A player-owned fort!

[danfalleh]

Hi,

 

I'd go for Mistwatch if I were you. While slightly off main roads gives good chance to make a sensible centre for local folk, and there's a hamlet / mine nearby that could be involved in your idea.

Fort Amol and Fort Greenwall are involved in Civil War, Faldar's Tooth, Bloodlet Throne in Companions questline. Robber's Gorge looks nice if you intend to go with 'create a fort from scratch' idea. It definitely makes sense if you look for a lot of work for yourself :-)

That's a nice idea in general so I hope you do well with it :-)

 

Greets

 

Mistwatch is unfortunately also quest related. You can free some guy from Whiterun there. He's in captivity of the Thalmor

 

Err.... I believe you are talking about Northwatch Keep. Mistwatch also has a quest in it - you are to release a kidnapped wife of someone (not sure I did that one), but I think that's much easier to deal with than Civil War or Companions stuff (or that Thalmor lot you mentioned). I'm basing intel on Mistwatch on UESP.net mostly, as I've never investigated the site much. However the quest to release Thorald Gray-Mane is definitely in Northwatch Keep on the opposite end of Skyrim. Mistwatch is on the border of the Rift and Eastmarch, near Darkwater Crossing.

[Ashfyr]

why would that be hard to create? its just a bunch of buildings, and honestly i'm liking the idea of making skyrim bigger by using artificial islands and make forts and little cities or what not

 

Modding is more then just a 'bunch of buildings' ;). Unless you just copy paste buildings from other cities, it's gonna take long to create it. But you could use the exteriors of whiterun and create a Gothic version of it. After that you could create a island of rocks in the Sea of Ghosts and create a bit spooky castle

 

What about japhet's folly? Out of the way and you can create a castle there. Already have a quest to rid it of the blood horkers, then you can take it for your own? It is kinda an island and has a destroyed town around it you can rebuild

[kromey]

Wow, this thread has really exploded! Lots of places I'm going to have to check out in-game now -- so many places I've never been to!

 

A castle in the middle of the sea, you say?http://thebesttraveldestinations.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Mont_Saint_Michel_Castle_01.jpgGets my vote.

 

Mont Saint Michel is absolutely gorgeous -- been there, and while it was years ago I still remember the general feel of the place. Probably not the right fit for me, though -- I'm a perfectionist, and modeling my creation after something else means I wouldn't be able to settle for "good enough" until it was a perfect 1:1 reproduction, and given my skills that likely wouldn't be until the year 2378 or so...

 

I do like the idea of building out into the sea, though, either on an artificial island, or a natural one (either already there, or added by my mod). Gives me a lot more freedom to build what I want, and completely eliminates the risk of breaking any quests (while also reducing the risk that my mod becomes incompatible with others). It also makes the "trade hub" aspect plausible without having to lie on a major road -- the sea's like one big trade route in and of itself!

 

Do you really have to make your own hold? I mean you can have a large territory with your own stuff in an existing hold, like the way Goldenglow Estate is, or Northwatch Tower. That's a Thalmor owned fort right there.

 

I don't know that it has to be a whole new hold. The premise is you build up a small outpost to eventually become a major city. From there your influence might continue to expand until you effectively do have a hold, or perhaps replace the current jarl (and move the capital even); I don't know if I'll ever actually implement that part, it's just something that the mod might eventually grow to include.

[gofer32]

Hehe - I didn't mean to use Mont St Michel as a 1:1 - that would be a stupidly Herculean task... if unbelievably awesome. I just meant it as inspiration.

 

I really like the idea of a new fort out in the sea somewhere, though - east of Windhelm, out in the estuary? Like you say, it would mean that you're starting with a clean slate; no nasty quest complications. And for keeping it within the lore (if anyone actually cares) - it's not hard to envisage a state-within-a-state scenario.

