The Skyrim/Elder Scrolls thread

[Valrifell]

Personally I like giving the Elder Scroll to the College if for no other reason than because it makes the orc librarian treat you well. It also makes me feel like a real Archmage, finding ancient artifacts for the college’s collection.

Just make sure to do the Dawnguard quests before giving it to the librarian, else you might have to buy it back.

Also I encouraged Serana to cure her vampirism.

You can what

[The Imperial Reach]

Do you honestly believe the Thalmor would not have found some excuse to crack down?

Irrelevant; the Stormcloaks already gave them one, so blame for the Justiciars' arrival is entirely on Ulfric as they weren't there before he started being a dick and said dickish behavior is precisely why they were there in the first place.

Markarth Incident or no. The Aldmeri Dominion's very survival hinges upon their ability to tear the Empire apart with prolonged unrest and constant dragged out rebellion.

Which was already being stirred up - not by the Dominion, but by Ulfric - which is precisely why Ulfric's rebellion directly aids the Thalmor.

They have no army left to face a second great war.

You have no proof of such a bold, outlandish, and - according to both the Empire and the Thalmor - untrue claim. If they have no army then why are their soldiers marching all over Skyrim? Where are all these soldiers coming from? Why are they sending soldiers to police a foreign province if they have no army, shouldn't they be at home readying for the next war with the Empire.

You forget the Dominion was in hibernation for 200 years. We have no idea what their demographics look like.

Also, it wasn't a peace treaty. It was a surrender, made after the Empire had won the war.

Despite it's name, a Pyrrhic victory is still a defeat. The Empire didn't win; it just barely didn't lose.

Yes. The people of Windhelm have no reason to take them in, and yet they did.

No, they didn't. That was the decision of the High King and the Jarls. The people didn't have a say in it. Rolff actually says as much, which is funny because he specifically says nobody asked *him* specifically when he wasn't even alive at the time.

That the Dark Elves response is ingratitude and refusal to fight alongside them in a life and death struggle that involves them too is not endearing.

Except it doesn't involve them? Dunmer aren't being persecuted; not by the Empire, not by the Thalmor. They aren't Talos worshipers. They have nothing gain from siding with the Stormcloaks and everything to lose. The inverse for the Empire is also true, though at least we can count on the Empire not to retaliate with racial pogroms. Stormcloaks have proven they have no problem with ethnic cleansing when they put every Reachman they could get their hands on to the sword.

And why should they be grateful for being forced into a slum? For guards ignoring their plights? For drunk racists walking through their slum hurling insults and threats at them? Would you be grateful for that? The Dunmer will even tell you they'd leave if they could.

I'm sure if you put the Battle-Borns from Whiterun in Windhelm, they'd get just as much, if not MORE shit.

Uh, duh? They're fucking Empire supporters. That's a no-brainer. But in case you haven't noticed, one of the reasons the Nords of Windhelm hate the Dunmer is specifically because they think they're supporting the Empire.

No, but the Dragonborn is. Or don't you remember 'Forget the List, they go to the block.'? Given that standard of Criminal justice.... Kinda expecting them to execute a lot of people they shouldn't.

The words of one officer, in one situation that was a complete misunderstanding, in a small backwater town that is not the major city we're discussing. Once again you're trying to misdirect.

If you criticism of Imperial Justice is "well it can be wrong sometimes therefor it's bad!", then you're just arguing against all justice systems. No justice system is so perfect that innocent people don't get nicked; that's more fantasy than even the Elder Scrolls can take. You think Stormcloak Justice is any better? At least the Empire doesn't put children to death because they won't fight for them.

Completely lacks Racial Segregation huh? Remind me, of the Thanes.... are any Mer? Are there literally any Argonians in the city that aren't Dockworkers or Criminals? Of the Mer, are there any Dunmer? At all. Anywhere. No. There's not. There's a fair number of Altmer though. Y'know the same people whom the nation of Genocidal Maniacs the Empire is trying to maintain a peace treaty with think are the master race and would likely react poorly to their being openly mistreated. Additionally, you might notice that absolutely noone of military authority is an Altmer or anything but an imperial or nord.

