Morrowind Newbie Requests Character Help

[Kyrvias]

Your bow skill can be... questoinable at times. Even when you shoot someone in the chest at point blank range, you might not hit them. It all depends on your skill.

Some merchants sell picks and... I really don't remember what it is called, a "Thieves blank"

It looks like an upside down L...

[Sever]

Just quickly: The bow is DEADLY if you've got the right technique (stealth ), a high skill and, of course, a good bow. Bonemold or steel longbows are cheep and common early on. But keep an eye out in enchanters stores for a "demon" or "devil" bow. This will more than likely be your standard for a while... And go visit Syrollus Saccus in the Hawkmoth garrison in Ebonheart. He'll fix you up with some decent points.

To sneak around, if you haven't figured it yet, hold down the control button. Most stealing, pickpocketing actions are performed while you're in stealth mode. If stealth mode is working successfully, you'll see an icon in bottom left.

About the level up "tokens", you're way off. Keep what i said in mind until you level. Then it should all makes sense.

[theGrimm]

I've never quite gotten the negativity against the atronach birth sign. You don't regenerate mana when you sleep, but a quick visit to a shrine and 35 gold sorts that right out. In action you'll need potions anyway.

Only really a problem right in the beginning of the game, if you are low on resources and practicing magic using cantrips.

And the absorb is huge!

And in case nobody know me, I'm new to this forum. Used to post a bit in the BG forum, and have been playing DII recently. But I'd like to get involved here in anticipation of Oblivion.

[Stratos]

Originally posted by NobleNick: On the alchemy: So, the book *WILL* increase my alchemy skill, *IF* it was designed to do so. Now, in addition, are the recipes in the book good? In other words, can I and should I use it as the guide for cooking up potions?) Can I store excess ingredients in chests for safe-keeping, or will NPCs steal from me? Finally, *IF* I achieve a high success rate on brewing potions; is it cost effective to make and sell potions; or should I just sell excess ingredients?

Yes, there are many books in the game that increases your skills, including Alchemy. Most (all?) of them also tell a story and there's usually some connection with the skill increases and the events in the story.

As for the recipe book, if it's the same book I'm thinking about (the one with recipies of some basic potions), then yes, they work. Either write down the recipes on a piece of paper or carry the book with you for reference. Unless, of course, you have a good memory.

NPC's wont steal items you put in containers of any kind, but make sure no one owns the container you intend to use to store your stuff. If you're caught taking the items later it's considered as stealing, even if you putted the items there yourself. Finding some empty house, or kill someone and take theirs, might be a good idea if you need a storage house.

You can make money, yes, by making and selling potions. Merchants will even buy dangerous or poisonous potions. Some ingredients are quite rare, though, so you migh not want to waste them on potions you don't intend to use. Depending on your Alchemy skill and the quality of your alchemy equpment, the potion you get out might be worth less than the cost of the ingredients. Expensive ingredients you don't intend to use you're better of selling; you can always but them back later. Rare and expensive ingredients are also a good source of income as the generally don't weigh so much so you can carry around alot of it.

On the inn: Yes, it was the Council Club. I went down the stairs; paid for the room; went past the crowd; took a right down the ramp; and met the thief trainer at the bottom of the ramp (and learned a skill). There were 2 rooms at the bottom of the ramp. I tried the room to the left (unlocked and unoccupied, but seemed to be in use), and then the room to the right (unlocked, unoccupied and seemed to NOT be in use). Each time, I stood right by the side of the bed and facing the bed (where I could pick up the pillow if I wanted to), and hit "T" ; but it just tells me it is illegal to sleep there.

The room you can rent in an inn is always locked before you've paid the innkeeper. Other rooms might be unlocked and empty, so you can use the beds there if you're cheap ( ), but if someone sees you it's considered a crime.

To use a bed simply "Activate" it. Unless you've changed the keys it should be the "Space" key. The "T" is used for passing time, and in the wilderness and dungeons, to rest.

Oh, yes! Three more things, from my trip to Balnora: 1.) Is the bandit, that the love-sick lady is looking for, REALLY nearby (and *not* in the bandit cave that is just a bit further on towards Balnora)?

