LE Improving the Blades

[Kohdi]

I'm not sure how Paarturnax would feel about the whole deal, but killing his "mortal" body and releasing his soul back into a spectral form could have a couple advantages, for both us (the Blades) and him. If he were a ghostly dragon there could be some strings tied to that, for example he may not be able to physically harm the living, or even have his shouts affect the mortal world. Going along with that, he would not be susceptible to weapons or violence of any kind, so he would become "invincible" in a way. He may see the justice in removing the possibility of future harm by removing his body, or he might take offense that we refuse to trust him. It's hard to say. He makes the comment himself that it is wise for the Blades not to trust another dovah, though he knows they are wrong. One of his comments that sticks with me is something like, "Is it better to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great sacrifice?" Just thoughts here, take them as you will.

[Kohdi]

Sorry for the double post, but I finished the draft for a possible Blades oath. This would be addressed to either one initiate or a group, preferably the group as it is rather long. The terminology can be easily changed to accommodate multiple initiates, or to insert the character's name if desired.

 

Grandmaster: Step forward.

 

Do you know the history of our order, initiate?

 

Initiate: Tell me, Grandmaster.

 

Grandmaster: We came from our home of old, far in the east in the land of Akavir. We were the Dragonguard, who protected fragile mortality from the all-consuming fires of the dragons. When our predecessors landed in Skyrim, following the trail of destruction from the dragons, resistance toward their invasion was found in the form of Reman Cyrodiil's army. The Dragonguard, defeated at Pale Pass after long battles with their foe, realized that their purpose had changed, had purified. They saw in Reman the soul of a dragon, trapped and yet made free in mortal form, and from that point forth they pledged their services and skills, their honor and their very lives to the Dragonborn. Through the ages we, the Blades, have served those of the dragonblood, from Tiber Septim to Martin Septim and every emperor in between, but it was not to last. The direct line of the dragonblood was broken, and without a worthy emperor to serve, our order diminished until it was nearly destroyed at the hands of the Thalmor. Now the dragons of old, our ancient adversaries, have returned, and with them has returned the Dragonborn, to whom we are pledged.

 

Do you know where you are standing, initiate?

 

Initiate: Tell me, Grandmaster.

 

Grandmaster: This fortress of the first era is called Sky Haven Temple. It was built by the Dragonguard, the first of its kind in all Tamriel. It houses Alduin's Wall, the great prophesy, interpreted from an Elder Scroll and carved into the mountain, forseeing the time when Alduin, the World-Eater, would return to the mortal plane and resurrect his fallen allies. This is now the last stronghold of the Blades, and it is our duty to defend it against all who oppose us.

 

Do you know what you are wearing, and what is sheathed at your side, and what you hold in your hand, initiate?

 

Initiate: Tell me, Grandmaster.

 

Grandmaster: You wear the uniform of the Blades, dragonscale armor of reknowned design, strength, and flexibility, smithed by the Dragonguard itself. Your armor signifies your history and heritage, the might and valour of long generations of Blades. Wear it well. At your side is your katana, the symbol of old Akavir, forged and tempered to flex and bow with the stress of battle, yet sharpened to cleave through the bones of Alduin himself. Your sword signifies the strength you must have and the discipline you must achieve to be a warrior worthy of the Blades, for just as a sword can only be driven by a strong arm, so can the life of a Blade only be driven by a strong purpose. In your hand is your shield, strong and simple, with which you protect yourself from any harm. Your shield signifies your duties to the Dragonborn and to your order, to protect them from all harm, and to do it solidly and without argument.

 

Do you know who is around you, initiate?

 

Initiate: Tell me, grandmaster.

 

Grandmaster: You stand in the presence of those dedicated to serve the Dragonborn, those who have given up their previous lives to pursue a path of righteousness remembered only by our own. You stand with the results of thousands of years of history, training, ceremony, and purpose. You stand among brave men and women who have learned the way of the sword in the clouds atop the highest mountain peaks, who have beat back dragonfire with their shields, who have sacrificed their lives to prevent disaster from befalling the world once more. You stand also in the presence of countless spirits, drawn to this place as the last bastion of our ancient order. Feel the walls, the air, hear the whispers through halls of stone, and know that you are in the best company a true heart could ask for.

 

Now, initiate, what say you?

 

Initiate: I came to this place empty, a shell of flesh and blood, blindly seeking my way through the passageways of life. In this place I have learned of the history, the training, the ceremony, and the purpose of the Blades, and in the learning I have found what I was seeking. I have dressed in the uniform, I have sharpened my sword, and I have burnished my shield so that I may become one in the long line of valiant protectors of the Dragonborn. I now swear my services and skills, my honor and my very life to the purpose of the Blades, and to the service of the Dragonborn. I swear that when I am told to kill, I will draw the blade, that when I am told to show mercy I will hold the blow, that when I am told to advance I will not question or let fear overcome me, and that when I am told to retreat, I will not dishonor our name. All of this I pledge now, in the presence of Blades both living and dead, so that I may become part of that which is greater than myself.

