Where Are You Today? Options

[mirocu]

That skooma, man. Can bring down the greatest of knights-in-training


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Lothran is now living the good life in Skingrad county! I swear, if he was ever to relocate it would be here. This area is outstanding!

Yesterday he was robbed by the highwayKhajiit east of Skingrad and then proceeded to raise the robber's disposition by giving him even more gold! Can you say "Stockholm syndrome"? I know I can After that Lothran cleared out Bloodcrust Cavern and I think now he's about to go deep into the woods, probably towards the Isolated House.

This post has been edited by mirocu: Apr 3 2021, 06:28 PM

[Acadian]

Yes, Skingrad is lovely. And Tamika makes a fine wine there!

Edit: And Renee, very cool the way you brought life to that squire-turned-bandit in Capstone Cave.

This post has been edited by Acadian: Apr 2 2021, 10:23 PM

[mirocu]

Lothran has spent a full day exploring the vast wilderness SE of Skingrad. This is indeed about the only area in Cyrodiil he could easily, and quite happily, get lost in. It's truly a beautiful area.


Two things worthy of mentioning; Fort Black Boot was partially cleared on Conjurers, three to be exact. We also came upon a very secluded campsite that seemingly was abandoned. It had two small tents, a fireplace and two bowls made of stone. Whoever resided here were either explorers or outlaws that really needed to stay out of sight. With Elsweyr close by it's easy to suspect they made their way there, never to be seen again.


Tomorrow morning, Lothran will make his way back to Skingrad. It's now time to explore the west side of Skingrad county.

[Renee]

Yes, the area southeast of Skingrad is quite lovely.

Nice, I don't think I know of this campsite you speak of. Love finding little places like that.

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Fredas, Heartfire 13, Year 1 / 4th Era

Days Passed: 384

Heartfire 13 was yet another busy day for Lady Saga. She awoke early, then left Jerall View Inn for the Mages Guild. Spent most of the day making yet another batch of poisons and potions. Good news was, Selena of the Mages Guild been stocking better ingredients for poison-making these last few days.

"Be seeing you."

"Much thanking for your assistance, madam."

It was getting late in the afternoon by now. Saga headed toward the castle. Found its new questing agent. Payment was received for Capstone Cave, and Saga picked up another writ; this one for Crumbling Mine.

"Crumbling Mine, located just to the east of Bruma," he stated. "Goblins and their ilk reside within, goblins who bang their shields against their axes if they can't reach you immediately! These goblins MUST BE STOPPED!"

"Ne'er more shall these wicked creatures cause their disgraces within the county of Bruma," the elf from Valenwood answered calmly.

"Usually an elf does all that for us, a Dunmer in fact," said the agent. "He quite likes it up here in Bruma, but only stays for the winter. Heh. Wish we could hire that man year-round!"

Saga accepted the writ which would dictate her way toward Crumbling Mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early evening, Heartfire 14

The goblin which approached Lady Saga, archer from Valenwood, apparently did not see her when she crept into his underground lair. This goblin, and all the others which lived in Crumbling Mine, was from the Three Feather Tribe. The goblin stalked closer and closer to the elf as she stood still in shadows. Good thing the Three Feather goblin had not noticed her, when she cast that invisibility spell ten seconds ago.

The spell ended, yet the goblin stayed near.... "Grraaaah!" he cried, throwing his arms into the air for some reason. He seemed agitated. Maybe he had caught his goblin girlfriend cheating on him or something.

Saga stayed absolutely still. Goblins were supposed to have a good sense of smell. Perhaps this one had caught wind of her, and was now losing his mind that something did not seem right. Good thing the elf had spent the day sleeping outside. The sun had been shining all day, allowing her to lay in a patch of dead grass. Because of this, she had no doubt picked up scents the goblin would be familiar with.

The elf finally moved, because the Three Feather goblin finally moved. He was slowly walking away. Saga readied a bolt of iron, and dipped its tip into a phial of poison. The poisoned bolt was then racked into the elf's crossbow, one of three which she owned. She pulled upon the bow's string....

... and missed.

"Curses!"

The bolt shot off, and banged into a wooden post somewhere.

The next bolt she shot did hit its target, but this was because it had not been poisoned, of course. The elf had been accurate with a bow for many years now. Perfecting the crossbow still eluded her.

