Mathis and My Role Playing Rules

So for my next play through of Skyrim, I decided to try out a favorite build on The Skyrim Blog website. I really like the Sorcerer build by Mason.

My next character is named Mathis. He is a Breton from Cyrodiil.  I plan to write up his back story for my next post. I have already begun play with Mathis and am thoroughly enjoying it.  He is nowhere near the Sorcerer build described in Mason's build. And since I am role playing his adventure, I will be organically working toward that build.

Below are some of the role playing rules I am incorporating into this play through:

• Even though I am following a build, Mathis must have an in-game reason for the things he does.
• Mathis must eat 2-3 meals a day. (Seems like a no-brainer to me.)
• Mathis must sleep everyday.
• Level-ups will occur after Mathis gets a full night's rest. (Like in Oblivion, Mathis will need to sleep to gain his next level. No saving a level up for emergency heals.)
• Mathis is limited to what he can carry around with him.
• 1 dagger
• 2 weapons (This is in addition to his dagger. Staves will count as weapons)
• 1 full suit of armor
• 2-3 sets of clothes
• 10-15 potions maximum
• 3 days worth of food (Since there is no way to drink water in this game, I will assume he carries a waterskin as well.  After all, you cannot drink wine and mead all the time.)
• 5-10 soul gems
• Anything else, I think he can realistically carry with him.
• Mathis can carry more equipment as loot.
• 1 more weapon over his allotment
• 1 suit of armor or shield (3 minor pieces of armor can be substituted.)
• Anything else, I think he can realistically haul away
• No Fast Travel allowed. In fact I will limit Mathis to mostly walking. Every now and then I may have him jog for short bursts. Carriages will be OK, if Mathis thinks he can afford it.
• Other rules as I come up with them.

This should be an interesting play through for me as I will have to come up with reasons for why Mathis does stuff.

Welcome Back to the Nightblade Chronicles!

It has been awhile since I posted about on the Nightblade Chronicles.

Short story is real life got in the way and I had little time for playing Skyrim. I have lost the saved game files with Vargas and will not be able to finish his tale.

However, I do plan on restructuring this blog and beginning to keep a journal of a new character I started recently.

What do I mean by restructuring?

1. I will archive the Vargas posts onto their own page or several pages.
2. I will create a new page for the new character.
3. Still throwing this idea around - but I might create a page for roleplaying tips or tricks.

Please stay tuned...

Preparation For Fellglow

Vargas makes his way back to the College of Winterhold. In the quarters of the Archmage, Vargas informs Savos Aren of the giant magical orb Tolfdir is guarding inside Saarthal. Savos is immediately impressed with Vargas and asks him to do some research about the orb while he helps Tolfdir get it to the college.

Vargas heads to the Arcaneum to look for books referencing the orb. Urag gro-Shub tells Vargas that an ex-student of the college ran off with some books recently. He remembers one of those books containing information about giant magical orbs. Orthorn, the ex-student, ran off to Fellglow Keep to join up with some rogue wizards.

Vargas gets a little rest in is dorm room before departing for Whiterun.

After the long wagon ride to Whiterun, Vargas meets with Farengar to discuss the events at the college. (There is no wagon to hire from Winterhold to Whiterun, but that sounds better than saying, "Vargas Fast Traveled to Whiterun." You can probably expect more of that. Also, I disenchanted some items near Farengar in Dragonsreach. This caused me to gain level 8; hence the mention of Farengar. For my level 8 perk I chose Animage from the Illusion skill tree.)

The next day, Vargas departs for the mountains to the west of Whiterun to find Fellglow Keep.

The Orb and the Gauldurson

Vargas begins to recognize that this excursion into an ancient Nordic tomb is going to turn out like his first. Warning Tolfdir of the dangers ahead, Vargas slips into the shadows and begins trekking deeper into Saarthal.

Kamehame.....

Vargas encounters several draugr the further he goes down into the tomb. However this time he is much more well prepared to deal with them. Using his stealth he lays down lightning traps and draws the draugr to them. For those draugr that he cannot trap, he unleashes his lightning directly.

Ha!
Dead Draugr Wight = Level 7

(This is the first opportunity I have had to use the Rune spells. I must say that while they are very magic intensive, it is fun to place them and pull enemies into them. I can see this as being a great tactic once I can get the Quiet Casting perk from the Illusion skill tree. For my level 7 perk I chose Illusion Dual Casting. This is so I can dual cat my Illusion spells on higher level enemies later. I also felt like my Destruction skill tree was getting too much attention lately.)

