Holds

[Galandil]

Holds

The City Overhaul

What is Holds?

Holds is a city overhaul mod with focus on variate design and culture. The mod adds more clutter, buildings, containers and NPC's to the existing cities of Skyrim, and tries to make it feel both natural and not shoved together. The NPC's added in this mod all have unique daily routines, a background story and a home to go back to sleep in. Falkreath, Winterhold, and Dawnstar have been rebuilt from scratch, with their own unique designs. The mod also adds a bundle of new cities, like Amber Guard and Black Moor, most of these new settlements have been placed far out of the way, and hidden from view, to not ruin the expansive wilderness theme of the game. Holds also adds new shops and Inn's, new buildings like banks and city halls, there will also be more books, with lore which for some reason was not included or mentioned in the game. There will also be books defining the cultural differences between the cities, books on how they were founded and stories, these books will hopefully correspond with the lore without incident. The aim of all of this is to increase immersion, make the cities actually feel like cities, hopefully without ruining the natural and realistic design of the vanilla game. This is not a botanical garden mod, nor is it a mod that priorities looks over realism.

I started working on this project late November 2012 and have devoted averagely two hours a day to the creation kit. One of the reasons I felt this project necessary was the announcement of various modding projects adding new content to the game. The problem for me, was how expansive their cities looked, compared to the cities in Skyrim. Coming into Skyrim from Oblivion I was expecting there to be a "Better Cities" mod available early on, however there wasn't, and I missed the features the Oblivion city overhaul brought to the game.

 

Any criticism, questions, and help will be greatly appreciated; Even the criticism's. However I will have to ask that you point out what it is about the project you dislike, your opinion does matter and could very well inspire me to make changes, however I have designed this project with myself in mind.

Screenshots

 

More Screenshots

Amber Guard; https://imageshack.com/a/sFQq/1

Black Moor; https://imageshack.com/a/6FQq/1

Border Lodge; https://imageshack.com/a/xbQq/1

Dawnstar; https://imageshack.com/a/YbQq/1

Dunbarrow; https://imageshack.com/a/6qQq/1

Falkreath; https://imageshack.com/a/FqQq/1

Granite Hill; https://imageshack.com/a/azQq/1

Ivarstead; https://imageshack.com/a/3zQq/1

Karthwasten; https://imageshack.com/a/HzQq/1

Kynesgrove; https://imageshack.com/a/ezQq/1

Lainasten; https://imageshack.com/a/i4Qq/1

Lainterdale; https://imageshack.com/a/B4Qq/1

North Keep; https://imageshack.com/a/k4Qq/1

Oakwood; https://imageshack.com/a/x4Qq/1

Rorikstead; https://imageshack.com/a/I4Qq/1

Shor's Stone; https://imageshack.com/a/r4Qq/1

Solitude; https://imageshack.com/a/W4Qq/1

Stone Hill's; https://imageshack.com/a/94Qq/1

Whiterun; https://imageshack.com/a/K4Qq/1

Wintergate; https://imageshack.com/a/t4Qq/1

Winterhold; https://imageshack.com/a/C4Qq/1

 

 

 

 

 

Culture and Design

 

 

 

 

Capital Cities;

 

 

Dawnstar;

Known for its rich mines, harbor, and its notorious cold. Dawnstar is known for its rebellious history, its savage warriors and the mead hall "The White Hall". The Dawnstar society is very simplistic and ruled by bigotry and tradition. Dawnstar is well known as the city without windows, as in such a horrendous climate, Dawnstar has a strict policy against glass windows to chase off the cold, the fires are there for that. The only window the Jarl has allowed in place, stands within the Dark Tower, in the Throne Room. Somehow the Nord's have managed by keeping their fires going, staving off the cold air in most of their houses. The houses have been built by stone in the first floor, creating a solid foundation, and by wood on the floors above, which have a habit of being blown down during the harshest of winds, the wood is commonly not filed down, to grab a hold of as much of the cold as possible. The guards of Dawnstar rarely make patrols through the city due to the icicles hanging from the rooftops, many have lost their lives merely due to icicles dropping down, because of this there is a great deal of cutthroats and pickpockets roaming the city. The cold forests and mountainous plains of the Pale have often discouraged caravans from traveling to Dawnstar, travelers and armies alike have met their end in the unforgiving cold, it is because of this that Dawnstar's economy survives solely on its port. It should also be noted that the port carries with it a bad reputation and is commonly avoided by honest sailors. The dishonest ones however have found Dawnstar to be very lenient on ill-gotten merchandise.

Through out its history Dawnstar have been involved in many rebellions against outlandish authority, and as such Dawnstar has been sacked on more then one occasion, and subjugated under unfavorable terms of trade and support. It was first under Jarl Myrcella of Dawnstar's marriage to High King Thian of Solitude that Dawnstar's wretched condition began to turn. While Thian annexed certain fiefdom, Myrcella ensured that Solitude supported the construction of Dawnstar's new defensive structures. The great southern gate known as "Myrcella's Gate" and the great castle known as "Thian's Keep" , as well as the towers dotting the parameters is the only indication of what this union could have born fruit, however as soon as Myrcella had breathed her final breath, all support was dropped, and Dawnstar fell into a financial difficulty. Scholars presume this decision was made because of Dawnstar's rebellious past.

Within Thian's Keep stands the White Hall, rebuilt by brick and stone, and "Thian's Tower", though more commonly referred to as "The Dark Tower", in reference to its demeaning appearance, and the tales told by anyone unlucky enough to have been on the wrong side of the law. The Whitehall is a legendary mead hall, almost as old as Jorrvaskr but just as famous. Warriors from all over Skyrim flock to the White Hall, if they are proven formidable enough, and trustworthy, they are invited to share in the celebration of the hall. The White Hall is not only exclusive, but warriors who've ventured there, and seen as worthy, have returned with tales, and often stated that it is the closest a man can get to the Hall's of Valor in life. Despite the more modern appearance of Dawnstar's defensive structures, the harbor, the mines, and the city suffer from squallier. Corruption, guard shake down's, pirates, wild animals, icicles, poverty, and cold winds. Dawnstar is by far the worst place in Skyrim to visit.

Falkreath;

Known for its luxurious lumber trade, and unique culture. Falkreath has a savage history of making war, and dark influences. For the longest time of its history, the warriors of Falkreath would wear bone garments upside their armor, and make war on their neighbors, refusing diplomatic relations, and continuously focusing on expansion. Not that Falkreath was not subjugated under numerous would-be rulers from different parts of Skyrim or Colovia, but Falkreath would always rise to fight tooth and nail eventually. This was thought to be caused by the odd temple the Falkreath King's had made his home. An ancient Snow Elven temple with carvings of skulls and bones, it was unknown what sort of gods were being worshiped, or for how far into the mountains the temple went. It wasn't before the 1. E, 808, that Falkreath's insatiable blood lust was sated. The present day Falkreath is a much calmer and peace loving people, with a heavy influenced Colovian architecture, with a lot of Nordic decoration. Falkreath is in essence, the border between Colovia and Skyrim in every sense of the word. As such, the people of Skyrim do not recognize Falkreath as fully part of Skyrim, they think of them as Cyrodiilic, and a puny folk of Milk-drinkers, and they are right, Falkreath has been shoved into Cyrodilic rule, and back to Skyrim's rule at least once. People of Cyrodiil, or more accurately Colovia however, think of Falkreath as a muddy, and smelly place, lacking proper Colovian culture, they do not approve of how men of Falkreath decorate their homes with pelts, and spoils of the hunt, they do not understand the obsession with hay either. The people of Falkreath is seen as neither, belonging to no shared culture, and yet both.

Men of Falkreath often take to hunting, despite the laws placed on the woods by the Jarl, however with the Civil War, and certain other troubles, the Jarl has little way of enforcing these laws. Falkreath has a strained relationship to the aggressive County Bruma, who demand certain tributes, this relation reached an incredible low when Dengeir of Struhn was named Jarl of Falkreath. Dengeir was a capable ruler, however would make the blunders which would spell his name for future generations. Dengeir took more offensive steps towards Bruma's diplomatic arena, and broke all trade and tributes, he also assigned half of Falkreath's fighting men to the Stormcloak Rebellion, which encouraged the hill-tribe bandits to come down from the mountains. Siddgeir managed to convince the nobility to vote him in as Jarl, but this does not help the situation. Not all of the men answered the call of the Jarl, and remained with their new fighting brothers among the Stormcloaks, leaving Falkreath, a once powerful military power, with too few men to keep the borders. In what must be described as a state of panic, Siddgeir recalled the men guarding the outlying villages, such as Oakwood, and Granite Hill back to the capital, along with whatever supplies he could collect from the villagers. The villagers were therefor forced to create individual militia's and fend off one raid after the other. When Helgen was destroyed by a dragon, the bandits grew even bolder, and set up road blockades, captured outlying forts and mines, sending Falkreath ever closer to an economic collapse. Despite fearing dragons, bandits, and the civil war, life goes on mostly as normal within Falkreath. Crates of supplies, and a vexing amount of guards from all over the Hold, have adapted into the every day life of the city, but the hanging concern for the future hangs on just about everyone's mind.

During the 2. Era, Falkreath became everything it was not in its early days. Diplomacy became one of its most appraised solutions to foreign conflicts, and the focus of war was shifted towards trade and farming. Falkreath nurtured relations with Elinhir in Hammerfell, and attained trade in tasty spices and fruits not available anywhere else in Skyrim. After King Cuhlecain, with his famous general, Talos, conquered Cyrodiil, Falkreath's economy would reach incredible heights. Even after Cuhlecain's assassination, the dignitaries of Falkreath ensured that the new Empire would grant the most favorable contracts of trade, and tax concessions. As a result Falkreath suddenly found itself with a lot of fund's, and foreign influences. Art, pavement, the well-being of its citizens, all of these things flourished in Falkreath during the Septim Empire. However Falkreath's influence steadily dropped, and in the end, all that remained were nurtured diplomatic relations, which grew heated during the early Mede Empire. Presently Falkreath is still keeping its head above the water, but with everything going on, it is only a matter of time before a steady collapse into an uncertain future.

Falkreath's Keep, formerly the notorious Snow Elven temple, was redesigned in the Third Era, due to foreign demand, and now looks like any other castle, despite a lofty size, and odd disfigured pillars. Certain tunnel's have been walled in, and proper supportive beams have been put into place. The actual purpose of the structure is presently unknown.

The town's graveyard is known as Skyrim's largest cemetery, stretching far beyond its present boundaries, and as such, is unkempt. There are three crypts, and one chapel dedicated to Arkay. Within the chapel resides a chapter of the Order of the Circle, who have their jobs cut out for them defending the notorious "Skyrim's largest cemetery" from necromancer's and grave robbers.

 

 

Markarth;

 

 

TBA

 

 

 

Morthal;

 

 

TBA

 

 

 

Riften;

 

 

TBA

 

 

 

Solitude;

Solitude is the capital of Haafingar Hold and Skyrim. It is home to the headquarters of the Imperial Legion and also holds an embassy to the Thalmor. Not many know that the location of the capital city, Solitude, was once a very important shrine to the Dragon Cult back in the Merethic era. The hold is Skyrim's smallest and is located on the north-eastern coast, the hold is seperated from Hjaalmarch by the Karth River and the Reach by mountains. Dragon Bridge is a small village located at the edge of the hold and has a magnificent bridge which is the only access to the hold by road. While Solitude prides itself on its great library, contributions to culture, history and more importantly recording the history of the Nord's, the actual founder, and reason for founding the Hold, is unknown. One can assume it was founded by followers of the Dragon Cult, but this in truth is merely an assumption. What is known is that the name "Haafingar" was the original name given to a settlement that would later become Solitude. As the name was shifted, in good Haafingar spirit, the Hold would officially carry its namesake. Solitude's architecture carries great impact from Nordic, Breton and more to the casing point, Imperial culture. As Skyrim began its ages long relationship to the Cyrodiilic Empire, Solitude has seen nothing but endless profit and as such has become further distanced from the needs and wishes of Skyrim's people. People from other corners of Skyrim hold an mild disdain towards Haafingar, but not in the same way that is commonly held towards Falkreath. Solitude is seen as properly nordic and something of pride to the nords. However people believe that Haafingar's people are snobby, in the pockets of the Imperial's, and untrustworthy. This reputation is righteously earned as Haafingar's people have developed a certain superiority complex over the rest of Skyrim, they feel their better and deserve better then the rest of their nordic brethern.