This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 10 2021, 06:53 PM

[SubRosa]

Saga is picking up the slack left by that Dunmer guy. Wonder who he could be?

Maybe Saga should go back to a regular bow, instead of all this new-fangled fancy stuff?

[Acadian]

Hey, a nice mention of Lothran that fit in perfectly to Lady Saga's day.

Good luck with that crossbow.

[mirocu]

Saga is picking up the slack left by that Dunmer guy. Wonder who he could be?

I guess we'll never know


But *ehm* I think the mine you're looking for Renee, is Plundered Mine. Crumbling Mine is just outside the walls of Chorrol.


Sorry for picking nits... ....

[Renee]

I'm not sure who the questing agent is talking about! Think the guy has platinum hair though, and prefers wearing a Savior's Hide most of all.

Sorry for picking nits... ....

No, no you are right. Colossal screw-up that one was.

Maybe Saga should go back to a regular bow, instead of all this new-fangled fancy stuff?

Bows are great for long-distance shots, sort of like having a Hunting Rifle in Fallout. They can also be readied more quickly. Crossbows are more like shotguns. Better for close-range. They pack a bigger punch but take more time to reload.

In fact, by the time she got to the boss area, there were two bosses, a shaman I added in the CS, and the vanilla goblin boss (a Berserker or whatever). Saga did manage to made a great shot with her crossbow this time from halfway across the room. And that bolt was poisoned!

[Renee]

Tirdas, late at night, Heartfire 17, Year 1

Lady Saga awoke in the middle of the night, and could not get back to sleep in her rented Jarall View bed. This was a rare moment for her. As a true elf of the forests of Valenwood, she could sleep outside, even in rain! if she had to. But for some reason, sleep eluded her for the rest of the night. She could already see herself lying here for hours more. The morning was too far away. It would be ages before the markets opened, and Bruma's court arrived for the day's session. The elf decided to become productive, and headed for the Mages Guild.

She had managed a great score into Plundered Mine the day before. One of the goblins within this cave had yielded an incredible amount of ingredients as she looted his fallen body: 15 cairn boletes, 14 elf cup caps, 18 leaves of dragon's tongue, and so on. Time to brew a new set of poisons and potions!

"Greetings of night, Selena. Aren't we the lucky pair of owls," Saga said to the Mages Guild alchemist. "What brings you here at such late hour?"

Selena (for some reason) was found pacing about in the guild's cellar instead of fast asleep.

"Well, sometimes I feel we're not welcome here," the alchemist answered sadly. "The Nords don't like us Heartlanders very much!"

"Oh my. And this causes your sleeplessness? Oh my. You fret about the position of your race, within Cyrodiil? Well being Bosmer, I do have understandings of this." The elf began setting up her alchemy apparatuses. "Well, I must get to work. Have you any desires to join and assist?"

But Selena was not going to do this! This Mages Guild alchemy specialist spent her entire days selling and trading herbs, flowers and toadstools, and it appeared she had no desire to continue her trade deep into night.

"Good day," she said brightly. She immediately then left the room.

But 'tis it not the day? thought the elf.

This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 14 2021, 10:55 PM

[Acadian]

Poor Saga. She probably sleeps better up in a tree. Selene is afflicted with typical NPC dialogue weirdness that you often showcase so well.

[mirocu]

It is all so weird to me; being in Bruma in April? Good to know someone is keeping those goblins at bay, though!


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Lothran has just visited Ethrol in Bleak Flats Cave. It must have been years since they last spoke, but he was still there alright. Happy as a clam in the dark cave.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

I know I've been considerably quiet recently. Life and other things have gotten in the way. But after getting burned out on replaying Morrowind, I had the itch to play Oblivion again. And so when I have had the time to game, that's what I did. (By the way, I am playing a female Breton yet again as a second playthrough. Playing a male Argonian followed by a female Breton in TES games seems to be my thing. You'll never guess what I named her...it's only what I have named every female Breton in a TES game that I have played.)

And guess what? I MODDED IT.

That's right. I, Raderofthelostark, have finally added mods to an Elder Scrolls game. It was a bit frustrating at first figuring things out. Perhaps I was just too impatient and didn't really understand the tutorials I found, but after several boot-ups of Oblivion I finally got the mods working. And now I more or less know how to mod Morrowind and Skyrim as well, since the Oblivion Mod Manager has setups for them too.

