The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine
Encyclopedia
The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine is an official expansion pack for the computer role-playing game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
. Announced on October 17, 2006 for release on November 21, 2006, the expansion was developed, published, and released in North America by Bethesda Softworks
; in Europe, the game was co-published with Ubisoft
. The Windows
version is available either as a downloadable plug-in from the company website or as part of the retail-released Oblivion Downloadable Content Collection CD—a release that also includes all previously released official downloadable content available for Oblivion. The Xbox 360
version is available via Xbox Live Marketplace
, and the PlayStation 3
version of Oblivion includes Knights of the Nine in its packaged release.
Knights of the Nine centers on a faction of the same name, devoted to locating and preserving a set of "Crusaders' Relics". Once found, these relics must be used to defeat the sorcerer-king Umaril, who seeks revenge on the Nine Divines. Knights of the Nine was generally well-received in the gaming press. Although it made little change to the basic mechanics of Oblivion, it was judged by reviewers to be a brief but polished addition to the game's main plot.
Knights of the Nine is an example of open-ended or sandbox-style gameplay: the main quest may be delayed or completely ignored as the player explores the game world, follows side quests, interacts with NPCs
, and develops a character according to their taste. Furthering the goal of open-ended gameplay, Knights of the Nine, unlike Bethesda's prior content packs for Oblivion, begins with no explicit prodding towards the newly introduced content; players must seek out and find the game's quest without external aid.
Knights of the Nine' s quest begins as the player approaches the Chapel of Dibella in Anvil. The Chapel was recently attacked; everyone there has been killed in a dark ritual. The player proceeds to consult a prophet near the scene of the attack, who is preaching about it. The prophet reveals to the player that the one responsible for the attacks is Umaril, an ancient revenge-seeking Ayleid sorcerer-king, who has escaped from his prison in Oblivion to destroy Cyrodiil. Umaril can only be defeated by the prophesized Crusader, favoured by the gods, bearing the relics of Pelinal Whitestrake, the man who originally slew Umaril, and banished his spirit to Oblivion.
The player then makes a pilgrimage, and receives a vision from Pelinal Whitestrake, who reveals the location of his tomb, which is beneath the lake surrounding the Imperial City. Inside this tomb, the player discovers the Helm of Pelinal's armor, as well as the corpse of Sir Amiel, one of the old Knights of the Nine. His diary reveals the location of their priory, which houses the Cuirass of Pelinal. Before the player can claim it though, he/she confronts eight spirits of the old Knights of the Nine, including Amiel, who had all given into corruption and been killed. They assist the player, who soon gathers all of Pelinal Whitestrake's relics. During each leg of the quest to retrieve the relics, the player meets a priest, knight, or pilgrim of faith, each of whom pledge to aid the player, each representing one of the original eight divines. After a final blessing from the prophet, to represent the ninth divine, Talos, the player leads the knights against Umaril's stronghold, defeating the Ayleid King, and then pursues Umaril's spirit, destroying him utterly. The player then wakes up in the Priory, with the knights believing him/her dead. After realizing that the powers of the gods resurrected him, the player rejoins the knights.
s, priced from US$
0.99 to US$
2.99, instead of the more common practice of releasing expansion pack
s. The program was initially met with criticism by customers due to its alleged low value, but later releases—at a reduced price, and with more content—proved more popular. The releases, in addition to stirring controversy, raised questions regarding Bethesda's future content release plans, and as to whether expansion pack releases were necessary at all. In August 2006, one Bethesda employee wrote in a post to Bethesda's Elder Scrolls forums that the company had "no plans to make an expansion for Oblivion". Further questions were raised by a product listing found on game retailer GameStop
's website September 11, 2006, listing a Knights of the White Stallion Expansion Pack for Oblivion. The game had a listed shipping date of November 21, 2006 and a US$
19.99 asking price. The title was kept on the website only briefly—removed after gaming news site GameSpot
sent Bethesda a request for comment on the product.
Knights of the Nine began its life as a supposedly "exclusive" quest for the PlayStation 3 release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Along with the confirmation of the PlayStation 3 release on October 9, 2006, some gaming news websites reported that the release would contain "a huge, exclusive quest" focusing on "a new faction, The Knights of the Nine". Some reports prefixed "allegedly" onto statements that the release would be exclusive. Suggestions of exclusivity, in any case, did not last long: an October 17, 2006 Bethesda press release announced that Knights of the Nine content was also scheduled for PC and Xbox 360 releases, eliciting commentary from Joystiq
remarking on "how finicky" the word 'exclusive' had come to be, and Kotaku
remarking on how "Oblivion PS3 content didn't stay exclusive for long... or at all". Other sites saw no incongruence in the announcement: GameSpot assumed that Knights of the Nine was simply the earlier Knights of the White Stallion by a different name, and 1UP.com
had anticipated the move ever since an IGN
interview with Oblivion' s Executive Producer Todd Howard, where Howard had described Bethesda's general aim "to have all our content available across all platforms"; the final announcement served only to confirm their suspicions.
