The Shocking Dead

Dead Draugr = Level 4

As Vargas descends deeper into Bleak Falls Barrow, he gets and uneasy feeling. The bodies of the ancient Nords begin to awaken and target the only living soul around. Vargas brings down several draugr with his lightning spell.

At one point, he is surrounded by draugr and quaffing magic replenishing potions to keep his spells going.

Dead Draugr = Level 5

(Since Illusion spells don't work against undead, I was running around shocking everything at this point. My destruction skill went up considerably while fighting the draugr. For my level 4 perk I chose Novice Destruction. For level 5 I went with Destruction Dual Casting.)

Continuing through the crypt, Vargas comes across an interesting door. Flipping through Arvel's journal, Vargas figures that the golden claw must be used to open the inner sanctum of Bleak Falls Barrow. Turning the dials to match the inscriptions on the golden claw, Vargas is able to open the door.

Electrocution, Vargas-Style

Vargas is sure the Dragonstone is located at the heart of Bleak Falls Barrow.  He continues into the inner sanctum and is greeted by a draugr overlord.

Much like his minions, the overlord is breathes it last breath...again. Vargas finds the Dragonstone nearby.

Excerpt from The Nightblade Chronicles 

Some may like fire spells, others like ice spells. Lightning spells, add a greater element of fear in my opinion.

To Roleplay Or Not

I have been toying with the idea of roleplaying Vargas during my play through.  I have done so somewhat. I made sure to buy him a meal for lunch and dinner on his first day in Skyrim. But how far do I take the roleplaying?

I have read several posts from forums and blogs about the subject of roleplaying in Skyrim. Some suggest that you limit the amount of gear you can carry to something more realistic.

• Don't use armor pulled off of dead enemies.  (Vargas doesn't wear armor anyways.)
• Limit the number of items you can carry.  IE 5 potions, 5 scrolls.  (That seems like a headache to keep track of)
• Eat and sleep with your character.  (I can do that, but there is nothing in the game forcing me to do it.)
• Use the wait function when you create potions, smith weapons, or enchant items.  (Easy to do, but who wants to spend the game waiting?)
• Don't use the fast travel option.  (I have tried this before.  It gets boring running around everywhere.  Eventually, I end up using the fast travel.)

I have tried roleplaying characters before in Skyrim.  It seemed to me that the more rules I put on roleplaying the less time I spent actually playing the game and doing quests.  I also lost interest after a few levels.  It's not that I think roleplaying is bad.  (I'm an old school D&D roleplayer.)  I just have a hard time incorporating it into a video game.

I have decided that some roleplay is easy to do.  Vargas will eat and sleep.  And Vargas will never wear any armor from dead people. Vargas will never wear any armor at all.  I think that and keeping up with this blog is probably roleplay enough for me.

Why Did It Have To Be Spiders?

Vargas Approaches His Next Victim

Vargas continues up the mountain toward Bleak Falls Barrow outwitting several bandits in the process.  At the top of the snow capped summit, the Nordic tomb menacingly beckons to Vargas.

Inside the tomb, Vargas finds more bandits camped.  Using his magic, he is able to get the bandits fighting each other. Vargas creeps up on the survivor of the battle and drives his daggers deep into his back.

Dead Bandit = Level 3

(With this level, I chose to pick the Novice Illusion perk. This should help with my magic consumption. I had run out of magic outside Bleak Falls Barrow fighting the three bandits there. Sorry there are no screenshots, but one of them shot the other in the face with an arrow. Frenzy spells are fun.)

Now That's A Big Spider

Vargas works his way through the ancient crypt looking for the Dragonstone. Ahead of him he hears the cries of someone that needs help.

Rounding the corner, Vargas sees a bandit stuck in some webs. A giant spider descends from the ceiling staring menacingly at Vargas. Vargas quickly dispatches the spider with lightning.

After the battle with the giant spider, Vargas cuts Arvel the Swift out of the webs. Arvel proceeds to flee through the crypt. Vargas brings him down quickly with lightning as well. Vargas finds a golden dragon claw in Arvel's bag.

Excerpt from The Nightblade Chronicles 

Treachery and deceit are rampant among the people I have met. As soon as you turn around, someone tries to stab you in the back.

