Daggerfall talk:Skakmat

Nulfga's Pet

On the Unsolved Daggerfall Mysteries website, I found this line:
"This dragon is mentioned in the "Daggerfall Chronicles" as Nulfaga's pet. It was supposedly her link to Castle Daggerfall when she retired to her place in the mountains."
I can't verify this myself, and I don't know how reliable the Daggerfall Chronicles is. Skakmat seems to have been removed from the game in development (and is perhaps the owner of that 3D dragon skin in the game files). Since there isn't any other info on the article, I think it should be added. I also think the note should be edited, as the dragon will never appear in-game since it doesn't have a body image. Could somebody with more knowledge of Daggerfall help me out here? Legoless 18:02, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

The Daggerfall Chronicles is an official Bethesda publication (It's Copyright 1996 Bethesda Softworks) so the information is canon. I've used the timeline in a few articles (eg this and this) but haven't read the whole book and certainly haven't played the whole game. I'll try to find some reference to the dragon and get back to you, but DF stuff is way down on my priority list. For now, I've marked this as a Good Question. rpeh •T•C•E• 20:31, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

I've gotten my hands on a copy of the Chronicles, and I've found a reference for the above quote. From 'Daggerfall's Glory Road - The Complete Walkthrough' in the first section of the Narrative:

"Nulfaga, who was not a particularly popular person in court anyhow, retired to her castle in the Wrothgarian Mountains, leaving Skakmat, her dragon familiar, behind to report to her.

Skakmat also created a "sudden unnatural fog" over the Cryngaine Field during the battle there, blinding the combatants momentarily. Under Nulfaga's orders, Skakmat was trying to stop the battle, but when the mist lifted it was found that Lysandus' heart had been pierced by a blindly-fired arrow from one of Sentinel's archers.

I'll read over it later to look for more info. I've removed the Good Question tag as I believe I have just answered myself. Skakmat, similar to the Oracle, seems to be another major character scrapped from the game but present in lore. I'll edit the article accordingly. Legoless 17:11, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Danish "Skak mat"

As I can find no clearly undisputable reason for it to be an intended reference, I would only like to mention here on the talk page, rather than in the article itself or on the Easter Egg page, the fact that "Skak Mat" is Danish for "Checkmate". The dragon clearly facilitates the death of a king on a battlefield, though. —MortenOSlash (talk) 20:35, 12 February 2014 (GMT)

Haha, yeah – there’s no doubt in my mind that the name is 100% intended. On the other hand, I’m not sure if we should allow etymology, even when there’s no doubt about the meaning. It can quickly spin out of control and we can end up with the usual (time-consuming) discussions on the meaning of certain words. Due to my nationality, I’m probably the wrong person to ask in this case, so let’s hear some more opinions. --Krusty (talk) 22:48, 12 February 2014 (GMT)