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

[Lopov]

@Acadian - great shot of the month, Buffy's hairstyle looks good as does her outfit. She seems comfortable in what she wears.

@Grits - love that dragon in the background! Is the guy on the left Maurice the Monk who is supposed to pray to Kynareth. He seems familiar from Lucius' world but unfortunately he died too early.

Have you done Meridia's Beacon quests before? I think I have... not sure though.

Yes, Corcaigh did that quest, it was good. But I liked Vaermina's more, it felt good to defeat the queen of nightmares in her own realm.

Is this now becoming the tale of Lydia and 'her Thane'?

It seems so. I don't really have any control over Lydia's writing lust.

Lopov, I loved Lydia’s view of the High Hrothgar stay.

Anyway he scraped together enough coin on this trip to rent Breezehome for the winter. Thanks to My Home Is Your Home he was able to move Lydia back to Dragonsreach and get the three ladies situated at the house.

Thanks. Is this some mod that allows you to rent houses? And great shots, especially the one with Jerric fighting three bandits.

[SubRosa]

It looks like Jerric needs to take Sureshot Slim to the archery range to get some practice! Maybe Angi could give Slim some tips? Granted, Jerric doesn't look any worse than Persephone did when she was teamed up with Serana. Persephone always had an ice bolt sticking out of either her face or her back at the end of every one of those fights...

At least Jerric got Miss Creepy I'm Going To Eat Bread And Watch You Sleep out of Breezehome. The new company is much better.

I keep thinking that Amren would probably be better off without his shrew wife. But the trouble is she would probably take their daughter with her. Then again, we are talking about Braith. Maybe Amren would be better off all around! Lars Battleborn would agree!

I am with you Acadian on the skill point bonuses! An extra perk of your choice would be so much more useful!

[ghastley]

If Ulfe grabs one of the beds, Jerric's going to be sleeping on a bedroll by the fire.

Jerric may have an arrow in his face, but it looks like the Dunmer has a shield through his!

[Lopov]

take their daughter with her. Then again, we are talking about Braith. Maybe Amren would be better off all around! Lars Battleborn would agree!

--

We met the most odd man today! He was jumping in circles, clapping and squealing. Said his name was Cicero and that he needed some help because his wagon wheel broke. I didn't like him at all, I had a feeling that he's hiding something sinister, yet my Thane, helpful as always, decided to lend him a hand. He could not repair the wheel by himself so we went to a nearby farm. Its owner was rather rude and at first tried to turn his help down but my Thane has a way with words, and soon the old farmer agreed to lend his tools to Cicero. The annoying jester was overjoyed when my Thane told him good news and he was dancing around my Thane in circles, singing and clapping like a madman. I had my right hand ready at my axe in case the jester decided to do something unexpected to my Thane yet this didn't happen and my Thane bid him farewell with a smile. I couldn't help but to look at the jester once more as we were leaving and I caught him looking at me, his eyes narrowed and a devious smile on his lips. I returned the unfriendly look and then we moved on. My Thane thinks that the man was blessed by Sheogorath but I think he was hiding something. I hope to never see him again.

Lydia, Fort Dunstad,
25th of Heartfire 4€201

This post has been edited by Lopov: Dec 2 2014, 10:58 PM

[Grits]

Acadian, I wholeheartedly agree about the “gift” skill increases. It would be nice if there was at least a polite “No thank you” reply. Amren and Roggi Knot-Beard are Jerric’s buddies for life after giving him some stab and bash tips, but a vigorous sparring session is no way to thank a mystic archer.

Lopov, that is indeed the lunatic monk Maurice who prays to the tree. I changed him in my NPC mod to be protected and also to run away from combat rather than race in with his fists, since he is supposed to be a pacifist. However in that screenshot you can see that he is wearing a greatsword. He picked it up while Jerric and Lil were fighting bandits at Valtheim Towers. When Jerric turned at the top of the stairs I saw Maurice kneel down and open that chest that is unlocked but trapped with a swinging spiked thing. I guess the sword was in there. Since you can’t access his inventory because he’s not a regular follower, he carried that sword right into the Eldergleam Sanctuary.

