:lol:

Yeah, the Hagraven's fireball/incinerate spam volley or the Wisp Mother's triple icy spear (gawdz that hurts, even using a shield) I always dread :whacked:
And it's even worse when a fugitive suddenly appears out of nowhere and decides to have a little chat with you just when you encounter a wisp mother :fist:

I was shooting a wisp mother with arrows and suddenly one of those guys started talking to me...I got killed, reloaded my last save, the same thing happened, reloaded again and again and then decided to use the 'kill' cheat on this idiot.

Though remind me to never run in to the bandits that are in your game... don't think I've ran in to any that tough in mine (or I have had the luck of landing the first, usually critical/sneak, first).I want to say you'll find them wherever bandit mobs are sold, however now that I think about it, they may be more prevalent during The Companions quest line.

And it's even worse when a fugitive suddenly appears out of nowhere and decides to have a little chat with you just when you encounter a wisp mother :fist:Luckily, I've only had this happen to me once. Unluckily, it was during a dragon fight.

Happened to me just yesterday versus a couple of Ice Wraiths AND a wolf chasing me. I was like "Dude I'm being attacked my Ice Wraiths stop talking to me already!"

Happened to me just yesterday versus a couple of Ice Wraiths AND a wolf chasing me. I was like "Dude I'm being attacked my Ice Wraiths stop talking to me already!"

At least you can get out of pretty much any unwanted conversation instantly by hitting the tab key, unlike in Bioware games or Deus Ex where you're locked into dialog mode until you find the Goodbye option. Still annoying when NPCs pick the worst times to talk though.

(Like when I'm in a hurry and decide to use Whirlwind Sprint to speed things up a bit and one of the town guards catch me mid-flight with their pointless Stop Shouting dialog...)

Markarth is one beautiful city to look at, and suitably large too. Had a wonderful two days traipsing in and about it. It's the only city that makes me think that Bethesda still has some of that Morrowind magic with them.

Though of course, now it's hard to think how we ever did without dual-weilding.

The standard Bethesda unrealism of the game world continues to bug me. I had a man give me a Warhammer and told me to hide it. A hunter came along and asked me if I'd seen a man. While there was an option in the dialogue to give him in the warhammer, I decided to hold onto it until I was sure whose it was. THEN the man tells me the fugitive stole something from me. So while he is busy shooting his bow, I stand in front of him and drop the warhammer at his feet (hopefully not ON his feet), and the man has absolutely no interest in it. Apparently his lust for blood has consumed what desire he had for his warhammer...

Then again in the prison in Markarth, I was trying to kill one of the prisoners I had to kill, he ran straight into the quarters of the man who wanted him dead, and that man ended up killing him personally. And then I had to report his death to this man? How does that make any sense?

Again in Markarth, there's a Thalmor agent in the Understone Keep, who is trying to find and punish Talos worshippers. Hasn't he found out yet that there is an actively-maintained Shrine of Talos in the city where there's candles burning all the time? Maybe if he kept watch over who's lighting them, he'd find out, assuming he intends to leave the shrine standing.

And then there's the ultimate realism problems. How come these cities don't have sewers or gutters? The houses don't have toilets. What do these Nords do for sanitation, collectively leave the city and defecate in the fields every morning? I've never seen anyone eating, and drinking is of course, the art of touching an empty tankard to your lips. What is it that Nords do all day? I've some some who go chopping wood or working the blacksmith's, but the vast majority seem to have 'walking around' as their primary occupation.

The giants are a perfect example. They're big and all, so you can view their actions with ease. What do they do all day? They walk around. Then they walk around some more. They don't hunt, eat, defecate, urinate, sleep, sit, communicate, fell trees or anything. A person his size would have an epic food quota to manage everyday (which is presumably why they tame mammoths), but do they every actually eat? Newp.

Conversations get triggered exactly when you're walking around, which makes the whole act seem like a stageplay organised by the local Jarl for your amusement. Nobody seems to mind you jumping and throwing things around while these conversations are going on, and the best part is, if you leave one and return to the spot later, they resume their conversation from the START, presumably after whispering "Oh look, it's that guy, let's start over from the top so he doesn't miss anything in his/her eavesdropping."

