Today in Skyrim..., Epic battles, mudcrab sightings, anything but spoilers. What did your Options

[McBadgere]

Today, Elmer Fus, Bard found Sky Haven Temple...So he did in fact find, re-populate and leave the Blades...I thank y'all...

Then, just for fun he went hunting dwaagons...Vewy vewy quietly...And then he did KIW DE DWAAGON!!!, KIW DE DWAAGON!!!...X2...

Now he's back at Hugh Heffner...No...Wait a minute...Umm...High Hrofgar?...Anyways, home of the Greybeards...Catchy name...Yes it is...

[Thomas Kaira]

Okay, its so far so good with Patch 1.3. I've taken a look at it:


General stability improvements (Game is running smoother)
Optimize performance for Core 2 Duo CPUs (PC) (Can't test, my CPU is a Core i5, Quad Core)
Fixed Radiant Story incorrectly filling certain roles (Could not reproduce bug on my end)
Fixed magic resistances not calculating properly (They are back to normal)
Fixed issue with placing books on bookshelves inside player purchased homes (Never ran into this one)
Fixed dragon animation issues with saving and loading (Still need to encounter a dragon)
Fixed Y-look input to scale correctly with framerate (Fixed)

At this point, though, I do give the green light on 1.3 since there have been no further reports of busted dragons on the official forums (it would have cropped up by now if the fix failed). Go ahead and grab it.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Dec 8 2011, 12:07 AM

[treydog]

Trey has been getting into various kinds of trouble.

He decided he did not want to deal with Lydia's suicidal impulses- (or snarky attitude) and so left her at home in Whiterun, where she can sit around, and sigh, and cough- to her heart's content.

Meanwhile, he decided to see about earning another house (since some Daedric prince apparently LOCKED his bookshelf in Breezehome).

But then he ran into a talking dog- NO REALLY- which wanted his help.

So far the mangy mutt has led Trey into- a troll and two mudcrabs, two different bandit camps, a cave full of vampires.

But- well maybe it is in a good cause- Trey has noticed the dog walks with a limp. Perhaps he is just looking for the man who shot his paw.

[Acadian]

Grits, Jensa sounds woooonderful!

[Thomas Kaira]

Okay, I've had two dragon encounters on 1.3 so far (one random, one guarding a Word Wall). Neither of them exhibited any erratic behavior.

Looks like 1.3 did what it was meant to do.

Also, word on the street is that Dual Core optimization was specifically to combat a bug in how the game utilized Core 2 Duo CPUs, which would cause Skyrim to freeze constantly for 2-10 second stretches. And that same word is: the freezing is now gone.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Dec 8 2011, 04:54 AM

[haute ecole rider]

Perhaps he is just looking for the man who shot his paw.

[mALX]

@ Grits - what a wonderful back story for Jensa !!!

@ McBadgere - Hugh Hefner ... ROFL !!! Now go to your combat stats at the bottom - it lists how many Bunny's you've slaughtered, ROFL !!

@ Master Chef TK - WOO HOO !!! Finally !!!

@ Treydog - He may think Treydog hurt his paw and is dragging him to dangerous places for revenge, lol. I hope he is essential so he doesn't get killed in some of those places !!


Now for Maxical. As of this morning (because I played all night long):

Maxical has discovered 325 locations, and 17 of the standing stones. (not sure how many there are).

She has cleared 77 dungeons and learned 28 words (but only has 15 shouts and Zero dragon souls). She has completed 21 regular quests, 94 misc. quests, and 8 side quests. (and actually completed one questline, the College of Winterhold !!). She now has all the Dragon Priest Masks except the one you get at the end of the Main Questline !!

Last night she tried to console Quaranir into marrying her, but he never even got the topic added for some reason. She tested it out just to be sure she had keyed it in correctly - on the Jarl of Winterhold (not a bad looking guy, as a matter of fact - and clean !!!). It works, she can't talk to him without him oohing and aahing over her Amulet of Mara, lol.

She felt bad for ignoring his hints, so went ahead and stole his helmet back for him - only because she had to. There was no dungeon involved, and the guy that had it was too friendly to kill. (and no, she didn't console him into friendliness, lol).