 

The capital city of Haafingar, Solitude rests upon a great cape and as such is both naturally protected, as well as an imposing sight to behold. The capital boasts the greatest docks in the north, and perhaps the greatest defenses in Skyrim. Large towers and great thick walls must be passed as one makes his or her way to the top of the cape. The city is littered with great works of architecture, planters, shops, colleges, places of worship, taverns, vendors, guildhalls, and homes. Solitude is actually the largest city in Skyrim, and holds a great portion of Skyrim's population. Solitude is in many ways an ever growing cosmopolitan, and as the rest of Skyrim sits by and watches Haafingar out-grow the rest of the land, jealous and bitter, Haafingar looks down its nose. However there have been a growing concern among Haafingar's Architects Guild that as things rise and rise, it must ultimately fall. The streets of Solitude is boasting heavier and heavier content, and it is theorized that the great cape the great city rests upon will one day collapse upon the city's own weight.

 

Haafingar has always had its impact on Skyrim's history and culture. Most of the great poems, stories, and technological progress have stemmed from Solitude. Haafingar's people also have access to Skyrim's best education and as such distance themselves from certain aspects of nordic superstitious culture, this again is viewed with anger by the rest of Skyrim.

 

 

 

Whiterun;

Whiterun is the center most Hold in Skyrim, and as such is considered the commercial hub of the province. Whiterun was once considered the Skyrim equivalent of the Imperial City during its golden days, but due to harsh winters and recent conflicts, the once great city has been worn down to an aged and diminished state. In spite of this, it is still one of the wealthiest Hold's in Skyrim, and its people value tradition and honor.

Whiterun's capital is located on a bluff and is divided into three districts. First is the Plains district which is the lowest of the districts and where most of the trade and commerce takes place. The Wind district is the district where most of the more wealthy citizens of Whiterun live, named for the strong wind that carries through the district. It is also home to the revered Gildergreen tree and the legendary Companion's mead hall: Jorrvaskr.
Lastly there is the Cloud district, which stands above all of the districts. Home to the Jarl's Palace, Dragonsreach.

 

Whiterun was founded when Jeek of the River's crew, which had traveled to Mereth along with the Five hundred Companion's discovered a mysterious forge which would later be named "The Skyforge". The captured elves had revealed that the forge itself was a site of great discomfort for the elves, as it had been located in Mereth long before they had arrived and thusly the forges origin and function remained a mystery. Jeek seeing the value in this, ordered his men to carry the longship that had carried him and his men from their homeland in Atmora; "Jorrvaskr", all the way back to the bluff where the forge was located. He then ordered his most trusted craftsmen; Menro and Manwe to build him a magnificent meadhall. Years passed and the lands surrounding Jorrvaskr turned out to be very fertile and so a community began to build itself slowly and steadily around the bluff that Jorrvaskr and the Skyforge had nestled.

Sources are unclear at this point, who among the first settlers it was that was anointed the first leader of the community, though it is clear that whoever it was sparked a century of in-fighting over the throne. Upon the heighest bluff in Whiterun once rested another hall, known as Bjoerrunge, and within warriors would double cross one another for the right to rule. This chaos would only ever be put on pause during times of great conflict with the other Holds of Skyrim, during such time great leaders would rise and carry the support of his people, though sadly once such a great man had secured his position and then passed from this world, his heirs would surely find that their seat is contested by the many power-hungry people of Whiterun. The most powerfull clan in Whiterun, and quite surely the one which would leave its mark; would be the Redspear Clan. The Redspear Clan would eventually quell all opposition and secure their power through force alone. The insignia of Whiterun, the Horse Head, has its origins with the Redspear Clan which was known for their capabilities at combining their warcraft with their mastery of the horse. At the time however of Olaf One-Eye, the people had grown tired of the Redspear's negative habit of entitlement, and when Olaf One-Eye was appointed Jarl, the Redspear's fled the capital and nestled far at the western edge of the Hold, vowing revenge, revenge that would never be carried out. Olaf One-Eye had through his reign secured his line in the same manner that the Redspear's had, through force and tact, eventually the clan came to the conclusion that they had more to gain by giving their loyalty over giving their heads. The meadhall Bjoerrunge was torn down and upon its site it was raised a stunning feat of architecture, Dragonsreach, built to house the dragon Numinex that Olaf One-Eye had defeated to win over the throne, since then no real rivals to its greatness has been seen in Skyrim.

 

In Whiterun the people value tradition and their culture over security and well-being, they live harsh lives in an effort to preserve the way of their ancestors. With that said, the capital has been the site of much progress in the fields of poetry and alchemy. While the capital city may be known as the "trade capital" of Skyrim, people who've ventured there remark at how calm and open it is. Merchants will sell their wares at the Plain's district, or outside the gates, but otherwise the capital consists merely of farms, and other habitats.

Whiterun was significantly targeted by the Horme bandits, a group of radicals who believe that the Septim line ended with Potema the Wolf Queen and her son, and as such the Imperial province lacks any right to rule over them. Whiterun was targeted for its ties to the Empire, much of the food and products that are either produced or pass through there are sold to through out the Empire. This conflict is believed to have been ended sometime around the Third Era, 432, it is still unknown though, how it is the group were so successful at launching lightning raids upon the city. Since then the city has been worn down by harsh winters, political feuds, civil war, famine, plague, and other attacks.

 

 

Winterhold;

Winterhold rivaled the power of Haafingar with its impeccable trade, and attractions. Its acceptance of other cultures brought Winterhold to its golden age, introducing new ways of carving rock, study of magic, and lore. Sporting high towers housing great libraries of knowledge, and its stretching harbors. Despite Solitude offering a decent Mages Guild, Winterhold's "College of Winterhold" always attracted more students. Unlike other parts of Skyrim, Winterhold welcomed foreigners with open arms, and offered them a proper place in society. In turn, Winterhold gained insight into foreign culture, foreign science, and ways of weaving magic that had never been shared before. Winterhold was in a nutshell way ahead of its time, and despite the heated relations with the rest of Skyrim, Winterhold brought more innovation to the land, then any other at the time of its power. Winterhold was proud of its acceptance of other cultures, the acceptance of magic, and its thirst for knowledge, many scholars presume this naive and blind thrust towards the unknown, is what caused it to ultimately not foresee its impending collapse. 4E. 122, Winterhold is hit by a storm so powerful, it blew over its high tower, cracked the mountain rock Winterhold lay upon, sinking half of the city beneath the sea, subduing the homely buildings of the once vibrant city into dust. However perhaps its greatest destruction, was Winterhold's lifeline. Blame was cast left to right, mages, foreigners, those who were considered a minority suddenly found themselves unwelcome, and without the lifeblood of its economy, Winterhold withered into a sorry state. Presently its hanging on by the tip of its fingers. The Jarl of Dawnstar, and the Jarl of Windhelm are eagerly awaiting Jarl Korir's acceptance of their offers, and subdue his Hold into a vassal state of one of the other Holds. Visitors to Winterhold often wanders into the ruins to lay witness to the remains of what could have been the start of an empire, the stones of that horrible day, still lay untouched and the storms still blow harshly unto the ruined shores.

 

There is much suspicion that it was the mages who caused the "Great Collapse", but so far there is little evidence but suspicion to support it.

 

 

 

Settlements;

Amber Guard;

 

 

Amber Guard is a small village, lying on top of a big mountain overlooking all of the reach, and most of the Hjaalmarch, and Whiterun Hold. Amber Guard was settled by an early Nede Warrior Clan known as the Axesong. The warriors themselves arrived in Mereth shortly after Ysgramor's five-hundred companion's began purging the land of the elves, and were not involved in the affair. The Axesong Clan made their landing at the Northern Shore and finding themselves in a strange unfamiliar land they decided to make their way south. The group was led by a chieftain known as Balkul the Powerful, who ordered his men to carry the long ship "Hardthroat" along their march. At the outskirts of what would be known as Hjaalmarch Balkul spotted a tall mountain in the distance, And he immediately decided, that if the Axesong Clan, would have any influence over this new land, they would have to take that mountain for themselves. While this may sound rather exaggerated, the ship, was in fact, dragged, all the way through the forest, and up the steep cliff. The tree's that were felled over, to make room for the giant ship, were in turn made use of by the early-Atmorians, as firewood, and building material. It is a well known saying that the Axesong clan lived by; "He who holds the high grounds, conquer", and this would ring true for the eras to come. The Axesong clan's early history may seem a little dumb, but in fact, Balkul was no fool. The mountain would be easy to defend, even by a paltry force, and the value of being able to spot oncoming troops, caravans, and later settlements, would indeed, make the Axesong people, endure through out the ages. The Warriors had brought their wife-men, and their children, and together they built a community. They found surprisingly too, that the mountain was actually capable of growing crops, and so, life was easy at first. Winters were very harsh, and houses had a habit of blowing over, and livestock tumbling down the edges, but its unique location, also meant that they managed to avoid being a target of war, or bandit raids. Even wild animals, knew to stay clear.

 

The Axesong clan, earned its name in ancient Atmoria, when the legendary Atmorian, Francisca the Skillfull. Who mastered the use of axecraft, and any axe handed to her in combat. She formed the clan, shortly after inventing an axe that could be thrown, like a motor engine, and decapitate far off targets. Today Clan Axesong is known as a barbaric, and a dangerous clan, but also dependable, it should be noted that members of the Axesong clan is often seen serving as mercenaries, and loyal mercenaries are hard to come by. They have a unique sense of honor and a have little qualms about facing danger. Some would say they are despicable, but its important to remember that Clan Axesong is an old Nordic Clan with deep roots in the Nordic Culture, and so are seen as law abiding and trustworthy by the local nords. Axesong has little to no political influence in the Reach or anywhere else, but are respected and often called upon as mercenaries, or armies. However, thus far the Axesong clan has stayed out of the Civil war all together and are also being nagged by the Silverblood Family to swear fealty, sell their lands, or work for them. So far, Clan Axesong has respectively declined.

The village name was lain down by Bakul himself, as he stood upon the mountain's edge and looked down towards the tundra fields, he rightfully claimed that the Atmorian people will no doubt settle near the shores because of its trade routes and fishing. Therefor the Axesong clan, will stand as a vigil and first defense against whatever creatures dwell beyond our white and green shores, to the Amber- fields of the south. And so called it, Amber Guard. Back then, Atmorians had not explored all of Skyrim, and seeing it as an Everlasting expanse, Balkul believed that the Tundra only strecthed on and on, he was of course very mistaken.

Currently Amber Guard is ruled by Chief Rune the Younger. At the age of fourteen Rune left the comforts of home and traveled west across the Dragontail mountains. During his travels he met with Orc Chieftains, Redguard warrior's and Breton knights. As the years passed by and Rune started gaining a name for himself in those parts, he decided to journey home. Back in the west he would be known as a giant, which sounds like an exaggeration of whatever actions he made in those lands. When Rune returned home to Amber Guard he challenged the chieftain to a personal combat. Chief Trag, who had only held the seat of chieftain for four years died by Rune's hands and so Rune was made chief. It is important to remember that the Axesong clan is a very independent Nordic Clan, it operates with their own laws and government, while simultaneously swear fealty to the Jarl of the Reach, though speculatively only for self-preservation. Whenever a chief arises, he is in constant danger of being usurped by another at their house, the rank of Chieftain is not passed on to their kin, but by blood, spilled blood. The only part of this tradition that has changed over the ages is the dark concept of murdering the chieftains family once the usurper has taken over. Now a days the family of the chieftain is merely sent away, exiled from their lands. Since taking the throne Rune has forged quite a name for himself in the Reach as a great warrior, with love for blood and a stalwart champion against the terror of the Forsworn hill-tribes. As a consequence the Forsworn has focused more of their forces towards the Amber Guard settlement, and with this threat looming overhead and the Silverblood family tapping their foot, waiting for the Axesong clan to sell their land, clan Axesong enters an uncertain future.

 

 

 

Black Moor;

 

 

Home of Clan Redspear, or "The Red of Hair", as they are sometimes also called. While this is no longer in actuality true, as the new Thane comes from a line, "Through Marriage" and had dark hair. The Clan is known for their exceptional skills on horseback, and are in fact one of the founding clan's of Whiterun. The Hold's sigil, the horse, is actually a direct reference to the Redspear Clan. Why this is still adorning the Hold's banner, is a topic of debate as the Redspear's hold no actual political power these days. It is possible however that the Redspear Clan held the Jarlship before Olaf One-Eye, overtook the Throne. The Clan is a merry band who enjoy toying with their enemies. Some are, though, a little bitter. As Whiterun, has recalled as many warhorses as they can back to the capital city in case of an attack. The Whiterun Cavalier Guild was in fact co-founded by the Redspear Clan along with clan Horse-Lord, which is believed to have had deep roots within the Redspear Clan, and perhaps dissolved and made its own clan.

