» Fri May 27, 2011 12:03 pm
Ok I have been ... kinda getting into this ^_^ It's kinda been growing a little bit.
First I am going to rename the mod, to The Unrepentant Archer. That's the name of an old archer's fansite I used to run back in my Asheron's Call archery days -- it got its name because back then, and for the first few years of that online game, archers were a very weak class and the only people who played them, were people who just loved archers and didn't give a hoot whether they were gimped or not. Thus the "Unrepentant" part. (Later the devs "beefed up" the weak archer class so that it became rather overpowered, but that's another story ..) Anyway the name of that old site still has a lot of powerful nostalgia for me so I decided to rename the mod after it, it's for archers and only archers, will only deal with wood bows and leather armors, and never blades or metal armors.
PHASE 1: This is basically almost done so should be released within the next few days. Fletcher Jhanu Bowsinger just escaped Kvatch with only a few bows she could grab as she fled, and will be always found the first time in the refugee camp outside that city. She will at this time carry only one type of armor, four types of bows, http://oblivion.brashendeavors.net/mods/natural%20archer/Fletched%20Arrow%20and%20Quiver.jpg, and a simple green nonmagic cape. The "Soft Doeskin" armor is cheap and suitable for a starting archer, and the Archer's, Rosewood and Applewood bows are the equivalent of Iron, Steel and Silver, with one exception -- she always carries some type of Elvish Bows (Nico's Bows) which are more expensive but have better than average stats. At this stage, it is a slender Elvish Oak Bow. Stock up on everything you'll need from her for your young archer at this stage, because after you meet her for the first time, she is going to hit the road and become a traveling fletcher in search of enchanted archery artifacts. Who knows where in the world she will turn up or what she will carry, except it will probably be much nicer than starting gear ... http://oblivion.brashendeavors.net/mods/natural%20archer/TUAPhase1armor.jpg
PHASE 2: Jhanu is now on the road and now can be more difficult to find. She still carries her basic mundane gear, but now also has a random chance of having magical items. She will often carry a few pieces of Enchanted Waxed Clannfear Leathers, a couple of enchanted or improved stats bows (Oak, Enamelwood and Yew), and fletchable arrow kits so that you can stock up on ammo without overburdening. Besides regular arrowheads, a few will be fire, ice, shock or poison arrowheads. Also cloaks with magic enchantments. . Your ability to buy this gear is not based on level, only on random luck, so if you can find her you have a chance early in the game to get a bow that is roughly the stats of Elven, Glass or Dwarven equivalents, and possibly carries an enchantment, possibly even a powerful Elvish Cedar Bow, plus 1-2 random pieces of Clannfear leathers that have better stats + an enchantment of some sort (Usually Agility, Sneak, Marksman, occasionally also Luck or Camoflauge). But it's all very random so you may get nothing exceptional. http://oblivion.brashendeavors.net/mods/natural%20archer/phase02B.jpg
PHASE 3: is a part of the same except includes extra items she will ONLY offer if you meet certain requirements of level + fame or infamy + marksman skill. If you meet ALL those requirements when you find her, she will also offer Phase 3 gear which now includes the highlevel Trollskin Leathers, with a random chance of very powerful enchantments, and her best bows (equivalent of Daedric or Ebony) plus the rare Elvish Osage Bow, the most powerful bow she has. Her selection of enchanted arrowheads now also include paralyze or silence enchantments in additional to buffed damage. All items also have a chance for "prefixes" as well as "suffixes". (Suffixes will be enchantments to the gear, and prefizes such as "sharp", "reinforced" etc will have better base stats). These items will be expensive. http://oblivion.brashendeavors.net/mods/natural%20archer/phase03B.jpg
Phases 2 & 3 will take me longer to do, but the "starter archer" phase 1, at a static start at Kvatch with limited mundane gear, should be ready any time now.
I'll also have a "cheater's version" of the mod where everything is in a heavily locked (but easy to open via console) strongbox in the Imperial City Market District. That's for people who just want the gear without having to hike all over looking for Jhanu or dealing with "random odds" on what she'll have in stock.
I'm making all this up as I go along ^_^ so feel free to critique, suggest, flame or instruct.