Story Plot Ideas

Key Plot Point For Skyrim Discovered?

Before I start to get into some of the juicy details that connect these two games, let me start by saying that this article will have MAJOR spoilers for those of you who have not beaten The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. If that is the case and you have not beaten it, I suggest you get your copy and run through it before Skyrim releases in November because it is nothing short of amazing.

With that said, I recently went back and beat Oblivion since the release of Skyrim is drawing ever closer and found that there were some interesting plot points that could lead to a huge tie in with the story of the upcoming Elder Scrolls game.

First we will start with what we already know about Skyrim. You play as a member of a group of legendary individuals known as the Dovahkiin (fun fact:in the dragon language this is translated as Dovah meaning “dragon” and Kiin meaning “child”), or Dragonborn, and you are tasked with finding out why dragons have returned to Skyrim and are wreaking havoc on the land. From what has been officially announced so far, you start the game out in prison and are about to be led to execution. The charge? Crossing the border into Skyrim. For reasons that are yet unknown to us, you are freed and set out on your adventure.

From what we learned in Oblivion, The descendants of Tiber Septim are known as Dragonborn and are the only ones who could properly use the Amulet of Kings to its full potential. After the death of Emperor Septim and most of his sons, only Martin Septim was left as the last hope for the land of Cyrodiil. You soon learn that Martin is the last of the Dragonborn and that he is the only one that can carry on to rule the lands once he relights the Dragonfires with the use of the Amulet of Kings. In the final battle of the game against the Daedric Lord Mehrunes Daegon, Martin uses the amulet and shatters it, releasing the power inside it and transforming him into a dragon. After defeating Mehrunes Daegon the dragon turns to stone meaning that Martin is dead along with the Dragonborn.

Fast forward to where we are today and we learn that players will take the role of a Dragonborn in the upcoming game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. But how is that possible if Martin was supposedly the last of their kind? There are a few different perspectives that I have on this.

The first is that there is a potential plot point within the game that explains either how the Dragonborn returned or why they never disappeared in the first place. This could appear as a crucial plot point part way through the game or even be explained in the very begining. Hell I would even settle for a set of books or a conversation that explains the origin of the Dragonborn. My second guess is that perhaps there are multiple different types of Dragonborn throughout the different provinces of Tamriel, though this seems like it would be a weaker and more diluted explanation for the connection. It would be interesting if they found a way to keep the storyline truly consistent with Oblivion and had a great explanation as to why there is another Dragonborn out in the world other than just saying “Oh there are different types of these unique people.” But hey, only time will tell what the story of Skyrim holds for us fans.

Time to Write: Need ideas for your novel or screenplay plot? Try ...

You're probably familiar with mind mapping. If you're stuck on a plot, a variation I call Consequences Mapping might be helpful especially during the early stages of developing your story.

You start with one thing you know you want to have happen in your story. For an example, let's say you want to write a story about how losing one's job can lead someone to extreme actions (this could be a short story or part of a novel or screenplay). You know that the character will lose his job, so that goes on the left.

Draw three lines out from that, one upward, one straight out, one downward, and attach one possible response to each of them. These might be: in retaliation he trashes his office/ he takes valuable information with him on a memory stick/ he decides to sue the company.

From each of those, draw a line and jot down at least two possible consequences. 

Trashes his office: he's arrested/ he's blacklisted within his industry

Takes valuable information: blackmails to get his job back/ sells the information to competitor

Sues the company: is offered a payoff to settle/ is counter-sued

You can keep branching out with the further consequences of each development you write down (start with a big piece of paper and write smaller as you go along). It's an excellent way of generating loads of plot points quickly. Of course some won't fit the character you have in mind, and that's fine; ultimately you'll choose only the actions and reactions that make sense. 

You're probably familiar with mind mapping. If you're stuck on a plot, a variation I call Consequences Mapping might be helpful especially during the early stages of developing your story.

You start with one thing you know you want to have happen in your story. For an example, let's say you want to write a story about how losing one's job can lead someone to extreme actions (this could be a short story or part of a novel or screenplay). You know that the character will lose his job, so that goes on the left.

Draw three lines out from that, one upward, one straight out, one downward, and attach one possible response to each of them. These might be: in retaliation he trashes his office/ he takes valuable information with him on a memory stick/ he decides to sue the company.

From each of those, draw a line and jot down at least two possible consequences.

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