However there’s more to the story. I was having catastrophic crashes the whole time, so Jerric got to go from Whiterun to the volcanic tundra for that quest four times before I got the problem sorted out (I hope). Each time they did it a little differently. That time they went to the Atronach Stone to get Jerric’s blessing and then fought the dragon when it attacked. Crash and start over. After that time Jerric dropped Maurice off in the Sanctuary first before going to the Stone in the hopes of getting past the problem. They spent the same night in Darkwater Crossing twice, then at the hot springs with the hunters once (no screens of that since the Nord was sprawling nakedly all over the place), and finally in the Eldergleam Sanctuary. The night in the Sanctuary got saved. It was the Groundhog Day of his Skyrim game.

House rental, Grits style: we pretend. Jerric had to save up the whole 5000 to buy the house plus whatever couple thousand later to decorate it, then we just think of it as a rental. His life is mostly in his story but also in the Oblivion game, so it makes no sense for his character to own property in Whiterun. But he still spends a lot of time there, so he and his friends need a place to stay. Last winter they stayed at Lakeview Manor, which in his world is Aravi Manor. Each of them built Lakeview Manor as a player character and moved their friends in as NPCs, including King Coin’s Aravi character and her husband Kharjo. And that’s how a mage, an archer, and a healer got their Smithing skills up over 40.

The mod gives my NPCs their schedules, though. Jerric is able to tell them through in-game dialog that this is your home, this is where you sleep, and this is where you work during the day and the NPCs walk to the different areas/cells at the right times. It’s pretty neat.

I like how Lydia knew something was off with Cicero.

[SubRosa]

You can get into any NPCs inventory by opening the console, clicking on them, and typing:

OpenActorContainer 1

Then you can add or remove things just like with a chest.

[Renee]

Cicero. Mycharonna's bestest friend.

[Grits]

SubRosa, thank you so much! It never occurred to me that I could do that.

Jerric thought Cicero was hilarious when they met. He had no clue about what was in the big box.

[Acadian]

Lopov - Methinks Lydia's spider senses are spot on regarding Cicero.

Grits - Glad I'm not alone in disliking unsolicited skill ups. I think your idea to buy houses and just pretend to rent or use them is a great one. Buffy's happy just renting a room at the taverns, but since Jerric has a posse of groupies, he neeeeds a bigger place.

SubRosa - I find that to be a very helpful console command as well. Among Buffy's fave radiant quests are the hostage rescue Companion missions. As soon as she rescues the hostage, she gives them a handful of big healing potions before escorting them home.

Renee - Mycharonna + Cicero = best friends = no surprise.

[Grits]

Jerric and Lildereth made the climb to High Hrothgar to answer the Greybeards’ summons. I’m happy to report that the ancient monastery is still standing.

Arngeir and his fellow Beards did detect the whiff of Akatosh on Jerric, enough that at first they called him Dragonborn. This made Jerric acutely uncomfortable. He knows that the Blades are preparing for the time when the next Dragonborn rises, and he was hoping for a little break to have a life first. Lildereth was also upset by this development. She had planned a quick trip indoors to warm up and perhaps see if they had some rare books lying around that wouldn’t be missed right away, since Saturalia is near and Darnand is difficult to shop for. Instead the Nords started a Shouting lesson.

Jerric seemed to catch on, but it didn’t take long before the Greybeards were through with him. They all agreed that while aptitude was important Jerric lacked both the temperament and the discipline to follow their Way. Arngeir gave him a minor task to fulfill in the event he ever wanted to return to them for more wisdom. Of course as soon as the old man said “Windcaller” Jerric thought of a dozen fart jokes. He cut his eyes at Lil who immediately realized what was on his mind. Now it is a known fact that Nord males do not giggle, so Jerric was able to pin the resulting commotion entirely on the elf.

