Skyrim II: A Dragon A Day Keeps The Draugr At Bay

[Dralnu]

On the other hand, Lycanthropy does nothing after level 30 or so so I'd suggest you avoid keeping either of them on that character.

Disagree. Besides being a complete badass, werewolf form's sprint is faster than your horse and it lasts a generous amount of time. Level 42, I still use it to traverse fairly short distances in the world and nomnom faces.

The "downside" is negligible too. I honestly don't care if my skills level up slower. If anything, it's a blessing in disguise to me because it keeps stuff more challenging for me until the raw advantages of my high level outpaces anything the game can throw at me. And it doesn't stop you from powering up a skill if you want to, smithing iron daggers / duct taping your block button / spamming water breathing in shallow water console commands still works , it just takes a bit longer (except for console commands).

Vampiric drawbacks suck though.

[AgentPaper]

Get a Dragon Priest to mind control him.

Or just kill him. I don't care about him really. The other Jarls are much more likeable. Heck, most of the thieves and some of the Dark Brotherhood are more likeable.

Also, I am kind of sad there is already a new thread posted (so hasty!). I kind of had prepped a post so that the first post of the new thread would have links to a bunch of cool mods and so I could update it with more of that kind of stuff. (I always like it when the first post of a big thread-chain like these has a bunch of cool stuff in it rather than a single sentence.)

You could just post the new thread anyways. The other thread doesn't have any posts in it yet, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

[Bad Situation]

Or marriageable. I'd marry Vex in an instant otherwise.

Marriage/Companion Mod - I haven't actually used it, but here you go.

[Gaelbert]

Say, I had a quick question: Is vampirism worth it? Worth the downsides, I mean? I'm playing a greatsword-swinging, bow-shooting, stealthy Nord, if it makes a difference.

I'm playing a stealthy vampire khajit assassin. Since I'm basically just running through the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves' Guild questlines, I haven't had to do much open combat. My motto is "If I get hit, I've done something wrong." I've been able to clear most dungeons and missions without anyone noticing me, let alone hitting me. I wield two daggers and get x30 with my sneak attack, so there's nothing I haven't been able to one shot yet. However, when I do screw up, I get murdered very, very quickly, although I'm not sure how much of that is because of my incredibly low skill level in armor, the fact that I generally don't wear armor, or the drawbacks to vampirism.
So here's what it boils down to:

If you're prepared to sneak through all of the dungeons, and put in the extra time to prepare rather than just rushing in to each room, then it's worth it.

The lack of regeneration and weakness to fire would be a pain, but my playstyle doesn't rely on either of those, so I haven't particularly noticed it. If you do a lot of running around outside, the lack of regeneration likely will kill you though.

Feeding isn't that big of a deal. You just need to remember to do it before reaching stage 4 (unless, of course, you want to reach stage 4. I do that occasionally for certain missions.) If you do hit stage 4, just port to the Thieves' Guild or the Dark Brotherhood and feed on one of them. Neither groups are hostile to a stage 4 vampire, if, of course, you're a member. If you're not a member of either group, then it might be a little more difficult. But it should be easy enough to sneak into an inn or house, especially with your invisibility power.

The powers: Really the only one I've used is the invisibility one. A lot of the time it's not strictly necessary, as my sneak (with the handy vampire bonus) is high enough to run circles around enemies, but it's come in handy. If you want to eliminate a boss character without dealing with his minions, invisibility comes in handy for your escape. It also negates much of the problem of being hunted on sight as a stage 4, meaning that you can move around a town without being killed. It's a better invisibility than the Shadow Stone and the Thieves' Guild power, as you can interact with certain objects without losing the invisibility and it lasts much longer. It is only once per day, but when you play as an assassin you take quite a long time to complete each mission.

As for the other powers, I never really use them. The frost resistance is nice, it makes killing frost mages much easier (but of course, you should be one-hitting them with a sneak attack anyways). I don't use destruction, so I don't know about the "drain health" power, but it looks nice. You also get a bonus to illusion (which I'm still considering whether or not I want to dabble in), and a calming power. I haven't used either.

