self imposed challenge

[Deleted3897072User]

If you can get through the main quest this way it's nothing less than astounding. Some things I wonder about though, like can you be judged worthy to enter Sovngarde by shouting? Never tried anything but swinging a sword myself. Killing Alduin will take many followers with good weapons. Are all weapons in your game vanilla? Most enemies tend to concentrate on the DB and almost ignore followers... talk about dying a thousand deaths!

I'm purposely not using any mods that make it easier. Decorative mods, yes, but no multi-followers, no uber weapons, just whatever you can do with vanilla resources.

 

I haven't actually reached Sovengard yet so I can't say yet if it's possible.

 

Punching with bare fists is okay - you don't get experience for that. Early on in one play-through, I killed Mirmulnir by waiting until the guards and the follower had worn him down, then power-attack punching on the snout a few times. It felt good :D

 

(edit - added) I've completed the Thalmor Embassy quest and escaped. It cost me two fireball scrolls plus a Scroll of Mayhem that I collected off one of the Thalmor that I killed with the fireball. And some potions. Still at the bottom of level 1 with no experience showing ... :yes:

Edited May 14, 2018 by OldMansBeard

[Baer2x4]

Yeah, GO OMB! Love to see more edits updated as you progress. May try this myself sometime.

[LeddBate]

My challenge is to get through the whole game without getting the urge to make yet another mod.

 

LOL! Also, your mods are "must have" for my play-throughs. Thank you for making them!

 

 

Yeah, GO OMB! Love to see more edits updated as you progress. May try this myself sometime.

 

This! I also want to see updates.

 

As for myself: I use mods that encumber me for carrying around gold, arrows and other normally zero weight items. Also, I use mods that allow NPCs to loot nearby bodies. No more looting Empire and Stormcloak soldiers in the field for me! (Although it is really creepy to find a battle-site littered with half-naked corpses.) I also love the recent version of Convenient Horses as your horse will now buck you off if you try to overload it with loot from a dungeon. I do use things like backpacks, bags, belt-pouches, etc. But I have them toned down to minimal carry-weights so that I still have to pick-and-choose very carefully what I loot while on an adventure/mission. And I don't loot entire sets of armor at all. I mean seriously, how would you actually carry multiple sets of steel plate armor? I can only loot an entire set if I'm willing to give up what I'm currently wearing. I also assume that any items I'm forced to abandon at a location are gone afterwards (even though I know the game will usually leave the items in place.) All this results in my NOT acquiring a vast fortune before I even get around to finishing the main-quest. This gives me good impetus to "look for work" at the inns and from the Housecarls at the Jarl's hall.

 

Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot. That little brat I adopted now knows she can hit me up for a 500 gold allowance every week or so. Between that and Lydia constantly whining about wardrobe (i.e. armor) changes, I actually find it a challenge to build up a decent bank balance. I was discussing this very thing with Sam at the Bannered Mare over some drinks (don't ask about the hangover later) when he pointed out to me: "Buck up, lad. Ye can't expect to come back alive every time. Sooner or later something will succeed in eating you and then your troubles will be over."

Edited May 18, 2018 by LeddBate

[Deleted3897072User]

Yeah, GO OMB! Love to see more edits updated as you progress. May try this myself sometime.

Going well. I've reached the point where I've done Riften, done Skyhaven Temple, talked to Parthanax, consulted the College library and I'm getting ready to go look for Septimus Signus.

 

Riften, I used the back door throught the Meadery to get in because if you negotiate with the gate guards, you get speechcraft. Then I ignored the whole Brynjolf thing and talked to Kereeva to advance the quest to find Esbern. Skyhaven Temple was nothing special except before we got there I had to run away while Esbern and Delphine killed a dragon for me. Getting into the College was okay - I just shouted at Faralda, ignored Mirabelle and went straight to Gro-Shub.

 

Still haven't used any skills or spells :D

Edited May 18, 2018 by OldMansBeard

[Deleted3897072User]

Update - I've reached the point in the main quest where I've collected the Elder Scroll, defeated Alduin at the Throat of the World and I'm heading to Dragonsreach. Still without ever using skills, spells, weapons, armour, crafting, trading, sneaking, ....

