Board Thread:Future TES Titles/@comment-27087664-20151017154504/@comment-33714887-20171120190352

Here follows a description of a campaign through a theoretical, Hammerfell Elder Scrolls game. I enjoyed thinking and writing it a year ago. There doesnt seem like an official way of making suggestions to Bethesda. Anyway, maybe someone will enjoy reading this too.

[Throughout the main description of the story/plot, and also after it, I’ll insert details of alternative story arcs to take, and some ideas for other issues/game ideas/side quests.]

Title: Sons of Sithis

Setting: Hammerfell

Time: 4E 211 - ten years post events of the Skyrim Dragon Crisis

Background:

(Ideally I’d retcon and have it that the Aldmeri Dominion/Thalmor never left Hammerfell, but assuming they did, and as I’m not clear on who holds power over the new independent country that it is supposed to be….)

Since the Redguards ousted the Thalmor from Hammerfell in 4E 180 the Thalmor have retained a covert presence in the region. A group of Thalmor conducted a daring raid on the deepest vaults of Volenfell. They were intercepted upon their escape, and one of them was captured alive. However, before he had been broken during interrogation, a vast Aldmeri Dominion (AD) naval force appeared and took the city of Helgathe. AD mages performed enchantments on the water and the weather to protect their convoys, preventing the land and naval forces of Hammerfell from expelling the invaders. Having seceded from the Mede Empire, Hammerfell’s request for Imperial support was denied; too much of the Empire was preoccupied with rebellions across Tamriel. Thousands of AD soldiers arrived at Helgathe harbour over the following weeks. Then, with a great suddenness, the AD burst out from Helgathe, avoided engaging the large forces around Sentinel, and conquered all of the southwestern Hammerfell, including large sections of the Alik’r Desert. As the Ruling Council of Hammerfell finally relented to the repeated requests of its Generals, and approved an assault force to depart from Sentinel and engage the Thalmor, word came that a massive army group approached the capital. Eagerly the warriors of Hammerfell awaited battle, until they witnessed the size of the approaching enemy, and the swarm of naval vessels engaging their own. After two days of fighting outside the city walls, the AD surround Sentinel.

Start game.

Setting: Sentinel, capital of Hammerfell

Redguard officer shouts at player:

“Get on some armour! The Dominion are at the walls!”

Then there’s character appearance/nature choice time.

Design character. Pick any race, including Altmer.

Reply options:

“Yessir, I’ll report to my Barracks” – you are part of the Hammerfell/Order of the Candle forces/work for whoever officially runs Sentinel/Hammerfell

“Where do I go?” – you are a civilian

“Seriously? We don’t stand a chance!” – you are a civilian

Whatever is said, the next objective is to go to the Barracks and get tooled up.

If you are an elf, especially if Altmer, the guard will suddenly be very suspicious of you, and ask you if you’re a spy etc.

After he goes, the person standing next to you takes off his hood. He will be designed to look older, but similar to you, (and male) and is supposed to be your father. Ideally Bethesda have the voice acting resources to do so they could let you somehow choose if it’s mother or father, but maybe that would be too complicated…

Following lines apply even if Altmer (you have descended from Altmer Pilgrims who left the Summerset Isles when the Thalmor came to power).

“Come on, son/daughter, it is time to put into practice everything I’ve taught you. Time to spill Thalmor blood!”

You run off to the Barracks and get tooled up.

Fight Dominion. Have to retreat. Flee the city and hide in the wilderness. Return to your village. Hide armour.

Fade to black.

“Three months later”

Setting: Your home village - near Skaven

Your father sends you on some trivial quest to teach you some basic game controls and mechanics, and introduce some characters. Should be very quick to avoid player boredom.

Then return home, and a Redguard bursts in, asking for help. Father hides him in cellar.

Thalmor arrive, interrogate you all.

