StayFrosty05

I have a 47 year old friend who's never been near a Console in his life and barely touched a Computer...definitely never Gamed....but he has developed Muscular Dystrophy and can do very little now, all he has is Television and so wants me to help him get Gaming...I am doing all I can, it also includes helping him get a Gaming capable Computer, so is taking a while...And yes, one of the first things I will be teaching him is how to utilize console commands, his fine motor skills have taken a hammering from the MD.

I believe it all depends on how you 'cheat' as to whether your ruining your own Game experience or enhancing it's enjoyment....and each of us has our own preferences in what we consider fun. Me, I love Role play and a hard challenging game, the greater the challenge the more fun, love being forced to have to think about what I am doing in regards to tactics, strategy, etc....(I play Perma-Death)....but leveling bores the daylights out of me and takes the fun out of my Role Play (I like RP'ing a seasoned Warrior). And so I cheat the levels....have a leveling Cheat Chest Mod installed in Riverwood and max my characters chosen proficiencies out at the start of the game, this takes him to around level 50-53...then I re-set the world around him so it levels up immediately with him and time to play....My Mod list is set for challenge and I handicap my Dovahkin in resources....aka. He uses no Enchanted items of any sort, no Healing or Skill Buffer Potions and absolutely no Magic what so ever....always Light Armor, a Bow, a Crossbow and a Sword (sometimes Shield), none of them with OP stats....I don't enjoy OP stats on his gear, though his Poisons are more realistic than vanilla Skyrims, but that goes both ways in my game also...Frostbite Spiders are truly something to be feared in my game, their deadly. We each play what we most enjoy....if you don't enjoy it, don't do it....the game is all about having fun, not stressing over what we should and shouldn't do, it's a single player game.

I am not sure what you mean sorry Simniac....once the settings are set via the Ring their set for the entirety of the game at your chosen specifications, Ring can be stored, thrown away, what ever, once you have your settings chosen....My apologies if I mis-understand your query.

Werewolf Mastery...: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/25392/? Gives you a Ring in game with which you can adjust such settings as you like....it doesn't effect Stamina, but you can set Health to fast regeneration and many other options.

That's a brilliant point about equipping 'Restoration' or 'Invisibility' in your off hand rather than a Shield, much better...shows how often I play a Mage, I am not thinking outside the box with them.... :pinch:

I believe it's more so how you utilize what you have than anything....and the difficulty you play on, as Skyrim's difficulty system is seriously borked, the higher the difficulty the less damage you put out while receiving more damage in return, thus my preference is Expert for a more realistic equalizing of damage both ways (Adept is more so, though too easy) and use Mods to make my game much more challenging. As for how you utilize what you have, I have to admit I very rarely play Magic Users....but I do run a very handicapped Light Armored Archer (No Magic at all including Restoration, no Healing Potions or Skill Buffers, never uses Enchanted items of any sort)...he can't afford to go into close quarter combat, has to do everything he can to avoid it and I play Perma Death...my Dovahkin rarely takes any damage at all. He does this by relying completely on strategy, tactics, agility, speed (dodges and/or Bow bashes most incoming damage)...and Poisons... :tongue: You need to play to your strengths and I have noted the few times I have played a Mage 'Illusion' is absolutely invaluable....what's needed for a squishy character is Crowd Control. I played a 'Pacifist' at one stage, she only used 'Illusion' and 'Restoration' and a little 'Alteration'..also high Stealth and Pick Pocket...she survived very well....the 'Illusion' was her prime defense and it worked well....admittedly I used a Mod to give Illusion a little more strength and duration...I found when playing Mages, destruction in both hands doesn't work that well, as a squishy you have to get too close to the opponent/s and put yourself in danger...I would suggest something along the lines of cast Fear/Calm/Frenzy (or stronger versions of the same)...then equip a Dagger or Light Shield in your block hand to parry or block/bash incoming damage, with your Destruction Spell equipped in your other hand....casting the Illusion first is your Crowd Control and gives you the opportunity to whittle your targets down to one at a time instead of being swarmed....If you do get swarmed at any stage, fight off the back foot, keep backing up forcing them to follow you and make them string out into a line in front of you so your only battling one at a time....is easier outdoors obviously.... :tongue: ....unless you choose a single file only tunnel to stand your ground. For indoors I would suggest adding Traps to your Mod list....use stealth to lay down Oil Traps coupled with Bear Traps at choke points.....and once the enemy are alerted to your presence lead them back over the Traps....the Bear Traps slow them down and hit the Oil with your Flames, works wonders.... :devil: I hope this helps.

