Thoughts on a Second Play-through

I bought Oblivion PC GOTY roughly a year-and-a-half ago and was, thanks to the many wonderful mods available to computer users, quite content to stick with my original avatar all this time. Then, something over a month ago, in conjunction with several hardware upgrades (more RAM, better graphics card), I opted to switch from OMODs to BAIN whenever possible. (For you console folk, those are how we package add-ons for use with the two main PC mod management utilities, OBMM and Wrye-Bash respectively.) After conversion none but the earliest of my old saves would load. I'm sure I could have solved that given time and effort. But I'd been half-seriously thinking to start afresh anyway. That's what I ultimately did, archiving old saves in case of second thoughts.

I began my second play-through from an early initial-play-through save, one made in the starter dungeon before the emperor's death. That let me retain http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/OutsideBartholm1.jpg, which I am quite pleased with.

Now to the point...

During my first go-round, I entered Shivering Isles early, level three, before starting either the main quest or KoTN, or doing much of anything other than a few side-quests and join the fighters guild. I remained in the Realm of Madness a good many levels, forced to re-enter Tamriel only when lack of access to spells and spell-making brought progress to a standstill. I stayed in Cyrodiil long enough to do more side-quests, buy needed spells, and gain access to the Arcane University. Then it was back to the Isles to finish all activities there. Only then did I return to Tamriel-proper to become Divine Crusader and tackle the Oblivion Crisis.

Doing it that way cheapened Cyrodiil-based adventures. They seemed a bit underwhelming. I didn't put a lot of effort into 'em, closing roughly twelve Gates before escorting Martin from Cloud Ruler Temple to the Imperial City. KotN seemed OK if short, but nothing special compared to SI. Don't take me wrong. I enjoyed 'em. I just liked SI better.

This was in the back of my mind when I began my second play-through. I fully expected to again plow my way through KotN & Oblivion Crisis with minimal effort, then move on to bigger and better things.

I was wrong! This time 'round I had a blast with the Crisis, and now consider it amongst the best of my TES4 experiences.

First off, I totally ignored Shivering Isles, since that is an otherworldly experience and can be put off indefinitely without harming either Cyrodiilic or Sheogorathian time-flow. By doing so I was able to approach the Crisis as an inexperienced adventurer fresh out of prison rather than a seasoned veteran with Godlike abilities and perspectives. A MadGod might not, after all, be overly impressed by or concerned about the daedric invasion of another realm.

Second, being familiar with the game, I was now able to accomplish things in a much more logical manner. Almost straight out of prison, I joined the Imperial Legion (via mod), was issued a set of decent newb plate-armor, and assigned to patrol the road to Anvil. This in turn allowed me to hear the prophet's rantings. From there I began seeking way-shrines, in the process visiting various cities to cement relations with the fighters and mages guilds. I began collecting holy relics, and eventually assumed the role of Divine Crusader. This made all the difference.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/In_Oblivion_1.jpg, the Gods' representative on Tamriel. As such, I considered Gates an affront to the Nine, and felt a moral obligation to disable any situated near a roadway or inhabited area. When all was said and done, I had closed fifty-two Gates! Had I come upon others during my many adventures they too would have been shut down. What's more, I took no shortcuts, other than the sort any savvy Gate-crawler takes to make his or her task easier. Yes, it became frustrating at times, especially when faced with several of the more challenging Oblivion layouts back-to-back. But my sense of accomplishment more than compensated for the time and effort involved. And I now have many fond game-play memories that wouldn't exist had I rushed through the Crisis, closing only a few Gates.

Lest you think I did nothing but disable Gates and assist Martin, rest assured I allowed myself to unwind by interspersing http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/BravilMagesGuild_1.jpg amongst closings, mostly those befitting the role of Crusader (though some were a stretch). Thus I advanced further in the fighters guild and assisted many a citizen in need. It proved a good mix, retaining the main quest-line's sense of urgency yet not going so overboard as to cause burnout.

