| 1. General |
1.2 What platforms will Oblivion come out for?
1.3 What about the PS3 and Revolution?
1.4 What is the release date?
1.5 What are the system requirements?
1.6 Will there be a Construction Set released?
1.7 Downloadable content for the 360? Does that mean console users can get mods for their games?
1.8 Will there be support for multiplayer in Oblivion?
1.9 Has there been any video footage of Oblivion?
1.10 Will there once again be a 1st/3rd person view toggle?
1.11 How many hours of gameplay will Oblivon offer?
1.12 Will the game console still be around for PC users?
1.13 Will there be a demo of the game released?
| 2. Plot |
| 3. Game World |
3.2 How will the borders in the game be handled this time? TESIII had endless ocean but seeing as Cyrodiil isn't surrounded by water how will things be done?
3.3 What about the interaction between the player and the environment?
3.4 What is this compass I keep hearing of?
3.5 Will there be banks in Oblivion?
3.6 What factions will there be?
| 4. Travel |
4.2 Will you be able to fight from the back of your horse?
4.3 Will there be other mounts than horses?
| 5. Player Character |
5.2 How will character creation happen this time?
5.3 Will there be vampires and/or werewolves? And will the player be able to become one?
5.4 Will the player be able to get a husband/wife?
5.5 Will the player character age in the game?
5.6 Will the age you pick affect your starting stats?
5.7 Can the player get a house of his/her own this time without having to kill the former owner?
5.8 Will eating and drinking be compulsory? Do we have to eat in order to survive?
5.9 Will there be jobs in the game for the player?
5.10 Can we still see the health status of our opponent, like through some kind of health bar on the screen?
| 6. NPCs and Creatures |
6.2 If you kill a lot of NPCs, will the game perhaps generate some new NPCs somewhere in the game? Will new NPCs be added when other NPCs die?
6.3 Exactly which NPCs will respawn?
6.4 Will we still get the "Doomed World" message if we kill a NPC that is vital to the mainquest?
6.5 Will the NPCs age during the game?
6.6 What is this Radiant AI? What does it exactly do?
6.7 What about NPCs and stealing? Are they able to rob me?
6.8 Will there be kids in TESIV?
6.9 Will certain NPCs from previous games make a return in Oblivion?
6.10 What creatures will there be?
| 7. Dialogue |
7.2 What about the player? Will your character speak?
| 8. Combat |
8.2 Do we still have to enter the spellcast-mode when we want to use spells in combat?
8.3 What's this I hear about crossbows and throwing weapons not being in the game?
8.4 What are some of the things that have been done about archery?
8.5 What about dual wielding?
8.6 Can we cut off the limbs of our opponents while fighting?
8.7 What about attacks directed at vital body parts, like the head?
8.8 Will yielding be in the game? If so, can both the PC and the NPCs do it?
8.9 Will armor affect your spellcasting ability?
8.10 What's this about running not draining your fatigue?
| 9. Items |
9.2 Can the player set traps?
9.3 What armor types have been confirmed?
9.4 Can we use keys for locking doors?
9.5 Will there be some kind of keychains so that you can gather all your keys in one place?
9.6 Will there be other types of money than gold, like perhaps silver or bronze?
9.7 What will happen when your weapon's or shield's condition goes down to zero? Will it just brake like it did in Morrowind, become unusable and go into your inventory?
9.8 What's the word on books in the game?
| 10. Skills |
10.2 Will there be a climbing skill?
10.3 How many skills will there be?
| 11. Miscellaneous |
11.2 Will there be Cliff Racers in TESIV?
| 1. General |
1.1 What is Oblivion?
Oblivion is the newest announced installment of the Elder Scrolls series.
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1.2 What platforms will Oblivion come out for?
Currently, both a PC and X-Box 360 have been announced.
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1.3 What about the PS3 and Revolution?
Nothing has been said about a possible PS3 or Reolution version.
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1.4 What is the release date?
The most recent announced release date is "Early 2006" for both the PC and X-Box 360 version.
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1.5 What are the system requirements?
Neither the system requirements nor the recommendations have been announced yet. They will be given closer to the release of the game.
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1.6 Will there be a Construction Set released?
Yes, the PC version will be shipped with the Construction Set. The X-Box 360 version will not include the Set though, but Bethesda has said that there will be downloadable content for the X-Box 360 via Live for Oblivion.
