#dawnguard 10/10 for not making you the leader at the end no one listens to you youre just some guy

[nejackdaw]

morthal and markarth for the skyrim asks!

Ty for the ask! 💞

Morthal - Do you enjoy exploring dungeons and ruins? Why or why not?

Kinda depends tbh. Dungeons with multiple rooms absolutely FULL of enemies encourage a more stealthy approach, and while I'm a capable stealth archer, it's not my preferred play style, so it can be a bit unfun. The alternative, however, is the ENTIRE DUNGEON hearing me engage in melee and swarming me at once, which. Also isn't fun. Ultimately I guess the answer comes down to "depends on the number of guys in there" and "how likely is Marked For Death to solve the entire issue?" Skyrim is basically the only game where, when given a choice, I'll choose martial over caster or archer, but this can be a problem in packed dungeons. I like single or few guy brutal slugfests where we just beat the shit out of each other. Also then I can just take a break to throw up my shield and watch Celann materialize to OHKO them, which fills me with glee literally every time

Markarth - If you could rewrite one questline in Skyrim, which would it be? (This answer is sooooo long btw)

Hmm... I'm actually not too interested in a lot of them, but when it comes to being disappointed in one, it's the Civil War questline. The entire thing amounts to "use your main character powers about 5 times in a dungeon or something and then go fight the oppositional leader." You can't even fix Whiterun, a place you specifically took for its geographical, strategic, and mercantile advantage. You just leave it in ruins???

There are two quests in the entire line that aren't just "awkwardly storm this place with a couple guys,' and one of them is optional. Both sides have a "steal/plant enemy orders" quest, but the "gaining intel/blackmail" quest is in both cases entirely optional. There's one non-combative "sneak and find this document/gather intel" quest, and no "root out a traitor" or "disrupt a supply line" type quests (technically this one is awkwardly tacked onto the end of the optional quest.) The Dark Brotherhood, Dawnguard, and Thieves Guilds have similar respective quests that we can compare to the 1.5 non-combative Civil War quests: finding intel on Maro's son, the radiant "vampire advisor" quests, basically the entire beginning TG questline (Honningbrew, Goldenglow hives.)

Each of these questlines involve non-typical quests, aka quests where you have to approach it a little differently than the rest of your work: the Brotherhood stealing documents and planting false evidence like thieves, the Dawnguard committing assassinations and pickpocketing orders like both the Brotherhood AND the Guild, the Guild quest where you engage not only in open combat with Mercer, but kill him, like both the Dawnguard and, well, the Brotherhood Brynjolf insists you're not.

While those questlines are largely the same sort of quests on repeat, it's because they're, well, specialized guilds. Built entirely around doing those things. That's their entire function. When it comes to a war (which is very NOT a guild,) you'd expect a bit more than just a few skirmishes, especially considering the only thing that changes when you join is, well. There's one more guy in the skirmish. But magically this turns the tide and the entire war is won through brute force when previously there seemed no end in sight. The questline lacks variety, is incredibly, oddly short for what's supposed to be a war, and generally just... lacks impact. Nothing really happens afterwards. Faction camps are still sitting around, and you still can't even clear them. Hold guards are replaced by the faction that won and Whiterun is permanently in shambles. Can't even fix Whiterun ffs there's not even quests for that.

* After leaving this in the drafts for a few weeks and thinking about it some more, I think ultimately the problem IS the brevity. "Do four battles and suddenly we win" is absolutely insane. The Dawnguard DLC and the Thieves Guild, even the one single time I played it, have spoiled me rotten with the never ending radiant quests. It prevents the Companions feeling of "I joined three days ago and now I'm in charge and everyone does what I say" that throws everyone off. Not only can you keep accepting them, the mainline quests don't get in the way of accepting them (... like the Companions only telling you to go talk to Aela.) This means you can keep accepting radiant quests that provide a feeling of integration and contribution (in)to the guild, and also avoids the Companions and Civil War feeling of "I did three quests and it's over and everyone is bowing to me" by allowing you to do guild things in-between the main quests.