As soon as she handed the Jarl of Winterhold his helmet back, he immediately started talking to her about becoming Thane of Winterhold. (Well, that was the second thing he did. The first was to bring up her Amulet of Mara again). He is hoping his townfolk will like her so she can be Thane - but so far they have all been jackar$$es to her. (Even after she rescued them from the Ice Wraiths!).

Quaranir has left the Country and gone back to whereever Jissiic priests go. Here is a screenshot of Maxical taken when he refused her offer and left

This post has been edited by mALX: Dec 8 2011, 04:24 PM

[Colonel Mustard]

Today, Elovar Drayl discovered how to summon up a Dremora Lord, which he promptly named Ringo. Already, in one session, Ringo has managed to claymore to death:

Two dragons
3 Trolls
A Hagraven
A Frost Atronach
Countless Draugr and Forsaken

Ringo is already making things boring for Elovar, who's considering going back to fire and axes simply to keep things fun again and keepign Ringo back for emergency measures. Hmph.

[mALX]

Today, Elovar Drayl discovered how to summon up a Dremora Lord, which he promptly named Ringo. Already, in one session, Ringo has managed to claymore to death:

Two dragons
3 Trolls
A Hagraven
A Frost Atronach
Countless Draugr and Forsaken

Ringo is already making things boring for Elovar, who's considering going back to fire and axes simply to keep things fun again and keepign Ringo back for emergency measures. Hmph.

Dear gods, if the summoned Dremora Lords are usually weaker than the game ones - then how the heck will my character beat one? URK !!! GAAAAH !!! Right now Hagraven fights are lasting 5 minutes my time !!! GULP !!

[Thomas Kaira]

The following contains a lot of quest details, so there are definitely spoilers. Read at your own risk. (Spoiler tags don't seem to be working, so I'm leaving a large space here to substitute).





















Derelas Dragonborn recently picked up a new companion: Mjoll the Lioness. She requested to join me in my adventures after I found her treasured blade, Grimsever. So, I have now equipped her in some decent armor I don't need (Ebony, all five pieces, all improved to Exquisite quality). Her and Dere are now traveling Skyrim, hunting dragons, plundering dungeons, and having a great time.

The most recent dungeon was Saarthal. Dere was not happy that he had to join the College of Winterhold to get in. He gets everything he needs out of potions and poisons. But he did (had to anyways, he needed access to the Arcaneum to research the Elder Scrolls), and the plunder from Saarthal included a Word of Power (Flesh, word 2 of Ice Form) and a portion of the Gauldur family Amulet. Now, he's done with dealing with the mages, and whatever end of days the Psijic Order has seen, they can find someone else. Dere is perfectly happy to be saving the world already, thank you very much.

As for his Thieves Guild ties, things have taken a turn for the worse. Mercer double-crossed him in Snow Veil Sanctum after he was shot down by a respectably skilled archer, Karliah. After being stabbed and left for dead, the next thing he knows, Karliah is helping him up outside and explaining what happened. The poison on her arrow tip saved Dere's life. His heart rate was slowed to a crawl, preventing major blood loss. And now, the woman he originally went to kill... well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all. And there was something odd about Mercer's story of her simply murdering the man she loved.

And then there's the big question that needs answering: the Nightingales. Who are they? Well, not names, Dere already knows those: Karliah, Gallus, and Mercer the three Nightingales. But what are their plans (aside from Karliah's vendetta on Mercer for murdering Gallus)? Gallus's journal may have answers... but it's written in the Falmer dialect. The only person who can translate it is Calcelmo in Markarth, so that will have to wait a bit. Dere still has business in Winterhold, helping one Septimus Signus, a scholar on the Elder Scrolls who traded a piece of his sanity for glimpse at one of the pages. Next destination: Alftand. Septimus thinks the Dwemer found a loophole in the magic of the Elder Scrolls that allows one to scry them without being stricken by blindness or insanity, and he wants Dere to exploit it.

