Screenshots of your beloved Characters, Show em all! Options

[Agent Griff]

Is Al a stealth-based character? If so, how exactly do you go about playing one of these buggers? I've recently started play with a Breton stealthy guy which has Sneak, Marksman, Light Armour, Blade, Illusion, Alteration and one other thing as major skills. He's currently level 2 but what's annoying me is that he's weak as hell in most situations and it gets pretty annoying when you fight something stronger than a rat or a random goblin.

How exactly do you play a Stealth guy so you actually have fun? I mean, arrows are pretty erratic and there are some cases when you don't even get the chance to use stealth. Like for example when you have to face an NPC in a quest and he has to talk to you before you can properly kill him. The only thing you can do is pepper the honoured user with arrows but I hate the way you kill something with arrows in Oblivion (i.e. run backwards while making a pin-cushion out of your enemy). What exactly should I do so as to get satisfaction from my character.

[the listener]

im new on this site and a noob at oblivion i meen am lvl 9 n wear a black hand robe but it an amazing game [size=7][font=Century Gothic]

[the listener]

im new on this site and a noob at oblivion i meen am lvl 9 n wear a black hand robe but it an amazing game

[jack cloudy]

Heh, what a coincidence for this thread to get back to life. I've just gotten Daggerfall to work perfectly. I even got the offer of following a tutorial. I accepted, but it was a bit wonky. I was already bashing in a thief while the tutorial uberexcited told me to ready a weapon and take on that rat behind the secret door! I was all like: ,,Rat? You mean the one I whacked like....four rooms ago?"(Well, I had to sacrifice sounds and movies, but I think I can rectify that with a simple copy and paste job)

For stealth characters, I don't have much advice. But this is Oblivion, right? If so, poison would probably be your friend. But then again, that takes preparation time. If you're not willing to do that, you're in bad luck. Enchantments could help, but I don't consider a glowing dagger stealthy.

Anyway, since Daggerfall works now including quests and factions, I've made myself a new character to celebrate. I'm roleplaying this one. Basically, I wanted a character that could integrate in multiple societies easily and rip off people with a smooth tongue. So I went with Khajiit, which are surprisingly human here. If it wasn't for the tail, you couldn't tell. Add a robe, and you absolutely can't tell. I also picked female, cause I'm a guy and females work better at the charming thing IMHO.

Personality-wise, she is addicted to power. All kinds of spells are her thing. (Mage guild, watch out!) I'm also aiming for vampire here. From what I've read, Daggerfallian vampires are somewhat worse than Cyrodiilic in the sun department but much better than Morrowind's. Oh and get this, I've read that they've got an imunity to iron and steel weapons. Guess what the guards use?
One last oddity, I don't use weapons. If you're going to fight, keep it personal. Besides, she may be the most humanoid Khajiit I've ever seen, I bet she still has some sharp little claws. (Although, I stick to kicks so it doesn't really matter.)

Oh, and some pics I suppose.

Please, don't ask. I was surprised at the lack of proper coverage myself. Most characters end up having a good shirt, rather than this breezy affair. At least I found some boots already.

And one easy dungeon later. (Ok, not so easy. I had to zap all the humanoids and run away from the skeleton.)

One robe and a full helmet. Don't ask me why I'm using a shield though. It just boosts the armour rating. Although, it would be cool if I could bash with it. (those little fists just don't have the same kind of impact as a huge sheet of steel.)

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Jan 21 2008, 08:51 PM

[canis216]

Is Al a stealth-based character? If so, how exactly do you go about playing one of these buggers? I've recently started play with a Breton stealthy guy which has Sneak, Marksman, Light Armour, Blade, Illusion, Alteration and one other thing as major skills. He's currently level 2 but what's annoying me is that he's weak as hell in most situations and it gets pretty annoying when you fight something stronger than a rat or a random goblin.

How exactly do you play a Stealth guy so you actually have fun? I mean, arrows are pretty erratic and there are some cases when you don't even get the chance to use stealth. Like for example when you have to face an NPC in a quest and he has to talk to you before you can properly kill him. The only thing you can do is pepper the honoured user with arrows but I hate the way you kill something with arrows in Oblivion (i.e. run backwards while making a pin-cushion out of your enemy). What exactly should I do so as to get satisfaction from my character.