The Greybeards wandered off no doubt reflecting that this was surely the thickest ice-brain ever to nearly freeze to death ten feet from their doorstep. Jerric checked the sky and decided that they should camp inside High Hrothgar for the night and make the descent in daylight. Lil was clearly ready to go, so Jerric put their stuff as close to the door as he could manage and still enjoy the heat from the Greybeards’ fires.

On the way back to Ivarstead a dragon flew over them while they were on the side of the mountain. It returned for several more passes roaring down in kind of a conversational way. Jerric does not speak Dragon, but he yelled back that he was not the Dragonborn they were looking for, in case the dragon was asking how things went up at the monastery. It crossed his mind that this dragon might have known the one that used to live on Bonestrewn Crest. If that subject came up Jerric was just going to say that it was up to the dragons if they attacked people or not. He did not mind fighting anything that tried to kill him. This one flew away, though.

They stopped back in Ivarstead to tell Klimmek that his supplies had been delivered and to buy more ale. As soon as they stepped out of the store Jerric was approached by some Dunmeri men in bone-looking masks. One of them was carrying A Note. It seems that there is a misunderstanding in Solstheim that needs clearing up. But that’s going to have to wait. For now they’re heading to Solitude to pick up Kip at Katla’s Farm. Maybe they’ll go get the Horn of the Gasmaster while they’re in the neighborhood. Jerric still has lots of ideas for fart jokes.

[ghastley]

It doesn't surprise me that Jerric has breath that can knock a man over. I know several Nords that are like that IRL. It may have something to do with the ready availability of garlic to go with the mead and ale.

Maybe Ulfe's the real Dragonborn? Dog breath is even more powerful!

This post has been edited by ghastley: Dec 3 2014, 06:40 PM

[Acadian]

What a delightfully Jerrical twist you are putting on the adventures of the reluctant dragonborn! I haven't noticed the tat on his left arm before, but it looks good on him. Of course, most things look good on Jerric.

[Lopov]

Ohoho, Jerric has a tattoo! I had no idea, it really fits him. I have one myself but not as big as Jerric and it's on my right arm.

Lol about "Windcaller" and farting!

Their camp inside HH looks great!

Jerric does not speak Dragon, but he yelled back that he was not the Dragonborn they were looking for, in case the dragon was asking how things went up at the monastery.

And in the end Miraak sends his regards. I don't allow him or his cultists to appear in my game for now.

That was a great story!
--
My Thane and I are outside Ustengrav, an ancient Nordic tomb where we are supposed to find the horn of Jurgen Windcaller, the first Greybeard. We arrived in the evening and my Thane decided to spend the night outside in a camp and explore the tomb in the morning. A lot of events happened since I wrote to my diary for the last time. Where shall I begin? At the end. Too many writers begin at the beginning so I will begin at the end.

We have arrived at Ustengrav in the evening because we got lost while searching for it. Directions leading us to Ustengrav were vague so my Thane and I stumbled upon a wrong Nordic ruin. It was not a usual one because it was the tomb of once powerful dragon priest Vokun. On our adventure through the tomb we were accompanied by Anska, a young girl searching for an ancient scroll about her heritage. While Anska proved to be skilled in magic, I prefer to travel with my Thane alone and I’d rather see her wait for us to return with the scroll. She often got in our way and more than once set both me and my Thane on fire with her fireballs. We got into a conflict because of this but my Thane calmed us down. Perhaps it was for the best. Our adventure ended well, we found Anska’s scroll and defeated Vokun who was a much tougher foe than we expected. My Thane took his mask as a battle souvenir, saying that if he ever owns a home in Skyrim, he’ll put it on display. I do hope that he settles down in Skyrim indeed.

