The Elder Scrolls: It's the IX Divines, you milk-drinkers

[DigoDragon]

Finished the Civil War questline. I just love getting a bunch of Stormcloaks to chase me downstairs and then I FUS ROH DAH them back up the stairs. That bit of shenanigans never gets old. Also had an amusing moment where attacking one of the forts as part of the questline netted me a 40 gold bounty. Nothing came of that though, but it was indeed there up until the war was completed.

All I could think of was that a Stormcloak outside the fort wandered in and I accidentally murdered him.

[Avilan the Grey]

Finished the Civil War questline. I just love getting a bunch of Stormcloaks to chase me downstairs and then I FUS ROH DAH them back up the stairs. That bit of shenanigans never gets old. Also had an amusing moment where attacking one of the forts as part of the questline netted me a 40 gold bounty. Nothing came of that though, but it was indeed there up until the war was completed.

All I could think of was that a Stormcloak outside the fort wandered in and I accidentally murdered him.

As a true Nord, killing the Stormcloak Traitors are almost as fun as killing Thalmor.

[DigoDragon]

As a true Nord, killing the Stormcloak Traitors are almost as fun as killing Thalmor.

Oh it got better. I learned the hard way that dragon encounters do not stop when you're doing the Civil War questline. There was another fort that got an unexpected visitor stopping by for lunch.

[NineThePuma]

Neither do Vampire Raids. I've actually had Vampires + Dragon during the battle of whiterun (two dragons, technically, since one was in the city and one was out of it).

The vampires did jack **** but the dragon was terrifying.

Is it bad that I want to put a blanket ban on civil war discussions?

[Triaxx]

There's also, a dwarven power armor mod, that enhances dwarven armor. Looks prety cool.

[ArlEammon]

Neither do Vampire Raids. I've actually had Vampires + Dragon during the battle of whiterun (two dragons, technically, since one was in the city and one was out of it).

The vampires did jack **** but the dragon was terrifying.

Is it bad that I want to put a blanket ban on civil war discussions?

Poor Jack. When will the vampires leave him alone?

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Oh it got better. I learned the hard way that dragon encounters do not stop when you're doing the Civil War questline. There was another fort that got an unexpected visitor stopping by for lunch.

I had something similar happen at the Lunar Forge. I was low-level and squishy, and was very carefully sneaking up to the area where the forge itself is. I'm steeling myself for a nasty fight, and just before I walk in the door--

RAWR! *breath weapon noise*

--I go inside and all the bandits are dead.

[Calemyr]

Poor Jack. When will the vampires leave him alone?

If you don't understand why Vampires love him, you just don't know Jack.

[DigoDragon]

Neither do Vampire Raids. I've actually had Vampires + Dragon during the battle of whiterun (two dragons, technically, since one was in the city and one was out of it).

Now there's a cluster-buck if I ever saw one. :o

Is it bad that I want to put a blanket ban on civil war discussions?

I think just discussing amusing situations of the game and not the political situation of it is okay. Last night just for giggles I lured giants into the military camps in the Dawnstar area. Yeah that commander may be essential, but they sure do fly pretty well through the air. One of them never came back down so Talos knows where that one landed...

[Gaelbert]

I've had dragons, thieves, and vampires attack my cities but the only time an NPC was killed was when the Dawnguard attacked me and they apparently were hostile to everyone around. Makes me think that the one Vampire quest to frame the Dawnguard isn't quite necessary...

[Triaxx]

I don't know what's up, but I had to reload a save after killing Nazeem once, and serving my time only to find that Durak was still hostile. So every time I'd go near Whiterun, he'd start trying to kill me. Mostly annoying because he was fine until I after I served my sentence.

[NineThePuma]

Double check your other bounties. Durak's a Rift citizen.

EDIT: Looked it up, cleaned the post's information up.

[Triaxx]

Odd, I'm pretty sure that character had never been to the Rift.

[DigoDragon]

Odd, I'm pretty sure that character had never been to the Rift.

The boundaries always seem to extend farther than I realize. I've gotten bounties for places I did't think I was close enough to earn. And it's usually a horse that reports it. >_>
Darn backstabbing horses...

Spoiler

Show

[Triaxx]

Ah. THAT horse. (There's one that wanders along the edge of the lake near Riverwood.) I believe it's a Rift Horse, despite being in Falkreath. Which would be the cause.

