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[CognitiveDissonance]

You guys have gotten me reading this:
http://fallingawkwardly.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/the-metaphysics-of-morrowind-part-3/

The author has done his research, even if he is missing certain thinking points from cross-examination of psychology/sociology/theology/narrative study/philosophy/linguistics (Don't ask, my post-secondary studies have been complex). Now I'm fascinated with it, and kicking myself for not buying Morrowind while it was on sale on Steam this weekend. Bleh. May have to get it at full price, and hope Bethesda still benefits from Steam sales (do they?)

Anyways...


Michael, I wanted to congratulate you on your name. Everything begins with the name.
Remember that syllable, CHIM? That represents the concept of self awareness as both existing, and being inside a simulated world. It seems to have power in this world, if I had to guess, one of subtle manipulation. You know, of a limited console access. That's how Vivec cheats, I suspect.

May I suggest trying it? Touch one of the summoned gloves, think of how it's both real and not real, and imagine it changing into a different item. Maybe say the word CHIM.

Beyond this, to survive, you are going to need friends. The rules have changed, so you may also be the nerevarine.
Good luck.

[Gamerlord]

Huh. I remember years ago, I tried to apply scientific astronomy to the skies in Morrowind. Drew up a freaking star chart from what I could see of the skies, tried to identify constellations and find out if they changed from day to day, month to month, location to location. Then I read an ingame book (might have been Oblivion) that said they were the holes made by magnus and his kin or something like that. Thought about that a bit, and came up with the idea that they aren't holes; magnus and the others are still trying to burn their way through.

But enough of my little trip down nostalgia lane, did we really have to be named Michael? And who is that picture of anyway? You, LordBucket?

[CognitiveDissonance]

Huh. I remember years ago, I tried to apply scientific astronomy to the skies in Morrowind. Drew up a freaking star chart from what I could see of the skies, tried to identify constellations and find out if they changed from day to day, month to month, location to location. Then I read an ingame book (might have been Oblivion) that said they were the holes made by magnus and his kin or something like that. Thought about that a bit, and came up with the idea that they aren't holes; magnus and the others are still trying to burn their way through.

But enough of my little trip down nostalgia lane, did we really have to be named Michael? And who is that picture of anyway? You, LordBucket?

Realistically, Magnus and his kin would be eating up the light, not the actual stars, if it is seen from Morrowind.
Or, the stars AND all the light they have ever produced. Which is a terrifying prospect.
((Of note: Who is Magnus? It would appear that he has been referenced in the most recent Dark Souls ))
The picture is of a stock model for that shirt. Discovered with my great google prowess!

[WillowLuman]

Magnus is an Aedra, and he and all the other earthbones (the Aedra that became the physical lays of the universe) are dead. His dead body is the force known as Magicka. The stars and sun are holes made in the fabric of Oblivion (the light shining through is from Aetherius, where the still-conscious Aedra sometimes live) by the Daedra, who fled from creation to avoid getting stuck in it.

Anyways, I'd always assumed that the people of Tamriel used smaller units for weight than we do (as it doesn't actually say "pounds" anywhere), since a steel saber weighs 15 units when in real life it weighs about 2 pounds (I should know, I have one) and a claymore weighs maybe 7 pounds at most. So I assume a daedric sword weighs about 9-12 pounds, which is still very very unwieldy for a one-handed weapon. I say we get a good spear (not a pike, just a nice 6ft spear), since they're pretty easy to handle by the inexperienced.

I'm kind of wondering if we might get a word with Sotha Sil, seeing as he doesn't get canonically killed until after the Heart gets destroyed. For now, though, let's see if we can get a word with Caius.

[Supercharazad]

Actually, I thought bound stuff was weightless?

[Cerol Lenslens]

Actually, I thought bound stuff was weightless?

It is, but maybe this isn't bound equipment? That is, maybe he did some god/CHIM-stuff to make regular Daedric equipment show up, but it still won't stick. IIRC, bound equipment is a different color. (And also glows because of its enchantment.)

