Morrowind GOTY: OMG what have I gotten myself into?

[Terry Penrod]

.

As many of you here already know, due to a heavy workload these past two years, I still have a huge backlog of great PC games waiting to be played. I've made some big strides lately though and just completed a whole slew of action titles as well as several good adventures, action-adventures and a couple of slightly older SP RPGs like Divine Divinity and Arx Fatalis. I also just polished off Broken Sword 3 last weekend and concluded Runaway earlier tonight.

So, I was gamelessly sitting here this evening looking over this ponderous stack of other unplayed PC titles fightling for my attention like eager kids in popular class and was drawn automatically to perhaps the biggest and best of them all - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition that includes both EPs. Never one to shy away from a gaming challenge and already drooling to play it for the longest time, I just went ahead and opened it up, laid everything out and started reading the manual, etc. as well as a massive amount of info over on the dedicated Morrowind site at RPG Planet.

Upon seeing the sheer volume of details, my first thought was, "OMG... what have I gotten myself into THIS time?".

Within another hour or so, it dawned on me that it would take another solid week to get through all the raw data available on the net just at a few select / official sites and that my schedule will simply not allow for that kind of time burden just to begin getting into a CRPG.

So...

I am here to ask for some very basic pointers from anyone who has thoroughly played this version of the game and knows the most essential tech tweaks, plug-ins and basic starter tips for character creation that will make the first time thorugh a little easier in the long run. Later, once my feet are thoroughly wet, I can always explore much deeper, get all the many other secondary plug-ins, try more difficult character types and investigate every little nuance, side quest and option. But for now all I can deal with are the most fundamental things in each major area.

Even that is a pretty tall order though and I'll understand if nobody wants to tackle such a wide-open request for free help. All I can do is say pretty please with extra sugar on top and promise that once I too am experted in this vast, non-linear masterpeice of interactive digital entertainment, I will try my best to pass on that knowledge when the next fool pops-up asking for soup-to-nuts guidance in Morrowind.

Much thanks in advance for any helpful replies, they will be most graciously accepted and immensely appreciated.

Cheers, Terry

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[Kalbrecht]

Best of luck with it Terry. Oh - if you can, do a search for a dragons plugin - apparently there's a plugin that adds full sized dragons into it. I saw an series of pics from a guy who ran into a baby and killed it. This in turn attracted not only the mother but an entire horde of dragons on him. He ran to town, which was subsequently raided by the dragons and had to defend itself against the 3+ storey monsters. Grand fun.

Oh - and when you're just starting out - run and jump everywhere to build up those athletic skills!

[Gaim Mastr]

About everything I could type up and suggest to you I've already done in some threads from the old GMv forums...

Character Creation (http://www.gamersmultiverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2836)

Making Money (http://www.gamersmultiverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=813)

Performance Tweaks (http://www.gamersmultiverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1966)
Note: #6 (DontThreadLoad=1) has also proven to reduce the chances of the game crashing to desktop when loading a new section of map.

Potion Advice (http://www.gamersmultiverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=971)


Additionally.... Expect to take your time, a lot of time, to just have fun traveling around, exploring, meeting people and solving various quests (both large and small). This isn't anything like Baldur's Gate in terms of linear gameplay. You're given the very first part of the main quest right when you start the game. But there is NO time limit. You can spend as much time as you want just going from place to place and seeing the sights.

Also, don't kill everyone you run into. If you're attacked first, whoop their butts. Other than that, the more people you kill the less likely you'll be able to finish any one of hundreds of different quests.

And whenever you find an empty home, or if you're forced to kill someone in their home and it's now empty, go ahead and take it for yourself. Use it as your own place to rest and store your goods. I usually manage to find some place to call my own in every major town. This beats paying innkeepers rent for a night's sleep.

Download and install the official plugins available from the official website. They are worth it. And if you've read through the links above, definitely get that "real signs" mod. Otherwise you'll end up at a crossroads staring at a sign post trying to figure out that wierd font they used.

Last bit of advice for the moment...
As soon as your Alchemy skill increases enough to see what the different ingredients do, always cary a mortar & pestle around with you. I do this in case I come across a situation that I need a potion for. Chances are that you'll have some ingredients with you that you can mix into something that can help out in a pinch.


So you're going to start Morrowind and the two expansions for your first time, eh ??

Well, we'll see you in about 8 months... when you decide to take a break and visit us again. :lol:

[Terry Penrod]

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Muchos gracias for the ABC's Gaim and Chai.

Any thoughts on initial character creation for race, class and abilties? Which overall starting character type has a generally easier time getting through the first quarter of game the first time? Are magic users at a distinct disadvantage early on? Can a good rogue actually complete all the major quests through sneakiness or does he also have to have some magic skills and decent combat abilities? Is a big dumb oaf with a mighty sword or axe too limiting for getting the best dialog paths and solving certain quests peacefully? Or does it even matter since the leveling system is so flexible that you can adjust a wide variety of things along the way?

Cheers, Terry

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[Chylde Roland]

Terry,

One of the things I might suggest is a handy little mod that increases the money-on-hand of a merchant (any merchant, you pick) to several hundred thousand gold. Trust me, you'll eventually be picking up ALL kinds of things worth a great deal of money, but you won't have anyone to sell things to because of the extremely high values. There are a number of tricks you can use to get around it, but it's easier to install a plug-in that will rectify the situation.

When MW was out (just before the 2nd EXP pack) my biggest gripe was that nowhere, in the entire game world, was any single merchant capable of buying some of the stuff I had collected, but wasn't going to use. Surely there SHOULD have been somebody somewhere with big gobs of cash to handle that sort of thing.

I have to admit, first time through, that was the ONLY mod I used to make my experience easier and much more enjoyable. But each to his own. I only mention it here because you asked, and that was my biggest gripe about the game.

Happy adventuring in MW, dude!

[Chylde Roland]

oh, one other thing: my first character was a Redguard warrior, but I also gave her some magic skills, which helped immensely. One of the things to get is a skill with healing spells, I personally found them very, very useful.

A pure rogue may be hard to play until you learn the game, and don't forget: anything you steal is dangerous stuff to have - DO NOT attempt to sell to a person who may recognize the goods as stolen, or you'll go to jail (this is usually the person you stole from, but can include people in the same building, esp. if it's a guild hall). You have to be very careful with theft in the game, because the NPCs have LONG memories about most of the things you do, esp. if you get in trouble for it. Also, if you get arrested, you lose everything you've obtained illegally.

My first time through, I found a warrior class with some magic to be a very good skill set. I thouroughly enjoyed this game, and any sort of sequel is a no brainer buy-and-play decision for me.

One other mod you may want to add is a the cliff racer calming one (I think that's right) because they'll be bugging you ALL the time, almost no matter where you go. They're everywhere, and very annoying. The mod makes it so they don't attack you unless you attack first.

[Kalbrecht]

Yeah - depending on how you want to play, a battlemage is a good general way to start. It's a good enough balance of skills.

As for race - to start with I'd avoid the races which have trouble wearing armour - if you're just starting MW you want to try as much as possible.

Apart from that the best thing about the game is its openness to different ways to play when starting. So just have a read through and do what feels right.

[Nova]

Terry! Before creating your first character, I highly recommend downloading and installing Better Heads 1.1 (http://thelys.mwsource.com/index.php?morrowindmods=True&authorpage=Motoki#Better%20Heads) and Better Bodies 2.0 (http://www.rit.edu/~txo8933/Better%20Bodies%20v2.0.exe). These do not affect gameplay at all but change the heads and bodies of every NPC in both the original game and in the expansions. It makes both the NPC's and your character look MUCH better. These two plug-ins are very stable and work perfectly.

Installing Better Heads is explained in the readme in the .zip file, and to install Better Bodies, all you have to do is click the .exe file. As with all plug-ins, you have to activate them by checking their respective box in the Data Files section of the game's launcher, once they are installed, of course.

I also suggest getting TES Tool 1.3 (http://www34.brinkster.com/ghostwheel/TESTool.zip). This small tool will clean every plug-in that has been activated in Data Files in the launcher. Simply extract it to your Morrowind directory and click it. This all might sound like a lot, but it is DEFINITELY worth it!

For character suggestions, I would recommend you start with either a Dark Elf or an Imperial. They are the most balanced races of the game. For your birth sign, pick The Lady as the statistics boosts are very beneficial. Make sure Alchemy, Long Blade, Heavy or Light Armor and Lockpicking is in your primary skills as well. The best characters are in my opinion those who have skills from all three fields. My first character was a Dark Elf with a general skill setup and he fared very well.

Enjoy :):

[Ravanor]

Selecting a minor skill in running, although appearing to be a waste, can be really useful for leveling up faster than you otherwise would. In the end you can level up all the skills to max no matter what you chose and do everything. If you aim to employ very powerful self made spells then the star sign that gives you more mojo is vital. Not naturally restoring your magic level is a real turnoff but you can't cast those spells without it.

