Warning: This Post Not for the Cool at Heart. Nerd in Da House!

The Xbox 360 is still in the mail, Best Buy having failed at their claim of a two-day delivery, but The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has arrived fresh from my father-in-law, and if I can't play it yet, at least I have the manual, and that means character creation! I'm thinking at least three plays, perhaps four. Here are the first two, for your consideration:

Character #1 - A footpad, sneaky, fast, agile, high use of the senses. Focus on sneaking, shooting things from the bushes, and becoming the Grey Fox as quickly as possible. Travel light - light armor, bow, short blade/knife - to move quietly and have maximum weight allowance for loot. A smooth talker. Highly controlled level-ups - frequently used and favourite skills to be minor.

Race: Dunmer (Resist Fire, +5 Athletics, Blunt Weapon, Light Armor, Marksman, Mysticism, +10 Blade, Destruction)
Birthsign: The Thief (+10 Agility, Speed, Luck)
Custom Class: Snitch
Class Specialization: Stealth (+10 Security, Sneak, Acrobatics, Light Armor, Marksman, Mercantile, Speechcraft)

Combat focus: Block, Blade, Armorer
Magic focus: Illusion, Mysticism, Alteration
Stealth Focus: Sneak, Marksman, Security

Favourite Attributes: Agility, Strength, Intelligence, Willpower, Personality

Major Skills (base 25):

Blunt Weapon (+5)
Conjuration
Restoration
Heavy Armor
Hand-to-Hand
Illusion
Mercantile (+10)

Minor Skills (base 5):

Marksman (+15)
Light Armor (+15)
Sneak (+10)
Blade (+10)
Destruction (+10)
Speechcraft (+10)
Acrobatics (+10)
Athletics (+5)
Mysticism (+5)
Alteration
Alchemy
Armorer

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Character #2 - A big, burly crusader - total melee combat. None of that sneaking about - if you need to sneak up on something to kill it, you probably can't kill it. Confrontation, issuing challenges, and bashing things is the order of the day. A powerhouse with high stregnth and endurance, and a fine upstanding citizen. Take loot only from ruins, bandit camps, tombs, corpses, and guilds you belong to. Accept all noble-minded side quests, and feel free to eliminate evil wherever found. Do all temple/wayshrine quests; use character for Knights of the Nine expansion. Keep a clean record - no crimes, no bounties, no fines - with the exception of any needed to levy in order to eliminate evil; pre-KotN of course. Highly controlled level-ups.


Race: Imperial (+5 Blade, Blunt Weapon, Hand-to-Hand, Heavy Armor)
Birthsign: The Lady (+10 Willpower, Endurance)
Custom Class: Knight of some sort
Class Specialization: Combat (+10 Block, Armorer, Heavy Armor, Blunt Weapon, Blade, Athletics, Hand-to-Hand)

Combat focus: Blade, Blunt, Athletics
Magic focus: Restoration, Mysticism
Stealth focus: Acrobatics, Mercantile

Favourite Attributes: Endurance, Personality, Strength, Willpower

Major Skills (base 25):

Destruction
Illusion
Conjuration
Marksman
Light Armor
Security
Sneak

Minor Skills (base 5)

Block (+10)
Blade (+15)
Blunt (+15)
Hand-to-Hand (+15)
Heavy Armor (+15)
Armorer (+10)
Athletics (+10)
Mercantile (+10)
Speechcraft (+10)
Restoration
Mysticism
Acrobatics
Alchemy


To misquote a popular children's Christmas tune...Hurry, Xbox, hurry fast!