ghastly – Conicidence! Buffy just did the Cursed Tribe quest. It was hilarious when Malacath told the tribe that they were small, weak and an embarrassment – and that Buffy basically had more stones than any of them! It is pretty neat sometimes when those random road encounters intermix some.

Lopov – Lydia in love! I guess since Lucius couldn’t sleep. . . . Seriously, you've done a nice job of showing how the relationship between Lydia and her Thane has blossomed over time. In a previous playthrough, when Buffy started Solstheim, she loved the Skaal as well. She just couldn’t tolerate the choices needed to complete the main quest on the island though.

Lucius & Lydia sitting in a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes ... uhh..... an adopted child approximately 12 years of age... yeahhh....

Renee, lol!

Lopov, it’s been fun to watch Lucius and Lydia fall in love.

Valdi emerged from the Forgotten Vale a new woman.

The change happened when Knight-Paladin Gelebor offered her Auriel’s Bow. There wasn’t a difference in Valdi, it was in how she saw herself. Valdi the smuggler’s daughter would have uneasily hidden a god’s weapon in her stuff until she could hand it over to someone more worthy. Instead she stood tall and reached for the bow with a calm heart, knowing that she was the right one to wield it.

Then she put away Ma’s axe and hung her Dawnguard one on her hip. She has used her Ma’s axe since Jerric gave it to her outside Hrotanda Vale years ago. Now she carries the one she earned herself as a knight of the Dawnguard. She doesn’t imagine her mother’s judgment anymore. She hears only her own voice in her head. Her past is part of her blood and bones, but it doesn’t define her. Valdi Sun-Storm strides forward (possibly to her death, which she is not OK with but she will still show up to the fight) in the light of Stendarr’s Aura, which is not so much the blessing of a god upon his chosen ones but a spell she worked hard to learn and be able to cast all by herself.

She’s headed back to the Dawnguard fortress to report to the boss. It’s possible that Isran will have other plans for Auriel’s Bow. If so Valdi does not plan to let him take it.

On the way she and Serana stopped in Whiterun to do some trading and clean up a little before returning to Aravi Manor. They had been away from regular people for a long time. Valdi saw the most beautiful sword ever for sale at Adrienne’s. Folk say that Eorland Grey-Mane is the best blah blah blah, whatever. Valdi knows the best when she sees it. She bought the blade for Erik without even thinking about it. That was another eye-opener. Valdi is always a little worried about money. Not any more.

She also sold the rest of her Cure Disease potions. Some time ago Valdi learned a Cure Disease spell from Abiene. (It’s an Adept level spell that I made.) There may be more famous and powerful healers but Abiene is the greatest teacher Valdi has known. Valdi had secretly kept the potions for backup just in case, sort of as a shameful security blanket. Now Valdi just relies on herself to cure those endless Sanguinare Vampiris infections.

Back at Lakeview Manor Valdi changed into a tunic and leggings but didn’t bother with shoes (she hasn’t completely changed) and got to work unpacking and re-packing. She pretty much ignored the adults who had stepped in as parents to love and finish raising her and kept an eye out for Erik. She didn’t want to ask any of them to come with her to face Lord Harkon and probably die, but she planned to offer Erik that option depending on his first words to her. (This is how we let NPCs have at least a little say in what happens. ‘Keeping well, I hope’ or some of his other greetings would have made her leave him alone.)

Erik didn’t show that night. I forgot if I sent him back to Rorikstead or if he still had his Lakeview Manor schedule, so I was curious what would happen. Also Valdi didn’t search high and low for him like she always did in the past, so he could have been outside enjoying his very large wander radius like the rest of them.

She bumped into him right outside the front door the next morning while she was still unarmored and barefoot. “It’s great to see you again! It’s been too quiet without you around.”

Yay! Time to gear up and hit the road. Valdi put her armor on and approached Erik to check his healing potions and give him the sword as a present.

Erik chose that moment to mention her Amulet of Mara, the same one she has been wearing for a while now. She had put it away in disgust with herself when she realized that Erik did not return her interest, but she got it out again when she was drowning in chaurus hunter poison and had to cast a lot of healing spells. What the heck! I thought I had done something wrong when I added him to the Hit On Your Character faction, but I guess since I didn’t increase his disposition it just took a long time to increase in the game.