The October 17 press release set November 21, 2006 as the North American distribution date for the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Knights. The European release for the Xbox 360 and PC was set two days later, on November 23. The European release was co-published by Bethesda and Ubisoft. On November 9, 2006, Bethesda clarified earlier statements regarding PC releases, declaring that, although the boxed retail PC edition of Knights of the Nine was set for release on November 21, the PC release downloadable from the company website wouldn't be available until December 4. This caused some consumer complaints, for although the Xbox 360 release was available on the Xbox Live Marketplace
for 800 Microsoft Points
(the equivalent of US$
10.00, or GB£
6.80), for the time being, PC owners had only the US$
19.99 boxed retail edition of the game. The increased price of the PC's boxed retail release (The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of Nine Oblivion Downloadable Content Collection) resulted from its inclusion of Oblivion' s other previously released downloadable content: Horse Armor, The Orrery, Wizard’s Tower, Vile Lair, Thieves Den, Mehrunes’ Razor, Spell Tomes, Fighter's Stronghold & a series of dashboard themes and picture packs. Such content was not included in either the downloadable PC release, the Xbox Marketplace download, or the PlayStation 3 edition of Oblivion. The downloadable release was ultimately issued on December 6 at the price of US$
9.99. According to IGN Entertainment's GamerMetrics, a service based on compiled visitor activity information on IGN's website, the pack was the fourth most anticipated release of its release week, following Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
, Superman Returns
and College Hoops 2K7
.
, an aggregate review site, scored the PC version of the game with an 81 out of 100, and the Xbox 360 version of the game with an 86 out of 100. GameSpot recommended the game for its value; although it made few improvements over the basic Oblivion experience, Knights of the Nine provides "a good day or two's worth of questing for a low price". Similar comments followed from GamePro, who found that the "polish" and "affordable price" of the pack excused the fact that the pack's content "doesn't really change [Oblivion' s] gameplay".
Eurogamer
praised the game for its memorable plot and new, unique content. They concluded that if "more of the same is what you're after, you can't really argue with what Bethesda's served up for its hardcore fans." The review encouraged caution nonetheless: for if consumers were to fully accept individually priced content releases, Bethesda might just begin charging for all its quests.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a single-player action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks and the Take-Two Interactive subsidiary 2K Games...
. Announced on October 17, 2006 for release on November 21, 2006, the expansion was developed, published, and released in North America by Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
; in Europe, the game was co-published with Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
. The Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version is available either as a downloadable plug-in from the company website or as part of the retail-released Oblivion Downloadable Content Collection CD—a release that also includes all previously released official downloadable content available for Oblivion. The Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version is available via Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
, and the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version of Oblivion includes Knights of the Nine in its packaged release.
Knights of the Nine centers on a faction of the same name, devoted to locating and preserving a set of "Crusaders' Relics". Once found, these relics must be used to defeat the sorcerer-king Umaril, who seeks revenge on the Nine Divines. Knights of the Nine was generally well-received in the gaming press. Although it made little change to the basic mechanics of Oblivion, it was judged by reviewers to be a brief but polished addition to the game's main plot.
Gameplay
Knights of the Nine changes none of the basic gameplay of Oblivion; the basic design, maneuvers, and interfaces remain unchanged. As such, it is a fantasy-based role-playing adventure game. Players begin Oblivion by defining their character; deciding on its skill set, specialization, physical features, and race.Knights of the Nine is an example of open-ended or sandbox-style gameplay: the main quest may be delayed or completely ignored as the player explores the game world, follows side quests, interacts with NPCs
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
, and develops a character according to their taste. Furthering the goal of open-ended gameplay, Knights of the Nine, unlike Bethesda's prior content packs for Oblivion, begins with no explicit prodding towards the newly introduced content; players must seek out and find the game's quest without external aid.
Plot
The player then makes a pilgrimage, and receives a vision from Pelinal Whitestrake, who reveals the location of his tomb, which is beneath the lake surrounding the Imperial City. Inside this tomb, the player discovers the Helm of Pelinal's armor, as well as the corpse of Sir Amiel, one of the old Knights of the Nine. His diary reveals the location of their priory, which houses the Cuirass of Pelinal. Before the player can claim it though, he/she confronts eight spirits of the old Knights of the Nine, including Amiel, who had all given into corruption and been killed. They assist the player, who soon gathers all of Pelinal Whitestrake's relics. During each leg of the quest to retrieve the relics, the player meets a priest, knight, or pilgrim of faith, each of whom pledge to aid the player, each representing one of the original eight divines. After a final blessing from the prophet, to represent the ninth divine, Talos, the player leads the knights against Umaril's stronghold, defeating the Ayleid King, and then pursues Umaril's spirit, destroying him utterly. The player then wakes up in the Priory, with the knights believing him/her dead. After realizing that the powers of the gods resurrected him, the player rejoins the knights.
