Elder Scrolls V Thread

[Барбоса]

I had another "dartboard face" moment last night; three of them actually during the cleansing of the Black Star quest.

The three Dremora defending Malyn Varen's soul came after me all at once; I forced them to retreat with a Fire Breath shout meaning that the fight descended into a long range fight with them throwing fireballs and me using my Dwarven Bow of Snaring Souls. For some reason, they could not inflict any significant damage on me in my crouched defensive position where as I could target their heads with deadly precision.

As I felt that defeating the Dremora had been "easy" (lucky is more like it), I decided that defeating Malyn was going to be extremely difficult so I used a strategem I had been saving for such an occasion.

Spoiler

Before I entered his room, I drank a potion of Brief Invisibility and before he knew it, I had snuck up behind him and bludgeoned him to death with two overhand strikes from Wuuthrad.

I love it when a plan comes together, and works a treat too.

 

[Slyfox696]

I had another "dartboard face" moment last night; three of them actually during the cleansing of the Black Star quest.

The three Dremora defending Malyn Varen's soul came after me all at once; I forced them to retreat with a Fire Breath shout meaning that the fight descended into a long range fight with them throwing fireballs and me using my Dwarven Bow of Snaring Souls. For some reason, they could not inflict any significant damage on me in my crouched defensive position where as I could target their heads with deadly precision.

As I felt that defeating the Dremora had been "easy" (lucky is more like it), I decided that defeating Malyn was going to be extremely difficult so I used a strategem I had been saving for such an occasion.

Spoiler

Before I entered his room, I drank a potion of Brief Invisibility and before he knew it, I had snuck up behind him and bludgeoned him to death with two overhand strikes from Wuuthrad.

I love it when a plan comes together, and works a treat too.

Trying to decide whether or not to ruin your good time...yeah, I'll do it.

The dremora were EXTREMELY difficult for me to beat. It took me several tries to figure out a good strategy to beat them, and even then I died a few times. Malyn? It was like killing a squirrel.

Sorry for telling you that you basically wasted one of your invisibility potions. It WAS a good plan though.

 

[Барбоса]

Trying to decide whether or not to ruin your good time...yeah, I'll do it.

The dremora were EXTREMELY difficult for me to beat. It took me several tries to figure out a good strategy to beat them, and even then I died a few times. Malyn? It was like killing a squirrel.

Sorry for telling you that you basically wasted one of your invisibility potions. It WAS a good plan though.

It was my ONLY invisibility potion... I must say that I did find it strange that Malyn only had a Staff of Frostbite compared to some of the other far better Staffs I have taken from the likes of Krosis. Still does not diminish the satisfaction I got from cleaving into him with Wuuthrad.

I can definitely see the Dremora being a real pain in the arse though. Especially, if you do not manage to defeat one before the other two reach you. The combination of the three of them blasting you with fireballs could be damn near irresistible. Whether it was a glitch or whatever, I did find it funny and yet probably unintentionally realistic that they ran away from me when I blasted them with Fire Breath and then refused to come back into range again, despite it meaning that they could not get any good hits in on me and I could make pin cushions out of them.

 

[Барбоса]

Sam has a point though. Maybe we need to bump the Skyrim thread.

Presto

Ah, so you've barely been to Riften before making your way through the Orphanage to kill Grelod? She's the type of person they invented the word cunt for.

Killing her was one of the quests I had accepted ages ago so I went straight to the Orphanage to get it out of the way. Of course, now it means that I have a Dark Brotherhood quest ahead of me should I feel the need to sleep.

Oh boy, now I get to teach you all about Orcs in Skyrim!

The Orcs live in these small strongholds scattered across Skyrim, and each stronghold typically consists of 15-20 Orcs.

Each stronghold is independently governed, though all Orcs abide by the same code, the code of Malacath, a Daedric Prince and Patron of the Ostracized. They worship Malacath as the other races worship the divines.

The individual stronghold is governed by a single chieftain, and the chieftain is determined by combat. Once the previous chieftain is deemed unfit to rule, another Orc will challenge him to a fight to the death, and the winner becomes (or remains) chieftain. Often times it is the chieftain's own son that is the one to slay him.

