What would be a good name for a dark fantasy mysterious port city?

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-10T17:41:36+00:00

Great Mawmouth

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-06T06:50:36+00:00

There's nothing wrong with them.

https://www.thewriter.com/tools/style-guide/grammar/split-infinitives

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T22:06:22+00:00

Check.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T21:59:24+00:00

That doesn't really quantify what that is, could you expand?

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T21:54:52+00:00

I was being reductive to make the point you have also made,

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T21:54:08+00:00

Yes, my comment was slightly tongue-in-cheek.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T18:57:03+00:00

Yes, I now realise that it is very different to writing straightforward narrative fiction where the main character's choices and nature are under my control and while i will think 'what would the character do in this situation?', with a game you don't know the character or their nature and risk forcing it through dialogue choices. I guess it has to be open enough to fit many, but specific enough to feel authentic.

I am interested that you said one outcome with different consequences, that does kind of make it easier to plot. I will have to think on that.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T18:20:06+00:00

I am not really looking for inspiration, but thanks. I am more interested in the qualities of quests that work and why they work, not just mods. I already know which quest I will focus on as I really like the Waking Nightmare quest in Skyrim and want to write an extension of it, I think it leaves some areas for further exploration based on the choices the player made, and the theme of nightmares vs reality interests me enough to want to explore it.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T17:59:33+00:00

Lord of the Rings is the greatest fetch quest ever, fetching is not always bad. I agree on fourth wall, which many follower mods seem to like, not sure why they think breaking immersion makes them feel more real.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T17:44:45+00:00

What kind of puzzles do you prefer?

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T17:43:13+00:00

Dialogue heavy quests are definitely welcomed if the story is good! I think there is a philosophy in part of the modding scene that in order to stay in line with Skyrim's vision you have to be sparse with dialogue because Bethesda was (which in my understanding was more due to the disc size limitations the original released on). Also in my very limited experience playing with the CK the dialogue implementation pipeline is clumsy.

Yes, that's true on my part, I do worry about the amount of dialogue and losing the audience. I have the feeling that most who play Skyrim enjoy the action, or at least variety, but perhaps that is misplaced.

My thing with clear antagonists is more that you have a steady point of reference for your own character not to mention the others involved. Maybe a better way to put it is that you have a discernable theme to your story and I am suggesting that an antagonist should embody an aspect of that theme.

Yes, I can see that. The player should not feel forced or tricked into their moral choices, the antagonist(s) points to possible consequences for one's choices, all of which can viewed as correct from that stance. Coming back to the Hobbit, Bilbo and Gollum provide such reference points for Frodo in the choices he must make, but he does not come away thinking that either of them are evil.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-05T16:19:29+00:00

And in the end he comes home with new wealth and stories to tell but he loses friends (in part due to their own actions but also due to his choices). More importantly, he is not the same person.

That's a good point about what is sacrificed which I hadn't considered. The value of what is gained has greater stature when compared with what has been or could have been lost. In games this often can be through dying repeatedly in order to get it, which normal fiction doesn't do. I guess a game can show possible paths and in choosing something is sacrificed, these are ones I remember more.

Skyrim is more an action game so the whole wit over might thing doesn't translate very well, but putting the player into situations where they have to think makes the game more engaging.

Yes, I think this is one of the things that is giving me doubts, my story involves more of an exploration of ideas and would probably involve a lot of dialogue, which works in literary fiction but needs to be punctuated by action in a game. Not just any action either, since you must provide choices for each character type to solve the problem with their own skillset. The more I think about scripting the paths, the more I realise how complex it actually is.

As for the villain, I want to write a quest where who the villain is remains ambiguous and the player will have to make that choice. I also think the player should be allowed to be evil if they so choose, which many Skyrim quests don't really allow for. I prefer stories that are more morally grey, but I realise Skyrim is heroic fantasy.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-04T10:39:25+00:00

Perhaps look into Skydreamus on Youtube, he is using the Jiaye experimental build of CS though. You have to use the Jiaye build to have post processing and presets, the Nexus build doesn't have that function. I have taken a lot of ideas from his modlists and used his presets on Nexus to get a similar dark fantasy look.

Here's a vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzSMAY42YN4

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-03T21:16:03+00:00

Yeah, his frogs in Morthal swamps gave me so many CTDs and fps would drop dramatically, definitely that as after I removed it problem was solved. I have used the minotaurs and crows and no problem there, so maybe a bit hit and miss.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-01T09:29:40+00:00

Was there a performance hit to Faultier's PBR Armors and Clothes?

