Please consider endorsing, voting or just drop a comment down below! My mods will always be free.
What about the Dawnguard? I originally planned for an alternate path, much like the original DLC. However, it would've been pretty straightforward, given the nature of "go here, kill vampires" and naturally, missed out on all the great, character-focused stuff on the Volkihar side of things.
Plus the mod itself is already massive... this is the biggest and most ambitious project I've ever undertaken and I'm pretty happy with the result. It has some of my best work. I did plan to roll some of the ideas from the Dawnguard path into bonus side quest content, back to work alongside the original plot involving Harkon, but that also got scrapped.
I have no plans to add to the Dawnguard further. Neither VTM or this mod were ever focused on combat.
Where do I go after starting the mod? The boss room/cathedral area where you fought Harkon.
Why can't I use my weapons/spells inside hub areas? This is deliberate and something that most RPGs do. It's to avoid the jank of aggroing essential NPCs and then they continue as if nothing happened. If you find on exiting the hub areas that your weapons are still disabled, it's likely that followers have pushed you out of the way of the trigger to reenable them. Just step back towards the door.
I'm stuck on the riddle. Where can I find the keys? Riddles are cryptic and use metaphor, it would undermine the whole point if you're just told where to go. As Yashim mentions, check in with the others, specifically Pallas and Lilith, who provide hints about the locations for line one and three respectively. As for line two, think about the significance of that number in Elder Scrolls and the type of region that could be referring to.
Does Serana feature in this at all? Yes. I used splicing from her original lines to create new dialogue. She has relevance for those keeping her on as a follower.
Does it require a new save? Nope. So long as you meet the requirements mentioned in the description, you can start it at any time. The mod is entirely independent from the rest of the game.
Is this compatible with [insert every mod in existence here]? Please stop.
I am running preetty heavy modlist so idk what might be causing it but was curious if anyone else had exprienced crashing as of the "speak with yashim" at the end of "dreams of an ancient" during the loading screen where you would get teleported to the next zone. if so i was curious if anyone knew of a fix.
Tis a great mod, but I'm stuck on the second quest and from the looks of it there's nothing I can actually do to fix it meaning I can't actually play the rest of the mod.
- finally get to start this mod after getting through the mess that's Dawnguard - new unfamiliar NPC just waltzes into the castle. Murders. Garan. Marethi. And casually assumes he'll be taking his place, despite giving barely any info about himself. - the options I'm given in response to that amount to "ok, don't care", "sucks for him lol" and "not cool, but whatever" - quit and uninstall
I understand the intent, but... really? This is possibly the worst way you could introduce a character that's meant to be essential to your questline. And it appears he WILL be essential to the questline, with the dialogue options suggesting I MUST be okay with him being here. Guess I might try this later with a character specifically built to take this sort of thing well... Just hoping I won't discover another NPC that's become important to my character (which tends to happen when a mod requires a whole DLC to be completed beforehand) suddenly dead with no option to be angry about it. Sigh.
Nowhere close to being done with this mod yet, but, I gotta say, wow. Of the Quest mods I've played, this is definitely up there in terms of sheer quality output and polishing. The writing comes off as professional, and its refreshing to see a new take on the Volkihar beyond their unapologeticly evil portrayal in the base game. While its too early for me to give this a proper review, this is turning out to be a new favorite of mine.
The shift in tone from Bethesda's Volikhar to Old Blood's is obvious the second you meet the first two new NPCs. You're top dog of the clan now, and, especially with Auriel's Bow and Serana's blood at your disposal, the vampire world in Skyrim wants in on a piece of your pie. You're renown among the creatures of the night for being the guy to kill Harkon, and its made abundantly clear through all the various vampires you come across that you're someone who can't be ignored; whether they're amazed by you, try not to care about you, or just want to stay on your good side, the mod doesn't hesitate in respecting your character's actions in toppling Harkon than the base game ever did.
Though the mod quickly leaves most of the original cast of Castle Volkihar in the dust - not that the original Dawnguard DLC gave you much reason to care for them - the new NPCs it provides and the interactions you have with them scratch an itch that's been on the back of my mind for years: why can't we interact more with the rest of our evil vampire faction? Politics and meeting new fellow vampires are key aspects of the mod (thus far), and it really feels like you're finally delving further into the underworld of Skyrim's vampires.
The mod offers new revelations on the aftermath of your actions following Dawnguard, the least of which being your encounter with the final two living Snow Elves. In this sense, and with how well it builds off the original storyline, it truly feels like as genuine a Dawnguard epilogue we could ever get - on the vampire side, that is.
