You'll still hear the normal arrow-in-the-knee, sweetroll, reforming the Dawnguard lines, but you'll also get tons of other lines that were recorded but don't normally play for dumb reasons in the vanilla game.
I already have that. It's just that one line they tend to love to repeat and it's become my personal "Arrow to the Knee" hell. They say a bunch of other stuff too thanks to GDO but that Dawnguard line just crops up constantly. I'm tempted to go off on a questing tangent to knock out that Dawnguard stuff just to get it over with so they shut up about it. The upshot being that hunting Vampires sounds pretty rad. I think I'm gonna get lycanthropy from the Companions before I do it though just for hilarity's sake.
You'll still hear the normal arrow-in-the-knee, sweetroll, reforming the Dawnguard lines, but you'll also get tons of other lines that were recorded but don't normally play for dumb reasons in the vanilla game.
I already have that. It's just that one line they tend to love to repeat and it's become my personal "Arrow to the Knee" hell. They say a bunch of other stuff too thanks to GDO but that Dawnguard line just crops up constantly. I'm tempted to go off on a questing tangent to knock out that Dawnguard stuff just to get it over with so they shut up about it. The upshot being that hunting Vampires sounds pretty rad. I think I'm gonna get lycanthropy from the Companions before I do it though just for hilarity's sake.
Be glad, if you didn't have GDO the Dawnguard line is basically the only one that guards say at all (if Dawnguard is installed).
It's like their revenge for people turning the arrow in the knee line into a meme.
Oh and if you do do Dawnguard make sure you've progressed most of the way through the main questline first.
For some asinine reason they decided that the Dawnguard main quest should send you after the exact same [redacted] that you need to get as part of the main quest.
I have no fucking idea why, but your first time through especially, make the main quest the thing that sends you off after that not Dawnguard.
OK so something must be breaking the mesh with aMB's Differently Ebony installed.
Here is the aMB mesh and 'gold' texture vs. the rigfixed meshes with what shoulf be the same texture.
My best guess is since there are three different ebony armor installed, overwriting the mesh from aMB somehow confusing it into using the normal ebony rather than the gold, but I have no idea why or how to fix it.
I'm pretty sure that - post Morrowind - their design goals are to allow the player character to become the head of every joinable faction. You can get through the Thieves Guild and Companions questlines without being much of a thief/fighter, as I recall, right? (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
So, it's obviously not a technical limitation; it's a question of their design philosophy.
On a personal note, I thought that the College questline had some really great moments for lore nerds (Psijic Order! Labyrinthian!), even if some of the actual content was perhaps silly. Meanwhile, I found the Thieves Guild to be frustrating in many ways. Shamus Young has a pretty good writeup of why he disliked the questline, and I gotta agree. It would be easy to dismiss his opinion as nitpicky, but I feel like if you take a step back and view the entire series of events as a whole, every character's actions start to seem completely illogical and poorly motivated.
Spoilery Spoilers for the TG, Companions, and College questlines for Skyrim
While the Thieves Guild and and Companions going a LONG way to justify why you become the head of those guilds at the end of the main storyline, the College was the most baffling. Oh hey Gandalf thinks you should be the Leader of the College of Winterhold?! YEAH SURE! WHY NOT.
It made NO SENSE.
At least in the Companions lead up to becoming the leader is actually a bit natural, and at least even though Brynolf should OBVIOUSLY be the leader of the Thieves guild, and Bethesda knows it, they make him give a valid reason why he dosen't want any part of it.
In terms of the actual Guild content.
The Companions had the best "personal" story, but really lackluster dungeons. Which is actually understandable, because you're a WEREWOLF just go rampage.
The College had the best overall, "Holy crap this is cool", and basically takes you on a tour of some really amazingly done dungeons. But the story is garbage. Not because what happens. But how it does.
"What's that? The Thalmor spy Arcano is actually working for the Thalmor and not a nice guy!? NO WAY.
