LE Improving the Blades

[Draco856]

Refences I've been able to find:

 

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Book_of_the_Dragonborn

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Dovahkiin

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Rise_and_Fall_of_the_Blades

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ayleid_Language

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Daedric_Alphabet

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dragon_Alphabet

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dwemer_Alphabet

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ehlnofex_Languages

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Blades

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:History

 

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Some of these may or may not contain relevant information, the languages part should be of particular interest.

[Zero713]

Awesome, this is very useful. Thanks. I've began working on it now actually. Can easily be implemented once the CK is released.

[jimhsu]

 

A bit about me so you know who you're getting into a project with: I'm a MD/PhD student studying molecular biology in Maryland, USA. I am somewhat busy but do have time to devote to this project. I have experience with professional writing, collaborative science projects, troubleshooting,etc. More than anything my forte is learning quickly. I'm a longtime gamer who got into the Elder Scrolls with Oblivion and have played Fallout and New Vegas. I have used produced mods on all three games and am anxious to make a contribution to the mod community that has given me so much. For project collaborators most project collaborations will be conducted online but I'm also open to real-life interactions (phone, etc.) and planning meetings if you live in the Maryland/Pennsylvannia/DC/New Jersey area.

 

Thanks for your interest!

 

Cool! A fellow MD/PhDer ... I'm in Texas myself, so a bit far, but do wish you luck on your project.

 

The conversation options so far in the game about this are far too lacking. Personally the Parthurnaxx incident almost smacks of railroading, which is completely against the TES concept. But I digress...

[JibstaMan]

I had another idea, to add a little more dimension. A Thalmor Assassination list. Chiefs, captains, generals and important Thalmor agents that you would have to assassinate or simply kill. The quest are simple; kill him/her when- and where-ever you like. The quests will point you to the Thalmor agent and the rest is up to you. The Thalmor agent will just live their life, including travel and such, if you think in the current position, you won't survive, just wait for the agent to become more vulnerable or move on and check it out later.

Some of these Thalmor agents can be used in quests. If you already killed him/her, the quest will be easier then when you didn't. The difference is one less person in a fort or whatever.

[Draco856]

Sounds good, maybe a little tie in with the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild. If you are the Listener and only if you are the Listener, You could contract one of your own assassins for some of these tasks, but instead of out-right killing them, I think we should capture them, take them to a secluded and protected location, like the Ratway, which can be free if you are Guild Master, or pay a fee to use the guild as a prison for captured Thalmor. and interrogate them on plans, locations of hidden Thalmor outposts, etc.

 

Example:

 

Either the player or DB assassin goes to find this Thalmor agent, when found they either sneak up on them and knock them out, or use a paralyze spell and tie them up while they can't move. We then take them to a location built to house prisoners, namely the Ratway of the Thieves Guild where we found Esbern, it's secluded, difficult to get into, and has ready-build cells. We can then interrogate these agents there, and in the end kill them or turn them (turning them would mean better knowledge of any attacks against the Blades, but would open up the possibility of further betrayal. We can use magic to perhaps hide the location we bring these prisoners to, and when we release them that memory could be stricken from their mind.

[dianacat777]

Full support. I hated how the Blades went from being very cool and helpful people to stubborn jerkwads over Paarthurnax, and how I was forced to just ignore them for the rest of the game.

 

Make them act like the Blades, not a cross between their reclaimed gung-ho dragonslayer image and a four-year-old throwing a tantrum.

[Logiwink]

Notice - we've created a Sourceforge project for this mod, everyone who's interested in contributing or play-testing please get a sourceforge account and go post in the welcome to the team topic in the forums.

 

https://sourceforge.net/

 

https://sourceforge.net/p/reforgeblades/

 

1. Draco - glad to have you in whatever capacity you feel like (have you marked down for playtester now)

2. SHT remodeling will definitely start by going down - up there is just open sky at this point and redoing that would significantly change the feel of the level. Love the ideas for new SHT features and especially the magma-Dragon Forge

3. Thalmor assassination list is cool

4. DB or Thieves guild tie ins are going to have to be carefully managed. Current plans are to make the mod independent of any existing vanilla quest, but we can change that as things begin to take shape.

5. Dianacat - I agree. I spent 10 minutes trying to kill Esbern because he was being an ass to me.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Logiwink

[Draco856]

I've signed up for Sourceforge, name is the same as on here. For the DB and Thieves guild tie-ins, they would have nothing to do with any vanilla quests. The idea was to require the player to be the leader of either guild for that particular service, and for the prison idea involving the guild we could just make a new NPC and have them handle everything that one would require in setting up a prison in the Ratway. The guild would just act as lookouts if the Thalmor ever came in.

[Kohdi]

I'm still working through the 18 pages of this thread, so forgive me if anything is repeated...

 

I would be honored if you'd let me join your team. I can texture, work with the CK (if it's anything like Oblivion's), do some elementary scripting, and above all, I can write my heart out. I made a trilogy of mods for Oblivion which focused on the country of Ka Po'tun in Akavir, and as such I did a lot of research into Akaviri culture and Tamriellic history as a whole. If you ask me the purpose of the Alik'r I probably won't remember, but if you ask me about Tamriellic encounters with Akaviri including the Blades, the Kamal invasion of Morrowind, the Tsaesci Potentates and their flight to Rimmen, the disastrous invasion of Akavir by the empire, and even the lore I've written regarding Ka Po'tun (if it's to your liking), well, you'll get an earful. I even have an original map of Akavir drawn out with cities, countries, etc. that may interest you.

