All are welcome.

Winter Wolf: That was Darth Serana, and I think she finds your lack of faith playing disturbing...

All of those and today's pics are from the Dawnguard main quest. While at first I was impressed with it, Dawnguard grew on me, and now it is one of my favorite things in Skyrim. Especially the new areas it introduces, like the Soul Cairn and the Forgotten Vale.


Acadian: However cold it may be within the glacier, it is far colder in the grave...

I love getting the glowing eyes in the all the low light pictures. It really brings home the nature of Team Deadwalker.

I did cheer when Serana threw down on Vrythur, and showed who really had the power in their blood.



The Dawnguard assemble

Hitting the beaches

Final showdown

Auriel's Bow

Auriel's wrath

Serana earns her keep

No escape for Harkon

The end

Götterdämmerung

Dawnguard Rising

A new moon rises over a land made safe for vampires and mortals alike

Even Valerica has returned to Nirn

As you know, I quite like the DG quest line. You feel like you are helping rather than being The Chosen One. Your partner Serana (who IS The Chosen One) is great and. . . best of all when the questline ends, you are not saddled with being the boss/guildmaster; instead, you can simply continue to quest for them as a knight of the DG (if you want).

Wonderful screenshots of some powerful game moments – you’ve captured them well, from the rousing peptalk to hitting the beaches to the final showdown with The Big Bad.

Serana did indeed show her worth as a temporary ‘tank’ while Persephone used the Bow of Auriel. Although Final Showdown is imposing in its own right, I confess that it is the shot Dawnguard Rising that showcases the awesomesauce that is the P&S team.

And, as Rider pointed out, the New Moon shot is sweet and poignant.

I’m anxious to know what happens to the P&S team now that Serana’s role in saving the planet is done.

Thanks for the information. I knew that I was looking at something important. Lol.

I shall look forward to the showdown. Everything looks really neat in your pics. I am surprised that a bedroom scene with P&S was not the last pic. Now that is a scary thought...

I am keen to play Dawnguard- I was attacked yesterday by some Nightstalker Vampire or something or other, and was most displeased with her attitude towards innocent little me. Lucky I called a Warrior Ghost to help out in the battle. That fixed her up!

I want to join the Dawnguard faction....but Serana is absolutely stunning...and I haven't even heard her voice dialogue, which is meant to be really well done.

Cain- Great pics from your set-up!! You have really showed off what is to me the best game I have ever played! It is much better than Skyrim version 1. I love the lighting, draw distance, god-rays etc.

No matter what faction you join in the Dawnguard questline, you spend most of it teamed up with Serana. Even though she's a vampire.

Thanks for that!

It does sound strange that a member of Dawnguard works with Serana. Must be that my Dragonborn has bad eyesight as well....

Now all I need is the marriage mod on Xbox...

I've only played DG from the 'good' side and even for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the way the story is done for that side makes fine sense. Buffy already knew from Count Skingrad that not all vampires were the incarnation of mindless evil. And Serana is another exception to that. Ironic yes but well-done.

The Road to Helgen

Lake Illinalta

A pair of great scenics, Cain!

SubRosa: Nice job with all the action shots. Man I wish we could have tfc 1 in Oblivion. "Hitting the Beaches" is spectacular.

Cain: Lovely shot of the lake. Do you have Hearthfire?


In other news, Nassqa managed to find a quicksilver vein! Oh yeah, exciting stuff for him. That's 10 gold per ore right there, instead of the usual 4 for an iron nugget.

The pine woods road and mountain lake look like a wonderful vacation getaway.

Uh, I think it is available in Oblivion.

It doesn't work in Oblivion. I remember having to go into god mode to take any kind of action pics, because I often got killed doing so.

Really? I thought Victoria used it in Oblivion, but ... no, that was in that huge Oblivion mod she used; Nehrim. Didn't she?

I do, and that shot was from the mill nearby, just after I bought some lumber.

Acadian: Serana is definitely the Chosen One in the Dawnguard questline. I loved her showdown with Vrythur and her father. I had not thought about it, I also love that it doesn't end with you being made the administrator of yet another faction. I always hated that in Oblivion and the other faction quests in Skyrim.


Renee: Action shots are so much easier with the TFC 1 command. I tended to get killed trying them in the older games. I have a Killcam screenshot mod too, that automatically takes pics during every killcam. So that helps too.




A Lopov pic

Ready

I modded up a new skin for Durnehviir, from Bellayche's Dragon Texture Replacer mod

Persephone teams up with another dead girl

Zephyr

Now how to get in?

Lost to the Ages

The Forgemaster

Persephone leaps into action

Hammered

Anybody don't went to get killed, better head out the back again...

Ghost in the darkness

mALX: Oblivion has tfc, but not tfc 1. I can make the camera fly around, but not freeze the game while doing so. In my latest Sarah story, all of the action shots (with Joan) were taken in real-time while I was flying the camera around. I basically had to take a pic, pause the game, think about where I wanted the camera to be next, unpause, take another pic, etc. This worked okay for Joan since I wasn't controlling her, but it would be awesome if we could have tfc 1 to freeze time while our own t00ns are doing the p2ning.