There was so much of Cyrodiil I had not explored and a bunch of mechanics and skills I never really tried, so I really wanted to play Oblivion again. But I just could not bear the potato faces again, nor the atrocious level scaling. I had to change them.

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Here are the mods I have so far, with some extra notes if necessary.

• Blockhead
• Enhanced Water v20 - I don't remember vanilla Oblivion having water reflections, so it must be the work of this mod. It's pretty nice.
• Improved Trees and Flora 2 - There's another mod I forgot to add where the alchemical plants visually change when you pick them. (Why Bethesda did not implement that before is beyond me.)
• Natural Environments
• Oblivion Character Overhaul v2 - Not only are the faces bearable; they're actually pretty nice! Some of the female characters are actually attractive. I need to still add the body replacer mod and get rid of the neck seams--the faces have often changed color shades, so there is a noticeable disconnect between face color and body color. But the facial overhauls are such a vast improvement that I can easily tolerate what those things.
• Oblivion Graphics Extender
• OBSE
• Realistic Leveling - There are several ways you can mess with this one. The way I have it set up, your attributes naturally level up with your skill increases instead of you having to meta-game with the garbage-ass "efficient leveling." And you level up automatically. It has not fully fixed the level scaling, but it is a vast improvement.
• Smarter Mercantile Leveling - Until I read the mod notes, I had no idea how unbelievably idiotic the Mercantile leveling is in vanilla Oblivion. It might be the worst designed system for leveling a skill in the entire game. It's incredibly slow and based on individual sales regardless of value or number of items. You sell 1 arrow or 100 arrows at the same time? Vanilla Oblivion gives those the SAME skill increases, and pathetically tiny ones at that. This mod lets you tweak a few things, but it changes the system so that it is based on the value of the items you sell. And what a difference it makes. I actually notice my Mercantile skill increasing!

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It's been incredibly fun to play. There are a whole lot of new things that I learned as well. I'll go into more detail later if I need to, but I want to get out what I can now before I forget too much of it. Evelona is sort of a Mystic Archer build, but I made my own class. I'm not good with coming up with class names, so I just went with "trailblazer" because it sounds cool.

• I actually tried haggling, so there is that. With that and a self-made 50-point charm spell, and the sheer amount of good loot I am hauling back, I'm making a STUPIDLY HIGH amount of gold, lol.
• Somehow, when I killed one of those Mythic Dawn spies nearly Cloud Ruler Temple, it counted as a murder. It did it twice in a row, so I just said to hell (oblivion?) with it. Let's just prepare for Lucien Lachance to come. I wanted to test something out. And test it out I did. I found out that you CAN kill him if you attack him before he goes out the door, and the A Knife in the Dark quest completes a totally different way. Even though I was technically the aggressor, THAT somehow did not count as a murder. Guess it doesn't matter if it is a Dark Brotherhood member. Well worth it, in any case.
• It is quite viable to bait enemies into close range attacks for the most part so you can use touch spells. And I've made some seriously potent elemental spells with the Frostcrag Spire spellmaker. In many cases, apparently you will knock down the enemy as if they are already dead IF the attack is damage over time and it is going to kill them. Kind of funny to see them ragdoll then make a death sound and cease the battle music.
• IMO, Light Armor + Magicka with some good doses of Marksman = WAY more fun and potent than the primarily melee + heavy armor build I did the first time I played Oblivion.
• The third-person camera is far worse than I remember. It is just not playable in combat from that perspective. Which is kind of annoying since I like to see my character since...you know...I took the time to MAKE the character.
• It took me far too long to truly understand how the lockpicking minigame works, but now that I have in this second playthrough it's actually pretty fun. I even passed through two Very Hard difficulty locks in a row without breaking a lockpick.
• Similarly, it took me far too long to understand the persuasion minigame for Speechcraft. It wasn't until I read up on it on UESP that I fully understood it. In hindsight, I should figured it out in my first playthrough after messing around with it. In any case, Speechcraft is by far the most useless skill in the game. And I was dumb enough to make it one of my major skills. Oh well.
• For some reason, I remembered Leyawiin being a crappy town. Some of you have heard me talk about returning to that "dump" in ESO's Blackwood chapter. But now I remember that it is actually a nice town after going to it for the Mages Guild recommendation quest there. Now BRAVIL, on the other hand, I know is a complete dump. That's the only city I haven't visited yet on this playthrough, lol.
• Custom-made Fortify Strength spells + self-made Feather 100 pts spell + fast travel = hauling an entire dungeon's worth of loot back to town to sell. It's so overpowered and I love it. It has made me SO MUCH MORE gold since I have been able to do that.
• I remember that fast-traveling to an Oblivion gate does not immediately change the weather and sky to red like it normally would be walking up to one. But what I found out THIS time is, if you go through the Oblivion gate before the weather and sky correct themselves, the Deadlands will have the same weather that you were just in. One of my forays into Dagon's crib was cloudy and raining the entire time.