Being the chieftain has other advantages besides being in charge. The chieftain is the only member of the stronghold that is allowed to take wives. Don't ask me how they manage to avoid incest after one generation, but I think Orcs are allowed to move between strongholds without much criticism from the community.

Orcs pretty much spend all their time hunting, mining, smithing, or fighting. They have a very strong smithing culture, and it is a mother's job to teach her son to smith at a very young age. They treat weapon making as a sort of art, and it is said that they make the best weaponry when they channel their emotions into the blade.

Interesting. I look forward to annihilating any that decide to attack Grune.

Agreed with the first half, and the second part is an interesting dilemma. I don't think they invade alone, as that seems like a good device for the Nords/Redguard/Breton to rally behind, and I doubt the Thalmor want to face a trio of nations simultaneously. I think they'll continue to divide and conquer by siding with the Breton, whom already have beef with the Nords, and can easily be convinced to turn on the Redguard for the right amount of coin.

The position of the Bretons is an interesting one. I think that they are the most likely ally for the Thalmor. All they might ask for in return could be the advance of the borders of High Rock into the Reach, perhaps even somewhere like Solitude to sweeten the deal. However, they would need to be careful about any such betrayal. It could easily drive the Redguard into the Nord camp and with the exposed position of High Rock to both Hammerfell and Skyrim and the presence of Orsinium, things could go very badly very quickly for the Bretons should the Thalmor be bogged down in Cyrodiil or uninterested in another war with the Redguard.

So what are they doing in Skyrim? Trying to make their triumphant return?

Not sure what their motives for continual interference are. The likes of Dagon might thirst for conquest but it could just be that they are bored and find interfering in the mortal realm of Elder Scrolls to be entertaining, like the Greek Gods of Olympia.

 

[JGlass]

Presto

You must be a College trained Mage.

Annnd the Academy Award for the nerdiest joke of the year goes to... JGLASS!

Killing her was one of the quests I had accepted ages ago so I went straight to the Orphanage to get it out of the way. Of course, now it means that I have a Dark Brotherhood quest ahead of me should I feel the need to sleep.

I took that quest and knocked that smug bitch off of the book case. She was a little too high and might, so I Fus Ro Dah'd her ass and put an axe through her face.

Interesting. I look forward to annihilating any that decide to attack Grune.

Be nice to the Orcs, they're Tamriel's lovable bastards.

The position of the Bretons is an interesting one. I think that they are the most likely ally for the Thalmor. All they might ask for in return could be the advance of the borders of High Rock into the Reach, perhaps even somewhere like Solitude to sweeten the deal. However, they would need to be careful about any such betrayal. It could easily drive the Redguard into the Nord camp and with the exposed position of High Rock to both Hammerfell and Skyrim and the presence of Orsinium, things could go very badly very quickly for the Bretons should the Thalmor be bogged down in Cyrodiil or uninterested in another war with the Redguard.

I see them in a damned if they do, damned if they don't type of situation. I think joining up with the Thalmor would be the safest move, though.

Not sure what their motives for continual interference are. The likes of Dagon might thirst for conquest but it could just be that they are bored and find interfering in the mortal realm of Elder Scrolls to be entertaining, like the Greek Gods of Olympia.

See, not all the Daedra seem to bad. Malacath isn't a bad dude, and Azura doesn't seem that evil either. Sure, there are a handful of them that are bad news bears, but most of them seem just be bored. You would be too if you had to spend all your time in Oblivion.


I retired two more pieces of equipment that had served me well. I got my smithing up to level 81, which means super duper upgraded Ebony Weapons and armor, so I'm going full blown black knight right now. Literally all of my armor and all of my weapons are ebony. I retired my Orcish Helmet of Archery (the Orcish helmet was tempting to keep simply because it looks like a Mongolian horse archerer helmet), and more interestingly, I hung up my Daedric Artifact, Volendrung: a war hammer that absorbed 50 points of stamina. I replaced the helmet with an ebony helmet (with the same archery perk), and I replaced Volendrung with an ebony war hammer with a fire enchantment.