I mean, it hits it's beats, and it's a fun ride, and while the climax was good, the lead up was just poor. Overall though, because the dungeons are so strong it's a better overally story than the Companions, but that's because the Companions is mostly, "Become Werewolf, be awesome".
The Thief Guild is probably the best overall package, but as other's have stated, it kinda falls apart at the second half.
The first half however, is masterful, and the dungeon with the Mercer was a GREAT one, specifically because it's foreshadowing is great yet it dosen't beat you over the head with it.
The last half however suffers from, "Do you want to make a deal with a Daedric Lord?". The answer to that question should always be optional, because the right answer is always NO.
I understand how they frame it. It's a win-win, you get "OHHHH SUPERNATURAL LUCK!?" and become rich beyond your wildest dreams, with a stipulation that you just guard Noctournal's shit for awhile and then pass on to whatever afterlife you so choose.
The problem is, it's not TANGIBLE. You can get stupid fucking rich on your own, and the Thieves Guild makes it no easier. The gift of "Supernatural luck" is bullshit in comparison to the very real benefit of the Skeleton Key gameplay wise.
The only real benefit is the Abilities you get at the end. Which, of course, is made pointless if you have a high enough sneak.
You get forced into service for a Daedric Lord for basically an okay set of armor and a mediocre ability, to kill a dude you could have just killed on your own, anyway, but no, you have to be on EQUAL GROUND, so lets get this mediocre armor set and then you will be able to kill Mercer who you can probably just kill naked anyway.
If you're going to go down the road of forcing service to a Daedric Lord, you have to either, A. Make it a CHOICE, or B. Make it WORTH IT.
I'm actually wondering now if there are any mods that do an in-depth overhaul of the guild storylines (and I mean, something more substantial than just "make Brynjolf only approach legit thieves"). Some spoilers:
I feel like the Thieves Guild one could be dramatically improved with some better writing, and giving a couple of minor choices in the second half. Like making Karliah seem like less of an idiot (she accomplished practically nothing in 25 years, and when she did act, her "master plan" was preeetty garbage), giving the player more options on how to handle the confrontation with Frey, the ability to deny the deal with Nocturnal, etc.
The Companions storyline, I think, would have benefited from a slower burn. Really take the time to build up that there's something weird about the Companions, and only then pull out the reveal. As is, you find out the truth about them in like the second dungeon or whatever.
I'm actually wondering now if there are any mods that do an in-depth overhaul of the guild storylines (and I mean, something more substantial than just "make Brynjolf only approach legit thieves"). Some spoilers:
I feel like the Thieves Guild one could be dramatically improved with some better writing, and giving a couple of minor choices in the second half. Like making Karliah seem like less of an idiot (she accomplished practically nothing in 25 years, and when she did act, her "master plan" was preeetty garbage), giving the player more options on how to handle the confrontation with Frey, the ability to deny the deal with Nocturnal, etc.
The Companions storyline, I think, would have benefited from a slower burn. Really take the time to build up that there's something weird about the Companions, and only then pull out the reveal. As is, you find out the truth about them in like the second dungeon or whatever.
It spreads out the main quests so you're not getting inducted into the circle on your third outing with them, and also lets you turn down their offer while still advancing in the quest progression.
Maybe not a good add if you think of radiant quests as "busy work", but when I join the Companions on a character it's because I want them to be a big part of that character's story so I don't mind going on adventures with Farkas between story beats.
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MongerI got the ham stink.Dallas, TXRegistered Userregular
OK so something must be breaking the mesh with aMB's Differently Ebony installed.
Here is the aMB mesh and 'gold' texture vs. the rigfixed meshes with what shoulf be the same texture.
My best guess is since there are three different ebony armor installed, overwriting the mesh from aMB somehow confusing it into using the normal ebony rather than the gold, but I have no idea why or how to fix it.
