Race & Relationship

It is foretold that... Ah, screw it! I was asked about racism, okay?! Nah, seriously - I was asked about the relationship between the different races, due to the fact that it can have a minor impact on peoples' disposition towards the player. But before you go any further, I need you to listen to this song whilst you are reading.

This is what I've come up with:

Vvardenfell totally fell apart due to the eruption of Red Mountain - Not many years later, The Argonians came from Black Marsh and pushed all of the Dunmer out of Morrowind. Evidently the Argonians don't favor their religion, nor their willingness to accept slavery.

That aside, the Dunmer fled primarily to Solstheim and Skyrim, so I guess they'll be common and I am also guessing:

Dunmer X Argonian

So that's one! But there is much more potential to be screwed over, 'cause we still have 8 races to go! And true enough, the Dunmers' weren't the only ones forced to bend over and take it from behind, no, the Orsimer also had to go for a ride.

It just so happens that they had a capital city named Orsinium and the Bretons and the Redguards got the brilliant idea to team up and take on the most awesome race in all of Tamriel - Ha! Like they could win against Orcs!

...

Okay, so they did win, but is that really relevant? The point is that Orsinium got ransacked and the remaining Orcs also fled to Skyrim, as well as that we should keep in mind that Orcs are awesome!

Redguard & Breton X Orsimer

Well, apart from that, I read somewhere that Nords don't like their Dunmer visitors, so I guess we'll see a little:

Nord X Dunmer

And this is not much, but it is seriously, all I know. But I guess that's part of the excitement, isn't it?

Can I haz child?

Is it human nature to wish for a future, where you come home to a warm cozy house, a loving wife or husband, and of course your offspring, eagerly awaiting your arrival with a hug at the ready? It sounds nice to you, doesn't it? - Nah, I know what you're thinking: It sounds like fucking hell, or Desperate Housewives without the 90210 elements which keeps it going, but in spite of that, there are tons of people out there screaming for answers! Can we have children in Skyrim?!

Why you would want to spawn a money-draining, time consuming piece of offspring is beyond me, but I guess it is not my place to judge and I may not be the proper guy to do that either, given my reaction to Fable 3's relationship system which went a little like this:

- You can bang? ----> I wanna try that!

- You can get married? ----> Let's see what that entails!

- I got married ----> Fail!

- Now what ---> More sex!

- Wife is pregnant ---> FUCK!

- Child grows up ---> To be annoying

- Wife has divorced me and left with child ---> I guess the game ain't that bad after all

But that aside, we had a question to be answered! As far as I've gathered, Bethesda has released no answer to this question, and I've been watching carefully (Until security found me and threw me out of their building,) but let us just take a minute to think about it people, please!

How long does it take for women to process a child (Yes, I call it that) - Approximately 9 months (right?)

Then there is a baby! Then baby grows up - Years goes on! This also means that all the other children grow up and become adults and that the young people grow older and eventually die. Does this sound like an Elder Scrolls game? No! Time doesn't actually pass in Skyrim! The world is static in that way! Beth just can't do that, which is why I suggest that we all drop the subject and go home.

As a few comforting words for the people that I've just upset: If we could have had children, I would've named mine: Snotlocker. What would you have named yours?

Dovahkiin and Company

I've worked really hard and made an insane amount (2) of posts on companions, but I feel like I need to make yet another one, due to a bunch of minor details being added to our already impressive (pathetic) overall knowledge.

So let us start at the basics and cover all that we know: You can recruit companions in Skyrim and that is pretty down-right awesome, matching the awesomeness of "Grease."
Unfortunately, you can only have one companion with you at a time, which is about as awesome as "Grease 2."

As far as I've gathered, you can bring almost anyone along - You can hire hirelings, you can bring your spouse and you take friends with you, which adds up to a pretty impressive amount. Yet we should remember that there is a certain risk to bringing our pals along, 'cause they are all but "essential," meaning that if they're dead, they're dead - As in permanent.


But let's not talk about work.
Let's talk about commanding your sure-to-be-mistreated followers! (Work again.)
There is a command wheel for them and you can tell them what approach to take to combat and to use their skills - For an example, you can get them to unlock doors for you, or even steal crap, but keep in mind that if your companions is someone like an honest priest, he won't go and do such a thing for you.

The infamous, unwanted companion:
"Adoring Fan."

