Skyrim: Heroes Of The North

[Macman253]

Hey guys, sorry for my recent vanishing act. Lots of RL issues that I sorted out and I am back fully. I have decided to boot up a Skyrim RP that I had been planning but never got into before my hiatus so ta-da.

 

 

The Dragons have appeared the Dragonborn died slaying Alduin but the remaining Dragons carry on in their quest to enslave and rule Skyrim and Tamriel once more. The Stormcloaks and Empire continue to duke it out across the frozen tundras and forests of skyrim. Other factions have risen out of the chaos of war, namely three.

 

The Order: Remnants of the ancient Order Of The Virtuous Blood from Cyrodill. They have taken roots in Solitude to battle the rising threat of Vampires in the recent years. They have been working quietly and in the shadows and only recently have come into light as professional vampire hunters. They take all races except vampires and werewolves. They hunt both equally and some say fanatically. The leader of the order, Justicar Valerius, an imperial battle-mage during the great war has taken the order into the daylight because of the rise of the Brethren, and they are fighting desperately to stem the tide of vampires that threaten Skyrim and Tamriel.

 

The Brethren Of Shadows: An ancient order of Vampires that have come from Cyrodill under the leadership of a thousand year old vampire known only as The Master. A very pragmatic figure (Even for a vampire) he is rarely seen. Even by the Council Of Thirteen. His go-to person is a young dark elf woman named Kalista but she is nearly as old as the Master himself and very ruthless. The Brethren have taken Markarth, killing many and captured many more to serve as slaves. The Reach is solely under their command, The Forsworn have pledged their service to The Brethren and often leave the Reach to find more slaves for their vampiric masters.

 

The Thalmor: Having played their ace in the hole they lead an invasion of Windhelm, the stormcloaks were successful in stopping them but at a great cost themselves. They fled to a secret fortress in the mountains near Riften, at the border of Cyrodill. There their leader. Lord Sirius Valesco rebuilds his army, Thalmor troops slowly pour into the fortress and his extensive spy network feeds him information as to the goings on in Skyrim. Determined to root out the other factions and claim Skyrim for the Thalmor the Mer-Supremist faction has begun waging a psychological and terror campaign on the people of Skyrim. Anyone that speaks out one day, the next they find themselves missing with their families burned alive in their homes. Every city, has its own network of spies feeding the information back to Black Scar Fortress. Where hopefully, those that speak ill of the Thalmor are not met with one of their fearsome Darkblade's in response.

 

 

Despite these new and old factions the main players are still The Stormcloaks and The Empire, now much stronger since the Five Years Truce. A small rearming period for the two factions, in this time Markarth was taken by The Brethren and Solitude became its namesake. The City has been completely taken by the Empire, Jarl Elisif has gone into hiding and General Tullius, now High Marshal has taken command. Having access to all of the Empire's might he has decided to liberate the people of skyrim from The Stormcloaks. Still under the thumb of the Thalmor but their diminished grip has given the Empire its strength to defy them openly, this reprieve will not last for long. Given time a war between Tullius and Valesco will break out and blood of innocents will be spilled.

 

Ulfric has locked down his lands, Whiterun submitted to Ulfrics rule and he declared himself High King, the moot unanimously agreed when Ulfric marched on the meeting and placed a blade to each Jarl's throat and a pen in their hand, famously saying. "The Pen, Or The Sword... It matters not to me I am King either way." With more brazen acts against the Empires wishes that bordered on breaking the treaty but never actually doing so The Stormcloaks became a force to be reckoned with once again. Even after the prolonged conflict before. Whiterun, Morthal, Dawnstar. All these cities have fallen under the command of Ulfric, and some gladly bowed before him. With their forces at his disposal he turned his eyes once again to Solitude and The Empire.

