Dawnguard - Are we going to Coldharbour? : The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 2:41 pm

I wanted to post this here since the vast majority over in the V forum wouldn't understand half this gibberish...

Dawnguard is obviously centered around vampires, who are the children of Molag Bal. In the trailer, not only do we see his shrine... we see a portal type thingamajig, and what appears to be some sort of nether world (or maybe the sky just looks funny?), and with coldharbour/Bal having a certain influence in TES:O...

Could the plot be about a vampire cult conspiring with their daedric father to destroy the sun? Are we going to coldharbour?!

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:22 pm

In Coldharbour, the sky is on fire.
In the realm in the trailer, the sky is dark and clouded.
So I don't think it's Coldharbour, though I don't know what it is.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 11:00 am

The place looks more like Quagmire to me, Vaernima's realm of nightmares, and lightning causing twists in reality. Coldharbor is said to be freezing and barren with a sky of fire, while the "netherworld" in the video looks more ghastly and nightmarish. The new creature designs to fit that as well.

Vaernima does have some association with vampires. When you get the cure in Morrowind, Molag Bal has to get it from Vaernima first. It'll be interesting if the DLC expands on her relationship with vampires.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:19 pm

That shot where the sun gets blotted out is clearly Dragonsreach. Since Coldharbour is supposed to be a dark reflection of Tamriel, it might be it. The landscape certainly is freezing and barren.

On a note, wouldn't a sky of fire be harmful to vampires? Or is their weakness to fire just a gameplay thing?

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:57 pm

On a note, wouldn't a sky of fire be harmful to vampires? Or is their weakness to fire just a gameplay thing?

It is not like the vampires are going to fly around and touch the flame clouds. Their weakness to fire is a lore thing too. Yet I am ahving trouble understanding if Molag Bal even has any love for his own creation. Sure, he hooked the Neverine up with a cure but only because he wanted you to kill his daughter. Coldharbour is a place of suffering, for those who go there voluntarily or involuntarily and the victims are stuffed in charnel house.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:02 pm

We give Bethesda too much credit.

I think that it's a separate realm formed by the vampires; yeah, a pocket-sized undead realm of Oblivion.

If only because Coldharbour/Quagmire would be too facinating

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 12:49 pm

Maybe. But.

KARSTAAG couple seconds after the vampire lord reveal. Oh. Em. Gee.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:26 am

-------THE SOUL CAIRN -------

-------The Ideal Masters-------

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 1:20 pm

That shot where the sun gets blotted out is clearly Dragonsreach. Since Coldharbour is supposed to be a dark reflection of Tamriel, it might be it. The landscape certainly is freezing and barren.

On a note, wouldn't a sky of fire be harmful to vampires? Or is their weakness to fire just a gameplay thing?

The idea is that the real Tamriel loses its sun.

Maybe. But.

KARSTAAG couple seconds after the vampire lord reveal. Oh. Em. Gee.

And it was just a generic Frost Giant, I'm sure.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 4:51 pm

The idea is that the real Tamriel loses its sun.

And it was just a generic Frost Giant, I'm sure.

I thought Karstaag was implied to be the name of the race, not just that one giant.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:22 pm

We give Bethesda too much credit.

I think that it's a separate realm formed by the vampires; yeah, a pocket-sized undead realm of Oblivion.

If only because Coldharbour/Quagmire would be too facinating

The vampires had to hide in an Outer Realm due to Magnus' overpowering influence on Mundus. However, due to the nature of the Arena, they desire a takeover of Mundus.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:01 pm

The vampires had to hide in an Outer Realm due to Magnus' overpowering influence on Mundus. However, due to the nature of the Arena, they desire a takeover of Mundus.

If this was canon, I'd be happy.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:31 pm

I thought Karstaag was implied to be the name of the race, not just that one giant.

I always assumed Karstaag was the name of that particular giant, not the race. But i dont think it completely specified which one it was.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:39 am

I always assumed Karstaag was the name of that particular giant, not the race. But i dont think it completely specified which one it was.

