Why The Gray Prince is More Important Than You Think - Oblivion

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 16 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 284

  • @mr.coolmug3181
    @mr.coolmug3181 23 дні тому +453

    Personally I found him one of the more memorable characters in Oblivion. The Orcs in Oblivion always seemed to be comic relief figures. But Agronak was a tragic figure. I think he was great in battle because of his Orc qualities, and because he was motivated to prove himself. His sense of himself as descended from a lord was the motivating factor. He was discarded for being an Orc but he knew he was something more. When he finds out his father is also "a monster" it completely shatters his sense of himself. It's a shame wasn't an option to save him.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +26

      Very well put! Definitely a sad end for such a compelling character!

    • @Sworddeath727
      @Sworddeath727 13 днів тому +17

      After the first time I ever played the arena quests I always forgo the option to get the info for him during following playthroughs just because I feel bad for him and want him to have his honorable death instead of the sad one he resigns himself to if you complete his quest.

    • @TheNightWatcher1385
      @TheNightWatcher1385 13 днів тому +1

      There is a way to save him. Just never tell him the truth.

    • @riley539
      @riley539 9 днів тому +2

      Having to kill such a defeated Agronak was really a stand-out moment in the Arena storyline of Oblivion

    • @MrKoffeeKup
      @MrKoffeeKup 9 днів тому +10

      For me it was like he realized "I'm a half vampire? Oh shit thats why I'm in the blood works..." just ruining any hope of heroism. In the end you realize that your not killing some random like before. You're killing a guy with a mom, a dad, hopes and dreams. A guy who actually shares more in common with you than most the people in Nirn and you made him hate himself, teach you his secret moves and then killed him. It was at this point in the game I realized I had actually killed one of my best friends.

  • @Real-qk6pm
    @Real-qk6pm 23 дні тому +493

    I always found it odd the fact he was made by a vampire. But what was really sad is how it drove him to essentially suicide by your hand in the arena, how he couldn’t take something which was not his own fault. Really tragic.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +86

      Yeah definitely an unfortunate ending, he was seemingly an honourable person too, so it’s a shame he let it get to him

    • @tsengmichael9910
      @tsengmichael9910 22 дні тому +25

      @yes. When I play the area quests again, I decide not to compete the grey prince quest and challenge his full power and let him die with honor

    • @FairiseNough
      @FairiseNough 22 дні тому +39

      I found his reaction a bit tone-deaf to the lore context. "Oh no, my father has a disease from a dark god... Unlike my orc mother who followed our traditional dark god."

    • @Ch-ew9tm
      @Ch-ew9tm 21 день тому +32

      @@FairiseNoughmalacath is no where near as evil as molag bal. Huh now that I realize it his name sounds like molech and baal the pagan gods.

    • @blackops7809
      @blackops7809 21 день тому +14

      ​@@FairiseNoughI'm pretty sure most orks in oblivion were worshiping the nine and 200 years later as the empire is falling apart they started worshiping Malacath again

  • @AdamGothCroc
    @AdamGothCroc 22 дні тому +138

    I always felt that Agronak did inherit some of the Vampirism from his Father- Thus why he excelled in the Arena, cause Vampirism gives a bonus to strength, Speed, and Athletics. But without the negatives to come with Vampirism like not wanting to drink blood, damaged by the sun, or spreading the vampiric disease- He is the perfect hybrid of Vampire and orc, making the absolute peak killing machine.
    As quoted by Owyn "-He says he's only half Orc. What I want to know is, what's the other half? Cause it sure ain't human..."

    • @PunYT
      @PunYT 16 днів тому +8

      Basically the second coming of the Nerevarine.

    • @zecaptainpegleg8820
      @zecaptainpegleg8820 10 днів тому

      @@PunYT but vampirism is curable. It has to be a disease that is incurable yet doesn’t affect the host.

    • @Merilirem
      @Merilirem 5 днів тому +2

      @@zecaptainpegleg8820 Is what he has curable though? Could we have cured him of who he was?

    • @yeahreally9185
      @yeahreally9185 2 дні тому

      I would argue that he DID inherit a certain bloodthirst, since he makes his living by killing people.
      He may not need it to survive, but he is invigorated by the blood(shed) of others. He seems to like hanging out right next to that pool of blood seeping in from the arena above.
      Since he doesn't know he's half vampire, the thought of consuming blood probably never occured to him. He could essentially be getting all the perks of being a stage 4 hungry vampire (the major stat boosts), but without the need to actually feed to reduce the negative symptoms.
      Regular human food sustains him, his full orc face hides any gauntness, his pigmented orc skin protects from sunlight damage, and being the arena champ wins him lots of fans, helping to counteract the social consequences of vampirism.
      Then when he learns that it isn't just his hard work and ingrained sense of honor that's gotten him this far - that he's basically been using cheats the entire time - he can no longer take pride in his position and thus has nothing to live for.
      That's all just my read of the situation.

  • @tresvantehaynes9453
    @tresvantehaynes9453 22 дні тому +282

    Honestly he could have been a recurring follower or character. Imagine him leaving the area cause he believes he isn't worthy of his championship so instead he makes himself a champion to the people slaying monsters and etc and he joins your character even after the oblivion events he pops back up in skyrim but as a dawnguard follower.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  22 дні тому +50

      He would’ve been such a cool character to have as a follower! Very powerful!

