I agree that the game is a little fast, but I don't find it hard to make excuses, even for my 'good' characters. After leaving the sewers my most recent character, a Redguard Mercenary with fairly high responsibility, spotted the aylid ruin and decided to check it out, as he needed to replace his lost gear. After offing the bandits outside he realised that he needed to do some re-training and sell some stuff, so he made his way to the Market district, where he came across a few local problems that needed sorting out. After about 3 days chaseing up those quests he felt the pressure of the urgent mission and made it to Chorrol where he joined the Fighters Guild and spent a few pleasant hours with a very nice Redguard woman who refreshed his memory of armour repair. With the aid of the Prior's helpful gift he's now on his way to Kvatch, via Skingrad, where he's been told to speak to an alchemist there about some funny glowing roots. He's already spotted a couple of forts that might be worthwhile places to look for armour and trinkets, so he'll probably stop to see what he can find along the way, and he hasn't forgotten that aylid ruin either...

On my original character, his first instinct was to get as far away from the IC as he could, freedom having gone to his head. He made it to cheydenhal where he joined the mages guild (he is a Breton Bard) and helped out the locals. On discovering how much it would cost to buy a horse he decided to go dungeon diving, starting with that tasty looking aylid ruin, where he came across an imperial guard on patrol who warned him that deadra had been sighted so he should stick to the roads, which reminded him of oblivion and the amulet, but it still took him about a month to get around to visiting the Chorrol area, and then it was to pick up the mages guild recomendation rather than drop off the amulet. (I was about lvl 23 when I finished the MQ, and it was really tough, during the Bruma bit with Martin I had to reload several times cuz he kept dying. And the last bit with xivli was a pain, had to reload a few times there too. In all my future games I will control how fast I level so I'm better equiped to keep him alive.)

It is a bit pushy. I guess gamesas was trying to focus the play from Morrowind's actual rp design to a more cinematic feel.

It wasn't a bad experience, but I did miss having a "mentor" like Cosades as a story devoloper. In Oblivion, connections were made with little to no providence: "So... The Emperor has been assasinated? And he has chosen you to do what? Well, okay. Get out of those prison rags, lose the rusty dagger, and go save the world already!"

i think the mainline quest was very sloppy. OB is a role playing game. there is a story that goes with the action. the beginning was OK. but there was way too many nasties at kvatch for me at a low level. the designers could have placed far fewer nasties there. there is no way that the guards could saved anybody there. and martin should have been dead when you found him at a much higher level. my beef is that the storyline doesn't match the action going on. kvatch was being attacked as soon as you got out of the sewers. i accidently bumbed into that high elf that gives the warning. if i didn't respond right away, if i could make a difference, everybody at kvatch should have died including martin.

i like the way the designers handled the gate battle at burma. the PC was told he or she may need extra help. so that makes logical sense to spend making the defense of burma stronger. after the setback at kvatch, the nasties needed time to regroup and make plans knowing the resistance is stronger than they at first thought.

I can almost see Mehrunes Dagon wearing a swimsuit and taking his beach umbrella and going to an island off the Gold Coast, saying to his kin: "relax, boys, we'll just start the invasion, but we will wait for a certain prisoner to gain some levels before he/she wants to fight us. So enjoy the vacation. Oh, the drinks are on me."



"And Oblivion was the last successful Elder Scrolls game, because the developer added an alternate questline where the player could join the forces of evil and destroy Tamriel. Without Tamriel, they lost a very important part of their own mythology and the subsequent game, The Elder Scrolls V: Akavir, was a huge disappointment both for the critics and the public alike. The players just didn't want to play as a monkey or as a snake, saying that two Black and White games had been enough." - Wikipedia, circa 2015.



And after you get the main quest out of the way, you're the Champion of Cyrodiil but you start in the Fighters Guild as a lowly novice who has to kill some rats. RP this if you can.

But...

You could walk in circles around Heironymous Lex for 500 days before going to Kvatch...