Not only that, but they offer a variety the main line might not provide, especially with the Dawnguard. For example, siding with the Volkihar includes a quest where you're given Dawnguard armor and told to go cause a scene, striking down some innocent civilian in the name of "vampire hunting" to sow public distrust. This quest is cool as fuck conceptually btw, why is a Volkihar radiant cooler than the entire CW line???

Ultimately I think if I could change one thing about the Civil War line specifically it would be adding TG/DG style radiant quests that can be done between main missions and also include "milestone" type quests that really bring home the feeling of growth and contribution. I think it would make it feel considerably less jarring and I'd even maybe consider playing it again if we could fix Whiterun.

[fanesavin]

The Commander of the Rajisthangard is summoned for questioning by the High Inquisitor and some truths are uncovered.

[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (x) | (x) Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 (x) (x) | Part 7 | Part 8  (x) | Part 9 (x) | Part 10 | Part 11 (x) (x) ]

(All the props to Lori for writing NPCs :D)

Fane had ordered for the Commander to be brought down for questioning. The room in which he’d been sat was small with nothing but a desk, a side-table and a couple of chairs around it. The man had been unarmed and asked to sit and wait. A tactic to let him sweat a little and met some power the Inquisitor’s way. After a little while, Fane let a guard open the door and stepped in carrying a jug and a couple of glasses that he set down on the side table. “Commander, I’m sure I don’t need to explain why you’re here, do I?”

Eagle Commander knew that everyone was to be questioned in the Keep, that was only fitting. He marched down at the appointed hour when his time came, and stood ramrod straight in the Inquisitor’s selected room, waiting for the noble to arrive. He was used to waiting for those of a higher status to arrive after him; and when the Inquisitor did, he bowed low (but with little courtly flourish) and then clasped his hands behind his back. He knew the Inquisitor through news - not as an Inquisitor, but as a Dawnguard leader. The respect was clear on his soldier-neutral grizzled face. “I do, Inquisitor.” He only sat - stiffly, like it was unused to sitting - when the Inquisitor explicitly requested that he did. It was more out of obedience than desire to be seated.

Fane let the man sit, not that he looked comfortable on the little wooden chair that creaked a little. Good. Fane remained standing, his posture relaxed as though this wasn’t an interrogation just a small conversation. “Tell me Commander… How long have you held the role?” seemingly unrelated questions, but conversation enough to break down the barrier if only a little. The man was a soldier after all, he mused thoughtfully “it must have been quite an honour to be asked to take up such a position… Tell me, how did that come about?”

“I was appointed Commander of the Golden Eagles, five months ago, after my predecessor was killed in the Battle of Seven Coins, when it reached the Bluesprings Keep walls and the Gates almost fell. He died protecting it.” A momentary pause of respect for the late fallen Commander. “I - ” The Commander wasn’t sure if he should say this, the Lady Ciara was so secretive about her position, but that was her role. The Prelate Theodore was well so, although the High Raj’s announcement should have made all of it public. But the High Raj was dead now, so the man made a decision then. “I was appointed as part of the High Raj’s Council, peace be to him. That was about one month and fifteen days ago, before the tour of the crown, as you recall.” The crown had of course made its way up to the North. “Before I was made Commander, I was a part of the Golden Eagles for fifteen years, under the various Lords who oversaw the Capital before it was called ‘the Capital’.” Those Lords, of course, hardly lasted during the war. The Capital was such a lynchpin location, it was constantly being warred over.

Eagle Commander looked up at the Inquisitor then. “I could go on, if you like,” he said, his tone offering, willing to obey should the Inquisitor need it. He also also added, in a reflective way “My daughter was a Dawnguard…”

Fane listened and where it was necessary nodded sympathetically it was sad indeed but a man that should have put an end to the death would have been a welcome relief for so many battle-weary soldiers. “Many people died in the wars, many good men and women,” the mention of the council caused him to tilt his head ever so slightly. “And were you aware of anyone else to be appointed to the council alongside you?” Of course, by now he already knew of Ciara’s position but it didn’t hurt to get confirmation of such matters. “Of course, we spoke a little when you visited the North,” he shook his head a little to say he’d spoken enough. Though the mention of his daughter, “aye… Mira? Was that not her name? I recall you mentioning her… I’m sure your whole family were proud of your achievement. Which is why it’s such a shame that this is where we end up don’t you think? The man meant to usher in a new golden age of peace… Killed by his own crown…”