Now how do we get companions?
Mostly you can just do as mentioned previously: Bring a spouse or friend, or hire someone. Then there are animal companions (so far just one,) for example a dog, which I suspect to be the infamous "Wilbur." Then you can get some through quests - In Falkreath there is a guy named Sven, who swears to follow you if you help him win the heart of his crush - Too bad that he basically requests his own doom, by offering this.

As always you can ask questions in the comment section, or our "Skyrim Coverage" facebook page.

Marriage - Broken down at the beginning of September

"Marriage is neither Heaven nor Hell, it is simply Purgatory" - Abraham Lincoln

Wise words, but apart from being able to create and play as a different person in a different world, Skyrim puts a little twist on marriage - there's no downside.

At first when I head there was going to be romantic relationships, I tracked it back to the "Troll post" I've mentioned before, meaning that it was a joke - Which I was fine with; I didn't like the idea. Luckily it turned out to be true in the end, and I say luckily because I've actually come around to the idea and I think that that is because it isn't handled Bioware-style (Dragon Age, Mass Effect etc.) not that there is anything wrong with that, mind you, but it just isn't right for this game.

But since the news was released, I've made 1 post about it, but there have been many updates on the topic ever since - so lets get to that, shall we?

Relationships in Skyrim are neat and has benefits - not only does Radiant Story look at whom your friends and enemies are and then gives them specific roles in quests, but having a good relationship with someone could also make them think twice about calling the guards on you, should you have the nerve to steal their fruit (and the likes.)

Once you've build up a relationship with one of the more than hundreds eligible bachelors, then no matter the gender and no matter the race, you can wear an amulet  to signal that you're ready for the next step: Purgato... I mean marriage. I guess it's one of them cool Nord traditions; And we know that that'll turn out well! Just look at how great the dragon-worshipping went!

Once you've courted whomever you want to court and have become man and wife, man and man, or wife and wife, you're new partner does more than just hold that honorable title. Once a day, your spouse can cook you a meal to restore your strenght <3 If you have a house, your new love will move in with you, or if you so desire, he or she will become your companion, aiding you in your travels, be that by fighting at your side, or giving you some neat perks.

The Fellowship of the Dragonborn (pun intended)

I once read something, by a very smart random guy on the internet: "As I lack the necessary social skills to make real life friends, companions in RPG's mean a lot to me."
In a way, I think that that is true for me as well and probably also for many others.

Oh, don't worry. This big slap I just gave everyone including myself has a point to it. I think it compensates more than enough for social retardation plaguing my mind <--- (Seriously, I don't really mind all of that, I'm just exaggerating.)

The point is that Skyrim will feature companions and many more than in Fallout 3,  if any of you landlubsters played that. Fallout featured few, but very engaging companions with unique background stories and personalities - Fawkes, I particularly liked! You know, 1: He had a minigun with an unlimited supply of ammo and 2: He was big, green, bad-ass and pretty much immortal.

The companions in Skyrim will however be heavier in quantity (meaning that there are more) but the quality has been taken down a peck or two. The companions you can find in Skyrim will have their own unique personalities, but their will not be deep, engaging background stories to spend hours listening to in a pathetic attempt to please the fictional character. As cute as these sessions were, I am fine with being rid of them.

Since they are your companions, they follow you around. We don't quite know how the command system is yet. Maybe like Fallouts? Still, we know that we won't be managing their levelling the least. They take care of the whole attribute / perk thing themselves, but different companions will have different perks and herefore fight differently.

A thing that I would like to see is something random and awesome. Say you have a low relationship with a "Chaotic Neutral" companion and you find a great big treasure - suddenly, greed overtakes him and he forces his hand on you (not attempted rape, just murder.) Naturally, you kill him for his insolence with a blade to the heart and a pool of pee on the corpse.

That would be great - that would make sure that they all aren't drooling followers of your leadership. Make it a trust thing.

Hoola Boola! Companions can also mean pets, BTW. We know that the first companion you receive is a pet named Wilbur, who'll help you fight. What the hell Wilbur is, I don't know and remains to be seen. I've already written an entire article on Wilbur, so I'll let that topic rest now.

This is a random Naruto picture - There is no specific reason for this to be here, whatsoever.

We have confirmed Marriage BTW - Maybe we'll even be able to woo our companions? Who knows?

Will you marry me?

Well, excuse the language, but son of a bitch! I'll be damned! At looks as if it happened!

