How realistic is Skingrad from The Elder Scrolls Oblivion?

Let's do another historical analysis of a city and castle from the Elder Scrolls Oblivion and see how realistic it is, this time we look at the city SKINGRAD!
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[@sir.phantom215]

Shad: "talk dirty to me... " me: " machicolations... " Shad: " oh, yes... "

[@codyknutson2382]

Mr PL lol so true

[@kmeanxneth]

lol

[@MrBigCookieCrumble]

HAHAHAHA!!!

[@nuadathesilverhand3563]

* nerdy. Talk NERDY to me.

[@noname_atall]

Shad: "show me your murder holes" Mr PL: " oh, yes...

[@nikolai60]

Shad: "And what do we see here?" Me: "I dunno I don't know where to look." Shad: -starts looking up Me: "Uh oh" -scrambles to lower volume

[@shadiversity]

Lol, you know me so well ^_^

[@ulfgard4734]

Yeah, I was too slow getting to the volume control. Woke the lady. She was less than thrilled.

[@007RAJKOify]

You are insane. Go to hospital. You got one more subscriber.

[@lamapouletdromadaire3551]

was wathcing the video at midnigth, woke up everyone

[@primarchlion]

Yeah I decided I'd go to sleep to Shad's soothing voice. 15:22 woke me back up.

[@rendora9318]

Your enthusiasm for castles is absolutely infectious! I never thought I would sit through half an hour of dissecting fictional castles, but you made it fascinating.

[@magoschonkers711]

Honestly same

[@Whatdouevenwriteforthesethings]

You better believe it!

[@ryandunham1047]

Off topic, and I know this is old, but what is your profile pic from?

[@pepperpeppington6267]

Their PFP looks to be a character from The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim; they've made it.@@ryandunham1047

[@ookeepmoo]

*Shoves head into arrow loop* *Grunting* "Brilliant!" 10:10 Subbed

[@eramires]

LMFAO xD

[@Whatdouevenwriteforthesethings]

Let's go man 🤣!

[@GinnyFan765]

I gasped when I saw the machicolations on the gatehouses. Such an historic moment.

[@BungieStudios]

10x the detail.

[@erebys21]

@@BungieStudios 16x*

[@jinenjuce]

As an engineer, you won't believe how many impossible designs architects will give us. And how much they'll cry when we toss it back and tell them to give us something actually feasible to work with.

[@kauhanen44]

Like a swimming pool at the top floor? Give some examples pls.

[@aftonstjarna4530]

ZORG .

[@firekeeper3536]

Yesterday my engieneer mom recive a pretty well good looking roman style house but just toss it back because it have a freacking HUGE round balcony extended out. My mom later on explain that big silly things need COLUMNS otherwise it will simply colapse probably killing the constructors even after is finished.

[@TheArklyte]

Actual architects or some nowaday designer posers?

[@LordKebise]

Architecture as a Uni degree is primarily art with just a little engineering, so I'd be expecting a lot of structurally unsound concepts.

[@massaweed420]

This just confirms my belief that Skingrad is possibly the best city in Cyrodiil.

[@dasik84]

It absolutely is. When I first played Oblivion, I wasn't astonished by Imperial City, frankly, I didn't like it. But then I decided to go to trip and went south-west. And Skingrad was the WOOOOW! moment of the entire game for me. The reason why I spent hundreds of hours in the game.

[@smoothyodaproductions4373]

Not only is it one of the most accurate medieval cities in games but it is home to the best house you can buy in oblivion along with lovely scenery and great quests.

[@BillyBob-ti2fz]

@@smoothyodaproductions4373eh the castle you can get buy Corrol is better

[@have_a_good_day420]

​​@@BillyBob-ti2fzahh, but you can get infinite gold if you help the royal dude who turns you into a vampire when you help his wife. It's a glitch but he continuously pays you everytime you speak to him.

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

​@@smoothyodaproductions4373also has the best ruler

[@zapdragon23]

I think I remember reading somewhere that skingrad was one of the designers' pet project. I also remember a line in the game mentioning that someone thought that skingrad was unconquerable, so it was clearly designed to be an impressive fortress.

[@gabba1gabba1hey]

historical castles sometimes didn't put battlements on both sides because they didn't want the attackers taking control of the walls and using the battlements against them.

[@alalalala57]

Mcface Makes sense.

[@ThallanarRabidtooth]

If the attackers had taken control of all the battlements in your castle then you're pretty fucked anyway. Only last reasonable defensive spot is the castle itself, or the Keep... If you can even get to it.

