Kestrellius

Oh, okay. So Red Mountain happened a good deal later than I'd thought...

I know a lot of people kind of hated the final battle with Alduin, for various reasons. I personally kind of like the Sovngarde sequence; it has a rather peaceful feel, you know -- yes, Alduin's a big threat, but Shor and the heroes of Sovngarde do in fact have it under control, with your help. Nonetheless, the battle itself is underwhelming. So, my thoughts are these: I think Skyrim missed a crucial opportunity with Sovngarde. Remember, the LDB is actually a dragon, just in mortal form. So you'd think he'd be able to appear as a dragon in Sovngarde, since that's what his soul is. So the mod idea is basically this: instead of fighting Alduin normally, you clear away his fog and then challenge him to fight you as dovah, transforming into a silver/white dragon with unlimited Shouting capabilities. ...and then you fight. This originated as sort of an idea involving an improved dragon-riding mechanic, so that this would offer a bit of a preview -- you'd be playing as a dragon, rather than riding one, but it would be similar. You'd have a unique mechanic for the final battle, and also call forward to a later questline. Other aspects could include an army of undead entering Sovngarde (...somehow), and the souls in Sovngarde engaging them before and during the player's transformation and fight with Alduin. Sovngarde itself would need to be expanded for this to work properly, of course. Maybe some really weird geography; floating continents and land-bridges and such, so you can do some fancy flying while you're dogfighting Alduin? Anyway, yeah. This isn't exactly a formal request, although I'd certainly love to see this, and I'd be extremely grateful. It's basically just getting the idea out there.

Eesh. Just when I was starting to think I understood TES lore...

Yeah, just making connections. Still, it's hardly unheard of for the same person to be in multiple places at once in TES lore...

SkyrIM. I like it. I will say this: please don't have Daedric be the top tier everything. That's getting really old. Dragonbone weapons, at least, are superior to Daedric weapons per canon, so... I mean, I understand Daedric being really, really good, but honestly the entire idea of there being a type of material in-universe that's just straight up better than everything else is a bit absurd. And there are tons of ways to topple it, like with new materials the capabilities of which weren't known about before. Dragonbones, for example.

If it's actually "supposed" to be there in the vanilla game, I'd guess that that's just where it's sent after the Psijics take it, but it's normally invisible/intangible. Actually...the Abandoned Prison might just be in the very center of the map. It's in that area north of the TotW, in a canyon west of the volcanic tundra... That would tend to explain why the Eye would be sent there, of all places.

I do agree about the Silver-Bloods being worse, simply because of how jarring the Cidhna Mine quest is if you've come to see your character as invincible. Suddenly, you don't have your gear. And also, at least Maven has some style. But anyway, there should be four basic ways to complete the TG questline. 1. Standard: You serve Nocturnal, and return the TG to its former glory. 2. True Thief: Screw Nocturnal, and screw Karliah. We'll be taking that Skeleton Key, thank you very much. And probably taking Maven's business too, along with her life. 3. Destroy: Pretty self-explanatory. You team up with Mjoll or somebody, and possibly some guards, and just storm the Ratway. 4. Spies: An interesting option, and the one I'd take. Instead of destroying the Guild, you take it in a different direction, using its abilities and networking skill to create a spy organization to serve your own ends. Most Guild business would now be things like Goldenglow, rather than petty thuggery -- complex, high-profile espionage and politicking jobs. The questline itself would probably deal mostly with convincing/coercing the higher-ups to put you in charge and just rebuilding the Guild. And taking care of Mercer, too, because the Skeleton Key's still useful.

Late to the party, I suppose, but I do understand the sort of moral paranoia (no offense) the OP is experiencing. Been through a fair amount of it myself. The best way I can put it is that you are not your character. The moral choice in-universe would be to destroy the DB, I think, barring some sort of grandiose project to reorganize them into dedicated assassins for your new empire. But that doesn't affect you out-of-universe, because you're creating a fictional character, in a sub-universe relative to ours, and having him do stuff.

Well, to be fair, Jesus wasn't nearly as "nice" as He's made out to be...still, he was no Tiber Septim. ...Tiber Septim was a dick. Really, a Dragonborn -- any Dragonborn -- is far more akin to Christ than Talos. Talos was a mortal (well, several mortals) who ascended, whereas Christ was an element of the Trinity -- an aspect, perhaps, to put it in TES terms -- who was sent to earth as a mortal. (But born of only one human parent, presumably because original sin is passed down the male line, and having only a female parent was a way to avoid that and create a perfect human.) It still isn't perfect, as a Dragonborn is basically just a dragon stuffed into a mortal body, whereas the nature of Christ is rather more complicated -- both fully human and fully divine (although that's still not something that'd be out of place in TES...) So, the Last Dragonborn is far more a Jesus archetype than Talos, although the LDB isn't actually Akatosh. It's more like...it's like if God decided to put Michael the Archangel in a human body to fight Satan, basically. Since the dragons are essentially angels to Akatosh's God archetype.

