Roleplayer's Off Topic Thread #38

[BigBossBalrog]

Here's something simple; make the Dragon Cult more involved. It's already by far one of the coolest lore stuff they added into the game, but they fucking used it better in that unmarked Sidequest.

Imagine instead of going into Barrow number 10000 as the final dungeon, you had to besiege somewhere like Arch Dragon Peak

[TheCzarsHussar]

48 minutes ago, BigBossBalrog said:

Here's something simple; make the Dragon Cult more involved. It's already by far one of the coolest lore stuff they added into the game, but they fucking used it better in that unmarked Sidequest.

Imagine instead of going into Barrow number 10000 as the final dungeon, you had to besiege somewhere like Arch Dragon Peak

I meeeean, you do assault a mountainous stronghold/temple.

[BigBossBalrog]

1 minute ago, TheCzarsHussar said:

I meeeean, you do assault a mountainous stronghold/temple.

A super lame one that's just like every other "Dragon-barrow" dungeon  

[TheCzarsHussar]

6 minutes ago, BigBossBalrog said:

A super lame one that's just like every other "Dragon-barrow" dungeon  

No arguments from me

[The Good Doctor]

28 minutes ago, TheCzarsHussar said:

I meeeean, you do assault a mountainous stronghold/temple.

If that was an assault, then so was every other dungeon delve in the game.  

[Centurion]

3 hours ago, Centurion said:

Civil war rewrite,

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

territory still divided how it is with whiterun as neutral at the start of the game. Skyrim would actually be war torn like a civil war should be with armies clashing along major road ways and raiding forts. Much like the Skyrim at war mod that adds 200 patrols around Skyrim. Forts along major roads and strategic locations are actually manned by the imperials or Stormcloaks instead of bandits from the start. The forts will change hands depending on if the bat take is won or lost but never really advancing due to the stalemate as not to outpace the character. Every fort, city, and strategic location with have a battle quest like the siege of whiterun.

Once the player joins a side, I’d keep the jagged crown quest the same with the option to turncoat still there and whoever you deliver the crown to will actually use it. Ulfric will wear it, Elisif will display it next to her throne. Then begins the questline in earnest.

If the player advances with the Stormcloaks they’ll be sent to aid in advancing the lines through Falkreath just to get pushed back by the imperials heavy fortifications extending from Fort Nuegrad to Helgen blocking the mountain pass from the rift.

if Imperial, they’ll get sent much the same to The Pale only for stiff Stormcloak resistance on the high ground out of the marsh and various outpost along the road blocking any serious attempts at advancing.

this then prompts the sides to secure the support of Whiterun. 
 

Stormcloak, attempt to gain support from Balgruuf by doing various quests for him like clearing bandit camps or solving problems for the people of Whiterun hold, while on your final task for Balgruuf, a thalmor agent (it wouldn’t be known they were behind it at this point) poisons him in an attempt to keep the stalemate going. Hrongar is crowned Jarl and joins whiterun with the imperials, prompting the siege of Whiterun, with Vignar grey-mane becoming jarl

Imperial, plays out the same with Balgruuf help quests up to the assassination and crowning of Hrongar, except you defend Whiterun from the Stormcloaks.

After securing whiterun, the Stormcloaks push on to Fort Greymoor to capture it from the imperials. Alternatively, the imperials push to Valthiem Towers and secure it from the stormcloaks.

Liberation of Skyrim: the PC proceeds back to Falkreath by way if Riverwood and assists in capturing the ruined Helgen turned fort. Then to Fort Nuegrad and onto Falkreath with a major battle at each location. 
 

they then press on to fort Sunguard, onto Markarth and finally swing up to that Forsworn fort on the road by the Reach Stormcloak camp that I can’t remember the name of.

The battle for morthal is next, filled by Fort Snowhawk

The battle of the Dragonbridge follows with a huge battle in the fields outside dragonbridge occur to secure the Dragonbridge and the town becomes the Stormcloaks stronghold for their pushes to Fort Hraggstad and Solitude.

 

Reunification of Skyrim: the PC joins and assault force moving through the Labyrinthian pass into the pale from whiterun smashing outposts along the way. Dawnstar falls and the imperials push to Fort Dunstad.

they then continue to Fort Kastav and winterhold following.

the pc is transferred to Falkreath and assaults Ivarstead and Trevas watch on the southern rift road. Riften falls and they push to the fort Greenwall

from there the imperials march on fort Amol and Morvunskar. The Windhelm bridge becomes a massive battle site all the way to the doors.

 

Meanwhile, the pc is getting messages about forts and outposts coming under siege and responding to them to make the civil war much more involved. After the battle of whiterun if the pc decided to put off the civil war it will advance slowly like over in game months towards a defeat for the pc chosen side. 

