Reviewed by Barry Little - October 19, 2007

ESRB Rating: M (Mature 17+)

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is undoubtedly one of the most popular, single-player RPGs that ever hit the PC. Official and user-created mods that enhance the experience is one of the reasons it remains among the top-selling RPGs. This week, Bethesda Softworks released the Fighter’s Stronghold - DLC 6—the last, official  plug-in for Oblivion. And for this week only, it’s absolutely free! Let’s take a look…

Fighter’s Stronghold provides the fourth of three DLC houses tailor-made for specific Elder Scrolls IV characters. Vile Lair was released for evil-doers (vampires and assassins). Thieves Den for (surprise, surprise) thieves. And Wizard’s Tower (Frostcrag Spire) for mages, wizards and other characters specializing in magic.

Like the other house plug-ins and unlike the “generic” homes throughout Cyrodiil in the game that your character usually must pay for outright, as soon as you locate your new digs, you can move right on in—no Speechcraft game to raise dispositions to purchase the deed from the town’s duke, duchess or butler, and no playing Ghostbusters to vacate other-worldly spirits from the premises. Of course, you do have to shell out some coin to furnish the place, and there are usually a few mini-quests involved to uncover some useful items. Best of all, there’s also a fascinating back-story involving the history of the house and its previous owner(s) that tie in nicely to the Elder Scrolls IV universe. Fighter’s Stronghold is no exception.

Fighter’s Stronghold provides warrior/adventurer types with a beautiful castle named Battlehorn Castle, located on the outskirts of Chorrol in the scenic Colovian Highlands, near the borders of Cyrodiil and Hammerfell. A shade over 10MB to download (and free of the usual trashy DRM—at least for now, anyway) once installed, you receive a journal entry that Battlehorn Castle is under siege by marauders. The castle’s commander has been killed, and the surviving defenders are offering it as a reward for anyone who comes to their aid in repelling the attack. With the location of the castle conveniently marked on your map, you sharpen your sword at the nearest smithy, and ride off into the sunset to save the day.

Darius could see the castle from the distance as he raced up The Black Road on his mount Spirit. He slowed the horse to a trot, and then stopped him as soon as he spotted the bodies lying in the middle of the road. Dismounting, Darius took Spirit by the reigns and left the road, finding cover behind a rock formation next to it.

“Ssshhh!” Darius pressed a finger to his lips and said to his horse who was becoming uneasy. Spirit immediately calmed down and remained still. Partially hidden by the tall grass around him and using the rock formation as cover, Darius kept low as he made his way towards the road where the bodies were.

The three dead men were clad in steel armor, killed by Daedric arrows. An ambushed patrol. Darius recognized the coat of arms on the shield lying by one of the men. It was identical to the one on the flags unfurled at the front of the castle up ahead.

Movement in the grass near another embankment of rocks on the opposite side of the road caught Darius’ eye. The Marauder Archer was a female High Elf. Her blonde hair and the yellow-gold coloration of her Elven cuirass made her difficult to spot as she lie in wait for her next kill. Darius notched his bow with one of his Silver arrows. The three lives she had just claimed would be her last. Darius drew the arrow back as he took aim. The muscles in his arms became steel. The world around him was momentarily shut-out. Nothing existed except the target, and the slow, steady beating of his heart.

Darius made a whistling sound like a bird. The High Elf drew one of her Daedric arrows from the quiver with blinding speed, notching it in her bow as her eyes scanned the area like a hawk for the source of the sound. She spotted the Redguard through the grass on the other side of the road a millisecond too late. The steel in Darius’ arms relaxed. There was a brief, low-pitched howl of metal guided by wood and feathers as the arrow streaked through the air, followed by the sound of Elven plating being pierced and a mercifully quick cry of pain. Then silence. Staying low and using the cover of the rocks and high grass, Darius stayed low and made his way towards Battlehorn Castle’s front gate, and the fighting.

