Tuesday, November 22, 2011

HMMMM....

I'm starting to question Rodhan's "Class Build".  Sometimes the difficulty seems normal, but then I get to another fight in the same dungeon and I'm like "WTF....Y U NO DIE Falmer???"  No, but in all seriousness I did randomly find a Dwemer ruin, killed a few bandits easily enough, but as I went deeper I found some Falmer in the back and they lit me up for a while.  I can say this though, Disarm is now one of my favorite shouts.  I may also start to play more in first person to help with my obvious inability to hit things with a sword. Heres some video stuff, and if anyone has any ideas on how I can improve my videos post a comment or message or send a message to that chip the aliens left in my brain.










PS:  Though I'm sure Shilka is the only one remotely interested, I have done some work on the final chapter of Rodhan's back story.  (There may or may not be an obscure comic book reference)  It will be out sometime this week, then I will put them all together, attempt to fix the spelling and grammar mistakes, and give them their own page on the top bar.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Last Night......

Was interesting to say the least.  After going out to eat with some friends and consuming several alcoholic beverages, I came home and loaded up Skyrim to see what the world would give me.  Well the first thing that happened was I was attacked by Thalmor Justicars.  I have NO idea what I did to piss them off, but they wanted me dead.  Good thing is, after a really tough fight (most likely because I couldn't hit them with my sword because I was too drunk) I got myself a nice shiny set of elven armor.



After the craziness with the Justicars, I headed back to Whiterun, sold all my loot, and set off adventuring again.  I didn't make it two steps out the gates before I was attacked by a dragon.  This was the first one Rodhan had fought on his own.  I did eventually (barely) kill the dragon, but was immediately mauled by a sabercat.  Now all cats must die......Khajiit are still ok.



After screaming at the screen about that &^$*#%! sabercat, I decided I would give it another go, but try to use the guards to help me.  What actually happened was I got a rather unexpected visit from a dead guy.



On a side note, I really hope someone makes a mod to make you scream "DOHVAKIIN!!!!" when you absorb dragon souls like he did in the 20 minutes of gameplay that Bethesda released in September.
Here is the conclusion of Rodhan's intro




Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Blog Improvements

Along with the first video I am working on improving the look, feel, and general functionality of this blog.  If you haven't noticed yet, there's a new bar under the banner that will lead you to different pages.  There are just two for now, but I will expand and offer more stuff for you to look at while wasting time at work.  I have also painstakingly made a new banner for you all to enjoy.  Featuring a turtle.....because turtles are cool.

Good News, Everyone!!!

I have uploaded my first video that shows Rodhan's character creation.  Now that things are starting to move along, and the kinks are getting worked out, expect more regular updates here, and on my YouTube.  Now I had planned on chronicling all my experiences with Rodhan, but that isn't going to be possible.  Mostly because YouTube takes FOREVER to upload and process videos.  So the videos will be more highlights and things I found funny or interesting, and less running aimlessly through the woods.  I, for one, think that this is a good change, because it allows me to be lazy and I have to do less video editing (which is good because I am using a free editing program and its not very good).  So, without any more shenanigans, here is Rodhan.


I will add the rest of the intro once YouTube finishes processing.  So expect it next Thursday.....I kid, I kid, probably later tonight.  Also, if more people start to watch my videos, I will probably start doing some commentary and actually buy proper editing software so that my videos wont be terrible anymore. 


Monday, November 14, 2011

Delayed

So, as you might have noticed, I have not posted anything to this blog since a couple days before Skyrim was released.  I could list off excuses why this happened, but they are neither interesting or exciting.  I am working on getting some videos up here, but It has taken some fine tuning to get my computer to both play and record Skyrim at an acceptable framerate.  For those of you who wanted to see Rodhan's creation and whatnot shouldn't worry.  I have actually been playing a stealthy Dunmer until I could get this all worked out.  Expect the final part of Rodhan's backstory and actual video in the next day or two. 