    • @BigOrangeLizard
      @BigOrangeLizard 22 дні тому +17

      That is a god-tier idea, i like it.

    • @Sanguivore
      @Sanguivore 21 день тому +10

      Time for somebody to make a mod!

    • @23rascel
      @23rascel 12 днів тому +1

      That’d be cool if Skyrim didn’t take place 200 years later

    • @BigOrangeLizard
      @BigOrangeLizard 12 днів тому +3

      @@23rascel Yeah, because there are no instances in the elder scrolls lore, where someone lives longer than usual.
      I get your point, but this fact could be overcome by making up a story about said character, a chosen of divine / daedra who decided they should live longer, most probably for his service to the people / daedric prince (the latter less likely, given his character traits), the fact that he is half vampire, and we don't know much about their aging, it could be slower for all we know. Of course there are the means of advanced alchemy / magic, although I don't believe the Gray Prince would be capable of such magic.
      Sure, it may be nonsense if you really don't want him to live that long, but there is always the possibility.

  • @Thieverpedia
    @Thieverpedia 22 дні тому +100

    Every time I get around to doing that quest, I always wish I could tell him, "Oh, come on. Being part vampire isn't THAT bad." I say as I'm a vampire already.

  • @persimmonplays2399
    @persimmonplays2399 23 дні тому +147

    Poor Agronak gro-malog, he was always one of my favorite characters.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +11

      Same here! He was too good of a guy to go out like that!

    • @torinjones3221
      @torinjones3221 23 дні тому +2

      Certainly a memorable character that's for sure

    • @tekno4blood
      @tekno4blood 23 дні тому +8

      Right! I remember the blue team archer getting so sad when you best him... "he was my friend"...

  • @jacksmythe2187
    @jacksmythe2187 22 дні тому +348

    "I thought my father was a nobleman, not some blood sucking monster."
    "I don't see much of a difference to be honest."

    • @sdaly5391
      @sdaly5391 10 днів тому +4

      Depends if hisbfathwr was Count Hassildor, a vampire, yes. But he is an excellent count for Skingrad, just look at how wealthy skingrad is.

    • @Amerwiccan
      @Amerwiccan 7 днів тому

      @@sdaly5391 well we know his father wasn't that so

  • @JKM395
    @JKM395 23 дні тому +61

    I hate that they capped him at level ten. I would have preferred him to be set as twenty to forty levels above me. A winnable fight in this game, but tough enough to make you really consider how you want to end the quest. A straight up fight in the arena or talking him into taking a dive. Missed opportunity there.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  22 дні тому +6

      Yeah it’s honestly such a weird thing. The 🐐 of fighting is hard locked at level 10 😂

    • @JKM395
      @JKM395 22 дні тому +4

      @@ABardsBallad I'm going to go out on a limb and say they probably didn't put a whole lot of thought into that decision.

    • @Merilirem
      @Merilirem 5 днів тому +1

      @@JKM395 Levels in Elderscrolls games are always wonky. I always look for mods to make the levels make more sense.

  • @ahuzel
    @ahuzel 23 дні тому +66

    Orsimer + Vampire. This guy was the ultimate warrior.

    • @imlaughing2death
      @imlaughing2death 23 дні тому

      LOAD THE SPACESHIP WITH THE ROCKET FUEL HOKE HOGAN!

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +12

      Built Ford tough 🫡

    • @Wakish0069
      @Wakish0069 21 день тому +3

      @@ABardsBallad Have you compared his stats to that of other orcs at the same level?

    • @spartanhuntergaming
      @spartanhuntergaming 12 днів тому +1

      He's basically a super soldier, since he'd have some of the vampiric traits like the heightened strength and speed

  • @Loreweavver
    @Loreweavver 22 дні тому +61

    There is a hypothetical that someone like the arena master was aware of his nature and provided him blood without his awareness in his daily meals.
    There is, after all, a vampire right there in the city who could profit from the arena games.

  • @christophermonceux6578
    @christophermonceux6578 22 дні тому +133

    Huge plot hole. Lord Lovidicus states in his journal that he had meetings with other nobles about taxes and trade negotiations with other aristocrats. He also mentions a few times that he has to hide his identity, all of this implies that he was a fairly public figure. His lover locks his bedroom door to trap him... Not one of his servants ever tried to open the door? This landed member of the nobility suddenly stops coming out of his room, and soldiers don't break down the door to rescue him or see if he died? He was important enough to be in charge of certain aspects of the realms taxation, and the Crown never investigated what happened to him?

    • @littlesongbird1
      @littlesongbird1 21 день тому +18

      The only thing I could think of was that he was shunned for loving an Orc.

    • @christophermonceux6578
      @christophermonceux6578 21 день тому +42

      @@littlesongbird1 But he was a Nobleman. Even if he was shunned for that, there would still be soldiers looking to get paid, and the Count of either Anvil or Skingrad would have been responsible for him, and wondered where the tax revenue he paid them was going. They would have no doubt sent messengers and then soldiers up to see why this member of the nobility stopped paying them.
      In discovering what happened they would have either killed him or been murdered by him, but in either case that door would have had to be opened.

