"Chronicles of the Fallen Order" - Storyline Planning, need so

[LordThauron]

Good morning everyone! To get the obvious disclaimer out of the way...

The primary purpose of this thread is get much of the planning for the "Chronicles of the Fallen Order" (CotFO) sorted out so that I can get started building this mod proper without having to revise large chunks.

 

Any and all who want to enjoy this mod (eventually) without having the storyline spoiled for them should leave this topic now.

 

Now with that sorted, we can get down to business.

 

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The size and scope I have envisioned for this project demands planning, particularly since I intend to ensure that the storyline's pacing is seen to; I've seen several games which have fallen flat due to poor pacing, and similarly I've also seen that great pacing can make up for quite a bit. I don't exactly have much experience in this area, so I know that I'm going to need a fair bit of help to get that particular aspect sorted. I believe the final result will still be somewhat cliched, but I also know that good writing can make up for it; but again, I don't exactly have a ton of experience in that area. Another key point is that I intend to make it somewhat lore-friendly, in the sense that it's not blatantly violating many of the details already established in The Elder Scrolls lore; doing some research the other day actually showed me that the ideas I've been running with may have to be revised, and that a few characters may have to be switched around.

 

The "launching point" for this mod is my last project, "Sanctum of the Fallen" (SotF). The titular "Fallen Order" were a recurring enemy in that dungeon, and it will be included as a part of CotFO; specifically, the halfway mark of the mod. The finale of SotF had the player going toe-to-toe (and slaying) a deranged Akatosh, stemming from the idea that slaying Alduin would cause him to destroy the world in his despair. I'm planning on keeping this revelation in, and it will serve as the key turning point of the storyline as it evolves from a fairly small scale plot (at that point) to a semi-generic "save the world" one. Disovering the mysteries behind the Fallen Order, their purpose and objectives (and subsequently dealing with them), is more or less the point of the mod; they aren't intended to be an evil faction, but one which has a history of doing a lot of bad things for the greater good (along with being comprised entirely of Dovahkiin).

 

 

The original plan was for the storyline to follow a character named "Princeps", the name taken from an official title for the roman emperor. He was going to be a defector from the Fallen Order, on the run from them as he sought to find out all of the secrets they were withholding from him and the rest of the world. Imperius, the "official final boss" of SotF, was going to have a more expanded role due to his status of the leader of the Order; creating something of a rivalry between him and Princeps. Speaking of which, he would make the one to state a particularly important reveal after slaying Akatosh in SotF (yes, he won't be quite dead when defeated):

 

Imperius (addressing Princeps): "Talos, what have you done?"

 

But again, this was the original plan. My research came across the figure "Wulfharth", who taught the then-mortal Talos the Way of the Voice and also served as a body-double for him at times before the event in TES lore referred to as "The Arcturian Heresy"; he was betrayed (and slain, again) by Talos at this point. Zurin Arctus was another important figure, and the exact circumstances (including who became "the Underking") are rather confusing. Right now I'm leaning towards making Imperius and Princeps to really be Wulfharth and Talos respectively, but I'm really wondering if I should reverse those roles. Imperius has to have been around for a very long time (being called "the Ancient" in SotF), whereas Princeps is "the new guy" in the FO. Tricky territory in any case, but it does make a good starting point. And as a quick tidbit, the "Aspect of Wrath" from SotF will probably end up being Pelinal Whitestrake. In his berserk state, of course; also probably going to swap one of his twin swords for a mace to suit the situation.

 

I'll have to get back to saying some more details later, gotta dash. Feel free to add some suggestions.

[Dart98Rock]

You seem to have a good staring point, using Latin names should keep it lore friendly like you've done. The best way to keep your story going smoothly is make kind of a story board to lay out everything. I am currently working on writing my own anime shows, and story's can get confusing if it's not all planned before you start writing scripts. If you are going to have it where your'e trying to obtain information, adding some Thieves Guild kind of side quest might help keep with the feeling of the other factions. Just like small details about the Fallen Order, have like a series of notes placed across Skyrim. One thing I have found out in writing original story's is keep them yours'e, (the way you want them ) from what I've read in your post it should be lore friendly.

