There is reputation, though, which will affect how people treat you.

/me hopes Gfree will kill an innocent in a fit of rage, then feel guilty over it and throw himself from the top of Frostcrag Spire


P.S. did you have that plugin installed? Easily the coolest plugin. A botanical garden, a library, alchemy room, teleporters to all major places in the game...and a killer view and safe feeling in your cool tower.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Frostcrag_Spire

Guess what: I started anew, with an approximately same dude, with the same plan. But this time I stick to the main quest and I do the things with my previous knowledge. So... now it happened that the Khajiit dude fell down while chasing me in the fortress. Heh, fool. I as well started making quite money. Till the end of the main quest, I might get over 20k of gold. We'll see.

But oh MY, I didn't know they have bears and sheeps! It was incredible fun to trap a bear among stones and take it down with arrows and bow without getting any scrap.

p.s.
Ox, come in and try to push me off a cliff.

I must remind you again of that Bloated Float Tavern hijack. This quest is lovely because it just smells all of a movie: Under Siege. Now I took the chance to post that part of the dialogue. (24 - We're not taking ideas from 'Under Siege' are we.jpg)

I must admit that the first time I didn't go for shoting any cards, but the pose in which the girl fell (25 - She fell there, don't blame me.jpg) gave me the idea. I just haven't thought she can be put in such an use. But, eh, in addition to the previous models, now I present you the card from Bloated Float Tavern. (26 - Card from Bloated Float Tavern.jpg)

Just to report. I've got the Azura's star, so I am basically on the part I wanted to rollback to. I guess there is still much to happen before I finish the main quest. Don't tell me what comes. I will run into everything at a considerably low level which promise a real struggle and using every available trick to get through. During the previous game I got a Daedric Claymore in an Oblivion gate. I didn't have that luck again by now.

So, I will be looking forward to telling the tale and posting some more cards for Satis. If Satis move to Oblivion again, we could make a competition who can make better ones.

So far, I must admit that Oblivion is far much more interesting game than Morrowind. In Morrowind I had drive to do random rampages from time to time, just to get some action. In Oblivion - not. It does not leave me space to be bored, and was less buggy by now.

p.s.
I have habit of gathering all sorts of ingredients. That's how I stumbled on a Nirnroot on the coast, near the Imperial City. Heh, I will be looking forward to finding more.

Reading your journal made me contemplate installing Morrowind again...I even pulled it out of my closet and put it next to my laptop, but decided against it. There probably wasn't much merit in playing it for the 5th time or so. Instead I replayed Arx Fatalis.

keep it coming. And keep in mind, if you do the main quest stuff at low lvl your opponents will also be low lvl. Kvatch will be filled with Scamps and other lowly daedra...when I first did Kvatch in my very first game I waited so long they all levelled up to Daedroths and fire daedra. Nasty!

yes, the autolevelling, probably the biggest fault of Oblivion. If not for that, I might still be playing it. Not likely, actually. Still, it's a great game.

Alright, I just finished the main quest. I was not that low level as I thought I will be (11 - 13) so I got some extra difficulties.

One more thing I discovered is that Oblivion definitely has sort of bug about screenshot saving. I'm not sure what it would be yet, but I am sure that I will not be able to post some screenshots I wanted to. So, I will write and post later. Now I am frustrated enough because of lost of the screenshots.

When we're talking about bugs, what about this one (see the image)? Yes, the guy has spoken that also. I don't think I need to say anything else. I just do not know if it is more irritating than ROFL or vice versa.

So, let me recall what I did after I gave the Azura's Star to
Martin and elliminate and investigate (or was it vice versa ) these two spies. Ah yes, I was sent to help captain Burd to close an Oblivion gate. Luck was that he cannot die, or otherwise I would get stuck. I am just not good at protecting someone who does not know to protect himself.