They had a very Skyrim proposal, exchanging about ten words on the subject of their future together before marching off to probably die in a cataclysmic battle to save the world. Funnily enough Erik has already reminded her to talk to Maramal about their wedding when she accidentally talked to him instead of mounting Tage (her horse). They have to pass near Riften on their way to the fort. Maybe Erik wants to make it official before Comforting her, which is entirely unnecessary in Valdi’s view. It seems that she has gotten over her concerns in that area as well.

What a beautiful awakening Auriel's Bow helped cause in Valdi! It is most fitting for the newly confident Dame of the Dawnguard as she strides toward her destiny. And Erik the Hoe Pusher finally returned her interest! Overall, I'd say some nice changes in Valdi's life.

I know of at least one paladin who would instantly download a simple Grits-made cure disease spell mod for his elf. . . .

What kinda sword did she buy?

Hey, can you share that Cure Disease spell?? This'll go great for my new Cleric's spellbook. I'm sure there's somebody who's already made a CD spell, but it would be cool to actually get one from a friend. I'll PM my email to you.

Well good luck with battling Harkon. What level is Valdi?? ... Haaf-Mersey didn't face him until he was past 40, I think, and i was glad he didn't go there earlier on, in his 20s or whatever.

------------------------------------------------------------

Well, let me update my newest: Claire Voyance the Cleric of Chorrol.

She has made it to Solitude, to check out joining up with the Imperials. Farkas is still with her.

Claire has been very clever about making her way through Skyrim, and I like to RP that Farkas gives her a lot of advice about where to go and stuff. Companions actually do make their way out into Skyrim on occasion, so I like to think he's constantly telling her "let's avoid that fort" or "that Argonian standing by the side of the road? Looks like a thief to me". She's not a macho-chick; she listens to him.

So they get to Solitude, and later on go to Fort Hrragstad. No, Hraggstad. That's it. Two 'g's. Anyways, they get there but she did not take on the fort because she had a vision of herself dying. There's a lot of horker-eating bandits here, and they're tough. (In reality, I tried to attack these guys, and Claire wound up dying, so it's a good thing her game is not DiD because I SUCK at low-level Skyrim these days. I'm too used to higher-level games.)

So Claire goes back to Solitude, but she's got frostbite. I've got Frostfall in her game, and even with its settings turned way down, she still got frostbite, because she went up to Hraggstad wearing just her summery Imperial armor. Varkas wound up rescuing her, which was pretty neat, because the Frostfall mod actually re-locates the PC if they are rescued, and I've got 'chance of rescue' set to 100% if she's with somebody else. Good thing.

She returns to Solitude, and comes up with a plan (with Varkas) to hire as many people as they can before returning to Hraggstad, but this plan did not work. They found the guy with the balding head (the one who sits in the Winking Skeever), and he wants 500 gold for us to hire him, which is fine, but he just says "Looks like you've got someone with you already". Dammit.

Dammit? No. Sometimes I forget I'm on PC now! Let's get this fixed. I found Companion Share & Recruit (YES!) and it's really cool because this mod actually adds an entire new branch on the Speech tree, so Claire actually has to use a skill to get the bald-head guy to follow her. I like this. Speech is actively useful at any time because of this mod, just like it is in TES4.

She doesn't have to hire the bald-headed guy. She can just 'persuade' him to follow her. With a few 'gifts' (potions, mostly), she begins the process of getting him as a follower. She made him some armor at the forge, and is going to buy a LOT of healing potions for him too. But she may wind up walking back to Rorikstead. Erik the Slayer is probably there waiting for her.

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Jan 21 2015, 10:14 PM

Here you go my friends: Dropbox Link. The Cure Disease spell is an Adept level spell that costs the same magicka as Close Wounds. Its cost is decreased by the Adept Restoration perk, and it will increase your Restoration skill when used. Here’s the one annoying thing that I’ve never been able to correct: in the menu the cost displays as per second, when it’s actually a cast once and done situation. Argh! Anyone who knows how to fix that, I’d love a tip!