First of all, this is such a laughable reach I can't even take it seriously.

The Dunmer in Windhelm are refugees. They live there because they have no choice. They're stuck and can't leave. As one puts it, "if we'd had known the Nords would have been so inhospitable we would've kept walking." You may as well be arguing Windhelm hates Bretons, Bosmer, Orsimer, Redguards, and Khajiit since none live there. This is such a flimsy argument I could snap it in half with just one finger, honestly. The Empire doesn't people to live in Solitude. Everyone who lives there lives there because they were either born and raised there or because they choose to live there. Most of them seem fairly wealthy and could likely leave if they wanted to, save for Noster, but the same cannot be said for the poor Dunmer refugees of Windhelm.

What a shitty argument you've just made. Honestly. How you can simultaneously argue that because no Thanes are Mer they must hate Mer while also being in the pocket of Mer? You're contradicting yourself. By your own logic, every city in Skyrim has racial segregation because every city lacks for at least one of the 10 races. What a joke.

And secondly, you're wrong about the "only Nords and Imperials" in command thing.

Exhibit A
Exhibit B

Stupid racist Empire, allowing Dunmer and Altmer to become Legates! How bigoted!

[Andsed]

Also I encouraged Serana to cure her vampirism.

You can what

It takes a lot of specific dialogue choices at the right time(which I do not trust myself to explain so you can look at up if interested) but yeah, you can convince Serana to get her vampirism cured.

[San Lumen]

You can what

It takes a lot of specific dialogue choices at the right time(which I do not trust myself to explain so you can look at up if interested) but yeah, you can convince Serana to get her vampirism cured.

I've never done that.

[Ism]

You can what

It takes a lot of specific dialogue choices at the right time(which I do not trust myself to explain so you can look at up if interested) but yeah, you can convince Serana to get her vampirism cured.

The big thing to remember is that the option to suggest it comes up twice, once I think is during your first trip to the Soul Cairn, and once after the Volkhiar are defeated. If you tell her she should get cured the first time, she will get angry and won't consider it later on.

[San Lumen]

It takes a lot of specific dialogue choices at the right time(which I do not trust myself to explain so you can look at up if interested) but yeah, you can convince Serana to get her vampirism cured.

The big thing to remember is that the option to suggest it comes up twice, once I think is during your first trip to the Soul Cairn, and once after the Volkhiar are defeated. If you tell her she should get cured the first time, she will get angry and won't consider it later on.

I never saw any reason to ask her about being cured.

[Ism]

The big thing to remember is that the option to suggest it comes up twice, once I think is during your first trip to the Soul Cairn, and once after the Volkhiar are defeated. If you tell her she should get cured the first time, she will get angry and won't consider it later on.

I never saw any reason to ask her about being cured.

I usually do. She really only has one friend, the Dragonborn, and her only family is a mother she's not on great terms with. Once the Dragonborn dies, she's going to keep on living, alone in a world very different from the one she used to know. Immortality sounds a lot nicer than it usually turns out.

That being said, it is her choice, forcing her to do that would be wrong, even if she'd probably be happier in the end.

[San Lumen]

I never saw any reason to ask her about being cured.

I usually do. She really only has one friend, the Dragonborn, and her only family is a mother she's not on great terms with. Once the Dragonborn dies, she's going to keep on living, alone in a world very different from the one she used to know. Immortality sounds a lot nicer than it usually turns out.

That being said, it is her choice, forcing her to do that would be wrong, even if she'd probably be happier in the end.

I see your point but it never crossed my mind as I didn't think it was any of my business. If she hasn't considered a cure after all this time why ask something so intrusive?

[Ism]

I usually do. She really only has one friend, the Dragonborn, and her only family is a mother she's not on great terms with. Once the Dragonborn dies, she's going to keep on living, alone in a world very different from the one she used to know. Immortality sounds a lot nicer than it usually turns out.

