Here is my story. I'm thankful for anyone patient enough to read it.

I bought Oblivion years ago just after it came out, but I've never managed to finish it. I've made numerous attempts. I don't recall what halted my early games, but I know what stymied my later efforts...I got svcked into the mods. Seeing all those amazing mods and how they enhanced or even redefined Oblivion made me question how I could ever play just a "vanilla" game.

The problem was that my mod-installing intentions got the best of me. I spent weeks pouring over "best mod" lists and learning the diverse and complex installation protocols, from Wyre Bash to Oblivion Mod Manager to Better Oblivion Sorting Software to FCOM Convergence. My folder of mods swelled to gigabytes. And it was all too much. Too much work. Too complex. And, most of all, too much time spent on installing mods when I should have been playing a game. Oh, not to mention the fact that when I finally got all the mods installed, my game ran — miraculously — but it was buggy and crashed often; not an experience one endures for long.

And so Oblivion sat on my shelf gathering dust. Tens of characters and adventures started, not one finished. Then, some time ago I picked up Fallout 3. And, though I was extremely wary of even perusing the community's mods given my Oblivion experience, I did take a peek at the time. Thankfully — probably because the game was relatively new — there were very few mods available at the time, and of those that were, none seemed essential. I also made a rule that I'd never managed to stick to in the past: no character restarts (a.k.a., "recreating"). So I played a vanilla Fallout 3 game, and I loved it. After many months of casual-yet-enjoyable play, I finished it last night with the very first character I "rolled up." And this, coupled with Skyrim's November release, made me think that I've got to return to Oblivion and actually complete it this time.

But, unlike Fallout 3 at the time I began, Oblivion now has thousands of mods of all stripes and colors. I refuse to fall into that trap of mod greed again...more, more, more. I'm just looking for those must-have mods that, by general consensus, the game really shouldn't be played without. That's where, hopefully, this thread and you come in. I need some cool-headed guidance to arrive at a fairly minimalist mod, stable game. This isn't to say I should sidestep an amazing community-crafted-adventure, but it is to say that I don't want to be loading tens of mods. A modest, balanced approach.

My primary interest are mods that substantially improve gameplay. Visual enhancements, a cornucopia of new armor and weapons sets, and other neat but ultimately superficial additions aren't my thing, unless we're talking massive, global improvements that are simple to implement. Mainly, I just want to make sure any frustrations of the original game are eliminated (where possible), things like game difficulty balance is optimized (I like a solid challenge and dislike becoming overpowered), and I don't miss any truly special community content (like a quest that absolutely demands to be played).

Ideas? Thoughts? Recommendations? Your input would be greatly appreciated. I'm really hoping that this post helps me avoid many hours of time spent not actually playing and lets me enjoy this clearly great game to the end, finally.

Thanks for reading.

- ELB

Make sure you grab the unofficial patches to the game and any DLCs you have.

As far as load order goes, BOSS is the main tool that I use.

That's good advice. But I'm sure you're running a number of mods beyond that that you couldn't imagine running without, that, for example, make combat so much more interesting or improve the UI to be leagues better than the original. That's what I'm looking for.

- ELB

I would still recommend a major overhaul mod like Oscuro or Frans because it will balance gameplay in ways you suggest.

Something that is essential is a guard behaviour mod like No Psychic guards.

I would recommend visiting TESNexus and browsing through the gameplay changes mods and ordering it by the number of downloads. This will give a good idea of the most popular gameplay mods.

Generic copy/pastes for these topics... some of it is likely outdated.


What exactly were your frustrations with the vanilla game?

Right off the bat I can think of....

guard mods
put it in its place (kind of a guard mod)
Possibly disguise/undercover mods.
Levelling mods
mercantile level up changes (the vanilla method is horrendous)
possibly scaling mods like OOO

For me I'd go as far to add:
generic largely cosmetic races that have no real impact past like level 10
boring generic quests that offer very little entertainment, thought, or replay value
Combat is also pretty meh, and generic
horrid characters and personalities
weak, annoying magic


So what exactly was it that frustrated you with the vanilla game?

