I've been seeing a lot of talk about it lately, so I think I'm going to try doing Dead is Dead for my next character. I'm just wondering, do any of you have any tips for staying alive, or exceptions to the dead is dead rule? I ask because I know of several quests and dungeons that can put you in some pretty hairy situations

Well, there is a discussion going about it here : http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1111157-mistakes-in-dead-is-dead/

But, breifly. Dead is Dead is an arbitrary restriction on QuickLoading, a restriction on death by mundane causes.
By Mundane Causes, I mean:

• Death at the hands of an enemy stronger than yourself
  
• Death by being killed by traps (either Oblivion or Ayleid)
  
• Death by falling a very long way
  
• Death by falling into Lava
  
• Death by exploding Oblivion mine
  
• Death by drowning
  
• Death by Imperial Guards
  
• Death by NPC's after aggravating them
  
• Death by poison/disease
  
• Death by vampire sun damage

The list goes on and on -- the various discussions come about when stranger things pop up. Basically, I would reload whenever I die due to something that is out of my control.
Death by the above list is death preventable -- everything there could be prevented.
If however, you are killed by getting stuck on a wall, or by falling into a black void thanks to a door that goes nowhere, or killed by a falling spear etc....something a little dodgy and buggy, you could probably reload.

Some people may wonder why you bother with DisD. Firstly, it gives battles a real edge -- forcing you to block, dodge, retreat and heal realistically, rather than charging blindly content in the knowledge that if you get hit by an arrow, then you can reload. It makes Oblivion feel more exciting and gives you an adrenaline rush.

It is important to note that you have to make your own rules when playing the game with a mod. If you die because of a giant yellow ! mark obscured the view of the Minotaur, then you could probably reload, or else abuse the mod creator.

DisD can really be played however you want, from extreme hardcoe (like old RPG's like Nethack) or more casual, like only dieing after level 10, once you have gotten to grips with your character and his abilites.

lol just realised this wasn't brief after all :facepalm:

Sorry

You'll need to be more than a One-Trick-Pony. Being a pure, hack-n-slash for instance is the best way I know of to die early and ignobly.

Alchemy is your friend. If your character is a Warrior, you'll need poisons. Shield potions can augment your armor; they don't break down from combat. Unlike spells, potions are not hampered by wearing armor. They simply time out at which point you take another one. Restore Health and Restore Magicka are two more biggies. Alchemy is the lifes blood of a Mage. Thieves and Archers couldn't survive without poisons.

You will need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent. For example, Trolls regenerate health. Thats why they hit and then back off. It gives them time to heal. The answer is poison; the damage that keeps on giving.

But that's not enough to save you. There are times when you need help. A summoned assistant can take some of the heat from a tough opponent while you take a moment to heal or run.

Oh yes, there are times when you will have to run away. For that you will need invisibility either as a potion or spell. To make an invisibility potion you will need to be an expert in Alchemy. At level 8, my new glass cannon can make invisibility potions.

As for exceptions, I've had a few crashes and coffee spills that I've reloaded for. If I make a mistake and just hit the wrong key at the wrong time I considered that one of those unfortunate accidents that life hands you and my character will just have to live with the consequences.

At over 700 hours of gameplay Severus Snape, my custom Alchemist died in an epic battle against 12 (I counted) Boss monsters. At level 50 they are all Boss and they come in large packs. He had fought such battles before and won. He had gone out to clear the street before escorting Martin during the last battle of the MQ. Seeing the city guards being overwhelmed he dove into the middle of the pack knowing that his powerful defensive ability could hold up while the guards killed the monsters. Ringed around he was so rapidly pummeled that he was unable to cast or slash. He was not worried and knew that he could withstand attack for a long time until he saw the guards had disengaged and were now standing outside the circle doing nothing. His natural cynicism and distrust of all human and mer confirmed, he decided now that they were unworthy to be saved. I watched in shock as he lowered his guard and began his last rites to the Divines. My mind was screaming "NO! NO! NO! You can still win this fight." The one thing above all others I tried for in the game was that each character be true to themselves. Even before he died, I was weeping. Thinking back, he had many glorious moments but his death was the crowning moment because he was true to himself to the end.

