Yeah, let´s hope those bandits never befriend your avatar, Decrepit!

Thanks Renee, yeah it's something, at least...

First clearing of the Silver Tooth cave for the season.


Lothran set out early in the morning and because of no resistence along the way he reached the cave by midday. Unlike Plundered Mine and Capstone Cave where he had gone in with full lights on, this time he approached things more stealthily, relying more upon the shadows and his Spriggan. Even so, he sometimes got discovered and I don´t know how they find him when he's over 100% chameleoned.

Lothran always carries a few potions and poisons with him and they came in handy when having to add some Magicka to himself in tight spots and making sure the Shamans wouldn´t summon their own helpers. The fights are significantly shorter that way.

Now he's resting in his tent by Azura's shrine. No Olav's this evening but it's nice to be away from home once in awhile, no matter how much you like it there

Pfft, can you imagine? That would really not be good. Then we'd ALL have to either just give up, or redouble our efforts.

That sounds like a thrilling session there with Lothran. It is odd they knew he was there with all that chameleon.


Late afternoon, Tirdas, First Seed 19

Temperate weather, mostly clear skies. Finally back home to Maple Cottage. Renee's other property (Waterfront Shack) hasn't been used in months, but this is where Felrika decides she wants to stay, as the party takes a couple days to rest & relax.

Middas, First Seed 20

In Market District today, Jensine informs Renee Gade that a woman who already knows her will meet her down in the Bloated Float*. This turned out to be Miss Terri, the farmer who she'd met before.

This farmer merely wanted to give Renee a reward for helping her take down Cork Nuts. The reward "happened" to be 20 mandrake roots. I RP'd that Terri had heard the party was dealing with more vampires than usual, and she wanted to help. As a farmer, mandrake would be the best thing Miss Terri could give.


*Test Quest 12

Holy Crap, warn a person before they click on that link!!!!

Your story-driven mods are amazing!!!!

Yeah, it´s really cool that you do that, Renee

Renee no longer needs to be afraid to stay diseased.

Well, it is smaller now. The first time I clicked on it, the face filled the whole screen - my freak out for the month of December, lol.

Oh my gosh



Hee hee sorry about that mALX!

No freak-out pictures in this update, I promise

-----------------------------------------
Turdas, First Seed 21, late afternoon



Pleasant day. Renee and Gabrielle wake up late. The Waterfront area has become infested wtih vampires, probably in response to Seridur having been destroyed. He may have had some sort of strong and far-reaching connections amongst vamps from all over.

Renee spent First Seed 20, half the night, dealing with this problem, so that on the 21st she needs to sleep. She gets up, tells Gabby she can't come along this time, but then gets Jada and Haili ready. They go to the Waterfront to pick up Felrika, then everybody heads off to Wawnet Inn, where they spend the night.

Ah, now THAT is a really nice shot !!!! No freak out this time,

Yay, Xena and Gabby!

Been several days since I observed the gang's patrol of the Black to Chorrol and its aftermath. Here's what I recall of it.

...Few menaces to obliterate along the Black (always), in this case one bandit early on, a troll at ruined Fort Ash.

...Decent but not spectacular roadside scenery (as always).

...Fine weather (not a given).

...Package delivered to Chorrol Black Horse Courier branch office clerk.

...Package delivered to Chorrol Merchants Guild representative in Oak & Crosier.

...Lunch at Oak & Crosier. (My avatar had ham on Anvil Rye with cheese and onion, pumpkin pie and Lager.)

...Restocked Champion's Second-Hand Sales & Service coffers with loot stored in Groucho's packs. (Took quite a few trips to transfer 178 items, mostly armor and some weapons, worth 113,960 septims with an adjusted trade value of 100, 854 septims.)

...Arrived back home in time for a formal dinner at Wawnet Inn and an evening swim in Lack Rumare under a crystal clear night sky with occasional shooting stars.

I last saw my avatar and his ward next morning, about to exit Weye Manor and begin that day's adventures.

Decrepit, does not your avatar ever get up and decide to just do something completely weird and out of character?

I have another question; how much can Groucho carry? I know I have asked this before but I can't remember..

