Raven Rock, Morrowind
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Raven Rock is a small ebony mining town on the island of Solstheim in the expansion to Bethesda Softworks' game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Bloodmoon.
Raven Rock is in the southwest part of Solthsteim in the Hirstaang Forest and northwest of Fort Frostmoth. Although, when you first reach the island, it will not be there. The town is built during the East Empire Company story line.
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[edit] Timeline
Following the discovery of ebony deposits in an isolated cove on Solthsteim called Raven Rock, the East Empire Company sought to establish a permanent mining colony to exploit the valuable resource. A third-party contractor is secured to facilitate the company's plans - the player.
The first stage of Raven Rock's development is exploratory: a team of company surveyors is sent, under the player's protection, to the site. Samples are taken of the ebony to be presented to company investors and officials, care of the local company factor, Carnius Magius. Construction begins under the on-site supervision of another company man, Falco Galenus.
Shortly after the construction of the mine proper, a native Nord attempts to shut down the mining operation through intimidation. The Nord in question, one Hroldar the Strange, takes up station by the mine's doors and refuses to let anybody pass. While Carnius Magius wants the man out of the way as quickly as possible, Falco Galenus would prefer that the man not be harmed. The ultimate fate of Hroldar is left to the player.
Meanwhile, the colony continues to grow. Growth requires resources, so it is with considerable distress that the report comes down: a shipment of supplies for the colony has gone missing, and the ship bearing it as well. A search discovers the wreck, and a sole survivor, on the shore north of Raven Rock. Rescuing the survivor and securing the cargo allow the colony to continue.
By now, the colony is showing meager profit, but promise for much, much more. This creates a rift within the Solthsteim contingent of the East Empire Company. Carnius Magius, the company factor, is only interested in the money he can skim from the colony's operations, and cares not at all for the people working and living at Raven Rock. Falco Galenus, on the other hand, cares more about the colony itself, and wishes it to succeed both economically and socially. The player is forced to choose an allegiance at this time, and the future of the Raven Rock colony hinges on that choice.
Siding with Carnius produces the most lucrative results for the player, at the expense of the colony of, and colonists at, Raven Rock. Carnius, through the player, embezzeles funds and smuggles ebony from the colony. Falco, posing a problem, is eliminated (by the player, at Carnius's order), and the workers are terrorized to work harder (again, by the player, at the behest of Carnius). The Carnius-side plot culminates in orders for the player to participate in the wholesale slaughter of Raven Rock. The reward for loyalty to Carnius is money and a home in the colony the player has destroyed.
Should the player choose to throw their lot in with Falco, however, things turn out rather well for the people of Raven Rock. Working together, Falco and the player are able to keep the colony development on track, and to thwart several attempts by Carnius to overthrow or collapse the colony. The final act of the Falco-side plot is a confrontation with Carnius, whose death creates a power vacuum in the Solthsteim contingent. Falco, unwilling to take the factor's job despite the advantages in such a promotion, instead has the player promoted. Now themself the factor of the bustling Raven Rock colony, the player is entitled to an estate in the colony they helped build.
[edit] The Town
Although in its infancy, the colony is quite small, lacking even a ferry dock, Raven Rock grows with the typical pace of a mining rush town. Houses are built quite quickly, and, by the time Raven Rock reaches maturity, are plentiful. Several storage silos are scattered around the settlement, and a pub is soon erected near the center of the colony. As the colony matures, a stone defense wall surrounds the settlement.
Predictably, Raven Rock's skyline is dominated by the massive minehead. This huge timber structure rises far above even the defensive wall, and is central to the colony's operations. As the colony - and, by extension, the mine's output - grows, piers are built in the Raven Rock cove to accommodate both cargo vessels and a ferry to Fort Frostmoth.
As part of the player's tasks during the construction of the colony, the player is sent to test public opinion as to what form of commercial venture - apart from the pub - should be built at Raven Rock: a shop or a smithy. The Raven Rock residents have varying opinions on the subject, but in an excellent example of group decisions really being made by the person delivering the group's decision, whatever the player reports to the colony overseer is built.
[edit] Version Differences
Depending on if the player is playing the XBOX or PC version of the game, a different amount of other buildings are built. In the XBOX version, the home of Uryn Maren is the only house in the colony other than the Factor's Estate. However, the PC version has houses for each of the colonists and a few more storage towers. It also has a wall surrounding the town.
[edit] Raven Rock in Oblivion
In Morrowind's sequel, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, several NPCs who were involved in the construction of Raven Rock reveal that the colony is in a state of abandonment, and that they left "after the money ran out".