All this is being kept track of in my own penned journal. If things go well, I am planning to convert it into a Skyrim Fan-fic at some point. A little reprieve from my four years of nothing much but Oblivion, you know.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Dec 9 2011, 02:13 AM

[Grits]

Quaranir has left the Country and gone back to whereever Jissiic priests go. Here is a screenshot of Maxical taken when he refused her offer and left

Oh no! Sympathy and sweetrolls to poor Maxical.

[treydog]

Trey finished helping his doggie companion reconcile with his master. Said master tried to get Trey to kill the dog. He felt that was a bit rude and refused.

Found out the Jarl of Falkreath needs to be shortened by a head- and is wondering if there is a way to do that.

[McBadgere]

Wulff and J'Zargo went back to see the Chief Hugh of Hugh Heffner only to be sent off to another place where there be Word 'o' Powerrrr!!!™...Unfortunately...This word wall appears to be broken...Having not found it the first time Wulff was there, it seems to have glitched...Meaning Wulff cannot get the word, which means (and he checked) Chief Hugh will not give him another word to find... ...Wulff is okay as he has a divine guide with a book...But still, add this as another reminder that it's a game not a second life... ...

Killed several dragons...Bit passe now... ...

[treydog]

Trey (the Nord version) decided to try and take care of 2 quests at a certain overlook.

He "overlooked" the dragon which- um well--- grabbed him in its mouth and threw him down the mountainside.

Although I am not playing Dead is Dead- it seemed a good moment to nuke the hated 1.2 patch and begin again.

Meet Trey- Breton light armor and stealth specialist, who does a bit of alchemy and smithing on the side. This Trey REALLY hopes the dragon that burned Helgen ALSO managed to kill the hateful "kill him anyway" Imperial captain. If not- he will stop back by there and give her a present... a sharp, pointy IRON present- just under the short ribs.

[McBadgere]

After the game crashed at the site of the knackered wall, after uttering some cross-words I decided to abandon the Word-search...Heh, you see what I did there?...

...

Aaamywho, went back to Hugh Heffner got meself an audience with the top dog hisself...

Met me lurvely Pantyslacks!!...Bless him...Awwww...*Tickles under his chin...*...

Then Wulff fell off a cliff...So I re-did the previous half hour again...

Thermos... ...

[Grits]

He "overlooked" the dragon which- um well--- grabbed him in its mouth and threw him down the mountainside.

Rowan had a similar end fighting alongside Whiterun guards. Cinematic clip of the dragon shaking someone like a dog with a chew toy. "Ha!" crows Grits. "Look at that poor bas-- Oh, that's you."

[Thomas Kaira]

Meet Derelas of Skyrim, in his new permanent armor. (No, its not Dark Brotherhood, but that's all I will say about it).

Just had an excellent nighttime stroll through Helgen, thought I'd share the tale.

Leaving his horse a safe distance away from the bandit-infested village, a quick flick of the tumblers on the gate offered easy entry. From there, the first bandit was seen, clad in steel. A second showed his face soon after, a hedge wizard. Since Dere had no intention of dealing with a warrior and a mage at the same time, the first order of business was to separate the two... this was accomplished by deliberately allowing the warrior an ever-so-brief glimpse of himself before a quickly-quaffed invisibility potion made sure he would not be found. Quietly trailing her footsteps, Dere waited until she dropped her guard, dismissing him as a flicker of shadow or something like that. For extra satisfaction, he swiped the bandit's coinpurse before slitting her throat.

Next up was the mage, and as his Aura Whisper revealed, three additional bandits in the southern courtyard, and one more acting as lookout at the tower. The mage was wandering back and forth between the entrances to Helgen's underground fortress, a small piece of crumbling wall was perfectly positioned at the end of his patrol path closest to Dere, who quickly and silently made his way to hide behind it. After carefully gauging when he would stop and when he would turn to leave, the second move was made. Again, the coinpurse and a couple valuables were pocketed before the throat was cut.