 

When Olaf One-Eye was made Jarl of Whiterun, the Redspear Clan decided to desert to the West and establish an independent settlement. Swearing revenge for the loss of their power, many winters would pass before clan Redspear would finally submit to Whiterun rule. The ironic thing is however that there were never any rebellious elements present, no attacks were ever issued and so Black Moor was "independent" in name only. To add salt to injury, the descends of Olaf One-Eye decided to change the banner, but keep the Redspear Stallion intact. Where the banner once ran red with the horse sigil at the front, the banner would now blow yellow. It is a non-debated topic as to what purpose changing the color would serve, the yellow color obviously represents the tundra, and the old red color obviously represented blood. The change of the coloring was a way to snub the Redspear clan, but it served little other purpose.

The Thane of Black moor had through marriage, right to the entire western tundra of Whiterun, which would include Rorikstead, which at that time, was nothing but barren land. The original owners of Rorikstead, had little luck in making the harvest, and the Thane's Uncle in Law, decided to sell it to Rorik. This move has always angered the Thane, as if this had not happened, he would've been the most powerful man in Whiterun, beside the Jarl.

Black Moor is ruled by Odell Redspear who at this turbulent time in Skyrim's history is one to be watched carefully.

 

 

 

Border Lodge Inn;

 

 

Border lodge is a small farm right beside the border to Hammerfell. Border lodge was settled only six years ago, and is a relatively new point of interest, but has become somewhat of a necessity for travelers coming over the border into Skyrim. Rich merchants, sell swords, and other curious travelers come through here. Though run by an Orc, and travelers can sample either true Nordic brew, or true Redguard brew, from Elinhir. The tavern serves as a medium for the Redguard traders who operate outside the gates of Falkreath.

 

Tant Gro-Boguk is the owner of Border Lodge. As surprising it must be to find an Orc running an establishment in Skyrim. He doesn't hide the fact that he is one of four brothers, who togheter came up with a brilliant business plan. To build four inn's, all placed at key location around Tamriel, his brother Grush Gro-Boguk has erected he's at the border from Cyrodiil to Hammerfell through Castle Sutch. Farcith Gro-Boguk has erected he's at the border from Hammerfell to High Rock, and his brother Uggholmo Gro-Boguk has erected he's on the road from the imperial city to Skingrad. So far, Tant Gro-Boguk is making a lot of gold alongside his brothers, and greatly enjoying his work. Tant Gro-Boguk is a tough Orc though, as any other, but has also educated himself in Imperial etiquette, as well as some sort of bartender from his time within the Imperial Legion. By snooping around, you can learn that Tant Gro-Boguk has a painful addiction to Milk?. Tant Gro-Boguk is an odd, odd Orc.

 

 

 

Dunbarrow Village;

 

 

Dunbarrow was once a semi-important port town in Haafingar, but very recently the town was burned to the ground by the Aldmeri Dominion operating out of Northwatch Keep. Normally this would have sparked a new war, however it would have seem that the circumstances played in the elves's favor. Dunbarrow had declared their loyalty to the Stormcloak rebellion, and as such would technically stand outside of the protection of the Empire. The nobility in Solitude are also notorious for taking bribes and directions from the Empire and as such the whole matter was hushed down. Dunbarrow, once a very well-kept and modern town is now all but abandoned. A few residents still live there and have rebuilt their homes with the wreckage of the attack. Shabby Nordic dwellings, no parameters and a small militia, this is what remains. Still loyal to the Stormcloak rebbelion, the people of Dunbarrow however have so far kept themselves out of the war and only take things one day at a time.

 

Just off the coast of Dunbarrow lies Castle Volkihar, which sadly now has more of an influence upon the people of Dunbarrow then ever. The late ruler of Dunbarrow was secretly a good acquaintance of the Volkihar vampire clan and would often visit for "meals". The people of Dunbarrow however would remain ignorant of what goes on over there, despite the constant unresolved wave of "kidnappings" going on in the town. Now that Dunbarrow is but a broken window the vampires have grown bolder, but in order to keep appearances in terms of not taunting the elves who occupy the fort nearby, the vampires go by the persona as traveling nobles.

 

There is currently no de-facto leader of Dunbarrow, every man is his own, every woman her own.

 

 

 

Granite Hill;

 

 

The settlement that lies at the foot of the Dragontail mountain's in the thick of the Pine forest is called Granite Hill. Named such for the Granite Ore that once was found in plenty within the mountain. The settlement has had many challenges in this recent age. For one it was annexed by the Thane of North keep, in exchange for protection. A position that the people of Granite hill greatly disliked, after a long time of being treated poorly by the North keep mercenary army the people rebelled and established their own independent rule. This would however leave a bitter relationship between the fort of North Keep and the settlement of Granite Hill. For a time the nobles of Falkreath refused to acknowledge the independence of Granite hill and would harass them, but when Dengeir was named Jarl he did Granite hill the honor of acknowledging them as part of Falkreath Hold. For a time the people of Granite hill flourished due to their mining economy, that was until they were driven out by bandits who would then continuously make raids on their settlement. Lacking any aid from the capital, Granite hill established their own militia yet lacks the men to fend off the growing bandit threat. It should be noted however that after the more recent raids the militia managed to drive them back, and captured a good number of them. One of them was Jawad the Redguard, who ironically now serves as the Thane's housecarl, the rest on the other hand were shipped off to North keep in an attempt to win over protection, which never came.

 

Thorstein Greenthumb is the current ruler of Granite hill and the son of the infamous Braak Greenthumb, who led a short rebellion against the Thane of North keep. Back then, Granite hill was under the direct control of North keep. He is known as a good ruler, and a wise ruler. In his youth, he was known for his prowess in battle, and helped form the Granite hill militia. However, now at an incredibly old age, the villagers are counting the days till his son will take over the throne. People fear this as well, as his son is a ruthless arrogant swine. Thorstein Greenthumb's rule have had mixed results. His priority to secure the village, has so far been a total disaster. The village is under constant pressure from the bandits that lurk on all sides of the town. The return of the dragons, have only amplified this. Another challenge has been to connect the village with the rest of Falkreath. Being so far from the main road. Crops still grow, and the place has turned out to be an excellent place for farming. In Thorstein Greenthumb old and feeble age, ruling is quite difficult, at times he wouldn't be coherent to listen to his people's plea's at all. However though in old age, his people stand firmly in belief that he is a far better ruler then his son will ever be. Thorstein Greenthumb has sent word around the hold, requesting men who are willing to fight for coin, to come help defend his village against bandit raids. This has however had little results. His message to the Jarl, to have him look into the matter has also met with little effect. Siddgeir himself merely replies that he is conversing with them, and have come little way, though secretly Siddgeir has an arrangement with their leader, this is unknown to Thorstein. Thorstein is perhaps the only Thane in Falkreath who supports the Stormcloak uprising. He believes Skyrim should rise to the occasion and become strong independently, instead of weakened and spread. He is also the only Thane who had the brawns to stand up to Siddgeir during the Nobles meeting. Siddgeir had tried to buy off Thorstein, offering gold, supplies, trade-lays, and men. However when Thorstein asked to have this as a contract of biding signed, Siddgeir flat out refused and left. Though he admits it would've been because such a contract could seem like treason and have him hanged, Thorstein Greenthumb believes Siddgeir never had any intention of holding his promise by word. However the morality of Thorstein was not to support Siddgeir because of how wrong it would be to overthrow his uncle, due to political differences. Thorstein Greenthumb being a supporter of the Stormcloak's, clearly saw much eye-to-eye with Dengeir's rule. Thorstein Greenthumb also notes that Dengeir was the one who granted his father title of Thane, and since Granite hill never has had the honor of the Jarl's reinforcements, the decision to send men into battle, had little effect on their part of the hold. Thorstein Greenthumb's wife passed at the hands of bandits many years ago, he remarried, but the marriage was one of convenience and not out of love. His new wife is not from Skyrim, but from High Rock, and more importantly a good friend of Siddgeir's lover; making political conversation more to Thorstein's favour.

 

 

 

Ivarstead;

 

 

Once known as Hillgrund's Steading, and was but a small farmstead at the foot of the Monahven; Throat of the World. Hillgrund's Steading has traditionally been part of the Rift, and held a tedious relation to Shor's Stone. It is not uncommon for the rulers of these two villages to attack one another, seeking to usurp the other. Ivarstead earned its name when the warrior-poet Ivar Beast-tamer grew into legend. Ivar was from Hillgrund's Steading and would in his youth fight one great battle after the other against the renegades of Shor's Stone. Between the wars Ivar would serve as the towns protector against the wild, being a strange man with the power to calm the fiercest of beasts with his powerful shout. His name would eventually reach the ears of the ruler of Shor's Stone, who challenged Ivar to a duel. Ivar at this time had been made Thane of Hillgrund's Streading and regretfully accepted the challenge. As the two warriors faced each other in battle Ivar was wounded and as his enemy taunted him and made great promises of what would befall his home once his head rested upon a spear, Ivar issued a loud shout. The shout was so powerful that Ivar's teeth was ripped loose and fired like crossbow bolts in every direction. Wounded and in shock, his enemy did not have time to curse his name for long before two great bears that had rested nearby came running towards the battlefield and mauled his enemy to death. Ivar was brought back home, teeth less and dying, and as a last will he blessed the people of Ivarstead with the lessons of Birch, a lesson which content sadly forgotten. In honor of this extraordinary man the people of Hillgrund's Steading happily renamed their town; Ivarstead, and burned Ivar upon a great pyre.

 

Currently the people of Ivarstead are a peace loving people. Currently ruled by a man known as Klimmek, who inherited the responsibilities from his mother, Ivarstead carries on mostly as it used to. Reinforced by soldiers from Riften, the people do not fear any attacks from Shor's Stone. Beside often visited as a sort of resting-place before making the climb to High Hrothgar, there is nothing really of interest in Ivarstead.

 

 

 

Karthwasten;

 

 

A small mining settlement in Reach resting at the foot of the Dragontail Mountains. Karthwasten once served as the home to a warrior clan known as the Folkung. The town apparently grew around their mead hall Karthwasten Hall. The clan would later be driven extinct when the warrior Bjelbo persuaded the Chieftain to march westwards and face off against the orcs, which ended with a slaughter. Those who survived made the long trek home and once there, found themselves faced with a new threat; the Breton witch Hreja who according to legend had asked Bjelbo to kill off the Orcish settlers in vengeance for her dead aunt. Hreja outraged by their failure cursed the Folkung's and transformed them into pigs. As the legend continues it would take only a few days before travelers would pay their hall a visit and find it occupied by swine, which the travelers quickly decided to make a feast out of. There is little to indicate there to be any truth in this tale, however what we know for certain is that there was a clan known as Folkung which settled and resided in Karthwasten, and that they were destroyed sometime in the early second era. The settlement would up until the late third era be sold and bought by many various owners. The mines themselves are very profitable, but is counterbalanced against the threat of the Forsworn. Currently the settlement is owned by a Breton, a man known as Ainethach.

 

Sometime during the Stormcloak rebellion there was a massacre in Karthwasten. Imperial soldiers had been forced to occupy the town by Stormcloak soldiers led by the traitorous Frigg. Frigg was an ambitious and young warrior who wanted the throne of Eastmarch for himself. This massacre was supposedly supposed to prove himself as a more fitting ruler then Ulfric Stormcloak. Having driven such a large force of Imperial retainers into a trap by such a small force was an marvelous achievement in of itself, but Frigg wanted to prove that he alone had what it would take to wrest Skyrim's independence from the cold dead hands of the Mede Empire. Sadly for Frigg, the moment Frigg sounded the charge and his men ran from all sides into the settlement sword in hand, was the day he lost any friends he would've had otherwise. Frigg did indeed slaughter the Imperial Retainers in the town, with gigantic casualties, but never the less, Frigg walked away successful, however, there was a great number of civilian casualties in this affair. This action would mark the turn for a new low in the war, and as Frigg made his triumphant return to Eastmarch and publicly challenged Ulfric Stormcloak's rule, he was summarily executed for his war crimes. As the years passed by Karthwasten buried their dead and repaired the damages from the attack, a visitor traveling to Karthwasten today would've have a hard time finding any signs of any such massacre ever taking place.

