New Toon!, share your development character ideas Options

[Renee]

I think there is a thread somewhere around here about our Oblivion characters once they are already extant. The New Toon thread, however, is going to be about developing a character, or 'toon', as it were. I usually keep the process of developing new ones to myself. I might ask others what this new one's name should be, or something basic like this, but I want this thread to be more interactive.

I'm developing a Druid idea. Going to be a 'he'. I have a very vague idea of making a Breton male druid who lives almost entirely outside of civilization. I know nothing of the druids though. I know nothing of their history, other than the stereotype in DnD, in which they remain close to nature. My new toon will stick to this stereotype. He will be somewhat like glargg's Wild Elf character, methinks.

I want to explore the possibility of all those cool weapons found in other games (like quarterstaffs and pole weapons, perhaps, maybe even blowguns and slingshots! ) for my druid guy. I know there's gotta be some mods out there like this. I've already got some sort of spear mod in my games, but the only way to access it is to visit the basement of the Skingrad FG. My druid aint going that far.

That's as far as I've gotten. I never could make a druid in the vanilla game, because it doesn't support the sort of nature scene I've been visualizing in my head for years. The only peaceful creatures are deer and butterflies. So on PC, the doors have opened. MMM adds tons of peaceful (and not-so-peaceful) creatures. Witchcraft makes a lot of hostile creatures (like wolves) into passive animal acquaintances. That sort of thing.

I am going to do some reading on druids this weekend, no doubt. This should be fun!

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Aug 22 2014, 11:04 PM

[Renee]

I haven't forgotten about my druid idea from the OP. Matter of fact, for some reason I am wanting him to be created deep into springtime, when all the flowers start blooming in a few weeks. Seems appropriate for a character who will be a very outdoorsy type of person.

Oh, and gpster, welcome here. I used the word 'toon' in this thread's title as a sort of tongue-in-cheek joke. It's a word which makes me cringe, but also it makes me laugh.

Anyways, check this out. My druid guy will be well-educated. His backstory will include some sort of friction between himself, and the Nine-worshipping priests of Cyrodiil. In other words, at some point my druid will have wanted to begin worshiping some sort of nature spirits (or maybe even something more theoretical than the Nine), and will have wanted to include this sort of worship along with worshipping the Nine. One of the Brothers did not like this. He cried heresy, and blasphemy, on this subject. My druid was not entirely opposed to the Nine, but this Brother (whoever he is) was opposed to including any other form of worship.

The two had some sort of argument, which brewed over time, and eventually escalated into a fight. My druid gets a bounty, somehow. Maybe he even killed somebody by accident. However it happens, when his game starts, I'm going to use an alternate start mod to hopefully place him in some random, wilderness location, maybe with a certain set of console-added spells, since he will have been studying some magic not officially added by the vanilla game from Day 1. He will also have a bounty somewhere over 500, since he is wanted by the Law, big-time, for whatever it was he did.

This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 28 2015, 06:56 PM

[SubRosa]

I haven't forgotten about my druid idea from the OP. Matter of fact, for some reason I am wanting him to be created deep into springtime, when all the flowers start blooming in a few weeks. Seems appropriate for a character who will be a very outdoorsy type of person.

Oh, and gpster, welcome here. I used the word 'toon' in this thread's title as a sort of tongue-in-cheek joke. It's a word which makes me cringe, but also it makes me laugh.

Anyways, check this out. My druid guy will be well-educated. His backstory will include some sort of friction between himself, and the Nine-worshipping priests of Cyrodiil. In other words, at some point my druid will have wanted to begin worshiping some sort of nature spirits (or maybe even something more theoretical than the Nine), and will have wanted to include this sort of worship along with worshipping the Nine. One of the Brothers did not like this. He cried heresy, and blasphemy, on this subject. My druid was not entirely opposed to the Nine, but this Brother (whoever he is) was opposed to including any other form of worship.