You have to watch the vids first, then read these summaries. Once you have seen the vids, you can totally visualize this whole trip with the hilarious dialogue included and Decrepit's awesome humming as he rides - it is spectacular! I can relive his vids every time I read one of his updates; but sometimes I just go back and watch them again just because they are so great!

Oh I know, I've watched them and everything.
I just wondered if he ever wants to just go crazy...!

Absolutely not! My gosh, what would Cyrodiil's roads be like if the Decrepit Avatar's usually staid daily habits were just dropped someday, just like that? *shudders* I perish the thought.

We should let D. answer of course, but I perish the thought.

I have to agree, it is really nice to know he is out there and you can count on him always being on patrol; making deliveries; etc. More reliable than the Imperial mounted that ride the roads, and would be so nice to run across him and his little troupe out in my own travels with Maxical. I absolutely love hearing about his patrols, but even more love seeing them in the vids.

Guys, I love D's updates and it is great to know they are out there. I'm even putting the big fellow into my story arc.

I meant nothing by it, I just wondered is all!

Totally get it. No harm in asking

I agree with mirocu, I'm curious now what D's answer might be. In the meantime, I'll go ahead and post another update. Because I've got like a zillion of these things written up.


Fredas, First Seed 22

A letter from Gilen Norvalo (Order of Virtuous Blood) was given to Renee just as she awoke. Gilen is asking for our help, yet again. Someone will be waiting at Tiber Septim Hotel to meet the party, whenever the party returns to the I.C.

...well they'll be waiting for awhile then. Renee has become determined to help Titus Mede II, before going to Hackdirt (which is probably just dealing with the vampires of Fort Carmala) or returning to the Imperial City.

The day outside is temperate, so Renee wears her Arena light raiment while she walks along, sipping a beer and eating a carrot.

But the day turned stormy about late morning, after a battle with some mages at Fanacas. Stopped at Inn of Ill Omen. Sky was getting too dark to be useful by then. It's never a good thing to have a party of several adventurers just suddenly rush off into darkness because of some enemy, ya know?

*RG3 leveled up to 12 during this session. +5 IQ, +2 AG, and +2 PER

Is Titus Mede II an actual NPC with some mod?

Sort of. In RG3's game I have a mod called The Elder Council which has Counselor Ocato in it, but I renamed him Titues Mede II to fit the lore in her game. Because I did some reading over at The Imperial Library website and by the year 20, 4th Era, Mede has taken over by then, I think. And because of Renee Gade's arena wins and other miscellaneous things she's done in Cyrodiil, Mede gets interested in hiring her.

But I don't think she's done much for him yet. The vampire stuff from the Vampire Hunting mod is pretty demanding, and urgent.



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


Loredas, First Seed 23

Location: Bravil

Another pleasant spring day, at least it starts this way.

By mid-day, it is still nice outside, so Renee changes from armor to clothes, and goes to the Archer's Paradox so everyone can repair their gear.


Sundas, First Seed 24

Although Sundas is typically a day of rest, assuming there's a chapel nearby, today Renee cannot rest. After breakrast at Silverhome and a visit to the chapel (just an hour here), she heads straight to the castle, to see if the count slips up, and says anything about Titus Mede's accusation. Is the count of Bravil really planning some sort of revolt?

Count Terentius does not budge though. He's keeping his mouth shut.

Renee gathers the party together, and heads out of town, but by now it's cold and rainy outsdide, not ideal for exploration, because seeing things from a distance is harder to do.

Then all the sudden, it stops raining, and the party realizes it's already dark! The air is thick with fog, and it's COLD. Everybody turns around for another night in Silverhome.

The highwaymen still attack; goblins and vampires do too. But the bandits, marauders, mercenaries, etc - do not attack her anymore. In fact, they tell her that she honors them with her presence! Can't attack after that!

Wolves, mountain lions, and bears have stopped attacking her too; but minotaur, mudcrabs, and wild boar still attack. (Slaughterfish and Daedra attack too).

