Category:Examples of City Integration

Please understand that this is just examples of lore telling of some of the various locations and is by no means what is intended for the actual story. The authors, WIKI and forums will be used to create the lore. It is simply easier to give examples for the purposes of explaining how quests and NPCs can be used to connect locations together.

With that said, I’ve taken those liberties to create a few back-stories on four different city/towns and a settlement to show how lore would possible change the depth of connection and involvement for each of these.

Example lore and integration

With the city populations swelling fast over the years many have tried to settle on the outskirts of Skyrim, trying to forge a modest life wherever then can. Most of them not able to afford buying land within the holds; they made do with a nomadic lifestyle roaming the fields and mountains of Skyrim. They were constantly forced to move on when confronted by soldiers of the Holds, the Jarls demanding payment for living within their boundaries. Finally out of desperation more than anything, a group of them bought a large underground mine situated under a small mountain on the far west of Whiterun Hold. The mine never really produced much in the way of minerals, but it featured an unusually large cavern that some of them could see the potential for a place to build their own homes, without the fear of eviction from the Holds. In a short amount of time, a full city emerged, such was the need and shear determination of these most skilled of merchant and trade workers. Mine shafts were converted into streets and living quarters. Shops are suspended from cavern walls. Through the haze in the depths of a mountain, the Undercity is a testament to the spirit of what can be achieved with hard work and ingenuity. The nomads who roamed to the far corners of Tamriel have brought exotic goods not often found in the other markets of Skyrim. Collectors like to make special visits to the Undercity when they are looking for something a bit different.



The Jarl of Whiterun has become irate over the years, protesting that the residents of the Undercity need to pay taxes directly to Whiterun, after all it is in their provenience. But the residence of the Undercity refuse, as they legitimately bought the mine and were forced to build underground in the first place. Tensions are high between these two cities.

After speaking to some of the founders of the Undercity they ask you if you could infiltrate the council and obtain information about what their next moves are.

Will you help these people and be an agent within the council of Whiterun?

'What will be the conclusion of what you find out?  Will Whiterun threaten to impose its military might to enforce this law?'

How will the Undercity respond in the face of protecting all that they have worked so hard to call their own?

According to legend, the Bosmer witnessed the death of Y'ffre, the Forest God, first of the Ehlnofey to die. In his passing, his spiritual energies formed an Earthbone, a natural law, to limit certain aspects of the world.

Yffre's Earthbone placed a limit on the ability of a being to change its form and nature, as previously they could change them at will. However, the Bosmer, having witnessed the formation of the Earthbone, learned how to manipulate it to avoid its restrictions.

At the close of the Third Era a Bosmer prophet, the Precursor, preached that the old Forest God Y'ffre would return with new gifts for his favoured people.

Many believe the first of these gifts is the return of the Eldergleam as one of the Graht-oaks; a giant set of trees spanning up to a mile high and half a mile wide. The Eldergleam Tree is the oldest living thing in Skyrim, if not all of Tamriel and is blessed by the goddess of nature, Kynareth.

The phenomenon started not long after the dragon crisis. Worshippers of Kynareth would make the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary where it resided, and noticed the remarkable change in their scared tree. It started growing at an exponential rate, rising to the heavens. In a few years it became one of the grandest sights in all of Skyrim.

The Bosmer know well how to avoid the usual restrictions of shape and form and see the trees transformation into what it has actually always been; a beacon for hope chosen by Kynareth in the early creation of Tamriel. Some of these wood elves from the Valenwood, after hearing rumours of the Graht-oak, chose to make the pilgrimage, not only for reverence, but in troubled times of war, also as a refuge for their people granted from Y'ffre himself.

Truly a sight to behold; the Eldergleam stands more than half a mile high and is home to a large number of Bosmer, who have shops, inns, everything you would find otherwise in a one of fortressed cities of Skyrim.

As well as some Valenwood Bosmer, others have gladly made it their new home, a welcome from the otherwise unwanted presence in some of the other over-populated cities of Skyrim.

