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Starwind R3mastered
quest guide

Between a Rock and a Soft Place

Walkthrough and QA reference for Between a Rock and a Soft Place (SW_SoftPlace).

At a glance#

JournalSW_SoftPlace
CategorySide Quests
Journal entries6
Completion branches2
Starts bySpeak with Hunter in Tatooine and ask about trapped.
Key locationsTatooine
Key charactersHunter

Walkthrough#

1. Speak with Hunter in Tatooine and ask about trapped#

Speak with Hunter in Tatooine and ask about trapped.

Expected journal update — index 5: I met a hunter named Earl Basset who is stuck on a boulder in the middle of a giant pool of quicksand. He has asked me to help him get out of this situation.

2. Speak with Hunter in Tatooine and ask about trapped#

Speak with Hunter in Tatooine and ask about trapped.

Expected journal update — index 10: I told the hunter, that I didn’t know how to help him with this, if I feel confident enough to escort him to safety I should return to him.

3. Speak with Hunter in Tatooine and ask about trapped#

Speak with Hunter in Tatooine and ask about trapped.

Expected journal update — index 15: I have agreed to escort Earl Basset away from the quicksand.

4. Defeat Hunter in Tatooine and allow its script to update the quest — Finished#

Defeat Hunter in Tatooine and allow its script to update the quest.

Expected journal update — index 20: Earl Basset has died while attempting to rescue him.

Outcome: this journal entry is marked as a finished branch.

5. Reach Tatooine and allow the scripted event to complete — Finished#

Reach Tatooine and allow the scripted event to complete.

Expected journal update — index 25: I have rescued Earl Basset from the boulder within the quicksand, he has given me his Cathar Speed Implant as a thanks for my aid.

Outcome: this journal entry is marked as a finished branch.

Endings & branches#

The journal has 2 explicit finished entries. Treat them as branch coverage targets during playtesting:

  • Index 20: Earl Basset has died while attempting to rescue him.
  • Index 25: I have rescued Earl Basset from the boulder within the quicksand, he has given me his Cathar Speed Implant as a thanks for my aid.

Characters & locations#

Characters directly tied to quest dialogue:

  • Hunter (SW_HunterWurm) — Tatooine

Locations implicated by actor/object placement or explicit travel:

  • Tatooine
Technical / QA reference

Journal ID: SW_SoftPlace Generated category: Side Quests Journal entries: 6

Exact journal progression

IndexStateJournal textDirect setters found
5—I met a hunter named Earl Basset who is stuck on a boulder in the middle of a giant pool of quicksand. He has asked me to help him get out of this situation.2
10—I told the hunter, that I didn’t know how to help him with this, if I feel confident enough to escort him to safety I should return to him.1
15—I have agreed to escort Earl Basset away from the quicksand.1
20FinishedEarl Basset has died while attempting to rescue him.1
25FinishedI have rescued Earl Basset from the boulder within the quicksand, he has given me his Cathar Speed Implant as a thanks for my aid.1

Record-level trigger map

Stage 5

I met a hunter named Earl Basset who is stuck on a boulder in the middle of a giant pool of quicksand. He has asked me to help him get out of this situation.

How this stage is set:

  • Dialogue INFO 91725711156116186 under topic trapped; speaker Hunter (SW_HunterWurm). locations: Tatooine. conditions: Journal SW_SoftPlace Equal 5. response: “I’ve been stuck on this rock for two days now, and every time I try to make a run for it that damned wurm comes out of the ground and tries to eat me.”.
Journal SW_SoftPlace 5
Choice "I will help you get off this rock." 1 "I'm sorry but I don't think I can help, your best bet is to just run for it." 2
  • Dialogue INFO 23134256151827329735 under topic trapped; speaker Hunter (SW_HunterWurm). locations: Tatooine. conditions: Journal SW_SoftPlace Equal 0. response: “I’ve been stuck on this rock for two days now, and every time I try to make a run for it that damned wurm comes out of the ground and tries to eat me.”.
Journal SW_SoftPlace 5
Choice "I will help you get off this rock." 1 "I'm sorry but I don't think I can help, your best bet is to just run for it." 2

Stage 10

I told the hunter, that I didn’t know how to help him with this, if I feel confident enough to escort him to safety I should return to him.

How this stage is set:

  • Dialogue INFO 117073790928310015 under topic trapped; speaker Hunter (SW_HunterWurm). locations: Tatooine. conditions: Function/Choice Equal 2. response: “Then I’m doomed. I’ll wait for someone else to come by.”.
Journal SW_SoftPlace 10

Stage 15

I have agreed to escort Earl Basset away from the quicksand.

How this stage is set:

  • Dialogue INFO 75228078718126620 under topic trapped; speaker Hunter (SW_HunterWurm). locations: Tatooine. conditions: Function/Choice Equal 1. response: “Well let’s get out of here, I’m ready to see my wife and kids!”.
Journal SW_SoftPlace 15
AIFollow Player 0, 0, 0, 0

Stage 20 — Finished

Earl Basset has died while attempting to rescue him.

How this stage is set:

  • Script SW_WurmEscortDeath. attached to Npc Hunter (SW_HunterWurm); placed in Tatooine.
If ( OnDeath )
    Journal SW_SoftPlace 20
Endif

Stage 25 — Finished

I have rescued Earl Basset from the boulder within the quicksand, he has given me his Cathar Speed Implant as a thanks for my aid.

How this stage is set:

  • Script SW_WurmEscortAct. attached to Activator Trigger (SW_WurmEscortActivator); placed in Tatooine.
If ( GetDistance, SW_HunterWurm >= 8000 )
    If ( GetJournalIndex SW_SoftPlace < 25 )
        Journal SW_SoftPlace 25
        SW_HunterWurm->ForceGreeting
    Endif

Dialogue speakers:

  • Hunter (SW_HunterWurm) — Tatooine

Scripts that read or write this journal:

  • SW_WurmEscortAct — Activator Trigger (SW_WurmEscortActivator); placed in Tatooine
  • SW_WurmEscortDeath — Npc Hunter (SW_HunterWurm); placed in Tatooine

Cells implicated by actor/object placement or explicit travel code:

  • Tatooine
Journal-state readers (1 code sites)
  • Script SW_WurmEscortAct. attached to Activator Trigger (SW_WurmEscortActivator); placed in Tatooine.

Generated playtest checklist

  • Start/reach the quest naturally and verify journal index 5 is obtainable.
  • Reach index 5: I met a hunter named Earl Basset who is stuck on a boulder in the middle of a giant pool of quicksand. He has …
  • Reach index 10: I told the hunter, that I didn’t know how to help him with this, if I feel confident enough to escort him to s…
  • Reach index 15: I have agreed to escort Earl Basset away from the quicksand.
  • Reach index 20 (Finished): Earl Basset has died while attempting to rescue him.
  • Reach index 25 (Finished): I have rescued Earl Basset from the boulder within the quicksand, he has given me his Cathar Speed Implant as …
  • Branch coverage: this journal has 2 different Finished entries; test each reachable completion branch.
  • Verify any scripted reward/item transfer shown above actually occurs.
  • Verify involved NPCs/objects remain present and usable after the stage transition.
  • Verify no unrelated vanilla Morrowind dialogue/quest state appears during the flow.

QA console reference

Current journal state can be inspected with the OpenMW/Morrowind journal tooling for SW_SoftPlace. Manually forcing journal indices is useful for diagnosis, but does not substitute for testing the scripts/dialogue that normally cause the transition.