    • @aprinnyonbreak1290
      @aprinnyonbreak1290 16 днів тому +33

      I mean its a stretch, but the implication from Agronak is that Lovidicus is presumed dead. He never says to go see him, or implies that Crowhaven is anything but a ruin.
      There's any number of presumable stories that could explain what happened; perhaps in his immediate absence, someone staged a coup and claimed the site, before themselves being killed, perhaps Agronak's mother told a few people on her way out, so they immediately acted to either assume command, or perhaps purge and evacuate to wherever, perhaps, word made it to Hassildor (or whatever he went by at the time), and the entire site was condemned to prevent rumors of vampires spreading.
      It's not entirely a hole, since there's enough material to work with to come up with logical explanations, but it is an unfortunately barren part of the story I'd be interested to know, too.
      I also think it's fair to say that it being an "empire fort" is a bit of a gameplay concession, much like the ayleid "cities" being mostly linear caverns with no apparent infrastructure or means to support a population of anything at any time.

    • @TruekingoftheLeinstermen
      @TruekingoftheLeinstermen 14 днів тому +2

      i assume count hassildor sensed him and didn't send men to find him not very good an explanation but the best i cant think of

    • @McHobotheBobo
      @McHobotheBobo 13 днів тому

      Political murder perhaps....

  • @quatreraberbawinner2628
    @quatreraberbawinner2628 12 днів тому +24

    Imagine if LeBron James discovered his father was a vampire and thats why he's so good at basketball

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  12 днів тому +3

      This is my favourite comment now 😂

  • @InfiniteEscuro
    @InfiniteEscuro 11 днів тому +10

    It's tragic that there was no way to try and convince the Prince that he isn't a monster. A Vampire may have sired him, but said Vampire also seemed to have humanity left - he was at the minimal stage of Vampirism, keeping it hidden and contained. He seemed to feel real love for Agronak's mother, and if she hadn't reacted with fear and disgust - the way Agronak reacted to himself, go figure - there is every chance that his father would have become ever-more Human, as the idea of fatherhood seemed to grant him the kind of happiness and excitement you just don't see from other vampires. It was being locked in his room and being driven mad from decades of starvation that reduced Lord Lovidicus into the normal example of a feral monster that many Vampires become, not his own will, want or nature.
    Agronak has never felt the need to drink blood. He has never unjustly hurt someone outside of honourable area combat that we ever hear about, and from his personality it's pointless to think he has. He does not burn in the light of the sun, so Arkay's ire is not upon him like it is other vampires.
    Hell, Vampires are undead. There's every chance that they should be incapable of siring children naturally. The fact that Lord Lovidicus believed it to be a miracle is something I honestly always held true to. He is a Vampire not too dissimilar from the Count of Skingrad, who was blessed with fatherhood due to seemingly resisting his nature and blending in not to infiltrate, but to just live as human. We don't rightly know how he fed, but there were never untoward rumours or anything. It's possible he fed on criminals in his jurisdiction or something.
    At worst, he's faster and stronger than he should have been... but there's nothing inherently evil about him. I wish we could have made this clear to him. Convince him to step away from the arena for a while, get his head straight, come back refreshed and full of vigour. I always liked the idea that if he embraced the idea that what he was doesn't dictate WHO he is, he could improve his latent abilities enough to where after he is seemingly killed in the arena against you, he can make a miraculous recovery from seemingly mortal wounds with the help of healing mages and whatnot, since he had plenty of friends and fans around. Maybe even a companion!
    I loved the uniqueness of his story.

  • @2445elijah
    @2445elijah 23 дні тому +45

    Absolutely love the phrase "perfect level 10 warrior", gave me a good chuckle every time I heard it. As for a slightly more serious note, perhaps being half orc may have been the key to such a miraculous birth, that little extra special seasoning that makes a half vampire possible

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +11

      😂 yeah I really wanted to drive home to point that he’s a skilled fighter, but not against anyone who’s played the game for
      More than 5 hours 😂

  • @torinjones3221
    @torinjones3221 23 дні тому +109

    Agronak is basically Blade

  • @MissSepp
    @MissSepp 23 дні тому +63

    I believe his quest was made quite early in the development of Oblivion, when vampires was its own race (check UESP). It would make sense as to why he would have been “half vampire” since currently vampires are just beast, men and mer inflicted with a disease.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +11

      That would make sense! A lot changed while making the game!

    • @gackybass
      @gackybass 22 дні тому +26

      Vampires are separate races in all TES games but this is just a technical thing. Morrowind (possibly an earlier game but morrowind for sure) already established how vampires work, i.e. they are people of existing races.

    • @everythingpony
      @everythingpony 19 днів тому

      The thing that changed that I wanted so badly as a kid when the game came out was for the interaction with the dogs
      And then finding out that the dog that was in the promo demo became a rug​@@ABardsBallad

    • @vitriolicAmaranth
      @vitriolicAmaranth 13 днів тому +8

      ​@@gackybassSame in Daggerfall but vampirism is cooler because you actually die from the disease and wake up in a tomb instead of just getting the funny red flash and presto changeo you're a vampire now

  • @et34t34fdf
    @et34t34fdf 23 дні тому +27

    My character had such high personality and infamy, his vampire dad and i got along just fine.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +14

      😂 the lord of Crowhaven recognizes real

  • @chainedsharkmedia2699
    @chainedsharkmedia2699 23 дні тому +48

    I really wish you can tell Argonak Gro-Malog that he is still a great warrior despite his vampire origins and encourage him to fight in the arena like he does in the arena like a true grand champion would.