As for quests and general gameplay enhancements. I'm inclinedto recommend the Integration trifecta of
Integration (huge 80+ quests, with 4-5 guilds, 24+ hours of silent dialogue, unique and interesting gameplayandstory elements, etc.)
Race balancing Project (makes the races more diverse, balanced, and interesting. Also adds 5+ lore correct races to chose from)
Less Annoying Magic Experience (makes magic less annoying basically )
Integration requires the other two mods, but you may want to wait a little bit. There's some work being done on two installation options. 1 that would have integration+RBP+LAME all in one esp, and onethat would have Integration with no gameplay changes.

EDIT:
For ui http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10763 is the most popular one.

Combat is a bit harder, because... A lot of the combat mods are rather complex. Like Unnecessary Violence, and Deadly Reflex both have a lot of requirements, technical issues, etc. that might cause you to suffer crashes and stuff again.

First, thanks for the responses, folks. I really appreciate it.

I'll try to list my criticisms and preferences in a way that will be useful in helping others guide me (in no particular order):

• Melee combat: Boring in the vanilla game. This is why I preferred magic.
  
• Archery: Potentially fun, but it seemed too limited to rely on.
  
• Stealth: Fun, though I don't know how well implemented it actually is in the vanilla game.
  
• Magic: I've heard mages are "underpowered," but the variety and opportunity to expand one's repertoire made this my bread and butter. I see myself continuing with magic, though if a mod makes melee enjoyable, I could see doing both.
  
• Spells: I like having a good number of spell choices, but I don't need everything under the sun. If there are add-on spells that really add utility to the game or help balance game challenge, I'd like them.
  
• Stealing: I don't plan on getting by on thieving. Not my style. That said, I do want to experience most/all of the guild quests, so if this is necessary, I'll have to rethink this...and I'm sure poorly implemented guard behavior would bother me.
  
• Enemy AI: This is very important to me. I appreciate any game where the enemies act smart. Examples: running away when seriously injured, mages keeping their distance, archers using cover. I love that stuff.
  
• UI: The original UI was okay, but I've experienced better.
  
• Hotkeys: I recall feeling that there were too few.
  
• Henchmen: I know that some mods allow for henchmen. I do find working with them fun, provided their AI is decent and they're not always getting stuck and in the way, etc.
  
• Conversation: I found the mini-game to increase an NPC's attitude towards me really tiresome.
  
• Alchemy: Running around the countryside gathering ingredients everywhere you look is extremely dull for me. I have no intention of pursuing this with my character.
  
• Challenge: Game balance and a consistent challenge are some of the most important factors to me in any game. Being underpowered is terribly frustrating, and I hate relying on unrealistic tactics to get through a tough encounter (like downing 17 heal potions). Being overpowered is possibly worse, as you stop caring and just move through the game purely to complete it. This happened to me at the very end of Fallout 3. Thankfully, it didn't last too long.
  
• Mod Quests: I often find that games are too long for me, and I get tired of them before completing them. So, I'm not looking to add 100 hours of extra content. However, if there are some add-on quests that are really fun, I'm all for it. That's the point of gaming, after all. I also appreciate a well-designed dungeon crawl.
  
• Visual and Sound Enhancements: Generally, these don't make the difference as to whether a game is fun or not for me. So, while it adds to immersion to have great weather and lighting, pretty environments and a great soundtrack, these aren't worth spending a lot of mod-installation time on for me. If they can be added in easily, and make significant global changes, I'm game. For example, the Oblivion faces could be much better. I don't care about my own character's look much at all. And I'll admit to being a svcker for good spell effects, though I don't like casting a number of buffs on myself and having my character light up like Christmas for the duration...I'd prefer them to be subtle.
  
• Player Houses and Armor/Weapon Sets and Such: I really don't care about this stuff. Most games have plenty of variety for me.
  
