Are you allowed to fight against them, or do you have to join them?

You can join either Dawnguard or the Vampires, you're free.

I'm still hoping there's secondary "Major" Content as well. Sort of like EEC for Bloodmoon. Not that I'm not really interested in the whole Dawnguard stuff, I just like there to be plenty of non polarizing issues that a wandering swordsman/maiden can take on to line his/her pockets with new trinkets.

I have no doubt about that. It is meant to be open-world after all.

And of course you dont have to join the vampires otherwise it wouldn't be a real dlc for the elderscrolls.

Yeah i doubt they would take 6 months for dlc to have only the main vamp quest. also in reply to op their are vids showing the player using a crossbow to kill vamps and also a vid with a pressumably "head vampire" saying something along the lines of "why have you come, in peace or in war?" so it seems both options are likely.

I'm surprised people still aren't sure.

It's seriously confirmed in the trailer that you can be a Volkihar or a Dawnguard. "Are you one of us, or with them?"


I actually called this a long time ago, when the DLC details first came up in the beta patch. (1.5 I believe).

So yes, you can be Dawnguard (Vampire Hunters) or Volkihar (Vampires)

Did you watch the trailer...?

Maybe they're thinking of it in terms of many Skyrim conversations, you get one option to say, "Yes, I'll join your vampire coven" or you can press Tab and wander off, pretending you didn't notice he was speaking. XD

Prime example of "LOTS OF SPECULATION FROM EVERYONE".
1. We don't know ANYTHING right now, so we don't know who you can and can't join.
2. We don't know that the vampires are Volkihar.
3. We don't know that the dawnguard are vampire hunters.

I think there is going to be a secondary quest line involving Falmer. There are several shots in the trailer depicting really icy conditions - including the part where the dragon plunges into the icy lake, but there is one where a finishing move in first person is done against a Falmer. At first I thought this was a vampire and it happened quite fast, but upon closer inspection - that was definitely a falmer.

The part where the player's character is a flying vampire lord doing a shout like thing in an underground location has several distinct falmer structures - the tunnels they use, their huts, etc.,

you are free to join any side you wish....

Oh god no, no, no no! I'm an atheist but at the moment I'm praying to every deity I've ever heard of, that there is absolutely no Falmer content in this dlc.
This dlc is vampire centric, think about it! You know how the Bethesda writers are. They'll either turn the Falmer into a ridiculous vampiric race of mer, because hey, this is a vampire dlc, or have them join forces with the vampires. Either way we'd just have to kill some more Falmer and would get absolutely no story.

I'm definitely joining the DawnGuard's... by the way does anyone else believe that there is a connection between the Deadric Prince Meridia and the DawnGuard's? I'm asking because the? prefix? Dawn seems to be assocciated with Meridia. The appellation of the weapon which is given by Meridia as a token to the dragonborn, is called DawnBreaker, and I'm sure many have heard the saying "Darkess before the Dawn." In the Skyrim wikis (I've? came across) and in game,? it states that Meridia loathes all things undead and I believe that these alpha vamps are at the pinnacle. So in other words, I believe that the DawnGuard patron is Meridia. But now that leaves the vamps... =/ after watching the trailer a second time I saw implications to the possible patrons of the vamps at 16 seconds and at the 25 second mark. The thing that had me intrigue, was the emblem? and the alter that was shown. The emblem and? the alter? has a very nostolgic look to it, a design that reminded me of the Deadric Prince Molag Bal. I say this because ?during its quest you come across an alter with very identical architecture within an abondoned house. That being typed, I also do recall reading that Molag Bal is the father of all vampires. So? in conclusion I believe that the DAWNGUARD patron is the Deadric Prince Meridia while the vamps patron is the creator of all vampires the Deadric Prince Molag Bal. =]

Either faction is joinable, the Dawnguard trailer was just narrated by a vampire.

@Rouge-Knight I'm pretty sure they're called the dawnguard because they... ya know... guard the dawn. The main conflict in this dlc is that the vampires are trying to "end he tyranny of the sun", so blot it out. The dawnguard are just trying to make sure the dawn will come again.

I think a more interesting question is whether as a vampire you have to go along with Harkon's plan of wiping out the sun? Whether, as a vampire, I could fight Harkon's plan myself?

I mean...isn't Harkon overlooking one important thing about the sun? The sun is what keeps the plants alive, which keeps the animals alive, which keeps the humans alive. Without the sun, humans would eventually die off, leaving vampires without a food source. Elementary biology.

1. Todd confirmed it in an interview at E3.
2. The caste is named after the Volkihar.
3. Todd also confirmed it.

OMG! MikeOblivion just dropped some knowledge on this forum.

Lol, just keeping it real, man. Just questioning the motives of this moron named Harkon

But he is using an elder scroll. Who knows what those things could do.