Yeah, Al is definitely a stealth-based character. He's probably a bad example of how to play one though, because I basically created the Oblivion version of Al using the console, so he's a fully formed badass with great weaponry, including a "legendary" (I've wriiten a Morrowind-style skill book about this thing) daedric dagger called Kills-You-Dead, which absorbs 30 points of health with each strike. Like I said, fully formed badass.

But really, to survive and fun as a sneak you've just got to practice your sneak a lot, mind where your enemies are (detect life spells are nice--Al doesn't use them but my other sneaks sure do), get yourself a decent melee weapon, and maybe work on this alchemy skills to help you survive. Be a thief--make some money. Adjust your difficulty level so your weak Breton can survive and have a little more stealth success. You can always turn up the difficulty later. And definitely give your character a personality. One of the reasons Al is so fun is because he's got an attitude. He a badass killer, cocky as hell, who takes pride in a job well done. Set little challenges for yourself. Al is very precise, for example. If he kills somebody with an arrow to the arm instead of a nice shot to heart or the head, he gets angry at himself. That's part of the fun.

This post has been edited by canis216: Jan 21 2008, 09:03 PM

[Agent Griff]

Well, that might be it. I don't really have a lot of poisons in my inventory. I don't really have the ingredients to brew them myself and I can't really find a shop from where to buy them either. This is also my first stealthy character so I guess that also counts for something since, up until this Breton, I've only been used with swashbuckling combat guys like Redguards, Imperials or Orcs. To be honest I think I'll erase this Breton guy, brandish him as a failure and start anew with something more down my alley, like a spellsword!

But then again I'd be terribly disappointed at the fact that I kind of missed out on the Thieves Guild quests. I know I can be the head of all the guilds with a single character, no matter what class he is, but it just feels like cheating to me if you play Thieves Guild quests with a Battlemage character. I tried it and I know how awful it feels. Well, this Breton guy isn't exactly your average thief. He's more of a hunter type of character, someone who wanders the wilds, looking for unnatural fiends to slay. I guess that's where the name of his class originates from (fiend slayer). When he's in a town he has a penchant for breaking into places and robbing them blind. Let's just say he's the curious type.

I guess I should try to make him more buff so he can outlast his enemies in melee, like my usual characters do. I'll also build up a proper inventory of poisons fit for a proper thief (and assassin, and hunter and monster slayer). That's what makes my stealth Breton so awkward. He isn't really a thief but he ain't a straightforward hunter guy either. He's more of an odd mix.

EDIT: Thanks for the advice Canis, it's really appreciated, coming from someone more used to stealth guys. No offense Jack

This post has been edited by Agent Griff: Jan 21 2008, 09:07 PM

[canis216]

If you want to make some poisons, start by picking up some nightshade. It grows all over. Clouded funnel cap, whisp stalk cap... in Blackwood you can find stinkhorn and elf cup. All of those damage health, I think, or damage some attribute. Yeah, poison your blade, poison your arrows... And as you are a hunter, if you get your alchemy skill up enough you'll find that venison also damages health. Yeah, it restores health and damages health. Figure that one out.

[Agent Griff]

Great, the only problem would be the fact that I don't have alchemy as a major skill. Oh well, if Damage Health is the first attribute of said plant then there shouldn't be any problems. Thanks for the advice, I'll look for the Nightshade.

And, as I said before, my character isn't really a hunter. He is more of a stealthy guy who likes to clear out caves full of monsters and other unnatural creatures like vampires or ghosts and has a penchant for stealing things so he can get by while he's in a city (have enough money to sleep under a roof etc.). This guy basically has some pretty big cash flow issues.

All in all, I'd say he's pretty interesting to roleplay. I mean, you just have to reach his mindset. Kill some creature, sell what you skin off it, get on with your life another day. When money's just running low, find a shop or some wealthy guy's house and rob it blind then fence the stolen goods (that's where Thieves Guild membership comes in).

[canis216]

Your alchemy will increase pretty fast.--getting it above 25 will cover most of what you want. Try to harvest every ingredient that you can and make a potion. It does not matter if the potion is useful to you or not; you can sell the undesirables (it's an easy way to make some scratch) and get some experience that will be valuable in the long run.

