Screens first: Aww, I just love Blood and gold. That light is beautiful.

What a striking view of a dragon from Aravi’s level! I’m so glad they made the dragons not have six limbs. They look so graceful in the air and so much more menacing on the ground this way. I’ve never given much thought to Wards, but Aravi would be in a tough spot there without it!

Aravi looks so pleased in Good shot! And Burns indeed. The down side of not wearing boots. Yikes!


Woo, what an end for Minorne! I love Aravi’s jump onto the stairs to try to Shout over Kharjo. She was adorable with the healing after she scorched him.

Florentius is hilarious. “Look, I’ve just gotten myself out of quite a mess here…” I suppose with Arkay talking into one ear he might have lost his perspective.

What a beautiful night afterward. No dragons or full moons in the sky.

@mALX: In the dragon picture it’s a ward spell! It’ll totally block magical damage while it’s up and increases armor rating some.

I thought that was pretty funny too, ‘look at the mess I just got myself out of.’ Thanks mALX!

@Acadian: I’m not sure how badly that fire shout hurt him, so it’s good that Aravi made sure she ended to him when she was done with the vampire.

It’s easy to see why Isran didn’t want the guy! I kind of wonder how he earned Gunmar and Sorine’s respect though.

You always like Aravi’s little Bosmer clothes don’t you? Thanks Acadian!

@SubRosa: Aravi was trying to miss whatever was in the cage with her frenzy spell.

I kind of wondered why they kept him alive too. I think his ‘condition’ kept him from being charmed like the rest, but why keep him around? He is a hilarious character though isn’t he?

Blood is usually warm. I know what you mean. I’m sure Teresa knows what Aravi’s feeling in Good Shot. Thanks SubRosa!

@Grits: I really liked the red and gold colors in blood and gold, I’m glad you like them too. Wards are not useful until you’ve selected a few restoration perks, that makes their cost go down. Having some items that reduce spell cost helps further.

She tried to shout over Kharjo, too bad she wasn’t completely successful! I agree on Florentius, he’s so funny! Thanks Grits!

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This dungeon is unrelated to Dawnguard, just one that Aravi and Kharjo got into on their way north to continue the Dawnguard quests. I’m skipping part one just for the sake of time, but I liked this video too much to skip. The story behind the dungeon is a necromancer’s husband was in the Imperial legion. When he was killed in the Great War, she vowed to kill everyone involved with an undead army.


Link

11:32

Imperial Condolences

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Screens!
A powerful ritual

Draugr

Ending the ritual One and Two (mass paralysis is the spell scroll she used)

The Beast

Recovery

Ansilvund. I remember that one. Dawnbreaker will certainly come in handy in this dungeon!

Aravi had better watch her step in that big room, or she might become a roasted kitty!


I see Aravi has done the first Potema quest! That was really neat.

Great action pick with the flaming draugr.

That looks like Emperor Palpatine in the second mass paralysis pic!

Poor Aravi in the last pic, laying all cold and alone in the snow. The wolf footprints leading up to her are a wonderful touch!

A necromantic dungeon! I really enjoy watching Aravi and Kharjo at work. It was nice of those freed souls to give Avavi a thank you gift. Seeing her dancing around with her new sword looked like she was having as much fun as an elf with a new pair of shoes!

A powerful collection of action shots, complete with magic and light effects. Very impressive.

I’m with SubRosa on that last screen. Awww. And the wolfprints were neat indeed.

I love these screens

Those ritual shots were spectacular! Was that Potema’s? I guess my favorite has to be the paralysis one, what a great shot!


GAAAAH! After you killed that necromancer, there was a little box with an arrow in it showing you something was there quest related! Aravi looked at it twice, then went through a door instead!

This dungeon looks Awesome! Lots of jerky camera movement though, I think you are trying to show us what Aravi is seeing/doing in first person - hard on the eyes in a vid. If you can do that kind of thing in 3rd person maybe, or just slow those movements it won’t leave the viewer feeling motion sickness from the vids.

Oh, what a cool blade! I heard it disappears if left in houses or if you try to mount it on a weapons stand, tell Aravi to keep it on her person, lol.

I loved this update, this dungeon was exciting!

Florentius is found imprisoned, but otherwise unharmed. His… ‘condition’ seems to be unrelated to his experience here.

Ohh! So this Florentius fellow is a devour Arkay worshiper, eh? Quite the fanatic . And Minorne gets stabbed in the back! In a literal sense too after begging for mercy, hehee.