So if you're a sneak attack player, it's definitely worth it. But since it sounds like you're using a greatsword, I'm not sure how much this would line up with your playstyle. And since the drawbacks are pretty immense, I wouldn't recommend going vampire unless the benefits are exactly aligned with your playstyle of choice.

[factotum]

Gaelbert, sounds like an interesting way of playing the game. One question, though: how do you handle flame-breath dragons? Weakness to fire against a creature that isn't really susceptible to being sneak attacked sounds like a big problem!

[Gaelbert]

Gaelbert, sounds like an interesting way of playing the game. One question, though: how do you handle flame-breath dragons? Weakness to fire against a creature that isn't really susceptible to being sneak attacked sounds like a big problem!

I don't. I haven't played any of the main quest (it's not conducive to my specialization), and certainly not far enough to have random dragons come at me. However, if this did happen, I'd probably run away. If at all possible, I'd run until I found some other enemies who could take care of the dragon for me, then I'd swoop in at the end and try to clean up the scraps. But mainly, I'd just run away.
Also, they aren't susceptible to sneaking? I thought I'd heard some anecdotal stories about sneak attacking dragons...

[Avilan the Grey]

Or marriageable. I'd marry Vex in an instant otherwise.

I was just going to ask about marriage... Margat finally has Aela as a companion and she want to marry her... Where is that amulet?

[Tome]

Also, they aren't susceptible to sneaking? I thought I'd heard some anecdotal stories about sneak attacking dragons...

You can sneak around them. Problem is that they're almost always found already in the air, or perched on high-up, hard to reach rocks. Which makes sneak attacking them with anything but a bow somewhat challenging.

And even then, they have a lot more health than pretty much anything else in the game, so unless you've been seriously pimping your archery sneak attacks, you're unlikely to take them out in one hit.

[Volthawk]

Also, they aren't susceptible to sneaking? I thought I'd heard some anecdotal stories about sneak attacking dragons...

I guess they are, but the problem is getting the sneak attack off. The ones that live at certain places would be easier to sneak up on and attack, but I'd imagine you'd have a problem with the random ones that pop up and attack, usually when you fast travel to a city.

[Morph Bark]

You could just post the new thread anyways. The other thread doesn't have any posts in it yet, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

I shall do that then. I'll post the link soon (either edited in this post or in a new one if someone posts after this post).

Marriage/Companion Mod - I haven't actually used it, but here you go.

...including this. Bad Situation, I love your powers of linkage.


EDIT: Here it is, links and all. I wasn't sure about the thread title, but I have a feeling that as a joke I may just continuously edit the thread title with "arrow in the knee" jokes. Or not. We'll see.

[nhbdy]

I shall do that then. I'll post the link soon (either edited in this post or in a new one if someone posts after this post).



...including this. Bad Situation, I love your powers of linkage.


EDIT: Here it is, links and all. I wasn't sure about the thread title, but I have a feeling that as a joke I may just continuously edit the thread title with "arrow in the knee" jokes. Or not. We'll see.

better thread than mine, and lesson learned about hastily posting, won't happen again, sorry to any it inconvenienced.

EDIT: found a poor soul on the bethesda forums: http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...7e-2966186.jpg

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I was just going to ask about marriage... Margat finally has Aela as a companion and she want to marry her... Where is that amulet?

Go to the Temple of Mara in Riften and speak to one Maramal. He'll explain marriage in Skyrim and offer to sell you the Amulet of Mara for 200 septims.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Money hungry Vex.
Crackpot theorist Delvin.
Honorable reformed bandit Thrynn.
Vipir, the guy who ran halfway across the country because he forgot about his horse.
Bro-njolf the guy who always has your back.

Yup, lovable rogues. Too bad none of them are recruitable companions.

They're also all criminals and thugs. No self-respecting paladin would stoop to associate with them!

[Avilan the Grey]

Go to the Temple of Mara in Riften and speak to one Maramal. He'll explain marriage in Skyrim and offer to sell you the Amulet of Mara for 200 septims.

Thank you, good sir.

Edit: They are now happily married...
Spoiler request:

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The quill lost in the lake? I get no questmarker for that one... how do I proceed to find it?

[Thanatos 51-50]

Thank you, good sir.

