# I Just Bought TES Oblivion - any tips or links to good fan sites?? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 3, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275 "2009-02-03T17:25:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/21 "2009-02-04T22:35:24Z")
> [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](#): > > Regarding the main quest, in response to **clairobscur** (oblivion gates spoilers): > > [spoiler]In the course of the main quest, you only technically need to enter, I believe, three oblivion gates. There is the first one in Kvatch, one at Bruma, and then one at the very end of the quest (which you really will want to just run through without fighting anything due to a time limit). There are other “optional” gates during the main quest, but you don’t actually have to do them (most of them being part of the optional Allies for Bruma quests). > > The random oblivion gates you find in the wilderness are completely optional; they open with increasing frequency as you progress through the main quest, and then will close when you finish the main quest.[/spoiler] Thanks for the info. I might be more willing to finish the game knowing that. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/22 "2009-02-04T22:36:58Z")
> [@maladroit](#): > > I haven’t died in-game yet, but it finally occurred to me what would happen when I do 😛 I’ve been playing on-line games so long, and I hadn’t seen any mention of it anywhere in the faq’s der :smack: In case you would be actually wondering, you must reload a save, like in all games. ---
**Author:** ![Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Words_on_the_Interweb)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/23 "2009-02-05T03:56:39Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > In case you would be actually wondering, you must reload a save, like in all games. Although there is at least one mod which implements a “death penalty” and doesn’t actually force a reload. I haven’t played with it yet, as I’m the type who would probably reload to avoid the penalty, heh. [Johnguydude’s Death Overhaul](http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=4649) if you’re interested in checking it out. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/24 "2009-02-05T04:26:04Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > In case you would be actually wondering, you must reload a save, like in all games. Not all games. There are a few where you are just reincarnated at a certain point without having to reload. But, that, certainly, is a minor quibble. I got the PS3 version for Christmas and I absolutely adore it. I really am surprised that people dislike the original game so much that they feel that it needs Mods. Of course, I am lucky that I love the standard game so much since the PS3 version is not able to benefit from the mods. I haven’t been annoyed yet by the way monsters grow in strength as you level up. I was sure before I started playing that this would be an especially irritating change. But, it has been smooth and really not especially noticeable for me so far. One of my favorite features of the game is sneaking around and accomplishing quests with little or no bloodshed. Then again, bloodshed is fun, too. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/25 "2009-02-05T13:13:39Z")
The guy who made the DarkUI mod keeps a compilation of mods for Oblivion & Morrowind that lots of people found helpful. He goes by the name Blackhawk and he’s staff at [www.octopusoverlords.com](http://www.octopusoverlords.com) which is where you can usually find it. The compilations are really well made to work together without breaking the game. That said, clairobscure, I found closing the Oblivion gates to be such a bore that I enchanted some items with permanent chameleon and maxed my stealth score. Then I just snuck past all the Daedra and made a beeline for the closing mechanism. The nice thing about the game is that it lets you choose how you want to deal with combat (including an option to skip it, most times.) Paralysis poisons + Marksmanship also brought a big boost to my enjoyment. ---
**Author:** ![Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@Words\_on\_the\_Interweb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Words_on_the_Interweb)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/26 "2009-02-05T21:34:03Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Then I just snuck past all the Daedra and made a beeline for the closing mechanism. The nice thing about the game is that it lets you choose how you want to deal with combat (including an option to skip it, most times.) Paralysis poisons + Marksmanship also brought a big boost to my enjoyment. Stealth is for wimps! Hehe, actually I like stealth-marksman a lot, but when it comes to Oblivion gates, I got to know the general layouts well enough I’d just run like hell and let everything chase me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/27 "2009-02-06T19:24:52Z")
Stupid question. Can I install these mods and pick up where I left off in the game, or do I have to start the game over? I’m already getting pissed off by the difficulty of trying to avoid leveling up (my major skills are fucking blade, blunt, hand-to-hand, restoration and destruction so it’s kind of hard to avoid! Gee if only I’d realized that my major skills weren’t supposed to be the ones I use all the time.:rolleyes: ) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/28 "2009-02-06T19:37:33Z")
If you are overwhelmed by the graphics, be prepared to be even more whelmed by the Natural Environments mod: [http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=376](http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=376) It scales the trees to be much larger and more impressive, the weather to be more varied, makes the plants disappear after you harvest them, etc. I love this mod. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/29 "2009-02-06T20:03:45Z")
Is there a ui mod that displays your hotkey buttons on-screen? I keep forgetting what I set them to. It’s very awkward. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275/30 "2009-02-06T22:03:42Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Stupid question. Can I install these mods and pick up where I left off in the game, or do I have to start the game over? I’m already getting pissed off by the difficulty of trying to avoid leveling up (my major skills are fucking blade, blunt, hand-to-hand, restoration and destruction so it’s kind of hard to avoid! Gee if only I’d realized that my major skills weren’t supposed to be the ones I use all the time.:rolleyes: ) Most mods can be installed/uninstalled on a game already in progress. Check the readme files of the various mods you’re thinking of using. > [@maladroit](#): > > Is there a ui mod that displays your hotkey buttons on-screen? I keep forgetting what I set them to. It’s very awkward. I don’t believe anyone ever figured out how to do that, even with OBSE (the Oblivion Script Extender). I haven’t looked into Oblivion mods in a while, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-bought-tes-oblivion-any-tips-or-links-to-good-fan-sites/484275.md?page=1)