"Birthsigns" are confirmed : V - Skyrim

» Thu May 19, 2011 8:56 am

Why?
YOu could switch between doomstones too and you dont have to.
You can stay with one of them the whole game if you want. And you have to find them first.
I really dont see the problem with this one, I think it is great news that this little piece of character customisation is not cut from the game, like so many lovely little features are.

Yea its great something -like- birthsigns are in. But it's like redesigning your characters face midgame, no fun. Stuff like this should define your character, not just be something you can always change / access

» Thu May 19, 2011 10:37 am

Yea its great something -like- birthsigns are in. But it's like redesigning your characters face midgame, no fun. Stuff like this should define your character, not just be something you can always change / access

But nothing forces you to change midgame.
It is exactly like the doomstones in Oblivion. Sometimes I had entire playthroughs without even selecting one, sometimes I stuck with one for a whole character and sometimes I changed a lot.
Its completely optional and I like freedom in games.

» Thu May 19, 2011 8:29 am

But nothing forces you to change midgame.
It is exactly like the doomstones in Oblivion. Sometimes I had entire playthroughs without even selecting one, sometimes I stuck with one for a whole character and sometimes I changed a lot.
Its completely optional and I like freedom in games.

Doomstones in oblivion didnt really define all that much at all. And I don't care if I can "choose" not to change. Sometimes forcing players is a good thing. I dont wanna be able to switch my 1handed skill points to 2 handed skills points and just choose not to :/.

I'd love for these doomstones to be places you travel to and then dedicate yourself to one and then gain a boost

» Wed May 18, 2011 11:57 pm

Doomstones in oblivion didnt really define all that much at all. And I don't care if I can "choose" not to change. Sometimes forcing players is a good thing. I dont wanna be able to switch my 1handed skill points to 2 handed skills points and just choose not to :/.

I'd love for these doomstones to be places you travel to and then dedicate yourself to one and then gain a boost

But you must admit that when it comes to choice or nothing at all, choice is better.
I think greater powers from doomstones in Oblivion couldnt be very powerful ,for balancing reasons. Mainly because we already had a birthsign. Now that we choose a greater power during gameplay and not in character creation there is I think room for more powerful or game altering ones, like the atronarch or apprentice were for birthsigns.

We will see how it works. For now, I am happy there is at least the option.

» Thu May 19, 2011 7:24 am

But you must admit that when it comes to choice or nothing at all, choice is better.
I think greater powers from doomstones in Oblivion couldnt be very powerful ,for balancing reasons. Mainly because we already had a birthsign. Now that we choose a greater power during gameplay and not in character creation there is I think room for more powerful or game altering ones, like the atronarch or apprentice were for birthsigns.

We will see how it works. For now, I am happy there is at least the option.

Oh yea, for sure. Any layer of extra customization is miles beyond the lack of it. I just wish devs would have da balls to inlude more defining choices in games thats all

» Thu May 19, 2011 11:33 am

pouting wont change much if thats the way they want to do things

I would say different; clearly things have changed, no?

» Thu May 19, 2011 1:29 am

The stars will be under our control, what else shall we master the universe will be ours!!! :chaos:

Your Midi-chlorian level is to low to control stars right now..... :spotted owl:

» Thu May 19, 2011 7:55 am

I'm happy, mostly. I definitely wanted birthsigns, and doomstones. I've got doomstones, the cup is half full and all that.

Quite how they can call something an advlt chooses a birth, rather than just a star, sign, is another matter entirely.

» Thu May 19, 2011 3:15 am

I'm happy, mostly. I definitely wanted birthsigns, and doomstones. I've got doomstones, the cup is half full and all that.

To the 'half full', I always respond, "yeah, but full of what exactly?". :chaos:

Quite how they can call something an advlt chooses a birth, rather than just a star, sign, is another matter entirely.

Chooses at birth? I don't think that's how it works. PC's don't choose their birth sign, they are born under them. Players make that choice, but it becomes the PC's personal history.
It happens retro-actively. Players choose it during the tutorial, but their choice makes it become the PC's life long past.

» Thu May 19, 2011 1:33 am

So I can change the time I was born... ok?

» Thu May 19, 2011 8:32 am

That makes no f* sense

Calling them birthsigns is rather misleading. I mean, birthsigns in the traditional sense.
If you just think of them as...hmmm...doomstone perks? then it all makes sense.

» Thu May 19, 2011 4:57 am

Calling them birthsigns is rather misleading. I mean, birthsigns in the traditional sense.
If you just think of them as...hmmm...doomstone perks? then it all makes sense.

True; (and tragic

).

Future TES jargon will see the creation of a new expression among TES gamers.

The expression, "There's a perk for that". :sadvaultboy:

» Wed May 18, 2011 8:30 pm

To the 'half full', I always respond, "yeah, but full of what exactly?". :chaos:

Chooses at birth? I don't think that's how it works. PC's don't choose their birth sign, they are born under them. Players make that choice, but it becomes the PC's personal history.
It happens retro-actively. Players choose it during the tutorial, but their choice makes it become the PC's life long past.

Sorry to nit pick, but I didn't say chooses at birth, I said how do they call something an advlt chooses a birth.....sign.