That's all behind me now. The Crisis ended several real-life days ago. My avatar now spends the bulk of his time questing, still in the regalia and capacity of the Crusader. At some point he'll likely return his divine gear to the Priory and assume the role of a roaming knight-errant, as he did last play-through. But that's for the future to decide. And of course that strange island in the waters near Bravil beckons, though he's not yet felt an overwhelming compulsion to heed the call.

-Decrepit-

Wonderful story. I'm really glad you were able to go back to the game and experience it anew. That's just one of the amazing parts that make up Oblivion. It's a new story and new game every time as long as you have the creativity to keep coming up with new ways to play. Thanks for sharing your great replay story; I'd like to hear more!

You know, your thoughts are almost exactly what I experienced in a couple of characters I created. My first learning character went straight for the main quest out of the sewers, but because I didn't have a clue what I was doing I spent more time just trying to learn everything than I did actually enjoying the experience. With another character I did KotN and SI very early on and just like you realized, it seemed to me that I had no motivation to "save" Cyrodiil after those adventures.

So, I decided to create a back story for a new build using some newly learned skills, and sort of broke his life into 2 stages. The 1st was his life before he was thrown into prison for his crimes and the 2nd was his life after his encounter with the Emperor when he learned his true destiny.

Not to get too lengthy with his life's details, but he lost his parents as a young man (around 15 or so) and had to learn to survive on his own by stealing for food and living in old ruins for shelter. After a few years of this he was "recruited" by the Thieves Guild where he fit right in as they sort of became the "family" that he lost. But his life of crime ultimately led him to the Dark Brotherhood where he eventually got caught and put in prison for his sins.

So I basically had to pretend that the first part of his life happened before he went to prison (and starts the game) and the 2nd part of his life only takes place quite a few years later when he is freed by the Emporor and his guards.

But before he could save Cyrodiil he would have to redeem himself - sort of pay a penance if you will to be "worthy" of taking on the Holy cause just as you mentioned. So, I made him start in The Arena to learn some fighting skills and then join the Fighters Guild and work through the ranks there. At some point in time along the way that just felt "right" for him, he sought out the Prophet and became the Divine Crusader which totally changed his life forever. For most of his life, he was not on what you would say "good" terms with the gods as he was very bitter for the way his early life panned out. However, with great loss there can be great redemption and his earlier meeting with the Emperor, and later meeting with Martin and Jauffre helped to heal the pain from his troubled youth. (He had delivered the Amulet, but gone no farther in the Main Quest.) Once he finished KotN he was ready to fulfil his destiny and become Champion of Cyrodiil.

From there he scaled back a bit on his adventures and became an artifact collector and now boasts one the most complete collections of goodies and weapons, armor and artifacts in all Tamriel! He still gets out for the odd adventure here and there, and has just a little mopping up to do in the Shivering Isles, but his adventuring days are winding down. However, there have been several offers for him to join this new Archeology Guild around the corner from him so he is giving that some serious thought of late, lol! You never know, right?!?!?

Anyway, sorry if I hijacked your thread, but I could totally relate to your experiences and thought you might get a kick out of my similar character. I know that in terms of his life's history and his story in general, I have put more thought into this one character than all of my others. And consequently, I feel more connected to this guy than any others I have made.

Thanks for the thread!

I love your story, Balok! That's exactly what I stumbled upon in my attempts to make my game more interesting a few months back. Why must we have static characters? It would be so much more interesting if they were dynamic! So I created warrior Altmer that had to come to terms with their inherent ability for magic and assassins who repent themselves and become great heroes. It really was fun to develop these characters into entirely new characters. It allowed for so many quests to be played even if they didn't seem right at the time. They developed him and molded him.

Most welcome. As to hijacking the thread, yours is exactly the sort of response I had hoped to trigger. I enjoyed it. Yours too, Jamesmc.