Check out Brayfs post

2.) In the afore-mentioned cave, after I do in the nix hound, I see this Elf Bandit (not the one I am looking for, I know). He is up on sort of a mezzanine deck, behind a gate. I can get a clear bead on him with my bow; but am evidently not hitting him: shot 6 arrows total, from about 3 different positions, with no hit. How close do you have to be, and how clear a shot do you need in order to get a hit? (Or am I just missing him because my bow skills suck?) A more general question: Is the bow an O.K. weapon? I mean, with decent skill, can you expect to get in a hit or two before a melee foe closes and you have to switch to shield and a close in weapon; and does the game allow you to use a bow at close range, without penalty, if you choose to do so?

If you can't hit him you're either to far away or your Marksman skill sucks. You can fire at enemies at point blank range, and as far as I know, there's no penalty other than the fact that you can't use shields with a bow.

3.) I haven't gotten past the Elf Bandit, because he is just too tough after I get zapped by the trapped gate. How do I "UN-trap" the gate?

Use a Probe on the gate to disarm the trap.

[Stratos]

Originally posted by theGrimm: I've never quite gotten the negativity against the atronach birth sign. You don't regenerate mana when you sleep, but a quick visit to a shrine and 35 gold sorts that right out. In action you'll need potions anyway. Only really a problem right in the beginning of the game, if you are low on resources and practicing magic using cantrips. And the absorb is huge! And in case nobody know me, I'm new to this forum. Used to post a bit in the BG forum, and have been playing DII recently. But I'd like to get involved here in anticipation of Oblivion.

There's nothing wrong with the Atronach sign. As a matter of fact, it's a bit too powerful, in my opinion, considering how easy it is to overcome the Atronachs stunted magicka.

[Sever]

Okay NobleNick. Ask and ye shall recieve. In answer to your prospective builds question, i've come up with what i feel is a very good starting character for someone who is new to Vvardenfell. Though i'm probably not the best person to be doing this, for reasons that i'll share later. But here goes. The All Rounder:

Race: Dark Elf. 75% fire resistance is handy right the way through the game. 50 pts of Sanctuary for 60 secs should keep you alive long enough to despatch the odd tougher baddy early on. You'll not be using this before long though.

Sign: The Lady. 25 pts in Endurance and Personality is a BIG boost right through the game. With this particular configuration, none of the other signs are worth looking into.

Specialisation: Stealth. This choice will give a nice boost to your primary skills which should tide you over nicely in the early levels.

Favourite Attributes: Agility, Intelligence.

With the race, sign and specialisation and favourites set like that, your starting stats will look like:

Strength: 40. Nothing special here, but you won't be relying on it too much. And there are many ways to increase this temporarily when you need to...
Intelligence: 50. Without an intelligence/magicka multiplier from race or sign, your magicka pool is going to be pretty low. But again, you won't be relying on it. The magick is gonna come from other sources... What you are going to need this value for is a healthy multiplier to the skills that you are going to be using.
Willpower: 30. In every build, there's a trade off. This time it's Willpower. But that's okay, the melee baddies are typically more deadly than the magick ones. She'll be right, mate.
Agility: 50. As with intelligence, this value is gonna help you with the skills you'll be using.
Speed: 50. Again, skill related. And without Athletics in your skill line-up (more later), it'll keep you running along at a nice trot. Though you probably won't need to be running from anything.
Endurance: 65. Now you see why i chose The Lady. Although you won't be needing this for skills, it will help to keep your hit points up.
Personality: 55. Gotta love The Lady. This is often underestimated by first timers, but with a starting value of 55, you won't be having too many arguements.

Okay, now for the skills.

MAJOR:
-Speechcraft: 35. This is a nice value to start at. Combined with the Personality multiplier, it's not going to be too hard to get your way. Usually underestimated by first timers.
-Mercantile: 35. Money is tight at the early levels and abundant at the latter (when you don't need it, mind). These two skill selections are a wise choice for any starting character. Especially considering they're amongst the hardest skills to raise...
-Sneak: 35. You'll be making good use of this. Early on, it's sometimes better to remain unseen until you've decided on a course of action. And it will definitely help to keep the coffers lined.
-Marksman: 40. Nice huh? 40 seems to be the point at which you start hitting your targets with a high rate of accuracy. And combined with a decent Sneak value from the start, you'll be hurting 'em too.
-Light Armour: 40. Amongst the major skills, this was the floater. I could've gone with Medium (Orcish armour is usually found pretty early) but the Stealth specialisation and racial selection favoured the Light. If you had the Tribunal expansion, then there would be no question. Light all the way (Dark Brotherhood armour at an early level ).

