Tactical Considerations(Or, How Not to Have Fireballs Dropped on Top o

[Adipose]

Over time I've noticed that various strongholds in Skyrim are built in such a fashion as to enable the player to climb onto cliffs and whatnot which then puts the player above the hold and enables them to fire various noxious and pointy missiles down onto/into the vile heart of darkness. This enables the player to be much more secure as he/she picks off the neerdowells in a relatively leisurely fashion.

 

These are bad tactical locations, which any right thinking medieval lord would have worked to avoid. Of course, from the view of an ES player it's a lot of fun and is likely to have been something which the game designers did on purpose. Fortunately, the various mod dwellings that are located in the same fashion don't have bitmaps with evil intent that are programmed to climb onto the mountainside above in order to rain down death and destruction...but that might be an interesting mod.

 

Anyway, as a result of my own particular way of looking at dwelling mods, I generally shy away from those that do the following:

 

1) Locate smelters and forges in places that have no way to vent poisonous fumes safely to the outside. I'm going to try applying this bit of reality to Hearthfire if it can be done sensibly.

 

2) Have locations that cause them to be vulnerable to plunging fire. (Makes the self-preservation drive itch. Can't help it.) One exception being a mod that also has outerworks located in such a fashion as to defend against evildoers intent on occupying the high ground.

 

3) Have interior arrangements that are open to the elements.

I mean, who wants to crawl under the furs while exposed to a raging blizzard? I know Nords are tough but seriously... ?

 

4) Have big/huge open interiors that have no feeling of warmth or humanity. Frex, I find it nearly impossible to like Dwemer holds. I loot'em and leave'em. Don't want to live in'em.

 

5) Have no provision for retainers, merchants, or other bitmaps that provide a lived in atmosphere.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I have no modding skill at all, and truly appreciate any and all modding efforts but I can't build a car either though I still want to drive one that appeals to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gsmanners]

Speaking of vulnerabilities, you're pretty much dead no matter what you do in Skyrim. Between the dragons, rogue mages, savage bandits, and completely insane wildlife, you have zero chance of survival above ground. Between the Falmer, Dwemer robots, and hordes of chaurus, your chances below ground are also zero. You could maybe build a spaceship, but then Akatosh would probably take offense to that and blast you out of the sky. It's all kind of pointless.

[RatcatcherOfKvatch]

I've wondered just how tough the "Dragonborn" really is when I consider the number of people who have to have made the trek between holds without being eaten by roving packs of frostbite spiders or pounded into paste by angry trolls.

 

Forget the Dragonborn, Ulfric and Tullius should be recruiting the Kajiit caravan guards. Those guys must be Gods of the Arena to survive month after month wandering around like they do.