I made a speel of Armageddon, 50ft radius fire damage, but couldn't cast one with high damage value, only a low damage value. The editor is not tooo dificult to use if you wish to learn it, then you can construct your own pad in the wilderness.

[Gaim Mastr]

Any thoughts on initial character creation for race, class and abilities?

Starting out as a thief is difficult. Skills such as Security and Sneak are difficult to develop on your own as it takes a very long time to do so. Better to pay someone to train you in those skills as you get money and meet people.

Starting out as a mage is difficult. With your magical power so weak and access to spells of any power, which will cost a good amount of money, you'll find yourself in physical fights quite often.

Starting out as a warrior is the easiest of the three. Mainly because it prepares you for the most effective battle right from the start. And as you go along you can develop your mage & thief skills while keeping your physical aspects high enough to let you win some fights.

When starting the game you can choose one of the pre-determined classes and have the game auto-set your skills and such. I would strongly recommend creating your own custom class and adjusting your skills as you see fit.

Easiest character to start out as is a custom made battlemage. In the Major skill slots I'd put Marksman, as there's nothing easier than picking your enemies off at a distance. Also Long Sword and Block, as it's the best combo for melee combat. And on the Mage side I'd choose Alchemy, as defensive potions can be more beneficial than offensive magic. I'd also take Light Armor as a major skill, as you'll be too weak and poor to effectively use or buy heavy armor. A high skill number in Light Armor will give you good protection. I can't remember how many slots they give you for Major Skill, but if you can fit one more in there, I'd go with Alteration since that will help you with spells that unlock & lock things, walk on water, levitate (fly), magical shields, jumping, etc.

For Minor Skills I'd go with Athletics and Acrobatics for certain. This will help you to physically move about more easily. I'd also pick Mercantile and Speechcraft. Mercantile will help you to sell higher and buy lower, which is most important when starting out. Speechcraft will always be very useful for getting people to like you more, which means lower prices from merchants and more cooperation from others. Speechcraft is also important for getting others to attack you first, thus avoiding murder charges. The higher your Speechcraft the easier it is to taunt someone into attacking you. There are many instances in the game where this will come in handy.

As for the other skills, spend a little money and train yourself via the numerous people who offer that service throughout Morrowind. It'll be MUCH faster and easier than practicing those skills into higher numbers.



Which overall starting character type has a generally easier time getting through the first quarter of game the first time?

Dark Elves and Imperials make good battlemages. For Birth signs, I go with The Mage, since extra Magicka is always good to have. And as you progress through the game and buy training for your various magical skills you'll find yourself wanting to use magic more and more as it can make things a lot easier. Just need to build up that warrior part first to make starting out in the world easier.



Are magic users at a distinct disadvantage early on?

Spells cost a lot (and you start out very poor) and are hard to come by. Your Magicka is too low to cast more than a couple spells. Store-bought spells don't do a lot of damage, though some expensive scrolls can. Your character moves very slowly, so your mage will find himself in physical combat anyway.

When I first played the game I went all out with a custom Mage. I survived and became a power magic user that no warrior would want to tangle with. But it was difficult. Even unimportant old women with nothing but their fists would kick the crap out of me. Starting out as a pure mage makes for a very slow and rough beginning. That's why I recommend that people play through as a battlemage their first time. Then after they've gotten familiar with all of the little nuances and such, try a mage or thief if they want the next time through.



Can a good rogue actually complete all the major quests through sneakiness or does he also have to have some magic skills and decent combat abilities?

Magic skills in Morrowind aren't necessary at all. But they do make tasks easier. Rogues can finish the most quests by sneaking and avoiding fighting. Though if anyone were going to play as a rogue, then I'd seriously recommend taking Illusion as a Major or Minor skill since spells like Invisibility and Paralyze would come in VERY handy.



Is a big dumb oaf with a mighty sword or axe too limiting for getting the best dialog paths and solving certain quests peacefully?

Not really. Even a pure warrior with low Intelligence and Wisdom can have a good Personality and high Speechcraft skill. And those are the two things that govern dialogue success and resolving conflict with reason rather than bloodshed.



Or does it even matter since the leveling system is so flexible that you can adjust a wide variety of things along the way?

It really only matters when starting out. As you go along and meet people willing to train you in the various skills, you can absolutely turn your starting warrior into a top notch mage or rogue. Or your mage into a sword swinging, bow shooting killing machine. Really, the concept of being stuck in your class ala D&D rules is totally out the window. You can be any combination of class that is also every bit as good at skills that other classes normally use.

The key here is not to get hung up on the whole mage/thief/fighter class thing, since it really doesn't mean one damn bit. The ONLY thing that matter is which skills you develop and use. Given that, you can call yourself anything you wish, even a battlmage-rogue if you want.

Whatever you choose for Major Skills you will start out with the highest experience in. And leveling up the Major Skills will allow you to level up your character faster. Minor Skills will give you some experience with your choices. And you'll have to level up Minor Skills more often before you can level up your character. As for the rest, depending what race of creature you are, will all start out with skill levels of zero and require a great deal of leveling before they also level up your character (if at all).

So to increase your character's level the fastest, you'll want to focus on increasing the level of your various Major Skills by using those skills often or paying a trainer to teach you stuff.

[Terry Penrod]

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Hey guys, much thanks for all the additional tips. I've taken notes, will visit the links and look into all the best mods / plug-ins. Will probably install the game and download the extras later today while continuing to read the manual, etc.

It sounds like an Imperial BattleMage of some kind with good initial warrior skills and some basic magic abilities plus lockpicking would be a safe way to start. Will also consider major and minor skills in marksmanship (have seen lots of positive remarks about this), long sword, block, alchemy, light armor and alteration as well as athletics, acrobatics (often heard that both of these makes things a lot easier) plus speechcraft and probably mercantile or running. I see that you only get 5 major and 5 minor skills, so somewhere in there will have to be a compromise.

For Birth Sign, not sure. I like the idea of using magic in RPGs and The Mage looks like a good one for that but The Lady has a broad, double benefit with increased endurance and better personality - which could be more useful in general. Will have to think about that and want to look over the other signs. For instance, The Ritual allows self-healing and you can turn undead and The Shadow gives you Invisibility. The Thief makes you harder to hit and The Warrior improves your chances of hitting. The others are interesting too. Ah well, I'll just go with my gut when the time comes - whatever feels right in concert with all the other initial choices.

For Mods / Plug-ins: Extra Money for Merchants sounds essential and I've also read many player comments about the annoying cliff racers, so those would be first. Will also get the TES Tool, Better Heads, Better Bodies and heard about another useful one that makes the in-game directional signs readable called Real Signs. There are so many plug-ins around by now that just the top ten lists in various categories are numerous. I just want to fix the big bugs and makes a few adjustments at first though and will look into all the others as the game progresses.

Again, thanks for all the help and wish me luck.

Cheers, Terry

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[Mr. Natural]

Terry I played MW almost exclusively for around 6 months during Friday night sessions and other occasional periods.
I played the game for 2-3 weeks simply exploring joining a few guilds and doing some quests. The atmosphere and effects in the game are great and many nights I would stop and just behold the stars in the sky and the changes of the weather and day to night. I finally got to the point where I realized I had no sense of purpose and was wondering aimlessly with no real sense of what I was trying to ultimately accomplish. I began to lose interest in the game because of that. Then I realized it was time to visit Caius again.
I suggest deciding on what category you wish to play as then join some of the guilds and do their quests. You can only join one of the three houses, but you can join as many guilds as you want. Keep in mind some guild quests will conflict with other guild missions and you may find yourself on the wrong end of an alliance with a guild should you betray one due to another guild quest. When you level up to around level 10 or when you want to begin working towards the final goal, then start Caius's quests. His quests ultimately lead to "the end". There is no true ending in the game. You can keep playing forever and exploring after the final boss, then move onto the expansions.
The nice thing about this game is you can use magic while wearing armor. And you'll want to make use of both skills. Each time you use a skill it counts towards experience. You can jump constantly while moving to increase acrobatics. Cast spells at nothing to develop the skill. I played as a dark elf adventurer and developed the medium armor skill. If I replayed I would prefer light armor because you can carry more stuff that way. Also I wound up wearing andoran armor which ordinators didn't like me wearing. I would get attacked by them as a result.
The best way to play this game is to take your time, explore and enjoy. If you get into a hurry you'll probably get bored with it. This is not a game to rush through.

[Gaim Mastr]

The last time I played I started out as a custom battlemage and chose Dark Elf as the race. That race seemed to work fantastic for the combo class. Dark Elves have a natural resistance to fire. And not to put a spoiler out there, but during the course of the game you WILL get burned more than a few times.

Remember that you need a probe to disable traps (looks similar to lock picks), as this is the ONLY way to do it. Part of the Security skill. Better trained than practiced.

Finally, even those who hate cheat codes will want to know of one, the FixMe code.