Martin's okay, he's just...chillin'. They have...lots of supplies in there... :woot:



Yeah, there are some big-time plot holes. Sometimes NPC's just blatantly don't treat you like the character you are, whether the champion of Cyrodiil or a grungy gutter-thief. I think the infamy/fame system could have been something different, though I'm not complaining.

Now, the end of the Thieves Guild questline...THAT is something to complain about. Feels developmentally rushed, bigtime.

There's no cheesier plot twist than "going back in time to change history, and now it's all better." The real [censored]-twister is then having an empty ten-foot basemant full of completely useless NPC's who don't remember you from countless quests, and just stand around looking at the walls. At one point the quest journal says, for completing the Ultimate Heist, your name would become world-famous. But you're basically completely unchanged. You're a Guildmaster of nothing, and a Master Thief without a point. Your little pickpockety minions should be able to be sent out into the city, and bring you a cut at the end of the week. You should have to break them out of jail once in a while. Something!

Complaint filed, stick rammed into out-door.

Well for me I took my time. Except for maybe the arena but that was just plain fun . Anyways, like people said, the invasion will wait for you. You can stop Oblivion any time you want.

Yeah, this is the worst part. I just did the MQ at a relatively low level with my last character and now I'm having a hard time continuing. It was bad enough being the Hero of Kvatch but now it seems silly.

I've only finished the MQ with one of my characters and I took breaks during the "Blood of the Daedra" (I did all of them, not just Azura - I mean who in their right mind gives up Azura's Star?!?!?) in addition to some of the other listed places. Also during the "Allies For Bruma" quests.

Most of my characters don't do anything MQ related. I just RP that they are bystanders during the Oblivion crisis.

On my second time through the MQ I decided to try something different and sent my character straight into Shivering Isles (fear that he would be blamed for the Emperor's death sent him fleeing to SI) and completed the SI MQ. My RP follows that the character then remembers the events with the Emperor after finding the Amulet (he's a pack-rat) and decides to get involved despite his "duties" (taking the madness of Amnesia on himself, though with flashbacks that lead to rather Pelinal-like madnesses from time to time). The real joy of this time through the MQ was facing Cyrodiil with a level 26 character in Iron Armor. Though he amassed quite a bit of weath in SI I only allowed a slow progression in armor and weapon advancement and it was really something fighting Glass wielding bandits with a Steel Longsword. It totally changed the dynamic of the game and made the MQ even more fun. There's also a very funny bit of dialogue when . I reccomend this route to all. I can't wait to :lmao:

What i've done in my latest playthrough is
when i came out of the sewer and went to the aleyid ruin opposite.
Then roleplay that from a blow to the head by a warhammer from one of the bandits
i've forgotten what the mesterios amulet is for

I'm level 34 and I just started the Main Quest. I just avoided Kvatch and didn't think too much about it; the Main Quest isn't the main draw for me, so I don't mind enjoying it. I beat the Thieves, Dark Brotherhod, and Mages already (my character matures from a lowly bandit into a sophisticated Nightblade).

Yep, beyond the very first time I played, where I was all "Yikes, better get this amulet handed off to somebody right away! :ahhh: " I quickly decided that my toons invariably take a blow to the head on their headlong rush out of the sewers, and have a vague feeling that the broken amulet they have is somehow important, but damned if they can remember why. I've even gone and helped Kvatch - if you haven't talked to Jauffre, nothing much happens but you help close the gate. I start the MQ when I feel like it.

I think the best thing to have done was when the amulet was handed over, Jaufee would tell you it would take some time to find this missing heir and that you should train up for the battles ahead...

The would mean you could go ahead and do the kvatch mission and then grab Martin later when you are told, and it gives you a way out (some time could be anwhere from a day to a year in-game).

If I'm a bad character I usually pass the old king of as insane, and leave. The fact that there's assassins just shows that he pissed someone off, I'm not getting involved with that.