 

I've been working a bit on repurposing those Imperial fort meshes (which are super-modular and really, really easy to place) with some cleaned-up textures. Minimal work, but with a big effect on the look and feel. Obviously, you could swap in new meshes for any rebuilt sections. I'll keep you posted if I make any real progress with it...

[Rosbjerg]

I have a similar idea actually - Fort commander.. I was looking at Fort Greymoor because it could fit well in the main story..

 

I was thinking you get the fort as a reward for being Thane of Whiterun and if you side with the Stormcloaks you simply take back Whiterun and the fort gets repopulated with Stormcloak troops.. This already happens in game, which makes it easier to mod.

 

So I fully support this idea and I recommend Greymoor as it's right in the middle and needs a loving hand :)

[Choisai]

Yeah, it really has exploded. Good that so many people are reading it, you can get a lot of feedback this way.

 

I personally still want the Epic castle from beauty and the beast. But the Saint Michel castle is also extremely awesome! (been there too!)

 

What the most important for me would is actually that you add a horror element to the game, perhaps the castle from Amnesia - The Dark Descent?

You clear it from the undead and damned with your friends and after that you can choose to live there with your spouse.

Having your own pet dragon flying around your towers, being al cool and dark. But a nice shiny fort would be nice too. Maybe something like Minas Tirith from Lord Of The Rings? It starts with your palace and with lower levels in which the people live. But that too would be almost impossible.

 

Maybe it's better to start with what you want to do:

copy another fort and place it somewhere else

design your own fortress

[kromey]

Hehe - I didn't mean to use Mont St Michel as a 1:1 - that would be a stupidly Herculean task... if unbelievably awesome. I just meant it as inspiration.I really like the idea of a new fort out in the sea somewhere, though - east of Windhelm, out in the estuary? Like you say, it would mean that you're starting with a clean slate; no nasty quest complications. And for keeping it within the lore (if anyone actually cares) - it's not hard to envisage a state-within-a-state scenario. I've been working a bit on repurposing those Imperial fort meshes (which are super-modular and really, really easy to place) with some cleaned-up textures. Minimal work, but with a big effect on the look and feel. Obviously, you could swap in new meshes for any rebuilt sections. I'll keep you posted if I make any real progress with it...

I'm really hoping the CK makes placing walls and the like easy to accomplish; without that ability, I'll have to scrap the whole dang thing, because I just don't have the patience to do it without a tool like that.

 

I've not spent a whole lot of time on the coast (mostly because I dislike the constant snow flurries in your face), so I'll have to explore a bit up there to find a place I like. The estuary sounds like a good candidate, though.

 

I have a similar idea actually - Fort commander.. I was looking at Fort Greymoor because it could fit well in the main story..I was thinking you get the fort as a reward for being Thane of Whiterun and if you side with the Stormcloaks you simply take back Whiterun and the fort gets repopulated with Stormcloak troops.. This already happens in game, which makes it easier to mod.So I fully support this idea and I recommend Greymoor as it's right in the middle and needs a loving hand :)

I love Fort Greymoor. It's a beautiful fort (well, a bit of a fixer-upper, but still...), and it's got lots of flat land around it for a town to be built on. Unfortunately, it's within spitting distance of Whiterun. Doesn't mean it's impossible to use, but I'd rather the place at least feel a little more isolated than that.

 

It is a prime candidate for copy/paste-ing it somewhere else, though.

 

 

In my own explorations, I found Fort Sungard. Although it's up on top of a mountain, there's enough open area on the slopes that a town could grow down it; add a city wall around it, and it would look not unlike a land-locked Mont Saint Michel! Unfortunately, it's apparently an objective on both sides of the civil war (makes sense, given its strategic location). Might make it an extension of the Civil War story line -- after capturing it for either side, you are tasked with repairing, upgrading, and fortifying it. If I do that, though, it will be a separate mod after one that's wholly independent of existing quests.

