LE Burn the Thalmor Embassy to the GROUND

[Ansury]

As this would be a fairly major project, I'm only putting this here thinking it might inspire someone looking for a new idea.

 

Obviously this would have to be set up so it can only take place after all embassy-related quests. And it'd be mostly of interest to Thalmor haters which are also Stormcloak sympathizers, due to the diplomatic & legal consequences. (Something tells me even an Imperial siding Dovahkiin wouldn't be able to get away with this without taking some heat for it.)

 

Basically you'd either sneak or outright attack your way into the embassy (which would require some modding work, since you don't have access to the entire embassy), collapse the skulls of every last elf there, and then proceed to utterly trash the place. Preferably burning it down into a pile of smoking rubble. (Might need some kind of "bomb" or firestarting quest-item, so that the player can start the process & then leave? Not sure if it'd be difficult to have it start literally burning while the player is still there.) By the next time you return, the buildings should be replaced by a pile of ruins. On a later visit back, after a few days have passed, maybe place a nice gift for Dovahkiin like a small Thalmor army investigating the destruction... (the "gift" to Dovahkiin part is the skill point gains from all the pending elf decapitations).

 

Personally I'd also prefer an option to spare the non-Thalmor residents there. Either ignore them entirely, or have them actually try to flee out of the embassy. Or at least the chef kitty, because everybody likes kitty.

 

 

Some ways this might start:

• Dovahkiin initiative
  
• Stormcloak side-quest (only Dovahkiin can sneak that far behind enemy territory safely)
  
• Blades side-quest (although not sure what the motivational story would be, since dragons obviously take precedence with them)
  

 

In character, I imagine this would be a major diplomatic incident which could have far reaching consequences. Probably not war (since this is the action of an individual), but perhaps:

 

• Start sending progressively stronger mercs/assassin groups like the Alik'r or Thalmor hunting parties after Dovahkiin specifically. (Ooooh, so much fun!) :)
  
• Thalmor patrols should attack a well-known Dovahkiin on sight
  
• Increased Thalmor patrols & interference in the war (I think they tend to say that they aren't interested in involvement... well, that may change)
  
• Imperial reaction in the form of a stronger military presence, possibly outright hostility to Dovahkiin
  
• After cleaving and crushing assassin & Thalmor skulls up to the highest progressive force strength (is it obvious what my weapons of choice are? :biggrin: ), their losses are just too great, and Dovahkiin finally gets a sort of "white peace" offering. You can either kill the messenger (which would cause the assassination attempts to continue indefinitely), or accept and end the quest line.
  

 

And finally (although this might be difficult) - when Thalmor "assassins" or other hunting parties find the player in a town, guard factions shouldn't get involved!

[AmadanBezerk]

@Ansury: I like this idea. You mentioned the Alik'r as sent to "disappear" the Dovakiin, but I seriouly doubt the Redguard Alik'r would do anything for the Aldmeri Thalmor.

The ravaging and holocaustic atrocities caused by the Aldmeri Dominion against Hammerfell after the "White-Gold Concordat" that sold Hammerfell out would most likely nix any business like that, no matter what $$$ price $$$ was offered.

The Redguards of Hammerfell will NEVER forget nor forgive their betrayal and abandonment by the so-called "Tamrielic Empire" to their would-be conquerors, the Thalmor of the insidious and ruthless Aldmeri Dominion. :devil:

 

Instead I could easily see the exact opposite happening: The Dovakiin stumbles completely by chance into a long-planned revenge plot by the highest-ranking Redguard Alik'r Master Assassins, :ninja: Oblivion-bent on hard-infiltrating and razing the Thalmor Embassy to the ground, sparing others, but NO Thalmor nor allowing any Thalmor to escape.

He then eagerly and readily acts as a sort of liason and set-up operative between the Alik'r Masters and the now-interested Stormcloaks, who will all try to work together in an uneasy (and hot-tempered) alliance to make it happen. What do you think? Is it realistic?

Kind regards, AmadanBezerk

 

Oh, BTW Ansury, let me take a wild guess: you dual-wield axe and hammer, right? :cool:

Edited August 8, 2012 by AmadanBezerk

[Ansury]

I'm basing the Alik'r assassin theory off the Saadia storyline, which one could make a pretty good argument was a Thalmor assassination attempt. (Elves might have a harder time pulling it off & certainly wouldn't want to lower themselves to such a petty and dirty task. Anyway if she really was a traitor, going deeper into the empire you betrayed probably isn't the best or most likely idea.)

 

Of course such mercs/assassins would have to be a special breed of scum. :) (Which makes beheading them all that much more fun.) Any sort or variety of hired assassins would work.

 

I like your alternate Redguard plot idea, too. A Nord-Redguard alliance seems plausible to me given so many common enemies (admittedly I don't know much about the overall background lore) and definitely would be a cool thing to see.

 

 

lol - Yes, you guessed the choice weapons!

 

 

Mostly, I just really enjoy crushing and humiliating Aldmeri/Thalmor. Is that wrong? :whistling:

[AmadanBezerk]

LOL! No, it is not wrong in the least! :D :devil:

There is a realistic caveat, however, to the idea of an Alik'r - Stormcloak 'alliance-of -convenience'.

I can see the Redguards as quite angry and resentful that Skyrim did not come to Hammerfell's aid when they needed it most, during their Holocaust, following the Great War.