• Bartering: I think I found the constant price-adjusting mechanic in Oblivion to be similar to the conversation mini-game...irritating.
  
• NPC dialogue: I was basically happy with this in Oblivion, but I did find that the same lines could be repeated over and over, which gets irritating.
  
• Realism: I like realism mods that improve the challenge of the game, like having a cooldown on healing potions or some such. But realism mods that implement, say, eating to maintain one's energy is, for me, going too far.
  
• More Locations: Unnecessary, unless they're mindblowing. I'm sure the vanilla game has enough places to go for me.

That's all I can think of for now. Hopefully, that will help.

- ELB

For Melee - try Deadly Reflex.
Archery - Duke Patrick's Combat Archery is what you want
Stealth - there are a couple - Stealth Overhaul OBSE, Sneaking Detection Recalibrated, SHOUT + Hear No Evil... try each one out individually on a test playthrough first to see if it does what you want.
Magick - Less Annoying Magic Experience (LAME), Supreme Magicka, Fearsome Magickia - I believe that covers the majority of overhauls. Maybe try Fizzle as well.
Spells - see above
Stealing - Reneer's Guard Overhaul is configurable and very good... also SHOUT + Hear No Evil does this well also. I'd also look at Enhanced Grabbing, which is also very good.
Enemy AI - In addition to Reneer's and a Stealth Mod, try Duke Patrick's Near Misses alert NPCs and Fresh kills alert NPCs - I think OOO/MMM/TIE or an overhaul will also make enemies smarter (in addition to other things)
UI: Darnified or DarkUI Darnified. Also all of TheNiceOne's mods - Map Marker Overhaul, Enhanced Hotkeys, etc. Also pick up QZ Easy Menus, A to Take All, and Toggleable Quantity Prompt.
Hotkeys - Enhanced Hotkeys by TheNiceOne
Conversation - Persuasion Overhaul OBSE
Alchemy - So many mods here. COBL provides a ton of ingredients and you should use that even if you don't use Alchemy.
Visual - So many mods as well. TNR makes people look better.
Bartering - Enhanced Economy by TheNiceOne
Realism - All Natural by Arthmoor and co.

Alchemy: Gather yee rosebuds makes gather alchemy ingredients much less of a hassle.

Spells: Midas Magic

Henchman/companions. Vilja is good. Theres also Ruined Tail, Baddy, and Nessa( was taken down by the author a long time ago ).... I rank companions primarily on two factors. Personality and functionality. It the companion someone cool that I would actually want to spend time with? And does the Companion have unique interactions, ai, tactics, options, functions, etc. A lot of companion mods are just brain dead slaves ready to serve your every desire, and then of those most of the ones with actual personality break down to generic: warrior/[censored]/campy/extremely loyal for no good reason/loves you for no good reason/etc.

Challenge: Mods like LAME and Deadly Reflex will make you more powerful, but they will also make enemies's melee and magic attacks more powerful as well. Add that in with a scaling overhaul like OOO and you have a pretty challenging, deadly, and realistic game.

quests: Well Integration is rather long, but the interesting gameplay and story components really svck you in and make you lose track of the time and enormity of it all. It's not like the vanilla game where you go. "Okay, that's one Oblivion gate down... now 7 more to go for all the other towns *sigh*" Plus there's nothing pressuring you into doing the quests. Integration is as the name implies.Everything is seamlessly integrated into the game world and most of the quests you can just ignore if you get stuck, go do whatever else you want to, and somehow you happen to wander onto the solution later.

Ivellon is a pretty interesting medium lengthed dungeon crawl type quest.
The Blackwood Company is pretty good if you don';t like the fighters guild
Lost Spires is often recommended and... has dungeon crawls.
Maybe check the http://knol.google.com/k/toql-the-oblivion-quest-list# for small/medium quests... Though the big mods aren't all really "big". Some have like only 1 or 2 short quests.