“Yes,” the commander replied about the war, that familiar haunted, steely-glazed look in his eyes that many solders got when they thought of the war. The Golden Eagles were well-trained but also largely ceremonial, being guardians of the Keep. Fighting for the Keep, with the enemy so close to reaching the Castle, brought the reality of war to their doorstep. “Yes, Inquisitor,” he also replied with another glance. He didn’t particularly owe Lady Ciara anything now, so he stated, “Prelate Theodore, as you know. Lady Ciara Florent, and myself.” He nodded then, thinking of his now dead daughter. “We are prouder of her achievement, Inquisitor.” Another pause, respect for his child’s memory. “I am not happy this has happened. The High Raj had great plans. I think he could have benefitted this realm greatly. That crown…” He became slightly more casual then, because this was the Inquisitor and this seemed more like a discussion between two commanders, rather than an interrogation. He adjusted in his seat. “…that was no way to die. Was it poison or something, Sir? If I may ask? That’s the method of cowardly Lords and cunning Ladies, if you don’t mind me saying. If anyone challenged the High Raj to a proper duel, he would have bested them easily. I tested his mettle myself, at his request of course.” The Commander had enjoyed that, and it earned his respect of the young High Raj.

“Hm, and tell me, what did you think of your fellow council members? No doubt you had opinions of them and their potential ambitions?” Fane opted to move to take the seat opposite, no longer standing over and presiding a supposedly higher authority but maintaining the impression of equality. “Losing a child is one of the worst things to experience, I would not wish it upon even my greatest enemy” he sounded solemn and a flicker of sadness crossed his features the pain was unimaginable and he grew silent equally for his own late wife and child as much as for the Commander’s. “Venom it would appear… A cruel way to die… But he did not suffer.” Was it true? He couldn’t rightly say. “What were those plans if I might ask? Did they affect anyone in particular in a way they may not have liked? You and I know the justice of steel and taste of blood… These lordlings and their ladies who sit on their satin cushionings only know the game of masks. Which is why justice must be served to the late High Raj.”

 “The Prelate is a representation of the Cloverry, and a good one. Lady Ciara was knows the Capital well, she has been installed here for a while now and her knowledge is vast. I respect them both. If you don’t mind me saying, Inquisitor, I do not think either one would ever harm the High Raj. Perhaps they might be capable of it - I suppose you could say we all were - but he chose his Council well. Their loyalty to him was profound. As was mine. We all obey the High Raj, whomever that person may be; but Avitej Sharma should have been the High Raj.” The commander didn’t seem to understand that there was any difference between poison and venom, and so just nodded respectfully. “He suffered enough,” the man spoke in a low growl, not directed at the Inquisitor, just an emotional anger at the injustice. At the Inquisitor’s question, the Commander outlined some general political strategies that the High Raj had, which could be seen as imposing or strict, but nevertheless with an effort to be fair-handed. “I suppose there are Houses who may not approve, but no one can like everything across the board. In terms of post-war recompense, I believe every major House was intended to be both taxed and rewarded equally. With the exception of House Cardero of course, being on their Islands; and begging you pardon - your House. As you did not participate in the ten years of war.” He didn’t mean to imply anything negative by that, so he added, “Not as much as other House factions.”

“So you wouldn’t say anyone had any apparent motivation to wish him removed? No eventual gain of influence?” Though the mention of loyalty caused Fane to lightly drum his fingers on the table, not enough to make noise but an indication of contemplation over what the man said. “On the topic of loyalty, and I can tell you’re a very loyal man Commander… Tell me about the tour of the crown around the Kingdoms? Were there any incidents during the journey? I know you and your men guarded it… But were there any occasions that come to mind where it was left unguarded?”