PS.  When I finish the backstory, I will copy it all down, fix spelling mistakes and grammar errors, then put it up in its entirety in its own little section of the blog.  Who knows, I might even make up a backstory for my Dunmer. (I have ideas)

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The story of Rodhan: Part 3

    Rodhans next memory is of darkness.  He stood to his feet in order to grasp his surroundings, but was unable to see or hear anything.  Then he heard a booming voice from within his very soul, "MU  MeyZ  NaaL NOROK ViiNG , MU  MeyZ VOTH STaaDNAU AO, FIN LeiN  LOS  Fah DOVah."  Rodhan turned to find the source of the voice.  All he saw there in the darkness were two burning eyes.



    As soon as Rodhan saw the eyes, he was back in the forest.  He was back at camp, but what he saw with his eyes was not what he remembered.  There was blood and ash everywhere, charred and dismembered corpses were all that remained of Garrick's men.  Cyrus' body was laying in the center of the destruction.  Untouched, as if it was the eye of the storm that had burned everything else.  "Do you remember?"  Rodhan turned to see Elenwen behind him.  She looked at him and said, "I asked you, do you remember what happend here?"  Rodhan shook his head, for he did not know what had killed the other men, or what had caused the camp to burn.  "The time for us to talk has come sooner than I had hoped, but it will have to wait a little longer.  We must first honor Cyrus' sacrifice."

    That night, they built a funeral pyre, and placed Cyrus' body atop the structure.  As Rodhan when to light the fire, he was stopped by Elenwen.  "Please, may I have a moment alone with him?"  Rodhan walked to nearby lake to collect his thoughts and give Elenwen some time.  While he was sitting there, he could almost hear singing coming from where the pyre was.  He couldnt understand the words, but the melody was beautiful.  Not long after the singing stopped, he heard Elenwen approaching from behind.  She looked at him and said "It is time" and turned back towards the pyre.  Rodhan thought he saw tears streaming down her face, but he didnt ask her about them.  Though she did not wish to show it, Cyrus' death was affecting her in a terrible way.  Rodhan and Elenwen lit the pyre, said a prayer, and watched for a while.  Once all that was left was a pile of ash, Elenwen motioned for Rodhan to follow.

    They walked for several days without speaking.  They finally stopped near Bruma, and Elenwen spoke for the first time since Cyrus' funeral, "It is time you knew the truth."  She paused to gather her thoughts, then for the first time, she spoke to Rodhan with genuine concern in her voice.  "On the day we found you, Cyrus took you in, bathed you, tore his own garments to clothe you, and asked me to heal your wounds.  He truly was a kind man."  A single tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke of Cyrus.  "From the first time I saw you, I knew.  There is something within you.  It is an unbelievably powerful force, and I was afraid.  Over the years, while I was teaching you, I was also sealing the power away.  This is why you always felt that you were seperated from your magic.  It is also why i never taught you any destruction magic."

    Rodhan could do nothing but stare at her.  Remembering his vision of the voice and contemplating the gravity of the situation.  Elenwen could see the confusion on his face.  "There is one more thing.  This may be the most difficult thing I tell you.  After seeing what you did to the men who killed Cyrus.....The only explanation for what happened to your home village.....is you."  Rodhan couldn't believe what he had just heard.  He took a step back, fell to his knees and, for a moment, was unable to breathe.  He had killed all those people.  He had killed the people who brought him into this world.  He had killed his friends.  He was responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people.  Rodhan began to cry. 

    Once again, showing a kindness he had never seen from the Altmer, she crouched down, put her hand on his shoulder, and whispered, "You should not carry the burden of those deaths.  YOU, did not kill those people.  Rather, it was the force inside of you, erupting far beyond your control."  She stood up and stretched out her hand, "Come now, We have business in Bruma.  I have a friend who may be able to help you."

Monday, November 7, 2011

The story of Rodhan: Part 2

    Eight years had passed since Rodhan had left his village.  Eight years since everything he knew had been turned to ash.  Eight years since he began his new life with Cyrus and Elenwen. 

