WIP: Katria - Lost to the Ages

[JazzyJazz]

For nigh on twenty years, my steps walked the deepest parts of Tamriel, breathing the traces of the long-lost civilization.

The Name's Katria - a scholar, Dwemer enthusiast, adventurer, tomb raider, you name it.
From Morrowind to Hammerfell, I dedicated myself to uncovering the secrets they left behind.

Here, I found myself wandering my homeland again.
The clues I gathered alongside my apprentice led me back to this cold, harsh land.

Who would have guessed that the thing I desired the most was hidden within the motherland herself?
Sleeping, waiting for me to awaken it - the Atherium Forge.

From the mythical black bow to the fascinating machinery stallion, I collected everything, proudly displaying them in my museum.
And yet, none excites me the most than the hints I found at Bthalft.

At long last, the final piece of the puzzle is in my hands - the ruins of Arngthamz.
Finally, after years of research, I'm one step closer to my dream.

I can feel it! I'll be the one to discover what has been Lost to the Ages.

This build is the continuation of my mini (well, probably not so mini, lol) follower builds series, where I roleplayed as followers from the vanilla game, Dawnguard DLC, and Dragonborn DLC. The first one was Teldryn (the order is reversed, weird, I know), and their stories are all connected.

This one has been sitting in my folder for quite some time, and the playthrough is already finished (I don't know why I just haven't started the writing process). But because I recently moved to a new PC, I forgot to copy the important notes I took when I played the build... and I only remembered wee bits, lol.

Although I did copy all of the screenshots, headers, and artwork - the completion of this build might still be... let's say in the far future, as I haven't completed reinstalling and reconfiguring my new mod list (a.k.a. I'm just being lazy because my previous LO has over 1500 mods).

That being said, this follower build, as you can guess from the title, reimagines the story of my favorite quest follower from the Dawnguard DLC, the gothic vampire GF with daddy issues Katria from the quest Lost to the Ages. This is her story before she met her demise in the ruins of Arngthamz.

 

Theme: Corridors of Time

While there are other followers introduced in the Dawnguard DLC, the quest Lost to the Ages has got to be one of my favorite parts about the DLC. It is unique, charming, and fast-paced while also offering some puzzles that don't treat you like a dumb kid, and the rewards... fabulous Atherium arsenal!

So naturally, I had to recreate one of the most charming spooke ghosts in the game, Katria, the original owner of the mighty Zephyr (not so mighty actually). As usual, the above bio summarizes her profile and stats. I will go deeper and explain more about her skills and combat prowess in, unsuprisingly, the Skills and Combat section.

Regarding her morality, she is a Neutral one. She will not do any evil or uncanny things, but she is no saint either. Dangerous quests that put her life at risk should be avoided except the ones related to Dwemer discovery. If she is going to meet her end, let her passion and the depth of the Dwemer ruins be the one to claim her breath.

 

GEAR:

Necromancer's Hood
Dwemer Mail Armor
Dawnguard Gloves/Iron Spell Knight Gauntlets
Remnant Boots/Iron Spell Knight Boots
Thief Backpack
Zephyr
Dual... Circular Dwemer Axes added by the Fishing CC with a weird-ass name

 

As you can see, the drip is dripping, goddamn! The OG vanilla Katria wears somewhat of a weird mix-and-match armor that doesn't really suit her playstyle - Steel Armor, Leather Bracers, and Imperial Boots. Not only the combination is not effective, but the look is also bland and boring, so the cooler Katria has to level up.

I'm beeeeg on the aesthetics and would rather my characters look Gucci than have powerful enchantments, and here's what I came up with - a Steampunk Dwemer-sih rogue-class... kinda look. All the pieces are vanilla AE except the goggles and the reskin for Zephyr to differentiate it from the common and boring Dwarven Bow.

There are two versions of the combos - the left one was my initial vision, but it is not-so-roleplay friendly because Katria has to join the DG to get the gloves and help the Remnant Agents to get the boots. Helping the Remenants... is somewhat viable, but why the fuck she would want to fight vampires? She is a Dwemer scholar and scientist.

The right one is the alternative version, which still looks okay (although they are heavy armor pieces). The Iron Spell Knight Gauntlets and Boots are easily obtainable, and you can just grab the items without progressing the quest - because again - why would she want to endanger herself fighting a Hagraven and a whole camp of Forsworns?

Zephyr here... is kinda difficult to replicate. The only Bow with a similar effect to Zephyr is the Bow of Shadows, but it is too edgy to my liking. If you have access to Console Commands, I suggest just console Zephyr.

 

For the modded aesthetics... I forgot the name of the mod, lol, but it is one of Xtudo's creations. While giving a different vibe, my vision at that time was to present the modded armor as somewhat complementary aesthetics for the vanilla one. The vanilla combination looks like a battle gear, lol, and I imagined Katria would wear it when she delves into dangerous Dwemer ruins.

The modded clothing/armor is what Katria would wear during her leisure time strolling the city, managing her museum and collections, plundering bandits, etc. Now, Fuse00 released the Shadow Armor sometime after I had finished taking the screenshots, and it is an absolutely fantastic steampunk armor that fits the modded aesthetics better in my opinion.

So yeah, I plan on redoing the screenshots when I have the time (and the mood), maybe all of them, lol. I took the screenshots when I was still kinda new to modding, and now looking back, some of the color tones feel... off (also too many gears).

 

VANILLA

One weird principle I had when constructing the builds was all of them had to be level 42 (idk why, lol), and also offer different perks-overhaul mods as an alternative while staying true to the vanilla taste just with a bit of extra flavor. Teldryn is also level 42 and he tackles Ordinator, so Katria follows the same step but with Adamant instead.