So guys I switched to PC gaming and alternate start mods have solved the problem! Let's hope that future TES games don't make this mistake! :foodndrink:

TES I: Arena-You have been imprisoned by Jagar Tharn because he fears you may help defeat him. Only you can save the emperor. You must collect the pieces of the Staff of Chaos! Go, go, go!

TES II: Daggerfall-Emperor Uriel Septim VII has sent you to the province of Daggerfall important errands. You are in the Illiac Bay region for these errands, and only these errands. You have no choice. He's sending you to Daggerfall. The first quest in the main questline is actually timed, therefore actually urgent. You don't choose when this quest begins.

TES IV: Oblivion-Emperor Uriel Septim VII tells you he's seen you in his dreams and believes you should save the world. You walk outside and don't see a single Oblivion gate. Why do anything? Nothing's timed(unlike Daggerfall) and Oblivion gates aren't actually threatening anyone. The main quest is definitely far from the only interesting thing to do(unlike Arena). Why bother? When you actually do see an Oblivion gate(in front of Kvatch), why go into it if you're still an unexperienced traveller? Don't confuse love of one's home continent and a heroic nature for being stupid. Walking into hell without any combat experience is, well, stupid. Why bother at lower levels? It really isn't that hard to put off. Imagine the emperor as a guy with false sense of impending doom. People in real life do similar things(2012, anyone?), but there's no visible threat. There's no visible threat in Oblivion, either, unless you actually get caught up in the emperor's doom prophecy.

:shrug: That's my opinion on the matter. True urgency is a time limit and walking out of the sewers while seeing a barren, Daedra-covered wasteland dotted with Oblivion gates. I saw a vibrant world with green grass, trees, clear water, a sunny, blue, an architecturally elegant Ayleid ruin, a marvelous Ayleid-built city,(the Imperial City) and I heard some of the most peaceful and calm music I could possibly imagine. There were no Daedra, there was no mass rioting or panic, and I experienced true freedom for the first time in a game. I took advantage of that freedom. Emperor who? I was still gaping in awe at the wide, open world placed before me. I've been playing Oblivion for nearly two years and have never completed the main quest. I'm always in a training stage, when my characters actually get svcked into it. I'll save the world when I'm capable of opposing destruction itself in a non-suicidal manner. If my character is labeled an evil guy for not seeing any urgent threat or for not wanting to die for no reason, then nearly every sane person who exists in real life must be evil, too.

Yeah, not to mention...

When I don't want to do the main quest, I just hand over the amulet to Jauffre, take the gear provided in the chest, sell my unwanted leftover stuff in the Imperial City and then consider that the start point of the game. I just ignore the whole Martin thing altogether.

I have a save right before exiting the sewers so I can skip the tut. I rp that I found the amulet and the quest entry are "notes from a journal"after searching a body I discovered.. My reason for being in the sewers depends on what type of character I am playing. ( bad guy escaping, good guy looking for an escapee, mage - just so happen to be looking for artifact and came across the sewer entrance....

I then go to Jauffree since the "note" indicates he knows something and after speaking to him I tell him to have this Martin contact me if and when he feels the time is right. ( I do this because my "gut instinct" tells me to not seek out Martin as I do not know enough yet about any of this....this allows me to "change my mind" later if I so wish after hearing the numerous topics from the citizens.)


I am going to have a heart attack the first time Martin wakes me up in the middle of the night instead of Lucien. :bonk:

There's no rush. Go explore the forests, the Legion of Doom will wait. You can pretty much count on that with most Bethesda games, which is a large part of their appeal.

It's not so much that the game is "fast paced" it's more that the Main Quest is thrust upon your character with no way to opt out even temporarily.

It would have been nice and much more realistic if you drop off the amulet and Jauffre says "Thanks very much. We'll check out your story and try to find Martin. Come back when you're more experienced". Then you have to get skilled and accomplished (fame, infamy, quests, etc) before you continue.

