Say hello to my little (Dragon)friend!

It's been said, but yet to been done. I'd like to put emphasize on a really peculiar event that Howard recently spoke of: the befriending of a dragon.

 [Guess the movie reference in this post's title]

If you don't know yet, it just so happens that we will, presumably through the main quest, get a chance to get all social with a dragon, which we then eventually will be able to call to come and aid us in combat, with a dragon shout called "Animal Allegiance." It is the third and final word in the shout, which means that you'll have to find and master the two previous words before you'll be able to summon this fire-breathing son-of-a-bit.. Son-of-a-dragon.

How we meet it and how we persuade it to join our side, I have no idea of. I honestly didn't expect this. At this point I also feel like I should mention that you won't be able to ride him. Oh, and of course you can only summon him outside.

I really hope that we have to defeat him before he joins us, just to prove that we're more badass than him. It's actually just so I won't feel like a pansy for calling on him.

That aside, I've noticed something interesting about him - It might just be me that's colorblind, but I felt like I should throw my observation out there. Kinda like I throw soda cans after armadillo's. Only.
I'm weird, but Todd said that there were 6 main types of dragon, of which I think we've classified in another post, though it is not official, just observation.

If our list is right, then this fellow is one of the "unique" dragons, that differs from the other, typical (yet not quite so dull,) dragons. When I paused the video for the 132th time, I noticed that he was kind of a dark-blue / Purple color <--- So what kind of dragon is that supposed to be? A Jill? I don't think so, 'cause they are supposed to be black.

Who is this dragon? Why is he different? Why is he on our side? People, tell me - What the fuck is going on?

The indomitable power of children

A highly debated topic for TES fans ATM, is the whole thing with children being unkillable. Why is it like this and how will it affect our game experience.
Whilst some NPCs unfortunately is essential (unkillable,) it is a necessary evil that we must endure, so that we can reap the benefits of many wonderful quests and stories - But children ain't really all that important on that account, are they?

A guy on the TES forums came with a good example for the con list. He spoke of an annoying, un-immersive scenario that he would hate to happen to us. Should he kill the denizens of an entire town (for reasons unknown,) he would not want the children to continually run away from him as he approached a town that should be un-populated.

That is undoubtedly a mighty fine argument for why we should be able to violently butcher innocent children, but alas, we must take everything into account.

When Hines was asked on Twitter, I distinctively remember him answering that a lot of the people who work at Bethesda are fathers, and wouldn't feel comfort or joy in letting any harm come to children, virtual or otherwise.  This is fairly understandable, and whilst a concentrated population of internet trolls and bullies would argue that Bethesda consists of a bunch of pussies (not my opinion,) but lets not forget a secondary argument, which I am sure that Bethesda has also thought of. Should they have done it in spite of being uncomfortable with it, they would have been staring straight at lawsuits and riots, consisting of angry, displeased parents  (Them I don't like, though.)

This could all boil down to a matter of taste. Some can take it; Some can't. But I guess where I am going with this explanation, is that I want peace on the matter. The verbal fight that rages across forums is a war unnecessary - And you know why? Because 5 days will pass after the release and we'll have a mod, making the offspring of Skyrim quite potentially dead.

Don't have a PC? Well, then I guess you've got to rethink your life a bit.

Why you should choose the path of: Melee

We've been back and forth, done magic and stealth, but here is the last, and I expect, least sought out path: Melee. Now I can understand why you'd want to be a deadly assassin, moving through the landscape unseen and unheard, as you make your way to your target, successfully making his death look like an accident.
I can also see why you'd might want to be a powerful mage, watching your inferior enemies tremble in fear as you begin to set everything around you on fire, as well as enjoying their failed attempt to run away after you've iced them.
But people! We're forgetting the oldest kind of hero! The Knight! (The oldest actually is demigod, but nevermind that!) The big, strong, presumably handsome man, whose ability in close combat outmatches the brute force of any adversary, be that a brute orc commander or a fierce dragon that roars with fiery death! One who's not afraid to get up close and battle it out - And you know why? 'Cause that son of a bitch can take it! Every single punch, kick and swing you take at him, he just brushes it off and kicks ass. Sort of like Batman. Now, who wouldn't want to be him?

Bring it, bitches!
Unlike the two other paths, the tools (weapons) of the warrior are not limited to specifics, but he has a wide array, which brings me closer to the point - It'll just be a minute. The thing that keeps the warrior alive is the hardcore armor and the crazy amount of health, giving them the ability to absorb heaps of damage before finally falling over whilst dying a necessarily bloody death, preferably by dragon, so that there is a good excuse. This all means that he can get in close and make use of one of the more enjoyable aspects of melee combat in Skyrim: Finishing moves.

This is where the ability to mix and match all sorts of weapons, comes in play. It works like this: Dovahkiin has a different finishing move for every weapon and every enemy in the game - Surely you've seen the mace dual-wielding hero in some of the recent footage, whom slays a troll in the most awesome of ways. Now it is even cooler than... Batman!

No need to be careful
Why walk around with a shield spell in hand - Or crouched in the darkness, when it ain't necessary? You could be awesome instead! One of the great perks of rolling warrior style, is that when we scout through the dark cave, or through the trees of the autumn forest, we don't have to watch out, 'cause if anything jumps on us, we don't give a shit. We. Just. Kill. It.

... Or tame it, if it's a bear!!

