Explain Count Verandus to me (Spoilers)

Chanman23 · November 2016

Ok so I just finished the Rivenspire quest line, and now I am super confused. You think that Count Verandus is a good guy, and the dialog makes you think that, but then you find out that his "master" is Molag Bal???? (scratches head) Isnt he the main antagonist in this whole thing???? So, is Count Verandus really evil or something? Every NPC seems to think he is a hero cause he took the relic to Coldharbour, but.... Coldharbour is not a good place. Molag Bal in not good... Im confused. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Enodoc · November 2016

Verandis is almost certainly a "good guy", but Molag Bal is the master of all vampires. We know from the Rivenspire storyline how much Verandis values honour and loyalty, so it makes sense that he's loyal to Molag Bal, even if Molag Bal is considered "evil". But "good" and "evil" don't really apply to Daedra; the Daedra are what they are, and it's what they do that makes mortals perceive them as "good" or "evil".

Does Verandis have ulterior motives? Maybe, but everyone trusts him so much, so I believe he really did have Rivenspire's best interests in mind.

It's a shame this wasn't expanded on in the Coldharbour storyline.

Chanman23 · November 2016

So going back and watching a let's play of the quest to get the dialoge again, there is also a time when Gwendis mentions that he worked so hard to distance himself from his master, referring to Molag Bal. So the conclusion that I have come to is basically what you said, that he realized that if he did nothing, Rivenspire would all turn into bloodfiends, and so he begrudgingly made a deal with Molag Bal, essentially choosing the lesser of two evils. I think there was also some little snippet of text that talked about him being able to resist Molag Bal in Coldharbour too.... so yeah. Thanks for your help answering that for me!

and yes, it is a shame.

Xvorg · November 2016

Chanman23 wrote: »

Ok so I just finished the Rivenspire quest line, and now I am super confused. You think that Count Verandus is a good guy, and the dialog makes you think that, but then you find out that his "master" is Molag Bal???? (scratches head) Isnt he the main antagonist in this whole thing???? So, is Count Verandus really evil or something? Every NPC seems to think he is a hero cause he took the relic to Coldharbour, but.... Coldharbour is not a good place. Molag Bal in not good... Im confused. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Actually there's another vamp in a quest in Eastmarch that behaves similarly to Verandis, trying to help other vamps to control their impulses.

Not all vamps are bad guys

WhiteCoatSyndrome · November 2016

My impression was that Verandis was basically sacrificing himself.

ListerJMC · November 2016

Chanman23 wrote: »

Ok so I just finished the Rivenspire quest line, and now I am super confused. You think that Count Verandus is a good guy, and the dialog makes you think that, but then you find out that his "master" is Molag Bal???? (scratches head) Isnt he the main antagonist in this whole thing???? So, is Count Verandus really evil or something? Every NPC seems to think he is a hero cause he took the relic to Coldharbour, but.... Coldharbour is not a good place. Molag Bal in not good... Im confused. Can anyone shed some light on this?

His "master" is Molag Bal because he is the one who turned him and is the creator of vampires. Since he was turned however, Verandis tried to distance himself from Molag according to Gwendis - so whether he initially got the condition by choice or not, he later rejected (or never accepted) Molag as his Lord.

The way I interpreted it was that because he sacrificed himself Molag, he had to refer to him as "master" as he was being sent to his realm presumably to serve him in some way. Because he didn't have much time to act, his connection to Molag made it the quickest solution to get the relic away - albeit a terrible and undesirable last resort.

My understanding about the relic is that it probably self-destructed, but did so in Coldharbour as opposed to Nirn therefore not endangering the inhabitants of Rivenspire. Judging by everything Verandis did, it doesn't make sense to me that he'd allow for the possibility that that thing could still exist and be weaponised by Molag. My guess is that to ensure it wasn't weaponised, he offered himself to serve Molag in exchange for its destruction.

But really we have no idea what the specifics of the deal were save for that both he and the relic ended up in Coldharbour as a result, so your guess is as good as mine. There could well have been an ulterior motive, but if there was he's done a pretty good job of hiding it considering he's so trusted. I honestly think it was just an act of desperation to get that thing away, even if it meant he'd have to turn to the Daedra he worked to hard to distance himself from for so many years.

...On a side-note, you're going to expand on what happened, right ZOS?

I have so many questions and I really liked Verandis, I was sad about how that story ended.

MUSTACHMAN654 · November 2016

You could be a good vampire, or a bad vampire. Verandis shows no threat to Rivenspire, and so, he is good. The vampire you fight at the end is bad due to him wishing to harm Rivenspire, and is a follower of Molag Bal. Verandis' master is Molag Bal, though he does not follow him.