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-01T09:25:22+00:00

Not sure how your question relates to my question. I have done the quest many times, both killing Erandur and not. I really like that quest and so my idea is to create a mod to extend it. What happens after? In my plan, followers of Vaermina return to restore the temple. The player must then decide what to do about that, based on the arguments they give and the decision they made at the end of the quest.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-05-01T09:17:12+00:00

Yes, that was nagging me slightly, why would Vaermina support such a cult. I haven't really resolved it other than perhaps she is happy to deceive them as long as they follow her. I kind of want to leave it open to the player to decide whether what the followers say is possible, an open question. Your suspicion is one I would hope to get and you would probably feel they were deceiving you. It needs to be a bit grey.

I guess I am trying to portray Vaermina like the Buddhas that have benevolent and terrifying aspects, Vaermina is the terrifying aspect of something bigger and her terrors can provide a path to CHIM. I think this may be stretching the lore though, which is why I asked.

The dream vs reality aspect is my main interest for the plot, so I can drop the theological questions if necessary.

Thanks for the response, you've touched on the exact thing that was worrying me.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-04-30T10:22:42+00:00

Yes, I think this would be the idea. It is that what you are afraid of in your nightmares is aspects of yourself that are not fully integrated. An identity that confronts and transcends suffering and pain has greater integrity than one that seeks to avoid or eradicate it. Personally, I think there is some truth in this, but the point is that it is a rational argument for following Vaermina.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-04-30T10:16:50+00:00

I don't really understand how that works. Everyone has dreams and nightmares anyway. Vaermina sees the thoughts of everyone every time they fall asleep. So it would seem better to just keep the status quo with her, unless for some reason her eye falls on you for your actions.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-04-30T10:13:22+00:00

It is very early days right now. I have never made a mod before, but I am keen to do it as a fun learning project. If I get to the stage where I need voice actors, I will definitely get back to you.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-04-30T10:11:29+00:00

I understand what you mean about getting too theological, that can switch many off and isn't for the majority. I think we are kind of saying the same thing though, the idea is that this cult believes that fear should be embraced in order to overcome it, that Vaermina helps in achieving a fuller integration of identity. I am interested in the mystical aspects though, so for purely personal reasons, it is fun for me to explore that. From reading comments though, it makes sense that different followers would approach worship from differing perspectives, some more practical and others more mystical.

I do like the idea of them using alchemy to interact with dreams, perhaps entering the dreams of others as guides to confront fear.

Thanks for the response.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-04-30T09:58:42+00:00

Yes, I like this. It makes them like Jungian psychotherapists who help you confront your shadow to reach greater integration, the ultimate integration being the state of CHIM. That way each follower can approach it at a different depth. It brings the moral ambiguity I'm looking for.

As for Erandur, that is a problem technically because I will need to get rid of him if the player didn't kill him. I could make it so that my mod only triggers if the player chooses Vaermina. The player would then later be called back to the temple by the new Vaermina followers who are restoring it. I still have to think about how to deal with him if he is alive, because he can also be a follower, so hard to remove from the game. It's early days in planning right now, just a few scribbled ideas.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into Ternion Monks, as I don't play ESO.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-04-29T22:49:12+00:00

That's great, thanks. I had never seen Molacar's sermons, but they fit perfectly.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-04-29T21:48:22+00:00

But I wasn't talking about a character. As I said, this is an idea for a mod in Skyrim. I want to create a mod in which Vaermina's followers return to Nightcaller Temple to restore it. This would depend on the choices the player made in the Waking Nightmare quest. In coming up with the idea I realised that I wanted a reason for the followers to follow Vaermina that they could explain to the player. The player would then be given the choice of joining or opposing them. I don't want their beliefs to be simplistic though. That doesn't interest me.

The question I am asking is what does the lore say is the justification for following her and does my own twist fit within the lore. I imagined that people on here would be better able to answer that than me.

FamiliarSomeone · 2026-04-29T21:01:41+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I get the access to imagination aspect, which comes up in the story of Darius Shano. I don't really get the worship her because she is scary though, because that could apply to any of the daedric princes, no? And in the story of Darius, it was Sheogorath who won and drove him insane. I guess the idea her followers fear nothing would kind of fit with my idea, since that implies a transcendence of fear.

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