The Marauder Battlemage was using her Disintegrate Weapon spell on the bars of the front gate in the hope that they could be weakened enough for her two Orc and Nord compatriots to break through them. The castle was down to less than a handful of defenders. Her other High Elf Archer had one of them pinned in the tower, while her Imperial Archer tried to keep the other one in the courtyard occupied. He fired off another arrow at the Battlemage, but missed as the Imperial Marauder drove him back behind cover with another volley of her arrows.

“Hurry up! I’m running out of arrows!” she shouted to the Battlemage.

“Then kill the miserable little bastard before he puts an arrow down my throat!” the Battlemage shouted back, letting her magicka recharge before attacking the bars of the gate again with her spell.

The Imperial would have been more than happy to oblige—except she suddenly found herself dead.

One of the Orcs heard her cry out as she fell to ground with an arrow in her back. He also saw the other archer lying by the roadside entrance to the castle who had also been silently slain by an arrow.

“What in Oblivion—“

He never finished the sentence. An arrow seemed to come out of nowhere, finding its mark dead-center in his chest, while the Nord standing next to him spun around with his axe at the ready just in time to suffer the same fate. The Detect Life enchantment on the Marauder Battlemage’s helmet picked up the “signature” of Darius’ body hidden in the tall grass next to the rocks.

“There!” she pointed out his location. “Kill him!” Drawing their weapons, the Orc and Nord charged Darius’ position.

“Damned witch,” Darius muttered, glaring at the Battlemage as he drew his sword and shield. “So much for the element of surprise…” He invoked his Adrenalin Rush power and sprang from cover on his two assailants like a mountain lion pouncing on its prey.

Darius kicked the Nord in his chest before he could even think abound bringing his Glass Claymore down upon his head to split it open like a ripe melon. The blow disarmed the Nord and sent him flying backwards, skidding across the cobblestone road with such speed and force, sparks flew from the seat of his Ebony Greaves.

The Orc felt as if his Daedric War Hammer struck a mountain when it collided with Darius’ enchanted Hammerfell Shield. The burly Redguard barely flinched from the blow, but his Fine Iron Longsword staggered the Orc Marauder when he tried to block it with his hammer. Darius was merciless as his barrage of devastating blows with the sword weakened each of the Orc’s attempts to block them with his hammer. Letting out a savage war cry, the marauder made a desperate lunge and swing with his hammer, hoping to knock the Redguard’s head from his shoulders. Darius dropped his shield as he ducked under the swing of the hammer. Holding the sword with both hands, he drove it up and through the Orc’s belly to the hilt. More than half of the blade exited through his back as Darius lifted and held him off the ground by the sword handle until the Orc stopped screaming, twitching and kicking—which wasn’t long—then dropped him into his own pool of blood. Darius unsheathed his sword from the Orc’s body and grabbed his shield.

Not having the good sense to just lie their quietly and die, the Nord Marauder was back on his feet, charging Darius with his claymore poised to cut him in half. The Nord swung with enough power and fury to cut down several heavily armored men over and over, but he could not break through Darius’ shield as he feigned and circled him. The horrific sound of hardened volcanic glass against enchanted iron driven by unyielding flesh and muscle echoed and thundered through the air again and again.

“Is that all you got?!” the Nord taunted, driven into a blind, murderous rage at his inability to land a killing blow against his Redguard opponent, whose leer mocked and taunted him as he expertly blocked every strike of the Claymore while keeping his sword ready for the kill. “I’ve fought mud crabs fiercer than you!”

Before the Nord could draw his claymore back for another strike, Darius spun towards the outside of his enemy with his shield still in the guard and block position, and lashed out with his sword. There was a brief, sickening sound of razor-sharp iron slicing through flesh and bone, followed by a violent spray of blood. The Nord’s body suddenly stiffened, and his claymore fell to the ground—followed by his head.

“You should have stuck with fighting mud crabs,” Darius said to the Nord’s headless body that dropped to its knees before falling over.

