I'm posting this next update here in Cheats, Hints, & Spoilers, because it kinda does have some spoilers.

Morndas, 8:59 am, 4th of First Seed....

Crystal Beth went to see the steward in the Blue Palace, and was surprised to be named "Thane" after a momentary discussion with Jarl Elisif herself! She had merely come to the Blue Palace to see about buying upgrades for her home, but did not expect this.

When she gets home, she's surprised (I was surprised! ) to see an immediate guest is sitting in the front room.

"Who are you?"

"Honor to you, my Thane."

"Thane? You are here because I am now a Thane of Elisif?

"The Jarl has recogized you as a person of interest in the hold. A hero!..." she informs.

After a long conversation, Beth gets to know her new guest. Her name is Jordis the Sword Maiden. She's carrying a sword, wears armor, and has a big steel shield!

* I waited 24 hours while Beth and Jordis got to know one another

Beth is supposed to be off to Windhelm, and then Winterhold. She is not sure if she is to bring Jordis along with her. After a night of blissfull sleep, she decides firmly: Jordis is pleasing to talk to, but would make a better guard than a companion on the road.

That is it then. While Beth is off in Skyrim, adventuring about, she'll have the full pleasure of knowing her home, Proudspire Manor, is being safely watched over by her new housecarl. There's something pleasing about this.

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The brothers J'z renewed their aquaintance with the MQ by heading to Utengrav (Usten?) after The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller...As you do...

'Zirlo - "Have at you, skeletal fiend! Take that dratted dragur!!"

'Zargo - "That is so amateur dramatics you know?"

'Zirlo - "Shut up! Idiot!"

'Zargo - "Oh yeah, that told me. Take a nap, naughty necromancer!"

'Zirlo - "?!!"...

Joshua Lennox Letter #3

Dear Brother

What an eventful few days I have had! They started with me in a pit of misery over Aunt Ramiti’s family’s deaths. I was also upset about the fact that now I have no place in the world. I have no family or any friends in Skyrim to turn to.

So instead of the meaning of my life to find me, I decided to try and find it. First Uthgerd left my company to do business with the owner of the general goods store. It’s a shame our journey ended so soon, but eh, whatchagonnado.

Before leaving my side she suggested that I try enrolling in the Mages College that is in Winterhold. She’d noticed how talented I was in the arts of illusion and destruction and she thought it would be a great opportunity for me. So I took her advice.

I headed to the college and was met at the gate by an Altmer named Faralda. She insisted I cast a healing spell to prove that I was worthy of entry, which I found odd seeing as my forte is Illusion/destruction. Anywho I performed her test and she led me into the college.

After a quick induction my the master wizard called Mirabelle (you’d like her. She’s just your type) I was sent to my first lesson.

I entered the lesson to hear arguing between the other students and Tolfdir, the teacher. The students wanted to do something practical so Tolfdir taught us about wards.

After the lesson Tolfdir asked us to meet him at these ancient ruins called Saarthal to do some excavating for magical widgets, I don’t know.

I walked to Saarthal with this gorgeous nord named Onmund, who was absolutely GORGEOUS! By the nine was he gorgeous.

Anywho we made it to Saarthal and once inside Tolfdir and I managed to find this HUUUUUGE floating orb thing! Oh, but before that I blew up a wall and got visited by an apparition and fought off some zombies in armour. But yeah, the orb.

After finding the orb I had to return to the Arch Mage and tell him what i found, which I did. After that I returned to my quarters, where the other students had arrived. Me and Onmund spoke about the Orb and everything else we found. But I wasn’t really listening. He was just too gorgeous. And his body...

SORRY! You probably don’t want to hear about all this. I’ll stop.

Anywho I’ve got to go as me and the others are going to practice some spells, but I will write to you again soon, Kay?

Joshua

The Bulsakh continues to be tons of fun. Here’s a picture of him and his buddy Erik the Slayer. (Link). Big D is wearing the necklace Sylgja gave him. He has one that boosts his light armor skill, but he still wears Sylgja’s. Of course he also had one that would give him more money back on every trade, but he sold it.

The Bulsakh has been given the Sanguine Rose. He had to deal with his ex-girlfriend again, but this time it was worth it. Erik the Slayer provided a surprise during the last part of that adventure. He raised a dead necromancer to fight with the D team. I’m not sure if the necromancer raised one of his own buddies, but there was a lot of blue smoke and groaning going on. Erik had a Staff of Zombies in his loot bag, and I guess he decided that a dead necromancer was too much of a temptation. The Bulsakh missed out on the irony, but I had a giggle over it. He’ll probably give the Rose to Erik, if he thinks of it. Otherwise it will just be another walking stick.

On the way out of Riften to deliver dead gunk to some orcs, we had a little excitement. A dragon attacked right by Snow-Shod Farm. Some Riften guards got involved. This dragon liked to land and snap at people, so there was a lot of running and shooting through the trees. At one point it looked like the dragon had a guard cornered under one of those dirt ledges. Big D sprinted to the rescue only to discover that the guard was actually a pissed-off troll. Slightly on fire. With another troll up on the ledge behind it. The dragon took off for another circle, and the Bulsakh did some backpedaling through the trees followed by angry trolls. Right into the triple frostbite spider fight that had broken out with the actual guards and Erik. Outstanding. I love the Rift!

That fight really stirred the blood. Afterward the Bulsakh was in no mood to deal with a bunch of backwoods hick orcs (like himself), so he turned around and headed for Shor’s Stone. Wearing Sylgja’s gift necklace, of course. He has a butterfly in a jar he wants to give her.

Cool stories, Grits and Andrea. Grits, taht pic you posted almost looks "real!" Andrea: I'm wondering which NPC you're talking about. Whoever it is, Crystal Beth apparently didn't find him to be attractive! Beth is a Wood Elf, though. She doesn't go for Nords. Or humans, actually.

Lol: "The D Team!"

Let's see, a dragon, trolls, spiders, guards, and Erik, all at once? You have the weirdest games!

OK, there's more. I had a very lazy day. Also I forgot to mention in the last update, the Snow-Shod Farm battle also included the Snow-Shod farmers! I should ask D to go back and check if any of them made it.



First, Duralekh's trip to Shor’s Stone went very well. He broke into Sylgja’s house to leave the pet butterfly for her, and surprise, she was home and delighted to see him. I mean, what’s a little B&E between friends? That led to a few happy hours in her bed. When he woke up she was gone, but Erik the Slayer was still standing there. That’s when he remembered that he had forgotten to ask Erik to wait outside. Oops.

Now, there is an expression that one should not buy the cow if one is already receiving free milk. Despite Big D’s willingness to put out, sweet Sylgja still wanted to make an honest man of him. Best to skip the milk-drinker joke, I think. Anyway, the Bulsakh headed straight to Whiterun to invite his friends to the wedding, pick up all of his cabbages from Uthgerd’s house, and rub Ysolda’s nose in it.

Back in Riften he put on his wedding attire (Sylgja’s necklace, fur kilt, and the hat that Ulfberth and Adrianne gave him) and headed over to the Temple of Mara. Here’s a picture of Big D going, WTF? (Link). It seems that he was a little early. The next morning everyone showed up as expected. Whew. Here's a picture of D and Sylgja's wedding. (Link).

After the honeymoon (sorry you had to see that, Erik), Big D walked outside to greet the day. And a dragon. While he was running up and down the road trying to draw it away from Shor’s Stone, he had a thought. He never got around to completing that contract to kill the dragon at Northwind Summit. And Northwind Summit was… right up there. Dammit!