Farengar Secret-Fire was approached by the College of Wispers, an organisation formed after the dissolution of the Mages Guild at the start of the Fourth Era, He was initiated with the intention that he set up a College in the province of Skyrim. The arch-mage for the College, Farengar has had an influence over Whiterun Hold that would see many a Jarl take his advice over the years. The security of their position seemingly decided on whether they agreed with him or not.

The College was erected north of Whiterun, and can be clearly seen from the balcony of Dragons Reach. They keep much of their practices in secret, wary of the citizens of Whiterun retribution should they discover anything untoward. It has been used to recruit those that show an aptitude for the dark and destructive arts. The organization participates in research, and are known to summon Dremora for questioning. Because the Synod, their rivals, oppose the study of Conjuration and Necromancy, the College of Whispers deliberately focus their research on it.

Farengar Secret-Fire remembers walking the plains of Whiterun and coming upon a tree eerily glowing in the night, a beautiful deep majestic purple; it was known to the locals as the Sleeping Tree. Little is known about it, people believe when the Red Mountain erupted, a piece landed in the area, leaving a crater from which a tree grew out of. There are also tales that it was a spore that fell from a floating island in the sky. An alchemist and magic user, Farengar was fascinated by what properties such an unusual tree might have. He tasted the sap and was instantly affected by a feeling of infusion and power.

Much like the Eldergleam, after a time it started to grow faster than the normal fair in Skyrim, however itself not one of the Graht-oaks, but it still grew to an enormous tree over 100 foot high in relatively short time. Once rumor reached the Bosmer of a second tree showing signs of unusual growth, they took it to be another gift from Y'ffre. Soon groups would gather to the tree, erecting shrines and making it part of pilgrim for the deities.

Farengar determined to carry out more research on the tree and use its magical properties for his own benefit, was meet with opposition from the worshippers who were now there to protect and guard it.

The College convinced folk of Whiterun Hold that it was another blessing from Kynareth, and that like the Gildertree, should be under protection of the Hold. Even the priests of Kynareth, thought the intentions good of the order, but the reality is something quite different.

A man used to getting his own way by now, Farengar marched a battalion of Whiterun guards to seize the tree. A wagon constructed for the sole purpose of moving it to his stronghold, was hauled by 14 mammoths to bring the tree into the walls of the College.

Those that tried to oppose the move that day were struck down; gravestones now mark where they died.

The Whispers order experiments on it, drains its sap, creating powerful potions from its life force to bolster their own magical abilities in unnatural ways.

Little is known about these magical trees, but no two spirits are more closely bonded than the Bosmer and the forest giants, since the time of the Green Pact. The Green Pact is an oath made by the Bosmer to Y'ffre, the forest deity, in return for his patronage. The pact dictates they cannot kill, injure, or eat any vegetation. The desecration of the Sleeping Tree, along with the killing of innocents has Bosmer all over Skyrim angered and ready to free the scared tree from its imprisonment and torture, for the Bosmer it bleeds they same way as you and I. No easy task as the Wispers order have become some of the most powerful magic users in all of Tamriel, such is the mystical power extracted from the sap. A direct attack on the College would most likely be a suicide mission, but thoughts of a stealth attack using the cover of night, might fair for a better chance.



Will you try to unveil the dark secrets of the College of Whispers to convince the people of Whiterun, that their faith in the order is false, with hopes to incite a revolt? Or is the lure of the dark arts too much for you to resist and hope to join the order of the Whispers to bolster your magical abilites even more?

The Bosmer of Pinewood have settled in Hjaalmarch now for quite some time. They have had an understanding over the years with each of the Jarls of the Hold that if they allow their guards and follow the laws then they can remain where they are without qualm. It has remained this way in a peaceful manner since they broke from the travelling Bosmer city of Falinesti.

They stand ready join with the Bosmer of the Eldergreen in a coordinated stealth attack on the College of Whispers.

'Will you deliver that message? 'Will you join the cause?''

