What a smile from Rustleif!

Nice to see Kharjo. And very nice to see a happy bear face. My characters only get to see teeth.

Primrose is quite a climber! I was going to call the dwarven ruin shot “Dragon Bait,” but then I remembered that Primrose lives under friendly skies.

These are great!

Acadian: That smith's smile was as faint as any of Primrose's mother. I had to capture it on film pixels.


King Coin: Primrose would never have betrayed Erandur. Besides, what is she going to do with that staff? Use it as a back scratcher?

Primrose actually bypassed that ruin too. She was on her way back to Dawnstar after doing a fetch and carry for the ship captain, and was already loaded down with loot. But she could not resist climbing up top of those buildings for a picture.


Grits: Primrose sometimes sees bear teeth, when they are ripping apart someone who is mean to her. Primrose loves climbing up things, especially mountains. I think she gets that from her mother too.


A short vid of an encounter with a Thalmor patrol

A long vid that resulted from a Whiterun guard telling Primrose that he had seen a strange creature outside of Shimmermist Cave

Prim seems to have some wiry muscles on her to haul around the scrap she found there. Makes her moms proud I bet.

Nice little Thalmar encounter in the first vid. It really shows Child of the Faint Smile’s ability to meld bow with summoned ball of teeth & fur.

Then a long dungeon crawl. I’m a little glowing mushroom; they keep me in the dark and feed me. . . oh, well, um Primrose certainly got some fine fungal picking done along with some great snipe shots vs Falmer. The dungeon was very spooky and atmospheric.

I had to chuckle when she got stuck behind Sabrina (that’s what I’ve named her Saber Cat) and had to resummon the cat behind her. Yikes, those Chaurus things looked tough - mudcrabs on steroids? That Dwarven Centurian was a challenge. Yay for Sabrina!

Having to shoulder her bow to cast spells. Ugh. Clearly the devs don't play mystic archers.

Now when Primrose got to that big waterfall and there were no foes around I thought surely she would display the instincts of a woodster, doff her furs and play in the water some. Noooooooo . . . .

What a great fight against the Thalmor! Primrose’s sabre cat is awesome. Fun to get a little help from a local wolf, too. Not so fun to have a dead chick on the rock. I guess she didn’t make it.

Primrose looked so neat sneaking through the glowing mist. Shimmermist is where Rowan mistook Vorstag for a chaurus in the dark and attacked him with a vicious dual flurry. Prompting him to quietly say, “Hey.”

I love how the sabre cat flops down on the ground after the fight!! Even when she’s a little bit in the way. Good kitty.

I like how the sabre cat settled down after the fight.

Aravi did this cave! Falmer! It’s pretty without them isn’t it?

Primrose is really going after those ingredients. I don’t think I was ever so happy to see a sabre cat than when Primrose summoned one to fight the chaurus.

That centurion was a nasty surprise when Aravi did that one. She actually went behind the falmer in there to slit his throat…

liliandra nadiar: She has something that boosts her stamina, though I am not sure what. She also enchanted her boots to increase her carrying capacity. So she is a regular ox!

Acadian: That is one of the spookier Skyrim dungeons I have been in. The Falmer lairs always are. Sabrina, how perfect! Though it is going to make me think of the Teenage Sabre Cat. No baths for Primrose in that place. It was just too darn creepy. Her favorite spot are the rapids outside Whiterun. There are a few little baby waterfalls that you can just ride along with. Sort of like an ES waterslide.

Grits: That was a rousing fight with the Thalmor. Primrose is a Stormcloak sympathizer, and when she saw them standing over the body of that dead Stormcloak, something snapped in her, and it was killin' time. The sabre cat acts like a real cat: i.e. lazy! Also like a real cat, it likes to get in your way, so you have to pay attention to it. Though the other summonings are like that too.

King Coin: That place is creepy even without the Falmer! The lighting is all too weird. It is really dark, and really bright, at the same time. Primrose could not wait to get back out under the stars once more, and find a nice, friendly wolf pack to lie down to sleep in.

Primrose stopped off in Dawnstar for a break

The fire is nice and warm after that brisk mountain air

I decided to give Primrose a break for a little while. Though I still plan to go back to her later.

