Oblivion Builds
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 6:17 pm
Big edit due to the Elder scrolls 6 announcment and because I "upgraded" to Windows 10 and just got done re-installing Oblivion with mods.June/15/2018
Alcoholic Argonian Alchemist
You hatched just 5 minutes after your nest-mate yet that was enough to keep you from being a venerated Shadowscale and condemned you to life as a Hist tender. As soon as you were able you headed for Cyrodiil to make your mark upon the world. Those long years tending to the mighty Hist trees did not leave you unmarked however: Making poultices for the tree, and the occasional dalliance with a lusty maid, gave you a grasp on the fundamentals of alchemy. Shooting squirrels out of the trees has made you a better than average shot. Climbing (and repeatedly falling out of) the mighty Hist has made you a better acrobat. Keeping out of sight of the overboss tenders has made you sneakier than most. Living the life you feel you don't deserve drove you to the bottle, though you're too smart to mess around with Skooma or Moon Sugar. Days after finally getting to the Imperial City you got arrested on trumped up charges and sentenced to life in prison. As the months (or is it years?) go by you feel your skills deteriorating. You know you're no longer as good with the bow as you used to be and you've learned all you can from mixing mold and bread in a makeshift mortar and pestle. If only you could get out of this cell...
Name - Ysk (Super nerd points if you know where that name is from. Feel free to rename)
Sex - Flip a coin (stats wise male is faster, female is smarter)
Race - Argonian
Sign - Steed
Specialization - Stealth
Attributes - Agility, Intelligence
Class - Custom: Acrobatics, Alchemy, Alteration, Armorer, Light Armor, Marksman, Sneak
You prefer ranged combat. You can open from stealth but must un-sneak once combat starts, speed is more reliable than stealth. If ranged combat is untenable you fall back on your best blunt weapon (1 or 2 hand, users choice). Shields are just extra weight, it's better to not get hit. Your alcoholism means you must consume at least one alcoholic beverage per day. You must level up (find a safe bed) as soon as you can after you get the level up icon. You have no problem killing non-Argonians, though you try to find other options when Argonians are on the chopping block. You use self made poisons frequently, and you use self made potions as needed. However being "in the know" you realize that most store bought and looted potions are inferior and full of unhealthy additives so you'd rather sell those than drink them yourself. You're equally at home picking flowers, locks and pockets (of non-Argonians). You don't really trust magic, but the utility of alteration (open locks, pick flowers, shield) and restoration (healing) can't be ignored. While you adhered to the rituals growing up tending the Hist you never really believed in it as a deity. Those petty daedra can at least be talked to if you're (un-)lucky enough. For the most part you only believe in yourself and what your senses tell you.
I personally don't like vampirism in Oblivion Bethesda games, but if you forget to cure it before it becomes serious there is a neat quest to cure yourself.
On level up:
Any +4 or 5 > Speed > Agility > Endurance > Any +3 > Luck
Minor modding mayhem below:
Necessary mods:
Unofficial Oblivion Patch: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5296 The Steam GOTY Edition should already be patched to v1.2.0.416 so no need for the "Required" patch listed on that page.
Unofficial DLC Patch: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10739
Darnified UI: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10763 Has some useful keyboard shortcuts built in, like up arrow for yes. When installing don't hide quest popups for your first run.
OBSE: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/37952 Required for most mods, it's the precursor to SKSE and F4SE.
Archive Invalidation Invalidated: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10724 Makes annoying ini edits less necessary.
Gather ye Rosebuds: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/14259 Required for the Alcoholic Argonian Alchemist, but just nice to have for everyone else. Adds well balanced spells that harvest everything around you.
A to take all: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/27638 adds a quick loot button, A, so you can loot and scoot more easily.
Carry all you want: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5118 Okay so maybe it's just my personal requirement, but it is so nice to not have to worry about inventory management. There are tons of alternatives like bag of holding or mods that don't make carry weight functionally unlimited, just x10 or so. Oblivion's inventory is one of the harsher ones I've come across for anything other than warriors.
Nice to have mods:
Blockhead: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/43752 This and Oblivion Character Overhaul are not strictly necessary but makes the NPCs look better. This is required for OCO
OCO: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/43752 Fixes the dreaded pumpkin head syndrome.
Keychain: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/3409 Reduces inventory clutter, by the end of the game you get a lot of keys this mod sticks them in their own holder.
Harvest Flora: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/2037 Changes plant appearance when you harvest them so you can easily see which you've picked and which you haven't. Nice for immersion.