    The years that had passed were more or less happy ones.  They did not spend much time in Morrowind, it seemed to be as unfitting a home for Cyrus and Elenwen as Skingrad.  Instead they came home to Cyrodill.  Moving from village to village, city to city.  The group rarely spent more than a month in any one place.  Rodhan never minded the traveling, he considered it adventure, and as Cyrus had once said, Rodhan did learn much from his new friends.  Though he lacked the sheer size and strength to effectively use a longsword, after years of training and sparring, Rodhan became very effective with a shortsword.  He was a very quick and nimble fighter.  A perfect balance to Cyrus' imposing size and overwhelming strength.  However the one thing Cyrus was relentless with was "control."  He would constantly tell Rodhan that the most important thing was to "maintain control."  Rodhan wasnt sure what he meant by that, but he took it to heart anyway.

      He also learned some magick from Elenwen.  She mostly taught him spells to heal his wounds after a training session with Cyrus, and also taught him how to weave magical energy into armor.  He often asked to learn destruction magic, but she always told him that he didn't have the capacity to use it and he shouldn't even try.  Rodhan was often confused by her unwillingness to teach him, but he did not push her.  Counter to Cyrus' easygoing and caring nature, Elenwen always acted coldly towards him.  Almost as if she wasn't seeing him, but something else.  He never let it bother him too much.  His magick was always limited, and almost seemed as if it was being cut off from him somehow.

    Over the years, Rodhan grew to understand the world, and how people interacted with each other.  Over time he began to realize that despite being total opposites, and constantly arguing, Cyrus and Elenwen cared a great deal about each other.  He believed that this was somehow related to why they never stayed in the same place very long.  He wondered how the two even met.  Cyrus seemed as common as most, but Elenwen seemed to possess an almost royal quality to her.  These thoughts came and went as often as any, but it was still a mystery to the young man.  Then again there were many mysteries in this world that he had not even begun to consider. 

    One day as the group was setting up camp near Cheydinhal,  Cyrus sent Rodhan to town to fetch some supplies and sell some furs and herbs that they had gathered.  This had become a common occurence over the past year, and Rodhan didn't mind leaving to give the two some time alone with eachother.  Besides Rodhan was at the age where he desired some seperation from his "parents."  He laughed when the thought entered his mind.  An old Redguard and an angry Altmer woman were his parents.

     Rodhan concluded his business at the local shops much earlier than expected and decided to waste some time walking around town.  He met a local girl and the two started talking, and before he knew it he had stayed far longer than he intended.  He thanked the kind girl for her time, asked if he could see her again, then ran off back to camp.

    When he neared the campsite he heard more voices than he should have, and not all of them were familiar.  When Rodhan got close enough to hear one of the strangers yelled, "This has gone on long enough Cyrus!! Where is she?!"  Cyrus replied "I parted ways with that Altmer bitch years ago.  Nag, Nag, Nag was all she did.  Only reason I stay off the roads these days is that you fools don't believe me."  The stranger stepped towards Cyrus and drew his sword, "I will ask you one last time.  WHERE IS SHE!!!!!"  Cyrus placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, "Be careful Garrick, the last time we crossed blades I left that nasty scar on your face.  I'd hate to have to make you even uglier."  Hidden behind the trees Rodhan drew his sword in case he needed to hurry to Cyrus' aid. 

    The man named Garrick lunged at Cyrus.  Cyrus drew his sword and dodged the attack in one smooth motion.  The two faced off for several minutes, but it was clear that Cyrus was the superior fighter so Rodhan chose to stay hidden.  Garrick grew frustrated of Cyrus toying with him and his attacks became irrational and rushed.  Cyrus was able to knock Garrick to the ground with the hilt of his sword, sparing him the blade.  Cyrus reached out his hand and said, "Come old friend.  Let us stop this foolishness, and drink like we used to."  Garrick looked towards his men.  He could not possibly accept such an offer in the presence of others, but strangely enough he said "Very well, It is clear that you have bested me.  Let us part ways once again."  He grabbed Cyrus' outstretched hand, pulled himself up and plunged a concealed dagger into Cyrus' chest.