I have news people.
In one of my previous articles, I mentioned that the developers had been talking about including romance. First it was merely a silly rumor, but it seemed like they had actually considered it!

Be you in nerd rage or in joy, I shall tell you this: Romantic relationships are a feature of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. There! I said it!

It would appear that you can even get married and if you own a house, your spouse will move in with you. I wonder how realistic they made it - in case the answer is very, I should probably roll woman so I can get half their stuff when we break up! Badom bom chi!!

I want to be "More than friends..."

You know how to make friends? Of course you don't! That is why we like in-game companions! In Oblivion, which came out back in 2006, making friends were fairly simple. Play the "persuasion game" in get people to like you. The "friends" back then didn't really feel like friends. The only advantage it had was that they smiled when talking to you, and that they would help you in a fight, should they be in the vicinity.


The friendships of Skyrim have been promised to be a lot more engaging. The friends will actually feel like friends and it'll be a lot easier to distinguish between them and your enemies. Both in their talk and the way they react towards you. It also plays an integral part in the Radiant Story system.

I possess a valuable skill: I speak German. I don't have the biggest vocabulary, but I get by. This skill was needed when I read a German article from, written in April.

A circling rumor, which is also integrated in the "fake article" (an article filled with bullshit,) is that Bethesda has included romantic relationships. Opinions on whether it's a good idea or that it's an idea worth a bucket of salmon differ a lot. But nonetheless, can it be true? The bullshit article would persuade us to believe that it is not. Yet, the German article might bring hope to those who desperately wants to hook up with some NPC's.

Since it's from April, we know most of the info, yet when we read through it, it claims that some of the developers said that they were looking into both romantic relationships and friendships.

Here is a quote: "Auch romantische Beziehungen und Freundschaften sollen sich demnach in der Planung befinden."

It means: "Also romantic relationships and friendships should therefore be in the plan" - They DID talk to the devs, and it's a legitimate site, so they are probably not lying. It does however not confirm that there will be relationships, but only that they were looking into it. Until we hear more of on the topic, we can't state it as fact, but it is most definitely as possibility.

*EDIT
You can read my new article "Will you marry me?" on the romantic relationships, which have indeed been confirmed.

Radiant AI - The Skyrim population moves!

We all very much enjoyed the Radiant AI in Oblivion. Finally the lifeless dolls we called NPC's got life and actually started doing something, allowing us to engage in a much better role-playing experience.

After years, I still see people asking: "WTF is Radiant AI?"
In order to calm down the masses, I will give a very light and basic explanation of the Radiant AI, then  talk about Radiant AI in Skyrim.

Radiant AI is what makes the NPC's move around, do jobs, eat, sleep and so on. Very basically, radiant AI gives the NPC's rules and needs, which they will do their best to fulfill. I have some fun anecdotes from the first testings of radiant AI.

In one example, one NPC is given a rake and the need to rake leaves. Another NPC is given a broom and the need to sweep the street. This all worked smoothly. Then they tried switching the items between the two NPC's, so that the other one had the item they needed. It ended with one of them killing the other in order to get their needed item.

In another one, some Skooma addicts killed a merchant, in order to get enough money to buy their fix.

I hope that is enough explanation, if not, please write and I'll do better.

NOW! On to the interesting part! Skyrim!
Oblivion (good start) was, as I said, a major improvement on the role-playing experience, giving each NPC a daily schedule.

Skyrim will succeed that, giving each NPC a job, a way to contribute to their respective cities and families, which they will perform everyday, except the weekend I hope, 'cause nobody should work on weekends. And that's final!

Radiant AI also decides how the NPC's react to the player character. Of course their is their disposition towards you, which will alter depending on your actions. Things that you can do, that'll make them nicer towards you, is kill the big-ass battle machine of a dragon, raiding their town. I imagine that if a person likes you enough, like in Oblivion, they'll even help you out. Unless they're pantsies, of course!

Should you choose to break into their house, in the middle of the night, a friend  might offer you lodgings, as opposed to an stranger or an enemy, who'll probably threaten with calling the guard. Who wouldn't?

If you prance into someone's house and start taking their stuff, or merely pushing the vases off the furniture, don't expect them to be too crazy about you either. It has been said that, should you tip their stuff of their tables, eat their food or swing a weapon to close to them, they WILL act appropriately, based on their prior relationship with you.

So there you have it: More realistic population and more realistic relationships. This is going to be awesome, don't you think?