Darksun45230

I'm not too sure about the magic casting stance for that outfit, otherwise, it looks great.

^ That's very nice. I always imagined this one NPC being the head of loyal order of knights honor-bound to eradicate unnatural beings like Vampires and Werewolves for the public good. He also works with local towns and villages too small to protect themselves from bandit raids. He often puts his own life at risk despite having a loving wife at home and many loyal followers. As a result, he's practically a champion for the people. ...And then you discover he's a self-hating Vampire. He uses his wife as cattle to feed his lust for blood but sometimes that isn't enough to sate him. When those times come he stalks a random villager, hypnotizes them, sucks their blood, then kills them in order to prevent the spread of his disease. He hates himself for doing this and it will eventually come back to haunt him as acolytes of his order begin to hunt for the rogue Vampire...

You gotta admit, Ancano's lust for power wasn't exactly a boon of imaginative writing.

While this is good advice, it can also be difficult to pull off. One can easily fall back on cliches to fill in the gaps when critical thinking is neglected (see Plinkett Reviews of Star Trek: The Next Generation movies). If you're looking for a more concrete answer, browse TVTropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CompleteMonster And while it is possible to have complete monsters in fiction, they're hard as hell to pull off.

Olgrif Battle-Bone is born.

Let's take an obvious example: http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Killing-Joke-Alan-Moore/dp/1401216676/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323907808&sr=1-1 (I strongly recommend you read this before reading any further.) The Killing Joke is about a universally known madman the Joker. The Joker wasn't always mad though and this graphic novel (or comic) attempts to tell that tale. The obvious example of an antagonist (or villain) is one compelled to act as an opposing force to the motivations or actions of the protagonist (or hero.) In the Killing Joke, the Joker sets up a situation where his actions tell us more about his character while propelling the plot along. All this occurs while the Joker is reliving his former life because... Obviously, this is the most extreme of examples but the makeup of a villain are circumstances that force them believe that the only right reaction is a negative one. There are plenty of other examples of villains which all depend on their desire. The Joker wanted to be the random force of chaos he believed the world was made-up of. The various flavors of Emperor (from Mateus to Palpatine to [insert Fantasy villain here]) responds to our desire to control things. The clearer you can define the idea your villain represents, the closer you are making that character feel more "real." This is why people like Ancano are never really remembered and people like Andrew Ryan are.

Christopher Paolini is an author with good taste. Just look at all the things clever references he's made to other Fantasy novels. http://aydee.wordpress.com/2006/12/17/eragon/ Why, if I were a modder I would be honored to recreate the world through Paolini's eyes. Good luck on your project!

It's an awesome design, but until I can charge it up like the Hammers from Monster Hunter it's not going to be the same.

This also ties in to an idea I had about re-vamping Conjuration: players alternatively (or exclusively) use Soul Gems to summon Daedra (or Undead) rather than spending Mana. I'm sorry if this doesn't fit with what you have in mind, I don't mean to hijack your topic.

From what I've gathered so far, this board thinks Crossbows should or need to have: * Shorter range than Bows. * Longer reload than Bows. * More stopping power than Bows. This could be accomplished one or more ways. * Have Bolts ignore a certain percentage of armor (like Mace version of Bow.) * Have certain Bolts deal area of effect explosive damage. * Have certain Bolts pass through enemies dealing damage to multiple targets. * Have non-explosive, non-armor piercing Bolts stagger. Video for reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik6kDxsu-Iw If later on, we want to give Crossbows their own perk tree we could make the faster reload a Perk. Also, how does the board feel about poisoning Bolts? Should that remain a Bow thing?

Not until the creation kit comes out.

You may also want to look at my suggestion on how to improve the Mage in this post. http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/488669-wip-magic-and-the-college-overhall/page__view__findpost__p__3995647 What I was trying to get at was a creation of a system where reduction spells are still optional but not optimal for Mages. Being allowed to enchant our own Staffs and use our own spell scrolls would drive us to focus on Soul Trapping enemies and gather resources to perfect our magic: kind of like a real Mage might be!

You mean limit. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Why not simply reduce the percentage of spell reduction abilities available, or cap it at a certain percentage (40% or 50%.) The minute you begin trimming our choices is one less person that's going to download your mod. Because I want to incinerate my enemies with Chain Lightening. @Armor comments. There are always at least two solutions to one problem, in this case to curb abuse and looping all we need is one: By only allowing the player to smith any weapon they find the best they can do with their Smithing perk is upgrade their current equipment. The player is still free to pursue the Perk tree, however, they won't be able to forge said equipment until they find them (either by loot chests or quest rewards.)