Bring down the console by the usual ` key.
Type fixme
Hit the ` key again to close the console.

This code WILL be needed whenever you jump or move onto a fence or some ropes or such. The game has a flaw that makes your character stuck (unable to move) if you land on something not originally intended to be stood/walked on. By using this code it will teleport your character a very short distance away and hopefully onto solid ground so you can get on with your game.

If you accidently kill someone important to the main storyline/quest, you should see a notice at the bottom center of the screen warning you about a doomed world from a character's death. If you haven't finished the main quest by then, you'll need to stop your game and reload to an earlier save. For this reason, among others, save OFTEN.

If you accidently move or sell an item that you end up needing later, or if you kill someone of importance that you need later, let us know. We can usually tell you how to bring those things back so that you can continue with the game.


I know that it can seem like a lot to absorb from those of us who have gone through the game before you. But don't sweat it. You'll get the hang of the game in relatively short order and will be thinking of nothing else but what great fun it is.


The atmosphere and effects in the game are great and many nights I would stop and just behold the stars in the sky and the changes of the weather and day to night.

Been there, done that, MANY times myself. :yes:
Great times.

[Terry Penrod]

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Thanks again GM.

I'm actually looking forward to a deep, epic SP CRPG that's even more non-linear and sprawling than the BG saga. It's just that my work schedule these days is much heavier than it was when I played and replayed that great series along with Planescape: Torment and later, the Icewind Dale series. So I need to economize a bit and try to stay a little more focused on the main quest. Just that story with a few key side quests from the various guilds, lots of general exploration and the two EPs will take a very long time to get through. But I'm up for the challenge and can't wait to really get into it.

Cheers, Terry

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[Shaolin K]

Terry, I hope you plan on completely disconnecting from the outside world once you start this game. It may seem kind of tedious and at times maybe a little frustrating at first, but believe me, this game will captivate you.

I started the game a while ago, then got distracted by other things and just recently picked it up again. I'm about 1/2 way through the game by now and am enjoying every single minute of it. It is a beautifully open-ended game with very nice graphics and an interesting story line. I took a long, long time exploring the map, dungeons, and leveling up my character (right now lvl. 30 Dark Elf Battlemage). There were times where I felt completely overwhelmed by the many quests I was doing simultaneously, but now I'm Master of three guilds (Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, and House Hhalu), about 1/2 way through the main story line, and loving every minute of it.

A note of caution to you, Terry. Once you install this game and get sucked in, plan on having many long gaming sessions that can last well into the wee morning hours. But you will love it.

Have lots of fun with the game, definitely get the "real sign-post" mod and look on this site (http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=316&dPage=1)for some tweaking tips.

[Terry Penrod]

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Terry,

One of the things I might suggest is a handy little mod that increases the money-on-hand of a merchant (any merchant, you pick) to several hundred thousand gold. Trust me, you'll eventually be picking up ALL kinds of things worth a great deal of money, but you won't have anyone to sell things to because of the extremely high values. There are a number of tricks you can use to get around it, but it's easier to install a plug-in that will rectify the situation.

When MW was out (just before the 2nd EXP pack) my biggest gripe was that nowhere, in the entire game world, was any single merchant capable of buying some of the stuff I had collected, but wasn't going to use. Surely there SHOULD have been somebody somewhere with big gobs of cash to handle that sort of thing.

I have to admit, first time through, that was the ONLY mod I used to make my experience easier and much more enjoyable. But each to his own. I only mention it here because you asked, and that was my biggest gripe about the game.

Happy adventuring in MW, dude!


I've now visited around 6 different dedicated Morrowind plugin / mod sites and have only found a couple of files that supposedly alter the amount of money that Creeper has - not all merchants in the game.

Could you possibly provide a link and/or exact mod name for this one CR?

Cheers, Terry

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[Terry Penrod]

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Terry, I hope you plan on completely disconnecting from the outside world once you start this game. It may seem kind of tedious and at times maybe a little frustrating at first, but believe me, this game will captivate you.

I started the game a while ago, then got distracted by other things and just recently picked it up again. I'm about 1/2 way through the game by now and am enjoying every single minute of it. It is a beautifully open-ended game with very nice graphics and an interesting story line. I took a long, long time exploring the map, dungeons, and leveling up my character (right now lvl. 30 Dark Elf Battlemage). There were times where I felt completely overwhelmed by the many quests I was doing simultaneously, but now I'm Master of three guilds (Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, and House Hhalu), about 1/2 way through the main story line, and loving every minute of it.

A note of caution to you, Terry. Once you install this game and get sucked in, plan on having many long gaming sessions that can last well into the wee morning hours. But you will love it.

Have lots of fun with the game, definitely get the "real sign-post" mod and look on this site (http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=316&dPage=1)for some tweaking tips.


Already found that Morrowind TweakTips web site through my many Google searches and bookmarked it last night. It does have a ton of very good performance enhancing info - thanks.

Cheers, Terry

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[Terry Penrod]

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Okay then, except for one particular mod that increases the amount of money that the various merchants have, I am all set for now - I think.

My brand new character in Morrowind was born into the world of The Elder Scrolls tonight about one hour ago.


In case anyone's interested, he is:

A Male Dark Elf Battlemage named Terry
(I always use my real name in SP CRPGs for all lead male characters.)

He is skilled in:

Block
Long Blade
Light Armor
Alchemy
Alteration
Athletics
Acrobatics
Marksman(ship)
Speechcraft
Conjuration (Hey, I like summoning things.)

He has better than average strength and agility with enough of everything else to get by - assuming that he levels-up fast, gets some good all-around training and finds some elite gear, spells, etc. before too long

He was born under the birth sign of The Lady.
(Just couldn't resist those hefty stat bonuses to both endurance and personality.)

He currently has a paltry 80 gold to his name, along with one little wimpy knife, a few other basic items and is practically bare but is quite excited because he's about to venture forth into a huge, unexplored new world full of amazing adventures and of course has recieved his initial quest from the Imperial Captain in the census office.

So far he has opted not to return a certain healing ring found in an unguarded barrel to some commoner just outside the first door. But he does have it stored safely in his inventory and will need to weigh the moral implications against the personal benefits before leaving town.

Fledgling super hero Dark Elf Terry thanks you all for helping so much with his creation and will be sure to keep you posted along the way. He may also need to return to these fine forums from time to time for additional assistance, once his quests begin to roll and he gets deeper into the epic main story laid before him.

Cheers, Terry

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[Jagndeke]

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So far he has opted not to return a certain healing ring found in an unguarded barrel to some commoner just outside the first door. But he does have it stored safely in his inventory and will need to weigh the moral implications against the personal benefits before leaving town.


.


Hehe... that's just the first of many, many more moral dilema's "Terry" is going to face! Enjoy! :thumbup:

[Chylde Roland]

Terry, sorry for the confusion. There's actually no mod that will increase all merchants' money, only single merchants. I personally used the Creeper mod, as he's relatively easy to get to.

Also, a bit later, you'll be able to buy items and/or spells that you can use to bind locations and teleport back to them later. I always bound near creeper so I could sell to him. In all honesty, you won't be getting very good loot at the beginning anyway, so by the time you get the good stuff, you'll be very familiar with the world and you should be able to easily handle the teleport stuff, so one merchant should be good enough.

Your character sounds like a solid one for your first time through. Be very cautious, focus on quests for XP (or kill lots of mudcrabs) and be very careful with your money. You're definitely going to enjoy your time with this one, Terry!

(as an aside, all this MW talk has me wanting to play again!)

[Terry Penrod]

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Thanks for the clarification CR.

I did grab one of the Creeper extra money mods earlier just in case and have now installed the whole set of initial .esp files in the Data File Folder. All but one loaded fine (it is a Tribunal plugin that I'll activate much later on) and I am now all set to go. Have gotten a couple of little side quests in the first town and will finish them before embarking to the big city. Am still just getting familiar with all the controls, options and menu system but so far everything is going quite smoothly and the game looks great in high res on this new PC. No frame rate drops at all yet - although I am in a small area with few NPCs.

Earlier tonight, I even stumbled into a cavern entrance nearby by mistake and when the guy inside ran up and attacked, I instinctively fought back, killed the sucker and got some extra loot plus a key. Will explore that cave a little later though, as I need to go up to the top of the lighthouse and watch for a certain thief to see where he's hidden his loot. I also want to solve the mystery of the missing local tax collector, get a little basic training and upgrade my armor a bit before leaving - assuming I have the money to do so. Then it's off to Balmora and beyond...

Cheers, Terry

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[Fzoulcmbyl]

Mods that I used included:

Pack-Mule Mod: Although, I ended up not using the Pack-mule because it got stuck so often,..the "Mule Trainer" doubles as a merchant with a bankroll of 1 million I believe, that is replenished every 24 hrs, and he is always standing just outside the gates of "Balmora", which also happens to be Caius's resident city.

also used 2-3 "Atmospheric" plug-ins...for butterflies, fish, nature sounds and the like. It really helped lend to overall feel of the game.