[veti]

Odd, I'm pretty sure that character had never been to the Rift.

If Durak saw you killing Nazeem, he would have turned hostile then. My guess is that serving your time in Whiterun would have reset the attitudes of WhiterunCrimeFaction people, but not outsiders.

Basically, it's a bug.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Odd, I'm pretty sure that character had never been to the Rift.

He's in the Dawnguard, right? Their base is in the Rift, so he's a Rift citizen.

[Artanis]

Me: "Okay, just inch forward carefully, don't want to piss off the giants, just want the icon for the map..."
Dragon: "RAAAAWWWWRRRR!" *FWOOSH*
Giants and Mammoths:
Dragon:
Me:

[ArlEammon]

If Durak saw you killing Nazeem, he would have turned hostile then. My guess is that serving your time in Whiterun would have reset the attitudes of WhiterunCrimeFaction people, but not outsiders.

Basically, it's a bug.

I got to kill Idolaf Battleborn without even being noticed. I stood there, waiting for the guards to arrest me for killing him when I shouted him off the Cloud District into the Plains District. No one came, so I got to murder him with no response from the Law.

:D

One time I slaughtered all the Battleborns in their home except for the little boy as a Werewolf.

[Kesnit]

Me: "Okay, just inch forward carefully, don't want to piss off the giants, just want the icon for the map..."
Dragon: "RAAAAWWWWRRRR!" *FWOOSH*
Giants and Mammoths:
Dragon:
Me:

I use the mod Live Another Life, which lets you start somewhere other than the wagon ride to Helgen. Since I don't start in Helgen, I almost never get the encounter with the Companions killing the giant outside Whiterun.

One time, I was walking along the river towards Riverwood and saw a dragon off in the direction of Whiterun. It seemed like it was fighting something, but I wasn't sure what. I ran over there and the dragon was fighting the giant that the Companions were supposed to kill.

Easiest dragon and giant kills ever...

[Mobius Twist]

Something of a surprising experiment has been paying off:

Character - one-handed/block Nord.
Limitations: No crafting skills (other than cooking). No hauling massive amounts of junk for sale (pick up what you use, basically). No spells at all. Buying/finding all healing potions.

It's actually surprisingly doable. In the first thirty levels I (in order) finished the Civil War, killed Alduin, and saved the world from the VAMPIRE MENACE. I "found" Meridia's anti-undead right before going after the vampires, but otherwise there isn't a lot of metagaming on my part.

After playing stealth or conjuration characters that avoid a direct fight, going into the fray with scavenged armor and weapons and a handful of minor healing potions makes you appreciate the little things like a once-a-day guaranteed fear power.

And despite feeling impoverished early on, at level 30 I can't stop bribing people because my speech skill is insufficient, but money always talks. And that's after buying Hjerim and all its upgrades.

By the way: If you're going to buy Hjerim, buy all of its upgrades as well. I ended up skipping the alchemy/enchanting stations initially (because why would I want them?) and once I got around to it, it removed a series of critical containers from my bedroom that stored a lot of my stuff. As in, permanently and without recourse. I didn't catch on to it until coming back from an epic quest, so not much chance of recovery.

[Artanis]

I use the mod Live Another Life, which lets you start somewhere other than the wagon ride to Helgen. Since I don't start in Helgen, I almost never get the encounter with the Companions killing the giant outside Whiterun.

One time, I was walking along the river towards Riverwood and saw a dragon off in the direction of Whiterun. It seemed like it was fighting something, but I wasn't sure what. I ran over there and the dragon was fighting the giant that the Companions were supposed to kill.

Easiest dragon and giant kills ever...

I was more thinking about the time I saw some giants (plural) and their herd beat a dragon to death

[Gaelbert]

Something of a surprising experiment has been paying off:

Character - one-handed/block Nord.
Limitations: No crafting skills (other than cooking). No hauling massive amounts of junk for sale (pick up what you use, basically). No spells at all. Buying/finding all healing potions.

It's actually surprisingly doable. In the first thirty levels I (in order) finished the Civil War, killed Alduin, and saved the world from the VAMPIRE MENACE. I "found" Meridia's anti-undead right before going after the vampires, but otherwise there isn't a lot of metagaming on my part.