 

 

 

Kynesgrove;

 

 

Kynesgrove is a small settlement in Eastmarch. Both a mining and farming community, Kynesgrove is ruled by a man known as Kjeld. One would think that Kynesgrove holds some sort of shrine to Kyne, or a connection to the Eldergleam Sanctuary. Truth is, that the latter may very well be true, although you would not think so if the village was say; named Talosgrove. There is nothing in the town to indicate any veneration of Kyne. However, at the early days of Kynegroves history it was well known that its people venerated Kyne over the other gods.

 

 

 

Lainasten;

 

 

Lainasten is a small farming community settled upon the slopes of the Dragontail Mountains, just at the border to Whiterun, and the Reach. Technically under the direct control of Falkreath, Lainasten's ruler, Balder Brown, a man who would sooner adorn himself in gems and gold rather then protecting his own people. At least, that is what his people would say. Sometime during the early months of the Fourth Era, 201, Balder Brown sold his land to the Silverblood Family, a very influential power-house in the Reach. Such an act is a clear betrayal, as the land is in technicality owned by the rulers of Falkreath. Taking the chance now while the fog of war as well as other troubles keep Falkreath occupied, Balder Brown now lives his days along with fresh mercenaries to help protect his village, and listens to the clinging of his pockets now that the Silverblood's gold adorn it. Sufficed to say, Falkreath is not aware of this betrayal just yet, and the people of Lainasten could not honestly care less who rules, the Reach, or Falkreath. What one might ponder though, is whether or not this rash action was done out of self-preservation. Forsworn attacks, bandit attacks, Orcish raids and civil war, Lainasten is poorly fortified and can not garrison many troops. It is also not a very profitable place either, leaving little gold for mercenaries or tributes.

Lainasten is self-sufficent when it comes to goods such as food and meat, resting upon a mountaintop the average traveler would more likely pass it by without knowing that it was there, before actually visiting it.

 

 

Lainterdale;

 

 

Lainterdale lies located at the very crossroad of the north, just across the border into the Pale. Serving as a garrison town, one might not think so when visiting, there is an inn, a few homes, nothing out of the ordinary. Only that the inhabitants of Lainterdale are all in service to the Jarl of Dawnstar. Serving as lookouts for armies that might march into the land. Ruled by Thane Aenorin Pike, known for his love of lightning warfare, because of this many men who wish to launch raids into Whiterun, or Eastmarch, gather at Lainterdale, sharing a drink with the Thane before moving on. The story of Aenorin Pike tok over as the de-facto ruler of Lainterdale was not one of noble birth, but rather honorable combat. At a young age Aenorin was a mercenary traveling all over Skyrim, and when he arrived in Lainterdale he found it ruled by a Thane known as Ryg Bluesnow. Aenorin challenged him to honorable combat and killed him. His first order of business afterwords was to hang his entire family, as a message of his strength and right to rule. Following this gruesome act, Aenorin prostrated himself before the Jarl of Dawnstar, Skald the Elder and offered his loyalty, and so a mercenary became a Thane, and ruler of a farmhold.

 

 

 

North Keep;

 

 

Ruled by William Ironspear. A rather ambitious Thane who rules over a mercenary army garrisoned in his fort at the very slopes of the border to Whiterun. North Keep is an old imperial fort, but back in the ancient Skyrim history, back when Falkreath and Whiterun would war with one another as often as they could both draw breath, the location of North Keep was a garrison fort for the many warriors of Falkreath. The defensible location is absolute, no horseman can charge this fort and live, no army can approach the fort without being buried by arrows. Currently, the keep is used for more of a entertaining purpose, the keep holds an old wolf pit, built by the original imperial governors who gritty enjoyed feeding wild starved wolves the prisoners while visiting nobles would watch and throw coin for more. A despicable tradition sadly shared by the Ironspear family who reason that to maintain an army one needs gold, and nobles apparently enjoy watching living wild beasts tearing apart criminals. This matter is not discussed openly at court, and the average farmer who would not know of this practice, it is however well known that North Keep is a prison, and any man who gets caught in those parts for a crime, will never be seen again. Nobles from as far away as Daggerfall travel to North Keep to watch the show as their most hated cut-throats have their throats torn out.

 

The Ironspear family has a difficult maintained relationship to the people of Granite Hill. The small farming settlement was once a proud mining facility, and it was owned by the Ironspear family. That was until the people rebelled and threw them back. While this is many decades ago, William Ironspear still holds a grudge against the people, and sits back and waits with less and less patience for them to beg for his help against the bandits who have occupied their mines, and once again submit themselves under his family's brutal rule.

 

 

Oakwood;

 

 

Located by Lake Illinalta, a lake known to be cursed. Oakwood is a fishing village, which has by far outgrown the description of a mere settlement or village, no Oakwood is a proper town. Oakwood was in the old days properly located on the southern side of Lake Illinalta, but was burned down by Pyromancers in the early Third Era. Moved across the lake, hoping to escape future surprise attacks, and resting against the mountain, the town quickly grew. Ruled by Grenjar Pinemold, who finds himself in a deep predicament, like any other ruler in Falkreath, with no reinforcements from the capital, and forced to build a private militia to protect its citizens.

 

 

 

Riverwood;

 

 

Settled by Gerdur's family a few generations ago, Riverwood is Whiterun's main source of lumber, the other being through trade with Falkreath, a trade that has for decades seemed disingenuous. Also a farming community, Riverwood carries on, ever self-sufficient. Currently ruled by Gerdur, a woman who you would not think to be the head of the village, and her husband Hod. Gerdur would technically adorn the title of Thane, but you would not think so when meeting her.

 

 

 

Rorikstead;

 

 

Rorikstead is a farming community on the western edge of the Whiterun Tundra. Perhaps a bit of a historical thought for humor, but the town was named by the owner, the man who bought the lands sometime after the war with the Aldmeri Dominion, Rorik. However, a few hundred years before the lands were thought to be barren, and mostly abandoned, the town that once was also located there was also named, Rorik's Stead. After Rorik bought the land he quickly turned it around, and the soil itself was found to be very good for farming. Rorik makes his home in a longhouse resting upon the slope overlooking the fields, once home to a great warrior clan known as the Scylfing, who disbanded sometime in the second era. Rorikstead has no real warriors living among them, relying heavily upon soldiers from Whiterun. Rorik may have unwittingly made himself a powerful enemy the day he purchased the lands of Rorikstead, for it was promised to the Thane of Black Moor. Without any warriors to repel any attacks, Rorikstead's days of peaceful existence may be at an end, after all, the hungry wolves have their sights on these fertile lands.

 

 

 

Shor's Stone;

 

 

It is mining town, north of Riften. Shor's Stone was founded very long ago at the site of a discovered stone that glowed in the moonlight. No one knows where it came from, or what it is for, and so it was named "Shor's Stone", as it had to be divine, at least to the Nords. The Thane's Longhouse was built around the stone, to honor it as a sort of shrine to Shor. The windows are placed as to always let the full moon shine upon the stone, however, while it lights up, praying to it grants nothing. Some have taken it as a sign of Shor being the dead god, and therefor there is no effect.

 

Shor's Stone gains its economy from mining, the mines are full of red fumes. These fumes are pretty mysterious, and the inhabitants have various theories as to what it is. In truth, it is the fumes caused by the Blood-spring, located beneath the mountain.

Surrounding the town, is a round wall, with a gatehouse. The Thane of Shor's Stone is a young man, who's just recently tok over the seat of power. He personally prefers to state he is neutral in the civil war, but will support the Rift, regardless. His father passed not long ago, and so the powers and titles were passed to him. He regards the stone in his longhouse as a tourist attraction, as many come by to pray. The man is called Bjornar Bearstrong, and is in fact a very ambitious man, biding his time, and keeping his gaze fixed upon Ivarstead. The ever rivalry between the two towns carries on even to this day, and Bjornar see's this civil war and how it clouds the battlefields as a sign of opportunity.

 

 

Stone Hills;

 

 

Stone Hills is a small mining settlement located in Hjaalmarch. Ruled over by Thane Bryling of Haafingar, one would think this settlement to be in direct control by the Jarl of Morthal, but then again, one would be mistaken. Bryling herself does not oversee the mining operation herself however, and lives comfortably in Solitude.

 

 

Wintergate;

 

 

Wintergate is a small mining community leaning against the Jerrall mountains. Wintergate is ruled by a vampire clan, claiming descention from the very first vampire herself. They have a truce with the Volikhar Vampire Clan. The town survives mostly on its own, and is a good resting place for travelers traveling between Bruma and Falkreath. However, recently a vampire clan tok the Bloodlet throne fort, formerly owned by the Thane of Wintergate. Because of this, visitors have dropped, and while still come and go, the economy suffers for it. The Inn has been known to patron Falkreath's bounty hunters, as most criminals of Falkreath flee towards the borders, and to avoid places like North Keep. With Helgen destroyed, the border to Bruma seems a likable path to freedom. It also hosts three Thalmor agents. Two Thalmor guards guard the Justicicar's quarters.

 

While there has long been a Thane ruling from Bloodlet Throne, the settlement Wintergate was properly settled in Fourth Era 182 when it was discovered how rich the mountain side was in ore veins. Ruled by Hann Ironcloud, a man with many friends and contacts in the Falkreath nobility, a man who keeps his deception intact, a man who one would be wise not to cross. After loosing Bloodlet Throne to a bunch of renegade vampires who see Hann as unworthy to rule over them, Hann retreated to his settlement and created a perimeter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Features

 

 

Town Features

 

 

Black moor;

Black Moor is a new village added by Holds. It provides the Shield-maiden training facility, an inn, and a blacksmith.

Border lodge Inn;

Border Lodge Inn is a new location added in Holds. It provides a cozy inn and a stable.

Dawnstar;

Dawnstar now has a fishery, as well as a raw fish and raw meat vendor. There is also a less hospitable inn, a warehouse, as well as a general store. There is also a town hall, where you will be able to buy passage by boat, to any of the other major cities by the shore.

Falkreath;

Falkreath now has a butchery, a bakery, a book shop, a bank, a new inn, a city hall, a warehouse, a farmers market which is only available on the weekends, two Redguard travelers selling exclusive content outside the town gates, three halls of the dead, and the Hunter's Guild.

Karthwasten;

Karthwasten now has an inn.

Lainasten;

Lainasten is a new village added in Holds. It provides an inn.

Lainterdale;

Lainterdale is a new village added in Holds. It provides an inn.

 

 

North Keep;

North Keep is a new fort standing just upon the border between Falkreath and Whiterun. The keep itself is inhabited by a Thane, who occasionally throws parties where prisoners, and outcasts are thrown to a pit of wolves, and ripped apart.

Oakwood;

Oakwood is a new village added in Holds. There is a blacksmith, an inn, and an alchemist vendor.

Rorikstead;

Rorikstead now has a weekend farmers market.

 

 

Shor's Stone

 

 

Shor's Stone now has an inn, a fence, and two gate entrances. There is also a Thane's Hall, which houses Shor's Stone which is considered one of Skyrim's many landmarks.

Solitude;

Solitude now has a walkway district, stretching all the way from the main city gate to the very fork in the road which lies at the foot of the mountain. There is also a Dock district, stretching all the way from the dock warehouse bridge, to just beneath the Solitude arch-bridge standing above. I have also added a tunnel from the Solitude city area, to the Dock district. There is also a tunnel from the entrance area into the walkway district.There is a bakery, a butchery, three inn's, a jewelry shop, a book shop, a great library, an alchemistry shop, a fishery, The Sextant Guildhall, The Crafters Guildhall, a city hall, a bank, an imperial guard tavern, a general store, a "Priest school", a museum, a lot of vendors, and three warehouses. There will also be a sewer, accessible by the manholes.

Whiterun;

Whiterun now has an exterior market, inspired by the Whiterun Outskirts market by Drakulux. There is an exterior inn, a stable, new vendors, The Cavalier Guild Hall, a city hall and a warehouse. There is also secret canal-ways into the city.

 

 

Wintergate;

Wintergate is a new village added in Holds. It provides a mine, an inn, and a crafting reagents vendor.

 

 

Winterhold;

Winterhold now finally looks like a real ruin, and has a unique architecture, making it more believable that this was once the great city that rivaled Solitude.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quest Ideas

Coming Soon.