Saviik City has a recent but interesting history. It was started by the Dragonborn after a confrontation with the dragon now known as Dremvalhok. Dremvalhok wanted peace, and so the Dragonborn and Dremvalhok found a home that would turn into Saviik City as we know it, a peaceful town where anyone who wishes shelter can live, without the politics of the Cyrodiil Empire or the Sons of Skyrim. They chose some old ruins on top of a hill overlooking Eastmarch and the Rift that were under bandit control which had been an important place in the history of the war between dragons and the humanoid races. The Fortress is built off the remains of a smaller fort that were still intact. Dremvalhok protects the city with his life, and all dragons know it. Some other dragons have flocked to Dremvalhok's side, and are now known as Dremdovah, or Peace Dragons. Most dragons still cling to old ways, however. Dremvalhok can commonly be found perching near the Dovah Temple, flying over the city, or hunting the nearby forests.

If a rescue seems like the only couse of action with the College of Whispers will you call on the aid of your loyal friend Dremvalhok, although a dragon of peace, also an advocate for freedom and justice?



'What if all your efforts fail and a battle looks inevitable? Will you even try to convince the residence of the Undercity that they should join forces with the Bosmer and directly attack the authorities of Whiterun, in a move so bold that it might work?'

Right so I’ve tried to tie in the cities with interaction so that the gamer have a reason to basically run backwards and forwards between locations with quest objectives that also has a back-story.

The design around these is to make sure that the authors mods work in both original setting and the new SNAP setting, as I think this will be the biggest concern for anybody thinking about joining this project.

There are several ways to approach integration.

There is going to be a main quest SNAP mod which will feature the main quest line, which ties the locations and story together. It will have the main quest NPCs who you will talk to get quest objectives and for dialogue. All of the main quest objectives will be in this mod.

So for example:

Undercity will have 3 quest NPCs who are key for the main story line.

Eldergleam has 3 quest NPCs who are key for the main story.

College of Whispers has 2 quest NPCs who are key for the main story.

Pinewood has 1 quest NPC who is key for the main story.

Whiterun has 3 quest NPCs who are key for the main story.

Saviik has 1 quest NPC who is key for the main story.

The Undercity by @borjoyzee.
Structure/Layout: Complete

NPCs: NPCs are walking, sitting, drinking, eating, sleeping etc, but no dialogue yet, other than the merchants buying and selling.

Lore: None.

Quests: None, but the author intends to add quests in the future.

The author is interested in the project but wants minimal input on their behalf.

In this scenario the author is happy with the proposed lore, so dialogue would be added to many of the NPCs to reflect the general history of how the city came to be formed. Individuals might have stories about how they were treated when they were above ground.

The main quest SNAP mod will add the 3 quest NPCs that the player interacts with about the various perils of Whiterun Hold demands, with quest objectives for the player. These NPCs will be some of the founders of the Undercity. The player will discover most of the details from them and be given objectives around being a “mole” for them and relaying information back to them as you discover it. Each quest NPC has a slightly different agenda, so events unfold differently depending on whom you talk to about Whiteruns plans.

The main quest SNAP mod will add 4 non-essential NPCs who will be walking around the city that would have some depth of dialogue around Whiterun demands.

So a total of 7 NPCs are created to fill these roles and are inserted into Undercity. These NPCs are exclusive to the SNAP story line so won’t feature in the authors original version.

The main quest SNAP mod could add a line of dialogue to every NPC in the city when asked the question “What do you think about Jarl demands that you directly pay them taxes?” This is very generic but adds a little bit more to the story.

The problem with this method is that there is potentially no cohesiveness if the author starts adding a lot of their own lore which starts to be at odds with the SNAP NPCs. (I have an example of this later on)

The author is interested and wants to add the lore and dialogue to their mod in general.

Same as above, but the author will add more dialogue to the current NPCs around the lore. It will not need the additional 4 non-essential NPCs as these were created to bolster the number of NPCs talking about Whiterun demands.

This is a much better scenario as NPCs can start having unique dialogue around events as they unfold.

Let’s say that during the course of the main quest the Jarl sends some soldiers to block the entrance of the Undercity until payments are made. The residence dialogue will change to feeling of being trapped. Some will have the opinions that they should just start paying the taxes and others will state that they should send their city guards to free them of the tyranny. Merchants will complain that they can’t stock their goods, etc.

This could be all done in the SNAP mod, but this starts to become complicated and really the purpose of the SNAP mod is to keep a manageable method of questing the gamer to various locations, not in organising entire city dialogue.