    Cyrus did not move.  He did not shake.  He did not stumble.  With the sword in his other hand he removed Garrick's head faster than Rodhan could see.  Garrick's men simply stood there, shocked.  Cyrus then fell to his knees, blood pouring out of his mouth and chest.  Rodhan ran to his side as fast as he could, dropping his sword along the way.  Rodhan tried the healing spells Elenwen had taught him, but to no effect.  Rodhan knew there was more magic within him.  He pushed harder, and harder into his soul to find what he needed to save his friend...no, his father.  He sat there pouring everything he had into Cyrus, but to no effect.  Cyrus looked up at Rodhan and while coughing blood said these words.  "Do not waste your efforts on an old man like me.  You should be more concerned with yourself.  Elenwen calls it a curse, but I prefer to think of it as a gift.  Within you is the power to shape the destiny of so many.  I just wish I had the knowledge to teach you to control it.  Remember, no matter what, maintain control." 

    As Rodhan sat there, holding Cyrus' lifeless body, utterly confused by his father's last words, he lifted his head.  Garrick's men were still there.  Rodhan started to feel a burning in his chest.  He rose to his feet, and started screaming at the strangers.  Then it happened.  Rodhan's eyes turned black.  The air around him became hot.  He took up the stance that Cyrus' had taught him.  Once of the strangers laughed, "What are you doing boy?  Standing like that.  You don't even have a sword."  At that very moment, as if it was cut from his own flesh, A sword appeared in Rodhan's hand.  It had a pale blue glow for a moment.  Then suddenly the sword burst into flames.  Only the divine know what happened after that.  For Rodhan does not remember, and there were no survivors to tell the tale.

The story of Rodhan: Part 1

    Fire.  It is a force of nature.  It is a force of Destruction.  It is a force of Creation.  It is a force beyond control.  It is all these things and more, but to Rodhan, Fire is his curse.

    Rodhan's first memory is of fire.  He was a young child.  No more than 6 years old when his curse first rose to the surface.  While he slept that fateful night, his village burned.  His parents, his friends, and everyone else who was unlucky enough to be passing through the village that night died in an unexplainable blaze.  The next morning Rodhan awoke  in a pile of ash that stretched as far as he could see.  This is one of Rodhan's earliest memories, and one of the most painful.  A child with nothing, no one, an no idea of what had happened, started walking that day, and he has walked ever since. 

    Rodhan had been walking for 6 days.  His feet were bleeding because he had no shoes, his naked skin was blistered by the sun, he was walking towards death itself.   Even though he was young, he knew what was happening.  He knew that his life would soon be over.  Part of him was just happy that he would be seeing his parents again.  Rodhan came upon a tree and decided that this was as good a place as any to lay down and take his final rest.  He leaned his back against the tree, closed his eyes and waited for death to take him.  To his dismay however, fate had different plans. 

    Rodhan awoke several hours later to the sight of an elven woman casting some sort of magic...ON HIM!  With strength and force of will that he did not even know he possessed, he pushed the woman off and lept to his feet.  To his surprise, his feet were not longer hurting.  His skin, while still burnt, was not nearly as bad as he had remembered.  He had also been bathed and clothed.  He simply stood there in silence, staring at the elven woman.   She was a fairly young woman, tall with almost golden skin.  Even in his state of shock he could not help but notice that she was very beautiful.  He vaguely remembered his mother telling him that people who looked like that were called Altmer.  Then the woman spoke, "Calm down you brat.  I'm not finished yet, you'll just pass out again."  With the first words he had heard in nearly a week, he fell to the ground, and just as the elven woman said, he lost consciousness.

    Rodhan awoke the next day to the sound of arguing.  He recognized one of the voices as the woman he had seen the night before.  The other was a mans voice, deep and very rough.  He could not hear what they were arguing about, but the man sounded very angry about something.  He decided that he shouldn't stay to find out what the problem was.  He got out from under the blanket that was placed on him, and started to make his way out of the makeshift camp.  Then, much closer than it was before, he heard the mans voice, "And just where do you think you're going?" 