 

 

 

 

Guilds

 

 

 

 

The Crafters Guild;

 

 

The Crafters Guild is a guild that literally evolves around crafting. The guild comprises of the Armorer's Guild, Cook's Guild, and the Tailor's Guild, who all share the Skyrim's guildhall and resources.
Essentially the Dragonborn is able to join all of the guilds and complete each various quest lines. These quests are very similar to one another and what you say and do will have a great impact on your success. You can join all of them, you can become head of each guild at once, but do note that being part of more then one will effect the opinions of the other members. It should also be noted that this opinion will just sink lower and lower as you gain rank and responsibilities making it nearly impossible, but with that said; It -IS- possible.

It be pointed out that there are a great way of cheating your way to the top. Killing others, sabotage, blackmailing, stealing, spying, lying, cheating, seducing, persuading, and even boasting, but all of these will have possible consequences. Being caught doing any of these things will effect peoples opinion of you greatly and can even get you expelled if it is bad enough. Making it public knowledge that you are a thane, will have good results with some of the members, and for some it will sink, some people worship the upper class while some despise them. Same can be said about making it public that you are the Dragonborn, it will actually have more bad results then good. While people will respect you, they are less inclined to vote for you and will quite openly state it is because they believe that the Dragonborn has other duties to attend and they want someone who can actually focus on the responsibilities of being on the council. Doing quests and favors for people who have some connection to the guild, or know someone who is in the guild or so on will naturally have a good effect on your chances of being liked and voted for, but again, what you say, do and how you do it matters the most. Killing off members is a great way of getting rid of bad opinionated dorks, but killing even one of them will lead to the Guards doing investigations and depending on where and how you carried out the deed could lead back to you, thereby loosing you your place in the guild, as well as serving jail time. If more then three members are killed, the guild will actually close down, making it impossible to climb any further, you will still have your bed, and access to the resources, but there will no longer be elections or anything, and the guards will be hanging over the place like vultures, it is therefor wise to use your mind and not try to rush through like a gorilla.

The Armorer's Guild;

 

The guild is in large part inspired by the book "The Armorer's Challenge", where the blacksmith Sirollus Saccus is competing against the Argonian blacksmith Hazadir. The challenge is simple, create the best set of armor for your champion who is equal in skill and strength of the opponent's champion, and watch the fight. Like all of the Crafters Guild's, there are three ranks. Member, Councillor, and Head (In this case; Head Smith). After paying the joining fee, you are given a place to sleep as well as access to a forge, and the resources made available at the guildhall. How you spend your time is up to you, there will be a few quests with various rewards which involve fetching resources, finding certain things, typical miscellaneous quests, these have no effect on your ranking progress but will have a potential effect on how people in the guildhall respect your character. Since the quests in this mod have a possibility of failure, what you say in a conversation has a consequence and how you progress through a quest has a consequence. There will be times where people can weight in as a favor and that will greatly depend on your standing not only with the guild, but them as individual people.

Gaining the Councillor rank is a very good example of a time where it is important to have people on your side. It is done through a vote, and this only happens once a month. If you fail the quests, means quite literally that you have to wait a month to try again, yes there are harsh and annoying consequences for failing. Upon a certain week in the month you will have the option to write your name upon the list of candidates and will then have to compete with the other candidates for votes within the respective guild. This is a bit more tedious then just completing a favor or a quest and they will vote for you, you have to be smart about what you say, and not just what you do, but how you do it. How you dress can also effect the potential voters opinion on you as a candidate, being the Councillor after all is a great responsibility. In other words, to achieve this rank, you need to think like a sleazy politician. After achieving this rank you will be given certain perks at the guildhall, you can order people around and you get to make decisions on what resources the Guildhall should order, how the money in the guildhall should be spent on various luxuries, and what challenges the guild will face the rest of the month. The only real block in the road is that you are not alone in making these decisions, this is put to a automotive vote between yourself, and the other Councillor's, one for each guild, plus their guild leaders. Do note that after a month, you will have to compete for this rank again in the same quest you had just completed, only that after serving a full term you will have had a very influential opportunity to sway people to vote for you, mock up and you cannot hope to win.

The next and final rank, which will release you from this tedious repetitive political game is the Head Smith rank. Achieving this rank can be done in numerous ways, and you can be very creative about it. You are already a Councillor, so you are next in line to take over, if said Head Smith retired, or was removed; one way or the other. If you are too morally inclined to not do the foul deed yourself, you can hire others to take him out for you, but if you prefer to do this by the Guild's rules, you will have to challenge his position. This is where the inspirational book kicks in, and your chances of success depends completely on your skill as a crafter, and your ability to listen to what people are telling you and using your head. If you challenge the Head Smith he will tell you to meet him in the amphitheater outside the Bard's College one day after you challenged him. He will meet you there accompanied by two knights and a nobleman. The challenge is as followed:

-The challenger will have the privilege of choosing their champion and will in one week have his or her champion fight the other champion in the amphitheater. Whoever's challenger win's will gain the position of Head Smith, it is therefor extremely important to spend that time well. It is also wise to listen to what the knights are saying before choosing as they will give subtle hints to their strengths and weaknesses. You do have the option to ask your own champion all matter of questions, but it is wise to take notes as each champion is equally balanced to their counterpart, but very different in choice of weapon, armor, and so on. If you decide to do nothing during this time, the champion will quite literally face the other champion barehanded, to which the tournament will be canceled and you will gain a notoriously embarrassing reputation among the other guild mates. If you decide to do nothing and not even show up at the amphitheater people will not take you seriously and you will gain a very different reputation which will make it next to impossible to keep the Councillor rank, or gain it again, it will be very hard to recover from such a blow. You may also want to learn a thing or two about the Head Smith's tactics for winning, what is he crafting, who is his champion etc... The weapons and armor of the champion is yours to craft, you will also have the opportunity to give them tips and tricks, and if your extra sleazy you can try to sabotage your opponent's champion.-

Should be noted though that if you are caught trying to sabotage your opponent, your caught trying to assassinate your opponent, or cheating or any of the likes you will risk being expelled, loosing your rank, gaining notoriously bad reputation among the other members or even serving jail time. If you lose the challenge you can try again after you've been elected as Councillor once again. You are not allowed to enchant the weapons or the armor, give poisons or potions, or anything which truly makes this a challenge of craft, over handing your champion a weapon you have in your inventory from some dungeon or something.

If you win, you will no longer have to worry about Councillor elections. Your will holds a greater sway over the council and you will have certain other perks at the guildhall. You are not completely free of annoyances though as other Councillors will be able to challenge you and if you refuse; you forfeit your rank. Luckily there are a plethora of ways of avoiding being challenged, like being well liked... making challengers disappear, or avoiding the other guild members at all times.

 

 

 

 

The Cook's Guild;

 

The Cook's Guild operates the exact same way as the Armorer's Guild. You have to gain and maintain a good reputation with the other chefs, and there are only three ranks. You have the Chef rank, the Councillor rank, and the Head Chef rank. After paying the joining fee you are given a place to sleep as well as access to the Guild resources. Every month there is an election for the rank of Councillor and it is therefor important that the Dragonborn uses his time well. Miscellaneous quests and favors can include everything from fetching something to crafting something. What you say, what you do, how you do it all have a large impact on the various individual's opinion on you as a potential candidate for the rank of Councillor. Even what you wear can have a swaying effect on the other members opinion of you. If elected you will be given certain perks and a voice at the Councillor table. However, every month there is a new election and you are in danger of loosing your rank. The last rank would be the Head Chef rank, which you will have to compete for. You can also make the present Head Chef "Disappear", but if you are inclined to play by the guilds rules there is a tasting contest that you have to win. If you loose you will have to win another another election to challenge him or her again.

 

The tasting contest is everything but simple. Since there is no cooking skill line in the game and you are capable of crafting just about anything, the challenge is a little different from what you'd expect. To begin with you are told that one week after the challenge is commenced you will serve an exotic dish to nobleman who will act as a judge, and he will judge who becomes the next head chef. It is therefor wise to gain as much information as you can both about the nobleman as a person, his tastes and likes, as well as your opponents choice of dish. What you can reasonably assume is that you will have to cook up something that requires a great deal of hard earned ingredients. There are plenty of ways of winning this contest though, you could always try to bribe the judge, with varying success which depends on more then just your speech craft level but also on how you initiate the bribe, a failure can get you expelled. You can also try to sabotage for your opponent by poisoning his dish, making it foul by for example mixing a giants toe in the mix, or playing with the Head Chef's head making him or her loose focus on what he was going to make. If you win you will be named Head Chef and will hold greater sway over the council, as well as other perks. Do note though that while you are free from the Councillor elections you can still be challenged by the chef Councillor for your rank, and declining a challenge means the forfeiting of your rank.

 

 

 

 

The Tailor's Guild;

 

The Tailor's Guild follows a similar pattern. You will be able to create clothes and that is really what it is all about, crafting. Like the other guilds you have three ranks, Tailor, Councillor and Head Tailor. You will need to gain popularity among your fellow guild mates to have a shred of hope of being elected as the Councillor. The Councillor rank operates the same way as the other Councillor ranks. To achieve the Head Tailor rank you will need to challenge the head tailor who will initiate a challenge where you will have to make a fashionable outfit for yourself and show yourself off at a sort of "Fashion suite". Here the popularity among your guild mates matters more then ever. Not only among your fellow tailors but the entire guild hall. Everything is handled through a vote, and each individual member will have a certain opinion on what you should wear, so to put it bluntly, do as well as you can as a fashion designer and depend heavily on making friends. If you loose you will have to try again after winning the Councillor election once again. You can win by other means, such as sabotage which can have a variation of results, or making him or her disappear. If you become Head Tailor you will no longer have to worry about elections, but is not entirely off the hook either as you can still be challenged by other members, and like before, this contest is all about popularity and not about your skill as a crafter necessarily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Architects Guild;

 

 

Imagine a guild devoted to changing the looks of the various cities of Skyrim, a guild that gives you the ability to effect the looks and general happiness of a city. This guilds inspiration came from the Hearthfire DLC which gave you the option of building your own home, this works similarly but instead of working on your house, you will be working on cities.

Gaining access to these features is everything but easy, first you need to be invited into the guild, not just anyone is welcome to join, and truth be told, it is easier to join this guild after the civil war (no matter who wins), then it is prior. The chores you will have to complete in order to gain access to the crafting stations will involve gathering resources, many resources, paying gold, being treated like a washing mop, as well as winning over other guild members. At some point you will be asked to help build a statue in Solitude, and at this point your words will make or break you. You need to think like an architect, and a designer, find a suitable location and a suitable design. You need to listen to what the other architects are saying, their opinions, and show that you are cut out for the job, only then can you hope to be promoted from errand boy to Builder. This is still not the point where you are free to go rapid on building things into the various cities, you will be given specific tasks and if you choose to use the resources differently will lead to consequences.

Eventually you will be promoted to Architect, with all the perks that comes along. You will now have to gather and spend resources yourself, and complete a variety of requests by the local Jarl's, but you are free to build as you see fit. Ignoring requests can actually loose you your rank, and building things that the cities denizens do not approve of can lead to certain surprises with everything from attacks to bad remarks. At any point, this guild will give you the opportunity to twist and turn each major city to your liking, and while the crafting choices and locations may be limited, how you choose to use them is up to you.

 

 

 

 

 

The Mining Guild;

 

 

The Mining Guild is exactly what it sounds like, a guild for miners. The Mining Guild doesn't have any local guild halls, instead various members offers their home for both shelter and guild planning. Becoming a member really only requires you to ask, pay a fee, and fetch a pickaxe. You would be surprised to hear that this guild is not all about mining iron ore, it is heavily story driven and revolves around a group of miners who ventures to various mines in search of wealth. Eventually you are asked to accompany an excavation and the mine collapses. You and your team has to make it out. Getting out is trickier then you might think and will require you to use your pickaxe on multiple occasions. You are however not alone in this, your part of a team, and you can and should try to take command early on and tell people what to do and where to go. But beware that saying the wrong things can have consequences on more then just your popularity, you are in a pinch, and mistakes can be lethal to both you and your fellow miners.

 

There are no possibilities of attaining the leader rank in this guild, as there literally is no leader. You can only gain perks by befriending the members, doing favors and accompanying them on excavations.