Ahhh the "Bind" or "Teleport" spell....yes the game gives you one, and only one marker.....so you may want to get the mod that extends that number to 8 markers. I used every one of them continuously, and it helped to save a ton of time in cross-country hiking.

Peaceful Cliff Racers... a must have mod, but it looks like I don't need to tell you that one.


Here's a good tip, for making some quick cash.

Any home that you come across, that is "locked", go ahead and pick the lock right there in plain daylight.....when you have succeeded, run over to the nearest guard, and confess your sins, pay him 5 gp for your crime...then proceed to walk back over to the unlocked door, and go inside....shut the door behind you...and take everything in the house. Most of the time you will find much more than 5 gp worth of items, and many times you will find items that you yourself can use, but would be a tad expensive if you bought them at the local merchant.

Just make sure that once your done, any loot that is left over, put it away for safe keeping, before you go pick the lock of another home or hut. That way the guards wont take it from you, when you pay your fee of 5 gp. Just keep picking and selling, until you are satisfied, or untill you need to move on to another city. Scrolls of "Un-hinging" work great for this, and for chests that are particularly resistant to lock-picks......remember to "Save" before using the scroll.

Also, Gaim's seminar on Alchemy is the Gospel truth. There is a shop in Balmora, where you can buy "Intelligence" potions.....and some ingredients for Intelligence potions....

1. Buy several potions...and drink them all..

2. Save your game...

3. Mix-up "Super" Powerful Intelligence potions, using your ingredients and the mortar and pestile....

4. Now, get the ingedients for any type of potion you are interested in making...

5. When you are ready.....drink 1 or 2 "Super Intelligence" potions that you made earlier..and Save your game.

6. Now, mix up the potions that you were interested in having....and because of your "Super" Intelligence....you will now create "Super" potions of .....Health...Strength...Magika.....etc.....you get the idea.


:thumbup:


Fzoul

[Terry Penrod]

.

Good info Fzoul, thanks!

Will definitely get the extra teleporter marker mod. But earlier today I could have sworn I saw a newer version that now gives you 12 markers instead of 8. I'll let you know if I can find it again.

Cheers, Terry

.

[Chylde Roland]

Ahhh the "Bind" or "Teleport" spell....yes the game gives you one, and only one marker.....so you may want to get the mod that extends that number to 8 markers. I used every one of them continuously, and it helped to save a ton of time in cross-country hiking.

Very good point, Fzoul! I used that one too, on my second romp through the game, and it was VERY useful.

This thread has got me thinking about my last run through this terrific game. By the time I finished, my character was darn near invincible; I owned several residences, at least one in each city; I could walk and run on air thanks to levitate magic (that was great!); had huge stacks of money; the best armor I could use (the beautiful Ebony platemail); a vast number of great spells and enchanted items; and the game's most devastating weapons. I was also the master of several guilds, and the leader of House Hlaluu, and I killed that certain tough guy in the main city (the city's name escapes me atm). What a blast!

I gave my copy of the game away to a friend, but I think tomorrow I will be picking up the GOTY edition to play again. I actually never played Bloodmoon, so that's a good reason to pick it up again, so I can polish this one of completely.

[Terry Penrod]

.

FYI:

Here is a link to the download page for the Multiple Teleport Marking 2.2 mod that allows for 12 location slots.

http://mwsource.com/center/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=253

Cheers, Terry

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[Terry Penrod]

.

Also, here's a very "cool" mod that makes Vvardenfell into a winter wonderland. I might try this one too after a while and see what it looks like.

http://mwsource.com/center/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1076

Cheers, Terry

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[Jagndeke]

While the game environment sounds fairly rich playing through the first time, the developers left alot of enhancements out. It's amazing what a good sound enhancement mod adds to the game. It's one of those things that you don't know what you're missing until you try it!

On this page (http://www.rpgplanet.com/morrowind/modcontrols/mods.asp) you'll find the MW Sound Enhancement mod which I used and found to be absolutely great. But you'll notice another mod on the page called "Atmospheric Sound Effects" which sounds even better. I plan on playing through MW again sometime and this is the sound mod which I'll be adding.

Have a read and give it some consideration. After popping in a good sound mod the game really comes alive.

[Gaim Mastr]

Last word of caution, because I don't want to give much of anything away about the game. After all, it's running into unexpected problems and dilemas that helps to make this game great.

However, because I wish I knew when I started playing..... if you collect the ingredients (meat, hide, etc.) from diseased creatures that you've slain, you stand a good chance of contracting that disease. But, you CAN retrieve any arrows, bolts and such from the dead creature without worry.

I only mention this because many are the times when I'd find myself diseased and have no friggin idea why.


And all merchants replenish their money after 24-hours. This is good to know for selling stuff.

And be careful with those various teleport mods. Yes they can get you around much faster. But you're SUPPOSED to walk the vast lands to improve your skills as well as enjoy the experience of the different scenery, people, creatures, hidden caves/areas and such. None of which is possible via instant teleporting.

One plugin that I absolutely always use is the one that slows the passage of time by half the original speed. You'll find that the original Morrowind time speed is very fast. The days and nights just fly by. I got the time plugin from Morrwind Summit. Even slowing the game time to half it's speed the days and nights still go by quickly. But it's much more enjoyable as a simple conversation will no longer be tantamount to taking an entire day.

[Nova]

Hey Terry, something I forgot to mention. When you get to the city of Vivec, if you end up completely lost and have no idea what you're doing, it's normal. Vivec looks quite nice but whoever built it never thought about pedestrians. Make sure you use the gondoliers to navigate the city somewhat more easily. :):

Also, I'd suggest adventuring a short while before beginning the main quest. Some of the earlier missions are difficult for a starting character.

[Terry Penrod]

.

Thanks for all the additional suggestions guys.

Yes, I plan to keep exploring on foot and accepting a number of optional side quests - particularly from the various guilds around Balmora. Will also keep searching for extra mods / plugins to enhance the game / gameplay. But have already noticed that several mods checked in the initial data files menu screen cause problems or simply are not recognized by the game engine. One that requires an EP to be installed was mistakenly checked, so I unchecked it. But the others are supposed to be for the original game from BethSoft - not based on either official EP or any independent mods / conversions as many updated sub-mods are. Nevertheless some were not recognized and some had a negative effect in the game.

So late last night I deselected all but a couple crucial plugins and checked to see if there were any conflicts. There were none so I made a fresh, full save right there and will use that system to test any future plugins one at a time.

FYI: I also found a mod that apparently adds extra money to all the merchants in the game as well as the Super Creeper and other more limited plugins that address this common problem. But at this early stage, I simply don't have any high dollar items to sell yet so it has not been an issue. However, I can see how quickly it could become a problem and want to make sure I have some place to sell the best stuff for cash / trade / extra training / repairs, etc.

BTW, I arrived safely in Balmora last night and have already begun to explore the lovely riverside city, checked out the main guilds and gave the package to whatshisname in The Blades, got my extra cash and was told to join some guilds, accept some quests / training and then come back to talk to him again. I gladly replied, "aye aye mister man sir" and set off to do just that. It was getting very late though so I just saved right before and after talking to him (Caius Cosades) to resume my first real adventures later today.

Any advice on joining the Balmora Guilds with a Dark Elf Battlemage? Can I join them all and if so, are there any major quest conflicts that are true game stoppers / dead ends that I need to avoid? Any advice would be appreciated because I'm already enjoying Morrowind a lot and want to get off on the right foot.

Also, is Glass armor, weaponry, etc. the best for a Light Armor specialists with limited strength who plans to grow into a good all-around character with decent melee and ranged combat skills but also with some solid magic and theiving abiltiies? I've read several very positive player comments about how nice glass stuff is for weight saving as well as great protection and good attacks.

Cheers, Terry

.

[Gaim Mastr]

Just to clarify, you won't be able to take on the main quest, or take on guild quests, or Great House quests one right after the other until you've completed them all. Fact is, no matter which guild, house, faction, Blades, path you head down the quests for all of them will grow quite hard quite quickly.

So, you can do Blades quests until you hit one that's too tough for your under-skilled character. You can do guild quests until you hit one that's too hard to finish. Same with Great Houses and factions and such.

In other words, you should expect to reach a point where advancement is too hard, either because the quest is too hard to accomplish or because your character simply doesn't have high enough skills to be advanced in that particular faction. When you reach that point you can spend money training your character or you can give in to your wonderlust and do some real adventuring around the countryside, killing enemies, collecting treasure, improving skills and learning more about the history and current events of Morrowind and it's major players.

About fan made plugins, I've used hundreds. My best advice for not screwing up something in the game is to choose a very select few that work and stick with them.


Any advice on joining the Balmora Guilds with a Dark Elf Battlemage?

