I just bought my first...

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by Carolus Rex

Didn't help; I was killed when I searched a couple of baskets in there... They took me for a thief, while I was only trying to get to know the game mechanics...

I think that happens to everyone in the first 10 minutes they play Morrowind. You're not alone.

[Carolus Rex]

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet

Wow, you really are an extreme rookie, aren't you?

When it comes to RPGs, for sure.

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet

Sorry if that description was a bit too basic or sounded patronising. You said you were an extreme rookie so I went straight back to first principles.

No problem.

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet

As you may have guessed, those people hiding behind your cousin in Everquest and not doing anything were essentially cheating. At any rate they weren't playing the game the way it was meant to be played, which amounts to the same thing IMHO.

Well, I didn't exactly think of it as cheating. More like reaping the benefits of specialisation and I thought that was common practice? Isn't on-line cooperation like that standard practice in these kind of games?

Carolus

[FrustratedPoet]

Not exactly. It sounds like those players were probably a much lower level than your cousin. By being in a group with him they were able to share in the experience points he earned. Since he was able to kill much bigger and badder monsters than they could, they were effectively increasing their levels very very quickly without bothering to play the game properly. Just standing there doing nothing while some other person kills the monsters is not how these games are supposed to work.

If they were actually helping you cousin (healing him so he didn't die, or attacking the monsters themselves) then yes, that is the usual type of co-operation that happens in these games. If they were just standing there doing nothing then they were not playing the game properly and were effectively cheating IMHO.

[Carolus Rex]

Originally posted by Solver

Click and drop on your character so that the character has it on him. It will automatically have a chance of blocking hits then.

I figured as much, but the shield wouldn't stick on the character. I even tried picking off the shirt first...

Oh well, I'll soon play again and find out. Thanks for your help!

Carolus

[Carolus Rex]

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet

Not exactly. It sounds like those players were probably a much lower level than your cousin. By being in a group with him they were able to share in the experience points he earned. Since he was able to kill much bigger and badder monsters than they could, they were effectively increasing their levels very very quickly without bothering to play the game properly. Just standing there doing nothing while some other person kills the monsters is not how these games are supposed to work.

IIRC they were completely different characters (perhaps with higher levels in their "area of expertise", perhaps with lower) and his was perhaps the most suitable to kill the enemy? Anyway, I thought it was the player that did the deed that got the experience points... If the others were free riding, then I agree with you.

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet

If they were actually helping you cousin (healing him so he didn't die, or attacking the monsters themselves) then yes, that is the usual type of co-operation that happens in these games.

Now that you mention it, I think there was some guy healing him (or helping him in some way). He seemed to have some aura of light around him IIRC (like a shield), which was generated by someone in his group... But in that case only the two active players should get the points, no?

Carolus

[Solver]

Originally posted by Carolus Rex


I figured as much, but the shield wouldn't stick on the character. I even tried picking off the shirt first...

Oh well, I'll soon play again and find out. Thanks for your help!

Carolus

I think it should appear on your character in the inventory. Mind you, you won't see it in actual game unless you take a weapon out.

Maybe you can only equip a shield when you also have a weapon, I can't remember.

A few other Morrowind tips:

- Don't powerplay. You'll ruin the game that way. Try to roleplay somewhat at least.
- Items in someone's house probably belong to that person. Don't go taking their stuff, unless you're playing a thief.
- Don't place your own stuff in random containers. They tend to regenerate their contents. Drop it on the floor instead.
- Alchemy is very fun and very powerful.
- Remember you don't have to follow any quests or such. You can just go out and roam and do random stuff. That's indeed the beauty of this game.

[Carolus Rex]

Originally posted by Solver

A few other Morrowind tips:

- Don't powerplay. You'll ruin the game that way. Try to roleplay somewhat at least.

Powerplay = raking up the skill levels by beating up outlaws etc (ie what my cousine did with Everquest)?