The Marauder Battlemage let loose a volley of lightning and fireball spells that would have electrocuted and broiled Darius on the spot, had he not been wearing an amulet his daughter gave to him as a gift that allowed him to resist magical attacks and reflect spells. The amulet didn’t stop the spells from knocking the Redguard off his feet and sending him flying through the air into the nearby bushes, his shield flying one way, his sword another. He felt as if he had just been dropped into the lava pits of Oblivion and walked through a thunderstorm at the same time—and he couldn’t move. The magic in the amulet struggled to prevent any physical damage to his body, as it sent flashes of purplish, sparking light over his skin. When his vision slowly shifted back into focus, he saw the Battlemage standing directly over him. She reached down, yanked the amulet from around his neck, and tossed it over her shoulder. Her hands began to glow, crackling with energy and burning with white-orange flames. An evil smile spread across her lips.

“Time to die, my troublesome friend!”

Suddenly, the Battlemage stiffened, her eyes going wide as the murderous power surging through her hands ceased. She began to move her mouth but no words came out, only blood. She fell to her knees, and Darius saw a man in steel armor standing right behind her, glaring at her. When she keeled over on her face, that’s when he saw the Steel Shortsword buried to the hilt in her back. Darius looked over at the Breton’s lifeless face. Even with her enchanted helmet, he could tell that she wasn’t a bad looking woman. What a waste…

The man in the steel armor helped Darius up to his feet while another standing nearby handed him his amulet.

“Thanks,” Darius said.

“No,” the man replied. “It is we who owe you thanks. If you hadn’t come along when you did…”

“We’re all that’s left of Lord Kelvyn’s Knights of the True Horn,” the other one said. “There are only two more Battlehorn Men-At-Arms inside. And the Smith.”

Darius was stunned. “That’s it? And what of Lord Kelvyn?”

“This way,” he said solemnly.

They took him over to the castle’s front gate. Darius didn’t really notice all of the bodies until now—marauder and castle defenders alike. It must have been some battle. Among the dead, was a Redguard in steel battle raiment. It was Lord Kelvyn. Beside him was a shield bearing the Battlehorn Castle coat-of-arms. His hand was still on the sword than was buried in the chest of the marauder lying next to him. Darius felt a pang of sorrow. If only he could have gotten here sooner...

“This is indeed a dark day for all of us left. But I thank you for risking your own life to help us.” He handed Darius a sealed envelope. “Here, take this. It’ll tell you all you need to know. As the newest master of the castle, I bid you welcome.”

Darius whistled twice towards the road. His horse Spirit came galloping from behind cover and stopped in front of the gate.

“You can keep your horse there, sir,” the second knight told him, nodding to the stable in the castle courtyard. Spirit bobbed his head and struck the ground twice with a hoof as if in agreement. He probably was tired of being out in the rain and chased by bandits, wild animals, Ogres and Minotaurs out to kill them both, Darius though with a smile. He opened the envelope and read its contents—a Last Will and Testament penned by Lord Kelvyn. His face turned grim.

“As the new master of the castle, what are your orders?” the first knight asked.

Darius looked over at Lord Kelvyn’s body. “Get everyone together. We should see to it that Lord Kelvyn and any other fallen Knights of the True Horn are given a proper burial. Then we’ll secure the castle as best we can for the night.”

The second knight nodded towards the bodies of the marauders. “What of them?”

Darius glared at their bodies and noticed a group of Ogres in up in the hills who had been watching the fighting. He could make out three of them, but there were probably more of the hulking, cannibalistic brutes lurking among the rocks.

“We’ll take whatever weapons, armor and anything else useful from them. Then dump them along the roadside in the bush.” He glanced up into the hills again. “They’ll be gone by morning…”

Once you’ve repelled a small band of marauders, one of the surviving Battlehorn Men-At-Arms will give you Lord Kelvyn’s will, which officially makes you the new lord and master of Battlehorn Castle.