“Here? In the Castle?” The Eagle Commander frowned, his heavy brow giving him the look of a giant grizzly bear. “I don’t…dally in the politics of the nobles, Inquisitor. ” The man looked like he wasn’t sure what to say, because he wasn’t sure what he was being asked. “I apologize, but I only look after my men, and protect the High Raj and his estate as it’s kept in the Keep. I hope that satisfies you…” he said a little warily now. Because although he was somewhat complacent about this new Inquistion being installed in the Keep (mostly because he knew what sort of man Savin was) he did of course only want a new High Raj appointed again. A good High Raj ideally, but he would serve a bad High Raj if that was what the Cloverry and Inquisition decided. And he assumed the North would return to their lands once it was all over. He didn’t think Inquisitor Savin had any desire to place himself on the throne, and he hoped that wasn’t what the question was implying. “My…duty is to the High Raj,” he said, to impress on the Inquisitor what the Commander’s life was. When the Inquisitor turned away from talk of court intrigue and about the tour, the Commander physically relaxed. “I can provide my detailed records of the tour, Inquisitor. I kept a record, as per the request of Lord Sharma, and Lady Ciara. The crown held the longest stays at Blackspire, Summerset, the Kesley lands, Hathurana of course…” He also rattled off a couple other holdings in addition, both of middling power, similar to Summerset and Kesleyland. “The most visitors attended those places as well, as I recall, hence the long stays. The Princes from the Forty Isles were all in attendance at Summerset, and there was a Red Priestess or two in Hathurana, but not the Lady Priestess who attended the Coronation. Two different ladies, if I recall. It had short stays in Honeywild, the High Peninsula, Eades…” And then some other smaller lands mentioned as well. He looked down at the desk that separated them. “The crown may have been left alone on a few occasions in the larger Holdings…I would have to check my records. Or you can verify them yourself, Inquisitor.”

Fane‘s fingers curled a little on the table knuckles knocking on it momentarily. “If your duty was to the High Raj, as you say, and he charged you and your men with the task of guarding the crown. Explain to me how the item in your charge ended up being the very thing to kill him? You claim to love the man you served and yet you appear rather complicit in his demise wouldn’t you say?” His voice had grown stonier and a touch more accusatory, eyes thinning as he stared across the table aiming to make the man uncomfortable after settling him into a state of complacency. “I was led to believe your men kept vigil on the crown for its entire journey… Are you implying that isn’t what happened Lord Commander?“ his inflection grew a touch harder on certain words, to drill home the blame and guilt presently laying at the Commander’s feet.

He pushed his chair out, moving to the side table where he had placed the jug and cups earlier speaking while he poured the water out. “This doesn’t look very good Commander, at all, you and your men became lax in your royal duties and are therefore complicit in the death of the High Raj.” He poured water in one, and surreptitiously twisted a ring on his other hand, the gem swinging aside to reveal a small divot inside filled with a teal coloured powder and he emptied into the other cup before it too was filled with water. Nothing potent, of course, he wasn’t cruel but not above such tricks for getting the truth. It would mimic the symptoms of toxin, stomach cramps and the like but ultimately not do any harm. Fitting the gem back in place he turned back swilling the cups a little as he returned to his seat pushing the laced one towards the other man before a sip was taken of his own and setting it side. "What do you have to say in your defence?”

The tone shifted immediately, and the Commander stood up then, slowly so it didn’t look threatening, and assumed a stock-still at-attention stance. That of a solder being berated by his High Commander. Who, at the moment, the Inquisitor was. “If you find fault in my records, Inquisitor, then you may find me culpable of blame there. The tour was one of celebration, and although I took my best soldiers with me, their vigilance was, I admit, sometimes fractured and distracted while we were out of the Keep. If you are accusing my hand in the murder of the High Raj, however, then I respectfully deny this accusation. However, as there is no way to prove myself and your word is all that is needed to make me guilty of regicide, then - ” He blinked. “Then I understand your duty to do so.” He saw the water, and knew he was meant to drink it. Swallowing hard, the man waited for the Inquisitor to give him permission to step out of attention. He reluctantly took the water, and took a drink from it. He put the cup back down, and returned to standing at attention, his eyes forward and staring at nothing.

Fane watched the man’s features and here he stood Fane’s eyes narrowed a fraction, “sit down Commander, you shall not be leaving this room until I give you permission to do so. Where are the records presently? I shall have them fetched and brought here forthwith.” After receiving an answer and summoning one of his men to go and retrieve them, he returned to the table. “Perhaps you were lying to me about how much you loved our High Raj… Your men are loyal to you… They follow your word, and a word would be all it would take for the murderer to have the chance to tamper with the crown. Every man has a price, tell me… What was yours?”

