LE Improving the Blades

[JibstaMan]

But what are the directions we want for Paarthurnax quest?

Current options in game is: Kill or have an uncompleted quest.

What I would suggest (considering not making Paarthurnax quest deciding whether to go Dragonslaying or dragon ally) making it simple: Kill, Quest completed or you have defeated Alduin and Paarthurnax flies away from his mountain, Quest failed.

The other options I remember in this topic are:

Killing and resurrecting Paarthurnax.

Letting the Blades do the dirty job themselves (although? is the possible, considering we had to shout Clear Skies to get on that mountain...)

 

I'm currently working on a way to convince Delphine (and Esbern) to go the Dragon ally path. Killing Paarthurnax won't make this quest unavailable nor will it fail the quest. Completing this quest will not complete the Paarthurnax quest, to still allow you to kill him, but then again, maybe we should let it fail the Paarthurnax quest, since they revoke their order, but you are still 'allowed' to kill him, without the quest, would you want that. (I'm kinda thinking out loud here.)

Not doing this quest will continue the default path of the Blades: extermination of the dragons.

I'm not sure whether we had plans for the Greybeards, but if so, we should add a quest after killing Paarthurnax, to allow to restore relations with them. We could use Odahviing for this (as Draco suggested). He would live at the top of the mountain and try to fill the void Paarthurnax left in guiding the Greybeards. When you call him, he'd still come. But it's the question whether Odahviing is fitting enough, since he himself would have to learn the Way of the Voice the Greybeards are all about.

 

It's quite hard to make the convincing the Blades quest.

First of all; After defeating Alduin, Paarthurnax leaves, would he still live.

Secondly; You have to do the Fallen and the quest afterwards in order to gain Odahviing as 'ally', since freeing Odahviing will start the quest afterwards automatically.

[Draco856]

Paarthurnax leaves initially after returning from Sovengarde, but you can still go up the mountain and talk to him, he has to remain in the world so we can change the meditations he offers us.

 

As far as the Fallen quest goes, I would talk with Budz42 about how he's handling that, and how we obtain Odahviing as an ally or if we get some new dragon, though I think it will remain the same

[JibstaMan]

What also is an interesting question (what was already asked) is "What was the oath Delphine did?"

Dragons we not yet back, so it's not necessarily a dragonslayers oath. The Blades in Oblivion had an oath like serving the Emperor for the rest of your life, protecting him (as I remember at least).

[Drytor]

I do believe I've also asked about the oath a number of times. Nowhere can I find any written down script of an oath, just some vague "oh, the Blades say an oath and they're in." If anybody else has had any better success then please let one of us know so we can try and sort something out to do with these quests.

 

I've got more time to work on scripts and things for recruitable NPCs as well if anybody would like to post or PM me any suggestions and I can either integrate them into what I already have or write the script for your idea if I haven't already come up with something I'm happy with.

[Draco856]

Where the Oath is concerned, I think it's been lost over the years and each new Blades generation has either added or removed parts of it, so maybe we should come up with our own oath depending on our path, the one that is said in game is good and all, but it doesn't really get down to the brass tacks of what the Blades represent or what they should represent.

 

For a Dragonslayer oath, we can pretty much keep the current one, but if we go down the Dragon Ally path, we will need a new oath, one that fits with the overall mission of the Blades, as well as the hardships they faced. Pretty much a way of taking the history of the Blades, and turning it into an oath to hold the honor of the faction as well as the members, the honor of Talos, and the empire he built, the honor of the Septim bloodline, who made sacrifices of sweat, blood, and tears to keep the world safe and the Empire intact. The sacrifice of Martin, everything that has had a significant impact on the Blades as a whole, these events have shaped the Blades through the ages, but it seems to have been forgotten, instead they've been focusing the oath on the here and now, instead of what it really means to be a Blade, which now that the dragons have returned might (should in my opinion) go back to their old name, the Dragonguard.

 

My thoughts go all over the place with this, I have an idea, but trying to put it into words I keep hitting a block, but this should give a general idea, hopefully.

[Kohdi]

One idea that was mentioned a while back that sounded good was to have the option to kill Paarthurnax, thus resolving him of his past atrocities, but somehow releasing his soul in the form of a spectral dragon who could continue to jelp the Blades, if he is sincere. This might be a decent compromise to get Delphine (and Esbern) back on the Dragonborn's side, rather than presenting them with an ultimatum.

 

As for the Blades oath, this is pretty intriguing, especially since we have no records of it. I may work up and example or two just to get the ideas flowing around, hopefully later today.

[JibstaMan]

I've got more time to work on scripts and things for recruitable NPCs as well if anybody would like to post or PM me any suggestions and I can either integrate them into what I already have or write the script for your idea if I haven't already come up with something I'm happy with.

I've made some scripts you could look at if you hadn't already. There in this doc.

[Drytor]

Maybe that could be part of the Dragon Ally quest? Or either quest really. With the Dragon Ally quest, part of convincing them would be convincing them to change the oath, seeing as it's been a bit lost and all. with the Dragon Kill quest we could write another oath and Blades are sworn in using either, depending on your path

[InuyashaFE]

One idea that was mentioned a while back that sounded good was to have the option to kill Paarthurnax, thus resolving him of his past atrocities, but somehow releasing his soul in the form of a spectral dragon who could continue to jelp the Blades, if he is sincere. This might be a decent compromise to get Delphine (and Esbern) back on the Dragonborn's side, rather than presenting them with an ultimatum.

 

As for the Blades oath, this is pretty intriguing, especially since we have no records of it. I may work up and example or two just to get the ideas flowing around, hopefully later today.

 

I don't see why Paarthurnax would have any desire to help the blades after they ordered his execution. Even someone like him would have to draw the line somewhere.

 

I think what'd be best is to have the option to lie about Paarthurnax, but that was probably already mentioned.

[Draco856]

I did mention how it might come to pass if we did do it that way, we'd use the resurrection shout Alduin used on the other dragons, it would release his soul from us (reverse soul absorb animation) back into his body, if his body no longer existed, it would force him to reform as a spectral dragon. My first post on the matter was much more elaborate, but I've repeated myself so many times the lines are getting blurry with each new post about it, I refine the idea, I change it, it's getting confusing for me, so refer to my previous posts for the whole picture.

 

The quest in Oblivion, where we go to Sancre Tor is an example of this. In the dungeon, we fight former Blades who were corrupted by a dark power, when we defeated them the regained their minds and formed as ghosts. So something like this might work, a soul, being reborn through the fires of battle, absolved of their past crimes to live or die again on their own terms.