That being said, it is her choice, forcing her to do that would be wrong, even if she'd probably be happier in the end.

I see your point but it never crossed my mind as I didn't think it was any of my business. If she hasn't considered a cure after all this time why ask something so intrusive?

Dragons are very nosy, which why they have such long snouts. This is just one of the many traits the Dragonborn gains from having the soul of a dragon.

[San Lumen]

I see your point but it never crossed my mind as I didn't think it was any of my business. If she hasn't considered a cure after all this time why ask something so intrusive?

Dragons are very nosy, which why they have such long snouts. This is just one of the many traits the Dragonborn gains from having the soul of a dragon.

When i play I chose not to be and always try to be as polite as possible when talking to someone

[The first Galactic Republic]

I keep her as a vampire honestly.

I use her for blood arrows. Vampire plus necromage is lit, and arrowing the sun every day reminds Skyrim who the real top dog is.

[San Lumen]

Can vampire attacks only happen at night?

[North German Realm]

Can vampire attacks only happen at night?

Part of the reason Dawnguard happens is that Vampires keep attacking at day, which is weird enough that everyone is commenting on it.

[The first Galactic Republic]

Thieves Guild questline revised:

• Remove everything involving Nocturnal and give her a proper Daedric Quest for the Skeleton Key.
• Keep the Mercer-betrayed-Gallus-and-framed-Karliah plot as there's nothing wrong with it but remove the Nightingale stuff.
• Instead of the Thieves Guild gimping for Maven Black-Briar have her be their primary antagonist whose operations are being disrupted by the Guild and restore the Guild's original, more noble Robin Hood-esque nature like in Oblivion.
• Guild has fallen on hard times not because of any curse by Nocturnal but because Mercer is in Maven's pocket and is deliberately sabotaging the Guild for his own, personal gain.
• Remove all the thuggish behavior and banditry so they're properly thieves again instead of glorified mob enforcers.
• Remove any connection to the Dark Brotherhood because that makes no sense at all.
• Re-implement the fines imposed by the Guild for killing people like Oblivion had (they're thieves, not murderers)
• Remove the obviousness of Maven's criminal activities (she literally confesses to your face in public if you ask! Wtf?) and make her appear more kindly and welcoming to throw off suspicion, making Laila's belief she's a law-abiding-citizen more believable.
• Re-locate the Thieves Guild HQ elsewhere in the Ratway so it's actually hidden instead of so well-known an army of Sellswords could easily march in and clear it out; the location should be a secret, not a well-known fact.
• Mjoll gives you an option to destroy the Guild rather than join it, but this directly helps Maven to Mjoll's ignorance as she now incorrectly believes they're working for Maven due to a misunderstanding; Maven rewards you for destroying the Guild.
• Mercer betraying you, Karliah clearing both your names and exposing Mercer's betrayal, and the final confrontation with Mercer can stay but the quest should end with exposing Maven for her many crimes of which there are so many that Laila/the Empire can't ignore it and has her and Hemming (who is already complicit in her illegal activities) arrested; Sibbi is already in jail so no biggie there, but in this case Maven has publicly "disowned" him (not really, he still gets to live comfortable in his cell because corruption).
• Civil War Imperial control over Riften dependent outcome for Maven's Jarldom: Thieves Guild complete before Imperials take Riften/Stormcloaks win Civil War, she and Hemming just go straight to jail and Saerlund becomes Jarl instead. Thieves Guild complete after Imperials take Riften, Maven is removed from power and all her Imperial contacts hang her out to dry - she and her sons then mysteriously "die" in prison while the guard watching them was "sleeping" (she knew too much, so her Imperial friends bumped her and her sons off but leave Ingun alone as she had nothing to do with it; Ingun now inherits the entire Black-Briar fortune and disavows her family members) and Saerlund becomes Jarl.
• Thieves Guild members are now ordinary citizens by day and thieves by night, like in Oblivion, rather than just sitting in a smelly sewer all day every day.
• Brynjolf isn't running an obvious scam out in the open in full view of everyone, nor is open about his criminal activities to your face IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. You have to talk to beggars to get in the Thieves Guild, just like in Oblivion. He also doesn't have you frame an innocent man because that's not what Thieves do.
• Nightingales are now part of Nocturnal's Daedric Quest and have nothing to do with the Guild.