 

[Барбоса]

I took that quest and knocked that smug bitch off of the book case. She was a little too high and might, so I Fus Ro Dah'd her ass and put an axe through her face.

I blasted her with an overhand Wuuthrad strike.

See, not all the Daedra seem to bad. Malacath isn't a bad dude, and Azura doesn't seem that evil either. Sure, there are a handful of them that are bad news bears, but most of them seem just be bored. You would be too if you had to spend all your time in Oblivion.

Yeah, but it is not the friendlier ones who would attempt to take advantage of a large scale war across Tamriel...

Having only just discovered enchanting, I am still in the early stages of improving some of my chosen weapons. Now that I think about it, I have a Dwarven Bow of Soul Snaring and a Orcish War Hammer of Flames stored away in one of my abodes. Flaming Wuuthrad (if possible) and a Soul Snaring Glass Bow sound like a decent combo for now; although your talk of an Ebony War Hammer makes me think that I might have an Ebony Battleaxe somewhere.

My current headgear is Krosis' Mask.

 

[JGlass]

I blasted her with an overhand Wuuthrad strike.

I think I used Volendrung on her. Something about bashing her over the head with a giant hammer seemed right.

Her smugness really does piss you off, right? Have you gone to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary to finish the job yet?

Yeah, but it is not the friendlier ones who would attempt to take advantage of a large scale war across Tamriel...

Granted. I suppose my defense of the Daedra comes from the Vigils of Stendarr being total douchebags. Have you come across them yet? What's your take?

Having only just discovered enchanting, I am still in the early stages of improving some of my chosen weapons. Now that I think about it, I have a Dwarven Bow of Soul Snaring and a Orcish War Hammer of Flames stored away in one of my abodes. Flaming Wuuthrad (if possible) and a Soul Snaring Glass Bow sound like a decent combo for now; although your talk of an Ebony War Hammer makes me think that I might have an Ebony Battleaxe somewhere.

Flaming Wuuthrad is most certainly possible, as it is exactly what I used on my Wuuthrad. You swing that bad boy at an Altmer or a Bosmer, and you can guarantee that they'll drop in two swings maximum. Get an aversion to fire potion on Flaming Wuuthrad and you'll find dragons wildly easy to defeat.

My current headgear is Krosis' Mask.

I'm not a fan of the masks despite the fact that they come with some gnarly assets. Krosis's seems great, especially if you're a thief, as that archery and lockpicking ability is huge. I also have Otar's mask in my possession right now, and that grants you an increased resistance against all the elements.

Still, it's hard to argue for their 30-40 defensive points against my Ebony Helmet's 50.

 

[Барбоса]

I think I used Volendrung on her. Something about bashing her over the head with a giant hammer seemed right.

Her smugness really does piss you off, right? Have you gone to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary to finish the job yet?

I have sense heard that because she has only 1 hit point, I could have punched her to death.

Grune has yet to sleep since receiving the warning from the Brotherhood. Actually, I have barely played since then. Have been doing some work on my KC RP.

Granted. I suppose my defense of the Daedra comes from the Vigils of Stendarr being total douchebags. Have you come across them yet? What's your take?

I have yet to meet them. Again, I reiterate what I have already said, what have I been doing with my 100 hours? I have not spent all that much time exploring, smithing, enchanting or at alchemy.

I'm not a fan of the masks despite the fact that they come with some gnarly assets. Krosis's seems great, especially if you're a thief, as that archery and lockpicking ability is huge. I also have Otar's mask in my possession right now, and that grants you an increased resistance against all the elements.

Still, it's hard to argue for their 30-40 defensive points against my Ebony Helmet's 50.

The archery and lockpicking bonuses are the reasons why I have so far stuck to Krosis' Mask. When I am trading/negotiating, I will exchange it for the bonuses of the Masque of Clavicus Vile.

I have defeated another Dragon Priest's mask but his name escapes me... I have just looked it up and it was Morokei.

 

[JGlass]

I have sense heard that because she has only 1 hit point, I could have punched her to death.

Yeah, you could have probably used Fus and that would have been enough to kill her. Hell, if those kids hated her so much, they probably could have done the job with a kick to the shin.

