I also encountered three of them in Aard's game today, north of Falkreath. It was already his third encounter with the disguised vampires but except for the first time, he ignored them.

Destri, several of the kids will sometimes gush at you for being a mage if you cast a spell around them. Then they'll ask you to turn them invisible. You can tell them 'Poof, you're invisible.' then convince them that they really are and they will run around (visible) believing that they're invisible trying to scare their friends. If you actually do turn them invisible (Fade Other is a 30 invisible on others for 30 second spell available only via the PC command console) it does not change how the scenario goes down at all. It just 'feels' more fun.

Similarly, sometimes a guard will say to Buffy, "Hail, Summoner. Conjure me up a warm bed, would you?" Sometimes Buffy actually complies with the request and causes a bed to appear. Guard? No reaction of course.

Buffy asked Colette to teach her a simple 'cure disease' spell. The fact that Skyrim's foremost master of restoration could not gives massive credence to the fact that SkyRestoration is, in fact, NOT a valid school of magic. No wonder Colette's so paranoid. I hope that troll skull somehow brings her comfort.

Yeah, I'll probably ignore them from now on too. I was only in it for the amulet.


Serves me right for not paying more attention to the kids as a mage! And 'restoration is a perfectly valid school of magic!' Oops, wrong thread.

Darklight Tower: this place has one of those small, dungeon-oriented quest. An NPC needs our help with something inside the lair.

So my cleric is going through Darklight with the NPC who needs help. My cleric agreed to help her. At one point, my cleric found a door. She tried it, and it was locked. The NPC saw Claire trying to open the door, and she says "You want in there? It's locked. Here, take my key, I won't need it."

Renee, Buffy sticks her nose into everything, so I've seen that before. It is a very neat little touch though, isn't it? In looking for a home for that NPC after her quests, Buffy generally sets her up as the assistant to the drifty court wizard of Riften. Who needs all the help she can get. Was that an appointment we had? No, a delivery?. . . .

Aww, well that's nice of Buffy then. She's trying to help, at least.

My new thing of the day: I know on PC our characters can auto-walk, but I didn't know they can auto-walk backwards! Claire was walking to Solitude, with Aela the Huntress, and a new follower named Vori (from the Dawnguard castle), when she wanted to turn around and speak to one of them. The way it happened, when I turned the joystick on my controller, Claire wound up turning around, but still walking, as well.

Renee, that's funny! I've had Superian autowalking a couple times when Buffy dismounts. Superian stops and Buffy starts autowalking on foot!

Oh, had something funny happen a couple times recently. Buffy got spotted by a necrodude down in the bowels of some dungeon. Next thing I know, the dumb necrodude has resurrected a dead bandit inside a hanging cage. Actually it made the fight kinda tough because Buffy was laughing so hard at the groaning bandit inside the cage trying to get out that her next arrow missed the necrodude.

Then, almost the same thing happened a couple days later in another dungeon only the cage was one of those prison cells. Again, an angry bandit trying to get to Buffy but stuck in a cage. Silly necrodudes.

That is! That's pretty frickin' hilarious! Even if the caged reanimate can cast spells, can they cast them through the bars of their hanging cell? *faceplant*

Autowalk is one of my favorite features of PC gaming. It's not just the fact that our character is walking on his/her own, but also the fact that our brain switches from Active to Passive, in a way. Like going from full interaction to watching something on TV. But at any time, we can get this full intereaction back, assuming we are paying attention!

On the cages, both of the necroanimates we encountered were melee bandits so they were harmless. But as far as casting through bars, generally yes. We've encountered some that we can't cast through - often bar doors, but we can usually cast through the non-door parts.

NPCs can cast through bars as well. In our latest run through of 'Hitting the Books' for the College, we saw that. Approaching the room where Orthorn is caged, Buffy took a shot at the enemy mage also in the room. At the last moment, the darn mage stepped aside so Buffy's arrow missed. It also cost her a sneak bonus for the next shot so that one only wounded the mage. Then the room lit up with flames and the mage died. As Buffy entered the room, there was Orthorn inside is cell with a flame atronach he had summoned inside the cell with him. One or both of them had obviously lit up the enemy mage with flames - from inside the cell. Heh, Buffy usually doesn't trust Orthorn and tells him she'll rescue him only after his information leads to her successful recovery of the books. It does of course and she always goes back and frees him. In this case however, she freed him on the spot. Helping her fry one of his former 'pals' instantly earned Buffy's trust.

I know what you mean with autowalk although we basically only use it to steer Superian with my right hand while I drink coffee with my left hand during a relaxing stretch of road.

Well there ya go. See, I didn't know they can cast through bars. Summoning, yes, but I didn't know (for instance) destruction spells can work. Again, good to see Buffy helping out, instead of pwning everybody like some of our other characters.


