In my quest to dust off the game shelf, I've finally arrived at O (just finished raging over the absence of a Metal Fatigue 2), meaning I've arrived at the CE box of Oblivion and it's time again to push the Adoring Fan down from Dive Rock ad nauseam.

The plan was to just give the game a short run and then put the box back in its spot but things kind of got out of control when I started to look for mods to improve the gameplay and for stuff that I didn't test back when I still played the game. Anyway, I'm now sitting here with a mod pile of moderate size and figured I'd just start it up and go with the flow as I play. There seems to be some mage-luvin' among the mods I've got so I'm going to roll a magic-oriented build, going with either a pure mage or mayhap the ever so popular spellsword/battlemage.

However, I haven't decided on a race yet since it really doesn't matter in the end so I'll leave that to you. There are a few ways we can do this, and the choice is yours.

Naah, just one way really. Whatever option wins the poll gets chosen. Post your reasons for your choice as well if you like, plus any special wishes you've got. Birthsigns, factions to join, places to see, people to taunt, favourite skimpiest chainmail bikini mods and stuff like that.

I'll let the poll run for an undefined number of days, leaving me some time to set up the mods and make sure they won't make my PC implode due to conflicts. Once I consider it to have run long enough I'll start up the character and get through the merry tutorial. After that, the fun begins. I've only got a few things I'm aching to test so I'm open to suggestions on where to take this session.


tl;dr choose your favourite race

It's over. The Darkies won.

Act One: CellOuts
Act Two: Elf in the Dark
Act Three: Pushing Through
Act Four: A little of the old, a little of the new
Act Five: The Road to Perjury

I know you'd probably like me to elaborate on my choice, but truthfully all I can say is: Breton pwns.

Altmer. In the original magic was weak, it was far easier to complete the mages guild as a fighter than as a mage. So can mods sort this? Has altmer become a viable choice. I'd be interested to see if the game is even playable using only magic (not waving a sword about, not wearing armour).

For double points altmer apprentice, magic coming out yer ears but can it ever be worth the weakness? I never thought either was particularly viable so both together would be a challange.

I picked Dunmer. You've got decent magical ability plus combat, making them a good choice if you're considering trying to be a battlemage.

And they look cool.

I picked Nord because I like them and I didn´t know what this thread was about

I picked Argonian, cause they've got the most awesome voice. Even without the voice they're awesome. At least the males are, the females are just creepy for some reason.

As for mods, can I suggest Midas' something? I don't remember the title but it's in the top 100 on Tesnexus. Apart from giving you the ability to summon a chest from hammerspace (breaks the game, but I'm a compulsive hoarder.), there are plenty of other spells. I'm trying to gather the ingredients for nuclear blast right now. Because there is no such thing as overkill.

Ah Dunmer 1st pick for all good n00bs.

Well they are a handy starting point for anybody who's new to the game, as they're good all-rounders. Personally, I prefer playing a redguard or nord, simply because I do best at running into rooms and bashing everything there.

Yes. Nord is definitely good at that. Problem is once running in and bashing stuff stops working anymore, thats when you start wanting a decent magic character. Although to be honest Nords are just so fun to play with all the bashing and the running .

Well, the current poll result is quite a sight eh? I was expecting to see pure Dunmer/Breton domination but I guess this is more exciting. I might just end up having to roll some dice or something to pick a race in the end if we don't see a vote to break the tie.



Worry not for it is on the list.


Edit: Possibly found the cause for the freezes I've been experiencing. That's what I get for buying one of the early 4870s I guess.
Expect to see this thing kick off tomorrow.

I hate to be the one to recreate a tie after the Dunmer was leading, and I realize I could easily break the tie again by adding a gazillion votes to the Breton pick, but somehow I can't help but shake the feeling someone would become suspicious

ha I picked Imperial, they're good looking and can be good at magic, besides I like the aristocrasy about them...

Everyone who thought I forgot about this thread please breathe. That many? Damn.



Surprise surprise, it's kickin' off and it's happenin' right now. The Dunmer won the race with the Bretons and the Imperials coming second. Maybe next time guys.


And so, without further ado, let's ride.

Act One: CellOuts




Exciting, innit?

Cue the talking, bobbing, Uriel VII wax-o-head. After it's done with its babbling we get to the character generation. We'll let that happen off-stage since, quite frankly, it's a pain in the lower back with all the sliders. The blasted things seem to have minds of their own.