You deny there’s anyone hiding here (You can betray your family and join the Thalmor at this point, or for a while afterwards, and have a very different story arc, which I’ll describe later).

Thalmor leave and Redguard rebel thanks you. Tells you his name is Ryus.

Your father asks how your family can help. Ryus says they’ll be in touch after he escapes. For now he needs to lie low until the Thalmor leave. Player mission is to hang around town until Thalmor have disappeared, without spooking Thalmor (practice stealth mechanics). At any point you can betray Ryus and your father and join the Thalmor as their spy if not Altmer, or as a full flown Thalmor apprentice if you are Altmer, or at least an elf of some kind, depending on how racist the Thalmor are

Once confirmed all is well, Ryus sneaks out.

That night another character invites you out drinking/on a small mission. When you get home you see house in flames and your family being dragged away by Valthed, a Thalmor Justicar.

Ryus the Redguard appears by your side and tells you to stay your hand. Attempts to intervene will be met by Valthed, who is amazingly powerful and will totally destroy the player

Next act of the main story arc involves joining the Redguard resistance, and doing missions for Ryus, killing, sabotaging, stealing and gathering intel from the Thalmor/AD.

Then, after some of this, player rescues a prisoner who has information on the player’s family, and describes their mistreatment in Skaven's dungeon. He also mentions a large number of Dwermer artefacts being stored in the dungeon, so the prisoners are being crammed into cells together to make space.

Player and an ally sneak into the dungeon. You find one young sibling/friend (in case more than one NPC whose appearance depends on the player’s character choices is just stretching it too far, friend may be easier) and rescue him/her, and they inform you that the rest of the family have been moved to a deeper part of the dungeon. However, once that lock has been picked Valthed appears, and Ryus, or your accomplice, says you must escape now or Valthed will destroy you.

Your sibling/friend is safe in Redguard base. Your sibling/friend describes politics in the dungeon, and that clearly Valthed is furious about his current appointment, feeling he is destined for greater things, and wants to be reassigned to the detachment at Volenfell.

Once your level is high enough you can get the Redguards to agree to spring the rest of your family (if not high enough, Ryus says you’re not ready). You wait until Valthed is absent, and then storm/sneak into the dungeon. First order of business is to investigate the Dwermer artefacts and figure out what the Thalmor are interested in them for. The player comes across some Dwermer Automatons that come to life and attack the player. The player finds documents stating that the artefacts came from a Dwermer ruin discovered North of Volenfell, but are seemingly even more ancient. There are also documents describing how Valthed has been granted his request to be moved to these ruins, and promoted to the rank of ‘High Inquisitor’.

Proceed deeper into dungeon, and find Malkesh, another senior Thalmor, and rival to Valthed. Malkesh is tormenting your father, and mortally wounds him when you storm in. Player and Redguard comrades fight Thalmor, and Player fights Malkesh. Once battle almost won Malkesh uses a scroll to dazzle you all and then escapes. Player has final words with dying father. This generates side-quests to rescue the rest of your family/friends.

Next act of the main story is investigating Volenfell.

Redguard rebels have spies here, in the suddenly bustling and makeshift, previously ancient and virtually unknown settlement near to it. They help you infiltrate parties and meetings to gather intel (like the "Diplomatic Immunity" Skyrim mission at the Thalmor embassy which was great. Cue NPCs moaning about being assigned to the middle of the desert, with dried food brought in by convoy, and sand in everyone's hair, sand storms and monsters, and scenery that the Thalmor find boring, with the odd exception who is totally fascinated by the desert. Maybe a Thalmor artist is painting the desert in some contemporary 4e211 way, as a focus for parties and discussions). The player learns that the Thalmor have discovered another Dwermer ruin, even more ancient than Volenfell, north of Volenfell. The daring raid of Volenfell that preceded the start of the game was the completion of an exploration of Volenfell that allowed the Thalmor to discover the location of this, more ancient, Dwermer ruin, the name of which translates as ‘End’s Deep’. For some reason the Thalmor are desperate to explore this new site, convinced that something important lies in its depths.

