#valen dreth

Valen Dreth

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Valen Dreth

3D asset for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

He mentions going "back to Morrowind" to a male Dunmer, though there's a chance it could be an empty boast as part of the whole "your wife" bit. But he's spent enough time in Cyrodiil, and caused enough trouble there, to get an eleven-year prison sentence. Whether he was born there or came there later is not stated in the game. (Personally I like the idea that he came from Morrowind, just because I think it's a cool place and I love every chance to go into its lore.)

So eleven years ago Valen Dreth was free, somewhere in Cyrodiil and about to commit a crime, or crimes, that would land him in the Imperial Prison for over a decade. But what kind of life was he leading? His class is listed as "Pilgrim", one of the available character classes in Oblivion. I don't know if the game developers intended anything by it, but it's an interesting springboard when considering in-universe explanations.

The description in Oblivion for Pilgrim is: "Hearty folk, well-versed in the tomes of old. They profit in life by bartering in the market, or by persuading the weak-minded". The specialisation is Stealth, the two attributes are Endurance and Personality, and the class skills are Armourer, Blunt, Block, Light Armour, Mercantile, Security and Speechcraft.

The literal meaning of a pilgrim, of course, is someone on a pilgrimage, a journey to a religious site. The comment about "well-versed in the tomes of old" sounds like a nod to this, though the Pilgrim has no magic skills that one might expect from a religious character in a fantasy setting. Looking at the rest of the description and the skill list, this class seems to fit someone who relies heavily on guile and charm but knows enough to defend themselves if necessary - perhaps on the road, if our Pilgrim is a traveller like the religious kind. Endurance and Personality support this - talk your way into success and out of trouble, and if that doesn't work you're tough enough to withstand the consequences.

What I find interesting about the Pilgrim class is that it's rather ...mundane compared to the other classes. It has adequate combat skills, but it's no mighty warrior. It has absolutely no flashy magic whatsoever. And though it's a Stealth class, it's not a dashing cat-burglar type. As such, it makes sense for an NPC, though it's interesting that none of the existing NPC-specific classes were chosen for Valen.

Valen is listed as a Level 1 Pilgrim. This could indicate that he was only Level 1 when he was arrested, or that he has lost much of his former ability since. Losing levels is not something that happens to the player character in jail, but we've already established that you play by slightly less realistic rules than NPCs when it comes to serving jail time. Vincente Valtieri's statements about Valen's dwindled strength support this, and certainly explains his low Health.

So the Valen Dreth of eleven years prior relies on cunning - Stealth - and has a sturdy constitution and a silver tongue - Endurance and Personality. He's a good talker and a shrewd trader - Mercantile and Speechcraft. He can fight if he has to - Blunt, Block, Light Armour. He has the skill to maintain any weapons and armour he uses with Armourer. And he knows enough Security to indulge in a little pilfering, though he leans more towards fast talking than sneaking around.

There's a few possible interpretations as to what lifestyle this profile supports. A merchant, perhaps one who travels or who simply has the skills to defend himself and his wares, and whose dealings may or may not be totally above board. The Pilgrim's persuasive abilities could also be put to fine use as a con artist - remember the class description about "persuading the weak-minded". The mix of skills also suits someone else of a criminal persuasion, sturdier than a Thief but not as combat-inclined as a Rogue - a smuggler or member of a gang, maybe. True to the Pilgrim's nature as a player character class, it could also fit an adventurer or mercenary - someone who can fight, get through locked doors and into chests, and negotiate good deals when securing contracts or selling loot. All of these could provide opportunities for running afoul of the law, even before we consider other aspects of his situation.

The trouble with determining what would earn someone an eleven-year jail sentence in Tamriel is the conflict between the game mechanics and any potential lore. It seems pretty clear that the prison sentences the player character receives are vastly shorter than lore dictates, and are mainly that way so as to make the game's crime and punishment system tolerable. NPCs who are arrested during Oblivion and Skyrim as a result of the hero's actions will stay there for the remainder of the game (jailbreaks notwithstanding), so I think we can dismiss "He must have killed hundreds of people to get a bounty that high!" and instead consider what could reasonably (or unreasonably) warrant an eleven-year imprisonment.

I do think, though, that the concept of incurring a bounty does pose an interesting question lore-wise. If Valen Dreth incurred a bounty for his crimes, whatever the bounty-to-sentence ratio, he did not or could not pay the related fine. Either he couldn't afford to, he outright refused, or the crime was such that he was not given the option to pay and remain free. (Or, of course, that paying one's fines is a privilege only afforded to player characters.)

As to the crime itself, we can probably rule out the two possible "extremes". One the one hand, there are crimes that would not warrant a nearly decade-long sentence - petty theft, one or two cases of lockpicking. On the other, there are crimes punishable only by death, such as acts considered treason (our man was not caught ebony smuggling, for instance).

Did he get caught pulling some kind of scam? Embezzling money? Unable to pay off debts? Smuggling or skooma dealing, involvement with organised crime? Something more violent like assault or murder, or armed robbery? Hell, was he framed for something?

We have so little to go on with what we see of him in-game. The man who hurls obscenities at us from across the cell block is undoubtedly memorable - why else am I this obsessed with him? - but we have so few supporting details, and there's no way of telling how much he resembles the man who was first locked up all those years ago.

Looking over the dialogue by and about Valen Dreth, one comment of Vincente Valtieri's stands out - "He thinks he's safe in prison". That carries something of an implication that Valen knows someone has it out for him, and thinks that being behind bars will spare him whatever fate they have in mind. Considering his experiences in prison, the fact that Valen could see any benefit to staying there implies he knows only too well what his enemy's plans are for him. It's a far cry from his gloating to the guards about his impending release, though I'm sure he's glad to be out nonetheless, and would hardly voice any misgivings to their faces.

The Dark Brotherhood contract also raises the point that Valen has pissed someone off personally. I doubt players of Oblivion will be surprised by this, but the point is whatever crimes he has committed aren't solely a matter of violation of Imperial law, or the Watch's concern for the public in a general sense. He's made enemies, or at least an enemy. Either that, or someone will benefit from his death in some way.