MINOR:
-Long Blade: 20. I went with Long for a few reasons: It combines nicely with the Dark Elf race selection to give a good starting value; they're cheap; they're common and they have a decent amount of power. You'll want to be getting a bit of practice on rats 'n kwamas 'n stuff before you can relax with it. And you may also want to swig some sujumma before swinging it at something big. Early on at least.
-Alchemy: 15. If you play this character right, you won't be needing to make your own potions. But with a starting level of 15, you'll be able to see 2 of the 4 effects on potions and ingredients. Which is very handy for someone without prior knowledge of what the potions and ingredients will do...
-Alteration: 15. This was the floater selection for the minors. You could easily substitute this for Illusion or Restoration, but i went with Alteration for the handy spells in that school - water walking, water breathing, levitate, jump... These are also the only spells that you'll be casting from your own reserve. But with a low Willpower, you're going to need some Flin or Cyrodiilic Brandy. And some practice.
-Security: 20. A nice starting value. Together with your Intelligence attribute and the right tools, this should see you through most of the locked and trapped objects that you'll come across. And it raises rather quickly too.
-Enchant: 15. This is where most of your magick is going to be coming from. At 15, it's not high, but it's good enough for the myriad of enchanted items that you'll come across. You'll want to locate a soul trap spell/item and start raising this skill by recharging items. It is not good enough for DIY enchanting though. But, if all goes well, you'll soon have enough money to pay others to do it for you.

MISCELLANEOUS:
I'm not usually too concerned about these, but in this build there's a couple of nice bonuses. Most notably Short Blade at 20 - there are a few nice daggers around the place... A Mysticism score of 10 is also going to be handy for the Soul Trap or Mark/Recall spell, but you'll need some training. 15 in Destruction may sound nice, but you're not going to find an opportunity to use it. Your offense is going to be coming from Marksman and Long Blade.

And that about does it. About the "no no" list, i've decided that it'd be more practical to have a "do do" list. I'll follow up with a list of tips for smooth transition into the economy and society of Morrowind. If you have any questions about this build?..

Oh, and as for why i'm not the best person to be doing this: I sabotage all my characters. Apart from Speechcraft, Mercantile and one or two other variables that i want high starting values for, i choose the skills that i won't be using in the game. I love the early levels...

[Stratos]

I would drop Mercantile, or at least don't put in in Major. Money is scarse early on but not scarse enough to warrant Mercantile. Enter a bandit cave, kill all hostiles and steal anything that isn't nailed down there and sell it. This should give you enough money to get going assuming you're not intending to buy expensive stuff early on. I only pick Mercantile for roleplaying reasons when I do.

Other than that, the character above is a very good one. With a few modifications, it's the kind of characters I tend to play myself.

[NobleNick]

Originally posted by Sever: To sneak around, if you haven't figured it yet, hold down the control button. Most stealing, pickpocketing actions are performed while you're in stealth mode. If stealth mode is working successfully, you'll see an icon in bottom left.

No, I hadn't figured out how to sneak around: I've just been looking around to make sure no one was watching, and lifting stuff. (I've been really careful ever since I unwittingly lifted a folded cloth, thinking I was about to read a book, and got instantly slain by all the tavern folk.) Thanks, Sever. And thanks to all who contributed to the discussions on Atronauch (sp?), Alchemy, bows, thieving, and leveling.

Well, I joined the Thieves Guild, just BEFORE I found CC, who apparently wants me in the Fighter or Mage guild; even though he mentioned in conversation that the Thieve's guild is a friend of the blades. Can I be in 2 guilds at the same time? If not, can I switch back and forth without penalties?

I am getting the feeling that thieves are expected to wield a short sword or dagger. Why is that? Is there an advantage to the short sword, over a longsword or axe-wielding thief (roleplay considerations aside)?

Thanks for the help.

[Kyrvias]

And with the Altmers weaknesses, its only logical that they get that sign

[Kyrvias]

But you can join as many as you want