Morrowind Newbie Requests Character Help

[Stratos]

There should be a yellow symbol at the lower left side of the sceen when you're successfully sneaking. Just holding down Control is not enough. You can read books without getting caught for stealing as long as you don't try to pick up the book. It makes reading books to increase your skills a whole lot cheaper; just walk into the nearest bookstore and start reading like it was a public library.

You can member of any guild and faction in the game, but only one of the Great Houses Hlaalu, Redoran and Telvanni. For most part the quests of the different guilds don't conflict with each other, but there are some conflict between the Thieves Guild and the Fighters Guild.

The only real advantage of short swords are that they're quicker than larger, heavier weapons. Good Short Blades are quite common in the game, almost as common as Large Blades, so it's not a bad choice to go with them if that's your style.

[Kyrvias]

The sign looks like a purse being cut with a dagger.

[theGrimm]

Personally, if I'm powergaming as opposed to roleplaying, I choose:

Redguard/Nord
The Lady

Favorite attributes: Endurance / Luck
Specializing in Magic

Primary
--------
Marksman
Any Armour
Long Blade
Enchant
Repair

Secondary
---------
Alchemy
Conjuration

And anything else probably won't even be used.

I take enchant and repair as primary because I tend to use these skills heavily, and they are hard to level up from a low score. All my security, stealth, magic needs are done with enchanted items, and it's often cheap if you know the necessary ones.

If you plan on using Marksman, the Bound Longbow spell is the only way to go (for powergamers), hence the choice of conjuration as a spell. It has an inherent fortify marksman 10pts, and it's cheap (to cast and to buy).

However, roleplaying is often more fun, but then you'd choose your skills based on your character.

[Brayf]

If I feel like power-gaming a character I normally go for an Altmer under the sign of The Lord, for the fire weakness adds a bit of spice even at higher levels.

[Sever]

I just thought of another handy tip. Pressing F1 on your keyboard will bring up a menu where you can assign 9 weapons/magic/lockpicks etc to hotkeys. Very handy.

Do let us know how you're going.

[NobleNick]

Originally posted by Stratos: There should be a yellow symbol at the lower left side of the sceen when you're successfully sneaking. Just holding down Control is not enough.

Sever's long post, at top, (and several others) came in while I was working on my last post (spent time AFK). Then I had connection problems and could not post again. Thanks to all who chimed in.

Thanks for all the advice, Stratos. I appreciate it. One question: If holding down CNTRL is not enough, what else must I do? I do have a gold symbol in the lower left; but, to me, it looks more like a fist than a purse.

I think I have gleaned just enough info from the game; FAQs; and you, my Morrowind Forum friends; to make a REAL start (even though I *still* haven't made LVL 2 on my Nord Rogue!).

I tend towards power gaming (as anyone familiar with the IWD/HoW forum will vouch). Sever, your suggestions just happen to map very closely to what I was spiraling in on, for a first try:

I was leaning towards Dark Elf and towards the stealth side of things. I contemplated Stratos' advice to move Merchantile down the list; because I want to move Alchemy and Long Blade up. (I think Alchemy will be great fun!) But with high Merchantile, I figured I'd be able to get higher prices on my loot; and, therefore, afford more training for Long Blade and Alchemy. All that I really wanted to make it worth it was an extra 20% for my wares. I'm not beyond a re-roll; and figured if it was less than 20%, I might switch Merchantile and Long Blade on the Major/Minor split. But the extra cash has easily met my expectations, so I'll keep it this way.

I picked light armor. Have seen a FAQ or two that says medium is NOT a sweet spot in armor choices: "Marginally better protection than Light armor at only twice the weight." Ha, hah, hah.. guess what I had dressed my Nord in...

I didn't want to part with the magic protection of Atronaught; but finally decided to trust Sever: that the Speechcraft boost is worth it. (Yeah, I get Endurance, too --> Treating that as a bonus.)

Sever's suggestion was for a male character, I presume. Are there any niches where a female character would be a better choice? (Like I said, I am not beyond a re-roll.)

This is what I have (I hate being a copycat; but this is basically a cut and paste of Sever's suggestion):

Name: Tarnaq
Race: Dark Elf.
Gender: Male
Sign: The Lady. 25 pts in Endurance and Personality
Specialisation: Stealth.
Favourite Attributes: Intelligence; Agility.

Strength: 40.
Intelligence: 50. Need for skills.
Willpower: 30.
Agility: 50. Need for skills.
Speed: 50.
Endurance: 65. Will help to keep your hit points up.
Personality: 55.

MAJOR:
-Speechcraft: 35.
-Mercantile: 35.
-Sneak: 35.
-Marksman: 40.
-Light Armour: 40.

MINOR:
-Long Blade: 20.
-Alchemy: 15.
-Alteration: 15.
-Security: 20.
-Enchant: 15.

The bow skills *are* nice, Sever! This guy has been practicing a bit on the local critters. (I don't think my Nord ever killed ANYTHING with his bow!) QUESTION: You mentioned that stealth improves bow damage. Is this automatic; or is there something special I should be doing?

And the better prices at the merchant are also nice. I did the "take and drop platter" trick just after getting off the boat. The extra cash is a boon. I intend to go back and get the warehouse key; but thanks to all the excellent advice from you guys, I have plenty of dough, and don't need it now.

I found the tax collector. Is there anyone I can blackmail/expose with his records (I have been trying); or is just turning it in the best course?

So, after I get this character to CC in Balmora (see, I finally got the town name right!), which guild(s) would you suggest I join?

Are there any ill effects from just keeping *ALL* of Fargoth's booty, and not returning to the quest giver? And on the same note: Can the note, under the first dagger you find, be parlayed into some money/advantage?