The Nords would then hotly counter-argue that many Nords most certainly acted as freelance mercenaries alongside the Redguards at that same time; highly motivated by the prospect of Aldmeri loot, ears, heads, and blood in general. >Cue the loud, angry, hot-tempered, shouted and bellowed aggressive arguments galore<

 

The Alik'r will most certainly have started this hardcore covert op on their own, never intending to involve the Nords whom they don't trust all that much. (And vice-versa.)

They will need just as much nice convincing as the Stormcloaks to trust each other and then jointly modify their respective short-term, and perhaps after that first risky op , longer-term joint war-ops against the Aldmeri-Thalmor Dominion.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend".......perhaps...... :wink:

I am completely unfamiliar with the "Saadia storyline" I am remiss in my ignorance, and need to do some research on that. (brb)

Kind regards, AmadanBezerk

Edited August 8, 2012 by AmadanBezerk

[Ansury]

The storyline I was referring to was the quest, "In my time of need". (And actually, the title of which also seems to point to innocence on Saadia's part, rather than the reverse.)

 

Anyway, not to get off topic... if I ever find some decent scripting/quest tutorials I just may tackle some projects like this myself, should I find the time. Hard to resist the prospect of destroying Thalmor property, and senseless anti-Elf violence.

[AmadanBezerk]

I just researched the "In my time of need" side-quest, and it would be cool if you could include Saadia in this future quest somehow.

Maybe, as you kind of hinted, Saadia may have seen treachery or atrocities commited during the invasion of Hammerfell, and thus the Thalmor

needed to "dissapear' her. :ninja: That threat might cause her, for her own sake to also attempt a 'rapprochement' with the Stormcloaks all on her own.

 

Since she is a wealthy woman, and probably smart, she must have grabbed some of her money and personal valuables, including perhaps weapons and gear, before hastily packing up and fleeing her homeland. This will serve her well, IF she keeps a low profile for now. :dry: :ninja:

 

Your character's lethal zeal against the Thalmor impresses me! >Cue loud and boisterous clanking of our full mead tankards< :D

Assuming your character even needs or wants 'psyching-up', (like the ancient and fearsome Bezerkers did in the face of their enemies, right before battle):

May I cordially suggest, to set the proper mood, a pleasent evening of classical Amon Amarth! :D :woot: Yes, the same dudes seen in my new profile photo.

A proper and formal selection would include: 'Live for the Kill', 'Vallhal awaits me' and 'Destroyer of the Universe' for just the evening's suggested pleasant starter.\m/ :D

 

If you read the lyrics of their songs in general, you'll see why I believe that Amon Amarth and Skyrim go together like a fresh keg of good mead and a slow-roasted, BBQ-basted wild boar on a spit! :D

Cheers and regards, AmadanBezerk

Edited August 9, 2012 by AmadanBezerk

[Ansury]

A quest tie-in might work, but I don't know if Alik'r + Stormcloaks would still be an option if you sided against the Alik'r in that existing quest. I suppose you could work with a different faction of Alik'r via Saadia. The ones in that quest seem pretty shady to me.

 

Not sure if this is a bug, but even after completing the Saadia quest, I still see Alik'r at the Whiterun gate & in the wild questioning women... I would think that would have changed a little after Dovahkiin mopped the floor with ~ten of them & beheaded their leader rather mercilessly. (Not to mention, collapsing the skulls of the ones encountered randomly...) :whistling: Would be nice to fix that in the process.

 

The state that quest ends at doesn't make much sense, kind of like how Delphine says "if I didn't like the look of you, you'd already be dead by now". (I'm thinking: Oh, really Delphine? Really? You think so? :happy: ;D )

 

I'm not so much a fan of that style of music anymore in my "old" age, but you're right that it pretty much describes my character's "style".

[AmadanBezerk]

Rogue, corrupted Alik'r bought and paid for by the Thalmor? Interesting....like you said, they would have to be pretty low scum indeed, worthy of a sweet taste of axe and hammer! :D

Most likely the Alik'r leaders would be sadly unaware of this treachery from a few of their own. :dry:

When they find out, and they WILL, I can imagine the s--t really hitting the fan in grand fashion! They will FREAK, then quite possibly and very swiftly "hire" the Dovakiin to hunt down and annihilate these stains upon their honour wherever they may skulk, in absolutely NO uncertain terms and methods! :devil:

 

BTW: I simply like how Amon Amarth's ENTIRE repertoire is based solely on Norse/Viking mythology and lore; that's why and how they fit quite well with Skyrim, for me at least. ;)

The lead singer Johan Hegg, for example, is a big dude, has a beard long if not longer than ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons or Dusty Hill, wears viking-style bracers, and has a huge drinking horn on his belt! Is that Nordic enough for ya? :D

Cheers and kind regards, AmadanBezerk

Edited August 11, 2012 by AmadanBezerk

[Ansury]

Found an existing mod which already has support for Thalmor blood spilling, the best feature of Skyrim. Going to see if the author is interested in adding an embassy burning bonus. I'd like to see more, and larger elf patrols walking around too, there just isn't enough of those by default. I mean, why behead 5 when you could behead 10? Put that "sweep" perk to use...

 

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/17992

[Ansury]

Twelve years later, wow. I hope it's okay if I bump this thread. If there's still an active community here, I wonder if there's any interest?

I haven't touched Skyrim in a LONG time. (I don't even remember the lore I was talking about above, we were certainly having fun with the pseudo-RP haha.) But now that I guess the game isn't being updated and should be "stable" for mods (no more broken mods from updates), I would be very tempted to return for mods like what I described above.