The Elder Scrolls XIII: Born Under a Certain Sign

[Caelestion]

I wouldn't be surprised if he exaggerated the nature of his addiction, simply as a cover.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I wouldn't be surprised if he exaggerated the nature of his addiction, simply as a cover.

I'd gotten this impression too. He's supposed to hold his moon sugar really well; that would be really easy if he wasn't actually doing it, and just threw some empty bottles and moon sugar around his house for appearance sake.

[factotum]

I wouldn't be surprised if he exaggerated the nature of his addiction, simply as a cover.

A cover that potentially draws the attention of the local authorities (since moon sugar and skooma are illegal) is a pretty poor cover. It would be like pretending to be a serial killer to divert attention from your real activities--it would probably work, but the chances of you remaining free to carry out your real task would be low!

[Triaxx]

It seems to me one of the characters mentioned it being a cover. Don't remember who though.

[Caelestion]

Given that the Camonna Tong and Thieves' Guilds operate (almost) openly in Balmora, one of the magistrates is well-known to be corrupt and the entire city is run by House Hlaalu anyway, I'm fairly certain that Hlaalu justice operates on "keep it out of sight and no one will care too much", particularly if one is wealthy or connected enough to get people to look the other way.

[LibraryOgre]

Holding hostage the family of a spymaster seems like the opposite of a good idea to me, though, especially if you want his help.

They left out Caius Cosades response to the messenger.

I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

[Caelestion]

Funnily enough, I was thinking that Caius is either not a very good spy to even have a family in the first place, or he came into the espionage game after previously starting a family.

[Keltest]

Funnily enough, I was thinking that Caius is either not a very good spy to even have a family in the first place, or he came into the espionage game after previously starting a family.

Well its not like the blades are just spies. Theyre the Emperor's bodyguards too, and otherwise act as special forces and elite warriors. He could easily have been reassigned to Morrowind after having started a family in Cyrodiil.

[Triaxx]

Amusing thought: Caius was the last guy they thought might be the Nerevarine, and when he turned out not to be, he got the job as the contact for the next chump chap, IE you.

[Spore]

In my head canon the Nerevarine always had to be a Dunmer. Similar to how the Dragonborn is and always will be Nord to me. (Yes, I thought about Argonians but it just makes a lot more sense to be a Nord combatting Tsun to enter Sovngarde). My hero of Kvatch usually is not Imperial but I feel this is the canon choice here. Though Oblivion is far more liberal in that regard.

With this notion it's preposterous Caius is the Nerevar. The Dunmer are rather xenophobic, and considering you start of with better disposition as a Dunmer with most Dunmer (even in the engine) I feel a Dunmer Nerevar is far better to unite the houses.

[Triaxx]

I'm not saying he was, just that he showed enough signs for the Emperor to say give it a shot.

As for being a Dunmer, considering just how much the houses seem to bicker and fight, I doubt the entire tribunal could unite them for more than a couple weeks.

[factotum]

In my head canon the Nerevarine always had to be a Dunmer. Similar to how the Dragonborn is and always will be Nord to me.

Neither are actually supported by the storyline of the games in question, though. For a start, we know that the entire Imperial family up until the Oblivion crisis were Dragonborn, so being a Nord definitely isn't a requirement for that. As for the Nerevarine, he's supposedly a reincarnation of Nerevar, and reincarnation does not require you to be born into the same race (or even the same *form*, depending how you interpret it) as the original.

[Talion]

Amusing thought: Caius was the last guy they thought might be the Nerevarine, and when he turned out not to be, he got the job as the contact for the next chump chap, IE you.

The big problem with this theory is that the first 4 or so missions he sends you on explicitly involve figuring out what a Nerevarine is and what its supposed to do, along with any pertinent information on related subjects such as its cult and the Sixth House. If Caius was an Imperial attempt to fulfill the prophecies, he would know more about it and not have you spend 25%+ of the story arch trying to figure out/confirm what is going on.

That is, of course, assuming he hadn't died in the attempt like all the other failed incarnates.

[Triaxx]

He mis-read Moon and Star as Moon Sugar. And now doesn't remember any of it.