I have several screens of her sitting with wolves; it is kind of awesome. I did have a werewolf mod that made wolves friendly; but the Wrye-Bash ate it - the wolves being friendly may have been a residual effect left behind by that mod's untimely end.

But the friendly NPC's = even the werewolf hunters that were supposed to be hunting her were friendly, so really not sure what caused that phenomenon.

Sorry for late replies. I've been extra muddleheaded these past several days and not up to the task (or observing my avatar). Still not as up-to-snuff as I'd like to be, but don't want to put it too long.

Out of character? Hmmm... Can't be ruled out, but it seems unlikely. He has in the past (referring solely to the Crisis and afterward, not his pre Crisis life) occasionally done things that border on the unethical and/or legally questionable. He tolerates such indeavours so long as he can somehow justify his actions to himself as serving a greater ultimate good or being a necessary lesser of evils. But he's willing to travel that path only so far before washing his hands and walking away. As to weird, I suppose it depends on one's definition of weirdness.

He oft professes a desire to add more variety to their routine, though such alterations are likely to end up just as regimented as what the gang does now, if a bit wider in scope.

Should some crisis again befall the realm while he retains the strength to combat it, he will surely response as of old, either as Champion or Divine Crusader. No such emergencies are expected, but they can't be ruled out.


Groucho is configurable to a variety of weight limits or none at all. My initial plan was to utilize at least two, possibly three pack donkeys (the mod allows four), each with a realistic weight limit. In the end, I can't justify those extra A.I. packets, especially with a six year old computer and 2.8ghz CPU. I therefore use Groucho limit free, to compensate for those absent donkeys.


I watch 'em every now and again too. Did so just the other day, matter of fact. Episodes 3 & 4 continue to hold up well. My complaints with those episodes are mostly nit-picks. Such as, just before an ogre battle, my avatar says “D**n it Vil, it's too close” or words to that effect. He is suppose to say “D**mn it Vil, it's too close for bow work.” That line needed multiple takes due to mic crackling. By the time I managed a crackle-free take I had forgotten “...for bow work” and didn't notice it until too late. Not a significant loss, but the line fits the circumstance better as originally conceived.

I'm less and less pleased with episode one. Some lines and/or their delivery seem embarrassingly bad to me now. Had I the energy to do so I'd like to re-script that episode. Its raw source materials still exists, but not my edited project file with everything in place. It'd take a LOT of work to get things back as they were, but with hopefully better dialog. And there's the ultimate rub. I'm not sure I have the voice for it any more. It's been right at three years after all. (So long?) Lots can change for a fellow in three years when your my age. Not saying I absolutely couldn't do it, but I've my doubts. And I still don't have an adequate computer mic, with less reason to purchase one than I had back then.

Morndas, First Seed 25

Level: 12

Days Passed; 210

Foggy and cold, with frost on the ground in morning. Renee gets the party going early, heading south. The fog will make things harder to see, but at least it's not raining. *

By mid-day it is thankfully clear and sunny. Typical encounters occur: bandits, durzog, rogue mages, and such. The encampment or army (or whatever) which Titus described is never found though, not along the road anyway.

Spent the night camping in the courtyard of a fort called Nomore.


* Note: by now I'm realizing that the quest Mede gave RG3 is not in her journal at all. It is entirely poassible this quest is not appearing because I went back into an earlier save to do Test Quest 12 over. Oops I decided to head the party south to Leyawiin anyway, to see if TQ13 (my next venture) works.

***Am noticing that the further south we go, the less of Betty's Springtime mod we're seeing. There are now no flowers on the ground at all, and only occasional flowering trees. Very nice touches.

And now that the weather has turned, I'm back to playing Oblivion a lot.

Been juggling a few characters lately - one old and two new.

The old one is one of my oldest - my second character ever - Jean the Redguard. He was purpose-built to go to the Shivering Isles, but beyond that, he was sort of formless, since that was when I still didn't really know how to actually establish a good character. So pretty much all I got was that he was crazy, and of the violent and erratic variety, and that was enough to get him out of Cyrodiil and into the Isles. Not long after that though, I created Claudia and started to get a handle on this roleplaying thing, so Jean has mostly just languished.