How sad But still a great story

"Dead is dead" is basically no different than most any other playthrough, you just have to remain aware of yourself and your surroundings more, and don't take unnecessary risks thinking, "Oh, I'll just reload if it doesn't work." Continue to save often as you would any other time, but only reload if the game glitches or crashes. No "saved by the console" and the like.

I've only done it a couple times (and in Morrowind, where dying was more common), but found I get attached to those characters differently -- it's not because I've followed them through many adventures, but because every moment with them is one more moment of being alive.

You can also pay attention to possible exceptions to the rule of DiD...for example, if you die because of some Real Life™ distraction, you have the right to reload. So don't allow this gameplay to stop regularly saving your progress.

stock up on potions
i find it easy do sneak
and don't but security as one of the major skill just get the the skeleton key at the start

Sometimes I claim to be playing dead is dead, but really am not.

I always save when my character wakes up in the morning, so If I die in battle somewhere, I reload the save where he just woke up, and pretend it was all a dream.

Kinda like the movie Next, in that sense. The stuff we can learn from Nicholas Cage... endless...

Mine tend to be more like Groundhog Day -- just let me die! :laugh:

As i said in the other D is D thread - I like the game to FEEL real, and in real life there's no reset button........

having said that, i will re-load if its a programme crash, or if that 'A Bomb' glitch starts up, freezing vital animations and preventing quest completions. Getting stuck on scenary - well, that depends. if its a glitch or bad programming that sees her stuck in a rock for example, then a re-load is in order, but if I got her stuck, say in a vee shaped rock crevice or where a steep slope meets a vertical wall, then thats MY fault and in real life, getting stuck in an unclimbable hole miles from help would of course kill you - so then Dead is Dead.

knowing how much effort and time has gone into nursing my level 33 char through tough battles and dangerous confontations makes me genuinly fear for her safety when exploring new dungeons - i always say that i just can't re-start and go through it all again for the umpteenth time - and yet, somehow, the oblivion addiction gets me and i do the whole darn thing again from scratch.

My current char 'Vulnavia' is an Altmer mage, so dangerously vulnerable to necromancer and battlemage destruction spells - but with almost 500 health and a range of spell resistant equipment she is getting much easier to play. she's been 'alive' since 3rd July . this is a dangerous time however, because easy kills and high protection lulls one into a false sense of security and an impression of invulnerability - thats all to easily proved wrong by careless adventuring and taking on too much at once. I am slowly learning the harsh lessons of playing Dead is Dead - strong self discipkine is vital if you character is to survive above the first few levels. But, the rewards are well worth the effort.

my best tips for this play style.......... go slow, or at least with caution. don't rush into a fight, consider your chances and your strengths and their weaknesses. be warned, invisibility is not a magic sure save - enemies still do couple of hopeful swipes before stopping to wonder where you went, and those swipes in a confined space can take you down. don't run like a lunatic through forest and hills - that last bush you lept through may have an unexpected and fatal drop behind it. be very vigilant when fighting and moving backwards - many times i've died simply dropping off a ledge by accident whilst playing sword and board. when you have to enter a bad ass lair of unknown risk, be very well prepared - mages should fire a shield spell and use all means to be already protected against magical attack BEFORE clicking on the 'open door' icon. always equip any defensive rings/amulets/armours before entering the danger zone - sounds obvious, but i've died in seconds, before i could make rational decisions, just cos the room i entered unexpectedly contained several necromancers/ vampire mages etc - you click 'open door' and in two seconds its wham! Bam! game over man! Don't assume you're cat-like reflexes will save the day either - you can be button mashing franticley, but if you char has been staggered by an enemy blow your char won't respond! lions and bears are particularly good at this. oh and don't run from a close proximity lion attack if you a slow/low level (eg lv 12) - they are quicker than you and continue to inflict severe and quickly fatal damage from behind as you run - so face them,use block, health potions and poisons to fight back. tip: potions work immediately, spells take time too cast and can be disrupted by attack. so if you health is dangerously low use some of the huge number of strong health potions that you always carry.... right! same for invisibility, the spell is great, but keep at least a weak invisibilkity potion on hand for instant response. When running in panic in a cave or ruin, whilst under 'soon-to-be fatal' attack, do quickly go into map mode - to avoid going down a dead end - it also gives you a few moments time to think clearly and choose your best options. aim for +5 endurance attrbute increases - cos increased health is the best survivability tool.