 

 

 

 

The Hunters Guild;

 

 

The Hunter's Guild is situated in Falkreath, and are in reality a bunch of poachers. The deer in Skyrim is property of the Jarl, but this does not stop the guild from hunting them. This guild evolves around the story of a guild that is breaking a part, and struggling to keep itself together while struggling meanwhile against the unfair laws of the Jarl. While all of this is going on, a challenge is issued to hunt down various unique beasts and display their heads in the hall, while participating in this challenge the Dragonborn will have a chance to befriend the various members of the guild, or make them hate you. Popularity has a great weight in whether you are welcome in the guild or not, as you start out as not really a member but a potential errant boy. Eventually when returning from a hunt you learn that the leader of the Guild and his crew had been attacked by a Dragon over in Eastmarch, and so the hunt begins to take this particular dragon down. Making it common knowledge to the other hunters that you are Dragonborn is a benefit when you reach this point, making you in everything but name, the head-hunter. Making it known that you are a Thane, or a guard, or anything at the likes will make them deeply distrust you, and could potentially depending on your choices and actions lead to your expulsion. As hunts come and go, and the hall is filled with various trophies of the hunt the quests continue with the Jarl trying to close you down, and there are a plethora of ways to go around this, even working for the Jarl could have its rewards. Should the guild survive, as well as the head hunter, you will have to challenge the head hunter to a contest. Bring back the biggest trophy with certain parameters. Win and you will be named head hunter, and if you fail you can try again one week later. If the head hunter should die, or killed by your own hand you can automatically be named head hunter by popular vote. You can sabotage, use your wits, show off your skills, boast, and so on to gain rank, but make no mistake, if your not good at hunting you are not going to get far.

 

 

 

 

Knights of the Circle;

 

 

Located at the chapel of Falkreath lies a chapter of the Knights of the circle. Originally an order with chapters in High Rock and Cheydinhall, the order has also moved in to Falkreath. The order revolves around worshiping Arkay and defending the sleeping dead from the vile necromancers. This guild is heavily story driven, and the Dragonborn will have an easier time joining if he or she has attained the rank of Thane in Falkreath, and helped priests in Falkreath. The first challenge is to see your commitment to the cause, you are named knight-errant and you are challenged to survive alone time with the Order's elder, a terribly old and boring old man. Sitting alone in a room listening to his stories can be the funniest experience in your life if you are a complete R-tard, or the most grotesquely painful experience in your life if you are anything but a full retard. While locked in a room listening to this fossil talk, you can actually sneak away, or try to at least, but note that while he is old, he can still hear you so you will need to be careful. After a while you will be let out and welcomed aboard, that is unless of course you are caught sneaking off, they open the door and you are not there, or even worse, you sneak out of the room, this will not loose you your place in the guild, but they will not respect you, in fact they will place you in the booth of a class clown and not take you seriously. You will be given following up tasks depending on how they respect you, but after X number of quests you will be tasked with watching the graveyard at night, to which you will pay witness to the necromancers trying to raise the dead. This leads down into a long struggle against the necromancers and finding their base of operations, and cutting the head off of the snake. Like all guilds, what you say, what you do, and how you do it effects peoples opinions of you, but there are no negative consequences for being unpopular in ranking terms or quest progression. The great irony of this story is that you will be faced with multiple opportunities to switch sides. While you don't necessarily need to join the Knights of the Circle first to join the Order of the Black Worm, you can switch sides if it fits your fancy. Switching back and forth however will have terrible consequences for you, and should not hit you as something that would be realistic and totally acceptable by either the Necromancers nor the Knights of the Circle. What should be clarified though, is that the struggle between these two guilds is shared between each guild, and in the end one guild will outlast the other. Destroying one or the other will do just that, destroy it, it won't exist anymore, the members will be killed off and will not be around anymore. In order to become the leader of the Knights of the Circle, you will need to destroy the enemy guild, and the promotion after that will depend on your popularity, you could be promoted voluntarily by the leader, or you will have to challenge him, or forcefully remove him. There are multiple ways to do this, but do note that the challenge is initially seen as an honorable request, and a duel between two knights for the position of leadership. The winner takes the crown one might say, and the other will have to accept their new rank. This can be done as many times as you like, but for each failure your popularity will decrease, and if there is one persons popularity that matters in this case it is the leader who could grow tired of you and kick you out of the guild.

 

 

 

 

The Order Of the Black Worm;

 

 

The Order Of The Black Worm was technically driven extinct at the end of the third era, when it tried to destroy the Mages Guild and their leader the King of Worms, Mannimarco was killed. The great irony is that while the necromancers order was disbanded, the necromancers remained and were scattered. Multiple attempts after this was made to try and revive the order, but none had been fruitful at the scale of its prior position. This group is no better, calling themselves the Order of the Black Worm, doesn't mean that they necessarily are the only order of Necromancers calling themselves such, and they do have rivals contesting them for their position, and access to fresh corpses.

Joining the Order Of The Black Worm is a little difficult. For one you will have to find them, which is not easy. They reside within the Falkreath catacombs, within a secret part of the ancient catacombs quite far into it. They will initially be aggressive, and it will take some tact and a demonstration of strength to find a way to get them to talk, and to win them over. Otherwise you can always join the Order of the Circle and accept the various opportunities you will be given to join the other side. You can also be invited directly if you have completed certain quests around Skyrim that can have one thing or the other to do with Necromancy, it will of course depend heavily on your choices. You can also be tasked with infiltrating this order by the Falkreath guard chain quest, these two guilds do not compete however and therefor will not destroy one another unless you choose to do so. You will have the freedom to report back whatever you want, and can easily turn on the guards, but you cannot destroy them.

The Order Of The Black Worm is at war with the Order of the Circle, while in the guild you will face opportunities to join the other side. Moving back and forth is not a good idea in any realistic manner and can get you thrown out of both. The perks you get for being part of the Order of the Black Worm is necromancy training, powers, magical spells, and plenty of quests that involve raising the dead and causing deliciously evil chaos all over Skyrim. It should however be noted that the main story here; Is the struggle over the buried dead of Falkreath, the Order Of The Circle who believe the dead should be left to rest, and the Necromancers who see this as the greatest graveyard in the north and too big of a prize to pass up. Do note that the choices you make here can have a devastating effect on your character in both the guild, and Falkreath. For one you can be given a pretty horrible bounty if your caught as a member, you can gain a very horrible reputation if your caught, and you can open up certain radiant events that involve people hating on you, or hunting you. Yes, there are consequences for being evil, and as the saying goes; "The Evildoers who everybody know, last not long. The Evildoers nobody knows, lasts."

 

The struggle between the two guilds will have you infiltrating the chapel, killing knights in a manner that suits your tastes, raising an army of the dead, and worshiping a Bone Finger, that once belonged the Mannimarco (or so they believe). Essentially your with a bunch of loonies. To gain the "Head Necromancer" rank you will need to get rid of the current leader, which is pretty simple, challenge him and destroy him, a battle to the death. Failing this means literally dying. Once he is dead you will ceremoniously raise him as your own summonable worm thrall. This can of course only be done first after you've defeated the Order of the Circle.

So the question then remains, you've guaranteed free access to the graveyard during the night, with little to no one but a few radiantly evented peasants who might take up the mantle to protect the graveyard. No one stands in your way. This story may very well be expanded upon later.

 

 

 

 

Nightblade;

 

 

A Nightblade is essentially a sword for hire, an assassin, hired to take a life, or rough up a certain lot. Unlike the Dark Brotherhood there is no religious affiliation, it is all about gold, and the job. Essentially you have a variety of ways of gaining access to this network of killers, because this is indeed a network, not a traditional guild. There are certain parameters you will need to meet, and certain quests and choices you will have to have made to become an interesting enough candidate for the guild. You will be contacted and invited to meet with a man who speaks for the leader of the organisation. He will give you the opportunity to join, and if you refuse he has orders to try and poison you with a drink. Drinking the poison will kill you if you can't get an antidote fast enough, you will not be able to outlast it, or heal yourself. If you don't drink he will send assassins after you till you come after him and kill him yourself, be warned though, this one moves between cities and is almost always on the move. If you accept you will be given tasks all over Skyrim, killing certain individuals in certain ways dictated by the customer. As you fulfill contracts you will rise in rank and eventually become trusted enough to meet with other Nightblades. You will here have a chance to forge a name for yourself in joint assassination missions, and other forms of show off's. You will also effect people as always with your words, choices and actions. As you progress through the quest you will eventually get messages directly from the organisation leader, a mysterious anonymous fellow who will send you to kill various people all over Skyrim as always. Eventually you will contracts on people your working with, various twists to the assassinations, and if you cannot see through the net of lies and solve the riddle of who this man is, and take him out yourself, you will eventually be bound to be assassinated yourself. Essentially the leader of this organisation has gotten greedy and uses the Nightblades to kill for his own personal profit, not necessarily because it is contracted by anyone, or for that matter the right thing to do, though morals is in short supply in this organisation to begin with. For each mission there are clues, put together, and put into the context of absolutely everything you have done up to this point, you will be able to solve the riddle and kill the leader, and take over as the organizer, capable of sending assassins to task and so on. What is ironic like I said, is that you are yourself expendable, and while your choices and words can delay this from happening, you will eventually get ambushed and have a very very very very very hard time walking away alive. Even if you survive there are no letters with everything you need to know, no map markers, you need to use your head, or you are bound to get attacked again, and again, and for each time it gets harder until it gets unbearable. The concept here is for the player to use his head, be critical of everyone, and rise to prominence. There is no guild hall in this organisation, everything is handled from a variety of meeting places; Everything from Inn's, homes, dungeons, middle of nowhere, and so on.

 

 

 

 

Independent Thievery;

 

 

This is not really a guild, you do not join anything really. You are able to find a variety of thieves in every major city in Skyrim, and able to work for them. Being a member or leader of the Thieves Guild can have positive as well as negative consequences here, as you will; Depending on who you are working for; Be seen as a rival, spy, or in positive circumstances; Seen as a professional thief and therefor warranted better pay.

The tasks you will get are all both story driven, as well as miscellaneous quests.

 

Dawnstar;

 

 

This particular story line will be depend on who rules Dawnstar as Jarl, this is for story purposes.

 

Skald the Elder;

 

 

Skald the Elder rules Dawnstar by an old Pale custom which involves a hierarchy system with the nobles and warriors on the top, and the rest below. As a result the people of Dawnstar are heavily taxed and harassed by the upper class and soldiers of the city, while the warriors and nobles drink and eat merrily at the expense of the people. This is the sort of work your put into, a bit of Robin Hood, steal from the rich and give to the poor. Your tasked with stealing from tax collectors, rooting out spies and other people among the peasantry who work for the upper class, blackmailing, and emptying vaults. As you do more and more damage to the upper class they will react by increasing their numbers in the cities in an attempt of rooting you out. You will try to send a message back and by your choices risk exposing yourself and your client. The story here does not end with Dawnstar's wealth being evenly distributed exactly but with the possibility of utter failure where your client with or without you as well is arrested, or possibly killed. It can also end with you keeping up the fight and running out of story driven tasks and ending up with only miscellaneous tasks left. Point of matter being, the struggle doesn't end.

 

 

 

 

 

Brina Merilis;

 

 

Brina Merilis rules Dawnstar with a much softer hand, she will have reformed Skald's political system with a more modern and redeemable imperial custom where while the nobles stand above the common peasantry, the people are no longer oppressed as much as before. You will be offered work by the same client as before, but because of these changes, the client is more interested in personal wealth rather then the peoples. This begs the question of how much this man could have been trusted before, or whether we put too much emphasis on his morally almost obligated tasks while Skald is the leader, over the ones he gives when Skald is gone. This should send the message that no matter how much good you can do in times that are bad, you will always naturally slide back towards your egotistical nature when these moral dilemma's are taken care of.