I wouldn't bother with the Daedric equipment (not even the super-hard-to-get pauldrons!) yet: It is just too heavy, and frankly four in-game hours might not even be enough time to get out of Vivec to go mudcrab-hunting. If we do take anything, the dagger is the best bet, since it weighs the least. I doubt Michael's strength score is too high yet.

I'm sad I missed this thread when it started out. Nobody checked the stump right outside Arille's.

As for other suggestions, Michael, you should be able to train Alchemy a few points just by eating stuff. Stick to Kwama eggs and similar food items buyable at an inn at first, since they're usually 'Restore fatigue' or something similarly benign for their first effect. I'd also advise complimenting random townsfolk on the streets. Once apiece, so that they won't try to beat you up for getting some Speechcraft practice.

As for the PC, well, Vvardenfell is a big place - we might be able to get some of those treasures before she does, just because she's getting other treasure first. We have to train ourselves up first, however, to survive the tombs and such. (Or remain so low-level that the nasty stuff doesn't spawn, which may not be an option for us anyway.) Combat isn't a good choice, I think. Too lethal for poor Michael. Magic might be an option later, with some skill books to give us a starting score in the various schools, but for now I suspect we will have to crouch a lot as we wander around. (i.e. practice Sneak.) We might just have a chance to claim something relatively simple like the Ring of Phynaster by sneaking past threats.

[Parsely]

Try dragging the sword as best we can to the nearest place that buys daedric swords, and then sell it to them before the bound spell stops working.

+1

[LordBucket]

Game Note:
Due to quirks in the leveling mod I use combined with the fact that our hero started with unusually low skills, Michael was needlessly being awarded fewer attribute points than I personally think is appropriate. As such, I am implementing an entirely custom system that I feel is more reasonable for our purposes.

As such, anyone who was trying to figure out how leveling worked, everything stated up to this point might no longer be relevant to the system in use from from here forward. I've updated the current status post, but I'm unlikely to retroactively go back and edit all story update posts with accurate running totals.

EDIT:
Next update coming soon. Incidentally, general request: fewer "general advice" suggestions and more "what to actually do" suggestions. It's great that you guys are talking with each other about what you'd like to see happen, but over the past few pages it's seems liked fewer than half of posts actually contain any suggestions on what to do, and several of those that do are impractical or, again, simply "general gameplay tips." For example, Cerol, looking at this post of yours. you said to "not bother with the daedric gear." That's something we can do that's relevant to right now. But read the last two entire paragraphs of your post. You're talking about how big the island is and that we should be training up to be able to survive tombs and recover artifacts. That's fine if you guys want to discuss long term goals...but I also need actual suggestions about what you'd like to do now so that I can write it into the next update. There's been a slight shortage of suggestions that are immediately applicable, and for this last batch of posts in particular, only one person made any suggestion at all about where to go next, and I was hesitant to do that (talk to Caius) because it directly contradicts what seemed to be a strong consensus in previous chapters. Meanwhile, we had a couple people making suggestions that left me wondering if they'd even read the last update, and the majority of the rest were simply whether or not to pick up stuff. I assume you guys don't really want entire updates based around "Michael picks up the object on the ground in front of him."

So, TL;DR:
Please, more suggestions about what you want to see in the next update.

[LordBucket]

Episode 14: On the road again

Thank him for his generosity

ask for him to enchant the clothes we're already wearing

: "Who are you guys talking about? Vivec left. I don't mean to be rude, but I think I'm going to ignore the voices that don't seem to be grounded in my own particular reality."

"I don't really understand what this CHIM thing some of you keep talking about, and Vivec mentioned it too...but Vivec made it sound like he was able to see a bunch of different realities all at once, and he kind of talked about how those different instances of him 'talked to each other.' I don't completely understand what he meant, but since you all are obviously a bunch of different voices and you're all talking to me...I'm wondering if maybe that's what Vivec was talking about. And since some of you are talking about things that are obviously not relevant, like advising me to talk to Vivec when he's not even here...I wonder if maybe each of you is the voice of 'me' from a different reality, each of which is a little bit different than the one I'm in. So those of you advising me to talk to Vivec...do you see him in your reality? Because in mine, he left. So I'm not going to talk to him."

