Hmm, I haven't read the comics so I wouldn't know, but the undead might not work. Can you explain that some more? The thing is that the undead aren't instrumental in any current conflicts, so why would DD be drawn to that, since he apparently shows up to even out wars?

Perhaps instead of Bruma guards, you could have some mercenaries hired by Bruma to defend the town against the Nords. Either that, or have the battle actually take place north of the Skyrim border, so that the fighting is so far away from Bruma they wouldn't know you were behind it.

Well, in the comics, an undead army (Shadow Horde) is attacking the region, being led by some evil entity, Mirahan, quite a cool creature, a sort of a heart which is growing into a multi-eyed giant, hellbent on feeding on life and death - by it's own statement (written backwards, another cool feat), "world swallowed in oblivion, everything consumed, even death and darkness itself". There are more characters in the series, but most of them fall to the shadow eventually, just when DD (who's spirit previously took over a local guy, killed by the undead) destroys Mirahan in the grand finale...

It would be excellent if I could find something similar to that creature, but the only thing close in evilness to it is probably Xilver's Beholder (though I'd rather say Mirahan looks like the love product between the Beholder and the Balrog... ). My plan is to lead the player through a series of events (ie. the Nords-Imperials conflict you mentioned, on which I can implement choices and have the player progressing based on them) that will lead him to the aforementioned huge tree (also essential to the story), where he gets the quest from a fading DD (ie. was weakened by Mehrunes Dagon recent actions) and has to enter a plane where he'd have to battle the undead and Mirahan (or whatever I will call it, for the sake of avoiding copyright issues).

At the end, he'd get the helmet to complete the armor - and enter his new destiny as a "full-fledged" DD. Wearing the full armour will issue a nice bonus, but also will affect the player. I believe there was some cursed item (one you couldn't unequip until some point) in one of the Oblivion stock quests - can someone remind me what was it (I could use the script as a template)? Or was it in some other game...

Well, this is in brief the rough draft I put so far about the quest-line. This evening I managed to add a long skirt to the greaves, now it looks quite OK (some more tweaking in Max due tomorrow), then I'll be off to do the boots. Next week I'll be gone out of town for a week or so, but will have some (limited) Internet access, so I can occasionally follow the discussions here (if any... ). Upon my return, I hope I will be able to implement everything in about a month - so there is lots of time for discussing the storyline...

Cheers,
PKR.

Sounds good to me. Mirahan sounds like a very interesting antagonist! I wouldn't be afraid to use his real name, as this is a fan work anyway. The cursed item you're referring to sounds like the Staff of the Everscamp, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a script, it's just a quest item.

Thank you, I'll check it out!

Over and out,
PKR.

Really good to read that you've decided to make this a stand-alone mod instead of an add-on for The Forgotten Shields.
I just hope it won't conflict with some major quest mods. I don't use Unique Landscapes but some popular quest additions that affect several areas.
These include three of your creations (all except for the LOTR mod), The Lost Spires, Sentient Weapon, Let the People Drink, Lost Sword of the Ayleid, Arrows of the Ayleid King, Spear of Bitter Mercy, Cybiades (this isn't likely to conflict though).

Another thing: Please don't allow the player to obtain powerful items before or at the very beginning of the quest without actually having to do something. I'm referring to the quest start in Weapons of the Fallen Heroes which is the only reason why the mod does not have a fixed place in my load order (in contrast to all the other of your mods).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the mod, keep up the excellent work.

Yes, I am also trying to avoid conflicts - I am sure about The Lost Spires (I have it active), but don't have the others: would you please, whenever you have time, check if any of them is using the cell -10,30? That's where I plan to plant the huge tree and have the first encounter with the DD. However, the interaction I plan with the physical map of Cyrodiil is minimal, just that big tree, a few markers and some NPCs (I'll try to keep them out of the cities, so they won't conflict with city-altering mods).

I know what you say about WOTFH - and I totally agree - but remember it was my first quest-mod and, besides, initially I planned to release only the first part (the second part happened only when Adonnay came in with his weapons). This time I plan a more balanced distribution of the loot, something along the lines of TFS (or, even better, GoK, but at a larger scale). Think of a mini-quest per item, ie. kill this monster - get the axe, bring this item - get the boots, then completing the final quest will enable the full armour bonus (hence the GoK referrence).

Speaking of quests, there won't be anything fancy, not too many NPCs to talk to. I want to make the story to be understood from actions (and scattered documents), rather than voiced NPCs. Sure, I hope Ibsen's Ghost will help again with his excellent voice-acting, as there will be need of that (mate, do you read this?), but I plan to rely more on action, than talking. All remember that the main NPC is silent at all times, trapped in his helmet (by the way, would it be too radical to Silence the PC when wearing the helmet + killing the Speechcraft?).