[Choisai]

Both Fort Greymoor and Fort Sungard are awesome, but the most awesome is still the College of Winterhold:p. It can't really understand why either the stormcloaks or the Imperials woudn't want to occupy it. It contains valuable information and it's one of the few research centers of magic. Having the College working for you gives you an extreme advantage, giving you the power to get battlemages. Maybe a quest could be done in which the College has been militarised and is taken by the Stormcloaks/Imperials and you as Arch-Mage must take sides and either defend it from the enemy or defeat those who have invaded your college.

 

or just copy paste the college, make some modifications so you won't get a flashback and you have to defend/attack the bridge from attacks. Or you turn it into a spooky castle filled with horrible monsters.

 

A good fort is the earlier mentioned Fort mistwatch. Not the Northwatch Keep, that's the one occupied by the Thalmor. But Fort Mistwatch is located in the tundra's north of Riften and south of Windhelm. No quest's related as far as i know, it's desolate and is a pretty good choice! I'm not the first one to say this and probably not the last to mention it's a good choice!

[kromey]

Both Fort Greymoor and Fort Sungard are awesome, but the most awesome is still the College of Winterhold:p. It can't really understand why either the stormcloaks or the Imperials woudn't want to occupy it. It contains valuable information and it's one of the few research centers of magic. Having the College working for you gives you an extreme advantage, giving you the power to get battlemages. Maybe a quest could be done in which the College has been militarised and is taken by the Stormcloaks/Imperials and you as Arch-Mage must take sides and either defend it from the enemy or defeat those who have invaded your college.

Hrm... I agree with you that the College is a wonderfully defensible structure, but for it to mobilize for war? I dunno, that doesn't seem to fit in the lore...

 

Do like the idea of a fort guarding a bridge that's about the sole access to somewhere. Just like Valthiem Towers, which I would love if it weren't an impossible cliff on the other side...

 

A good fort is the earlier mentioned Fort mistwatch. Not the Northwatch Keep, that's the one occupied by the Thalmor. But Fort Mistwatch is located in the tundra's north of Riften and south of Windhelm. No quest's related as far as i know, it's desolate and is a pretty good choice! I'm not the first one to say this and probably not the last to mention it's a good choice!

Mistwatch is on my list to check out in-game. It does have the quest to free the one guy's wife, but from reading it on UESP.net it seems to be one of those (like Treva's Watch) that you can't really clear the area without doing the quest anyway. No other quests related to it listed on UESP, though, and the location looks great on the map, so I'll eventually get over there to find out whether I like it for my purposes or not.

[Choisai]

It seems out of place for two such powerful armed forces not to have military research centers. Alright, it doesn't quite fit in with the lore of Skyrim since mages from the college and the Guild were never mobilised for war, but if you come to think of it, it's only makes sense.

There is a research center with incredible power that has the ability to make your power double that of the enemy.

Not only that, since the Thalmor are next in line who are mostly wizards, it's only natural that you study magic as well. Batllemages are more powerful then normal soldiers, so it would give the key for an elite force.

 

Not using the potential military, political, economical and civil power of the College seems out of place if you think about it. It is out of place, that's true. But it does make sense to mobilize it for war.

 

But you still can just copy paste it via the CK, fill it with Stormcloaks and leave it with that. But you can get much more storyline and excitement if you would use the real college and not a copy. Imagine yourself with a partner defending it from low life skeletons that have been summoned by the thalmor. Like Aragorn and Gimli defended the main-gate at Helms Deep in LOTR. It seems pretty cool:p

 

And it also seems kinda strange that when you surrounded Solitude there never was a 'battle for Winterhold' though it seems like a pretty good strategic position to me. Via Winterhold you could block possible searoutes and supplies via the sea. That way you could starve the city and force it to surrender without ever having to fight. Seems pretty important. And then there's the college with al the benefits we've already talked about.

 

But to come back on your main point - to mobilise the College for civil war is out of place. Forcing intellectuals and scholars to take sides is dangerous.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Choisai