Moody

This is really really really common in High Fantasy ... so common in fact it has its own TVTrope

tbh I don't get the Nobility vibe off that outfit - it looks like all its missing is a classic belled hat and its a perfect Jester outfit for Cicero

The Vampire Lord form is something that has apparently developed in Harkon's particular Vampiric "clan" over time - it's not directly related to the Coldharbour setup, if it was both Serana and Valerica would also be able to call on the Vampire Lord form when they felt the need. I don't even know if Harkon would have had the Vampire Lord transformation during the period before Serana was sealed away, it might have developed in the time afterwards. The lack of the powers provided by that form might explain why Valerica decided to opt for running from Harkon and hiding both herself and Serana away, rather than face him directly. In a direct confrontation he'd (supposedly) be the more powerful. If both women had the same abilities, they'd have him 2 to 1 (plus whatever minions they could muster). its a nice theory however Serana can regrant you Vampire Lord should you lose it (via cure or lycanthropy) so she has the same abilities as Harkon - she just chooses not to use them

technically Briar Hearts are already Undead :P (they are effected by Dawnbreaker for example) but yes Undead forsworn would be a really cool mod and would enhance the Reach a lot...

sadly no - Lore wise there is no explanation Development wise - it saved a lot of time by reusing the Undead Nords rather than creating new assets for Undead Forsworn... time is money and all that

A cursory glance shows Riften has always been part of Skyrim and (apparently) always highly associated with the Thieves guild.

I just had a quick look and... I couldn't find anything about it - it seems it was part of the Kingdom of Colovia which encompassed the North West of Cyrodiil under the rule of Cuhlecain - it seems he reined in Falkreath and therefore could have been a Nord which knocks my other statement down :biggrin: Actually I had missed a wiki article which covers the entire affair and my timeline was utterly wrong - http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Tiber_Wars So it looks like Cuhlecain was only nominally Emperor - he died just before his coronation after seizing the Imperial city and Talos was crowned in his stead. Talos had already been named "Dragon of the North" by the Nords by this point. So Talos DID found the 3rd Empire and did so with a large force of Nord soldiers - I withdraw my previous statement - the Third empire did begin in Skyrim. as for Falkreath - I guess since it is a border town it has switched hands between Skyrim and Cyrodiilic Kingdoms/Empires regulary

I would agree Skyrim has played an important part in the founding and expansions of the Empires - a Kingmaker of sorts - but your statement was it "began" them - it didn't the origins of 2 (and possible all three) were always Cyrodiilic. In Talos's case the Nords only joined behind him after Cuhlecain's Empire had already been founded - they invaded it as part of a Breton/Nord Alliance and then swapped sides when they witnessed General Talos use the voice against them.

Not quite right on the Lore front Alessia was a leader of a tribe of Cyrodiilic Humans - she succeeded in her rebellion against the Ayleids in part thanks to an Alliance with the Nords of Skyrim - she had however already seized control of the East of Cyrodiil before that alliance - the Alessian Empire was of Cyridiilic origin. Reman's origins are unknown (one book which suggests Sancre Tor but it is considered allegorical) however he created the second Empire by uniting the Kingdoms of Cyrodiil - again very likely the second empire was of Cyridiilic origin. Talos aka Tiber Septim did not found the third empire - he was serving as a general to the man who did Emporer Cuhlecain, who united Cyrodiil (for the third time). Cuhlecain was previously the king of the Colovian Estate within Cyrodiil. Cuhlecain was assassinated by the Bretons and Talos (wounded in the assassination and losing the power of the voice) assumed the throne and then went on to Conquer the entire of Tamriel (the only person to have done so). While we cant be sure about Reman's Empire (because there is virtually nothing about the man in the Lore) both the first and third empires were founded by uniting Cyrodiil and were both founded by natives of Cyrodiil.

considering the last time an Emperor died with no Heir (Martin Septim) it lead to 168 years of bloody conflict with new Emperors rising and falling until Titus Mede "won" its pretty much a given the Empire is going to be in a very bad place no matter who wins Skyrims civil war...

