I'd like to present a recently released mod here.
It is not a beta version, but as it is the first mod I have published, I am very interested in as many players' opinions as possible.
So feel free to check it out, play it, rate it, and give me feedback!

The Blade of the Haunted
A Sword Quest

Title Image: http://www.chatbreak.de/oblivion/BoT_title_JV.jpg New Poster by Nichi21!
Trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va1MUB_4C88&feature=player_embedded
On TESNexus: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=33089

In this quest you will pick up the trail of an old legend from the Ayleid times of the 1st Era - a legend nowadays known only as a fairy-tale, a children's bedtime story called "Aaro and Dundellon".
Follow the footsteps of this legend and prove yourself worthy, and you will gain a long-forgotten powerful sword, the so-called "Blade of the Haunted".

This quest isn't easy (at least I think so)! It does not always work along the standard mechanisms. Instead, it demands some decent experience in playing Oblivion, as well as some fun in meeting unusual challenges!
Simply finding that sword won't be the solution! You will face a completely unexpected threat that needs to be overcome
Will you be able to defeat an ancient curse that has been lurking behind that old legend? Can you play the necessary role to escape from that evil trap?

The whole plot should take you at least 5-10 hours of gameplay, depending on your style of playing.
The sword itself provides some powerful abilities that go beyond usual magic weapons, so it should be a satisfying reward for the pain (apart from the fun of playing the quest, of course).

Keeping in mind "immersiveness", I tried to respect some design principles to make the quest more challenging and entertaining:

• You should have some fun in reading books, which means actually *reading* them (not just opening them and then waiting for some window message to explain everything to you).
  
• There are no map markers. Any location can be found by reading books, talking etc.
  
• Journal entrys will never tell you what you are *expected* to do! Instead, they only summarize what you have learned by yourself (always consider the journal to be your diary, not a "quest guide"!).
  
• I tried to make very spare use of "quest items" (i.e. items that can't be dropped). So nearly everything can be dropped, sold, eaten (or whatever). Always be careful about what to give away!

I recommend to play with a mid-levelled character (i.e. around 10-15), though lower and higher levels (up to level 35, roughly) have been tested as well and should work fine. Keep in mind that the "reward" (i.e. the blade) will level up together with you afterwards, so it doesn't matter at which time you complete the quest.

Enjoy!
jaime74

Another quest mod! Me loves quests - will try once I get back home.

Congrats on the relz :celebration:

EDIT: Can't view the trailer at work so can't tell, but is the quest reward sword balanced with FCOM or OOO? I don't want another super-powerful kill-all sword...

Seems really nice. I liked the dream scenes (?) in the trailer a lot. Downloading now. Thanks for the release! :foodndrink:

Nice trailer!

Downloading.

:foodndrink:

Regards,

Hem

Looks amazing. Definently going to try it.

Me too! That is, I'm going to dl it. Thanks!

Hi anithinks,

first, I can reassure you... I don't like such super-powerfull kill-all things either! I believe that I have done my best to *not* create one

In my vision the sword is meant to be a weapon
- of elegant, lightweight style rather than yet another "super-giant plastic toy"
- that is not too tough, that levels up together with the player, and that should not break the game balance
- that brings a balance combination of style, mediocre strength and story background.

In short terms: It is meant to be immersive and especially attractive for immersive, lore- and balance-oriented players (like I think to be one;))

Actually, the majority of the user feedback indicates that it might be even a bit too weak, especially for high levels!

I have tested it together with OOO (not FCOM) and tried to find a propriate balance. I am sure that there are many much more powerful blades out there, but the Blade of the Haunted should still be a good "long-time" companion for players looking for a good balance of power and look&feel... at least that's my idea, though I am only a "medium experienced" modder, so nothing is perfect.

I have started a discussion at the mod's TESNexus page. If you play this mod and think aftwerwards that the sword could need some more or less power, just post it there, or send me a PM. I am thinking about delivering one or more optional patches for increasing/decreasing the sword's attributes later on.

Thanks for playing!
jaime

I like your design philosophy jaime74, will definitely dl your mod, and let you know once I get the sword (it looks like a dangerous and challenging quest there bliviongate: )

That was awesome, the best i have ever played

Just be sure once you make it to getting the blade, to be sure you have a sleep, it wont make you level up. If you dont sleep the sword wont become enchanted, it has it in the readme, but i forgot about it

The effects you used blew me away, as i have never seen that done by any other mod, like your drunk but dreaming :goodjob:

Hi everybody,

please note that a new version (1.2) is available!
This update is essential, because it fixes a bug that corrupted the auto-recharging ability of the blade!
So I strongly recommend to upgrade as soon as possible (don't forget to create a backup savegame based on the old version!)

The next step will be to provide a "boosting patch" that will enable you to adjust the sword's attributes (once you have completed the quest). You will then be able to raise or lower the damage, the maximum number of uses and the recharging speed by applying percentage modifiers (etc. 120% damage, 150% uses, 150% recharging speed).
I have already started working on it... so stay tuned!

Thanks for hunting,
jaime74

I cant play it, cause you need OBSE, wich is incombatable with the shivering isles, as far as I could tell from the download page. I really think it would have been good, but...

OBSE does not conflict with Shivering Isles Doomknight - where did you get this wrong information from?

I went to the download page. It said it was incompatable with the most recent oblivion patch, wich comes with the shivering isles expansion.

I think you misread. This is from the OBSE thread (emphasis mine):

Interesting. I found the link in someones sig, and it said it was incompatible. Thanks for correcting me on that then.

edit: Looked at the link again, turns out I got confused about the version of oblivion.

Edit #2: I tried installing it, but I cant get it to work, and the installation instructions in the readme arent helping.

It is as easy as copying 3 files in your Oblivion folder, how difficult can that be? Here look at this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Installing-Oblivion-Reborn-Oblivion-Multiplayer-M/step2/Install-OBSE/

By the way, you are derailing this thread. Go post in the OBSE thread if you have OBSE issues...

Hi everybody,

here's just a little appetizer for all those of you who have been waiting: The promised update (v2.0)is about to be published very soon. It's just a matter of days. :twirl:

This update will bring you the possibility to modify the sword's strength to your needs with an ingame spell and menu, so that it won't be too weak or too strong for your own level anymore.

Just stay tuned... :whisper:

Always looking forward to feedback, suggestions, user uploaded pictures...

jaime74

Latest news:
A new trailer has been added to the tesnexus page demonstrating how the "Blade Customizer" works.
Just have a look: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=33089

Very nice job, i wish i could script like that

Nice!

Any chance for a walkthrough? I'll put my problem into spoiler:

I said I would check this out. Last time I checked there was only a trailer. I am glad I happened to see this thread, haha.


Thank you for sharing.
- Tomlong75210

Hi all,

the new version 2.0 is out!.
Upgrade soon to enjoy the new "Blade Customizer" feature that allows you to modify the Blade according to your needs!
TESNexus link: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=33089

Have fun!
jaime74

Hi zmajtolovaj,

I just sent you a PM with a hint. Please tell me if this helps (via PM is better than posting here).

jaime74

Is a clean save needed to upgrade the mod to v 2.0? I hope not as I don't want to lose all my progress until now...

Hi everybody,

and once again... here's yet another update (just to keep you all busy with reading)! :celebration:

This mod is now available as a Japanese version provided by Nichi21!
You can download it as a patch (with a self-installer) from the files section under "Optional Files".

If you have already downloaded it yesterday (23th Aug), be aware that the patch has been updated today! The new version fixes a bug in the installer.

Many thanks to Nichi21 for this work!

Cheers,
jaime