You could say I'm nitpicking a game that's too vast in size to be so intricately managed, but that's the point. This game is pretending to be a vast simulation of an RPG, and it fails at creating the most semblance of a living, breathing world. It's a cardboard world where you're expected to supply 90% of the make-believe.

To be fair to Bethesda (which is not a thing I ever envisioned myself saying...), has any RPG ever achieved a level of realism/simulation on that scale?

Indeed no RPG has, but I'd rather take the liberal make-believe of a game like Dragon Age or The Witcher than Bethesda's we-almost-made-it-super-real-you-fill-in-the-blanks.

Played for the first time last night (xbox) and it was ok. For some reason while playing, and I don't know if I'm alone here, I can't see anything. By that I mean that everything is monotonous as hell and the enemies and even my character gets blended in. I think part of the problem is my 6 or so year old TV (sucks how that's considered "old" nowadays), but it really just takes away from the game. I guess I should at least get the HD cables, but I just spent $60 on the game so...

Other than that it's fine - i just think I ruined my own first few quests with too many "let's play" videos :p

I just picked up my copy today from gamestop. It is my first time playing a game from this series so I feel a little lost. I just made it to Whiterun and spoke with the Jarl. So far I am enjoying the game, game play is good as well as the environment.

I really like the idea of being able to switch between 1st and 3rd person views. I personally prefer to play in 3rd person, but with this game I can switch to 1st person at any time to get a closer look at things.

Don't have a whole lot else to say about it since I haven't played it for very long.

The standard Bethesda unrealism of the game world continues to bug me. I had a man give me a Warhammer and told me to hide it. A hunter came along and asked me if I'd seen a man. While there was an option in the dialogue to give him in the warhammer, I decided to hold onto it until I was sure whose it was. THEN the man tells me the fugitive stole something from me.

The rigidity of the quests is indeed one thing they could learn to improve from games like Deus Ex. Many of the quests are a bit too strictly checklist-scripted requiring you to do things in exact order or they'll break (picked up that quest item already the NPC wants? Tough luck, the quest stage won't update to reflect it, and you can't drop the item to pick it up again).

I guess fragility and bugs in side quests is just something that's to be expected in games with a huge scope though, unless they do public beta tests of the games before release. Baldurs Gate II certainly had hundreds of them that weren't fixed until several years and community patches later.


Again in Markarth, there's a Thalmor agent in the Understone Keep, who is trying to find and punish Talos worshippers. Hasn't he found out yet that there is an actively-maintained Shrine of Talos in the city where there's candles burning all the time?

I found the presence of a Shrine of Talos in a town with a heavy Imperial/Thalmor presence a bit peculiar as well. Especially since it's not really needed for anything from a plot perspective (unless it serves some purpose in the Imp/Cloak civil war) and could easily had been made into a temple for one of the other Eight Divines and still serve its current purpose.


And then there's the ultimate realism problems. How come these cities don't have sewers or gutters?

Solitude does have sewers, you can see the manholes in the street and hear the sound of flowing water beneath them. You just can't enter them. Markarth probably uses those big canals in the streets for waste disposal. It's probably just something they didn't think it was worth putting a lot of development time into. :)


The houses don't have toilets. What do these Nords do for sanitation, collectively leave the city and defecate in the fields every morning? I've never seen anyone eating, and drinking is of course, the art of touching an empty tankard to your lips.

Abstraction? Remove/exclude things that have no impact on gameplay whatsoever, or the game would never be released. :)

I much prefer that they don't force you to attend to the mundane needs of your character (eating, sleeping, waste) and let you focus on the interesting stuff instead.

I've seen plenty of NPCs eat, usually a loaf of bread. People do it in taverns and their homes. Your housecarl and wife/husband cooks, eats and drinks when left alone at home.


What is it that Nords do all day?