Meet Hrafngoelir (her name means "who makes the ravens sing")

Hrafn and Ralof hiding from the dragon

A close up

Hrafn is a warrior and even has the stones for it

Once in Riverwood, she decided to try a new lipstick

'Little' lady looks ready to impart some Nordic wisdom to those stuffy, arrogant Imperials and Altmer.

Also, a mod I found that I adore for anyone of mine that uses bows. It removes that annoying gap between the quiver and your back.

Ahh, nice and warm by the fire.

Your new character is beautiful! Favors the ax eh?

That’s a great shot of Hrafn and Ralof! I like the way axes hang from the belt better than swords. Hrafn demonstrates that being a warrior is no excuse for neglecting one’s grooming. She looks lovely!

Those are great screens!

Your new warrior looks wonderful. Very pretty with a sexy scar just to keep her real. I suspect she will have more fun - that is assuming the carpet matches the drapes.

liliandra nadiar: Neat mod! I just downloaded it and put it to use. Thanks!

King Coin: The axe is such an iconic nordic weapon, that I could not resist. Although Hrafn might eventually use a sword at some time in the future. It all depends on what she finds in her travels.

Grits: I had fun working on that shot with Ralof. I missed it the first time I tried getting the pic. So I reloaded the autosave from when they stepped outside so I could try again. I like the way the axes sling into your belt too. Makes a lot more sense then having them swinging around next to your leg!

Acadian: You skewered me with the scar. That is exactly why I included it. I wanted to have her eye on that side of her head be missing as well. But they did not have an option for one blue right eye, and one missing left one. Too bad, it would have gone perfectly with the scar.

The carpet does indeed match the curtains! Sadly, Hrafn did not have the chance to have as much fun with Ralof as she would have liked...


These bandits had a close relationship.

Hrafn smithed herself up some new armor.

Playing whack a draugr in Bleak Falls Barrow

She cleans up pretty well.

A bandit mage makes the mistake of crossing Hrafn

As does an archer.

Thanks for sharing more of Hrafn.

Close relationship – Methinks someone’s been playing with corpses. Know an elf named Falanu? Oh well, I guess Hrafn didn’t bring her bags for tea.

New armor – Yes! The metal stuff works with this character. And very well! Nothing says subtle like steel and an axe.

Draugr whacking, mage mauling and archer axing - All in a day’s work!

Cleans up pretty well - By Kynareth’s wings, I’ll say so!!!

Whiterun looks safer with Hrafn there. I love the new armor. She's beautiful!

Hrafn looks a little surprised at the bandits' activities.

I like that armor, I haven't been able to use it on a character yet though.

The shot of the mage was a really good one.

Acadian: No playing with corpses. That is how they fell. Hrafn does not like her tea that way!

Grits: Hrafn originally forged herself a set of steel armor, but it looked too girly on her, with the way it showed off her figure. So she went with the banded cuirass instead. It has a more rugged look. Although she keep the steel for the gauntlets and boots.

King Coin: I like that banded armor too. I think Hrafn will probably pass on the orcish and dwarven, and keep wearing it. At least until ebony.

I cannot count how many of those kill cams pics I have taken, and had to throw away because it wound up being a picture of the floor, of the back of a bandit's head, etc... It is difficult to find one that actually looks good.


Hrafn's homecoming was not what she had hoped for

She is off to the tower of dawn with a priest of mara

Hrafn puts down a Vaermina cultist

In the ruins

Getting drunk

Too drunk to stand.

She looks so sad in the first picture! Strangers at the forge and cultists on the hill, what a homecoming.

More great screens! I’m really liking Hrafn. Much as I like her metal armor, I’m glad to she has some nice simple tavern wear. Getting drunk? She’s a Nord! That’s gonna take lotsa ale or mead!

I had to peek at the journal entry before coming back here. Poor girl, now I know why she look so sad in the first screen.

I hope she felt a little better after bashing some skulls and drinking herself to sleep. lol.

Grits: I finally found a pose mod for Skyrim. That sad face was the first thing I used it for.

Acadian: Lots of ale and mead! But Hrafn can rise to any challenge.

King Coin: If nothing else, skull-bashing and mead-pounding does keep her mind occupied.


Hrafn bashes some draugr skulls

Down you go

Sometimes when you are modding, strange things happen.

