Help with my char

[SloppyNuts]

Was just wanting to hear some other peoples idea's on weather this char sounds feasible or suggestions with the aim of a sneaky warrior, one who can sneak and pickpocket and pick locks decently but still be able to take some hits and lay down some law if it comes down to it:

Name:
You pick! The best idea i see i'll use

Race:
Argonion Male

Specialization:
Stealth

Favorite Attribute:
Agility
Strength

Major Skills:
Sneak
Security
Athletics
Long Blade
Medium Armor

Minor Skills:
Acrobatics
Block
Mercantile
Speechcraft
Illusion

Birthsign:
The Lady:

Guild:
The Morag Tung

[fable]

Looks good. One suggestion: illusion is good, but I wonder if alteration isn't a better choice for an assassin or thief type. Illusion can paralyze, blind or silence, but you usually get touch spells only to start with, and it costs a small fortune to make new ones with a distance affect. Also, many creatures are resistant to these spells, even at low levels. As I've discovered.

On the other hand, alteration involves one of my all-time fave spells in Elder Scroll games, levitation, plus it lets you temporarily change your own conditions, or erect magical shield barriers. This is stuff you can do to yourself outside battle, rather than attacks that require you to put away your shield and wave both hands in front of some salivating monster's face.

Just a thought. I may try alteration, myself, with a new thief character I want to build.

[SloppyNuts]

Hmm i just realized illusion's in there, my original plan was to go with khajitt which doesn't have illusion innately and so i was gonna have it there for getting into morag tung cuz it's 1 of there req's, however i finally (after many days of deliberation heh) decided upon aragonion, and since i'll have 5 already in marksman light armor and shortblade from being a stealth char... what should i put in that minor skills slot cuz i don't plan on using any of those, just having them for guild req's...any suggestions?

oh and 1 question, since you got the beta maybe you could answer this fable: Can you backstab with weapons other than short blades? if not maybe i should put short blade in that minor skill slot...

[fable]

Can't say whether you can backstab with anything larger than a short blade or not, sorry. It's not something I've tried yet, because you need to have a reasonably good medium level character to survive an attempted backstab. High stealth is absolutely no guarantee of this), and neither is the invisibility inate ability or spell. I've just not developed a character that far to test this out. High speed and agility will be essential.

[SloppyNuts]

hmm...excellent...it'll take a good long time to become a solidly sneaktacular charachter which is exactly what i want to spend, hmm perhaps i should instead of the lady, go with that birthsign thats +25 agility...what do i really use endurance for anyway other than medium armor? and personality is just for cheap prices though with an agility that damned high i ought to be able to steal anything i want anyhow perhaps...watchu think? stealing sneaky rotten scoundrel vs. well balanced nice looking slightly ofish scoundrel...hmm...decisions decisions, there's so damned much to putting together a charachter in this game it's just a blast

[fable]

That's another reason to avoid illusion, by the way: use of its spells will give you a multiplier on Personality, when you level. Alteration gives you a multiplier on Willpower, which in turn effects spell resistance. If you want to increase Speechcraft, Personality is good, but if you'd rather survive battles, I figure spell resistance is more useful. Just my POV.

And I agree. I love the enormous number of things to take into account when developing a character, and the fact that I can't possibly do it all. I suspect at least six or seven characters will be necessary.

[Literatii]

Here's another one for feedback:

Nord "Battle-Shaman"

Sign: The Mage, ?
Specialization: Combat
Primary Stats: Strength, Willpower

Major:
Armourer(str)
Block(agi)
Blunt Weapons(str)
Restoration(will)
Heavy Armor(end)

Minor:
Medium Armor(end)
Athletics(str)
Alteration(will)
Mysticism(will)
Destruction(will)


I've been wondering about the merits of specializing in two armors and/or two weapon types.

--Lit

[fable]

IMO, I don't see much value in specializing in two armor types. If you're massive enough to handle heavy armor, medium's not going to protect you as much, so why use it? If you're able to manage medium but find heavy slows you down and causes a lot of fatigue, why would you want to specialize in heavy? But each to their own. I just think those first 10 skills need to be picked with great care, and for me, there are too many other attractions to consider.

Like security. Unless you really want to blow yourself up a lot (and the chests get pretty damn severe once you move beyond the generic tombs and cutthroat gangs), knowing how to use a pick and a probe seems to make sense for a fighter or thief type. (Mages can acquire open spells and items after a few weeks' travel, but not at a very high level. I'd think you would have to buy an open spell, and then spellcraft yourself a much more efficient one, or purchase a much better version later in the game at a higher rate.)

Athletics only seems to reduce fatigue a bit, and takes forever to raise. It's based on walking, running and swimming, which you can manage perfectly well when you first start up. It takes a long time to improve, and there's nothing you can do that's harder to improve it as the skill rises, and becomes increasingly difficult to develop. Maybe marksman? Getting in a distant shot at an unobservant monster can be a very handy skill. Just a suggestion.

[Literatii]

Thanks for the tips. The more I read, the more it seems the game is different from what I expected.

One thing: I noticed that the "pre-baked" classes created by the developers include double armor skills (Warrior, Crusader, Knight). Why do you think this is?

From the sounds of it, I can't rely on long-ranged magic from the get go so perhaps a bow is a better choice.

My intent for the character was to be a "buffed up" fighter. One which could enchant his weapons/armor for extra damage, and cast some defensive shields etc. I like bashing undead, so I went with the hammer. Do you know if there are weapon bonus vs monster types?

--Lit

[fable]

I've never seen 'em in any of the games in this series. Of course, this is a very large world.

I think one reason for putting two armor types in your first ten skills might be because you want medium now, but expect to graduate to heavy when you raise your strength high enough as you level. Another reason might be to have a greater choice of effective armors in battle. You may find enchanted mediumweight armor of fire resistance, and enchanted heavyweight armor of ice resistance.

Still, I think it's a bit of overkill, but that's just my POV. I'd sooner work on another physical skill, or alchemy. You can always find herbs, and you can experiment to make potions. It really saves on cash when you can make the potions you need in battle--and you can always sell them, too.

[SloppyNuts]

Perhaps you should look into the orc for that kinda class, because the main problem i would imagine you have would be not enough mana to do most things or intelligence to do them right - orc's have some more int while still holding strong in the battle department....just an idea

[Literatii]

Eh? You want me to play a female Orc for 10 more int?

--Lit

[SloppyNuts]

just an idea, seems sound enough to me since you only lose 5 to str and you have a good slew of combat skills in initial race bonuses that makes up for it i figure

[Literatii]

I'm not min/max enough to stare at a female orc butt for 100 hours but thanks for the suggestion

--Lit

[SloppyNuts]

you could go first person hehe but yeah i hear ya, even though stats for something or another may make you want to go one way or another, there's just something innately dirty feeling about choosing a female in some races hehe