Morrowind Newbie Requests Character Help

[NobleNick]

Originally posted by Stratos: Using items (Like Fargoth's ring): There should be a button that scrolls items/spells and one for weapons. I don't remember what the defaults are but in the Options screen, under Control, you can assign keys as you see fit. To use an item or spell, select it by readying it (there should be a button for this) and then press whatever button you press to attack. Attacking, using items and casting spells really work the same way; it's all just a matter of what you currently got selected and ready.

Thanks for your very quick reply, Stratos. I appreciate it, since I intend to play this game a bit more tonight. [img]tongue.gif[/img] Everything you said was helpful (especially the level up system, thanks!); except I don't think I quite understand the above. Let me repeat back what I *think* you said:

You select an item (don't quite know how) and hit a key (like maybe the "R" key?) to "Ready" the item. Then mouse-click on something (like you were attacking it) to use the "R"eadied item on the target. (How do you target yourself for a heal?)

How do you know you have advanced in, say, AXE? I have carved up 3 mud crabs, one other little critter, and all opponents I could find in the AddaWhatever cave (except slaves), with my axe; but my axe skill is still 45: same as when I rolled the character.

[Stratos]

For items and spells there should be two buttons (one forward scroll and one backwards) to scroll through your availabe choices. Look for the small boxes at the lower left side of your screen to see what item or spell you currently got selected. The ready the item/spell by pressing the "R" key and use it with the left mouse key. Weapons works the same way but have different scrolling keys and uses the "F" button instead to ready them.

To see how far you've advanced in a skill, simply drag your mouse pointer over the skill in your statistics screen. The higher your skill is, the longer it takes to increase that skill.

[Sever]

Maybe i was wrong about the manual thang. My bad. But i always like wads of lore in my game manuals and Morrowind's is sadly lacking. If no one's provided any info by the time i finish work, i'll sift through mine and post the bits that i think will be relevant to a newcomer. Don't have time to do it just now, sorry.

Anyway, about the levelling up thing:

From the manual: Increasing your level is dependant on improving the major and minor skills associated with your class. In order to raise a level, you must improve any combination of your major or minor skills by a total of 10 points.

You'll see a pop-up message box at the bottom of your screen whenever any of your major, minor or miscellaneous skills are raised during play.

From the manual: There are three ways to increase a skill. 1. Use it over and over. * 2. Buy training from another character. ** 3. Learn more about the skill from special books. ***

* Your major and minor skills, being your characters specialty, will require less use to raise in this fashion.
** Not all characters offer training. You cannot train a skill above the governing attribute of that skill. A skill's GA can be seen when passing the mouse over a skill in the character stats box. Right clicking the mouse will bring up your in-game menus. (Sorry if that's a little obvious...)
*** Whilst you're in Seyda Neen, check upstairs in the light house to find one of these "special" (meh) books. To read a book once it's in your inventory, drag and drop to your profile.

Oh, and "T" stands for Time AFAIK. Time isn't as important as it was in Daggerfall (ES:II) since all shops and services are available 24-7. But if you're a roleplayer, like me, (and i've an inkling you may be) you may want to schedule your day by the clock.

More after work...

[Stratos]

To heal yourself with spells, simply cast a healing spell that have the "on Self" property. Check out the spell description in your inventory/statistics/menu screen. The description of a healing spell could say something like "Restore Health 2 to 20 pts on Self".

[NobleNick]

Thanks, Stratos and Sever,

~
~ possible minor spoilers, below ~
~

My character finally ran last night, thanks to Stratos. Does this increase athletics?

Is there something I should know about how and when to level? I understand that I could get like 4 advances in Axe and 1 in blocking to level; or I could get 1 in each of 5 different things. Can I get one advance in each of, say, 10 different things and then rest to level? Would that give me 2 levels or 1? Is there any advantage to doing it one way or the other?

I stole a book on potion mixing in Pelnior (sp?) on the way to Balnora. So if I drag that book onto my character I might be able to mix potions? I have collected a large array of herbs and etc.; but haven't a clue how to use them. How does one mix up potions? Do I need that mortar and pestal I saw for sale somewhere?

