Oblivion

[Armulus Satchula]

They just are stacked all into a key chain item. Since it only takes one items slot and keys weight nothing. There is no reason to ever get rid of a key.

[phoenixannwn]

Yes there is. If you actually want to pick the lock (ups your security).
But that's seriously awesome.
And my gold, in Xbox 360, after the first time, my vampire cure glitch broke, and I was so poor. :'[
You can Console yourself rich on PC.

[Armulus Satchula]

I had no need to with like 300 hours of gameplay. :/ I had quite a lot of moneys.

[Comy]

Alchemy in Skingrad is definitely the way to go for bunches of gold. Tomatoes and grapes outside plus plenty of unguarded food to steal from homes and the castle especially.

[Armulus Satchula]

Apples are made to poison people with.

[phoenixannwn]

teeheehee :]
And no, 'cause jewels and dungeon raiding where much easier, and you if you kept using the same fence from the thieves' guild, and just kept his disposition at 100 while slowly haggling in your favor as you sold everything you didn't need...
MO MONIES YO.

[SumBum]

I've started looking at Oblivion and want to try it out, but I'm already stressing out over stats, leveling efficiently, quest order.... I can't help it even though I'm trying to tell myself to just play the game and enjoy it.

Anyway, with Morrowind I played a Dunmer with the intention of making him somewhat of an assassin type class. I'm leaning more toward thief skills this time. Looking at the races, Argonian seems to have very good starting advantages over a couple other races that are supposedly better suited for thieves. Doesn't make sense to me. From an RP standpoint (I know that is really inconsequential but still...) I'd like to play a Bosmer but the site I'm reading says they are crappy at higher levels. I'd much rather look at a cat instead of a lizard while playing but even the Khajiit seem pretty lacking compared to Argonians. *sigh* What to do.....

[phoenixannwn]

Whatever you do, never take the Atronach sign. It's awful. You'll spend the rest of the game obsessively hoarding magicka potions and scheming ways to get ridiculous amounts of money to get more magicka potions. The extra 150 magicka you get is NOT worth the crippling lack of regeneration. *shudders*
As for races, Argonians have the distinct advantage of breathing underwater and never succumbing to poison, but I think it can close off some quest options to you.
As far as underwater goes, there's all sorts of fun amulets that already have that built in, and poison's really easy to avoid. I like Dunmer because of their resistance to fire, which since I often go vampire (I always think it's a good idea ) is very useful. And they're not bad mages or thieves either. I think they're a nice, well rounded character. The wiki's super helpful if you've got any questions:
http://www.uesp.net/

[SumBum]

That's the site I've been reading, but thanks for the suggestion. I definitely would not have chosen the Atronach sign. That just sounded like bad news. I typically pick the one that gives endurance just because I like to boost that as early as possible regardless of class.

I went with the Dunmer in Morrowind because they're kind of a jack-of-all-trades race. I want to push myself to specialize a little more this time. I'll definitely check into the quests before going with the Argonian. Khajiit is still tempting, which I think had some limitations in Morrowind, too. lol I apparently like the underdog slave races for some reason.

[phoenixannwn]

yeah I'm fairly sure there are some Khajit off limits quests, too, because of that whole Argonian-Khajit thing.
Oh, and if you haven't yet--get the plugins! And the two expansion packs. Totally worth it and they are amazing.

[SumBum]

Started playing and already see a lot of things that are greatly improved from Morrowind. I have Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine. Added the keychain mod and a mod called Realistic Leveling. I think that mod right there is going to save my sanity. I need to keep track of how it works after I get a little more time in, though. There are a lot of other mods I'd like to try out that improve the images/sounds/etc.

Wonder if I could install it at work...

[phoenixannwn]

HOLY FREAKING FRICK.
Reading the piece on Skyrim in GI and...*dies*
They're using this AI called "Radiant Story"

The Elder Scrolls V has a remarkable new approach to storytelling in a role-playing game. In Oblivion, Bethesda's Radiant AI technology empowered NPCs to enact their own daily schedules and needs. Radiant story applies the same principle to the much wider experience of moment-to-moment character interactions with the world. Put simply, the Radiant story system is about reacting toplayer actions in everything from the tiniest detail to the broadest plot point. "We're still telling very specific storylines in our main quest and our factions, and all that stuff is done by hand," Howard reaffirms. "But Radiant story allows us to have quests that are flavored dynamically for who you are and where you are." The game itself watches everything you do. What skills have you improved? What places have you visited? Who have you killed? What weapons do you own? Which figures in the world are your friends, and who are your enemies? The answers to these questions create the backbone of your story. If you murder the shopkeeper in Riverwood that might give you a quest, his sister will automatically inherit the shop, and might even offer you the same quest. However, knowing that you killed her brother, she might do so only in anger and frustration.
Out on the street, your magically empowered hero may be approached by another magic-user who wishes to duel. If you had only improved your weapon skills, that character might never appear. Wandering through town, you could enter your inventory and decide to drop a heavy two-handed weapon rather than sell it at a nearby shop. In some instances, the weapon might lie forgotten in the mud. At another time, a young boy might grab it up and rush after you, asking if you had dropped it and might like it back. In a third instance, two burly men might reach the weapon at the same time, and begin to fight over who will take it home. The game eventually logs a huge storehouse of knowledge about how you've played, and subsequently tailors content to your capabilities and experiences. Entering a city, a young woman might approach you and beg you to save her daughter from kidnappers. The game will look at the nearby dungeons you've explored, automatically set the mission in a place you've never visited, and designate opponents that are appropriately matched to your strengths and weaknesses. "To the players, they'll get a quest that we feel is appropriate for who they are and what they're doing at the time," Howard says. In essence, your version of Skyrim will be built to your specific playing style.

11/11/11
(Note: Here's the only sort of readable copy of the GI article that I could fine online: http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php ... ranscript/)

[Comy]

I lust after Skyrim to a ridiculous degree.

[SumBum]

*drools*

And here I thought the way NPCs have more of a life in Oblivion was a vast improvement. Skyrim sounds incredible!

[Andu]

*drools*
Skyrim sounds incredible!

Agreed.