One mission involves trying to kidnap the Thalmor’s expert translator of Dwermer artefacts. However, during the mission this translator is killed/dies/ escapes into the desert and is eaten by monsters.

The player learns that to enter End’s Deep directly, through the Thalmor installation above it, would be very challenging. The Thalmor are also exploring Volenfell, looking for a route from there into End’s Deep. The player can choose which way to attempt to enter End’s Deep.

The player then enters End’s Deep, either via the complex, treacherous caverns of Volenfell, or by killing/stealthing past the Thalmor guards working above it. When close to End’s deep the player is affected by an unexplained health penalty – but then so is every other character in the area so, unless against Dwermer creations, it evens out and does not matter too much.

The player overhears, and reads in notes taken from their bodies, the Thalmor discussing ‘Lorkhan’s treachery’, and plans to put it to their advantage.

At the depths of End’s Deep the player finds a magical seal. There are Dwermer runes and inscriptions around. The player can make copies of these (a fancy version of the paper and crayon trick perhaps). There are also Thalmor documents about, and some Dwermer artefacts.

The Thalmor documents here state that the translator (that died in a recent mission) has determined that the magical seal can only be broken by using special ‘aethereal’ lenses that can bend the energies of Oblivion and Aetherius. There are six such lenses, hidden in six separate, ancient Dwermer caverns scattered across Hammerfell. Once combined at the source of the magical seal (which the player has found) the seal can be broken.

There are also Thalmor statements (overheard if one approaches with stealth) and documents informing the player that, now their Dwermer translator is dead, they plan to abduct a special expert from Cyrodil.

The Player and the Redguard resistance meet with Imperial agents to discuss this. The Imperials are willing to lend aid and intelligence. The issue of ‘Lorkhan’s treachery’ is discussed. This is dismissed as Thalmor anti-Lorkhan propaganda (elves hate Lorkhan). As for something of Lorkhan’s treachery being put to use by the Thalmor, it is presumed that Lorkhan and the Dwermer created a weapon that is hidden in the Dwermer ruins of End’s Deep. Perhaps they speculate as to whether it's a tool to make them immortal, or maybe overhearing Thalmor ramblings will make he player wonder about this.

(Characters and documents, throughout the game, will make remarks on the relationship between Lorkhan and the Dwermer, alluding that though Lorkhan did not get along well with the other elves, he did have a good relationship with the Dwermer in ancient times.)

The imperials also warn the Redguards that the dark brotherhood, having been recently diminished in Skyrim, has returned. (Ideally answer in game questions to determine who, exactly, is leading the brotherhood now. Eg Astrid or someone else or the dragonborn!)

The Imperials inform the Redguard resistance that a special scribe, an expert at translating Dwermer runes and artefacts, has been kidnapped from Cyrodil, and is believed to be being transported to Hammerfell by the Thalmor. They ask the Redguards to intercept the convoy. They give a DATE and TIME and ROUTE that the convoy, with the prisoner, is expected to take, which their spies have deduced. The player then has to set an ambush for this. Failure to do this correctly means the player has to spring the scribe from a prison, later (which is harder and probably less beneficial in terms of perks).

When accomplished, the Dwermer scrolls are interpreted by this scribe, and they include the following statements:

“Lorkhan has betrayed us all! I have written to the High King of Fal Zhardum Din, and the King of the Summerset Isles, and made offerings and prayers at the shrines of Trinimac and all the Aedra! Thank Auri-El for heeding our call in our time of need. Soon all of Mundus and Aurbis will be aware of this great evil!”