Two down, four to go. The next bandit was wandering the ruined inn, alone. He was felled like the previous two. The next part was a bit tougher... the next patrol of bandits was a two-man group, so up-close-and-personal would only end in detection. For that reason, Dere left those two alone... for now. His next target was the lookout in the tower. After waiting for the patrol to get some distance between them and the tower, Dere infiltrated, made his way up the stairs, quaffed another invisibility potion just to be safe, and made easy work of the fourth bandit atop the tower.

Up next... a bit of misdirection. Being a Bosmer, sure-footedness comes naturally to Dere, so he carefully climbed atop the battlements, waited for the patrol to exit the tower again, and sighted in on the bandit in the rear. One shot, one kill. This left one very confused bandit wondering why, supposedly, his lookout killed one of his own men. After waiting a bit for him to calm down a bit, Dere shifted positions, hiding beside the doorframe into the tower. And when the final bandit entered... down he went.

Six kills, and Dere remained a ghost through the entire gauntlet.

That was some real fun there.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Dec 10 2011, 11:24 AM

[mALX]

One thing I thought was great in New Vegas was the ability to don an enemy's uniform/armor and "fool" them into thinking you were one of them. It is disappointing that we can't do that in this game, but would be livable if the NPC's didn't have instant ESP when you have killed one of their number - and where you are hiding in sneak. I honestly don't know how the Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild work in these conditions.

[treydog]

So Trey.2 or The Treytrix- Reloaded or... OK I will stop now.

Escaped Helgen- and spent a bit more time paying attention in Riverwood. Did some work for Alvor in exchange for the kindnesses he showed.

Got to Whiterun and debated whether he really wanted to see the Jarl or not.

Ended up taking a (slightly improved) sword from the War-Maiden to Dragonsreach.

Also found himself embroiled in the factional struggle between two families. He decided that he could go smack the Thalmor around all by himself, rather than with a group of loud, smelly Nords clanking around disturbing every sentient being within 20 miles. He will probably regret that choice.

Meanwhile- off to a bandit camp to collect a bounty- along with as many loose valuables as he can carry.

[Destri Melarg]

Farkas hates orcs. Let me explain:

My current character, Shakh gro-Largum, is level three and just tough enough to handle the wolves or the odd bandit encountered on the road. He heads toward Whiterun to do a favor for Gerdur who did him a solid back in Riverwood (just loooove that Honningbrew Mead). While on the road, he encounters a trio of Companions taking down a giant infesting one of the farms. Being an orc, he decides to lend an axe to their efforts. Apparently his single swing is impressive enough to get the saucy Aela to comment that he should join the Companions. It sounds like a good gig, especially after he walks into Jorrvaskr just in time to see Njada Stonearm put the beatdown on a culturally confused dunmer named Athis (ostensibly for talking like a cockney boot salesman . . . or maybe for not having the sense to sit somewhere other than right next to the archery targets when people are practicing).

After enduring the insults of a one-eyed Companion named Skjor (who sounds suspiciously like Michael Ironside), Shakh is kicked downstairs to get the approval of the Companions Harbinger (who, I must stress, is not their leader), Kodlak Whitemane. Kodlak gives Shakh the once over and decides to test him by having him spar with one of the Inner Circle, a Companion named Vilkas. Vilkas is surly, condescending, and in desperate need of iris pigmentation (not to mention a bath, a shave, and a retouch of his eye makeup warpaint). After another single swing impresses Vilkas enough to call him a whelp, Shakh spends the rest of the afternoon thinking about how good he must be with his axe while running swords and shields to and from the Skyforge. He is also kicked over to Vilkas’ twin brother Farkas (who is equally challenged where eye color and hygiene are concerned) for work.

Farkas sizes up the new victim recruit and, because he hates orcs, decides to send Shakh to clear out the ‘bandits’ in Shimmermist Cave. Those 'bandits' turn out to be more than a dozen Falmer (complete with the usual loadout of Chaurus and Frostbite spiders). They were not impressed with Shakh’s axe-swinging. I haven’t had my a$$ kicked this hard in a Bethesda game since I made a wrong turn in a Morrowind dungeon and wound up behind the Ghostfence at level two! Sometimes Radiant Story really hurts!