I'm currently trying to create some interesting backstories for a few artifacts, which should later be put into a book (maybe Famed Artifacts of Tamriel Part II).
Since I'm neither an experienced writer nor native english speaker I'd be really glad about any corrections and feedback.
Please also let me know when something doesn't make sense when it comes to lore.
Druhlag's Screamer is quite the macabre sight featuring a human skull on the top of the staff and having some Daedric features along its dark wooden shaft. It has been said to have been built by the crafty illusionist named Druhlag to specifically scare away even the most dangerous thugs on his travels and remain unharmed that way. Apparently he also got quite a bit of fun out of seeing his foes run away in despair. Since when attacked by the staff the victim would see an angry skull crying out loud and clacking his bit in front of him or her. It remains unknown where this artifact is located but the most stories regarding it can be found around the south-eastern coast of the Morrowind province.
Not long ago some deadric inscriptings were discovered talking about an item of immense power − the Daedric Sickle. If it still exists, this weapon would even be more rare than the mysterious Daedric Crescent. From what was possible to gather from these inscriptions the Daedric Sickle was only used by Mehrunes Dagon's favourite champion and it was famed for its ability to cleave through many opponents at very far range and steal their combat potency while doing so. None of the Imperial accounts however even noted the existance of such a weapon, but as is known the battle was extremely chaotic and dire, so it is not unlikely to have been secretly taken away after the Daedric champion was slain.
The Swiftcut Sabre is a masterfully crafted magical sabre that has just recently gone missing and is already considered as an valuable artifact after the untimely death of its owner − the rich Redguard mercenary captain Kalodean. It is said to bestow the wearer with a great deal of swiftness in battle and thus was also the cause for a lot of backbiting towards Kalodean, with many saying that he was just as successful as he was because of this very blade.
Interesting! I'm not a great literature/lore person, but I'll share some of my thoughts.
I really think that the Druhlag's Screamer artifact would work very well in our world. My only pointer here would be to not show exactly where it is in Morrowind. Perhaps just say, "most stories regarding it can be found somewhere within the Morrowind province" or something like that.
The daedric sickle story seems good. Just the name, 'daedric sickle' seems a bit cheesy/moddy. How about something else?
even be more rare than the mysterious Daedric Crescent.
I don't think this line is really necessary. How would the sickle become more rare than the crescent? Other than these things, the sickle story seems alright to me.
The Swiftcut Sabre story is good. I don't really have any concerns there.
Overall, good work!
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert Einstein
A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. -Ayn Rand
RyanS wrote:Interesting! I'm not a great literature/lore person, but I'll share some of my thoughts.
I really think that the Druhlag's Screamer artifact would work very well in our world. My only pointer here would be to not show exactly where it is in Morrowind. Perhaps just say, "most stories regarding it can be found somewhere within the Morrowind province" or something like that.
The daedric sickle story seems good. Just the name, 'daedric sickle' seems a bit cheesy/moddy. How about something else?
even be more rare than the mysterious Daedric Crescent.
I don't think this line is really necessary. How would the sickle become more rare than the crescent? Other than these things, the sickle story seems alright to me.
The Swiftcut Sabre story is good. I don't really have any concerns there.
Overall, good work!
Thanks a lot for your feedback, I'm very glad you like my stories.
You're right. Daedric Sickle sounds bad, how about Daedric War Scythe?
This is the awesome resource for it, which was made by YarYulme, btw:
I never expected writing stories could be such fun for me.
Here are three more stories I just completed:
The Gallant Thrust was once created for a very influential merchant from the Imperial City who longed for a light but truly deadly weapon as a last resort, if his guards were to fail him. The dagger is said to magically draw out the blood of the victim wherever it hits, causing a sudden bloodloss to the sufferer. Ironically he died two years later due to a simple cold and since then the blade appeared in the hands of many thiefs, bandits, assassins and the like which he was so afraid of.
The Stormbringer was the favorite weapon of Vurach − the insane but yet brilliant battlemage. Striking an enemy with this strange looking staff allegedly creates an impressive lightning storm around the user, while also intensifying it to the victim and furthermore protecting the wielder with a powerful lightning shield. There are some stories of Vurach defeating whole bands of foes with this potent device alone.
According to a Nord legend the spirited Giant smith Yohfrem created the Heart of Ice longsword for his beloved Nord concubine warrioress Raginalda . This mighty blade was supposedly forged from magically imbound ice shards that almost eternally provide it with an unworldly edge compared to regular swords. Whoever would be so unfortunate to feel its blade should also suffer additional pain from the shear perishing cold of it, probably instantly freezing up hit body parts.
Isn't this one already in TR? edit: nevermind, TR has a Naginata, although it certainly qualifies as an artifact.
(agreeing that mentions to the Crescent aren't warranted)
There may be more poorly advertised artifacts in the mod, (and there certainly are powerful unique items that also qualify but without unique models)
The Gallant Thrust
Depending on whether it's intended, that name may have unfortunate/interesting implications...