SOUND: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26892 maybe?

visual: forthe magic effects issue maybe look into http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/search.php?name=magic&scid=20&author=&mname=&desc=&size1=&size2=&downloads1=&downloads2=&udate1_day=&udate1_month=&udate1_year=&udate2_day=&udate2_month=&udate2_year=&ldate1_day=&ldate1_month=&ldate1_year=&ldate2_day=&ldate2_month=&ldate2_year=&endorsemants=&images=&readme=&advltonly=&opensource=&page=5&orderby=downloads&order=DESC
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5138
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22119
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=30635 ( this one in particular was what Iwas searching for)

NPC dialogue: Forgot to mention Kragenirs Death Quest in the quest part. it's kind of like Integration in how it adds a whole bunch of quests with no real pressure or urgency.The main difference is Kragenir's adds a bunch of quests all over where as Integration's come up slowly as you progress through the quest line(s)... Also Kragenir's aren't very immersion or lore friendly, and the gameplay elements are much the same as vanilla oblivion (ie: dungeon crawls, fetch quests, collecting, etc.)
Anyway on the topic of NPC dialogue Kragenirs has a separate esp file in it that adds 1 or 2 topics to NPCs out in settlements and such.

more locations: Try unique landscapes, and maybe the Elsweyer mod.

What you both (Gyshall and Phoenix) suggested all sound great — and I am familiar with a fair number of the ones you mentioned (though not likely the latest versions). That said, how complex is this install going to be? To combine even a select number of the mods you mentioned sounds like a major project. Am I wrong? Are there fairly straightforward instructions out there for all this stuff.

Last time around I become familiar with a lot of the installations methods and helper programs. Nevertheless, meshing it all together was no picnic, and, ultimately, it resulted in problems that made the game unplayable. Is what you suggest in a standard loadout somewhere? Have things become easier? I know that when I tried FCOM Convergence last time around it was a nightmare, and the required reading was something over 100 pages. I honestly don't have the patience for that.

It's a shame that nobody, to my knowledge, ever made an essential mod pack in one convenient package.

I need to balance making the game better with an unwillingness to spends days getting the mods loaded.

Any advice to this end would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

ELB

FCOM hasn't gotten easier. But, if BOSS wasn't around when you played before, it will make things a bit easier than you remember. Most of the mods mentioned above you should just be able to dump in your data folder, use BOSS to order your mods in wryebash, then make your bash patch. Then you'll be ready to go. Without FCOM, or trying to merge mods, it should be terribly simple. And stable if you aren't loading too many (or conflicting mods).

The mod recommendations above are all good, so I'll just chime in with the ones I really like:

-Duke Patrick's Combat Archery. This is, hands down, the best archery mod made for Oblivion. I believe he is reworking his old melee combat mods, too, so be on the lookout for those (maybe bad advice, since you don't want to get obsessed with mods).

-Enhanced Economy. This will take care of that bartering issue. You can completely remove interactive bartering so you don't have to mess with it.

-Tears of the Fiend. My favorite quest mod. It may, possibly, be a little bit longer that what you're looking for, since you want to actually get through the main quest. However, it is absolutely awesome. For perspective, I'm currently trying to work my way through the main quest after a few years of avoiding anything to do with it. It is a drag, absolutely boring. But, this mod I could go back to anytime and be blown away. There are some other quest mods that are highly rated, but none of them have stuck with me like this one (I've heard great things about Integration; haven't played through it, though). In fact, now that you've got me thinking about it, I may just have to play it again. It's been a few years.

I've seen torrents with prepackaged mods. I think they are frowned upon in the modding community, though, so I don't think you'll find them on tesnexus or anywhere like that.

Excellent advice, dike_j. Thank you.