Another thing I'd need help is finding some big monster, imagine a cross between a flea and a bear. I have some good thoughts about what the minor bosses will look like, but I still couldn't find a proper final boss...

Cheers,
PKR.

I see you mentioned this would be based on the comics, which I have not seen, but have you seen these
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/frank-frazetta/prisoner-of-horned-helmet.htm
If you have I was wondering how they compare to each other?

Yes, I have all the books and comics collection. No worries. At this point, based on all the data I have, I already planned to make one set of Heavy armour (with closed helmet) and one of Light (with open helm). The Heavy set is 99% finished, while the Light one is sort of prepared, in need of retexturing (will start in one week, when I return home).

Cheers,
PKR.

Two sets of armor, sweet :drool:

Gonna need a display room for the spare set

What plans do you have weapon wise? (Sorry don't know much about the character)

Sweet! I have been a long time Death Dealer fan and look forward to this. Bookmarked. B)

Shadows of Mirahan was a good series and I wish I could be of more help but quests were never my specialty.

I'm back!


An axe and a sabre. The axe will be swappable 1H/2H, the sabre being, of course, just 1H.


Aye, I believe that Shadows of Mirahan is more fitted to the mod than the narrative of the book series. No worries about the quests, I've had enough time to think them over...

Cheers,
PKR.

A slight update: due to Khugan's precious help with rigging, I've finally got the http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/PKR_DD_Boots.jpg... Today I've also redid the normal map for the heavy cuirass, in order to make it look more aged and worn out than was originally (http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/PKR_DD_UpperBody.jpg).

And a couple of in-game screenshots:
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/ScreenShot11.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/ScreenShot4.jpg (from Kvatch Rebuilt)

Things are progressing as slow as expected, though they do... In spite of repeating myself, I can't thank Khugan enough for saving my rear from doing the tedious job of rigging those boots!

Cheers,
PKR.

You're quite welcome, and that texture is amazing!

Whoa! You've been busy mates (PKR and Khugan) - and with most pleasing results.

Its a bit evil for Niamh's tastes is that new armour but I'd enjoy killing the heck out of whoever was wearing it It does look fantastic tho'. And it all continues to get bigger and better...

I'll add in a short "If you need anything..." but you know that already mate. Doesn't look like you need anything anyway

No worries, matey, I'll hold you to your word when the time comes - there is always room for something more...

Alas for Niamh, you won't be able to kill the wearer of this armour... The armour might look evil (and maybe it is), but its wearer is definitely not. You'll have to do a good share of killing, no worries, you know my quests are based more on muscle than brain (there is no way in the world that someone who needs an armour like that would like to go through any sort or variation of soap opera ). The story will develop itself as you progress through the quest and you'll have a few puzzles to flex your brain on (oh yeah, and traps, how much I love traps!), but Death Dealer's gear should belong to a warrior character, so the whole thing will be developed with that in mind.

Cheers,
PKR.

:drool:

Looking sweet.

Thank you! I wish I had more time and give you a hand on Oblivion Realms - which, btw, will be an insta-download for me when finished! - but I'm caught somewhere between lots of RL activities, working on this mod and my characteristical laziness...

Here's the new http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/ScreenShot14.jpg (aka The Falcon Scimitar), modelled by Khugan, textured by yours truly. Here you can see http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/ScreenShot16.jpg, matching the armor... However, there is some more work to do on texturing, especially on the blade, as you can see in this http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/ScreenShot19.jpg.

Cheers,
PKR.

Would have been nice to haveyou on-board, oh well

Ooo a scimitar, gotta love 'em. It looks nice, fits in with the armor really well :thumbsup:

Based on what I've seen on your thread, I have many things to learn from your team when it comes about level building... It is amazing how much patience and devotion some people poured in building some maps/dungeons...

Oh well... I humbly open Photoshop and chop up some more textures... Btw, I finally improved the http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/ScreenShot21.jpg and redid almost completely http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/ScreenShot20.jpg (mesh and texture - except for the head)... I've never been too happy about the old shaft, so I redid it completely (spike included), for a simpler and more efficient look...

A bit off-topic: I am aware that this mod is addresing to a sort of "niche" audience - not too many dig Frazetta's art (seem to many old and obsolete). However, according to my old principle (mod for myself and share), I take great pleasure in doing it. It is probably the project closest to my heart of all I've done so far - so I have absolutely no issue if only a handful of people are leaving some feedback here (or will download the mod). I must say, ever since I've completed the equipment, I've been playing the game for about 80% of the time and modding only 20% - hence the crawling speed of development... :shrug: Nevertheless, this project is going to be released (don't ask when) and I promise it is going to please the Oblivion Frazetta fans as much as it currently pleases me!