This post has been edited by canis216: Jan 21 2008, 10:14 PM

[canis216]

Alright, now for some actually bloody screenshots.

Al's palatial estate place in the IC


Al in Oblivion


Standing over a fallen Xivilai


At the top of the Sigil Keep posing instead of grabbing the sigil stone


This post has been edited by canis216: Jan 21 2008, 10:27 PM

[Agent Griff]

My Breton stealth guy is now dead. I've replaced him with a Bosmer ranger dude which is somewhat more fit for combat than the Breton. I based his class on the already existing "Archer" class, with a few nips and tucks here and there to suit my needs.

And you proposed imposing challenges Canis. I did just that. I started the game in Anvil (I have a mod which starts you out on a ship instead of the IC dungeons) and, the moment I stepped off the boat, I went on a trip, from Anvil to Chorrol. Pretty simple huh? A trip between these two cities with no stops in between. Well, the only snag was that I made this trip by going through the wilderness. To give you an image of my course, I left Anvil and headed NW, along the Gold Coast until I reached the River Brena which is part of the border between Cyrodiil and Hammerfell. The River Brena is basically one big gorge so I went along its bank. After getting attacked by two bandits and their dog, I continued my journey through County Kvatch. I could see the ruined city in the distance yet my target was Chorrol not Kvatch.

I soon arrived in the broken foot-hills most call the Colovian Highlands. It truly is a barren wasteland, save the occasional bandit camp or abandoned mine. In the Colovian Highlands I had an untimely run-in with a minotaur which chased me almost all the way to Chorrol. He lost interesting eventually and left me alone. After being attacked by a wolf I soon found myself near the place where the Black Road, which led to Chorrol, started. I was atop the ridge of the hill, trying to look in the distance yet fog blocked my view of the land. After a few moments of trying to look around and see where I was in relation to the Black Road, I heard battle music. I drew my blade and looked around, but saw nothing. After a few more moments I was still tense, looking to see what was attacking me, hoping the Minotaur had not caught up. In the end I found out what was stalking me and it was not a Minotaur. No, not a Minotaur, merely a bloodthirsty Troll. After seeing the beast I resumed running towards Chorrol. After a short sprint the Troll lost interest and left me to my own affairs. Safe from the Troll, I could see the road. There were two bandits there however, a Redguard and a Khajiit. Sneaking up on them, I shot a spell from the ridge of the hill I was descending. They were alerted to my presence when I shot the spell however and the Redguard came after me. He couldn't climb the hill though so I was safe and able to bombard him with fireballs (I didn't have a bow so I had to rely on the basic Destruction spell every player has).

After a minute of firing spells at him however I soon felt a Silence spell hit me. I turned around to see who had cast the spell, expecting to see that the other bandit had circled around me yet I saw a Mystical Imp (the worst kind of Imp there is). Sensing that I was involved in a hopeless battle, I quickly ran, passing by the bandits and finally reaching the road. Once there, I started following the road to Chorrol. As I ran to Chorrol I gathered a few more followers (namely a pack of wolves) yet in the end I managed to kill both bandits and one of the wolves. The other wolves I managed to scare off after swinging my sword at one of them.

With that great ordeal done, I finally reached Chorrol. You can't imagine how glad I was to finally see those great big walls looming from between the trees. How's that for a challenge at Level 1?

[Chiglet]

Decided to return to the forums I started in, and I find there is a bit of renewed life here Very glad to see it. Been looking through the screenshots here andhave enjoyed all the great work. Well done! And Morrowind shots too! (plus Daggerfall and Arena - never palyed those myself)
While I'm here, I may as well post a few shots of my own.



playing peek-a-boo



better late than never - Happy Holidays!

And a couple that aren't mine, but I have permission to post them


In an Ayleid Ruin


Hrm. I'm gonna have to do something about the size of mypics from now on.
there much better sizes

This post has been edited by Chiglet: Jan 24 2008, 01:52 AM

[Agent Griff]

Hm, nice mods you have there Chiglet. I dabble in mods myself but I keep it limited to things that affect the gameplay and the game-world (items, landscape etc.) so I don't really use mods which tinker with the appearance of NPCs. Still, judging by the look of the guy in the last picture (he's a vampire right?) it seems one of these mods would be worthwhile, if just to escape the bland appearance of all Oblivion NPCs.