Oh, and one last thing (for today) : Is the Morrowind ES3 storyline something that pulls you along; something that DRIVES you to finish the game? Or is it something, that, when you are done, you say (*yawn*) "I guess that was O.K." ? For instance, I liked the IWD storyline and subplots. I hear that Baldur's Gate is even better. I played Starcraft, Myth I, and Guild Wars; and thoroughly enjoyed those stories, as well. How would the Morrowind story, and story delivery, rate in there?

Sorry for all the little "nit-picky" questions; but I easily overlook the easy things. I like a challenge; but get upset that I have cost myself lots of time doing something the hard way, because I was oblivious to the "obvious" solution. Very minor spoilers appreciated. Thanks for the help!

[Kyrvias]

So, after I get this character to CC in Balmora (see, I finally got the town name right!), which guild(s) would you suggest I join?

Join the Thieves guild in Balmora first. They will give you some easy jobs, and its a great way to start out.

Are there any ill effects from just keeping *ALL* of Fargoth's booty, and not returning to the quest giver? And on the same note: Can the note, under the first dagger you find, be parlayed into some money/advantage?

No disadvantage whatsoever. Exept you don't get the "Quest Finished" line in your journel [img]smile.gif[/img]

Oh, and one last thing (for today) : Is the Morrowind ES3 storyline something that pulls you along; something that DRIVES you to finish the game? Or is it something, that, when you are done, you say (*yawn*) "I guess that was O.K." ? For instance, I liked the IWD storyline and subplots. I hear that Baldur's Gate is even better. I played Starcraft, Myth I, and Guild Wars; and thoroughly enjoyed those stories, as well. How would the Morrowind story, and story delivery, rate in there?

Morrowind is the most open game EVER. You might be compelled to do the storyline first and formost, but all of the cities and the quests just call to you. Its your choice. Always.

Hope this helps!

[ 11-10-2005, 10:58 AM: Message edited by: Kyrvias ]

[NobleNick]

Join the Thieves guild in Balmora first. They will give you some easy jobs, and its a great way to start out. Thanks, Kyrvias.

No disadvantage whatsoever. Exept you don't get the "Quest Finished" Great! I'll keep it all; and return later in the game when I have more cash.

Morrowind is the most open game EVER. You might be compelled to do the storyline first and formost, but all of the cities and the quests just call to you. Its your choice. Always. O.K. I guess what I wanted to ask was: Do you FEEL compelled to do the story, for the story's sake, because you really want to know how things turn out; or do you just do other stuff, because the really interesting part is bobbling back and forth from town to town and exploring the countryside, and the story is just window dressing.

Hope this helps! Most definitely.

[Stratos]

Thanks for all the advice, Stratos. I appreciate it. One question: If holding down CNTRL is not enough, what else must I do? I do have a gold symbol in the lower left; but, to me, it looks more like a fist than a purse.

I always thought the stealth symbol depicted a hand snatching a purse, but let us just settle with that is small, yellow and at the lower left side of the screen. In any case, you only need to hold down CTRL to sneak, while the stealth symbol shows up whenever you're in "sneak mode" and currently go undetected. If it disappears while you're sneaking around it means someone have seen you.

I found the tax collector. Is there anyone I can blackmail/expose with his records (I have been trying); or is just turning it in the best course?

None, a far as I know. You can tell the Census Office clerk about the tax collector for a reward, and an additional quest to find the killer. I believe the reward is less than the gold found on the tax collector so you might want to avoid giving him the money.

So, after I get this character to CC in Balmora (see, I finally got the town name right!), which guild(s) would you suggest I join?

The Thieves Guild is a good choice, they can remove any bounty you managed to get on your head. Other than that, simply join any guild or faction that strikes your fancy. If you want to know more about them, all of them have books describing their purpose and general philosophy, usually somewhere inside their guild halls and offices. The Thieves Guild on, for example, is called "Honor Amongst Thieves".

You might also want to check out any of the Great Houses; House Hlaalu in Balmora, House Redoran in Ald'Ruhn and House Telvanni in Sadrith Mora. Eventually, these Great Houses will also allow you to build your own stronghold. You can only join one of them, though, so choose carefully.

Oh, and one last thing (for today) : Is the Morrowind ES3 storyline something that pulls you along; something that DRIVES you to finish the game? Or is it something, that, when you are done, you say (*yawn*) "I guess that was O.K." ? For instance, I liked the IWD storyline and subplots. I hear that Baldur's Gate is even better. I played Starcraft, Myth I, and Guild Wars; and thoroughly enjoyed those stories, as well. How would the Morrowind story, and story delivery, rate in there?

Morrowind is a very open ended game, but the Main Quest (MQ) is really just a series of quest not more different than those of any of the game's faction, with the exception that it follows a storyline. It's decent in itself, but what's most interresting about it is the lore surrounding it. It's when you delve into the many books and manuscripts in the game, as well as talking to knowledgable persons, and try to pussle things together where the fun begins. Alot of details about the story are not really served to you on a silver plate as in many other games. Other than that, the MQ isn't as much the focus of the game as is the case in more linear games.

Delivering the package to Caius Cosades initiates the MQ, there's not time limit and you can continue to play the game after you've finished it. Get the expanion packs if you get the chance.

[ 11-10-2005, 05:18 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

[Kyrvias]

Oh, well, like Stratos said, its the immersiveness that draws you in. Not just into the main storyline, but to outer quests as well. Especially guild quests. So, yes, in a sense you can be compelled to do the main quest first and formost. I would warn against that however, explore, get some new magic items