Wait okay hold on so. I finally actually read and understood (mostly) The Arcturian Heresy. (I was stuck in Winterhold after taking it with CWO, and I didn't want to leave because I'd freeze to death via Frostfall, but the town was still in post-battle recuperation mode, so none of the merchants were active or anything. So I wound up reading through half of Nelecar's library.) Anyway, I finally understand how Talos can be five people now, but the Kalpa thing has thrown me for a loop. So, the sequence of events is something I'm still a bit muddled about. It goes something like this, right? The creation of Mundus; the trial of Lorkhan, the Convention, etc. The et'Ada trapped on Mundus begin to change into mortals. The Ayleids split off from men. The Ayleids develop into subraces, including the Aldmer and the Dwemer. The Dwemer Numidiumify themselves at Red Mountain. Azura curses/notices the curse on the Chimer, making them Dunmer. The Dragon War happens. At some point in here, the Aldmer become the Altmer. The early form of the Empire is born. ESO happens(?) Tiber Septim starts doing Tiber Septimy things. The TES games happen. Right? Or do I have the order wrong? And where are the era breaks? According to in-game books, the Cyrodillic Empire was around in some form at the end of the First Era, and IIRC Talos's rise to power marked the beginning of the Third. So did the Dragon War happen toward the end of the Merethic Era? Did the Merethic Era start with the solidification of Mundus? And when exactly was the Dragon War; was it actually before all the business with the Chimer and Dwemer at Red Mountain? But more to the point. Where does the Kalpa reset? It's sort of a time loop, right? So...when a new Kalpa starts, does it reset to right after the Convention?

Please don't misunderstand my initial argument; I'm not saying that the Thalmor are good, or that their goal is anything less than genocide. They're trying to destroy the universe; the fact that they're doing so by unmaking it doesn't change that. I was just remarking that it's a bit harder for me now to get that visceral hatred that I originally had for them. But this discussion is interesting. Please, continue.

For the Justiciars on the road, they'll usually decide to attack you if you talk to them for thirty seconds anyway. Attacking them outright will get you a minor bounty, but I think you're fine if you release the prisoner, and then they attack you. The guys in Markarth are a bit more of a problem; you still don't get a 1k bounty for murder, but you do get the standard 40-septim for assault if you attack them without sneaking. But yeah, that's the only issue. The Empire really doesn't care. I mean the Thalmor are their enemies, basically, so.

Ideally, the Thalmor would want the war to continue indefinitely. But, as evidenced at Helgen, the Empire would normally win the war, except in the event of a Stormcloak-aligned dragon-slaying demigod. So if you have to choose a side, you go Stormcloak, without a doubt. They'll have a harder time winning, for one, so more people die in the war. And also there's of course the fact that Skyrim splitting off weakens both the Empire and the province, so the Thalmor can take them one by one. Not quite as good as the war continuing, but close.

Really? I thought we basically weren't sure what happened, or even if they actually became the skin of Numidium. But then, I'm still confused by terms like "misunderstoodistance", and other Kirkbride nonsense. :laugh: (I don't dislike Kirkbride, in the slightest -- I think his whole approach is a brilliant take on what might otherwise fall into the trap of standard Tolkienian fantasy -- but the stuff he writes is still completely insane.) EDIT: Sorry, "misunderstandistance".

what Okay, you need to elaborate. You mean a mod that lets you fast-travel even when there are enemies nearby?

I hope you keep the armor cap, and possibly implement a weapon damage cap (although the caps for different types of armor or weapons would differ). It's nice, because it means virtually anything can be viable once you're beyond a certain point, and it also makes sense. You can only sharpen a sword so much. Also, not sure how hard this would be, but it would be extremely helpful to reduce the amount of animation-lock you find yourself in in vanilla. Why can't I put my sword away while running? Why can't I shift my weight to the side while attacking? For that matter, why can't I get all the way down behind this rock so that dragon can't reach me with its breath?

Tell, don't show? Hm, interesting. Still, though. I have never subscribed to the notion that the best mystery or monster is the one left unexplained. That just results in a lack of payoff for what might very well be an excellent buildup. The trick is to A: not screw up the explanation, and B: explain just the right amount. You have to leave a certain amount to the imagination, but explain the general jist of what the monster/mystery is.