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1.7 Downloadable content for the 360? Does that mean console users can get mods for their games?
Perhaps, but doubtfully user-made ones. Official mods and patches is probably what will be available via Live.
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1.8 Will there be support for multiplayer in Oblivion?
Simply said, no. TESIV: Oblivion will not have any kind of multiplayer component to it. Bethesda have stated that they want to put all their resources into making Oblivion the best singleplayer experience they can.
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1.9 Has there been any video footage of Oblivion?
Yes, a trailer was released during the E3 this year. You can find the trailer here: Movie section on Www.elderscrolls.com
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1.10 Will there once again be a 1st/3rd person view toggle?
Yes, we can still choose between first and third person view. However, even though certain combat moves will make the player character spin the first person view will not spin during the move.
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1.11 How many hours of gameplay will Oblivon offer?
In an interview Gavin Carter(kathode), producer, said it will take you about 30 hours to complete the mainquest if you rush through it. However, doing everything in the game will take over 150-200 hours.
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1.12 Will the game console still be around for PC users?
Yes, the console and the console commands will still be in. The console is something the developers use while making the game and it will be shipped with the game.
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1.13 Will there be a demo of the game released?
No, there will not be a demo of The Elders Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
| 2. Plot |
2.1 What is the main plot of the game?
The game takes place in the end of the Third Era, in about the year 433. The player once again starts off in a prison, which has evolved into an Elder scrolls tradition by now. After some time the current Emperor of Tamriel, Uriel Septim VII, comes running towards your prison cell. Apparently, his life is in danger, as he is pursued by assassins. Much to the player's surprise, there appears to be a secret passage that happens to lead out from the players cell. However, the Emperor does not manage to escape. Eventually, he is mortally wounded, and with his last breath he asks you to find his lost Heir and to give the Heir the Amulet of Kings, which is a symbol of the Emperor.
With the Emperor's death, the Gates to Oblivion now open. Oblivion being the realm of an immortal race called the Daedra. Now, the realm of Oblivion is as colorful as the real world. Likewise is there a broad variety in the Daedra and their nature. There are "good" Daedra and there are "bad" Daedra. However, those are but mere words that should not be taken too seriously. It all comes down to the viewpoint of every individual.
Still, the Daedra that do come into Cyrodiil appear to be quite hostile, and the closest word for their actions would be an invasion.
So it's up to the player to find the lost Heir and close the Gates of Oblivion with his help.
Seeing, however, as Oblivion is a TES game there is still the nice little thing called freedom. The player will never be forced to do anything. In other words, the mainquest is optional. If you don't feel like saving the world, then don't.
| 3. Game World |
3.1 How big will the game be compared with TESIII: Morrowind?
Oblivion's landmass will be bigger than Morrowind's. The game will be about 16 square miles (40 kmC2B2). Half of this will be forest areas.
The game will take place in Cyrodiil, the Imperial Province. There will be nine main cities in the game along with a lot of smaller settlements spread across the province. Also, there will be about 200 or more dungeons for the player to explore.
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3.2 How will the borders in the game be handled this time? TESIII had endless ocean but seeing as Cyrodiil isn't surrounded by water how will things be done?
Physical barriers whereever possible, like mountains for example. The rest of the world will have an invisible wall around it, which will stop the player from going too far. Note that these invisible barriers can be removed or replaced using the Construction Set, to the joy of modders out there.
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3.3 What about the interaction between the player and the environment?
Oblivion will use the Havok physics engine. So objects will behave quite realistically in the game. For example, items will fall if the player bumps into them and logs will roll down hills if nothing holds them back. There will be over 9000 physically modeled objects in the game that you can manipulate. In other words, you will be able to pick up and throw items around.
Also, arrows will no longer disappear when you shoot them in the world. If aimed at the right surface, they will stick to the surface and you can go retrieve them. If it's a hard surface the arrows will just bounce off, and probably fall to the ground.
Spells will also effect the environment. However, with the lack of more info about the magic that's about everything we know. We do know that the telekinesis spell, among others, is getting a major overhaul. Telekinesis will now let you throw things around you without even touching them.
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3.4 What is this compass I keep hearing of?
The compass is something that will help the player navigate the world. It will point out important places for the current quest that the player has active.
Also, judging by the developers' comments it can easily be ignored in case it is not wanted.
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3.5 Will there be banks in Oblivion?
