LE Airborn combatants, and soul cairn/forgotten vale overhaul

[hemonecrophagia]

i have two mod requests I would eventually like to see done for skyrim.

mod #1

"air combatants"

I would like to see a mod that adds onto the flying mods around the nexus by means of

enemies that fly,

for example,

vampire lords

griffons,

gargoyles,

daedra,

giant birds,

Wyverns,

Harpy's,

Atronachs,

so your flying towards markarth, out of the mountain bursts giant eagles

hungry for what they perceive as easy prey.

mod idea 2

I would like to see a mod that expands on the soul cairn and forgotten vale,

I enjoyed exploring these areas, and would like a mod that adds more to do in these areas.

[ladyvoldything]

I'd love something like this too!

 

For the Vale- even something as simple as more wildlife would be amazing. I'd like to see Vale-friendly patches for common wildlife mods like Animallica (Vale badgers! Vale rhinos!!!) and Skytest. Maybe add a player home and a couple super-simple quests. Or include a band of Falmer that includes individuals who are significantly more "snow elfy" than all the others, with the implication that they are "survivors" of Gelebor and Vythur. Or some expansion on Auriel lore, or more ruins that look like there was once a settlement there. Add more to the wayshrine quest, like actions or sacrifices.

 

Hell, beef up Gelebor's quarters a little. Make it look like a person actually lives there. And while we're at it, use some custom assets for his stuff; seeing Nordic columns and furniture in the middle of Snow Elf architecture is a little jarring.

 

 

 

For the Soul Cairn, there's so much you could do- like improving the Arvaak quest. It always seemed so basic and boring as hell.

 

Instead of a circle of NPCs that go randomly hostile, why not have a circle of NPCs that invite you to join their ritual? They could be a mix of angry necromancers and desperate souls, trying a ritual to release them from the Cairn and let their souls move on. They've been trying to use various things, but it's been so difficult- you can't exactly gather decent materials in an Oblivion torture plane! They just need a few more things- the eyes of a Mistman, one black soul gem for every soul trying to escape (hey, a reason to use the lightning attractors!), a "fragment of Akatosh" (what does that mean? Oh, you suggest, maybe it means something made out of dragon bone- like the Keepers' armor/weapons!), the skull of a soul-trapped animal, and a cherished priceless possession.

 

The NPCs are no slouches, they fan out to help gather the items. During your time in the Cairn you might encounter a desperate soul fighting the soul farmer and trying to kill his soul-cows. You might see another desperately chasing Arvaak, only to scream in frustration when the horse vanishes. Far afield, a trio of necromancers are fighting Mistmen and struggling to survive. They might need your help- but do they, the necromancers, deserve it? The first time you find a lightning attractor, one of the NPCs waits for you to approach, then activates it and leaves you to fight the undead. They're ruthless after so much time in this hell.

 

The quest would be full of choices. You could defend the soul farmer and his soul-cows, then make a friend of the soul farmer, who's been here a long time and might know a thing or two about the area (like where certain quest items are). You could kill the soul-farmer and his soul-cows, and use the soul-cow skull in the ritual. You could call off the aggressive NPC and tell him that there's another soul-trapped animal you know of- the ethereal horse. Or, if you happen to find Arvaak's skull before they do, you could betray your new friends and deny them the animal skull they need. Or you could take too long and they'll find it first- what then? Do you take away their chance at freedom, or do you betray Arvaak's desperate owner and condemn the horse?

 

The "priceless cherished possession" would be Jiub's pages. They are priceless and Jiub values them more than his own soul, and losing them would devastate him. That emotional connection makes for very powerful magic, your necromancer friends explain. Do you hand over the pages and break Jiub's spirit, or do you tell them to f*#@ off? Or do you hand over something from your own inventory- a quest item, perhaps, or your wedding ring? The eyes of the Falmer? Staff of Magnus? A sigil stone? Would it work as well? No, probably not. It lacks the desperation, the connection to an ended life once lived. If their ritual fails, they may turn against you- or each other. Maybe Morven Stroud has something. Hope you have enough soul husks.

 

Be careful around your NPC allies. They want your help desperately, because you are flesh and blood. You are the key to the ritual- they're convinced it won't work without you. But that doesn't make you safe with them. If you use a Shout around one of them, they will realize what you are. They will start calling you Dragonborn or Dovahkiin and one of the necromancers calls you Aka-Tusk. It's weird, but you ignore it. Ritual time comes and they ask you, the living one with flesh and blood, to step into the center, to kneel and let them use your lifeforce as a tether to the real afterlife. They begin to chant, and the necromancer comes forward- and stabs you in the gut. You are the Dragonborn, a fragment of Akatosh, a shard of Time itself- your power, your Thu'um, and your life are powerful enough to bring them all back to Tamriel in whole, living bodies. The dragonbone artifact would work, but the mages fear that their ties to the Ideal Masters would prevent them from entering an afterlife. So they want you as the "fragment of Akatosh."