[@gabba1gabba1hey]

>If the attackers had taken control of all the battlements in your castle then you're pretty fucked anyway That's not even remotely true at all. Most castles have 2-4 different lines of defense, if the outer walls fall you just fall back deeper inside. For example in the Battle of Jaffa during the 3rd crusade, the crusaders left behind to defend the castle were able to hold out for weeks in the keep after the outer city walls fell to the Saracens until reinforcements finally arrived and saved the city. Walls are breached all the time, that is why most castles are sectioned off, so you can continue to defend. It's also why they don't but defenses on both sides, so like I said, when they are captured they cant be used to fire at your new positions

[@ThallanarRabidtooth]

Yeah, I had totally neglected the fact that any real castle had multiple internal baileys with their own ways to get on top of the defending walls, not accessible by the other baileys if such one gets taken over. My bad, I definitely knew better than what I had said. Thanks for reminding me.

[@00Trademark00]

Indeed. A good example is Carcassone, where they go one step further - gatehouse above the outer wall (there is a bit of room, about the size of a football (soccer) field and then a drawbridge and a second wall) doesn't even have a wall on the inside. Not great for people with vertigo :-) But if the enemy takes the outer wall you can easily shoot at them from the inside, they have no cover.

[@HeliosRa]

My favourite "city" of Oblivion and possibly all Elder Scrolls games. You're nailing it again Shad, nailing it.

[@ThallanarRabidtooth]

Not only is it beautiful in terms of a defensible kinda way, it's beautiful in an aesthetic way. I've seen too many castles in fiction that are just blank stone walls with no features and barely any windows. If a castle can be as defensible as it can be, while still looking embellished and beautiful, it gets all my respect.

[@MrDumptyTheDeadman]

That flag is HUGE.

[@Thesaurus_Rex]

Probably the biggest structural flaw of the castle, as strange as that may be.

[@victo4944]

came looking for this. I'm not a flag expert but this flagpole looks oddly thin for such a heavy flag. And the wind should be quite strong to raise it that much

[@DZ-1987]

I blame Alduin.

[@controlZchannel]

I was about to say the same. Size of a house.

[@jonathanswavely7259]

They stole it from Perkins

[@amonducius]

Skingrad was my fav city from day one. The buildings, the climate, the quests, the wine, everything. Still the best city in the Elder Scrolls.

[@dasik84]

It absolutely is. When I first played Oblivion, I wasn't astonished by Imperial City, frankly, I didn't like it. But then I decided to go to trip and went south-west. And Skingrad was the WOOOOW! moment of the entire game for me. The reason why I spent hundreds of hours in the game.

[@GonnaDieNever]

I notice that you didn't mention the total control Skingrad has on one of the major roads into the city, any approaching army would have to contend with Archers shooting them from 3 or 4 sides, including the elevated bridge.

[@ThallanarRabidtooth]

It'd also make the city a great trading hub for Cyrodiil. While technically the Imperial City is the political center of trading in Cyrodiil, there are no roads that force you to travel through the city to get to the other side. Before Kvatch was destroyed, merchants, traders, and other people looking to buy, sell, and do trade, had to go through Skingrad, doing whatever business they could there, and move onto the next city, such as Kvatch, do the same there, and go down to the Gold Coast where Anvil is, the largest port city in Cyrodiil, obviously a great place to get unique materials there without having to deal with import costs, such as fish, and other sea-based trading goods. Skingrad really did it right with this one, not only is it more defended than most cities (Or defended communes) in Oblivion, it got its location perfect. Not only with the location of the castle, but the location of the city itself. Putting a super defended structure on a main road to 2 other cities is basically like putting a giant super defended gatehouse on the road, essentially separating the these 3 cities (Anvil, Kvatch and Skingrad) from the rest of Cyrodiil. Of course you can just go through the woods, but good luck getting siege equipment through all that dense forest. Forget about chopping the trees down, once you get close enough to Skingrad to try to pass it, you'll get shot down from defenders on the wall.

[@SheosMan117]

Another advantage of the bridge to the castle is that, if it had battlements, it could even help defend one of the gates to the main city.

[@SheosMan117]

Now, the castles of Morrowind would be some of the worst. Some, like Buckmoth and Moonmoth, I think they're only where they are for political reasons, not defense. And many city walls are clearly designed more to keep out animals, and some bandits, not armies. And some places don't even have walls. Does make me wonder what you think of such places like Sadrith Mora and other Telvanni cities, with mushroom towers, and Vivec, with its cantons.

[@archive4058]

That extra gatehouse also leads to the keep.

[@eduardofreitas8336]

I was thinking the same the whole time. And if it was properly defended than thecity would not be divided if the attackers breached the first gates.