I tend to not concoct fully detailed back-stories for my avatars. During my lengthy first play-through I never quite knew why he had been incarcerated. Nor do I this go-round. He does have definite opinions about the situation, as set forth in this journal excerpt...

"...At the time I considered my incarceration unjust. I'm not saying my life had been blemish free. Far from it. But my crimes, if crimes they be, were no more than those perpetrated daily by men of low intellect and social standing who must compete against those far smarter and more able than themselves. Indeed, many openly flaunt transgressions worse than any I could hope to commit yet never see the inside of a cell. Yet, if the late lamented emperor was correct, and I now have little reason to doubt it, my jailing was predestined by fate or the Gods, an unkindness brought about by necessity solely to ensure my meeting with Uriel Septim -- the last Septim emperor, for Martin never officially donned the mantle -- during his final hours..."

-Decrepit-

Yeah, normally I don't either. However, I wanted to do the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood quests because I had never done them before and I needed to justify how a person could basically be a thief and murderer, and then basically be a good guy in all the other quests. So, that's how I justified it in my mind, lol.

Also, very smartly written journal entry. Do you have more?

Very cool story! Yours too Balok

Agreed. Both stories were very nice. And I like your character, Decrepit. He looks very real.

The game changed for me when I disabled fast travel - not disabled markers, but literally disable fast travel completely. If my character wanted to get somewhere, she had to walk, run or ride a horse. (Lately I've discovered Arthmoor's excellent Cyrodill Travel Services for a more Morrowind-like travel experience). The act of walking to Chorrol, a six to eight hour walk, with at least one fight, maybe two, along the way, helped me define and understand my character. The trips to Anvil and Leyawin are two days each and are somewhat intimidating. Walking to Anvil, fighting the bandits, etc., along the way, could take an entire afternoon. Playing at normal leveling (I now play with a global 5x slowdown), I could level up from 1 to 9 or 10 just by doing the mages guild recommendation quests.

But the main quest always eluded me. I think I've done it maybe once, back before I started using mods. One reason for hesitation is Kvatch. With FCOM installed, Kvatch became a nightmare. In one of my early encounters with Kvatch, I approached the first gate, talked to Savlian Matius, and as he gave me the quest ... the biggest clanfear I've ever seen (Clanfear Matriarch or Patriarch) crawled out of the gate and killed everyone but Salvian and I.

Gulp. The rest of the quest was no easier.

This fall and winter, I want to do a complete exploration of TESIV. I've installed dozens of quests and added hours and hours of gameplay, but one thing I really want to do is just work my way though the main quest. I still have fast travel disabled and I'm hoping to immerse myself completely in the game, enjoying it completely one last time before I graduate in May.

~ Dani ~

I too avoid fast-travel. It's horse and/or feet for me all the way. Only difference is that I haven't bothered to disable it. No reason to since I'm not tempted in the least to use it. In any case I DO fast travel once in a blue moon to help diagnose glitches and/or test potential fixes. At those times the game is never saved, thus no plotlines/quests advance. No harm befalls my role-play/immersionist ego. But again, for game-play purposes fast-travel is shunned.

I'm in the apparent minority in not appreciating Morrowind's Silt Striders. Why? I saw them as no more than a gussied-up means of fast travel. I recall the first time I took one. I was all excited, expecting to climb aboard, seat myself, and actually experience high-speed transport, being able to look out a "window" and watch as the scenery sped by far below in real-time. The actual process was underwhelming and a great disappointment. I can't say I NEVER took another Silt Strider voyage, but its use was exceedingly rare.

Now, I did use the services of pay-as-you-go teleportation mages more often, in both Morrowind and Daggerfall, since instantaneous travel in that scenario makes perfect sense.

Yeah, I found Kvatch tough going even without FCOM or its ilk installed. That event is, in my opinion, one of the most challenging in the entire vanilla game. It's worth the effort once all is said and done, but getting there...