 

Then you have to fight them. If you defeat them, good for you. If they defeat you, it doesn't do the usual death-reload. You crumple to the ground as if paralyzed and the necromancers complete their ritual, reducing Arvaak's skull (if you gave it to them) and Jiub's manuscript to ashes. You have a permanent active effect- a curse and weakening effect from their use of your life-force. Your Shouts are at 1/4 power, 5x cooldown, and your stats regen much slower. However, your health never goes to 0. It hovers at 10% unless you take more damage than your max health. The NPCs' leeching is actually keeping you from death.

 

This horrible, crippling curse CAN be broken! You need to find a powerful mage- maybe Nelacar, or the conjurer from the college. Or Wuunferth the Unliving. Find someone and they can help you. I picture something like the "Green Emperor Way" quest from Oblivion- get yourself soul-trapped and they can use your essence to track the bastards who are leeching your lifeforce. Now you have a map with shiny quest markers on it- track them down! The non-necromancer NPCs will be easy, and they'll be remorseful. Some of them will submit easily to your blade- some won't. Some are trying the "unfinished business" routine. The necromancers will be tougher. Their lair will have mistmen, bonemen, and wrathmen guarding it in terrible, almost unbeatable numbers. But you'd fight through them anyway and beat them- but remember, mere KILLING won't do it. Maybe Valerica or Nelacar warned you about that. These necromancers still have contracts with the Ideal Masters, and they must be soul trapped. Once the last of them is soul trapped, and the last of the black soul gems used up, your curse will be broken.

 

 

 

 

...That was hella long. Wow. The idea got away from me. I wish I had the time or technical knowhow to make this mod, but school starts up in a few weeks and I'll be swamped with a job and classes. :(

 

Anyway, yeah! More Vale things, and a cool idea for a magicky-ritual quest that ties together Arvaak, Jiub, Morven, the lightning attractors, soul-cows, and Wuunferth all into one quest. A quest with 10 possible endings and a lot of shifty mages and desperate tortured souls trying to end their pain.

 

 

Also, beef up the soul cairn dragon's quest. He should battle you a second time or test your Thu'um or something, not just hand you a Shout.

 

Christ, I have so many ideas. So many ideas and nowhere to put them.

[agge92x]

i agree too

[hemonecrophagia]

I'd love something like this too!

 

For the Vale- even something as simple as more wildlife would be amazing. I'd like to see Vale-friendly patches for common wildlife mods like Animallica (Vale badgers! Vale rhinos!!!) and Skytest. Maybe add a player home and a couple super-simple quests. Or include a band of Falmer that includes individuals who are significantly more "snow elfy" than all the others, with the implication that they are "survivors" of Gelebor and Vythur. Or some expansion on Auriel lore, or more ruins that look like there was once a settlement there. Add more to the wayshrine quest, like actions or sacrifices.

 

Hell, beef up Gelebor's quarters a little. Make it look like a person actually lives there. And while we're at it, use some custom assets for his stuff; seeing Nordic columns and furniture in the middle of Snow Elf architecture is a little jarring.

 

 

 

For the Soul Cairn, there's so much you could do- like improving the Arvaak quest. It always seemed so basic and boring as hell.

 

Instead of a circle of NPCs that go randomly hostile, why not have a circle of NPCs that invite you to join their ritual? They could be a mix of angry necromancers and desperate souls, trying a ritual to release them from the Cairn and let their souls move on. They've been trying to use various things, but it's been so difficult- you can't exactly gather decent materials in an Oblivion torture plane! They just need a few more things- the eyes of a Mistman, one black soul gem for every soul trying to escape (hey, a reason to use the lightning attractors!), a "fragment of Akatosh" (what does that mean? Oh, you suggest, maybe it means something made out of dragon bone- like the Keepers' armor/weapons!), the skull of a soul-trapped animal, and a cherished priceless possession.

 

The NPCs are no slouches, they fan out to help gather the items. During your time in the Cairn you might encounter a desperate soul fighting the soul farmer and trying to kill his soul-cows. You might see another desperately chasing Arvaak, only to scream in frustration when the horse vanishes. Far afield, a trio of necromancers are fighting Mistmen and struggling to survive. They might need your help- but do they, the necromancers, deserve it? The first time you find a lightning attractor, one of the NPCs waits for you to approach, then activates it and leaves you to fight the undead. They're ruthless after so much time in this hell.