What happened before we met Vokun, you ask, my diary? Before that we had another unusual adventure in Dawnstar yet I was not a part of it. My friendly Thane joined Erandur, a priest of Mara, and together they lifted Vaermina’s curse that was causing people of Dawnstar to have nightmares. I was not a part of this adventure because only Erandur and my Thane could enter Vaermina’s lair, the Nightcaller Temple. Erandur blessed my Thane with some unknown magic and they went inside while I waited outside, on a lookout for bandits and wild animals. I only had to deal with two sabrecats while waiting. And I’ve been waiting for them for many, many hours! I have been very worried for both of them and was relieved when they finally emerged outside. They were both exhausted, battling Vaermina took a toll on them and I helped them back to Dawnstar. Both of them needed a prolonged rest and I was watching over them. Later my Thane told me about the events in the Nightcaller Temple and I still find some of them hard to believe. But I know that my Thane is telling the truth.

So this was the beginning and now we’re at the end. We will explore Ustengrav tomorrow. May Talos be with us!

Lydia, outside Ustengrav,

29th of Heartfire 4€201
--
The conflict between girls happened because Anska wounded Lydia too much with her fireballs so Lydia went hostile. For a few minutes they've been fighting, yelling "You are a disgrace to your own race" and "Now you pay!" at each other and then we intervened by typing resetai in the console and the chick fight was over. Anska also proved to be more dangerous than helpful when fighting Vokun because Lucius was not only hit by Vokun but by Anska's powerful fireballs as well so it was kinda relieving when she was too wounded to fight and Lucius could alone focus on Vokun.

[Acadian]

Oh, I like both the Nightcrawler (lol) and Anska quests!

Lydia vs Anska!

I hope the delays at Dawnstar and huntin' Vokun for Anska don't let someone else beat Lydia (and her Thane) to Jurgie's Blowhorn.

[Grits]

Jerric finally got some ink for his birthday. Of course we expect that his reckless use of healing spells and potions will cause his tattoos to fade over time (or not be there at all when he's an NPC, oops), but there’s more where that one came from.

Lopov, I really enjoy Lydia’s personality in her diary writing. A chick fight in the ruins! I don’t remember Anska’s quest, but the Dawnstar adventure is familiar. Lydia’s Thane helps a lot of people!


Valdi and Erik the Slayer have been racing Lord Harkon’s minions to reach a very special bow. The quests have gone as expected. Valdi’s disastrous personal life has been a little more interesting.

Serana keeps tagging along with them, and Valdi dismisses her every time she gets the conversational option to do so. She ditched the vamp and brought Erik with her to find the second Elder Scroll. I’m not sure what she was thinking, but after two days of fighting underground she suddenly decided the time was right to give it up to Erik. In Blackreach.

Erik did not seem to notice her advances. (He ignored her Amulet of Mara.) Perhaps it was the Falmer, or the stone beds, or the Dwarven constructs, or Valdi’s complete failure at building a fire so that they didn’t get uncomfortably cold, or maybe it was the chaurus poison that soaked both of their clothing, or possibly the number of times she accidentally shot him (a lot), or maybe he’s just not into her. Whatever the cause was Erik was not in the mood.

The next time they passed through Riften Valdi sought some advice from Maramal at the temple. He was very nice but didn’t have anything new to tell her. (I forgot if she had “the talk” with Maramal. Apparently she did.)

Valdi has become the target of vampire attacks, so she is careful not to endanger civilians by entering cities after dark. It happened that they were passing the hot springs at an appropriate time to stop for the night. Valdi has heard a lot about the fun that can be had with the hunters there. So she suggested that they make camp.

It did not go well. She did eventually summon the nerve to join the party in the water, but even after Erik joined in too it seemed that he was avoiding her. When she sat down, he sat far away. When she moved closer, he got up and moved farther away. She slept in one tent, and when she woke up he was hanging out next to a different one. Valdi is not good with feelings so she didn’t say anything. She just ate some cheese and an apple for breakfast and they left. It never occurred to her that Erik might have been as uncomfortable in that situation as she was.