Harvest Containers: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/3979 Ditto but for lootable furniture instead of plants. Sneak-acitvate to remove the evidence if you want to RP stealth. Don't do the Havok crates, just don't.
Alive waters: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/6914 Adds non-aggressive fish and other things to the otherwise barren underwater.
Quest Award Leveller: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5701 If you get Chillrend at level 1 it sucks, get it at level 20 it's pretty much the best, this mod levels quest rewards with you so they stay relevant.
All +5 Attribute modifiers: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/2691 This is a quick and dirty, if cheaty, fix to the "interesting" Oblivion leveling system. Instead of needing to get x minor skill increases per attribute to get the full +5, if you get any skill ups for that attribute you'll get the full +5 modifier.
Recommend against:
Alternate Start Arrive by Ship: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/11495 For Cohh's playthrough it's a bad idea. For everyone else's second-millionth run it's nice to have.
QARLS Texture Pack: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/18498 For the first time playing I suggest seeing things in vanilla, but it does make Oblivion nearly Skyrim pretty.
COBL: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/21104 Common Oblivion adds a ton of little things that just make sense. But overall it's a big change for a first run, and a pain to install.
Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/15256 is a great mod for later playthroughs. It unlevels some places, adds creatures and more.
Step 1 buy Oblivion GOTY edition on Steam.
Step 2 Install it.
Step 3 Run it once without any mods. This sets up .ini files and ensures the game runs on your system. Once you have things like volume, graphics, gameplay options and keybinds set start a new game. Skip cutscenes so you aren't spoiled! Once you have control of your character open the console with ` and type saveini. This is just making sure the ini was created with the settings you like.
Step 3b Nice keybinds. Most newer games give you less choice for keybinds, Oblivion is an old game it spoils you for choice. I like to set cast to C as well as Mouse 3. I set "Use" to E as well as mouse 4. Mouse 5 is sometimes autorun and sometimes grab, do what you will. These are just suggestions pointing out what's possible.
Step 4 Get Oblivion mod manager: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/2097 Once it's downloaded open your Oblivion folder by right clicking the game in steam, click properties, local files tab, "Browse Local Files". Move the obmm_setup.exe into the Oblivion folder and install. Read the options for the install, I don't need a start menu folder, I don't need more right click options etc.
Step 5 Manually download the mods you're going to use, this makes installing them with OBMM easier, especially if you already have NMM installed for other games.
Step 6 Install OBSE I'll let the experts handle this one: "1. Copy obse_1_2_416.dll, obse_editor_1_2.dll, and obse_steam_loader.dll to your Oblivion directory. This is usually "C:Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\common\oblivion". [For me it's "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Oblivion", use the browse local files trick from earlier if you're having trouble] 2. Ensure you have enabled the Steam community in-game, or OBSE will fail to load. Go to Steam > Settings > In-Game and check the box marked "Enable Steam Overlay". 3. Launch Oblivion via Steam or by running Oblivion.exe. OBSE will automatically be run along with Oblivion when launched. To disable this, rename or move obse_steam_loader.dll. You do not need to use obse_loader.exe unless you are running the editor."
Step 6b Usually OBSE just works, but if you want to make sure it's working you can either test with a mod like keychain, it'll simply not work without OBSE. Or you can find an NPC, open the console, click on that npc, you should see their name pop up on the top of the screen, type SetRefEssential 1 if you don't get an error then OBSE is working and that NPC will be invincible and have a crown icon instead of round face/septim thingie.
Step 7 Manually install the unofficial patch. Extract the rar somewhere, copy the extracted stuff to your Oblivion\Data folder. The folder with .esp's in it. Start Oblivion through steam, in the launcher click data files and make check the boxes next to the unoffical .esp's.
Step 8 Start OBMM, remember it's in the same folder as Oblivion.exe. Click "Create" along the bottom, between "Activate" and "Edit". Find and click the "Add Archive" button near the middle-right. Find the Unofficial Shivering Patch and add it. You should then fill in the mod name and description. Some mods let you import that metadata, right click an esp in the list and click "Import mod details" sometimes it works. Finally click "Create omod" in the bottom right. Activate the mod in the main OBMM screen by highlighting the mod your activating and clicking activate. You may get warnings about overwriting other mods this is a judgment call, most of the time it's fine even encouraged but sometimes you want content from other mods to be used instead of this mod so you don't overwrite it. For this guide always overwrite.
Step 9 Repeat step 8 with the Unofficial DLC patch and then you can start on the rest of the mods you chose.
Step 9b Every few mods close OBMM and launch the game through Steam to make sure the game still works. With just the "Necessary" mods I listed everything should work but it's still good practice.