[@h3lblad3]

The city of Vivec's cantons seem very defensive to me, since you have to cross a bridge to each part of the city and each canton has small walls to duck behind. Not to mention the ruler of it is a literal god. Anyone attacking it would have to go through Vivec, the god himself. Telvanni cities would be hindered by walls because the Telvanni are a people of fantastic magical power. They're essentially the Mage's Guild on steroids and walls would get in the way of their spell-flinging. You don't need to hold off attackers would you can just destroy the whole army in a few spells. The real sadness is Balmora which looks nice but which is pretty much totally undefended. It's the seat of one of the Great Houses yet its walls have gaping holes with no doorways. The only good things about it is that it is built out of chokepoints, including the bridges that separate the two halves of the city but also including the densely urban nature of the city meaning moving from the center to the outer portions requires you to squeeze through alleys. For all intents and purposes, a city of that political importance should be quite large but it's barely greater in size than Seyda Neen... I assume that's just because of hardware limitations. On the bright side, Balmora has an imperial garrison just outside of town to draw fire or provide flanking support.

[@minerva9104]

h3lblad3 And then there's Ebonheart......

[@Gordini1011]

Critique Markarth, the "safest city in Skyrim".

[@wisemankugelmemicus1701]

Gordon Fisher In the Reach*

[@Po3oB]

On, come on, Markarth is farthest from being called "city" as possible, can easily be accessed of boulderd from mountains around. Nowhere near "safest". And they keep the Forsworn King at the mine, and the Forsworn are killing people on the street, and guards just tell not to poke your nose in it! Talk about safety...

[@DZ-1987]

City... A gawking Mining village, that. Not to mention the severe lack of keep. Who'd find it luxurious to live in a glorified cave? Nords...

[@Fyrebrand18]

@@DZ-1987 Correction. Dwarves.

[@Fyrebrand18]

@@DZ-1987 Markarth is not a Nordic settlement. Its a dwarven ruin that's been repurposed. And what you see is only perhaps 40 percent of the original settlement size, the other 60 is deep underground. Understone keep probably isn't an actual keep, its just been repurposed into one for convenience because it is the main entrance to the main dwarven ruins but also because it is the only place to put the keep. You could go lower, and lose your Jarl and all your men to attrition against the dwarven constructs.

[@afivey]

It'd work well in Cyrodill and perhaps in real life. But I felt slightly disappointed architectural defenses in TES don't reflect things like the levitate, chameleon/invisibility, frenzy detect life and night eye spells existing. The bulk of a sieging army might be halted by walls and have reason to target gatehouses, but the same cannot be said for battle mages. The whole point of an attack might be to draw a key number of areas to defend one section of a wall without cover from above and then have one battlemage cast one area affect frenzy spell while the attacking army retreats; it'd keep most of the army intact and either kill defenders or completely demoralise and traumatise survivors.

[@Sputin]

@@dennisthemenace3695 whitewash rendering counters fire spells

[@tristinrev]

I will say that mages are a lot less common. So a castle may be able to handle the mages an army may have 🤷

[@theoneaboveallthelivingtri5862]

In lore everything is more in detail every city etc. In the games not so much

[@theoneaboveallthelivingtri5862]

@@dennisthemenace3695 the elder scrolls verse has cannon tho they dont make that obvious on the game Also not everyone can use magi either because they dont have the talent or just hate it due to the stigma it Caries etc.

[@theoneaboveallthelivingtri5862]

@Impaleification if I remember right there was a mage that made 8K soldier be able to fly so just 1 mage can make an army fly as long as they are strong enough

[@thenecromorpher]

I didn't think I would wake up today and watch a 30 minute review of a video game's city and castle and it's defensive and realistic qualities, simply because it was in my recommended videos; but here I am.

[@Owl_Knight98]

yeah me too. But well... that is quite funny and interesting

[@95keat]

the city maybe good but the people where the creepiest in all of Oblivion

[@sartanko]

This is where that weird Woold Elf lived right? That thought everybody was conspiring against him?

[@95keat]

Dan Slash yup, he'd whisper for you to come to him and if you don't he would slowly follow you through out the entire city. it also had the dark brotherhood mission with a murder mansion, necromancers, and a vampire count. wierd creepy city

[@ietuhsacuofshcd]

Dan Slash and the ruler of skingrad is count dracula :D

[@sartanko]

Ah yes, and the bug when you cured his wife, you could ask for the reward over and over and over. Made me rich.

[@ietuhsacuofshcd]

Dan Slash argh all the memories are coming back. I cant handle the nostalgia

[@StillGotShit4Brains]

Just found this channel and oh my god your enthusiasm is infectious.

[@mmeers89]

I always thought Skingrad was the most beautiful city in Elder Scrolls. Definitely worthy of having the most expensive housing.