I did not place the tome anywhere or add it to anyone’s inventory for the smallest possible footprint, so you have to use the console to get it. Spell Tome is item xx00D4DC and the spell itself is xx00D4DA. I’d be happy to give it to Collette to sell or who or whatever else might suit if you want in-game access other than the magical mall or mail (console command to add item ).



Valdi is level 34 I think, and she has mostly health and magicka with I’d guess about 160 stamina. She gets hurt a lot but she can cast a lot of spells. Restoration is a major focus for her, so she will be lighting up that place with her sun spells. Serana will not like that! I’ll get a picture with that sword when I get a chance. It’s from Immersive Weapons, I’m pretty sure.

Got to run, kid stuff is suddenly crashing on my head (ie here comes the bus). Please tell me if that link does not work. Dropbox was giving me fits earlier.


Edited to add at the very last second: I am so tickled that anyone is interested in this mod! Anything I’ve made is on offer to you folks, just mention it or PM me and I’ll get it to you in its proper form. (Most of my stuff including NPCs is jammed together, but I can pick it apart.)

This post has been edited by Grits: Jan 21 2015, 09:07 PM

A wonderful idea, which I still have not gotten around to doing myself. So I will gladly use your mod!

I agree with the decision to make a small a footprint with the mod as possible, and not add it to the same leveled lists that every other modder adds their stuff to as well. The simplest way to get the spell would be by using the Help function in the console. Just type in:

Help "Cure Disease" 4

and it will come back with a list of everything with the words Cure Disease in its title. Just look for the one that is also a spell, and use that with the Player.AddSpell command.

I have seen that same thing before with that x magicka per sec displayed for instantaneous spells. I am trying to remember what causes it, but it has been a while...

In the meantime, in the Spell entry, click the box for "Disallow Spell Absorb Reflect". Otherwise your Breton characters might absorb the spell.

A hint for future modding, when you create the ID for spells, items, or anything new you make, it is always good to start the name with either 0 or 1. That way your modded content is always at the top of every list. That is not the name you see when you play the game, just the internal ID. The search function in the CK makes this partly irrelevant, but there are still sometimes - like in smithing recipes - where you still have to pick things out of really long lists that you cannot search through.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 21 2015, 10:23 PM

Sweet, thanks you all! .. I'm like, dancing on my bed right now. Just snowed in Maryland, time for some Skyrim!

EDIT: and yes, if you could add it to a merchant, that would be even better. Claire's Restoration is still Apprentice, so she won't be able to use this spell for awhile. But it would be really fun to go to Colette's or Arcadia's and find the new spell there

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Jan 21 2015, 10:08 PM

From Raining in Baltimore to Snowing in Maryland, it sounds like it is time to roll a new toon!

Renee, how nice to see Claire traveling with and listening to Farkas. He may not be that bright, but he can lift heavy stuff and hit hard. Heh, I was thinking the same as SubRosa when you mentioned snow – that is sort of like rain so does it mean new character time?

Grits, thank you so much for providing that mod! I did download it and will let you know how it works for Buffy. I also agree with the small footprint. Before I install a mod I make a pre-mod save. Then I install and test the mod. Then I decide to keep or dump the mod. What I’m getting at is that when I first install a mod, I simply want to get right into it and verify it all works the way it is supposed to. So I always use the command console option of adding new spells or items and checking them. Plus, as mentioned, simpler is best – especially for one time only functions (like learning a new spell).

Thanks, you do me too much honor. I read about DB's main quest in advance and it gets pretty nasty at some point, when it comes to betraying Skaal to HM but since Lucius is Dragonborn and he doesn't know what follows, he'll do the main quest. It'll leave a bad taste in his mouth, definitely, but at least Miraak will be stopped.

No, no, then I'll use the ShowRaceMenu command to make Lucius and Lydia older for 10 years and I'll also advance time for 10 years. Then they'll adopt a child and I'll roleplay it like it is their child that is now 10 years old.

