Inafog

Thanks very much for these suggestions. I will investigate them. (Interesting NPCs is already on my list.)

Thanks. Maybe I'll just train in something else.

Believe it or not, I have not yet played Skyrim. But after hundreds of hours with Oblivion, I will soon take the plunge. I write this to ask what you think of my planned mods list. I do not want a very heavily-modded game, and I am not concerned with big graphics mods. Here is what I have selected: -The four unofficial patches (of course) -A Quality World Map -Guard Dialogue Overhaul -Immersive Armors -Immersive College of Winterhold -Immersive Weapons -Interesting NPCs -Mod Organizer -Realistic Ragdolls & Force -SKY UI Are there any of these you would not recommend? Are there any mods you consider really essential that I should add? Finally, regarding archery: my character will probably be a Bosmer archer, so I wonder if any archery mods are essential. The ones I have looked at are: -ABT - Arrows & Bolts Tweaks -Proper Aiming -Real Bows (which I think is only cosmetic) -Realistic Archery -Archery Gameplay Overhaul (which apparently makes any others unnecessary) What would you recommend regarding archery modifications? Or is the unmodified game good enough?

No. I am not even wearing the Crusader item that boosts Destruction.

I talked to Delphine Jend again, just in case, and she referred me to Brasla, but it did no good. I am still just told to go away. I find this especially interesting because the UESP entry does not even mention this brush-off as one of Brasla's dialogue items. I may have to try the console; or I'll just train in something else. It's mysterious, though.

My destruction level is 80. I cannot bribe or even talk to Brasla: as soon as I click on her, she delivers the "go away" dialogue and the speechcraft/topics icons disappear. (Her disposition should be quite high. Before talking I cast a +30 Charm spell on her.) Since the Destruction quest is in my journal I think I did get the referral, but I will talk to Delphine again just to check.

When I approach Brasla Andaren, the master Destruction trainer, I get no dialogue when I click on her. She simply tells me to go away because I'm scaring the animals and making her job harder. I have the quest in my log; I even have 20 bear pelts. Time of day has not mattered. I cannot find a reference to this bug having happened to others. Any suggestions?

I know that your weapon can be knocked from your hands in combat, but can your shield? I had the Escutcheon of Chorrol before entering an Oblivion Gate and discovered that I no longer had it after closing the gate. I have no idea what happened to it.

I have a modest number of mods (about 30) but they are things like Phitts Artifacts, Salmo the Baker, The Rangers Fox, and Alluring Potion Bottles. None affect the Dark Brotherhood or general character behavior, appearance, or quests. I have been back to the Sanctuary a couple of times since Ocheeva's outbreak and she has not done it again. (My character is not actually going to do the Purification quest, so the Sanctuary is indeed a sanctuary for its inmates. It would be ironic if despite this they killed each other.)

I reached the point in the DB questline where Ocheeva gives my character the sealed order to see Lucien L. about the Purification. As my character was leaving, Ocheeva drew her weapon and rushed to attack Antoinetta Marie. I tried to calm them down by paralyzing them a couple of times, but they continued to fight until A.M was dead. Ocheeva then attacked my character, who, not wishing to fight her, ran out of the Sanctuary into Cheydinhal. Ocheeva followed, through the deserted house, across the lawns and two bridges, fighting with one guard and continuing her pursuit until, near the street up to the palace, she was cornered by three guards and knocked out. (Being Essential, she was not killed). When she rose up she was her usual polite self again and walked back to the Sanctuary. Has this happened to anyone else? Any idea why?

I started a new game and it happened again, at Skingrad. It was a Paint Horse when I got to town and a Bay Stallion when I came out. Strange.

Like most players, I always try to get Fingleam. But I wonder... how was it ever discovered in the first place, way back when the game was published? The helmet is not, as far as I know, referred to in NPC conversations or mentioned in any books. I cannot imagine players swimming around for hours in all the water in Oblivion hoping to find something, and anyway Fingleam is not all that easy to locate. So how was it discovered at all? Did someone read about it in a game guide?

My fairly new character (level 4) has been using Prior Mayborel’s Paint Horse. Upon reaching Skingrad, while taking Martin to Weynon Priory, the Paint Horse was nowhere to be found. But there was a “Bay Stallion” which was marked as mine. My character has been using him since. Has anyone else seen this miraculous event? I cannot figure out what happened.

Wrye Bash is far beyond my humble computing abilities. I am afraid of it. :-)

LFact: Your Starter Characters Nords is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Thank you! I will certainly use it if I ever get my game working again (see post below :-)