Try on the gauntlets

Touch one of the summoned gloves, think of how it's both real and not real, and imagine it changing into a different item.

Maybe say the word CHIM.

: "Well, ok. That I can do."

Michael tentatively pokes a couple of the pieces of dedric gear. Nothing happens. He reaches for one of the gauntlets and picks it up in both hands.

: "Whoa, this is heavy."

Putting it back on the ground, he positions both gauntlets palm up next to each other, and slides his hands into them, then clenches his fists and stands up. Then, with a bit of a swing, he rotates his hands up and holds both gauntleted fists in front of him, taking a moment to admire the craftsmanship and how the heavy links covering his fingers slide effortlessly over one another.



: "Ok, become lightweight leather that doesn't weigh so stupidly much. Become lightweight leather that doesn't weigh so much. Become lightweight leather that doesn't weigh so much."

Michael stands there for a moment with face clenched, obviously thinking.

Nothing happens.

: "CHIM"

Nothing happens.

Then he lets them slide off his hands and they fall to the ground with a *thunk*

: "Ok. Next?"

Take the weapons and armor

Try dragging the sword as best we can to the nearest place that buys daedric swords, and then sell it

+1

: "You guys do realize that the sword weighs 60 pounds, right?"

Michael glances back at the Ordinators, still waiting. Then he shrugs and looks back to the sword and grabs it by the handle. It's easy enough to grab it by the handle and lift it off the ground, but with leverage working against him, he's completely unable to lift the far end. Thinking for a moment, he inverts his grip, and and pushes the handle up so that the blade is perpendicular to the ground with the tip still on the stone floor. Positioned this way, the flat of the pommel is about level with the lower end of his ribcage.

Then he grips with both hands, steps in close so that the flat of the blade rests against his chest, takes in a breath, sinks with his knees...then pushes, stands up and exhales all at once.

: "Yes! I got it off the ground."

Not able to do much from this position, he then drops it back down, the tip visibly chipping a divot into the stone floor.

: "Hmm. I hope Vivec doesn't mind that I scuffed his floor. So, I can lift it. Actually, it's not the weight that's a problem so much as that it's just awkward. The thing's like four feet long. If I could just carry the weight on my hips or shoulders it wouldn't be a problem, but it's too big to fit in my backpack."

Micheal gently sets the sword the rest of the way down and kneels down to inspect the damage to the floor. Looks like it made a half-inch deep gouge in the stone when it landed. Just how sharp is it? Michael delicately taps the edge of the blade a few times with a finger, then carefully runs his index finger across the blade.

: "Ouch!"

New stat: Health 39/40

Annoyed that his caution was insufficient, Michael squeezes his finger into his palm to stop the bleeding. It still stings, but fortunately it's a small cut. Good thing he didn't try to pick up it from both ends at once like a barbell. Might have lost some fingers.

leave this stuff.

Leave it.

I wouldn't bother with the Daedric equipment

: "...yeah, that seems like a really good idea. As easily as it cut me, even if I were to get it pommel-down into my bag with the rest sticking out a foot and a half over my head, the blade would probably end up sawing my pack in half from the motion of walking."

let's see if we can get a word with Caius.

: "Wait, you want me to go to Balmora? Weren't we avoiding that town because that's where we guessed the PC went? Well...I guess it's not like there's much else to choose from. I can certainly head in that direction. Ok, Balmora it is."

Michael abandons the 400+ pounds of daedric gear and asks the Ordinators to take him to Balmora. They briefly discuss the best route amongst themselves, then walk Michael to the Vivec mages guild. Seeing you walk back in, this time escorted by two Ordinators, the enchanting vendor, Janand Maulinie, bursts out into a fit of giggles.

: "Well, hello there. What happened to you? No, wait...let me guess, you accidentally opened the wrong chest, is that it?"

: "Step aside, miss. Official business."