Voted....I think it's inevitable that in order to enjoy game modifications eventually a user will just have to accept that all DLC's will be required, as many Modders will explore the resources found in all the DLC's....I don't have Hearthfire, I really do not want it, but I know there will come a time that I will have to get it if I want to keep enjoying exploring Mods unhindered, I don't expect Modders to hold back because little old me doesn't want to build houses and have beggar kids on my street.

@Dkboy....Thank you for the heads up on Hunterborn.... :happy: ...sounds absolutely perfect.... :happy: ...I also use a Mod that adds Viscera to the body loot, here's crossing my fingers they work together. I would very much like to use a realistic needs Mod and am always trawling the Mods looking for exactly what I want....you have inspired me again, I will hail the Mod author and ask him a few questions about RN&D....what I would need is the Mod meats I use (Humanoid, Sabre, etc....) recognized as food stuffs and yep, turn off the raw meat making you sick...The spoilage doesn't worry me, my Dovah has a big appetite.... :tongue: ....made sense to me that he would considering what he is and all his activity, he munches through his food stores fast....good thing Bandits keep attacking him or he could go hungry.... :tongue: I love what you do about your Followers...that's very immersed and brilliant RP.... :happy:

Panicking people do the dumbest things, it's human nature...their not thinking, just running for their lives towards anything they may consider safe, we see our homes as safe ports and so it does in fact make sense that many would run into and cower in their home. When your lying on the ground after Alduin has knocked you over at the Heads Man Block you can here Tullius shouting the order, "Get the People to safety"....a direct order given to the Imperial Soldiers.

I always thought it was rather bizarre about the Jarl thinking your something special for escaping Helgen also. If it wasn't for the combined help of Ralof and Hadvar you would not have survived, just be another dead burnt body...and how is it all the Stormcloaks have their hands unbound so quickly, but your still left all trussed up.... :tongue: ...even the Horse Thief looses his bonds when he is shoot by the Archers...weak rope?.... :huh: ...and only the mighty Dovahkin can't break them?.... :tongue: As for other Survivors....General Tullius, Ulfric, both Hadvar and Ralof...it doesn't matter who you escape with, the other always survives also...And the boy who Hadvar helps....*spoiler ahead*...the Boy can be found in a small Cabin a little south of Ivarstead.

Oh, I forgot....I never use Enchanted items either....My primary Dovahkin doesn't because he does not trust Magic and also has a real issue with the idea of capturing souls, his a wildling Werewolf (born Werewolf) and is a very brutal man in many respects, but will not take anothers freedom and frees every imprisoned humanoid and animal he comes across, he can't tolerate imprisonment. I would like to be able to use a 'realistic' needs Mod but due to my RP I am unable to do so and so have to self govern in regards to food spoilage, the need to eat, drink, etc...My Dovah only eats raw predator meats and only drinks water being a Werewolf...he eats Humanoid, Sabre and Bear primarily...I would love it if someone came out with a Mod that supplied Dragon meat.... :happy: ...the ultimate predator in my Dovahs eyes....the greater the challenge in Battle another gives him, the greater the value in their flesh...it's a fellow predators respect thing for him. Yep, I play on Expert...sometimes Master...but as mentioned Master is very unrealistic, its a broken and unbalanced system. I prefer to use Mods to create a more challenging game, keeping the damage much more equalized and a smarter AI for the opponents and specialized Mod introduced Boss opponents who make a great deal more sense as to why they would be much more difficult to over come.