One of these days I'll post my latest character too.

[1234king]

love dem nipple rings

[Black Hand]

Oh man, should have given my advice, I play a Breton Male 'pure' assassin in OB, and a Breton female custom nightblade, closer to morrowinds version, which was far more accurate to the true nature of the nightblade, the OB's.

But with assassins, the secret of thier success, is definitely alchemy. There are potions, that you could make with shield spells, as combat is usually unavoidable. Always snipe your target, with poison, when possible. And if you don't mind cheesing, when outnumbered, dissapear with Chameleon/Invisibility potions. Though that can get the gameplay too easy after a while, my suggestion is this:

North of Skingrad, there is a dungeon called "Goblin Jims Cave", now a bit NW of there, there is a doomstone called the Jone Stone. With a mere ten points of fame you can gain the power called 'Jones Shadow'

Invisibility for 120 seconds, Fortify sneak, athletics, acrobatics 30 points for 120 seconds on self. Once a day. Plus its a nicer spell then the 60 sec you get from a shadow birthsign, or you could get both. Whatever.

Its a great way for last minute escapes that still keeps you on the edge of your seat, and its long enough for whatever is chasing you to give up.

"But I dont want to just go there immedeatley after I get ten points of fame. I'm a roleplayer, what's my motivation?"

No problem, theres a guy in the Fighters Guild in Skingrad who will mark the dungeon location on your map, when you ask about Goblin hunting, even my assassin is in the Fighters Guild. He needs a way to cover up his income from the Thieves Guild.

A few other stealth points:

Try to stay in dark locations when sniping, its possible, if your sneak is high enough, that you wont be detected at all!

When attacking in rooms with multiple opponents, sneak attack with bows WILL alert others in the room to your presence, sneak attack with blade will NOT.

Related to above, you will get 6x damage with blade, 3x with bow, and 4x with fist, with the critical strike, calculate accordingly.

Acrobatics at level 50 will give you the 'Dodge'ability, much more useful then a shield if you have no block skill. Takes some practice, but it's actually pretty cool. Besides stealth characters are supposed to fight dirty, no?

And above all else, enjoy yourself. Stealth folks take there time, and look for the advantage in a fight. In the words of Jack Sparrow, sorry CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow.

"He who runs away, lives to run away again!"

[Lord Revan]

I've sniped groups of bandits and stuff without being noticed.
I've even gone unnoticed in the arena before, the opponent will just sit in the middle until I've shot him/her a second time.

But then I use any Imperial vampire with-custom class based of agent.

[Agent Griff]

Here's my current character, the Bosmer ranger I've been speaking of. He isn't exactly a classical fighter character yet he isn't a thief either. He is a hybrid of sorts. He is excellent with bows and sneaking but he is also skilled with a blade at the same time. He also prefers light armour and has a knack for alchemy (as you said Canis, the Alchemy skill is improved in no time, I'm currently close to Expert Rank). I can tell you for example that, at medium levels of alchemy you will find that you can concoct a Restore Health potion from Fly Amanita and Lavender Sprig, these being common ingredients and easy to find. Damage Health poisons can be made from a multitude of ingredients including Nightshade, Saint Jahn's Wort, Dragon's Tongue, Wisp Stalk caps, Stinkhorn etc.

There are a plethora of ingredients out there just waiting for someone to pick them up and use them. I'd gladly post some pictures of my character but it seems Imageshack is out of order. Does anyone know another free site for image hosting?

[Lord Revan]

Photobucket is free, My album while you're at it.

[Agent Griff]

Alright, I've registered. Here's Valanor! (that's my character's name, for those of you not in the know)

Valanor in the Private Gardens of the House of Mania, on the Shivering Isles of Sheogorath.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii123/A...18-13-43-92.jpg

Valanor outside Sheogorath's palace, at night.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii123/A...22-21-58-76.jpg

I can take more if you enjoyed it.

[jack cloudy]

I like his face, well-made. Was it a lot of work?

One thing I do miss though, are the black eyes. Man, Bosmer rock with those. Is the option of completely black eyes still available?