I like the suggestions that have been made thus far, so my next move will likely be listing them out, or at least the ones I view as essential. Then I can gather opinions as to whether they should all work in harmony. Regardless, it looks like I'll be installing OBSE, Wyre Bash, the mod manager, etc. And I'll have to get back up to speed on how to use them. Perhaps strangely, one of the most confusing steps last time around was actually converting certain mods into omods. While many are straightforward, some of the larger mods (like MMM) come with a good number of subfolders and optional files, and it can be difficult to ascertain what is meant to be loaded with what. I recall that took a lot of reading, and even then the instructions were sometimes less than clear.

Thanks again, and happy to hear more thoughts.

- ELB

Time for something different

If you have never completed the game without mods, you really should do yourself the favor of doing so. You said you enjoyed Fallout 3 without a ton of mods, frankly I think you'd enjoy Oblivion as well. Though take it for what it's worth, I happened to LIKE the main quest and thought it was pretty well done. I don't get it when people say it's a drag. Other than the Oblivion realms it keeps its pace well enough.

Of course if you don't want to do that and need something more, it doesn't sound to me like you'd want an FCOM style game given your previous experience. Maybe you'd prefer a lighter overhaul like TIE?

I also recommend playing the game without mods if you have never done so. It's much easier to figure out what you do and don't like if you've played "vanilla" at least once. As Arthmoor said, the main quest isn't bad and if you combine that with one or two guilds, it is quite a satisfying game.

That is a rather good point. If you liked Fallout3 without a ton of mods, you would probably like Oblivion without a ton of mods. In fact, it sounds like you do what I often do: Keep adding mods to make the perfect game until you burn your interest out for a while. You might be best off just getting the unofficial patches and playing, doing your best to avoid mod sites until you are finished. You can always do a quick search if there is something that really annoys you.

The main quest probably isn't as bad as I made it out to be. My first play through was so long ago, I don't really remember my reaction to it. You might find it quite enjoyable.

Hmm, what do you mean by "to the end"? Do you mean you're intending to focus on the main quest, or do you mean that you intend to try to complete every quest in the game, explore every dungeon, etc.?

The way that mods work with Oblivion is such that if you find a lack while you're playing, you can generally add in mods to an existing savegame (although this a case where learning to use Wrye Bash really helps). So if you start with a minimal install and decide that you want more spells, or a companion, or whatever, you can add that in fairly seamlessly. Likewise, because so many of the mods out there focus on the game outside the main questlines, you can install and play most quest mods, new towns, dungeons, etc., after finishing the main questlines, if you decide you want to keep playing. I think a lot of people here don't look at Oblivion as a game to finish--part of its appeal is that there isn't really an "end," there is always new content being added.

So that said, I'd suggest a fairly minimal set of mods if you want a tight focus on completing the main questlines, without spending dozens of hours setting things up and without being distracted by non-vanilla content:

- Unofficial patches
- OBSE (script extender, needed for other mods)
- OSR (stutter remover, for smoother gameplay)
- FastExit 2 (makes quitting a much less frustrating experience)
- nGCD (takes the hassle out of figuring out Oblivion's bizarre leveling)
- Enhanced Economy
- Enhanced Hotkeys
- Hear No Evil
- Duke Patrick's Combat Archery (if you're interested in archery)

Based on what you've written I would suggest avoiding any of the big overhauls (OOO, Frans, FCOM, TIE) because they basically take it as an element of realism that your character will be underpowered to start with, and shouldn't be able to get far into any of the questlines until you're much more skilled.

Give something like that list a try, plus or minus a few, and then if you're not having fun, come back here and tell us why. Personally I had a lot more dislikes about the vanilla game than you did, so run a lot more mods in order to enjoy the game, but the right balance is entirely a matter of taste.

Finally, do not forget that the game has a difficulty setting. Start with something midway on the easier side, and adjust as necessary.

P.S. Since you say you're planning to install Wrye Bash, there's really no need to also install OBMM and bother with OMODs. Bash has an installation facility that can handle the vast majority of the mods out there.