[Anteros]

So I've been playing ESO with my friend fairly heavily for the last week. I think it's a mistake to force new players to start in Morrowind. I wasn't really enjoying the game at all until we left the expansion area for the mainland. While I loved the original Morrowind game, and it's nice to see the island again...what makes an Elder Scrolls game great is the ability to explore wherever you want and be immersed in a world that actually feels alive. Morrowind is mostly empty and sterile. There's large tracts of land, but there's hardly ever anything to do, and it mostly just feels like an empty wasteland. Even in the cities there are very few NPCs with any type of personality to interact with. It's boring.

I've enjoyed the mainland much more so far. Cities feel like actual cities rather than overgrown crafting stations, and NPCs feel like actual characters instead of emotionless quest dispensers. It's amazing to me that the expansion area is so poorly designed in comparison.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

So I've been playing ESO with my friend fairly heavily for the last week. I think it's a mistake to force new players to start in Morrowind. I wasn't really enjoying the game at all until we left the expansion area for the mainland. While I loved the original Morrowind game, and it's nice to see the island again...what makes an Elder Scrolls game great is the ability to explore wherever you want and be immersed in a world that actually feels alive. Morrowind is mostly empty and sterile. There's large tracts of land, but there's hardly ever anything to do, and it mostly just feels like an empty wasteland. Even in the cities there are very few NPCs with any type of personality to interact with. It's boring.

Inclined to agree; the Vvardenfell main questline was IMO decent but too short, and that mostly applies to the other quests I've done there too. (You've probably got it worse in some respects as a new player; a number of questgivers in Morrowind are reoccurring characters, written with the assumption you already know who these people are. Coldharbour gave me the same problem.) The big benefit in starting out with Morrowind is that it's one less paywall between you and large chunks of content; everything else can be sampled with a one-month sub. They really should have just left it a DLC like everything else.

[Ogremindes]

Spoiler: List of Mods

Show

Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
Campfire: Complete Camping System
Cutting Room Floor
Lore-Based Loading Screens
Run For Your Lives
When Vampires Attack
Ars Metallica
Bandolier: Bags And Pouches Classic
Cloaks & Capes
Craftable Clothing
Immersive Upgrade Leveled Items
Wearable Lanterns
Hearthfire Display Case Fix By Krucify
Non-Automatic Skill Books
Forgotten DungeonsSSE
EasierRider's Dungeon Pack
Moonlight Tales Special Edition
Sacrosanct - Vampires of Skyrim
Thunderchild - Epic Shouts And Immersion
Aurora - Standing Stones of Skyrim
Imperious - Races of Skyrim
Apocalypse - Magic of Skyrim
Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim
Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim
Wildcat - Combat of Skyrim
Thief Skills Rebalance for Ordinator
Apocalypse - Ordinator Compatibility Patch
Frostfall: Hypothermia Camping Survival
iNeed Food Water and Sleep
iNeed Extended
Wet and Cold
True Storms Special Edition - Rain Thunder And Weather Redone
Alternate Start - Live Another Life
VioLens - A Killmove Mod
Slower Companions Advancement Remade
My Home is Your Home
Conveniant Horses

---

Dawnstar Sanctuary, Sun's Dawn 14
The Sanctuary is, at last, complete. Delvin made all the arrangements we needed in refurbishing this old stronghold. In the meantime things have been looking up for the Brotherhood. As word of the Emperor's assassination has spread, so has the reputation of our little family. Contracts have been plentiful, and we even have attracted a couple more Brothers from lost Sanctuaries.

But even as the Brotherhood has been brought back from the brink into new life, my mind begins to wander. The contracts, while plentiful, do not demand my skills. I need new hunts, and challenging prey, not petty nobles and gravediggers. It's time for me to put away my shroud and go after the quarry that brought me to Skyrim in the first place: the Legion. I've prepared a suit of armour, while I prefer my shrouded leathers I feel like I should look something like a soldier before I meet Jarl Ulfric.

---

It's been a while. I stopped doing these because I was sick and it was impacting my writing, and then my PC apparently caught what I had. I've finally got around to getting SkyrimSE set back up on my new hard drive, and ran some radiant missions to get the feel back. I don't normally come back to a save after such a long hiatus, but there's still a lot to see and do with Faris al-Dhiib. Including starting the main quest.

[Caelestion]

If they're available, I'd also recommend Winter Is Coming, Immersive Weapons/Armour and A Matter of Time.

