Today In Skyrim (Spoilerific), Like the other one, but with added spoilers!!! Options

[Renee]

There's enough black pajama dudes, vampires, thieves and such trying to kill her without adding 'hired thugs'.

Yes. You're seeing it all. aren't you? And since you've got Dawnguard activated, this DLC can throw an encounter of enemies at any time, in almost any cell. You never know when they'll show up.

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Jul 29 2014, 05:34 PM

[Acadian]

Renee, yes! We just restarted Buffy; in our last playthrough, we paused the MQ telling Delphine we couldn't be bothered. That meant dragons only on their walls. But it also meant cultist attacks from Dragonborne DLC. This time, we have the MQ paused after getting Riverwood reinforced but not going into the barrow for the Dragonstone - so no dragons or cultists at this point.

Our focus this time is more on the College. Trouble is, only the first two quests of that questline are all we're going to do. We simply want a stable College with nobody dead. So we're making up our own quests investigating magical problems all over Skyrim.

I keep saying 'we' and 'our'. . . . By that I mean Buffy, Acadian, Superian of course. They also have a critter, follower, horse for the follower. . . .

[ghastley]

Are you using a vampire attack eliminator, or mod to keep the townsfolk safe? I'm dithering between those two possibilities.

There's Random Vampire Attacks in Towns Disabled which presumably does what it says, or When Vampires Attack which makes them run and hide. Any other recommendations considered.

[Acadian]

I'm not using any mods to deal with the DG vamp attacks. I'd be interested to see how you go with mods that affect that though.

[SubRosa]

I use Dawnguard Delayed Start, with the 999 version. It prevents the DG questline from starting until you go to Fort Dawnguard and join up. After I start the questline, I do still get the stranger in town who turns out to be a vampire random encounter, as well as the vampire attacks in the wilderness. But the mod prevents them from happening until you choose to start the Dawnguard questline.

I like it because it allows me to always keep the Dawnguard.esm turned on. That way I can use its resources for all my characters, be they vampire outfits, the new huskies, spells, etc... But at the same time I never get pushed into doing the DG questline because of vampire attacks, and my towns don't become empty because all the outdoor people have been killed.

I also use Anti Vampire Attacks Dawnguard. This mod completely disables the vampire attacks on towns, regardless of whether the DG questline is active or not. So my cities don't turn into ghost towns where everybody is dead.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jul 30 2014, 03:42 AM

[Acadian]

Oh, thanks, SubRosa! I just restarted Buffy after completing DG and have no intent on starting DG again in the near term. This sounds perfect!

[SubRosa]

Forgot to mention, I also use Anti Vampire Attacks Dawnguard. This is the mod that completely disables the vampire attacks on towns, regardless of whether the DG questline is active or not.

[Acadian]

Thanks for not only editing, but posting again - I probably would have missed the edit.

[Grits]

The hired thugs have made some of my most memorable encounters. My light-fingered types who meet them the most have the hardest time dealing with them. I remember Shuvesse dancing around with them right outside the Riften gate, trying to get little dagger hits in without getting flattened in full view of the guards, the stable guys, and the Khajiit caravan. They used up all of her poisons and no one would help her. The same thing happened to Allek outside Whiterun. It was humiliating. Those thugs bring real fear to the thieving life!

I’ve been testing some mods lately rather than playing since Serafíne died. As always there are a few characters waiting in the wings. A Forsworn squad leader, a hold guard who will get an unlife after the game kills him (Njall the Unliving revisited), a vampire sorcerer pirate captain (lol), a feral werewolf, and an Aetherial fire knight with some personal issues. Hmm.

[Renee]

The in-town vampire attacks eventually stop, just so ya know Acadian. I'm not sure how this works, but I noticed in the vaniilla game that they were frequent for awhile in two different games of mine, and the forums over at Beth were complaining that they never stop, but they eventually do stop. The ones out in the wilds do not stop, though..

It's funny 'cause I don't mind the random vamp attacks, but I DO mind random dragon attacks. I'm gonna mod the heck out of dragons when I get my game on PC.

[SubRosa]

I’ve been testing some mods lately rather than playing since Serafíne died. As always there are a few characters waiting in the wings. A Forsworn squad leader, a hold guard who will get an unlife after the game kills him (Njall the Unliving revisited), a vampire sorcerer pirate captain (lol), a feral werewolf, and an Aetherial fire knight with some personal issues. Hmm.

