The Elder Scrolls: The Battle for Tamriel mod

Hey everyone! Few months ago we released version 1.0 which included a faction of Morrowind, a country inhabited by Dunmer, powerful sorcerers and slavemasters, distrustful of outsiders. Now it's time to talk about their “old friends” - the Nords, stubborn people from a country called Skyrim.

Skyrim, according to one of the versions about how Tamriel was populated by Men, is the cradle of human civilization. It was here that the Nords who fled from the frosts of Atmora landed for the first time. Led by the mighty warrior Ysgramor, they took over the Old Kingdom, spilling rivers of their own and others' blood, and later founded the First Empire, stretching across northern Tamriel. And although this Empire did not stand for long, the Nords managed to change the balance of power on the continent, displacing elven civilizations from many lands and allowing humans to occupy these territories.

In the following millennia, Skyrim, for the most part, was either immersed in bloody civil strife, or maintained a shaky peace within the country, with little or no effect on what was happening in the world around. The most important conflicts in the subsequent history of Skyrim were the so-called Three Banners War in the Second Era, when the Nords from the eastern holds of Windhelm and the Rift allied with the Dunmer and Argonians in the fight against invaders from distant Akavir, and then against Daedra of Molag Bal, and the War of the Red Diamond, when the Nordic kingdom of Solitude, led by a relative of the Septim dynasty, the Wolf Queen Potema, rebelled against the Imperial City. At the end of the Fourth Era, another Civil War began in Skyrim, caused by the unwillingness of many Nords to follow the ban on the worship of the human god Talos. This rebellion was led by the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak.

In our mod, the army of Skyrim is divided into three main thematic camps, units from which are hired in four barracks. These three camps are also tied to a special Old Kingdom gameplay mechanic that we'll talk about in a few paragraphs.

In the first barracks - Hall of Warriors, player will be able to hire Town Guard Soldiers, Spearmen, Skyrim Cavalry and one of the three elite units of the faction - Companions. Town Guards are the standard Nordic infantry, they are about equal in strength to the units of the Great Houses of Morrowind and can easily defeat the city guards of the Empire. Skyrim Cavalry, like in Morrowind, is far from being the main strong point of the faction and in all respects loses to its counterparts in the Dominion and the Empire. Companions, on the other hand, are super-heavy infantry, aimed at killing heroes and crowds of spam units. They can also shape-shift and transform into werewolves, thus becoming a hybrid of fast infantry and cavalry. Also in this building, the player will be able to purchase faction-wide Banner Carrier upgrades. Units from Hall of Warriors will share an ability called “Valunstrad”, which allows them to temporarily earn experience faster.

In the second barracks - Stormcloak Encampment, the player, as you might guess, will be able to hire rebellious warriors of Ulfric Stormcloak. Here you will be able to hire Stormcloak Soldiers - a stronger analogue of Skyrim Soldiers, capable of forming a shield wall, Bone-Breakers - offensive infantry that deals additional damage to buildings and spam units, Ice-Veins - medium archers, slightly stronger than Valenwood Archers and legionnaires, and finally - Stormblades, Skyrim's second elite unit, heavy infantry that can easily withstand the heaviest enemy onslaught and provide a bonus to armor for nearby heroes. Stormcloak Soldiers, Ice-Veins and Bone-Breakers will also have access to the “Evgiir Unslaad” ability, which, when activated, will allow them to temporarily receive resources for killing enemies.

In third barracks - the Mead Hall, player will be able to hire two units of Skaal tribes: Axe Throwers - cheap skirmishers, useful in early stages of the game and Skaal Hunters - expensive archers, comparable in strength to the Vinedusk Rangers of Dominion. Both Skaal units will have the “Hjerim” ability, which allows them to slow down enemies in a small radius around them, which at the right time can save them from a cavalry onslaught or the threat of enemy infantry. In this building, player will also be able to purchase an upgrade for Stalhrim arrows. However, for all their usefulness, Skaal units will have one important drawback - they will not be able to receive the heavy armor upgrade.

In fourth barracks - the Giants Camp, player will be able to hire two main siege units of Skyrim. At the first level, he will have access to Giants, capable of both smashing enemy troops and buildings in close combat with a club, and throwing large stones at them. At the second level of Camp, player will be able to hire Mammoths, living battering rams that your enemy will never want to let near his units and buildings.

Like the Empire, Dominion and Morrowind, Skyrim will have a roster of seven heroes. The range of characters across Eras for this faction is probably the largest among all those planned in the mod: some of its heroes date back to the Merethic Era.

The very first hero of Skyrim will be Lyris Titanborn, a powerful warrior from the Alliance War timeline and one of the Five Companions of Varen Aquilaros. Lyris will be one of the main “combat heroes” of the faction and has good damage and strong armor. Her special abilities include a crushing blow that can knock back multiple opponents in front of her, a jump into crowds of enemies, and the ability to call upon the Nord Veteran - a fearsome warrior with a horned helmet and an axe, familiar to players by TES Online trailers.

The second hero of Skyrim will be Frea, a young Skaal shaman of Solstheim during the Civil War. Frea will take on the role of one of the faction leaders and will give a leadership bonus to all units from the Mead Hall, and, if certain conditions are met, also to Giants and Mammoths. The Skaal Shaman will be ranged hero, and her set of abilities will include Stalhrim Shot, which will also apply a fear effect to enemy monsters and reduce the speed of all enemy units around the affected victim, “Hunter's Instinct”, which gives Frea a temporary increase in speed and armor, and the ability “ Expedition”, which temporarily increases the running speed and experience gain of allied units within a selected radius.