[@skycrafter2042]

Nah snow citys best

[@dasik84]

It absolutely is. When I first played Oblivion, I wasn't astonished by Imperial City, frankly, I didn't like it. But then I decided to go to trip and went south-west. And Skingrad was the WOOOOW! moment of the entire game for me. The reason why I spent hundreds of hours in the game.

[@sirrebralpalsy6542]

I was unsure if you were saying having no windows on the castle was an odd thing or not but the count of Skingrad is a vampire and is very secretive due to this. In addition to that there is the Vampires weakness to sunlight. That may have influenced why there are no windows in the castle.

[@jotesbe9117]

Yet he was turned fifty years ago, so it would be hardly possible for him to be the one who commisioned building the main house of the castle.

[@tjcross2]

Perhaps he paid to have them filled in?

[@jotesbe9117]

Then, sealed window space could be seen, quite a disadavantage, since those would be weak points, which no one in the castle could observe. So unlikely how it is you could sent people to chisel seals away. Which since the castle is quite inconquerable and that would be one point of possible entrance, it is worth to consider. If done with proper caution, in times when no one could be there to listen, it would make an entrance for assasin, which in one night, he could dispose quietly all of those peasants who entered the castle for shelter. Maybe even the count himself. Furthermore there is no plastering under which you could hide its existence, only bricks.

[@ceshmate1953]

@@jotesbe9117 but who would know ? No one would observe the castle from behind and even if they did, they can't get close to it.

[@ISELLSALT]

he was actually really seclusive even before the vampirism, so theres no reason he couldnt have not just ahd it built like that from the start

[@Bob-Roberts]

Wow whomever modelled Skingrad knew what they were doing

[@johnhajdo3167]

Dragonsploof *whoever

[@drorydressage]

Found Stannis.

[@hi-to6sk]

@@drorydressage is that a game of thrones joke?

[@drorydressage]

It is !

[@Po3oB]

Well, Oblivion is much better worked and thought through, and not only in terms of castles, than Skyrim. I like Oblivion the most from all TES series.

[@Rainyjax]

Hearing him actually praise something for once just fills me with so much joy, I just can't even

[@corysnapp]

Skingrad was always my favorite city (after Chorrol) my only gripe was there wasn’t as many quests there.

[@Kubwaw]

Yay! Machiculations on gatehouse without a door! :) I guess it was built with defenders inside...

[@Flight_of_Icarus]

Yeah, well... you don't put a door on things you don't want the player getting into. ;)

[@Nuvendil]

Tunnel access.

[@GordonGarvey]

I like to imagine they had a secret underground tunnel leading back into the city walls.

[@yupisaid]

Gordon O'Gairbhith Ah... same mayn same!

[@FullOilBarrel]

*Shadiversity* *checklist:* Meticulations ✔️ Battlement ✔️ Meticulation ✔️ Gatehouse with double gate ✔️ Stone arches Sections of walls ✔️ Meticulations ✔️ Divided city✔️ Big big merlons with holes ✔️ Meticulations

[@PomiDarQu]

You forget to mention meticulations

[@wannabeiroh4658]

FullOilBarrel you forgot to mention MACHICULATIONS

[@DZ-1987]

Meticulations? Sir Andrews is right, Good sir Barrel. Machicolations.

[@housel9352]

And location

[@UteChewb]

I remember when I first went to see the Count of Skingrad (forget his name) in the Mages quest. I thought, this castle is so freaking hard to get to, why? Oh yeah, really hard to lay siege to it.

[@Slayerlord0]

Skingrad was always one of my favorite cities in Oblivion, and now I love it even more. Thanks for this video Shad!

[@codycole2684]

So Skingrad Castle is chaotic good...

[@Igor-tn6cw]

All the time I had to go trough Skingrad when travelling on the main road, I feared that they would lock both gates and start loosing arrows on my head from those two flanking walls...

[@christiandauz3742]

I doubt Skingard is dangerous on the outside (I doubt its been sieged even once) Now if they actually take care of the internal problems (vampires, assassins, crazy people) then that place would be something immigrants would go to

[@hi-to6sk]

@@christiandauz3742 crazy people yes assassin's yes vampires I don't know about that don't even syar the count I meet him a chill cool guy a recluse but nice.

[@shopdog831]

How about castles in shrek

[@jacobitewiseman3696]

Well yes it is accurate in the defence capabilities.

[@guillaumedelacombe4255]

It is always strange to discover that the magnificent, enormous city I loved to explore as a child is actually a twenty-odd houses village. However, the video Shad came up with is really very interesting and must have needed a great amount of work. Thanks a lot!