Cue extended period of scrambling over rocks trying to get up to Northwind Summit in the hope of luring the dragon to its lair while fighting off various trolls and wolves in the area. (I always forget about the easy way to get there until AFTER the climb.) When he finally got to the top of this knife-edge ridge, there was a big whoosh and he was blinded by fire. OK, so this one is a fire dragon. Since he couldn’t move while the fire was in his eyes for fear of falling off the cliff, he took a moment to put on his Boots of the Chill Sakh (40% resist fire, Twin Moons bless those Khajiit!) and scarf down a few legs of roasted goat.

As he hopped down over the edge he heard the dragon cry way off behind him at the same time he took another face full of fire. What the—two dragons. He managed to lead the Shor Stone dragon up to the Northwind Summit one. Nice.

I should mention that this was my first time with two dragons. It was awesome! D used up most of his arrow and poison collections, but he still had some healing potions at the end. Erik showed up eventually by some miracle, and he used the staff to get his Caitiff in the fight. Here is a picture of them at the end. (Link). D is saying, “Holy fetching dreck! Did that just happen?” Erik is saying, “You know, I thought I would miss farming…” Love that kid.

And there’s more. After the fellows unloaded their tons of dragon bone and got paid in Riften, they headed back out to the orcs. Erik is developing quite a soul gem habit, as he is now an enthusiastic staff wielder. There was another tussle at the stronghold gates, which was surprising. After the big one went down, Duralekh realized that Erik and the Caitiff were still engaged with unknown enemies. He topped a small rise in time to witness the two of them battling hostile goats.

They must have missed one, because later inside the stronghold during a rather important speech, Erik whirled around, summoned his dremora, and went haring off to slaughter another goat. We could hear the KABOOM, cursing, and maaaaaaah over what the very important entity was saying. Big D still got tasked with some orc business, though. That’s next on the plan, after he checks back in at home with Sylgja.

A final note. One day of married life has made a real change in the Bulsakh. He seems to have developed a fear of spiders. Or more specifically, a fear that his bride will be eaten by spiders. I foresee many quick stops for a loving chat, a quick scan of the mine, and if he’s lucky a taste of Sylgja’s homemade pie.

SubRosa: maybe it's because you're more focused on writing stories? And you haven't really gotten into the meat of exploring/road encounters yet? I'm just guessing, I guess.

Grits: more coolness! I'm glad somebody is writing here, since I've been slacking these past few days. Actually, that's not true. It's been sunny here lately, and that means I don't game. I've also had some real-life things going on. Anyways, glad somebody's still carrying the torch.

Hilarious as always Grits. I never have those kinds of things happen, because I play more cautiously, and take my time moving from one area to the next. For example, I would have never ran up to Northwind Summit when I already had a dragon to deal with. I would have fought that dragon, then went up there after killing it. And of course fought off all the wildlife one at a time as well.

Also I guess I am just lucky, because goats have never attacked me. I wonder what Erik was doing to those goats that got them so riled up?

I have been sick as a dog for a couple of days, so plenty of unproductive time on this end. The other night I woke up from a fever too sick to play Skyrim!! But today I’m only miserable, so I must be on the mend.

Rosa, I think you’re exactly right. Dragon fights span large areas and encourage spontaneous behavior from my frantic characters (and their demented followers). Except for Allek. As long as Marcurio is safe at home, he just turns invisible and slips away. I wonder if those goats were somehow allied with the giant? Otherwise Erik the Ex-Farmboy might get a new nickname!



The Bulsakh and Erik the Slayer are on their way to Mzinchaleft. They passed a lighthouse and went in to get warm.

Now, on his own Big D would never have stepped a second foot inside when greeted with such a scene. He is also not the type to read people’s letters and personal journals. Erik the Curious is, however. When he learned that there were missing family members possibly still alive, D was in for the adventure.

Of course it just got more tragic at every turn, but the D team prevailed. Until that point of no return, where the Bulsakh found himself alone.

He reached the nest. By then it was easy to see that he would be quickly killed if he used his usual stride-in-and-smash-em approach. Instead he hung back, sniping until he was nearly out of arrows. He has gotten some archery practice in with the dragons, but he is still a beginner. He had to finish down in the water with his axes, but by then there were only two of them left. One was the big one. It was tough, but he made it.

Walking up the ramp after that fight was just pure relief. Big D put the old sailor to rest and spent a moment enjoying the sun again. (It was snowing when they got there.) For the first time, he had some thoughts about his own small family. Just him and Sylgja. If he gave her children, they would be Nords. There was no chance they would live out their lives for the good of some stronghold. That relieved a worry he didn’t know he had.

But for the immediate future, he needs to restock on arrows and healing potions. Whatever took out Mjoll the Lioness in her prime must be a formidable enemy. It would be foolish to go in unprepared.

Oh, about the big hammer that appeared at the end of his previous adventure: he left it right there on the shrine.

Team D takes down the Big Mamma Chaurus! Frost Flow Lighthouse is not for the faint-hearted (or low level) character. That is always one tough crawl, thanks to those poison spits the bugs have.

The Bulsakh and Erik made it through their trial by steam in the Dwemer ruin. I was very, very nervous about the big shiny guy at the end. D was well prepared with vegetable soup and his last homecooked meal from Sylgja. The fight was fast and furious, and very loud. Erik’s dremora caitiff has a real mouth on him. It was a little worrisome at first when I noticed that Erik joined the battle by plinking the monster with an arrow, but he got with the program as soon as D took his first serious hit.

The closest call we had in that whole adventure was earlier against a gloomlurker. Damn he was tough. It did not help that D had two ice spikes sticking through him already from Erik fumbling with staves. Big D ended up running around a fountain healing himself while the summoned dremora cleaned up. Not his finest moment, but he lived.

Erik had some nice conversational offerings throughout. My favorite was when the two of them were viewing a defunct centurion early on in the ruin, and Erik remarked, “The stories don’t say why the Dwemer disappeared. I wonder if their machines turned on them.”

The fellows are heading up to Solitude for a rest and possibly a ride most of the way back to Shor’s Stone. The Bulsakh is usually not one for carriages, but he is worn out and missing his lady. He’s also not much of a looter, but he does have a few little gifts for Sylgja. Some glowy things from the ruin (chaurus eggs) and some nice blue flowers from Hjaalmarch (deathbell). He’s sure that will put her in the mood for love. (Big D only gets sweet Comfort about half of the time. Plus Sylgja won’t always cook for him. She’s probably buggy, but maybe she’s just tired from working in the mine.)

I like when I get sick. One of the perks is I get to possibly stay home legitimately and game to my heart's content! Must suck to be too sick to game, though.

It seems the older I get, my immune system keeps getting better or something, though. I rarely get sick.

Sorry I've been away for so long, been very busy. Here is an update on joshua. It isn't very thrilling as nothing much has happened to him recently, but his brother wouldn't mind that

By the way Lady Saga, this is the NPC Joshua has a crush on

Joshua Lennox letter #4

Dear Brother,

Sorry it’s been a while since my last letter, but a lot has changed for me. After I found the orb I was sent to find some books that had been stolen in order to learn more about it.

But I refused. I didn’t come to the college to do search and fetch missions, but to learn more about destruction, but everyone here seems to be useless. Maybe it is just a case of me expecting to much.

All I wanted was a place I could fit in and call home, but this ain’t it. So I’ve decided to leave the college and find somewhere else to migrate to.

I will miss everyone there, especially Onmund, but the heart wants what it wants. Onmund suggested that I visit his friend that works in an Inn in a city called Markarth called Hreinn. He said that Hreinn would help me out with a place to stay until I find my feet somewhere else. Onmund gave me a letter he wrote so Hreinn would know who I was then sent me on my way.