90% of the population of Skyrim are bandits and guards. The rest will just have to make do somehow. :¬:

Overall NPCs in this game seems to be keeping busy with something a lot better than any other RPG I've played so far. Sure, not everyone does something meaningful all the time, but I guess that can be said for people in real life as well :p


The giants are a perfect example. They're big and all, so you can view their actions with ease. What do they do all day? They walk around. Then they walk around some more.

The giants are monsters. I guess they've limited meaningful daily activities to friendly/neutral NPCs, presumably for complexity and performance reasons. You won't see the bandits, forsworn or outcasts doing much either, presumably for the same reason. You're supposed to kill them, not make a documentary of their daily lives. :)


Conversations get triggered exactly when you're walking around, which makes the whole act seem like a stageplay organised by the local Jarl for your amusement.

There are a few NPCs/events that will follow you around the world, they usually just have trouble catching you due to the size of the place and presence of map travel. :) But most of it seems to be trigger oriented, though that's pretty much standard of how any NPCs handles content the player can get involved in, so I don't see what the problem is there?

There are NPCs who go about their business that doesn't involve the player, too. Like hunters hunting game (and getting killed by level scaled animals later on), the Companions being out on missions, College mages doing errands in Winterhold, etc. They seem to do that even when the player isn't around since I've stumbled upon their handiwork (and occasionally corpses) when exploring. :)


Nobody seems to mind you jumping and throwing things around while these conversations are going on

Hey, don't make them change that. It's bad enough that the guards keep whining about me Shouting in town. Wouldn't want them to get on my case about a well placed FUS RO DAH right at the well laid dining table in the grand hall. Excellent way to relieve pressure. :¬:


and the best part is, if you leave one and return to the spot later, they resume their conversation from the START, presumably after whispering "Oh look, it's that guy, let's start over from the top so he doesn't miss anything in his/her eavesdropping."

Probably a player convenience thing since it is easy to miss parts of conversation, especially if there are several other NPCs who talk about something in the immediate area or something else distracts you.


You could say I'm nitpicking a game that's too vast in size to be so intricately managed

You're nitpicking a game that's too vast in size to be so intricately managed. :¬:


This game is pretending to be a vast simulation of an RPG, and it fails at creating the most semblance of a living, breathing world. It's a cardboard world where you're expected to supply 90% of the make-believe.

Sure, there's a lot to be desired still if ultra-realism is what you are looking for. But with every TES game they seem to be getting a bit further in that direction (and then the modders boost the level of realism exponentially over the following years once the Construction Kits are released). So maybe at The Elder Scrolls 100 we'll get there. :p

Got lost in a few more hours in this game and I'm loving it now. I tricked myself into thinking that not being able to see my enemies is more fun which helps. I also changed my playstyle a bit and I'm really enjoying it. I guess what I could say is that I was really unimpressed with the intro, but I'll live.

Edit: Anyone wanna talk about the civil war questline? I (a Nord) chose Stormcloaks this time around. The quests are great fun but they really really don't allow any flexibility. The siege of Whiterun quest was really fun (like I said) but I didn't really agree with how that went. I really liked the Jarl, he was wicked chill, but I have no idea why he would have Whiterun fight against the Stormcloaks.

I've apparently logged 227 hours in this game so far.:nut: Almost all with one character. (I've started a few characters, but they are mainly waiting in Riverrun until I want them) Unbelievable - I'm still finding new places - caves, towers, etc.

I'm playing a sneaky, dark elf archer with one-handed and magic backup. Also loving the smithing and enchanting. Alchemy gets a little dull, though.

Would love to chat about the civil war quest line, but in depth discussion will have to await another day when my head is clearer. I also went with the Stormcloaks for the first game. Pretty sure the Jarl only fought against the stormcloaks because he couldn't stand Ulfric. Gerdur mentioned that there was bad blood between the two of them. The old Gray-Mane who became Jarl after was great though.

I've apparently logged 227 hours in this game so far.:nut: Almost all with one character. (I've started a few characters, but they are mainly waiting in Riverrun until I want them) Unbelievable - I'm still finding new places - caves, towers, etc.

I can't tell if you mean Riverwood or Whiterun, but I think you've been reading too much A Song of Ice and Fire.

I can't tell if you mean Riverwood or Whiterun, but I think you've been reading too much A Song of Ice and Fire.