I've read the requests of many fellow Archers spanning the Nexus forums of their desire for head-shots. Perhaps that may be enough to satisfy us, but in case it isn't I'd like to hear what you think on the subject. I have two examples of well-executed bow mechanics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qBcVrwWvVI * Slower reload. * Charge meter. * The longer the bow is charged, the further the shot goes. * Holding the charge for too long will mess up the arrow trajectory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPy2uv_kHGg * Slower reload. * Charge meter. * The Bow has a "sweet spot" in which arrows deal more damage when charge peaks. * No penalty for holding it too long. I for one would like to see the later example, though we won't know what we'll be able to do until the Creation Kit comes out.

Sounds awesome.

I was thinking about purchasing this: http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2020-USB-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B001AS6OYC/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1323283662&sr=1-1 Damn expensive.

I predict the most popular Spear mod won't be who gets them first in-game but who integrates them so they meld the mechanics. Right now we have a weapon trinity with swords, axes, and mace-type weapons with the each having their own speed and trait that sets them apart from the others. The modder that answers the question, "How can I make them unique?" will likely be the one the community downloads from (myself included.)

Perhaps giving to beggars should only be a once a day benefit, unless you want that to become abused like in Fallout 3.

We have to wait for the CK to be released.

It fits so perfectly with Speechcraft and Imperials it makes me want to reach through the computer screen and hug you.

You mean like health regeneration?

It's not enough to have them hotkeyed anymore?

First allow me to direct you to my post about the Mage College's atmosphere and suggestions on how to make it more immersive. http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/475883-skyrim%3B-populatuion-750/page__view__findpost__p__3900045 Secondly, allow me to suggest that magic needs two things to make it a viable, versatile resource of combat: Staff overhaul and perk reform. More Spells, Spellcrafting, and Enchanting Staffs Wizards, witches, and sorcerers, lend me your ears! As of now, we as a people are in dire straights. Our scrolls must be found off dirty dungeon floors and our Staffs in dark corners where gathering dust. No more, I say! I tire of the perilous jesting, kiting from ghouls waiting for my blue bar to fill like running marmalade! It's time we see advance beyond the precarious levels of novices and stepped forward into the world of magic. Hence, I suggest this before the Senate! Craftable magical scrolls: by recipe and/or casting a spell and saving it for later. The great Todd Howard was benevolent enough to grant us scrolls in the magic-hating world of Skyrim. As a persecuted people however, it seems our greatest enchantments are lost: the ability to create scrolls. My proposal is modest, give us the ability to craft Blank Spell Scrolls using Pen, Ink, and Blank Paper then allow us to enchant them like we would weapons. Or... Give us the ability to enchant them using our own spells, allowing us to bypass the tedium and wastefulness of sacrificing Soul Gems. The drawbacks would be that we'd only be able to use an exact duplicate of the spell we choose. By placing said spell on paper we sacrifice the same amount of mana we would normally use to cast that spell. This would ensure we don't abuse this during the middle of battle (if we were allowed to craft in the middle of battle.) In Summary: a) Enchanted Scrolls: Powerful spells that depend on your Enchanting skill or extra ammunition when Mana pool is low. Craftable staffs: by recipe then enchanted like weapons. Currently, the powers that be prevent us from crafting and enchanting our own Staffs. As a pure-blooded Mage who witnessed Gandalf the Grey conquer the Balrog with no more than his staff I demand the same for mine! An aristocratic noble-wizard such as myself prefers to keep my hands clean. That being the case, I demand the ability to create Staffs then enchant them like weapons. I demand Perks in my Enchanting skill-tree endorsing the longevity and power of said item as well. This will encourage wizards to invest in Soul Trap to keep their Staffs well fed (I also encourage you consider a Recharge hotkey for currently equipped weapon.) In Summary: a) Enchanted Staffs: Powerful items that depend on whatever school that spell falls under.

I'm all for expansion but political climate in Skyrim needs attention as well. * More random clashes between Stormcloak and Imperial soldiers. * Travelers are armed or journeying together via caravan (ala Fallout NV). * Scenes of Imperials/Stormcloaks attempting to "confiscating" supplies from merchants for their cause (faction situation.) * Heavily armed mercs traveling with aristocrats. (high risk, high reward situation). * Summary executions taking place by one side or the other (and possibly persuade mercy.) * Ambushes by rouge Necromancers using explosive runes and Vampires with paralyzing poisoned Bows.

This thread is all kinds of awesome.