One of the most ambitious mods in history got even bigger today with the release of Tamriel Rebuilt’s Andaram expansion, the seventh major add-on for the 22-year-old Morrowind mod project that is, somehow, older than Morrowind itself.
Tamriel Rebuilt’s aim is to construct the entire mainland of Morrowind, the dark elf province of Tamriel on which The Elder Scrolls 3 takes place. Although Skyrim contains all of Skyrim and Oblivion contains all of Cyrodiil, Morrowind restricted players to the isle of Vvardenfell for its duration, leaving a big blank space for Tamriel Rebuilt’s modders to fill. Andaram is the latest chunk, focusing on “the middle Thirr River, and the dark secrets which lie under its waters.”
At this point, I’m beginning to wonder if it’s not more accurate to call base Morrowind a mod for Tamriel Rebuilt. This new release adds over 100 quests and nine faction questlines, meaning the project now easily surpasses the 490-or-so quests you can find in Morrowind and its expansions. There’s also 30 new dungeons, 2 new biomes, the opportunity to kick back with a new vampire clan, and a new regional Thieves’ Guild.
Like the project’s other releases, Andaram goes out of its way to incorporate the strange and alien lore of original Morrowind in the new areas it covers. The city of Hlan Oek at the centre of the newly released region is under the de facto control of the Camonna Tong, Morrowind’s native Dunmer organised crime group, while its Hlaalu governor “has his mind on other matters.” The new release also revises the city of Almas Thirr and includes mention of “the Dreugh Queen Paruddma,” who “broods in her Citadel deep beneath Lake Andaram’s placid waters,” which is probably fine.
You can download Tamriel Rebuilt’s Andaram expansion either via its main page (linked above) or over at reliable old Nexus Mods. It’s actually been less than a year since the project released a double whammy of expansions in the form of its Dominions of Dust and Embers of Empire add-ons, a turnaround the project leaders attribute to “years of improvements to the project’s organizational structure” which should hopefully see the release of the next expansion—Grasping Fortune—sooner rather than later.
Oh, and if you’re wondering how the heck a 22-year-old modding project manages to keep going, or how it’s possible for it to be older than the game itself, you’re in luck. Here’s a piece we published last month on Tamriel Rebuilt’s scarcely believable history. Talk about timing.