Yes, I'm just now getting around to Skyrim! It's always been on my list, but just never got around to it.

Game is fine and I've already killed a dragon and become dragonborn, whatever that means! I'm finding the game very awkward without quickslots for weapons, potions etc. I went on line and found out and can set the items as favorites and then select from the favorites list by pressing a key. But is that it? Can I bind the items on number keys? The in-game help is useless.

Drac, I found this info online:

I found that one too, but it didn't work for me. Found out by trial and error that "T" is the quick menu. I'm going to try it again. Thanks!

If you have other questions, hopefully one of the Skyrim veterans will be along.

Thank you, Marian! I'm finding there are a lot of complaints about the key bindings and quick use slots for this game. I think I can make it work, but it's sure not intuitive like the other Elder Scrolls games.

I got used to the menus eventually so that they became second nature.

In my first run through Skyrim the thing that struck me most is how lovely some of the soundtrack is.

What sort of character are you playing?

My favorite a Nord warrior! Being a good part Norwegian, I love characters like that. Another reason I like the game "Through the Woods" so much - Norse mythology!

I'm getting there, but it's taking far longer than usual for me in a game like this. I do believe I'm going to finally try programming my 5 macro keys on my Razer Black Widow keyboard.

So, I went to my Razer Synapse and figured out how to program my Macro keys on this Razer Black Widow keyboard. It worked and how cool is this! I programmed 3 of my "shout" powers so far and one press of the macro key does it! Sweet. Now I can program my other keys for other stuff.

I haven't got around to learning how to use my my Razer Mouse yet, but I think it might make some things easier when gaming. For some reason I just cannot get my head around it. Mind you, these days I can't get my head around very much at all.

I've never played a warrior in Skyrim. I always end up as an Assassin/Thief, even when I'm ostensibly playing as a Mage.

Hey Drac, if you're interested there are quite a few mods that change up the inventory management and item selection available at The Nexus: https://www.nexusmods.com/

Just need to be sure which version you have (Standard or Special Edition) and then search around to see what's available. Checking how many endorsements a mod has is a fairly surefire way to know if it's decent or not.

I'm very confident using Vortex for mods now. My Fallout 4 game now has 67 active mods that don't conflict and the game run perfectly. I think my Skyrim has about a dozen mods.

Oh, thank you, Trail! I've got at least 23 hours in the game and STILL don't like the inventory management. I'm up to a level 15 and running around looking for work so I can level up more.

Not a lot of time for gaming as there is SO much to do outside in the gardens and the Germans are here for 6 weeks. They pretty much take care of themselves and are running around seeing family and shopping.

The YouTuber "Gopher" ( here's his home page/channel https://www.youtube.com/c/GophersVids ) is one of the trusted authorities on modding Skyrim among other things. He's very complete in the video explanations, sometimes quite technical, but is good at clarifying if it's really something you need to do, or just something he feels better about doing because of experience.

Thanks, Trail... just the resource I need!

So, I had the funniest thing happen! I literally laughed out loud. I was battling a dragon on some remote mountain and on one of the dragon's attempts to land near me, hit the mountain head-first just below me. It even pushed up a bunch of soil and rocks. I ran over to where the dragon was impaled in the mountain and howling and promptly dispatched him! LOL!

I'm a Level 32 now and just running around and killing stuff. I've cleared out everything I can and can't get anyone to give me any quests. I really hate the Dark Brotherhood and am not liking killing people who appear to simply be enemies of the leader. Haven't decided if I'm going to do that one or not. And so far I'm refusing to kill the giants - they aren't bothering anybody. Funny how your personal feelings enter into a game!

I may break down and join the Thieves Guild even though they all appear to be jerks.

