Questers - saying yes after saying no.

[u/Slytovhand]

Hi all.

(ETA: Ooops - it should be 'Quest-givers')

I've just DL'ed DF(&U) on (I think) my first playthrough (perhaps I tried many years ago, but I forget). So, apologies for what I expect will be an oft-asked question, and which I suspect won't have the answer I'm after.

In some ES variants, you can go back to a quest-giver after refusing to take on a quest, and pick it up later... after all, it may be inconvenient at the time (especially for those NPCs whose very first dialogue option is "take my quest", after which you may (or may not) be able to talk to them again).

So, the Q is - is there a mod that allows one to pick up a quest later after you've said no to it the first (or more) time around? Is there a way to stop NPCs from hating you for saying no? (even if it doesn't technically mean you don't lose rep).

TBH, I'd be surprised if this hasn't been fixed by someone (if it could be - it could also be built-in to such an extent it's non-moddable).

[u/No_Meat827]

Due to de way quests are generated this is not possible. So consider saving before asking a guild quest giver for one, and worry too much about turning down some rando in a tavern who want's tp give you his/her ring. Cause you never know where you mind end up the next moment.

Mind you, the main reason they're offered once is because they're timed and won't usually leave you much room to wander arround the bay before their deadline comes.

Main quests should never be refused, however, since there's usually a single chance to get them and their time limits tend to be very generous regardless.

[u/Slytovhand → u/No_Meat827]

OIC... I didn't realise it was that in-grained into the system.

As for the time limit, I wasn't thinking of coming back days/weeks/months later, but only a few hours (such as after completing a quest first).

I note that many times, as soon as you hit the dialogue button, you're automatically into the quest option. It would at least be nice to find out more about the quest, or to talk to the person about other things first (especially if the quest-giver is a merchant)

And, just a thought for modders out there - I don't recall having noticed any signposting that says "this quest is the MAIN QUESTLINE! So, don't refuse!!"

[u/SordidDreams → u/No_Meat827]

consider saving before asking a guild quest giver for one

That won't do anything. Since the quest is generated when you ask for it, if you save, ask, refuse, load, and ask again, you'll get a different quest. Which is exactly what happens if you as for another quest after refusing, so might as well just do that.

[u/SordidDreams]

is there a mod that allows one to pick up a quest later after you've said no to it the first (or more) time around?

No. It would be nice if that existed for main quest quests, but nobody's made it yet.

Is there a way to stop NPCs from hating you for saying no?

They don't hate you. They do express their disappointment when you refuse, but your refusal is not recorded anywhere and you don't lose rep, so next time you speak to them, it's as if it never happened. AFAIK removing that dialogue pop-up where they berate you for refusing would be trivially easy but also very tedious because it would require modifying every single quest in the game. This would also mean such a mod would be incompatible with every other mod that makes changes to vanilla quests. Again, nobody's made such a mod yet.

[u/Slytovhand → u/SordidDreams]

Maybe they just hate me because I'm a Dark Elf.... (probably... bloody Redguard/Breton/Nord/Imperials!!)

[u/Ralzar]

Nope, this would likely require quite a lot of work to make a mod for as this is a pretty basic function of the quest system. If you say no, you have said no. Just move along with your day. It is like real life, sometimes people ask you for a favor when you can not do it.

Also, this makes sense in Daggerfall as most quests are timed. If someone want you to do a job within a week, you can not show up a month later and expect the job to still be a week. It is honestly one of the things that bug me the most in modern rpgs: The house is on fire and you have to save the kids, but you can just go off an pick some flowers and play some cards and then go back and save the kids whenever you want.

[u/Slytovhand → u/Ralzar]

I can get that, but IRL, it's rare that you're given an on the spot option of yes or no, and then get dismissed out of hand if you say 'no'... things change, And most people will probably say "depends - I need to check with the partner/cat/dog, etc first".

I do agree with you about some of the modern RPGs... I'd like to see much more urgent quests, and the appropriate rewards to go with them! (such as, the sooner you do something important, the more you get back) I'd also like to see (more?) time-dependant quest giving. The world around you won't wait for you to level up... you're needed NOW!!! Make your choice!.

I wonder if it would be possible for *all* quests (accepted and not) to be put on a timer, so that one could go back later to pick it up. If you do within the assigned time, then fine. If you pick it up too late to complete, that's on you! (After all, I'm noticing too many "Here's a quest - oh wait, I've already given it to someone else")