According to the will, Lord Kain of Lainlyn, Hammerfell was forced to split-up his Knights of the True Horn and send them into exile after failing to unseat the tyrant Baron Shrike (with a name like that he could hardly be anything else but a tyrant), in the hopes that they could one day be called back to liberate their land. Lord Kelvyn’s father Jaren, was one of those knights, establishing Battlehorn Castle as a place of refuge where they would also prepare for the day when they would receive word to return home. As you can probably guess that message from Lord Kain never came. Although Lord Kelvyn took the reins from his father, he was eventually overwhelmed by the financial and logistical burden of keeping the estate running. The frequent and increasing number of attacks by marauders didn’t help matters, either.

To restore Battlehorn Castle to its former glory, you’ll need to seek out an old friend of Lord Jaren’s—a Dunmer named Nilphas Omellia. Located in the Imperial City’s Market District, Omellia holds most of the castle’s valuables in storage and on account. You’ll need to throw some gold his way to get it back, as well as hire the essential personnel needed to keep the castle up and running, and secure.

Battlehorn Castle has just about everything you would expect it to have for the well-to-do warrior and adventurer. A secret treasure vault, a trophy room, a large and majestic master dining room. Your posh, private bedroom has its own study and library, and you’ve got display cases to show off your favorite armaments and other valuables. There’s also a wine cellar, servants quarters, training room and a garrison for a full complement of your Battlehorn Men-At-Arms. The castle’s blacksmith has his own cottage (and pet wolf). And there’s a good sized stable with a fence for your horses in the front courtyard. The guard towers can be quickly accessed outside the castle. So if you’re being pursued by enemies you can take cover inside the castle and drop the main gate, then dash to one of the towers to safely snipe at them. Your Battlehorn Men-At-Arms have Silver arrows as part of their arsenal. If they happen to be in the towers when you duck inside and close the gate behind you, they’ll engage any pursuing enemies on sight from the towers. Of course, you can also access the towers from inside the castle as well. On a clear day, the view from the central tower section is absolutely grand.

What castle doesn’t have its own secret passageways—and darker secrets? During your initial exploration of Battlehorn Castle in the Fighter’s Stronghold DLC plug-in, not only will you discover secret passageways that provide shortcuts to the basement and access to the aforementioned treasure vault that is chocked with storage containers to stash armor, weapons and all of your loot from adventuring. You’ll also learn the fate of Lord Kain, and the location of a secret, underground grotto within the bowels of the castle itself which holds more than just an enchanted sword and shield leveled to your character. Suffice it to say, that if you’re familiar with the Mages Guild faction quests from the original  Elder Scrolls IV game, you’re in for quite a surprise!

Clearly, you don’t want to find yourself falling into the same trap that the late Lord Kelvyn did when it comes to the upkeep of your new property. Even if your character has accumulated quite a bit of capital from quests and loot-sweeping in Cyrodiil’s ruins, forts, caves and mines, there’s nothing wrong with a few friendly, helping hands that will allow you the luxury of focusing on more hero-oriented (and profitable) tasks. When you purchase your castle upgrades from Nilphas Omellia, any personnel required for the upgrade are automatically “hired” and included in the package.

Retired from the Imperial Legion, Captain Athon is retained to command your Battlehorn Men-At-Arms. He will make sure that the garrison is at full strength, hiring additional men as needed. Your Men-At-Arms will follow their own routines of eating, sleeping, patrolling the castle grounds and standing watch. You can command them to follow you as you would any other friendly faction NPC. Their combat stats and skills are a little better than those from Oblivion’s factions and the Knights of the Nine DLC and the Shivering Isles Expansion Pack—but not much. Their behavior under fire is pretty much the same as all the other “escort” NPCs. Stealth is not their forte, and don’t expect them to survive any protracted brawls with higher-leveled enemies that you should be dealing with. If any of them get killed in the “line of duty” Captain Athon will simply hire a replacement. Of course, being a former Imperial Legion commander, Captain Athon is a lot tougher and more skilled than any of the “generic” Men-At-Arms. But chances are, he still isn’t going to be as tough or skilled as your character. And if you lose him, you’re not going to have anyone to command the garrison and hire replacements. Best to let the good Captain enjoy his retirement making his rounds, keeping the grunts in line, and handling the new-hires.

