Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-120.28.157.86-20140406014559/@comment-31190783-20170302185743

Blademaster Jauffre wrote:

BadWolf1677 wrote: I've decided its all about your character build.

My current character build is an orphaned half dunmer (mother side)/half imperial (father side) from Cyrodiil. Father was conscripted into the Empire army during the Great War and is currently missing in action. Mother was killed during a Thalmor raid. She is currently in Skyrim following up on a lead that her father was transferred to the legion there. She holds the Empire responsible for the loss of her parents. While she hasn't fully sided with the Stormcloaks (yet?), she is definitely a sympathizer. There are a few things with the second one that I don't get.

1. If the Thalmor killed her mother, she should know that an independent Skyrim that goes to war with the Dominion is bound to get destroyed, shouldn't she side with the Empire, and try to wait until it has recovered enough strenght?

2. If her father is in the Legion, why would she join the Stormcloaks? That would mean she could be ordered to kill her father and vice-versa. Not to forget that her fellow Stormcloaks might also run into him and kill him. Wouldn't it be better if she and her father stood side by side? Your comments are appreciated. It is still a work in process, with a few holes. I'm also trying to make sure that the back story fits lore. So I'm thinking the story goes something like this...

Mother (Dunmer mage) was a special envoy to Cyrodiil from the Dunmer Great House Telvanni. She falls in love with a peasant Imperial. They get married, she gets shunned because of the Telvanni lack of respect for everybody else. They have a daughter (my character Nightwish Maidenblade - grows up to be a Nightblade/Spellsword). Father conscripted against his will into the Imperial army for the Great War (think one of those sappy flashbacks where the 3 year old barely remembers father being drug off to war, running after him crying, etc.). Mother killed in raid. The Telvanni refuse to accept Nightwish because she is a half breed, Father's family was wiped out in the same raid. So, she grows up in an orphanage run by the Empire military. All the orphans are taught to drill and combat skills so that if they are not adopted, they are conscripted into army when they reach the age of adulthood. Being Dunmer/Imperial she easily learns one-handed combat and is naturally gifted in most of the disciplines of Magika. Nightwish runs away shortly before she is to be conscripted. Following a lead that her Father's legion may have been transferred to Skyrim after the Great War, she heads to Skyrim. She also plans to attend the College of Winterhold because she wants to refine her skills in Conjuration and Destruction. While crossing the boarder into Skyrim, she is arrested, taken to Helgen...

So...I was thinking she has plenty of reasons to resent the Empire - Father taken away against his will and now lost, blames Empire for not protecting from invading Thalmor, bad experiences growing up in military orphanage, and she is now considered a deserter for running away. Then there is that whole beheading thing in Helgen, which is just icing on the cake. I also think that by leaving Helgen with  Ralof, she ingratiates herself to the Stormcloaks, who are willing to overlook her race and accept her into their ranks.

I'm not convinced that she would join the Stormcloaks, which is why I indicated she is a sympathizer, but hadn't joined, yet. Any other thoughts or obvious plot holes? Additional comments would be appreciated.