The Commander had no intention of leaving, only in standing in order to re-establish their power dynamic: that the Inquisitor was solidly in charge and the Commander’s rank was decidedly lower, and friendly banter was over. Confused, the man sat down again, but still just stared ahead, as if sitting at attention. “Very good, Inquisitor,” he said, when Savin said he’d get the records fetched. He felt dizzy and broke out into a sweat. The man stared unhappily at the water but snapped back to attention once the Inquisitor returned to the desk. “I have no price, Inquisitor. I did not plot against the High Raj.”

Fane took no pleasure from treating another this way but to ferret out the truth it was unfortunately necessity. “No? I find that hard to believe, no one approached you, offered you anything to leave your post and let them have a closer look at the crown?”

The commander’s mouth was dry, but he refused to drink more water. The dryness was unnatural. “No, Inquisitor. I would never betray the Crown, or the High Raj.” He hated doing this, but the Commander wanted to believe that the Inquisitor was only going down this path for the sake of justice. He had to believe that, as he said, “During the tour, I was unable to stand vigilant at every hour of every day. I had to rely on my men…I had to trust my men.” Now he was angry though, appalled at the idea that perhaps, the men he’d hand-picked for the tour were not as trustworthy as he’d thought. But it was hard to concentrate. “Inquisitor…” he gripped the arms of the chair, his face turning read, nausea setting in. “Inquisitor please…I did not plot against the High Raj.”

Fane studied the mans reddening face he didn’t like having to do this, but it did seem apparent that the man was unfortunately telling the truth. He grimaced, and from his pocket produced a small white vial and slid it across the surface. “Drink this, it’ll settle the symptoms of the root” he waited wondering if the man would take him at his word. “I apologise for the necessity… But I had to ensure you spoke the truth… There’s too much treachery to trust anyone at their word these days.”

The Commander grabbed at the vial without hesitation. If the Inquisitor wanted him dead, then so be it. He was sworn to do anything for the good of the High Raj and right now the Inquisitor represented the High Raj. So he took the vial and drank its contents. He slumped forward, breathing heavily as his world was agonizingly righted again. Slowly, he tried to stand up, return to the stance he was most familiar with in the presence of someone who outranked him: standing, at attention. It was a stance of deference and respect. “I understand, Inquisitor,” he coughed. He didn’t actually understand, but it wasn’t for him to understand either. “If you will allow me to handle this matter. I will personally investigate each of the Captains who traveled on the tour. I swear to you that I will find out who stepped out of order. That is unacceptable. I will do this for the sake of the Crown and the High Raj - ” His now-red, watery eyes turned to look directly at Savin. “And for the Inquisition.”

Fane didn’t rush the man and he looked genuinely apologetic when the Commander’s eyes returned to him. As the man coughed Fane picked up his own cup and made a show of taking a sip himself to show there was nothing in it before offering it for the man to have, “here this’ll help with the cough…” But the man’s resilience in the face of what just transpired caused Fane to look at him with a newfound respect. “Very well, my Lord Commander, take some time to right yourself and when you’re able, conduct your investigation. Once you have a report give me - and only me - a full run down of what you find… We need a measure of the men in charge of the crown when you were touring. Their former and potential remaining affiliations and alliances. We need to know when the crown was at its most vulnerable… You have all the resources of the Inquisition at your disposal should you require anything.” He grew silent for a few moments pushing up straighter, “I swear on my oath as High Inquisitor that wewill find the person responsible for the Raj’s death… They will be brought to justice and pay for their crimes.”

The Commander was tempted, but shook his head at the offer of water. He’d withstood worse, in training and out in the battlefield. And now he had something to prove to the Inquisitor. The Golden Eagle Commander might not personally approve of the Inquisitor’s methods, but that didn’t mean the man thought he was ill-suited to the position of Inquisitor. There was a lot that the Prelate and the Master of Whispers did and said that he didn’t agree with either. Everyone had a job to do. He clipped his heels together, but did not salute the Inquisitor; a salute was only towards the High Raj. “Yes, Inquisitor,” he said in a clipped, militaristic voice. Emphatic and now with a new determination to find the traitor under his command. “If that’s all Inquisitor. I want to conduct my questioning before it’s learned that we have been speaking….” He growled then. “And I want to take the bastard down before he does any more damage.”