If you want your hold guard to be a her, let me know and I will email you my Deadwalker race mod. It is what I used to create Peresphone.

[Grits]

Captain Zanimal Sadri
Master of the Northern Cardinal
Solitude Dock Post Number 457
Haafingar, Skyrim


Brother dear,


I have forgotten when last we spoke. The years have lost their meaning. Set aside what grievances you may harbor from our mortal lives. At last our time has come.

Some associates of mine have gone to sack the Hall of the Vigilant. Their errand is one of utmost importance to our Lord, though I have no further details. They seek to improve their position here at court. Politics bore me terribly, but they’re a fact of life here. A life that holds many advantages.

My associates’ failure can be your opportunity. You know the power of which I speak. I have access to magic I couldn’t possibly imagine before. But my Lord does not share his Gift lightly.

Hasten to The Pale and seek out the Vigilants’ Hall. If you are worth our maker’s blood you will pick up the trail of my associates. Find them. Kill them all and claim their prize. Bring it to my Lord and join me. Then let the world tremble.


Hugs,

Feran Sadri

So I decided to go for the vampire pirate. I found the name “Zanimal” a while ago while poking through the Dunmer lore names article. I don’t know if there’s an actual guy named Zanimal in Arena or Daggerfall, but it was too funny to pass up. He’s a sorcerer born under the Steed so he has no movement penalty for his heavy armor. Fire in one hand and Soul Trap in the other. This is the first character I’ve had who loves the Soul Trap spell! And he’s good at it. My favorite moment so far was soul-trapping a bunny right before a wolf killed it, then soul-trapping and killing the wolf. This guy is fun but kind of an a-hole. He’ll use two-handed blades imbued with fire for backup since fire is his Destruction focus. Also I never noticed that the magical part of weapon attacks can’t be blocked. Hah!

I based his skills loosely on Oblivion’s Sorcerer class, switching Enchanting for Alchemy. He won’t take any armor or weapon perks since he’ll rely on his Destruction and Enchanting skills/perks to increase the enchantment damage of his blade. (At least I think that’s how it works.) After he runs out of magicka he likes to use the katana-style long sword he’s found and already enchanted. That makes sense to me since he’s not looking to poke through an opening in armor, he just needs to make contact and let the enchantment work. We’ll see what happens if he ever finds a staff.

He got his butt kicked while taking back his ship (Northern Cardinal mod) from rival pirates. Thankfully he survived. Right now the Zanimal is gathering his crew and heading to The Pale following his brother’s advice. (Feran Sadri is the bat-faced vampire alchemist at Castle Volkihar.) If things work as planned he should be able to sail his own ship to the castle.

(I took some liberties with the Fort Dawnguard part of the questline, since I’m tired of thinking up reasons why a vampire hunter recruit would turn to vampirism after seeing the grossest vampire thing ever.)

Thank you for the offer, SubRosa! I think I’m going to go with a new Njall, but I’ll likely make a female draugr someday when I think up a good enough story for her. Persephone is so awesome! I’ve already made Njall’s living followers Rafi and Tor with the guard voice sets for his alive life. They sounded hilarious when I tested them. Tor said one of Mjoll’s remarks about the brisk air and her Nord blood, and Rafi said the male guard’s comment about crawling under some furs. Fingers crossed for the bellyful of mead!

[Acadian]

'Zanimal' How clever, and a pirate to boot. He could call his ship 'Bloodrunner'.

[Vital]

Zanimal sounds wonderful Grits! Can't imagine being a vampire pirate is easy.... You'd struggle to find a crew willing to work for a vamp and all that sailing at night could get tricky (unless you had a whole crew of vamps)

[Grits]

The Zanimal is a riot. Funnily enough he has a tremendous zest for living which is why he went vamp in the first place. I’m using a couple of mods that provide random mayhem, and this guy runs to battle with a pure joy that is unfettered by conscience. This morning I found that my player voice mod got an update including a very sarcastic and profane set, so his comments are perfect for him and hilarious. Also the Z-man LOVES the booty, not surprising considering his occupation. He’s picked up everything he’s come across unlike some of my squeamish minimal looters. Thank goodness for the Steed Stone.

When he gets back to the ship he’s going to appoint a first mate so they can sail during the day. It’s awesome to have a guaranteed light-safe haven parked at the dock for daylight hours. He just has to remember which port.

I think I absorbed a little too much of the local pirate history when we went to the beach this summer. Or “privateer” depending on which deeds are being discussed and whose side wrote the book.

