A Return to Cylarne

[Fangdreth]

Perhaps my favorite parts of SI involve the strategic battles -- against the forces of Order, or the conflict between Saints and Seducers in Cylarne. I actually keep a save right before entering Cylarne, so I can redo that battle with whatever side however I want, whenever I want.

 

But it struck me, during one of these battles: after the PC ascends Sheogorath's throne, there are practically no moments of conflict between the haughty Saints and pragmatic Seducers. And, it also struck me that, with the loss of Cylarne, one side would strive to gain vengeance against the other. So, I personally think they need a new battlefield.

 

Now, even I, in my scripting stupidity, can go into the CS, plop down some Saints and Seducers, and watch them duke it out on some straight, boring field. But what is there was some sort of 'neutral' territory -- a place where Saints and Seducers come to fight each other, using strategy, guile...whatever. And it would be sanctioned by Sheogorath and the royal powers of Mania and Dementia, both as entertainment and a training exercise. Plus, Sheogorath (and/or his champion) may want to join in the fun every so often, allowing the player to jump in and fight against or with their opposing Daedric side.

 

My idea involves a Cylarne-style dungeon, with a few rooms, a 'back door', and strategy involved -- all controlled by the player. I see it as thus:

 

1. A pillar with some buttons to control the battle, right near the entrance. But, instead of just pressing "Fight" and sending equal sides against each other, why not allow the player to control the number of spawns? Perhaps a row of three - strike the middle button, and each side starts out with an equal number of troops (I say 16- 10 fighters, 4 archers, 2 casters). On either side of that button would be another, which adds a random Saint/Seducer to either side. From here, pitched battles could be formed! Can the Duke of Mania, with only a handful of Saint allies, hold off the greater numbers of the Seducers?

 

2. A second row, which gives morale boosts -- IE, buffs. The player could enchant either side with a side-wide buff. From a light one -- say, 5pts shield, 5 pts blade/blunt/marksman, strength... -- to a powerful one -- 15 shield, resist normal weapons, boost to stats, etc.. If those same Saints from one have a boost to their stats, can they still hold off the greater numbered Seducers?

 

3. Perhaps the most challenging one is what makes me excited about it. Each side would have a row of three strategy buttons. One for an aggressive stance -- basically, one side will charge the other. Another for defensive -- small skirmishes while holding a defensive position. Lastly, stealth, which would have some use defensive while another group takes the 'back door' to try and flank the opposing side.

 

4. The battlefield I see would have three sets of rooms. The central room would be a large one, with some sort of altar, or table, or statue right in the center -- the altar would give off a Frostcrag-Spire-Alchemy-Table-esque aura, to bestow health, fatigue, and magicka regeneration to everyone in the room. Battles here would be long, drawn out affairs, but if one side loses even a single soldier it could easily turn the tide. On either side of the central room would be a long, winding, narrow corridor that is perfect for melee fighting, but at a disadvantage for archers -- a straight shot has to be gotten off before the other side closes in. The room that the corridor leads to would be an average room, but easy to defend for that side -- it's their last line of defense. I see it as the corridor coming to an end, and opposite the door would be a set of barricades. Above the barricades would be a balcony, where the enemy spawns at. So, entering this defensive room would leave attackers wide open to archers behind cover, on a balcony, and perhaps a caster or two. Plus, defending fighters could easily bottleneck the attacking side.

 

5. The whole point of the battlefield is to kill off the other side's commander, a tough (female, given the matriarchal Saints/Seducers) character with more power, a couple elite guards, and her own special ability: a massive scale (ruin wide, if at all possible) resurrection spell for her side. So even a successful charge might make a hole for one side against the other, but as soon as the opposing commander uses her spell, you've got more soldiers popping alive all over again. Needless to say, killing the commander ends the 'simulation'.

 

6. Strategy would then use the various rooms. An offensive strategy would simply make a forward charge, sending almost all of one side against the other. Ideally, two offensives (one on either side) would meet up right in the center, at the healing altar thing, making a large, brutal melee that could go on for some time. Defensive would keep casters and archers behind (using the balcony and barricades) while each side sends a handful of fighters into the corridors. Battles would still be quite brutal, but a more strategic strike affair -- and even if one side does gain the upper hand, they'd have to deal with superior defenses. Stealth would send fighters down the corridors, while archers/magi take the 'hidden route' -- fighting could occur in the corridors and the 'hidden route' at the same time.

 

It may be a lot of words, but it really wouldn't be that hard to implement. Scripts wouldn't be terrible -- pressing a button drops some Saints/Seducers, another tells them where to stand. The hardest would probably be the commander's ability, because I don't know if one side can resurrect without the other feeling the same effect. But if it could work, the battles could be a source of continued enjoyment in the Isles. If someone could end up doing it, perhaps even more strategy could be used, like adding more rooms, or the ability for the PC to directly move their side to favorable positions.

 

So...any thoughts?