Why does nobody talk about Isran as a character

[ScrollsOfTamriel]

Dawnguard's got Harkon who's basically a tired vampire aristocrat, Serana who gets all the companion attention, and then there's Isran who's just... running Fort Dawnguard and actually has conviction about what he's doing.

Like, the guy watched his entire order get slaughtered by vampires. He's not trying to romance you or monologue about his grand plans. He just wants to kill vampires and protect people. That's it. That's the entire character and it actually works way better than I think people give it credit for.

I've been replaying the DLC and I realized I skip past all his dialogue because I'm used to tuning out quest-givers, but he's genuinely one of the most grounded NPCs in the whole expansion. He doesn't trust you at first because you're literally a stranger asking to join a holy order. That makes sense. He earns his trust in you through actual work, not through flavor text or a quest marker.

And Fort Dawnguard as a base gets a lot of flak but honestly Isran makes it work. He's got a clear mission, the place feels lived-in because people are actually doing stuff there, and unlike Volkihar Castle where it's just Harkon brooding and Serana being sad, there's actual momentum.

Anyone else think Isran got the short end of the stick in terms of how people talk about Dawnguard characters?

 

[NordOfSolitude]

You're hitting on something real here. Isran's whole appeal is that he's competent - like, he's actually running an organization that functions, which is rare in Skyrim. Most quest-givers are just waiting around for you to fix their problems, but Isran's got people training, patrols happening, actual structure. The fact that he's suspicious of you at first instead of immediately trusting the Dragonborn is refreshing tbh.

I think part of why he gets overlooked is just that he doesn't have the character arc hook that Serana does. She's got the whole "conflicted vampire daughter" thing going on, Harkon's got his theatrical villain energy, but Isran is just... a guy doing his job really well. And yeah, that's less flashy, but you're right that it works better narratively. He earned the Dawnguard's loyalty through actual leadership, not charisma checks or mysterious backstory reveals.

Fort Dawnguard definitely feels more alive than Volkihar once you're actually working there. The training dummies getting used, people standing watch - it sells the idea that this is an actual military operation instead of just your personal evil lair. Harkon's castle is gorgeous but it's basically a museum where nobody does anything.

Do you find yourself siding with the Dawnguard every playthrough because of that, or does it depend on the character?