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Returned to Oblivion recently after well, since the time I owned Skyrim which is quite a while.

Today, I did a few quests, explored a an ayleid ruin and shut an Oblivion Gate. Really regretting my close every single one i see approach thus altered to come back with far more powerful magic. Hitting the point where I have to try to keep up with the magic due to enemies becoming bigger threats. Almost died a few times. Really dreading the quests involving other NPCs. Really going to consider turing down the diffculty to very easy in a bid to keep them alive.

I have recently installed Oblivion on my PC. It's been a very long time since I've played it, but it still manages to be a rather charming game. Today I visited an unused cell that was likely going to be a part of one of the Shivering Isles quests. It was pitch black in most areas, so I couldn't even take a good screenshot like I wanted to. Drats.

Closed a few gates, did a few quests, did Nocturnal's quest(which actually felt like I had to work for the reward) and explored ruins. I got trolled. Hard. Bloody things killed me 4-5 times so far and always when i'm out of magicka! Ruddy things! I am starting to recall why i hate the scaling. A journey from save point to SKingrad took me half an hour! Half a freaking hour! Also decided to not horde enchanted swords that i've made. Takes up space and don't have the space for displaying in the imperial shack. I got some powerful magic and planning to do two recommendation quests every in game month to simulate a realistic(ish) passage of time and showing that it is time consuming. I....

Kinda save scummed to get a sigil stone that gave me 10pts of Spell Absorb to boost it to 74 points(Atronauch birthsign, found a necklace in the deadlands) in a bid to manage the lack of magicka. At the moment, I run out easily and don't recover it well.

You must have horrible luck then, I'm practically swimming in Magicka potions through most of my runs. Though here's a tasty hint, you know those Ayleid wells you run across from time to time? Tagging one of those is a great way to get a big refill of Magicka when you have Spell Absorbtion. Worthless when you're in the middle of a dungeon, true, but very handy when your out in the field doing some exploration.

I know. I just need to brew more potions when I can and focus on getting absorb up to 100%. Once it's that, i should have no trouble being filled with magicka. I use shrines of the nine, stones and wells when potions cannea be used. I am hoping that I will reach the 1k Magicka mark without the aid of enchantments but I think 6 or 7 hundred is the realistic option. Probably have to use fortify stuff to push it up to 1k.

I've decided I hate trolls now. They are little aggressive [&@%!] that curbstomped me a few times because I was out of magicka. Seriously, screw trolls!

If I'm doing my math right, the highest you can hit in the game without item enchantments is 450, 200 from 100 Intelligence, 100 from being an Altmer and 150 from having the Atronach birthsign. While impressive, it does mean you'll most likely have to blow sigil stones if you want to get over a thousand.

And don't feel bad, we all hate trolls. It's why I started carrying fire-based things on all my characters. Blasted trolls.

Checked the wiki and the highest with enchantments is 1k. Think it'll be 500 at the most for natural magicka limit or 600. I do hope 74pts in Absorb Spell will solve my issues with no magicka and turn me into a walking mage of death. "Oh noes! you hit me with a spell! AND NOW IT'S MY TURN! MWAHAHAHAHA!" Spell,spell, kill. I may try to build reflect up to a decent percentage but i get the feeling absorb would override it and make it pointless.

I hate trolls. They hit fast and hard. I mean, i appericate the challenge but not when i'm going from place to place on the road! They are too darn speedy! It is enough to make me consider breaking my no fast travel rule. That or put it on the lowest setting. :-/

Well don't forget, as the player, you have one AMAZING power at your disposal that no NPC can match, whether they be beastie, daedra, human or mer. The ability to jump and climb. Keep an eye out, look for something you can get a height advantage on.

My magicka issues are over! Today, I kinda aquired a ton of potions thanks to necromancers, did Glarthir's quest. Rushed it as i felt it was tying me down to Skingrad and whilst it is a superb quest, it's kinda boring to just spy on the NPCs. I closed a few gates. Tried to save scum my way into another magicka absorb stone. Didn't happen. Got the spell from Anvil. Not much but useful in a pinch and thought of several custom spells. Taken to using a shield for blocking as the game is upping the foes and sword no longer cuts it. Using a Drem long sword. Will enchant once I have the ability to repair it or it'll be midly useful. Probably get Azura's Star soon.

