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I know there is a old thread about recruiting for the blades that turned into a "let the blades die" rant. I don't want to get into that but I will say killing off the Blades because Delphine rubbed you wrong is short sighted. One arrogant jerk does not make a whole organization and its mission bad, and missions can be changed.

Any way, back to my question. Who did you recruit for the blades?

I have a few mods that lets me recruit a few more followers than the vanilla game (Gibbys Npc Makeover), plus they fight much better than the vanilla version. Here is my short list. I am leaning towards three of the ladies. I normally do not use any of these as followers so I am not losing anything by recruiting them for the Blades.

Cairine found in Markarth's warrens. Poor and in pain (is always holder her stomach). Joining the Blades seems like a better life than starving to death in the slums.
Erdi a servant in the Blue Palace in Solitude. She is always talking about going out on a adventure. Joining the blades give her that chance and a step up from being a servant.
Erik from Rorikstead, aka Erik the Slayer. Like Erdi he wants a life of adventure.
Uthgerd the Unbroken, she likes to fight (enough said on her).
Illia found in Darklight Tower. Once her quest is done she had no where to go besides the ruins of that tower. Yet another case of improving her lot in life.

I'm not terribly good with names, but on my first PC I recruited the Dunmer assassin from the Drunken Huntsman, the Dunmer priestess from Azura's Shrine and the female Nord junior Companions member. They had differing skill sets so they made a pretty good team.

I didn't. They told me to kill Paarthunax or else, so I told them to buzz off. If that's what it takes to keep the Blades alive, they can rot.

dzio wrote:I didn't. They told me to kill Paarthunax or else, so I told them to buzz off. If that's what it takes to keep the Blades alive, they can rot.

I recruited the Blades before I was told to kill Paarthurnax - which honestly to me never seemed as outrageous as it did to some other players. It's not like his wisdom died with him or anything. I simply made him into a more portable version that I carry around inside my head.

I never killed Parthy myself. I refused on my first character and then found a mod that lets me put Delphine in her place. There are a couple of mods that do this now. One is a simple one with just a dialog change, I use this one, and the other is a total overhaul for Sky Haven temple and the Blades.

Yet another thing, Bethesda did not think through, that had to be taken care of by the mod community.

That's because Paarthy is meant to die as far as their concerned.

No one. The Blades can [&@%!] off.

But if I was playing with that mod Khali mentioned, I'd bring them my housecarls. I don't need anyone to guard my book collection night and day and sit eating bread in my bedroom while I sleep. And they seem like the kind who'd be good at following orders and being a disciplined fighter, so I'm sure the Blades could use them.

I don't blame the Blades for wanting to kill him, I would probably do the same thing if I was in that situation. But I recruited Mjoll the Lioness, that recruitable guy in the Solitude inn, and I can't remember what else I have done.

I recruited Erik the Slayer first, for obvious reasons.

Second, I recruited Kharjo. I like khajiit, and he was one that had relevant skills to do well (heavy armor and one-handed). Plus it's a more honorable life than paying off his gambling debt.

Finally, I recruited Borgakh the Steel Heart for much the same reason as the first two: Relevant skills, and she expressed a desire to see the world.

First, Uthgerd the Unbroken. She just doesn't have a purpose in life aside from this, and it seems somehow so fitting.

Second, Aranea Inareth (sp?). I thought she could use new purpose in life, but... Actually, I think she would have been fine if I'd left her where she was. Ah, well.

Third was definitely going to be Illia, but she refused to talk to me, so I ended up chosing Erik the Slayer. It's close to his house, so he can still visit his family, but it's much more worthwhile than being a small-town sellsword.

Khali wrote:I know there is a old thread about recruiting for the blades that turned into a "let the blades die" rant. I don't want to get into that but I will say killing off the Blades because Delphine rubbed you wrong is short sighted. One arrogant jerk does not make a whole organization and its mission bad, and missions can be changed.

Any way, back to my question. Who did you recruit for the blades?

I have a few mods that lets me recruit a few more followers than the vanilla game (Gibbys Npc Makeover), plus they fight much better than the vanilla version. Here is my short list. I am leaning towards three of the ladies. I normally do not use any of these as followers so I am not losing anything by recruiting them for the Blades.

Cairine found in Markarth's warrens. Poor and in pain (is always holder her stomach). Joining the Blades seems like a better life than starving to death in the slums.
Erdi a servant in the Blue Palace in Solitude. She is always talking about going out on a adventure. Joining the blades give her that chance and a step up from being a servant.
Erik from Rorikstead, aka Erik the Slayer. Like Erdi he wants a life of adventure.

Uthgerd the Unbroken, she likes to fight (enough said on her).
Illia found in Darklight Tower. Once her quest is done she had no where to go besides the ruins of that tower. Yet another case of improving her lot in life.

