Sigrun Dal - MOD - Barracks

To go with the Tower defence a barracks or guard room of some kind would be a good idea and so I added one nearby so soldiers could man the Tower and be near the entrance if required to hold off any incursions.

 The picture above shows the view looking down into the valley from the Tower.

The picture above is looking towards the entrance to and exit from the valley, you can see the Tower just ahead.

The above view is further into the valley still looking up towards the entrance. This shot gives you a good idea of the height of the surrounding mountains.

Next I am going to add some houses.

Sigrun Dal - MOD - Valley Guard Tower

As this was an ancient Nord settlement they would have required some sort of defence if the cave entrance was breached, so to that end they built a Tower near the entrance.

As you enter the valley you get this amazing view and dominating that view is the Tower telling you they mean business if you were not invited.

As you continue walking down the path you will come across some nice architectural features I have added or interest.

Here are some views looking back up the slope towards the entrance.

The next building I want to cover will be the Barracks.

Sigrun Dal - MOD - Secret Valley

The next phase of the MOD was to create the 'Secret Valley' itself.

I wanted it to have a stream or body of water at the bottom of the valley to sustain the inhabitants with fresh water and fish. The source would be melt-water from the surrounding slopes. The valley itself would have steep slopes that could not be scaled thereby ensuring no one can enter or exit by that means. I also wanted the valley to have two halves, one where the population lives and the other would be uninhabited so wild animals could live there side by side providing food in times of serious shortages but otherwise unmolested.

With the basic ground built I began work on the details, starting with the actual entry / exit point. From the last post you can see that once you find the obscured cave passage leading to the Guard Room you can enter the valley from a doorway. Now on the other side of that doorway is where I began detailing the valley.

From the valley side the doorway entrance resembles a Nordic Tomb, which is what it was long ago.

Next I worked on the path leading down to the valley. Creating it out of a stone to contrast with the snow all around. I also added in trees and other details to bring it to a near finished state.

Further down the path I added a Nordic Arch similar to that found in front of the entrance to the cave in Skyrim.

I have also added a few other details that I will cover in the next post, so stay tuned.

Sigrun Dal - MOD - Interior

 

Onto the cave interior, this MOD is to be 'Lore' friendly so all my decisions were governed by this.

When I started modding on the Creation Kit I followed the first tutorial where you create 'Lokir's Tomb' as an example. I used that mod which I had extensively altered as a template for my Sigrun Dal interior.

I started off with an icy passageway leading to the first chamber.

 

This chamber is meant to be a shrine to Talos and was used for that purpose. It is run down now and empty of any offering and treasure, as it is not meant to attract attention. It is supposed to look like a worthless endeavour to any likely explorer that happens to find the entrance, hopefully making them leave without too much further exploration.

 

The second chamber is where the death and burial rituals took place and is similarly empty of any valuables.

 

The passage leading off to the right of the Ritual Chamber leads to the Tombs.

I have placed a nice trap at the door that will provide a reasonably tough fight for any keen adventurer and some levelled loot placed around the Tomb including a treasure chest in the corner.

 

 

The passage leading off to the left of the Ritual Chamber leads to an empty cave. Hopefully to put the explorer off from further investigation.

If you stand just inside the entrance and look in you wont see the obscured passage leading off towards another chamber on your right. That is the point, secrecy!

If you walk completely into the cave and turnaround you will see the secret passage.

Now if you find this passage then you have gone too far and will have to be dealt with. This passage will lead to a Guard Room filled with Soldiers ready to put you to the sword.

 

I have yet to create the soldiers, but the above shot shows the view towards the cave entry.

The above shot shows the view towards the doorway leading to the 'Secret Valley'.

Next up my work on the 'Secret Valley'.

Sigrun Dal - Mod

To recap
'The idea I had in mind was to create a 'Lost Valley' which was accessible via a cave through a mountainside.'

The result
I thought the cave entrance  was as good a place to start my MOD as any so I set about finding my clean area in Skyrim and after much exploring I settled on an area just North and slightly East of Riften. It was perfect! not too near anything else and the spot was high enough into a mountainside.

To recap

'I wanted the 'Lost Valley' to be an Ancient Nord settlement.'

The result
I put together a nice cave entrance with some Nordic touches. This valley hidden behind the cave was not supposed to be ostentatious which would attract attention, so I kept the entrance quiet minimalistic.

The name I chose for the cave entrance is Sigrun Dal which roughly translated means Secret Valley which is exactly what it is.

Here are a few pictures of different views.

Now I had my entrance and name I could work on the rest.

Stay tuned for the interior of the cave.