My suggestion would be to try aMidianBorn Book of Silence with the content addon, which replicates the functionality of the glass and ebony variation mods (plus adding variation for steel, elven, and iron). Differently Ebony always seemed to have some compatibility issues that the new method doesn't seem to, but I don't know any specifics as to the structure of either.
I use the "reduced distance" version. It helps a lot with the repetitiveness of NPC comments by simply making it so that NPCs don't blurt out little phrases all the time.
Did the Mind of Madness sidequest in Solitude and while short and simple, it was still a really fun little diversion.
When I saw Sheogarath I was racking my brain going "where the hell do I know that name!?". Then he said who he was and I had a fun little "oh...ooooohhhhhhhhhh....uh oh." moment.
This fucking game though. There's always something fun to go do in it and it's all bitesized so even if I only have an hour I can still go forth and get into some sorta shenanigans. I'm gonna need to get a mod to clean up the Illusion tree eventually though. Eerything being target level based blows and I don't know why Bethesda has never changed that.
had one vampire attack in Riften and nobody of value was lost
just Aerin
Real talk
A vampire once killed Adrianne Avennichi and I straight up deleted that playthrough because talking to her husband randomly when I went to sell was the saddest fucking thing
When Vampires Attack is pretty handy for that sorta thing. It makes ll the civilians run indoors when shit goes down. There's also When Dragons Attack that does the same thing.
I turned off vampire attacks completely with a mod because it doesn't make much sense for vampires to be that brazen. Besides, Dragon Combat Overhaul gives me enough shit to deal with as it is.
When Vampires Attack is pretty handy for that sorta thing. It makes ll the civilians run indoors when shit goes down. There's also When Dragons Attack that does the same thing.
I like these mods. The dragon one is actually called "Run for Your Lives" though.
I'm not overly concerned if NPCs die, but I do find it really jarring to see random peasants attacking a dragon/vampire rather than getting the hell out of there.
When Vampires Attack can be troublesome. All the NPCs in a town/city will sometimes get stuck in the inn and the only ways to fix it are to roll back to an earlier save, try to wait it out (which often doesn't work), or deactivate scripts until it sort of unclogs.
When Vampires Attack can be troublesome. All the NPCs in a town/city will sometimes get stuck in the inn and the only ways to fix it are to roll back to an earlier save, try to wait it out (which often doesn't work), or deactivate scripts until it sort of unclogs.
I still use Dawnguard Sentries just because I've gotten so used to the npcs it adds it would be weird if they were gone, but I stopped vampire attacks a long while back. They really were not adding any enjoyment to my game whatsoever, and of course "When Vampires Attack" ruined a game for me by breaking every npc in Riften so I'll never use it again.
OK so something must be breaking the mesh with aMB's Differently Ebony installed.
Here is the aMB mesh and 'gold' texture vs. the rigfixed meshes with what shoulf be the same texture.
My best guess is since there are three different ebony armor installed, overwriting the mesh from aMB somehow confusing it into using the normal ebony rather than the gold, but I have no idea why or how to fix it.
My suggestion would be to try aMidianBorn Book of Silence with the content addon, which replicates the functionality of the glass and ebony variation mods (plus adding variation for steel, elven, and iron). Differently Ebony always seemed to have some compatibility issues that the new method doesn't seem to, but I don't know any specifics as to the structure of either.
Huh, I was using the content addon from Book of Silence, but I used the standalone ebony files to revert. That must be when I broke it. Thank mate, I'll try this out.
EDIT: Turns out that the silver and gold variants from Differently Ebony are broken in the aMB packs. If I want the proper texture on the fixed armour I'll need to manually edit the mesh in nifskope.
I just read the Shamus Young breakdown of the Thieves Guild Quest. Wow. I mean, I've always hated that quest line, and have posted multiple rants in this thread about it. Shamus' critique is spot-on in mentioning everything that drove me crazy about that questline, while also mentioning lots of stuff I hadn't even considered.