Heehee, a Lopov shot! Every character should get at least one!

Wow, you made that skin for the dragon? Very nice. What is that...textures or meshes? I always get those two mixed up.

Lookit all the fires!. Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!

Love the look of determination she's got in the second-to-last shot.

Renee - Great shot of Nascar doing what he does with his trusty pick axe.

*

SubRosa -

Heh, as soon as you said Lopov pic I knew what to expect!

Ready is very cool – a great shot of Persephone, her elegant blade and old Blue Eyes.

Wow, Durnie looks spectacular – no longer like a second-hand dragon you might find at the thrift store.

Another dead girl! I love Katria and her quest!

Yikes, the Forgemaster! But the bigger they are the harder they fall (my little elf likes that saying).

Ghost in the darkness is very neat. I like the sideways glance Persephone gives us.

Great pics! What kind of armor is Lopov using?

Winter Wolf, thanks! I thought the same thing, it looks like those two are having one of their "discussions."

ghastley, wow, Greenspring Stronghold has never looked better! I see the tower is in a different position now. Beautiful.

SubRosa, I love the Forgotten Vale series. Loosed is my favorite. Darth Serana, nice! The Army of the Dead looks awesome, I love the three different colors of glowing eyes. The end of Harkon series is spectacular! You captured some perfect moments with Persephone and Serana both in the frame. New Moon is my favorite. Wow. Ah, Katria! I wondered what Persephone would do next. Helping a ghost fulfill her dream sounds perfect. Gosh, Durnie looks gorgeous. I love the dragon allies. Ready and Head Out the Back Again are my favorites from this group. Persephone's new armor looks fabulous.

mALX, thanks! My ESO and Skyrim SE pictures are all from the PS4. I can't free the camera, unfortunately, just capture what's on the screen. Funnily enough my Skyrim SE looks a lot more colorful on the TV than in the screenshots. I had to take a picture of the TV with my phone and compare to be sure I wasn't seeing things, lol.

Renee, thanks! This time in character generation I was scratching my head over why I couldn't get it right, then I moved one more slider a little and there he was. Welcome back to Nassqa! I love his look. I think wandering around (and occasionally running away) looking for ore is a great way to experience Skyrim. Pursuing simple goals with a character can be so relaxing.

Cain, congrats on the PC! Your game looks gorgeous. I love the Loreius Farm view, and the Riverwood picture really captures the new feel of the game.


I have encountered some weirdness in Jerric's SSE game, so I'm waiting for another patch. Just like 11/2011, lol. Jerric has just started Dawnguard. It suits him well. He's used to getting this look from women.

Grits - Hee! It will be fun to see how long before Jerric gets around to looking at her eyes and figuring out she's a vampire. Probably won't happen 'till she gives him the 'Hey, my eyes are up here.' comment.

Serana: I was expecting… someone like me.

Jerric: Someone with nice hips?

Serana: Um…

Jerric: Someone with a small waist?

Serana: No.

Jerric: Who wears a C cup?

Serana: *palms face* Put me back in the box.

Did he just climb out of the frozen pool naked?

I guess that Nordic frost resistance only provides 50% ice water protection.

If things go the way they did the last time, poor Serana will not get any happier to see Jerric. Maybe this time he will lighten up a little. I don't remember if he has ever finished the DG questline on the Xbox. Probably not. This might be the time he does it.

Absolutely. There's something about his game that's so relaxing. He has a tendency to just walk around, looking at the ground, looking for those obvious ore veins. He goes in all sorts of uninteresting places none of my others would even bother with!

Anyways, this set of Nassqa pics is much more exciting.

Nassqa dig much ore

Man with tail want steal Nassqa ore (....I mean, seriously, my laid-back Akavir has contract killers coming after him?

Nassqa run, shoot bow

Make arrow fly, hurt man with tail

Man with tail no more

Nassqua neuter man with tail!

Seriously, the Dark Brotherhood is after miners now?

Nassqua shoot good, wags tail no more.

Happily, the tail *groan* ends happily for Nascar after only a miner *groan* distraction.

Seriously, those DB dweebs are not the sharpest pickaxes in the mine.

That does it! SubRosa and Grits have talked me into starting Dawnguard!

Let me see- which way is Riften?

**

I see that miners are being chased across Skyrim now. That is not fair! Life is hard enough swinging a pick all day as is.

Ahh, good to see that Nassqua is also a great shot with a bow. And he can also out-distance a fast moving cat. I am impressed!

Awesome action pics!

Uh oh, Naasqa may have mined the wrong ore vein! Great shots of his assassin adventure. I'm glad he prevailed to dig another day. You know, I've realized that he must have quite a few gems in his pack with all of that mining. Maybe someone wants his jewel collection.