Fane gave a short nod looking over to his man by the door and giving a short nod for it to be opened. “No, nothing more, Gods be with you and your inquest Commander.”

The report came in after about a day and a half. 

Only the Eagle Commander and his Eagle Captains were allowed to stand vigil with the crown. Six men in total, taking shifts in pairs so one would always be guarding at all times. Each Captain was from a different region, for the sake of impartiality, including Kesley, Blackspire, and Forty Isles. The other three from small/middling Houses included the Commander’s House itself, which was a noble House from the Capital.

The Forty Isles Captain

Angrily admitted that he was bribed to step away from the crown while they were in Summerset when there was a diversion outside to lure away the other Captain. He was bribed with Forty Isles coin, and he didn’t know for sure but the sneaky-spy-person who bribed him seemed to imply that this was the work of the Queen’s Consort Juan Carlos. Hence the Forty Isles Captain feeling loyal to Juan Carlos took the bribe.

The Kesley Captain

Following its visit to Summerset the crown then went to Kesley land, the Kesley Captain broke down and admitted that he went away from his station (while his fellow scheduled Captain was relieving himself) to go snog a mistress illicitly while they were in Kesleylands. He just didn’t think anyone in Kesley would care to tamper with the crown, because Kesley supported House Sharma.

Both the Kesley Captain and the Forty Isles Captain were arrested and put in prison. The Forty Isles Captain, however, found a way to kill himself.

[breegullbeakreviews]

Summary: As was foretold in the Elder Scrolls, as civil war breaks out in Skyrim over claim to the throne, the Dragons have returned to bring about the end of time. Only one can stand against this threat and wield the power of the Voice against the Dragons, and that is the Dovahkiin: Dragonborn.

The Ancient order of vampire fighters known as the Dawnguard have returned. Just in time too it seems as the family of powerful vampire lords, the Volkihar’s, seek to bring about another prophecy foretold in the Elder Scrolls, to end the sun itself. Fight to stop the family or join them and bring about eternal darkness.

As the Dragons return, it seems you are not the only Dragonborn. Journey to the southern coast of Morrowind to do battle with the original Dragonborn who seeks to bend all to his whim.

Overall: Skyrim Special Edition is worth $60 if you’ve never played it before or if you have an itch to play it again. It’s an RPG you can play casually or dive in deep into the world and all its lore. Outside falling into the chosen one trope at every turn, it’s a fantastic game that everyone should check out if they haven’t already.

Changes: Skyrim hasn’t been rebuilt from the ground up. This is the same game in terms of assets and the buggy unstable programing that holds this game together. So then what’s changed?

Well the biggest change is that the game has now been moved from being built on 32 bit PC architecture to 64 bit PC architecture. Basically the game has access more of the consoles memory than the previous version. Also it isn’t running on the PS3’s cell processor so it functions on a PlayStation console day one. This means the game can support more things on screen without dropping the framerate. A lot of the graphical improvements seen in Fallout 4 have also come to Skyrim like those Volumetric God Rays along with improved water and snow shaders along with plenty of improvements that go beyond my complete understanding. Basically the game looks prettier and runs smoother. Also console mods but I’ll hit on those later.

Sadly some of the little things didn’t make it over. On Xbox 360 there were Kinect voice commands for shouts, sorting, and quick swapping weapons. While I know Xbox has downplayed the Kinect as of late, the PlayStation Camera is still a big deal and I’d have loved to see these come over. At the very least add these sort functions into the item storage. While it seems they automatically sort alphabetically now, but I’d like some options.

Narrative: This isn’t my first trip to Skyrim. I was exploring the snowy mountains and grassy valleys from day one back in 2011. I was so hooked in fact that by the 31st of December I had wrapped up all the base game achievements on the Xbox 360 version of the game. That being said I was only 17 when I first played the game, and despite having played the game before I noticed some things I hadn’t my first go-round.