“Lorkhan has cursed us, though his curse is as strange as it is sinister. We did what we had to do, and he became enraged, declaring that we had spoiled our gifts to him. What did he expect? Now we have the analysis by Auri-El there is no doubt that we were right to stop him, and fools

to help him in the first place. Now he has declared that any gift we seek of him will be spoiled also, and if we take anything of his, all of our race will feel his wrath. Alas, he has been destroyed, utterly it seems, his heart torn from his body, so I cannot see how this will affect our fates. Now to bury this creation that we have regretfully been part of.”

“This device we have built for Lorkhan, under his guidance, but with our own hands, must never be found again less it perform the evil purpose for which it was intended. The risks of fools coming here in search of unnatural gifts and powers are too terrible to consider. We must all learn to accept our mortal limitations, and stop risking everything to change them. We have agreed to erase from our records all mention of this place. The draining energies of what is buried here will turn the lands above barren and dry - that alone should ensure that no one will seek to colonise this land, and stumble across it. In my heart, though, I fear the Lorkhan’s curse. Somehow I sense his power drawing us back here, again. This place must never be found, and the seal must never be broken!”

“We did not have to persuade the Aedra to swear secrecy. They have no intention of letting the mortals know of what lies here. The Daedric Princes that Lorkhan persuaded into assisting with this creation, however, I cannot be sure of. They are fickle; each demanded a service in order to secure their promise to hide this truth. I think Azura, Hermaeus Mora and Jyggalagand are likely to honour this, but Boethiah, Nocturnal and Morlag Bal I am not so sure of. I pray they stay their tongues, both physical and telepathic. At least we do not expect that they will inform Mephala, who has been very curious. She knows she has been left out of a conspiracy, and is inconsolable in her anguish because of it. Her intentions are very hard to read. She must not learn any more.”

Ryus is now head of the Redguard resistance. He asks you to go to the lens locations, and take the lenses, so that the Thalmor cannot use them.

The Dwermer-translating human Scribe kills himself, so convinced is he that no good will come of learning about this device, and sure that you should not be getting the lens seals, as no one should do anything that might break the seal.

The chief mage/diviner of the Redguards asks you to visit the temples/shrines of the Daedric princes alleged to have been involved in Lorkhan’s creation beneath the desert, and see if you can persuade these Daedric princes to talk to you [I cannot decide if this should be essential, or just a very complimentary, and very rewarding series of side quests]. Of note, this character makes references to the fact that he is spurned by the other Redguards, who despise magic and mistreat him/her.

For the first two lens acquisition quests, the player encounters Thalmor explorers who are trying to do the same thing. For the third, however, there are no Thalmor. Ryus gets suspicious and sends the player to investigate End’s Deep again. It turns out that the Thalmor have created a enchanted device with which they will dig down towards the part of the seal that is weakest, and break through it with enchantments they have prepared. Therefore the race is on – the player is instructed to get the lenses as soon as possible, and break into End’s Deep, and sabotage the Thalmor’s plans.

If the player completes the Daedric prince quests for Azura, Hermaeus Mora, Jyggalagand, Boethiah, Nocturnal and Morlag Bal, (or maybe just half of them) then the truth is gradually revealed by each of them. Perhaps they last will also give away essential information regarding how to break the central seal after the peripheral six are broken [which would make their quests essential. Maybe they should be.]

The truth, as revealed by these Daedric Princes (cryptically of course - ?flashbacks?), is as follows:

Sithis created Lorkhan to destroy Aurbis, and return everything to the void.

Lorkhan wandered Oblivion and Aetherius. He then consulted Sithis regarding his observations.

Lorkhan then appeared to defy Sithis, convincing the aedra and daedra to help build Mundus and Nirn.

In fact Lorkhan had deceived them all, using their talents to complete his design. He also fashioned PART of Nirn entirely himself - the part that currently sits under the Alik’r Desert.

Sithis, meanwhile, created a second son. This son was mindless, and purely a powerful creation that could harbour great power from the void, and use that power within Mundus, Oblivion and Aetherius. Lorkhan stored this ‘son’ deep under the Alik’r Desert. This ‘son’ absorbed life from all around it, starving the overlying lands of life, and draining the energy of beings that came close (hence, above is a desert and player health penalties).