Winter Wolf, good luck with the Dawnguard! Jerric is traveling with Searna at the moment. The last thing she said to him was to keep his hands to himself! (I'd never heard that line before!)

Cat-man want Nassqua's family jewels!

Thanks Grits! I have just hooked up with Serena but her daddy kicked me out of the Vampire Castle. I am just about to journey back to Dawnguard and have a chat, but I am off doing some DB assassinations in the meantime. I didn't expect Serena to be lugging an Elder Scroll. Lol.

Ohh, and I have just found a cool mod for Xbox. Have any PC gamers here already used something like this?

Very cool. Especially running over Thalmor patrols.

Carriage system

That is AWESOME!!!!!!!

Do you drive, or does the game just have you along for the ride?

If you want to drive yourself, you need my mod where you make your own wagon, and then buy a horse, and drive.

I think I will try your mod, ghastley. I had a carriage mod for PC awhile back, but it would crash my game every time. And the carriage moved too fast anyway.

Thanks you all for your Nassqa comments, they make me laugh a lot. Good to have you playing Skyrim again, Wolfie.

In all the driving mods I looked at, they effectively control the horse, as you would when riding it, and mine's no exception. You choose run/walk just like you would when on foot, and the caps lock toggle and "C" for continue work the same.

Driving at full speed all the time will crash your wagon, so I included a "Reset Wagon" spell to put it back in on its wheels. I think I got a decent compromise on bouncing over rocks, but your driving may vary from mine.

Very nice. Thanks for the link, Ghastley.

I haven't used the other mod yet, but you just tag along in the back while it runs over people and crashes around corners in the Reach. Lol.

Acadian: Durnehviir is a lot better with his new skin. Though I still keep forgetting to summon him!

Katria and the Aetherial Forge quest was great. I just wish the final reward was better. Most of my characters don't have a use for any of the three items you can choose from. Persephone is one of the few to use one, but only because I found a mod that makes the crown invisible, and lets her continue to wear it with her hood.

The Forgemaster was actually very easy. Two hits from Persephone and he was dead.


Renee: Beavis and Butthead would love watching Persephone, she kills half the people she meets, and burns the rest!

The skin is a texture. The mesh is the 3 dimensional model that is underneath it.


Cain: That is not Lopov in the Lopov shot. That is Persephone! We call it a Lopov pic because of our very own forumite Lopov made that type of picture famous: centered on the character, who is staring directly at the camera.

The armor she is wearing is Dragon Carved Armor. I only came across it a few weeks ago.


Grits: Persephone always shines the most in the quests involving the dead. She is their champion.





The Iron Chef

Persephone comes to the Pirate Haven

Persephone leaves the Pirate Haven

Dark of the Moon

Krosis meets Durnehviir

@ Iron Chef. Ironically, I think I'd rather have a meal from that draugr warlord, instead of the foofy crap they'd serve on the actual show. At least I can afford the Skyrim Iron Chef's menu, without spending half-a-day's wages.

Love the Pirate Haven & Dark Side of the Moon shots.

SubRosa - Old news: I know what you mean about forgetting to summon Durnie. Like you, I really liked Katria and her quest. I always got the Aetherium Crown and gave it to Mjoll; she was big enough to wear it in style.

*

Iron Chef Darryl whipping up some Draugr Bone Stew!

Bad day to be a pirate!

Dark moon is a fabulous shot.

Yay! Persephone remembered to summon Durnie to help with Krosis!

Renee: I have never seen the Iron Chef, or any of those cooking shows. I just remember the name. The one I remember the most is Wok With Yan. But that would not have made a good picture title.


Acadian: Maybe it is Dead Drop Soup that he is cooking up?

Dark Moon was weird, with the moon being all black like that. I don't know if it is a bug, but it sure looked neat.


I will avenge you

Broken Star

Starside

Avenger

Cleansing

Face to face

Lost his head

A Star Reforged

Great shots! Inside the Star truly looks like a place that Persephone could love.

Violent justice for he who would defile the Mistress of Twilight's Star!

I join Rider in very much enjoying Azura and her quests. After all, she is Buffy's godmother and this is how my elf sees Azura: 45 second vid

The Emergence of a Dovahkiin.

That reminds me, I must try and suppress the blood-spatter for SE. I wonder if the same technique that worked in OE still applies?

I can't understand the logic behind that effect, especially as nobody wears a helmet with a glass visor.

It's super annoying, I'll give you that.

That white dragon looks really cool. Is it bad that I am rooting for it?


But think of all the homeless people with squeegees ready to wipe off your helmet!

Possibly. But, only because Honmir is delivering the death blow in that screenie.

Great shot of that pretty imposing looking ice dragon!

Thanks! I'm still practicing the art of the screenie.

Getting better at punching in 'tfc 1' and 'tm' on the fly.

Loviatar has come to plague Skyrim

Her dwarven robo-slave

A light snack

What is this about the Hall of the Dead?

Feasting hall

The main course

Grilled Priest

bon a petit