 

The Blades have resurfaced, lead by Delphine they have united with Paarthunax and The Grey-Beards, forgiving the ancient dragon his sins against humanity in exchange for aid in hunting his fellow Dovah. They care not for the war for skyrim they turn their eyes to the sky and have waged a personal conflict with the dragons. High Hrothgar has become their fortress, no longer a sanctuary of peace but a home of war. The Grey-Beards still maintain their pacifist nature they have taken to training blades in the use of The Thu'um and with what some call a miracle have given them the tools needed to fight the dragons. In exchange for their help the Grey-Beards ask that Paarthunax and any dragon that asks for forgiveness be spared. Delphine reluctantly agreed, it is seldom to happen honestly but Paarthunax is usually quick to root out the liars from the honest few that have repented. They are currently recruiting any who are willing to undergo their vigorous training and have become and effective if not small military force.

 

The Companions still reside in Jorrvaskr, Ulfric has commanded that they serve the Stormcloaks many times but the defiant mercenaries keep sending his men back tied up with notes simply saying, "No" slightly amused by this defiance he has allowed The Companions to operate so long as they do not accept any contracts that hinder or harm any stormcloak activity. Since they do not take contracts from factions like The Empire and The Thalmor that is rarely the case but their new Harbinger, Lucius has a mind of his own. Raising more and more folk to their cause they have become an even greater legend. Their deeds becoming more and more renowned but some talk that Lucius has a mind to free Whiterun once more. These are mostly dismissed but Lucius has not spoken against the rumor either.

 

 

The Thieves Guild still holds claim over the shadows of Skyrim, no longer just stealing items they have also taken to stealing and selling information to the highest bidder. The Leaders of the factions often fight for such information but with the aid of their new leader, Brynjolf has turned the once rundown criminal element into a organized fluid machine. The Ragged Flagon is now a fortress amongst Taverns, the maze of tunnels protect it from intruders and the traps built into and around it make it a true place of security to hold its many secrets. The Underworld of Skyrim is slowly turning the tables, The Dark Brotherhood is also making a name for itself once more, Astrid has expanded her sole remaining group to the next level of operations. Ordering the assassinations of anyone that pays a heavy enough sum.

 

The College Of Winterhold has promised its neutrality in the war, in exchange for not being targeted by the other factions they have agreed to train their respective Battle-Mages. The College has become a school of war-magics and this has deeply angered the Archmage, the former students now instructors and the instructors now the protectors the school has become somewhat of a fortress. Covered in covertly hidden traps and weaponry to repel invasion and intruders. To protect it from outside and interior harm, The Thalmor have taken great interest in such a place, their battle-mages train there. These Warrior-Magi have become known as Dark-Blades because of their signature Ebony Greatswords they carry, sharpened to a keen edge they gladly hack and cast as they wade through battle. They give the Thalmor's Justicar forces a beefy but elegant weapon to wield wherever they need it without taking away from the more subtle games they like to play.

 

 

 

All of these factions are for inspiration for character build or for flavor or a personal story, either way I left them with holes for you to fill in as you please but I ask that you keep it within reason. The rules that I ask that you follow are simple.

 

No Godmodding

 

No Foul Language

 

Keep it PG-13

 

Be Friendly

 

Have Fun.

 

 

 

 

The Character sheet looks like this.

 

 

 

Name:

 

Race:

 

Description:

 

Details: (Height, Weight, Hair Color)

 

Armor:

 

Weapons:

 

Equipment:

 

Spells Known: (If any)

 

Shouts Known (Only available to The Blades unless otherwise Approved)

 

Background:

 

 

I would also like to ask if you could at the top of your post, place your characters current location. It helps for keeping track of each person is and helps to keep track of what is going on. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this RP.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Beastiary

 

I have made a number of changes to the general lore of monsters and beasts, I wanted to make things more challenging and I have drawn from a number of sources to reflect the true lore of TES. Other stuff was added for flavor and difficulty, not too difficult but to provide a challenge. No more, I hit the troll with my sword and it dies, skeletons wont be hit with shield and watch them explode in a cloud of bones...