Next, Lorkhan needed a method in which to place the ‘soul’ of Sithis into his second son (or a way of channelling Sithis’ energies into this ‘son’ so that the physical body could be possessed). For this, Lorkhan needed help again, but did not want to enlist the help of the aedra, less they realise his true intentions. The Daedric princes could be used to help him, but only if expertly employed and kept in the dark unknowingly. They were unreliable, but also could be manipulated for the feared one another enough to be divided and tricked.

Humans were loyal to Lorkhan, but they lacked the craftsmanship he needed. He therefore turned to the Dwermer. These he enticed by promising to undo the curse of mortality they had suffered as a result of the creation of Nirn, which he had persuaded their ancestors (the Andrea) to help with. He also promised to teach them about the greater mysteries of Aurbis, filling their minds with wonder as to what they could achieve with the correct study, dedication, effort and feats of engineering he inspired them to perform. He focussed their attention particularly on the art of concentrating energy from Oblivion and Aetherius, and using such energy in worldly artefacts. The Dwermer developed special aethereal ‘lenses’ with which to magnify such energies, and used these to embed artefacts with special, outworldly powers that no mortal enchanter could achieve.

Lorkhan learned from the Dwermer as much as they learned from him, however, and he used their concept of aethereal lenses to design something that would install power from the any plane of existence, and even the void beyond it, into living flesh. The Dwermer were seduced by the idea of gaining immortality through this. They forgave Lorkhan for the loss of their immortality, seeing his new generosity. Whether Lorkhan had, from the beginning, intended that the creation of Mundus lead to the creation of mortals susceptible to such manipulation will never be known for certain.

The Dwermer created the device under Lorkhan's instruction. The aetherial lens had to be focussed on both the donor of magical energy, and the recipient. The afferent settings could be any of planes in Oblivion, Aetherius, or even parts of Mundus. Untold consequences might arise if the afferent side of it was focussed to infinity/the void.

Lorkhan created some immortal artefacts, and then seven immortal Dwermer were created. The Dwermer rejoiced. Volundrung was also created during this episode – explaining why it landed at Volenfell, so close to End’s Deep, where it found itself drawn to as the place of its creation.

Then Lorkhan wished to experiment by arranging the afferent side of the lens to focus upon infinity/the void. In their jovial excitement, and inebriated with mind altering substances, many Dwermer were about to comply. Then one of those that Lorkhan had made immortal, challenged him, and insisted appropriate calculations be seen through to determine the consequences of such an experiment.

Lorkhan became enraged and destroyed this Dwermer. The others present rose against Lorkhan, and fought with him, and called upon Auri-El (Akatosh) to aid them. Auri-El came, saw everything for what it truly was, and waged war on Lorkhan. He realised that Lorkhan intended to focus the essence of Sithis upon the son of Sithis hidden underneath the Dwermer installation. This would give Sithis immense power in the physical world, with which Sithis could return all of Aurbis to the Void.

Before Lorkhan fled, he cursed all the Dwermer, stating that should they ever seek power from him again, it would be their undoing. He also revealed that those who had been made immortal would not enjoy eternity as they had hoped to. The artefacts he had used for the experiments had not only passed on immortality to these Dwermer, but also afflictions, madness and violent cravings.

Lorkhan gathered his allies, who he had helped in times past, and who could not see through his lies (including men), and these all fought alongside Lorkhan, but lost when Auri-El/Akatosh and Trinimac defeated him and tore out his heart, which Auri-El/Akatosh fired into the depths of Nirn.