Step 9c For Harvest containers create the omod as usual but when you activate it don't select the havok crates option, that has been pretty buggy in my experience.
Step 9d CarryAllYouWant and a few other mods simply download as a loose .esp, for those you simply drop them in your Oblivion\Data folder and activate them in the launcher.
Step 9e Darnified UI needs to be extracted then in OBMM you click load, find the DarNified UI .omod, open it and then activate it. Enter your name and choose install everything. Follow the installer and choose what you like. I change the font, use the colored local map and the no quest popup options.
Step 10 Setting up DarnUI. AFAIK you have to start a game and use the ingame editor to fine tune DarnUI if you're not happy with the defaults. This is pretty easy, in the game hit tab to open your journal. The tab on the far right should be DarnUI's configure. Play with the options till you get something you like, don't close that menu, printscreen or f12 to take a screenshot. Use the screenshot as a reference when you edit the .ini, unless you like re-doing those changes every time you load the game
The .ini is located in Oblivion\Data\menus\prefabs\darn and the file to edit is: hudmainmenu_config.xml. It's pretty well commented.
Step 10b If my rambling is too incoherent try this: https://darnified.net/forums/14/darnifi ... explained/ or this https://darnified.net/forums/33/configuring_the_ui/
Step 11 Archive invalidation comes with a nifty installer, not 100% sure it's necessary with so few mods but better to have it and not need it...
Step 12 I'm running on Windows 10 with all the necessary files and a couple nice to haves with no issues after a couple hours testing following this guide. You should be ready to play. Just launch the game from Steam, make sure the data files you want activated are and have fun.
Tips: I suggest you start by Seeking Your Roots, Nirnroots that is. This will give you a quest that has you looking under every rock and by every stream. When you get bored of that maybe check out the waterfront at midnight? Then you might look for any Cryodiilic Shadowscales? (Shadowscales are the official Argonian assassins)
When you get out of the sewers for the first time you can open the console and type tmm 0 to hide all map markers. They're still discoverable but it means you can't instantly fast travel to any city, you have to walk everywhere at least once.
About the class: Speed and agility are your two main stats, each has 2 skills that give you points as you level. Intelligence, willpower and endurance are covered by one skill each. Luck has no skills so that can only ever get +1. That leaves personality without any skills, however just how personable do you think an Argonian drunkard could be?
Alcoholic Argonian Alchemist
You hatched just 5 minutes after your nest-mate yet that was enough to keep you from being a venerated Shadowscale and condemned you to life as a Hist tender. As soon as you were able you headed for Cyrodiil to make your mark upon the world. Those long years tending to the mighty Hist trees did not leave you unmarked however: Making poultices for the tree, and the occasional dalliance with a lusty maid, gave you a grasp on the fundamentals of alchemy. Shooting squirrels out of the trees has made you a better than average shot. Climbing (and repeatedly falling out of) the mighty Hist has made you a better acrobat. Keeping out of sight of the overboss tenders has made you sneakier than most. Living the life you feel you don't deserve drove you to the bottle, though you're too smart to mess around with Skooma or Moon Sugar. Days after finally getting to the Imperial City you got arrested on trumped up charges and sentenced to life in prison. As the months (or is it years?) go by you feel your skills deteriorating. You know you're no longer as good with the bow as you used to be and you've learned all you can from mixing mold and bread in a makeshift mortar and pestle. If only you could get out of this cell...
Name - Ysk (Super nerd points if you know where that name is from. Feel free to rename)
Sex - Flip a coin (stats wise male is faster, female is smarter)
Race - Argonian
Sign - Steed
Specialization - Stealth
Attributes - Agility, Intelligence
Class - Custom: Acrobatics, Alchemy, Alteration, Armorer, Light Armor, Marksman, Sneak
You prefer ranged combat. You can open from stealth but must un-sneak once combat starts, speed is more reliable than stealth. If ranged combat is untenable you fall back on your best blunt weapon (1 or 2 hand, users choice). Shields are just extra weight, it's better to not get hit. Your alcoholism means you must consume at least one alcoholic beverage per day. You must level up (find a safe bed) as soon as you can after you get the level up icon. You have no problem killing non-Argonians, though you try to find other options when Argonians are on the chopping block. You use self made poisons frequently, and you use self made potions as needed. However being "in the know" you realize that most store bought and looted potions are inferior and full of unhealthy additives so you'd rather sell those than drink them yourself. You're equally at home picking flowers, locks and pockets (of non-Argonians). You don't really trust magic, but the utility of alteration (open locks, pick flowers, shield) and restoration (healing) can't be ignored. While you adhered to the rituals growing up tending the Hist you never really believed in it as a deity. Those petty daedra can at least be talked to if you're (un-)lucky enough. For the most part you only believe in yourself and what your senses tell you.