A short vid of the boss fight in Forsaken Cave

An even shorter vid that resulted from Hrafn seeing a troll running by.

More screens of Hrafn!

In the first vid, she was wise to back up into a corridor to channel her foes. Yikes, getting disarmed was pretty scary!

Was she allied with the sprig in the second vid? Do they like Nordic girls?

Axe to the throat, nice!

That was a great fight against the draugr. Hrafn is awesome with the shield bash!

How strange that the troll was running away. Maybe it had been injured in a fight against the dead spriggan and then ran off to heal itself? What a neat encounter!

Aravi’s been disarmed before, Not fun! I think Aravi just clawed the guy that did it though. Lol. Can’t totally disarm a Khajiit.
Curalmil was tough! You went through a lot of potions.

The spriggan video was weird. Why didn’t it attack you? Are you running your nature mod with this character too?

You got some good ax finisher shots too.

Acadian: Those guys were coming out of every corner of that final boss room. I am sure they would have overwhelmed Hrafn if she had not channeled them all into the corridor, where she could fight them one at a time.

Spriggans do indeed like Nordic girls in my game. Elven girls too, and Orc girls, etc...

Grits: It has taken me a while to get used to the shield and axe combo. Using the left mouse button to bash with, as well as attack with the weapon in your right hand, is confusing. In Oblivion you could hold down the block key all the time and still attack normally. In Skyrim you wind up bashing instead. I will click to swing with the axe, but bash with the shield because I still have the block key held down.

I do like the bashing in this game though. The bash/chop makes a great combo. Plus bashing when someone is making a power attack will break up their attack. That block perk that slows down time when an opponent power attacks is great for that.

King Coin: The Spriggan/Troll encounter was very strange. When I first saw the troll, it ran right past Hrafn, and had these weird glowing green spots all over it. I guess that was from the Spriggan's attack.

I am using my Animal Friend mod with Hrafn as well. I'll probably use it for all my future characters, as it keeps the ordinary animals from attacking, which is really how it should be, since wolves and bears really are not homicidal maniacs that attack every living thing they see.


Hrafn got tired of sleeping at the inn every night, so I made her a house in Dawnstar

It is simple and cozy on the inside

Exploring the mountains east of Dawnstar

Down to business in a ruin

Sunrise on the Sea of Ghosts

Stone Cold

Under the College of Winterhold

Love the house you made. Fits right in the town and it looks very cozy inside.

The College looks very precarious. I hope they've done some magic to keep things balanced and from falling apart!

The Sea of Ghosts one is very pretty. It makes me wonder what a polar excursion would be like.

I love Hrafn's house! Like KC said, it looks cozy and it fits right in. I am not very familiar with the Dawnstar area. It looks icily beautiful!

Oh, that is a great looking cottage indeed! It suits Hrafn perfectly. I love those Skyrim horny candlelamp things.

And several more great screens. In the one you called Stone Cold (gee, they all look cold to me) I presume Hrafn got frosted by a mage was axing the mage to cease and desist?

King Coin: The house fits so well because its interior is basically a copy and paste of another home in Dawnstar, with just a few changes to make it more Hrafn-like. Finding a place to put it was not easy though. Bethesda shoe-horned most of the settlements into their surroundings, making it harder then you would first imagine to add new buildings to them.

I think a polar excursion would be very cold and wet, since they did not give us a waterwalking spell. I still don't know what they were thinking. Most of the water in this game is in the frozen arctic, and they expect people to swim through it? The reason I waited to explore it with a Nord was her 50% cold resistance.


Grits: I am not familiar with the Dawnstar area either. That is why I made it Hrafn's home. It gives me a good reason for her to spend a lot of time exploring the entire region.


Acadian: I guess you could say that Hrafn does not like getting the cold shoulder. So she had to tell that mage to cut out the bs...


The Helm of Yngol has some clipping issues

Taking in the view

Home in Dawnstar

The Falmer are rude hosts

Hrafn teaches them some manners

Their behavior is shocking

Hrafn's axe knows how to turn them into gentlemen

This guy got real hot under the collar

Hrafn does not know what got him so steamed

I know Nords are a hearty race, but I wasn't expecting their hair to be able push through metal. Hrafn's picked up some new armor I see. Was it just for dealing with impolite hosts? Blondie seems to like her little toys to have a little extra kick. Or is it utility to use an axe with fire enchantment to cook her food?

