the quest failed. Is there not a way out of the Gauntlet without console if your character is honest?

No, there isn't. From the story's point of view, that makes perfect sense. The Mistress built the gauntlet to do exactly that: Weed out anyone who is not willing to submit and be loyal to her.

 

And if you peek behind the curtain, one of the reasons you have to submit is that from now on, the main story will pick up pace. The outcome of the previous quests was not really relevant to the central plot. That allowed me to give you the freedom to botch these quests or even sabotage the Mistress on purpose (like letting slaves escape).

 

Now we enter a phase where each quest builds upon its predecessor to form a coherent narrative. And then we get into a logic dilemma: If you keep messing up, why would the Mistress keep entrusting you with ever more important missions? The only way around that would be to offer some other quests to make up for previous failures. And what if you botch those, too? It's a problem that could be solved, no question. But all in all, this is just too much work for me to handle all on my own.

 

Therefore, as a concession to my limited amount of free time, many of the following quests and dialogues will not allow you to mess up or act defiantly. And to justify that from a roleplaying perspective, your character has to give up on the notion of freedom and accept her role as a slave.

 

That's what this quest does.

 

 

The Gauntlet was one of my most favorite quests in the mod - you had to slowly fully accept rubber and the entrapment it brings.

[greyspammer]

Not sure if anyone else has this problem, but only the first sentence of a conversation shows up. If I speed it up, then more will show up, but never all of it, so I will miss like 70% of what has been said, the NPC's just stay there flapping their lips.

 

I had the same problem with other mods which weren't voice-acted. Check if you have subtitles enabled in the Skyrim settings. Technically, Fus Ro Doh should take care of that. But it seems that sometimes, it doesn't. Enabling subtitles in the settings fixed the issue for me.

 

There is a really easy way to escape your rubber prison once you are in the basement, and no it does not involve cheating. But, since I do not want all those rubber slaves running around rubber free, and tricking their 'Mistress', I will only say that it has something to do with a key.

 

If it's the one I think it is: That's already fixed in development.

 

Hmm ... now this is only my opinion but I do not agree with the Mistress vs Master argument.

 

 

It's always difficult to argue when it comes to opinions.

 

I admit that my decision to call her "Mistress" is, in part, because it just "feels right" to me. But it is also backed by some facts:

• As far as real BDSM culture goes, they seem to prefer gender-specific nouns. I have yet to see a dominatrix calling herself "dominator" and claiming that it's gender-neutral. I suppose those people may exist, but even if they do, they're definitely a minority. Why would "Master" be gender-neutral, but not "Dominator"? And many professional dominatrices call themselves "Mistress Such-and-such", "Goddess Bla-bla-bla" or "Lady Whatever". All very clearly female nouns and pronouns. If that kind of language didn't appeal to the customers, then it wouldn't sell. And these people would be out of their jobs. So I assume that at least the majority of BDSM people prefer a clear grammatical gender when it comes to titles and names.

   

• It is my understanding (not a native speaker, so correct me if I'm wrong) that while many nouns in the English language have lost their grammatical gender (e.g. "slave"), some historical ballast still prevails. Like the term "Mistress". It was originally just the female version of "Master" (someone who has any kind of authority). These words originate from the French "maîtresse" and "maître" which, in term, trace back to the Latin "magister" and "magistra". So if I ask myself whether "Master" is gender-neutral or not, I look at the etymological origin for further clues. And they tell me that "Master" is not gender-neutral but in fact, clearly masculine. Obviously, that's not definitive. But it does seem to make more sense.

   

• "Mistress" is - in this context - more of a title. And even in English (which has lost grammatical gender in many cases, see above), titles are still gender-specific. Women are addressed as "Miss" or "Mrs", men are called "Mister". And guess where these honorifics come from? Yep, they used to be the words "Mistress" and "Master". So if even these words, that have been fully assimilated into the English language and are used on a daily basis by virtually everyone, are still gender-specific, why would the words they originate from suddenly not be?

 

 

Perhaps we can get more bondage quests in the future releases? Like the pony race and rubber toy quests.

 

Perhaps. The problem with bondage is that, by its very nature, it makes you passive. Once you're tied up, there's not a lot you can do. That severely limits the options in terms of story-telling. But if I come up with something good, I'll probably implement it.

 

 

 

The Gauntlet was one of my most favorite quests in the mod - you had to slowly fully accept rubber and the entrapment it brings.

 

That was the idea. Good to know it worked. At least for some people.

[Inte]

~ snip ~

It's always difficult to argue when it comes to opinions.

~ snap ~

That is true, and because it is just an opinion I will not argue it any further, I will say this though:

 

To me a 'Mistress' is lower than a whore (and a whore is as low as you can get), and as such I could never submit to someone calling themselves that.

 

Maybe that is why I had such a hard time passing through the gauntlet. BTW, how can the creepy crawlers in the first part, crawl into your skin if you are in 'ethereal' form, you know a ghost.  Same goes for the gas. Kinda broke the immersion there.

 

I think it's just the reputation of the word 'Mistress'.

You see I have no problem with Domina, which was used very successful in a TV series I once saw, called Spartacus: Blood And Sand, and 'Xena: the Warrior Princess' carried it very well in that, even though it was about real slavery, which I am against.  

I would submit to a Domina.

 

 

Andy Whitfield you are missed!

[greyspammer]

To me a 'Mistress' is lower than a whore (and a whore is as low as you can get)

[...]

I think it's just the reputation of the word 'Mistress'.

 

To be fair: I'm not sure how well-deserved that reputation actually is. Often times, a mistress is portrayed as the lowliest scum on the face of the planet, whereas the man just faltered. At least by certain people (often the "family values" kind of people). But the woman didn't swear a vow to remain faithful. The man did. He's the actual oathbreaker. The mistress may not even have known about the pre-existing relationship.

 

It may be an English thing. My own native language has different words for "a lover on the side" and "a woman of authority". So for me, the term is not as emotionally loaded.

 

Anyhow, I accept that you feel the way you do about the term. Little I can do about it. But I don't think I'll rename the Mistress just because someone doesn't like the name. Let's face it: Whatever I choose to call her - what's to stop the next guy from making a similar argument about her new designation?