There will be no banks.
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3.6 What factions will there be?
Currently 5 factions have been confirmed to be in the game. The Fighters' Guild, Mages' Guild, Thieves' Guild, Arena Guild and the Dark Brotherhood.
The Fighters' Guild and its purpose is quite obvious. It's for people who prefer fighters and who like a bit of melee combat every now and then.
The Mages' Guild is obviously directed at the spellslingers out there.
The Thieves' Guild is for those who feel like a bit of sneaking around and "accidentally" slipping things into their pockets.
The Dark Brotherhood is for all assassin-fans out there. You get a contract on a person, find him/her and one throat-cut later you'll be a few septims richer.
The Arena Guild lets you fight a variety of NPCs. Even after you have "completed" the Guild there will probably still be fights waiting for you at the Guild.
You will also be able to bet on the fights that take place in the Arena.
Each faction will be like a small mainquest of its own, with a lot of depth to them and their own plotlines.
Both the Nine Divines and the Imperial Legion have been confirmed not to be joinable factions.
| 4. Travel |
4.1 What kind of travel options will there be besides walking/running?
There will be horses in the game that you can ride to get almost anywhere. The horses will not be some kind of being that you can summon and then vanishes, but they will be actual creatures in the game. When you don't need a horse you can take it to a stable in a city and keep it there.
Also, there will be a fast travel system in the game. Basically, you can use the fast travel to instantly get anywhere you have been before. Also, you can immediately get to any of the nine major cities even though you haven't been there before.
However, you cannot use the fast travel when you are in an interior cell or in combat.
When you do use the fast travel system the time in the game still moves on. So even though you are instantly taken somewhere it could mean that hours if not days have passed in the game. So if you are poisoned and use the fast travel you might end up dead.
Further,your skills won't rise if you use fast travel. So basically, you'll be missing all the training you'd get if you'd run or walk instead.
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4.2 Will you be able to fight from the back of your horse?
No, Oblivion will not have mounted combat. If you are attacked while riding you need to get down from the horse or try to escape. Also, your horse can fight back if threatened and if mortally wounded it can die.
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4.3 Will there be other mounts than horses?
No, only horses.
| 5. Player Character |
5.1 What are the races you can play as?
All 10 Morrowind races have been confirmed to be in. In other words; Imperial, Nord, Breton, Redguard, Altmer (High Elf), Bosmer (Wood Elf), Dunmer (Dark Elf), Orc, Khajiit and Argonian.
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5.2 How will character creation happen this time?
As you escape from your prison cell you'll have to make certain decisions. After some time (30 minutes was suggested in an interview) a man will approach you and suggest a class based on the actions that you made during the beginning.
However, it will only be a suggestion. We will still be able to choose whatever class we want and even make our own custom classes.
As for the character's appearance, there will be some new choices available. For example, your age will effect your appearance. So there will probably be an age slider of some sort in the game itself.
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5.3 Will there be vampires and/or werewolves? And will the player be able to become one?
Vampires have been confirmed to be in the game, and from the sounds of it, the player can once again become a vampire.
Werewolves have been confirmed not to be in TES4: Oblvion.
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5.4 Will the player be able to get a husband/wife?
No, there will be no marriage in the game. Friends would seem to be the closest thing to relationships that you can get.
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5.5 Will the player character age in the game?
No, there will be no aging during the game for the PC nor the NPCs. The age you pick at the beginning will be your age for the entire game.
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5.6 Will the age you pick affect your starting stats?
No, your age does not affect your stats in any way. It's only for the looks.
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5.7 Can the player get a house of his/her own this time without having to kill the former owner?
Yes, this time the player will be able to buy a house in the game. The houses are, however, quite expensive from the sounds of it.
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5.8 Will eating and drinking be compulsory? Do we have to eat in order to survive?
No, neither eating nor drinking will be compulsory. Food and drinks might boost your stats but that's it.
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5.9 Will there be jobs in the game for the player?
No actual jobs that you can have. Nothing like opening your own store and having your own business. The closest thing will be all the quests out there.
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5.10 Can we still see the health status of our opponent, like through some kind of health bar on the screen?
Yes, there will be an indicator on the screen that tells you the health of your target.
| 6. NPCs and Creatures |
6.1 How many NPCs will there be in the world?
There will be about 1500 NPCs in the game. Or as Gavin Carter (kathode), one of the producers, said: "However many it takes for the game to feel"
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6.2 If you kill a lot of NPCs, will the game perhaps generate some new NPCs somewhere in the game? Will new NPCs be added when other NPCs die?
