1. The Vampire Lord/Ladies could capture and vampirize members and well known members of the Dawnguard and have them act as spies that can lead them to the Dawnguard base location.

2. They could lure and capture Dawnguard scouts/hunters, killing all but 1, vampirizing that sole survivor and having them share information and location of the Dawnguard base, then send them back to make it easy to enter the base!!

3. before all that, make underground multi floor labyrinth underneath Vampire Castle, in case the Dawnguard find their base first. So then, when Dawnguard are spotted, they would be lured under the castle, so they would have to go through all the traps and ambushes before they could reach the leader, who is actually the dragonborn behind the curtain to surprise and eliminate the intruders and prevent their escape (and vampirize any that surrender).

4. go to a secret mages hideout, and vampirize them, and vampirize other cults/factions to spread the Vampires influence and numbers, so that the Dawnguard can be overwhelmed and crushed!! So this #4 plan is a great example of strength in numbers!!

So what do you think? The Vampires have a cool castle, they have vampirism to their advantage, they have vampire powers, they can boost their numbers, they can spread their influence faster than the Dawnguard. And infiltrating the Dawnguard is easier than the Dawnguard trying to infiltrate the Vampires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIZ-o5VlhCo

Wouldn't work if their form of vampirism prevents them from blending in.

They could have a decoy faction set up and destroyed by the Dawnguard, who then disband thinking they've successfully purged this great threat. Then 300 years later put their plan into motion.

Illusion - calm spell
+
Transformation - into vampire lord
+
Feed - on the DG members
+
Complete- in making the sun hospitable for Vamps

Challenge the Dawnguard to a dance off.

Since Blade vampires know how to dance, since Twilight it is about the only thing they're good for.

Actually I think Vampire Lords/Ladies can have complete human appearance. The winged form might actually be like Lycanthropy, except the transformation can sustained as long as they want and can change back and forth anytime (with maybe a cooldown period).

Notice in the trailer, that Vampire Lord guy who was speaking, was in human form. Well okay they have glowing eyes but maybe that can be hidden.

Anyway it still stands that vampirizing Dawnguard members = more Vampires and less Dawnguard.


That plan would automatically be useless and ONLY delay things if Dawnguard decide to stay together or split into smaller cults that will be prepared should those vampires return somehow.

No one can predict there wouldn't be an order like Dawnguard even much later.

If the Dawnguard are a group specially created to take on this vampiric threat, I doubt they'd let everyone walk around with closed helms and whatnot to hide their glowing eyes. In most fiction vampire hunters tend to be a paranoid lot, so I can't imagine them thinking that the only member who survived an expedition is now wearing a helmet that covers his face and refuses to take it off as signs that everything is okay.

I agree with this, if you wear a helmet around vampire hunters they would be suspicious, at least I would be.

To Saner: If you turned Dawnguard members into vampires who is to say they would join? How do you know they wouldn't hate the fact that they are a vampire, and hate you for turning them, which makes them fight against you anyway?

If I were a Dawnguard I'd have someone casting detect/turns/repel Undead spells on everyone entering the fort and periodically even within the fort until the threat is gone. Just a detect undead is enough to root out infiltrators, so it'd be mandatory for everyone to learn and use.

Too bad for the Dawn Guard, that the master vampire is DragonBorn.

In your universe perhaps, but in mine, the Dragonborn is a Paladin. Uh oh!

And you're not alone, my Cleric will be fighting for the Dawn too.

*takes notes*
i'll make sure my fellow DG brothers know about this

Glad to see another righteous warrior take up arms against the Dark!


Like Leold said, it's very easy for practitioners of magic to spot the Undead. It's guaranteed that we will have some in our ranks



Traps are all well and good! But not all vampire hunters simply charge headlong into battle. Indeed, many use stealth and surprise, and use alternate routes. And the Dragonborn in your universe may be a Vampire Lord, but in mine, he is a Paladin sworn in service to the Nine. Good plan though



This might actually work, depending on how fast either side recruits! It will be interesting to see how we will deal with the vampiric plague

I agree having something like detect undead wards/traps on the entrances to your base would be a given, any self respecting vamp hunter would have protecton on their base. once the traps are set off its crispy vamp time

nice post!

when is the release date

you forgot

5. Go ask the big strong werewolves for help because the vampires are weak and svck lol jk my char is a werewolf and He will be on the vamp side (if possible)

Edit- remember though, there are spells like Bane of the Undead and Detect Dead so hiding wont really work for a skilled mage

I think the main problem with some of your suggestions is, that you seem to assume that ordinary people and Dawnguard members alike would automatically be willing to betray their friends once you've turned them into vampires. Why would they want to help you though? Because you turned them into the very thing they despise? Because you stole their future with their families and friends? They lose everything, and will be forced to hurt others to survive, unless they manage to cure themselves in time. If it was me, I'd want to see you burn for that and never forgive you.

But I suppose vampires don't think like that. How else would they be able to 'live' with themselves. The whole concept disgusts me. It always has. Vampires would rather ruin the lives of countless others, than to die with their head held high.

Even if not everyone could cast those spells, there would still be simpler ways for even soldiers unskilled or with little skill in magic to spot a vampire. Any Turn Undead spell or staff includes an additional stagger effect against undead even when the level of the spell isn't sufficient for turning the undead.
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Turn_Undead

So the Apprentice Restoration spell Turn Lesser Undead or even a complete non-Mage wielding a Minor Staff of Turning could discern if someone is undead or not.

You allegiance doesn't always shift just because you do

I gotta try that when it comes out, If I find one of the members glowing with Detect Dead, i'm gonna go crazy, yet can't do anything about it because they'd probably be essential and no option to tell anyone. ._.

There are many ways to convince vampirized Dawnguard or unrelated people to join the vampire cause.

There could be a forged letter for example that could be presented to a vampirized person and lead them to believe a member of the Dawnguard wanted them to be butchered or become a vampire, so they shared information with the vampires about that person's location. (for further proof, the person we would forge the letter about, would already have been killed, but we could take one of their personal items, like a ring or something, to further convince them the letter is real and the Dawnguard betrayal is real.)

The letter could say something like:

"The Dawnguard are desperate, and so am I.
Hondar and his unit have been chosen to be sacrificed to the vampires, yet I weep not.

Hondar is no one of importance. Neither are their followers. Their demise shall bring us
one step closer to finding the vampires.

Their lives will be swift, our victory, even swifter. Pity that Hondar and the others are not
as worthy as I, for they will not see the Dawnguard prevail in this time of darkness.

-Ratha "






So as revenge, the new ally would agree to side with the vampires for revenge.

And that's just one simple example to fool people to accept themselves as vampires and be loyal to vampires, make them believe the Dawnguard is their enemy now.





*spills ink over notes* oops!