With that said, there's a few things I wish we were given more clans, or at least names of them, to learn about. We meet the Drelk and Lumaris, both of whom are introduced in this mod, in-person, and its not long after that the plot starts to kick in properly. While I'm all for ancient secrets being unraveled, I was expecting the storyline to focus more on the political side of things - not that this is a bad thing, mind. On the topic of the clans, so far we have Drelk and Lumaris feeling very morally black-and-light-gray respectively. That said, Drelk seems to at least SOMEWHAT care for one another, which is more than I can say for anyone in Volkihar in the base game, so still a massive improvement. While I have nothing at all against vampires being just plain evil - honestly, we need more of that in today's writing sphere - I do hope I get to see more of Drelk fleshed out later.
Serana also got a nice bit of attention, though it feels more slapped on than a natural part of the mod. Serana's involvement boils down to your character having the chance to ask for her thoughts on the current objective and asking for her insight on a new development. While an NPC might talk about her here and there, no one will have anything to say to the daughter of Lord Harkon standing right in front of them. While I dont care too much about Serana, it definitely feels like a missed opportunity. That said, with how her spliced lines came out, it was probably for the best - and I don't imagine the author has the time nor money to invest in an AI voice or hire an actor (Serana Dialogue Add-On crossover sometime maybe?).
While I dont think the riddles are nearly as bad as some comments make them out to be - really, having a good understanding of this 10+ year old map will go a long ways - I do think they could be made to be clearer. The third one I figured out in minutes, while the second I was able to narrow down what and who the riddle was talking about but not the where. Without spoiling too much, using "something to do with Cyrodil" and the number Nine as hints don't really specify where to go when the entire continent is at war over those two things. I haven't gone looking for the first hint's location yet - its a work night and its almost 1am as I type this lol - but I think I have an idea as to where to go.
Speaking of comments, I didn't have any issue with being locked out from using my weapons in the specified hubs. Sure, its pretty jarring to not be able to just go off-script on a whim and kill everything in sight in a Bethesda game, but considering how many older RPGs have done this, its not bad at all. In fact, I'd prefer safety precautions like this instead of everything feeling janky like the developer has to account for the player potentially getting bored and going on a killing spree.
Overall, I'm really loving what I've seen so far. This mod alone made me pick up my old Vampire Lord save I had effectively retired, and now I can't stop playing it. The NPCs calling into question how you'll use the bow and emphasizing the importance of not going wild like Harkon in turn makes me want to play more carefully too. Of course, a massive shoutout goes to the VAs too - Yashim is for certain a huge favorite so far. Incredibly stellar job, and Im looking forward to the rest of the mod.
Cheers, appreciate the response. I just finished the mod about an hour ago (most of it, anyhow, I think), loved the final sequence. I did have a couple comments/questions as I collect my final thoughts on the storyline.
1. Starting the final quest and approaching Blackreach, it says that I failed a certain side quest. Looking it up, it apparently had something to do with Aurora, and it gets locked after the assault on the castle. Would the completion of this quest had impacted the ending at all? I think it was the only side quest I missed since I couldnt find her location for the longest time
2. Is there more to do beyond revisiting the prior hubs after the completion of Awakening? Yashim mentioned the existence of a traitor, and the journal entry has a line about "enjoying a few nights of respite without the next earth-shattering revelation being dropped at my feet"; I can't tell if I'm reading too much into it or if its game-speak for "Wait a bit and maybe something will happen?"
3. Running through Blackreach with the rest of the new-Volkihar vampires was probably my favorite part of the mod. Just running through the underground with your goons got me pumped up for the finale more than anything else. Also, having both the PC and transform at the same time was peak. My only regret is being so insanely busted that the fight was still a cakewalk LOL. I can also see where the V:TM inspiration came from; the entire twist and ending may as well wear it on its sleeve. Definitely worked into the storyline's favor and plays into the hateful nature of Vyrthur very well.
4. Also, my other favorite part was going back to the Forgotten Vale to check in on the remnants of Lumaris. At first I was a little put off by them, but they soon became my favorite characters in the mod. Myrrin's fate actually affected me, which is more than I can say for almost every NPC in vanilla Skyrim. On the note of the Lumaris, can Neva and the Lumaris recruit who was struggling the most with his bloodthirst (I forgot his name lol) still be found in the overworld? I assume it was intentional to leave their fates up to interpretation, but I just wanted to make sure
Overall, while I think some elements of the mod could've been fleshed out more (i.e. what was Myrrin's origins? why couldn't Eiva change her disposition of Volkihar in the ending after having dealt with two of Drelk's crazed runaways?), I did really enjoy this mod and consider it a must-have for anyone doing a Volkihar playthrough
It's too bad that modding is beyond my capabilities because someone needs to have a Dawnguard-centric sequel, this is around the second or third Volkihar-centric sequel someone has made. ("Son of Coldharbor" is the other one I can think of.) Other mods have offered minor sequels (artifact hunting for the most part) to the Dawnguard, but nothing of the seeming depth or ambition that we've seen for the bad guys.