    • @imlaughing2death
      @imlaughing2death 23 дні тому

      There's a mod that let's you convince him to become a Vampire Hunter.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +3

      Me too! Would’ve been a nice option! Mercilessly striking him down in the arena seems like such an oblivion thing to do 😂

  • @TanksyTube
    @TanksyTube 21 день тому +12

    Dude even though he's not really a vampire, i mean, cmon, the crowd of a BLOOD SPORT ARENA would probably go wild for a grey prince heel-turn vampire arc, would have allowed the arena to bring in a young up-and-comer to play face

  • @vestige1671
    @vestige1671 22 дні тому +28

    Do you think Molag Bal has the same claim over the souls of half vampires as he does other vampires? Since vampires were created to insult Arkay’s balance of life and death, I fear Bal would view a living soul conceived by a vampire as the cherry on top to his insult.

    • @Grizzlox
      @Grizzlox 12 днів тому +4

      I wonder how Malacath would feel about that

    • @jonathanwells223
      @jonathanwells223 11 днів тому +2

      I think that the afterlife is something that is going to be rewritten entirely in ES6

    • @zecaptainpegleg8820
      @zecaptainpegleg8820 10 днів тому +2

      @@jonathanwells223 it’s always rewritten, as the afterlife is fully dependent on belief, if you follow the Nordic ways then you can go to sovngarde, if you are a werewolf then you join the eternal hunt with hirciene and so on.

    • @vestige1671
      @vestige1671 10 днів тому

      @@zecaptainpegleg8820 Sometimes souls are stolen regardless of belief and actions. You have vampires and werewolves that were forcibly turned, souls sacrificed to Soul Carin. Coldharbor gained *thousands* of innocent souls during the planemeld. And if dark brotherhood dogma is correct, all their victims are taken to the void.

  • @teresauplinger1601
    @teresauplinger1601 23 дні тому +39

    I always felt so bad for him. I never wanted to kill him like that but I understood. 👍job. Glad you covered his story.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +4

      Yeah a truly tragic story! I’m glad to finally have gotten this one off of paper and onto UA-cam!

  • @ShadowMage
    @ShadowMage 12 днів тому +13

    To the best of my knowledge, Agronak is a notable character in that he is the only known half orc in the setting that we know of. I find it a bit odd that people always focus on the half vampire side of him, but never the half orc side, especially when it comes to how significant that would be for the lore.

    • @clothar23
      @clothar23 7 днів тому +3

      Not really , for all their unique appearances Orcs in Elder Scrolls are just ugly Elves. And the verse is full of Half Elves.

    • @gerinko7874
      @gerinko7874 4 дні тому

      There’s a restoration skill book in Skyrim (might be present in other games idk) that explicitly states man and mer can have children. In fact, Bretons are the result of high elves and humans.

    • @ShadowMage
      @ShadowMage 4 дні тому +2

      @@gerinko7874 I'm fully aware, but that still doesn't change the fact that half ORCS are never mentioned outside of the grey prince.

    • @gerinko7874
      @gerinko7874 4 дні тому +1

      @@ShadowMage yeah, true. Orcs are elves (orsimer) but are never mentioned as having any hybrid variants. Though, this opens the question to elves that aren’t high elves, like the wood elves. What would a half-bosmer be?

  • @harryshriver6223
    @harryshriver6223 21 день тому +9

    I think his tale is perhaps one of the most saddest and tragic of all the NPCs in Oblivion. I had to wish there was a way or some way to save Agronak. All he wanted was to show the world at an orc can be noble in deed and valor. I really felt kind of guilty for having to kill him in order to complete the quest. He certainly deserved better than what befell him. Vaya con Dios y en paz descansen, Agronak. 😢

  • @Amerwiccan
    @Amerwiccan 23 дні тому +13

    I always thought it was interesting that if you pursue teaching him about his lineage he won't fight you back so then when you kill him if you're not a part of the Dark brotherhood it counts as your initiation kill.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  22 дні тому +3

      Yeah that’s a very good point! I wonder what the threshold is for the dark brotherhood. Maybe killing someone in that way is enough to get a visit

    • @Amerwiccan
      @Amerwiccan 22 дні тому +3

      @@ABardsBallad yeah I guess because he was not defending himself it counts as murder but I usually do that way so I don't have to kill like a guard or unique NPC the one time I did run into that dark elf that is eventually a Target later on in the dark brotherhood he can be killed at any point I did that once for my initiation lol

  • @GooMooBoo
    @GooMooBoo 22 дні тому +7

    5:37 I never noticed before, but there's a minor error here. It says "gro-Malog" but it should say gra-Malog, as it's referring to a female.

  • @wybub
    @wybub 21 день тому +6

    Honestly the most interesting part to me about him is the implications that at one time, Orc servants weren't totally out of place prior to them being recognized as citizens of the third empire, Given they weren't recognized as such until quite recently to Morrowind and Oblivion.

  • @UnswimmingFishYT
    @UnswimmingFishYT 13 днів тому +1

    The obvious comparison would be to a dhampir, a mythological version of what happens to the mortal offspring of a vampire. These are typically described as having some of the physical advantages of vampirism but being immune to it, and are often depicted as the ideal vampire hunters because they have some of the powers to keep up with one while not having the drawbacks. Agronak is likely intended to be a version of this idea, although his rather unsurprising response to learning of it leads to him just being ruined.