Personally, I am a big fan of Kraegnir's Death Quest. It adds so many little things that I consider it a must have. And it has not had any negative impact on stability in my game. I am in the same boat as you. Trying to get a stable game by cutting back on some mods.

Even if you decide to do a "vanilla-like" playthrough of Oblivion, it's crazy to not at least fix bugs, and do minor tweaks. The absolute minimal sensible play, IMHO, is what DreamKing posted before me.

I would throw in some suggestions for a minimal modded setup though:

• Darn UI or Darnified Dark UI - replace the default large, lo-res consolized menus
  
• Supreme Magicka/LAME - required, IMHO, if you want to play a mage, otherwise optional
  
• Realistic Leveling - optional competitor for nGCD, both are good
  
• Persuasion Overhaul OBSE - you said you hated the persuasion mini-game
  
• Quest Award Leveller - quest items level up with you

Not-Quite Minimal Options:

• Better Cities - Some FPS loss
  
• Unique Landscape - vastly improved landscapes at the cost of FPS
  
• Drop-Lit Torches OBSE - configurable torches, how they should be
  
• Harvest Flora - a requirement if you like alchemy, IMHO
  
• Realistic Health - immersive health indicators, such as blurred or tunnel vision
  
• Realistic Fatigue - I love this mod, makes fatigue a real factor in combat
  
• Real Sleep Extended - Great dynamic timescale (optional), penalizes you when you go for long periods without sleep

Of all the mods above, I think only Better Cities and Unique Landscapes introduce any real risk or require any effort to install. I wouldn't play a game without the above + patches + most of DreamKing's suggestions. FCOM would also be in there, but it's one of the most difficult installs and introduces a lot of risk for compatibility, crashes, etc.

I'm going to compile a list of the various mods that appeal based on recommendations and then I'll post it and see what folks think.

As for not having as many complaints about the vanilla game as others have — that's because I never made it very far in the game. So I don't know what to criticize.

And while I understand the idea of modding your savegame as you go, dynamically addressing issues as they arise, I feel that this breaks immersion and means you tend to have to suffer for a time before you realize that you're suffering (like becoming fed up with the leveling convention).

Thanks,

ELB

First, thanks again to all the contributors thus far.

I went through the various posts and compiled the following list (many of which were at least vaguely from my past experiences with Oblivion mods), in no particular order:

• Enhanced Economy
  
• Unofficial Patch
  
• Better Oblivion Sorting Software (BOSS)
  
• Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE)
  
• Wyre Bash
  
• Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM)
  
• Less Annoying Magicka (LAME)
  
• Supreme Magicka
  
• Fearsome Magicka
  
• Deadly Reflex
  
• Duke Patrick's Combat Archery
  
• Reneer's Guard Overhaul
  
• Dark UI Darnified
  
• Map Marker Overhaul
  
• Enhanced Hotkeys
  
• A to Take All
  
• Persuasion Overhaul OBSE
  
• Common Oblivion (COBL)
  
• Tamriel NPCs Revamped (TNR)
  
• Oblivion Stutter Remover (OSR)
  
• FastExit 2
  
• Hear No Evil
  
• Realistic Leveling or nGCD
  
• Quest Award Leveller
  
• Drop Lit Torches
  
• Windom Earle's Oblivion Crash Prevention System

OPTIONAL

• Race Balancing Project (RBP)
  
• Stealth Overhaul OBSE
  
• Enhanced Grabbing
  
• QZ Easy Menus
  
• Toggleable Quantity
  
• All Natural
  
• Vilja or Ruined Tail (companion)
  
• Integration
  
• Lost Spires
  
• Duke Patrick's Magic You Can Believe In
  
• Tears of the Fiend
  
• Tamriel Immersion Experience (TIE)
  
• FCOM, or just OOO
  
• Kraegnir's Death Quest
  
• Unnecessary Violence
  
• Brashers Oblivion Overhaul

Perhaps more than I'd like, but worthy. Eager to hear folks' thoughts on the above. Are they worth it? Known conflicts? Missing items? Mods that do the same thing? Any more quest mods that are truly fantastic?

