» Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:34 am
Well, I was pondering this question yesterday. I actually read the in-game book Disaster at Ionith (the one about the Empire's failed invasion of Akavir) and I thought "Hmmm, that would make a good expansion, being Dragonborn and all".
So here are my ideas of what I would like to see in any upcoming DLC/Expansion:
1. The ability to own more than just a house and maybe recieve a bit of power...
It could just be me, but there's this whole province which you know first hand is a VAST, wild and untamed land and the only part of it you can truly call your own is a house safe inside the walls of a city. Well, I say that is crap. The Orcs have strongholds throughout Skyrim, the Blades have Sky Haven, the Dark Brotherhood has their sanctuary, the Thieves Guild has the Ratway and the Nightingale placey thingy (haven't done those quests yet) and you get a house. With one (fairly useless at times) Housecarl. And the houses are money sinks but they don't really do much after you spend that money, they just look a lot prettier. You get a couple chests, depending on where you live, to put stuff in, an alchemists table, an ecnhantment table (in some places) and a place to hang some swords and some armour... But they don't make you any money. If you get married, your wife (or husband) starts her own little shop which makes a 100 Septim profit a day (I believe, as I got married, left her at home to go do some exploring, came back a few weeks later and she handed me 2300 septims) but you can't really own anything that makes money hands off. Brotherhood's gotta kill his own quarry, thieve's gotta steal, companions gotta go kill sutff, as do the blades...ugh!
So, I would suggest, that the Dragonborn be able to buy a farm. Those who own the farm can still work it but any profits go to you (say 100 septims a day, like your spouse's shop). If you happen to buy a few, then hey, hey it's pay day! Perhaps farming's not your thing? How about owning a mine? A small one that you can pay an NPC prospector to enhance, making the mine bigger and featuring more varying sorts of ores as you progress until your mine is the biggest, most profitable mine in all of Skyrim?
Still not enticing enough? How about when combined with the added benefit of being given Helgen? Obviously it's in need of some major renovations (the coin for which can be provided by the farms and/or mine and any other source of income you have). The walls would have to be fortified, the clutter cleared and the houses rebuilt. Then you need to attract some villagers, including Helgen survivors. A hunter's lodge, an inn, a smithy, a few specialised shops, a general trader and the guard barracks must all be built or rebuilt (the barracks can perhaps be populated by Stormcloaks, the Legion or randomly generated mercenaries found in other inns across Skyrim and hired (separate to the followers, which you could also employ) or maybe even the Blades themselves can be convinced to do it so that they can garrison the Dragonborn's new stronghold? And maybe a mage or two, like J'zhargo (for example)...he likes money, power and recognition. So pesky drgaons not only have to contend with archers but also a mage that will run to the top of his tower (the one you take shelter in at the start of Skyrim rebuilt to act as a mage's sanctuary) and cast high level destruciton spells at the offending reptile whenever they decide to strike. (I know there is a WIP mod or two aimed at reviving Helgen, I'm just using it as an example because it's already in game, the area doesn't need to be entirely remodelled which a piece of "spare" terrain would be).
So you've bought some farms, you've bought a mine, you've revived a destroyed town that is the only place in all Skyrim that can claim is governed by the Dragonborn. It is protected by a formidable garrison. It has access to a mage (who can enchant), a smith and some traders. And it makes money (a contribution from the inn, smith and traders used to pay the taxes, the guards and you as it's Dragonborn leader). Mission accomplished? Not quite yet. Representitives from the major guilds need to be enticed into the town. An assassin, a thief, a warrior and a mage (the mage I mentioned above). You could use the assassin to take out bandit leaders on your behalf when you get given the bounty by a Hold. The thief could be used to obtain a specific item you require (such as hard-to-get items you either have to make yourself or find) or to sell off a large amount of items you have (offload them to the thief, they go to a fence, sell off the items bring you back the gold minus their cut) and the warrior can be used to find and kill trolls or other monsters that are randomly generated missions occuring at your stronghold.