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Also, here are Evelona's major skills. I took most of the magic schools. Some of them I pretty much never touched in my first playthrough, but it is so much fun to utilize ALL of the magic schools together. (Intelligence and Agility Speed are my two primary attributes.) I remembered there being major and minor skills, so I guess this was a change by the Realistic Leveling mod. (Or maybe I am just mixing the system up with Morrowind's.)

• Alchemy - The amount of money and the potency of potions you can make when you get a good skill (which, with Frostcrag Spire's garden and Alchemy Station buff, goes up very quickly) is absurd. The number of potions I have stashed in my Spire's chest is obscene.
• Destruction
• Mysticism - There has been a lot of Detect Life casting especially.
• Illusion
• Marksman - Yes, I do sometimes go the stealth archer route, lol. I never played one in TES before, crazy enough, and I know that is the meta for many people. Enchantments from sigil stones have made my bows pretty good, but with my magic attack capabilities I have been able to conserve my soul gems very well. Perhaps a little too well, since they are stockpiling like crazy, lol.
• Conjuration
• Speechcraft - *sigh*

This was far more writing than I anticipated. Time for bed, but I've been excited to get this out here. Might expound more on this later.

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Apr 21 2021, 03:09 AM

[Renee]

You named her Mariah? Lucky guess.

Ah, congrats Rader. My advice: Just go SLOW. Add those in one at a time, do some gaming, forget you've added any mods, go in different cells, speak to different NPCs, travel outdoors by foot, and so on. Note if anything is going wrong, and so on. If you dump a bunch of content into her game and something's going wrong, whether it's odd colors or frequent CTDs or whatever, you won't know what causing the problem(s). And now you have to work backwards, disabling stuff until you find the culprit.

As you've already noticed as you tried to get your stuff working right, troubleshooting is NOT fun. So don't rush. Stuff can go wrong if you do.

I also recommend installing your game outside of any Program Files folders. In fact, make two folders, and put both of them outside of Program Files. In one folder, put only the vanilla files which came with the game. In the second folder this is where you'll do your modding. All the Vanilla files are in this folder too, only difference is you're modding in this second folder. The reason to make two different folders. There are times when stuff goes wrong, and nothing seems to work as you try to find the culprit. Sometimes, simply copy/pasting the files from your Vanilla folder into your Modded folder can solve the problem. Somehow, one of those vanilla files went missing (it happens!). I've had to do this twice over the years (thanks Rosa, for teaching me this).

Of course, if you got your game from Steam, chances are it's already outside of Program Files. In this case I'd still create a second folder, which contains only the game's native files.

Another thing, modding Skyrim is not the same as modding Oblivion, or any of the earlier games. You really have to be careful with Skyrim. Because everything gets baked into the Skyrim save more permanently, and removing stuff can be more of a pain. But I'll wait until you start posting in the Skyrim section for that advice. In fact I would not even bother using the same manager for Skyrim. I can teach you how to use Wrye Smash instead. Some day.


I remember really having a blast when i first started modding Oblivion in 2013. First mod I added disabled the Points of Interest on my compass, which meant no more electrical tape on my TV to cover up that blasted compass! I also added my first character directly into the Bandit Faction via console commands. That blew my mind, to be able to walk into bandit locations, and nobody attacked my Dunmer.

This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 21 2021, 01:19 PM

[Acadian]

Rader, so glad you're enjoying Oblivion! It really is a great game, and a few mods can really help the fact that it is a bit dated now.

[RaderOfTheLostArk]

You named her Mariah? Lucky guess.