[LordThauron]

Alrighty then, time to squeeze in a bit more info about my plans for CotFO. As noted before SotF is intended to roughly be the "halfway" mark for CotFO, so most of the planning is broken into two major components: leading up to SotF, and what to do afterwards. At the moment, I've mostly put my efforts into the lead up while the second half of the mod is rather bare-bones. Again, I'm trying to put effort into the pacing of the mod's storyline. As such, the key impetus is to establish and follow through some "driving questions" for each leg of the storyline; both for each of the smaller segments and the over-arcing story as a whole. And as a side note, I'll try to incorporate several side quests throughout the questline.

 

 

The lead-up has a few key components which need to be included:

- Establishing that the Fallen Order is looking for a defector

- The introduction of Princeps (by finding him and fighting off a group of the FO)

- The search for a new "base of operations", as well as the ongoing process of establishing/upgrading it as the mod story continues.

- Two to four groups of smaller dungeons (bigger than most Skyrim dungeons, but still smaller than SotF), each following a particular theme. Each group will have a "finisher" dungeon of sorts which is larger and incorporates aspects of the preceding group. Right now I'm looking at an elemental (fire, frost, and shock; maybe light and dark too) themed group and another stemming from the seven deadly sins (SotF will be the "finisher" dungeon for this group).

- There will be a return the base of operations between clearing out each group (and maybe before moving the the "finishers" above). Various updates and so on.

- Immediately prior to SotF, the FO will besiege the base and capture Princeps; the reason for going to SotF is now to rescue him (though exactly where in SotF is up in the air, but it will be before the end of it).

- The Numidium will show up at some point.

 

But yes, pacing is the key. Keeping the FO relevant throughout (not just during the beginning and the end) will be key, and the whole time the player will be discovering tidbits about the history of the Fallen Order; what they've been doing the whole time, with them acting as a morally ambiguous group. The main focus will probably be one their actions surrounding the SotF, particularly after it was established; there will be inklings of what they did beforehand, but those should be next to impossible to determine beforehand (a lot of foreshadowing). This part of the adventure will take place mostly throughout Skyrim, and why that's relevant is next.

 

 

The second half is nothing more than a skeleton right now, but the direction will be built around what the FO did before they built SotF. As implied in the first post, slaying Akatosh would end up being a VERY bad idea. His presence would be that of a "cosmic keystone" or a "barrier dragon", stemming from the idea that the Amulet of Kings keeps both Daedra and Aedra out of the world. Slaying the dragon is noble and all, but doing so has essentially unleashed hell upon the world. The Fallen Order will join you (being dovah themselves, kicking their asses in SotF earns you their respect) in the second leg of your grand adventure - by the way, you're going to Atmora!

 

Now here is where things start breaking the lore-friendly parts of the game, as the key source of inspiration for the latter half is

. The second half of the mod could be called "The Titan of Atmora"... with the twist being that the titan doesn't stand on Atmora, the titan is Atmora. For those familiar with XBC, the titan itself is a fallen god; a particularly powerful one at that, and slaying Akatosh has given him to necessary access to return to the world in his original body. Right now, the intent is it to be Lorkhan/Shor himself; like the FO he won't be an entirely evil entity, and I'll try to play the tragic villain angle for this part. Another, otherwise inconsequential character, will end up being him as you move towards trying to stop the titan's revival; exactly when this character is introduced is hard to say. Of course, something this big simply must move towards the end of the storyline; with the currently undefined other character playing the entire case for chumps (Lorkhan being the "trickster god") and advancing his own objectives, all the while making it look like you're stopping who he really is.

 

The finale will likely involve a cheap trick (a small cell to represent the actually massive battlefield)... but it will involve the player becoming a glowing, golden, transparent titan themselves and dueling the Titan of Atmora to the death. There may or may not be a follow up to this; if there was, it would involve a normal sized player and his group of allies (Princeps, Imperius, the FO, probably a revived Akatosh, and others) collectively taking down the spirit of Lorkhan after the titan has (quite literally) fallen.

 

But yes, that's just the key events; the second half will invariably involve scaling the titan (which is intended to be comparable in size to Skyrim... well, maybe somewhat smaller), but the events still need to be expanded and fleshed out.