I've never played a pure mage character and in my current game I'm wishing that I had done that. Because I thought this would be a quick game, I chose as my major skills all of the ones relevant to a thief/assassin/marksman, and I'm rapidly approaching that point where I'm going to have to go to jail a few times just to allow for a few more levels. I feel as though this game could go on for a while.

Oops. our power just started to flicker. We're having a massive wind storm right now on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island and I have a feeling we'll be eating cold cheese sandwiches for dinner.....

I wouldn't survive for more than a few minutes as a "Pure Mage" !! I only just make it when armed to the teeth as some kind of "Fighter"

[On my latest foray into Oblivion I manifested myself as a "Crusader" and quite enjoyed what I played.]

Being a squishy Archer can be challenging, too. I did get my Conjuration skill up to 71 and am now doing the Molag Bal quest so I can use the Conjuration trainer at the shrine.

I don't recall doing this quest before. It's pretty darned evil. And here's me doing, the Knights of the Nine, all righteous and stuff.

Yeah, that might have something to do with him being the Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement of mortals. Not exactly the kind of guy to invite to the potluck.

I always thought the guy who did Molag's voice in Skyrim was awesome. He's basically the Daedric equivalent of Satan considering the line, "Now if you'll excuse me, there's a soul I need to claim"

Well, you know, my character is willing to briefly stray off the path of the Knights for a shot at being able to cast level 100 Summonses, which I've not done before.

I usually train up my Alteration and Enchantment skills in Skyrim, then buy as many grand soul gems as I can afford and buff the heck out of my mage and the chosen specialty. That gives you a better fighting chance in the higher levels. In Oblivion, similar strategy, but I usually stick with a Destruction mage because the AI associated with your conjured beasties can be sort of wonky sometimes. They tend to hit my character as much as the enemy and sometimes delay before getting into battle. I also get my sneak fairly high, because getting through the Oblivion plains is nigh on to impossible for some early mage builds. Those darn Clanfear pack one heck of a punch.

I think the most ambitious attempt at a pure mage was by one of the writers over at the PC|Gamer website. She attempted a pure Illusion mage, reasoning that in real life magic is all illusions. https://www.pcgamer.com/an-illusionist-in-skyrim-part-1/ Her experience made for some pretty hilarious scenarios, the character's first encounter with a dragon being one of them.

Haha.

I've been giving the boots of Springheel Jack a good workout in this game. Bouncing around a group of enemies is ever so much fun.

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Right. Just rounding up the last of the Knights of the Nine and then finish the main ques, then I'll shut this game down since I've hit saturation point. I'll leave the game saves on my computer for a trip through Shivering Isles at some future date.

I might get to one of my new games next. And it's going to be a very heavy gaming winter since our provincial government just mandated some pretty strict COVID rules and we'll be staying at home all the time now.

I seem to remember some discussion about how the original code for NWN 2 got lost and so there is no way to make NWN EE. It might be one of those apocryphal tales, except I've seen in more than once. Too bad, because it really was a great game.

I remember reading that there would be no enhanced edition for Icewind Dale 2 for the reason you mentioned. Not sure about NWN2.

Ah. Maybe I got them mixed up, then. I was never a huge IWD 2 fan. I'd far prefer NWN 2 EE any day!

So, when I'm done with Bioshock Infinite I thought I'd fire up Skyrim and force myself to play something other than Thief-Assassin. I draw the line at Fighter, but perhaps it's time to play a Battlemage type

Yeah, I recall a dialogue in NWN2 where the the Kobold merchant/bard Deekin mentions that he hasn't heard much from Icewind Dale recently, that they were "probably on their last legs, good as dead."

He also mentions the plague-diamond encrusted compilation of the Tales of Undrentide in reference to all the different editions of NWN-1 that are available.