  • @ytj17thjuggalo12
    @ytj17thjuggalo12 23 дні тому +9

    Poor man, The Grey Prince, cursed to be an unknowing Vampire. Becomes so depressed after learning of his origins that he just accepts death. Too bad too, he'd likely be better off never knowing.
    Great video bro, gotta agree, he's bittersweet.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +2

      It’s almost better to not do the quest, so he can have an honourable death! Cheers!

  • @RDA000
    @RDA000 23 дні тому +9

    "I am nothing but-again!"

  • @CassieMichael
    @CassieMichael 22 дні тому +3

    in terms of lore, Oblivion could have added a special lore with a new creature with Agronak, considering in Balkan mythology, there actually are instances of children of vampires and humans. They are called Dhampirs. Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry:
    Legends state that dhampirs were, for the most part, normal members of the community. But dhampirs, especially male, of paternal vampire descent could see invisible vampires and practice sorcery, often starting careers as vampire hunters, which would be practiced for generations from father to son. Some traditions specify signs by which the children of a vampire can be recognized. Albanian legends state they have untamed dark or black hair and are very cunning or courageous in nature. They are not attracted to blood and can eat normally like other human beings, though the option to bite other living beings in order to extend one's life is always an open choice.
    When being compared to a vampire, dhampirs are said to be very lethal towards the blood drinkers, since a dhampir's blood and spit is like an acid for the vampires, making them impossible to be bitten. Due to having mixed blood, a dhampir will not be burned by the sun.
    In Bulgarian folklore, possible indications include being "very dirty", having a soft body, no nails or bones (the latter physical peculiarity is also ascribed to the vampire itself), and "a deep mark on the back, like a tail." In contrast, a pronounced nose was often a sign, as were larger than normal ears, teeth or eyes. According to J. Gordon Melton, from his book, The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead, in some areas, a true dhampir possessed a "slippery, jelly-like body and lived only a short life-a belief ... that vampires have no bones."

  • @decimation9780
    @decimation9780 9 днів тому +2

    I would wager that Agronak's unique circumstances have to do with the fact that there are two Daedric princes involved with his bloodline. Orcs as a species/race owe their existence to Malacath, and we know that he keeps a pretty close eye on them since he will answer to a ritual. However vampires are different, they aren’t born in the traditional sense, instead being a mutation of sorts to life, thanks to Molag Bal just being among the worst of the Daedric Princes.
    So as a result, a vampire being created not through disease and the corruption of life, but rather through traditional birth to a species that are rather strongly tied to their own Daedric Prince would not necessarily bare the same disadvantages as your usual vampire.
    Its most likely due to Malacath's influence that Agronak was able to live a relatively normal life until he was informed of his lineage and decided to commit self destruction by demigod. And one can assume that a large chunk of his strength and prowess in combat was due to his vampiric heritage, as even within TES lore, different vampire bloodlines yield different traits and abilities to the bloodkin that are part of those bloodlines, with some being more inclined towards magic, and others being more physically gifted.

  • @tonygonk
    @tonygonk 22 дні тому +5

    I felt so bad for even completing his quest :( poor guy was better off not knowing

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  22 дні тому

      Yeah I agree, probably better to let him die with his honor intact!

  • @derbirider6646
    @derbirider6646 23 дні тому +4

    Thank you for this fine addition bard. Loved todays subject.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +1

      I appreciate the support! Glad you enjoyed the video! :)

  • @justrelaxx8314
    @justrelaxx8314 22 дні тому +2

    Words can express the excitement when I see you upload ❤️

  • @aaronlaughter6471
    @aaronlaughter6471 23 дні тому +6

    I have to admit, I kind of wish Dhampirs were a thing in Elder Scrolls, that would be awesome.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +1

      That would be an awesome addition!

  • @streakingclothed
    @streakingclothed 23 дні тому +6

    He was such a good guy 😔 and a great way to get started with the dark brotherhood 😛

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +1

      😂 very true! A great passage into the greatest faction 😉

  • @AntiKira20
    @AntiKira20 23 дні тому +3

    Im actually trying to make a character in Skyrim based off of Sanguinious from Warhammer40k, a beloved and respected humanoid vampire that had the body and soul of an angel.
    But his wrath was terrifying to behold, known as the Black Rage. And even after his death at the hands of his brother, his sons still feel that pain and his Rage passed down to them.
    And they still mourn him, 10,000 years later.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому

      Orcs are just too much fun as characters!

  • @torinjones3221
    @torinjones3221 23 дні тому +8

    It is an intentional if you ask me. Otherwise they could've just made him an actual vampire.

  • @RyansFine
    @RyansFine 22 дні тому +6

    "I thought my father was a nobleman, not a bloodsucking monster!"
    Those aren't the same thing?

  • @MultiKwolf
    @MultiKwolf 23 дні тому +2

    your videos saves the day from boredom yet again thank you

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому

      I’m really glad to hear you enjoyed the video!

  • @paladinkhan
    @paladinkhan 23 дні тому +4

    Another excellent dive, i did always wish for more with agronak or maybe you could abandon the arena all together, run off and have kids together. Maybe not that. But definitely would have been neat to have some choice where you go or you go together to the fort

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому

      Cheers! Yeah it would have been really cool to see this explored a bit more!

  • @aza8800
    @aza8800 22 дні тому +1

    Laying next to my wife in bed right now as she's snoring beside me and I'm so comfy watching this. Thanks man! Glad you revisted the gray prince, I always felt bad for him.

