[WIP] Blood of the Nord

[CrimsonGoat]

 

 

It's sparse (and clearly a WIP), but here's the progress thus far on Clan Sea-Stalker's residence, "Seastead":

Is that Dawnstar in the background?

 

Yes, please don't tell me I'm walking into a mod conflict. Actually, do tell me, as I'd rather move things around now than later on in production.

 

I'm really, really paranoid about placing new buildings and adjusting navmesh in the worldspace, so I tried to pick the most remote spot possible. This is the only settlement of sorts added by the mod, and all the other cell entrances are minimal and out of the way. The rival to the Sea-Stalkers, Clan Iron-Arm, live in a mine for reasons that will be specified. Suffice to say the war was not good to them.

 

Anyway, if you know of another mod that's using that real estate (a strip of coast west of Dawnstar), please tell me. Thanks!

 

Sorry at first glance I thought it might be a new landmass. I can't recall a mod conflict there, I haven't played a lot of quest or new buildings mods for Skyrim. Looks great so far.

[Guest deleted2159825]

Thanks! As it turns out, I am probably going to save the feud for another mod. As I began working on characters and sidequests, I determined that it's ballooned into something that far exceeds the scope of this plugin. The title of the quest was Beyond the Pale, and I may eventually make it as a standalone project that isn't tied to the civil war. I really like the characters and quests, but it is much, much more than I had originally intended. I want to wrap up Blood of the Nord by February (so I can begin working in the GECK), and the voicework required by Beyond the Pale would likely extend the release date by several weeks, if not months.

 

Luckily, I hadn't done a great amount of work in the GECK aside from setting up the village, so it's no great loss. I've already begun work on the next quest, which is much more manageable in scope.

[Guest deleted2159825]

Okay, major progress today! Quest number two is finalized, and quest numero tres is underway.

 

Screenshots!

1. The man who would be Jarl

2. Not an ordinary bandit

3. Sea of Ghosts (still very much a WIP, no clutter or NPC's yet). I have been itching stage sea battles, and this will host an important fracas.

 

There have been some significant rewrites to the mod's final act, which I was never really set on to begin with. Suffice to say the current ending will be exceedingly violent, and you will finally have an opportunity to slay a certain enemy en masse.

Hint: It's someone that we all love to hate. :)

 

 

It may lack the nuance of the original script, but frankly this one is more workable given the presumable time constraints. I have no interest in getting bogged down in voice acting hell. I will post auditions once the beta testing is underway, which could begin in as little as two weeks. I'll keep you posted - thanks for the support!

[CptnBrryCrnch]

I think I will start a new character now. Would you anticipate any issues or conflicts with the Civil War Overhaul mod? If so, I will leave it out of my load order.

 

Regarding the area around Dawnstar, Expanded Cities and Towns makes significant changes to Dawnstar which include an imposing wall, several new buildings, an expanded docks area, and a merchant exchange(open, no loading screen) which is just next to the smelter-next to the water. The changes really build up the area around that small bay. Your work seems to be on the other side of the point/rock hill thing and seems to have plenty of space between what is commonly changed. I tell you this in hopes of being helpful as you were worried about Dawnstar cells. ETaC is probably the most commonly used expanded towns mod, to give you an idea.

 

It seems like we will finally have a quest in Skyrim where some consequential logic is used. 'Bout damn time.

 

edit: ze poor grammer, which makes me look even worse if I failed to catch something else.

Edited December 30, 2015 by CptnBrryCrnch

[Guest deleted2159825]

Would you anticipate any issues or conflicts with the Civil War Overhaul mod? If so, I will leave it out of my load order.

I'm not sure. The quest begins by entering Castle Dour after the Stormcloaks have won. A trigger assesses the quest status - if the player meets the requirements, Hrolf Witch-Slayer will be enabled in an adjacent room. The player will be directed to speak with Hrolf, after which the quest begins in earnest.

 

 

Regarding the area around Dawnstar, Expanded Cities and Towns makes significant changes to Dawnstar which include an imposing wall, several new buildings, an expanded docks area, and a merchant exchange(open, no loading screen) which is just next to the smelter-next to the water. The changes really build up the area around that small bay. Your work seems to be on the other side of the point/rock hill thing and seems to have plenty of space between what is commonly changed. I tell you this in hopes of being helpful as you were worried about Dawnstar cells. ETaC is probably the most commonly used expanded towns mod, to give you an idea.

I ended up dropping the feud questline because of feature creep. It could probably work as a standalone mod, Beyond the Pale. I could incorporate it into Skyrim's Someguy Series. I will be setting more and more content in new worldspaces, as I've learned it's the only surefire way to avoid the drama of conflicts.

 

EDIT: That questline could be the foundation for Sverd Saga, which is set on Roderick Redbeard's home, Aegirheim. It's like early Iceland on crystal meth.

 

 

It seems like we will finally have a quest in Skyrim where some consequential logic is used. 'Bout damn time.

To be honest, I'm not sure how this will be received. It's gone through a lot of revision and re-writes, and the setup for the final act feels a bit rushed in the current treatment. I will continue polishing it up, but this is probably best described as a collection of sidequests rather than one over-arching storyline. There isn't a fearsome antagonist, though there is foreshadowing for one. More than anything, this mod is a prologue for Wrath of the Nord, which definitely has a clear, traditional plotline.

Edited December 30, 2015 by someguy2000

[1SaBy]

Foreshadowing of an antoganist... Hmmm... WIll it be a Nord called Markus? :P :D

[Guest deleted2159825]

Foreshadowing of an antoganist... Hmmm... WIll it be a Nord called Markus? :tongue: :D

Haha, no, nothing that grandiose.

[Guest deleted2159825]

Aaaaaand we have an Orc-centric quest now, "The Blood Price".

 

I always liked the Orcs in TES, so I figured I'd show some love. It's a short but sweet little series of missions that deals with Stormcloak efforts to improve relations with the Orcs, who are worried about the Empire's withdrawal.

[Arcky]

Aaaaaand we have an Orc-centric quest now, "The Blood Price".

 

I always liked the Orcs in TES, so I figured I'd show some love. It's a short but sweet little series of missions that deals with Stormcloak efforts to improve relations with the Orcs, who are worried about the Empire's withdrawal.

 

Fak, guess I have to change one of my quest names now.

Good luck with the mod! Seems like you got some steady momentum going on :)

[Guest deleted2159825]

 

Aaaaaand we have an Orc-centric quest now, "The Blood Price".

 

I always liked the Orcs in TES, so I figured I'd show some love. It's a short but sweet little series of missions that deals with Stormcloak efforts to improve relations with the Orcs, who are worried about the Empire's withdrawal.

 

Fak, guess I have to change one of my quest names now.

Good luck with the mod! Seems like you got some steady momentum going on :smile:

 

Damn, don't go changing quest titles on my account, man. This is just a small sidequest, nothing major. Seriously, the first title was "Blood-Kin", and I can easily switch back to that. Orcs seem to be a central part of your project, so don't let me detract from it.

 

Also, thanks for the support! Good luck with your project as well - I just checked out the screenshots, and I must say that it's looking impressive. I'm looking forward to playing through it with my Empire-aligned character (I know it supports Stormcloaks, but I like to do things all the way).