 

 

Werewolves: Werewolves run in solo most of the time, they only hunt at night and on the last three nights of each month. When werewolves pack together they become stronger, the strongest naturally becomes an Alpha and as such he gains certain abilities. The ability to shift at will is the prime ability, normally a Werewolf on its own when it shifts looses its sense of humanity but in a pack they retain their humanity when they shift but the pack mentality kicks in and they often turn into marauding bandits using their power to obtain food and wealth. To destroy a werewolf you must pierce its heart with a silver blade or arrow.

 

Vampires: The Fledgling vampire is little stronger then an adult imperial. Capable of controlling basic vampirc drain. They are usually wild and disorganized at first but they drift together in hopes of overpowering travellers to feed off of. After a few years their blood-thirst becomes manageable and they begin to organize (if they survive long enough) It is then that the Vampire becomes about as strong as a average Nord. Capable of more vampiric powers and their drain becomes stronger aswell. Their fangs lenghten to become viable weapons and they also form claws. They make up the bulk of Vampires in Tamriel, Blooded Vampires have undergone Rituals to Molag Bal, they are blessed with greater powers then ordinary vampires but their thirst becomes almost feral and they will attack with wild abandon. Capable of overpowering an Orc Male they are very potent warriors but they tend to shun magical skills. Master Vampires are rare, very old and very powerful. Most are usually very potent warriors aswell as sorcerers they lead Covens of vampires in their lairs and are the heads of Houses in the court of The Brethren. A master Vampire can physically over-power a troll and will often launch spells at an opponent to throw them off guard while they close the distance to feed.

 

Weapons against Vampires: Silver, silver is fatal to all but pure-blooded vampires. Sunlight, spells have floated around that teach the user how to harness raw sun energy that can be very effective in killing a vampire. Fire, fire is a prime weakness to all vampires and will be an effective way of killing them. But in the long run, the only way to kill a vampire without piercing its heart with a silver blade is to remove its head. Little known fact to all but the oldest of vampires and the hunters that stalk them, Dead Mans Blood. Blood from a recently dead corpse will paralyze them for hours. Not toxic to them as a poison it but effective for subduing them.

 

 

Skeletons: Skeletons are common in the ancient cairns of skyrim. While usually a shamble of bones they are potent fighters, simply disassembling a skeleton wont do to destroy it. Within seconds they will reassemble themselves and be on you again, the only sure way to kill a skeleton is to crush the skull that contains the bound spirit of the skeleton. Destroy it and the skeleton is down for good. Armored Skeletons are usually skeletons that have more of their soul bound to them and they tend to think, they will gather scraps of metal to wear as armor which makes them harder to disassemble and destroy. Bonelords, Bonelords are unique in that they are Necromancer's aswell as undead. Capable of rational thought, these creatures are formed from Two Souls bound to one Skull and the body made of two skeletons. Very potent warriors and mages they are capable of striking with up to four weapons and able to reform their skeletal allies with a spell. Destroying the Bonelord that inhabits the crypt with destroy all the skeletons in that crypt.

 

Draugr: Draugr differ from their skeletal counterparts, Draugr are corpses raised with cursed souls bound to them. Very strong and easy to command they are nearly impossible to kill outright. Usually the Overlord, the strongest of the Draugr subtype controls the others but sometimes a far fouler creature exists behind the shadows. They harness the power of frost aswell as weaponry, breathing torrents of icy cold breath as they charge at their foe. To truly destroy a draugr its head must be severed and its body burned to release the spirit inside.

 

Ghosts/Spirits: Ghosts or Spirits are unique in that they are non-corporeal. They are difficult to kill and can fade in and out of existence. Making normal weapon useless against them. Only silver blades and magical weaponry are effective but destroying the spirit's physical form will not kill it forever. You must bind its ectoplasm in salt and exorcise the spirit with a simple chant. (any priest will know this ritual)

 

Daedra: They come in many forms, Clannfear and Dremora. Usually summoned and bound to Mundus from Oblivion they are potent fighters and mages, the most common Daedra are The Dremora. Human looking with black skin and horns they are the footsoldiers of the daedra princes. Warlocks and Conjurers often summon them to fight for them, wearing full plate armor and wielding a wide array of wicked weaponry the Dremora are known for their cruelty. To destroy a daedra you must slay it by any means then perform a banishing ritual (see ghosts) doing so will send the daedra from Mundus permanently.

