GT25's Versus Series: Dawnguard vs. Paladin of Bahamut
Hello, and welcome to the Versus Series, a spin-off of my Historical Series for fictional battles and also inspired by my Deadliest Warrior story. In this series, we will compare warriors from across the many universes of all forms of fiction and analyze their weapons, armor, and x-factors to see who would win in a hypothetical battle. For the first installment, we will compare two groups dedicated to a cause with the Dawnguard of Skyrim and a Paladin of the dragon god Bahamut. For this battle, we will take the Dawnguard as portrayed in the Dawnguard DLC for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and a human paladin based off information from the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Since these two have rather confusing histories, I will provide a brief summary of their overall histories in their respective universes.
History of the Warriors
While their history is vague and surrounded by rumors, what is known is that the son of the Jarl of Riften in the Second Era contracted vampirism due to his overly confident and adventurous pursuits. As he refused to kill his son, the Jarl ordered the construction of a fort to keep his son quarantined and hired a large mercenary force to man said fort. This force of mercenaries, who would later be branded as the Dawnguard, are said to have eventually put down the Jarl's son and were banished from the hold, though they continued to work as vampire hunters. As people increasingly disregarded the threat of vampires, the Dawnguard were weakened and lost their respect which lead to the group breaking up. However, during the Fourth Era, the group was revived by a former Vigilant of Sterndarr named Isran and now are dedicated with the eradication of vampires throughout Skyrim.
Either feeling like answering a call to destiny or compelled to go down the path, many individuals in the world of Toril will venture forth to become a type of holy crusader known as a Paladin. While some paladins held themselves to a particularly sense of right and wrong though oath, others swore their oath to dedicate themselves to the values of a particular deity. While the patron deity they worship does vary depending on the paladin, some paladins do worship or swear an oath to the dragon god of justice known as Bahamut. Becoming champions of whatever cause they served, paladins would take to the lifestyle of an adventurer and travel across the lands of Toril as defenders of the peace and battle against the forces of evil.
Close Range
Steel Sword (Dawnguard): A common sword found in the lands of Skyrim, the Steel Sword is a type of one-handed sword that are very similar to real-life Viking Swords. This sword most likely has a 30.88 inch steel blade with a total length of 36.88 inches and possibly weighs about 2.55 pounds.
Longsword (Paladin of Bahamut): An extremely common weapon for many adventurers, the Longsword is a type of two-handed sword and a favorite blade among many paladins. An example of this type of sword has a 36 inch steel blade with a total length of 47 inches and weighs 3.06 pounds.
Verdict: The Longsword gets the edge. Both swords make use of standard steel blades, but the Longsword has a reach advantage by 5.12 inches and can be wielded with either one or both hands. In addition, the Steel Sword being similar to real-life Viking Swords doesn't offer any benefits against a weapon with a sword that is very versatile and allows the user to put additional power behind their strikes.
Medium Range
War Hammer (Dawnguard): A polearm length variant of a melee weapon, this unique War Hammer makes use of runes on one side to increase its damage against vampires. This War Hammer has a cylindrical hammer head on the front and two spikes on the reverse with a short spike on top that has the appearance of a knife blade. This War Hammer most likely has a length of 56.5 inches and possibly weighs 3.91 pounds.
Poleaxe (Paladin of Bahamut): A polearm that was used by foot soldiers, the Poleaxe is a versatile weapon that is designed to break through armor. This weapon typically has a large axe blade on the front and a hammer head on the reverse with a short spike on top for piercing armor. An example of this polearm has a length of 67 inches and weighs about 4.74 pounds.
Verdict: The War Hammer gets the edge. While the Poleaxe is longer by 10.5 inches with an axe head on the front, the War Hammer is lighter by less than a pound and has both the spike on top and the two spikes on the back for use against armor. In addition, the hammer head on the War Hammer has a higher chance of doing more blunt damage than the one on the Poleaxe.
Long Range
Crossbow (Dawnguard): Unlike other faction in the land of Skyrim, the Dawnguard make use of the Crossbow over any type of bow thanks to the power behind the shots. Interestingly, the Crossbow used by the Dawnguard have a reloading devise known as a "goat's foot lever" attached to the weapon for quicker reloads. This version of the crossbow most likely has a length of 32.5 inches with the span of the arms being 21 inches and weighs about 6.25 pounds.
