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A Dragonborn Companion


storminmormon

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Idea: Companion/Plot-driven Character, "Red the Myrmidon"

While that sounds generic, Red would be anything but. Red's ability to react to situations would set him apart from any other companion, as well as a fully developed personality engaged with the player in both friendship and rivalry.

 

My general goal is to aggregate help in achieving this, and by that, I mean in finding the best tutorials, advice, and feedback from both experienced and newer modders, as well as experienced help.

 

So, here's my inspiration; so far, the complaint that Skyrim's companions and characters in general are underdone seems fairly general. While I disagree on some fronts (stand around and listen to Balgruuf ramble, for instance), I can see the point. So, what would a companion/character in Skyrim need to be like in order to fit the bill?

 

My vision of the perfect--or closest to it--TES companion is Julan Kaushibael, a mod from user Kateri for Morrowind (http://lovkullen.net/Emma/Kateri.htm). The nature of Julan's interaction with the story was nearly seamless, and fit the lore and drama of the story so well that the only indicator that it was a mod was the proliferation of features and radically different writer's voice.

 

To achieve something similar for Skyrim, I would think the best way for me to do that would be to add a character who does not belong in Skyrim; rather than Julan, who is essentially a part of Morrowind to his very bones, Red would be a foreigner, specifically...

 

+ Red is the Nerevarine, Morrowind's and, ultimately, Tamriel's savior

 

+ He is of a distant, lost line of Mer splinter tribe who are now presumed extinct

 

+ As Nerevarine, he is an immensely powerful warrior that has stood against Devils and Gods, and defeated them

 

+ He was in Akavir during the Oblivion Crisis, and learned from Tsaesci warriors--both as his mentors, and in war against them as well as against invading Daedra, playing similar roles as the Hero of Kvatch

 

+ He was raised in a warrior elite known as the Myrmidons, swordsmen dedicated to the defense of their lords--and cutting down anything in their lords' paths, this being his chief combat tactic

 

+ And, as foreign as they come, Red is an out-of-universe character from my own chicken scratch. In terms of the mod, he wouldn't literally be so, but his original incarnation is not TES

 

Rough Outline:

Red's story is that he has only recently returned from Akavir, shipwrecked in Skyrim (tentative). However, as he finds that the dragons have returned, he remains to investigate: As the player kills a dragon and the Greybeards call, Red seeks out the Dovahkiin:

This is particularly important, because, as the Nerevarine, Red is also a Dragonborn, though he had no knowledge of what that meant when he saw it in the Nerevarine Prophecies.

 

Red eventually finds the player and investigates him/her, and asks to join in his/her questing.

 

I realize this is quite a read, and I have about 20 pages I could fit here without much effort, but I also realize that modding is a process. Red is the most developed character of mine, with background, fears, failures, family, and a deeply complex moral compass that would be too confusing to detail without telling his story. He might just employ, personify, and subvert enough tropes to fill a TVTropes.org page (if you don't know what that is, avoid it at all costs; tropers will know what I mean). I couldn't really justify fully describing him, but I have scraps of writing to illustrate who he is for anyone brave.

 

So, if you've read this far, here are the goals as they stand:

 

+ Learn scripting in order to create Red's gameplay features

+ Further modify Red from his original universe to better fit TES lore

+ Player-action based dialogue and NPC decisions (Dragon Age: Origins -esque)

+ Hopefully go in the direction of MW's Julan and OB's Ruined-Tail in terms of raw quality

+ Ultimately, incorporate a character who makes the game both more enjoyable and also more challenging

+ Become more than a mod-installer...

 

If you read this, thanks. I'm not a modder yet, but it is my goal to contribute to the community. Now go outside, or read a book, or something. Feedback is appreciated!

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