So let's skip to the first sight we see once in-game.



That's right. It's the thing that's on the mind and lips of everyone. You can never see enough of them Cyrodiilic walls. Ask anyone.



Before we've had a chance to find our bearings and clear our head we're disturbed by the local fauna. The guy's doing a mighty fine job at spinning the wheel but runs out of time before he can pick "Joke" and "Admire".



And heeeeeeeeeeeeere's Glenroy.



When you start dreaming about the people rotting your dungeons you know you're in need of a long vacation.



Fancy that, they're letting us go.



Goodbye Battered Stool. Goodbye Tan Jug and Cup. Goodbye Skull, Bone and Ribs. We'll miss you.


Mel Gibson just let out his cry and dropped to 4'9½".

Act Two: Elf in the Dark


So we're out of the cell. It's time to bust out and endure whatever awaits in these dark hallways.



Close combat



Stealth



Magic



Horror



Ceilings



Hey, it's the Empereur and his new oafs.



Well, why not?



It's not just the guards. Even the Blades are psychic.



He's looking awfully relaxed, isn't he? At least he pulled on the leash and even wants me to join his merry little group of escapees. Well, why not?



It's almost enough to make one hum the Imperial March. Except with swords instead of blasters.

Act Three: Pushing Through


Finally at the last part of the tutorial. Even once per session is almost too much.



Sometimes brute force isn't enough. Maybe the next Emperor will see to it that the Blades have a few more mages in their ranks. Just for times like these.



An awfully credulous bunch, aren't they?



And he's smiling. Again. Might be that he's wishing for an end to his dreams about convicts.

Anyway, this is where the game decided to entertain me with its first crash for this session. It also reset the screenshot index, resulting in a few overwrites. Because of that, Emperor Uriel Septim VII and his two noble and mighty Blades will not get any more screentime in this chapter. Short story even shorter, big U died and we ran the heck out of there to escape the horrible paralysis you suffer when you're close to a plot-essential character and a cutscene trigger. Enduring something like that is the equivalent of surviving watching an entire episode of Doctor Phil. But we did, so pat yourselves on the back and we're moving on.



And behold! The light at the end of the tunnel! We shall march through and gorge upon the offerings of Cyrodiil!

But first...



Since I hadn't used magic once throughout the tutorial, yet this character is supposed to be a mage (see proof below), I felt an obligation to cast at least one spell before venturing out. This poor rat just happened to be nearby. I have to admit, the sorrow I felt for it quickly passed as I witnessed the beauty of the arch its body flew up in.



Aaaaaaaaaand we're out.

And now, the unveiling.



Puny but brainy.



As you can see, the bow is just for show.



Quite irrelevant but still relevant. Somehow. But yeah, I do love this UI mod. (it's Darnified UI before anyone asks)


So that's it for the tutorial. What next? One of the factions (the Mages'and Fighters' are somewhat changed, the rest should be the same)? Hack away at the oh-so linear mainquest? Just explore the world? Speak up.

Also, a little peek on Jauffre.

Oh, I definitely need to get that UI mod. It's a pain to be a compulsive hoarder with Oblivion's 'show only a handfull of stuff at once' menus.

Also, is it just me or does Uriel look different? Jauffre I'm willing to chalk up to higher graphics settings but Uriel...he looks different. Still not as awesome as Daggerfall's bald Uriel though.

And I had a good chuckle from Valen. I never even thought he would be trying the persuasion minigame. (And failing miserably.)

Edit: Wait..."I'm not interested, bye"? (In other words "Sorry, not interested in being a hero and saving the world this time.") Dammit, why did I never see that dialogue option?! That's bloody hilarious!


PS: Whenever I get to the locked gate, I noclip through it and open it from the other side. It's just too hilarious to see the Blades whine in front of an open door. I mean, why can't they just stick a hand through the damn bars and open it? It's a gate with humongous holes, for crying out loud!

Act Four: A little of the old, a little of the new




That's right. The first thing to witness outside the dungeons is a bloody fight between a Bandit and a Pilgrim of the Nine. Truly, it was a sight to behold. Back and forth they struggled, landing brutal blows upon each other in turns. But as quickly as the battle had begun it suddently stopped. The Pilgrim prevailed...



... only to get killed by a Slaughterfish when she decided to swim across the lake for no apparent reason at all.