[Ogremindes]

---

The Frozen Hearth, Sun's Dawn 15, Night of the New Moon
I spoke with Ulfric briefly, and while he seems ready to accept any who are willing to fight for him, his right hand man Galmar wants more. He wants to "test" me. I suppose I don't have much of a reputation preceding me, what with the Dawnguard's paranoid secrecy, and the Inner Circle's secrecy, and of course the Brotherhood's secrecy. But still, everyone knows Redguards are natural warriors, and that we have an axe to grind with the Empire.

All I have to do is swim out to an island that's probably the coldest place in Tamriel and kill an ice wraith. I've stopped off in Winterhold to wait out a blizzard and stock up on firewood. Soon I'll head out.

---

---

Candlehearth Hall, Sun's Dawn 16
The trip out and back from Serpentstone Isle was exactly as unpleasant as I had expect. But with Snowbery Extract and fires built both on the island and back on shore I wasn't in much danger. If I hadn't past experience to draw on I may have been in more trouble. I returned to Galmar, who was shocked to see me back. With that out of the way, he had me swear an oath of fealty to Ulfric in the name of Talos. I'm not sure he's aware of how rediculous that is. I'm a Redguard, what do I care who the high king of Skyrim is? And Talos? The god of the Empire isn't a popular guy over in Hammerfell. Still, it serves my purposes, and if the oath becomes inconveniant then Ulfric will just have to have an accident.

My first mission as a Stormcloak will be to retrieve a old Nord crown from a ruin. Not alone, but as part of a force. Galmar expects the Imperials will try to stop us. Good.

---

[Ogremindes]

---

Candlehearth Hall, Sun's Dawn 17
We met up with the advance party near Korvanjund. The Imperials were indeed there ahead of us, somehow informed of the Stormcloak's plans. Nowhere near enough of them, of course. Not with me there. Galmar at least realized I had explored ruins like this before, having me trigger the mechanisms and counter-ambush some Legionaries.

Once we were past the Imperials and a puzzle-lock that they failed to solve, we fought our way through the usual Draugr. With Dawnbreaker's magic they offered even less resistance, even the old king wearing the crown we sought. Galmar entrusted me to deliver the crown to Ulfric. He has another task for me in the meantime, to deliver an axe to the Jarl of Whiterun. The message will be clear I'm assured.

I'll travel via Riften, I need to resupply on crossbow bolts, and it's not too much further than the direct route.

---

---

Helgen, Sun's Dawn 19, Afternoon
As I travelled west from Riften to Whiterun, I approached the gates of Helgen. As I did, I heard an ungodly roar, and saw a great beast fly from the town. As I entered I saw the town was little more than smouldering ruins. I searched around, looking for anyone left alive here, but found no one. Most of the bodies were burned to unrecognizability, but in the keep I found corpses of both Imperials and Stormcloaks. Whatever that monster was, it didn... No.

Sep's lies. That was a dragon.

---

---

Sleeping Giant Inn, Sun's Dawn 19, Evening
I rode hard to Whiterun, and brought news of what I had seen to the Jarl. As I confirmed and elaborated on other reports, he made his plans with his advisers and bid me speak with his court wizard, who had been researching the dragons of old in his own time. He believes an artefact that may shed some light on what became of the dragons, and maybe their apparent return can be found in Bleak Falls Barrow, near Riverwood.

I travelled to Riverwood, arriving near sunset. I asked around town, and discovered a band of thieves had holed up in Bleak Falls, and that they had stolen a "Golden Claw" from the local traders. They wondered why that in particular was targeted in a break in, sounds like those bandits are raiding the ruins and need it to open a puzzle-lock. No mere brigands are going to get in my way, I'll have that claw, and hopefully the artefact too, when I head to the barrow tomorrow.

---

---

Jorrvaskr, Sun's Dawn 20
"Dragonborn" ...what does that even mean? Thu'um... is that what those Draugr were doing? Maybe these Greybeards will be able to tell me more.

I set out for Bleak Falls Barrow shortly before dawn. A snowstorm made the trip more difficult, but the road was good enough for me to find my way. The barrow was much like others I have explored. A handful of bandits had made camp here. Amusingly, one of them ran off on his own with the Claw and got himself caught by a spider. Only a handful of Draugr still protected these halls. In the central chamber slept another Draugr. A stronger one perhaps, but I am very fast, and he had to rise up out of his sarcophagus.

