As the last defenders against the vampire threat, the modern-day Dawnguard is a splinter group of the Vigilants of Stendarr, a group of monks who were all but wiped out by Harkon and his minions in a single night. Deep in The Rift of Skyrim, Fort Dawnguard is the home of the last living vampire hunters who are willing and able to put a stop to these creatures of the night.
Fort Dawnguard starts off as a decrepit, run-down castle with barely any protection to speak of aside from its tactical location, flanked by two mountains with only one way in or out. As more recruits join the Dawnguard’s cause, the castle becomes a living, breathing fortress filled with secrets and hidden aspects that are very easy to miss.
10 The Bear Cave
Aside from Dead Drop Falls, which is located inside Fort Dawnguard itself, there is another cave entrance outside, hidden to the left of the main path leading up to the castle. While there isn’t a whole lot going on inside this cave, it is home to a family of bears, as well as some Skeever if the player is at a lower level. The cave also has a large amount of mushrooms as well as a randomized chest in the main sleeping area.
9 So Much Iron
Inside the main Fort, as well as throughout Dead Drop Falls, there are a large number of Iron Bars and Iron Ore than can be found by the player. While this could simply be attributed to Isran and Durak forging weapons for the fight against their vampire enemies, it could also have a deeper meaning. Before vampires and werewolves received the Hollywood treatment, the lore behind how they were killed was very different. It wasn’t silver or sunlight that was thought to vanquish creatures of the night, but iron, as it was seen as a purifying element alongside fire and water.
8 Poisonous Mushrooms
Among the caves and surrounding landscape of Fort Dawnguard, there are a variety of different mushrooms that players can collect if they like to invest in Alchemy. The most prevalent of these are the Imp Stool, Blisterwort, and Bleeding Crown, which are all used in making various poisons that would be helpful for a budding vampire hunter.
Imp Stool creates health-damaging and paralysis poisons, Blisterwort can be used for Damage Stamina poisons and Fortify Smithing potions, while Bleeding Crown creates both Weakness to Fire poisons and Resist Magic potions.
7 Helpful Herbs
Like the abundance of mushrooms found in the more dank and dark areas of Fort Dawnguard, there is also an abundance of other herbs and plants that can be useful to vampire hunters. As Fort Dawnguard is located in a colder region of Skyrim, there is a large amount of Snowberries which can be found on the road to the main castle, which is used for creating potions that resist Fire, Frost, and Shock magic, but can also be used to make Fortify Enchanting potions.
6 The Salmon Farm
Right near the main entrance to Dayspring Canyon, just off the road to Fort Dawnguard, there is a small pool of icy water that is being fed by a couple of waterfalls. This pool is home to a large number of salmon which can be harvested for food, or killed with arrows or Destruction magic to yield Salmon Roe, a useful Alchemy ingredient. Apparently, this is well known to Isran and Durak, since they have set up a salmon farm here to help with the collection of both items.
5 Isran & Durak’s Extracurricular Activities
Deer can be found in almost every corner of Skyrim and can be good target practice for any budding mage or archer wanting to hone their skills. It seems like Isran and Durak took this to heart, as the walls of Fort Dawnguard are covered head to toe in deer heads, some skeletal and some stuffed. There are also a handful of bear heads around the living quarters and war room, but the sheer number of dead deer inside Fort Dawnguard begs the question of what this mass hunting must have done to the local deer population.
4 The Lobby Skylight
In the main lobby of Fort Dawnguard, where players are first introduced to Isran, there is a large skylight in the ceiling that the vampire hunters use to test recruits to make sure they aren’t vampires themselves. While this is a brilliant idea considering how often vampires love to take down institutions from the inside, there is a bit of a problem with it that doesn’t make sense.
The skylight should allow for the elements to make their way inside the castle itself fairly easily, but aside from the opening being coated in stalactites and vines, the floor of the lobby is near spotless and doesn’t seem to have been affected by this giant hole in the ceiling.
3 Dawnguard Gear
Along with various vampire-related powers and gear, the Dawnguard DLC also brought with it gear specific to the Dawnguard and killing the undead. The player can find the Warhammer, Shield, and War Axe on the roof of Fort Dawnguard, as well as the Light Armor versions of the Helmet, Gloves, Boots, and Chest inside of it. If players are wanting to equip themselves with the much cooler looking Heavy Armor variant of this armor, however, they will have to recruit Sorine Jurard and Gunmar first, since they can only be bought from Gunmar.
2 The Emotional Weight Of Torture
Harkon takes his torture chamber/living quarters very seriously, having many sharp and pointy implements alongside various poisons to help in his torture of potential vampire hunters. While Isran has a similar room, his is much different in terms of its contents, with the floor being littered with bottles of Nord Mead rather than poisons and sharp objects. While he could simply be using booze to loosen the tongues of his enemies, he may also find the idea barbaric, though necessary, and resorts to drinking his pain away after a long session of torturing vampires.
1 Isran’s Lonely Nights
Vampires may often be used as an allegory for sexual deviance, but it’s actually Isran who flaunts his nightly rituals to the other members of the Dawnguard. In many areas around the fortress, particularly near bedrolls, players can find multiple copies of “The Lusty Argonian Maid vol 1,” an adult fiction novel centered around the sexual adventures of the titular Argonian maid, appropriately named Lifts-Her-Tail. Unfortunately for the leader of the Dawnguard, he has only managed to get multiple copies of the same story, so he will never find out what the maid will get up to next in vol 2.
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