-Decrepit-

Second Play-through October 2010 Update with Screen Captures

Now over two months into this play-through, my avatar has become both head of the Fighters Guild and Arch-Mage, the latter a more-or-less political appointment pawned off on him by a rather mediocre and possibly wrongheaded predecessor. He continued working for the Legion and Elder Council thanks to several mods, constantly patrolling roads, collecting taxes, and performing special assignments for Chancellor Ocato. His most recent activities saw him locate and defeat the Duke of Nibenay and his allies, and witness General Mede's ascension to the Imperial throne. As reward, if such it is, he earned a seat on the Council and chambers in the Imperial Palace Councilors Wing.

During his “off-duty” time, he accepted numerous commissions from private citizens. His most praiseworthy non-official accomplishment to date was the deliverance of Weye village from its oppressive overlord, a service for which he was given a fine manor house near the Imperial City.

He now rarely wears the regalia of Crusader, preferring the guise of Champion, which is better suited to his duties as Legionnaire, Tax Collector, and representative of the Council.


The Captures:

Here be what I consider the best of my screen captures this play-through to date. Some will have been seen before, either earlier this thread (I have since removed most of those links) or in the Mod forum Pictures thread. All save the first are shown more-or-less chronologically.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/2ndPlaythroughCover1.jpg My avatar tackled the Oblivion Crisis in the guise of Divine Crusader. This view was taken several game-days after the Crisis ended, well before the Champion's Imperial Dragon armor was available for pickup. If memory serves, it documents his return to the Imperial City following completion of either a Fighters Guild contract or a road patrol for the Council. From here he would stop in Weye and begin freeing that village from its oppressive overlord.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/AnvilLighthousePainting.jpg following the completion of his first road-patrol assignment.

Gathering Holy Relics. http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/GatheringHolyRelics.jpg, the first Relic recovered.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/CrusadersonQuest.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/WestRoadOblivionGate1.jpg This was the first of many wilderness Gates entered and closed.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/Martin2CRT_2.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/In_Oblivion_1.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/BartholmOblivGate1-2.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/BartholmOblivGate1_1.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/OutsideBartholm1.jpg, just prior to entering the city to ask the Count to assist Bruma.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/Spying4Glarthir_1.jpg, or “Why the heck am I doing this?”. Spying on locals for a rather eccentric individual, an episode that ended poorly.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/Anvil_at_Dusk_1.jpg In town to solicit aid for Bruma.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/AnvilOblivionGate1.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/Crowded_Inn_2.jpg

Questing for Martin. http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/CrusaderinMiscarand.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/MartinsLastRide.jpg Escorting Martin to the Imperial Palace as the sun sets on more than Cloud Ruler Temple.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/Martininmarketdistrict1.jpg A final conference in the Market District just prior to entering Green Emperor Way and destiny.

Shunning the guise of Crusader for that of Champion to better fulfill commitments to the Elder Council, http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/TempleRepair1a.jpg before patrolling the road to Anvil.

As directed by the Council, http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/UndercoverfortheCouncil.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/Champion_in_Riverhold-1.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/Champion_in_Arenthia-1.jpg, tasked to locate and dispose of the rebellious Duke of Nibenay.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/BeneathArenthiaPalace.jpg prior to unleashing the Wild Hunt.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn303/Decrepit_Waste/ESIV%20Oblivion/DawnofanEra.jpg General Mede ascends the Imperial throne.


-Decrepit-

Nice stories. I like the color-coded links, too.

Very good stories from everybody. This is exactly what I love about this game and the others in the Elder Scrolls series. I am picking up Oblivion after a pretty long break, and I'm appreciating it a lot more with my new character. Instead of just playing to figure out what's going on everywhere and what I'm supposed to do, I can really focus more on the character and her backstory, etc. Great stuff. Thanks for sharing!

Again, thanks for posting these. Nice screenies. Great roleplay.

~ Dani ~