I may resume the main quest soon. Been an in game month since the intro and feel that it is long enough for Baurus to do what he needed to do. Then probably follow through with the next two quests, put it on pause again, become more powerful in the process and am a bit tempted to do the KOTN quest as i've saved in Anvil. Want to hold off on that for better KOTN armour and rewards. Level 13 atm. Started to use trainers to boost some skills and the loot is starting to get a bit silly. I am making at least 1k every time I sell it. Will get Berius Manor tonight or tomorrow as i need a bigger place then the shack in the IC. Just waiting for the rumour. I may start the Pilgramage quest as well, i've kinda unintentionally gone on most of one due to Atronauch and would give me a lot to work with for writing.

Really need to put more thought into names of crafted stuff. Probably aim for heavy armour as the main armour skill. Just may have to use that around level 20 due to powerful foes and magicka being a constant risk.

Closed a lot of gates, did more quests and became a gosh darn action hero.


I completed Anvil,Skingrade Mage's Guild Recommendation quests and I love them. They actually feel as if they are trival and just dumped on me because I am new, I want a recommendation and they need someone to sort it out. Completed Siren's Deception and was glad that the ghost remains despawned after the completion of the quest. Always hated having those remains in the mansion. Spent half an hour decorating the place and closed the Anvil gate.

I did 3 main quests. I slaughtered the Mythic Dawn like minor Scamps. I am loving the powerful area of effect Destruction spells. Tis rather amusing to see groups of enemies get blasted back as they are killed. Skyrim has the better melee combat but magic? Oblivion has far more variety.

I am putting the main quest on hold again to focus on other quests. AIm to have entered the Arcane Uni before i resume it. Just Chorrol, Cheydinhall and Bruma left. Going to get the Akaviri quest done in the next few days. The gates are starting to become a bit tedious but i'm 40-60 hours in and it's only now that it's entered the "Oh man, another gate? Guess I close it." Terrority. Did two Daedra quests. Probably do Sheogorath's on the way to Lewaylin. Azura is a bit of a priority for soul trap purposes and well, carrying around an entire guildhall's worth of Soul Gems takes up a lot of room. I've not nicked any. Just literally finding enough in the deadlands that it could supply a guildhall.

Really need to get better summons and I shall.

Killed Kurdan gro-Dragol and saved an elf from his own Dreams.

I was walking around Bruma today when I realized that every single one of the guards was giving me hate. And I had no idea why. I mean, their dispositions were all at 16, and I couldn't remember doing anything to upset them.

Then I went into my inventory and saw the Gray Cowl. Oh yeah, forgot about that. I'm a notorious thief. I've got an infamy of 30 and half of my possessions are stolen. That'd probably explain things.

This is the first character where I've had more infamy than fame. I'm not used to being hated.

Don't feel bad, infamy is (semi-)easy to get rid of, just gotta go on a pilgrimage.

That's what I've heard. I'll probably wait to do one until I go to do the MQ, though. I mean, I plan to just spend some time wandering with this character. I don't really care what the townsfolk think of me, for now.

Reinstalled Oblivion on my new gaming laptop and got my mod configuration the way I like it. Playing a stealth-based character and joined the thieves' guild right away.
I've been sticking close to the Imperial City to build up some resources, then planning a crime spree in Bruma. Currently working on slaughtering some slaughterfish. 9 down, 3 to go.

Today was level 10 day. Lots to do--Brotherhood of Blood to get Sunfire ring, Meridia's shrine to get ring of Kajiiti, Peryite's shrine to get Spell Breaker shield, Nocturnal's shrine to get the skeleton key, lots of boring Thieves guild quests working towards the ones that can help me build up sneak points.

I killed a minotaur lord with a rusty iron axe and then discovered I wasn't wearing any pants.

Slaying them in your sleep, perhaps?

I probably switched into some greaves while trying to drop them onto the ground, then wasn't paying attention after I did drop them. It was just a bit embarassing to be excited about having my big orc be so tough then having him pop up on the screen wearing his diapers/nappies.

Sounds akward, indeed

Legion corruption truly runs deep. After being arrested and breaking out, Audens Avidius obviously looks to kill you. However, if you encounter him in the Imperial City, the local guard will actually side with him, and you will end up with a bounty. Imperial pigs.