My primary hatred of the Thieves Guild quest comes from just how contrived the whole thing was, forcing the player to respond in ways that I would never choose, except I have no choice. Also, I rarely ever felt like a thief doing the main quest, and in fact not being a thief actually makes all these quests way easier, because stealth is only required if you don't have any other option, such as putting on heavy armor, hefting a greatsword, and chopping everyone in your way into giblets. This is also a common (and very valid) complaint about the Mage Guild quest, but in my mind the thieves step it up a notch once the Nightingale bullshit is introduced.
Blah. There's a reason one of my favorite Skyrim quest-mods is called 'Destroy the Thieves Guild'... more than one reason, really, but I think an even better mod would be one that kept the Thieves Guild quest as it is, but just change up all the dialogue so that the player's character can be aware of just how stupid all this is. It wouldn't make this a good quest, but at least there would be some satisfaction in not being a dummy along with everyone else.
I think the funniest thing about the Thieves Guild quests was towards the end, where
they go "Oh my goodness, how could Frey possibly have opened this vault door?!?!"
Yes.
How could the head of the Thieves Guild possibly have opened a locked door.
How could he possibly.
Its the type of door. Its magic,
Nah
It wasn't magic, it just required two of the three Thief Guild Leaders to open. And they both still had their keys
Mercer used the Skeleton Key to open it. Just like he used it to open the Norn burial locks on your mission with him.
Right, that's my point. Even if
he didn't have the Skeleton Key, he could have made copies of the other keys, right? Or made lockpicks. Or really done any of a dozen other things.
The door is described as being hard to open (because we're supposed to believe that OH MAN SOMETHING CRAZY IS GOING ON), but doesn't actually sound hard to open.
Like, he's supposed to be a master thief. I think he can maybe figure out how to open a door that he has had access to 24/7 for the last 25 years.
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NEO|PhyteThey follow the stars, bound together.Strands in a braid till the end.Registered Userregular
edited February 2015
IMO the biggest failing of the thieves guild quests is that the narrative doesn't line up with the gameplay.
Narratively, the entire point of the pact with Nocturnal is because with Mercer Frey using the Skeleton Key to unlock his own potential, you need whatever sweetass mojo Nocturnal gives her Nightingales to have a chance of stopping him.
Buuuut said pact doesn't provide any in-game bonuses. Not even the armor, you get that /before/ making the pact.
And then Frey himself doesn't pull off any sweetass batshit crazy moves while onscreen, just an offscreen knocking over of a dwemer tower to block your pursuit.
NEO|Phyte on
It was that somehow, from within the derelict-horror, they had learned a way to see inside an ugly, broken thing... And take away its pain.
Warframe/Steam: NFyt
Those puzzle doors cannot even charitably be called puzzles. They are simply locks that require you to move circles around before you turn the key, that is all.
Even my very first time doing Bleakfalls Barrow on my very very first Skyrim character so many moons ago, before I realized the puzzle answer is stamped right on the key I unlocked the door on my first random try because the shocking secret combo is to rotate each circle twice.
Those puzzle doors cannot even charitably be called puzzles. They are simply locks that require you to move circles around before you turn the key, that is all.
Even my very first time doing Bleakfalls Barrow on my very very first Skyrim character so many moons ago, before I realized the puzzle answer is stamped right on the key I unlocked the door on my first random try because the shocking secret combo is to rotate each circle twice.
Yeah, but without the claw good luck opening it (since the claw triggers it).
Posts
I already have that. It's just that one line they tend to love to repeat and it's become my personal "Arrow to the Knee" hell. They say a bunch of other stuff too thanks to GDO but that Dawnguard line just crops up constantly. I'm tempted to go off on a questing tangent to knock out that Dawnguard stuff just to get it over with so they shut up about it. The upshot being that hunting Vampires sounds pretty rad. I think I'm gonna get lycanthropy from the Companions before I do it though just for hilarity's sake.