I got to level 40 on a one handed/block Nord without crafting a single item. My goal was to get to 50, but then I got bored and started crafting. Worked well though.

[Duck999]

I rarely craft. I know it is a viable and great strategy, but I just don't do it. I find it boring and not productive, and not fun. When you craft items that are too good, the game stops being as fun. My main (level 50 some) is getting into enchanting, but still no crafting. It's just not something I do.

[Mobius Twist]

Fact is, crafted gear is far and beyond the superior option once your crafting skills are sufficiently advanced. This, by extension, renders all of the gear found in the game vendor trash, except the unique pieces which are stored and displayed.

I, on the other hand, found sentimental value and attachment to an imperial sword and bow that I used through most of the Civil War (as a disgruntled Imperial veteran come home to a land in disarray) despite siding with Stormcloaks. They have a prominent display space in Hjerim's armory despite being rather ineffective as actual combat weapons at this point. Same idea with a pair of Falmer swords and a shield I used all through the Darkreach and beyond.

Frankly, I didn't have that sort of sentimentality about my old gear in previous characters' playthroughs. Once it was done, it was sold or dumped into a chest never to see the light of day again.

Crafting is useful, but, as you say, it takes a lot of the challenge from the game. I can't imagine a pure caster with no enchanting or alchemy, though. The vanilla magic system is hardly built for that. Maybe that's the next challenge. Turn up the difficulty and try killing things with limited magicka.

[NeoVid]

You can upgrade loot just as far as you can upgrade crafted gear, though. I'm armed with a bunch of unique gear that is also Legendary thanks to Smithing bonuses.

[Ailurus]

You can upgrade loot just as far as you can upgrade crafted gear, though. I'm armed with a bunch of unique gear that is also Legendary thanks to Smithing bonuses.

This.

I really don't understand the dislike that basic crafting gets. I mean, sure, if you start on the fortify potion loops things get way out of hand, but basic smithing and enchanting on their own mainly serve (in my mind at least) to keep the gear you want viable rather than ending up in the usual RPG trope of "find super fancy magical loot that replaces all your equipment." I much prefer sticking with my skyforged steel sword and carved nordic armor rather than having every character end up in Daedric or Dragonplate (and not just because I find most of the upper level items to be totally ridiculous looking)

[Duck999]

I get that crafting gets you items far superior to those in the game, which really is why I don't use it. I don't want overly overpowered weapons, but I want good weapons, so I use enchanting. I normally use the nightingale blade/bow, windshear, and chill rend in some combination.

[DigoDragon]

By the way: If you're going to buy Hjerim, buy all of its upgrades as well. I ended up skipping the alchemy/enchanting stations initially (because why would I want them?) and once I got around to it, it removed a series of critical containers from my bedroom that stored a lot of my stuff. As in, permanently and without recourse. I didn't catch on to it until coming back from an epic quest, so not much chance of recovery.

Oh that sucks. :/
Hjerim is a nice house otherwise. I've only gotten it once, but it's definitely one of the best (assuming just vanilla homes) with its layout and storage capabilities.

I rarely craft. I know it is a viable and great strategy, but I just don't do it. I find it boring and not productive, and not fun. When you craft items that are too good, the game stops being as fun. My main (level 50 some) is getting into enchanting, but still no crafting. It's just not something I do.

I craft, but I limit myself by not brewing any potions or enchanting clothes that benefit my crafting skill (though if I find items that benefit crafting, that's usually okay since they tend to be small bonuses and found in later levels).

[Mobius Twist]

You can upgrade loot just as far as you can upgrade crafted gear, though. I'm armed with a bunch of unique gear that is also Legendary thanks to Smithing bonuses.

Oh, I'm very aware of that. That said, it's very difficult to level up blacksmithing without crafting anything yourself. I allowed myself all the armor/weapon improvements in this run, but strictly cut out all the creating to see how far my skill would go. Similarly, I can use soul gems to recharge magical items, but I won't disenchant or enchant new ones.

Both enchanting and smithing skills are still in mid-20s skill level after 30 levels of this. My weapons are of (Fine) quality upgrades at the moment. I'm not running with any of the skill boost standing stones and rest (usually, when I remember to) on a daily basis as befits a weary traveler, so I'm definitely getting at least a flat +5% or +10% boost.