CrapsterZ

Okay, so I started playing Skyrim again after a long while. I checked up on recent mods I might want to install. They were mostly armour mods and stuff, but since I always got the same few bugs during Dragonborn questline, I decided to install the Unofficial Patches on Nexus. Only to find that in Riverwood, I can no longer initiate the quest where Sven and Faendal pass me a latter for Camilla. I entered Whiterun to find that YSOLDA was attacking everyone, same with Lydia the moment she appeared as my housecarl. I have no idea what could have broken this, since nobody's reported anything like that in the unofficial patches' comments. Any ideas on what could be causing the issue? I had UFO installed, removed it, but it still seems to persist even after I use "resetai" The only other mod(s) that could be causing this are The Choice is Yours mod or Luxury Suites, since those two are the only ones I can think of that would affect followers.

I, for one, am excited to see DA2. From the flashbacks, we see that we're going to see a lot more of the lore and different factions in the game. 1. Flemeth - We see her in her dragon (could be some normal dragon instead) and in her human form. 2. We also see some templars going up against mages, and it really seems to confirm what we've heard about the templars being the Chantry's private army. 3. We see a Harvester, so the GoA DLC could have been a little of the back story for introducing the new creep to the world (plus possibly tying a link between what our Warden did in the DLC with Hawke's story. 4. We learn a little more about Hawke. Apparently he seems to be an Arcane Warrior, but we can't know for sure. We also see him carving something on his arm before he supersizes it and rips the Qunari apart, now, that is something we haven't seen. New spell, perhaps? Or maybe it could be something unique about Hawke (I wouldn't rule out this being tied to Flemeth) 5. His weapon - or "sword-staff" as the folks at BioWare call it. Seems to be the source of his magic, so he might not be an AW at all. New weapon type? Is BW going to add "abilities" to certain weapons now? 6. The qunari - now we see in the first half a minute or so that the qunari is attack a bunch of human soldiers and kills a noble (judging from his clothing). Could part of DA2 be about the qunari's invasion of the Free Marches? Possibly. We also see the qunari deflect Hawke's flame attack with a barrier spell, similar to Cleanse Aura. New skill/class? 7. Finishing moves - We see one of the spell finishing moves BW has told us about, and several of the moves in the exchange between Hawke and the qunari do seem like they could be actual in-game combat moves (new deathblow animations). Now, this could just be me wanting to believe that BW didn't simply throw in a flashy move after half a minute of pretty standard melee combat, but BW's trailers have always given us some idea of what to expect even if the trailers don't represent the final product. All in all, pretty psyched about the whole thing!

As long as you tell Anora you'll support her, and get enough support Wulf, Alfstanna, the father of the tortured noble and choose the right dialogue options, you'll always come out with a 5-1 victory. Helps if you get the slave papers from the Alienage to use as proof too. You MUST have the papers or it will count as a false claim against Loghain.

It's funnier when the human noble says "my warden sense is tingling when he's still in the origin story. "You're not a WARDEN!" I lol'd.

I am almost certain it's Flemeth. Reason being she's a shapeshifter, we killed her in her dragon form and Morrigan said she'll be back, perhaps that's her? After being killed and everything she manages to return to "human" form but unable to transform all the way back until she gets her full power/possess another body? Another theory is that the girl is a werebeast. If I remember correctly one of Hawke's hands does seem to be like a claw, and the half-human half-dragon look would explain it, much like werewolves. Or a shapeshifter whose magic went horribly wrong.

Leliana: I am a woman and I reserve the right to be inconsistent!

Maybe they weren't marked on their faces? I recall tattoos mentioned but I don't think they were ever made compulsory to be marked on the face. I'm pretty sure I remember quite a handful of casteless dwarves did not have tats on their faces... Perhaps markings on the hands or neck or visible portion of skin will do?

There is a reason, and it adds on to her pragmatic nature - she presents the truth to you on the eve of the battle when you fully realise the price of ending the blight. She has known the Warden who slays the archdemon dies the whole time she was traveling with you. She specifically mentions these two points in regards to not telling you sooner: a) Credibility, you would not have believed her - and hearing it from Riordan is much more reliable. Now, you can argue that she had no idea Riordan would be there, but we can't know for sure that Flemeth didn't already foresee his presence, or at least instructed Morrigan to withhold it to the last minute. b) It was one burden the Warden didn't need while having to gather the armies as well as survive being hunted by Loghain. She lets you know at the crucial moment, when everything is placed in perspective for you - when you make the most rational decision instead of jumping at shadows over something she could have told you on the first day. That way, you make the decision knowing all the facts and being in that exact situation where you would seriously consider the circumstances surrounding you and make a choice with complete knowledge. It's obvious enough that giving you that information too early would cause you to lose focus on gathering the armies and focusing on the blight, but instead pondering your death after slaying the archdemon the entire way and the ritual as well. Imagine the conditions you're already under - labeled a traitor and hunted, having to lead a ragtag group of companions to gather the different armies and having to battle the blight. Not to mention the mental toll the Warden is already under from the dreams. She IS doing you a favor by not letting you know early, because you'd be less focused on the mission and more on a) your possible death and b) the implications of the ritual. As opposed to letting you find out from Riordan on the eve of battle and gaining a full perspective on what needs to be done to end the blight - your life or a god-child? Regardless of the decision the Warden makes, it has to be at the moment when they are faced with the full magnitude of the blight and have to make a difficult decision that she offers you an alternative - when you can weigh for yourself the full cost of either option. It's like being told you have a year to live and a day, you'd be more prepared to do what is necessary to set things right if the repercussion and implications of the situation are fully realised. Her departure, as she said, is the result of not wanting to watch you die and being told you would not take the "best case scenario" way to end the blight (you survive and the archdemon dies).