Grune has yet to sleep since receiving the warning from the Brotherhood. Actually, I have barely played since then. Have been doing some work on my KC RP.

Pffft, I'm just going to let that thing come together tomorrow and Saturday. It helps that Saboteur isn't exactly a complex character.

I don't think your note really qualifies as a warning... more like a letter of intent. Intent to kidnap you and make you do terrible things.

I have yet to meet them. Again, I reiterate what I have already said, what have I been doing with my 100 hours? I have not spent all that much time exploring, smithing, enchanting or at alchemy.

Well, when you do I hope you agree with me that they are cultist douches.

The archery and lockpicking bonuses are the reasons why I have so far stuck to Krosis' Mask. When I am trading/negotiating, I will exchange it for the bonuses of the Masque of Clavicus Vile.

I don't know what that is.

I have defeated another Dragon Priest's mask but his name escapes me... I have just looked it up and it was Morokei.

Yeah, that's the one that you need to beat as part of the necessary storyline of the game.

 

[Барбоса]

Yeah, you could have probably used Fus and that would have been enough to kill her. Hell, if those kids hated her so much, they probably could have done the job with a kick to the shin.

Nothing like massive overkill to get rid of a massive cunt.

Pffft, I'm just going to let that thing come together tomorrow and Saturday. It helps that Saboteur isn't exactly a complex character.

Yeah, but I have two to write for my match. Barbosa is doing some visiting.

Well, when you do I hope you agree with me that they are cultist douches.

Cultists usually are massive douches. They are never done making messes.

I don't know what that is.

It is a Daedric Artefact - +20% Prices; +10 points Speech and +5% magic regeneration

Spoiler

Yeah, that's the one that you need to beat as part of the necessary storyline of the game.

Necessary storyline of the game? Not even sure what that is any more. I think the last thing I did for that was infiltrate that Thalmor Embassy. As for the Civil War story, the last thing I did was the Battle of Whiterun. Since then I have been to Dawnstar, Whitehold, Windhelm, Solitude and now Riften - so it is probably 40 hours of gameplay ago.

 

[Ming]

Didn't know there was a Skyrim thread...

I blasted her with an overhand Wuuthrad strike.

Grelod The Kind? Yeah, I thought I was being stealthy when I followed her into her room and stabbed her in the back of the head, then everyone came running in. Only one woman noticed it was me and ran around in circles screaming, I laughed. Then killed her.

Having only just discovered enchanting, I am still in the early stages of improving some of my chosen weapons. Now that I think about it, I have a Dwarven Bow of Soul Snaring and a Orcish War Hammer of Flames stored away in one of my abodes. Flaming Wuuthrad (if possible) and a Soul Snaring Glass Bow sound like a decent combo for now; although your talk of an Ebony War Hammer makes me think that I might have an Ebony Battleaxe somewhere.

My current headgear is Krosis' Mask.

Volsung's Mask is the best I think. It's certainly the most expensive at over 4000 Gold coins. More expensive than Konahrik.

I took that quest and knocked that smug bitch off of the book case. She was a little too high and might, so I Fus Ro Dah'd her ass and put an axe through her face.

Subtle.

Be nice to the Orcs, they're Tamriel's lovable bastards.

Been very nice to them, done every quest for them including one that consists of treading through a fucking huge Giant's cave and then being attacked by a Orc.

See, not all the Daedra seem to bad. Malacath isn't a bad dude, and Azura doesn't seem that evil either. Sure, there are a handful of them that are bad news bears, but most of them seem just be bored. You would be too if you had to spend all your time in Oblivion.

Good point. I actually liked Clavicus Vile, what a chap.

I retired two more pieces of equipment that had served me well. I got my smithing up to level 81, which means super duper upgraded Ebony Weapons and armor, so I'm going full blown black knight right now. Literally all of my armor and all of my weapons are ebony. I retired my Orcish Helmet of Archery (the Orcish helmet was tempting to keep simply because it looks like a Mongolian horse archerer helmet), and more interestingly, I hung up my Daedric Artifact, Volendrung: a war hammer that absorbed 50 points of stamina. I replaced the helmet with an ebony helmet (with the same archery perk), and I replaced Volendrung with an ebony war hammer with a fire enchantment.