Be glad, if you didn't have GDO the Dawnguard line is basically the only one that guards say at all (if Dawnguard is installed).
It's like their revenge for people turning the arrow in the knee line into a meme.
For some asinine reason they decided that the Dawnguard main quest should send you after the exact same [redacted] that you need to get as part of the main quest.
I have no fucking idea why, but your first time through especially, make the main quest the thing that sends you off after that not Dawnguard.
Here is the aMB mesh and 'gold' texture vs. the rigfixed meshes with what shoulf be the same texture.
My best guess is since there are three different ebony armor installed, overwriting the mesh from aMB somehow confusing it into using the normal ebony rather than the gold, but I have no idea why or how to fix it.
https://podcast.tidalwavegames.com/
Spoilery Spoilers for the TG, Companions, and College questlines for Skyrim
It made NO SENSE.
At least in the Companions lead up to becoming the leader is actually a bit natural, and at least even though Brynolf should OBVIOUSLY be the leader of the Thieves guild, and Bethesda knows it, they make him give a valid reason why he dosen't want any part of it.
In terms of the actual Guild content.
The Companions had the best "personal" story, but really lackluster dungeons. Which is actually understandable, because you're a WEREWOLF just go rampage.
The College had the best overall, "Holy crap this is cool", and basically takes you on a tour of some really amazingly done dungeons. But the story is garbage. Not because what happens. But how it does.
"What's that? The Thalmor spy Arcano is actually working for the Thalmor and not a nice guy!? NO WAY.
I mean, it hits it's beats, and it's a fun ride, and while the climax was good, the lead up was just poor. Overall though, because the dungeons are so strong it's a better overally story than the Companions, but that's because the Companions is mostly, "Become Werewolf, be awesome".
The Thief Guild is probably the best overall package, but as other's have stated, it kinda falls apart at the second half.
The first half however, is masterful, and the dungeon with the Mercer was a GREAT one, specifically because it's foreshadowing is great yet it dosen't beat you over the head with it.
The last half however suffers from, "Do you want to make a deal with a Daedric Lord?". The answer to that question should always be optional, because the right answer is always NO.
I understand how they frame it. It's a win-win, you get "OHHHH SUPERNATURAL LUCK!?" and become rich beyond your wildest dreams, with a stipulation that you just guard Noctournal's shit for awhile and then pass on to whatever afterlife you so choose.
The problem is, it's not TANGIBLE. You can get stupid fucking rich on your own, and the Thieves Guild makes it no easier. The gift of "Supernatural luck" is bullshit in comparison to the very real benefit of the Skeleton Key gameplay wise.
The only real benefit is the Abilities you get at the end. Which, of course, is made pointless if you have a high enough sneak.
You get forced into service for a Daedric Lord for basically an okay set of armor and a mediocre ability, to kill a dude you could have just killed on your own, anyway, but no, you have to be on EQUAL GROUND, so lets get this mediocre armor set and then you will be able to kill Mercer who you can probably just kill naked anyway.
If you're going to go down the road of forcing service to a Daedric Lord, you have to either, A. Make it a CHOICE, or B. Make it WORTH IT.
And the end of the TG just didn't do that.
The Companions storyline, I think, would have benefited from a slower burn. Really take the time to build up that there's something weird about the Companions, and only then pull out the reveal. As is, you find out the truth about them in like the second dungeon or whatever.
There's one like that for the Companions: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/22650/?
It spreads out the main quests so you're not getting inducted into the circle on your third outing with them, and also lets you turn down their offer while still advancing in the quest progression.
Maybe not a good add if you think of radiant quests as "busy work", but when I join the Companions on a character it's because I want them to be a big part of that character's story so I don't mind going on adventures with Farkas between story beats.
All right, people. It is not a gerbil. It is not a hamster. It is not a guinea pig. It is a death rabbit. Death. Rabbit. Say it with me, now.
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/746/?