 

The quest would be full of choices. You could defend the soul farmer and his soul-cows, then make a friend of the soul farmer, who's been here a long time and might know a thing or two about the area (like where certain quest items are). You could kill the soul-farmer and his soul-cows, and use the soul-cow skull in the ritual. You could call off the aggressive NPC and tell him that there's another soul-trapped animal you know of- the ethereal horse. Or, if you happen to find Arvaak's skull before they do, you could betray your new friends and deny them the animal skull they need. Or you could take too long and they'll find it first- what then? Do you take away their chance at freedom, or do you betray Arvaak's desperate owner and condemn the horse?

 

The "priceless cherished possession" would be Jiub's pages. They are priceless and Jiub values them more than his own soul, and losing them would devastate him. That emotional connection makes for very powerful magic, your necromancer friends explain. Do you hand over the pages and break Jiub's spirit, or do you tell them to f*** off? Or do you hand over something from your own inventory- a quest item, perhaps, or your wedding ring? The eyes of the Falmer? Staff of Magnus? A sigil stone? Would it work as well? No, probably not. It lacks the desperation, the connection to an ended life once lived. If their ritual fails, they may turn against you- or each other. Maybe Morven Stroud has something. Hope you have enough soul husks.

 

Be careful around your NPC allies. They want your help desperately, because you are flesh and blood. You are the key to the ritual- they're convinced it won't work without you. But that doesn't make you safe with them. If you use a Shout around one of them, they will realize what you are. They will start calling you Dragonborn or Dovahkiin and one of the necromancers calls you Aka-Tusk. It's weird, but you ignore it. Ritual time comes and they ask you, the living one with flesh and blood, to step into the center, to kneel and let them use your lifeforce as a tether to the real afterlife. They begin to chant, and the necromancer comes forward- and stabs you in the gut. You are the Dragonborn, a fragment of Akatosh, a shard of Time itself- your power, your Thu'um, and your life are powerful enough to bring them all back to Tamriel in whole, living bodies. The dragonbone artifact would work, but the mages fear that their ties to the Ideal Masters would prevent them from entering an afterlife. So they want you as the "fragment of Akatosh."

 

Then you have to fight them. If you defeat them, good for you. If they defeat you, it doesn't do the usual death-reload. You crumple to the ground as if paralyzed and the necromancers complete their ritual, reducing Arvaak's skull (if you gave it to them) and Jiub's manuscript to ashes. You have a permanent active effect- a curse and weakening effect from their use of your life-force. Your Shouts are at 1/4 power, 5x cooldown, and your stats regen much slower. However, your health never goes to 0. It hovers at 10% unless you take more damage than your max health. The NPCs' leeching is actually keeping you from death.

 

This horrible, crippling curse CAN be broken! You need to find a powerful mage- maybe Nelacar, or the conjurer from the college. Or Wuunferth the Unliving. Find someone and they can help you. I picture something like the "Green Emperor Way" quest from Oblivion- get yourself soul-trapped and they can use your essence to track the bastards who are leeching your lifeforce. Now you have a map with shiny quest markers on it- track them down! The non-necromancer NPCs will be easy, and they'll be remorseful. Some of them will submit easily to your blade- some won't. Some are trying the "unfinished business" routine. The necromancers will be tougher. Their lair will have mistmen, bonemen, and wrathmen guarding it in terrible, almost unbeatable numbers. But you'd fight through them anyway and beat them- but remember, mere KILLING won't do it. Maybe Valerica or Nelacar warned you about that. These necromancers still have contracts with the Ideal Masters, and they must be soul trapped. Once the last of them is soul trapped, and the last of the black soul gems used up, your curse will be broken.

 

 

 

 

...That was hella long. Wow. The idea got away from me. I wish I had the time or technical knowhow to make this mod, but school starts up in a few weeks and I'll be swamped with a job and classes. :sad:

 

Anyway, yeah! More Vale things, and a cool idea for a magicky-ritual quest that ties together Arvaak, Jiub, Morven, the lightning attractors, soul-cows, and Wuunferth all into one quest. A quest with 10 possible endings and a lot of shifty mages and desperate tortured souls trying to end their pain.

 

 

Also, beef up the soul cairn dragon's quest. He should battle you a second time or test your Thu'um or something, not just hand you a Shout.

 

Christ, I have so many ideas. So many ideas and nowhere to put them.

 

 

 

O.O

 

Let this guy write it!!!

 

Wow, this was back in February, I didnt remember posting this until now.

[ladyvoldything]

Lmao sorry for wordpuking all over your thread, guy. I did a forum search for "Soul Cairn" and then my brain ran away.

 

If anyone takes this up, I'd be happy to work with them as a writer- but I'm busy af and have ABSOLUTELY NO programming/computer/coding experience. I'm an ideabot, that's all.