[OBV] Some general game questions...

[Memnoch]

Excellent, thanks for that V. I've changed my face.

Another question - what is a Black Soul Gem?

[vesselle]

i haven't got one myself, as my character eschews magic.
however, i do believe that a black soul gem is one you soultrap from a necromancer. i think a coupla of the mage quests involve them, too.
you also need to be at a necromancer altar at the right time (midnight, maybe?), with the necromancer you're gonna trap.

okay... here's a link to the wiki on it. it'll be a lot more clear than i can be.

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

V***V

[Memnoch]

Thanks V, I think I've worked it out. I had another question re: sigil stones. Are they good for anything other than creating magic items? I've been saving up my sigil stones (the ones you get from closing Oblivion gates) - do they fulfill any other purpose that I should consider?

[Sever]

AFAIK, they're only good for enchanting.

[Kyrvias]

And they get better as you ascend in levels

[DraconisRex]

Originally posted by Memnoch: I have some general questions: 1. what do you do when it's night? Sleep in an inn till morning? Is just "waiting" until shops, etc. open ok?

If I'm on a quest, I sleep until just past 8:00AM. That's when a lot of the NPCs first start getting active. Though some start at 9:00AM.

Otherwise I hunt bandits, wild creatures or explore. Sometimes I practice my various skills, like acrobatics, athletics, restoration, conjuration (then destruction - sucks to be conjured by me) or mysticism.

2. how do you know what the time is (without checking your journal)

I don't. I just hit the tab-key and look.

3. how do I activate tooltips (are there any or do I have to memorise those symbols)

Tool tips? If they have them, it's in the manual.

4. where do you buy lockpicks? I broke all of mine (all 30 of them)

Walk out the main gate near the stables. Turn to your right, and circle clockwise. You'll run into a guy who sells them. Also, some smiths will have a few in stock. Goblins are known to carry a lot of lockpicks. There is a Deadric Quest that gives you the Skeleton Key and you'll never need to buy another lock-pick ever.

5. what are some quick ways to make money? So far I've been fighting in the Arena and have been doing ok. I explored a bit of the countryside but thought I'd stick to the city first.

Loot scales. The best way to make money is to level up as quickly as possible which will give the bandits lots of nice equipment. Kill and loot bandits. Potions are another great way to make money and improve your alchemy skill. Never forget to adjust your "Haggle" bar or fail to improve your status (speechcraft) with vendors.

6. how far is Coldhaven? (I have to get there for the Gray Prince quest)

It's on your map. Make the quest active. Use the map button. There you have it.

7. are you allowed to dual wield weapons here, or is it strictly one hand, one hand + shield and two hand?

No dual weild.

8. And a game mechanics related question - apparently leveling up is counterproductive in this game? If you level up, the enemies level up by a bigger proportion, is this true?

No. Some level up pretty much with you. Some don't level nearly as high. At my point in the game, I'm charging into huge groups of pretty powerful enemies and laughing as their blood drips off the sword of my Battlemage varient. Yet, earlier in the game it was a struggle to survive a wolf attack.

[DraconisRex]

Originally posted by Memnoch: Cheers fellas. Another question: 1. How the @#$% do you aim your bow properly? I never ever hit anything with my bow. By the time I get a couple of shots off the enemy's on top of me already. I guess I'm not Legolas...

You just have to keep working the skill. The better you get, the higher your agility becomes. The higher your agility, the harder it is for blows from others to interfere with your attacks, even at point-blank.

Also, being a bowman means you need to practice "fire & move." You really want to work at keeping your enemies at bay and shooting them at long sighting distances. Even though I seldom even carry a bow, I have, at times, worked on the skill to get my agility up and have gotten to where I can kill with two or three shots -- ESPECIALLY if I'm in "sneak mode" and get the sneak-damage modifier.

[DraconisRex]

Originally posted by Memnoch: Thanks guys. I worked out where Crowhaven was - I didn't know how to scroll my map around so I was wandering aimlessly for a while. I've been there and back. I have some more questions (not really spoilerish ones):

Good quest.

1. where is the fence you're supposed to sell to when you first join the Thieves Guild in the Imperial City

I think he's the guy who sells the lock-picks I mentioned earlier. Since I don't steal, I can't prove it.

2. How do I know if I got bitten by a vampire or not?

Your journal tells you. My rule of thumb is to always carry cure disease potions and use them after every encounter with Vampires. If I run out, I go to the nearest shrine and pray at the main alter.

3. I bought myself a horse. Can I fight on it or is it strictly for looks and travel? If I leave it somewhere untethered will someone steal it or will it run away?

They're just for travel. And are best for avoiding random encounters when you can't fast travel.

I've never had one stolen. But I've had two killed by wandering monsters while I was in a dungeon.

4. how do I enchant a weapon?

Join the mage guild so you can put an article to be enchanted and a full soul gem into the enchanting alter at the Arcane University compound. Also, the Frostcrag Spire premium module has an enchanting (and spellmaking) alter.

Cheers - I have till this Sunday to play this, then it's abstinence for a few weeks.

Ooops. Today is Monday... [img]smile.gif[/img]

[DraconisRex]

Originally posted by Memnoch: Ok, I have yet more questions: 1. Why is it that guards ALWAYS seem to know if I've stolen something? It seems like anytime I break into a house (when there are NO guards around and NOBODY inside the house), steal some items to fence, when I walk past a guard (could be like 1 hour later) they always come up to me and arrest me? My sneak skill is Apprentice level already, does it have to be higher than that? At this rate I'll never get to fence anything. I can understand getting arrested if caught in the act or immediately after, but this is BS.

Heh, heh. You have to SNEAK into the places. Otherwise the game "spots" you as you brazenly break-and-enter. Just because there's no one on the streets doesn't mean that the game can't "roleplay" people looking out windows and calling in the guard...

Something a lot of critics of this particular feature miss.

2. I'm interested in joining the Dark Brotherhood. [minor spoiler] Here's my scenario. I got visited by that bloke who offers you the quest to join. Now the character I'd like to roleplay is: a heroic type who is earning fame in the arena and by helping out in places like Kvatch, etc. and has just been inducted into the Blades (main quest) but who leads a double life. So what I want to know is: If I do any of the Brotherhood quests (which are supposed to be anonymously done, if their credo is to be believed) will I get Infamy points? Will my "nighttime job" affect people's reactions to me in the daytime?

Your fame will be so great that, after a while, the minor infamy you ever manage to pick up (I've got 72 fame, 2 infamy) won't matter in the slightest. However, I also haven't done most of the Dark Brotherhood quests so I'm not sure exactly how much infamy you'll pile up. When in doubt, always make sure that your fame is substantially higher than your infamy.

[ 05-08-2006, 09:22 AM: Message edited by: DraconisRex ]

[shamrock_uk]

Search for 'no psychic guards' on tessource if you want to make them a little less omniscient.

I'm on about 37 infamy points after completing the DB and some of the thieves guild quests.