Now she’s back with Serana, and Erik had to go (auto-dismissed by the quest). The whole time Valdi and Serana were in the Ancestor Glade Valdi kept thinking how Erik would say “By the Nine!” if he was there. Also she found four of his steel crossbow bolts in her inventory and now she’s carrying them in her pocket. They’re heading for what sounds to Valdi like a place they will wish they had Erik fighting alongside them. Valdi isn’t sure about Serana. She finds Serana to be graceful and beautiful and well-spoken with smooth hair unlike herself, which makes her think that Serana is messing with her mind so that Valdi will like her. After all they are going on a long trip together and Serana does not eat cheese and apples.

[Acadian]

Grits, what a delightful little Valdi vignette! Poor thing! Had to trade in Erik the Oblivious for Serana the Smoothhair. Valdi is delightfully young and awkward in your portrayal of her. Oh, and great screenie! Love your tack selection for both horses.

[SubRosa]

Valdi has one big shield!

Blackreach made Valdi romantic? Or maybe just desperate. But all for naught. Perhaps she did not notice that the football game was on? Or maybe Erik prefers sausage to fish? Poor Valdi. She needs to set her sights a little higher.

Serana might eat not cheese or apples, but I bet she likes some blood pudding...

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 5 2014, 04:05 AM

[Acadian]

SubRosa, I hope Grits won’t mind if I chime in here on that shield. It is part of the Convenient Horses mod – one of the absolutely essential mods in my load order. Valdi’s horse is sporting ‘Dawnguard Armor’ and the shield is actually a permanent part of that horse armor. On the other side of that DG saddle is strapped a crossbow (for decoration only, like the shield). Erik’s steed is sporting the ‘Traveler Saddle’ so he can tote the pair's groceries.

The mod includes a long list of incredible features for horse users. One of those features is the ability to change the tack on horses being used by the player or their followers. The dozen or so options range from bareback all the way up to daedric armor and can be changed in a matter of seconds right in game.

Here’s a screenshot showing four of the various tacks in game. From left to right: Traveler Saddle, Bard Saddle, Nordic Armor (on Superian) and Dragonbone Armor. If anyone's interested, the riders (from left to right) are Arissa, Sofia, Buffy and Inigo.

I confess that since using this wonderful mod Superian has become as much of a clothes horse as Buffy.

This post has been edited by Acadian: Dec 5 2014, 04:04 AM

[Grits]

Thank you very much, Acadian! Despite my laptop’s limitations, Convenient Horses is one mod that I won’t do without. What a great picture of Buffy’s caravan of friends! I love that Bard saddle. Someday I’ll get to use it.

Valdi’s actual Dawnguard shield is indeed smaller, but it’s still a pretty big shield. She has the Targe of the Blooded now but she’s going to give it to Jerric. Valdi doesn’t have the stamina to use a shield as a weapon very effectively (or the stature to look even remotely convincing, lol). She has perks up the left side of the Block tree for defense. She is fearless in combat.

She’s also very thoughtful, so she’s always dragging books, gems, Dwemer stuff, anything that looks pretty, and every kind of arrow home for the “elders.” Jerric invented a game that uses gyros. Also lately she’s been picking up pottery and those blue painted plates for Abiene. I’m not sure why Valdi thinks Abiene wants Nordic pottery, but she’s got a bunch of it in Tage’s saddlebags right now.

Without Erik around Valdi is much more focused. She doesn’t second guess herself and just gets on with what needs doing. Like assaulting a small Forsworn encampment so that they could get out of a storm. Dexion the Moth Priest was right to trust her with this quest. She is capable of greatness. However while she was reading the Elder Scroll she was also thinking, why doesn’t he like me? An Elder Scroll!! Oh, Valdi.

[SubRosa]

Maybe the Elder Scroll will give her some insight into Erik the Greenthumb's lack of interest?