Composite Longbow (Paladin of Bahamut): A relatively common weapon for adventurers to obtain, the Composite Longbow is a type of longbow that's composed of various materials like horn, wood, and sinew. This longbow most likely has a length of 72 inches and weighs about 1.5 pounds.
Verdict: Neither weapon gets the edge. While the bow typically get the edge over the crossbow, this is one where the main reason, the reload time, is simply not applicable. The attachment of a reloading devise on the Crossbow makes it much easier to reload and still has the power behind its shots. The Composite Longbow still has a faster reload, but it isn't that much greater and the power behind a crossbow can at least match that of the bow in this scenario.
Special Weapons
War Axe (Dawnguard): The primary weapon of the Dawnguard, this War Axe is a unique version of this weapon in Skyrim with it having runes to increase its damage against vampires. This axe most likely has a length of 26.5 inches and possibly weighs 1.74 pounds.
Baselard Dagger (Paladin of Bahamut): A historical dagger or short sword, the Baselard dagger is often used as a secondary weapon and in the user's off-hand in battle. An example of this dagger has a 11.5 inch steel blade with a total length of 17 inches and weighs about 13.15 ounces.
Verdict: The War Axe gets the edge. Not only does it have a reach advantage compared to the Baselard Dagger, but the axe is also the primary weapon of its user while the dagger is simply a secondary weapon to its user.
Armor
Brigandine over Leather and Dawnguard Helmet (Dawnguard): The most common armor among the ranks of the Dawnguard, the Brigandine is a type of cloth armor that had small iron plates riveted either between two layers of stout cloth or just to an outer layer, with this example being a case of the latter version. A flexible armor even with the iron plates, this type of armor provides great protection to the user from slashing and most thrusting attacks. The reason why some thrusts can work is that a precise strike between two of the plates can allow a blade to get past it, though the blade will hit one of the plates if the wielder isn't accurate.
However, as added protection, the Brigandine is worn over a tunic of boiled leather to provide the user a secondary layer of protection. In addition to the Brigandine, the Dawnguard also make use of a helmet unique to their order. This helmet appears to be leather over a steel frame with this steel also being added protection. This helmet appears like a Spangenhelm with a nasal guard and the sides coming down as facial protection. However, this helmet does leave the user's face and the front of their neck exposed.
Steel Breastplate over Chainmail, Sallet, and Heater Shield (Paladin of Bahamut): A common piece of medium armor for adventurers, the Breastplate is a cuirass made of metal, in this case steel, that covers the user's chest and back. This type of armor provided excellent protect to the user from slashing and most thrusting attacks. The reason why some thrusts can work is due to either through the impact force or dedicated thrust of a polearm, which even then may not work due to the use of steel in this example. However, as added protection, the Breastplate is worn over riveted chainmail which was usually steel rings riveted together to provide the user a secondary layer of protection.
While helmets are typically uncommon, one that has often shown up in Toril is the Sallet. The Sallet is a steel helmet based off the earlier Bascinet, but with the sides of the helmet drawn out to cover the cheeks and chin while the rear was curved out into a flange to protect the neck. While some examples do make use of a visor, this version has no visor which does leave the user's face and front of their neck exposed.
Finally, a typical Paladin would often make use of a Heater Shield which was a medium sized shield that had a flat top and curving down to a point at the bottom similar in shape to a clothes iron, hence the name. This shield is typically made of wood and covered in canvas with enarmes, or leather straps, on the back of it for the user to grip the shield.
Verdict: The Paladin of Bahamut gets the edge. Starting with their body armor, the Breastplate give more protection than the Brigandine thanks to being a metal piece instead of individual iron plates riveted to stout cloth. Along with this, the chainmail that is used under the Breastplate offers better protection than the leather tunic under the Brigandine. Moving onto their helmets, both make use of some kind of steel helmet that leaves the user's face and front of their neck exposed so both are even there. However, the Paladin does make use of a shield unlike most members of the Dawnguard which gives them an advantage along with their better body armor.