"You want sword? You want it in your belly? No? Then you stop charming vigilantes!"

Minorne(book)
Love-sick puppy writings! Hahaha!

Blood and gold

Hehe. I like her grin here. Cute Aravi! With Blood and gold!

Dragon
Scary! Never seen this one before. Then again, I don't play Dragonborn characters. Is he modded?

A good shot
The "good shot," and Aravi's pose and expression is evidence enough that her arrow went home. And she has that "hell yeah I did it again," look on her face! Priceless!

Burns
I bet it does! Awesome!


Link
Awesome dungeon, kick-butt blade! Scary Draugr popping out of their sarcophagus'. Aravi and Dawnbreaker? Perfect match. Aravi, warrior of the Dawnguard, wielder of the Dawnbreaker, slayer of vampires. Ultimate Lycanthropic Khajiiti hero!


Imperial Condolences
Well, that sucks. Her husband died off province and I guess she trying to retaliate with necromancy. Seems legit though. I can't blame her. The war has cost too many lives, but of course, there is a limit.


The Beast
Beautiful, isn't she? Behold! The power! Of fur!

Recovery
Heh . . .those wild mornings again, eh? Better come prepared next time with some extra clothes and a shirt . . .

Poor Aravi . . .sometimes Lycanthropy is just a mess!

I like that skeleton with the lockpick right in front of the gate. It’s a reminder of why everyone in Skyrim doesn’t go wandering through the tombs. (I don’t know if anyone else had this, but there was a strange hiccup at about 2:20.)

That is such a neat chamber with the fire traps! Oh wow, and then the place filled up with draugr.

There were so many exciting fights in this video! I’ve never seen a fire storm. Aravi remembers to use her scrolls! Yikes, what a close call that was against the necromancer.

LOL, Kharjo. “You ready to get going?” He’s very composed.

I remember the story of Fjori and Holgeir. I love a sword that comes with a romantic ghost story.


That ritual screen is fantastic! What a great view of the ritual, and there’s Aravi about to go into the thick of it. That’s my favorite one.

The draugr one looks so neat with little bits of stuff flying around! And Aravi’s swords look especially cool.

Mass paralysis was a great idea. She sure got their attention while she was using the scroll.

The beast and Recovery shots work so well together. I love the footprints. Aravi has a lot to deal with.

What a great set of screens. I loved them!

Yup, me too. I thought it was just me, but maybe not. . .

This post has been edited by Acadian: Feb 3 2013, 05:04 AM

That wasn't there before... crap, probably not worth replacing the video at this point.

KC - your inbox is full, can't PM you.

It's fixed.

@Everyone: Sorry about the screwed up video At least the best parts weren’t messed up.

@SubRosa: Dawnbreaker is easily a favorite sword in game. It’s stats aren’t all that great, but it makes such a nice boom!

I never knew that Potema quest was in that cave! I really liked the last picture so I am happy you mentioned it. Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: Swords are to Aravi as shoes are to Buffy. I wish that reward sword was a bit more useful, it’s so weak that she can’t use it.

Glad you liked the last one too. Thanks Acadian!

Thanks Elisabeth!

@mALX: You are absolutely right! Potema’s quest. That paralysis shot was kind of difficult to line up.

I didn’t see any box that Aravi missed in the video. Sorry about the movements, I try to keep that in mind. Thanks mALX!

@DE: Florentius is probably my favorite Dawnguard faction character. He is so funny!

The dragon: Yep he’s modded. I’m a fan of that look too.

Good shot: Lol, thanks! I’m sure Vera knows the feeling of a perfect shot.

Beast and recovery: That was a wild night. Two forts, a mercenary, a Stormcloak patrol, various wild animals, and that cave to finish it off. She was very sick for a while. Thanks DE!

@Grits: I saw a skeleton in another dungeon reaching for a bottle!

And holy crap that was more than a hiccup. I didn’t realize that the video loaded so poorly.

The scrolls are so much more fun to use in Skyrim than they were in Oblivion. You should try some of them. Guardian Circle is a favorite.

I liked that whole quest/dungeon so much. The ritualists didn’t last long lying on the ground.

And again, I’m glad you liked that last one. Thanks Grits!

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Aravi continues with her task, given to her by the Dawnguard. She and Kharjo travel north and join Serana at the Sea of Ghosts. Serana thinks her mother may be hiding inside of her father’s castle, and that’s where they are going. Kharjo turns back reluctantly to stay at Dragonbridge and await Aravi’s return.