» Wed May 18, 2011 9:17 pm

Sorry to nit pick, but I didn't say chooses at birth, I said how do they call something an advlt chooses a birth.....sign.

"Chooses a birth" looks like a typo of "chooses at birth"; and still does, even though you've stated that its not. :shocking:

**Looking back... This entire quote, "Quite how they can call something an advlt chooses a birth", appears somewhat awkward until you make the assumption that the word 'a', was meant to be 'at', :shrug:

Did you mean it as, "Quite how they can call something an advlt chooses a birth(sign)" ?

» Wed May 18, 2011 8:19 pm

I wouldn't call them birthsigns then... don't know what I would call them, but not birthsigns.
Doomsigns?
Sounds strange though, and I don't really like it.

» Thu May 19, 2011 7:42 am

I wouldn't call them birthsigns then... don't know what I would call them, but not birthsigns.
Doomsigns?
Sounds strange though, and I don't really like it.

It reminds me a lot of the elemental stones in Witcher.

*I must say, that I don't recall ever encountering the "Doomstones" in TES. :shrug:
Is it plausible that Witcher copied them? ~or did Skyrim copy Witcher?
(Or did both copy something else?)

» Thu May 19, 2011 3:49 am

Hmmm, let's try that again. How can they call something that is chosen by an advlt, a birth, rather than a star, sign?

Preferred the heaven stones anyway, however nebulous concept 'fame' is, at least you had to something to deserve those powers. Much better for post character creation.

» Wed May 18, 2011 10:44 pm

It reminds me a lot of the elemental stones in Witcher.

*I must say, that I don't recall ever encountering the "Doomstones" in TES. :shrug:
Is it plausible that Witcher copied them? ~or did Skyrim copy Witcher?
(Or did both copy something else?)

No idea.
But doomstones first appeared in Oblivion for TES as far as I know, and they're described here: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Mage_Stone#Mage_Stone

» Wed May 18, 2011 10:10 pm

I wouldn't call them birthsigns then... don't know what I would call them, but not birthsigns.
Doomsigns?
Sounds strange though, and I don't really like it.

Doomstone perks can be a good idea *IF*
what you get
is unique and not obtainable through regular perks or regular spells/shouts.

» Wed May 18, 2011 11:32 pm

Despite the confusion between Doomstones and birthsigns this is a good idea but hopefully are in random places instead of around cities, so you have to go on adventures to find these Doomstones, so after all the adventure it seems more worth-while as you earned it.

» Thu May 19, 2011 8:32 am

Hmmm, let's try that again. How can they call something that is chosen by an advlt, a birth, rather than a star, sign?

Preferred the heaven stones anyway, however nebulous concept 'fame' is, at least you had to something to deserve those powers. Much better for post character creation.

I get what you are saying... about a 'star'(sign), and 'birth'(sign); but I still don't see what you mean with, "chosen by an advlt".

The characters do not choose their birthsign as an advlt, they were born during the month of that sign ~its like the Zodiac; its almost exactly like the zodiac, but for use of different names and fictional constellations.

"Chosen by an advlt", would imply that an advlt could 'choose' to be a Gemini though born in November. :shrug:

» Thu May 19, 2011 5:55 am

This is brilliant information. Thank you for sharing.

» Wed May 18, 2011 9:25 pm

If you can change birth-signs at will then surely we can change race and gender. "Oh no I don′t feel like being born the day I was born today, I′m gonna touch a stone and change the flow of time and be born a different day, and oh while we are at it let me be a female argonian instead of a male nord!"

Or we could just get to choose our birth sign somewhere soon in the game and live with that.

Edit: And if it′s like Doomstones then they did not change birthsigns, they scrapped them and kept doomstones.

» Wed May 18, 2011 9:05 pm

It's basically the Doomstones from Oblivion. Hopefully they have good powers this time around.

» Thu May 19, 2011 10:38 am

Something interesting to consider (from http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:New_%27Doomstones%27_Series! ):

"I always carefully research my subjects," Quill-Weave says, "and I find no evidence at all to support the popular notion that these runestones were once artifacts of great magical power." She noted that thirteen of these stones are associated with the common birthsigns by which people have always marked the aspects of the heavens when children are born. "Such stones as the 'Mage Stone' and the 'Serpent Stone' were certainly associated with the primitive sky worships of the Beast Folk of the Mythic Era. Other stones, like the 'Aetherius Stone' and the 'Magnus Stone' were also doubtless associated with other long-forgotten cults."

We never got to understand what the doomstones are in Oblivion. Maybe we will in Skyrim?
Just the word... doom. I'm getting a slight feeling it's related to the doomsday Alduin is about to bring us.

Anyway, for those who don't know, here's an explanation of what the doomstones does in Oblivion: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Doomstone#Doomstones
"There are two different kinds of Doomstones; the Birthsign Stones, related to the constellations that mark the zodiac of Tamriel, and the Heaven Stones, related to other celestial bodies"

It seems that, what was confirmed in the magazine, was not birthsigns at all, but birthsign stones. There's a pretty big difference, as seen in the above UESP link.