I spent a couple of weeks his time with him, but honestly didn't manage to work out much more of his personality than I already had - he's erratic and violent. I did verify something I'd assumed though - he's right at home in the Isles and is likely never going to leave. And he did get a new suit of armor out of the deal. I've never really liked the Madness cuirass, so I decided to try editing it. It was actually surprisingly simple - I just deleted the lower "skirt" part of the cuirass, then reshaped the remainder and that was that. I was pleased with the way it turned out. And I got to spend some time diving some dungeons in the Isles, which is always enjoyable, and I did flesh out his personality a little, if only a little.

Then I went on to a new character - a male of my little elf race named Tullus. I have three female little elves now - Cressida, Hanna and Belladonna - but though I'd tried creating a male a few times, it'd never worked out until now.

Tullus is a... the word that keeps coming back to me is hardass. He's not particularly aggressive and definitely not cruel - he just doesn't take any crap off of anybody, at all, ever. He wears light armor and fights with a dagger and nothing else, so he has to get right up in the face of whoever or whatever he's fighting.

And regarding armor - he started out in a recolored version of the vanilla Pit Armor. I modded the Pit Armor into my game a while back, and included a full set that's colored to match the vanilla Leather, and that's what he had. I started fiddling with it though, trying to put together something that really worked for him, and ended up with this. That's the recolored Pit cuirass with the neck, pauldrons and arms from the vanilla leather, plus recolored and slightly edited versions of the iron gauntlets, greaves and boots.

He's been all over Cyrodiil now - level 6, IIRC - but hasn't done anything really unusual. He's more willing to investigate dungeons than most of my characters, so that's most of what we've been doing. I had initially thought he was going to join the DB, but he's not really a murderer. I'm not quite sure what he's going to do next, but I suppose he'll just keep exploring dungeons.

Currently, I'm playing a new Dunmer named Glavin Inardis. He was sort of inspired by Jean - he too was purpose built to go to the Shivering Isles, though he's definitely going to the Mania side instead of the Dementia side. I've taken a few other characters into the Isles (and in fact my sultry Dunmer mage Maelyn is currently there) but none of the rest of them, including her, really felt at home there, so they've all left eventually. Jean's the only one who's a permanent resident, and he only really feels comfortable on the Dementia side - Mania is far too bright and garish for his tastes. So I created Glavin.

I don't have any pics of him yet, but he bears a bit of a resemblance to Rowan Atkinson. That wasn't deliberate, but it works. He's currently just doing the rounds of the province - he delivered the Amulet to Jauffre, then beat it out of there - that's the Blades' problem. He's done a few of the Mages Guild recs and a few side quests, and is currently level 2. He's light armor, long sword and bow - pretty standard stealth fighter. So far, he's working out to be pretty much what I envisioned him as - generally pleasant, but at least a bit of an oddball. If he ends up more or less what I envisioned, he'll be right at home in Mania.

Now that I'm caught up, I'll try to do more detail in fewer words with the next one. "Try" being the operative word there...

Please, if you do want to "fix" them = keep the original post up and just add the edited one as well. These vids are solid gold, and bring so much joy in the watching! I don't know what should have been said in watching it, only that these bring me a tremendous amount of pleasure in watching them.

On your health - the winter tends to bring on the onset of "brain fog" because houses are closed up and relying on vent ducts that are extremely hard to clean (like the air vents on airplanes). Many times those periods of having trouble focusing coincide with winter because of that; because of possible mildew or mold growths in those vents or below the house that is sucked in during the winter due to the house being so tightly closed up - kind of makes a vacuum. Another thing that can cause it is chemicals in the treated wood or insulation.

The best thing you can do (if at all possible) is to just barely crack a window near your face when you sleep so you are breathing in fresh air at night while sleeping.

Throw another blanket on your bed if you need to, and if the rest of your house is well insulated, that one cracked window just while you sleep shouldn't hurt your electric bill that much.

Lothran has now embarked on his annual Christmas ogre hunt in Pale Pass. He set out in the morning and reached the top of the old fort by early afternoon, already having slayed 14 ogres including those in Serpent's Trail.