Not only will Arena Champion Shagrol gro-Uzug set up your training room, he’ll be your sparring partner using either a dagger, one-handed or two handed weapon. He’s pretty tough—but after all, he is an Orc. The worse you can do is knock him unconscious—but don’t worry—he won’t hold it against you (I wouldn’t try my luck outside the training room if I were you, though).

When you buy your trophy hall upgrade, taxidermist Melisi Daren is part of the deal. Bring her the ingredients on the list she gives you of Cyrodiil’s most feared animals, mythical creatures and Daedric beasts. You’ll be rewarded with impressive, larger-than-life replicas that will make Battlehorn Castle the talk of all Tamriel. She’ll need a day to complete each replica, but true works of art can’t be rushed.

Your bedroom, library and study comes with a maid—Rona Benanius. Not only does she keep everything tidy for you (well, in theory anyway), she’ll provide you with food and drink while she’s on duty. Best of all, she’s not the annoyingly chatty type like one particular maid I know in Skingrad…

Speaking of food and drink, the former head chef of the Tiber Septim Hotel, Plautis Rusonius joins the staff of Battlehorn Castle when you purchase the kitchen area. He’ll keep everyone else fed and serve meals in the great dining hall, during the usual hours, and will be more than happy to whip something up for you after hours.

Most of the better houses in Oblivion have a wine cellar. But how many of them have an on-staff vintner? Not only will Talan keep your wine cellar fully stocked, but he will provide you with a list of alchemical ingredients that grow in the wilds of Cyrodiil he can use to brew up special wines for you that do everything from enhance your strength, agility and personality to increase your resistance to diseases. So how did he get so good? His sister is the famous Tamika of Tamika’s Vineyards in Skingrad (it’s hard to play Elder Scrolls IV and not come across bottles of her renowned wines). You’ll also find two huge barrels in the cellar; one for mead, another for cheap wine. Each barrel contains enough mead or wine for 20 bottles, and dispenses one bottle at a time into your inventory each time you “use” it. Once the barrel is empty, you’ll have to wait a day for Talan to “replenish” it. A perpetual supply of booze. No wonder the marauders kept trying to raid the place!

Once you’ve got everything situated and your new home furnished, you’ll get a note from Nilphas Omellia in the Imperial City, who offers you a deal on an ancient Dwemer Forge that will temporarily add the Dwemer Fireheart skill to your character, boosting their Armorer skill fifteen points whenever they stand near it. Purchasing the forge completes the “quest” for buying all the furnishings for your new home.

So what happens after you've purchased everything? Well, the Fighter’s Stronghold DLC is just a house add-on, albeit the most elaborate one that Bethesda has released to date. You’ll find three skill books that are also interesting reads. A day after you’ve bought everything for the castle, Lord Kelvyn’s Chest will appear at the foot of your bed containing Lord Kelvyn’s Bulwark—a steel shield bearing the castle’s coat-of-arms with leveled Fortify Health, Endurance and Block enchantments. Nilphas Omellia becomes another Imperial City merchant you can trade with on a regular basis. Your staff performs their daily routines and honors your usual requests. Now that your new domicile is revitalized and up to full military strength, the word is out that there’s a new sheriff in town (or more accurately, in the castle) who’s a hell of lot tougher and meaner than the old one. So that army of marauders who were so intent on overrunning and seizing Battlehorn Castle have wised-up and gone back to robbing and terrorizing hapless travelers along Cyrodiil’s roads and being the Imperial Legion’s problem. Other than that, it’s business as usual for your hero or heroine.

If you have Erik Peter’s Book Placement Mod, Beancounter’s Decorator Assistant v1.1 mod (and the enhancements for this mod by Muhandes and ArchGaden); Cinnamon & Trey Leavens The Black Cat Jewelry Store - Daedric Statues mod, and Andrea_23’s [ENGITA] Reznod Mannequins HD mod, the Fighter’s Stronghold DLC provides a good foundation if you’re really into personalizing your character’s home. You’ll probably want to re-arrange the books on the shelves of your library and study. Bethesda didn’t do quite as neat a job as they normally do—most of the books are arranged with large, unsightly gaps between them.