  • @BlackNero31
    @BlackNero31 22 дні тому +2

    Ohhh I love seeing a bard oblivion video pop up in my subs

  • @SriomSky
    @SriomSky 22 дні тому +5

    I don't have anything to say, I just want to boost engagement. I didn't even know vampires could have kids in the elder scrolls.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  22 дні тому

      I appreciate the support! I don’t think anyone knew 😂

  • @nullifye7816
    @nullifye7816 22 дні тому +1

    Racial phylogeny makes clear interracial offspring in TES take after the mother, so possibly he avoided the bulk of vampiric heritage while a vampiric mother (if that were possible) with an orc sire would have created something more fully vampiric. Racial trait heritability is somewhat mysterious in the real world and there's no reason to imagine it different in TES. I think he inherited some of the symptomatic effects of vampirism without the disease itself, and the orc half mitigated some of the worst ones because of orcs' natural robustness. A wonderful character, should have been an optional path to make him a follower, absolutely.

  • @MrFreiza
    @MrFreiza 22 дні тому +1

    I always did this side quest when I played oblivion. It’s a good one to be fair

  • @RavenMenel
    @RavenMenel 13 днів тому

    I did this quest recently and it hit me for as long as I had this game I had never done it before and usually just defeated him in the arena so I think it's a funny coincidence you made this in the same year.

  • @feliciastaldotter5168
    @feliciastaldotter5168 21 день тому +1

    You could argue he might have some blood urges, hence why he was drawn to a position that is all about killing.

  • @tsengmichael9910
    @tsengmichael9910 22 дні тому +1

    A really impressive quest in oblivion

  • @Kryptnyt
    @Kryptnyt 9 днів тому

    I do feel bad for Lovidicus. It does seem like normally they wouldn't have had the ability to have a kid, so maybe some deity like Mara was moved by their love and granted them an exception conception. There was a path to redemption there in the making. Instead he was forced to endure the self-consuming and potentially never ending hunger of his eternal curse. They had outs to his condition but she chose to do the easy thing, to betray him and lock him up.

  • @alliesotherness9456
    @alliesotherness9456 22 дні тому +1

    Would have been really great to have a little more tlc put into his quest. This is one of those instances I can’t help but think of Fallout skill check/ speech checks and how if it was a Fallout quest there would have at least been a check to keep him from getting depressed

  • @freakrx2349
    @freakrx2349 11 днів тому

    I was able to start the Dark Brotherhood questline during my playthrough of Oblivion by doing Agronak’s quest.

  • @nicholasmorgan7609
    @nicholasmorgan7609 12 днів тому

    Something funny to me about the arena is how the loading screens make it out to be somewhere to go for a friendly match when it's full on bloodsports. A friendly match would have been preferable with the Gray Prince to what really happens.

  • @olw3375
    @olw3375 23 дні тому +3

    Nice vid as always

  • @dragondude9637
    @dragondude9637 22 дні тому +1

    There's mods so you can convince him to let go of his fears and give the crowd an epic duel.

  • @thegrinch473
    @thegrinch473 22 дні тому +1

    If there's something called half vampires, bethesda should really make it a thing, i do hope in es6, they can add these qualities it just seems so interesting seeing the origins of the gray prince and what he turned out to be. I was sorta disappointed that we never got anything like that in skyrim. It would have been cool to see a hybrid of vamp and werewolf or werebear. That is why oblivion really adds the mystery into its game, theres so many question marks and theories coming out, and skyrim truly lacks that mystery at times. Also, i can't wait to play skyoblivion 😂

  • @younggrasshopper3531
    @younggrasshopper3531 11 днів тому

    Weird how I was thinking of the gray prince today and then this video comes up

  • @WinegedDragoon
    @WinegedDragoon 7 днів тому

    Played Oblivion a lot growing up and always did the Arena first, only ever did his quest maybe two times. Just didn't feel right for him to know the truth just to more or less commit suicide by letting you kill him. Preferred fighting him as the warrior he is, giving him a warriors death instead. Amazing character, but very tragic story, if only there were a way to do his quest, and then somehow save him from what became of him from knowing the truth. Granted you'd still probably have to kill him in an arena fight for Grand Champion, but at least he'd still get to have a warriors death.

  • @Trigger99X
    @Trigger99X 21 день тому +1

    I made a tabletop rpg character that was him convinced to keep going in love and became a Paladin of redemption

  • @johanneskaiser8188
    @johanneskaiser8188 22 дні тому +1

    What I find odd is that Agronak knows it's a ruin, as if his mother told him or he remembers. Then follows the questions: If you get hired to be a servant to some guy living underneath a ruin, perhaps with skeletons about, how could you not suspect that at least something is up?

  • @jaydolan8278
    @jaydolan8278 10 днів тому

    “Leave the arena now and rest, you’ve EARNED IT”

  • @kriegsblade7094
    @kriegsblade7094 6 днів тому

    In other fantasy settings, he would be known as a Dhampir, the result of a vampire and human coupling. He fits all of the hallmarks of being a Dhampir and I believe that was the intent of his chadacter.

  • @GrayJediMage
    @GrayJediMage 12 днів тому

    I wonder if Lord Lovidicus was a pure blood vampire like Lord Harkon from Skyrim? Also, maybe Argronak gro-Malog was a half vampire because he's an unintentional creation of two Daedric princes, Molag Bal (the vampire half) and Malacath (the orc half). That would then lead to the question, who has claim on his soul after he dies?