If you steal from an individual's house, and they do NOT catch you, does it affect their attitude towards you if you return later? In other words, is there ANY disadvantage (e.g., bad attitudes, bad karma, etc.) for stealing, if you do NOT get caught?

I took a right, just through the gate, after walking to Balnora; and entered a tavern/inn of sorts on the left. (There were several trainers there.) The proprietor took 10 gold from me for a bed; but I was not able to sleep in any of the rooms with beds. What am I doing wrong?

I got my first skill increase after training with a Thief in Balnora, so now I know what that pop-up is that you talked about; but I still haven't advanced in Axe (or anything else)! I need big time help in Speechcraft.

Yes, I understand you can recover from poor early choices; but I don't want to have to spend an inordinate amount of time doing so. I know I am going to re-roll a character; but I want to play this one long enough to figure out what NOT to do. (And I hope to shorten THAT amount of time by picking YOUR brains. [img]tongue.gif[/img] )

[Kyrvias]

You advance a level for every 10 major and minor skills, not five.

What not to do:
1) Attack gaurds. You *will* be killed. at least until you are a higher level.
2)Steal when people are around. You can always kill a person if he/she is alone in a house, but that might be against your ethos


or the beginning, that should be enough. and one more thing, don't attack anybody that hasn't attacked you first.

Good luck with your "rerolled" character!

[Sever]

Originally posted by NobleNick: Thanks, Stratos and Sever, ~ ~ possible minor spoilers, below ~ ~ My character finally ran last night, thanks to Stratos. Does this increase athletics?

Yep. Although if your trying to increase athletics the old fashioned way, you're better off doing it by swimming.

Originally posted by NobleNick: Is there something I should know about how and when to level? I understand that I could get like 4 advances in Axe and 1 in blocking to level; or I could get 1 in each of 5 different things. Can I get one advance in each of, say, 10 different things and then rest to level? Would that give me 2 levels or 1? Is there any advantage to doing it one way or the other?[/QB]

Any combination will do. When you have 10, you'll get a message telling you to rest. That's when you can level up. You recieve three "raise tokens" (for lack of a better term) with which you can select three attributes to increase on level up. The amount that an attribute is raised is determined by a multiplier which, in turn, is determined the skills you raised during that level. Or, more specifically, the governing attributes of those skills. Raising several skills with a GA of strength will increase the amount of the strength gained (multiplier) when placing a token on the strength attribute. Misc, skills are used when determining this multiplier, but at a lesser value than majors and minors. I don't know the exact values of m/m/m respectively OTTOMH.

Stop looking at me like [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img] ... It sounds complicated, i know, but you'll see. Someone else may be able to explain it better...

Originally posted by NobleNick: I stole a book on potion mixing in Pelnior (sp?) on the way to Balnora. So if I drag that book onto my character I might be able to mix potions? I have collected a large array of herbs and etc.; but haven't a clue how to use them. How does one mix up potions? Do I need that mortar and pestal I saw for sale somewhere?[/QB]

The book is only good for a one-time skill raise (if it's a good book). The mortar and pestle is the essential component and the only one you can equip. The other apparatus serve to increase the duration and potency of effects or lessen negative effects.

Depending on your alchemy skill, you should see 1-4 magical effects in the pop-up box when you highlight an ingredient. Combining two different ingredients with the same effect will produce a potion with that effect. If it's a successful attempt that is - you may want to stock up on ingredients or training before getting serious about alchemy. (Eating an ingredient, by equiping, will give your character the first listed effect - but at a lesser potency)

You'll need an alchemy skill of around 75 or so before you can see all 4 effects of any one ingredient. And a skill under 20 is frustrating when making your own potions.

Originally posted by NobleNick: If you steal from an individual's house, and they do NOT catch you, does it affect their attitude towards you if you return later? In other words, is there ANY disadvantage (e.g., bad attitudes, bad karma, etc.) for stealing, if you do NOT get caught?[/QB]

No. Not house owners anyway. Don't try to sell something you've lifted from a shop back to the shop owner though.