Vargas awaits Tolfdir when he enters the antechamber of Saarthal. There is a powerful magical orb floating in the center of the room guarded by Jyrik Gauldurson, an undead mage. This draugr is much more difficult to defeat; he is drawing power from the orb. Toldir concentrates on breaking the link between them, while Vargas releases is full magical might.

Jyrik Gauldurson and the Orb

After the battle, Tolfdir asks Vargas to immediately inform the Archmage about the events here. On his way out Vargas finds a second wall covered in ancient runes. Just like the first, he absorbs some understanding of the dragon tongue from it.

Saarthal

Vargas leaves immediately toward the excavation site at Saarthal. Bundled up against the harsh blizzard-like conditions, he is able to make is way there without any incident. Vargas is the first student to arrive, having taken a shortcut through the mountain pass. He uses this time to work on his muffling spell.

(I aquired the Muffle spell back in Whiterun, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Everytime I cast it, my Illusion skill raises by 1 even with no one else around. I don't want Vargas to level too quickly, so I have decided to limit my use of the spell for the times when I am in need of silence. So no casting just to level up.)

Tolfdir opens the door to Saarthal and leads the students inside once everyone arrives. The architecture is very similar to that of Bleak Falls Barrow. Tolfdir leads the students down to where the excavation is taking place. Vargas is asked to look for magical artifacts by Arniel Gane, the mage leading the excavation of Saarthal for the college.

Vargas discovers a secret passage while at the excavation site. Tolfdir and Vargas are attacked by draugr as they make their way further into Saarthal.  After the attack, Vargas is given a dire warning of disaster in the future by a ghostly apparition claiming to be part of the Psijic Order.

College Admission

Vargas decides to seek out the College of Winterhold that Farengar spoke of. Vargas leaves Whiterun aboard a hired wagon and says goodbye to all the Dragonborn nonsense he his hearing. The journey to Winterhold is long but uneventful.

Winterhold

Vargas is unimpressed with the town of Winterhold. He thought that such a place to house a college of magic would be more grand. He quickly learns from the residents of Winterhold that they tolerate but do not condone magic. Vargas makes his way toward the college.

He is stopped at the college bridge by Faralda, an Altmer mage. She informs him that only those displaying a certain prowess in magic is allowed admittance to the college. Vargas easily passes her test and she leads him across the bridge.

Tolfdir's Lecture

Inside the college, Vargas is taken to a lecture where other new arrivals have gathered. An elderly wizard named Tolfdir is speaking about being safe when experimenting with magic. Tolfdir teaches Vargas the importance of defensive wards, especially when confronted with hostile magic.

After the lesson, Tolfdir asks everyone to meet him at an excavation site. The college is currently looking for magical artifacts in the ancient Nordic ruin of Saarthal located near Winterhold.

What To Do Next?

So far I have followed the main quest in order to unlock the appearance of dragons. Normally with my other character, I stick around Whiterun and build up cash to buy Breezehome. I am trying to play Vargas differently that my other characters, so I won't be doing that. I will also leave Lydia here in Whiterun, because Vargas tends to enjoy being alone when adventuring.

Now, I have a choice to make. What does Vargas do next?

Here are my choices:

• I can continue the main quest and head to High Hrothgar and visit the Greybeards. (I dread this long walk.)
• I can go to Windhelm and start the Dark Brotherhood or Stormcloak Civil War questlines. (I have never done either of these before, so they are both promising.)
• I can go to Riften and start the Thieve's Guild questline. (This questline is one that I have completed before, but it was long ago with a thief character.)
• I can go to Winterhold and start the College questline. (This is probably the best option, since Vargas needs to work more on his magic skills. So far Illusion is lagging behind Sneak and Destruction. I've started this one before, but never went very far into it.)
• I can go to any of the other holds and do various quests there.

I think the College of Winterhold would be the best fit for Vargas at this time in his career. Nightblade's need to be able to harness powerful magic. I can better train my Illusion magic since there is a trainer here. I will need to join to College at some point to get the Invisibility spell.

For now, I will start the College questline, but I intend to run through the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieve's Guild questlines later on.

The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages has been invaluable to me so far. I use it to make sure I spell names correctly since I don't keep accurate notes when I play. I also go to that site for hints and tips on playing.