I recovered the Dragon Stone from its corpse. On it is carved a map of Skyrim with a number of locations marked. With that in hand I made my way back to Riverwood to return the Claw, then back to Whiterun. The wizard Farengar was speaking with a woman, the informant that told him of the Stone, and his benefactor in his research before recent events made the Jarl take notice. I couldn't really tell with the hood she wore, but she seemed familiar.

We were prevented from further discussion when word arrived of the dragon showing up again, this time at a watchtower to the west. On the Jarl's request I joined his forces there. I didn't mention this wasn't my first time fighting a dragon.

And this dragon was no Durnehviir. My crossbow tore through its scales. And once it landed to try and fight me directly, well, I had no difficulty carving up its neck with my scimitar. As it perished it cried out. Dovahkiin? Durnehviir did call me Dovah - dragon.

Regardless, as the dragon perished, something strange happened. Its body dissolved into an energy that was drawn into me. And as it did, I felt compelled to cry out into the sky: Fus. A word that moments ago held no meaning, but I now understood to mean force, like a battering wind or the blow of a mace. And as I shouted I felt such force emanating from me, a rush of air thrown up into the sky.

One of the Nord guards recognised that as a "Shout", and called me Dragonborn, one who can kill dragons and steal their power. And as I returned to Whiterun a voice echoed across the land "Dovahkiin".

I returned to the Jarl, who showered me with praise and honours. He also told me I had been summoned by the Greybeards, who dwell atop the highest peak. They are the masters of Shouting, or Thu'um, or so the Nords say.

As an afterthought, I remembered Ulfric's axe, and gave it to the Jarl. Ulfric's message seemed to be a demand for Whiterun to pick a side in the coming war. And it seems they are going to choose the Imperials.

I should head to Ivarstead tomorrow, and then up the 7000 steps. It's going to be a long journey.

---

I've bumped up the difficulty setting in my game. The words "hot knife" and "butter" were coming to mind. With Wildcat, upping the difficulty isn't going to make me hit less hard, quite the opposite, but it will up the risk somewhat.

[Ogremindes]

---

High Hrothgar, Sun's Dawn 21
I rode out to Ivarstead in the morning and, leaving Shadowmere to wait for me at the base of the mountain, began my assent of the 7000 steps to the monastery of the Greybeards. I was about to stop and make camp, as the cold of the mountain had driven through my furs, when I saw the walls of High Hrothgar above me. I pressed on, and was shivering from the cold when I reached the doors.

The Greybeards were... less helpful than I had hoped. They taught me some new words in dragon-tongue, which I soon expressed as Shouts, confirming myself as Dragonborn. But they were coy about explaining anything beyond. "They". Only one of the monks would speak with me. I suppose vows of silence are to be expected. I get the sense that there is more that I should know, but they're keeping that to themselves until I complete another "trial" and retrieve an artefact from another old ruin.

These dragon-words, though. I've seen many of them, in the ruins I've explored. But they wont do me much good without the power I can take from dragons, and I've only seen the one in Tamriel. Maybe this really only amounts to a couple of party tricks and nothing more.

I'll have to spend the night up here. Not that they have a spare bed... or slab for their Dragonborn. So I've just unrolled my bedroll in a secluded corner. Maybe if I ever see another dragon I'll indulge these monks further, I have a message to deliver.

---

---

Stormcloak Camp, Sun's Dawn 22
Come dawn, I made my way back down the steps, and rode off to Windhelm. I gave Ulfic his reply, and soon he gave his order: The Stormcloaks were to rally in Whiterun and prepare to attack. And so I travelled here. I'm somewhat torn, I believe the other Companions have avoided picking a side, and here I am with a war on their doorstep. But this is what I came to Skyrim for. To pay back blood for blood. The attack will be tomorrow.

---

---

Candlehearth Hall, Sun's Dawn 23
I should have felt more in the attack. Some of those men I had fought alongside only days ago. But I was almost in a trance, and foe after foe fell to my Red Sand Dance. Such was my state that I lept through a hole in the crumbling walls alone, leaving me surrounded and cut off. But I prevaled, and from there lowered the drawbridge to let the Stormcloaks into the city. The rampage continued through the streets and up to the palace, where the erstwhile Jarl Balgruuf made his stand. But he, in the end, surrendered.