Whoops! You're right - I meant Riverwood. Knew my head was foggy today.

What sort of characters are you guys playing?

I'm playing a female high elf most skilled in one-handed weapons. She used destruction magic extensively in the beginning but is now more interested in Restoration. Wears heavy armour and does sneaky archery whenever possible. Also, uses the Fury spell whenever possible, because she is a High Elf and should be ashamed not to use Illusion spells.

All my characters have been male Nords.

Proficient with two-handed (wildlife control/mobs), one-handed/shield (bosses/archers), and dual-wield (dragons). Mixes it up with both light and heavy armor (Studded leather upon arriving in Riverwood, Wolf after joining the Companions, Stormcloak/Officer during the Civil War, then switches over to steel plate for the main quest). I drop a couple of points in Speech to make trading more effective, but mostly I'm just a tank that relies on good Skyforge steel and handful of shouts to save the world.

It drives Mimi nuts, but character doesn't pick locks or loot weapons/armor. With the exception of Wuuthrad, Wolf armor, and the gifted Skyforge weapon, I don't use anything that I didn't craft myself after digging the materials out the ground or skin off something I killed.

A male Breton. Arch-Mage and werewolf. Uses destruction spells like flames and firebolt. He lives at The College of Winterhold and does most of his business in Whiterun. He also loves to fight dragons. Always standing his ground and never running.

When not on a quest he is exploring Skyrim looking for valuables.

A male Redguard hunter. Archery + light armor + sneak. Leather armor & hunting bow. Staying away from the civil war quests (or any faction for that matter). Occupation: stalking wildlife, Falmer and Forsworn :D

male Bosmer - Rogue/Assassin. (Still on the same character :lol: )

Archery for main, Alchemy & Magic Summons supported since I'm squishy.
Potioning up compensates for all the skills/perks that I bypassed to max out alchemy/sneak/archery trees.

When things get up and personal, switch to waraxe/shield or dual wield daggers when I need things to end quickly (and quietly).

Logged, ahem... several hours so I'm decked out in Nightingale gear with Brotherhood gauntlets (double sneak attack damage) :devsmoke:

Nord female with fur in her ears (according to some of the guards). Main weapon two handed great sword enchanted with fire and wears Ancient Nord Armor crafted at the Skyforge.

Skilled in two-handed and speechcraft, she will try to talk her way out of a fight, but is more than capable of beating someone upside the head should that fail. She has a house in Whiterun where her wife Camilla Valerius has set up shop.

http://www.lucasforums.com/picture.php?albumid=686&pictureid=8713)

Unlike Achilles, she isn’t above picking a lock or stripping an enemy of all their goods for profit. She does not steal (at least from the living) and she doesn’t murder the innocent. Although she isn't above assault if you get in her way. She is head of the The College of Winterhold, but isn’t really into magic, but is smart enough to know that a well placed fireball can keep the frost trolls away. She is the leader of The Companions, but likes exploring Skyrim alone.

Vampire and Dragons beware, Angel is lurking somewhere in Skyrim (Although she is hibernating right now as I’m busy with TOR).

She does not steal (at least form the living) and she doesn’t murder the innocent. Although she isn't above assault if you get in her way. Nope, sorry. Being a true son of Skyrim, Thalmor and Legion scum are kill on sight.

Haven't had a problem with the Legion, but the Thalmor have attacked me on sight since the beginning. The Thalmor patrols and the Dark Brotherhood assassins make sure Angel stays on her toes. Got her a Tavern Dress to wear in town, but the Dark Brotherhood even attacked Angel in the darker part of Riften. So she pretty much has to stick with the armor. Still haven't figure out whom I ticked off enough to sic the Dark Brotherhood on me.

Darn, you all are going to make me put TOR into Carbonite Freeze to play Skyrim. To many games, not enough time.