I do a variety of things. I might be surfing some forums while my character's autowalking, or I might be writing a story. Or doing research for something completely unrelated to gaming.

Off-topic, but I have two flatscreens nowadays, side by side, and my smaller TV has Internet on most of the time. One of my uncles is bi-polar, and it's a long story, but he got into this weird habit of buying stuff, over and over again, but leaving these items in their boxes. When me and some family went into his home last, we found SIX flatscreen TVs, brand-new, and unopened. So I grabbed one of the smaller ones, and gave my daughter a 26" for her room. The rest of these TVs are up-for-grabs.

Anyways, it's very convenient having this "wall of light" in my room. Makes story-writing in particular especially easy, since I don't have to change channels anymore.

Damn. Off-topic Renee. XD

A new thing in my game is a small camp located across the river from the Haafingar Stormcloak camp. Aard found it by coincidence when searching for a shortcut to Solitude. Turns out that the river at that point is rather shallow and then he also found this camp, consisting of two bandits, two bedrolls and the skill book Warrior.

Neat! Buffy's found that camp before pretty much the same way it sounds - just trying differing routes between places.

A Haafingar Stormcloak guard to Jensa: Is it true what they say? There was a dragon held captive in Whiterun and you… you released it? By the gods, woman, why?

Also on that little peninsula is a lone conjurer who has the skill book Mannimarco King of Worms. Now I know they're there, my characters take that little detour and collect both on their way to Dragonbridge. At least one of those two is useful to any build.

Grits: I've heard others say the same

Looks like if he walks a little further he'll find the skill book Mannimarco too!


** EDIT: Oops! Ghastley already mentioned it, lol. I just saw it on the map.

Some of the dialogue in Skyrim is really well done, wasn't it? Some really natural sounding phraseology. I really wish they had made some softer sounding women for it though; I've been digging through files trying to find a soft voice for Maxical and Misa; it is almost impossible.

Mellewen and Lydia went off exploring near Whiterun and found the wreck of the Winter War. One of the bandits fell of the deck, but wasn't killed. Lydia chased after him, while Mellwen finished off the ones on deck. After that, she went looking for Lydia and found her and the bandit at the bottom of the river, just floating and looking at each, as they couldn't fight underwater. They didn't surface, as there was ice above them, and NPC's apparently don't drown.

I had to have Mellewen run away and fast travel back, to get Lydia back on land. We never saw the bandit again.

Can't even stab with a dagger underwater? How strange - and odd the NPC's don't drown, I guess that kills the theory of walking out on water to drown the enemy chasing you!

I don't know what they were thinking when it comes to 'wet' work. No combat or spellcasting. You have to cast your waterbreathing spell before you enter the water and if it runs out while you are underwater you cannot recast it. Makes having a spell for waterbreathing silly since the prudent diver would much prefer potions or an enchanted amulet of waterbreathing that can be employed underwater.

Assuming you cannot lure your target to the shallows to fight, you can cast an elemental cloak spell, then go into the water and the damage from the cloak will hurt your foe even underwater.

What were they thinking?

Oddly enough, I just ran across something last night about this. On the NPC's form it has a place that says "Combat in Water Not Allowed" (or something to that effect" - and it is checked on all NPC's. Huh? I wonder why? And I was concerned about un-checking it, wondered if it is some glitch they discovered and added that check box to avoid issues or something.

I believe the Slaughterfish is the single exception. But having a "not allowed" setting, that has to be checked on everything else, is just dumb. They could have defaulted to the other way, so only the Slaughterfish needs it.

Yes, it seems really odd that the slaughterfish can attack you but you can't defend yourself at all, not even with a dagger or fist. That kind of suspends realism; I've seen plenty of fist fights taking place in the lakes of ETN, and I'm sure if anyone was holding a dagger it would not be stopped by water - slowed maybe; but not stopped.

That's really bizarre about Lydia and that bandit underwater!

Good grief, I read this as “Lydia and her bandit underwear.” I may have to back off on the caffeine!

You know you are getting old when everything you see or hear seems to be a momentary dirty joke,

You all crack me up!

I wonder if mudcrabs can fight underwater. If not a Summon Slaughterfish spell might be in order.


So Abiene had to take care of some business in which she normally would not involve herself in order to get things situated in her game. She returned to Whiterun to wrap things up at night in the rain thoroughly fed up with events and ready to get the last meeting over with. Abiene tends to walk everywhere. This night she was moving a little faster.

Vignar Gray-Mane happened to be passing as Abiene tore through the market square hoping to go unrecognized. He yelled out, “Twelve Septims on the girl! Look at that speed!”

How cool is that?!?