1/ I only Fast Travel for three events in the game...: 1/ Up and down between Ivarstead and High Hrothgar....because quite frankly I am sick of that journey. 2/ When that Worshipper joins you to go to Eldergleam...he dies too easily otherwise and I have added a number of tough opponents to my game. 3/ When forced to have Serana in tow...that NPC is a nightmare to deal with. Other wise absolutely no Fast travel what so ever, that includes Carriages...never use Horses either. 2/ Never use Healing and Skill Buffer Potions, or Restoration Magic...takes the joy out of the challenge....too much of an 'I WIN!' button. 3/ Never join any Guilds or the College, I prefer playing the Lone Wolves. 4/ Always play for 'realism'....eating, sleeping, drinking, bathing, etc... 5/ Never carry over 220 weight, no matter how much Stamina I have...over that just seems too unrealistic. 6/ Never loot large or heavy items such as Weapons, Armor, etc....for the same reason as above, it's unrealistic. 7/ Never play a wanton Murderer, I just can't do it, it's no fun for me. 8/ Unless testing Mods, always play Perma Death. I think that's essentially about it.

It's not about difficulty in game...the vanilla game is a push over, way too easy....ti's why I love Mods so much, make it a real challenge.... :dance: ....For me, the high level start is all about the Role Play I have chosen and RP is a lot more fun for me personally than leveling...I find leveling a bit of a grind myself...but each off us enjoys the game in our own ways and I enjoy it most through my RP...My Dovahkin is severely handicapped, I don't want an easy game, that's no fun, it's gotta keep me on my toes...and so I handicap my Dovahkin in other ways...eg. Limited skill set, absolutely no enchanted items, absolutely no magic what so ever, no Healing Potions or Skills Buffers of any sort, Light Armor only, very rarely have Followers and have very difficult opponent Mods...it's all about tactics and strategy for me, is what I enjoy. I play Perma Death and hate losing a Dovahkin and so work hard and plan approaches to battle hard to keep him alive, his higher levels do not help him...just widens his skill abilities.... his Mod introduced opponents still make him look like a squishy push over.

You could use the house!? Yeah... still doesn't change the fact that I avoid that guy like the plague when I see him but I also didn't realize that it was a "free" house. Your analogy doesn't work in this case Riprock because the complaint isn't with obtaining anything (such as recognition of being a heart surgeon) nor is the complaint about receiving something. This is more like, you're a heart surgeon but for some reason you find yourself forced into killing someone with no means of recourse or refusal and the only crappy solution available is to restart your life to a point prior to where you became a heart surgeon or have someone alter your life so that it functions differently than how it was originally intended. Also... Neither modding or restarting with a prior save count as being relevant in any way to the complaint(s) as the actual issue is with how the game originally is and immersion making the obvious solutions accounted for already by being excluded. Hear, hear...I still don't understand Bethesda's Game developers reasons.

LOL...My thoughts exactly... :laugh: ....Well more so, how the heck did he survive all the killer nasties for so long without acquiring any skills... :huh:

I use the ToL Mod (Tales of Lycanthropy)...I RP a born Werewolf and so infect him has soon as his hands are unbound in Helgen...he doesn't join any Guilds or the College.....I do understand the point you make though, I probably should have clarified first I use a Mod for his Lycanthropy, not the Companions.

Why does one have to be evil to be a Werewolf?....The good thing about Skyrim is you are not forced to kill Civilians, I play a conscious Werewolf, he remains conscious of who and what he is and who the people are he comes across, in fact he has saved Civilians from other attackers while his in Werewolf form, simply because I RP him as conscious....It just comes down to your Role Play.

This has not been confirmed. We are not sure which side is telling the truth in that matter. It's one of the things that bothers me since I like closure, lol. What I would like to eventually see is the ability for our Protagonists to ask further questions, the insanely few questions their able to ask to get to the bottom of a mystery always makes them appear idiotic and I know for myself leaves me as the player rather frustrated at times. Obstinate Novice is spot on, there is no confirmation either way in regards to Saadia and the Alik'r....Personally I tend to favor the Alik'r myself, their story just rings more true for me, but none of it's confirmed.

I concur with riverbanks....I always play a stealth character and became sick of it being so easy in the vanilla game, I now use a Mod to make stealth more of a challenge and have never used sneak enchantments.....For what your experiencing there is definitely something amiss in your game.