I am a Nord female thief, dark-haired and blue-eyed with a smile on her lips at all times :p I'm only level 13 or somesuch but i'm cultivating a Robin Hood style thieve from the rich, give to the poor sort of attitude. Try not to kill too many people and be overall 'good' in a free-spirited sort of way. Also intend to join the Nightingales, if i can figure out how to actually go about doing this :) and intend to join up with the stormcloaks when i finally get round to heading to Windhelm, but there are just too many distractions in Riften/Solitude/Whiterun - the only cities i've visited so far haha.

Also started a male imperial. Intended to make him look like Kit Harrington/Jon Snow, but ended up with a sort of grizzled Orlando Bloom. ho-hum. Not really sure where to take this guy, wavering between profit-minded mercenary ******* or duty-driven, sad-eyed wandering warrior.

Male Nord Battlemage/Spellsword, whatever you want to call it. One-handed swords or battle axes with destruction/restoration magic. Heavy armor too. Sometimes I use a bow if I want to initiate combat from further away.

I'm really liking this playstyle. It's just so much fun with all the options. Thinking of making a Dark Elf assassin type next :)

Haven't had a problem with the LegionYou mean except the part where they try to give your head a free vacation from your neck in the opening minutes of the game? :xp:

With a name like Angel, she is all about that forgive and forget nonsense. :)

You mean except the part where they try to give your head a free vacation from your neck in the opening minutes of the game? :xp:

To quote General Tullius, "I'm sure it was all just some misunderstanding". Now get back to fighting for the legion, we have no policies barring former prisoners from joining our ranks as auxilliaries tasked with super-critical missions.

Everyone seems to be playing Nords. Is this for story/lore reasons? I'm guessing it does make more sense (or seems more romantic) for a dragonborn to be a Nord. But why no love for Argonians? xD

Everyone seems to be playing Nords. Is this for story/lore reasons? I'm guessing it does make more sense (or seems more romantic) for a dragonborn to be a Nord. Same reason I play Morrowind as a Dunmer and Oblivion as an Imperial.

When in Rome, right?

What sort of characters are you guys playing?

I've made 4 characters so far at various stages of completion:
3014

First character is a Nord, since I always make my first char in Elder Scrolls games a native of the province where the game takes place. She was mostly experimental to try out the game mechanics, but eventually settled on being a light-armored skirmisher dual-wielding longswords. Gotten up to level 42 finishing the main plot, the College plot and various side quests and she is now in hibernation.

Second character is a Breton girl. While she's primarily a mage mastering all schools except for Illusion she's not beyond unsheathing Dawnbreaker whenever that would better serve her. Wears light armor (legendary-upgraded hide armor) and prefers to sneak around to gain the initiative in fights. My most accomplished character so far, at level 64. She has finished the main plot, mastered all the Shouts, is Harbinger of the Companions, Archmage of the College, a member of the Bards College, Thane of all holds in Skyrim except Windhelm, owns a house in every city where one is available, and has wiped the Dark Brotherhood from the face of Tamriel for having the audacity to come after her. She has not gotten involved in the civil war though since she feels both leaders are jerks and neither side's cause is noble.

Third character is a Redguard woman, focusing on straight melee combat with heavy armor and wielding a twohanded greatsword. My least played/accomplished character so far, at level 18 having not really done anything of note yet, mostly delving into crypts and dungeons looking for Word Walls.

Fourth (and current) character is a wood elf girl. True to the bosmer stereotype she's a sniper archer, focusing primarily on Sneak and Archery, though she's fairly accomplished at Conjuration as well since she uses a Bound Bow as her primary weapon ever since she found a Tome teaching it in an old ruin, fairly early on. She has also dabbled enough in Illusion to pick up the Quiet Casting perk. Rather frail (since she almost never gets hit her armor skills are abysmally low) but with frightening damage output (I'd guess about 99% of her arrows are sneak attacks), she relies on surprise, speed and evasion to take out enemies. At level 38 currently, having finished the main plot and working her way through the College and Companions plots. She was approached by the Thieves Guild, but since every single member of the Guild she's run into so far seemed to be nothing but jerks and lowly thugs doing the bidding of the local crime boss she declined to join them. (Missing the Robin Hood styled thief quests that Morrowind had...)



I'm playing a female high elf most skilled in one-handed weapons.