The third Skyrim hero is Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm, the formidable Bear of Markarth. Ulfric gives a leadership bonus to all nearby units from the Stormcloak Encampment and will be able to call upon several rebel units led by Galmar Stone-Fist to aid him. In addition, leader of the rebellion will have the ability to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies upon reaching a certain level, and also periodically use a Shout called Unrelenting Force.

The fourth hero of Skyrim and the faction's most powerful melee fighter is Dovahkiin himself. The legendary warrior in the horned helmet will become indispensable in battle, and his presence will inspire courage in the hearts of his allies. All of Dovahkiin's abilities will be associated with the power of his voice - Unrelenting Force, which throws back enemy units, Dismay, which makes them run away in terror, Dragon Aspect, which buffs armor of the Dragonborn, and, finally, Storm Call, which brings down several lightning bolts from the heavens.

The fifth hero of Skyrim will be its High King during the Three Banners War - Jorunn the Skald-King. Jorunn does not have the fighting qualities of Dovahkiin or Ulfric, but he has a decent set of abilities in his reserve, starting from a leadership bonus for units from the Hall of Warriors. In addition, Jorunn will be able to sing several Nordic poems, which will enhance stats of selected allied units or decrease stats of enemy soldiers. His most powerful spell will be the ability to summon the avatar of Wulfhart, famous Nordic hero, onto the battlefield, who will inflict significant damage on opponents who risk getting in his way.

The place of the sixth hero of Skyrim will be taken by legendary magician Shalidor. His set of abilities will include the “Ice Spike” spell, which can freeze an enemy hero in place to allow Shalidor and his allies to easily kill him, the “Shalidor's Mirror” spell, which will allow the great mage to reflect all damage received to opponents, and the “Winter's Cloak”, which will surround the archmage with a whirlwind that pierces the armor of enemies, and finally “Glamoril”, a spell that allows you to summon a magical projection of a great sorcerer to protect any allied hero.

The last hero of Skyrim will be the leader of the greybeards, the wise dragon Paarthurnax. His set of abilities, as in the case of Dovahkiin, consists of various Shouts, but much more dangerous and destructive than those of his mortal ally.

The Old Kingdom is the homeland of grim and bloodthirsty warriors, who participate with equal zeal in both conquests and bloody civil strife. Each hold of this harsh region has its own law and they obey only the will of the High King, whom they themselves choose. Among the gifts of the frozen Fatherland, not only armor and weapons are valued throughout Tamriel, but also the famous Skyrim wood. We tried to reflect all this in the faction's gameplay and visual features.

Unlike the disciplined Imperials and sophisticated Elves, the formidable Nords use the furious and chaotic animations of Uruk-hai and Wildmen of Isengard from the original game, and Stormcloak units have the ability to gain resources for killing opponents, reflecting the Nords' passion for war.

To reflect the system of elective monarchy, we introduced the Moot mechanic into the game, which the player can unlock by purchasing the final fortress upgrade. With the help of the Moot, the player can appoint one of three heroes as the leader of the faction - King Jorunn of Eastmarch, the leader of the rebellion Ulfric, or the Skaal shaman Frea. Each hero, having become a conditional High King, will receive a new appearance and an increase in armor and damage, as well as improved leadership bonus to allied units. In addition, all units from the Hall of Warriors, Stormcloak Encampment or Mead Hall, if their leader is chosen as the King, will receive an additional permanent bonus to their stats. The player will also have access to one of the faction's three heroic units - Companions, Stormblades or Mammoths. The choice of faction leader should be approached wisely, depending on the chosen tactics and enemy faction you fight. For example, choosing Jorunn as the High King will help Skyrim better deal with factions that emphasize cavalry, such as the Empire, High Rock and Hammerfell, and the coronation of Frea will strengthen the faction's siege potential, and Skaal units will deal even more damage to enemy monsters, which will be great help in battle with Morrowind, Oblivion or Orsimer. Coronation of Ulfric, in our opinion, should become a basic option, perfect for games with an emphasis on infantry and strong archers and indispensable in battles with factions that rely on spamming cheap units.

One of the main problems when playing Skyrim in the early stages may be the high cost of many units, but the lack of resources can be compensated by building the unique economic structure of Skyrim - lumber mill, well known to all fans of Mordor and Isengard from vanilla game. In addition, we have a couple more bonuses in the faction spellbook that will strengthen the economy in the later stages of the game.

We expect The Nordic homeland to be the faction that is strongest in the later stages of the game. Skyrim units are expensive to recruit, but if the player can secure his position at the beginning of the game, then, taking advantage of all faction's strengths and choosing the right strategy, he will have the opportunity to create a virtually invincible army of warlike northerners. Skyrim is not a force that can be ignored for long.

That's all for now. While Children of the Sky wait their hour to join Battle for Tamriel, we still have few articles to share with you. Next two will tell you about Skyrim's Spellbook and Empire Rework. We also just launched a new Casting Call round and are searching for talented voice actors to help us bring much needed lore-friendly sound to Skyrim. If you feel that you can help us with that - check this page. If you wish to discuss upcoming version of the mod, it's future and current releases - join our Discord server.

That's all for now. Yours, Battle for Tamriel Mod team