I thought the same thing too. But I heard we can use controllers to play. I just might try that, but I am a console player for life.

On topic before a console/pc flame hell begins: I am glad the Volkihar have the bat-like appearance and the glowing eyes. It confirms they can't blend in that much. I just hate it that my original Cyrodiilic vampires character are now freaks of Harkon's court of bugaboo dregs.

Off topic: I heard you can only use xbox controllers, not PS3 controllers.

On Topic: I agree, but this red slit problem that people are talking about has me worried. I am all for the Volkihar being ugly, but if they can still walk around cities without being attacked that just doesn't make sense. I also wish that they left Sybille alone and left her as a Cyrodiilic vampire.

I wish Bethesda would explain a lot of their design choices, because quite a few of them are just really bad.

You people can never be pleased, first it was that why wasn't Alva not given the new eyes and now its why was sybille stentor given the new eyes. People c'mon give Bethesda a break for once.

PS. I am not complaining about whiners nor am i one of those Bethesda fan boys who defend them till death even if they are wrong i am just stating something that i have found it tobe annoying.

I'm not complaining. I like how their eyes are left the way they are, at least Alva.

Neither of them should have the new eyes. They both should be the Cyrodiilic strain.

Well i know alva was from the cirodillic strain but how do you know sybille is i never figured that out myself since i dont pay attention to her whatsoever

A court mage/advisor to the past two High Kings and the possible future High Queen of Skyrim is a perfect position for a member of the Order. She also sends you to kill other vampires (something the Order would definitely try and get you to do), and at least some of the people who live/work in the Blue Palace don't know what she is, so she must be able to blend in, something that seems exclusive to the Order.

So this is all we have to go on speculations i thought you guys had more solid proof (not saying that your wrong) but who's to say that she didn't get the disease in skyrim and used her vampire seduction on the people and made some of them her thralls

Because only Cyrodiil vampires blend into society. Others are more open about what they are.

Her character also points to her being part of the Order. She looks down on the other vampires and considers them little better than beasts, which fits with the Cyrodiilic strain's disdain for other vampire breeds.

Sure it's all conjecture and speculation, but a lot of the observable evidence points to her being a member of the Order.

Really? Beth made her say that? That's just stupid because it makes her apart of that vampire clan, that means she has been a mole in the Empire for awhile. I originally thought she was just a rouge vamp (rouge in the sense of not being apart of any vampire faction) working for the Empire for some reason, now it seems that Beth has shoved her into the evil vampire category.

Of course i can see why beth put her into the evil vampire status, because practically about all vampires in the elder scrolls are evil.

Vampire seduction is not Volkihar exclusive. It was first used in Oblivion. Seridur used it to hypnotize Roland's lover to feed on her before she broke her neck. The fact that Harkon and his group aren't politically involved in mortal affairs gives us even more reason to believe Sybille was originally suppose to be a Cyrodiilic vampire. Janus Hassildor, an obvious member of the Order, sends the player to do his dirty work to exterminate a group of animals whom he considers base animals and savages(Cyrodiilic vampires are known to tremendously hate other vampires). He did it because he dislikes them, they are potentially dangerous to mortals in his territory and they draw needless attention. Same exact thing for Sybille Stentor. A woman of political office who is known to be a mage(probably to also help reinforce her masquerade as a vampire) is in no manner a Volkihar. It doesn't fit their nature to be involved in mortal politics.

Janus Hassildor also had a vampire in his castle that fed on prisoners rather than regular prey, considering they are horrible members of society that would not be missed. Sybille does the same exact thing as the Pale Lady, though the Pale Lady worked for Janus and Rona. I am sure none of them in Solitude are made thralls by Sybille. They aren't entranced or mesmerized. By all intents and purposes, she was merely blending in and influencing them through speech rather than supernatural power.

Slightly off-topic, but while we're on the subject of retconing vampiric strains, does anybody know if the Vile's worshipers in A Daedra's Best Friend are now all glowy eyed? They should definitely be of the Cyrodiilic variety.

Yep. Bethesda screwed up another potential character. Instead of an insidious political puppet master, she's a mustache-twirling blood-junkie who joins with the buffoon Harkon's quest for ultimate power.

I agree. I think she was a mole working for the Order to get into the political aspect of Skyrim's govermnent. As a seperate branch who's task is to spy and influence mortals to their cause while other members of the Order concentrate on taking out the Volkihar. I bet that is how they did it in Cyrodiil.

I don't know, but this never struck me. Possibly they are also RETCONNED to be the Volkihar(the very vampires who bow down to kiss Molag Bal's rear end). But then why do they go to Vile to ask him for a cure? Why do they worship him? We only know of a single vampire clan that worships Vile and Bal.

I think they all have glowy eyes and bat-like faces, thanks to Bethesda completely overhauling 99% of the vampires.

I think Bethesda looked at vampires and said, "Hey, wouldn't it be funny if we just screwed up vampires completely? Lets "overhaul" them, and make them really bad."

"And then we'll do it again with Dawnguard!"

This is all neat but haven't you ever thought that this might just be a little easter egg from Cyrodil pale lady and if you have played through the VL side quest you would know that the Volkihar also dislike thin blooded vampires and send you to eliminate them because they dont want all the attention it brings. I personally dont see it but some of the things you said if you go to castle volkihar and you you stand around and listen carefully and talk to other people you would see that they re doing almost the same things that you just mentioned.

Yeah. They trolled us.
Yes, I know. All vampires are like that to each other, but still, the Volkihar are a retcon and completely a carbon-copy of some of the Order's methods, which is unoriginal and simply unescessary.

Exactly. This is one of my problems with Bethesda. They make a game with so much potential, but then always fall short. They then try to make a dlc to correct it, but then fall short again. It drives me insane. I wish they had people with creativity over there.

I dont know which clan came first into existence but the Volkihar under Harkon's rule is older than the empire itself. In uesp i searched for info on the order and it said something about making cyrodil their home in the third era. Now the volkihar like i stated before are older than the empire so i personaly think you need something more solid to go on

The Order is a relatively new organization, but the whole "manipulate people and kill off all the other vampires" is their schtick. They were doing it first in our time, and copy/pasting it to another clan, one that is supposed to be much more barbaric and less refined, is a retcon, even if in the TES universe, they're an older clan.

Well if you also read the info they have on the volkihar they say that they were once involve with politics and that they hate wild vampires that make their own clan because they bring unneeded attention and they kill their cattle, so dont give that "Order started doing it first if the lore clearly states otherwise"