  • @Matt-md5yt
    @Matt-md5yt 23 дні тому +6

    glad you covered this great character.

  • @ShadowwingMD
    @ShadowwingMD 11 днів тому

    If you win an arena match you can refresh and clean yourself after each fight. I once did not do that and spelt there and if I recall correctly, thats how I got my vamperism once many years ago.

  • @DollopussD
    @DollopussD 7 днів тому

    An Orc Damphire! That's what's great about The Elder Scrolls.

  • @the_cyberchill
    @the_cyberchill 23 дні тому +3

    I was really hoping ESO would give us a few more Dhampyr (The offspring of a male vampire, and mortal female, i.e Alucard from castlevania, etc) but I dont think we have anything concrete yet. I do wonder if female vampires can have children, as in most stories they cannot, I also wonder if some of the offspring would slowly go mad becoming some form of bloodfiend ghoul.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому

      Yeah it would’ve been cool to see more of them in the lore! I’ve wondered the same myself!

    • @vestige1671
      @vestige1671 22 дні тому +1

      There’s also the daedric aspect of them. Being technically mortal, would dhampyres have more agency over their own souls or would Molag Bal have default ownership of them? Knowing the sick bastard Bal is, he’d definitely try to.

  • @sebay4654
    @sebay4654 21 день тому

    I really wish their was a way to spare him that concludes the quest on a higher note like if we surrender since he refuses to fight which either gives him a chance to actually fight where he scales up to player level or maybe becomes a follower because their existence is literally a miracle that they might be the only case in the entire universe of a half Vampire especially considering they have none of the downsides,
    Albeit their is a chance that if they got infected that they could become a unique full vampire with an exceptionally strong level of Vampirism

  • @Steved0re
    @Steved0re 13 днів тому

    It would have been cool to be able to recruit him for the Knights of the Nine as a Vampire Hunter.

  • @brendongambill3147
    @brendongambill3147 8 днів тому

    What sword are you using in the clips? Looks sick

  • @SamButler22
    @SamButler22 21 годину тому

    There's only been one blade, there's only ever gunna be one blade

  • @8bitPikachu
    @8bitPikachu 12 днів тому

    grey-prince: go find information about my family
    hero-of-kavatch: you father was a vampire
    Grey-prince: im sad now

  • @Emperorwolf999
    @Emperorwolf999 5 днів тому

    I like the idea of the grey prince being a Dhampir

  • @Tasuke
    @Tasuke 9 днів тому

    I really wish there was a way to bring him back up after getting him the journal. I felt like he deserved to know but I hated how depressed he got.

  • @berrie-nice-to-meet-you
    @berrie-nice-to-meet-you 5 днів тому

    I don't know if there were any other dhampirs in Elder Scrolls lore, but I kinda wish there was an option to convince him to become a vampire hunter. Imagine if he lead the Dawnguard in the Skyrim DLC
    Yes I want Blade in Elder Scrolls

  • @michaelwells529
    @michaelwells529 10 днів тому +1

    Raise your hand if the Arena was your first oblivion questline. 🙋‍♂️ Now raise your hand again if Agronak was your first orc 🙋‍♂️

    • @jess648
      @jess648 9 днів тому

      it must’ve been disappointing to see most of the other orcs not having that much to them

  • @themarlboromandalorian
    @themarlboromandalorian 19 днів тому +1

    How is nobody else curious what happened to that lord?
    How is that part of the map just forgotten?

  • @zktoons8740
    @zktoons8740 17 днів тому

    I wished for Agronak to live so whenever I play Skyrim with an orc I roleplay him as Agronak coming back from the grave 200 years later. Kind of like Trevor Belmont in Castlevania Lord of Shadows. 😅

  • @LightWolfAMVS
    @LightWolfAMVS 22 дні тому +1

    The question is always as followed for me when i do the arena:
    Do you tell Agronak the truth about his parentage? And risk him making the challenge easy? Or do you allow him to live in denial and fight you the best way possible and give the people the best show of their lives

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  22 дні тому +1

      It’s so tough! I like the idea of him being ignorant to his lineage, so he dies happy!

    • @LeftyScaevola
      @LeftyScaevola 22 дні тому +2

      More than one mod available to more him fight normally even if you give him the journal

  • @Embarblaze
    @Embarblaze 13 днів тому

    Hear me out, Agronak was a ploy by Molag Bal, the father of vampires, to create a stronger vampire to serve him. A vampire who retained the strength and abilities, but who could walk under the sun.

  • @Werewolf_Korra
    @Werewolf_Korra 2 дні тому

    Its weird how it's implied he's a supernaturally talented fighter, but he's just a normal orc. He doesn't have any of the issues of being a vampire like the sun hurting him or blood thirst.
    I wonder if this means the children of vampires are just super humans with none of the actual curse elements

  • @mausolus8466
    @mausolus8466 6 днів тому

    After this quest, I grow to hate Agronak's mother. I can understand her fear when discovering her former lover being vampire, but what god-damned purpose was her made-up story serving (she could just say her father was an Imperial soldier who soon after Agronak's birth left them never coming back or something similar that wouldn't inspire Agronak to search for his past), but even worse, what was the point of giving him a key and direction to Crowhaven. At best, Agronak would survive the encounter and got depressed either way, maybe even deciding to take his own life. At worst, Agronak would fell to a bunch of feral blood starved vampires. She kept her lie and at her deathbed, she gave him the key to answers, just so she wouldn't have to see consequences. But why didn't keep the truth to herself? Why setting him on path that she had to know would either kill him or break him? Perhaps lord Lovidicus was right, and she was just a monster, a monster that decided to torment her son in the end.