I use the "reduced distance" version. It helps a lot with the repetitiveness of NPC comments by simply making it so that NPCs don't blurt out little phrases all the time.
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
This fucking game though. There's always something fun to go do in it and it's all bitesized so even if I only have an hour I can still go forth and get into some sorta shenanigans. I'm gonna need to get a mod to clean up the Illusion tree eventually though. Eerything being target level based blows and I don't know why Bethesda has never changed that.
had one vampire attack in Riften and nobody of value was lost
Real talk
I turned off vampire attacks completely with a mod because it doesn't make much sense for vampires to be that brazen. Besides, Dragon Combat Overhaul gives me enough shit to deal with as it is.
Steam: MightyPotatoKing
I like these mods. The dragon one is actually called "Run for Your Lives" though.
I'm not overly concerned if NPCs die, but I do find it really jarring to see random peasants attacking a dragon/vampire rather than getting the hell out of there.
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
Steam: MightyPotatoKing
Yeah, I have those off because of that problem.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Steam (Ansatz) || GW2 officer (Ansatz.6498)
I had a traumatic flashback to Bethesda's sweetroll obsession.
Huh, I was using the content addon from Book of Silence, but I used the standalone ebony files to revert. That must be when I broke it. Thank mate, I'll try this out.
EDIT: Turns out that the silver and gold variants from Differently Ebony are broken in the aMB packs. If I want the proper texture on the fixed armour I'll need to manually edit the mesh in nifskope.
I wonder if you can make it a sword?
Because I'd like to make a mouth katana with a pair for your hands and I'd name them, His queen, His scholar, His mage.
edit:
I'm a tad disappointed with the custom races. Especially the better ones or freakier ones lacking villages.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
barely done any of the main quest of it, just shooting things over and over
Yes, another reason to use Dawnguard Sentries; it puts a few dudes who each have 100 crossbow bolts to steal in every city and town.
My primary hatred of the Thieves Guild quest comes from just how contrived the whole thing was, forcing the player to respond in ways that I would never choose, except I have no choice. Also, I rarely ever felt like a thief doing the main quest, and in fact not being a thief actually makes all these quests way easier, because stealth is only required if you don't have any other option, such as putting on heavy armor, hefting a greatsword, and chopping everyone in your way into giblets. This is also a common (and very valid) complaint about the Mage Guild quest, but in my mind the thieves step it up a notch once the Nightingale bullshit is introduced.
Blah. There's a reason one of my favorite Skyrim quest-mods is called 'Destroy the Thieves Guild'... more than one reason, really, but I think an even better mod would be one that kept the Thieves Guild quest as it is, but just change up all the dialogue so that the player's character can be aware of just how stupid all this is. It wouldn't make this a good quest, but at least there would be some satisfaction in not being a dummy along with everyone else.
Yes.
How could the head of the Thieves Guild possibly have opened a locked door.
How could he possibly.
Its the type of door. Its magic,
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Nah
Mercer used the Skeleton Key to open it. Just like he used it to open the Norn burial locks on your mission with him.
The door is described as being hard to open (because we're supposed to believe that OH MAN SOMETHING CRAZY IS GOING ON), but doesn't actually sound hard to open.
Like, he's supposed to be a master thief. I think he can maybe figure out how to open a door that he has had access to 24/7 for the last 25 years.
Buuuut said pact doesn't provide any in-game bonuses. Not even the armor, you get that /before/ making the pact.
And then Frey himself doesn't pull off any sweetass batshit crazy moves while onscreen, just an offscreen knocking over of a dwemer tower to block your pursuit.
Warframe/Steam: NFyt
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Even my very first time doing Bleakfalls Barrow on my very very first Skyrim character so many moons ago, before I realized the puzzle answer is stamped right on the key I unlocked the door on my first random try because the shocking secret combo is to rotate each circle twice.
Yeah, but without the claw good luck opening it (since the claw triggers it).
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy