WIP - Historic Whiterun - City Expansion

[Pegorino]

Historic Whiterun
Lore-friendly City Expansion Mod


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4nTVJZq4bQ&feature=youtu.be


Introduction to the Lore

Skyrim's history is mostly that of the Nords. The Nords believe the sky, Kyne, breathed life into them at the summit of the Throat of the World, which is now considered the tallest mountain in Tamriel (the Red Mountain was acknowledged as the tallest before its eruption during the Red Year). While historians tend to portray Ysgramor as the first Nordic settler of Skyrim, ushering in concurrent waves of immigration from Atmora, this is not the case. While their exact origins are unknown, the most widely accepted theory is that the early Nedic peoples (a now extinct culture) settled in Skyrim after arriving from Atmora well before the arrival of Ysgramor, and from there spread to the rest of Tamriel.

In ancient times, Skyrim was ruled by the malevolent Dragon Cult. This early society revolved around the worship of dragons through intermediaries known as dragon priests, who ruled as gods above men. Sometime in the late Merethic Era, the mythical Dragon War saw the overthrow of the Dragon Cult when Alduin, Akatosh's firstborn, was defeated atop the Throat of the World. The veneration of animals gods was eventually replaced by the Eight Divines.

The many mountain ranges in and around the province resulted from unknown cataclysms in the Dawn Era. The only known relic from this time is the Skyforge, an ancient, powerful, and still-active forge built into the living rock in modern-day Whiterun. Who built it remains a mystery, but the Elves feared it, and this led the invading Atmorans to claim it for themselves.

The Aldmer and Snow Elves occupied Skyrim until the late Merethic Era, when the final wave of Nordic immigration from Atmora, led by Ysgramor, finally established Nordic supremacy in modern-day Skyrim.Settlers from Atmora crossed the Sea of Ghosts and made landfall here many times, often clashing with those who had already established themselves.These early settlers called the land "Mereth", after the Elves that roamed the untamed wilderness. While the Nedic peoples were generally peaceful, the arrival of Ysgramor and the proto-Nords sparked a long, antagonistic chain of conquests that ultimately expelled the Elves from Skyrim. The instigating spark of conflict was the infamous Night of Tears, where the Elves attacked the human settlement of Saarthal. According to Imperial scholars, the Elves realized that this newer race could outpace their relatively stagnant own. Others posit that the human inhabitants had discovered a powerful artifact, the Eye of Magnus, that the Elves desired. Nonetheless, Ysgramor escaped the carnage, returning to Skyrim with his now legendary band of Five Hundred Companions, slaughtering the Elves and establishing man as the foremost race in Skyrim. Ysgramor's clan expanded their territory, and it continued to expand and contract by winning and losing territories in Morrowind and High Rock during the First Era.

Elven rule of Skyrim is thought to have ended under the reign of King Harald (1E 143 - 1E 221), though pockets of Snow Elves hid away in the wilderness. It is during King Harald's rule that Whiterun is known to have been divided into four districts: the Plains District, used as a marketplace where all the merchants, stalls and inns are located; the Old District, as one of the most old parts of town, where the entrance to the Vaastefold Mine is located; the Wind District, used as a residential area; and the Cloud District, where the palace of Dragonsreach is. The area used to be referred to as the "Imperial City of Skyrim", before it underwent several acts of chaos, including a dynastic feud, attacks by Hörme bandits and frost trolls, and a series of annihilating winters of alternating floods, droughts, and fires. During 3£ 221, Jarl Kettilson II and his advisors lowered all the taxes to the inhabitants of the city. While this choice had an unfortunate effect on the city's treasury, the fortunate consequence was that many foreign merchants began to take advantage of the excellent economic and administrative situation to import and export goods of primary necessity throughout the Empire. From a small population, which suffered from the Great Plague of 2£ 881, it was that toward the Oblivion Crisis the entire region began to record new migrants and new families moving into the walls of the Great City of Ysgramor. Like many towns in the northern border area of the Empire and its and adjacent regions, Whiterun suffered from the War of Succession, including a devastating siege from Jarl Sigfrid the Black of Riften who burnt the town in 2£ 107. By 2£ 312, Jarl Harald III of Solitude, the acting High King, demanded and received tribute from the town in order for them to be spared a similar fate. In 2£ 346 the town was sacked by unknown bandits. By 4£ 5, a census done by Legate Caius Veram, the acting commander of the III Legion, noted that the population had been growing costantly for the last 350 years, and it is an ideal recruiting ground for the Imperial Legion.

Features
(Added as of now)

- A completely redesigned city
- Featuring over 13 new traders, all of which have their own trade
- Guards have names, and they have their own homes outside the city walls
- Being thane of the city, you can improve it
- Dynamic prosperity
- One new tavern, the Black Cat
- Olamund, the Barber
- Census and Excise Office
- Player and NPCs pay taxes for residing in the city
(Taxes are paid to Proventus Avenicci)
- Rentable house
1 week / 2 weeks / 2 months / 4 months
- New exterior
- Each NPC has a job
- New district
- New outside appearance
- Barenziah's House
(Located on the Marketplace)






Looking for support, and for feedback.
No ports for Legendary shall be done, since it is quite impossibile to make it work in Oldrim.

[hielkeskyrim]

I love the way you designed the city, a true city overhaul.

 

I would love to see a little more color here and there. It seems like you really like the color brown.

[Pegorino]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2vOJQ4UuhU&feature=youtu.be

Actually, there is colour.
The only thing is that I had to respect Bethesda way of design, so I reverted back to the brown plains of Whiterun instead of my green concept.
Changed a lot of textures as well with AmidianBorn's.

[Pegorino]

Looking for somebody good with texture making.
I need some signage done for the shops and other tidbits in the city.

Please share between modders that you know!

[Mortpaciscor]

There's so much that I love about this mod from the videos. But I'm curious as to where you've added the new district. I'm working on a Whiterun mod myself and I want mine to conflict with as few mods as possible because there's so many talented modders that have worked on Whiterun and I'm a noobie.

[TONI8]

Just.. wow!! I think I need now to delay my new playtrough untill you release the mod :laugh:

 

Could you make it compatible with immersive citizens??