7:53

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Screens!
Cutting a torture session short

In ambush

Cavalry saber

Kyne’s shrine

Wards stop fire…

…and ice

Pretty!

“Cavalry Saber is my absolute favorite of the screens, it is AWESOME!

Holy Cow, that dungeon is Awesome! Those skeletons were tough! I love the way Aravi backed away from the bloody rags, lol. The feral vampires had some really good loot on them too! This is exciting, I have to get this DLC! Awesome update!

"I mean it is big, but even bigger..." I just could not help but take that completely out of context!

From that half sunken ship, it looks like no one has used the dock at the back door in a long time.

Skellies! With draugr clothes. Serana's ice spikes are not a whole lot of use here...

Wow, that skeleton archer up the stairs lasted a long time against Aravi's swords. A whole 3 seconds at least! I think that might be almost a record.

Double muffle. Does that make it last twice as long?

Bloody rags and an axe... That tells quite a tale right there!

I like the icicles that hang from the ceiling in the cistern room. And the fact that we cannot smell it!

If Aravi reads The Aetherium Wars book, it will kick off the quest that eventually leads to the Aetherium Forge.

I like her sword in Cutting a Torture Session Short.

From that severed head, it looks like she already ambushed someone already in the In Ambush pic!

Cavalry Saber is a fantastic action shot. I have trouble hitting anything with a melee weapon on horseback. So far Helregin had the best luck when using her war hammer (I think because it has such a long reach).

Kyne's Shrine is not as peaceful as I expected!

Ward Stops Fire is really impressive! I love the little broken icicles flying around in the second one.

Vid: Finally back to Serana’s family castle. What a spooky gothic setting. Yikes, deathounds and waiting for the gargoyles to come to life don’t help!

Screens:

Cutting a torture session short- deliciously warm lighting for a cold subject and, as SubRosa said, beautiful sword Aravi’s carrying.

In ambush – That helmet looks occupied!

Cavalry saber – Horses just make everything better!

Kyne’s shrine – Dragons and lavender flowers!

Wards stop fire… - Hot stuff!

…and ice – I love that you can see the ‘wall’ where the ward is blocking the ice. And Aravi looks spectacular here – armor, pose, expression, lighting, all of it!

they still stick out but the meshes have improved

It’s neat to see the castle’s service entrance. Whoa, I thought that raised “skeleton” was Serana’s! I really like this adventure. Aravi is on edge with a vampire as an ally, and the atmosphere is extra creepy. Serana’s aggression and extremely loud ice and lightning attacks mean that they’ll have to fight everything they meet. The castle undercroft is just how I would imagine it to be. Fun!



First I have to say how much I enjoyed the display of swords in this group of screens.

Cavalry sabre is such a great shot! I love the Thalmor’s view of Aravi coming at them.

And Ice is my favorite, though. I love the frost on Aravi’s armor, the flying ice shards, and her expression and ready blade saying what’s going to happen next!

Thanks Elisabeth!

@mALX: Being able to use weapons goes a long way towards making the horses fun and less of a hassle.

This is one of my favorite quests in Dawngaurd! Thanks mALX!

@SubRosa: Those skeletons are more difficult than the usual. That was unexpected.

Double cast muffle gives double duration. I couldn’t help but think of how gross that water must be when Aravi fell into it.

I still haven’t found an excuse for Aravi to head to the Aetherium Forge yet. It’s quite out of her way.

I love her sword! That’s the same sword she was using in the cavalry picture. I didn’t know you could use a two handed weapon on a horse. Hitting things hasn’t been an issue, at least for me. You just have to make a lot of passes.

Aravi’s been using wards against mages and dragons with a lot of success. That was a double casting of lesser ward in the dragon picture. Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: The worst thing about the gargoyles is that you can’t tell which are going to come to life and which are just statues.

I really liked how she looked sneaking up on the interrogator. The wards are so fun! Thanks Acadian!

@Grits: Aravi thought the skeleton was Serana’s too! This castle only gets creepier as Aravi and Serana go through it. There’s little choice but to trust Serana too, though Aravi is still getting used to her.

I’m really glad I went looking for those swords, they are perfect! Those Thalmor didn’t know how to deal with a horse. Ice was pretty, but I love seeing Aravi standing unfazed by the torrent of fire. Thanks Grits!

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Aravi and Serana continue through the castle…

9:58

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Screens!
Summoning

Torrent

Chilly

Crumpled body