For real though the Thieves Guild story is hard to take seriously.

The outrage of all the thieves when Mercer steals from them is pretty hypocritical. I mean, how’d they get the loot in the first place? They brag about ruining innocent people’s lives but have such a moral stance against Mercer’s actions? Come on.

To me it just seems like Mercer was a huge chad who outwitted a bunch of idiots. “Hurr durr we’ll keep our loot in a big room no one will ever touch it because muh honor among thieves. How could someone take it all?!”

Also fuck Brynjolf and his stupid you’ve never done an honest day’s work spiel. I worked in a damn sawmill to build my wife and kids a house, Brynjolf. I don’t want to hear that from you.

The other guild members are also incredibly annoying or just bland. I care more about the College Professors than them.

[Ism]

Thieves Guild questline revised:

• Remove everything involving Nocturnal and give her a proper Daedric Quest for the Skeleton Key.
• Keep the Mercer-betrayed-Gallus-and-framed-Karliah plot as there's nothing wrong with it but remove the Nightingale stuff.
• Instead of the Thieves Guild gimping for Maven Black-Briar have her be their primary antagonist whose operations are being disrupted by the Guild and restore the Guild's original, more noble Robin Hood-esque nature like in Oblivion.
• Guild has fallen on hard times not because of any curse by Nocturnal but because Mercer is in Maven's pocket and is deliberately sabotaging the Guild for his own, personal gain.
• Remove all the thuggish behavior and banditry so they're properly thieves again instead of glorified mob enforcers.
• Remove any connection to the Dark Brotherhood because that makes no sense at all.
• Re-implement the fines imposed by the Guild for killing people like Oblivion had (they're thieves, not murderers)
• Remove the obviousness of Maven's criminal activities (she literally confesses to your face in public if you ask! Wtf?) and make her appear more kindly and welcoming to throw off suspicion, making Laila's belief she's a law-abiding-citizen more believable.
• Re-locate the Thieves Guild HQ elsewhere in the Ratway so it's actually hidden instead of so well-known an army of Sellswords could easily march in and clear it out; the location should be a secret, not a well-known fact.
• Mjoll gives you an option to destroy the Guild rather than join it, but this directly helps Maven to Mjoll's ignorance as she now incorrectly believes they're working for Maven due to a misunderstanding; Maven rewards you for destroying the Guild.
• Mercer betraying you, Karliah clearing both your names and exposing Mercer's betrayal, and the final confrontation with Mercer can stay but the quest should end with exposing Maven for her many crimes of which there are so many that Laila/the Empire can't ignore it and has her and Hemming (who is already complicit in her illegal activities) arrested; Sibbi is already in jail so no biggie there, but in this case Maven has publicly "disowned" him (not really, he still gets to live comfortable in his cell because corruption).
• Civil War Imperial control over Riften dependent outcome for Maven's Jarldom: Thieves Guild complete before Imperials take Riften/Stormcloaks win Civil War, she and Hemming just go straight to jail and Saerlund becomes Jarl instead. Thieves Guild complete after Imperials take Riften, Maven is removed from power and all her Imperial contacts hang her out to dry - she and her sons then mysteriously "die" in prison while the guard watching them was "sleeping" (she knew too much, so her Imperial friends bumped her and her sons off but leave Ingun alone as she had nothing to do with it; Ingun now inherits the entire Black-Briar fortune and disavows her family members) and Saerlund becomes Jarl.
• Thieves Guild members are now ordinary citizens by day and thieves by night, like in Oblivion, rather than just sitting in a smelly sewer all day every day.
• Brynjolf isn't running an obvious scam out in the open in full view of everyone, nor is open about his criminal activities to your face IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. You have to talk to beggars to get in the Thieves Guild, just like in Oblivion. He also doesn't have you frame an innocent man because that's not what Thieves do.
• Nightingales are now part of Nocturnal's Daedric Quest and have nothing to do with the Guild.