Having spent more time looking at the Stormcloak position and Ulfric I think my initial distrust for him was slightly misplaced. I don't think he is seeking the High Kings position purely out of power lust - its out of pure hatred of the Thalmor. Ulfric wants to flight the Thalmor in an active manor - to do this he needs the support of a nation and an army (not a militia which is what the Stormcloaks currently are). As far as he is concerned the Empire doesn't have the "stomach" to stand against the Elves and thus the civil war and all his actions are a means to an end - to turn Skyrim into a solid base for the war he wants to start - he does care for Skyrim and its people but those cares are superseded by his wanton hate of the Elves - this is why he is so "torn" up if you meet him in Sovngarde as he realizes his hate led him to hurting the people he loved. As to the method in which he killed Torygg - it was a double barreled message. Firstly he was tapping into a long held Nord tradition, for those who don't know the Lore, General Talos was recognized by the Nords as the "Dragon of the North" after he used the voice to fight a Nord / Breton alliance which was invading the fledgling Empire - the Nords were so taken by his use of the voice they swapped sides - Ulfric is trying to tap into that since tradition is a major recruiting tool for the Stormcloaks. Secondly it sends a message to the remaining Yarls - stand against me and I will destroy you utterly with a power you cannot even comprehend.

Just a quick point You are misrepresenting the lore when you say "Skyrim is the birth place of the Empire" it isn't The Empire was founded by Emperor Cuhlecain when he united Cyrodiil - Talos was a famous General within this fledgling Empire. Talos became Emperor Tiber Septim after Cuhlecain was assassinated by the Breton's. Cyrodiil was the birthplace of the current Empire - Skyrim was the birthplace of its greatest Emperor.

Lore wise there have been a few Empresses - most notable Empress Kintyra Septim who was executed by the Wolf Queen Potema Septim during Potema's attempt at crowning her son Emperor

I agree entirely with Elisif but you do have to bear in mind she was never meant to be Yarl - she has had no training and has basically been thrown in the deep end - as others have said her heart is in the right place, she cares for her people, but she hasn't yet developed the ability to "moderate" that (hence her exaggerated response to the request when you first meet her) and honestly I doubt she ever will - she is purposely being kept around by the Imperials as a reminder of the High Kings death - as soon as the war is "settled" I expect they would replace her since they would no longer need the grieving widow as a figure head As for Ulfric - sorry I don't buy it - he makes several speeches with SEVERE racist intones - add these to some of the conversations you have in Windhelm he doesn't come off as caring for anyone who isn't a Nord (personally I would go further and say he cares for no-one who isn't HIM) - the most damning evidence comes from the Argonians on the docks - they are some of the hardest workers but they are barred from entry to the city proper and receive no protection from thieves or bandits - add this to the fact he allows bandits to operate within his lands as long as they don't attack Nords and the picture is firmly painted As for the conflict as a whole - I am terrible conflicted about it. The Empire in its current state is bad for Skyrim, it is corrupt to the core, bleeding resources and unable to fully protect its people. Despite this I look at the Stormcloaks and I cant help but see a power hungry leader manipulating the strong nationalistic tendencies of the Nords in a bid for supreme power which leaves me in a bit of a quandary - this is probably why I have never completed the civil war in over 500 hours of play...

Hi everyone I recently downloaded FrankDema's Travel BackPack and while it looks great with little clipping It isn't sitting right on the custom skeleton I am using - it is too far up and to the right I am trying to reposition it in NifSkope however I must be doing something wrong because instead of moving down and to the left the backpack now appears hovering several feet above my character... All I am doing it opening the backpacks nif file - adjusting all the pieces X and Y transforms by -15 and then clicking apply transformation - it does come up with a warning suggesting it wont have the expected result - however it still moves and looks correct within NifSkope, just not in game... Any ideas what I am doing wrong?