Living in Oblivion : Précis
Like Morrowind before it, Oblivion starts off with the player as a prisoner, although this time not in the midst of being transported, but instead already incarcerated. There is a yapping prisoner in the cell across from you, who is just blatantly obnoxious, and whom you immediately want to kill.
Soon, the emporer and a couple of guards come by, and order you to the back end of your cell. Seems the emperor's three sons ( "My Three Sons" run through anyone else's head at that? ) have been murdered, and an attempt has been made on the emperor's life as well. The guards are taking the emperor through a 'secret escape tunnel' that just happens to begin in the cell you are in.
Bringing him through, the emperor seems to recognize you; apparently from some sort of prophetic dream. He hints at some great destiny you are supposed to fulfill, and then he scurries out the hole in the wall that the guards have opened up for his escape.
In spite of being ordered to stay in your cell, the only place to go is through the hole after them. No sooner do you follow them than a set of assassins attack the entourage, slaying one of the guards in the process. The remaining guards, being distrustful of you, order you to stay back, and lock the way forward behind themselves, forcing you to find another way through.
Basically, this 'tutorial' quest leads you through the under-dungeons and some deserted sewer-way, allowing you to level up a few skills by sneaking, slaying some rats and goblins, and finding different equipment to use such as blunt weapons like maces or axes, blade weapons like the guards katanas or short swords, and range weapons like bows and arrows or magical staves. Further, you can help your armorer skill with repair hammers, light armor such as leather, and heavy armor such as iron. There is also a very small list of low-damage spells you can cast that you start the game with, and you can find a mortar and pestle to allow you to use alchemy on several ingredients you run across in-game to make some low-level potions.
After a bit of dungeon-delving, you run across the emperor and guards again, just as they are once again attacked. The guards want to kill you on the spot, but the emperor squashes that idea, and even orders them to let you follow. Soon enough, you find the way ahead surprisingly locked, and another barrage of assassins attack. Ordered to guard the emperor with your life, the guards rush off the battle the assassins. The emperor speaks to you again, revealing that he is aware he is just about to die and he tasks you with taking his amulet to his son (what? a son that no-one knows about? just gotta love that lese majeste ... ) to prevent "the coming darkness". Immediately thereafter, the emperor is struck down by another assassin, and the guards arrive back to dispatch him. You are left to talk with the captain of the guard, who seems to be resolved to the fact that you are now involved. In speaking with the guard captain, you finalize elements of your "class". The captain then reveals that you will have to find your way of via the sewers, and points you on your way.
Just before exiting the sewers, you have the option to re-set any of your attributes, such as race, appearance, birthsign (which grants some magical abilities), and class -- I made a save at this point so that if I get tired of playing I can always come back right to here, and avoid going through the whole tutorial again.
What I like about this game, that I also liked about Morrowind, is the 'open-ended' nature of the game. Even though there is a "main" storyline to follow, you are not forced into it. You can pretty much go wherever and do about whatever you want to. There is more than enough to do in side-line quests and exploration to keep you entertained for many, many hours of gameplay.
Later missives in the "Living in Oblivion" continuing line of posts will be told in first-person perspective. I hope you will get some slight enjoyment from reading them, as I intend to write them somewhat humourously.
Tune in next time for the continuing saga ...
Soon, the emporer and a couple of guards come by, and order you to the back end of your cell. Seems the emperor's three sons ( "My Three Sons" run through anyone else's head at that? ) have been murdered, and an attempt has been made on the emperor's life as well. The guards are taking the emperor through a 'secret escape tunnel' that just happens to begin in the cell you are in.
Bringing him through, the emperor seems to recognize you; apparently from some sort of prophetic dream. He hints at some great destiny you are supposed to fulfill, and then he scurries out the hole in the wall that the guards have opened up for his escape.
In spite of being ordered to stay in your cell, the only place to go is through the hole after them. No sooner do you follow them than a set of assassins attack the entourage, slaying one of the guards in the process. The remaining guards, being distrustful of you, order you to stay back, and lock the way forward behind themselves, forcing you to find another way through.
Basically, this 'tutorial' quest leads you through the under-dungeons and some deserted sewer-way, allowing you to level up a few skills by sneaking, slaying some rats and goblins, and finding different equipment to use such as blunt weapons like maces or axes, blade weapons like the guards katanas or short swords, and range weapons like bows and arrows or magical staves. Further, you can help your armorer skill with repair hammers, light armor such as leather, and heavy armor such as iron. There is also a very small list of low-damage spells you can cast that you start the game with, and you can find a mortar and pestle to allow you to use alchemy on several ingredients you run across in-game to make some low-level potions.
After a bit of dungeon-delving, you run across the emperor and guards again, just as they are once again attacked. The guards want to kill you on the spot, but the emperor squashes that idea, and even orders them to let you follow. Soon enough, you find the way ahead surprisingly locked, and another barrage of assassins attack. Ordered to guard the emperor with your life, the guards rush off the battle the assassins. The emperor speaks to you again, revealing that he is aware he is just about to die and he tasks you with taking his amulet to his son (what? a son that no-one knows about? just gotta love that lese majeste ... ) to prevent "the coming darkness". Immediately thereafter, the emperor is struck down by another assassin, and the guards arrive back to dispatch him. You are left to talk with the captain of the guard, who seems to be resolved to the fact that you are now involved. In speaking with the guard captain, you finalize elements of your "class". The captain then reveals that you will have to find your way of via the sewers, and points you on your way.
Just before exiting the sewers, you have the option to re-set any of your attributes, such as race, appearance, birthsign (which grants some magical abilities), and class -- I made a save at this point so that if I get tired of playing I can always come back right to here, and avoid going through the whole tutorial again.
What I like about this game, that I also liked about Morrowind, is the 'open-ended' nature of the game. Even though there is a "main" storyline to follow, you are not forced into it. You can pretty much go wherever and do about whatever you want to. There is more than enough to do in side-line quests and exploration to keep you entertained for many, many hours of gameplay.
Later missives in the "Living in Oblivion" continuing line of posts will be told in first-person perspective. I hope you will get some slight enjoyment from reading them, as I intend to write them somewhat humourously.
Tune in next time for the continuing saga ...