Since last post on previous page, bump

[The Good Doctor]

22 hours ago, Centurion said:

If the player advances with the Stormcloaks they’ll be sent to aid in advancing the lines through Falkreath just to get pushed back by the imperials heavy fortifications extending from Fort Nuegrad to Helgen blocking the mountain pass from the rift.

if Imperial, they’ll get sent much the same to The Pale only for stiff Stormcloak resistance on the high ground out of the marsh and various outpost along the road blocking any serious attempts at advancing.

this then prompts the sides to secure the support of Whiterun. 

I like this bit. It always bugged me that the entire civil war questline is just you and your chosen side steamrolling the opposition without any difficulty or setbacks. 

As it is, the entire civil war is a series of "go hear, kill X number of identical generic soldier enemies, report back". And once you -the crazy OP Dovahkiin- have joined a side, it’s pretty much just treated as a given that your team has already won. There needs to more back-and-forth.

 

One thing I’d like to add is that there should be more magic or other fantastical elements at play. This is a fantasy series where these things exist, after all, and it’s absurd that the world is brimming with monsters, sorcery, and powerful artifacts yet the two largest and most powerful factions in the land don’t even attempt to make use of any of it. This is not a setting in which big wars should just look like bog standard medieval conflicts.

This is doubly true when you’re playing as the crazy OP Dovahkiin and nobody should be under any delusion that they can defeat you through mundane means. It would make for a much more compelling story if the opposing side actually deployed some mystical counter-measures to your OPness. Like using daedric artifacts, bargaining with witches or hagravens, using Dwemer tech in Markarth, hiring orcs or giants, troll tamers, or just having some competent wizards and clever men assist them.

[The Good Doctor]

@Centurion

To add to my last point, how annoying is it that every other faction in the game does engage with the more mystical elements of the setting?

 

The Thieves Guild is a collection of hired thugs living in a sewer, but they’re still aware of the fact that they live in a world of magic and gods, so their characters pursue Barenziah’s gems, strike deals with Nocturnal, study the Dwemer and Falmer, pursue daedric artifacts, etc. because that’s how how you get an edge in this world.

The story of the Dark Brotherhood revolves around the fact that forsaking their mystical roots has reduced them to common hit men, and only by embracing them again do they rise back to prominence.

The College of Winterhold should go without saying.

Even the Companions, (who are the one faction who probably shouldn’t be too involved in the mystical side of things), turned to witches in exchange for power.

We see the Thalmor pursuing the Eye of Magnus, the secrets of stahlrim crafting, studying dragons and the like. They’ve got their heads in the game.

Half the quests for the Dawnguard and Volkihar involve seeking out specialized tools, artifacts, or knowledge to grant an edge against their opponents.

Meanwhile, the Stormcloaks and freaking Empire, who eclipse all of the above in terms of power and resources (at least in Skyrim), just use 100% of their time and money to sharpen pointy sticks! 

It just bugs me that we finally got a huge war in this high fantasy setting, but the actual content could’ve come straight out of a (shitty) medieval sim. 

[Centurion]

7 hours ago, The Good Doctor said:

@Centurion

To add to my last point, how annoying is it that every other faction in the game does engage with the more mystical elements of the setting?

  Hide contents

The Thieves Guild is a collection of hired thugs living in a sewer, but they’re still aware of the fact that they live in a world of magic and gods, so their characters pursue Barenziah’s gems, strike deals with Nocturnal, study the Dwemer and Falmer, pursue daedric artifacts, etc. because that’s how how you get an edge in this world.

The story of the Dark Brotherhood revolves around the fact that forsaking their mystical roots has reduced them to common hit men, and only by embracing them again do they rise back to prominence.

The College of Winterhold should go without saying.

Even the Companions, (who are the one faction who probably shouldn’t be too involved in the mystical side of things), turned to witches in exchange for power.

We see the Thalmor pursuing the Eye of Magnus, the secrets of stahlrim crafting, studying dragons and the like. They’ve got their heads in the game.

Half the quests for the Dawnguard and Volkihar involve seeking out specialized tools, artifacts, or knowledge to grant an edge against their opponents.

Meanwhile, the Stormcloaks and freaking Empire, who eclipse all of the above in terms of power and resources (at least in Skyrim), just use 100% of their time and money to sharpen pointy sticks! 

It just bugs me that we finally got a huge war in this high fantasy setting, but the actual content could’ve come straight out of a (shitty) medieval sim. 

*cough* Tiber septims Imperial college of the voice in Markarth *cough*

*cough* Ulfric literally being trained by the Greybeards *cough*

[BigBossBalrog]

I finally got to reading the Haunting of Hill House. It's pretty damn good; but there's something super weird after watching the Netflix Show. It's the "we borrow a few characters, keep the themes of the story, but we are completely different" adaption. 

It shares only Luke and Theo with the show; they aren't even related,  Luke is the inheritor of Hill house (instead of a drug addict, he's a party boy who has a drinking and gambling problem)

...Theo for some reason is exactly the same as a person though  She also lives with her "female friend" who she got into a domestic dispute with, and ripped apart the "romantic" poetry Theo wrote for her. It's pretty crazy that Shirley Jackson made it so blatant when her book could have been censored to hell and back. 