Yeah, that wounded dragon graphic-action can sometimes be sketchy. You'll also occasionally see dragons flying sideways. It's just part of that Bethesda magic

32 is a good level, but you can still keep progressing much further on the Skyrim scale. You won't see a Legendary dragon until you hit around level 80 and good luck on that encounter

There are tons of small side quests that you'll come across just from exploring, walking around cities and talking to folks who looks like they actually have a task rather than a random NPC. There are also "radiant quests" that randomly pop up in certain areas around the map. Also, when in a city go and talk to the Jarl, they usually have a number of quests available that can lead you to becoming a Thane in that particular city (you can become a Thane in every major city). The innkeepers can also give quest if you tell them "you're looking for work". Also, if you've already talked with the Greybeards, check with Arngeir. He'll have a dialogue entry that allows you to ask, "I'd like to learn more about the voice" or something along those lines. After which a new entry will appear allowing you to ask him, "Have you found any words of power?" He'll mark your map with the location of the Dragon/Word Wall, some of which are located in fairly large tombs or barrows.

There's another option available about the Dark Brotherhood. It reduces the available quests, but opens a new somewhat shorter quest line. Without giving too much away, when you are contacted by the DB eliminate the contact person. A new Imperial quest will open up after that.

Skyrim has such an open world that it's great for just role playing. You can design a character based on what you want to do and don't even need to do a ton of quests. Just explore, craft and survive for awhile. Also, there are tons of other quests available in the form of mods that you can load from the Nexus. Some are simple, based around an item or even. Others are quite complex and can even re-write the way the game runs. Personally, I really like the "Live another life" mod as it allows you to pick how you're going to start the game by giving your character a specific backstory and dropping them at a different location other than Helgen.

TM

None of the Jarls or Housecarls will give me any more jobs - neither will any of the inn keepers. I think I'm a Thane in at least 4 cities too. I've got 17 shouts and 33 words of power. Trying to join the Thieves, but they are real a**holes! Maybe I will join the Stormcloaks and see what happens.

You can always join the Mage's guild. The entrance requirements are pretty easy and you can progress fast.

I did and I'm already the head of the Mage's Guild! Although I have a couple of houses, I leave a lot of stuff in my quarters I'm not ready to get rid of yet. I also joined The Companions and did everything there. I go back now and then to get a random quest.

I LOVE those Archmage quarters with all the wonderful alchemy stuff.

Sounds as though it's time to just go wandering about, then. I spend most of my time doing that in Skyrim. Never gets old.

Exactly what I've been doing for a couple of weeks now. I go cross country and sometimes get hung up! I've happened on a couple of things, but am running out of those too!

One of the things that I absolutely love about Skyrim is the soundtrack -- there are some beautiful, powerful themes.

Have you done the Dragonborn quests? I had a heck of a time beating that last battle in my last game, even at level 78.

Sounds as though you'll have to do those Thief and Dark Brotherhood quests after all. The Thieves Guild quests go on forever, but the rewards are great, especially after you completely upgrade the Den. That's the best place to sell your ill-gotten gains, and the members there sometimes give you special quests that take forever to complete. The Stones of Barrenziah is the longest of these quests.

Yeah, I'm afraid you're right. They are just such jerks! I've killed a couple of Elder dragons, but I haven't gone back and killed Alduin yet.

And, yes, I love the soundtrack!

Have you done the Bard College Quests?

No. That was the other one I was thinking I'd have to check out. Just wasn't interested in the Bards!

It's kind of fun.

You can always get married, buy more houses, build your Steddings, etc.

It may be time to add some new content. Try the Lost City mod. It's not completely Elder Scrolls, but it is absolutely worth playing. I've had great success using Vortex, which will download, install, and order your mods for you. My Fallout 4 game currently has 67 active mods and everything works just fine.

I think you're right about it being time to add a mod! I did go see the bards and got a quest which put me up to Level 34. It helped that I had to kill two elder dragons on the way!

Does adding a mod make me start over?