What happens if the gamer is not playing the SNAP version of the game, won’t the residence of Undercity being talking about Whiterun demands of paying taxes but nobody in Whiterun even knows Undercity exists?

Yes this is true. It doesn’t make the story any less real; it’s just that the Jarl and court have other pressing issues in the original game setting, like dragons, civil war, etc. The gamer doesn’t have any objectives around this either so won’t be bothered asking any questions to the Jarl about the Undercity. Remember that the quest for any additional dealings with Whiterun authorities will be exclusive to SNAP, so beyond the threat of having to pay taxes, no further progression of events would take place.

If this was unsatisfactory then it might be that the dialogue for Whiterun demands are only added to the authors SNAP patched version to save any confusion for the gamer playing within the original game setting. But this requires a bit more work on the author’s behalf and actually means there is less lore to the city.

Little Falesini by @hairdiaper
Structure/Layout: Complete, some interiors need clutter.

NPCs: It has NPCs and followers

Lore: It has lore

Quests: It will have some quests

Obisan/Estrada by @ilpinfas (College of Alumni)
Structure/Layout: Complete, some interiors need work.

NPCs: NPCs are generic, no dialougue.

Lore: None.

Quests: None.

You can fight hordes of trolls, skeletons, draemora, etc that are in a lot of the interiors. It has friendly dragons, werewolves, spectral dogs and guards dressed in Nightingale armour that walk around the city. The best way to describe this mod is that it is a diamond in the rough. Its content is totally lore-unfriendly and there is no interaction except fighting monsters scattered around the city. The exterior of the city looks great.

This is the place that I thought could be the setting for the College of Alumni.

What would need to be done to make it lore-friendly? Remove all monsters and NPCs and start with a clean base of the city. Need to remove a few lore-unfriendly buildings like a Dwemer tower and some dungeons.

This will mainly be filled with non-essential faction NPCs (Alumni order).

This might be the case that because no NPCs have been created, and no lore that the author will want the community to help create some characters to populate the town.

Let’s say there is a need for 20 NPCs to fill the town. The roles can be put up onto the WIKI and people can start filling in stories, dialogue, etc. I’m interested to see where this goes as what I’ve found with most people who work on a mod by themselves is that they get a bit stretched for ideas when it comes to creating characters. They often become a bit out-of-the-box and carbon copies if you know what I mean, and it’s a time issue thing as well.

Some roles might be put up like;


 * Members of the Alumni order


 * Villagers living outside the college walls


 * Food Merchant


 * Blacksmith, etc

People can start filling in their gender, name, some back-history, etc. I think the WIKI should be pretty awesome in creating some depth behind NPCs.

The decision on which characters will be added will always be up to the original authors of the location. This will always be respected.

The author may want help with the attributes of the NPCs as well, so if people want to create them and send it to the author to add, then that would be strongly encouraged. This is where spreading talent and having a bit of fun makes everybody’s efforts easier.

Pinewood by @kraggle
Structure/Layout: Complete.

NPCs: 17 voiced NPCs.

Lore: It has it's own lore.

Quests: None

As the mod stands it has a founder and leader (Thorian) that would make sense to add main quest interaction with him for continuity with the author’s original design. So here we have an example of when an NPC has not been created by the main quest SNAP mod. Quest objectives and dialogue will be added in the main quest SNAP mod however for manageability.

Some non-essential NPCs will be added to Pinewood village to represent a band of rangers ready to fight for the freedom of the youngling tree.

Saviik City by @Veltoss
Structure/Layout: WIP

NPCs: Have NPCs with full dialouge

Lore: It has it's own lore.

Quests: Yes

The main quest SNAP mod will add quest objective to talk to Dremvalhok, the peace dragon about helping with freeing the imprisoned youngling tree. Let’s say that it’s decided that he will be a decoy and distraction for the rescue mission.

For the purposes of manageability, because Dremvalhok is a key NPC with many quest objectives and dialogue within Saviik that a clone of him could be used for the SNAP version once outside of Saviik. This is up to the author to decide in cases like this how they want it to be managed to avoid conflicts.