Riverwood & Whiterun

Vargas leaves Riverwood and heads to Whiterun, the largest city in Whiterun hold.

Important Meeting

During the short trip to Whiterun, Vargas gathers some of the local flora to test for alchemical properties.  After persuading the guards at the gate that he saw a dragon attack Helgen, they take him to see Jarl Balgruuf.

Leaving out the fact that he was a prisoner of the Imperial Legion, Vargas tells of the destruction of Helgen and his narrow escape through the dungeons. The Jarl is impressed and gives Vargas a mission to enter Bleak Falls Barrow to acquire a Dragonstone for his court mage.  Bleak Falls Barrow is and ancient Nord crypt in the mountains above Riverwood.

Vargas makes his way back to Riverwood and begins his ascent up the mountain.

Excerpt from The Nightblade Chronicles 

I was right to go to Skyrim.  The civil war and the appearance of the dragons had everyone confused.The Jarl of Whiterun actually thought I was some kind of hero.  I did his tasks just to get on his good side.

Dead Wolf = Level Up

(So during the trip to Bleak Falls Barrow, I gained enough skill to get a level up.  When I level I will raise my magic every even level and my health every odd level.  Stamina will be raised every 5th level.  I don't know what kind of ratio that is, but it will be easy to remember. I chose the first perk in the Sneak skill tree for this level.  I will probably following this tree far enough to get Assassin's Blade.)

Redguard & Dragon

Vargas, Redguard from Cyrodiil

So I decided to go with a Redguard for my nightblade.  The reasoning for this was I have never played as a Redguard before.  Redguard's don't really have any bonuses to the skills that I will be using.  I will have to work harder to raise my nightblade skills.

Vargas awoke as a prisoner of the Imperial Legion.  The Legion captured the leader of the Stormcloak rebellion and they were on the way to the executioner block.  During the execution, a dragon swoops in and starts attacking the town of Helgen.

Dragon Attack

While the Imperial Legion were fighting off the dragon, Vargas escapes through the keep with the help of Ralof.  Ralof is one of the Stormcloak rebels.  During the escape, Vargas lets Ralof do most of the dirty work.

Finally, escaping Helgen through the dungeons below, Vargas makes his way to Riverwood.  He parts company with Ralof there and begins his journey through Skyrim.

Excerpt from The Nightblade Chronicles 

As I think back to the beginning, I find myself amazed at the fortunate events surrounding my escape.  Not only did the Imperials not know who I was or what I had done in Cyrodiil.  A dragon, of all things, saves my head on the executioners block.

The Nightblade

What is a nightblade?  

It has been a character class since The Elder Scrolls: Arena was released.  One of my favorite classes, the nightblade melds stealth, magic, and precision together to overcome obstacles and defeat foes.  So what does a nightblade look like in Skyrim, since they did away with character classes altogether?  If you do a search on nightblade builds, you will see that everyone has a different idea.  My nightblade build will consist of others ideas as well as my own.

Instead of writing out a complete build, I will just give you the general concept.  The nightblade will use the shadows to avoid detection from his enemies.  While undetected, the nightblade will strike out with his magic or dagger with precise intelligent attacks.  If anybody remains standing, the nightblade will slip back into the shadows and prepare to strike again.

So, I'm looking at a few skills to work on.  Illusion, sneak, and destruction will be the major skills that I will use.  The nightblade's minor skills will be one handed, alteration, restoration, and enchanting.  There will probably be some minor dips into lockpicking and pickpocket as well.

I debated with myself for quite a while about using light armor or not.  I am going to play the nightblade without armor for the sole fact that I haven't played a character without armor before.  Also, if I my play style is to try not to be detected or get hit, what good is armor anyway.  If the nightblade gets into trouble, alteration and restoration can both be used.

In my next post, I will actually begin playing the nightblade in vanilla Skyrim.  As for the race of my character, that will be decided shortly.  I am on the fence between Redguard and Imperial.

Introduction

The purpose of this blog is purely personal.  Every time I play Skyrim (or any game really), I eventually get bored with my current character or playstyle.  I will then proceed to start the game over again.  A friend recently described this to me as "Alt-itis."

Nightblade Chronicles will be my attempt at a remedy.