Those guys like to stick together.

I usually encounter Audens again in the sewers, although during my current game it was on the road to Cheydinhal, or maybe it was the road that goes south along the waterfront from Cropsford to Leyawiin. I just remember him coming up on my suddenly and attacking. I think there may have even been an Imperial Legion guard on horseback who dismounted and killed Audens for me. That might work inside the Imperial City, too-- don't attack him, just let him attack you, run from him if you need to, and maybe the guards will rush in to stop the assault on you.

The wiki has this to say about Audens Avidius:

"Since he is an escaped prisoner the local Imperial Guard will attack him on sight, making no attempt to arrest him again, so if you don't want to fight Audens you can let the Imperial Guard take care of him."

Seems to me that the quest failed to correctly alter some of Audens' Faction Alliances for some reason. I suppose it might also be possible, if the player is extremely close to Audens' spawn point, that the game just didn't have the time to alter his Factions before he attacked the player...?

Glarthir might have been right all along. If you leave him to his own devices, the guards will kill him, but during that fight, the guards kill Tamika, too, for some reason. After the fall of the Mythic Dawn, Isolde tries to turn her life around by fighting the Clarabella pirates. It ends tragically. The ship was too cramped, so I decided to take the fight with the Clarabella pirates outside. Doing so causes them to fight everyone on the docks. Isolde obviously fights them in her Mythic Dawn armor.

I haven't played in about a year, but the Shooting through Ayleid gates post gave me a reason.
This game start was to see what were the best dungeons to quickly, but naturally, build Marksman skill, Endurance and Strength. I will post the useful stuff first so you don't have to slog through my verbiage if you don't want to.

Guranteed Zombie Dungeons (Zombies at level 1)

Zombies normally show up in undead dungeons at level 4 but several dungeons have dedicated zombies the start of the game. Note that their numbers in undead dungeons are diluted by ghosts beginning at level 6, so it is best to take advantage of their abundance before then.

Collector Quest*
Vilverin (2 zombies, skeletons, bandits)
Ninendava (3 zombies, skeletons, vampires)
Culotte (6 zombies, only zombies)
Wendalbek (3 zombies, necros)
Mackmentain (2 zombies, necros, undead)
--Welke* (~3 zombies at level 4--undead)
--Wenyandawik* (~3 zombies at level 4--undead)
--Wendir* (~3 zombies at level 4, 5 permanent ghosts)
*The Collector quest undead dungeons (Welke, Wendir, and Wenyandawik) are included as an addition even though they will not have zombies until level 4. If relying on silver arrows, which appear in loot chests at level four, to kill ghosts, Wendir should be done last because it always has five ghosts. Hrotanda Vale, a bandit-infested Ayleid ruin just north of Chorrol, also has permanent ghosts (2).

Independent Dungeons
Kemen** (4 zombies, skeletons, **16 silver arrows)
Ondo (4 zombies, monsters)
Amelion Tomb (4 zombies, skeletons, ghost boss at level 1, 2&3)
Hame* (2 zombies, necros, undead*)
Underpall* (1 to 5 zombies, 3 to 10 undead*)
**Other than on Imperial guards, Kemen is the only place to find silver arrows at level 1. You are given a marker for it by the Cheydinhall merchant, Borba gra-Uzgash.

Quest Dependent
Bleak Flats (Mages Guild)
Nenyond Twyll (Mages Guild - Mucianus)
Vahtacen (Mages Guild - early levels with boss ?)
Miscarcand (Main Quest)


Today I fast-tracked (rapidly built up combat skills w/o grinding, spamming, or cheating) a bow user by concentrating on zombie (for Marksman), bandit (for Armorer/Endurance), and monster dungeons (for melee/Strength). The reason for playing this way at the start of the game was to quickly max out Marksman skill and become Expert in Armorer (for the base damage bonus) to free up major supporting skills for use by the time tougher "common soul" monsters show up. It is a low/no record keeping, natural play method for efficient leveling.