Hrafn looks so much better with an enchanted circlet than some horny clippy helm anyways.

‘Taking in the View’ was spectacular!

Awww, she looks simply beautiful in ‘Home in Dawnstar.

Yikes, those Falmer are some creepy looking elves! They lend credence to Buffy’s theory that goblins are a form of elf. Well, they were just axing for trouble.

All of the blue in Taking in the View makes the Sea of Ghosts look almost inviting. Sort of like an iced tropical drink. That circlet looks so pretty with Hrafn’s eyes.

'Taking in the view' and Dawnstar are very pretty! You have a beautiful character.

You had me groaning with all the puns afterword though. I was expecting a Dwemer Centurion with the steamed one.

liliandra nadiar: That is hard hair for you. I guess she should stop putting the quicklime in it to make it stand up?

Acadian: The Falmer are indeed creepy elves. They have been living underground for so long that they are blind, and tend to eat people. They are basically horror movie mutant villains.

Grits: Sadly I accidentally sold that circlet, but she did get another one. The wrong color though, the new one is green.

King Coin: Funny you should mention the Centurion, Hrafn spent yesterday and this afternoon exploring Blackreach, and fought several of those monstrosities.


Evening in Dawnstar

Blackreach skyline

More Blackreach

Putting down a Falmer

Falmer Hunting

Having a seat

The heart of Blackreach

Hrafn made herself some new duds

An alternate view

‘Evening in Dawnstar’ – Very pretty night picture. The snow nestling in the pines. The little cutie in the white top walking up the trail. How the moon picks up the glint off Hrafn’s right boob.

Blackreach - More of the pretty blue jellyfish trees!

‘Putting Down a Falmer’ -Ugh, Falmer have gone from creepy to gross now.

‘Farmer Flamer Falmer Hunting’ – What a beautiful profile shot of our attractive Nord!

Hrafn’s new armor looks very nice. As I've said, metal suits her well.

I just love Blackreach! It’s so strange and beautiful.

Hrafn has been busy at the forge, nice! Ebony is still my favorite axe. It's a shame she can't smith herself a new circlet, but treasure hunts are fun. Fingers crossed that Hrafn finds some blue bling.

Love the big moon on Dawnstar. Your Dawnstar doesn't look as chilly as mine does. That mod at work no doubt.

Blackreach is a fascinating place. Aravi was able to avoid most of the Centurions. You found a certain someone down there from Oblivion right?

Aravi hates Falmer and their bugs even worse. They are almost as bad as spiders in Aravi's book. And a whole lot more deadly.

I love the way Ebony looks in this game. To me it's a big improvement over the way it looked in Oblivion.

@Grits: There are mods out that make circlets craftable.

Acadian: I like that evening in Dawnstar pic a lot. But that profile view of Hrafn hunting Falmer is probably my all time favorite of her. It was actually a kill cam pic of her. You never know what you are going to get when you hit the printscreen button during those. Most of what comes out is just garbage. But sometimes you get a real gem.


Grits: Blackreach was very neat. I reminded me of the Underdark, from D&D. I kept expecting to see dark elves, driders, and the spider queen. I did make myself a crafting mod to let me craft my own circlets, and Hrafn has a couple of new ones in the latest pics. Re-enchanting them meant taking a loss in the effect (since her enchanting is not very high, and she has no perks in it), but they do look better, and that is what is most important after all.


King Coin: Hrafn did find that certain someone, and his journal. Just last night she dropped off the crimson nirnroots with the dunmer near Riften. One good thing about those steam centurions, is that you can put them to use. Hrafn ran across a chaurus reaper near one of the centurion in its rack. She ran back there and turned it on. Then she hid while the centurion wiped out the reaper.

I like the ebony in this game, but I think I preferred the version in Oblivion. I love all the gold scrollwork it has there. It makes it look like something only the ultra rich would afford.


Walking on sunshine

Momma had a baby and the head popped off!

A short vid of Hrafn lending a hand against some bandits

Another short vid, this of Hrafn helping out some wolves

I didn't like it at all. The yellow paint put me off.

I don't think the giants needed any help, but it's the thought that counts right? Aravi just steers clear of any conflict involving giants.