 

Trolls: Trolls only real weakness is fire, they can regenerate quite quickly and are often the bane of a foolish adventurer and traveler. To destroy a troll, you must either pierce its heart or injure it with a flame spell enough it dies. Fire does frighten them and if you are persistant they often leave you alone, they will not come near a camp with a lit fire for their fear of fire is innate. While not particularly bright they have an extraordinary resistance to illusion spells, a near immunity to charm effects, but Fear and Frenzy spells will work on them.

Edited January 31, 2013 by Macman253

[Brutii]

Question: You realise that the only hope against the new dragon threat is effectively paarthurnax and possibly Odahviing, right? They are the only ones on the good team (That I know of) who could absorb dragon souls now the dragonborn is gone.

[Macman253]

Yup, that is the reason they were spared. Odaviing wont come into play until much later

[Zephyr2011]

Here's my character sheet, this sounds like a fun one, you've obviously put a lot of thought into the development of all the factions and the story, looking forward to it.

 

Location: Markarth, outside the silver mines.

 

Name: Tenibrus Mortus

 

Race: Imperial/Breton (half and half) vampire.

 

Description: Tenibrus appears tanner for a vampire, perhaps due to the mixture of his blood and a near death experience with the sun during his transformation. He has several jagged pockmarks about his face. His nose is slightly upturned and chiseled, the rest of his visage is similarly angular, a trait accentuated by his vampirism. Tenibrus's vampirism is a slightly different strain from that of most vampires, it's origins are not well known. Rather than the usual fiery or blood-lust filled eyes, he has ice-blue irises. His dark hair is kept tied back with piece of burgandy riband and stops about the middle of his shoulder blades in a victorian-aristocracy manner. His palms have a slight lining of fur in addition to numerous calluses and scars. As far as personality goes, Tenibrus is a charmer, vampirism has heightened his life-long charisma but he does have a very sinister side. He is cold and calculating when it comes to formulating plans and in battle, lives often mean little to him and his compassion is usually a ruse for manipulation. He is very intelligent and his intellect is his greatest asset. Given all of his strong traits though, he is not the strongest nor the sharpest nor the most charismatic. Rather, Tenibrus is excellent in the three giving him flexibility in his operations rather than supreme command in a very select few scenarios.

 

Details: Tenibrus stands at around 5' 9" and 150 pounds. He has fairly broad shoulders for his height and is extremely strong, even for a vampire. This trait seemed to be enhanced greatly when he first turned. His hair is a rather greasy looking black.

 

Armor: Tenibrus favors extremely light-weight mithril chainmail between his undergarmets and finery. The armor is fairly minimal but protects his vital organs from most mundane objects without compromising mobility or magic ability. The vampire wears black velvet and burgandy linens embroidered with silver and calf skin riding boots up to his calves. He often wears a thick black traveling cloak with a sterling clasp. On his dominant hand is a fine cut onyx stone set in silver that bears his family crest and an enchantment for slightly heightened awareness. The ring is by-in-large symbolic and has been rendered virtually useless by his vampiric abilities but it does occasionally enable him to read people better or detect slight misteps by sneaks.

 

Weapons: A silver longsword with a 9" black-leather wrapped grip, 2" diameter onyx inlaid pomel stone and 35" blade is virtually always strapped to Tenibrus's belt. It is a token from Tenibrus's first real tangle with vampire slayers and once belonged to a famed hunter. Tenibrus has sought to it that the man's name was erased from the annals of history though. A short steel stilleto is also tucked into Tenibrus's belt but rarely used.