MK's "The Five Hundred Mighty Companions or thereabouts of Ysgramor the Returned" mentions "Karstaag-men" at several points, indicating that Karstaag is in fact a name for a particular type of creature and not simply the name of one particular boss from Bloodmoon.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:09 pm

The Karstaag could be going the way of the Uderfrykte.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:36 am

We give Bethesda too much credit.

I think that it's a separate realm formed by the vampires; yeah, a pocket-sized undead realm of Oblivion.

If only because Coldharbour/Quagmire would be too facinating

Or maybe they just want to save the Daedric Realms for bigger, later expansions? :/

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:18 pm

What if its not so much of blocking the sun as its merging or atleast connecting Tamriel to Coldharbour?

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:06 pm

I am quite sure that it is now Quagmire or at least a section of the realm. It has the distinct feeling of twisting horror, Vaermina's sphere.

Oh! an interesting thought has just come to mind: Vaermina could of been an aedric et'ada originally, perhaps under the guise of a single atmoran god.
If this was so, Opusculus Lamae Bal tells of the Et'Ada's influenced corruption (think of Attrebus Mede's story of Trinimac corruption in Lord of Souls).

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:37 pm

What if its not so much of blocking the sun as its merging or atleast connecting Tamriel to Coldharbour?

That's TESO.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:35 am

It is not like the vampires are going to fly around and touch the flame clouds. Their weakness to fire is a lore thing too. Yet I am ahving trouble understanding if Molag Bal even has any love for his own creation. Sure, he hooked the Neverine up with a cure but only because he wanted you to kill his daughter. Coldharbour is a place of suffering, for those who go there voluntarily or involuntarily and the victims are stuffed in charnel house.

The King of [NUMINIT] not loving his creations?

Color me surprised.

When I first saw the screenshot of the shrine, I thought "Vaermina". Which is okay. Kind of interesting to see how Molag Bal's children seem to have spent a hefty chunk of their time seeking "new fathers": Clavicus Vile for the subterfuge, maybe Vaermina for the "Holy crap I can turn into a Batmonsterdemon!"?

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 12:47 pm

The King of [NUMINIT] not loving his creations?

When I first saw the screenshot of the shrine, I thought "Vaermina". Which is okay. Kind of interesting to see how Molag Bal's children seem to have spent a hefty chunk of their time seeking "new fathers": Clavicus Vile for the subterfuge, maybe Vaermina for the "Holy crap I can turn into a Batmonsterdemon!"?

The hell is Numinit?

The Shrine might just be related to Molag Bal after all. We can see the insignia of Molag Bal on the Vampire Lord's http://www.egmnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/skyrim-dawnguard.jpg, and also a similar http://loudmouthedgamers.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/skyrim-dawnguard.png. Let me make it clear that the http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/8/88167/2059957-2011_11_15_00001.jpg has a similar skeletal marking

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:32 am

Just because they worship Molag Bal doesn't mean the portal will lead to his realm. I highly doubt we go to Coldharbour. I wish I could better express this doubt. I doubt it so much that it actually hurts to post about it.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:29 pm

Just because they worship Molag Bal doesn't mean the portal will lead to his realm. I highly doubt we go to Coldharbour. I wish I could better express this doubt. I doubt it so much that it actually hurts to post about it.

Maybe not, since the geography is completely different from his realm. It could just be the Soul Cairn as most of us believe, or some vampire afterlife.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 12:17 pm

I don't know if vampires would even want to go to Coldharbour. I don't think anybody ever wants to go there. Just seems like a... hellhole.

And what initially made me think Soul Cairn was when he said "on the souls of the living.... and the dead" just as the portal was opened and then it showed a realm of death. And in the video you can clearly see an ethereal ghost standing underneath one of those thunder towers.

» Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:05 pm

I would assume it would be the Evergloam if it weren't for the fact Vampires and Nocturnal aren't related.