Immediatelly after this I got two another quests: to get help for Bruma and to dig up the Sancre Tor. I went first for getting help for Bruma. Did the towns in this order (positive circle): Chorrol, Skingrad, Kvatch, Anvil, Bravil, Leyawiin and Cheydinhal. It was frustrating at the moment since I wanted to take down the gate before talking to the city ruler, which made it happen that I close two gates near the city, and there is still one I did not see and exactly that one concerns the count/ess. First later, with Leyawiin, I realized I should talk to the ount/ess first. Meh. And especially idiotic was that quest with "Knights of Thorn", which I was lucky to stumble on in the end, or otherwise Farwil would not have made it. For good babysitting, in the end I got a bonus I didn't count with: Thornblade.

One more thing that I found funny about Oblivion gates is forcing your opponents to step in lava (28 - You do not have to fight them, just burn them.jpg). Really easy way to elude some pester of overnumbering opponents.

When this was done, I went to the Sancre Tor, which I intentionally left second to give time for help to travel to Bruma. Inspired by Jauffre's story about the place, I went there with all the best equipment and ready to spend the whole day in passing through the place. In fact, except the outside skeletons, who were not super deal, this ruin was lame: I had to deal only with ghosts and undead blades. The thing with ghosts was quite of fun rather, since I discovered (or was it just my imagination) that you can wait for them to waste out their magicka trying to hit you with some magic (29 - You just can't hit me.jpg) and then have very little difficulty to desintegrate them with a silver or daedric weapon. After I took down all four undead blades I found them in a Hall (30 - A very old quest.jpg), ready to dispell the field that was peventing me from taking the armor I came for.

Now we come to the part with Miscarcand, of which I have lost the screenshots. Just for the sake of how easy the ending is, I remade some of them, but nobody is definitely making me pass again through that.

It started with backstabbing few goblins, after which I've seen that skeletons are also doing my work. In one of the corridors, I've met a skeleton archer with silver arrows and discovered glitch that allows you to gater as many silver arrows as you want, if you're patient enough of course. I was dodging his attacks for X times, until I realized I already gathered over 200 silver arrows and decided to break it. Worth of mentioning is how ugly those headless Zombies are (31 - Ugly things.jpg).

In most of cases I let skeletons first get rid of goblins before I interfere. In the end, I got few times badly kicked by the King, but then I found a exploit you can use to defeat him without being touched. After you take the stone, just jump on another plateau, to which you do not have stairs, and the King will have to attack you with magic from the distance (fairly easy to dodge - 33 - Dodging magic, hah.jpg). Here is the place where I used these silver arrows to get rid of him. (34 - The dude's dead.jpg)

Beside this, I used this place as a quite good training polygon for mass lockpicking and I think I got some cool stuff also, but can't remember "if" and "what" at the moment.

*edit*
I forgot to post the image of the Great Welkynd Stone. It's added now. (32 - A beautiful thing indeed.jpg)

I think the next thing was the defense of Bruma. I had to call its countess to meeting and in short we concluded it's time to open these gates. There I've seen how good is that I called much of help, as it again wasn't just get somewhere they can't follow you and then take them from distance, but as well "protect the Emperor by the way". Although I was full "to the teeth" with potions and other stuff I prepared for the big oblivion gate, I spent most of it on this battlefield.

I just wanted to say "enough rambling about this buggy plot" when I realized I lost the precious save where I shoted all the heroes who came to the battlefield (35 - Whoever came here is a goddamn hero. Heroes, I salute you.jpg).

*remaking the shot*

Ok, so it was a dirty group sex. I bet nobody knew who is * with whom, nor I knew if the Emperor will fall under my blade next, but since I didn't get any notice of his death (like you do in Morrowind, when you mess up the main quest) I didn't bother much. When I saw the great gate opening (36 - This is a big thing.jpg), I ran to it. During the battle I switched my Dremora Longsword twice with the ones from things' bodies.

Inside, on the gates, I got first the warm welcome of the Siege Crawler (37 - Warm welcome.jpg). It missed. Soon after that I ran for the door of the right tower. Then proceeded to further without switching to the left side, and soon I jumped over a broken way - it wasn't just the stuff for anyone. I do not know how is that part meant to happen if you can't make the jump. Then I again went for the right tower, where I pulled the lever to open the gates and got to the main tower.

