The Retired Character Thread Options

[Renee]

I have just completed one of my character's games, and decided I'd open up a thread for those whose stories have come to an end. Feel free to add your own.

Lord Haaf-Mersey

Final Playthrough Date: 7:52 AM, 12th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 202

Total Gametime: 400 hours, 38 minutes, and 4 seconds

Class: Crusader
Factions: Dawnguard, Thane of Falkreath


Days Passed: 452
Hours Slept: 3,455
Hours Waited: 2,228

Final Gold: 22,333 (this is what is stored in a safe in LHM's house)
Gold Found: 225,882

Chests Looted: 1,451
Skill Increases: 628

Dawnguard Quests Completed: 13
Quests Completed: 37
Misc Objts Completed: 114
Main Quests Completed: 1
Side Quests Completed: 13

Locations Discovered: 186
Dungeons Cleared: 109

Homes: Lakeview Manor
Children: 1 (Lucia)
Spouse: Mjoll the Lioness
Main Followers: Mjoll the Lioness (Motormouth Mjoll), Serana, Rayya the Overkiller

Lord Haaf-Mersey is also known as the Crusader from Cyrodiil, and is supposed to be a Breton/Nord (but mostly Breton). He grew up in a good home somewhere in (or near) Bruma. His family was well-to-do and he had a strong education, but he was raised to speakth in a tongue long-lost to the majority of Tamrielites.

He had some sort of military training, and may have spent some time working as a guard. Sometime in the 4th Era/Year 199 a crude Nord Warrior named Thor a'Zaene (also from Cyrodiil, Thor was my second Skyrim character) became the first to discover loot and wealth in some of Skyrim's draugr barrows. Since all of Cyrodiil's forts, ruins, caves (etc.) had long been plundered, Thor's discovery created a rush to Skyrim; many folks wanting to become wealthy. Lord Haaf-Mersey moved to Skyrim not to become rich, but because rumors were that a civil war was about to erupt there, and he had also heard some sort of 'calling'.

Being a devout follower of The Nine and also somewhat of a historian, Haaf-Mersey researched all he could find about the great adventurers of the latter Third Era. He became rather obsessed about Dyan phor a'Cauz, a Paladin who managed to save Tamriel from the wretches of Umaril the Unfeathered. He eventually began having a series of visions in which Dyan would speak to Haaf-Mersey directly.

When Haaf-Mersey moved to Skyrim he initially looked into assisting the Nords on their side of the Civil War, but it did not take long before he decided not to do this. After moseying a bit in Whiterun Hold (mostly keeping the land free of bandits and other baddies), Haaf-Mersey eventually found his calling when vampires began invading the holds of Skyrim. He joined an uprising of fighters known as the Dawnguard, and eventually rose to defeat Lord Harkon, saving Skyrim from a sunless world (among other things).

Lord Haaf-Mersey can be found living at his home in Falkreath Hold with his adopted daughter (Lucia), his wife (Mjoll the Lioness), and his Steward (Rayya).



This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Jan 6 2014, 12:06 AM

[monkeyemoness]

So during the 3 weeks my PC was out of commission I ended up playing a bit of Skyrim on the 360 because I had lost my Oblivion GOTY disc (still had the game disc, though, but I couldn't play without it even if i probably wasn't going to touch either DLC).

Vanilla Skyrim honestly makes me itch, but at the same time I ended up appreciating it after years of playing completely modded. Less distractions. Less clutter. Less impressive, of course, but still.

Anyways, during that time I decided to take my old Dragonborn for a spin (almost) the way he was meant to be played, after a few failed attempts with Requiem and other mods on the PC. It was great getting him back to his less aggressive playstyle, and for the first time I gladly played through past Diplomatic Immunity.

When I got my PC back I saw his adventures through to the end the real way he was meant to, with only the bare minimum mods needed for his ideal playthrough. I ended up making a Mod Organizer profile titled "Old World Memories" in case I ever wanted to play any of my original "pre-cosmic retcon" characters with as little mod interference possible.

So finally getting to the point, today I ended up hovering over his original, finished save file from before PC times as I imported more save files to this profile. The preview image felt...lonely? Poignant? Then I somehow ended up here and thought, why not make a little memorial? To FINALLY put him to rest.