Wow! I wonder where all those atronachs came from? Good thing they don't go out like the fire ones do!

‘but they do look better, and that is what is most important after all.’
Quoted for Truth!

Walking on Sunshine! Hrafn looks like a woman in love with her feet not even touching the ground. Oh noes, now I’m going to have that song in my head. . . .

Start a fire, tap a keg and pop some corn heads!

Vid 1: Kisses and kudos to Hrafn for defending mammoths. They are magnificent! Oh, and how nice to see her using a bow!

Vid 2: Crushed ice anyone? Just axing. . . .

The new circlet looks great! I’m sure that six foot two with eyes of blue Hrafn doesn’t really need the whole enchantment anyway, at least not as much as the right color stones in the circlet.

That was a fun video with the mammoths and giants, with an uh-oh moment when the giant’s health bar popped up. I guess the giants haven’t talked to the spriggans to learn that Hrafn is on their side!

Three Frost Atronachs, what the heck?! Those wolves didn’t stand a chance. Hrafn’s flame enchantment came in very handy! I like the occasional wandering daedra presumably escaped from its conjurer, it reminds me why some people are against summoning in the first place.

King Coin: I believe that was not supposed to be yellow paint on the Oblivion ebony, but gold inlays. I guess they did not do it very well though!

I think the Frost Atronachs are a regular encounter up there. One of my other characters ran across a trio of them in the same general area as well. They just go on a rampage and kill everything around.


Acadian: When you walk around the edges of cliff in Skryrim, you often find your character walking in thin air like that. The game seems to have trouble telling where the ground is. It can be hilarious when you realize it.


Grits: You are right, she did not need much enchantment after all. At that point Hrafn was an awesome monster basher. Edgar and Alan Frog even said so.


As those who have read the Today in Skyrim topic know, I stopped playing Hrafn after a glitch in the civil war questline, that prevents her from going any further with it. Over the weekend I created two new characters that I have been fiddling with.

Kachina is an animal summoner

She is a Native American Redguard, inspired by Lady Saga

Kachina takes a moment to watch the world go by

Chatting with a strangely non-hostile necromancer

Kachina returns to Helgen to find it a much more friendly place

I also created Babd

Meet her skeleton: Rattles

Sorry to hear about the troubles with Hrafn’s game. I had hoped that, as a blonde, she would have more fun.

Kachina’s gorgeous! Inspired by Lady Saga? Who knew our Renee was such a hawtie! Okay, I’m just joshin’ around. I definitely see the Cherokee type influence inspired by Renee’s ideas however. Well done!

Babd looks more the gothie that often animates your characters. That Triss armor looks great on her. I tried the Oblivion version on Buffy but it put about 30 pounds on her and was definitely cut for women of more. . . Nordic proportions. The Sky version looks cut very nicely however. Rattles looks neat and certainly seems to suit his Mistress of the Dark.

Does Lady Saga know she’s set a trend? You did a great job on Kachina. Like Acadian said, she’s gorgeous!

Weird with the necromancer… Did he have anything unique to say? Or was he just another dude?

Babd looks much more creepy. I like Kachina better.

Kachina looks great! I like the one at the standing stones the best. She sounds like a Bosmer without the bow and unfortunate appearance. (My attempts at a female Bosmer resulted in a male Bosmer and a praying mantis.) Is Kachina still unarmed?

Babd looks like she enjoys the company of skeletons. I like her boots!

Acadian: One of the nicer things about Skyrim is that you can actually select a body type during character creation, basically making them either slender or beefy. I think because of that, the clothing tends to be more reasonable, since it has to 'fit' a body type anywhere in that range. But I could be wrong.

King Coin: The necromancer did not have any speech topics. Nothing happened when Kachina clicked on the Talk option, no matter how many times I tried. When she came back out again after clearing the cave he was suddenly hostile, so she had to kill him.

Grits: Kachina is a mage, so she is never unarmed You should play Skyrim on your PC, then you could get the boots, and the rest of the outfit. It is from a Triss clothing mod (I guess Triss is a character from The Witcher?)

Kachina takes a leap


I decided to create a new character, to try at least some of the Companions questline with, and take another crack at the civil war. I disabled my no dragon mod to see if that makes a difference. So it also means doing some of the main quest, at least more then bleak falls barrow.