Now, more into detail. I think I did not kill a thing in these towers. But I was using all possible lacks of AI and eventually even fooled few opponents into deathfalls. See this Daedra something for instance (38 - Another one, fooled to fall down.jpg). Other tactics was using any possible thing to hook on, and shorten the way down through the towers by jumping.

The tower itself wasn't anything special. Once you determine the right way, you can get through it with getting hit quite few times. Since I didn't kill the keyholder, I had to pick the lock on the last door before the final part of the tower. Easy work (three pins only).

*I lost the image of the great sigil stone, and am not going to make it again *

When it was done (39 - Done.jpg), I took a look at the battlefield (40 - Battlefield aftermath.jpg). Martin was alive, or there would not be applause for sure, but who's left? Although it would not be anything unexpected if the young blade didn't make it, I was glad to see him among the survivors.

After all this I left to the Weynon priory for rest, which took 24 hrs. I also leveled up. After that, I had to repair every stuff broken and to get some extra healing potions for I did not know what awaits me in the Paradise.

When I returned to the temple, I've seen the both acquired stones again. This time they were together (41 - Both of precious stones, together.jpg). It was time to enter the Paradise. On the first look (42 - The Paradise.jpg) I was indeed surprised. I expected to see something like previous Oblivion gates. The second surprise were Frost Atronaches (43 - What the... .jpg) and Daedroths (44 - What an ugly thing.jpg). The things I never wanted to meet. The third surprise was that none of ascended immortals attacked me at that part. They were rather attacking the previously named creatures, helping me.

After getting through these unexpected barriers, I was too afraid my weaponry won't make it through this part, even with all repairing hammers I had, so I chosen fight with Kathutet, which proven to be fairly easy task. I just jumped on a stone and was filling him with arrows till he was dead. This does not rhyme so well as "So I kicked 'em in the head till he was dead." yet does the job.

After all that surprises, some things didn't change, like these creatures, still easily falling into the deadly lava (45 - And again, it is so easy to fool them fall where they shouldn't.jpg).

In the end, I was so delighted to see some faces again (46 - Some known faces.jpg) that I forgot to reheal when I entered the terrain for the first battle. Yet, the ballmaster's (48 - And the target.jpg) habit to have long speech has saved me, although after an unsuccessful battle I decided to do that part again and reheal before I enter the place.

I didn't find a good way to pass this. Basically I was repeating the final battle desired to focus all my attacks to Mankar, ignoring the rest, which was left to Eldamil (did I say I took him with?). In most, I had no luck. Mankar was strongly rehealing himself, while Eldamil kept dying. But once it happened that Mankar somehow failed to reheal and I took him in very few slashes. For the first hit I was always using the thornblade, to set him on fire. For the next slashes a dremora sword served me well.

With Mankar's death I was teleported back home. And there comes another buggy part. Martin is simply demanding travel to the Imperial City Palace IMMEDIATELY, while I so badly need to renew my inventory and be repaired before I get to the next bit of troubles (Oh yes, the first time I did not know it is going to happen so soon. Good that I made a save.). Buggy I call it, because Martin kept up "disappearing" after passing through few areas, which was causing game crashes in the end. After good several tries I managed to visit Weynon Priory and at least repair some things myself with the rest of repair hammers that were left.

I didn't take shots of escorting the Emperor to the Temple of the One, because it was rather very irritating task to survive being in the first front line, not to mention managing. Once I also got squashed by Dagon. As I succeeded, I realized that both Jauffre and Baurus probably didn't make it. I couldn't find them. Maybe I will work on this more later. For now, the main quest has been officially completed, (49 - Fight between good and evil. So typical.jpg) and in 40 days ingame or in 20:27:11 of gameplay.

This is where the funny part begins.

I forgot to post the stats. I am especially proud of one: Lockpicks broken = 0. It costed me many frustrating reloadings but in the end I started picking locks without much retrying.

Does somebody know in which story these two pieces of shit fit in? They attacked without any provocation. Still they do not look like simple bandits. (55 - wtf.jpg, 56 - wtf2.jpg)

Btw, the manor is owned from today on. I finally got what I was craving for. Now I can dispose and classify everything I want... somewhere. (57 - The manor owned.jpg)