For real though the Thieves Guild story is hard to take seriously.

The outrage of all the thieves when Mercer steals from them is pretty hypocritical. I mean, how’d they get the loot in the first place? They brag about ruining innocent people’s lives but have such a moral stance against Mercer’s actions? Come on.

To me it just seems like Mercer was a huge chad who outwitted a bunch of idiots. “Hurr durr we’ll keep our loot in a big room no one will ever touch it because muh honor among thieves. How could someone take it all?!”

Also fuck Brynjolf and his stupid you’ve never done an honest day’s work spiel. I worked in a damn sawmill to build my wife and kids a house, Brynjolf. I don’t want to hear that from you.

The other guild members are also incredibly annoying or just bland. I care more about the College Professors than them.

To be fair, the vault was locked in such a way that no one person could get it. Mercer could only do it because of the Skeleton Key.

I actually feel that ESO does this sort of thing better, the 5 Companions who you meet during the main quest, the Alliance NPCs who follow you through the Alliance quest-lines (Naryu Virian is a treasure), even the characters in the Fighters Guild and some side-quests feel more fleshed out than a lot Skyrim's characters.

[The first Galactic Republic]

For real though the Thieves Guild story is hard to take seriously.

The outrage of all the thieves when Mercer steals from them is pretty hypocritical. I mean, how’d they get the loot in the first place? They brag about ruining innocent people’s lives but have such a moral stance against Mercer’s actions? Come on.

To me it just seems like Mercer was a huge chad who outwitted a bunch of idiots. “Hurr durr we’ll keep our loot in a big room no one will ever touch it because muh honor among thieves. How could someone take it all?!”

Also fuck Brynjolf and his stupid you’ve never done an honest day’s work spiel. I worked in a damn sawmill to build my wife and kids a house, Brynjolf. I don’t want to hear that from you.

The other guild members are also incredibly annoying or just bland. I care more about the College Professors than them.

To be fair, the vault was locked in such a way that no one person could get it. Mercer could only do it because of the Skeleton Key.

I actually feel that ESO does this sort of thing better, the 5 Companions who you meet during the main quest, the Alliance NPCs who follow you through the Alliance quest-lines (Naryu Virian is a treasure), even the characters in the Fighters Guild and some side-quests feel more fleshed out than a lot Skyrim's characters.

I feel like there shouldn’t just be a vault for all the loot, and if there is, it needs to be checked on.

[The first Galactic Republic]

Anyway, this thread is making me finally pick up Skyrim again. Got it for the Switch a while back, so the portability and ability to quickly play a little bit whenever I have free time are definitely pluses. I’m not sure I’d be willing to really sit down with it again on Xbox or PC.

Any tips for a stealth assassin character? I know that gets memed as everyone’s inevitable build, but I never tried to actually stick with that playstyle before.

[The Islands of Versilia]

I usually do. She really only has one friend, the Dragonborn, and her only family is a mother she's not on great terms with. Once the Dragonborn dies, she's going to keep on living, alone in a world very different from the one she used to know. Immortality sounds a lot nicer than it usually turns out.

That being said, it is her choice, forcing her to do that would be wrong, even if she'd probably be happier in the end.

I see your point but it never crossed my mind as I didn't think it was any of my business. If she hasn't considered a cure after all this time why ask something so intrusive?

She was asleep for like millennia.

[The Islands of Versilia]

Anyway, this thread is making me finally pick up Skyrim again. Got it for the Switch a while back, so the portability and ability to quickly play a little bit whenever I have free time are definitely pluses. I’m not sure I’d be willing to really sit down with it again on Xbox or PC.