Is it just my view being colored by the Thalmor, or is pretty much every single high elf you run across in the game a self-absorbed jerk? It's almost as if they've gone out of their way to make that entire race as unsympathetic as they could in this game. :)

(Almost makes me want to make a High Elf character that's pleasant and helpful to everyone just to offset it. That and the speed/damage advantage they have over all the other races. :))

Haven't had a problem with the Legion, but the Thalmor have attacked me on sight since the beginning. The Thalmor patrols and the Dark Brotherhood assassins make sure Angel stays on her toes.

The Thalmor and Dark Brotherhood attacks are a bit peculiar. I never got attacked by either (outside of quests) on my first Nord character, while both have come after my other characters. I got attacked by a Thalmor patrol on sight with my wood elf before having done any quests at all aside from escaping from Helgen, so it seems them going after you is automatic and not due to something you do. (The leader of the patrol has the Execution orders letter on her.)

Either I got lucky or it seems the DB assassins stop attacking if you eradicate the Dark Brotherhood. My breton never saw one of them again after cleaning out their sanctuary at least. Would make sense, but so far this game hasn't been very big on making consequences of your actions manifest in-game other than the odd random encounter, so you never know. :)

To quote General Tullius, "I'm sure it was all just some misunderstanding".

I've stayed away from both the Legion and Stormcloaks on all my characters so far, since the Empire is corrupt, nepotistic, decadent and on the verge of collapse, and Ulfric and his cronies are Nord Supremacists who care more about their own power than the well-being of the people of Skyrim (that and how Ulfric treated the native bretons of the Reach, resulting in the current Forsworn situation).

Also, it seems like regardless of which side you join you have no choice but to make the local crime boss into Jarl in one of the major cities (Thongvor Silver-Blood becomes Jarl of Markarth if you join the Stormcloaks, Maven Black-Briar Jark of Riften if you join the Imperials). Though it seems the former can't be avoided since Tullius just folds over and gives Ulfric Markarth during the main plot no matter what you do. :roleyess:


Everyone seems to be playing Nords. Is this for story/lore reasons? I'm guessing it does make more sense (or seems more romantic) for a dragonborn to be a Nord. But why no love for Argonians? xD

My first character in Morrowind was a Dark Elf, and in Oblivion an Imperial, so it's sort of tradition to make a native of the province the game takes part in as first character. In Morrowind and Oblivion(?) it was also helpful since you got a Disposition bonus when talking to NPCs of the same race as you, and the "native" race had the most NPCs by far.

It might apply to a lesser degree in Skyrim as well. While the Disposition system is gone many Nords seem to be racists to some degree so you might get treated better by a few of them if you're a fellow Nord. :)


Now get back to fighting for the legion, we have no policies barring former prisoners from joining our ranks as auxilliaries tasked with super-critical missions.

He wouldn't be the first general in history to use convicts or others considered to be expendable as shock troops and send them on highly dangerous missions. :)

I'm level 6 Redguard: black, clean-shaved, massive and muscular and with a penchant for two-handed warhammers (which doesn't seem like a wise choice from what I've heard about dual-wielding). I'm a sellsword with a peculiar sense of moral (already challenged the Daedric Prince Hircine once and took what I thought was the lesser bounty because I didn't like the idea of hunting someone that was outnumbered).

It might apply to a lesser degree in Skyrim as well. While the Disposition system is gone many Nords seem to be racists to some degree so you might get treated better by a few of them if you're a fellow Nord.A few people are openly hostile to my Redguard character but most don't seem to mind so far. I'm guessing things are a bit more tricky if you'er an elf.

But why no love for Argonians? xDSkyrim has not enough rivers and no marsh to speak of, I believe. :(

A few people are openly hostile to my Redguard character but most don't seem to mind so far. I'm guessing things are a bit more tricky if you'er an elf.
Yeah, my Bosmer is always catching grief... Get a lot of "YOUR KIND" comments directed towards me. :¬:

I want to play a Khajit just to see how they explain letting me in the cities and not the trade caravans. Kinda sucks not having cities with a flavor of races (or treating non-Nord like dirt if they are present).. but I gotta give props to Beth for making me miss it. :)

I want to play a Khajit just to see how they explain letting me in the cities and not the trade caravans.