: "Of course. Don't let me stop you from taking that criminal scum where he belongs."

Mihchael facepalms briefly, but the Ordinators don't say anything more. At least until the three of you arrive at the Vivec mage guild travel pad.



: "Travel service for three to Balmora. Official business."

The guild guide nods, but says nothing as one of your two escorts steps up on the tap and is teleported away. You notice that while there's no obvious rush of air or sound of vacuum filling, there's a distinct change of smell after the transport. Michael steps up onto the pad next, and from one moment to the next is standing on a different pad.

Moments later, the other Ordinator arrives. They briefly look around, then one addresses you.

: "This is Balmora, muthsera. Do you require further assistance?"

: "No, thank you. I think this will do. Thanks again."

The ordinators nod respectfully, then ask the guide guide to transport them back to Vivec, which she does. You can tell that Ajira and the guide are both looking at you out of the corner of their eyes over your unusual arrival. They're  clearly trying to be subtle about it, and failing.




What now?

[Man of Paper]

Here's my reasoning for Balmora. This'll include both immediate and long-term stuff again, so most of it is just ideas and discussion. Also, whoops with not noticing Vivec left :p And thanks for doing this, it's awesome.

The PC is going to be unavoidable at some point, so we should gather knowledge on her now. I say we go to the South Wall and ask around quietly about the PC. If she showed up there then we can assume she's at least slightly interested in the main quest line. I'm also thinking that we need to figure out if she reminds you of a character you've previously played. It was your Morrowind you were supposed to be playing, so perhaps we'll luck out and seeing something familiar will kick some memories loose. That, and if it's a previous character then we can make plans accordingly to either disrupt, assist, or ignore the PC with a more informed guideline. On the other hand if it's not a PC you've played then perhaps we could act like an NPC and offer some mundane quests to the PC. This way we can gauge her progress as we observe her, and use the PC as our own tool for once ('I need some leather armor!', 'I need help paying off a 1000 gold debt', and 'Someone broke into my house and I need you to kill him' being three options I'd enjoy handing out. The first and second are obvious, but the third, should we decide to get involved in spilling blood, could net us a whole home somewhere.) And we also need to figure out for sure if she's setting up here. The only facts we have are that she came to Balmora. Past that, we're blind. And with the time we spent traveling to the city of, and talking to the entity named, Vivec, the PC could have cleared out every building and have moved on by now.

I couldn't get to sleep last night and for some reason all I could think of was this thread. One of the things I thought about was the connection between PC and Player. It's a little too early for our character to get involved, but we should also figure out if the PC is a husk controlled by a player, an entity with a will of its own being manipulated by the player, a person who believes they have 'divine' guidance, or whatever else.

So in summary I think we need to scout out this PC before progressing much further in our quest for answers.

[shadenight123]

First off, I'd find belts/leather straps able to let us carry equipment better/more. (Like something for a sword in the back)

If we can't wear heavy armor now, then let's start with light/medium and work our way up through strength enhancing.

I doubt we'll convince the cliffracers to let us go in peace after all.

[WillowLuman]

-snip-

Or, this PC might be acting completely on their own accord without influence of any kind from a Player.

Seeing how this is being way more detailed than the actual game, we need to stop making assumptions based on mechanics. Killing someone is more likely to get a watch investigation than a free house.

While we're in the Mage's guild, let's ask people for some basic pointers on magic. See if anyone can tell us how to bind a weapon. Also, let's swing by the nearby stores and see if we can get a staff or spear.

[Funk]

Buy a cheap belt or two.
Buy some cheap leather armour and a short sword.
If we cant get the set then just buy the top and the leggings.
If we can afforded it get a silver or magic sword. 

[Parsely]

-snip-

Or, this PC might be acting completely on their own accord without influence of any kind from a Player.

Its not a Player Character if the Character isn't being controlled by a Player. :l

[WillowLuman]

But we don't know if they are controlled by a Player. If we keep assuming that we can appeal to a player, we might get killed by a dunmer lady who doesn't like weirdos.