Re-loading for me now simply feels like an easy cheat - ultimatly self defeating. Hell - to be brutally blunt here, any five year old can fully complete Oblivion if they can just keep saving and reloading around every dark corner.......

.....................Dead Is Dead is the only way to Live................

this just made my day that is a great movie and this thread has convinced me to play dead is dead i look foward to the challenge (i will probably be killed before the end of last seed but oh well.)

I only save when I'm in towns or a safe place (and of course when I'm about to stop playing). This adds to the suspense. And I don't use my map; only road signs. This way I can actually get lost.

I only recently reinstalled Oblivion and decided I was going to play a DisD character.

It really is way way more fun, almost to the point where I'm thinking I might play my first TESV character (whenever it comes out) with the higher stakes.

I allowed myself reloads on crashes and used fast travel only in exterior stuck-in-a-mesh situation. I've never had an interior stuck situation.

Spoken like a true son of Cyrodiil. :foodndrink:

Only time I would counter the DisD rule is if encountering a glitch or some random crap that just happens on accident like mis pressing a button or something. those are the only true exceptions to me. One time I acciedently hit the jump buttton on dive rock and.........yeah.(looks around so no one sees) reload!

I'm playing Dead is Dead with my Dunmer Mage and Argonian Wise Woman characters - whether I'll still be playing Dead is Dead when they actually die is still up in the air....

I did have one of those moments where I save and then do something crazy (shot Chancellor Ocato from the upper floor of the Palace and chased him into the street), I dont think they count either.

Hey! As others have noted, it's such an adrenaline rush playing this way. You really get the sense your character is precious!

Like a few others, I'll allow reloads if my character dies while the game is glitching out.

But some tips for the OP. #1> Slow down! Alot of my characters survive countless traps simply because they walk alot. If they ran more often, they'd wind up getting hit by falling logs or a spike trap.

...And #2> plan ahead! ALWAYS have some sort of potion that'll get your character out of a bind. Invisibility and/or potions that allow you to walk on water are good examples. If your character is magic-oriented, invisibility spells are great, too! Healing potions and/or spells are also good to have around.

IF the going is getting too tough, RUN! ...If you can. There's no embarassment in running. I know certain quests won't allow you to run, but any other time, just get out of there!

I'd advise playing on normal difficulty, and be careful.

Don't install mods that add giant dragons who can stop time and summon fireball storms. Your chance of survival when you find one of them is basically 0

Hey! I do this all the time and dont play dead is dead :facepalm:

Last night i was running near Fort Black Boot, when an arrow from nowhere killed me. Turned out there was a skeleton archer nearby. So my suggestion is to not use the damage multiplier mod :hehe:

Sudden deaths are why i won't ever attempt dead is dead, but good luck with your attempt.

just a quick question: what are you supposed to do with your character save files after you die?

I'm assuming I'm supposed to just delete it but i just want to make sure. As you can probably tell i haven't done DiD before so I might try it sometime soon.

It's your game. Best to do what suites you. You might want to keep the last save just to refer back to see how many hours you played. You don't have to load the game for that. I personally don't do anything special but over time as my system is updated the save files disappear. I no longer have any save files from my longest lasting character. I played that character for more than a year.

Some of my earlier dead characters I've deleted all their saves, which kept me from keeping their games going. I mean, that's as final as you can get, ya know? :whistling: But I kept the saves for my latest dead character. She didn't actually die, actually...Martin did! And her game got all buggy anyways. Couldn't open doors.

Death by chocalate

The character I had die in DisD I deleted. But I keep pretty much all the other saves. I have a directory one level above the Oblivion Save folder that has sub-directories for each character. Inside those, I sort them by groups of 100. When one numerical folder gets full (e.g., 1 to 099 or 100 to 199) I archive the folder inside the characters directory then delete the original folder. I thus have virtually ALL my saves for all my characters (with the exception of that one) but with a min of HD space used.

Initially, I just left ALL save files in the main Save folder. Eventually when I got up to ~1000 save files, I found the game started to show pretty serious performance issues which moving out all those save files seems to have helped with. I generally only let 50 to 100 save files accumulte in the default folder before I move them all to the storage folders.