Edit: They are now happily married...
Spoiler request:

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The quill lost in the lake? I get no questmarker for that one... how do I proceed to find it?

Spioiler Answer!

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If you're Argonian or have water-breathing this is a lot easier (due to the lack of an oxygen meter).
1) Go out to the Riften Docks
2) commence swimming towards Goldenglow Estate
3) Ensure you can see the bottom of the lake at all times.
4) When you see a sunken Rowboat, that's your target, It should be about halfway between the docks and Goldenglow.
5) Pick the lock n the strongbox

[Gaius Marius]

better thread than mine, and lesson learned about hastily posting, won't happen again, sorry to any it inconvenienced.

EDIT: found a poor soul on the bethesda forums: http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...7e-2966186.jpg

Don't feel to bad. I practically wrote the book on posting threads too early. :-)

And the reason I felt like doing so (a joke about The Immigrant Song) was replaced by a much better Doctor joke...

[Sipex]

Had the most amazing time playing this weekend and the best part is, I was only really questing for about 15% of the time.

It all started when, at level 8, I decided to go visit the College in Winterhold...

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First thing I do, since I feel rich and Whitehorse (or whatever it's called) doesn't seem to have anything else worth buying for a mage, I spend what money I have left on a horse to accompany me on the journey and proceed to head out eastward.

Barely out of town an ice dragon lands and starts stirring up trouble. The guards all go beserk and start their thing, I run in, my horse runs in and then I accidentally fireball a guard. Suddenly I'm the bad guy and the guards introduce me to their weapons.

Reload and cross the same area, this time the dragon passes overhead but decides not to land.

I uncover some sort of temple on the road eastward and a blessing stone being guarded by a necromancer. A well placed Fire Rune spell later and I have some new robes I can leech a 75% increased mana regen off of for later. Turns out the Blessing Stone is necromancy by the way (shock).

En-route Northward I decide to veer off the main road to cut through the wilderness because travelling on the road is for ******* and almost immediately die from sudden cliffs a few times. Picking my way through the wilderness I finally cut across the river north (my horse can apparently swim).

Things start getting snowy and I come across an old fort of some kind which is not related to my journey in any way at all, so naturally I get off my horse and head right in. Some group called the Silver Hand has set up shop here (judging from what I've gleaned from a few posts, they're fairly major, eh?) and I'm not entirely sure why they want me dead on sight but they all have quite pricey armor so I'm happy to liberate it from their bodies.

Found a bunch of werewolf corpses and finally a living werewolf locked up in a cell. I try to talk to him and he's not really all that interested but since the lock is master level and I'm addicted to picking locks I open it thinking "Oh boy, now I get a new friend!"

One reloaded save later and I decide the werewolf can stay in his cell, no matter HOW hard the lock is to open. It's just not worth it.

Found some sort of boss at the end of this place, had a flaming axe. Not sure I was supposed to fight him yet since he'd kill me in two hits but I fought him (and died many times) before working out a winning strategy and getting some very nice gear off him which I'll leech the enchantments off of later.

Winning strategy:

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1) Cast Fire Rune between me and him.
2) Blast him with firebolt to lure him my way.
3) Run until my mana regens.
4) Repeat.

Finally reached Ulfric Stormcloak's city (can't remember the name offhand) after my excursion and kind of joined the Stormcloak Rebellion. Got asked to take out an Ice Wraith. Also, planted a ring in some woman's house and got paid to do it!

Didn't spend a long time here, was out before the day was done and back on the road.

Somehow ('somehow') I ended up in the middle of the mountains, far away from the road. This has nothing to do with a cave which I randomly decided I was going to hunt down. Ran into a group of bandits fighting a Snow Wolf or two. Joined sides with the bandits and killed the Snow Wolf...then killed the bandits.

Found a cave full of large, black centipede-like creatures who spit...something and the gollum-esque humanoids who live alongside them. Killed a few of both (although the humanoids were incredibly tough, doing 3/4ths my health in damage with a single arrow) before I was inevitably chased out of the caves. Marked the caves for future purging as I fled.

Found out just how hard Snow Wolves are when you don't have a group of bandits to weather the damage for you. Finally (after many tries) killed a group of two Snow Wolves and four Wolves by heroically perching on a stone, heroically out of reach and blasting them with fire...heroically.