The two had some sort of argument, which brewed over time, and eventually escalated into a fight. My druid gets a bounty, somehow. Maybe he even killed somebody by accident. However it happens, when his game starts, I'm going to use an alternate start mod to hopefully place him in some random, wilderness location, maybe with a certain set of console-added spells, since he will have been studying some magic not officially added by the vanilla game from Day 1. He will also have a bounty somewhere over 500, since he is wanted by the Law, big-time, for whatever it was he did.

If you are using my Witchcraft mod then the nature spirits you are looking for are described in one of the books I included in the mod, The Witches of Cyrodiil:

The Witches of Cyrodiil are a very misunderstood people. Thanks to a meeting facilitated by a friend of mine who is a forester, I was able to meet with one of these Witches and speak with her at length about her tradition. Her name is Morcant, and she served me the tastiest sweet rolls and most delicate Argonian White Tea as we spoke of her craft.

When one hears the word Witch, the first thought that comes mind tends to be of a Daedra worshipper. This I learned is quite far from the truth. Witches worship the Earthbones, the Aedric spirits that perished in the creation of Mundus. They also revere those surviving Aedra who departed our world after giving over some of their life force to create it, as well as those eight who remained (whom we knew as the Eight Divines before Tiber Septim joined their ranks as Talos to make them Nine).

Witches also follow spirit guides, as the Bosmer of Valenwood do. Indeed, the religion of Cyrodiil's Witches appears to be nothing less than the native religion of the Wood Elves, which is now rapidly fading to obscurity thanks to the spread of the Imperial Cult in their homeland. These spirit guides appear to Witches in dreams, and even waking visions, telling them secrets, leading them places, even teaching them spells.

When asked the origin of the spirit guides, Morcant explained that they were in fact the memories of the Earthbones themselves. Even though dead, or gone from Mundus, the energy they left behind remains within us, as symbols buried deeply into our Lower Selves - what some call the unconscious mind. It is through interaction with these symbols that Witches in fact interact with the entire world. Learning, experiencing, healing, and otherwise doing their part to protect Nirn.

Aiding them in this protection are the animals of the natural world. Animals that are considered dangerous to any conventional person - Wolves, bears, lions, and even spriggans - are all friendly to Witches. In fact, a wolf named Tsume came to visit Morcant as we talked, and she explained to me that he was a friend of hers. When I asked why she had given him such an Akaviri-sounding name, Morcant told me that she had not given it to him. Rather her one of her spirit guides had told it to her.

It is thanks to these spirit guides that Witches possess the ability to also summon these animals to come to their aid when in danger. Morcant demonstrated this for me by summoning a grizzly bear. She explained to me that it was not an actual, living bear plucked from some forest that she had summoned. Rather it was an external expression of the symbol of one of her spirit guides - In this case obviously Bear - temporarily given flesh and blood through magic.

Witches believe that Mundus and everything in it is sacred, being that it was created from the life essence of these Aedric spirits. It is the product of their flesh, blood, and spirits. Witches have no temples, because to them the entire world is a temple. Nor do they have a special priest caste, as they are all priests and priestesses. As Morcant said to me: "We are all divine. We are all gods. Most of us have simply forgotten our divine origins."

Doubtlessly this will be considered quite shocking by most chapel-going Imperials, if not downright heresy. In fact, I believe that this belief in the inherit divinity is one of the main reason that Witches are so reviled and discriminated against in Imperial society. The other being their ability to create their own spells through their spirit guides. This completely negates the Mages Guild's monopoly on magical research and teaching, and would pose a serious threat to their existence if Witchcraft was more accepted and accessible.

So in closing, if you are traveling through the countryside and meet a Witch, do not be afraid. Rather great him or her (for Witch is a non-gendered term) as a friend. For they are the guardians of the wild places of Nirn, and will only bring harm to those who seek to do it themselves. And if you are very nice, perhaps they will even give you sweet rolls and tea!

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Mar 28 2015, 08:44 PM