Cheers,
PKR.
PS: LOL, it just came in mind the http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=6486 I did for MW (with almost entirely Frazetta and Brom art): so many people didn't have a clue what it was, yet some of them liked it! Sure, there was a little snag: the Beth level designers were too lazy to better shuffle the tapestries when placing them (copy/paste is easier, eh?), so you'd ran in a room with 10 Death Dealer tapestries - oh well, that wasn't too pretty...

I honestly had never heard of Death Dealer before I saw this thread, but its definitely very worthy of being realized in a mod

The general character, not to mention the armor, is pretty sick in the best meaning of the word. :nod: I especially love the axe. Oblivion really lacks some heavy brutal one-handed axes. Most of them look like you're chopping down a small tree. :lmao:

Definitely keeping an eye on this. :tops:

Thank you!

Frazetta's art is as essential for the fantasy world as is Howard or Tolkien's writtings - in fact, http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/thebarbarian.jpg is the best representation of Howard's Conan, closest to the original description (a bit different from the well-known blond Austrian actor... ). It served as a foundation for the fantasy culture as much as the works of the two aforementioned writers, so it is important to know that lots of the modern day art (of course, anime not included), such as the works of Brom, Boris Vallejo, Royo, etc., is drawing roots from Frazetta's original paintings.

Back on-topic: glad you like the axe! http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l256/Painkiller_rider/Death%20Dealer/ScreenShot23.jpg I am in a great moment of doubt: right now I am using for it the Swap Weapons script written by Hippo for Adonnay's Bastard Swords (for those who don't know, it allows swapping between a 1H and 2H weapon, by using 2 different, but similar meshes, and a "spell"), which I find really good for the purpose of this particular Axe (besides, in Frazetta's paintings, the Death Dealer can be seen wielding it both 1H and 2H...). However, a recent thought is haunting me: I've played long ago Lilarcor (for Morrowind), where the sentient sword was "growing" based on the number of kills, and I really liked the idea. I can apply it to the Axe, of course, less the speaking part, but with a slight improvement in texture, going from the rough aspect you can see in the above screenie to a smoother, cleaner looks (say, in about 3 steps, with a difference of 100-200-300 kills between). All good, you'd think, except I don't know how it will conflict with the Swap Weapons part of the script... So, since I am not much of a scripting genius (and I want to keep it bug-free), I am presented with 2 solutions: use only one of the 2 scripts - the question is: which one?

So this is a question addressed to all those who are interested in this mod: what would be more important / more interesting to have? Weapons Swapping or Axe Growth? Honestly, I am totally undecided, on a 50-50% level...

Cheers,
PKR.
PS: Should someone good at scripting read this, know how to blend in both features and be willing to help: please don't be shy - you'll have all my eternal gratitude!

EDIT: btw, there are a few great axes out there: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/23150-1-1237035230.jpg, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/13714-3-1193737926.jpg, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/4687-1-1192687628.jpg and at last, but not least, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/23582-5-1238890690.jpg - all simple, all bearded (:)), all meant to cut down enemies, not trees!

From what I can tell from your description is you use a spell to change the weapons, this means the script is attached to the spell. So the sword growth script could be attached to the sword itself, possibly even use a quest script. Which means if scripted correctly you could have the weapons swap and the script on the sword would be able to adjust it, so no conflicts would be present

Also, you made my day, that scimitar looks soo much better , I am usure exactly what method you applied to make the texture that way, but to me the blade seems more detailed and more realistic :thumbsup:

The script is attached to the Axes, since they are used for the swapping (Object Script). That one also adds the spell, which has another script attached to it (magic effect script). So they'd overlap... I can probably try to make an instance for each step of growth, but that'll result in bulkier scripts, which I don't like...


Thank you! However, both textures (Axe and Scimitar) are still WIP and subject to change any time...

:D

Could you not have the swap script attached to the spell only?, I have not seen how it scripted, but I am almost certain you can achieve the same thing through one spell script.

I will take a look at the scripts (gotta find them first) and see if I can find you a work around, mostly becuase I like both ideas

Edit: Do the scripts take advantage of OBSE?

Normally, the Object Script has to be attached to both objects, so the game will know what to change and also how to react when removing/dropping the object (otherwise it could result in object cloning). The Magic Effect Script is called in by the Object Script, and it deals the change itself.

If you have Adonnay's CW, then you have the scripts... If not, I can post'em here...

Cheers,
PKR.
EDIT: Nope, no OBSE. And, honestly, I prefere to keep it that way, simpler and non-depended on other things...