No. Some NPCs will respawn though.
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6.3 Exactly which NPCs will respawn?
Some of them will. For example, guards and bandits.
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6.4 Will we still get the "Doomed World" message if we kill a NPC that is vital to the mainquest?
It was earlier stated that you would be forced to reload a previous game if you killed an essential NPC. However, as a lot of other things, it was changed during development.
Currently, essential NPCs will not die but instead they will go "unconscious", only to return after some time. Once they've done their part in the mainquest, they'll probably be regarded as normal NPCs once again.
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6.5 Will the NPCs age during the game?
No. Just like the player character the NPCs will not age.
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6.6 What is this Radiant AI? What does it exactly do?
The Radiant AI is the new AI for the NPCs and creatures that Bethesda have created. Basically it means that the NPCs will have certain goals that they will try to achieve. Eating, sleeping, training and reading. All are examples of what the NPCs can and will do. Further, it's a 24/7 system, meaning the NPCs will move all of them time, even when the player is not around.
As to what exactly the NPCs can do; Whatever the player can do, the NPCs can do as well.
Also, NPCs will interact with each other. You'll be seeing NPCs talking about random topics on the streets when you walk past them for example. This is actually how you'll be getting some of the quests in the game, by hearing the conversation between NPCs.
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6.7 What about NPCs and stealing? Are they able to rob me?
The NPCs can pick up items that they find lying around. However, they will not rob you unless told to do so with their AI package. Further, you can always lock your house.
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6.8 Will there be kids in TESIV?
There will not be any children in the game.
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6.9 Will certain NPCs from previous games make a return in Oblivion?
They might make a small appearance but that's probably it. The developers want "each game to stand on its own".
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6.10 What creatures will there be?
So far the following creatures have been announced or seen in screenshots:
Skeleton, Zombie, Lich, Ogre, Troll, Goblin, Daedroth, Clannfear, Minotaur, Dremora, Deer, Dog, Rat and Sheep. There has also been some footage of a scorpion-like creature that could be a Spider Daedra.
| 7. Dialogue |
7.1 What about the dialogue in the game?
Every single line of dialogue has voice-overs. Meaning everything that the NPCs say will be spoken as the text shows up. Note that conversations that take place between NPCs will not show any text on the screen though, you can just hear their conversation.It has been said that there is at least 50 hours of recorded speech right now in the game, taking up half the storage room of a 9 GB DVD.
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7.2 What about the player? Will your character speak?
No, the player character will not have any spoken dialogue. You're still the Silent Hero. There will probably be the basic sounds though, like grunts when you are hit.
| 8. Combat |
8.1 What about the combat? Anything new in that field?
A lot of things has been said about combat. First, there will be no more to-hit chance. A hit is a hit. No more ethereal targets that make your weapon go through the enemy, indicating a miss. However, the damage you deal will still heavily rely on stats. Your skill, strength, luck, the target's luck and armor rating will all determine how much damage you actually cause to your opponent.
Also, there will be power attacks. These are excecuted when you hold down the attack button for a longer time. As your skill increase you will get access to new power attacks.
Blocking is no longer something that happens on its own either. It will now be completely manual and controlled by the player. When blocking, you will use the shield if you carry one, if you don't have a shield you will block with your weapon. Apparently, you will even be able to block with your hands when unarmed. However, blocking with your hands will not soak up any damage. Instead, it will just make your opponent recoil if you do get hit while blocking.
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8.2 Do we still have to enter the spellcast-mode when we want to use spells in combat?
No, this time you can keep your weapon in your hands and cast spells at the same time. Spellcasting will be assigned to another button than the action command seen in Morrowind, meaning you just have to push the spellcast button and your character will cast the spell while still holding the weapon.
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8.3 What's this I hear about crossbows and throwing weapons not being in the game?
It has been confirmed that there will be no crossbows nor throwing weapons in the game. Instead, the developers will be putting a lot of work into making the archery system really good.
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8.4 What are some of the things that have been done about archery?
Well, for a starters, arrows will stick into stuff. Enemies, walls, trees, you name it. You can then later go and retrieve them and use them again.