I personally don't like vampirism in Oblivion Bethesda games, but if you forget to cure it before it becomes serious there is a neat quest to cure yourself.
On level up:
Any +4 or 5 > Speed > Agility > Endurance > Any +3 > Luck
Minor modding mayhem below:
Necessary mods:
Unofficial Oblivion Patch: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5296 The Steam GOTY Edition should already be patched to v1.2.0.416 so no need for the "Required" patch listed on that page.
Unofficial DLC Patch: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10739
Darnified UI: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10763 Has some useful keyboard shortcuts built in, like up arrow for yes. When installing don't hide quest popups for your first run.
OBSE: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/37952 Required for most mods, it's the precursor to SKSE and F4SE.
Archive Invalidation Invalidated: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10724 Makes annoying ini edits less necessary.
Gather ye Rosebuds: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/14259 Required for the Alcoholic Argonian Alchemist, but just nice to have for everyone else. Adds well balanced spells that harvest everything around you.
A to take all: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/27638 adds a quick loot button, A, so you can loot and scoot more easily.
Carry all you want: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5118 Okay so maybe it's just my personal requirement, but it is so nice to not have to worry about inventory management. There are tons of alternatives like bag of holding or mods that don't make carry weight functionally unlimited, just x10 or so. Oblivion's inventory is one of the harsher ones I've come across for anything other than warriors.
Nice to have mods:
Blockhead: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/43752 This and Oblivion Character Overhaul are not strictly necessary but makes the NPCs look better. This is required for OCO
OCO: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/43752 Fixes the dreaded pumpkin head syndrome.
Keychain: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/3409 Reduces inventory clutter, by the end of the game you get a lot of keys this mod sticks them in their own holder.
Harvest Flora: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/2037 Changes plant appearance when you harvest them so you can easily see which you've picked and which you haven't. Nice for immersion.
Harvest Containers: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/3979 Ditto but for lootable furniture instead of plants. Sneak-acitvate to remove the evidence if you want to RP stealth. Don't do the Havok crates, just don't.
Alive waters: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/6914 Adds non-aggressive fish and other things to the otherwise barren underwater.
Quest Award Leveller: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5701 If you get Chillrend at level 1 it sucks, get it at level 20 it's pretty much the best, this mod levels quest rewards with you so they stay relevant.
All +5 Attribute modifiers: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/2691 This is a quick and dirty, if cheaty, fix to the "interesting" Oblivion leveling system. Instead of needing to get x minor skill increases per attribute to get the full +5, if you get any skill ups for that attribute you'll get the full +5 modifier.
Recommend against:
Alternate Start Arrive by Ship: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/11495 For Cohh's playthrough it's a bad idea. For everyone else's second-millionth run it's nice to have.
QARLS Texture Pack: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/18498 For the first time playing I suggest seeing things in vanilla, but it does make Oblivion nearly Skyrim pretty.
COBL: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/21104 Common Oblivion adds a ton of little things that just make sense. But overall it's a big change for a first run, and a pain to install.
Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/15256 is a great mod for later playthroughs. It unlevels some places, adds creatures and more.
Step 1 buy Oblivion GOTY edition on Steam.
Step 2 Install it.
Step 3 Run it once without any mods. This sets up .ini files and ensures the game runs on your system. Once you have things like volume, graphics, gameplay options and keybinds set start a new game. Skip cutscenes so you aren't spoiled! Once you have control of your character open the console with ` and type saveini. This is just making sure the ini was created with the settings you like.
Step 3b Nice keybinds. Most newer games give you less choice for keybinds, Oblivion is an old game it spoils you for choice. I like to set cast to C as well as Mouse 3. I set "Use" to E as well as mouse 4. Mouse 5 is sometimes autorun and sometimes grab, do what you will. These are just suggestions pointing out what's possible.
Step 4 Get Oblivion mod manager: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/2097 Once it's downloaded open your Oblivion folder by right clicking the game in steam, click properties, local files tab, "Browse Local Files". Move the obmm_setup.exe into the Oblivion folder and install. Read the options for the install, I don't need a start menu folder, I don't need more right click options etc.
Step 5 Manually download the mods you're going to use, this makes installing them with OBMM easier, especially if you already have NMM installed for other games.