X-Factors
Training: As the group was revived in more recent times, a member of the Dawnguard possibly had some training in fighting before joining and may have been trained to battle against the undead and vampires. On the other hand, those who become paladins often were squires or assistants of more experience paladins for years since their adolescents.
Experience: Despite the varying backgrounds of the members, a typical Dawnguard had some experience prior to joining and would go out on quests to hunt down vampires as part of the order. As the adventuring lifestyle comes easily to most paladins, a typical Paladin of Bahamut is an adventurer who traveled the lands of Toril on as a champion of their cause and fighting evil in the name of the dragon god.
Ferocity: The members of the Dawnguard are relentless, seeking out vampires wherever they go and attacking them on sight without question. Meanwhile, a Paladin of Bahamut would battle against the forces of evil and smite those who debase or devalue their beliefs.
Tenacity: As they kept working as vampire hunters even after the group's retirement and revival, the members of the Dawnguard would hunt down vampires on their quests and attack them on sight. Regardless of whom they served and how they acted, all paladins were expected to serve as sworn defenders of their beliefs and their loyalty to the oath they swore was second to none, coming before country or crown.
Match Information: This is a one on one match with nothing else being taken into account.
The Set Up: A Paladin of Bahamut leaves a keep after killing the vampires residing there as a member of the Dawnguard journeys on a quest to clear out the keep.
BATTLE
On a path running through the middle of a forest, a man wearing a Brigandine over a leather tunic and a seemingly leather helmet is walking along the path in silence. In his hands is a Crossbow with a small quiver full of bolts on the back of his belt and a War Hammer hanging from his back. Along with the small quiver, the man has a scabbard for his Steel Sword strapped to the left side of his belt while the right side has a War Axe hanging by a strap. This man is a member of the Dawnguard, having been sent to clear out a stone keep full of vampires, with him seeing the keep about seventy yards away through the foliage.
In the keep, the vampiric lord is fighting a woman wearing a Steel Breastplate over chainmail and a Sallet helmet with a Longsword in her right hand. Barely registering the Baselard dagger sheathed on her belt, he attempts to strike her only for her to block with the Heater Shield on her left hand and she beheads the vampiric lord with a swing of her sword. Taking a deep breath, she sheaths her sword back into its scabbard before turning around to look at the other fallen vampires. This woman is a Paladin of Bahamut, having come to the keep herself to vanquish the vampires that took refuge in the structure.
Looking up to the ceiling, she kneels down and puts her hands together as she says a silent prayer to the dragon god. After finishing her prayer, she stands up and walks over to take her Composite Longbow from where she dropped it as she lets her shield hanging from her back over a quiver full of arrows. Sliding her longbow over her left shoulder, the Paladin walks over to one of the fallen vampires with a Poleaxe in their chest and grabs it before taking it out of them.
Letting out a quiet sigh, she turns to the main entrance and walks to it to leave the place of evil.
About fifty feet away from the keep, the Dawnguard continues to walk to the stone keep before he stops as he seeing the Paladin with her Poleaxe in her right hand walking away from the stone structure. Without even thinking, the Dawnguard realizes that the woman maybe a vampire and aims his Crossbow before firing the bolt. However, the bolt passes by the face of the Paladin by a few inches and startles her before looking to where it came from.
Seeing the Dawnguard quickly operating the lever of his weapon, the Paladin sees a large tree close to her and quickly runs to it as her new adversary loads his weapon. As the Dawnguard aims his Crossbow, he tracks his target and fires the bolt just a second after she gets behind the tree.
Hearing the bolt striking the bark of the tree, the Paladin tosses her Poleaxe a foot away from her before quickly taking her Composite Longbow off her shoulder. As she takes an arrow out of her quiver, the Dawnguard keeps his visual on the tree as he puts a bolt onto his Crossbow. Seeing the Paladin moving out from behind the tree, the man quickly aims and fires his bolt only for his foe to quickly step out of the way.
As the bolt flies past her, the Paladin aims her longbow and lets the arrow fly through the air towards her target. However, the projectile hits one of the plates of the Brigandine and bounces off with the Dawnguard only feeling the shock from it. Quickly placing yet another bolt onto his Crossbow, he aims his weapon as his opponent nocks another arrow onto her longbow and fires it.