Crafting skill: Smithing
This is just rad. Unlike Oblivion's armorer skill, this isn't about repairing our disintegrated fur boots with a hammer - Our equipment doesn't disintegrate anymore, so there's not really much to repair, now is there, Timmy? Didn't think so! No, instead we create, upgrade and sharpen stuff to make our armor tough and our blades deadly! Once we master this fine skill, we'll be able to create stuff out of even Dragonbone! But keep in mind that these bones are insanely heavy, so you may have to kill a couple of dragons in order to get enough bones back to the forge town.

Guild
The Companions - soon to be your companions, my brute friend! This is the warrior guild, equal to the fighters' guild in Oblivion, consisting of melee fighting mercenaries. They are primarily seated in Whiterun, but they have several sub-divisions elsewhere - I personally know of two: The Shield Brothers and The Circle. As you travel through the wilderness of Skyrim, you may come upon a farmstead, where a bunch of Companions are fighting a giant. Should you help them, their leader will thank you; Should you not, she'll be displeased with you - either way she invites you to go to Whiterun to join the companions.
Whether you have to prove your merit in Whiterun, or taking down a giant is enough, is unknown.

McBraas Responds: Thoughts on the new Dark Brotherhood

If you are anything like me, you'll never forget what an incredible experience it was to be woken up by a man, wrapped in a pitch black robe, giving you the chills as he lends the creepy, yet talented voice of Wes Johnson. It was thrilling and exciting, as he granted you the Dagger of Woe, with a goal; A purpose. After the death of Rufus, Lucien LaChance sent us to Cheydinhal and as we first entered the Sanctuary, we knew that we were not alone - We had a family.


Sure, eventually we had to assassinate every single one of them, but that's not really the point, now is it?
Point being - Joining and working with The Dark Brotherhood is probably one of the most memorable RPG experiences that I have lived through and I can only hope that it will be just as epic in Skyrim.

So what do we know so far? Well, we no longer grab their attention by killing an innocent. Although it was a cool way to spark their interest, it's fair to say that it was also easy - That is if you do not have a conscience.
Bethesda decided to up the stakes a little, and it seems that we really have to stand out this time around - As far as I've gathered, we have to receive a quest from some stupid kid somewhere (might be random due to Radiant Story) and that quest will take us on a dangerous, yet epic journey somewhere potentially painful and lethal - Which is no more than a normal day for Dovahkiin! All we can hope is that it doesn't interfere with our afternoon spot of tea.

Grabbing them by the beard and shaking it aside, it looks as if they've gotten a new design, expanding their previous, already vast choice of clothing and style (black.) How do I know this? Well, I've obviously acquired a super secret video (public on YouTube) and taken some pretty hardcore screenshots. It seems that they wish to emphasize what impact blood has on their career, should we choose to reflect on the dark red color, mixed with the classic black. How do I feel about this? Well it's just our friend Tony the Tiger always says: Greaaa-at!

Apart from one little detail, that about covers it. What little detail? What, McBraas?! Be nice and tell us, please! Please!! We're dying to know! If you don't tell us, we will have to lock ourselves in the back of our minivans (which everyone has) and get our non-awesome, non-skyrim friends and or comrades to take us to the nearest lake and dump us in there, along with them and the van, in shame and agony, after stopping at the local gas station to fill up the tank on the van, as well as a quick dummy beating behind the dumpsters, reminding us that we really don't have a place in this world; this universe even!

Well, when you ask like that, who could say no? We know what their entrance looks like. I used my keen memory and the magic of sight to spot that the symbols on the door in a certain screenshot, matches the carvings on the door to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. I also recalled several reviews (3,) where the journalists found this door and mentioned that the skull asked them several riddles, which they didn't have the wit to answer correctly. Given that three people found it by coincidence, I'm thinking that it is rather easy accessible and we know that it ain't located in a city this time around.

I dream that we once again can enjoy the ecstatic and blissful ride of a long series of tasks along our dark brethren - Maybe this time around, we'll even get to do jobs along with some of our brothers and sisters. We can't know for sure, until the game is out; However, One thing we do know for sure is: As soon as Skyrim is out, we've got a family to join - And may the joining be bloody!

You've got to be kidding me!

You know, I love spoilers; Most of the time, anyway. I look at spoilers for several mangas every week and it is good! But the fact that someone would leak the Skyrim manual against Bethesda's will was appalling, yet I couldn't help myself. The horror and glee, mixed together in a pot of tension, rises up again today, a mere 5 hours before writing this - And do you know how? Maybe you've heard already? Someone leaked the first 20 minutes of Skyrim, which is to say: "The intro." And not some intro video with enthusiastic music, no, the real fucking intro! Execution and interruption - Everything.

Guy with sword = ZeniMax
Bear = YouTube accounts

Once again I felt a small surge of negative energy flowing through me, as I thought of how disloyal whomever leaked it is! Did it stop me from watching? no.

I just got home and found out, as ZeniMax was closing down YouTube channels for showing their game intro before the official release - It was less than 10 minutes before it was closed down that I found the first part, covering 13 minutes, and started streaming it, allowing me to watch it. As far as I can tell, all of the video sources have been closed and it is no longer accessible.

That said, if anyone so desires, I will describe what I saw in the video - But for that you've got to tell me first. If you want me to, I'll make a post about that and make sure to mark that it is spoilers.


-
McBraas