Also, you can use alchemy to make poisons, which can then be applied to your bow(or any other weapon). The poison effect will then be added to the next arrow that you shoot.
Enchantments on the bow will now transfer over to the arrows that you shoot as well.
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8.5 What about dual wielding?
There will be no dual wielding in Oblivion.
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8.6 Can we cut off the limbs of our opponents while fighting?
There will be no dismemberment in Oblivion.
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8.7 What about attacks directed at vital body parts, like the head?
No locational damage either. Characters will have a universal armor rating for their entire body.
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8.8 Will yielding be in the game? If so, can both the PC and the NPCs do it?
Yes, yielding will be in the game. The player can yield by "activating" the opponent during combat. When you try to yield the game checks the NPC's disposition towards the player and based on that decides whether the NPC accepts the yield or not. Creatures will never accept a yield from the player.
There will be situations where the NPCs and creatures will yield to player. Current health, weapon condition, mana status and the disposition towards the player are all things that effect the chance of the NPC/creature to yield when attacked. If the Confidence stat for the NPC/creature is low then they might choose to flee instead of yielding. Accepting the yield ends combat, attacking the yielder again will mean that the fight continues. In this case, the NPC/creature might choose to flee instead of fighting as well.
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8.9 Will armor affect your spellcasting ability?
Yes, the weight of your armor will affect the power of your spells. The heavier the armor, the weaker your spells are. Having a high armor skill will help countering the power-loss, so with some training a mage can wear heavy armor and still cast very powerful spells.
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8.10 What's this about running not draining your fatigue?
Running will not drain your fatigue this time, instead running will just stop your fatigue from replenishing.
Casting spells, performing attacks and such do require fatigue though, and will drain it as you do so.
Having a low fatigue will mean that you will make less effective attacks and it will also effect your spellcasting.
So basically, a low fatigue will mean that you'll have a harder time performing actions.
| 9. Items |
9.1 Will there be any new kinds of traps?
There will be actual physical traps in the game, which you can even trigger without walking into them. Throwing an item at the traps or even shooting them with an arrow will set the trap off.
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9.2 Can the player set traps?
No, we won't be able create our own traps.
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9.3 What armor types have been confirmed?
Elven armor has been seen in a screenshot with a man wearing golden armor. Also, iron armor seems to be what some NPCs are using in the official trailer. Further, the Gamestar video interview gave a quick glimpse of a Construction Set frame. Judging by what was seen, there seems to be at least the following materials: Ebony, Daedric, Elven, Fur, Chainmail and Iron.
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9.4 Can we use keys for locking doors?
No, keys cannot be used to lock doors, only to open them.
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9.5 Will there be some kind of keychains so that you can gather all your keys in one place?
No keychains. Each key will still show as a separate item in your inventory.
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9.6 Will there be other types of money than gold, like perhaps silver or bronze?
No, only gold will be used in the game as money.
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9.7 What will happen when your weapon's or shield's condition goes down to zero? Will it just brake like it did in Morrowind, become unusable and go into your inventory?
When weapons/shields brake they will immediately be dropped to the ground. You can then later pick them up and get them repaired. Broken armor will still stay on, it just won't offer any protection.
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9.8 What's the word on books in the game?
There will be more than 400 books in Oblivion.
| 10. Skills |
10.1 Will there be any changes to Alchemy?
This time around your alchemy skill will determine how many potions can be affecting you at the time. When you reach that limit you'll have to wait for the active potions' effects to wear off before you can use a new potion to aid yourself.
Also, drinking potions is instantenous, meaning that as soon as you "use" the potion you will get the effects.
This time around you can aslo use alchemy to make negative effect potions that will work as poisons when applied to weapons or arrows even. These poisons will be a "one time only" thing though, meaning the effect is temporary and disappears when you hit something with the weapon.
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10.2 Will there be a climbing skill?
No climbing skill in the game.
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10.3 How many skills will there be?
There will be 7 skills for each category (magic, combat, stealth). Some skills from Morrowind have been combined, eg Short and Long Blade have been merged into the Blade skill. Also, all the Morrowind spell schools will still be in.
| 11. Miscellaneous |
11.1 What is Codename Billy?
Not much is known about Billy. However, it has been said that Billy is bigger than a breadbox.
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11.2 Will there be Cliff Racers in TESIV?
No, there will not be Cliff Racers in the game.
(c) 2005 Waiting4Oblivion.com