I have yet to make it to Markarth yet but once I do I will write to you again, but I won’t leave it so long next time!

Joshua

Also, off topic, a new Jess of Valor will be up In the coming week, so keep an eye out for that

Ah, so that's Onmund. Looking forward to an update on Jess.

I am up really late tonight. Gaming, of course. I got the day off tomorrow, and my kid is at her friend's house. Good. Good.

I've decided to write Gunter, Son of Talos's tale in a very simple day-to-day format. If a story evolves out of it, so much the better. But for now, it's a simple journal.

Gunter is a Nord, by the way. A Nord fighter type. I'm thinking that other than potions, he won't involve himself with magic at all. Nor will he do extensive dungeon diving (especially draugr and dwemer ruins). He may do some bandit raids, though.

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Day 1: 1:03 pm, Sundas, 17th of Last Seed. I am Gunter, Son of Talos. today me escape from Helgen with man name Ralof. follow Imperial soldier, but see Stormcloaks and join them, instead.

@ 8pm: follow Ralof to Riverwood and meet Ralof family. spend night at house. Hod & Gerdur's house. safe cozy place, but not enough beds. drank and drank and wound up sleeping with Gerdur. Fear a fight in the morn, but Hod not seem to mind that Gunter sleep with his woman!

Ralof told me "head to Windhelm and join the Stormcloaks". as a native of Bruma in Cyrodiil, Gunter is ready to do whatever it takes to destroy the Empire's reach!

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Day 2: spend day in riverwood. drinking, eating, with Hod & Gerder & Ralof & little boy. Hod offers work at sawmill. Gunter want work.
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Day 3: chop wood for Hod & Gerdur. Make over 400 gold, just chopping wood! Who says adventurer are only ones to make the gold!
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Day 4: move out of Hod & Gerdur, and into own room at Sleeping Giant Inn. Chop wood all day.
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Day 5: got attack by three armored men*, as me walk outside the Inn! Me have no armor, nor weapon to protect, had to run. ran north into woods. hide. they found Me. ran to a hunter's campsite. hide. they found Me.

Me run all the way to town called Whiterun. Ralof tell me of this town in days before. Now, only one man follow Gunter. he hit very strong. almost kill Gunter, son of Talos on the spot. but Gunter run into town. hide again in shop. Is Gunter coward for running? No, Me alive!

*these 3 men attacked Gunter out of nowhere, right in front of the Sleeping Giant, it was so random! He was totally unprepared for this.
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Day 6: back in Riverwood. spend day with smith, who teach Gunter everything he know smithing and tanning. Gunter now spend gold on iron ignots, leather strips, and other. Before Gunter go to Windhelm to join Stormcloaks, Me have suit made of iron! and a sword.
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Day 7: Sundas, 24th of Last Seed, Year 201. Gunter chop wood all day, until at night auroras fill sky. Gunter so tired by nightfall, can barely walk! * Gunter make 362 gold today, for chop wood.

* (over-encumbered)
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Day 8: spend money on more iron and leather. make iron boots. iron gauntlets. iron helmet, and iron suit. Gunter, son of Talos smith all day.
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Day 9: Me attack by Inn keeper! inkeeper accuse Gunter of stealing. but it was Gunter's things they accuse of stealing! *

Gunter must leave Riverwood. Heads to Whiterun. maybe can improve armor before heading to Windhelm.

*: This really annoys me. I store my character's things, but if somebody sees him take stuff out of the wardrobe, he gets charged with a crime! Even though he paid for the room.

Gunter meet woman name Adrianne. she work at forge in Whiterun. Gunter like Adrianne! like her very much! Gunter take a sword for her to Jarl steward. work with her at forge.

6:12 pm: Me buy room in place called Bannered Mare.
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Day 10: attack Silent Moons Camp for Jarl of Whiterun. all bandits slain.

This was an interesting fight. Gunter was first spotted by 2 archers. He did not want to rush them, as other enemies seemed to be about. He hid behind a wall until a wizard came towards, shocking Gunter. Gunter slew the wizard after some running around. He had to drink his only health potion.

When he came back into the main area of the camp (where the steps are) all the bandits were dead! They apparently got killed by a group of mudcrabs! I'm assuming this because there were 2 mudcrabs walking around the area, and perhaps 5 dead bandits!

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Congrats on having the opportunity to finally play GSoT! I had no idea you could make that much money chopping wood! I may have to try that now.

And mudcrabs FTW! I often see bandits being stupid enough to attack giants. It is fun to see them launched into orbit.

I know! I wish I could make that much money chopping wood IRL. 400 gold a day? Sheesh.

I basically would just animate the wood block, and then change the channel while the wood-chopping animation was going (it lasts a minute or so). I have Internet on my TV, so I would go read or post here or at Bethsoft while he chopped wood. Changed channel. Animated the wood block again, repeat, repeat...

YEAAHH!! Im so excited that you have started Gunter! He seem's to have random misfortune at the moment though! I've never encounters any random attacks outside the Sleeping Giant! How strange...

SUBROSA!! Will we be expecting any more of Hrafn's journal soon? And grits, I am LOVING reading about Bulsakh's journey I had no idea Eric was recruitable as a follower after completing his little quest! He seem's a decent companion too


Joshua Lennox letter #5

Dear Brother,

I finally made it to Markarth! The journey wasn’t too much fun though.

First I met an old Orc who had just taken down two Sabre cats on his own. He claimed that he was waiting for a ‘good death’ whatever that means. I have a feeling he was hinting at me to give it to him, but I didn’t really want to even TRY seeing as how he took down those Sabre cats with such ease.

But what happened next on my journey will shock you. As I was walking I was attacked by a hodded figure! I just about managed to defeat him, but when he died I saw a letter fall out of his pocket. He was a Dark Brotherhood assassin! He had been sent to kill me! I thought I’d left all the people who hated me back in Hammerfell.

I took a break In Whiterun and stopped off at the Bannered Mare. Uthgerd wasn’t there, which was disappointing as I would have loved to have seen her. However, I was approached by a woman who began flirting with me. When I told her I wasn’t interested she looked disappointed. I asked her what was wrong and she said she was desperate for the bard in the Bannered Mare to leave her alone, so she was hoping having a man on her arm would do that. I told her I would talk to the bard and I approached him. He refused to leave Carlotta 9that was her name) alone, so we brawled. I won of course, and after that he promised to leave her alone. As a way of thanks Carlotta have me money and free food off her stool anytime I should need it!

The next day I continued to Markarth. Nothing exciting happened on the journey. Once I reached Markarth I was approached by a man who offered to sell me his dog, Vigilance. Once I saw the dog I immediately accepted. I fell in love! He was gorgeous!

Once inside Markarth I headed to the Silver-Blood Inn and spoke with Hreinn, giving him Onmund’s letter. He offered to keep a room available for me at all times, although I still had to pay.

With Vigilance I decided to rest my weary legs with a bottle of mead by the fireplace. Suddenly I was approached by a man who asked if the other seat was taken. I told him it wasn’t and he sat down. He told me he was a sellsword and I was always welcome should I need his assistance. I told the man, Vorstag, that I was okay for now, then he gave me a cheeky smile and said that he would always be around if I needed him. I don’t know what he meant.

I am off to sleep now but I will write to you again soon!

Joshua

Good to have you back, Andrea! Wondering where you been. Must be school, huh?

Markath is an awesome town. I'm hoping Gunter will make it there. Crystal Beth never found herself going that way.