Step 6 Install OBSE I'll let the experts handle this one: "1. Copy obse_1_2_416.dll, obse_editor_1_2.dll, and obse_steam_loader.dll to your Oblivion directory. This is usually "C:Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\common\oblivion". [For me it's "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Oblivion", use the browse local files trick from earlier if you're having trouble] 2. Ensure you have enabled the Steam community in-game, or OBSE will fail to load. Go to Steam > Settings > In-Game and check the box marked "Enable Steam Overlay". 3. Launch Oblivion via Steam or by running Oblivion.exe. OBSE will automatically be run along with Oblivion when launched. To disable this, rename or move obse_steam_loader.dll. You do not need to use obse_loader.exe unless you are running the editor."
Step 6b Usually OBSE just works, but if you want to make sure it's working you can either test with a mod like keychain, it'll simply not work without OBSE. Or you can find an NPC, open the console, click on that npc, you should see their name pop up on the top of the screen, type SetRefEssential 1 if you don't get an error then OBSE is working and that NPC will be invincible and have a crown icon instead of round face/septim thingie.
Step 7 Manually install the unofficial patch. Extract the rar somewhere, copy the extracted stuff to your Oblivion\Data folder. The folder with .esp's in it. Start Oblivion through steam, in the launcher click data files and make check the boxes next to the unoffical .esp's.
Step 8 Start OBMM, remember it's in the same folder as Oblivion.exe. Click "Create" along the bottom, between "Activate" and "Edit". Find and click the "Add Archive" button near the middle-right. Find the Unofficial Shivering Patch and add it. You should then fill in the mod name and description. Some mods let you import that metadata, right click an esp in the list and click "Import mod details" sometimes it works. Finally click "Create omod" in the bottom right. Activate the mod in the main OBMM screen by highlighting the mod your activating and clicking activate. You may get warnings about overwriting other mods this is a judgment call, most of the time it's fine even encouraged but sometimes you want content from other mods to be used instead of this mod so you don't overwrite it. For this guide always overwrite.
Step 9 Repeat step 8 with the Unofficial DLC patch and then you can start on the rest of the mods you chose.
Step 9b Every few mods close OBMM and launch the game through Steam to make sure the game still works. With just the "Necessary" mods I listed everything should work but it's still good practice.
Step 9c For Harvest containers create the omod as usual but when you activate it don't select the havok crates option, that has been pretty buggy in my experience.
Step 9d CarryAllYouWant and a few other mods simply download as a loose .esp, for those you simply drop them in your Oblivion\Data folder and activate them in the launcher.
Step 9e Darnified UI needs to be extracted then in OBMM you click load, find the DarNified UI .omod, open it and then activate it. Enter your name and choose install everything. Follow the installer and choose what you like. I change the font, use the colored local map and the no quest popup options.
Step 10 Setting up DarnUI. AFAIK you have to start a game and use the ingame editor to fine tune DarnUI if you're not happy with the defaults. This is pretty easy, in the game hit tab to open your journal. The tab on the far right should be DarnUI's configure. Play with the options till you get something you like, don't close that menu, printscreen or f12 to take a screenshot. Use the screenshot as a reference when you edit the .ini, unless you like re-doing those changes every time you load the game
The .ini is located in Oblivion\Data\menus\prefabs\darn and the file to edit is: hudmainmenu_config.xml. It's pretty well commented. Step 10b If my rambling is too incoherent try this: https://darnified.net/forums/14/darnifi ... explained/ or this https://darnified.net/forums/33/configuring_the_ui/
Step 11 Archive invalidation comes with a nifty installer, not 100% sure it's necessary with so few mods but better to have it and not need it...
Step 12 I'm running on Windows 10 with all the necessary files and a couple nice to haves with no issues after a couple hours testing following this guide. You should be ready to play. Just launch the game from Steam, make sure the data files you want activated are and have fun.
Tips: I suggest you start by Seeking Your Roots, Nirnroots that is. This will give you a quest that has you looking under every rock and by every stream. When you get bored of that maybe check out the waterfront at midnight? Then you might look for any Cryodiilic Shadowscales? (Shadowscales are the official Argonian assassins)
When you get out of the sewers for the first time you can open the console and type tmm 0 to hide all map markers. They're still discoverable but it means you can't instantly fast travel to any city, you have to walk everywhere at least once.
About the class: Speed and agility are your two main stats, each has 2 skills that give you points as you level. Intelligence, willpower and endurance are covered by one skill each. Luck has no skills so that can only ever get +1. That leaves personality without any skills, however just how personable do you think an Argonian drunkard could be?