Battlemage is my usual go-to character type in most fantasy RPG's. I've been gritting my teeth during this Skyrim playthrough doing the pure mage thing. I keep wanting to put perk points into Smithing and One-Handed, but have been pushing Conjuration, Destruction, Alteration and Restoration instead, and building up my magicka. I haven't engaged the main quest yet by going to the Inn to pick up the Horn of Jurgenwind caller, so Dragons have been far and few between. That's a really good thing at this point, because the few I've battled with my mage have definitely not been a walk in the park at this level in my mage's development.

My very first Morrowind character was a mage. By the time I got to Balmoral I had started to use a sword and then about 2 levels later I decided to go all in for archery.

EDIT:

Taking a break from Bioshock Infinite because playing it for more than two hours makes me dizzy.

So, I've loaded up Skyrim ( I seem to have the SE edition) and a bunch of mods. Now I'm remembering that I had quite a few mods in my last game. I wish I could remember all of them. I know I had Inigo, and the Forgotten City, and The Stones of Barenziah. I know I had a really nice little player cottage somewhere, too. I'll spend some time cruising through the mods lists.

My new character had a couple of Destruction spells, so that's what I've been using and I'm now at level 5 and it's time to start using my Perk points. So far I'm not using weapons at all except for staffs. My character is using Sneak, though. I can't bring myself not to.

Got my "Foos."

I need to find someone who sells spells, though.

All the mages in the Arcane University except for the Enchanter and Orc who keeps the Arcaneum sell spells. So does Farangar, the court wizard in Whiterun, although his are a bit costly. If you want access to the University, but don't want to go down the path of that quest line, just take the test at the gate that Farelda will give you, she'll also sell you a spell for cheap from a random school. I usually save before talking with her, because if I don't like the spell she makes available I can reload the save and try for another. At level 5 though, the highest spells you'll probably see are "Healing Hands" or maybe Firebolt if you're lucky depending on your Destruction level. There is the random chance that you'll be asked to summon a Flame Atrinoch, which is a great spell, but most level 5's don't have enough Magicka to do it, so you'll need to find a way to buff yourself (unless you're an Altmer).

After passing the test, you don't need to talk to Mirabelle right away. You can if you want, then you'll get some sweet digs in the Hall of Attainment and some novice destruction robes. After that, again if you don't want to go further down that quest like you can avoid talking to the mage she mentions in the Hall of Elements and just talk to the other mages to buy spells, get training or buy other stuff.


Oh yeah, and you probably already know this. If you're using the Skyrim Special Edition, make sure the Mods you get are specifically for that, and that you've added the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch as well, otherwise you'll have issues.

All the links I've posted previously are mods for the standard edition, because most of the ones I enjoy have never been ported over to the Special Edition. Aside from that I've got an irk about the SE version, that relates to Bethesda's business model and how they "borrow" code from modders. They did the same thing with the DLC for Oblivion in their updated GOY version. Yeah, technically it's their platform, but give credit where credit is due. OK, I'm off my soapbox

Vortex sends you directly to the page for the SE game, so I'm pretty confident that the mods are working properly. No issues so far. I may start adding more as I go.

With respect to the mods I usually drop $5.00 in the donations for each mod I download. It's an easy way of thanking people for their time.

My biggest worry playing a mage is how to kill a dragon. It's dead easy when you're an Archer. Not so much as a mage, I'm guessing. I'll be finding out soon-ish.

Yeah, the dragon thing is hard as H...E...double hockey sticks

Lots of running, oh and make sure you have a ward spell. Even the lowest level one, I think it's Lesser Ward that Tolfdir teaches you will save your butt, you can also get them from the mage Colette Morance in the Hall of Countenance. Just remember to raise it well before getting hit by the Dragon's attack. They take a moment or two to come up to full power.


That's really nice of you to give that contribution to the modders.

Having JUST talked about dragons, I ran into one while I was on a quest out of Falkreath. I blasted it with a few Fireballs and it flew away. I chased it over hill and dale and finally it got cornered by a mammoth, so I slew the beast and stole its soul.

Piece of cake.

Must have been a lower level green dragon. There's that dragon not to far from Drelas' cottage near Whiterun that attacks you at the same time two beasties attack (either wolves, bears or saber cats depending on your level). Now that's a battle.