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This set of journal entries begins on Sundas, 31st of Last Seed

Gunter managed to level up to 3 by this point. He's learning; honing his craft, and can protect himself while wearing heavy armor a little better. He's also learned to manage his shield a little more, too.


Day 14: Gunter want go seek Companions. to join, must prove himself to Vilkas. Before prove himself, Gunter must find new clothes. throw away black robes*, and steal some clothes from Companions when nobody look.

*After Gunter got chased out of Riverwood, he realized he had left a lot of vital things behind, including his clothes. He had been wearing his full iron armor suit, but had no town clothes. Before stealing a set of clothes from a Companion room, he had managed to buy a Black Robe! He had been walking around Whiterun in this robe for a while, kinda reminded me of Steven Segal. Lol!

3pm: Gunter go back to Inn, put on armors and sword. man name Farkas speak to Gunter in mean tone before prove himself to Vilkas, but me not scare. Gunter fight with Companion, prove himself a WARRIOR! ....Gunter now part of Companions.

6 pm: Me collects bounty from Jarl steward for take down Silent Moons Camp. 100 gold.

9 pm: word travel fast in Whiterun! guards recognize Gunter now as Companion.

10 pm: Gunter see pretty lady by table in Banner Mare. her name: Ysolda Me heart go like wings of butterfly. Gunter sit with Ysolda, talk sweet to me lady! Ysolda nice, but not give Gunter time of day.

..."tis okay. tomorrow nother day.


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Day 15: Companion give Gunter new task. FIGHT Idola Battle-Born! Idola confront Gunter in Banner Mare. he say: "you like Grey Mane or Battle Born?" Gunter say Grey Mane. Grey Mane is Nordic brothers! Idola no like Gunter answer. FIGHT happen, and Gunter remain victory!

after fight, Gunter get new task: find sword piece knowns as Wuuthred. Gunter prepare for adventure. buy new Burning Sword! Me spend over 400 gold on new Fire Sword. Me allso buy more iron block to make new sword to sell (Smithing stuff). after me buy Burning Sword and iron blocks, me have 3 gold.

10 pm: long day at forge. work with pretty lady Adrienne all day. Gunter see lady Ysolda as go to Inn. sweet talk to Ysolda, but Ysolda play hard to get!
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Day 16: Me walk away from morning sun to Silent Moons Camp, and then away more to Draugr's barrow. meet Farkas. Farkas and Gunter spend many hour in draugr barrow call Dustman's Cairn.

I've learned something new. Many draugr can be snuck up on while they're "resting" {i.e. still on their death slabs or in their catacombs}. If Gunter sneaks up on them, he could deliver a 1-hit critical blow on these "resting" draugr, especially with his new flaming sword. This usually guaranteed the end of that particular draugr.

With every successful sneak attack, Gunter leveled up his 1-handed skill in grand jumps each time. He is already at Level 6 with 1-handed skill at 26! I haven't placed his 3 bonus perks yet, but I will
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Day 17: must be new day, sun low in sky, falling to sleep. Gunter and Farkas defeat many draugr, and find many treasure. Me carry magic stafff and treasure for sale in Riverwood, if okay Gunter return

I'm pulling a little prank on Farkas, dragging him to Riverwood. After selling things (assuming they're not still mad at Gunter), I will get Farkas to follow Gunter to Valtheim Keep. There's a contract on the bandits there, and Gunter doesn't want to go at this all alone.
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Middas, 11:33 PM, 3rd of Heartfire (Day 17 continued)

Gunter eat lot of food with new friend Farkas. have lots of gold. more gold than ever in life!

Me very happy! Me very happy indeed! A happiest Nord Gunter is ! Ale! Pie! Meat! and Mead!

I skipped a few days of the journal. To all my Gunter Son of Talos fans (all 3 of you, lol), Gunter hung around Riverwood with Farkas. He's got over a thousand gold, and bought every steel bar the smith had for sale, as well as all his strips of leather.

I gave him the Steel Smithing perk. He made his first steel piece: a full body suit of steel.

Gunter and Farkas finally left Riverwood. Since there's a bounty on the bandit's leader at Volkheim Towers, Gunter is going to drag Farkas there, and then they will both head to Windhelm.


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Loredas, 12:20 pm, 6th of Heartfire

Day 20: Gunter, Son of Talos walk with Farkas! Find bridge as call by Volkheim Towers. kill many bandit. Gunter find special ring. feel magic in ring*. Gunter like this feeling!

Guner walk with Farkas now to Windhelm, to join with Stormcloak! By the mighty Talos, Gunter does walk. Talos, the only of Gods to once be mortal! Talos make Gunter proud!

*he found a ring with a magical resistance in it. It resists 10% of magic. Good thing to have.

5:39 PM: Me and Farkas fight sabercat! Mean!!! Sabercat make Gunter hurt! Gunter must drink 2 health to finsih fight, but Me kill sabercat!

I'm so glad Farkas is with him. I really do think it was a good decision to keep him as an extended follower. I didn't know sabercats show up at Level 6! I thought it was more like L10. Anyways, Gunter would surely have been pwned (or at least have to drink all his potions) if Farkas was not present.

6:44 PM: Me and Farkas see man in road. man look friend. man is Wood Elf. Guner no attack friend-Wood Elf.

Gunter talk with Wood Elf. Wood Elf say: "I have something for you" in high Englisc tongue. Gunter say "What?" Wood Elf friend have SKOOMA! Gunter buy all skooma from Wood Elf! Gunter drink skooma, but no Farkas wnat. 'tis okay.

Skooma feel funny. Not much funny as in Bruma. But Gunter like, anyway. Gunter have still 5 bottle of Skooma, for good times in Windhelm.
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Day 21: Gunter in Windhelm and Farkas in Windhelm. Both me and Farkas in Windhelm. Me find many talk about the mighty Talos.

12:30 pm: Gunter make sale with market people. Sell magical staff. sell shiney stones. sell gems of soul. Gunter lots of gold! Make buy with ale! mead! wine!...Gutnre son of Tlaos...make for n...

Gunter got a little too drunk for awhile, so I'll have to fill in. He hung around the markets and bought up every single bottle of nord mead, wine, and ale available. Got drunk, but nothing seriously bad happened!
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Day 22: Gunter make with smith all day. make armor. make new helmet for Gunter, steel. Me make daggars, to help Stormcloak.

9:43 am: Me go to see Ulfric Stormcloak in big castle. go to JOIN Stormcloak. Ulfric see me and have memory of Gunter at Helgen.

He say: "you want to join Stormcloak?" I say "I am a true son of skyrim. I am a NORD". He say "You die for Skyrim?" I say "I die for my brothers! For I am a sonne of mighty Talos!"

Must go to north..to find Serpentstone Isle. Gunter must do, but first buy horse to swim water to island.

Gunter also need find sword in place call Cragswallow. Me proud to assist for Nords in Windhelm!


Gunter's gonna go to Cragswallow, but needs a horse to get to Serpentstone Isle. I may finally fire up Dyami the Scout's game to explore Serpentstone first, since none of my other characters have been there yet!

I feel like I own this forum these last couple days! I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Loredas, 7:00 AM, 13th of Heartfire, Year 201

Day 27: Gunter return Whiterun! Make 2 stop along way to take down bandit and more bandit. Farkas no complain more. He now home.

I companion! now. But as before become Companion, me stop by guard in Whiterun. Guard say: "I know you." Gunter say: "no play game, silly guard. Here, I have gold". Gunter never more fee make in life!

after party for Gunter as Companion, Farkas say: "You cold?" Gunter no clothes on!!!


And now the translation. Gunter returned to Whiterun. He officially became a Companion, but before this happened, he got approached by a guard who clamied there was a bounty of 1 gold upon Gunter's head. I gotta say, I've never had a character who's had more little bounties like this. Everywhere he goes, someoby accuses him of stealing, even if it's in his own room.

Gunter paid the gold, but as he did so, I immediately FACEPALMED. He was wearing stolen clothes, you see!

He didn't feel like going all the way back to his room in the Bannered Mare, so he became a Companion in his underwear! Classic!

I also wanna say I did my first instance of successful paper map-questing in Gunter's game last night. I opend up the 3D map in Windhelm, made a marking on Gunter's map, and used his map to figure out where the place is!
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Morndas, 12:22 PM, 15th of Heartfire, 4th Era, Year 201

Day 28: Gunter buy present for girlfriend Ysolda! Ysolda want mammtoh tusk, so Me buy mammoth tusk in Riverwood!
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Day 29: In Riverwood. Me swim water. Me smith. Me make item and armor. Me much gold now!
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one thing I've noticed about this character is he has a habit of leaving town penniless. Every single time. He'll walk in with over a thousand gold, and leave with maybe 5!

It's not all food and ale though. He's also honing his craft. He really wants to become the perfect tank. Dwarven armor has not been made popular yet, here in Skyrim. He's actually got a goal, a goal to have the finest weapons and armor, before any other enemies import the craftwork or loot it out of dungeons.
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I get the feeling Gunter already has a mammoth tusk to give her...

ahh you made me laugh so hard i just spilled my wine!

Gunter Son of Talos is now Level 9. I've been putting all his perks into 1-handed, Block, Heavy Armor, and Smithing.
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Day 32: Now Gunter in fort with new friend: Dunmer woman-folk. Gunter see woman-folk in tavern Whiterun. she offer help Gunter. Me buy Jenossa Dunmer woman-folk.

woman-folk Dunmer have 500 gold. woman-folk Dunmer good with bow. wear leathers. Gunter Son of Talos give Dunmer woman-folk strong bow! and helmet iron-make! Me give Dunmer suit of gold armor!

Gunter travel now and woman-folk Dunmer., travel west from Whiterun.


Gunter hired Jenossa, whom he calls "Dunmer woman-folk". They're in Fort Greymoor, which is just loaded with stufff to keep, sell, or give to Jenossa. She just got a suit of Elven armor, appropriate since she's a dark elf herself. Gunter also gave her an Imperial-style bow, though this won't last long. Soon as he finds her an enchanted bow, it'll be hers.

Since this is Gunter's first visit to Fort Greymoor, the Imperials are not occupying here, yet. He let the old woman who dwells in the place live, of course.

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Day 32-33: Gunter son of Talos spend night in giant fort. Gunter find lots of noridc mead! spend nite in giant fort.

yea. There's a stockpile of mead in Fort Greymoor, so of course he got wasted. Plenty of food, too. This wound up being a 24-hour stay, as Gunter 'entertained' Jenossa and the old woman who lives in Fort Greymoor.

1:20 am: old woman no like Gunter, son of Talos! she say "You need leave!" Gunter honor old woman.

After waiting for 24 hours, when the game started up again, the old woman was bitching at poor Gunter. I'm not sure waht happened, but he probably got way too drunk and made her upset somehow!
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For a moment I thought you wrote Smiting! But I guess the One handed covers that.

Cute, SR.

I'm gaming hardcore tonight. Gotta do it whenever I can, ya know?

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Loredas, 3:46 PPM, 12st of Heartfire, 4th Era, Year 201

Day 35: Many walk with cat-peoples. Guner walk with dunmer woman-folk. walk west.


Gunter and Jenossa just hooked up with a group of travelling khaiit! ooh, this is fun.

Gunter also got done a bunch of smithing in Whiterun the past few days not noted in his journal. Smithing levels up really slow, and you need money to get it going. Gunter keeps blowing ALL his money, but he's doing his best. He's a Type A personality, in our terms.

8:49 pm: Gunter tired. look for Rorikstead. And now very dark.

10:28 pm: Rorikstead. Gunter like small hamlet Rorikstead! sleep and until the morn, then go find bandit redoubt camp.
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Day 36:
naer Rorikstead path. Guner climb path with Dunmer woman-folk. hope find place redoubt of bandits.

12:40 pm: all outside bandit now dead.* Gunter KILL ALL! and dunmer woman-folk assist. Gunter championi! and Dunmer woman-folk!

bandits wear funny animal-hats! bandits easy defeat by Gunter and woman-folk.


* this is the second time I've successfully found a location via the paper map. Granted, this one wasn't as hard as the first, but it's stilll a good feeling!
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8:12 AM, Morndas, 6th of Frost fall

Day 50:

Today Me return Whiterun. Lots of potion. attack in draugr barrow with self. Gunter kill dragur, but mighty mighty draugr in barrow knock sword from hand!

Gunter in days before join with Companion werewolfs. go to fort near Windhelm. take many Silver Hand to Sovengarde. Me not know where Dunmer woman-folk flee to.


Yea. He became a werewolf. Just for a minute. Until I figured out how to make him human again. After going further with that questline, he and one of the female Companions wound up way in the middle of nowhere somehow. And Gunter had no clothes on!

Long story short, I had to fast-travel back to Whiterun just to get his proper gear back on. I mean, really...

Another annoying thing is he lost his hireling Jenassa somehow, after the silly Companion quest-line knocked her out of the game. I hope this is temporary, Gunter really needs her and her archery skills.

Gunter's up to Level 11. I hadn't planned on making him a human tank, I was assuming he'd just be content as a foot-soldier stormcloak. My second character Thor a'Zaene took up smithing, but had no interest in learning how to make anything except fine iron equipment. Gunter has more of an aptitude for learning, here.

I also hadn't planned on making Gunter a dungeon-diver, but he's simply too good at it. Plus, he likes the money. Obviously.

... But as he noted in the journal above, he did encounter a couple of uber-draugrs in a barrow, one of them knocked the flaming steel sword right out of Gunter's hand. Gunter had no choice then but to run, and for what seems to be a long time, the uber-draugrs kept up, since Gunter's currently wearing a heavy dwarven armor suit.
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12:44 pm, 5th of Sun's Dusk, 4th era, Year: 201

Day 80:

Gunter in Riften with new friend Stenvar. Stenvar brother Nord! Stenvar und Gunter go many place Skyrim.

Before Stenvar, Dunmer woman-folk fall in cave. Dunmer woman-folk go to sovengarde. Dunmer woman folk STRONG. Dunmer woman-folk make Gunter know thing before. Dunmer woman-folk speak Gunter when sleep. Me talk Dunmer woman-folk. Dunmer woman-folk talk Gunter. In sleep. In dream.


Jenassa (archer follower from one of Whiterun's taverns) died in a draugr barrow some weeks ago in Gunter's game. She and he both got overwhelmed with draugr, and Gunter could not assist her. So she got clobbered. It sucked, but (unlike Beth), Gunter will not give up his profession.

He met and hired Stenvar in Windhelm. Stenvar has proved to be more worthy of dungeoneering. Jenassa was better for outdoor locations. Sucks she got killed.

After Jenassa died, she began speaking to Gunter in his dreams. She visits him sometimes (I simulate this with a 6-sided die roll, ha ha...there's a 1 in 6 chance she'll speak to him in his dream).
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5:35 pm:
Gunter walk Riften alone. Stenvar sleep.

6:22 pm
Guner now Riften. Chapel /\ Mara.

Me make mistake. Me look for smith, but find Mara-Chapel. Me speak shaman. Me learn Mara. Me learn wear mara-piece, make wife! Gunter not know make wife in Skyrim. Gunter meet wife!

Gunter meet WIFE YSOLDA!! GUNTER GO wHiterun. meet Ysolda ask meet wife!

I don't have to translate what happened. We all know what happens in Riften. Thing is, Gunter really was looking for the smith. I cannot for the life of me find the smith in Riften gosh-darnit!

When he walked into the Temple Mara, I completely forgot about this being the place where marraige happens. The roleplay was so smooth, too! I forgot, and so therefore it was easy for me to RP Gunter not having a clue where he was. Lol.

Gunter found the chapel instead of the smith! Only he could manage that!

So now he is off to get hitched. Yay for Gunt. I have never had a character get married in this game.


I have good news on the Hera front. Her Smithing just went to 100. I do not believe I have ever had a character get it that high. This is on version 1.6 too, where you cannot just spam iron daggers (usually she makes steel swords).

(And with new card making Skyrim playable.. a revised Chloe shows up)

Day 4
After a few days of thinking, I've come to a simple conclusion. This land is filled with insane people. I knew the Empire was on shaky ground, but getting arbitrarily scooped up for execution while walking in the woods is a tad much. Then there was the fetching dragon attack, and the spiders, then the bandits, then even more spiders, then undead. Seemed like a good idea to link up to the local, heavily-armed yet non-aligned group of madmen called the Companions. Sad thing is, I think it's still a good idea. Must be something in the air making everyone nuts. Elves aren't apparently immune either, I was jumped by some Thalmor goons while walking out of a poacher's camp. Guess that means I'll be loosing it eventually. At least it's something to look forward too.

My proving Trial involved undead but it got interrupted by a rival bad of armed madmen, oh and I find the core of the Companions are werewolves. Seems rather tame, considering. Of course I was expected to continue the Trial, glad I stocked up on arrows, that was a lot of moving targets in that last chamber. Vilkas made an excellent distraction for it though, all that metal clunking and yelling, they just ran right by me. Made nice targets, so I obliged.

((Reboot of Chloe using the new mods I've been downloading since the original began walking Tamriel. Archery and Sneak focused, though she has a sword for when she can't get room like when the Thalmor backed her into the door of the Halted Stream bandit camp. Final room of Dustman Cairn was pretty epic though. Back to the word wall and planting arrows in every drugar that showed up. Almost wish I had made a video of it.))

Yah Chloe! Nice to read about her new game.



I know, right? It's kinda my fault, though, too, because my memory can be bad sometimes.




Sweet. I'm noticing smithing takes a LOT of practice to level up, it also costs a lot of gold to buy all those ores and ignots and leather strips, etc. One ignot doesn't cost so much, but 20 or 30? That's a lot of gold. I suppose if I made an actual townie character (rather than an adventurer) who did nothing but smith and worked that as a steady job, I might be able to get Smithing higher.

Gunter is currently at 39. I want him to get to 50 (Orcish armor) but he gets too impatient with spamming armor & weapons for sale. Plus, he blows all his money on food & drink, as well as smith materials.

My nephew came over last night and made a note of this after seeing Gunter's menus (I was showing him the Kinect voice thingie)...

"You only have 236 gold?" he asked. "What do you do with all your gold?"

"Well, Gunter tends to blow all his money, every time we get into town."

"What? How?"

"Food and drink, mostly, as well as smithing supplies. It's consistent; he'll come into town with over a thousand gold. By the time he leaves, it's mostly gone". (I felt a wee-bit embarassed admitting this ! Wasn't sure how he'd react)

"Oh! So you're doing like a story with him. That's hard-core!"

liliandra nadiar: Welcome to Skyrim revised Chloe! I see she likes the Roadstoker's outfit. That was always a good one in Oblivion too. What was wrong with your previous video card? Just too old and lacking in Ooomph?

Renee: You hard core story person you Renee!

I am sure watching someone roleplay a character - even in a computer game rather than a pen and paper RPG with other people - would seem hardcore to someone who never has RP'd before. I was showing my friend Jaelyn one of the Skyrim characters recently and she actually had a similar reaction. I told her that the only spell Hrafn ever used was the starting healing spell, and that she only used hand axes, and when necessary bows for long range. When I said that Hrafn missed her mom, and was searching Skyrim for her, Jaelyn was blown away. And like me, she is a pen and paper roleplayer from way back. She admitted that she never bothers trying to roleplay computer characters. Instead she wants to do everything in the game with one character.

In the case of Hera's smithing, she rarely ever bought ingots or ore. Only on a few rare occasions when I wanted to make something and did not have the materials. Plus at the end when I saw her Smithing was at 97, I decided to push it all the way up and bought every ingot the Dawnstar smith had. Instead she carries around a pick with her, and digs up every ore deposit she finds. Then the next time she is in a town she smelts them and forges things. Like I said, I usually go with a steel or iron sword, as that makes roleplaying sense to me. She keeps the hides she gets from wolves and such and will forge leather armor with them. Usually she makes full suits: cuirass, gauntlets, and boots.

He also noticed I darken my TV screen whenever I go dungeon-diving (there's a button on my remote I push), and that I hardly ever run. All of this is considered "hardcore" by him!



Wow! Thanks for sharing. I love reading other people's accounts on stuff like this. Does Jaelyn also do Skyrim?

I grew up pen and paper, too. My nephew will probably never game this way, which is okay. he has more of a social life than I did at his age. But he actually does roleplay a little bit, without even realizing it. He told me his first charcter did nothing but chop wood for an entire day or something like that. That's where I got the idea from, actually. He thought it was fun(ny) just chopping wood, and then getting paid for it!

It's like the game gave him a good work ethic, and he's realized it's not all about finishing quests and fighting.

Jaelyn plays Skryim. She has it on X-Box like you. That is what got us talking about it. She gets frustrated with the way bosses can one-shot kill you in Skyrim. I explained to her it was because of all the people who complained about the level-scaling in Oblivion, where the enemies were always scaled to your character. So they did some unscaling in both FO3 and Skyrim (Jae's a Fallout 3 player too. She never played Oblivion very much at all). So now we have uber mages who can kill us with one fireball. Or can find frost trolls in a place our first level character might go into (like Labryinthian). The explanation just frustrates her more. She is stuck getting one-shotted by bad guys she might not even see because other people like that? It got even better when I told her that the whole reason Oblivion had all the level scaling it did was because of the same thing happening in Morrowind. There are places right next to where your first level character starts that game, where if you walk inside you die. People did not like it, so they fixed it with Oblivion. People complained about the fix, so they fixed it again with Skryim by going right back to what they had to begin with. I feel sorry for Bethesda. No matter what they do, they get people complaining at them.

That's interesting! I guess I'd feel the same if I didn't know anything about the evolution of the series, and why Beth made it this way.

The way I handle uberbosses: my character will usually run if he or she can. Gunter simply runs if a spell gets thrown at him which obviously is stronger than usual. He just gets the hell out, he hates magic. He's not as bad as Thor, though. Gunter will take some fire in his face, Thor would just chicken out from it sometimes!

Beth liked to "strategize". She'd find a position (if she could) way up high, or in some spot where the enemy simply could not to her. Or she would run & hide, and cast summons after summons. Occasionally throw a mega-destruction spell.

Beth and Claire also would use a crystal ball to "see into the future" (this is me, looking up the place they're about to loot on UESP, checking to see if any enemies in this place they're about to go into are too strong).



I do too. I'd give up my Xbox for a week to be an invisible spy at Bethesda. I'm sure there are devs who just blow off all the criticisms, wheras some others will take all the complaints to heart somehow. I'll bet there are devs who totally phish out all the mods their customers have made, wheras others might totally hate gaming, because it's what they do for their job all day.

I'd give up my Xbox for a week just to know what goes on behind the scenes! But only a week!
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Turdas, 4:40 PM, 13th of Sun's Dusk, 4th Era, Year 201

Day 88:
Gunter travel Whiterun. Stenva allso with. Me travel Whiterun, meet Ysolda! Make Ysllda Gunter wife.

On way, ME find place Gallow Rock for Windhelm. Windhelm want Gallow Rock silver handed bandits dead. Me kill silver handed bandits. Me use magic orc-axe. Magic orc axe make lightning on silver-handed bandit. Kill fast!

Stenvar fight not so good. Stenvar fall twice, und me take bandit to Oblivion. Me give Stenva shiny gold armors, and magic mace! Stenva still fall! Not good at fight sometimes Stenvar.
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Day 89 @ 5pm:
Guner und STenvar travel Whiterun now. Stenvar meet no-see enemy. No-see enemy hit Stenvar. Me no see!

Stenvar fight, me confuse. Me take magic axe and HIT no-see enemy. Me und Stenvar kill no-see enemy.

Me feel enemy. Touch. Find loot. Me take loot. Enemy cat-person. Me take loot enemy cat-person. Still no see.


That was freaking weird. I didn't know enemies can utilize chameleon 100% in Skyrim. Or perhaps, that was some sort of glitch? They both got attacked by an invisible Khajiit. The Khajiit stayed invisible after he got killed.

...gotta be a glitch! I hope

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Day 90, 2:38 pm:
Me speak Ysolda in White run! But Ysolda no like Gunter that way.

Gunter upset! But Me feel throat. No Mara piece! No Mara piece mean no Ysolda make wife! Gunter no have Ysolda-wife! Gunter no have Mara-piece. Where Mara-piece?

Me think inside head. Me put Mara-piece in Windhelm. Mara-piece in Windhelm, no Ysolda make Gunter-wife!



That dummy. :facepalm: He left his Mara Amulet in frickin' Windhelm! Now he's gotta go all the way back there. His advances towards Ysolda have gone unnoticed!

Gotta admit, it's interesting playing a guy. Pursuing a female. I get to see what it's like on the "other side" because of this game.

Poor Gunt! I forgot his piece, and now he cannot get a piece!


They definitely pay attention to what is going on in the modding scene, and what people say they want changed. Skyrim is filled with things that were originally mods for the previous games. Things like plants changing appearance after you harvest ingredients from them. All the crafting options available now were parts of house mods. etc...

You can see they pay attention to what people complain about in the changes they make between games. The addition of greater level scaling in Oblivion, relaxing it again in FO3 and Skyrim. Or how they added mounted combat. Or are bringing back spears. A lot of people complained about Oblivion's menu system being tied to a single key and then being nested. Now we have the more traditional system with different keys for inventory, map, magic, etc... It is nice to know that they are making an effort. I really do feel sorry for the devs who do go through the forums and see all the negativity. You would need heart of steel not to take it personally.

SubRosa: Yep, originally had my card burnout while I was unemployed, so I went with a cheap-but-sufficient replacement (generic named GeForce 512), since I had zero income. It played everything on max settings until Mass Effect 3 came out without slowing down in anyway I could tell. Then ME3 and the drivers 'optimized' for it came out and Skyrim had graphic glitches or just stayed on the loading screen until I did a hard reboot. Driver rollback only worked for a week or so. Got another technically lower end card and everything's running again. Every 1gb card I've gotten has burned out within a month, think I will have to look into a new case/dedicated cooling system. :/

Glamor shot of Chloe in Breezehome, oddly, for a wilderness crawler, she's made a habit of... 'collecting' every book she comes across. There's a decent and growing sized library in her home of around 50 books in her home.

Day 14

Some interesting perks to being a member of the Circle, though I could do without dreams. Was a bit leery at first, taking a drink then waking up naked leagues to the east was... not the best introduction, still Aela assured me it was only the first time. The two shifts I've done since have born out her claim. Still don't do it much though. The up close and personal approach is not really my thing, but it'll be a nice card to play if another Thalmor squad or bounty hunter attacks me suddenly. Curse Whiterun's plains, I can't just vanish into the foliage.

Day 19

Those fetchers attacked Kodlak while I was out. Vilkas was angry that I wasn't there, never mind that it was for something Kodlak gave me himself, but I can understand where he was coming from. The hunters attacked the pack while it was understrength.... Oh Divines, now I'm thinking like one in private too.

The two of us payed a final visit to the Silver Hand, only a few of them were ever aware something was wrong, and even then, not for long. Vilkas used the fragments as an excuse, but both tasks were completed. We may be hunted, but it won't be by the Silver Hand. I'm not sure Kodlak would've approved, but it settles the beast in my breast that was there before the wolf. Doesn't matter now, we've said good-bye and even fulfilled his last wish.

I kept the other heads, they might be needed again.

Day 25

Taking my time on some simple jobs, Aela has taken to joining me in the wilds, it's nice to have someone to shoot with, though she's not as good a shot as me, her sword arm makes up for it. Still always room for improvement, I even found someone to help with that. Angi lives up in the mountains a bit off the trail Aela and I were using to get to a vampire den. Girl's been alone a bit too long I think, but her skills with a bow were pretty sharp.

ha ha cute!



There was a thread over a Bethsoft that was posted just before Skyrim came out about all the ways the devs obviously paid attention to mods. It was one of the better threads, probably long-buried by now. was interesting to read, for sure.

But nobody was flaming each other iirc, which means people lost interest in it after a day or 2. Sigh.






Wow. Look at her hair! compassion looks almost real.

Here's the latest from Zuuri the Redguard battlemage. She has been travelling with Lydia and Meeko.

On a mountainside in a blinding snow storm, dear Meeko fell to a stray blow from Zuuri’s Orcish Mace of Burning. After the fight she stood vigil beside his body long enough for me to go make a cup of tea (still keeping an ear out for dragons or other hostility). Then she headed straight for Whiterun to destroy her mace at Farengar’s Enchanting Altar. She turned around and spent almost all of her gold (argh, nooo!) on a filled soul gem so that she could shock enchant a new mace, Meeko’s Sorrow.

On the way she chased down every bandit, and I mean she sprinted to beat Lydia to the kill. She gave Lydia a looted Imperial Officer’s helmet to maybe prevent herself in the future from accidentally smacking the wrong Nord. Zuuri is now wearing a looted Elven helm with a 50 magicka bonus, so I’m sure that the military patrols will start to take an interest in the pair.

Zuuri says bring it on. She wants to kill.

Another note, Zuuri has started to use a Ward while charging in to kill the outlaw mages. This is another first for me. Pretty fun. Also, regarding the decap perk: still so close!! But not quite.

Poor Meeko. That is why I never take him, or other dogs, as companions. They always end up getting killed.

How long can you keep the Ward going? I remember trying it once when I first started playing, and watching it completely drain my magicka before anyone had even hit me. That was enough for me to never use it again.

Quite a while. Zuuri has taken the right perks in the Restoration tree. Without them she couldn't keep it up for very long. So to speak.

She also tends to use them intermittently during fights instead of a shield. Ward, strike, Ward, that sort of thing. Good fun.

If one of my characters ever gets a dog, hopefully it'll be a responsible charcter, who won't just take the dog outside of safe areas.

