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Haven't done one of these (it seems) in a while:
Which of the five main keeps do you like the most?

Mine is definitely Palace of the Kings--on the outside, it just looks menacingly awesome, and it's probably the most medieval of the other four. The inside gives you a grand banquet hall before the throne, and the hallways seem nice and insulated from the harsh cold of the outside. It's atmosphere gives it a sense of ancient power.

I would almost argue that Castle Dour is the actual keep in Solitude. It looks like it's been built to withstand more than the Blue Palace.

In actuality, wouldn't the entire city be part of the keep?

Just pretend the poll says, 'which of these 5 buildings do you like the most.'

I picked Dragonsreach, nice lead up, good open plan design, and I like large empty hall area that leads to the balcony overlooking the land.

Not really, Br3ad. A keep is the most fortified part of a city where the military can hole up to withstand aggressors.

Out of the lot I like Dragonsreach the most.

It's not falling down like Understone and Palace of the Kings. Its not cramped like Mistveil and the Blue Palace. The Blue Palace wouldn't be bad except the entry way and the area in front of the stairs going up to the throne room are just too small. Pretty much makes the platform between the stairs going up useless for making speeches from when there is no room for the audience. Then you have the Jarls Longhouse's. Pretty much a one style fits all for the poorer Jarls with not much to recommend it.

Now, as to what Dragonsreach has going for it. Its large enough to host the entire population of Whiterun in the audience hall. Its not falling down around the Jarls ears. It has that great view from the balcony. Plus it just looks Nordic unlike most of the others.

Tough one because I like all of the main ones. I voted Blue Palace just based on pure aesthetics, but I also like Mistveil because of the ivy lichen covered walls and more cozy feel, and Palace of the Kings for the main hall and the formidable look of the place. In terms of being able to withstand damage in an attack, though, Understone would have to be tops, followed by Palace of the Kings. They may be old and run down, but they would outlast the others.

Edit: I agree with Musicman about Castle Dour.

Edit 2: Looked more closely at Mistveil walls.

Edit 3: Changed vote to Mistveil after Castle Dour replaced Blue Palace as an option.

Not really. all cities don't have walls.


i was actually thinking of citadels at the time. My mistake.

I didn't say anything about walls.

I'm not sure I can pick just one as "favorite", though. I like them all for different reasons. Some are imposing, while others are beautiful. Some are in a good defending position, and some are a bit easy to get into. Etcetera, etcetera.

Good point.

I like the Palace of Kings, just seems like classic Nord architecture, imposing but beautiful.

Mistveil Keep is warm and inviting. I chose it because I find it quite cozy.

I'm kind of split, because none to me are perfect

In terms of exterior and how it looks from the distance.. Dragonreach by far takes the gold. It's designed to look tall and big, grand as it keeps an eye upon it's hold. However I actually dislike most of the interior, it seems like all that big talk mattered little when you see it's mostly empty and void on the inside. If I was to say.. it wouldn't be that hard to attack it.. catapult a flaming rock.. and you got a big target to hit

In terms of interior, I have to say the Palace of the Kings. It holds that gritty stone style that says so much about the culture. It has so much to go for in terms of design and etchings. It still holds upon the look of a palace rather than a fort.. yet somehow show all the might it has to offer. Sadly when you look at the palace itself from outside of the city.. it lacks alot, especially in comparison of the actual city.

Lastly, in terms of uniqueness, of course Understone Keep wins it blends so well with the rest of the city.. yet even then it clings to the natural rock and looks down upon you. Inside it feels so much like all the dwemer ruins, but you cannot deny it functions as the best fort. Call me a creep, but personally this dark and decayed structure is my favorite

I voted Palace of the Kings, for the interior, exterior, and history. Dragonsreach is nice from the outside, giving off a Meduseld vibe, especially in this image.

Similar to what Beta said, though, the inside is a little too plain.

Don't think you got what I was going for. Doesn't matter, horribly worded.

You could go either way. Both are well defended, and the Blue Palace much better protected by the walls of the city.

Castle Dour is unquestionably the more secure of the two constructs.

--It's snug, right against the mountain
--It's walls are easily twice as thick
--It has the extremely important advantage of sitting at a higher elevation
--While the Palace does create a bottleneck leading up to it, it's entire SW/SE/NE are all exposed to a relatively scalable cliff
--In a world filled with dragons and incredibly destructive magic, the Blue Palace sits in an incredibly precarious position

(see below images)

Agreed. Frankly, I think Dragonsreach would be useless as a fortress. Too much of it is made of wood. It has no positions for archers. It isn't much more defensible than any other building in Whiterun but is a more prominent target.

Echoing Musicman's post about the Blue Palace, I'd almost argue that Whiterun has no keep.

Edit: Maybe the question should be "Favorite Jarl's residence." If so, I want Blue Palace back.

Understone, because it's Dwemer construction and design stand out.

Understone, because it's got the most interesting and lucrative cellar to explore, and generally the highest concentration of interesting stuff to do of them all. Besides, Dwemer architecture is awesome.

In terms of defensibility we may also want to think about routes of escape. Understone has a back door through the Hall of the Dead, Castle Dour has the bridge connecting it to the Windmill (and via the Windmill to the harbour) which is accessible from the Emperor's Tower; none of the others have anything of the like that I'm aware of.

I'm torn between Understone Keep and Dragonsreach, not so much necessarily as ideas of power or security, but because of the history and the power each place conveys. Understone Keep is a legacy of the Dwemer - it's large, mysterious, hard around the edges, not too unlike the Reach. Dragonsreach...you'd have to be crazy not to appreciate a place designed around the concept of capturing and holding a dragon, possibly one of the more feared and powerful creatures of Tamriel.

To me, a place is half about the practicality and looks, and half about the stories behind it. Stories inspire people; stone is just stone.

Dragonreach, it looks amazing and the interior is really nice too. A lot of rooms, and it all looks beautiful.

It's between Mistveil keep and the Palace of Kings for me, both medieval and fantasy looking, chose the Palace of Kings due to it's general imposing size and appearance, besides apparently being in Mistveil keep blocks out the rest of the city, stupid Jarl(that's both of them btw)

The Palace of Kings and Understone Keep are nice, but my favorite is Mistveil Keep.