I agree!! A Dawnguard sequel mod would be perfect!! Like you can continue their mission of hunting vampires, maybe a new clan of vampires that has ties with The Volkihar Clan and Morvarth.
56 comments
My mods will always be free.
What about the Dawnguard?
I originally planned for an alternate path, much like the original DLC. However, it would've been pretty straightforward, given the nature of "go here, kill vampires" and naturally, missed out on all the great, character-focused stuff on the Volkihar side of things.
Plus the mod itself is already massive... this is the biggest and most ambitious project I've ever undertaken and I'm pretty happy with the result. It has some of my best work. I did plan to roll some of the ideas from the Dawnguard path into bonus side quest content, back to work alongside the original plot involving Harkon, but that also got scrapped.
I have no plans to add to the Dawnguard further. Neither VTM or this mod were ever focused on combat.
Where do I go after starting the mod?
The boss room/cathedral area where you fought Harkon.
Why can't I use my weapons/spells inside hub areas?
This is deliberate and something that most RPGs do. It's to avoid the jank of aggroing essential NPCs and then they continue as if nothing happened. If you find on exiting the hub areas that your weapons are still disabled, it's likely that followers have pushed you out of the way of the trigger to reenable them. Just step back towards the door.
I'm stuck on the riddle. Where can I find the keys?
Riddles are cryptic and use metaphor, it would undermine the whole point if you're just told where to go. As Yashim mentions, check in with the others, specifically Pallas and Lilith, who provide hints about the locations for line one and three respectively. As for line two, think about the significance of that number in Elder Scrolls and the type of region that could be referring to.
Does Serana feature in this at all?
Yes. I used splicing from her original lines to create new dialogue. She has relevance for those keeping her on as a follower.
Does it require a new save?
Nope. So long as you meet the requirements mentioned in the description, you can start it at any time. The mod is entirely independent from the rest of the game.
Is this compatible with [insert every mod in existence here]?
Please stop.
Want to make mods like this?
Here's a step-by-step tutorial, from getting your idea down
to a finished product with voice acting and scripts.
- new unfamiliar NPC just waltzes into the castle. Murders. Garan. Marethi. And casually assumes he'll be taking his place, despite giving barely any info about himself.
- the options I'm given in response to that amount to "ok, don't care", "sucks for him lol" and "not cool, but whatever"
- quit and uninstall
I understand the intent, but... really? This is possibly the worst way you could introduce a character that's meant to be essential to your questline. And it appears he WILL be essential to the questline, with the dialogue options suggesting I MUST be okay with him being here. Guess I might try this later with a character specifically built to take this sort of thing well... Just hoping I won't discover another NPC that's become important to my character (which tends to happen when a mod requires a whole DLC to be completed beforehand) suddenly dead with no option to be angry about it. Sigh.
The shift in tone from Bethesda's Volikhar to Old Blood's is obvious the second you meet the first two new NPCs. You're top dog of the clan now, and, especially with Auriel's Bow and Serana's blood at your disposal, the vampire world in Skyrim wants in on a piece of your pie. You're renown among the creatures of the night for being the guy to kill Harkon, and its made abundantly clear through all the various vampires you come across that you're someone who can't be ignored; whether they're amazed by you, try not to care about you, or just want to stay on your good side, the mod doesn't hesitate in respecting your character's actions in toppling Harkon than the base game ever did.
Though the mod quickly leaves most of the original cast of Castle Volkihar in the dust - not that the original Dawnguard DLC gave you much reason to care for them - the new NPCs it provides and the interactions you have with them scratch an itch that's been on the back of my mind for years: why can't we interact more with the rest of our evil vampire faction? Politics and meeting new fellow vampires are key aspects of the mod (thus far), and it really feels like you're finally delving further into the underworld of Skyrim's vampires.
The mod offers new revelations on the aftermath of your actions following Dawnguard, the least of which being your encounter with the final two living Snow Elves. In this sense, and with how well it builds off the original storyline, it truly feels like as genuine a Dawnguard epilogue we could ever get - on the vampire side, that is.