Ah, congrats Rader. My advice: Just go SLOW. Add those in one at a time, do some gaming, forget you've added any mods, go in different cells, speak to different NPCs, travel outdoors by foot, and so on. Note if anything is going wrong, and so on. If you dump a bunch of content into her game and something's going wrong, whether it's odd colors or frequent CTDs or whatever, you won't know what causing the problem(s). And now you have to work backwards, disabling stuff until you find the culprit.

As you've already noticed as you tried to get your stuff working right, troubleshooting is NOT fun. So don't rush. Stuff can go wrong if you do.

I also recommend installing your game outside of any Program Files folders. In fact, make two folders, and put both of them outside of Program Files. In one folder, put only the vanilla files which came with the game. In the second folder this is where you'll do your modding. All the Vanilla files are in this folder too, only difference is you're modding in this second folder. The reason to make two different folders. There are times when stuff goes wrong, and nothing seems to work as you try to find the culprit. Sometimes, simply copy/pasting the files from your Vanilla folder into your Modded folder can solve the problem. Somehow, one of those vanilla files went missing (it happens!). I've had to do this twice over the years (thanks Rosa, for teaching me this).

Of course, if you got your game from Steam, chances are it's already outside of Program Files. In this case I'd still create a second folder, which contains only the game's native files.

Another thing, modding Skyrim is not the same as modding Oblivion, or any of the earlier games. You really have to be careful with Skyrim. Because everything gets baked into the Skyrim save more permanently, and removing stuff can be more of a pain. But I'll wait until you start posting in the Skyrim section for that advice. In fact I would not even bother using the same manager for Skyrim. I can teach you how to use Wrye Smash instead. Some day.


I remember really having a blast when i first started modding Oblivion in 2013. First mod I added disabled the Points of Interest on my compass, which meant no more electrical tape on my TV to cover up that blasted compass! I also added my first character directly into the Bandit Faction via console commands. That blew my mind, to be able to walk into bandit locations, and nobody attacked my Dunmer.

Nope, Mariah is reserved for Fallout. I name all my female Bretons Evelona. In ESO's case, I added "Mathieu" at the end since Bretons often French-sounding names.

Yeah, I don't play on going all-in on these mods. I mostly just wanted to get integrated back into Oblivion with as close to a vanilla experience as I can while still tweaking some major sticking points. The ones I listed are the only ones I am going with for now, since I'm really enjoying it. Might add a few small ones as well, but someday I'd like to try that huge mod that adds Elsweyr.

I indeed have Steam installed on a different drive. C: has the Program Files and Program Files x86, while D: has all my game downloads. (My C: drive is the SSD for faster and more efficient speeds while my D: drive is the HDD for storage.) I also have my a copy of my mods in a separate "Elder Scrolls Mod Repository -> Oblivion" folder in case there are any issues.

That compass mod sounds interesting, actually. Maybe I'll try that someday in the future too, but I want to make sure I explore every location on the map that I can. I pretty much did on my first playthrough, but there were a lot of dungeons I did not explore. And since Oblivion doesn't tell you which ones you have cleared like Skyrim does (at least, before the enemies respawn in Skyrim), I couldn't remember all of the ones I hadn't gone into. Now every time I discover a fort/Ayleid ruin/cave/etc., I fully go through it. There was only one time I didn't do that, and I just went back to it yesterday because I knew which one it was.

And yes, this means that I am going to close EVERY damn Oblivion gate. Which reminds me of another little thing I discovered, mentioned at the end of this post.

Rader, so glad you're enjoying Oblivion! It really is a great game, and a few mods can really help the fact that it is a bit dated now.

The last time I seriously played Oblivion was...probably 2016. It's been some time, and I first beat the main quest and the expansions back in 2014/2015. Skyrim was my first TES game, back in 2013. Back then, I didn't realize how differently each TES title played from each other, so I was admittedly taken aback by Oblivion. I decided to keep playing with an open mind, and I enjoyed it. Honestly, when it comes to unmodded experience, I still prefer Skyrim and Morrowind over Oblivion.

BUT I also think Oblivion blows both of those games out of the water when it comes to the side quests. Skyrim and Morrowind are by no means bad about them, but Oblivion really showcased a height of creativity and memorability with them. Things like the ship that doubles as a hotel getting captured by pirates while you are asleep there, going into the Argonian mage's (or was that the one who assisted you?) dream, going to that island to supposedly help pay off that one guy's debt, Hackdirt, Glarthir, to count a few examples.