[@dasik84]

When I first played Oblivion, I wasn't astonished by Imperial City, frankly, I didn't like it. But then I decided to go to trip and went south-west. And Skingrad was the WOOOOW! moment of the entire game for me. The reason why I spent hundreds of hours in the game.

[@thesumofmyfear]

I noticed two quick things when you were talking about the chimneys which I think add a few points. 1) They're taller than the rooftop which is good as that keeps them in the wind which means there's a low pressure zone that draws the smoke up. 2) The roofs themselves are heavily sloped which is great for keeping the snow from piling up and potentially collapsing them in the winter. It's also how thatch is supposed to be but the city doesn't use thatch that I noticed other than the ubiquitous stable that every city has. I also think the castle, its location on the hill and style are more of a homage to Romanian castles like Corvin which has similar architecture (especially in the towers) and a solid stone bridge. It also has a small stream flowing by but on the opposite side as well. And those familiar with certain rumors around Skingrad might see why I'm inclined to think so.

[@kylie8612]

what to give shad for Christmas/holidays : Machicolations and secondary gatehouses

[@eramires]

don't forget battlements :P

[@andygryphon]

Secondary gates houses with at least two functional portcullises.

[@Gormathius]

This city is the first thing I thought of when I saw your significantly more recent Motte and Bailey video. The second I saw the example image in the thumbnail I *instantly* thought of this. Skingrad is my absolute favourite fantasy city, it always has been since the time I first saw it.

[@brianketelboeter8522]

I just discovered the Sadiversity yesterday, and I love it. The amount of study and work he puts into these videos is amazing. To say nothing about the presentation, teaching skills and excitement. I love this.

[@dyefield2712]

where are the Shadiversity cloaks? those would be really cool.

[@shadiversity]

Oh man I wish ^_^

[@charlottewalnut3118]

Shadiversity I can sell you goats for wool to make the cloaks where are you located

[@kleinjahr]

To many trees near the walls. Should have a clear field of fire at least a bow shot away.

[@ceshmate1953]

Trees do keep the ground stable.

[@ceshmate1953]

I do agree with the ones right in front of the outer walls. But again it prob has more to the with the ground design rather then the castle design.

[@lordofuzkulak8308]

Probably worth considering the political climate at the time the game is set; the city is in the heartland of the Empire, which controls the entire continent, so there’s probably no one around that poses an actual threat (unless I’m mistaken, the Aldmeri Dominion doesn’t rise to prominence until well after the time the game is set), so they’ve probably grown complacent/lax with maintaining the outside land, allowing trees to start encroaching once more.

[@Detrasystem]

the amount of passion you have for medieval architecture makes me so happy

[@Hallonbot]

This was a really interesting analysis. Very happy to have found this channel; now I'll have to check out the rest of it. Looking forward to see more of this brilliance!

[@stevenqu3]

4:31 Hysterical laugh is hysterical

[@BaileyBecca]

I was just playing oblivion yesterday hoping you'd make this exact video

[@jacklambert1521]

The moment I entered Skingrad again on my 113452th playthrough of Oblivion, I immediately thought to myself "Shadiversity MUST'VE made a video about this place" and of course, you had! The whole place has such a great medieval feel to it I just KNEW it'd be right up your alley! The defensive layout of the city, the walls, the castle... whoever it was at Bethesda that designed Skingrad, they knew a thing or two about what an actual walled city looked like. It's not all fantasy, but also some real medieval design involved.

[@Whatdouevenwriteforthesethings]

Shad! I must say I absolutely adore this playlist! (I've been binging it recently) You've inspired within me a love for castles...REAL CASTLES!😀

[@Finl4yh]

You should totally do a review of Kaer Trolde from the Witcher 3, it's a keep located on Skeliga. It would make for an interesting video cuz it sits on the cliffs overlooking the port and it has a narrow path leading up to it with multiple gate houses

[@Noone-rc9wf]

Finl4yh Skellige* You pronounce it Skeliga but you write it like that

[@Warden_Vtel]

Nothing. I haven't played a Witcher game but even I knew that

[@Noone-rc9wf]

Donsmacker1 HAHAHA finl4yj IS A DUMBASS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... sorry... I... got carried away...

[@SiefausOsna]

k

[@ChrissieBear]

Skingrad Castle is actually based on Bran castle in Romania. Especially the courtyard's design.

[@aham2903]

What a great, fun channel. I love hearing how passionate you are about this.

[@MellowFelloh]

This is the video series I never knew I wanted. Love the enthusiasm. Subscribed!

[@Warden_Vtel]

One might ask... what about the DRAGONS??

[@GallowglassAxe]

They're in the Alik'r Desert.....well now Skyrim.

[@folver91]

Donsmacker1 what about get over this joke for a while?