Meet Ulfdis (meaning "wolf goddess")

Ulfdis was marked by wolves as a child, since then, they have always treated her as one of their own

And this bandit was marked by Ulfdis' sword

Pondering where to go next

Ready for action

Smiting a bandit

Through the heart

A short vid of an encounter between Ulfdis and a Thalmor patrol

Ulfdis looks great! ‘Nother blonde! Marked by a wolf as a child – reminds me of other young girls similarly marked (Aela by a cave lion, Alawen by a mountain lion) – great stories all! I like the scar on her cheek. That first fighting screen (‘marked by Ulfdis’ sword’) is neat – she gave that bandit’s quiver a drain hole for when it rains. Loved the screen of Ulfdis pondering that wall map. Shot through the heart by Uldis Bongiovi; now I’m gonna have that song stuck in my head. Gee, freeing that guy from the Thalmor didn’t get her much thanks from him, did it?

Looks like Kachina might have found a Daedra Lord? I’ve never seen that before. Doesn’t look pleasant though.

Ulfdis is very pretty. You have a knack for creating good faces. I’ve never been good with face gen.

Those last two screens, Aravi was just there. She went through the inhabitants of the cave very quickly. My favorite screen is the one of her standing in front of them map.

EDIT: You should have let the prisioner beat on the last guard a little more.

I like Ulfdis’ hair and eye color combination. Great shots against the bandits!

The roving Thalmor are what got Jensa involved with the Stormcloaks. By the time she got to Windhelm to curse at Ulfric, the Thalmor had her ready to join up.

Good luck with the start of the MQ! Do you think that Ulfdis will have a journal? I miss Hrafn's musings.

Acadian: Well she's not exactly a blond. Not a red-head either. She's sort of in between. I wanted a hair color I had not done before, and I was running out!

Aela and the cave lion is where I got the idea for Ulfdis. She is an orphan, who was discovered near Bruma. Her parents had been killed, and she had been cared for by wolves in their absence. The wolves marked her, so that all of their kind would know she was one of their own.

I was also thinking of that same song! I guess some things are just inescapable, Bone Jovi among them.


King Coin: That one of Kachina is from a Nordic barrow south of Falkreath. There is an uber-draugr in it somehow draining the life energy of people. To maintain his unholy existence no doubt.

It is easy to make attractive faces in Skyrim - at least human ones. Much more so then in Oblivion. The presets, combined with the fewer things you can change, mean you cannot mess it up too much. Most of the presets are good to go as they are. Just clean up the dirt and warpaint so you can actually see the face. Then if they need it, do a little tweaking. The main thing to try to do is make sure the features (eyes, nose, mouth) are symmetrical. Keep them regularly spaced, and you will have a face that looks good.


Grits: I took a long time deciding on the color of her eyes and hair. I am glad someone appreciated it. Like I was saying to Acadian, I went with the auburn hair because I have not had a character with that color before. Then I spent a lot of time deciding on the eyes, and eventually I went with the amber eyes because they matched her hair.

The Thalmor patrols hauling off Nords makes it hard for me to side with the Empire. Not to mention the Imperials doing the same. After starting the game on the headsman's block, it is difficult to play a character who feels no empathy for someone else in the same place.

I would like to write a journal for Ulfdis, but I am holding off to see if her game gets borked like Hrafn's did. I don't want to put all that effort into it, just to find out the character is stuck again. If she does get past that point, then I probably will. I just got past the point where Hrafn's game was stuck. W00t! Now I have a lot to write to get Ulfdis up to date.


A soft word and the sword in the back, will get you more than just a soft word...

A talkative bandit

Greeting the Thalmor

Whiterun at night

Morning on the sea of ghosts

Finishing off an invisible foe

Ulfdis briefly teamed up with Erik the Slayer to clear out Bleak Falls Barrow

Oops on the hair. I figured she just had some of that Skyrim ‘realism’ in it that would wash out. I took another look and agree that strawberry blondish reddish is right. Regardless, she looks nice!

Great screens! I see Ulfdis prefers full metal penetration to talking. The night shot at Whiterun and the picture of the Sea of Ghosts are both very neat. She teamed up with Erik the Slayer? I wonder if that’s where little Slayers come from?