He just set up his tent in the usual spot on the fort's top floor where it's guaranteed to be left alone and is right now standing on the rundown edge overlooking the valley. Tomorrow, the real hunt will begin.

Sweet New Life Festival Hunting to Lothran!

I love this!

Loredas, Mid-Year 19, 3E436, 1:54pm. My decrepit avatar and his ward have just entered Imperial Bridge Inn to gather taxes due.

Had my avatar stuck to schedule the gang would be fairly far into a patrol of the Silver to Bruma. But... he had been given the Imperial Bridge Inn tax assignment some time ago. Under normal circumstances they would not collect those taxes-due until returning from Leyawiin at the soonest, assuming they choose to travel the Yellow. That being the case my avatar decided on a special trip to get it over with.

As to their journey there's little to tell. My avatar woke a bit earlier than usual, roused Vil, gathered their beasts and hit the road. They made a brief breakfast stop at that little inn near Talos Bridge. (I never recall its name.) Otherwise they rode non stop except to battle the few creatures that strayed too close to the road.

Your avatar and his gang are more than welcome to Bruma! If Lothran hadn't been on his annual hunting trip he would have welcomed them personally. I guess the gang will have to make due with his best regards


The Nordic Dunmer sends his best in return!


So do I! This little tradition is something I look forward to every year

Sundas, Mid-Year 20, 3E436, 1:37pm. My decrepit avatar and his ward are about to exit Roxey Inn, where they collected taxes-due for the Empire, and continue a patrol of the Silver to Bruma.

Their ride from Imperial Bridge Inn to Weye the day prior was uneventful. They engaged in no combats, though they did happen upon the bodies of two newly slain bandits near a Yellow Road bridge not far from the Inn. Must have been one of several legion patrols done 'em in. Why those legionnaires didn't strip 'em of valuables is beyond me, but hey, their loss is the gang's gain. They arrived home roughly 9:45pm, giving my avatar just enough time to gobble down a lite bedtime snack before hitting the sack. (Best I recall he had Corinthe Jelly with a muffin and Lady Blue Lager.)

He woke a tad after 6am, dressed in travel attire, roused Vil, breakfasted at the Wawnet, collected their beasts, rode to the Imperial City, grabbed a Bruma delivery assignment at the Waterfront District Gold Horse Courier office, turned in gather tax and accepted the Roxey tax warrant at White-Gold Tower Census Department, changed into full Champion's armor and signed on for the Bruma patrol at the Tower's Department of Justice, solicited a Bruma delivery assignment from the Talos District Tiber Siptem Hotel merchants guild representative, exited the city, traveled Perimeter Road to the North Bridge Guard Tower, entered the tower long enough for Vilja to change from street clothes into armor, crossed Lake Rumare via North Bridge, battled a Minotaur Lord near the bridge, battled two marauders outside Sercen, rode Red Ring to Roxey, gathered taxes-due, and as mentioned are about to resume their patrol.

Weather during the ride from Imperial Bridge Inn to Weye was consistently overcast but not rainy. Weather thus far on their Bruma patrol is a mixed bag, overcast at the start, clear by the time they exited White-Gold Tower, clouding again as they neared North Bridge.

Last day in Pale Pass for this year. Lothran will be getting home again tomorrow, having bagged no less than 17 ogres. I think one less than last year, actually.


I hope this doesn't mean they're about to go extinct...

Ogres going extinct because of Lothran? What is this madness?

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

Now where was I? Oh yeah, Renee Gade III and her party are headed toward Leyawiin. I forget why though. There was a quest added by The Elder Council mod that should have appeared in her journal, and I was suspecting it didn't make it in because I went back an earlier save. But screw it. Let's go to Leyawiin anyway.

Tirdas, First Seed 26

Days Passed: 211

Next morning, Renee and Fel awake to rain falling on them. Cold rain. They slept outside, letting the elves sleep in the party's small tent.

The rain stopped for awhile, as the party arrived to Water's Edge, but then it started again. By early afternoon there was a full deluge going on.

Party stopped in Three Sisters', where Shuravi gave Renee a room, and told her about a lady over in the chapel who might need some help*

*Test Quest 13.