Retiring weapons can be difficult. I refuse to retire the Nightingale Armor because it looks so good, it has a cape. A cape.

 

[Slyfox696]

Tried to get back into this the other day, and found myself in a cave of ridiculous length. Played for over an hour and still not able to get to the end.

Bad place to restart.

 

[Барбоса]

Went on a mad Smithing binge to elevate my abilities. Went from late 40s to early 80s in double quick time.

Just entered the Forsaken Cave in the hunt of the White Phial, which sounds like something I might want to keep

 

[Ming]

Tried to get back into this the other day, and found myself in a cave of ridiculous length. Played for over an hour and still not able to get to the end.

Bad place to restart.

A run-in with the Falmer?

Any encounters with the Falmer and the explorations of Dwarven Ruins always took me a while to tie up. They can become rather exhausting.

Went on a mad Smithing binge to elevate my abilities. Went from late 40s to early 80s in double quick time.

Just entered the Forsaken Cave in the hunt of the White Phial, which sounds like something I might want to keep

A Quest item. The quest is in Windhelm, I think.

Smithing is by far the easiest Skill to max.

 

[JGlass]

Didn't Grelod The Kind? Yeah, I thought I was being stealthy when I followed her into her room and stabbed her in the back of the head, then everyone came running in. Only one woman noticed it was me and ran around in circles screaming, I laughed. Then killed her.

Now I'm starting to get a feel for you character...

Subtle.

The way she was sitting on top of that bookshelf was pissing me off. She ordered the death of 1-3 random people, and she's just chilling. Maybe if she was being vigilant like she was supposed to she could have stopped me.

I mean, she couldn't because Bronn kills bitches dead, but she didn't know that.

Been very nice to them, done every quest for them including one that consists of treading through a fucking huge Giant's cave and then being attacked by a Orc.

Is that what happens if he kills the giant? In mine the giant killed him, so I had to finish the job. They wind up giving you a pretty gnarly weapon.

Retiring weapons can be difficult. I refuse to retire the Nightingale Armor because it looks so good, it has a cape. A cape.

Wuuthrad was particularly hard to hang up, it has served me so well.

Tried to get back into this the other day, and found myself in a cave of ridiculous length. Played for over an hour and still not able to get to the end.

Bad place to restart.

Which cave?

Went on a mad Smithing binge to elevate my abilities. Went from late 40s to early 80s in double quick time.

I just maxed out my smithing on Sly's advice. His promises of Daedric weaponry and dragon armor were too tempting to hold off on. Unfortunately, I think I'm almost done exploring and clearing out dungeons and what not, so I won't get to slay Alduin or any other major baddies with my Daedric Warhammer in my Dragon armor, but there's still a few Dragon Priests that need to be killed.

 

[Slyfox696]

Which cave?

It's in the main quest relating to an Elder Scroll.

 

[JGlass]

It's in the main quest relating to an Elder Scroll.

Oh yeah, that's a fucking long one in those Dwemer mines. Keep your eyes peeled for Centurions!

 

[Slyfox696]

Oh yeah, that's a fucking long one in those Dwemer mines. Keep your eyes peeled for Centurions!

Just watched one beat the fuck out of a bunch of Falmer (I'd guess 5 or 6). Then, after he was weakened, I pelted him with an arrows and he went down like a sack of potatoes. I stopped in the glowing mushroom room, where you find the crimson nirnroot. Just didn't seem like there was an end an sight.

 

[JGlass]

Just watched one beat the fuck out of a bunch of Falmer (I'd guess 5 or 6). Then, after he was weakened, I pelted him with an arrows and he went down like a sack of potatoes. I stopped in the glowing mushroom room, where you find the crimson nirnroot. Just didn't seem like there was an end an sight.

Those Centurions are probably the hardest non-boss enemies in the game. If you get too close, they can kill you with a few strikes. But they can get you at medium range with that steam attack too, and that steam attack is a bastard.

I did the crimson nirnroot quest. Tremendous waste of time if you're not into alchemy.