The projectile hits the Paladin in her left shoulder, piercing through the mail and causing her to cry out in pain before pulling the string of the longbow back. Not wasting time, she makes aim and fires her arrow with the projectile going between two of the plates of the Brigandine. Quickly getting back behind the tree, the Paladin winces in pain as she pulls the bolt out of her shoulder and putting her longbow against the tree.
At the same time, the Dawnguard tosses his Crossbow away and grabs the arrow with one of his hands. As the layers of cloth and leather stopped the arrow from piercing his skin, he takes the arrow out with ease before throwing it away and grabbing the shaft of his War Hammer. After picking her Poleaxe from the ground, the Paladin moves out from behind the tree as the Dawnguard takes his polearm in both hands and charges towards his opponent.
Standing her ground, the Paladin sidesteps an overhead strike of her foe's War Hammer and performs her own overhead swing. However, the Dawnguard quickly pulls his polearm back and lifts it up to block the Poleaxe from reaching him. Pushing his adversary away, he sees the Paladin attempting to strike him and quickly uses his War Hammer to perform a counter.
Using the head of his polearm to catch the axe blade of his foe's, the Dawnguard quickly pulls his weapon back and rips the Poleaxe from its user's hands. Seeing her foe using his War Hammer to launch her weapon away from them, the Paladin quickly reaches behind her with her left arm to get her shield. However, her opponent tries to go for a horizontal strike with his polearm only for her to step backwards to allow the weapon to smash into the tree she was behind earlier.
Backing up a bit more, the Paladin gets her Heater Shield on her left arm and sees her foe twirling his polearm to have the end spikes at the ready. The Dawnguard performs another horizontal swing from his right, but his opponent quickly raises her shield in time and blocks it despite the spikes biting a bit into the shield. After being pushed back the strike, the Paladin manages to sidestep a thrust from the weapon before grabbing it.
Acting quickly, the Paladin slams the rim of her Heater Shield into her adversary and makes him let go of his polearm and stumbles back from the blow. Looking up, the Dawnguard sees his foe throwing his War Hammer away from them before quickly drawing his Steel Sword and taking his War Axe from his belt. As he moves to get a strike in, the Paladin draws her Longsword as she raises her Heater Shield to block the War Axe.
The Dawnguard attempts to perform a follow up strike with his Steel Sword, but his opponent uses her Longsword to block the strike and maneuver it to the side. Using this to her advantage, the Paladin thrusts her Longsword forward only to strike one of the plates of her foe's armor. Getting pushed back from the strike, the Dawnguard sees his foe trying for a slash attack only to block with his Steel Sword and performs an overhead strike at the same time. This allows him to get a glancing blow to his foe's Sallet helmet and stuns them as the Paladin backs up a bit.
Seeing his opponent now stumbling backwards, the Dawnguard attempts at a thrust aiming to the center of their breastplate. However, the Paladin does recover in time and moves her blade in time to just barely parry the Steel Sword out of the way. Seeing this, the Dawnguard tries to keep on the offensive and attempts to strike his foe with his War Axe.
Luckily for the Paladin, she quickly backs up to dodge the strike and performs an upward slash to cut off the axe head. The Dawnguard looks at his broken weapon before throwing the broken shaft which his adversary deflects easily with her shield. Quickly putting her shield on her back again, the Paladin takes her Longsword in both hands as she blocks a slashing attack. Moving the blade out of the way, she quickly performs her own strike that cuts open her foe's right arm with the tip of her sword.
Taking a step back, the Dawnguard fights through his pain before ducking under a slash and performing another thrust attack. This time the Steel Sword hits the breastplate only to glance off it before getting a pommel hitting his helmet. Backing up, the Dawnguard quickly blocks a strike with his Steel Sword despite a bit of difficulty before punching the Paladin in the face with his left hand. She backs up a few steps as she shakes her head to regain her wits despite bleeding from her nose.
Seeing her foe going for a slashing strike to her head, the Paladin pulls out her Baselard Dagger with her left hand at the same time she uses her Longsword to block the Steel Sword. Using the short gap of time, she quickly thrusts the Baselard forward and goes through two of the plates into the man's stomach. The Dawnguard cries out in agony as the dagger is quickly taken out of his body before using his Steel Sword to knock it out of his adversary's hand.
