The Elder Scrolls Adventures : Redguard The Elder Scrolls Adventures : Redguard is an action - adventure game developed and published by Bethesda Softworks with a third person style reminiscent of the Tomb Raider games , set in the world of . It is one of the only spin - off titles in the series , and also one of the earliest . Plot . The game takes place in Tamriel in the year 864 of the Second Era , some 400 years prior to the events of and the rest of the main series . The story is about Cyrus , a young Redguard , who arrives on the island of Stros M ' kai in order to find his missing sister , and subsequently finds himself in the middle of political intrigue . Game Opening . " It is late in the Second Era , a time of war as the Empire of Tiber Septim sweeps through the kingdoms of Tamriel in a glorious bid for conquest . Septim is opposed on all sides , but never more fiercely than by Hammerfell the ancestral home of the Redguard s . The High King of Hammerfell , Thassad II resists the Imperial invasions even as he sees other kingdoms crumble until , at last , without warning and surprisingly devoid of court treachery , death takes its full measure . With its High King dead , Hammerfell is crippled plunging into a bloody civil war between the Crowns , fighting for their homeland ' s continued sovereignty , and the Forebears , who have finally accepted the Emperor ' s rule . The Crowns , led by the heir to Thassad , Prince A ' tor , are continually victorious , spilling the blood of the Forebears across Hammerfell ' s sands . From his seat of power in the port city of Stros M ' kai , Prince A ' tor slowly reunites his father ’ s unraveled kingdom . Feeling their impending defeat , the Forebears sign a pact with the Emperor , allowing him to bring his armies in , crush the Crowns , and rule Hammerfell as his own . Tiber Septim ' s armies prove too much for the proud Redguard Crowns . " " Tiber Septim sends his best commander , Lord Richton , to Stros M ' kai to close the grip on Prince A ' tor and the Crowns . The prince rallies his forces for one last stand . Knowing that Hammerfell ' s sovereignty is at stake , the Crown forces match the might of the Empire meeting them in the harbor of Stros M ' kai for the final battle . The fighting is fierce . Lord Richton , having seen the Prince ' s victories at sea before , decides to bring his last resource to the fore . . . " " . . . the Dragon , Nafalilargus , proud jewel of the Imperial crown . A ' tor commands his archers to ready their weapons . . . " " . . . but is struck down himself by Richton ’ s assassin , felled by an arrow whose poison spreads too fast . A ' Tor ' s wizard attempts to save the Prince but the dragon ends his magic , and the Crown ' s hope for victory , in a single , fiery breath . Having conquered the Crowns , the Emperor ’ s forces claim rule over all of Hammerfell . Imperial garrisons are stationed at every city and Richton himself is named Provisional Governor of Stros M ' kai . Months pass . The Redguards of Hammerfell , both Crown and Forebear , learn to live under the new Imperial rule and Tiber Septim extends his reach into the rest of Tamriel . It is only through fate that any of this will come to concern our hero Cyrus , a redguard who long ago left Hammerfell to wander the borderlands of the Empire . " Features . Redguard runs in and features a software mode as well as a 3D accelerated mode for computers with a graphics card . The game ' s manual also included a section called the Pocket Guide to the Empire ( often abbreviated as PGE , or PGttE ) , in which details were given on all the provinces of the Empire during that Era . This guide is written from the point of view of an Imperial , and has several handwritten notices in it written by an anti - imperial . Lastly , in some distributions of the game , the map that was provided in the box was partially burnt to provide an additional level of authenticity . Early copies of Redguard also shipped with a comic book depicting the events that led up to Cyrus ' adventure on Stros M ' kai , known as " The Origin of Cyrus " . System Requirements . The following are the requirements to run the game :