Hm, too early. We have to deal with the Thalmor first, which will probably take another three games. Remember, the Mehrunes Dagon arc, starting with Arena, was four games long. Of course, I don't think Daggerfall and Morrowind had much directly to do with Dagon, so some of the games in the second arc might not deal with the Thalmor much. And yeah, the Thalmor will keep being the main villain for a while. Remember, they're not just a political faction. They're an Altmeri cult dedicated to the uncreation of the universe. That's big. Honestly, we were never going to have a DLC where we beat the Thalmor. Skyrim was just setting them up. Now, I think that the next arc, presumably starting with TES IX, will involve either Akavir or the Dwemer. Of course, the Dwemer mystery might be looked into more with the Thalmor stuff, as the Dwemer basically did a miniature version of what the Thalmor intend. And I certainly hope that we'll find ourselves exploring Akavir eventually, as well as any other continents that are still around. (I can't remember -- did Atmora sink, or was that another continent?) Oh and there are also the Argonians. I have a certain suspicion that they might be behind the Thalmor in some fashion -- or rather, that the Hist are behind the Thalmor in some fashion. They do worship Sithis, after all, and who would benefit most from the destruction of the universe? But if I turn out to be totally wrong about that, they could wind up being part of a future arc, whether as protagonists or villains. Whew. They're going to have to start making games more quickly, if they're going to keep up with the four-game arcs, or else we'll all be dead by the time some of the weirder lore is explored.

Book of Silence. /thread :p

Hm...So the horses don't have a character model modification system, I guess? That's too bad, although I guess it makes sense. Still, the visuals would be rather less important than the stats, in terms of what I'm talking about. And honestly, I could probably handle modelling new breeds if I had the vanilla horse models in Blender.

Concerning tree merges: okay, fair enough. However, I have to give an emphatic "no" to deRusett's idea of merging the magic trees into two. Magic should be more prevalent, not less; it was overall not nearly as useful as it should have been in the base game. Destruction, primarily. The difference is especially obvious at endgame, but Destruction is never on par with other combat methods at any point in the game. The zero-magicka enchantments really don't matter, because you can still do more damage with basic attacks from an average weapon of equivalent level, which don't use up an attribute even without enchantments. Seriously, it's absolutely nonsensical. At a fairly low one-handed skill level, a swing with a mid-level sword does more damage than an Expert-level Destruction spell, if I recall. And you can boost melee damage nigh-infinitely with smithing, whereas Destruction is capped at 150% of its base damage, forever. Unless you use potions, but seriously. You have to use both heavy enchantments and powerful potions just to make it competitive? No.

Really, there need to be multiple horse breeds. Not just based on city, but actually different types. Like, cheap pack mules or ponies or something, and then your basic middling travel horse, and then really expensive racing horses that are insanely fast and warhorses designed specifically for combat. And then I guess each of these breeds would be further modified depending on city? Pack horse: low speed, low endurance, and little combat ability, but extra carrying capacity Travel horse: completely average Racehorse: incredibly fast, but may run out of energy quickly and won't last long in combat Warhorse: lots of health and stamina, and possibly some special combat maneuvers, but a somewhat lower top speed than a racehorse Also, horse naming. Seriously. Horse naming. Honestly, I think if I ever actually start modding, I might just do an economics overhaul, as the septim in general is severely undervalued. I mean, it's a coin made of gold. You shouldn't need more than one to buy a bloody apple. And horses would be part of that, I think...But yeah, different prices for the different types. Definitely. I don't think CH changes that. Oh, and. Horses in general should be a lot faster. Granted, you can change that with CH -- I generally use a 50% speed boost -- but still. They should be a viable alternative to fast travel, for those who prefer roleplay. Of course the core problem is that Skyrim's quests incessantly send you gallivanting halfway across Tamriel for the tiniest of events, but faster horses do help.

I actually can't hate Nazeem anymore. Not after watching Mans1ay3r's videos. (You know the one.)

Hm...I'm thinking it might be a good idea to merge certain skills, to make room for other skills -- things like mining, or other things. (This is assuming that it's still impossible to change the number of skills.) For example, I feel like you could safely merge one-handed, two-handed, and block into one "melee" skill. Now, hear me out. It would be nice if there were ways to have, say, two-handed skill increases also increase one-handed slightly, since it's a reasonably similar skill, but I'm not sure that's possible. So instead, it might be good just to merge those related skills into one, and use perks to specialize. Same with heavy and light armor -- sure, they're not the same thing, but learning to use light armor would give you a better understanding of how armor works overall. So, you could just use the perk system to create a sense of different skills, while leaving room for new skills. Speaking of which. Does anyone actually use Pickpocket? It seems like its only use is basically as an exploit, almost, to get things that you can't otherwise get in-game, like unique items, despite the fact that you should probably be able to just offer the guy twenty thousand gold and get it from him. I find it far too unreliable to use on a regular basis. (Plus I don't play thieves much, so there's that.) I'm just thinking that instead of going Skyre's route and merging lockpicking and pickpocketing (but if you do, can you not name it "fingersmith"? Seriously, whose idea was that?), you could just remove both of them. Lockpicking is so irrelevant that you could just replace it with a flat chance, or a quasi-skill in an MCM. And, well, I just talked about pickpocketing, so that would really depend on whether anyone else uses it more than I do.

Hm...alright, yeah. What is it with modded animations always being insanely difficult to do, regardless of the game?