 

Equipment: Tenibrus carries several small vials of different poisons and potions. The exact contents vary greatly based upon what he is doing but with his recent activities a few anti-coagulants and neuro-toxins are the only surefire bets to be in his kit with a couple of healing potions for himself. Tenibrus usually relies more on his magic for assistance than gear but has experience with climbing and rappeling and some very rusty lockpicking skills.

 

EDITED: Spells Known: Opening and locking spells (varying degrees, not capable of handling master locks without a great deal of time and concentration), Fireball-AOE spells (varying degrees, no master level), Flames (varying degrees, approximately 50% power of dragonfire at max), Sparks (Varying degrees, slightly weaker than strongest flame spell), Ice Spears (Extemely potent, capable of piercing sub-ebony or sub-elven armors completely), Muffle, Invisibility (Vampire Power as well), Telekenisis, Clairvoyance, fog/mist (varying degrees, perhaps best spell in part because of vampirism, can cloak area of a few acres in mist or fog, harder to maintain in bright sunlight or with magical resistance) and extinguish (puts out weak magical, and all but the most massive non-magical lightsources)

 

Background: Tenibrus grew up an orphan not knowing his heritage. He lived in the Imperial city and had to steal his food to survive, one day he was caught with a loaf of bread and was to be sent to prison. But there was a mix up and young Tenibrus was taken away to a prison in the far north. Fortunately for Tenibrus a massive riot broke out at the prison and the guards were slain, leaving Tenibrus to flee to Riften in nearby Skyrim. In Riften, Tenibrus honed his skills as a thief, eventually joining the thieves guild. Life was good for him, he was a mildly successful thief and enjoyed security and comradery with the Theives Guild. All went wrong on a job though and he killed a mark. This was before the Thieves Guild of Skyrim had truly fallen however, thus the offence was cruely punished and he was expelled from the Guild. Tenibrus hung around Riften stealing and committed a few more murders before he heard talk of a traveling merchant from the South, supposedly laden with gold. Tenibrus plotted to kill the merchant to steal the man's journal and wares. The plan backfired though when Tenibrus tried to ambush the merchant in his inn-room. The merchant knew where Tenibrus was and nearly killed him in the following fight, but he spared Tenibrus's life, in a way. The merchant bit Tenibrus and laughed uproariously about the ordeal before disappearing in the night. Tenibrus had no idea the horror that awaited him a few days later when he felt horribly cold on a bright sunny day and lay down for a nap in the sun. He awoke to his flesh searing and his heart stopped, completely. He had become a vampire. He fled until he found a cave where he tried to heal his wounds with medicinal herbs and found severe pain when he stumbled upon some garlic flowers nearby. He eventually healed and learned to deal with his illness. His craving for blood though was growing and he knew that he must feed. He gradually fled further North to more overcast skies and shorter nights. He killed as he went with an ever increasing bloodlust. He also found that his once extremely meager magical abilities became greater and greater as he fed more and more. He wanted to develop theses further and so joined the College of Winterhold, hiding his horrible nature by gorging himself on hapless local farmers. He left the College rather quickly after learning the gist of most of the schools of magic and focused his time and energy on finding different tomes on destruction, alteration, mysticism and illusion magic. The tools of a nightblade. He grew in power and in age until the Brethren came. He aided them in the taking of Markarth and was justly rewarded with the title of overseer of the silver mines. He brings in a cool personal profit as his prison-hell of a mine bankrolls most of the Brethren's enterprises. He does not own the mines nor is he tied down to them but he makes most of the management decisions regarding them. While technically not a member of the Brethren he enjoys great favor with them and takes on missions, tasks and assignments for personal profit and pleasure.

 

 

 

Welp, that's about it. I kept it short in some spots so let me know if I need to add or amend anything. I realize he might be overpowered (hard not to with vampirism) and I styled his vampirism more like Dracula than Sanguinare Vampiris. If any of this is a problem please let me know and I'll change it as best I can.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Zephyr Kronos

[Macman253]

Cut back a tad on the spells but otherwise your good. You've got a long list of them, needs to be shortened a tad.