Yup. I started to play a Khajiit for just that reason and all I got was: "Stay out of trouble Khajiit." and "What do you want... cat?"

I would welcome a little open hostility from the locals, actually. :D Kinda wish Beth made a similar system like Bioware in Dragon Age: Origins, i.e. despite being a Warden, you would still be treated as dirt if you're an elf amongst humans.

Yup. I started to play a Khajiit for just that reason and all I got was: "Stay out of trouble Khajiit." and "What do you want... cat?"

I would welcome a little open hostility from the locals, actually. :D Kinda wish Beth made a similar system like Bioware in Dragon Age: Origins, i.e. despite being a Warden, you would still be treated as dirt if you're an elf amongst humans.

Overall it seems like your race matters very little other than the occasional "What do you want little elf?" oneliner from Nord NPCs. Even the Thalmor goons are cackling about elven supremacy and mankind knowing its place while fighting my wood elf. :wonder:

But I guess most NPCs have better things to do than picking on the weird bosmer that could kill them without lifting a finger. :)

Speaking of NPC feedback, it would have been a nice touch if the bards in taverns were singing about your feat after finishing the main quest. Vanquishing Alduin, a deity of the Nordic pantheon, does seem like it would be good bards tale material. Sure, they do get a new song after you finish the main quest, but for some reason they're singing about the confrontation between Alduin and Felldir, Hakon and Gormlaith thousands of years ago instead. :raise:

Was wondering which side everyone chose (if they have yet) Imperials or Stormcloaks?

I am undecided right now.

I chose the Imperials because I really dislike Ulfric and his men acting like local, racist bullies. Glory to the Empire!

Was wondering which side everyone chose (if they have yet) Imperials or Stormcloaks?

I am undecided right now.

I've stayed out of the Civil War entirely on all my characters since neither side has a just cause or sympathetic leadership. No matter which side you'd pick there would be unpleasant consequences.

The Empire:
Seems to be just one step away from total collapse. Rampant corruption, nepotistic rule, the justice system has all but collapsed (they were about to lop your head off without even being accused of anything), having the right connections allows you to get away with anything. Allows the Thalmor to do whatever they want within imperial territories and even lends them a hand on occasion.

If you aid them Maven Black-Briar (the local crime boss) will be installed as Jarl of Riften since she has connections in the Imperial City. (She gets my top vote for #1 NPC to deserve losing her Essential/Unkillable flag.)

The Stormcloaks:
Nord Supremacists, wants to toss out or subjugate all non-Nords in Skyrim. Racists looking down on all who aren't a Nord, which is evident for anyone spending any time talking to people in Windhelm, Ulfric's capital.

After taking back The Reach and Markarth from its native Breton population (who at the time were on the verge of being recognized as a independent kingdom by the Empire) Ulfric ruthlessly persecuted anyone who had cooperated in any way with that kingdom and essentially enslaved the natives, resulting in the forming of the Forsworn movement by survivors who fled into the wilderness. (See the in-game book Bear of Markarth for the history of that.) Ulfric Stormcloak is not a nice guy by any standards. The Greybeards certainly aren't picky who they choose to train in using the Voice.

If you help the Stormcloaks then Thongvor Silver-Blood ends up being Jarl of Markarth. The Silver-Blood family's criminal activities are quite evident in the game, and they look upon the native bretons as little more than slave labor meant to toil in the mines.

...

So yeah. I'll let them kill each other and then build something new and better on the ashes instead when they're done. :p

I joined the Stormcloaks with my first character, but next I'm going to stay out of the war and try the negotiating a peace treaty option.

Both sides have reasons for and against, I'm sure one of my characters will work for the empire despite that little "misunderstanding" in the prologue.

My first character went Stormcloaks, purely because he was a Nord. I hate both, though.

I joined the Stormcloaks with my first character, but next I'm going to stay out of the war and try the negotiating a peace treaty option.

Both sides have reasons for and against, I'm sure one of my characters will work for the empire despite that little "misunderstanding" in the prologue.