The Dwermer atoned for their sins by sealing away Lorkhan’s experiment within End’s Deep. None ever spoke of it again, less mortals be tempted to reopen it, and unleash the end of all things. Those immortalised Dwermer, who had simultaneously been cursed by Lorkhan, had now begun to change. They were no longer elves, but vile, fierce creatures with terrifying power. They were sealed inside End’s Deep rather than destroyed, so difficult were they to kill. They also made it difficult to destroy the lens itself, which was finally left only damaged, rather than broken beyond repair.

Ages later, the Dwermer found and experimented on Lorkhan’s heart. A few of them removed a tiny piece of the heart, stole it away and took it to the original installation where the lens was housed. Here they created a device that broke through the seals and restored them after they passed through. They then repaired the lens. Using the lens on a piece of Lorkhan’s flesh, and focussing it upon themselves, they attempted to make themselves immortal. This, however, triggered the curse of Lorkhan, and their entire race was destroyed. Whether the six cursed Dwermer were annihilated as well is unknown to the Daedric Princes.

Even the Daedric Princes are afraid that Lorkhan’s Aethereal lens will be used again. They like oblivion, and enjoy meddling in the lives of mortals. They do not want to be annihilated. They also suspect that some of the lesser daedra have gone missing recently.

One Daedric prince gives the player a side quest to rescue, or even kill, some of their daedra brothers and sisters who have been captured by the Thalmor. Doing so guarantees daedric help in a closing quest if applicable.

The Thalmor leak that they have almost entered the chamber. Ryus begs you complete finding the remaining lenses as soon as possible.

Upon securing the last lens, the Redguard chief Mage/diviner tricks you into giving it to him/her, and then runs off. You chase them back to the Redguard base and find that the Thalmor have conquered it, imprisoned Ryus, and taken all the seal lenses. They then go to break the main seal.

You fight Malkesh and learn the Thalmor plan:

They did not expect to break in any other way, but saw how effective the player was at getting the seals, so they turned the traitor Mage/diviner by promising them immortality, and ensured the lenses were safe and accounted for, and then allowed you to get hold of them all.

The Thalmor, chiefly Lady Arannelya and Chancellor Ulkrush, wish use Lorkhan’s lens to make themselves immortal and powerful. They want to use Something made by Lorkhan, favoured by humans, to help them destroy men. They love the sense of ironic justice. They have a string of daedra they plan to use to transfer immortality to themselves.

The player fights and kills Malkesh.

The Daedric Princes appear and offer a team of daedra to help you break in to the mine, assuming you helped rescue their friends earlier. Otherwise just... Find a way in the hard way.

The player infiltrates End’s Deep, either through the Thalmor mining facility, or through Volenfall’s access tunnel. The seals are all broken now. There are also plenty of Thalmor around, inside the depths of End’s Deep. However, one comes across a group of dead Thalmor around a strange, dead beast. Soon after, at the entrance to the next level, there is a guard who has a note from Valthed to Lady Arannelya, warning her about how terrible this beast was to fight. It tells Arannelya to be ready, and that a search and destroy party will be needed to rid the entire complex of them, and that either he or Arannelya should accompany that assignment.

The same guard also has a note from Arannelya to the Thalmor Chancellor Ulkrush. It advises him to heed the words of Valthed’s note, and wait until he has been told that all is safe.

The player carries on, and inevitably runs into a group of Thalmor fighting one of these hideous creatures. Can skirt by or fight it. The next way forward, however, has a special enchanted locked door. The player needs to find another way forwards, and has to backtrack and go deeper into the complex, fighting more of these horrid creatures. When the player kills one of these creatures, they reveal they were the original Dwermer that Lorkhan cursed, and now they have been killed, they can sleep. They thank the player, and offer powerful gifts, then die.

Eventually, after killing loads of Thalmor, Falmer (perhaps taken to this place by the Dwermer who experimented on Lorkhan’s heart), Dwermer automatons, and some boss-like Dwermer mutant creatures, and perhaps some strange apparitions that arose because of prolonged presence of son of sithis in the area, the player finds another pass into the centre of the installation. However, as the player enters the central part of End’s Deep, in a wide open area descending further downwards, some characters race past you from behind. One points at you and says “Kill him!”