Instead Jauffre says essentially "So you're an escaped prisoner who just happened to be standing around when the Emperor was killed. Well I trust you completely. So here is exactly where Martin, are only hope, is located. Go get him. I'd rather an unskilled dude I've never met before with virtually no skills get Martin than bother all my experienced Blades at Cloud Ruler Temple. But you better give me the Amulet, I'll make sure it's safe."


But my real comment is Jeepers Creepers this thread is hanging around for ever!!

My chars tend to get martin to the fortress, then leave for about 20 levels...

I don't care for being pressured into completing the MQ, but on the bright side, it's pretty fun to find justifications for putting it off or pausing it for a while. Some I have come up with include:

Character notices that the Blades send three of their men to get the Emperor to safety, two of them die, and the third sends them (a escaped prisoner) off with the most important item in Cyrodiil. How about instead of delivering the Amulet to the head of this obviously incompetent faction, they keep it somewhere where it's more likely to be safe? Like that little shack in the thief-infested Waterfront.

Character delivers Amulet to Jauffre because the Emperor and Baurus wanted them too, and they were nice and stuff. But Jauffre is all, "Go find Martin in Kvatch!" So character is all, "Why are you telling me this? I barely know you! I delivered the Amulet because I was the only one who could! Go send Brother Piner to Kvatch! Or... somebody. Seriously, I'm best you can come up with?"

Character goes ahead and enters the first Oblivion Gate. They find it rather fascinating, and kind of abhor the idea of disabling easy contact with such a strange new place, and all the resources it has to offer.

Character was friends with another NPC prior to being imprisoned. Gotta check up on them first, right? At least 'em know what you're up too, let 'em know you didn't die in prison during the Mythic Dawn attack.

Character gets bitten by a wild animal shortly after exiting the sewers and contracts a disease. Can't very well go trekking across the countryside in this condition, now can we? Better go rest up in a city first...

That's all I've got. Also, regarding another things that's been mentioned- I don't really mind saving the Empire, and then having to start off as low man on the totem pole at a guild. For one thing, *you* know you totally kicked daedra butt all over the places, but the guild higher-ups don't. They didn't see you in action. They didn't see how much you actually contributed. Even if they do know exactly how much you did, they don't know *how* you did it. Did you rush into battle headfirst with a sword? Use magic? Sneak through, killing without being spotted? Why would the Mages Guild be interested in giving you a good position if they don't know how you handle magic, for example? So you start off low, just like anyone else who joins. Then prove your worth.

I also don't mind Dagon "waiting" for me because I pretend that it's taking him just as long to prefer for this battle as it is for me.

yes, that is true. If you don't go to Kvatch, it won't trigger anything to happen. I mean, you could literally spend 4 years in-game time never going to Kvatch and then finally go there and everything will react the same as if you went there the first day. But in my opinion, it's the fact that I know that all these things are happening which makes it fast paced. I mean, the daedric invasion is already happening so you don't really feel like taking your time to do things slowly. Whereas in Morrowind, the blight was being contained at Red Mountain but it wasn't like you needed to act on anything at that moment. Just my thoughts.

That would introduce a seemingly required grind. "I HAVE to get, 10 fame to continue?"
No.
Should be like Caius Cosades in Morrowind who basically gives you 200 gold (Which Jauffre essentially does in item-form) boots you out the door and says "Go join some guilds". Seriously.

But, if I remember correctly, isn't there a point early on that after doing a couple things for Caius he doesn't have anything for you and tells you to come back after getting some experience? Wouldn't that be exactly the same as you said, "That would introduce a seemingly required grind." And the other poster didn't say there would be some requirement, you could I suppose initiate dialogue again with Jauffre and start the MQ, but for RP reasons, Jauffre gives you a logical reason for putting the MQ off.

The Morrowind Mages Guild had skill level requirements to advance in the guild. Isn't that "grinding to continue"? I don't like grinding, but I did find these requirements more realistic than Oblivions allowing you to be the Arch-mage without ever having to cast a single spell, more or less.