Most of the perks I chose imitate her combat skill in-game, a combat archer who is also a dual-wielding duelist (despite her class being a thief). The main show is of course Archery with Zephyr, dual-wielding on One-Handed, Speech for economy, a bit of Light Armor beacuse the AR (Armor Rating) is low, and Sneak for sneaky-sneaky.

I honestly forgot why I moderately perked Alchemy there, lol. Sure, it could be useful, and I also owned the Lakeview Manor with a greenhouse (I think), but I suppose I would remove Alchemy and replace it with Lockpicking instead to better illustrate her class and give an easier time unlocking doors and gates in Dwemer ruins.

 

ADAMANT

Again, I forgot the decisions when choosing these perks back then, lol. But as previously mentioned, these perks serve as an alternative version for those who prefer moded gameplay. The premise still functions the same as in vanilla, but they offer more "flavor", and of course, you can install some balancing mods to... well, balance things out.

 

If I remember correctly, the combat is divided into two playstyles - Zephyr and dual-wielding - both with their own advantages and disadvantages, similar to the OG Katria - simple and humble. No spells and shouts because Katria is not a DB nor a damn pussy mage, so use scrolls and concoctions you bought/looted to help turn the tables.

Combat with Zephyr is straightforward and fast-paced. You can rain down arrows with this beautiful baby while still keeping your distance, and there is also that one perk that increases the knock-back chances. The CC Elemental and Tele Arrows also serve as new fun toys that boost Zephyr's advantage further of being a more versatile option.

Since Sneaking is moderately perked, you can thin out the enemy's number by sniping the weaker ones or just straight dishing out the boss' HP with that sweat Sneak Attack Bonus before they discover your location. Because Zephyr has a so-so damage, stealth archery is not going to break the game and only functions as an opening move in some encounters.

 

On the other hand (or hands), combat with dual wielding is much more deadly as you can deliver some serious damage with the funny-looking axes. The disadvantages are... it is monotonous and dangerous in most scenarios. You can't block while dual-wielding, the axes have short range, and not to mention Katria's low AR.

The Serpent Stone power can help paralyze all nearby enemies once per day if things spiral out of control. As stated before, scrolls and armaments are also important to support both playstyles. The elemental magic damage is replicable with the Elemental Arrows, so Atronach and Illusion scrolls are more valuable to provide some tanking and crowd controls.

 

Againnn, I forgot a good 90% of the roleplay flow, lmao. I just saw these screenshots and guessed what roleplay I had back then. From what I can remember, her journey in Skyrim is to trace the hints of the Atherium Forge, all while collecting Dwarven artifacts and opening a Museum to proudly display her collections.

 

Here is the brief summary;

Delve into Dwemer ruins,
collect all Dwemer artifacts (Peryite and Malacath can have her soul as long as Katria can get her hands on that sweet Speelbreaker and Shrek Hammer),
and go to Markath and chat with Calcelmo (I forgot what else to do in Markath, but there is definitely something there).

 

Go to Falkreath, become the Thane, buy the Lakeview Manor, and start building the trophy room to display your collections.

 

Go fishing and do the quest to get the Dwemer fishing rod and the funny axes (I just roleplayed fishing as Katria's hobby, lmao, and it makes for a fun change of pace).

 

Go to the College and befriend Arniel to locate Keening (I used the mod At Your Own Pace to roleplay Katria not as a student).

 

Go to Blackreach and uncover the mysteries there (you can recruit any blade-for-hire because things will get chaotic down there).

 

Go to Solestheim and recruit Teldryn to help collect the artifacts on the ashen land.

 

Bring Teldryn back to Skyrim and prolong his contract to accompany us tackling the various CC Dwemer-ish quests.

 

By the time you reach this point, you most likely have ventured into Bthar-zel (Deep Folks Crossing), Raldbthar, and Mzulft - the ancient Dwemer alliance associated with the Atherium Wars and, of course, the Atherium Forge. All of these replicate OG Katria's journal, which led her to the final piece, the ruins of Arngthamz...

After all of that, it is finally the time to enter Arngthamz ruins and realize Katria's dream. And... what's next? What do you mean what's next? That's it, lol. This is the story of Katria before she became a spooke ghost, so her adventure ends in Arngthamz. We know what happened to her when we first entered the ruins and met the scholar in her spectral form...

 

Well, thanks for stopping by! I know this is still a rough WIP, and not sure when I will complete it, but if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to. Have a nice day! :)

 

Remember when I told you that these followers' stories are connected? Well, in Señor Sero's case, Katria hired him to accompany her in fetching the Dwemer artifacts in Solestheim. But what about Katria's case? Who is the next follower who connects her story?

Katria was so fond of the Teldryn's skills that she prolonged the Dunmer mercenary's contract to help her trace the remaining artifacts back on the mainland. However, when the two were about to enter the ruins of Mzinchaleft, they stumbled upon a wounded and unconscious female warrior.

After lightly tending the warrior's wounds, the scholar and the mercenary carried the female warrior to the temple of Mara in Riften, hoping the priests could provide the poor soul with better potions and healing spells. The two asked Maramal not to mention their names should the female warrior finally awake from her slumber.

Thus, the warrior never knew the real saviors of her life. But wait... doesn't this sound familiar? Yup, you guessed it. That person is none other than our beloved Nord Mommy Warrior, Mjoll the Lioness!

I always found it weird that the weak and pathetic-looking boy, Aerin, has the bravery to venture outside of his baby home (let alone to a damn Dwemer ruin) and has the strength to carry Mjoll all the way back to Riften with his chicken legs. Sooo, using this not-so-logical narrative told by Todd, I weaved the connection between Teldryn, Katria, and Mjol. :)