Any tips for a stealth assassin character? I know that gets memed as everyone’s inevitable build, but I never tried to actually stick with that playstyle before.

Muffle is a good enchantment that is best found at level 11. The smith in Riften has the likeliest chance to have it. It helps a ton with stealth imo.
Are you going ranged (archer) or melee?

[The Islands of Versilia]

I did the whole Dawnguard storyline without knowing you could give it away. I gave the (Dragon) Elder Scroll to the Orc librarian and the other two to Dexian.

Also I encouraged Serana to cure her vampirism. It feels like a good end to the whole Dawnguard thing, though I haven’t gotten a single crossbow upgrade since the first location was on Solstheim and I’m putting off the whole Solstheim thing until I’m pretty much done in the mainland.

Fuck Solstheim being a location for random loot in mainland quests.

Also boo for forcing Serana to cure her vampirism.

It irritates me to no end whenever I get a location there for something on the mainland but I haven’t reached the point where I want to start the DB storyline.

[The first Galactic Republic]

Anyway, this thread is making me finally pick up Skyrim again. Got it for the Switch a while back, so the portability and ability to quickly play a little bit whenever I have free time are definitely pluses. I’m not sure I’d be willing to really sit down with it again on Xbox or PC.

Any tips for a stealth assassin character? I know that gets memed as everyone’s inevitable build, but I never tried to actually stick with that playstyle before.

Muffle is a good enchantment that is best found at level 11. The smith in Riften has the likeliest chance to have it. It helps a ton with stealth imo.
Are you going ranged (archer) or melee?

I was thinking archer.

But I was also going to try for both? Maybe use a sneak dagger if undetected but fall back on bows otherwise.

[The Islands of Versilia]

Muffle is a good enchantment that is best found at level 11. The smith in Riften has the likeliest chance to have it. It helps a ton with stealth imo.
Are you going ranged (archer) or melee?

I was thinking archer.

But I was also going to try for both? Maybe use a sneak dagger if undetected but fall back on bows otherwise.

With stealth archery you won’t need to worry about draw speed. You won’t need quick successive shots. Though if you’re going combat archery then draw speed is much more of a concern. Zephyr is good for that.

Learning to use invisibility and getting Quiet Casting would help a ton, you can spam Muffle to level up Illusion if you want to go that way. It isn’t necessary but it’ll help if you’re stabbing people in broad daylight. Brewing invisibility potions is another thing that could be of use.

The Muffle spell has .5 effectiveness while the enchantment is 1.0 effectiveness. You can only disenchant random gear with the enchantment.

I usually take down torches whenever I’m stealthing. Gotta stay in the dark.

Also shouts like aura whisper or spells like detect life/dead can help you know where foes are.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Upon my honor I do swear undying loyalty to the Emperor, Titus Mede II and to the Empire.


Which is gona be awkward as i plan on killing him this run.

[The Huskar Social Union]

Fuck Solstheim being a location for random loot in mainland quests.

Also boo for forcing Serana to cure her vampirism.

It irritates me to no end whenever I get a location there for something on the mainland but I haven’t reached the point where I want to start the DB storyline.

I like to do the Dragonborn story last. Im doing the main story and the dawnguard story now (because i forgot you need like three elder scrolls for dawnguard) and once both are done ill do dragonborn.

[The Islands of Versilia]

Upon my honor I do swear undying loyalty to the Emperor, Titus Mede II and to the Empire.


Which is gona be awkward as i plan on killing him this run.

Ironically him getting assassinated is the best thing for the Empire.

It irritates me to no end whenever I get a location there for something on the mainland but I haven’t reached the point where I want to start the DB storyline.

I like to do the Dragonborn story last. Im doing the main story and the dawnguard story now (because i forgot you need like three elder scrolls for dawnguard) and once both are done ill do dragonborn.

Same. I first finished the main story then Dawnguard, then I’ll do Dragonborn. I want to get more shouts and quests done in Skyrim before going to Solstheim, though.