I wish there were more reactive comments like that. Buffy did get a comment from one of the Eldergleam sanctuary folks when she climbed out of the water after a nekked swim. But she can ride Superian down the streets of any big city and no one says a word.

I should have said, "seems momentarily to be a dirty joke." You would not believe some of the things I have THOUGHT I heard, and what was really said,

OH yeah, sure, I can imagine hon!


WHAT? Somebody recognized the speed Abiene was moving at?

Hee! Buffy tried sprinting through Whiterun. . . but no one noticed. Given her height and attending short legs though, 'sprinting' for Buffy is not very fast. Speed is Superian's department. But ya know, even when she rides Superian through town she gets no comments (like reminders to pick up horse droppings etc).

After arriving Ivarstead and grooming Superian, Buffy stepped into the Vilemyr Inn. She was promptly greeted by a familiar face – Barknar, who she remembered meeting during her 7000 step journey up to the monastery of the Graydudes. Then she noticed another familiar face - Talsgar the Wanderer who was playing the flute. Both encounters inside the tavern were new to her.

Wow, I don't think I have ever seen Talsgar inside any building! That must have been a special performance!

Ooo, ooo, ooo, Mr. Kotter! I have met Talsgar inside the Bannered Mare! Just a couple of days ago!

Holy Crap are the rats ever big at the Bannered Mare!

Umm, that's a Black Cat - added by the mod Pets of Skyrim!

Maybe it is a rat wearing a cat disguise?

I thought it was like a baby pet skeever or something. (just kidding, I knew it was a cat when I said rat).

Buffy and Superian were on the road with the late day sun on their backs. The elf figured they could easily make Markarth before dark.

Suddenly, they were attacked by a pair of thugs in fur armor. Once the fight was over, inspecting their corpses revealed they were 'Blood Horkers'. That name rang a bell. . . .

It was Acadian that reminded Buffy that was the name of the band of pirates she helped the East Empire Trading Company wipe out not too long ago.

Sure enough, a quick visit to UESPwiki confirms that such an attack (presumably for revenge) follows that quest (Rise in the East). Wiki sort of implies it is a one time encounter. That's too bad as Buffy prefers road skirmishes with two leggers over four (or eight) leggers.

I love revenge stalkers! It really livens up the game!

That is one I have never seen before! Not many of my characters have ever done that quest.

Awesome find, Acadian!

So after a week or so hiatus from the game, I'm back with Alise and Argis 'venturing around Skyrim, wrapping up loose ends and collecting new ones. A courier comes up to Alise, says "I've got a letter and a lot of gold. Something about it being your inheritance? Oh, and . . . sorry for your loss."

Alise and I were like "Huh?" Who died and left Alise 100 gold? Turns out a fellow Dunmer from Riften, Dravin Llanith, had recently died and willed Alise the coins. She had returned his bow to him, and apparently that's all it took to get into his will.

I was confused by it, and my game is currently so heavily modded that I wasn't sure if it was a mod, so I did a quick search on UESP wiki. Turns out that it is one of the random letters a courier could give you, if you became friends with an NPC. Though Alise was saddened by the news, I was pleased by the additional level of immersion it added to my role-play.

Maxical had this happen to her, she had done a kindness for an Orc woman in Markarth and then helped another Orc woman at an Orc fort. One of those two women died, and left Maxical an inheritance for being a good friend - I have to say, I was touched by it! Kudos to Bethesda for that awesome idea, I love it!

@haute ecole rider - wow, I didn't know that this feature exists. Neat that the late Dunmer remembered Alise in her will but I wonder why and how he died. In any case, it's little things like this one that make a great game.

@Lopov: I rather suspect a bear came over the hill behind the farm and went on a rampage before being put down by the lazy Stormcloak soldiers camped by the river. It happened once before on a playthrough that went corrupt (and had to be dumped).

... and some people say Skyrim is nothing but a shallow, generic action game. Ha! I fail to see what a moment like that (our character being remembered for some kindness he/she did long ago) has anything to do with generic action.

Rider, I had the same thing happen in Buffy's game quite some time ago. She had the same 'Huh?' reaction that you and Alise did. And I ran to UESP wiki to learn something new just like you did.

Because I'm building an Argonian mod, I'm using Argonian test characters right now. The latest saw a fox jump into the lake outside Riften and decided to follow. The fox walked across the whole lake on the bottom, and out the other side. I had no idea that foxes could breath water!

It popped out by Faldar's Tooth, and promptly got killed by the wolves the bandits let out to attack the Argonian player.

Not just foxes, but necromancers too! I discovered this when I played my first Argonian character as well - Delves-The-Deeps.

What a pretty Argonian! I kind of like the shaky little dance she did after killing them both, lol.







Aw, the poor fox!