Not really, other than you can join all three at once and take missions from all three at once, advancing in each. Other than that, you may wish to choose which guild represents the type of skills you'd like to focus on improving the most at this particular time.


Can I join them all and if so, are there any major quest conflicts that are true game stoppers / dead ends that I need to avoid?

No quest conflicts that are game stoppers. As far as possible 'dead ends' or things that could force you to make some really tough decisions...... I ain't tellin. You'll have to play the game and experience it for yourself. That's part of the fun.


Any advice would be appreciated because I'm already enjoying Morrowind a lot and want to get off on the right foot.

If you've made it to Balmora, I think you're already on the right foot. Time to cut off the training wheels and let you out on your own. If you run into any major problems or things you can't solve/figure out, we'll still be here.

:wink:

Different armor offers different levels of protection. Glass is a good type of armor, which is why it's very rare and very expensive.

[Nova]

In Balmora, I would recommend joining the mage and fighter guilds. The thieves' guild has missions that are against both of the above and other factions, so I wouldn't join it. The fighter and mage guilds are safe. As I mentioned, other factions can be joined, such as the Tribunal Temple, the Imperial Cult, the Morag Tong and one of the Great Houses.

The Tribunal Temple is the main religion of Morrowind. Its deities are the three god-kinds Almalexia, Sotha Sil and Vivec. It has some very interesting quests and joining it is also safe. Plus, it will let you acquire some legendary items of the Elder Scrolls universe. if you like that sort of thing, I suggest joining it. I myself did. You can join it at any temple, including Balmora's.

The Imperial Cult is the Empire's religion, which they are trying to spread to Morrowind. Its deities are called the Aedra or the Nine Divines, but I do not remember their names. I joined it but I did not do any of its quests. I know what they consist of from checking out walkthroughs though, and they seem interesting enough. From a role-playing perspective, joining both the Temple and the Cult is rather odd, as the Dunmer and the Imperials don't like each other much, but there are no actual conflicts between them. The cult can be joined in Fort Pelagiad in the village of Pelagiad and in the chapels at Ebonheard.

The Morag tong is a legal and old Morrowind assassin's guild, but while it is legal, it has conflicts with a few other factions so joining it is very risky, much like the thieves' guild. You also have to be careful about how you assassinate your targets and just can't bash their head open in public. Joining it is actually quite tricky, as you have to find a secret trapdoor located in a small and dark storeroom in the lower sections of the Arena Canton in the city of Vivec. I never joined it.

Last but not least, the Great Houses. These are basically the governing political bodies of Morrowind. They all have their own values, views, traditions and the like. There are five of them, but only three can be joined. House Redoran caters to the warrior types and is noble, traditional, etc. They are somewhat xenophobic. They can be joined in Ald'Ruhn. House Hlaalu can be joined in Balmora, is for the thief types and is the friendliest of the houses. They have shady business practices and use agents and assassins to further their goals. House Telvanni is for the mages and is completely xenophobic. They are thus the least friendly at first. Their culture is very reminiscent of the Drow in D&D. They can be joined in Sadrith Mora. House Indoril is featured in the Tribunal expansion but cannot be joined, while House Dres is not featured in the game at all. You could also say there is a sixth house but you will find out about that later :):

No other factions are joinable except a few related to the main quest, like the Blades. If you ever get in touch with a variety of undead with sharp canines, new factions might open up but I won't give any details as they are spoilers, somewhat.

Glass armor is the best light armor available, but glass weapons are not the best. In my opinion, the best non-enchanted weapons are Daedric weapons, but glass definitely is a good start. They are very difficult to find for new characters unless you look at walkthroughs. There are numerous weapons and armor suits of legendary status scattered throughout the game in the deepest dungeons and the more hard to find quests. Look around, there is some very interesting stuff in these out of the way dungeons. Pay attention to the statues of the Daedra lords. You'll know them when you see them :):

Geez, can you tell I like the Elder Scrolls universe? Here (http://til.gamingsource.co.uk/maps/big-tamriel.jpg) is a map of Tamriel which should familiarize you with the setting. It's old but accurate, except for Ebonheart's location. I highly recommend you read some of the books in the game. Some offer tons of information on the world while others tell some nice short stories and more.

I hope you'll enjoy this great game, keep us tuned :):

P.S.: I think this is the longest post I've ever typed :eek:

[Terry Penrod]

.

Great advice and info guys, thanks again. But I agree that I seem to have reached that point where I should just jump in and sink or swim by accepting a variety of relatively minor quests, exploring the vast game world and taking some calculated risks.

Have already done everything I can find to do in and around the first village plus a couple starter missions for the Fighters Guild in Balmora, which were pretty easy. But now I have to travel quite a distance to another mine where I am to face four killers in Caldera. Am going to roam a bit first to kill some more little creatures in the wild and see if I can find some extra loot to sell for additional training before getting too confident. My meager armor and weapons are almost as weak as I am right now and it all needs some basic buffing.

Thanks again and wish me luck.

Cheers, Terry

.

[SupaTroopa]

Terry - if no one's mentioned it yet, I would also strongly suggest downloading and installing the "Balmora Houses Mod" (I believe it's called) and you'll have a big custom residence in the center of Balmora to decorate, call home, and most importantly, to store your wares and items (of which you'll accumulate quite a bit if you're the adventuring type who's not afraid to visit old shrines and caves). There are also lots of books you'll come across that you might want to read and it's a good way to store them in one place and come back to them and read when you're in the mood.

Since you picked the long blade skill, definitely concentrate on that obviously, but marksmanship can REALLY come in handy later in the game - I was basically untouchable with my bow, despite being a mage (loved conjuration and teleport).

Wow, talking and reading about all this again makes me miss Vvanderfall, I never did get Bloodmoon and didn't completely finish Tribunal (but loved the updated graphics, more focused story etc...,).

Truly one of the best PC games ever, without a doubt.

[Gaim Mastr]

If you have a particular plugin in mind ST, you might want to post a link. Otherwise there are probably about 300 different Balmora house plugins out there. For some reason everyone trying their hand at the TES decided to create a house and put it in the Balmora region.

Besides, it really isn't necessary. I'm not going to spoil anything for Terry, but everyone can pick up an existing house in Balmora where space to store stuff shouldn't be a problem.

[SupaTroopa]

If you have a particular plugin in mind ST, you might want to post a link. Otherwise there are probably about 300 different Balmora house plugins out there. For some reason everyone trying their hand at the TES decided to create a house and put it in the Balmora region.

Morrowind Adobes (http://mindhook.com/morrowindabodes/index.html) makes the best house Mods that I can remember:

"Your Balmora Residence" was my favorite and since Balmora is centrally located, I thought it a natural choice...although you can choose pre-built homes there for just about any city.

[Terry Penrod]

.

FYI: I finished the basic Balmora Fighter's Guild quests last night and in the process had to kill a certain ogre in a house just across the river facing east. I noticed that there were no legal repercussions and that the front door remained accessible after reporting back to the guild master for a small reward and a guild class upgrade. So I went back, cleaned the place out, sold the few little items that were laying around and in the chest at the foot of the bed (which I can safely rest in) and decided to use it as a temporary haven for storing books, papers, etc. that have no immediate use.

Will these items still be there when I return from an extended trip into the wilderness to do the first of many Mage Guild quests (gotta go find four varieties of mushrooms down near the Bitter Coast)? Also, can I safely store items on the tables, shelves, floor, etc. and count on them still being there too?

Cheers, Terry

.

[Terry Penrod]

.

Morrowind Adobes (http://mindhook.com/morrowindabodes/index.html) makes the best house Mods that I can remember:

"Your Balmora Residence" was my favorite and since Balmora is centrally located, I thought it a natural choice...although you can choose pre-built homes there for just about any city.


That's much nicer than my little eastside riverfront hovel, thanks ST.

Already downloaded the file and will give it a try later tonight.

Cheers, Terry

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[SupaTroopa]

Will these items still be there when I return from an extended trip into the wilderness to do the first of many Mage Guild quests (gotta go find four varieties of mushrooms down near the Bitter Coast)? Also, can I safely store items on the tables, shelves, floor, etc. and count on them still being there too?

Yes they will remain there (should) but I do remember when I was playing it and read where items will disappear if left in a public place long enough, more or less..not sure how accurate that is, someone else may know better. But you should be fine with an emptied house as such.

It's one of the reasons I installed a home...you will probably ditch it late in the game depending on your chosen path/alignment though, without spoiling anything.

No prob on the link. I also found the official strategy guide to be most helpful, in that I was able to make sure I completed all of the quests for each NPC, and reference it for pointers as every quest in the game is outlined in it. It's such a huge game, that I wouldn't play without having the guide handy for when I needed it to save myself frustration and time. Probably one of the only games I've bought a guide for.

Ah to be playing MW for the first time again...what a treat...

[Terry Penrod]

.