Originally posted by NobleNick: I took a right, just through the gate, after walking to Balnora; and entered a tavern/inn of sorts on the left. (There were several trainers there.) The proprietor took 10 gold from me for a bed; but I was not able to sleep in any of the rooms with beds. What am I doing wrong?[/QB]

Most inns have a "room door" which is locked until you pay for it. Are you sure you found the right one? If you're in The Lucky Lockup, it's up stairs and to your left. If you're in the Council Club, it's downstairs and to your right. If not either of them, i don't know sorry.

Originally posted by NobleNick: I got my first skill increase after training with a Thief in Balnora, so now I know what that pop-up is that you talked about; but I still haven't advanced in Axe (or anything else)! I need big time help in Speechcraft.[/QB]

Speechcraft and Mercantile are hard to raise by practical use and, as such, are major skills number 1 and 2 in all my characters. But that's just me. If your gift of the gab is below 20, you're gonna have a hard time persuading most people. Best approach early on is to use the bribe technique (higher success) on important people (those who are benificial to get into cahoots with - store owners, people with services etc) or the admire/intimidate technique on nobodies (commoners, guards etc). If you come across a stubborn bastard who's co-operation is needed for a quest, try scrolls of Heartwise and potions of Telvanni bug mask but they're sometimes hard to locate/afford early on.

Originally posted by NobleNick: Yes, I understand you can recover from poor early choices; but I don't want to have to spend an inordinate amount of time doing so. I know I am going to re-roll a character; but I want to play this one long enough to figure out what NOT to do. (And I hope to shorten THAT amount of time by picking YOUR brains. [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) [/QB]

I'm getting yelled at to go to bed right now, but i'll post a list of first character no no's tomorrow. About that manual, after flicking through it, there's really only a few bits that need conveying, but they're gonna have to wait for now. Sorry

[Stratos]

I never got the level-up multiplier system, or rather, I understood completely it once but not anymore. The basic idea is tat you get attribute multipliers depending on what skills you've increased to level-up. Many skill increases in strength dependend skills give multipliers in strength.

To mix potions, buy/steal/find a mortar and pestle and simply select it and drag it to your character paperdoll in the inventory screen. A new box should appear where you can select which ingredients to mix, select your alchemic equipment as well as naming your potion. There are three other alchemic tools in addition to the mortar and pestle:

*Retort - increases the magnitude and duration of all positive effects.
*Alembic - decreases the magnutide and duration of all negative effects
*Calcinator - Increases the effect and duration of all effects.

The three above is optional but you always need a mortar and pestle to mix potions. Your success rate in mixing potions depends on your Alchemy skill and your Luck.

[NobleNick]

Originally posted by Sever: You recieve three "raise tokens" with which you can select three attributes to increase on level up. The amount that an attribute is raised is determined by a multiplier which, in turn, is determined the skills you raised during that level. Or, more specifically, the governing attributes of those skills. Raising several skills with a GA of strength will increase the amount of the strength gained (multiplier) when placing a token on the strength attribute... The book is only good for a one-time skill raise (if it's a good book)... Most inns have a "room door" which is locked until you pay for it. Are you sure you found the right one? If you're in The Lucky Lockup, it's up stairs and to your left. If you're in the Council Club, it's downstairs and to your right... I'm getting yelled at to go to bed right now, but i'll post a list of first character no no's tomorrow...

Thank you for the help, Sever (and you, too, Stratos). I am looking forward to the character "no-no's" ; but please don't let me be the reason for discord in the family, even if yours is half a world away!

~
~ possible minor spoilers, below ~
~

On leveling: Let me see if I understand --> For case A, I use my tokens for 2 majors with a GA of (say) strength, and the last token for strength. Then next time I level I use 2 tokens to advance 2 skills with GA of XXXXX and use the last token to advance XXXXX.

For Case B, I use my tokens for 2 majors with a GA of strength, and the last token for XXXXX. Then next time I level I use 2 tokens to advance 2 majors with GA of XXXXX and use the last token for strength.

Case A is the better thing to do, correct?

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?

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.

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)?

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?

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?


[ 11-08-2005, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[Brayf]

1) He's not in the cave.

SPOILER


He's in the inn in Pelagiad.

[ 11-08-2005, 06:01 PM: Message edited by: Brayf ]