[Zephyr2011]

weakened sparks spells, removed lightning AOE spells and paralysis. Expanded upon invisibility, the spells are pretty weak, really just flickers, the vampiric powers are where his invisibility powers truly stem from.

[Macman253]

Ok. Approved.

[Niborino9409]

Location: In his house in Riften together with his family.

 

Name: Eykthain Rightain, 50 years old.

 

 

 

 

 

Race: Dunmer/Imperial

 

Description: Eykthain is angry, almost harsh sometimes. He is like that because of things that happened in the past.

Blonde hair and beard, pale, gray skin. A scar on his left cheek that he got during hunting and dark blue war paint running from his eyes to his jaw.

 

Details: Average height. Eykthain´s muscles are equal to those of an old school woodcutter. He wants to help Dunmers in need whenever he can and wants every race to live together in peace, that may not be possible, but its worth a try. He got his glass dagger from his wife and daughter on his 40 th birthday, he carries it always. Eykthain always wears his Bond of Matrimony.

 

In his army days he worked as a scout from time to time so he is familiar with stealth and uses it when necessary.

 

Armor: Leather armor with thick cloth underneath and a leather pauldron on his right shoulder. He also wears a matching leather hood. Fur boots. He dresses like this to avoid bringing attention to himself.

 

Weapons: Two swords on his back, a steel sword and a glass sword, a glass dagger as back-up in case he drops the swords. He is fast and deadly with his weapons, a trait well needed in Skyrim. Eykthain also uses an Elven bow and Elven arrows. And if it comes down to fistfights Eykthain can handle himself quite good. If necessary he can also throw his glass dagger as a ranged weapon, but he does not do it often, if at all.

 

Equipment: Light food supply consisting of salted meat, green apples, bread and mead. Carried in a leather satchel. He also carries weapon necessities(sharpening tools and such). But also several healing potions. Torches.

 

Spells Known: a healing spell and a magelight spell. Eykthain also knows frostbite and ice spike, flames and firebolt.

 

Shouts Known: None

 

Background: Eykthain was born in Skyrim, his parents, General Eyrevehn Rightain and his wife, Camilla Rightain was killed when he was 17 years old by Stormcloaks, therefore he has a bitter hatred of Ulfric and his Stormcloaks. Eykthain was out hunting when it happened, he found his childhood home destroyed, only the floor was left untouched.

 

In the beginning he blaimed himself for his parents deaths but as he got older he realised that there was nothing he could do, he would only have become another victim of the war, another death by their hands. Eykthain wanted revenge, but he knew that he could not take on the Stomcloaks by himself, and he realised that avenging his parents would only bring him down to the same level as the ones he fought.

 

He decided to join the Legion, but he did not ride on his fathers fame, he worked from the ground up. Becoming a skilled warrior and feared soldier. After a few years General Tullius decided that Eykthain should leave the Legion, he believed that Eykthain fought for them just so that he could get revenge. That was only partially true. He wanted revenge, but he was smarter than that. Revenge could wait, he had a duty towards his people, the Dunmers had suffered long enough. He believes that all races should be welcome in Skyrim, even Kahjiits. Tullius believed what he said and Eykthain was allowed to stay.

 

He and Jordis met when Eykthain was on a visit to the Blue Palace in Solitude, since he was wearing an Amulet of Mara, he was unresistable to her and they became a couple. Short thereafter they married and moved to Riften. Because of his newfound love, he quit his military service, to be able to take care of his wife and their child that was about to be born. Meeting and marrying Jordis and caring for his daughter has made him not soft, but less angry.

Edited January 31, 2013 by Niborino9409

[Macman253]

approved, two more and we start

[Niborino9409]

If my character is too underpowered I can add some things if needed. Edited January 31, 2013 by Niborino9409