BTW Supa, I downloaded that "Your Balmore residence" .esp mod file from your above link, unzipped and copied it to the proper data folder and checked it in the initial game options screen. It seemed to load fine along with the handful of other plugins I have selected but when I went to the exact location (in west central Balmora carved into the hills right behind the Tyravel Manor) where they say the house is supposed to be, it simply was not there. Any idea what happened? Are there some additional texture and mesh files I also need to get somewhere? Could this mod be version-specific and no longer compatible with the very latest official game patches included in the new GOTY edition?

Oh well, I'll double check everything and try again. But I'm 99% sure that I did it right the first time and the house just is not where they say it's supposed to be.

Cheers, Terry

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[Fzoulcmbyl]

As long as there is a "front door" that you have to open, on any "empty" house....anything inside should be safe forever. I have never heard of an NPC breaking into a home, and taking anything stored there...wether it's sitting out on a table, or stored in a crate.

Balmora is the city that I always came back to, and so that's where I stored the majority of my things,..but I had little houses all over the place.


Fzoul

[SupaTroopa]

Hmm, I always thought the house appeared closer to the open area there as you come in from the strider point - as you're going to the mages/fighters guilds for instance - you just veer to your left a bit and you'll see it right there in the hillside adjacent from the little shop across from the guilds...if that makes sense. Although I realize they tell you it's behind the manor on their web site.

but if you couldn't find it then it's not there for some reason....I'll see if I can find any info, would like to know myself. There's no additional files, should install quite easily...but I don't have the GOTY edition.

[Gaim Mastr]

The first that time I'd played Morrowind and went to Balmora I acciently killed the orc in that same house you'd mentioned, Terry. I ended up using that house for a long time. But then it got too crowded with stuff and I had to find another, larger place to use as my primary home base.

Other than that, I try to get a home in every town that I come across.

[Jagndeke]

Other than that, I try to get a home in every town that I come across.

I did that too. But then I couldn't remember which house I stored what goods in. :lol: I spent alot of time running from town to town trying to find items I stored in different houses until I finally created an inventory to keep track of important items and where they were.

I'd actually found and stored a couple of quest items I came across before I even knew about the quest. Took me awhile to remember where the heck I put them so I could finish the quest! :rolleyes: :lol:

Which brings up a point... be careful of what items you are selling. If an item seems unique in some way it may actually be a quest item. If you sell it to a vendor and find out you need it to end a quest later on, you may have to sell an arm and a leg to get the item back. That's providing you can remember which vendor you sold it to! :wink:

[Terry Penrod]

.

HOORAY!

I re-downloaded the "Your Balmora Residence" esp mod file, re-installed it in the main Data File Folder, then returned to my last save game and BLAM, there was my beautiful new home right where they said it would be carved into the hill just slightly south / southwest of that manor, in sight of the south exit of town. When I first entered the front door, a comfy fire was already lit, the place was nicely furnished, tastefully decorated and the realtor even laid fresh-cut wild flowers all around.

This morning I excitedly moved my meager but fast growing collection of books, papers and special items there and then got a little well deserved sleep. You see, I now have the second tier of Fighter and Mage Guild quests from both Balmora and Ald' Ruhn logged in my journal, along with some decent training, some new promotions and better gear. So now it's off to the far north to kill a certain necromancer in Maar Gan and a whole bevy of them way up in the Sheogorad Islands in a place called Vas. That should be a testy trip and I'll need all the rest I can get before embarking on this next, more perilous journey.

Cheers, Terry

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[Nova]

Good luck with Vas, it's tricky to find. Make sure you're well equipped before going in there! You'll probably come across lots of ruins and caves on the way. I don't recommend checking out the former yet :):

I would suggest waiting a bit before doing the quest the Ald'ruhn fighter's guild gives you after taking care of Vas. The first time I did it, I got whooped pretty bad. I presumed it would be as simple as the previous ones but I got a nasty suprise.

[Shaolin K]

Jag, the same thing happened to me. I put a bunch of stuff in different houses and thought they might be easy to find again, but then I didn't play for a while, and now I can't remember for the life of me which houses I stored my stuff in. Oh well, no matter since I have my own stronghold now.

Terry, sounds like you're well on your way to exploring the vast land that is Vvardenfell. Yeah, make sure you're well equiped for Vas. "There are older and fouler things than orcs in that dungeon". Sorry, couldn't resist, heheheh :):

Have fun exploring.

[Terry Penrod]

.

Well, I talked my way around the Maar Gan necromancer quest and finished Vas after finding a far better alternate route by boat than the one suggested. After a short swim from the island that Dragin Fell is on, there was the fledgling fighter awaiting my arrival on that smaller, deserted isle in the north.

We gave each otyher a short pep talk, buffed up, held our breath and then entered together cautiously. But then we found the initial ghosts and skeletal warriors actually pretty easy to defeat. But the second necromancer downstairs hit us with some kind of powerful fire spell that singed us badly, while we busy battling the other one. Despite my natural Dark Elf resistance to fire, whatever he cast drained my health almost to zero in nothing flat. So I reloaded and concentrated on him first this time. Soon, he and his lesser charge were dust and that left only a couple more skeletons and the big guy upstairs. What was surprising was that after sneaking up and getting around behind him, I was able to get in the first several slashes backstab style with my trusty, new silver longsword while my young partner attacked from the front. He never even got off a spell and was dead almost immediately leaving all sorts of goodies behind for me to loot.

This lead to an extension of another set of quests from the Mage Guild to fetch a potion from an alchemist on the isle of Sidrath Mora - a realy cool looking place that I assume will be visited again before too long.

FYI: After taking a stilt rider from Ald' Ruhn to the little coastal village of Khuul it was cheap, quick and easy getting a boat from there to Dragon Fel from which I hoofed it across land before swimming out to Vas and back. The same boat then took me directly to the harbor in Sadrith Mora and then a couple of quick Mage Guild Guide trips took me straight back to both Ald' Ruhn and Balmora in that order. After reporting back to my various guild masters and accepting some more goodies and promotions (plus a little more critical training), I took the Mage Guide teleporter to the Mage Guild in Vivec for the first time, where a couple of rather easy mssions awaited. Am done with the first and working on the second.

Anyway, at that point it was time for game two of the NBA finals to start and my delicious salmon filet with extra dill was almost done broiling. So I took a break from Morrowind watched the game and then thought I'd just drop by here to check in before returning to this gloriously good RPG.

Cheers, Terry

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[Gaim Mastr]

In case you haven't done it yet, buy yourself a water walking and a levitate spell. They'll come in handy a great many times.

[Terry Penrod]

.

In case you haven't done it yet, buy yourself a water walking and a levitate spell. They'll come in handy a great many times.

Done and done.

Plus, it has already become plain as day at high noon under clear skies that picking both acrobatics and athletics as major and minor skills is essential in this massive game. The ability to run fast for long distances and to leap higher has really paid off handsomely... and I'm only just getting started.

BTW, while trying to find Vas, I stumbled into a den of vampires in an underground crypt on the bigger northern island near the western coast. They kicked my weak butt all over the place and then some. It was NOT very pretty. So I think I'll need to train / level-up a lot more and get better stuff all-around before even thinking about going back down there. Did manage to kill the first one though and he had some really good loot, so I'm assuming that there is a lot more worth grabbing in that hell hole. But it will definitely have to wait a while.

And that's what I love about epic, non-linear CRPGs. You can often wander in on a huge, fire-breathing dragon, a lethal demi-lich or a bevy of blood thirsty vampires early on and get your ass whooped big time. But that kind of thorough beating stays with you and you yearn to return someday soon for a little, good old-fashioned payback. It is just sooooooooo satisfying when you come charging back in at some super high level with all the best armor, weapons, spells and special abilties and clean their clocks like a swiss jeweler on a tight deadline.

Tick Tick Tick Morrowind Vampires... your time is coming and I plan to wipe that dark subterranean tomb with your cold, sorry, undead butts - mercilessly - and with extreme prejudice. Matter of fact, I'm gonna save just before I do and replay that scene several times just to see you suffer again and again and again.

Cheers, Terry

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[Circlebreaker]

Yep, that's one of the things that's so great about MW. You have a complete freedom, and all the responsabilities that come with it. There are enemies walking around that can kill you easily, and you'll have to learn about them the hard way. I still remember the first time I ran into a fire atronach, just a fourth level redguard warrior, still wet behind the ears, and got killed in a single blow. That hurt.

You definitely have to be careful fighting vamps. Not only are they usually powerful enemies to an inexperienced character, but their hits can transmit vampirism, and you usually only notice you're infected after a few days. Vampirism is a disease though, so drinking a cure disease potion after having fought vamps should prevent it. Becoming a vampire is very cool, and has some serious advantages, but I wouldn't reccomend it to a low level character yet. There are ways of getting rid of vampirism once you become one yourself, but it takes a difficult path to cure yourself.