With that said, there's a few things I wish we were given more clans, or at least names of them, to learn about. We meet the Drelk and Lumaris, both of whom are introduced in this mod, in-person, and its not long after that the plot starts to kick in properly. While I'm all for ancient secrets being unraveled, I was expecting the storyline to focus more on the political side of things - not that this is a bad thing, mind. On the topic of the clans, so far we have Drelk and Lumaris feeling very morally black-and-light-gray respectively. That said, Drelk seems to at least SOMEWHAT care for one another, which is more than I can say for anyone in Volkihar in the base game, so still a massive improvement. While I have nothing at all against vampires being just plain evil - honestly, we need more of that in today's writing sphere - I do hope I get to see more of Drelk fleshed out later.
Serana also got a nice bit of attention, though it feels more slapped on than a natural part of the mod. Serana's involvement boils down to your character having the chance to ask for her thoughts on the current objective and asking for her insight on a new development. While an NPC might talk about her here and there, no one will have anything to say to the daughter of Lord Harkon standing right in front of them. While I dont care too much about Serana, it definitely feels like a missed opportunity. That said, with how her spliced lines came out, it was probably for the best - and I don't imagine the author has the time nor money to invest in an AI voice or hire an actor (Serana Dialogue Add-On crossover sometime maybe?).
While I dont think the riddles are nearly as bad as some comments make them out to be - really, having a good understanding of this 10+ year old map will go a long ways - I do think they could be made to be clearer. The third one I figured out in minutes, while the second I was able to narrow down what and who the riddle was talking about but not the where. Without spoiling too much, using "something to do with Cyrodil" and the number Nine as hints don't really specify where to go when the entire continent is at war over those two things. I haven't gone looking for the first hint's location yet - its a work night and its almost 1am as I type this lol - but I think I have an idea as to where to go.
Speaking of comments, I didn't have any issue with being locked out from using my weapons in the specified hubs. Sure, its pretty jarring to not be able to just go off-script on a whim and kill everything in sight in a Bethesda game, but considering how many older RPGs have done this, its not bad at all. In fact, I'd prefer safety precautions like this instead of everything feeling janky like the developer has to account for the player potentially getting bored and going on a killing spree.
Overall, I'm really loving what I've seen so far. This mod alone made me pick up my old Vampire Lord save I had effectively retired, and now I can't stop playing it. The NPCs calling into question how you'll use the bow and emphasizing the importance of not going wild like Harkon in turn makes me want to play more carefully too. Of course, a massive shoutout goes to the VAs too - Yashim is for certain a huge favorite so far. Incredibly stellar job, and Im looking forward to the rest of the mod.
1. Starting the final quest and approaching Blackreach, it says that I failed a certain side quest. Looking it up, it apparently had something to do with Aurora, and it gets locked after the assault on the castle. Would the completion of this quest had impacted the ending at all? I think it was the only side quest I missed since I couldnt find her location for the longest time
2. Is there more to do beyond revisiting the prior hubs after the completion of Awakening? Yashim mentioned the existence of a traitor, and the journal entry has a line about "enjoying a few nights of respite without the next earth-shattering revelation being dropped at my feet"; I can't tell if I'm reading too much into it or if its game-speak for "Wait a bit and maybe something will happen?"
3. Running through Blackreach with the rest of the new-Volkihar vampires was probably my favorite part of the mod. Just running through the underground with your goons got me pumped up for the finale more than anything else. Also, having both the PC and transform at the same time was peak. My only regret is being so insanely busted that the fight was still a cakewalk LOL. I can also see where the V:TM inspiration came from; the entire twist and ending may as well wear it on its sleeve. Definitely worked into the storyline's favor and plays into the hateful nature of Vyrthur very well.
4. Also, my other favorite part was going back to the Forgotten Vale to check in on the remnants of Lumaris. At first I was a little put off by them, but they soon became my favorite characters in the mod. Myrrin's fate actually affected me, which is more than I can say for almost every NPC in vanilla Skyrim. On the note of the Lumaris, can Neva and the Lumaris recruit who was struggling the most with his bloodthirst (I forgot his name lol) still be found in the overworld? I assume it was intentional to leave their fates up to interpretation, but I just wanted to make sure
Overall, while I think some elements of the mod could've been fleshed out more (i.e. what was Myrrin's origins? why couldn't Eiva change her disposition of Volkihar in the ending after having dealt with two of Drelk's crazed runaways?), I did really enjoy this mod and consider it a must-have for anyone doing a Volkihar playthrough
If anyone's aware of one, please let me know.
This, 100%.