Peace Treaty? That's an option? I have not played very far through the main story so I'm guessing this will be a later option. I think I'll go for that because it sounds like both sides need to "kiss and make up".

Think of it more like a "temporary cessation of hostilities", than a full-on "peace treaty".

FWIW, I intentionally do the civil war quest before the main quest just to avoid this part. The writing isn't bad, but it's just one more thing in Skyrim that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

FWIW, I intentionally do the civil war quest before the main quest just to avoid this part. The writing isn't bad, but it's just one more thing in Skyrim that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Yeah, I thought it was really poorly done. Didn't quite know what was happening or who anyone was talking to.

I went Stormcloaks with my first character pretty much just because he's a Nord and the Empire head cutting attempt and everything. It seems like you can only see how douchey each side is after you join them which is pretty annoying. That said though, I thought the quests were at least good fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z9TdDCWN7g)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNDT7EInclo)



She has such a beautiful voice.

This was so hilarious I had to share it with you guys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEMD28MMtNg)

Haha Oops duplicate. I do love this game though it is the newest game I have played and I am playing it on my new laptop so the graphics are supreme!

Thanks mods for moving post.

1.4 Patch and CK release coming soon!

The Creation Kit and Steam Workshop are nearly ready. We’re currently working with members of Valve and our modding community to do some final testing, and we’re on track for a public release near the end of the month.

Source (http://www.bethblog.com/2012/01/19/news-on-the-creation-kit-and-game-updates)

ChAiNz, you gotta translate for Bethesda time. "Soon" = about 4 weeks.

EDIT: Just like "very close (http://www.vg247.com/2011/07/07/creation-kit-release-to-come-at-least-very-close-to-skyrim-launch-says-howard/)") = more than 70 days

Oh I hope they fix the bloating issue. Whenever my save gets over 19mb my game crashes in some specific locations. If I manage to lower my save game to about 18.7mb (after eating all my ingredients, food as well as selling all my unused items and sleeping for days and days), everything functions normally again...but I can only do this once or twice as data continues to accumulate :mad: Unfortunately it is not clear whether or not they address this issue.

She has such a beautiful voice.I'd be nice if we could hear it...I wonder what it would sound like without the excessive reverb?

I hope they fix the forsworn quest issue that keeps me from entering markarth now....

I'd be nice if we could hear it...I wonder what it would sound like without the excessive reverb?

Don't pretty much all artists nowadays use tons of sound processing and effects in studio recordings? Doesn't bother me if it fits the song, which I think the kind of ghostly effect it produces does in this case. :)

(Just makes it troublesome when performing live if you're used to doing a 10 man choir on your own I guess :))

I hope they fix the forsworn quest issue that keeps me from entering markarth now....

What's the Forsworn Quest Issue? Only problem I've experienced with the Forsworn Conspiracy so far is that if I do it after the local crime syndicate (Silver-Blood) has been installed as Jarl the Stormcloak town guards won't stay dead for more than a few days. :raise:

(Well, that and my previously unblemished criminal record getting stuck with a "Largest lifetime bounty" stat of 1000 after doing it. :roleyess: )

1.4 Patch and CK release coming soon!


Very nice. :) A shame it took this long though, if it had been available during the christmas holidays I'd have had more time to play around with the construction kit. Still got some modding done, but doing it low-level with FO3 TESsnip and an incomplete NifSkope is rather bothersome.

I just hope they've tested this patch properly too so it doesn't cause more problems than it solves, like the earlier ones. Maybe I can finally take Steam out of Offline Mode then and upgrade from Skyrim v1.1.21 :)

ChAiNz, you gotta translate for Bethesda time. "Soon" = about 4 weeks.

EDIT: Just like "very close (http://www.vg247.com/2011/07/07/creation-kit-release-to-come-at-least-very-close-to-skyrim-launch-says-howard/)") = more than 70 days

:lol: True enough

Soon™ ;)

supposedly before the end of the month.. so they have about 11 days to prove themselves liars :devsmoke:


Still.. I hope it's relatively soon™ :D