Nice story with Claire, I like Farkas' advices and how she managed to persuade several people to follow her to the battle.

Thank you. Beautiful story you've got there, I enjoyed reading about how the Auriel's Bow affected Valdi and how Erik proposed to her. Life in Skyrim is full of dangers so it's wise for them to be united when they're still young. And thanks for the Cure Disease spell mod, I d/l-ed it but I'll use it when Lucius visits the College, I'll RP that he learned it there.

Seems like everyone is traveling in company these days or at least had traveled for some time...Buffy & Serana, Valdi & Erik, Claire & Farkas & the bald guy, Lucius & Lydia.

And no diary entry for today but a real-time story!

--

Finishing his supper at the Winking Skeever, Lucius' favorite inn in Skyrim, he made a sip of Honningbrew mead from his goblet and then put it back on a table. But being distracted by Lisette's singing, he didn't place the goblet well enough and it fell on the ground. Lucius leaned down and picked it up and wanted to brush the dirt off in a folded cloth but a town drunk at another table assumed that Lucius is trying to steal the goblet!

"Thief! Thief!" he shouted and within seconds entire Winking Skeever jumped in the air, like they were skeevers indeed.
Corpulus Vinius, the proprietor of the inn, knew Lucius well and he was prepared to forgive this little "crime" to a well-known customer. "You can have that," he said from behind the counter. But a nearby guard that was just passing the inn and heard the shouting, came running inside and immediately "knew" who was the thief in question.

Without giving Lucius any option to talk, he pulled out his sword and began whacking at Lucius like he had just killed the Emperor. Lydia couldn't tolerate this, so she stood up and returned the favor by attacking the guard with her ebony axe. Lucius knew that Lydia could easily kill the guard in a few seconds so he stood up and held them apart. "Calm down, both of you! It was just a mistake..."

"I AM NOT MISTAKEN!" shouted the guard,"you are a wanted man. Will you pay your bounty or you'd rather rot in jail?"

"Rot in jail for something he hasn't done?" Lydia jumped in.

"It's alright, just calm down, both of you. Well, how much to pay off then?"

The obedient guard knew bounties for every crime by heart.

"Seven septims!"

"Seven septims?"

"Seven. Septims!"

"Then here it is, seven septims. I assume that I'm not a criminal anymore now that I have paid off seven septims."

"Wrong! I will search you and confiscate any stolen goods you have!"

"I don't have any stolen goods, I'm not a...okay, okay, just do what you have to do. I know how it is, to serve the Legion."

After the guard made sure that Lucius doesn't carry any stolen goods indeed, he counted coins in his hand, to make sure that seven septims were given to him, and then proudly marched from the inn, carrying the "stolen" goblet in his hand.

And for the first time since his stay in Skyrim Lucius Caro had to pay a bounty to avoid going to jail - seven septims for stealing a goblet!

OK, I made a thread in the Skyrim mods section for our cure disease discussion. There’s a new link for those who would like to buy their spell from Colette. You guys really made me grin with this!


It’s the Noble Claymore from Immersive Weapons. Here is a pic from this morning when they helped me check Colette’s sales inventory: Link. The hilt is very blue. It looks pretty awesome when Erik is wielding it. Valdi stood back with her shield up and let him take apart the first thief they encountered just so that she could watch. He’s been using a double axe, so this sleek looking blade is a big change for him. He’s still carrying a bunch of his old weapons so that his game AI can still choose what he uses, but he equipped the new sword right away so that must mean he loves it.

Yay for Skyrim Claire Voyance of Chorrol! I like how you’re working her extra knowledge in through Frakas. CSR Skyrim looks like it will be a lot of fun. I love the idea that recruited NPCs can get angry and storm off after or during a fight.


This is a great idea. I’ve since started prefacing everything with aaGrits to put my things at the top of the lists and also to help me tell my additions from the additions in other mods that I’m viewing at the same time for conflicts. Thank you!