Firstly with the Civil War. Despite it being a side questline it’s the first thing thrusted into your path as you play the game. In the years preceding the game after the events of the Oblivion Crisis the Worship of the Nordic Divine Talos was banned as part of the White-Gold Concordat, a treaty to end the Great War between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. Skyrim’s people became quite angered by this banning and the Stormcloak Rebellion began when strict enforcement of this law began.

Whether you avoid this side quest line or not the game makes it constantly apparent the divide the war has caused. From the major things like destroyed idols to the little things like locals saying “by the eight” instead of “by the nine” or vice versa depending on where they stand on the worship of Talos and the war. Even if you avoid it entirely there is a late quest in the main quest line where you need to get a temporary truce between the two. Even beyond this there is some political long game that isn’t too hard to follow if you just listen to the dialogue. The only downside to this questline is that there is no way to end things peacefully.

The Thieves Guild is probably the height of the base games narrative chops. It’s a tale of betrayal, secret orders, and deception. I don’t want to spoil things, but every major guild questline ends with you as the leader of the guild so I can say that there is some shaking up of the power structure within the guild.

The Companions Guild is unexpectedly about the supernatural. Spoilers, but the higher ups in the organization are Werewolves. While the younger members of the organization are fine with remaining beasts, the elder leader wants to cure himself of this curse so he can go to Sovngarde instead of Hircine’s Hunting Grounds. It’s not a particularly meaty story, but it is fun.

The Dark Brotherhood is another great story as it’s again about an organization down on its luck. This is the last remain group of the brotherhood in Skyrim and they’ve turned away from following the ways of the Night Mother. That is until the Night Mother’s coffin shows up with the keeper in search of the next Listener, and you’ll never guess who that is. While it’s sadly padded by lesser contracts, the story here is good.

The College of Winterhold is the last major Faction of Skyrim. Its questline is pretty lame. On your first lesson you stumble upon an ancient artifact of immense power and evil McEvil-face wants to use if for evil so you need to stop him. Its direction is always obvious so it’s a super boring story that drags on.

Gameplay Loop: Skyrim is an RPG, but like all games it’s got a loop of actions you’ll be doing. You do quests that eventually lead to dungeons where you’ll obtain a bunch of loot. The loot you’ll then either sell, store, or craft into better loot to sell or store. It’s a simple loop that sadly can go off the rails pretty hard. Once your speech skill gets high enough you’ll need to go from town to town to sell all of your junk because vendors don’t have enough gold to let you simply go to one vendor. And don’t think putting things off is a good idea either. As I type this I’m currently several thousand pounds over encumbered as I ride horses from town to town selling all of the gear I crafted with all of the material I had stored over the past two weeks. This affair can last hours and it really breaks up the action, but storing everything isn’t ideal either. Early on this isn’t much of a problem, but it will become one rather quickly.

RPG Elements: I’m not a super hardcore role playing guy. I turn the difficulty down to super easy and pick the perks I think are useful. If you use a skill it works toward leveling it up. You can’t just spam things without them being in a useful context, but it’s not hard to work the system to your advantage.

Certain skills level well with one another. Wear a mix of light and heavy armor to work on both at once. Conjure your weapons to get some work in both conjuring and the weapon you conjured. Plus you can use a perk to capture souls from people killed with conjured weapons to use for enchanting which you can perform on all of your crafted weapons which you can sell to buy more crafting materials and soul gems while boost your speech skill and oh god it’s an endless cycle.

Combat: As I said I play on easy. That being said due to not just dragons, but how broken stealth is, Archery is ridiculously over powered. Unless you play as certain races, magic in combat is really pointless, and I never found myself using potions. Now it’s true I should probably have the difficulty higher up if I want the challenge, but the thing is I really don’t I’m here to explore a cool world and could care less about the combat.

What’s here can get complicated if you let it, but it’s simple enough to grasp if you are just looking to get past it and explore. You have a lot of options, but as long as you focus on one you’ll be fine.