Originally posted by Solver

- Remember you don't have to follow any quests or such. You can just go out and roam and do random stuff. That's indeed the beauty of this game.

Sounds great!

Carolus

[Skanky Burns]

Powerplay is chosing stats or doing quests only that help your character gain abilities or powers or stats that make him more powerful. Your entire focus is on making a more powerful character. The exact method differs with each game.

Roleplaying is playing the character based on the motives you give him. Your focus is on enjoying the game, even if your character can't do 1092 damage with one hit.

[child of Thor]

check if you can see the shield(or any armour/weapons etc) on the picture of your character screen(or you can use the third person view to examine what your character is currently wearing/looks like).
The controls for all these are in the game manual. Using your shield is a skill based skill(blocking), so untill it gets higher you might not appear to use your shield often.

Taking other peoples possesions is stealing(even just picking them up(clicking on them)). So be sure to only do it when no-one can see you and you are in 'sneak mode'(explained in the manual).

You will get the hang of it soon enough. Talking to people can give useful clues(the downside is it can also get repetative)

you can even pick plants and sell them, or when your skills are good enough and you have the right equipment, use them to make potions

[duke o' york]

Just a thought....

If your character's a barbarian, then maybe the reason you can't use a shield is because you've got a two-handed weapon.

[Carolus Rex]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

Powerplay is chosing stats or doing quests only that help your character gain abilities or powers or stats that make him more powerful. Your entire focus is on making a more powerful character.

And then putting it for sale to the highest bidder at Ebay, right?

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

Roleplaying is playing the character based on the motives you give him. Your focus is on enjoying the game, even if your character can't do 1092 damage with one hit.

Definitely sounds like my style!

Carolus

[Carolus Rex]

Originally posted by child of Thor

check if you can see the shield(or any armour/weapons etc) on the picture of your character screen

When I took off the clothes and shoes I could see the difference. The shield never appeared...

Originally posted by child of Thor

Talking to people can give useful clues(the downside is it can also get repetative)

Yeah, I talked to everyone I saw on screen. Some useful info and some small talk...

Originally posted by child of Thor

you can even pick plants and sell them, or when your skills are good enough and you have the right equipment, use them to make potions

Carolus

[Carolus Rex]

Originally posted by duke o' york

If your character's a barbarian, then maybe the reason you can't use a shield is because you've got a two-handed weapon.

Hm... I suppose I need to hold such a sword for it to prevent me holding the shield, no? I don't think I ever had the sword in my hands... Good idea, though. I'll check tonight if that was it...

Carolus

[Dis]

The thing about 2 handed weapons in morrowind is kind of weird. you can still equip a shield. But it doesn't actually block for you in combat.

sometimes I'll switch between a 2 and a 1 handed weapon. And the shield automatically eqips with the 1 handed weapon.

Press i to go to inventory screen. You can use the armour tab to find all your armour pieces. Don't take of you shirt or pants, I think this lowers people's perception of you because they think you are naked. Just left click (and hold the left click- actually I might be remembering it wrong, I'm not sure if you have to hold it) on the shield. "Drag" it to the paper doll in the inventory screen. And release. You should hear an audible sound as well iirc. And your armour rating should increase. Note that some shields are heavy armour, some are light etc. I wouldn't worry too much about that right now. Just buy what you can afford.

And taking items is perfectly fine as long as no one can see you. I don't want you to think you can't take items in people's homes. I take them all the time . Just make sure no one can see you. there are many useful items you can find in homes and places of business. If you can see them, then they can see you. Of course you could roleplay that stealing is bad, but I don't know why anyone would want to do that.

If you are playing a thieving type you can use skills or spells to hide and then you can steal in everything. You can use chamelion or invivisbility spells and then press the CTRL button to hide. Once that little icon pops up you can steal. Be careful though, the icon sometimes disappears right before you steal something, and you'll get caught. So you might want to save the game before doing this. It's hard to build up the sneak skill, so I use spells like invisibility and chamelion to help me successfully sneak.