Of all the new powers, weapons, and armor to come out of the Dawnguard DLC for Skyrim, the Vampire Lord form may be the most powerful and interesting new addition to the Dragonborn’s arsenal. Gifted by the mad Lord Harkon for rescuing his daughter, this form makes players feel truly at home among the other vampires of Castle Volkihar.
Located off the coast of the Haafingar region, this massive fortress of death holds many secrets waiting to be uncovered, some of which even Harkon himself doesn’t know about, which can be discovered roaming the halls filled with creatures of the night.
10 Deathbell & Nightshade
Deathbell and Nightshade flowers are found commonly around Skyrim, though usually around shrines and dungeons filled with Draugr. Inside Castle Volkihar, there are multiple planters littered around the halls which hold these flowers, which help to give the dreary space some much-needed color that isn’t splashes of blood smattered across the walls. These flowers, when combined at an alchemy table, make a potent Damage Health poison that goes along with the dark aesthetic of the Vampire Lords. Deathbell can also be used to make Weakness to Poison potions, potentially increasing the damage of Damage Health poisons even further.
9 Hidden Bone Hawk Jewelry
One of the many cool gear additions in Dawnguard is the Bone Hawk Amulet, which can be crafted by killing the Bone Hawks that fly around the outskirts of Castle Volkihar. Unfortunately, these birds are no easier to shoot down than those found on the mainland, making gathering materials for this necklace somewhat difficult. Luckily, there’s a display case in the castle library which holds a Bone Hawk Amulet and Ring inside. If players are particularly well invested in Lockpicking and Sneak, they can simply take these pieces of jewelry for themselves without the hassle of shooting down tiny birds.
8 The World’s Biggest Library
The library in the College of Winterhold is absolutely enormous, with the majority of books that can be found in Skyrim located within the protection of a grumpy Orc mage. The only problem is that most of them are behind locked display cases, making them difficult to get a hold of.
Castle Volkihar’s library, while not as extensive, is equally as impressive. The one thing it has over the College of Winterhold’s library, however, is that none of the books are locked behind display cases, though taking one will count as stealing them. Considering how much backstory is hidden within these pages, players could spend hours just sitting in this room reading fake books.
7 Silver In The Cattle Room
As it is established during the Companions questline, as well as for the majority of The Elder Scrolls series, silver is particularly effective when dealing with the undead. So naturally, one would assume that the inhabitants of Castle Volkihar would think to rid their home of every trace of silver within their fortress. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for the human cattle, the cattle room is littered with various silver platters and pots. The cattle don’t seem to want to fight back, but if they ever did, they would have all the weapons they needed at their disposal to take care of their undead imprisoners.
6 Harkon’s Torture Room
Harkon’s room, while not the biggest in the castle, is certainly one of the most interesting. At the center of the main landing is a large table, splashed with blood, and displaying several nasty looking sharp implements that could only be used for torture. Aside from these sharp objects designed for poking and prodding victims in all the right places, he also has numerous poisons at his disposal, such as Damage Health and Slow Poison which can only be used for making his interrogations that much more painful for whoever is unfortunate enough to share his living space.
5 The Dragon Priest Dagger
Another interesting aspect of Harkon’s room is the upper level, which is something of a dressing room for the elderly Vampire Lord. In a display case flanked by wardrobes is a lone Dragon Priest Dagger, a strange weapon for a Vampire Lord to have. Although it is implied that both Harkon and Serana are much older than they appear, the fact that Harkon has a Dragon Priest Dagger at his disposal could indicate that he was alive during the last reign of Aldiun and the dragons in the Merethic Era, which predates the events of Skyrim by several thousand years.
4 Possible Connection To Dragon Priests
Aside from his possession of the Dragon Priest Dagger, there is another interesting aspect of Harkon’s room that may connect him not only to the age of dragons, but to the Dragon Priests themselves. On the wall, just before the landing of the second level, there is a mural embedded into the brickwork that is very clearly identical to those seen inside Draugr ruins.
Not only does this raise several questions about Harkon’s history, but also the origins of Castle Volkihar themselves. Since vampires often take over ruins in the general overworld of Skyrim, it is possible that this castle was once used by priests before the downfall of Alduin.
3 Harkon Hates Werewolves
As an ancient vampire and child of Molag Bal, it’s natural for Harkon to have some kind of hatred for werewolves. Their differing Daedric Prince origins aside, Harkon displays a level of disgust for the Dragonborn if they are a werewolf when he is confronted for the first time, saying he could smell them from outside the castle walls. In the lower level of his room, nearest to the main entrance, there is a display case that holds a Werewolf Pelt, indicating just how deep his hatred for werewolves goes.
2 The “Wine” Barrels
As Castle Volkihar is home to nothing but vampires and their cattle, it seems natural to see an abundance of wine barrels in the main dining room since it’s probably fairly difficult for them to get drunk as undead monsters. These wine barrels aren’t full of alcohol as their nature would suggest, however, as every one of them is stained with blood in one way or another, which makes a lot more sense considering how often the lesser vampires have to feed to stave off the effects of vampirism.
1 Mythic Dawn Banner
Possibly the biggest question to come from how Harkon decorates his living space is the presence of a Mythic Dawn banner, hanging above a rack in among his torture devices. While the Mythic Dawn makes a very brief appearance in the form of a museum in Dawnstar, they are most well known as one of the antagonists from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The Mythic Dawn see the Daedra as the true gods of the universe, which is fitting for a man who willingly put his daughter through the “initiation” of becoming a Daughter of Coldharbour.
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