Two or three of these stop, say “Yes, -.” and name the dark brother hood leader - and fight you. The others go ahead.

The name of the dark brotherhood leader will be determined, as mentioned earlier, either by linking Skyrim save games to this one, or answering in game questions regarding the dark brotherhood, when asked about it by Ryus/the imperial agents. If one answers that the player heard nothing about the Dark Brotherhood, or that a young woman was their leader, then it’s Astrid. If one states one heard that the Dragonborn became the leader, then one can also give a description and name of the Dragonborn. If one states that the dark brotherhood was destroyed, Cicero or Babette are the leader.

The player fights and defeats the Dark Brotherhood attackers If you had joined the Dark Brotherhood in the game before this, you may in fact be with them, trying to end the world… if you join after the main quest, you would join a new branch of the Brotherhood that is just starting up

The player finds a vantage point to see the Thalmor using the lens.

The Thalmor drag a daedra to the lens and blast its powers into Chancellor Ulkrush, who swells and looks strong, and his appearance becomes a little demonic. Someone remarks that he is even more handsome than before, and he is pleased. Lady Arannelya then undergoes the process too, and looks especially dangerous. Valthed then does the same, and he looks even more powerful than before.

Then the Dark Brotherhood arrive in front of you, and have a showdown. They explain their purpose. They do not crave power, or pathetic goals concerning the superiority of one race over another, like the Thalmor. They serve the night mother, who is the bride of Sithis, and will unleash his will upon the world, using the lens for what Lorkhan intended, and bringing Sithis into Mundus through the body of his second son.

The Thalmor and the Dark Brotherhood fight. You can assist whoever you like. At the end of the battle one of these will have won. Whoever wins uses a special scroll to paralyse you. They allow you to watch as they use the lens for their intended purpose.

Thalmor win:

If Arannelya and/or Ulkrush are still alive, Valthed and his allies kill them and any of their specific henchmen (because at the end of the day, Valthed was more powerful than both of them put together, just Junior in rank and younger and frustrated). Valthed then focuses the soul of Sithis into himself, seeking supreme power (interactions and evidence should have supported the notion that he was extremely ambitious, power mad and frequently furiously frustrated by more powerful people holding him back). He is very strong, so survives, and retains some consciousness, but as he is mutated into a terrifying monster, infused with Sithis’s powers, but also the mind of Sithis too. He goes insane. He kills all the other Thalmor and rampages out of the installation.

The Daedric princes you aided earlier come to your aid, as does Talos, and they temporarily lend you their power turn you into a tall, aedra/daedra magic infused, entity. The player is now of comparable height to the Valthed/Sithis monster, and the player fights and defeats Valthed/Sithis using the special weapons and powers given to them. Victory ends the main story arc. The player is left with a special gift/power from Talos. Perhaps Valthed survives in his original form, though, to pose as a future threat on post main quest storylines.

If the Dark Brotherhood win then they bring Sithis into his second son. Sithis rises up, a terrifying decomposing monster, kills the Dark Brotherhood, and rushes out of the installation.

Akatosh appears, perhaps with other aedra, and they lend their powers to the player, and the player faces Sithis in a super evil god vs massive divine force for good, upscaled battle over Hammerfell (as per Valthed battle). Damage done by Sithis should ideally remain on the countryside/towns after the arc ends. Perhaps to make it simpler to program, Sithis only gets as far as blasting a specific temple of Akatosh with a special ray, the damage only being apparent after things have settled down.

After victory, Akatosh gives the player a special gift/power.

Alternative story arcs, briefly:

Joining the Thalmor.

