MarkInMKUK

First thing to try. In your "My Documents" folder is "My Games / Oblivion". in there is Oblivion.ini. Rename that file to oblivion.ini.old, and then restart Oblivion, including your graphics setup. Might help as that file can get corrupted. Also, make sure you have Fastexit 2 installed, and the Oblivion Unofficial Patches. Thirdly, check you don't have a missing master files someplace - it MIGHT be related.

It always seemed sad to me that no matter how the game progressed, Jon Battle-Born and Olfina Gray-Mane were doomed to be on opposing sides, with their love letter just a plot device in the Missing in Action quest. And then I realised that IF you had picked Jon's pocket and hence he knew about the note, he MIGHT see this as an opportunity to get into the Gray-Mane's good books and stand more chance with Olfina. So ... a mod that, IF you use the pickpocket method to get the Imperial Missive, makes Jon offer (or maybe even insist) to come with you to to rescue Thorvald. After all, as a junior clan member, he may not have known of Thorvald's fate until he finds the missive himself. Of course, that then leads to the option where you persuade Idolaf Battle-Born to tell you. If he knows Avulstein is intending to rescue his old friend, he might decide to go along and help him to help heal the rift between the clans. Civil wars - brother against brother, friend against friend. Wouldn't it be nice to heal at least ONE such wound in the game?

OK, I'm no "veteran" modder, but I've been here a while. Let's have a look at the computer spec, and see what you can do to improve things a teeny bit. Then you'll be able to handle the mods more easily... Firstly, you are running Windows 7 x64, yet have less than 4GB RAM. The x64 version of Windows is actually likely to be taking up more of your RAM than the 32 bit version would, and for games such as Oblivion which are 32 bit, that means they have less memory to run in. According to the Crucial website you can put up to 8GB in the machine, and that will make one heck of a difference to the game, albeit for a chunk of hard-earned cash. You could do the upgrade in two chunks - but a single 4GB chip first, and you MAY be lucky and find the system will run ok with a 4GB plus a 2GB from your existing memory, giving you 6GB and most of the benefit. Secondly, once you have the upgraded memory, then look at running the "4GB patch" on Oblivion - it allows the game access to as much of the memory as a 32GB program can handle. Meanwhile, try out Razer GameBooster - it'll allow you to shut down un-needed parts of Windows while playing, and will re-start them when you end the game. Also look at your Antivirus settings, and adjust the Antivirus to NOT scan the Oblivion process while running (Be sure to scan regularly with a full disk scan so that if you DO puck up a bug, it gets found and dealt with). Also defrag your hard drive with a third party tool such as Defraggler - it can make a heck of a difference to Oblivion. But save up for, and buy, the memory, and your laptop will play Oblivion much more smoothly.

Thanks for the links, Drake - they are a good starting point. I think (from my limited understanding of how mods are made) any such mod would have to re-work each vanilla quest where it COULD work , and then have a "patch" esp which would be updated with each additional quest that was altered. Then there's the "support" animation parts for the roleplayers, to actually transport the prisoners to jail ... and then either keeping them in jail, or a breakout, or an execution (or a fine maybe - thieves guild members would get bailed out perhaps?) Why do I *ALWAYS* pick a "simple" idea that turns out to have massive knockon effects? (My wife suggests a length of duct tape to shut me up)

Regarding 1: I use Win7 x64 and I ran the disc installers for the DLC and all worked fine, with the proviso that I installed Oblivion in c:\Games\Oblivion NOT the default place. Regarding 2: Just use BOSS to sort the order. I'd also suggest the unofficial patch, the unofficial SI patch, the unofficial dlc patch, and sm plugin refurbish mod so all of the dlc's don't suddenly bombard you with info as you reach the sewers. Also suggested is Wrye Bash JUST for the Bashed Patch feature - you MAY get away without it but it does make the game more robust if used. Regarding 3: Delete the oblivion.ini in your "My Documents/Games/Oblivion" folder - if it has a wrong value set it'll perpetuate the crash. it auto-recreates when you next run Oblivion Additional: Install Fastexit 2 to stop problems when exiting the game. Once you have the game running again, THEN consider learning to clean mods with TES4Edit - the official dlcs are notoriously bad for cleaning. Takes 5-10 minutes to do, but helps keep the game more predictable when you start to add more mods.

I think you are missing Drake's point. Arrows ARE visible in flight in Oblivion - if they are not, YOU have installed or altered something that changes that fact.

Existing quests - some of them would work (from a narrative point of view) just as well if the characters yielded instead of fighting to the end. First example - Argamir in the Unfriendly Competition quest. There's no reason why he HAS to die, from a narrative viewpoint. And then there's general dungeon clearances. Goblins, ok, it's likely to be a "to the death" thing. But bandits SHOULD have a chance to yield. Obviously it's not going to apply to all quests, but alternate paths where a surrender is possible (maybe based on character speechcraft, or hand-to-hand capabilities, or even judicious use of paralysis potions + arrows, followed by a "take captive" action) ... plenty of options to enhance gameplay in that way.

Sparked from a throwaway comment I made in the comments about Emma and Lycanthrops Rideable Pack Ponies mod ... Would it be possible to make some quests where the enemy could be captured instead of killed, and dragged back to a guard for a reward. Ideally being able to tie them and throw them over the back of a pack pony... Obviously it's a fair bit of animation work, plus some quest modification if it is to be used with existing quests - but several other posters seemed to like the idea, so over to you clever people who can tell me whether it's possible or not.

Can anyone point me to a tutorial covering modifying a complex object such as a wagon? The carts at the beginning are making the engineer side of me twitch, and I want to see whether I can learn to fix them. It needs to cover what (hopefully free) tools are needed, or at least point me to further tutorials covering the information.

I'd suggest an upgrade of your RAM to 8GB - at the moment the 64 bit OS is probably giving Skyrim less memory to work in than 32 bit would. Then the 4GB memory patch on the Skyrim .exe will allow it to actually use the just-under-4GB that a 32 bit app can address. With Steam involved, you may have to re-patch the .exe occasionally to keep using the memory boost.

I tend to pick up a "Light" spell and cast a light on a wall - they don't see where it came from, just where it sticks and lights. great distraction AND silhouettes the bad guys There's also this Throwing Weapons mod - it might be worth messaging the author to ask whether a rock can be added to his system, then turn the other throwables off in the setup

I'd be tempted to message Duke Patrick - he's may have actually used spears for re-enactment fights in the SCA or at least probably knows someone who has. Might give you lots of useful, practical, western-style references for use with and without a shield.

Don't forget hunting wild boar! :)

Edited/deleted in embarrassment - I clicked the wrong forum button :facepalm:

Aha! Ideal! Thanks :)