Elder Scrolls Dev Returns To Release Morrowind's Biggest New Storyline In Over 20 Years

Summary Red Wisdom mod brings a major new storyline to Morrowind after 21 years.

A collaborative effort by an original quest designer and modders creates a new journey.

Players can unravel an ancient prophecy and explore a new grotto.

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind has just got a new storyline courtesy of one of the game's original quest designers. While it has been over 20 years since Morrowind was released on PC and Xbox, the title is still praised for its open-ended, varied storytelling, and is still easily playable due to subsequent digital releases on PC launchers such as Steam, and Xbox's backwards-compatibility scheme.

Douglas Goodall, who goes by AFFA on Nexus Mods, has teamed up with fellow modders Greatness7 and Melchior Dahrk to create Red Wisdom - An Ashlander Prophecy, a mod that explores a new angle to Ashlander lore and sees players facing wild beasts and Daedric interlopers on a new journey. Goodall was one of Morrowind's quest designers, having created quests for most of the game's main factions based on outlines by Lead Designer Ken Rolston, and pitched an idea for the Tribunal expansion - albeit one that was reportedly different from the final product.

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Red Wisdom Is The Closest Thing To A Major Official Morrowind Storyline In Decades

The Last Official Expansion Was Released In 2003

Image Credit: Melchior Dahrk/Nexus Mods

Due to Goodall's role in designing quests for the original game, the Red Wisdom mod is probably the closest Morrowind will get to major story content in over two decades. Goodall left Bethesda Softworks in June 2002, citing creative disagreements during the development of the Tribunal expansion. Bethesda released a further expansion, Bloodmoon a year later in 2003, meaning it has been 21 years since the last official story content was released, but Goodall has since posted several lore texts on the Elder Scrolls forums and released the "Fargoth Says Hello" and AFFresh mods with several smaller quests since.

Red Wisdom sees players unraveling an ancient prophecy and solving "a puzzle that may shape the fate of Morrowind". To do this, they must join forces with Nirani to visit the sacred burial sites of the Ahemmusa, Erabenimsun, and Zainab tribes, with the former having a brand-new grotto to explore. Players can also collect four elemental-themed Ashlander trinkets, each with custom art, and can unlock new achievements when combined with the Morrowind Script Extender (MWSE).

Between Goodall's previous work with the AFFresh mod, and the new joint effort with Greatness7 and Melchior Dahrk on Red Wisdom, it's great that Morrowind is getting more new content that's in keeping with its official lore, outside of its fan-made additions. Hopefully, it means more is still to come, keeping the 22-year-old game fresh and exciting for new and returning players.

Source: Red Wisdom - An Ashlander Prophecy/Nexus Mods