I rarely have replayed games in more recent years, even TES and Fallout titles. But I have substantially played a second run-through with Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Morrowind, and now Oblivion over the past year and a half or so. For all their flaws, Bethesda games really know how to scratch particular itches.

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

A couple of other new things I discovered that I forgot to mention:

• As I was going through an Oblivion gate the other day, I found a Deadlands map that actually had TWO portals going into it. That was neat. I reloaded after I went out that gate because I didn't feel like messing around with the enemies on the other side (which was at least one goblin), but looking back on it I should've just dealt with it. Still, I wonder if that other gate will be destroyed, too, when I find it again, or if it'll go back into that same exact dungeon or another one.
• Another thing that took me way too long to figure out and that I only realized this playthrough (and which I probably shouldn't admit openly): Those tabs' symbols in the magic spells inventory section of the UI indicate Target, Touch, and Self spells. The All spells and the Current Effects tabs were pretty obvious, but it only just clicked a couple days ago what those other symbols were. Kind of sad, really.
• I'm breaking into the houses of people I think deserve it or that pissed me off in some way. There is that Khajiit, whose name I forget, in Leyawiin who is racist against Argonians, and that [censored] does not fly with me whether I am playing an Argonian or not. Only thing is that I haven't really had a long opportunity where she is not there, but one time she came in through the door and just looked at me. Kind of hilarious that you don't get a bounty for that as long as you don't steal something in front of her.
  
  In Skingrad I also broke into Glarthir's home. He didn't have a whole lot that I could do something with, but I did snag some gold and a few food items for alchemy. Of course, that will probably make him even crazier and think that it is more evidence that other citizens are spying on him, but *shrug* whatever.
  
  The last one I did this to was Alval Uvani, just yesterday. I don't remember him from my first playthrough, and I probably would if I encountered him because he is a particularly douche-y Dunmer. I have only encountered him in Skingrad so far, but I looked up some info on him and he apparently travels around. Anyway, I pickpocketed his key with ease (he noticed when I took his gold every damn time), but kind of annoyingly there would be no message that I got a bounty even though I did. I also learned from looking him up that his house is in Leyawiin. So, I went there and stole some things, but this time I took it one step further and grabbed any objects I could and threw them all over the place. (I'll post a screenshot of that later one). Maybe you won't be so stuck up next time, Alval.
• I don't remember Else God-Hater and Cingor revealing themselves to be Mythic Dawn agents in my first playthrough of Oblivion, but they did this time. But I don't think I remember any specific names from before, so technically every one of them revealing themselves will be new to me. Let's see if I can find all of them...

This post has been edited by RaderOfTheLostArk: Apr 22 2021, 03:02 PM

[Renee]

Evelona's a pretty name. Hope we get a picture soon. You're in luck if you want to try Elsweyr, as macole knows all about how to get it running.

Well good luck with your quest to visit every location in Cyrodiil. My Lady Saga's (elf archer) original goal was to do this, and I've been keeping a Notepad page on my computer which shows every location she's visited. Speaking of Saga, last I saw her she has left Bruma, and is headed to Chorrol. I'll make a full update later.

[macole]

YAY, another returning Oblivion player. Sometimes that ‘got to save rats’ feeling just overwhelms me. Enjoy.

Nice set of initial mods you have there. I could suggest a few more must haves if you’d like. I’m currently using 296 mods so I do know a little bit. Well enough to say if you add OOO, MMM, and MOO be prepared to fight for your life. Maskar’s Oblivion Overhaul is very good by the way.

OBSE and Realistic Leveling I’ve used for years. They are on my must have list.

OCOv2 is good. It does make some very pretty faces. It even vastly improved the faces for the Integration-The Stranded Light mod which has the most horrid looking faces you’ll ever see. OCOv2 does have its issues though. My biggest complaint is with the Orcs.

Trailblazer is a good class name, every bit as good as Mystwalker which I’ve used for some 20-years. For a Trailblazer I would like to suggest The Ayleid Steps. It will have you blazing a trail across Cyrodiil taking you places you never thought you’d go otherwise.

The skill-set looks great. I agree with doing away with a dedicated armor skill. It gives a feeling of versatility to the character.