The castle blacksmith Niels can repair armor and weapons, which is great for low-level characters with minimal Armorer skills that may be short on repair hammers at the time. Higher level characters with advanced Armorer skills who stay stocked-up on repair hammers probably won’t have much of a reason to deal with him—especially after you’ve purchased the ancient Dwemer Forge—unless you feel like being sociable and pop into his cottage once in a while to say hello (and catch the latest rumors). Still, somebody has to keep the armor and weapons of your Battlehorn Men-At-Arms in shape, I suppose. If your character has a high Mercantile skill, you’ll get the usual option of investing 500 gold in Niels’ shop—even though he doesn’t have as much as a single repair hammer to sell.

Even if it was no more than a simple retexturing, I think that the Battlehorn Men-At-Arms deserved something more “elite” looking than the somewhat bland and generic steel armor and shields. It also would have been nice if Bethesda had included a travelling merchant or an adventurer from Lainlyn who would drop by and sell your character a nice set of enchanted Knights of the True Horn armor and weapons (perhaps ones used by Lord Kain himself) that are more fitting for the new master of Battlehorn Castle.

Still, these are relatively minor things, and I don’t doubt that it won’t be long before Oblivion’s Über-talented modding community comes out with some mods of their own for this mod—similar to ones that have shown up for other Bethesda DLC plug-ins.

Although Bethesda’s last official plug-in for Oblivion doesn’t quite go out with the jaw-dropping “BANG!” that many of us would have hoped for, the Fighter’s Stronghold - DLC 6 is a definite must-have for the Elder Scrolls IV-faithful. And for this week only (October 15^th through October 21^st), you certainly can’t beat the price.

Father;

 

It is wonderful to hear from you again! Congratulations on your acquisition of Battlehorn Castle and your retrieval of the Talon of Akatosh. I daresay that any marauders foolish enough to assault the castle now won't live long enough to regret it! I have just returned to Priory of the Nine and I am currently overseeing garrison operations before our next assignment. The Council of Elders sent us on an earlier mission to investigate rumors that remnants of the Mythic Dawn were forming an alliance with Necromancers and were organizing in numerous enclaves along the borders of Northern Cyrodiil.

 

Unfortunately, it was not a rumor. Their combined numbers are far greater than anyone could have imagined. Many bandits and marauders, who individually were a nuisance at best, are starting to join their ranks. Even worse, a large number of rogue Conjurers and Wizards from the Mages Guild are also involved. We were discovered before we could quietly withdraw to warn the Council of this new threat. Although we inflicted heavy casualties as we finally evaded the fanatical Mythic Dawn and Necromancer hordes, it was not without a price—four of my finest Knights were lost in battle. My heart has never been heavier. Not since Garlas Malatar have I witnessed so much death and bloodshed.

 

Under the circumstances and based on what you uncovered about Lord Kain within Battlehorn Castle, I am now thoroughly convinced that Lord Kelvyn’s demise is no coincidence. The authorities in Hammerfell and the Imperial Legion are on alert along the borders, but I fear they are no match for this new unholy alliance. Please remain vigilant!

 

Still no word from Jaiden or her whereabouts. My sources inside the Mage’s Guild and the Fighter’s Guild in Bravil have told me that a giant, bizarre-looking stone head with some type of portal that recently appeared in the middle of the Niben Bay might be involved in Jaiden’s disappearance. Wherever she is, I pray to Talos that she is safe.

 

I know it must have been difficult for you to give up your dream of becoming Cyrodiil’s Grand Champion in the Arena. But I can think of no cause that is more noble than restoring Battlehorn Castle to its former glory, nor a man and warrior no better to revive and lead the Knights of the True Horn during the dark days ahead that we all face. If Mother were still here, I know that she would be as proud of you as I am. Take care, and may the Nine watch over you. I hope to see you soon.

 

Love,

 

Ashante