Best done as an Altmer. Can rise through ranks as Valthed’s best friend, or betray Valthed and help Malkesh. At the end, if you completed a ‘capture your own daedra’ quest, you can absorb the soul of the daedra you captured, making you super powerful and immortal to age. Valthed or Arannelya absorb Sithis, and the aedra help you fight him/her (not Talos, obviously, as he’s not a fan of you. You’ve been stamping out Talos worship and murdering humans throughout the campaign.) After the game you remain super powerful because of the lens treatment.

Non aligned play:

If you do missions for both Thalmor AND Redguards, you have to be of a sufficient level to do so. You can claim rewards from both for capturing the seals. Neither side trusts you, but both value your powers, as you are so effective! There will be moments when you may be asked to kill certain characters, the performance of which will make one side (mostly the Redguards) refuse to work with you again until you reach a certain level, and when they become desperate again.

The Daedric Prince Mephala takes an interest in you, and gives you gifts too, if you go this way. She is interested to know about the insides of End’s Deep, and hopes you will help her.

Joining the Thalmor as a non-elf compels you to take this route in the end, because eventually the Thalmor will kill you if you try to stay in their inner circle.

Dark Brotherhood:

Throughout the game, even if you have nothing to do with them directly, you will hear tales of their exploits, and also of their fearsome leader from Skyrim who is now conducting affairs from Cyrodil/somewhere.

If you join them before finishing the story you only ever work with the local Hammerfell branch. However, you do get a heads up that their leader is coming to Hammerfell when the closing mission is due, and you can lead the dark brotherhood into the complex. You may meet the famed leader, (whether the Dragonborn, or Astrid, or whoever your game choices/Skyrim save make them to be) and you can kill them if you like, which means the Thalmor have no competition at the lens.

If you help the Brotherhood win, Sithis comes and destroys Aedris. The end. No further game playing! Maybe weird mini game of wondering the void?

If you destroy the Dark Brotherhood before the leader arrives, then the leader and her powerful followers from elsewhere of Tamriel still have a showdown with the Thalmor.

After the main quest, the dark brotherhood starts again, with a new leader, who might be depressed because Sithis was defeated. One can become leader of this Dark Brotherhood.

Recognition:

If you conducted actions against Thalmor, theoretically they could start recognising you, making travel around Hammerfell complex. However, this pushes the player too strongly towards stealth, and players should be free to choose their playing style. Perhaps only occasional Judicars and Inquisitors, who are well highlighted, can really identify you. This would encourage some degree of stealthy behaviour, but not make life impossible for the unstealthy.

Family members:

Rescuing family from Thalmor prisons requires an intelligence gathering mission, and then the ‘spring’ (from captivity) mission. Between detection and rescue there’s a time limit, after which relative has been killed by Thalmor. If relative freed, some can be party members, others just give gifts or perhaps can do other tasks for you. None should be essential.

War with Thalmor:

Perhaps this mission series only opens up after completing the main quest. Can cause enough damage to Thalmor cause to kick them out of Hammerfell. Meanwhile, if one is Thalmor aligned, one can defeat the Redguard resistance and Imperial agents and become Thalmor leader of Hammerfell. Alternatively, perhaps one could side with Aldmeri Dominion and try to diminish the power of the Thalmor, while promoting Altmer in general/ arranging a withdrawal from Hammerfell.

Players being mages:

Hammerfell is historically anti mage, but then since Oblivion there’s been a general anti-mage vibe. The Thalmor have secretly been stamping out Mages throughout Tamriel capitalising on the public’s lack of concern for mages. In Hammerfell, they have had difficulty identifying the magically endowed, because such people have historically hidden their powers.

The player may find a secret society of magical Redguards, perhaps an already persecuted minority group? This group wants the player to recommend their skills to the Redguard resistance. Ryus can be persuaded to ally with them, and there can be missions to improve mage/usual redguard relations, and breaking down prejudice etc. Could prove quite interesting!

Thief players:

Would have thought there could be loads of thieves lurking around Hammerfell. Sure the game could be designed to give thief players lots of fun, surely?