In our infancy, we were unable to attend E3 this year. BUT, we're still able to give you some details that we've learned concerning Bethesda's upcoming Skyrim DLC, Dawnguard, courtesy of a gentleman with considerable more pull than yours truly.
- There are two different paths to take, exclusive to whatever faction you choose to join, be it the Vampires, or the Vampire hunting Dawnguard
- It should offer about 10-20 hours of gameplay, so you get far more bang for your buck than Arkham City's DLC, Harley's Revenge
- You'll visit new areas of Oblivion, one of which is called Soul Cairn, which features multiple castles and fortresses
- You'll also re-visit past areas of Skyrim
- A new character shows up in Riften that will be able to alter the appearance of your character
- Dragonborne weapons are included, and are reported to be stronger than Daedric Weapons
- New shouts will be included
- Crossbows are introduced, and perks spent in Archery skill tree will apply to crossbows
- Crossbow bolts can also be crafted with various enchantments, such as fire and frost damage
- New characters introduced including Gargoyles, Death Hounds, Armored Trolls, Bonemen, Wrathmen, Boneyard Keepers, and an undead Dragon named Drunehviir.
- There will be new skill trees for vampires and werewolves, seen below.
* Power of the Grave - 50 point bonus to health, magicka and stamina as a Vampire Lord.
* Detect All Creatures - self explanatory
* Mist Form - turn yourself into an invulnerable cloud of mist while regenerating your health, magicka, and stamina.
* Supernatural Reflexes - you move quicker, while enemies move slower
* Blood Healing - killing a person with a power attack bite restores all your health.
* Unearthly Will - Night powers and Blood Magic cost 33% less.
* Poison Talons - melee attacks deal 20 points of poison damage.
* Night Cloak - a shroud of bats feed on enemies within melee range.
* Vampiric Grip Blood Magic - can pull a creature to you from a distance, and do choking damage once it's close.
* Summon Gargoyle - summons a gargoyle.
* Corpse Curse - paralyze your foes with this magical blast.
* Bestial Strength (4 levels) - do 25% more damage as a werewolf
* Totem of the Moon - summon an ally werewolf with a howl.
* Totem of Terror - Werewolf howl of terror affects even higher level creatures.
* Animal Vigor - 100 point bonus to health and stamina in beast form.
* Gorging - feeding heals twice as much health.
Xbox players will be able to get Dawnguard June 26th, and will be released later to PC and PS3.