Production, release, and availability
Prior to any announcement regarding Knights of the Nine, Bethesda had pursued a somewhat novel plan to distribute downloadable content through micropaymentMicropayment
A micropayment is a financial transaction involving a very small sum of money and usually one that occurs online. PayPal defines a micropayment as a transaction of less than 12 USD while Visa prefers transactions under 20 Australian dollars, and though micropayments were originally envisioned to...
s, priced from US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
0.99 to US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2.99, instead of the more common practice of releasing expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
s. The program was initially met with criticism by customers due to its alleged low value, but later releases—at a reduced price, and with more content—proved more popular. The releases, in addition to stirring controversy, raised questions regarding Bethesda's future content release plans, and as to whether expansion pack releases were necessary at all. In August 2006, one Bethesda employee wrote in a post to Bethesda's Elder Scrolls forums that the company had "no plans to make an expansion for Oblivion". Further questions were raised by a product listing found on game retailer GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
's website September 11, 2006, listing a Knights of the White Stallion Expansion Pack for Oblivion. The game had a listed shipping date of November 21, 2006 and a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
19.99 asking price. The title was kept on the website only briefly—removed after gaming news site GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
sent Bethesda a request for comment on the product.
Knights of the Nine began its life as a supposedly "exclusive" quest for the PlayStation 3 release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Along with the confirmation of the PlayStation 3 release on October 9, 2006, some gaming news websites reported that the release would contain "a huge, exclusive quest" focusing on "a new faction, The Knights of the Nine". Some reports prefixed "allegedly" onto statements that the release would be exclusive. Suggestions of exclusivity, in any case, did not last long: an October 17, 2006 Bethesda press release announced that Knights of the Nine content was also scheduled for PC and Xbox 360 releases, eliciting commentary from Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
remarking on "how finicky" the word 'exclusive' had come to be, and Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
remarking on how "Oblivion PS3 content didn't stay exclusive for long... or at all". Other sites saw no incongruence in the announcement: GameSpot assumed that Knights of the Nine was simply the earlier Knights of the White Stallion by a different name, and 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
had anticipated the move ever since an IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
interview with Oblivion
The October 17 press release set November 21, 2006 as the North American distribution date for the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Knights. The European release for the Xbox 360 and PC was set two days later, on November 23. The European release was co-published by Bethesda and Ubisoft. On November 9, 2006, Bethesda clarified earlier statements regarding PC releases, declaring that, although the boxed retail PC edition of Knights of the Nine was set for release on November 21, the PC release downloadable from the company website wouldn't be available until December 4. This caused some consumer complaints, for although the Xbox 360 release was available on the Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
for 800 Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
(the equivalent of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
10.00, or GB£
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
6.80), for the time being, PC owners had only the US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
19.99 boxed retail edition of the game. The increased price of the PC's boxed retail release (The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of Nine Oblivion Downloadable Content Collection) resulted from its inclusion of Oblivion
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
9.99. According to IGN Entertainment's GamerMetrics, a service based on compiled visitor activity information on IGN's website, the pack was the fourth most anticipated release of its release week, following Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is the fifth game in the Rainbow Six series of video games. It was released for the Xbox 360 on November 21, 2006 and Windows on December 12, 2006. The PlayStation Portable version was released on June 12, 2007, while the PlayStation 3 version was released on June...
, Superman Returns
Superman Returns (video game)
Superman Returns is a video game loosely based on the movie of the same name, developed by Electronic Arts-Tiburon in Orlando, Fla., in conjunction with Warner Bros...
and College Hoops 2K7
College Hoops 2K7
College Hoops 2K7 is an American college basketball video game initially released on November 21, 2006 for the Xbox and Xbox 360 and released later for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. It is the 5th installment of the series, which began with NCAA College Basketball 2K3. It features former Duke...
.
Reception
Knights of the Nine was generally well-received in the gaming press. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, an aggregate review site, scored the PC version of the game with an 81 out of 100, and the Xbox 360 version of the game with an 86 out of 100. GameSpot recommended the game for its value; although it made few improvements over the basic Oblivion experience, Knights of the Nine provides "a good day or two's worth of questing for a low price". Similar comments followed from GamePro, who found that the "polish" and "affordable price" of the pack excused the fact that the pack's content "doesn't really change [Oblivion
Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
praised the game for its memorable plot and new, unique content. They concluded that if "more of the same is what you're after, you can't really argue with what Bethesda's served up for its hardcore fans." The review encouraged caution nonetheless: for if consumers were to fully accept individually priced content releases, Bethesda might just begin charging for all its quests.
External links
- The Elder Scrolls official site.
- The story of Knights of the Nine at The Imperial Library.