2. The Thalmor invasion of Akavir
Akavir has featured in many books and mentioned many times throughout Morrowind, Oblivion and even moreso in Skyrim but it has never been a place to which the player could go. The Thalmor have different ideas and invaded Akavir, confident in their powerful magicks. Dragons, Dovah, are a race from Akavir. Almost all destroyed - such as the Red Dragons claimed to have been eaten by the Tsaeci - a few flights still exist in hard to reach, out of the way places. In the face of the Thalmor threat, the surviving races of Akavir (Tsaeci, Kamal, Po'Tun or Ka'Po'Tun and the Tang Mo) wish to make peace with the Dovah so as to face a threat united. Naturally, the dragons, having been hunted by these races since before the formation of the Cyrodiilic Empire are extremely hesitant. They require the Dragonborn to convince them otherwise. Ohdaviing would be able to be called in to assist, acting as a mediator and translator. As Akavir is a contient filled with at least 4 different kingdoms, it would need to be as big as the Shivering Isles was (as a minimum) to portray this. Because the dragons reside high up in mountains where it is hard to get to their roosts, a flying mount may be required. Only slightly faster than a standard horse (to assist with terrain generation times) and could range from a Pegasus, Gryphon, Chimaera or even simply a large bird and finish with a Drake (a smaller, younger dragon no bigger than a horse) that can assist you in combat with fire or frost breath (when dismounted) as well as transport you and can be summoned to you when required, leaving you when told to. You could even bring it back to Skyrim... Akavir would only be accessible via the port of Solitude.
3. Being able to stable your horse
Major content out of the way, I cannot remember the number of times I left a horse at a stable and fast travelled somewhere and was attacked by an enemy and my horse started attacking before I did. Horses aren't supposed to fight unless directly attacked, my horses rush in worse than an orc with a warhammer and usually die, leaving me the tedious task of going to but another one at the cost of 1000 septims. You should be able to rock up to the stables and pay the stable-hand 15 septims a day to keep your horse so if you're in a town and you're fast travelling around the Hold doing quests and you don't want your horse to follow you and possibly die. 15 septims a day a bit much? If you're going to stay for a while and you know it, organise it in advance. The more days you stay, the less gold overall you get charged.
4. Book a room at an inn.
In line with stabling your horse, if you intend on staying in a particular town for a while and you don't want the hassle of going through dialogue every 24 hours to get a bed, pay for the room in advance. The more days you intend to stay, the better the discount. 1 day = 10 septims, 5 days = 40 septims, a month = 200 septims. While the room is yours, you're free to use the chest in there for storage. If your time runs out, the innkeep can charge a fee for retrieving your items before you are allowed to book the room again.
5. Bring back the arena!
Doesn't have to be big, doesn't have to be flashy but a ring in which you or someone you employ can be pitted against another NPC or creature in a fight to the death is a must! Earn a bit of gold, bet on a match, watch the carnage... Would have to be run by the Thieve's Guild, they could use the distraction to rob people while they watch the matches... Also, boxing matches in the inns in towns. Step it up a notch, challenge a patron to a fist fight, go outside and beat each other senseless. Get more gold from bystanders who bet on who wins or loses.
6. Crafting arrows (and the lesser bows)
The longbow. The hunting bow. Arrows of all kinds. These are among the things you must find or buy but cannot craft. Um...why!? Firewood plus leather straps (2) = longbow. Firewood plus leather, plus leather straps (2) = hunting bow. Firewood plus steel ingot, plus leather, plus leather straps (2) = Imperial bow. Firewood plus iron ingot = iron arrows. Firewood plus steel ingot = steel arrows. Daedra heart plus ebony ingot plus firewood = daedric arrows... Just a suggestion.
7. More daedra to summon.
A familiar i.e. spirit wolf, a dremora and the flame, frost andf storm atronachs? That's it? How about making the standard Familair the Lesser Familiar and making a Bear the Greater Familiar? Where's the Scamps at? The Spider Daedra? The Daedroth? Where they at? Also, perhaps as a perk for helping out the daedra, why not be able to enter their daedric realm? Doesn't have to be big, maybe the size of Mankar Camoran's Paradise or even smaller, a place where you can go to...remove yourself from the woes of Mundus... Complete with daedric alchemical ingredients and you being among a handful of people able to enter oblivion. Even after the Oblivion Crisis two centuries ago.
8. The Revenge of the Fallen
No, no autobots or decepticons this time around. The Draugr are pretty cool. Used to worship Dragons. Now their undead. If you wish to be a member of the Darkest of Dark Arts, submitting yourself to the teachings of the long since dead Dragon Cults, you can learn to summon the varying levels of Draugr. Perhaps, as you progress, the Draugr in crypts begin to leave you alone, starting of with the lower echelons and then working up through the Restless Dragur, the Wights, Overlords, Deathlords etc. until the only Draugr who bother you (unless provoked I might add) are the Dragon Priests. And then you have the ability to become a Dragon Priest yourself...able to summon your very own undead, Thu'um wielding bodyguard...
Wow, that's pretty long in retrospect. That might cover the next 2 expansions. Heh heh heh... Thanks for reading, even though it was WAY longer than I thought.