 

Sky Haven Temple is unique in that it was built by the first-era Blades, close descendants of the Akaviri, then abandoned before any modern appliances were added. With such a massive Temple there would be need of a library full of ancient tomes, which I would be glad to supply as needed. I also support the ideas of light armor, a forge, armory, merchant/enchanter/alchemist, player quarters, etc., plus general improvements on the Temple as a whole (lighting, anyone?).

 

I would love to see the Blades be reborn into the fourth era, and to be their "edge" would be awesome. The other guilds got a whole lot of love regarding questlines and unique objects and locations, I think the Blades deserve no less.

 

I also support the alternate Paarthurnax endings. I ended up killing him just out of curiosity, but the rewards are decidedly underwhelming. Having options to say no, arrange a truce, telling Delphine to climb the mountain and do it herself, would be great.

 

I've never been great at doing dialogue or quests, but you give me something to write or something to texture and I'll get it done. ;)

 

As for new ideas, I figure I should contribute something. How about clearing away the camps around the Karthspire? It's really annoying to return to Esbern after slaying a dragon, just to get mobbed by Forsworn at the front door. There appears to be the remnants of a road onto the Karthspire island, if that area could be developed into something decent it would be a huge improvement.

 

EDIT

 

Okay, I read through everything, lots of amazing ideas here. I support the Grandmaster Quarters with balcony and unique armor/weapons, if we need textures for those I could see about doing that. I recently finished a retex of the Blades katana (check it through my profile), so there's a good starting place at least. I love the idea of recruiting specialized people from Skyrim to unlock or fill otherwise empty rooms with enchanting/alchemy stations, kitchens, practice rooms, an Akaviri forge, etc. I also like the idea of a locked vault of lore and artifacts that you need to retrieve the key for, possibly with the help of a first-era ghost. As stated, I could write anything needed to fill the shelves. I'll be signing up at sourceforge soon, hopefully I can make myself useful in the coming weeks. ;)

 

EDIT EDIT

 

Sorry to keep going on, but I've been waiting for a mod like this to get into. I just took a trot around the Karthspire, in and out, scouting real estate as it were. I found a few things to note which may be of interest-

 

- The Karthspire camp is outfitted with a forge, a blacksmith's table, and an alchemy station, but no enchanter. Perhaps if the camp is cleared (as I hope it is), some of these things can be put to use.

-An official front gate may be a nice touch, just to smooth out the gaping hole in the mountainside, but that depends on whether the entrance should be "secret" or not.

-The bridges leading into the temple can only be raised and lowered from the outside, adding controls on the inside courtyard would be practical (though kind of cheating) in warding off unwelcome guests (Thalmor, or even a Forsworn raid).

-As I recall, on the first play-through when the Temple is unlocked with Esbern and Delphine, all the Akaviri symbols used on the bridge puzzles have a meaning. The only problem is, I can only recognize the one for "dragonborn". If anyone would be willing to go through that quest again and record Esbern's commentary, it could be of some use when decorating or adding lore.

-In the courtyard surrounding the Blood Seal, there are two large alcoves to the right and left, built into the walls. These may be useful as shops, a place for the forge, animal pens, or any number of uses (kennel, perhaps? ;) )

-As has been said, a way to close the big face-door would be cool, but like the bridges, it would be a bit like cheating.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Kohdi

[Druidya]

Coolness, here is an outline of the changes I would make including different resolutions to the Parthurrnax quest, gaining a title in the Blades organization, and adding a Quest line called "Reforging the Blades" in which the character can actively rebuild the organization and take the fight to the Thalmoor and help define the role of the Blades in the Fourth Era.

 

 

Reforging the Blades Mod – Content Outline

1.Alternate resolutions to the Kill Parthurnax Quest:

a. New Conversation Options

i. “About Paarthurnax….”

1. “Paarthurnax may have committed atrocities in the past, but he has spent thousands of years in peaceful mediation awaiting the day when he could resist Alduin. He now strives to persuade more dragons to give up power and learn the Way of the Voice. He is our ally and we should join with him to control the dragons in the wake of Alduin’s defeat (persuade).

2. “I’m not doing your dirty work. I’m not your errand boy. You want Paarthurnax dead, you kill him yourself.”

 

b. Sky Haven Temple as a Player Home

i. Expand Sky Haven Temple to include

1. Player Quarters

2. Alchemy/Enchantment Lab

3. Outdoor Forge Area

4. Shopkeeper

5. Museum/Armory for display of trophies and Blades Relics

 

c. Reforging the Blades Questline

i. Player is appointed Edge of the Blades, a position that involves shaping the growth of the organization

1. Player initially is tasked with seeking out recruits who have distinguished themselves (think Duncan recruiting Grey Wardens from Dragon Age)

2. Early quests also involve reclaiming important books, artifacts, etc from the Blades past

3. Also recruiting a smith to join the Blades to make armor and weapons (acts as a storekeeper once recruited)

4. Later quests will give option of group-dragon hunts; attacks on Thalmor strongholds

5. Additional Possibility – Find the hidden line of Septim descendents and safeguard them to ascend to the throne of the Empire

 

Sounds awesome! lets hope that the modders are up to the challenge, as Bethesda weren't with the dodgey quest line...