[@Mtonazzi]

At least it's not a pommel joke

[@Warden_Vtel]

Matías Tonazzi The Pommels shaped like dragons 😜

[@icefox7878]

No they were just invisible and really quiet.

[@ArfphandalForfalForphan]

Man this is amazing ! Happy too have found your channel !

[@shadiversity]

I'm honored to have you join, welcome!

[@milosh226]

Have you heard of the high elves? *crunch* *oof* *aurgh* *ugh*

[@myopiniongoodyouropinionbad]

"I don't know you and I don't care to know you."

[@puki860]

get out of my sight

[@BenDavisSkydiving]

Hmm... body's still warm.

[@myopiniongoodyouropinionbad]

@@BenDavisSkydiving "I've heard others say the same"

[@DerAlleinTiger]

Skingrad was always my favorite for both the layout and aesthetics. I've always absolutely loved the main road going down the center. The whole city is awesome.

[@TheJoe999Man]

"Near the city of Chorrol" ~Jaufree Jam

[@ChadfromChad]

TheJoeMan99 "in my chest, in my chest, in the reading room... baby"

[@samsid3701]

"He's the Grand Master of my order... He lives quietly as a monk, at Weynon Priory"

[@kittkitsune]

Hey! I remember requesting this one! :) Did not disappoint!

[@Khaliljt]

I was really looking forward to this one! Good video:)

[@Sam-tw5jn]

I really enjoy your videos, thanks :)

[@thalamay]

With most video games having down-sized cities/castles, how about going the other way and looking at Lothric Castle from Dark Souls 3. Granted, it's hard to look at the context of location with the world being warped as it is and Lothric being elevated. But there is so much there, that you could go on for hours.

[@GallowglassAxe]

They were meticulous about the machicolations.

[@NicholasGM78]

Hey, Shad. Love watching your videos. I noticed a lot of the details you did when I first played Oblivion. Skingrad was always one of my favorite cities. If you spoke with the Count of Skingrad, he talks some serious shit about anyone ever attempting to assault his city and keep. He is actually a vampire, is something like 400 years old, and he actually had input into its design, if I remember the lore correctly. He almost dares anyone to challenge him, and has incredible confidence in his city's defenses. Seems only appropriate, and I noticed the extended layout of the approach to the actual castle keep. I found a way to sneak up to the road and bypass the city, but it had to be done one foot, in one spot, and a horse couldn't traverse it. Considering the scope of the cities planned for Elder Scrolls 6, I really hope the modelers and quest designers at Bethesda watch some of your videos, take notes, and really go all-out on the cities and keeps, as well as the accompanying conflicts/quests to showcase their efficacy. Keep up the great work. Few people who take the time to break down castle design, and intellectually bitch-slap people for improper use of the term tabard.

[@wanderingminstrel636]

Great vid, I just love the feel to Skingrad in the game, like it's some sort of mysterious place, and the medieval feel to it is great too imo

[@GunRunner106]

ya keep doing oblivion and skyrim castle but none of the cool castles in morrowind. there are some super legit ones. - ya can walk through all the walls and get up all the towers as useless as it is, but its doable.

[@shadiversity]

I have a confession. I've never played morowind. . . BURN THE HERETIC!

[@bomtombadill]

GunRunner That's what I loved about Morrowind, there was useless shit that should be there realistically, it was super immersive.

[@shoddycast1455]

Shadiversity can you do more witcher cities maybe crows Perch or oxen further and kaer trolde

[@GunRunner106]

@Shadiversity ermergerd. ya need to fix this there was so much legit stuff you could do in this game. in one of the add ons you actually would help building up a small town, a mine and a castle for that town. there are 3 factions, where you can join, become the boss off eventually and then they build a stronghold for you in a place. Once you become the boss of one of these factions and need to find a location to build your new base, basically. they are all really cool - but the one for House Hlaalu, i always liked best - is literally a small castle. like a small estate/manor surrounded by a small wall etc and had a small inner area and what not. here an picture of House Hlaalu's Stronghold: images.uesp.net//4/45/MW-place-RethanManor.jpg and it wont just pop up or what. no. you need to help build it - takes ingame days to finish it and what not.

[@andreasj864]

Shadiversity Burn, burn the heretic! And throw him of the metichel... metichula.... metichulations.... the defense thingies!

[@seraphina985]

Why not put battlements on those bridges as well they would be a great place to fire down at people approaching the city from the road on that side and being so high looks like you could easily fire with enough range to hit people attacking the gate on that side of the city too. Sure the attackers might just opt to attack the city from the other side in that case but then it's not necessarily a bad thing to funnel attackers into targeting a single entrance you can predict in advance either.