I see that you feel pitty towards the woman living in the warrens, and the palace maiden. But last time I checked, the blades are/were one of the geratest knightly orders in the history of Tamriel. I wouldnt say recruiting two untrained civilians is a smart move. One might possibly be full of decease, while the other only have the experiance of cleaning.

Pilaf The Defiler wrote: I simply made him into a more portable version that I carry around inside my head.

In my current playthrough I've recruited the following (also I'm using a mod that allows for multiple followers):

Erik the Slayer: Because he's an adventurer
Jordis: I'm cutting back on the number of followers I have with me, but I don't want her sitting around in Solitude doing nothing
Kharjo: Because if I don't, when I part ways with him, I'll never be able to find him short of using console commands. Also, he's Khajiit. So it's cool.

I see that you feel pitty towards the woman living in the warrens, and the palace maiden. But last time I checked, the blades are/were one of the geratest knightly orders in the history of Tamriel. I wouldnt say recruiting two untrained civilians is a smart move. One might possibly be full of decease, while the other only have the experiance of cleaning.

If you played Morrowind you will remember this from the USEPWiki. The Blades are the hidden Eyes and Ears of the Septim Emperors in the provinces of Tamriel. In other words they are the sneaky dirty tricks department. As to the disease issue, the girl was poor and had no way to afford potions or healing by a mage. As a Blade recruit she will have access to both. All recruits get trained by Delphine so being untrained isn't an issue. Besides this is Skyrim where every one knows how to fight even the children. Adopt a few children and give them a wooden sword or a dagger and watch them go nuts on the training dummies.

There is a second underlying issue going on here. Yes Delphine is in charge of Skyhaven temple. But the Dragonborn is a step above any power Delphine wields. Plus it was the Dragonborn that rescued them from a life of sickness and drudgery. Who do you think they are going to listen to if it comes to a show down between the Dragonborn and Delphine?

Jordis: I'm cutting back on the number of followers I have with me, but I don't want her sitting around in Solitude doing nothing

I am avoiding using any of the Housecarls. They took an oath to protect their Thane, and the Thanes property, with their life. Trying to avoid giving them a conflict of interest by adding in the Blades oath.


I am doing this in a role play manner. To understand where I am going with this you probably need to know about some of the mods I am using. First off is Amazing Follower Tweaks(AFT). It helps with follower AI plus gives you a huge amount of options for your followers gear, combat style, spells, and more. Plus it lets you have up to 32 followers if you so choose. I think the Dragonborn could take care of the five Blades, if they get out of hand, with those 32 followers. Then there is TEG Return to Helgen mod. This mod rebuilds Helgen and lets you take command of the Imperial garrison there as Military Governor. After a long quest line, dealing with the Thalmor as the main theme, you end up as Emperor replacing the weak Titus Mede II. If you do the Dark Brotherhood quest line that issue gets taken care of before hand.

Consider it this way. You are Dragonborn and have defeated Alduin and saved the world. Your famous and have a lot of respect. Then add in all the factions you can become the leader of after their quest lines. The Collage of Winterhold, the Bards Collage, Thieves Guild, The Companions, and the Dark Brotherhood. Plus Thane of all the Holds and land owner in all the holds except Winterhold. Then during the Civil war you are a prominent leader in the Imperial Army and looked up to by the troops. To top it all off toss in all the side quests you do just helping out the general population of Skyrim. You end up being respected and even loved by the vast majority of the people in Skyrim. The next logical step is taking the Imperial Throne and what Emperor/Empress doesn't need a group to use for the sneaky dirty tricks department known as the Blades?

Khali wrote:

Jordis: I'm cutting back on the number of followers I have with me, but I don't want her sitting around in Solitude doing nothing

I am avoiding using any of the Housecarls. They took an oath to protect their Thane, and the Thanes property, with their life. Trying to avoid giving them a conflict of interest by adding in the Blades oath.

You know what, i never thought it that way.

Great, I wish I could go back in time.

So far, Sven from Riverwood has been inducted into the Blades. Now he has something more than being the bard from Riverwood who pines for Camila.

I'm also considering recruiting Uthgerd as well. She probably needs something new in her life as well, something worth fighting over.

But yeah, no house carls. Their first, and only, duty is to the Thane and his/her stuff, not the Blades.

Well I ended up with Cairine, Erdi, and Erik the Slayer. All of whom should be beholding to the Dragonborn for giving them a better life and a chance for adventure. I was going to with a all female crew then decided there are somethings a male would be useful for in the dirty tricks department.

Pilaf The Defiler wrote:I simply made him into a more portable version that I carry around inside my head.

I did the same... but he's more around my belt or over my shoulder.


I think of him whenever I stab someone in the face.