Now its all about robbing merchant ships, warehouses, still a lot of vaults to empty from the noblemen, but this is about personal gain this time, and can as always lead to more guard presence, and the probable arrest of your client, and possibly yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Falkreath;

 

 

You will be hired by a client who hates the upper class, to steal and wittily make fools out of the nobility of Falkreath. The irony here is as the story plays along you will eventually be able to learn that the client is a nobleman's son himself and a bit of a self-loafing toad. You will do everything from stealing from the castle, stealing from estates, sabotage, spying, blackmailing, and even tricking certain people into giving you what you want. The story really starts when the client asks you to steal a certain gem from an estate called Farrfalk manor. The manor is well guarded, and while it may seem inconvenient to look around, it will pay off. This is after all, no ordinary gem your sent to fetch. The gem itself was originally stolen from a Redguard nobleman in Hammerfell, and he has offered a boatload of gold to get it back. When you return this gem to the client you will experience much investigation after the identity of the thieves, whoever wants this back, wants it bad. Eventually the client will ask that you accompany him to make the exchange which will take place at a cozy roadside inn by the border to Hammerfell known as Border Lodge. Outside the inn the redguard nobleman will stand alongside a group of redguard mercenaries, a crew known as the Golden Company. You will have the options to effect how this exchange of gold and gem will go down, but regardless of how it goes down, it will end with the Golden Company killing their patron. If you've sent your client ahead, or been sent ahead and the gem is not at the exchange point they will demand it and take hostages, which could include the client, but most certainly the people of Border Lodge. If you just walk away and do nothing, then no more then two days later the inn will be burned down and you will eventually be ambushed by them somewhere as a radiant event. If you give them the gem they will tell you to leave, and if you really do leave and don't return within 2 days, then the end result will be the same, the inn is burned to the ground and the people killed, which could include your client as they have no intention of giving him up. You can fight them, they are well trained but if you defeat them you can get the gem back as well as save everyone, though some can be killed, this is after all; a hostage situation. The client will be very grateful if he survives and ask that you hand the gem to him, if you refuse you will not only never be able to work for him again, but also have made an enemy. He will send thugs after you indefinitely till you kill him, or give him the gem for free, but now its too late and you cannot work for him anymore, but there will also be thugs sent by the owner of Farrfalk Manor sent after you, trying to retrieve the gem. The gem itself can be stolen back if you hand it over, maybe even sold, but it is involved in another quest, like I said, it is wise to snoop around the manor when your looking for it for information, because this will be expanded upon.

 

 

 

 

Markarth;

To be announced

 

 

 

Morthal;

To be announced

 

Solitude;

To be announced

Whiterun;

To be announced

Windhelm;

To be announced

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Silver Hand;

 

 

Sound familiar doesn't it. The werewolf hunters who also operate as bandits, only interested in planting their name in a story, or... so it goes. Essentially though to anyone with a brain they are obviously just a band of ruffians, riffraff, and any other funny name for social outcasts and bandits. If you have joined the Companion's, and have not yet reached the point where your tasked with recovering the shard of Ysgramor's axe; You may be invited to the organisation but kept at arms length. You will be tasked with keeping an eye on them. You can gain their trust by doing as your told and choosing your words and actions wisely. If your beyond the point and have joined the circle, your chances are next to null. Your a werewolf, it is as simple as that. You can try to deny your involvement with the organisation and try to lie your way in, but you will not get very far, very shortly afterwords they will learn the truth and turn on you. If your the Harbringer, and the Silver Hand is technically destroyed, you may still join them; And before you poke your eyes out in anger, allow me to explain how and why. The Silver Hand is by then reduced to a shadow of its former self, and you can only join them if you've systematically cured yourself and the other members of the Silver Hand of lycantrophy. Having demonstrated your strength, you might turn everything on the head and join them. However, on what part of the Companion's quest line you've decided to join this group of bandits, will effect what story your following in a very significant way. Do note that the contact person for the guild is still the same old, a certain ruffian living at an inn in Dawnstar recruiting. It should also be noted that if you become a werewolf by any other manner then the companion's guild, like an infection or join one of the werewolf clan's, this will not stop you from joining the Silver Hand as long as you don't transform yourself in their immediate area. Reason for this is, how the hell would they know if you don't tell them or show them?

 

Before joining the Companion's;

 

 

Since you have no connection to the Companion's, you are as welcome as can be. The story in this version is simple, hunt werewolves, and take out the Companion's guild. If you succeed you will take part in burning Jorrvasskr down, which will be excused when you show them the werewolf heads. However it will decrease your reputation among the citizens of Whiterun, and the rest of Skyrim. There is one new quest which will be accessible which will involve hunting down the werewolves who are part of clan Hjal and clan Dunmeth. However it will only be possible if the Dragonborn makes contact with them and reports their location back.

 

 

 

As a lowly member of the Companion's;

 

 

They will have a hard time trusting you, not revealing their headquarters and giving you tasks through couriers, you are not respected, and gaining their trust is a lengthy and tiresome process. As nothing more then a messenger you will eventually gain their trust and take part in burning down Jorrvasskr. There is one new quest which will be accessible which will involve hunting down the werewolves who are part of clan Hjal and clan Dunmeth. However it will only be possible if the Dragonborn makes contact with them and reports their location back.

 

 

 

As a member of the Companion's Circle;

 

 

They will not trust you, deny you, if you talk your way in through some sick speech craft skill and speech options... But it will amount to nothing, eventually you will be found out and kicked out. You will not loose your place in the Companions as a result as there was no way they would find out.

 

 

 

As the Harbringer of the Companion's;

 

 

Unless you cure everyone in the Companion's of lycantrophy and use a lot of persuasion, you will not be permitted to join. If you had tried to join before but ended up siding with the Companion's instead, you can still join them at this point. Now its all about hunting werewolves, and mostly miscellaneous quests. There is one new quest which will be accessible which will involve hunting down the werewolves who are part of clan Hjal and clan Dunmeth. However it will only be possible if the Dragonborn makes contact with them and reports their location back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dunmeth Clan;

 

 

The Dunmeth Clan is a pack of Werewolves who will go to war against a rival werewolf clan known as the Hjal. To join this werewolf clan you have to be infected by the lycantrophe decease and talk with a certain traveler who travels to Shor's Stone once every second week. You will be invited to just on the account of him sensing that your a werewolf, and he will hand you the location of their nest. Ironically this can be used against them, you can sell this information to the Hjal Clan, to the Silver Hand, or go kill them yourself. Anyhow, if you do go there, don't fight them and join, you will be given access to a bunch of miscellaneous quests, and eventually asked to accompany the pack as they make an almost religious journey to what is supposedly a werewolf shrine. This shrine is surprisingly the Shor's Stone, in, you guessed it, Shor's Stone. There you will pay witness to a short ritual before the stone. The Thane of Shor's Stone will not object and is quite clearly afraid of them. This is when the Hjal Clan arrive and things quickly grows tense. After a short exchange of words, you take your leave. Sometime later you will be asked to accompany an ambush upon the Hjal Clan and so the war begins. There are many clashes before eventually one side destroys the other. Quite like any other guild like this, you are given the alternative to change sides, betray both, and your actions, your words, and your choices will have a deep effect on your standing in the guild. To become the pack leader you need to kill the leader of the pack, this is quite literally how it goes. You will challenge him, or maybe assassinate him, but there is no other way to take this mantle.

 

 

 

 

The Hjal Clan;

 

 

The Hjal Clan is a pack of Werewolves who will go to war against a rival werewolf clan known as the Dunmeth Clan. To join this werewolf clan you have many options. For one, if you are a werewolf yourself, and have gained a number of werewolf perks you will be invited by a werewolf messenger. If you start a certain quest for a vigilant of Stendarr to uproot worshipers of Hircine in Falkreath, you will run into some of the members, who can if you pay your cards right, offer you a place in the pack. Once you learn the location, like with the Dunmeth clan, you can betray them, give the information to the Silver Hand, or to the rival clan, or of course, drive them extinct yourself. However if you wish to join them then you need only go there, kill no one and join the pack. You will be given a great deal of miscellaneous quests and will eventually be asked to accompany the pack to Shor's Stone to visit an apparent werewolf shrine. The shrine is surprisingly Shor's Stone, located in you guessed it; Shor's Stone. As you arrive there are already people worshiping it, and the Thane who rules Shor's Stone is silently absent. The other worshipers are from the Dunmeth Clan and will regard you coldly, before leaving. After worshiping the shrine you will be sent on a few more tasks, one of these will lead to being ambushed by the Dunmeth Clan. You are at this point given multiple opportunities to join the Dunmeth Clan as this plays out. The two clans are now at war, and after multiple clashes one side will destroy the other. To become the leader of the pack you literally have to challenge the original leader and duel him. It is a fight to the death, and the victor takes his place as pack leader. There is no other way then his death to take the mantle from him.

 

 

 

 

The Courier's Guild;

The guild concept is in large part inspired by the Gold Horse Courier quest found in Better Cities Oblivion. After playing that quest line it really began to bother me, why is there nothing like this in Skyrim, couriers are everywhere!

The guild is easily enough joined and revolves around delivering letters, there is no complex conspiracy, just a chance for the Dragonborn to preform tasks he would not normally do. Feel what its like to be the courier for a change. I have yet to announce any great story revolving this faction. By joining however you get access to a lot of "secrets", at least if you decide to read the letters as you deliver them, and you get a bed to sleep in, in every courier headquarter that is spread around Skyrim.

 

 

 

The Ring;

A rather crude organisation of thieves and cutthroats operating in Falkreath. Striking at night, completely merciless and fanatic. The organisation is made up of Daedra worshipers who worship a particular Daedra who is summoned on a repetitive measure to give orders and inspire chaos. To join this organisation is everything but easy. For one, if your attacked by them at night you do not get the option to sway them to let you join them, you cannot track down their secret hideout without already knowing its location, and no one in Falkreath dares to speak of them. It is a menacing terror to the people that rises and falls from time to time. After gaining access to Falkreath you need to watch what you say, what you do, and there is a slight chance you will be given a chance to join them. They will send a courier and he will test you by asking you to take a specific life. Take this life and you will be given the secret to their shrine. Now you have the choice of betraying them to the Falkreath Guard Faction, or joining them. You can always betray them later if that is what you wish. Joining is a bit like the thieves guild, your asked to rough up a few notable people around Falkreath, and then your asked to take part in a few night attacks. Your asked to rescue a prisoner who is going to be executed and eventually your welcomed into the inner cult. When you realize that they are worshiping a Daedra from the realm of Mehrunes Dagons Deadlands you need to start watching your words. There is very little distance between overzealous worship and blaspheme to these guys. As you complete tasks you unlock various unique rewards like a summonable mount and very destructive spells. There is absolutely no way to take the leadership mantle in this guild, you can get rid of the right hand of the leader, the head conjurer. The head conjurer is the one who takes his or her orders directly from the Daedra himself, and the only way to do this is to part take in a political scheme. When your ranked high enough to join the Council of Fire you can use your persuasive skills to turn people against one another, do take care as others will seek to do the same to you, after all, these people worship a Daedric avatar of Mehrunes Dagon and therefor indirectly worships the Daedric Lord of Chaos. Being the lackey of this Daedra may not be to your liking, but killing off the Daedra, will effectively turn all of the loonies against you, and if you survive you will have effectively destroyed the organisation.

 

 

 

 

The Windhelm Pit's;

 

 

The Dark Shadow's

The Bear Clan

Arena team, to be announced

 

 

 

Guard Faction;

 

 

 

 

Joining a guard faction is a lot easier if you've achieved the rank of Thane, without it it will require a lot of persuasion as well as starting off at a lower rank doing a lot of dirt work. It should also be noted that if the Civil War still rages on, and your a thane or a guard of a Hold that is not on the same side in the civil war, you can still join the guard faction - for a while - until they find out about this and attempts to arrest you for "Spying for the enemy". Sad but true, but that is realistic. If you finish the civil war for either side, then you can freely do whatever you want. If it is discovered that you are part of the necromancy cult, or any other criminal organisations you will have a very hard time joining, even if you serve your time. If you are the head of any of these criminal organisations and it is made known then you can forget about joining the guards guild until you decide to help them eradicate them by destroying it from within.

 

 

Dawnstar;

 

 

To be announced

 

 

 

Falkreath;

 

 

To be announced

 

 

 

Markarth;

To be announced

 

 

 

Morthal;

To be announced

Riften;

To be announced

 

 

 

Solitude;

To be announced

Whiterun;

The Whiterun Guard is divided into two factions, you can join both of them. Being part of both will lead to a difficulty gaining respect depending on your rank in the "other" guard faction. If your a Thane you will not have to worry about this, as well as have an easier time joining.

 

 

Whiterun Guard;

 

 

To be announced.