 

I went through Mzinchaleft to reach Blackreach, mainly because I happened to have passed the entrance on the way to Ustengrav and I'm bored with Alftand. Biggest problem was the Centurian guarding the Mazinchaleft Gatehouse - tactic there was to use the Fire Breath shout, run back out to the Depths (it doesn't follow you) long enough for the shout cooldown to wear off, then back in for another shot. Took about six goes. Defeating Alduin took a few attempts because I'm short of healing potions and soup (cooking is okay, you don't get skill increases for that, but salt piles are hard to come by if you can't do any trading). Successful tactic was for me to keep Alduin on the ground with Dragonrend while my follower hits him with axes (dual wielding Ancient Nord War Axe of Cold and Iron War Axe of Shocks, both looted from somewhere earlier).

 

It's getting harder ...

Edited May 19, 2018 by OldMansBeard

[Moksha8088]

My challenge is to get through the game from starting in Helgen without accumulating any experience, staying at the bottom of Level 1.

Wonder about a challenge where you pretend that some fair Elf maiden has tied you up for some ancient Bosmer bondage ritual and thus you are unable to move your mouse by any conventional means. No experience would be accrued until you figure out an alternate means of moving your character. Wait, maybe that is too much of a challenge. Okay, same Elf maiden and same Bosmer bondage game, but this time she has left you with enough hand movements to get your character to Whiterun only to find that she has devised some other imaginary challenge like slaying some molerats and laying their meat and teeth at the feet of Ysolda.

 

Well, that is just an idea. I imagine some players would desire their self-imposed challenges to be even more creative and impervious to any OCD medications that sly mages, operating at their mother's urging, might try to slip into their Mogo's Mead or Colovian Brandy.

[Baer2x4]

I'm really surprised you made it passed Alduin at the TOTW with only a few tries. ( didn't really think you could.) The DR shout doesn't keep him down long & then it's fire & brimstone while waiting for the cooldown period to wear off. I have no idea of what Alduin may be like though, since he's at lvl one as well. Skuldafn, (no followers) will be tough but I'm thinking you'll find a way. Do you have to go down to novice level sometimes?

[Deleted3897072User]

I'm really surprised you made it passed Alduin at the TOTW with only a few tries. ( didn't really think you could.) The DR shout doesn't keep him down long & then it's fire & brimstone while waiting for the cooldown period to wear off. I have no idea of what Alduin may be like though, since he's at lvl one as well. Skuldafn, (no followers) will be tough but I'm thinking you'll find a way. Do you have to go down to novice level sometimes?

Yes, I'm doing Skuldafn on Novice - I doubt it's possible otherwise. I've made it across the open ground into the Temple so far. A combination of creative running away and Fire Breath to one-shot any axe-wielding draugr who try to stop me. At level 1 / Novice, draugr arrows and the fire/frost dragon attacks are relatively weak - it's the ones that get close enough to melee that you have to worry about, especially if they group together. There's a small tower on the left that is good to lurk in while recharging shouts and recovering health - it protects you from the dragon attacks too. Then, once you get inside the temple doors you are relatively safe provided you took out any nearby draugr (if you don't, they will follow you through the doors and probably kill you on the spot). I think the temple is mostly draugr, so I'm hoping Fire Breath will get me through. I still have 8 healing potions and some soup left.

 

(edit - update) I've completed Skuldafn and reached Sovngarde. The tactics against the draugr are to take them out one at a time: advance, Fire Breath, run away, recover, advance again to find the next one. The same scheme worked against Nahkriin except it took about 5 Fire Breaths and he followed me when I ran away back into the Temple so I had to keep running until he lost interest. The dragons in the final area were hostile but they didn't do a lot of damage so I just ran round them.

 

(eidt - final update) Alduin is dead. I did it by skulking between the pillars at the end of the dragon bridge, spamming Dragonrend to keep him grounded while the three heroes weighed into him, then at the last moment I ran forward to deliver the knock-out punch.

 

Level 1 coward defeats Alduin :D

 

So there's the answer. It is possible to complete the main quest line without using or improving any skills at all, just with fists, scrolls, potions, soup, and, most importantly, shouts.

Edited May 21, 2018 by OldMansBeard

[Baer2x4]

Thanks for the updates and congratulations on this first and one of a kind win. You really do deserve an achievement award. I think I'll try it next go round & see if it drives me the rest of the way crazy. Now you'll have to think up a new challenge for yourself.

[LeddBate]

 

Level 1 coward defeats Alduin :D

 

So there's the answer. It is possible to complete the main quest line without using or improving any skills at all, just with fists, scrolls, potions, soup, and, most importantly, shouts.

 

 

There really should be a Steam achievement award for this.

 

Maybe "Noob-born"?