 

Grandmaster: As you have so sworn, by my authority as Grandmaster, I now name you Blade, protector of the Dragonborn, heir of Akavir, bane of dragons, bound in honor beyond the doors of death. Rise now, and behold, as before you lies your destiny.

[Zinnorokkrah]

That is awesome! Imagine that as an in-game event involving the NPCs you recruit for the Blades.

[JibstaMan]

I could use some feedback. I've been working on a way to convince Delphine to go the dragon ally path. It's not done yet, but imo pretty far.

For those not in the "Development team", I advice against reading it, SPOILERS!

Ok, (see post beneath) put it in Google Document and fixed the outlining.

Have fun reading!

 

@Kohdi: Nice oath.

Although I have a question on where we're heading with the Blades. Are they (just) another faction, with their own enemies (Dragons / Thalmor) and purpose (fighting dragons, protecting civilization)? Or are they going back to the old "Serve and protect", now applied towards the Dragonborn?

Edited December 15, 2011 by JibstaMan

[Draco856]

I'd say they have a dual purpose, first and foremost, to serve and protect the Dragonborn, the other purpose is to banish evil that threatens the world with destruction. We can change who they are, when it comes to Dragons, because in the past I don't think they had much of a choice in the matter, but now they do. But as for the rest? I don't know, we'd have to see where the story we forge takes us.

 

I like the Oath Kohdi has come up with, when I read it I felt a chill run down my spine. It sounds noble, dignified, something that should and will last throughout the ages.

 

As for changing some words to fit a group, not many need to be changed, all that it needs is an S for Initiate, and it'll be fine. The "I"s can stay, but they'd have to be said in unison when giving the oath. Something like Bethesda did with the music.

 

I can't read what you've written Jibsta because I don't have word, so I'll be in the dark about that. Perhaps post it on the sourceforge forum?

[Lysanias]

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.

 

Is there a way to have the skeletons of all the named dragons remain where they lie indefinitely (rather than disappearing when the cell respawns, or however that works)? There aren't that many, so I wouldn't think it would eat up too much memory. That would facilitate being able to resurrect them later.

[JibstaMan]

Ok Draco, then did the work and put it in a Google document.

[Draco856]

Thanks.

 

As for the Dragon Skeletons remaining in world after death, it's possible, but the problem might be that it would likely make all dragon skeletons permanent. It also poses a problem for those who have all ready killed these named dragons and their skeletons have vanished from the world. I'm sure we could have a work around where we place an exact copy of these dragons in the world, but we'd have to make sure that they don't show up unless the other version of it is all ready dead. I'm not much of a scripter, so I don't even know if there is a script function to use to see if an NPC is in the world or not.

 

 

Edit:

 

Looks good, it fits too. Even the anger from Delphine seems like it would fit. Good job.

 

The options when Delphine asks why do you want to fight the Thalmor, an option of saying something like All of the above would be good.

 

 

When we do the Dragon Ally quests, perhaps we could find a way to give ourselves a Dragon name? It could be said it would give the Dragons more respect for taking the name of a true Dovah, we could also explain to the Blades about what it truly means to be Dragonborn.

 

To me, being Dragonborn means I am Dovah in everything but form. I get this from conversations with Paarthurnax, when talking about the Player and Dragons he's always using "We".

[Alex4921]

I wont pretend i have read all 25 pages however i'm just going to throw in here that as a sort of small "taster" project it would be nice if you could recruit(Lets say around 35 as there is about that many possible blades in the vanilla game) more than the default 3 blades and to be honest until some nonvul person takes up the huge task of renovating the sky haven table i would be content for them all to sit round that huge table or stand in front of the wall talking each other to death as at least the place would begin to feel complete.

However when someone started taking up the job of renovating the temple to include quarters,training grounds etc the blades could be spread out through the entire temple and its grounds to prevent lag from 35 drunk blades sitting round a table.

 

Just my 2 cents but im worried that adding the possibility of more blades isint as simple as changing "3" to "35" within the game files.

 

 

EDIT:

Killing Paarthunax was not chill with me,i revived the guy right afterwards and im hoping that the damage the with greybeards does not stay ever after resurrection via console commands(If it does i'm going to have to fiddle around severely with the console to get these dudes to forget about it)

Edited December 15, 2011 by Alex4921

[Draco856]

After killing Paarthurnax and his body vanishing in the patch I had to make a new copy of him, but even with it, the Greybeards still hated me, so I simply reset the quest, then used the setstage command to set the quest as finished without it really being finished so both factions will like me. Ran into a bug with my way though, as Paarthurnax no longer lands like he's supposed to, so I have to use the setfavorstate command so I can control him like a companion until I tab out of that menu. I force him to land so I can talk to him if I ever want to change my shout meditation, but he doesn't stay for long.