[@elementalist1984]

Excellent idea. I like the way you think

[@KinCrusader96]

Good video man. I learned a lot about Castles and medieval architecture. thanks! :)

[@GardenFootCreature]

"A SECONDARY GATEHOUSE!!!" *Orgasms*

[@alalalala57]

Crows Perch from Witcher 3 had murder holes. I can't help but look under gatehouses after watching your vids lol.

[@nestorgonzalez2745]

TONYSTARK557 Can't wait for Crow's Perch or Kaer Trolde review...

[@chriscalvin5083]

great video Shad

[@madstofting9852]

Three rules of castles 1. Location 2. Machiculations 3. Complication

[@jameshamaker9321]

4. Merlons 5. Arrow loops 6. Gate houses... just continuing the list.

[@ThallanarRabidtooth]

@@jameshamaker9321 7. Murder Holes 8. Drawbridges 9. Portcullises

[@Dare_To_Game]

Love the video, Brings me back to the day with Oblivion....great game, awesome castle. Great Job Shad.

[@planbgaming2533]

shad there is no link in the description for the t shirts

[@shadiversity]

Thanks heaps for pointing that out. All fixed ^_^

[@Adder6112]

Shad can you do a analysis of Hyrule Castle from Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and /or Best weapons for the games unique races?

[@skylow4041]

Loved the video as always

[@MasterMahan-qm8hu]

Love this channel!!! Great Vid, Cheers

[@sandtrap175]

CAN you Do more skyrim weapons and armor videos?

[@shadiversity]

I think I can work something out ^_^

[@sandtrap175]

thank you. you are one of my favorite youtubers ever!!!

[@p_serdiuk]

I think Skallagrim covered some of the glaring stuff in Skyrim. The weapons are generally too broad in shape with finicky bits towards the guard, the materials are too fantasy, and armour is too heavy. It's just not realistic without some mods.

[@sandtrap175]

Serdiuk Paul thank you for The info.

[@charlottewalnut3118]

Shadiversity can you come up with an idea of why they took weapons are better I've heard enough about people acting at them and saying well they would suck in real life try to explain the magic of why they would be better try to explain the magic behind that I want to see your take on it

[@JobbeFIN]

Fun fact: Castle Skingrad is probably based on Corvin Castle in Romania. Also, Vlad the Impaler is told to have been imprisoned in that castle... ;)

[@tintinlchevreau1135]

JobbeFIN cause Count Hassildor is a vampire. Can‘t be a coincident

[@claptrap4084]

What did we learn today kids? "That Shad likes Machiculations!"

[@CharcharoExplorer]

Castle Wolfenstein. Its RTCW version in both Missions one through three and the final 2 missions. Its Wolfenstein 2009 version The castle-thing in The New Order is modified for WW2 era defenses.

[@lukerutherford4115]

Hey Shad, I've watched a lot of your videos and they are all phenomenal. I found your channel through Tabletop Time and was wondering if Table Top Time is ever going to return. Will it or not??? Thanks for reading!

[@shadiversity]

I still have hope. Jazza is still super busy but I've been hounding him ^_^

[@00Trademark00]

I actually found about Jazza's channel (I had never been even particularly interested in drawing but after watching a few of his tutorials I picked it up and I'm really enjoying it now) through your channel and then through Tabletop time. By the way, I really like your cogent roleplay system, it is sort of the thing we always wanted to play with a couple of friends. The only trouble is we are now each in a different city, even a different country at the moment (Europe's reasonably small, but still), but I hope I will be able to test it one day. So thanks for creating it and making it available for free!

[@OhMyTwitch]

Oh god I lost it at 15:30

[@hexis64]

tactically wise, i believe the portcullis that is missing on the bridge gate house, was meant to funnel them towards that direction, since it was "less guarded"

[@Zappygunshot]

This 'chaotic balance' you mentioned is a thing that really pleases me when it comes to structures. I love old medieval villages, towns and cities in for example Italy, the amount of happiness I feel when seeing that kind of jumbled-yet-orderly mess may well be on the same level as machicolations do for you.

[@tendralsonofvendral]

Can you please do one on Kvatch? and analyse why it completely failed?

[@Vakthatar]

Fredegar i dont think stone wals are designed to go against daedric siegecraft, remember they basically oppened a door infront of the city and used the wolfhead ram to open the gate, from there it was basically game over

[@cardcast6679]

Fredegar would really love this

[@yusong3306]

If the attacker has a ram bigger than your castle, it's basically over already

[@der_sebbl]

Fredegar To be fair, defence against demons with a giant ram comming through a portal right in front of your gate is pretty hard to withstand

[@conversationtosaurusrex]

Well as explained, the Daedric Siege Crawler basically rammed the Walls thus destroying it. There literally is only two open Empty areas once inside the town that you have to go thru, In order to get to the castle (Before the Church Tower was Destoryed, Which later blocked off the path). The Siege Crawler shot out fire at Citizens and Soldiers, While Daedra were dispatched and even Mythic Dawn members conjuring more daedra into the city. The rest of the Soldiers would regroup outside the wall trying to fight the Oblivion portal while the town was underfire. A city with no soldiers to defend it (Since all other soldiers are dead or focused on the outside Portal) Will fall quickly.