Anyways it's short but really good. 

[The Good Doctor]

10 hours ago, BigBossBalrog said:

I finally got to reading the Haunting of Hill House. It's pretty damn good; but there's something super weird after watching the Netflix Show. It's the "we borrow a few characters, keep the themes of the story, but we are completely different" adaption. 

It shares only Luke and Theo with the show; they aren't even related,  Luke is the inheritor of Hill house (instead of a drug addict, he's a party boy who has a drinking and gambling problem)

...Theo for some reason is exactly the same as a person though  She also lives with her "female friend" who she got into a domestic dispute with, and ripped apart the "romantic" poetry Theo wrote for her. It's pretty crazy that Shirley Jackson made it so blatant when her book could have been censored to hell and back. 

Anyways it's short but really good. 

Flanagan said that he was never interested in adapting the book because it had already been done before as a movie. The title was mandated by Netflix.

[BigBossBalrog]

HAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[The Good Doctor]

7 hours ago, BigBossBalrog said:

HAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

To the surprise of no one.  

I have never met anyone who has even thought about buying their latest game.

[The Good Doctor]

@Celan Been hearing more and more good things about TLoU. Apparently episode 5 was a banger?

[Celan]

26 minutes ago, The Good Doctor said:

@Celan Been hearing more and more good things about TLoU. Apparently episode 5 was a banger?

Oh yeah, that was the shit. 

 

Ellie and Joel met Henry and his kid brother who is deaf. They try to escape KC and are ambushed and surrounded by the militia, but as they're fighting with them a truck sinks into a sinkhole and out of it pours a horde of clickers, including a big fattie boss dude, and a child clicker that goes after Ellie. They escape but Henry's little brother was bit and attacks Ellie, so Henry shoots him then shoots himself.

[The Good Doctor]

21 minutes ago, Celan said:

Oh yeah, that was the shit. 

 

  Hide contents

 

Ellie and Joel met Henry and his kid brother who is deaf. They try to escape KC and are ambushed and surrounded by the militia, but as they're fighting with them a truck sinks into a sinkhole and out of it pours a horde of clickers, including a big fattie boss dude, and a child clicker that goes after Ellie. Henry's little brother gets bit and attacks Ellie, so Henry shoots him then shoots himself.

 

Sam wasn’t deaf in the game and their stuff was in Pittsburg instead of KC, but it sounds like a lot of the main story beats are more or less the same in both.

Did the sinkhole lead to the sewers? In the game there was a sewer system where a bunch of survivors holed up. It got overrun with infected before Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam arrived and Sam gets bit.

The "big fatty boss dude" sounds like a bloater. Things are terrifying in the game. Basically super old infected that have somehow survived getting completely overgrown to the point that their whole body is armored in hardened fungus. Cool that they included one in the show.

[BigBossBalrog]

Really cool cinematic; gave me huge Council of Elrond vibes  Elf-Racism is good too.

[Celan]

The boss dude reminded me of the big exploding guys in Left 4 Dead.

They didn't meet any survivors in the tunnels, but saw a settlement where a bunch of kids had obviously lived. The back story was that FEDRA claimed they had cleared out the tunnels and there were no infected in KC, but apparently they just herded them into one area or else this was an outbreak no one knew about.

[The Good Doctor]

1 minute ago, Celan said:

 

  Hide contents

 

The boss dude reminded me of the big exploding guys in Left 4 Dead.

They didn't meet any survivors in the tunnels, but saw a settlement where a bunch of kids had obviously lived. The back story was that FEDRA claimed they had cleared out the tunnels and there were no infected in KC, but apparently they just herded them into one area or else this was an outbreak no one knew about.

 

They didn’t meet any survivors down there in the game either, but it sounds like it was the same, even down to there being rooms where kids had lived. 

Cool stuff. That’s one of the better parts of the game, I felt. 

[TheCzarsHussar]

First day of serving went amazing. They've had me working togo prior to my training.

Even had two tables tell the Hostess that they want to give me good reviews on the website, never would have expected that. It's a fuckton less work than togo as well, snooty ass restaurant indeed. This is where the money is at

Edit: You just gotta know the menu, be entertaining and charismatic and put on a good show

Edited February 17, 2023 by TheCzarsHussar

[BigBossBalrog]

 

[The Good Doctor]

1 minute ago, BigBossBalrog said:

 

That wasn’t canon already?

[BigBossBalrog]

1 minute ago, The Good Doctor said:

That wasn’t canon already?

Look at number 1 

[The Good Doctor]

Just now, BigBossBalrog said:

Look at number 1 

What about it?

[BigBossBalrog]

2 minutes ago, The Good Doctor said:

What about it?

Okay, long live High Queen Ulfrica.