  • @GreenBlueWalkthrough
    @GreenBlueWalkthrough 23 дні тому +2

    I mean his skin is a grey green not a pale green which having grey skin is normal for most vampires is TES at least at some levels... Although grey orkoids in atleast other media are very common but not in TES or oblvin... So yeah he is 100% half imperal vampair even if he only shows the grey skin trait... Although his skin is a much darker greay then the first 2 levels of vampires in olblian so that is odd... Although his skin could have been a lighter grey then got darker as he aged being that half vampires are uber rare in fiction/myth there is next to no data to go on... Which it could be a solution to many vampires fear of not having a legacy and continmuation of their folk. As if they can have a kid that inherts only the goood stuff would put them at ease so they could just die in peace even. Regardless of how long they would have to try for as they have time...

  • @nicholasmandigo1390
    @nicholasmandigo1390 22 дні тому

    I would consider it wasted potential in my opinion. Could you imagine if when he found out. He began training to use vampiric abilities. So when you fought him in the arena. It be far more challenging. That and the story line alone be far more interesting.

  • @timbutler5033
    @timbutler5033 20 днів тому +1

    I hate that killing him is always considered to be murder. Which means you have no choice but to start the Dark Brotherhood quest next time you sleep

    • @ShafiqRahimi-3005
      @ShafiqRahimi-3005 11 днів тому

      Whenever I played a morally decent character, it was a great chance to give Agronak some mercy and kill Lucien when he speaks to me

  • @beanking2702
    @beanking2702 23 дні тому +4

    There’s a half nord half imperial in red guard

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  23 дні тому +2

      Very interesting! I’ll have to take a look out for him!

    • @beanking2702
      @beanking2702 23 дні тому +1

      His name is Tobias the channel called crendel shows him in a redguard review around the 25 minute mark i couldn’t find any other videos that show him

  • @jacklansdale77
    @jacklansdale77 22 дні тому

    Doing crowhaven early is nice since it's close to the end of the knights of the nine quest.

  • @mr.wilson9941
    @mr.wilson9941 11 днів тому

    It is rather weird that the vampire cabal of cyrodil, which essentially runs everything, had no interest in keepng a half vampire who was sired by one who most likely was part of their organization, seeing that agronaks father was a noble

  • @freakyskull516
    @freakyskull516 8 днів тому

    "my training regimen doesnt allow the luxury of an excursion"
    if this werent oblivion i would call BS on that but he's the arena champ at lv 10, this guy is power leveling and a single athletics or acrobatics level up at the wrong time could ruin him.

  • @Venator1230
    @Venator1230 7 днів тому

    The cast of characters in Oblivion will always be a strength of the game over Skyrim. Many guild storylines are superior to their Skyrim counterparts imo.

  • @NamirasAcolyte
    @NamirasAcolyte 22 дні тому

    I wish there was a way to recruit him as a follower instead. Like yeah you're part vampire, but come fight evil with me and do better than what your father was. I still love his story but I wish we had the option to save him

  • @doodprinny2338
    @doodprinny2338 23 дні тому +1

    Wonder if he's like a 'Panda', he could prey on & consume just as a vampire might, but without being able to 'Taste' & thus enjoy it there's no point, a' la Pandas, dood...

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  22 дні тому

      Maybe! That’s certainly a possibility!

  • @kingofbel6499
    @kingofbel6499 21 день тому

    To be honest this whole time I thought vampires couldnt have children in Elder Scrolls. I feel like that is one of the vampire traits that is always true no matter what fiction the vampires are from.

  • @DuffTerrall
    @DuffTerrall 12 днів тому

    Is there anything in prior lore to indicate that Mer and Men can crossbreed? Because that in itself seems like a pretty big deal. Doubt the Thalmor would be a fan of that one.

  • @Drew_Thompson
    @Drew_Thompson 12 днів тому

    gro-malog...
    real subtle todd.

  • @johnwhite8679
    @johnwhite8679 9 днів тому +1

    'i believe he was given powers, although there is absolutely no evidence of it. '
    awesome, this guy talks out his ass.

    • @ABardsBallad
      @ABardsBallad  9 днів тому +1

      If that’s what you got out of it, you missed the message lol

  • @Jtoob-z5n
    @Jtoob-z5n 8 днів тому

    “Lord Lovidicus” is funny

  • @The56567878
    @The56567878 21 день тому

    Shoutout to all my fellow perfect level 10 warriors

  • @alexanderrahl7034
    @alexanderrahl7034 11 днів тому +2

    i thought vampires were undead.
    Thats craaaaaazy, dude had some living spunk junk in his front trunk that went to work sunk in some woman's spunk trunk.
    Yup, i just gave everyone who read that, eye cancer. myself included. goodnight everyone o/

  • @JoseHernandez-ix1eo
    @JoseHernandez-ix1eo 17 днів тому

    I use to do this mission, turn the game to hardest difficulty, work on my hand to hand skill