So there's a point after the Alduin quest where you're forced to make an either/or decision. I don't want to give too much away if you haven't already come across it yet, but it involves another dragon. My personal feeling about the "quest" is that Bethesda made a mistake by not allowing a third alternative. To remedy that, there is a mod available called "The Paarthurnax Dilemma". So when you hit that particular conflict and like others, aren't happy with the options given, just look up a mod by that name on the Skyrim Nexus.

Drac, the experts here can tell you more (much more!), but I found this online about Skyrim mods:

The description of the mod in question will tell you if you need to start over.

The Lost City does not require it. I'm not sure about Helgen Reborn, another one I have installed.

Anyway it should be clear from the mod author's notes.

The Paarthurrnax Dilemma is a great mod.

Thank you, Marian and hagatha!

Well, heading into The Forgotten City mod!

EDIT: Well, that was disappointing. Maybe an hour or two of play with no opportunity to level up. More of a mystery. This one got awards, so donated to the developer. It was even advertised as about 8 hours of gameplay.

Well, I've done all the radiant quests, gotten a bunch more words of power, done a bunch more jobs for the Companions. Since that Forgotten City mod was such a bust, do any of you have any other recommendation? I'm a level 37 now.

I don't have any words of wisdom about Skyrim (haven't played it), but I am really surprised that the Forgotten City mod was such a bust. It has overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam and people are saying it takes about 10 hours or less, so your experience seems strange to me.

Maybe I should give it another go. I did everything that was available and went into every location available. Talked to people ad nauseum to solve the mystery. Solved the mystery and boom! Got sent back into normal Skyrim. What I didn't care for was there was no opportunity to level up - just solving a mystery by talking to people.

Well, it is good to hear of your experience. If it was that short, though, you would think people might be complaining about it, so I was curious.

Who knows, maybe something went amiss! I thought getting sent back to Skyrim was pretty abrupt. I'll give it another go.

EDIT: Hmmm... well that's interesting. The mod will no longer load. There certainly must be something amiss. I'm going to try downloading it again. Thanks, Marian!

Well, I've had to throw in the towel with Skyrim. While I was playing that mod - which I tried 3 times and it never got any better - a lovely white "LEVEL UP" appeared on the screen which I could not get rid of. So I tried to ignore and played until I was able to level up to 38, but it still didn't go away. I guess it's fairly common. I MIGHT try some of the fixes I found, first by getting rid of that mod. But I think I'll just play something else for awhile.

Sorry you were having issues with Skyrim and modding Drac. I haven't played either of new editions that have come out, I'm still on the first GOY edition. There are some idiosycrocies to Skyrim after it's been modded. Unfortunately, I've sort of turned into a Skyrim dinasaur when it comes to modding the game since the new versions came out. Also, apologies for originally directing you to Gopher's YouTube channel, I didn't realize he stopped posting on Skyrim mods almost 10 years ago. Time flies...

I'm also playing with an older version of Skyrim -- I suppose mainly because once I've installed it, it stays on my computer. I can't say I've ever had any weird issues with it, myself.

It's too bad you didn't really enjoy it, Draclvr. Skyrim, like Fallout 3 and 4, are the games I play when my brain doesn't want to do any work, so they're like going home, for me.

That reminds me...I have ESO on my computer and I haven't even THOUGHT about it for a year. Last thing I remember was buying a house somewhere. Might be time to get back in there once I'm done with Mass Effect. Legenday.

There are several solutions to this mod's quest, but only one correct one. I failed a few times before I got it correct. Also, there was combat in this mod and a really creepy area with spirits. I wonder if you got one of the endings, but not the "right" one?

I've gotten two ending, neither one of them very satisfying - just got thrown back to the present. In my first play, I got a short bit of combat when some thieves tried to infiltrate, but I didn't get it the 2nd time. The first time I got the opportunity to open the "gate" in the underwater house and swim to the back and engage with a few bad guys and get a treasure. In my 3rd play, I am just SO sick of going from one place to another and talking to people and getting absolutely nowhere. I've even looked at a couple of walkthroughs. I'm just finding it eminently boring.