Dawnguard: Dawnguard is the best worst DLC of all time. Everything about it I should love, but its general lack of polish just kills it for me. Dawnguard triggers at level 10 so you can start it super early on, but once you get started you’ll be dealing with vampires attacking towns and possibly killing NPCs. There are two brand new areas that are super cool, but neither of these areas has an overworld map, meaning you’ll need to navigate them with the crummy local map. These areas also have just a single fast travel point to reach them and then you’ll need to wander from there.

You can become a werewolf again if you’ve cured yourself, but only once, which really sucks because being a werewolf was vastly improved with the DLC. Being a Vampire Lord just isn’t fun. You’re constantly too big to get through doors and changing back requires navigating through the favorites menu, which you’d only be told about if you initially sided with the Vampires as that’s the only way to get a tutorial on being one. Now a large chunk of these were fixed with mods, but the fact that they didn’t think to fix these outright for the Special Edition release is to some degree baffling.

Now let’s get to the positives. The story is great. The plot to end the sun so that vampires can rule is a great idea. The fact that not all vampires are on board with the idea is even cooler. It’s easily the best story in the game. Serana is the best companion in the game, and not just because she’ll constantly do other characters story related animations due to some bug. She’s just a generally cool character. As I said the new areas are super cool. The fact that one locks you out after you’re done unless you’re a vampire lord is incredibly aggravating, but while you’re there it’s awesome. The improvements to being a werewolf make it feel less like a curse and more like a blessing. There is also a new side quest that ties in in no way to the vampire plot line that ends with a choice of 3 unique artifacts.

I seem to be in the minority on the fact that I don’t like this add-on because of its faults, but with all of the polish seen in Dragonborn, it really feels like Dawnguard was rushed out the door way to quickly considering the price tag on the two was the same.

Hearthfire: Hearthfire is the house building expansion. 3 of the holds previously without homes to buy will now sell you plots of land in which to build your own home. While not as elaborate as Fallout 4’s settlement mode, the streamlined aspects work to the benefit of the game. For $5 this was probably the best DLC for Skyrim. As soon as the game starts you can experience the new content. Even if you haven’t built your own house, every house already in the game can now add a children’s room so you can adopt children.

Building houses is a mixed bag. You first build a small house, but after building that you can build a main hall and remodel the small house into an entryway. From here you can add a cellar and 3 wings. Each wing has 3 choices: a tower, a high roofed room, and a room with a rooftop patio. Due to the nature of how construction is handled, combinations are limited. Each wing’s 3 choices can only be one type of room. For instance the East wing will have a library tower, a high roofed kitchen, or a rooftop patio having armory. You can only build one on that east wing and you can’t build one of these in a different shape or on one of the other 3 wings. Now with 3 plots you can get all 3 wings built between your houses, but it’s not ideal.

Each plot has its unique items. For instance one home has the choice of a fish hatchery and another your own personal beehive. Slowly building up your own homestead as you play is fun, but it’s the internal furnishing that is the problem. You can choose to blindly build your way down the list, but the game doesn’t show where the item will be built and in some cases if it locks out another choice. You can’t delete things once built so when you build the wrong table or put a Dragon Skull where you wanted a Dwarven Centurion you need to either reload or you’re shit out of luck.

Dragonborn: Dragonborn brings the players to a small island off the coast of Morrowind where the original Dragonborn, Miraak, has plans to return to Tamriel. The plot involves a Daedric plain and of course dragons as you seek a way to stop Miraak.

The new area is massive. It’s roughly half the size of Skyrim, but I’m not actually doing any math. Problem is it has about as many interesting points as Fallout 4, which is very few. Quests are mostly concentrated in the main town you dock in with a handful of other quests originating in one other small town and a research area. It’s also a very barren map as it needs to keep the same feel as Morrowind which means a barren environment. There are trees and stuff, but it doesn’t feel as varied as Skyrim.

Dragonborn is a big add-on, and it’s certainly worth the $20 it cost at launch, but it being a separate continent really makes it feel separate from the rest of the world. It is both literally and figuratively a separate thing.

Mods: I have this game on PS4. Mod support is fine. You aren’t going to get certain things which sucks, but its fine. I spent about an hour playing as a Skeleton before I got bored. On PC I’m sure mods are great, but without the ability to go crazy with the size, mods are just mods. What I want is essentially unofficial DLC and I don’t think we will see that anytime soon.