 

[Slyfox696]

A run-in with the Falmer?

Nah, just takes a while to explore everything. And I have to explore everything.

Those Centurions are probably the hardest non-boss enemies in the game. If you get too close, they can kill you with a few strikes. But they can get you at medium range with that steam attack too, and that steam attack is a bastard.

They've never really given me trouble, but I've always been able to pick them off from a distance, as I have great sneak, so I just run away until they quit following.

I did the crimson nirnroot quest. Tremendous waste of time if you're not into alchemy.

I haven't advanced it much, but I do like it.

 

[PlayTheGame]

Is it sad that I completed all of the questlines in the game back in like Dec./Jan.?

 

[JGlass]

They've never really given me trouble, but I've always been able to pick them off from a distance, as I have great sneak, so I just run away until they quit following.

I think I was killed by one the first time I encountered it, as I had no idea how powerful that steam attack was. Two of those steam bursts and my guy was laid out. From there on out I learned my lesson: keep your distance.

I haven't advanced it much, but I do like it.

When I started finding them it came pretty easy, you just need to keep your eyes peeled for them. It's kind of difficult to spot them because you can normally find them by their glowing, but everything is glowing in that cave. Just keep your ears open for the sound they give off, and try to spot their glow.

It's a long quest, but I suppose it's a pleasant enough place to spend an hour or so. The scenery is lovely, there's a few enemies to kill for funsies, and there's a bit of loot to be had as well.

 

[Барбоса]

A Quest item. The quest is in Windhelm, I think.

Smithing is by far the easiest Skill to max.

After a couple of hours of Smithing, selling, enchanting and moving about of stuff, I just had time to enter the cave and kill a couple of Snow Bears before shutting up shop for the evening.

The White Phial does sound like it could be a somewhat useful piece of kit.

Tried to get back into this the other day, and found myself in a cave of ridiculous length. Played for over an hour and still not able to get to the end.

Bad place to restart.

There really are some monstrously long caves. There was one I did recently (it's name and location escape me) and it was diabolically long. Some of them are pretty repetitive too, which is perhaps their real problem.

 

[Ming]

Now I'm starting to get a feel for you character...

He isn't psychopathic, if that's what you're feeling. He doesn't touch innocents.

She was a witness that needed to be disposed of, an exception.

The way she was sitting on top of that bookshelf was pissing me off. She ordered the death of 1-3 random people, and she's just chilling. Maybe if she was being vigilant like she was supposed to she could have stopped me.

I mean, she couldn't because Bronn kills bitches dead, but she didn't know that.

Oh, Astrid? How far have you gotten in the Dark Brotherhood Questline?

Is that what happens if he kills the giant? In mine the giant killed him, so I had to finish the job. They wind up giving you a pretty gnarly weapon.

I killed the giant then he attacked me, he wanted all the glory for his tribe. I killed him in self defence and couldn't retrieve Volendrung for some reason. Can't remember that well.

Wuuthrad was particularly hard to hang up, it has served me so well.

Battleaxe from the Campanions? I sold that straight after getting the Shield Of Ysgramor. Loved that shield, that was tough to retire. It's hung up on my wall in Windhelm house, Hjerim. Don't like two-handed weapons like Wuuthrad.

Nah, just takes a while to explore everything. And I have to explore everything.

Good attitude.

After a couple of hours of Smithing, selling, enchanting and moving about of stuff, I just had time to enter the cave and kill a couple of Snow Bears before shutting up shop for the evening.

The White Phial does sound like it could be a somewhat useful piece of kit.

I think some bitter old guy in Windhelm wants it as part of a quest, in the alchemy shop.

I very much want my enchanting to reach 100. Will focus on it a lot more with my next character. The very last perk is awesome.

 

[Remy LaCroix]

My enchanting level is at 87. =D

My first character file got deleted/saved over when I accidentally accepted to download an update that kept popping up during gameplay. I wanted to punch my PS3 when I noticed the game file was gone.

Something is up with my camera in 3rd person view, it's farther back than usual instead of being to the side behind my character. I like it. Now I can watch Blados (my high elf character) run for miles in 3rd person instead of fast traveling.