Poor Lucius! I’m so glad he managed to stop the fight before Lydia killed the guard. These little misunderstandings get out of hand so quickly! I love how Lucius told the guard, “I know how it is to serve the Legion.”

aww [censored] that's horrible. Attacked by a guard over 7 Septims?!? Sheesh. LoL yeah I guess you can just advance time and RP that they've had their own kid.

And no new toon. Claire wound up taking a carriage back to Whiterun. Farkas told her she needs to get some more experience with combat (seriously, she's not that good) so her plan was to do some easier adventuring in the Whiterun area.

She returned to the Companions hall, officially became a Companion, and then she might possibly have her pick of any follower she wants. She wound up choosing Aela the Huntress, which is perfect. A lot of other Companions are pissed off that Kodlak allowed such a weakling to join Companions, but Aela is one of the only ones who's been positive the entire time.

Aela is always saying how stagnated she feels sitting around Jorvaskr, and Claire needs an archer. Perfect. Farkas seems to have disappeared (ahem) but this is okay. Claire isn't going to follow him. Screw that whole werewolf bit.

So right now it's Claire, Aela, and the bald-headed guy from Winking Skeever. Claire got a bounty letter to take care of a little problem over at Valtheim Towers, so the trio headed off. I was worried something would go wrong, but honestly things went a little too easy. Claire didn't even kill one baddie! .. Aela and the bald-headed guy did all the work. All Claire did was heal up Baldie a few times.

They went to Embershard Mine next. This time, Claire took Aela's advice, and took all the bandits in here by herself, leaving her followers waiting behind just in case. Her game leveled up to 8 during this session.

After spending the night in Riverwood, selling some loot, and crafting a few pieces, they headed to Bleak Flats Barrow. I've been here so many times, I'm just bored of the whole 'Golden Claw' bit, so I SetStaged this quest, so that the Golden Claw is already at Riverwood Trader. As a cleric, Claire is now giving her brand-new Turn Lesser Undead spell quite a workout. Anyways, during this session (GRITS you are right), the Winking Skeever Baldie did get angry, just as you said, and left the party! It was his fault though.

Baldie wound up running into a slicer-dicer trap, taking too much damage, and this is what caused him to walk off. She tried to find him, but he's gone. It's okay though; Claire is doing fine with Aela. But she made sure to give the Huntress some extra loot.... just in case, because there's no way she's going through BFB by herself!

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Jan 22 2015, 04:40 PM

Wow, that is very blue. Though I think the white plates on Erik-The-Disinterested make it look bluer than it really is. What I really noticed was Serana. She looks good in the Dawnguard armor. But then again, some women look good in anything. I don't think I have ever had a character give her a different set of clothes from her default vampire princess armor.



I love how you call them Baldie! You are getting spoiled by the computer too I see, using the console to skip through quests!

Lopov - Wow, I’m surprised how much Lucius and Buffy have in common. Winking Skeever is indeed the best tavern in Skyrim! And Buffy would also cooperate rather than kill over a seven septim misunderstanding. Well done, Lucius.

Renee – Glad that Claire is still with us. I think Aela is also a great choice for a pal to travel with.

Baldie bailed at the blade trap!! That’s inconvenient but awesome. Renee, I know you are a fan of NPC personality and consequences. Good thing Aela is not so clumsy as Belrand.

SubRosa, it was Valdi who gave the vampire princess her new clothes. She was all, “haven’t you been wearing that for, like, a thousand years?” Lol. I think Serana is just one of those women who looks great in anything. Maybe we can test that theory if they run into some Forsworn.

It was a mod testing day in Lost Knife Hideout. Lil turned Jerric invisible and then shot him twice in the face. By accident, that wasn’t the test. After the first run she made him wait with the horses. We got to hear him say “Go on ahead, I’ll stand guard” in that warm, fuzzy voice. She’s going to have to leave him outside more often!

It is official, Serana looks good in anything. I just downloaded a mod from this page that adds her face to the presets of the Female Nords and tried it out. Thanks to my new character clothing and item hall, I was able to try on lots of outfits. The only thing she did not look good in was the Iron Helmet. But that is the fault of the helmet. Everyone looks bad in that.

She makes blacksmithing hot.

She really shines in the Elven. But then everyone looks bad in the Iron Helmet, everyone looks good in Elven.