No-one. Why? Because they asked me to kill the dragon that helped me to get the one shout that all dragons fear. The one shout that helped to defeat Alduin ontop of the throat of the world. The one shout that forces dragons to taste their morality. The blades on the other hand, they have done nothing to help me defeat Alduin. But i may start recruitng people on this playthrough and then roleplay that Ulruk cut all ties after Delphine asked him to kill Parthy. It's not like Parthy turned on Alduin and taught the Thu'um to the nords which helped them to rebell against Alduin's reign of terror or anything. Oh wait....

Khali wrote:

I see that you feel pitty towards the woman living in the warrens, and the palace maiden. But last time I checked, the blades are/were one of the geratest knightly orders in the history of Tamriel. I wouldnt say recruiting two untrained civilians is a smart move. One might possibly be full of decease, while the other only have the experiance of cleaning.

If you played Morrowind you will remember this from the USEPWiki. The Blades are the hidden Eyes and Ears of the Septim Emperors in the provinces of Tamriel. In other words they are the sneaky dirty tricks department. As to the disease issue, the girl was poor and had no way to afford potions or healing by a mage. As a Blade recruit she will have access to both. All recruits get trained by Delphine so being untrained isn't an issue. Besides this is Skyrim where every one knows how to fight even the children. Adopt a few children and give them a wooden sword or a dagger and watch them go nuts on the training dummies.

There is a second underlying issue going on here. Yes Delphine is in charge of Skyhaven temple. But the Dragonborn is a step above any power Delphine wields. Plus it was the Dragonborn that rescued them from a life of sickness and drudgery. Who do you think they are going to listen to if it comes to a show down between the Dragonborn and Delphine?

Jordis: I'm cutting back on the number of followers I have with me, but I don't want her sitting around in Solitude doing nothing

I am avoiding using any of the Housecarls. They took an oath to protect their Thane, and the Thanes property, with their life. Trying to avoid giving them a conflict of interest by adding in the Blades oath.


I am doing this in a role play manner. To understand where I am going with this you probably need to know about some of the mods I am using. First off is Amazing Follower Tweaks(AFT). It helps with follower AI plus gives you a huge amount of options for your followers gear, combat style, spells, and more. Plus it lets you have up to 32 followers if you so choose. I think the Dragonborn could take care of the five Blades, if they get out of hand, with those 32 followers. Then there is TEG Return to Helgen mod. This mod rebuilds Helgen and lets you take command of the Imperial garrison there as Military Governor. After a long quest line, dealing with the Thalmor as the main theme, you end up as Emperor replacing the weak Titus Mede II. If you do the Dark Brotherhood quest line that issue gets taken care of before hand.

Consider it this way. You are Dragonborn and have defeated Alduin and saved the world. Your famous and have a lot of respect. Then add in all the factions you can become the leader of after their quest lines. The Collage of Winterhold, the Bards Collage, Thieves Guild, The Companions, and the Dark Brotherhood. Plus Thane of all the Holds and land owner in all the holds except Winterhold. Then during the Civil war you are a prominent leader in the Imperial Army and looked up to by the troops. To top it all off toss in all the side quests you do just helping out the general population of Skyrim. You end up being respected and even loved by the vast majority of the people in Skyrim. The next logical step is taking the Imperial Throne and what Emperor/Empress doesn't need a group to use for the sneaky dirty tricks department known as the Blades?

I see, of course our own role playing, decides what is right or wrong in game play. So who am I to decide in on your roleplaying. Can also admit it sounds cool bringing in people from the bottom, and see them grow into the organisation

Always first three followers I acquired or hired. Couldn't care less what their story is. I never use them for dragon hunting anyways.

Onmund because he's kind of a wimp (maybe Delphine will f*** some sense into him and help him grow up.
J'zargo just because to paraphrase Lenny from Mice and Men;" I hate those Goddamn cats! I'll smash those damn cats!" and he thinks he'd make a better Archmage.
Mjoll because I just can't stand her little boytoy what's his face (Grimsever's a nice sword though and looks great paired with Chillrend mounted above my fireplace in Riften).

Pilaf The Defiler wrote:

dzio wrote:I didn't. They told me to kill Paarthunax or else, so I told them to buzz off. If that's what it takes to keep the Blades alive, they can rot.

I recruited the Blades before I was told to kill Paarthurnax - which honestly to me never seemed as outrageous as it did to some other players. It's not like his wisdom died with him or anything. I simply made him into a more portable version that I carry around inside my head.

Haha, that is brilliant.

As for me, I never really learned how to recruit people to the Blades. I think I fell bass akwards into recruiting someone at the end of my play time, it was that Lioness at Riften.

When it comes time to kill Paarthy I'm going to waste all the Blades instead (I'll probably start with Aerin the boytoy first).