Yea, they're pretty much useless. Would be so much cooler if they were more like guard dogs, who warn the PC, but don't get as actively involved with combat.

Great. Aravi has a stray dog now. The poor guy won't last long.

When I have a pure conjurer, he will definitely want a dog. They are so aggressive!

Here's a big update from Zuuri.


Now she is traveling with the deadly and adorable Erik the Slayer. (He must have gotten tired of fishing with the Bulsakh.) Out of respect for Erik’s beliefs, she has swapped her Elven helm for the Adept hood she spent so much gold on about 20 minutes before she found the identically enchanted helm. Such is the way of the looter.

Anyway, Erik is a generally amiable young Nord, but he shares Zuuri’s burning hatred for bandits. As soon as they finish clearing up the disasters that resulted from Zuuri’s grief-fueled bender (thanks a lot, Sam), they have a list of bandit hideouts to sack. Erik is carrying a Staff of the Familiar. If he summons one, we’ll think of it as Meeko’s shade. Alas, Meeko!

In other news, Zuuri is now a homeowner. As Thane of Whiterun, now she no longer has to keep her vegetable collection at Uthgerd’s house. Zuuri plans to do minimal upgrading to the furnishings. She has no real need for privacy, as she has been celibate since the Jarl incident. And anyway if Lydia gets lucky, she has a door. Zuuri kind of likes the openness instead of interior walls. Plus she doesn’t want to give Lydia a reason to hang out in her bedroom. I hope she relents and buys the poor Housecarl at least one chair.

*

On the way back to the Rift to help out an orc stronghold, Zuuri witnessed two more attempted kidnappings of Redguard women. As soon as she finishes the orc job, she’s going to resolve the Redguard situation. Rogue Alik’r mercenaries giving her people a bad name cannot be tolerated.

Zuuri got a new set of orcish armor, but not the way she was expecting. Back at the stronghold she got no thanks from the orc sorcerer she had helped. Still, the voice in charge seemed to like her. Zuuri decided to take her own reward. Now Erik the Slayer bears the tokens of two Daedric Princes. Not bad for a farm boy from Rorikstead.

The last quest involved a fight with a giant. It was so hard, I really despaired that Zuuri could do it. Before I’ve used archery and many poisons. Zuuri’s distance weapon is shock magic. It barely touched the giant. She had to get in there with her mace. Thank the gods for Paralysis Poison. Poor Erik spent most of the fight on his knees under the giant’s feet. I would not want to glance upward from that position.

Now, Erik is a favorite follower of mine, and he has fought at the sides of several of my characters for many happy hours. Today he while they were shopping in Riften, he said something that I have never heard before. I love this game!!

On the way through Haemar’s Shame, Zuuri and Erik the Slayer encountered a Thalmor patrol escorting a prisoner. They did what they had to do. Mace decapitation!! Woo hoo! It was SO worth the wait!! Ahem. They stopped in at the Falkreath Stormcloak camp to swap goods with Zuuri’s favorite Quartermaster, a platinum blond with a magnificent beard under all of the camp crust. He’s always happy to see a stack of blood-smeared Elven armor. Zuuri is having second thoughts about letting Erik try to swing the big hammer. The Thalmor had him on his knees before he could get it off his shoulder. It’s frustrating to know that the Staff of Summon Badass is carried by the guy who is busy bleeding out all over the ground.

(The following has quest spoilers for In My Time of Need, just so you know.)

The Redguard woman posed an interesting dilemma for Zuuri. She knew that if she and Erik tried to take on an entire band of Alik’r warriors on the woman’s behalf, they would be killed. Though young Erik would joyfully ride to Sovngarde in a blaze of glory, he would probably like a chance to get laid first. Besides, Zuuri wasn’t finished with this life yet.

She went to discuss matters with the warriors themselves. Of course their story was at odds with Saadia’s. Now both parties believed that they had convinced a fellow Redguard to work for them, and Zuuri still couldn’t tell who was being truthful.

Back in Whiterun, Zuuri asked Erik to wait in the house with Lydia. An easy lie coaxed Saadia out to the stables. The mercenary leader waited there alone. Zuuri killed him with lightning. There was no dishonor for him in a defeat that he did not survive. As she looked down at his twitching corpse, she had some time to think.

If Saadia was innocent, the Thalmor would eventually track her down. If she was guilty of betraying Hammerfell, her life should be forfeit. Zuuri had seen the inside of a Thalmor prison. Innocent or guilty, no one should suffer like that. She took off Saadia’s head with her mace. (Decap #2. )

Zuuri stood under the stars, waiting for the guards to come.

“Justice is served,” she murmured.

*

When Zuuri got out of prison, she found that Erik had grown tired of waiting. Perhaps he went home to Rorikstead. Maybe someday she’ll go and see.

(I really hope she does. That kid still has the Sanguine Rose!!)

Zuuri spent a day in bed and an afternoon walking around in an old dress and her bare feet. Then she picked up her buddy Uthgerd the Unbroken and the two of them went to work out some rage on the bandits of Whiterun Hold. For the first time ever, Zuuri dual-wielded maces. This woman is very angry. Mostly at herself, but she’s not one to get depressed. She works things out with exercise. Zuuri does not do well in prison, and her honor wouldn’t allow her to take advantage of being Thane. So, pissed off battlemage.

Before she even got inside the first bandit lair, Zuuri found the loot of her life. Ebony Armor of Mending! Holy crap!! Zuuri is level 19, I didn’t think she’d even live to see ebony armor! Oh happy day.

If I was playing on a PC, my dog would be immortal!! Good luck with Stray Dog, KC!

I would make a dog with low aggression (so it'll not attack) deer reflexes (it'll run away if it has to) but maybe also give it Detect Enemies, so it would bark and warn my character. Heh, i wonder if that's possible.
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Day 98
Gunter return whiterun und with Stenvar from bandit cave. Gunter sleep nite Banner Mare. Gunter want get out Whitrun fast, go Windhelm. Gunter want get Mara icon. Me get Mara icon, und marriage Ysolda.
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Morndas, 24th of Sun's Dusck, Year 201


4:17 pm
Gunter no go Windhelm. Gunter go Dawnstar.

Silver-hand bandit attack at Yorvaskir.
Silver-hand bandit kill Yorvaskir chief. Silver-hand Bandt make trouble Yorvasker. Gunter fix trouble.

Stenvar make jealous, leave Gunter. Me no have Stenvar. Stenvar macht schnell Windhelm, but Gunter no want Stenvar leave. Gunter no want stenvar Leave!

But stenvar go. Und Companion Vilkas follow Gunter.

Companion Vilkas follow Gunter now Dawnstar. Companion Vilkas okay, but Me want Stenvar.

Uthgerd the Unbroken has been a great friend to Zuuri in these dark days. She even started wearing an unenchanted mage’s hood that must have been in a stack of loot that Zuuri gave her. Maybe wielding staves has made her feel like a battlemage. Here is a picture of my TV with Zuuri and Uthgerd looking sort of cute together: Link.

Their wanderings brought them to Dragonbridge. While they were trading goods at a Stormcloak encampment, Zuuri glanced over their map. She remembered that she was supposed to go get an old soldier’s helmet from a cave north of Solitude. Very close by. The two of them split the gold (seriously, they split the gold), and headed north.

Inside the cave was the most beautiful grotto that either of them had ever seen. They agreed that they wished they could stay there forever. Of course they were soon beset by the cave’s unfriendly inhabitants. Uthgerd got caught between two spriggans and Zuuri’s lightning bolt. She fell.

Zuuri survived. From now on, she travels alone.