Hey Ragox, your stories are very good so far! In fact, I couldn't really find anything wrong with your new ones! Just remember not to forget about other types of artifacts, (Armor, clothing, etc.) in your plans, as those are the artifacts TR is lacking the most.
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert Einstein
A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. -Ayn Rand
If you don't mind, I'd like to share an idea for an artifact I came up with in the past.
Nightcutter:
Legend has it that a very powerful assassin, who was seeking revenge for his dead mother, wielded the blade many years ago. Some say that the item is associated with the Dark Brotherhood, though there is no proof that this is the case. It is said that the dagger allows it's wielder to drain their enemies' life force while rendering invisible. Such a powerful artifact was reported to be last seen in the imperial province of Cyrodiil, though it has yet to be found.
I thought this was a very cool concept, and I hope you appreciate my efforts!
"When life gives you lemonade, make lemons. And life will be all like 'what??'" - Phil Dunphy's Phil's-osophy
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(>_<)
Shhh, bunny be snoozing. lolcatz
@rot: Thanks for your feedback. I also noticed that some of the artifacts don't even have any enchantments and/or are unused. Were they simply overlooked/forgotten, or is there a reason for it? About The Gallant Thrust: I think it's always interesting to have double meanings
@RyanS: Don't worry, I'll make sure that every item type shall have some interesting artifacts in the end. I'll especially focus on those that the vanilla game didn't have much of, like helmets, spears and bows for example.
@Dormichigan64: Sounds interesting, I like it, what would the enchantment look like for it?
Sorry for the double post, but I just came up with another artifact.
The Belt of Equilibrium:
A wizard of the Great House Telvani once returned to (a tel?) with an unusual looking dwemer device. Upon disassembling it, they discovered some sort of canister. They soon found out that it could be used to transform their blood into magicka, making it a very attractive item to the Telvani. They fastened it onto a belt and called it the Belt of Equilibrium. Research is still being done to this day in hopes of finding how it works.
I got this idea from the spell in Skyrim: Equilibrium.
Pretty Pink Unicorns!
"When life gives you lemonade, make lemons. And life will be all like 'what??'" - Phil Dunphy's Phil's-osophy
(\_/)
(-.-)
(>_<)
Shhh, bunny be snoozing. lolcatz
Dormichigan64 wrote:
Speaking of artifacts, doesn't Gwai-Lo mean something like "white devil" in Chinese, a word they used for white people?
Yeah... A silly easter egg of mine from old times. I took it from original Deus Ex. The blade itself is already bordering uber, but needless to say it was much more well hidden in the original version of the quest and complaints were it is almost impossible to get.
Dormichigan64 wrote:The Belt of Equilibrium:
A wizard of the Great House Telvani once returned to (a tel?) with an unusual looking dwemer device. Upon disassembling it, they discovered some sort of canister. They soon found out that it could be used to transform their blood into magicka, making it a very attractive item to the Telvani. They fastened it onto a belt and called it the Belt of Equilibrium. Research is still being done to this day in hopes of finding how it works.
So basically the Robe of the Lich in useful? Sounds good to me, but it would be easier to create as a helmet instead, unless someone could offer himself to make a model for it.
I really have no idea how to models/textures (although I would love to). I just thought belt because there are no belt artifacts in the game, maybe there are, but there are a few helmet artifacts.
I completely forgot about the robe. I guess the belt could be a weaker version of the robe? The drain health to restore magicka ratio wouldn't be ridiculous like the robe, though. Meybe something like: drain 10 health : restore 20 magicka.
"When life gives you lemonade, make lemons. And life will be all like 'what??'" - Phil Dunphy's Phil's-osophy
(\_/)
(-.-)
(>_<)
Shhh, bunny be snoozing. lolcatz
Just as a suggestion, one thing you could do is go through the TR items added in Maps 1-3 looking for unique enchanted items. By being the only copy in all of the game, they are essentially artifacts.
From memory, I remember the Log that keeps crabs away, Mzulangth's Fire-Wielder or something like that, a bunch of stuff.
Hemitheon wrote:Just as a suggestion, one thing you could do is go through the TR items added in Maps 1-3 looking for unique enchanted items. By being the only copy in all of the game, they are essentially artifacts.
From memory, I remember the Log that keeps crabs away, Mzulangth's Fire-Wielder or something like that, a bunch of stuff.
Yes, I spent quite some time browsing through the wiki and saw that especially Map 1 has a bunch of interesting uniques. But there are also quite a few that should receive an overhaul.
The only differences between uniques and artifacts are how powerful they are and whether they have their own lore or not. So without changes they mostly wouldn't qualify as artifacts, imo.
I think something we might all agree on is that we could a position like "Head of Fat Loot", who keeps track of all those items and makes sure they are placed in a balanced way (powerful stuff for difficult dungeons/quests etc.) and also that they are well-spread over our maps.