Acrobatics and athletics are indeed very useful skills to have as major or minor skills. A lot of people disagree with me on this one, saying that they increase fast enough even as misc skills, but I think that being mobile is one of the best combat advantages you can have, so haing those two skills as high as possible as fast as possible is very useful. Two other skills I've found are extremely useful are speechcraft and mercantile. Speechcraft even more than mercantile. Being able to talk people into liking you can often be very useful. It's a very good skill to get some training in, and IIRC Caius, your contact in Balmora, can train you in it to a rather high level. :thumbup:

[SupaTroopa]

Hehe, MW has always elicited lots of convo on this board (or the former Oasis) for good reason. Glad the house showed up Terry!

I make sure I download and test all of the mod's before I start a game - I like to install any of the faces/hair mods, and also the "Adventurer's" mod that adds new NPC's and includes all of the official plug-ins from Bethesda (which also involves a couple of new quests). I also installed the "Wilderness and Giants" mods that add new creatures and some super sized ones out in the wilderness...as well as my Balmora house mod. Outside of that I stay away from the rest of them.

One of the best things about MW are the caves and dungeons - super atmospheric and spooky - I never did finish Tribunal and have the GOTY edition also. So I do plan on going back and starting over from scratch with a new char someday soon with the new Mod's I installed after I finish Thief:DS.

I love 1st/3rd person RPG's and wish there were more of them to play.

[Shaolin K]

Before I got Morrowind, I was always wondering why everybody loves to talk about this game on the old boards..............now I know! :D:

Oh yeah, I remember the first time I came across a high level enemy. It was an Ascended Sleeper. I was about middle level at that point (lvl. 15 or so), but still got my butt whooped by his spells. Now my character is level 35, has all the glass armor set, and a kick arse Daedrick Dai-Katana. The sword is enchanted with Drain health 35-50 points for 2 seconds whenever it strikes. Now I have those pesky Ascended Sleepers, Golden Saints, and Winged Twilights (and just about everything else for that matter) for breakfast. And I do feel immense satisfaction every time my blade comes crashing down on them....... "Say hello to my little friend"

I have found Athletics and Acrobatics to be very useful skills, especially at higher levels. The ability to move faster than your enemies definitely pays off in combat. Speechcraft is another essential skill to boost up to high enough levels. The ability to make people like you more definitely comes in handy, particularly during certain quests.

[Jagndeke]

Well, all this discussion of MW drove me to loading the game and EP's up again. I added 10 or 12 of the best plugins out there too. But, one other little change I made has transformed this game into a whole new experience.

I removed all the default "explore" and "battle" tracks and replaced them with tracks form the Lord of the Rings movies. This game rocks once again! :yes: I find myself exploring and fighting just so I can listen to the different tracks! There's nothing like roaming the lands of MW to the tunes of The Lord of the Rings!! :shades:

[Fzoulcmbyl]

That's a very cool twist there Jag., now your going to have people trying out all sorts of "soundtrack" stuff.

Star Wars

Braveheart

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Mission Impossible? :wtf:

:wink:

Fzoul

[MarkN]

Criminy, you people are getting me all hyped up over wanting to play this game now, too! But I'm afraid to cuz I'm enjoying Chaser and wanna keep playing it and if I start MW then I'm afraid that it'll be the only game in town for a long time for me! Then again, I am a snailgamer so maybe not. Man, and I thought that Evercrack was supposed to be about the longest playing PC game! Well, maybe with MP, huh?

Anyway, reading all the posts on this particular thread (haven't gone through any others as yet) I've got some questions:

1.) When you say you can have one or more houses to store stuff in and that if you have too many that it's hard to remember which ones they are, where they are or what they have in them, well, can't you just put up a sign or paint the house(s) a particular pattern or color for easy identification whenever you go back there? I'm surprised that no one else had asked this yet.

2.) I've got the GOTYE and was wondering if I should install all three games in case either or both Tr and BM have patches that MW itself doesn't (unless of course this edition of it has 'em all already), as well as any newer patches and whatnot?

3.) How exactly can you know which mods to trust that they don't have hidden trojans or some such? Especially if you're just coming into this a complete noob to the land of Morrowind.

4.) About how big is/are the world(s) of MW if it could all possibly be determined using real life measurements? Like is MW a planet the size of the Earth, or Saturn or Jupiter or is just an other-dimensional land with no beginning and no end that comprises maybe 100 miles wide or so or what? Of course, any PC game is already an other-dimensional world in and of itself but you get the idea.

[Gaim Mastr]

1) House painting or sign placement is not possible in the game, aside from using the editor to do some custom work. Which, isn't necessary. I really doubt that you'd lose track of which house/building you've taken as your own in each town. The towns simply aren't quite that big.

You can, however, also take just a part of a large building or mansion for your own. Some areas inside aren't patroled by guards or occupied by residents. That leaves you a little free space to store and collect stuff. The only problem there is possibly lacking the ability to sleep somewhere if there isn't an empty bedroom.


2) Yes, you should install all three. While each one is individually patched as much as possible, the inclusion of all three has other fixes. For instance, you'll need Tribunal installed if you want to make use of the much better journal system, which you'll really want for playing the main Morrowind game. Otherwise, the journal turns into a very large, unorganized mess that's a major pain to filter through.


3) As always, check any downloaded files with an antivirus utility. But I've downloaded and used hundreds of different mods and never found anything malicious (other than poorly made mods :wink:).

Check to see if the mod you're downloading states that it works with the latest patched version of Morrowind with Bloodmoon installed. There are some older mods that came out before any expansion was released that will still work. That time mod I'd mentioned in this thread is one of them, and a personal MUST HAVE in my opinion.

Best advice is to pick just a dozen or so mods that look particularly worthwhile to you and use those. The more you use, the higher your risk of something not working properly. I know that there's a mod which contains a necklace or ring that turns you into a Berne vampire whenever you put it on. Seems great, but I've found that a bug in that mod makes all of the structures reset themselves some times. This means that you'll encounter multiple doors and items, which can also slow down the game. So that one should be avoided.

I'd suggest using only the mods that others like myself have used for extended periods and can safely say that they work good. Then, when you've finished the game and want to play through it again, go wild and pick some outlandish mods. At least that way you'll have finished the game once and will be able to tell if some mod has corrupted the game in a way that you might not otherwise be able to discern.


4) The main Morrowind game is actually only played on Vvardenfell, which is an island in the middle of the Morrowind providence (http://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/index.php?p=modding_data/maps&image=g/maps/map_mw_full.jpg).

[Jagndeke]

I really doubt that you'd lose track of which house/building you've taken as your own in each town.

Then again, I am a snailgamer...

Well, if MarkN is a true snailgamer, I can see him forgetting a shack, house or cave or two which he confiscated for hording looted goodies.

On the other hand, if he takes a snailgamer approach to MW, he'll still be playing through this massive game long after Elderscrolls Four, Five and Six come along!!! He may even come across long forgotten stashes and think he's discovered new found riches!! :lol: :wink:

[Nova]

That Tamriel Rebuilt mod looks pretty nifty, but it probably never will be finished :(:

[Tom Servo]

Also, it's worth checking out http://www.uesp.net , the most comprehensive MW site I've ever been to.

[MarkN]

Well, if MarkN is a true snailgamer, I can see him forgetting a shack, house or cave or two which he confiscated for hording looted goodies.

On the other hand, if he takes a snailgamer approach to MW, he'll still be playing through this massive game long after Elderscrolls Four, Five and Six come along!!! He may even come across long forgotten stashes and think he's discovered new found riches!! :lol: :wink:

Yeah, ain't dat da truth!

And thanks for the map, Gaim Mastr. Looks purdy cool. So if Vvardenfell was a real island then about how big would it roughly be?

[Fzoulcmbyl]

Roughly 60 miles across, and 70-75 miles in length.


:wtf:


Fzoul

[Ojnod]

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Nerd

[Fzoulcmbyl]

:lol:

Bite me Donjo....that was a guess.... lol...


:p:



Fzoul

[MarkN]

Thanks, Fzoul! I was thinking if maybe it was like well over 100 miles or so at the widest.

[Terry Penrod]

.

Thanks, Fzoul! I was thinking if maybe it was like well over 100 miles or so at the widest.


Not even close.

If you judge the scale of the island by the width of Vivec (by far the largest city in the game) and measure its size at the widest point from east to west in scale with the game character, you will see that the town is at best four football fields across - give or take the canal spaces in between each canton. This is the most accurate place on the map to start since Vivec is laid out in a grid of perfect squares, equally spaced and situated along the natural NESW axis of a compass.

Given that estimated dimension of approximately 1,200+ feet wide, in direct proportion, the the rest of the game map (which is actually in scale as the entire island of Vvardenfell can be traversed on foot or via extended levitation / waterwalking spells in full 3D, real time), then the land mass is at best 5 miles wide (actually closer to 3). And if you time your character walking or running at a "normal" pace in more or less a straight line within that 3D game world, this esitimated measurement bears out.