[@PieterPatrick]

Best reason for no pull up-bridge: People in the city will protest against such a the bridge. Now, the castle cannot close itself, people want a permanent and garanteed access to it.

[@dogman9291]

Yeah, you're right. Because this is a city after all, not just a castle. There are residents living in the city who would like to have permenant access to their homes and/or businesses so making a drawbridge may be inconvenient. Skingrad is also a big exporter, for wine in particular, so they'll probably also want easy access for traders and horse carts carrying their products; A drawbridge would limit how wide a road into the city can be (for reasons relating to the bridge's structural integrity), making things inconvenient if you've got a lot of larger objects, like horse carts, trying to come and go because they'd have to go single file.

[@zayanwatchel8780]

This has given me excellent insight for creating the main cities of my indie game thanks!

[@seekittycat]

I wanna get into concept art and I'm so glad I stumbled on to this video. What a fun way of learning about architecture :DD

[@adoringfan1924]

The oblivion music in the background ❤️❤️

[@xavmanisdabestest]

One of the reasons I'm so hyped for skyblivion coming out soon!

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

So in lore Skingrad is a brilliantly diffendable city. I love your reviews Shadiversity

[@MasterVolton]

oh damn, that oblivion soundtrack just cuts me down to my nostalgia bone

[@mikecobalt7005]

Skingrad has always been my favorite city in Cyrodill; I even have an NPC in Skyrim that (In backstory) came from Skingrad. Good Video.

[@ihatehandles69420]

Did you make an npc in skyrim

[@mikecobalt7005]

@@ihatehandles69420 Yes I have. I've made several, nothing special but I can create NPCs in Skyrim.

[@luzfire7523]

Shad: "It doesn't mean, it couldn't be improved" Me: "Like doors on the Gatehouse!? What is the Point in those wonderful machicolations, if you can't get to them?!!!"

[@wafflespankz9946]

Yo shad! With season 7 of game of thrones coming out in less than a month it might be a good idea to start working on some got castle videos. Theres still a lot of them you havent done!

[@shadiversity]

Ooh, yes, it might indeed be time for a part 2

[@MrChickennugget360]

no spoilers! i had to stop watching Matt Easten's video because of SPOILERS!

[@thehistoryguy4018]

Finally back from basic training and found a good Wi-Fi source at AIT. Time to binge watch Shad on my weekends.

[@aaziikaaa2262]

I learned so much about castles in this video, more than i have ever learned in school about them

[@saladmus920]

4:31 "If you've ever seen any of my castle reviews before-" YOU DIDNT MAKE /THAT/ NOISE BEFORE

[@Fishlord136]

What weapon would a dragon use

[@ctroost4324]

Fishlord Cosplay lmao do you think a dragon will swoop down on you with a greatsword😂

[@jungleater3902]

claws and teeth and inaccurate flight???

[@Undomaranel]

Shuriken. Made from their scales.

[@Fishlord136]

+C Troost more like dual wielding greatswords lol

[@codyknutson2382]

Fishlord Cosplay. Breath

[@belinablanc1916]

As a fan of medieval history, culture, etc., these videos are really nice to watch and learn from. More so now, given I want to try my hand at making my own fantasy story in the future.

[@casimiriii5941]

it's been a while, I like all your videos, but it's good to get back to the basics.

[@TrashDaddy629]

Hey Shad... How realistic is the castle siege from Army of Darkness? Lol

[@leocrown8627]

you should look at some of the cities in the Elder Scrolls Online, they're a lot bigger and more city like. A good place to start would perhaps be High Rock as its medieval based.

[@dasik84]

Yeah, some High Rock and Auridon cities really look like cities. And even have bigger population.

[@MutantBoyCrowe]

I like the idea of using the bridge going up to the castle as a place you could assemble troops quickly (from the gate and the castle itself) to fire down on anyone using the path below it to approach the rest of Skingrad. The enemy wouldn't want to destroy the bridge in any way because it is the only way into the castle. Then again, any reinforcing garrison sent down from the castle would be seen by whoever was invading the place, so that might be a small detriment.

[@dang.9209]

The cathedral made me want to see a video on some of the castles and castle-like structures in Dark Souls.