I was exausted from the fighting, but I rode back to Windhelm, to report our success. He's given me a promotion, of sorts, instructing me to fight the Imperials however I see fit. I should check in with Galmar every so often, though.

But now I can finally get some rest. I should speak with the Companions soon. I suspect I'll need to mend some bridges.

---

---

Falkreath Hold, Sun's Dawn 24
As I left Windhelm I saw a large shadow pass me. It took me a moment to realise what I had seen, and a moment after that, a dragon was attacking Windhelm. I fought the beast, as I had before, but this one was strong, far stronger than the one that attacked Whiterun. But after a hard-fought battle I claimed its power. The word Su, air, was now part of me.

I shall have to peruse this further, follow the Greybeards guidance. But first, I travelled back to Jorrvaskr. As I feared, Kodlak wanted to speak with me, but it wasn't about Stormcloaks, or even dragons. He admonished Aela and I for perusing a vendetta against the Silver Hand, and then asked me to bring him the head of a Glenmoril Witch.

The Glenmoril Witches were a coven of Hagravens devoted to Hercine. They are what made the Companions werewolves, as part of a contract hundreds of years ago. Kodlak seeks to cure himself, and I owe him my assistance in this, even if I don't understand it.

So I rode out to Falreath, and to the cave that the coven called home. Their magicks could do little against my strength, and so I killed the lot of them, claiming their heads. I believe the brothers also would wish to cure themselves.

Galmar has set up camp in Falkreath. Since I'm here, I should see if he needs me for anything. Not that the war seems so important with dragons in the skies.

---

And I may just drop the difficulty back down to Adept, 'cause damn the damage from Ancient Dragons is spiky. I may need to look at getting some perks sure up my defences, but there's some new perks in Ordinator, added in the last couple of months, that I want. I don't think going for Mocking Blow is going to help much against dragons. Upgrading and using the Shield of Solitude would probably help, I usually go shieldless, and there's very little advantage to having an empty hand.

[Triaxx]

Perhaps the Targe of the Blooded? Nothing like a bit of bonus bleed damage.

And so... Skyrim Special Edition is getting a Survival Mode. It'll apparently be free for a week on launch, but... well, it's F4's Survival mode, but with a bit of Skyrim flavoring sprinkled in. Translation: Mods do it better.

[Balmas]

I'm glad that SKSE for Skyrim Special Edition came out recently. It means I can just set the game to only update when I launch it, and then never use steam to launch it, and avoid all the friggin' Creation Club content. It's already polluted Fallout 4, but I'm not gonna let it touch my Skyrim install.

[Balmas]

UPDATE: So, we have a new press update on the new Survival mode coming as part as the creation club. From what we see, it's like a mix between Frostfall and Realistic Needs and Diseases. Oh, and it costs eight dollars.

Other stuff from the Skyrim creation club includes crab armor, and three things reused from Oblivion... all of which are already available on a free mod. Sigh.

[Mando Knight]

Skyrim's Survival Mode will also be 100% off for the first week after its release, to coax players into trying the new mode.

It's also possible that Chesko (the author of Frostfall) had a hand in this, since it's known that he's one of the modders Bethesda contacted for making Creation Club content. As an advantage over running a half-dozen mods to get the same effects, Survival Mode will apparently use only one .esl file, making it significantly lighter on the engine's limit for plugins.

[Caelestion]

Well, on the Nexus forums, I read that the survival mode ESL does not have Bethesda's initials in it, so it was done by an external contractor.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

This is somewhat off-topic from the Creation Club, but something I just noticed. Prequel updated!

[Triaxx]

I'm not sure if Incendiary Flow is the most overpowered spell in Apocalypse, but it's certainly the most entertaining.

[Spore]

I want to try an Illusion Mage via Ordinator, any recommendations? Which skill trees should I compliment it with? I had great fun with the perk overhaul's Lockpicking and Pickpocketing mini games but Skyrim is Skyrim so you still need something to violently murder people. Would an Illusion Mage use decked out followers/summons for that?

[Rynjin]

I enjoyed comboing Illusion with Stealth, One-Handed, and Conjuration.

Conjuration is there for bodyguards in case something goes wrong.

Then just Calm any enemies, sneak, and dagger them for a likely OHKO. Get a bit of Alchemy in there for poisons if you want a confirmed kill.