Aza-jo final pic

Final Playthrough Date (game): 11:53 AM, 17th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 201 (in-universe time, it's at least 4E 203)
Final Playthrough Date (irl): 5/21/2014 (this is the date transferred to PC, might be earlier)

Total Gametime: 70 Hours

Class: Warlock (?)
Primary Skills: Illusion, Conjuration (focus on Necromancy), Speechcraft (focus on Bartering)
Secondary Skills: Destruction (focus on Shock), Enchanting (bare minimum), Sneak


Factions: Winterhold Mage (no outstanding rank), Bard


Days Passed: 92
Hours Slept: 597
Hours Waited: 62

Final Gold: 65700 (possibly more in storage)
Gold Found: 1070633

Chests Looted: 806
Skill Increases: 609

Quests Completed: 60
Misc Objts Completed: 60
Main Quests Completed: 18
Side Quests Completed: 21

Locations Discovered: 150
Dungeons Cleared: 67

Homes: Breezehome [sold], Proudspire Manor [sold]
Children: nope
Spouse: no thank you
Main Followers: what

Assaults: 127
Murders: 115
Favorite Shout: Become Ethereal
Favorite Spell: Thunderbolt
Favorite Weapon: Pickaxe (?)

Background:


His time in Skyrim:
To say that Aza-jo was unfit for the role of Dragonborn is an understatement. Of course, some might say the complete opposite: that he fit the role a little too well. His past experiences, the clash between his goals in relation to his world view and the implications of being a prophesied Hero, and a rather unfortunate combination of traits led to him becoming an awful, self-loathing monster that simultaneously saw himself as being above all other mortals.

At first it seemed like things could have turned out okay, in spite of the encroaching despair. In his travels he befriended a group of people--other adventurers--"beautiful" like he was. He found a loyal companion, a peer, a valuable asset, and a potential mentor.

Then, not long after he decided to embrace his nature as Dragonborn, Miraak appeared to challenge him. In his rush to eliminate him, he gained knowledge of the world that he was better off without--further increasing his doubts on whether he'd ever be able to change the way his life turned out.

Then he began to doubt the loyalty of those close to him. Deep down he knew most of them didn't like him and barely trusted him, but having the faith he had in his closest ally shaken didn't do him any favors.

So he did the reasonable thing and threw himself at the whole Dragonborn business, all the while abusing his developing magic. Partly motivated by what little hope he had left, and partly out of malice and spite and just a bit of morbid curiosity, he began to toy with the worlds and lives of alternate versions of himself to see just how far he could go before facing divine retribution. When it was clear he could get away with it, he started picking fights with Daedra and Divines, all so he could become stronger, and succeed where Miraak had failed.

To end this already long post, he succeeded against all odds, but not without a heavy price, and not without changing the goalposts a little. He ended up as a disembodied demi-lich, while his companions received the absolute best outcome possible without absolutely borking reality. His happiness relying entirely on their success, and in his mind being set on the path to atonement for all the atrocities he committed against the people of Skyrim in his world and his hapless counterparts and their worlds, he felt he could finally be at peace.

Not in death, seeing as it's virtually impossible for him now, but comfortably watching the rest of Nirn's story and never forgetting those that made it possible.

==

And with that, I lay this asshole to rest. He was honestly a very fun playstyle, one more geared toward careful and creative gameplay over brute force (again, without Requiem). My favorite part was hiding in the back of the room and casting Frenzy on a group of enemies, then watching as they tore each other apart. I also thought the theme of manipulation and domination that Illusion and Conjuration bring was perfect for a Dragonborn, but I also didn't want to do a "typical" Dragonborn character akin to what we see in the trailers/promotion. I wanted someone who was weak and a coward. Someone who would only act if they were guaranteed success, or if their pride was at stake. I also love how he seemed to fit the role of a "Cat Sith" of Scottish folklore, being a soul-stealing ghoul-cat, both dragon and mortal souls.

Dunno how well I did as far as building a believable character goes, but i gotta say, even though it sort of hurt to play--and still does--this is 100% what I want my "canon" to be. I enjoyed it. Good night, Lich Kitty. He might get a "redemption arc" in TES VI, but for now, I'm happy with where he is. They say a nice couple bought his house in Solitude for a very generous price the day he disappeared.