The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon

The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon
Developer(s)	Bethesda Softworks
Publisher(s)	Bethesda Softworks
Series	The Elder Scrolls
Engine	Gamebryo
Version	1.6.1820[1] (as of July 09, 2003)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	NA June 3, 2003 UK June 27, 2003
Genre(s)	First person Action Role-Playing, sandbox
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Media/distribution	1 CD-ROM

The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon is the second expansion pack for Bethesda Softworks' The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. While it was originally released as an expansion set for Microsoft Windows, Bloodmoon is included within the Morrowind: Game of the Year edition for Xbox.

Unlike the first expansion Tribunal, which added a city separate from the world map consisting of interior cells, Bloodmoon adds a large new island to the original world map, a cold northern territory named Solstheim. Rather than the Dunmer (dark elves) that are the indigenous race in the nearby Vvardenfell, Solstheim is populated largely by the Nord race. This is largely because the island sits more or less astride the border between Morrowind and the Nord homeland of Skyrim.

This expansion adds new enemies, the East Empire Company as a joinable guild, and the possibility to become a werewolf, akin to the inclusion of vampires seen in Morrowind. Bloodmoon also uses larger and more detailed environments, including snowfall, thus raising the computer hardware requirements, though the ash storms of the original game are much more graphically demanding than the snow of Bloodmoon.

As with Morrowind and Tribunal, Bloodmoon has many side-quests to finish and many caves to explore aside from its main quest. Unlike Tribunal, which is intended to be played after the completion of Morrowind's main-quest, Bloodmoon's main-quest is self-contained within the expansion.

Plot

Setting

Bloodmoon takes place on the island of Solstheim, northwest of Morrowind, the main landmass of its eponymous game, and north-east of Skyrim. It is disputed territory, with both provinces claiming the island.

There are several distinct regions on Solstheim:

• Hirstaang Forest in the south of the island covers the area to the west of the Iggnir River and south of Brodir Grove. This area is covered with pine trees and thick grass.
• The Moesring Mountains are a mountain range in the north-west of the island. The mountains are located west of the Harstrad River and are continually covered with snow and ice.
• The Isinfier Plains comprise the central area of the island and are thinly forested (when compared to the rest of Solstheim). The ground is usually frozen and covered with snow.
• The eastern shore of Solstheim is known as Felsaad Coast. It is located east of Lake Fjalding and the rivers that run from it in both southerly and northerly directions. The environment of the Felsaad Coast varies from place to place and has some land that is similar to each of the other areas.

Towns in Solstheim include:

• Fort Frostmoth, an Imperial Legion fort at the southern tip of the island.
• Raven Rock, an ebony mining village run by the East Empire Company. It is located in the south-west of the Hirstaang Forest.
• Skaal, a Nord village in the north of the Felsaad Coast region.
• Thirsk, a Nord mead hall in the centre of the Felsaad Coast region.

Major landmarks include:

• Lake Fjalding, a large ice covered lake just east of the center of the island and also the Horker mating ground.
• Hrothmund's Bane, a strange ice formation that looks like a wolf from the air.
• Mortrag Glacier, a large ice glacier on the north-west tip of the island.
• Castle Karstaag, a large ice castle just east of Mortrag Glacier. It is home to the ice giant Karstaag and his Rieklings.

Story

In the Bloodmoon main quest, the player starts by doing odd jobs for the Imperials' Fort Frostmoth on Solstheim. When the fort is attacked by werewolves, the player must travel to the Nord village of the Skaal at the north of the island. The player must then perform several rituals to be accepted into the village. The player is informed of the Bloodmoon Prophecy, a ritualistic hunt led by the Daedra Lord Hircine. The Daedric Prince takes the four greatest champions on Solstheim, including the player, to his glacier home. He tells them that they must fight until only one is still living; if the player survives, they must fight one of Hircine's aspects - strength (a bear), speed (an elk), or guile (where Hircine fights the player in their own form). If the player wins, they must then escape from the crumbling glacier, thereby completing the main quest.

Additions to Morrowind

• Berserkers
• Bears
• Wolves
• Werewolves
• Draugrs
• Rieklings
• Spriggans
• Grahls
• Nordic Silver Weapons
• Stalhrim (Ice) Weapons
• Huntsman Weapons
• Wolf Armor
• Bear Armor
• Snow Wolf Armor
• Snow Bear Armor
• Stahlrim (Ice) Armor
• Nordic Mail Armor
• Nordic Alchemical ingredients
  • Wolf Pelt
  • Bear Pelt
  • Snow Wolf Pelt
  • Snow Bear Pelt
  • Ripened Belladonna Berries
  • Unripened Belladonna Berries
  • Holly Berries
  • Heartwood
  • Bristleback Leather
  • Grahl Eyeballs
  • Gravetar
  • Horker Tusk
  • Raw Stahlrim
  • Wolfsbane Petals

See also

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - set in the land of Skyrim, another Nordic territory.

References

1. ^ "The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon 1.6.1820 Patch". Bethesda Softworks. 2003-07-09. http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patches.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-16. 

External links

• Archived developer diaries.
• The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon at the Open Directory Project
• The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon at MobyGames