Uh... you can reload your epilogue save and strip the armors on your companions, then start a new game and import the character again.

Somebody's been browsing fanfiction huh?

This should be in the mod request section...

No problem. A lot of people don't realise that, though using it on your enemies makes them immune to damage as well, which in most cases is a good thing as it allows you to focus on the small fry first before focusing on the real threats. Another useful combo to remember is Force Field + Crushing Prison. Saved my tank countless times. Knocks down everyone in the area except for the target. Buys your tank time to get a heal in or move to a better position. Alternatively, use the time your enemies are down to do a Sleep + Waking Nightmare combo, pull your tank back and throw in Virulent Walking Bomb and a few fireballs for good measure. This tactic actually manages to clear large mobs really nicely. Most mobs don't survive past the first bomb and those that do... don't survive the next few. As for archers, don't waste your stamina on talents. Use auto-attack. The only really useful talents are Pinning Shot, Scattershot and Suppressing Fire. Talents like Arrow of Slaying are wasted because while the damage is high, in the time it takes for it to be cast, your archer can actually do the same amount of damage on auto-attack with the right gear and set up. Stealth+AoS is only good for taking out Emissaries and mages, but that's about it, all the other skills aren't worth the time and cost to cast them. Rapid Aim should only be used if your crit chance is less than 10%, any higher and you should just stick with normal bow attack speed.

For me, independence from the Circle meant that the Tower of Magi goes from mage prison to Hogwarts. Yes, children with magical ability must still be sent there. They NEED to and must learn how to control their abilities. Schooling. An alternative is to have tutors like Isolde did, but then again you run the risk of a) maleficarum recruiting children and b) inept teachers doing more harm than good. Keeping the mage children in a single place allows easy "control" of what is taught (still dictated by senior mages, NOT the Chantry) And what about leaving the Tower? Again, like Hogwarts, upon completion of their schooling in the use of magic, they'd be able to leave the tower as they wish. This may or may not be decided by the Harrowing, or possibly a different measure of ability and character. Borrowing from Fullmetal Alchemist, perhaps the mages would have to return every now and then to "update" the Circle on the development of their powers (assuming they are still practising). Templars, sad but necessary. Someone needs to fight the maleficarum and mages who use their abilities for the wrong uses. Possibly also to ensure that the apprentices don't go "out of control" with their practices (accidents are bound to happen). At the same time the Chantry presence serves as a sort of moral guide for the mages in their time there (again, I don't like them but someone has to be there to be the voice of morality, if not reason). If you've read the Calling, even the most respected of mages can and will use their power for the wrong means, that said there needs to be an overseeing body that has the right to "veto" the leaders' decisions if it goes against the (agreed) basis of what the "autonomous" Circle can or cannot do (like say, under what circumstances can they "mobilise" mages to help in wars) As for Awakenings, I simply assumed the process was still being worked out and the Chantry still had reign (temporarily) and needed to keep the mages from casting one too many fireballs in excitement. And from what I know of Anders, he probably bolted since he figured the Chantry wouldn't be able to hunt him any longer any more. The Libertarians would then be dissatisfied with the amount of autonomy they were given (wanting to "pull away" entirely, which in and of itself is unfeasible) or at the rate at which the Circle was getting it. Another thing that irks me about mages, if I'm an elf mage, why can't I be the keeper's apprentice in some Dalish clan? Makes sense, no?

Well, when you cured him in Ostagar... What was the cause of the illness? And when he joins you what does he keep doing?

I'm thinking it's similar to how queen bees reproduce... As for qunari women... I pity the darkspawn in that matter. Oh wait, qunari women don't fight. Pfft. (Which reminds me, I don't think I've EVER seen a qunari female in the game... right?) I think how the darkspawn come out at birth is similar to the orcs in LOTR (you know, the scene at Eisengard where Sauromon was breeding them) they just pop out in some gooey... cocoon? And come out. And about them birthing DS like the Architect... The darkspawn have been around for 1200 years, and ONE Architect, I don't think you're due to find another one like him soon (born naturally, that is). I don't care what that dude wants to do, the DS suck the life out of the very air they breathe, even if half the world's population survived, we'd have no crops, no meat, nothing. As much Grey Wardens have resistance to the taint, I don't think eating tainted meat for the rest of my 30 years of life is a good idea.