Skyrim Creation Kit

[DakAttack]

So I know there's a few people here who were interested in working with it, and perhaps a few more who never mentioned it, so I thought I'd create a thread for such a discussion. There's also a forum for it on Bethsoft's official forum that's a good place for Q and A.

Anyways, I'm currently working on a mod that brings a single quest into the game. Essentially, the player receives a book, locates a dungeon, and completes a puzzle. I wanted to tell a story that was half book, half actual experience, but the second half is going to be a lot smaller due to concerns with the scope of the dungeon.

One of the first roadblocks I encountered was simply building this dungeon. It's an old mine that was taken by bandits, so it needed to be this natural space with a slight lived-in look to it. The mine kit definitely doesn't have as many pieces that fit together as other kits, but this is because it's oriented more towards coming up with non-prefab, natural designs. One mistake I did make is creating a map that's almost entirely linear. Due to room bounds and portal-ing being minimal, I'll have a lot of restrictions on lighting. So far, the bulk of the map is created. Now I just need to get the scripted parts going.

[Yygdrasil]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

If you want a brain to pick, I have over a decade of Dungeon Master Experience in D&D under my belt and enough quests, dungeons and stories to make your head spin.

In hindsight, i'm not sure if I should really be proud of that.

Regardless. I'd love to play through the finished product. Are you going to be posting it for DL when it's done?

[DakAttack]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

Yea, I'll have it up on the Steam Workshop. The tasks I have left are to finish the book, finish the bandit encounter, script the shield sequence, and script the final sequence.

[Yygdrasil]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

Awesome. I look forward to trying it out!

[Raydeus]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

Watch the tutorials, Dak.


/troll

[Mezlo]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

Yyg, I played d&d from 5-17, sooo... i'm there with ya... Loved it... and now, miss it... thanks for bringing it up <.<

---------- Post added at 03:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 PM ----------

I stopped playing it at 17, thats when i got a GF...

[Yygdrasil]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

I still play. I run campaigns all the time.

Currently I'm looking into a program called Tiamat to run games virtually and play with people through the web. Once I decide if the program is good or crap, I'll let you know.

[Truece]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

It became really hard to run or participate in campaigns once all of my gaming friends started having kids. Especially since my wife and most of my gaming friends' spouses also like to play.

We've looked into virtual/online sessions, but none of them did it for us. There's something about holding the dice, looking through the books, and seeing the maps that we really missed when playing online.

[Yygdrasil]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

Its always different from the DMs perspective. The world is in my head. Seeing and hearing how the group interacts with that world is how I have fun.

Oh you decided to kill the barkeep without learning his name? I suppose ill just superimpose his rich backstory and invaluable wisdom into the next one...

[Raydeus]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

For the record I've been working on a Assassin's Creed-ish mod, so the Dovahkiin can climb walls and stealth kill with a hidden blade. It will include leaps of Faith and hiding places.

Although... I doubt I'll ever finish it, since I only work on it whenever I'm not playing any other game or watching anime. <_<;

[DakAttack]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

I can't believe this dropped so far in the list! Anyways, would you guys mind reading over the semi-final draft of the first 2/3rds of my "book"? Essentially, this sets up the mod's story and should bring the player around to the dungeon to investigate its ending. Right now I haven't edited the ending down to something presentable, but I'd like you guys to let me know what you think.

My goals are to:
Be easy to read.
Be inviting.
Find a balance between vague and detailed.
Be interesting.

Keep in mind Skyrim books are a lot smaller, and paragraphs are also a lot smaller.

The first 2/3rds of Where the Wind Goes, A Wanderer's Tale

In a cold, barren land of snow and stone, a tragedy befell a quiet town of the learned. The population was instantly reduced to a mere fraction, leaving one boy in particular without a family. He would have likely found a kind family to foster him, but something called him out into the night. The remaining townspeople were busy pointing fingers, and the boy slipped away unnoticed.

The cold was bitter and the winds were harsh, but the boy, called by a voice on the wind, wandered until collapsing from exhaustion. Where he lay he found a ring. Instantly realizing an unspoken purpose to the ring, he quickly slipped it onto a finger. The winds softened, and the cold was replaced by a comfortable warmth. After calling him into the nearly barren wilds, Kynareth had granted the boy her boon, the first of two, and he disappeared into the world.

At the beck and call of a divine, the boy wandered without home or purpose, through lands both dangerous and wonderful. He witnessed both the horrifying and spectacular, such as Orsimer warring over blood-debt, diminutive feline hurling bolts of flame at men from treetops, and cities of mer built upon eldritch trees. He moved with the wind, which occasionally brought him through towns where he would quietly socialize and pick up a skill or two from the locals before leaving.

As an adult, he could feel the calling fade from his mind. He found he could spend more time in each town or settlement, often finding work and falling in with the local people. He found himself in the middle of various conflicts at an increasing rate, and quickly picked up the necessary skills with which to fare. Kynareth granted him one final boon before disappearing from his mind completely; a shield that bathed a person in a cool, energizing wind. With shield and ring, he cast himself out in the wilds alone, without guiding voice.

He turned up next in a small, isolated town flanked by swamps and mountains, and found employment with a local family under threat by a rivall. The family owned and operated the lumber mill, and collected local plants for various medicines. The rival family was becoming more violent as time passed, and so the wanderer was hired as a guard. He was a natural; from behind his shield he could navigate even the most brutal encounters. The family's safety was all but guaranteed.

The family had a daughter that the wanderer grew to be exceedingly fond of. She was a talented chemist and spent her days either collecting ingredients from the surrounding landscape or combining them into beneficial potions. He was often tasked with escorting her, and gifted her Kynareth's ring to protect her from the region's harsh ring. He was finally beginning to feel a part of something when the unthinkable occured.

The duo returned home from gathering herbs late one evening to smoke on the horizon. They began to sprint, but when it was their own burning house they came to it was the girl who continued unphased. The wanderer caught her hand, but just barely. He watched her continue into the flames, left with only her ring in his hand. Overwhelmed by the flames, he hadn't noticed the shadows lurking around the house. Adopting an orange glow as they neared, he brought his shield to bear, but his mind was in a haze and he awoke the next morning beside only ash and cinder.

There's about four more paragraphs, currently, but they'll probably be split into five or six as I edit them. There's also a few notes for the player to find, which I had a lot of fun writing, but this is the bulk of the reading.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

I think it needs an arrow finding its way into a knee in there somewhere.

Also:

The family had a daughter that the wanderer grew to be exceedingly fond of. She was a talented chemist and spent her days either collecting ingredients from the surrounding landscape or combining them into beneficial potions. He was often tasked with escorting her, and gifted her Kynareth's ring to protect her from the region's harsh wind. He was finally beginning to feel a part of something when the unthinkable occured.

I'm guessing you meant "wind" since that seemed pretty central to your story and that ring.

[DakAttack]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

Yes, it must have been a slip of the mind.

Or I could run with this whole good ring vs bad ring thing. Throw in a shaky cam and I've got a blockbuster.

[DakAttack]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

No other feedback? Come on!!!

[Mezlo]

Re: Skyrim Creation Kit

I like it Dak! I'd read more!