‘Bloodrunner’ is an awesome name, Acadian! Yay!

[Renee]

I was gonna say: I was confused at first because this 'Captain' is seeking to mess with the Vigilants. I was thinking 'Captain' as in Watch Captain, probably Imperial. Then I see that you've got a pirate.

This guy is fun but kind of an a-hole

Ha ha this is like the guy I had two years ago: The Mighty Khahkhayre. He was also a total pr!ck. Not really pure evil, just rude and obnoxious. A personality thing much more than a good/evil thing.

Funnily enough he has a tremendous zest for living which is why he went vamp in the first place.

Funny how this works, right? Mych became a vamp for the same reason. She found mortal life dull, but the life of a vampire completely engaging. She accepted the vampire's "curse" wholeheartedly.

Lookin' forward to more Zanimal, G.

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Jul 31 2014, 07:35 PM

[Grits]

Zanimal has recruited most of his crew, including one of my old characters Asrael who now lives in Ivarstead as an NPC. He is not too impressed with Serana. This is the first time I’ve had a character meet her already as a vampire. According to her dialog she was locked away not long after she was turned. This might explain why she sounds more like a whiney kid than a dread creature of the night. Regardless the Zanimal has decided that she’s not very good at being a vampire.

Still not sure if he’ll be able to sail to the castle. Things got very crashy for a while at the Windhelm docks. They were shooting from the ship at a bear on the shore. Probably not recommended.

Here’s a picture of the Bloodrunner docked in Windhelm. She’s an ugly beast up close, but she sleeps nine crew all of them delicious. Actually the Z-man has only snacked upon one of them, and she’s not one of his raiders so he figures she’ll have time to rest and recover while he’s dining out.

The Zanimal scored what I thought was a very nice suit from a dead guy in Dimhollow Crypt, but he prefers his pieced-together outfit. Steel plate cuirass and gauntlets, Witchplate hood and boots. The boots were a lucky find off one of those Altmer shield mages we’ve been talking about. I forget where he found the hood. Probably somewhere gross. The Zanimal is not weak in the stomach.


In other news, Abiene seized control of her test session and took a bunch of quests in Solitude. She has Jerric with her. SubRosa, you would be so proud of her. Not only does she publically own up to having wild hair, but she’s also purchased an Adept robe and headed out adventuring.

It seems that her Healing Hands spell helps both Jerric and her summoned sabrecat, so when things get rough she lets them past and supports from behind. She also sometimes stands behind Jerric’s shield arm with her Ward up for both of them when they’re getting pelted by archers. Not sure if that works at all, but it’s a pretty badass move for Abiene.

She’s also made some progress with her Illusion spells, and her Alteration spells are now as good as armor would be at her level. This all happened the first night they spent at Jerric’s Solitude cottage. After he went to bed she gave herself a stern talking-to. She’s not just a healer, darnit, she’s a University trained mage.

(Jerric’s Solitude house is the adorable Princess Solitude Barnacle Cottage by Princess Stomper, right by the market well. Jarl Elisif insisted that he own property inside the city, otherwise he’d just stay at the Skeever. He’s rarely there so feel free to stop in and drink some ale if you’re in town. It’s never locked. )

[Acadian]

Gosh, I'm flattered that you actually named Captain Zanimal's ship the Bloodrunner. She looks imposing indeed out in the harbor.

Very clever (and brave) of Abiene to figure out ways to help fight from the rear in a supportive role.

I didn't even realize the Princess (Stomper) was making SkyMods. Neat, and I can see (having owned it in our last playthrough) that the vanilla house mansion in Solitude is waaay too much place. Can't even imagine trying to keep it clean! Buffy's with Jerric - this time her plan is to simply live at the Skeever while in Solitude. After all, Buffy (and I) can listen to Lisette sing for hours.

[Grits]

Marius’s house in Riften (Riften Riverside Home) is another delightful Princess creation. The downstairs is especially neat.

I had to smile at Buffy’s remark in the picture thread about roots and wings. Most of Jerric’s crew have found some place in Skyrim to leave a spare toothbrush, but Lildereth keeps everything in her (and Jerric’s) pack.

And of course they all have built Lakeview Manor in their games, but that is Aravi and Kharjo’s house.

.

This post has been edited by Grits: Aug 1 2014, 07:13 PM

[ghastley]

I have princess_stomper's Better Raven Rock installed but not activated. I was considering using a different player home there, but found that one added too much, especially as the extra stuff is just filler, with no quests or anything.