You see, the load screens do not equate to any additional distance traveled. So you can easily judge those things the same way you would in real life. However, the game map makes it seem as if the island is huge. But the largest city is not even the size of a small town in the real world. The "mountains" feel high due to the fog effects, super steep sides and expansive panoramic views. But in the actual game play, the highest one is really little more than a hill. Also, the widest river is more like a stream and the biggest lake is really just a decent sized pond.

The interesting thing is that you do feel as if you are traveling long distances because of the undulating terrain design, the winding multi-level paths / roads, the tiered towns, the many underground areas and the vastly compressed day / night cycles. There are also "long distance" modes of transportation that add to this feeling of greater distance from one point to another.

But if you levitate and/or waterwalk in roughly straight lines across the island, it takes very little real time (even when walking) to get across. Running is of course ridiculously fast - especially is you have a high speed rating with good athletic skills. A high acrobatic skill level also allows for outrageously long / high jumping that makes the time of travel from point a to b even shorter.

It's still a mammoth game in terms of depth / gameplay / non-linearity / total content. But compared to the game worlds in many other CRPG titles that use cheats (distance based load screens to equate to long travel times), Vvardenfell is really pretty small. For instance, in Fallout 1 / 2 and Arcanum, you can not actually walk across the world map. You must "travel" up to hundreds of miles via ships, trains, cars or time lapsed load screens for foot travel that produce random "wilderness" areas to give you the sense that you are way out in the middle of nowhere halfway between destinations after going for days on end.

Arcanum is a bit more forgiving than Fallout 1 / 2 in that you can walk greater distances in real time due to the advanced, real time tiling of the terrain. But at certain key points you can not get past the mountain range or certain forest areas and you can not swim across or around large geographic obstacles. The Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series are similar.

Cheers, Terry

.

[Fzoulcmbyl]

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Nerd


:wink:


Fzoul

[Ojnod]

He sure showed you up son. :p:

[Terry Penrod]

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Nerd


:wink:


Fzoul


That's MISTER Nerd to you son.

Cheers, Terry

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[Gaim Mastr]

Terry's right.

If you really get down to the technical measurements, the island doesn't seem all that large. However, when you're in the game and playing, traveling those distances makes the island seem quite large indeed. And you will do a great deal of traveling in the game. :yes:

[MarkN]

I was gonna wait to finish Chaser before starting this game but I've had too many problems with Chaser so I uninstalled it and installed the entire MW GOTYE earlier tonight and will give it try tomorrow or so. Dunno what all species or classes I wanna be but when I create a character I'll letcha all know.

[Terry Penrod]

.

I was gonna wait to finish Chaser before starting this game but I've had too many problems with Chaser so I uninstalled it and installed the entire MW GOTYE earlier tonight and will give it try tomorrow or so. Dunno what all species or classes I wanna be but when I create a character I'll letcha all know.


If you haven't read the first two pages of this thread Mark, I can now attest to how good the advice is for initial character creation regarding race, class, innate attiributes, major and minor skills and special bonuses. I also suggest that you take a fairly well balanced approach the first time through as the game is huge with many steep challenges of every kind. So it helps a lot to have a character with the best built-in skills / overall advantages and few if any major drawbacks.

It is also important to note that through books, training, ongoing in-game practice and all sorts of special items, you can take almost any basic, well rounded character and eventually mold him into whatever you want - a powerful melee warrior, an awesome mage (or better yet a Battlemage combo!!!) with good acrobatic / athletic, archery and thieving skills who can also create his own super potions from raw ingredients, repair his own weapons, custom design spells / enchantments to enhance pretty much anything for use in the game world and talk his way into better prices and more favorable NPC responses.

One last note:

The most useful mods I have found to date are as follows:

1. Real Sign Posts (to make all the signs in the gameworld easily readable)

2. Less Aggressive Creatures (for limited use early in the game when exploring the vast wilderness)

3. Super Creeper (to give the best "fence" in the game enough money to buy the more expensive items at full price)

4. Your Balmora Residence (a large, safe storage area in a very convenient, central location)

5. One other little mod that has proved surprisingly useful is called Sedya Neen Boat.

There are of course many other good mods / plugins in every category including special ones for the EPs. But the first four above have been a God send to me and number five has come in real handy several times.


Cheers, Terry

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[MarkN]

Thanks, Terry. Yeah, I've read this entire thread and the corresponding ones on our other mutual forums for some ideas. I won't really have a chance to play the game for any great amount of time till Saturday night and on the Fourth, unless of course called to work but we expect to be dead (I can't imagine why) so I'll probably just play it then.

Forget the Atkins or South Beach or any other diets! The best diet of all--MORROWIND!!! You'll go days without eating cuz there's always that one quest or item you've just gotta finish or find, or that next boss battle you've just gotta engage in, and your mind will be so focused on the game that you'll completely forget to eat (or use the bathroom), even if you see a character eating it won't cross your mind to do the same, or if it does you'll pass up for the abovementioned reasons, resulting in your losing some serious poundage. If you can afford to (like me), then no problem. I might have to have some ibuprofen next to me for the hunger headaches I'm sure I'll get.

So, does this basically encapsulate the kinda experience that even a snailgamer such as myself can expect to have, Terry? :D:

[Gaim Mastr]

It is somewhat reminiscent of my own experiences with the game. :lol:

You'll go days without eating cuz there's always that one quest or item you've just gotta finish or find, or that next boss battle you've just gotta engage in...

Exactly. Many a times I'd say "Just let me finish this one little quest and I'm done for the night". Only to end up spending another hour or two finishing that quest, which turned out to be considerably more extensive than I'd imagined.


Good times.... :D:

[Shaolin K]

Oh yeah, I remember many nights staying up till the wee hours of the morning playing this game. It's so addictive. Great fun :):

[MarkN]

I started this game as a High Elf but didn't like that character so much so now I'm playing as an Orc warrior and I like that even more since he's stronger, can carry more and hits harder. I'm usually always one anyway in these games, but I've still got the elf so maybe I'll give him another try later. He also got some great armor very early on, a couple pieces rated at 22.

[MarkN]

I went to Balmora fot a bit and discovered that I can't take the silt strider back to Seyada Neen. Can I go to any of the other towns the strider goes to and eventually make my way back to Seyada Neen another way, or am I stuck only going from Balmora to the other places the strider goes to? I've got a save back in SN and might do some more exploring there but I'd probably eventually end up in Balmora or some other place, huh?

I got a silver shortsword I think from the thieves' cave (I'm guessing they were, at least) and went all over the place looking in all the crates, urns and barrels and hording stuff all over the place in hopes of going back to retrieve them later for sale. I also freed the slaves there before getting everything and then I went back to defeat the ancestral ghost in the haunted tomb, where I also fought my first skeleton and got a nice sparkly ring from that dead Lord Brynne. I expected that tomb to be bigger than it was. And I like the "Dispose of corpse" function, too.

[Gaim Mastr]

As with most RPGs, uniquely named items tend to be quest-related.

I thought that the Balmora stilt rider did have Sedaya Neen as one of its destinations. But maybe my memory of that isn't so good.

What I do know is that sometimes you have to take a combination of transport services to reach areas more quickly than simply running or flying.

There are four major transportation options....

Mages Guild teleporters
stilt riders
boats
propylon chambers in old Dark Elf bases.

Sometimes you need to use a combination of transportations, from location to location, to get to where you finally want to go.


I've got a save back in SN and might do some more exploring there but I'd probably eventually end up in Balmora or some other place, huh?

You'll probably end up visiting 5% of the places, if you rush through the game. I've tried, but haven't managed to visit more than about 35% of the places throughout the game. Most all of the major places, yes. But there are tons of little, hidden places all over.

I'd suggest that you stock up on some heal potions, and walk back to Sedaya Neen. The exercise, exploration, adventure and experience would do you some good.

:wink:

[MarkN]

Well, what I did the last time I played it (last Tuesday, in fact) was just replay the save in SN and for a longer time, levelling up to 2, and won't return to Balmora till sometime later and when I do I'll save over the old Balmora save, so yes, I'll be doing some more stuff in and around SN before returning there.

[Glass_Hope]

christ, if you ask me its an MMO without the online...wich to me defeats the purpose, but whatever floats your boat man...

[Worldofpain]

1)
4) The main Morrowind game is actually only played on Vvardenfell, which is an island in the middle of the Morrowind providence (http://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/index.php?p=modding_data/maps&image=g/maps/map_mw_full.jpg).
sorry to quote such a old post but i just started playing this game a few days ago and i love to explore, how do i get to the outer areas? outside of the two mian islands. i put it on god mode and uped my speed so i could take a look around so i desided to swim to the outer areas and never got there >.<. i know i sound like a idiot and i am but id be happy if someone would shed some light on this for me. do i have to play farther into the storyline to open up the areas? is it not avalible on my version of the game? which is Game of the year edition. hope these people still post here..lol it was along time ago..

Thanks alot, WoP