Oh well. Finders, keepers.



It may not look like it's far away, but I swear one of these mods is making me move even slower than in Morrowind. Before we're heading to the ol' Jauf there's one place nearby to check out.



Right next to the competitors too. Magnificent choice of location.



Some are known to never get past this point. And no, it's not because of mod conflicts. This bell is simply mesmerizing. Mustering all my willpower, I enter.



And heeeeeeere's Midas. The local rebellious mage who decided to start his own little shop and (kind of) school of magic. Sure to get support of all the teenage mages.



This thing will eventually create a black hole and suck the entire Imperial City into it. And no one will care.



Together with the doomsday device above, this is what's used to break down clutter and jewelry down into raw material, which is then used as spell components for all the Midas spells.



There's a bunch of different fancy new spells but this is no doubt one of the most useful. Your personal little magic bag at your disposal 24/7. Plunderer Selman away!




It's actually a mod. The vanilla game doesn't have a choice like that.

Act Five: The Road to Perjury



Placed the urn, nugget and lockpick in the black bomb reactor. Received Magic Chest spell. Time to visit Jauffre's hideout in the hills.



Heading out the main gate, I notice this little spam bulletin. You don't see it, but further down there's an ad for a new flower extract that's supposed to boost virility.



Without taking advantage of the notice's offer, I head out on the rocky path towards Chorrol. Five minutes later, and I'm not even halfway there yet.



Killed by an archer approaching upwind or caught off guard by the lethal stench of a man who's waded through the sewers? We'll never know.



Glad to see that no mod has removed these fine fellows who truly care about the well-being of lost travelers like me. Or not.



This is what "or else" always means.



Can't remember seeing this guy around before. I'm guessing he's been placed by the Unique Landscape mods to guard the butt-end of nowhere.



Hark! Just up this hill waits the destination of this voyage!



No, not you!



And we've arrived at a crossroads.

What say ye now? Abandon our cause, piss the ol' bugger off or carry on like brave little pawns, forcing our path through the mainquest?

Have you got a mod which reoves hat abnoxious leveling which made it irrelivant what level you are? If so of and do the mages guild (well you are a mage) so the main quest is possible without relying mainly on weapons. Or not. Just keep it coming.

Yeah, I've got Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul running so the level scaling is pretty much gone. No more Daedric/Glass appearing everywhere once you reach the higher levels. In fact, I believe Daedric can only be gotten from the highest ranked Dremora now. And I should really have no trouble at all sticking to plain magic once I pick up the spells I need.

Let the hoarding begin! Once you get passed that bell, that is. (Hey, it's only polite to ring before entering. Or ringing twice, or thrice, or....) Heh, at first I actually thought I was going to be kicked out if I didn't ring the bell first.

Note intended for those who want to know more about Midas:
Rane gave a good enough description of how to use the mod. Put in stuff, push button/fire spell, take out the spoils. So I'll just talk some about what the spells do.

Midas spells can be lodged into several categories. You have the offensive ones, which range from relatively tame bouncing versions of the main elements to huge explosion of holy might (usable once a day, outdoors only). Also, Chain lightning has spent quite some time as my primary spell. While the whole bouncing effect is somewhat unreliable, it really is awesome when you get it going back and forth six times between two....experiment subjects.

Then there are a selection of different kind of shields (For example, an anti-arrow bubble) which I haven't aquired yet.

Next up, the summons. You can summon a chest to hold all your loot, as already shown. (Only possible when no-one is whacking your brains in.) But you can also summon new forms of transport and a bunch of golems. And for you Morrowind lovers, mark/recall are back as well, though slightly different.

Finally, the mod also comes with a bunch of quests, just in case you get bored with dropping gold nuggets and other junk in the black sphere of doom.

That said, Midas spells are really a love it or hate it thing. It's got some invaluable ones (chest and fricking fast transports), but the spells have these gimmicks which can hinder their usefullness at times.


Now I'm pretty sure that the dialogue option at the end of the update is from that mod again. Maybe it's one of those join the Mythic Dawn things. Anyway, that makes me wonder...if you lie to Jaufre, then wouldn't he try to kill you? At this point in the questline he's still immortal (although the lie could remove it) and he's pretty damn powerfull. Combine this with a lack of maneouvring room inside the Priory, and it might be best not to piss him off.