My play pattern was to 1) Save game when the sleep icon appeared as a way to record starting points, then 2) Fix saved armor and weapons for 3-4 points before purchasing five Armorer points from a trainer. 3) Sleep to level up and then fight melee in monster(imps)/skeleton dungeons with rusty iron weapons or H-to-H for ten skill points. 4) Switch to bows and clear out some bandit dungeons to collect more damaged gear, always repairing my bows to make up the few absent Armorer points needed for a +5 Endurance bonus. 5) Go to zombie statue dungeons to pay for my next training points and build up Marksman to level up--making sure to top off the last points needed on my Armorer skill (using a damaged rusty iron bow reduces damage, so I often used and repaired the fine steel bow for non zombies). I saved game when the sleep icon appeared and repeated.

The result for my custom female Bosmer (stealth specialty, warrior sign, custom bonus in strength and endurance) upon her waking up at the start of level 5 after clearing out only the ten Collector statue ruins, the five independent zombie dungeons, six bandit dungeons, and a couple of bandit camps was Marksman (major skill) at 79 and Armorer (minor skill) at 53. Skill points for Strength bonuses were evenly distributed among the three melee skills (minor skills). My only major skill increase other than Marksman was one point in Acrobatics (none in Sneak). Attributes at the start of level 5 were; Endurance 65, Agility 70, and Strength 65. She accomplished all of this using a rusty iron bow 99% of the time.

I did not wear shoes so I did not need to sneak to get in range for long shots. There is nothing of great value in locked chests (except sometimes in monster dungeons starting at level 3) so I conserved Security points by ignoring locked common chests and using the Warden's Key spell from the Tower stone located across the bay from the Waterfriont fast travel landing site for boss chests.

I will put the character build in the 'Post your character' thread.

Lobbing arrows by "string plucking" (what I call "zombie tapping") nearly quadrupled my shot number (0.27 damage), so a zombie that would normally take fourteen full-draw arrows to kill would take around fifty. You cannot safely do this with most enemies. Zombies are good for it because their style of attack allows you set up a rhythm of firing at point blank range, tapping the fire control to start the next shot, stepping back for protection from a strike, and then stepping back into range as the shot is released.

Zombies normally show up in undead dungeons at level four, but there are ten all-access dungeons that contain zombies at the start of the game. Five of these are part of The Collector quest. Umbacano gives you markers for three (Mackamentain, Ninendava, and Wenyandawik) after you sell him two statues. Vilverin accross from the tutorial exit is one of the other two, leaving Culotte (west of Cropsford) as the only one you have to find on your own. Three other dungeons with statues--those with undead--will have zombies in them at level 4--so do not do them before that level. Completing the quest at level four gave me enough money to purchase Armorer lessons every level until high value loot started appearing. Three other zombie dungeons (Underpall, Ondo, and Hame), and are (arguably) in the vicinity of statue dungeons. The marker for Kemen is given to you by the Orc merchant in Cheydinhall, and Amelion Tomb is eventually given to you by the head of the Cheydinhall fighter's guild, or you can find it by doing the Mazoga quest. Ghosts spawn along with zombies starting at level six, so for the most zombies, it is a good idea to get into as many undead dungeons as you can before then.

In the tutorial I built up 10 points in Strength skills (5 in Blade, 5 in HtoH - all three melee skills were minors) for a +5 strength bonus. After stashing my stuff in the open grain sacks in the market district and scouring the I-City, prison grounds, and Waterfront for repair hammers, I went to Fort Nikel for the Fine Steel bow (base damage of a silver bow but 4 units lighter) and I cleared it out to get arrows and damaged armor. I then backtracked to Vindasel to get the first statue for Umbacano, arrows, and damaged armor. I then proceeded to Fort Chalman to get the ten repair hammers on the second floor of the outer structure--I did not enter the dungeon,-- and then to Cheydinhall to get the marker for Kemen from the Orc merchant Borba gra-Uzgash. In addition to zombies, Kemen has a quiver of sixteen silver arrows on a shelved skeleton, which are probably meant for the boss ghost in Fort Facian (marker provided by Magub gro-Orum in Cheydinhall), but I use them on the two boss ghosts in Hrotanda Vale north of Chorrol (lots of bandits and welkynd stones plus two varla stones), and later on for the five ghosts in Wendir. Undead dungeons (usually with boss ghosts) start spawning silver arrows in random loot chests at level 4, so the sixteen arrows are enough to get started.