Ran into a group of Companions fighting a couple Ice Wraiths. The Companions completely destroyed the Wraiths before I could react. Thank gods these weren't the Wraiths I was looking for...

Found an abandoned temple full of loot, now it's just an abandoned temple.

Found an abandoned camp with no loot but a single, random horse just sort of sitting around. No option to steal the horse either, just ride it. I wait for several in game hours to see if anyone shows up and nobody does. I determine the horse must've set up this camp himself and leave my horse alone with him to chill while I go swimming in ice water.

Figured out how to fill Soul Gems right around the time I ran into Horkers. Now I have a bunch of Horker souls trapped in gems.

Found out just how hard it is to take on an Ice Wraith. Even after taking a Frost Resistance Potion it manages to nearly kill me in one direct hit. I decide the best strategy is simply to not get hit and I proceed to take advantage of the fact that it seems to only be able to shoot bursts of cold in straight lines. Turn on Yakety-Sax while the next ten minutes consists of myself and the Wraith running up and down the island blasting fire and ice back and forth at each other. I won.

Found another cave completely by accident and not at all because I saw the marker and said to myself "Oooh! Cave!"

Met my first Troll (Frost Troll!) in said cave and managed to deplete his health by 3/4ths while kiting him around his lair. At this point I run into my second and third trolls who show me the meaning of teamwork like we're watching an anime re-dubbed by 4kids (Hint: It's not friendship). Cave is marked for purging at a much later time.

Come across a little cubby ruin where a bandit has set up shop and proceeds to attack me on sight. One Fire Rune spell later and I'm looting hefty amount of potions, alchemy ingrediants and recipes. Meanwhile, his buddy returns home wielding a magic greataxe and ambushes me at the entrance while I'm in the process of leaving. After a close battle I'm so encumbered by valuable (but heavy) gear that I can only walk a slow pace without my horse.

About 15 minutes outside Winterhold I come across a Fire Mage Apprentice and an Ice Mage Apprentice duelling. I sit on the sidelines and root for the Fire Mage since I'm kind of partial to fire spells at this time and he responds by losing by a landslide.

At this point the Ice Mage decides I'm next (although I'm not sure why) so I'm forced to take advantage of his low health and my full mana bar and eventually encumber myself even further.

What's sad is the Fire Mage probably would've attacked me too...

About 10 a minute walk (slow walk) outside Winterhold my horse and I get attacked by a pair of Snow Wolves. My horse is killed in the ensuing battle (does his health regen over time? He died really fast). I slowly, slowly walk the last 10 minutes to Winterhold.

Finished my journey at level 10.

TLDR; The best adventures are the ones you make up yourself.

[Person_Man]

OK, so I'm now 100+ hours into the game, and I wish that someone had posted a list like this when I started:

Things to do early in the game:

• The main Whiterun->Greybeard quests (lets you buy a house in Whiterun, spawns dragons, grants numerous Shouts)
• Find the more useful Standing Stones.
• Whichever Dragon Priest Mask(s) best suites your build
• Whichever Daedric Artifacts best suite your build
• The Heart of Dibella (+10% melee damage)
• The Book of Love (+15% resist magic)
• Unfathomable Depths (+25% armor rating if wearing all Dwarvern Armor, Smithing increases +15% faster)
• Meet Enthir at the College of Winterhold (sells rare Daedra hearts)
• Frostflow Lighthouse (+10% from healing spells)

Things to do later in the game:

• Most quests involving a leveled item, including the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and most Thane quests.
• Miscellaneous Quests in general, which usually provide random level dependent treasure.
• Just walk around and explore for the sake of exploring, going into and clearing random dungeons, caves, and buildings. You could easily spend 40+ hours doing this early in the game, and things will get very difficult for your character at mid-levels because you don't bother to unlock any Shouts.
• Grinding any Skill (such as Persuade, Sneak, Smithing, Enchantment, etc). Grinding any Skill increases the difficulty of the game. The increase at low levels is dramatic, and can make the game unplayable (without changing the settings). Doing so at higher levels (when you basic combat Skills are already high, and you have plenty of potent equipment) has less of an effect on the game's difficulty.