"This won't change anything, vampire," the Dawnguard says, pain evident in his voice, "You and those with you will fall to my blade."
"Vampire," the Paladin whispers to herself, realization dawning on her adversary's intentions. Her eyes widen as she takes a step back and lowers her sword to a resting position.
"Sir, we don't need to fight," the Paladin states, "I came here to vanquish the vampires of the keep, which has been done. This battle doesn't have to keep going."
The Dawnguard, for a moment, appears surprised before his look hardens and he says, "Your words won't help you. You came from that stone keep and only the Dawnguard was aware of them being there."
"I can exp-" she starts to say, but the Dawnguard lunges forward with his sword ready for a thrusting attack. Quickly stepping to the side, the Paladin watches as he goes past her and turns on a dime to face her again.
"You don't have to kill me," she exclaims, still wanting to convince her foe that the fight was pointless. However, she ends up jumping back to avoid a slashing strike from the Steel Sword.
"You can't trick me, vampire," the Dawnguard adamantly proclaims, "I won't rest until every one of you are destroyed. Even if you believe yourself to fight for good, you will always be a vile monster!"
Neither move or speak for what felt like a minute before the Dawnguard hears his foe give out a heavy sigh.
"So, that's how this will end," the Paladin reluctantly says, pain audible in her voice as she brings her Longsword back up, "I'm sorry for what I must do, but I will grant you a swift end."
"The only one dying is you!" The Dawnguard shouts in anger, lunging towards his opponent and performing another slashing attack to take her head. However, the Paladin blocks the strike and parries the blade away before stepping forward as she thrusts her Longsword.
The blade hits a gap between two plates and punctures the armor as it slides though the man's body and out his back. His face gaining an expression of pain and surprise, the Dawnguard drops his Steel Sword before looking down at the blade in his chest and into his heart. Pulling her sword back, the Paladin takes her Longsword from her foe's body and watches in silence as he falls to the ground face first.
All remains quiet with the Paladin simply looking at her foe before dropping to her knees and letting her sword lay on the ground. Placing her hands together and looking at the sky, the Paladin takes a breath before saying, "Forgive me Bahamut, for I have sinned against the oath I swore."
Final Verdict: In this battle of these two dedicated fighters, neither would back down only for the Paladin of Bahamut to obtain victory with a possible outcome of 5.3 out of 10 battles. Starting off, the Paladin did have an edge with the Longsword, but the Dawnguard had an advantage in terms of weapons as they had the edge with the War Hammer and War Axe. Neither had an edge for long range, but the Paladin was able to take armor thanks to the more protective body armor and making use of a shield. However, it ultimately was the x-factors that determined the victor. Both were even in ferocity as they were dedicated to their causes, but the Paladins were able to take a slight edge in both experience and tenacity due to their oaths and adventurous lifestyle. The only real edge in x-factors was training, which the Paladin gained as they were typically trained for years under a paladin with more experience. Overall, the better x-factors and armor of the Paladin of Bahamut was able to overcome the edges the Dawnguard had in medium range and special weapons.
Got a battle you want to see? Tell me and I'll see if I can get it into the series! Next time, two trained groups of professionals from the worlds of survival horror will go head to head.
Ray Tanaka: Hey, everyone! I had this series planned alongside the Historical Series for fictional warriors including some from my old Deadliest Warrior story. This was a possible battle for that story, with the Paladin of Bahamut being basically a way of including the paladins of Dungeons and Dragons in the series. I couldn't figure out how to distinguish the paladin, so I included one of the gods to help in that regard. Other than that, nothing really changed besides their weapons and the paladin's armor.
I originally had the Dawnguard with the Silver Sword and the Paladin with a type of holy blade known as the "Holy Avenger", but went with the more common Steel Sword and Longsword for the already stated reason. Originally, I had the paladin with the Mail and Plate like the English Knight and Great Helm, but I talked to my sister (since she's played D&D and even as a paladin) and changed it to a Breastplate over chainmail and sallet since those seem like a better fit. As for the series as a whole, I planned on having it debut after chapter ten of the Historical Series, but just decided to get it done now. Hope you all enjoyed!