Finally, the obligatory Forsworn. I think she really owns the Nordic Carved though, and is outstanding in the Ancient Nord Armor.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 24 2015, 06:31 PM

Serana the cook is my favorite! I bet she can make some fine tomato soup.


Wow, what a great sword! It's convenient that he used exactly this one from his weapons repertoire.

I had to laugh when I read that Farkas disappeared and baldie is gone because he was too wounded. Good to see Claire traveling in a company.

Apart from its design, kind staff and feeling of comfort in the WS, we like it because there's not too much conversations going on when compared to Bee & Barb for instance, where it's almost impossible to enjoy thirty seconds of silence.

--

"What? So you agree with Delphine? There is nothing on this world that could convince me to say goodbye to my long hair," said Lucius, shaking his dead disapproved.

"But we heard rumors that General Tullius will also be at the party. And he knows you, even if only vague," Lydia insisted.

"He saw me only once, in Helgen. And that was more than four months ago."

"But you said that he was aware of you because he expected you to serve under him. Not to mention that Alduin attacked Helgen just when you were about to be beheaded. He might have forgotten your name but not your face. You are pretty...memorable. I remember you from Whiterun long before you were my Thane."

"I won't fall for sweet words," said Lucius with a smile," Tullius doesn't remember me anymore, I'm sure. So there's no need to..."

"And then people say that Nords are stubborn! Don't you remember that you were afraid for a long time that some fellow Imperial soldier or officer might recognize you on road? Not to mention that you have become a public figure since you were recognized as Dragonborn. Rumors spread quickly over Skyrim and people often recognize you."

"It's been too long, if somebody recognized me by now, I would already be called to Solitude or branded a traitor."

"I won't give up just like that."

"Oh, brother..."

Later...

I'm staying at Katla's farm, waiting for Lucius to return. He is at a party hosted by Thalmor at their embassy, Delphine thinks that he might find some proof that Thalmor are associated with dragons returning. Both Lucius and me doubt in her theory but it's the only clue that we have. I am glad that Delphine didn't decide to wait with me and instead headed to Riverwood. I can't stand the sight of this woman! I'd rather face Alduin alone than spend any minute longer with her.

Lydia puts her magical quill down and makes a sip of Honningbrew mead which Lucius bought for her this morning. A smile appears on her face as she remembers what she heard a while ago:"Some Nord supposedly punched Delphine in her face once. If I ever meet this man, I will gladly buy him a drink."

It's getting late but parties are supposed to last long so I shouldn't worry. I am sure that he will return safe and sound, and hopefully with some clues that would allow us to continue our battle against dragons without Delphine's help. And to end this entry - while Imperials may be shrewd negotiatiors, we Nords are more stubborn and determined so in the end I convinced Lucius to change his hairstyle. He was not very happy because he had long hair for years but I'm pleased with the change - short hair suit him excellent.

Lydia, Katla's farm,

24th of Evening Star 4€201

Lydia couldn't sleep and when it was dawning, she went outside to get some fresh air. She was getting slightly worried because she saw Jarl Elisif and her Court returning to Solitude with their carriage many hours earlier but there was no trace of Lucius. Thinking about whether something might have happened to him, she saw a hooded Thalmor justiciar walking to the farm. Except that something about this justiciar didn't feel right. He was not tall enough for an Altmer and his style of walking was very familiar.

"Lucius! You're back! How did it go?"

"It was a slaughter," said Lucius and pulled down his hood, revealing his short hair to which was he still getting used to. "I was discovered by Thalmor and had no other option to kill them. Unfortunately Malborn is also dead."

"Oh no. What happened?"

"I will tell you more as we travel. It might not be safe to stay around here, Thalmor will probably be looking us. For me. Let's hire a carriage to Morthal."

"I'm ready, let's go."

“Just let me change my outfit. I don’t want to wear Thalmor robes anymore.” As Lucius put on his trusted scaled armor and threw Thalmor robes into fire, he said:

"And...Lydia..."

"Yes, my dear?"

"Tullius wasn't even at the party."