Well, I don't play on Legendary....prefer Master and Expert myself (Expert and Adept being the most realistic)....nor do I play a Magic Wielder or user of Magic of any kind (not even Enchantments of any kind). But I do use DCR.7 and a small number of tougher, smarter, more spawns opponents Mods, I like a good challenge.... I play a Light Armored, Stealthy, Poisons Archer. My Archer can bash with his Bow, does a lot of it, it's kept him alive a number of times (I also play perma-death)...I don't see why if he can bash with his Bow, a BattleMage or SpellSword would not be able to with a sword. I don't believe it's so much about OP play style.....my Dovahkin is heavily handicapped himself....his very squishy (Armor rating isn't great), his pretty much a one hit wonder if he gets hit he looses most of his health on one Sword strike (I don't use Healing Potions either), the point of my play through's is simple...: Don't get hit! Whether that be Melee Weapons, Arrows, Bolts, Magic....Magics the hardest to dodge... :tongue: ...But how often do I loose my Dovahkin to death, exceedingly rarely, I consider it a bad mistake on my behalf if he takes any damage at all...he usually takes no damage in Battle....He rarely uses Followers also, they generally just get in the way and are more of a hindrance than a help. It's not about OP or handicapped, it's all about strategy and tactics and so I see no reason why a Magic User should be handicapped by not being able to use basic maneuvers.

A question out of curiosity....At what level do you like to start a new game and why? I have played so much Skyrim, leveling up bores me to tears and I no longer enjoy it. What I do enjoy is beginning a new game with a leveled up Dovahkin and so thus I use a 'Cheaters Chest' Mod located in Riverwood....I don't level him out to 81 or such, I level up only what he uses....he ends up about level 51-53. I also enjoy having a Dovahkin who is not new to conflict, an already seasoned Warrior caught up in the Imperial Ambush net by sheer bad luck....wrong place, wrong time....My Dovahkin is also aged in his early 30's and as such has life experience under his belt already, a leveled up Dovahkin makes more sense to me given his age and the dangers in the world his been wandering, than a newbie to such dangers at such an age....what about you, what do you prefer and why?

lol.... :laugh: ....try the Pacifist Ratcatcher.... :tongue: ....the catch is, like my usual Dovahkin, my Pacifist didn't have a Follower ...That said though, she did eventually activate the Dragons (mid level 20's) and doing so pretty much destroys the ability to play a Pacifist and she ended up having to resort to using a Bow and having a Follower to survive the Dragons....defeated the purpose of her play through which was a shame.....Until that point though, she was certainly a whole new way to play Skyrim and I would recommend giving it a whirl, makes for a rather interesting and challenging game experience.... :happy: One of my favorite moments...she successfully Pick Pocketed a needed Key off a Bandit....taking all his money while she was there too.... :tongue: ....I thought she had got away clean with it until some Hired Thugs showed up, she Pick Pocketed them clean of all their coins and the note also.... :D ...I want to know how they explained that one to the Bandit.... :blink:

The most interesting and challenging Dovahkin build I have done so far was a 'Pacifist'....she specialized in 'Illusion', 'Restoration', 'Alteration', 'Stealth', 'Pick Pocket' and 'Speech'....her kill count was almost non-existent, the kill count she did have were accidental....I am talking no Animal Death and by level 20 only 3 Humanoids....she did kill Draugr though, but I would remove that element also if I play her again....She had to run from a few fights, but most of the time handled opponents quite well....'Illusion' Magic is a MUST to survive without killing....though using 'Frenzy' and letting them kill each other off is allowed.... :happy: For such a build and challenge I would recommend though a Mod that boosts and extends 'Illusion' and not to activate the Dragons. Anyway if you want something completely different and a whole new game style and all new kinds of challenges, I would highly recommend giving the Pacifist a go.... :happy:

edit...Necro'ed thread...oops

There is a Mod that can lead to attack while your Fast Travel, though not by Carriage, only while on foot...the Mod allows you to set your own percentage on the chance of being 'waylaid' whilst Fast Traveling among many other encounter features...Sands of Time...: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12452/?