[mirocu]

Glad to see you getting a renewed interest in Oblivion, Rader!


And Saga has left Bruma for Chorrol? Sounds like someone is doing the Lothie run

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-For a really good sword, try "A Fighting Chance" in the Imperial City.

Fadus Calidius' words surprised Lothran a bit; he was just about to say goodbye to his fellow Guild members and then head to the capital to offload all the stuff he's collected whilst staying in Skingrad county. So that advice couldn't have come better. Not that the elf needs a really good sword, but still.

The road back to the City was mostly clear, only a couple of ogres and a Willow Wisp gained the attention of Lothran's Spriggan and her pet. Now to rest in the shack for a bit and then it's time to go to the market district, and perhaps bet on a fight?

[Renee]

Lothran still returns to his Waterfront Shack after all this time, how charming.

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Turdas, Heartfire 19, Year 1, late evening



The trio of figures left Bruma some time earlier in the morning: Aerin, bosmer archer from Valenwood, followed by a pair of Imperial soldiers. One of these soldiers was a typical tin-suit, wearing heavy gray armor. He had been on patrol somewhere along Red Ring Road when Aerin the elf had found him. The other soldier was a Forester. His area of garrison had been just north of Bruma. Again, she had spoken to him, and persuaded him to leave his low-paid foresting job. Riches and adventure were promised, and that's all it took to get him to come along with her.

The elf had a bay horse which she never rode; instead, she used it as a pack mule. This horse had no name, and was loaded down with at least a dozen bows, two crossbows, and all sorts of assorted supplies and arrows. On this horse's massive carrying satchel was a sword of silver which Aerin had no use for. She gave this sword to the Imperial forester. Now he'd have a second weapon for close combat.

But now, the three travelers came to a stop. They had made it to the first ridge south of Bruma, where greener forest became the dominant landscape. The elf motioned for her horse (and the soldiers) to stay put a few moments, while she stalked off.

"That Honditar really knows his way around this area," said the forester to the tin-suited soldier. "Have you ever spoken to him?"

"I've spoken to him," answered the soldier. "He really knows his way around. Every tree, rock, and cave in the area."

"Hmm."

By now, the elf was many yards away. The forester noticed she often would stop, stoop, and rummage through plants by the side of the road.

"What's she doing anyway?" asked the forester.

"Looking for any useful plant life she can find. Saga likes picking up every herb, mushroom, flower, frond, you name it. All so she can build up a good stock of ingredients. She uses some of those to make potions, some to make poisons, and others she simply subsists upon."

The forester pondered a moment. "Wait, you mentioned her as 'Saga'. Do you mean to say she is the Lady Saga I've heard so much about?"

"Yes."

"By the Gods!"

The forester smiled. He had had no idea who she was when they'd met, but the reputation of this 'little elf' had preceded her.

Ever since the end of the Oblivion Crisis some months before, rumors of a blonde elf (who was not as loquacious or charming as that other blonde elf, the one who'd actually assisted at Kvatch and Bruma) had been spreading, especially amongst the Legionaries of Cyrodiil. Whether they were road patrols or foresters, these soldiers were slated to spend a lot of time outdoors. And it was outdoors that Lady Saga often spent days at a time, surviving from the land. The elf preferred having soldiers travel with her instead of townspeople, which is where all the rumors about her had sprouted.

Soldiers of Cyrodiil were already living outdoors for much of their life. Fighters Guild and Mages Guild members also occasionally traveled with her. But it was the soldiers who were already toughened by the land, its weather, and its creatures. So went Saga's logic, anyways.

As the elf returned to the pair of soldiers, the forester gagged when he noticed she was eating some sort of green mushroom. Certainly, such a cap would be ... quite bitter, right out of the ground?

"She often does that," said the tin-suit. "I'd get used to it, if I were you."

"Take care," said the forester, who was thinking he'd just stick to his usual diet of mutton and ale.


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

Adventuring Party

"Grraaak!"

Forrrr the Empire!

[Acadian]

Renee, how neat traveling with those two soldiers. Buffy used to do the same, repairing their gear, keeping them healed up. I remember when traveling with mounted soldiers that we'd use the command console to adjust Superian's speed from 'Oh Wow' (50) down to the much more leisurely pace of a Legion bay (26).