Also, I'd like to hear input on leveling mods. That's one thing that I left out of my early post about preferences and dislikes. The vanilla Oblivion leveling system bothered me. I hated the idea of, for example, casting a spell over and over deliberately just to raise the stat. That's artificial and unfun. Perhaps Realistic Leveling or nGCD will fix that, though it's not that I want to level very slowly, which will likely prolong my game beyond my liking, just that I want the leveling experience to be balanced and not something I have to metagame to suit my tastes.

Thanks,

ELB

That's a pretty strong collection of mods to be going on with. I would not use Deadly reflex or unnecessary violence personally because I had problems with them but that's a personal preference. I prefer Duke Patrick's mods. You list some big quest mods. Two more you should definitely try are Heart of the Dead and Verona House Bloodlines. I think they are the best. Have fun!

Does Duke Patrick have a good melee mod?

- ELB

That's a good question. He did produce an excellent mod called SCA Melee. As he recently told me on these forums however he has withdrawn the mod because he thought it could break games through technical problems. The mod is still availlable on Planet Elder Scrolls because they refused to remove it when he asked them to. You can find it there but you use it at your own risk. I also know that he is working on a grand combat mod which includes many of his other mods and an improved melee mod. I can't wait to use it myself.

Another leveling mod you might want to consider is OblivionXP. Andalaybay has taken over updating that one and it works nicely too. As to which leveling mod you choose, it depends on your play style.

I'd say that my playstyle, such as it is, is pretty traditional. I'm not looking to get tons of XP by non-combat or non-quest-completing means. I tend to let the main quest drive me and then pick up side quests along the way as I encounter them or if an area catches my eye. I don't tend to do random exploring just to explore or because I want to reveal every section of the map.

Fallout 3 was a very successful experience for me because I was resolved to play it organically, just as Bethesda suggested you should. Since in that game your father was a scientist and you grew up in the relative comforts of a working shelter, my character reflected that. He was intelligent and perceptive, good at science and such, reluctant to steal, but not physically powerful or hardy or especially agile. Once forced out of the vault, I began to raise his stealth skills to reflect the fact that an intelligent kid would much more likely do a lot of clever hiding than fighting. Then, as the story progressed and he had to rely on found guns more and more, I raised his small arms skill. Same with everything else. I played the game on "hard" (one notch below "veteran," I believe), and it ended up being very well balanced for me nearly to the end. And while I generally let the main quest be my guide, I frequently was diverted not by some vague notion to explore, but because I was driven by various needs...perhaps ammo or cash or following some rumor I'd heard. All in all, it worked out brilliantly and resulted in a memorable game experience.

My past attempts at Oblivion were never so successful. I ended up aimless and "metagaming" overmuch (raising NPCs' attitudes towards me because I should, checking with every NPC to see if they had a quest to offer)...and this just wasn't fun. And the idea of attacking everything with my sword just to raise my skill, or purposely getting hurt so I could heal as often as possible, is anathema to me.

It also doesn't help that I have no sense of The Elder Scrolls lore at all. If there's a good site where I can find a synopsis (hopefully, not 20 pages worth, just the general story arc), that'd be very much appreciated.

Not sure if this reveals what leveling system I should use, but hopefully it grants some insight into what has worked for me (in Fallout 3, at least). I intend to replicate this to whatever degree possible with all RPGs in the future.

- ELB

i now the feeling of getting svck in to mods
i think every one here is in that the same

but oblivion is great game if the bugs are out
so patching and the unofficial bug patch would be great ,
after that just keep it with some good texture overhauls , there are few good one out now.
Then you can also take nice body mod, there are tons now
Far the rest i would take cobl and Vilja as companion.
And then .............. play and enjoy

after you have enjoy the game you can always go back to have fun with downloading in making omods are bains
working around with loadorder for few hours, play the game for 2 hours and start again with installing more