 

 

 

 

The Whiterun Cavalry;

 

 

The Whiterun Cavalry has a small lodge outside the city gates. To join you have to speak with the leader of the group who resides within. You will also notice that there are a lot of cavalry guards patrolling the outskirts of Whiterun who can help you find the way. If you are not made Thane you will not be taken seriously and will be tested, the test involves doing a plethora of tasks which can be straining. If your already a member of the Guards Guild and hold a above average rank you will not have to deal with that. This quest chain is heavily story driven and starts out with you being sent with a fellow cavalier to Rorikstead to investigate a rumor that you are not filled in on. When you arrive everything seems normal but an informant at the inn will pass a message to your fellow cavalier and you will start making your way back. On the way you are ambushed by a bunch of bandits and after finally making it back to Whiterun you are filled in on the story. Apparently there is an uprising led by an Orcish criminal who is well known as a brutal and tall foe. You are given a few measly tasks for a while before returning to the lodge to find it under attack by bandits. After dispatching them you set off with your fellow cavaliers to confront the threat and your lured into a trap. The Orc takes the brother of the leader hostage and demands that they surrender, after doing so in exchange for the brothers life, the brother is thrown off a cliff, showing the ruthlessness of this orc. You are either captured here and forced to make an escape, this choice will lead to the deaths of half of the men you brought with you, or you fight your way out in which case whoever dies, dies.

After making it back to Whiterun you prepare yourself for war and after a few other tasks you ride out once again to face the enemy in the field. You ride them down and if the orc is able to unless he is killed of course, he will retreat back to those cliffs, you can then chase him down and kill him. If the leader of the cavaliers dies then you will inherit his rank, if he doesn't, then you will do a few more measly tasks before he will offer it to you freely.

 

 

 

Windhelm;

To be announced

Winterhold;

To be announced

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What to expect

 

 

Bugs, Crashes and incompatibilities. Lets be realistic, this is an immense mod project, as of right now, it is only me who's working on it. I'm testing it regularly, and as of right now, there are minor problems. NPC's getting stuck in Navmesh being one of them. This mod has yet to be cleaned with Tes5Edit, and from what I've been told, the old Navmesh still "Exists" somehow. Forgive the honesty, but I am by no means an expert on modding, in fact beyond the basics, I'm fairly hopeless, and inexperienced. Though rest assured, I haven't practiced something I haven't managed to do without problems on separate testing ESP's.

I do not experience crashes personally, nor do I experience lag. However my system is fairly powerful. If you don't care for immersion, or don't have a proper computer and experience lag, even without high resolution textures, then this mod is definitely not for you. If you don't like a gritty, realistic, theme to Skyrim, then you should probably look through the city category option here on the Nexus, and make use of some of the other city overhaul mods, there are many good out there! You like a gritty and realistic city theme but don't like what you see in my screenshots, then again! Make use of any of the other mods out there! Mine is merely an alternative I've made with my own preferences in mind, I would note that there is a Better Cities project being worked on, which looks different, but very good! Do check it out.

I suspect variation on the popularity of the project, there will be incompatibilities for a long time yet. Incompatibilities will arise because people have made mods with the vanilla outlay of the cities in mind, and when using my mod, you will get pathing issues, and so on. Hopefully mod authors will create a compatibility patch very early on after the release!

I plan on releasing the first version of the mod, without quests, and without NPC conversations. The reason for this, is that I want people to have fun with the mod as soon as I've finished it, and it works as bug free as possible. I will of course very quickly afterwords start looking into the matter of topics, and quests, I have written down many various stories, all the NPC's have a written background, and quests they might give.

I do plan on releasing at least one dungeon per Hold. But that will depend heavily on the popularity of the mod, (I might just be a horrible modder after all!), and it will not be worked on, before I manage the immersion part of the mod, AKA; Conversations and Quests.

 

Implemented;

New Shops

New Inn's

New NPC's

New Clutter

Variate City Design

Resting place for the Couriers in each major city

 

Secret Entrances into Cities

New Settlements

 

 

Not Implemented yet;

Banking System (This system existed in the Oblivion Better Cities, and I hope to be able to implement this into the mod)

Messenger Board (Wooden boards with news, and bounty / private contracts)

Ship Fast Travel system (The idea is to buy passage from a NPC and be transported to chosen major city, much like the boat travel option in Dawnguard)

Guilds (The guildhalls and the NPC's are implemented, the over all story is also written down, however has yet to be implemented into the game)

Topics (The NPC's are not very talkative)

Quests

New Followers

 

Dungeons

 

 

 

 

Help

 

 

I would welcome any help with open arms, however as far as it comes to Designing the cities, that is my job. The reason for this is that I have a certain design in mind, and just generally prefer to do that part myself. However, do not hesitate with pointing out your opinions on the design's.

Someone who can Create Clothing and Armor would be greatly appreciated, it will help make variate between the characters as well as help define the locations culture.

An Animator would be appreciated, new animations will open up new actions for the NPC's, like carrying barrels for example. Be advised, adult-content is not welcome.

While I am confident that I know my way around Navmesh, there is always room for mistakes, and someone with experience is very welcome.

If you got a Story which you would like put into a book, please let me know!

I find Lighting to be frustrating, so someone who can lend me a hand will get a Sweetroll.

Someone who knows how to Create Quests, or Conversations for the NPC's will get two Sweetroll's, I have zero knowledge on that department and would appreciate the help!

 

 

 

Credits

 

First and foremost: A special thanks to Breti, the creator of the Rochester mod, for providing me not only with 99% of the resources used, but also for his help with the Solitude resource collisions. Without him, there'd be no project. Thank You.

I would also like to give a special thanks to Drakulux who created the mod http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/11534/? which he has allowed me to implement into Holds. I have implemented it from the ground up, with some minor changes. But I still think Drakulux deserves recognition for his hard work!

 

Kalzim7878 also deserves recognition for allowing me to mimic parts of the Solitude harbor to his mod http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/22821/? . I have of course implemented it from the ground up, with rather large changes, Kalzim7878 nice harbor outlay was definitely inspirational, thank you!

 

I also believe Rilax deserves a mention. He has at the time of this writing not released the work I was inspired from. He did however upload a couple of screenshots from the Riften Waterfront that inspired me to make similar changes. He deserves recognition for his hard work!

Lastly a man called Reindeer51 deserves a big thank you for his understanding and permission. Reindeer51 is the author of the "SNOW CITY - Windhelm Unleashed" mod: was kind enough to grant me permission to make a similiar design in my expansion of the city to the west. Thank you!

If you've granted me permission, and don't find your credits here, please do contact me, however there have been many permissions granted, and I have yet to make use of all of it. However do know that your content is well appreciated all the same, and will likely be used in the mod eventually. When it is used, the credits due will of course be granted.

Breti - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52049/?

Blary - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/14133

Runspect - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/26132

Oaristys - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16525/?

Insanitysorrow - http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/1325-insanitys-washing-stuffs/
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/57839/?

 

Artisanix - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/17423

Stroti - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/33948/

 

Defunkt - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/56826/?

 

Ga-Knomboe Boy - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/43204//?

Vicn - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/45636/?tab=1&navtag=%2Fajax%2Fmoddescription%2F%3Fid%3D45636%26preview%3D&pUp=1

Lazyskeever - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/40676//?

Kraeten / Mr_Siika - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/41036/?tab=1&navtag=%2Fajax%2Fmoddescription%2F%3Fid%3D41036%26preview%3D&pUp=1

Defunkt - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/22684/?

PROMETHEUS_ts - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/40914/?tab=2&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D40914&pUp=1

Croc - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/30647/?

L0rd0fWar - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/5588/?

FranklinZunge - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/25868/?tab=2&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D25868&pUp=1

Gulchanar - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/2819/?tab=3&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmodimages%2F%3Fid%3D2819%26user%3D2&pUp=1

MonsterMonkey - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/3896/?tab=2&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D3896&pUp=1

nouserhere - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/44167/?tab=2&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D44167&pUp=1

Clepsa - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/22473/?tab=2&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D22473&pUp=1

Merilia - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/38282/?

TH3WICK3D1 - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/7807/?

Nivea - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/13486/?

Nikinoodles - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/12092/?

 

Drakulux - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/11534/?

 

JulianP - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/6575/?tab=1&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmoddescription%2F%3Fid%3D6575%26preview%3D&pUp=1

 

Omesean - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35094/?

 

Gamwich - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/62153/?

 

nerdofpray + Tamira + InsanitySorrow - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/58084/?

 

Tamira + Stroti - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/36969/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/42690/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/45540/?

 

Cleanz0r - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50005/?

 

EcthelionOtW + Brokefoot + QTA - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/44592/?

 

LilaMue - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/46454/?

 

Jet4571 - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/58262/?

 

JulianP - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/6575/?

 

Kalzim7878 - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/22821/?

 

Frankdema + CDProjekt + PhilSchmidheiny + L0rd0fWar + northborn + Lorenz Frølich - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/20780/?

 

UNI00SL - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/56846/?

 

Johnchi - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14355/?

 

ActusReus + Dejawolf - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/26321/?

 

Nimezis - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/36738/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/54793/?

 

Grace Darkling - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14031/?

 

Singlebelong - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/16977/?

 

Rohganictus - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/29610/?

 

Chinagreenelvis - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71527/?

 

Jacknifelee - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/49130/?

 

Omegared99 - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/10277/?

 

Jedo-dre - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/32988/?

 

Zzjay - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35125/?

 

Farinelli - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/60788/?

Omesean - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35094/?

Kettlewitch - http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/73175/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/53774/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/53681/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/46916/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/44418/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/39939/?

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/38636/?

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2016 by Galandil

[Anikma]

Looks alright! I'll look forward to the release.

 

Good luck,

 

-Anikma

[OliverWBR]

Spelling for one, I find that with accurate spelling you can communicate your ideas clearly allowing for more interest to take place.

[Galandil]

Anikma; Thank you :)

OlverWBR; Duly noted, I will have to get my dictionary!

[Galandil]

Okay, I've done some spell checking and hopefully the content of the announcement is a lot less frustrating. I do apologize if there is some remaining spelling errors, please do point them out, English is not my first language! I've also updated a lot of the information. I do hope to get some feedback, good or bad. It will really help the development, so please do not hold back. If you wish to help with the mod, do send me a message :)

[Kraeten]

This looks really damn good. You're a very talented level designer. :smile: If you haven't already, I recommend you download the update for the Griffon Fortress meshes. They weren't rendering their normal maps in the first release, and that's been fixed. I'm definitly going to frequent Dawnstar more often when this mod of yours is finished, I really like what you've done with the place.

[Galandil]

This looks really damn good. You're a very talented level designer. :smile: If you haven't already, I recommend you download the update for the Griffon Fortress meshes. They weren't rendering their normal maps in the first release, and that's been fixed. I'm definitly going to frequent Dawnstar more often when this mod of yours is finished, I really like what you've done with the place.

Oh! Thank you for letting me know, I had no idea there had been an update :laugh:

 

Thanks for the feedback! Its really nice to hear! The meshes in the griffon resources pack really solved a small design crisis with Falkreath, where I was previously using just normal stone brick towers, which didn't really give that extra sense of woodland medieval variation. I was going to use more of your meshes as well, as it never really felt right to me how I designed the Falkreath Keep, but there wasn't enough space, and I really liked the back-story I put into it.

 

I started working on Dawnstar last year, and I feel like I'm finished designing it. I still have some finishing touches to do on writing books and getting some designers to look into the clothing, but even so, I hope I've managed to make Dawnstar a little bit more of an appealing place to go visit, appealing in the sense of dark, dirty and very cold :wink:

Edited April 8, 2014 by Galandil

[Kraeten]

Happy I could help :happy: . Speaking of that Falkreath castle, I must say I'm pretty darn jealous of your imagination on that front. I never would have thought to replace the stone edges/frames with wood textures. You took what was a bland looking ruin and made it look noble and rustic. It strongly reminds me of the Ferelden style architecture featured in Dragon Age Origins, which I was extremely fond of.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Kraeten

[Galandil]

Ha! That's exactly the inspiration I took it from. The castle in Redcliffe actually. I started first off testing out various designs, using Whiterun meshes, then the Riften meshes. Neither really did it for me. I then noticed the nice ceiling in the Dawnguard castle meshes, and tried it out. The only real bother for me, was how big it made the castle seem. Lofty and full of space. The castle is in my taste a little too big even, which was why I figured it could be a cool story behind the castle, and why it looks as it does. I really want to feature quests in the castle when I've finished designing the mod. Making good use of the size. Maybe a few thievery assignments within the keep, through secret entrances. Maybe something that could tie into the mystery of the keep's origin and purpose. Who knows.

I still feel I need to add a few more objects into the castle's corridors, and main hall, just to take up some of the space. As I was halfway in, and I started using the Griffon resource pack for the towers, I did consider using the castle main hall meshes, but it would mean having to re-design the exterior of Falkreath as well to make room. Maybe even tear down the bankers house, and in the end I decided against it. Glad you like it though. :)

[DemongelRex]

You have a very unique flair in the design of the villages. I eagerly wait until its completion.