Wait until the game starts spawning Blood Dragons. They are the first real challenge depending on your skills. Alteration is a good one to level up on because of the mage armor and spell resistance perks you'll get for just wearing robes. Also, if you didn't already know this, Wards also help against Dragon Shouts/Thums by undead beasties like Dragon Priests and Drueger Wights. That way you won't get tossed through the air, "rag dolled" and pummeled by arrows.

One of the mods that I have revises Drelas, and as opposed to outright attacking you when you enter his cottage, he invites you to sit and tells you of a Mage movement that wants to recruit the Dragonborn called the "Radiant Dark". I think it maybe either "Cutting Room Floor" or "Interesting NPC's" because I think Drelas was always supposed to start another side quest, but it turned into one of those that were never finished so they just made him violent.

Playing as a pure mage is very different from my usual path, which is usually Thieves' Guild first, then Assassin, or vice-versa, Dawnguards and then I join the Mage Guild much later in the game to use magic as back-up. I'm often at Level 40 or so by that time, or I join early just because I've wandered up that way, and then forget about it for a long time. I've never had to rely on magic for physical protection at all. That's going to be interesting. At level 12 I've decided only using Destruction is a fool's path since almost everything can kill me pretty quickly if they get close. Lydia is only so useful; she dies a lot and I think I'll let the poor girl stay back and be a pack mule from now on.

I've run into a couple of other really easy dragons. Now I need to get me some shouts.

Yeah, it's a hard path in the first few levels. Gets a little easier around levels 10-25, then gets harder again especially if you engage the main quest by meeting at the inn and triggering more dragon attacks. The trick is to stay up to date on the leveled spells. Using the dual casting function helps too. Dual casting Lighting Bolt is great on more powerful mages since it knocks down their magicka reserves at the same time as hitting their health. You can always tell when their AI gets panicked because they'll pull a dagger instead of continuing to hit you with destruction spells. That's the time to pounce.

Mages can be really fun, that's why I got the mod that adds a bunch more spells. After awhile I wanted bigger and better spells, with bigger visual effects to match my ever growing ego

I've seen a mod that adds spells. Maybe I'll grab that one.

I do have Cutting Room Floor. So far I haven't noticed anything new, but it's early days.

Did a quick search and found that it's "Interesting NPC's". They do have a version for SSE too: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/29194/

It's a huge mod, adds a bunch of new characters. Sort of fills in the gaps.

I'm on it!


EDIT:

Shoot. I just went to use some of my dragon souls and I have none when I should have at least 6-7. And the last two dragons didn't produce one for sure. I guess my game is badly gimped and obviously has been right from pretty the start, since I started killing dragons ten levels ago.

I've used all of these mods before, except Cutting Room Floor and Interesting NPC's, but neither of those is the problem because this has obviously been going on for a long time.

Not sure what to do about this but it's impossible to play this game without the shouts.

I've had a similar issue that was caused by mod that allowed me to cash my Dragon Souls in for Perk points if I wanted to.

I think the same console commands should work for the Special Edition. So you can try opening the console (tilde/accent key) and type the following:

player.forceav dragonsouls # and then hit enter


[#] being the number of dragon souls you want to add.

I actually managed to fix the problem. Apparently it was some conflict between one of the DLC and the unofficial patch -- there were some very old threads about it on various boards. I disabled the patch and then re-enabled it, and my soul gems were there. So weird, but I'll take it.

I had that Dragon Soul mod last time. It's great later in the game when you have all the shouts you want, dragons are spawning like flies, and you really want to get to the top of that skill tree.

I will take note of your console code, too, as I'm going to go and grab that mod if it exists for SE.

OK, that does sort of sound familiar. I recall after the SSE unofficial patch was released, there was some issues because modders weren't adhering to a standard that the nexus was trying to establish. That could also be a load order issue. I'm not sure if Vortex has a load order tool built into it, but LOOT is a good tool for maintaining the mod load order of several games including SSE.