    Rodhan turned around to see the man bearing down on him.  To Rodhan's surprise the man was actually smiling.  The man was tall with with braided hair that had turned grey from age.  From the man's appearance, Rodhan determined that he was a Redguard.  After a moment the man spoke to Rodhan "So we find you half dead.  We clothe you.  We feed you.  We heal your wounds.  And all you want to do is run away?"  The man then let out a hearty laugh that echoed through the woods.  "I guess if I was a kid and saw a guy lookin' like me, then I'd probably run away too.  C'mon back to camp and we'll talk a bit.  I won't bite....you atleast." 

    The Redguard let Rodhan back to camp and motioned for the boy to sit on a log next to a poorly constructed tent.  The man sat down opposite of Rodhan and said "So, I guess that we should probably introduce ourselves.  Sound about right?"  Rodhan silently nodded.  "Well I guess since I'm the oldest one here, I should go first.  My name is Cyrus, and the angry looking woman behind you is Elenwen."  Rodhan looked behind him to see the Altmer woman with her arms crossed staring at him.  Rodhan turned back to Cyrus and whispered "My name is Rodhan." 

    Rodhan and Cyrus began to talk, or rather Cyrus talked and Rodhan listened.  He learned that Cyrus and Elenwen were traveling from their hometown of Skingrad to Morrowind.  Rodhan didnt understand everything, but apparently there was a misunderstanding and they couldnt go home anymore.  Then Rodhan told Cyrus of how he had awoken in the ash, and been walking for days.  Cyrus looked at Rodhan in shock, then he looked at Elenwen.  Then he looked directly into Rodhan's eyes and said "I don't know what happened that night, and I doubt we ever will, but if you would like, you can come with me and Elenwen to Morrowind.  We might not be the greatest companions in the world, but we'll treat you right, and who knows...you might even learn a thing or two from us.  As im sure you realized Elenwen is pretty handy with magick, and if I must say, I ain't too bad with a sword."  With nothing left to return to, Rodhan slowly nodded his head in agreement.  It would be many years before Rodhan's curse showed itself again.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Meet my Oblivion guy

Meet Oblivion Rodhan.  I spent zero time in character creation.  Just hit random a few times and made him a Breton.  Here he is
He will be adventuring this week in preparation for Skyrim. 

Added Note:  I can't wait til I'm able to use a controller again.  Mouse and Keyboard allows for more precision, but it just feels awkward and clunky to me.  Tried to use Xpadder but it doesn't feel right either.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Anticipation

Apparently, I am so consumed by anticipation that I have decided to install Oblivion on this computer and play around with that for the next week or so.  I originally played on the Xbox 360 so seeing how it performs on the PC should be an interesting experience.  It should be around an hour or so before the Steam download finishes.  I am going to try to make my character as much like Rodhan as possible, but different games will have different playstyles (especially when it comes to the magic).  If anyone has any suggestions for mods or what I should do first please feel free to leave a comment letting me know.

I also plan to record some of my playtime and put up some test footage to make sure I am ready for Skyrim.


 Also I know there are many blogs in our little group that I haven't added to my links section yet.  I am working on that right now, but some of them are pretty well hidden in the threads.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Meet Your Dovahkiin

I figure I have nothing better to do than to tell you what you will be seeing on this blog.  So I decided introductions were in order. 

Name:  Rodhan
Race:    Breton
Class:   Eldricht Knight
Skills:  1-handed (swords)
             Light Armor
             Destruction (fire mostly)
             Conjuration (for the bound weapons and strong summons. No necro)
             Restoration
             Enchantment (can we say flaming sword)

Back story:  ? (make one up)
Personality: this need to be blank because it is mostly getting redone

Plans:  I plan to join the fighters guild and mages guild with this character.  He has no stealth abilities so the thieves guild and dark brotherhood will have to wait for the 2nd character i have planned.  I also plan to side with the Imperials because i think most people will side with the Stormcloaks.

This picture is about as close as i can find:


The Test Run

At first, I had decided to just create a YouTube channel and record myself playing Skyrim and randomly talking into my microphone.  That is fine and all, but I think that I will try this whole "blog" thing out too.  This post is merely a welcome to anyone who may have stumbled across (or intentionally found) this blog.  The other function of this post is to make a sample post so that i can configure the look and feel of this page.

If you are interested the youtube channel is here

Now here's a funny YouTube video