Hopefully not, but we shall see next year if new ones have set up shop in Pale Pass Cool that you continue on with your personal quests, btw


Lothran is now back in Bruma. A few more ogres were slain in Serpent's Trail and in total he bagged 24 of the Cave Bosses.
Before patrolling town during New Year I think he will do some more hunting, this time goblins and bandits again though

They have always re-spawned for me!

I know. I was trying to be a little immersive and not use that word

Ah, I see!

Every time I've gone through Pale Pass, I've had to fight the same ogres on the way out as on the way in.

I've always role-played that Nature (or Kyne, in this case) abhors a vacuum.

Works for me . . .

Ogres? Pffft. Even a bare-fisted gurl can beat up Pale Pass Ogres. With her fists!

(Though not Buffy of course, the boxer in this short clip uses the same voice set as Buffy, which is really why I keep the vid around. Her closing comment at the 2:20 mark is priceless.)

Lothran has now begun his shift guarding the North gate of Bruma. As usual it also means patrolling the town, providing food for the only prisoner they have plus making rounds at the castle. Nothing much to it, but it's his way of giving back to the town that has meant so much to him and taken him in as a resident and house owner.

Currently, since it's daytime, he's standing by the brazier next to Hammer and Axe since no one else is covering that part of town

Are his guard shifts simply roleplayed by you, Lothran? I think you told us they are in the past.

That's hilarious he's in charge of feeding the only prisoner there.

Well my main gal RG3 is in Leyawiin in this next update, which I wrote probably 2 months ago. I've decided I'm going to try not to game with her anymore, until these updates catch up to where she actually is (yeah...that'll happen).
-----------------------

Turdas, First Seed 28

Rather warm day. Nice to be in Blackwood. As the party leaves Leyawiin, Renee went ahead and changed into her Xena armor.

They stop at Fort Nomore again, but this time they go inside. Place is full of creatures though: imps, gargoyles, bats, one troll, and one will o' wisp. There wasn't much treasure, and the party decided not to explore too deep into this fort.

Spent the night outside, in the rain. Hooray.

Yeah, I didn't actually make any custom quests with popup updates and all like a certain someone


I wonder how he stays alive during the rest of the year




I hope Renee's armor doesn't rust in that rain

Who meeee? Oh I would never!



Yeah, I wonder what happens during the rest of the year. Probably some other guard gets really bummed that he's going to have to take up the job of slop drudge all over again.


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


First Seed 29

Warm day, yellowish sun in early morning. Party gets to Bravil by about mid-afternoon, and spends the night here, doing the usual in-town things.

Loredas, Firs Seed 30

Days Passed: 216



Beautiful pleasant day. Party heads to the north now, ultimately toward Chorrol and Hackdirt, to take care of the vampire problem there.

Reached Inn of Ill Omen at about mid-day, and spent the night in Pell's Gate.


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

Sundas, First Seed 31

Days passed: 217

Rainy in morning, but warm enough.

Reached Chorrol by nightfall, and it begins to rain, once again. Renee Gade III makes a quick trip to Northern Trades & Goods before retiring in the Oak & Crosier. The next day will be full of typical town things, before heading south to Hackdirt.

RG3 did take a request from Seed-Neeus of Northern Goods, to help her find a silver carafe, which can be in one of four bandit hideouts. (<--- Enhanced Economy quest).

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


Rain's Hand 2



Spent day in Chorrol, taking lots of time for rest & relaxation, before heading to whatever madness lies at Hackdirt.* Renee slept most of this day, waking in late afternoon. She suddenly realized that if she wants to rejoin the Fighters Guild, one of the people to talk to lives here in Chorrol.

The day outside was foggy and cool. At the Fighters Guild, Vilena Donton explained that Renee has been accused of killing one of her "FG brothers", an action of which Renee has no memory of. Vilena would not relent though. And because of this, RG3 must collect 20 bear pelts and bring them to Vilena, if she is to rejoin the guild.

* note: I setstaged the entire Shadow over Hackdirt quest (I know...scandalous), so the dialog for Dar-Ma would not be there.