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Start Choices

(Requires OBSE)

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Version: 1.06
Requirements:OBSE v14 or greater
Author:Horny Quintus
Release Date:April 12th 2009
This version:April 16th 2009
Thread:http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=978204


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Overview
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As the name says, this mod gives you choices at the start. Much more than you get normally. The main quest is delayed until one of the following 2 events happen:
1. You are arreseted in the Imperial City and go to jail.
2. You complete the quest 'Breaking the Siege of Kvatch'.

Before this the Emperor is still alive, the Dragonfires still burn and all is well.


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Version Info
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Version 1.06
- tweaked start script to activate faster and before popups from other mods (e.g. Better Cities, UOP etc. )
- tweaked code to check if a new game or a loaded savegame.

Version 1.04
- changed code at start that removed all your items. Mod should now be compatible with mods that give you items at start.

Version 1.02
- modified to ensure works OK with mods that check if initial CharacterGen quest has been done (e.g. the DLC mods)
- removed autosaves from CharacterGen quest.
- games saved with this mod will now NOT send player to start dungeon if loaded without mod activated
- modified a cell for a Dark Brotherhood quest that contained items relating to Emperor's assassination
- now when you join Dark Brotherhood from start you do not get the 'Your killing has been observed...' message


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Installation
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Install into the Data directory as normal. I recommend to use BAIN.
To disable the intro video with the Emperor, rename the file called OblivionIntro.bik in your "Oblivion\Data\Video" directory


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UnInstalling
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Manual or with BAIN. If you start a new character with this mod, then load the savegame without the mod and before you started main quest,
you will be transported to the start jail and continue from there.
If loading a game saved with this mod, without the mod activated, and before the main quest has started; you will be effectively cut off
from the main quest. To start the main quest you will have to reactivate the mod.


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Using the mod
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Start a new game and, after the usual character, birthsign and class menus; you will be presented with a menu with several options:

CHARACTER
* Appearance (the race & face menu you get at the start)
* Birth sign
* Class
* Status
* Beggar
begin as a diseased beggar with no possessions but the rags you stand in.
if you choose Street as start location, you will also get a bedroll to sleep in.
crouch and activate this bedroll to remove it (once your begging days are done).
* Commoner
begin with a small amount of gold and some possessions related to your major skills. Also a few food items.
* Merchant
similar to commoner but with a much larger amount of gold (between 500 and 1000).
* Fugitive
similar to the above, but gold will vary from 50 to 1000. Ah, you will also have a bounty between 1500 and 3000.
* Level
Choose a start level. Skills and attributes will be set according to similar algorithm Beth used to level the NPCs automatically.
* Vampire
Select this to start as a vampire.

FACTIONS
* Fighters Guild
begin as a member of Fighters Guild
* Mages Guild
same, for Mages Guild
* Thieves Guild
It will be just as if you have done with 'Best Thief' quest and been accepted into the guild.
* Dark Brotherhood
You are initiated into the DB and have access to the lair. You will need to see Vicente Valtieri for next assignment.

HOMES
Begin as the owner of a home \ homes.
* Anvil
* Bravil
* Bruma
* Cheydinhal
* Chorrol
* Imperial City
* Leyawiin
* Skingrad

HORSE
Choose a horse to start with. You will find it in the stables outside your start city \ inn:
* None
* Bay
* Black
* Chestnut
* Paint
* White

START LOCATION
Choose a town or inn to start at:
* Anvil
* Bravil
* Bruma
* Cheydinhal
* Chorrol
* Imperial City
* Leyawiin
* Skingrad
other...
* Borderwatch
* Brina Cross Inn
* Drunken Dragon Inn
* Faregyl Inn
* Hackdirt
* Imperial Bridge Inn
* Roxey Inn
* Weye

If you chose a town you get to select a location in that town:
* Street
start on the street with the beggars
* Inn
or comfortably in an inn. The room is yours for the rest of the day.
* Home
your own house (note if you select this and do not own the house, you will be given ownership of the it)
* Fighters Guild
by a guild bed
* Mages Guild
by a guild bed
* Prison
just as if you had been arrested in the town. Your belongings are in the stolen goods chest and will
be returned to you on completion of your sentence.

OTHER OPTIONS
* Main Quest (IC Jail)
If you are arrested in the Imperial City, you will be sent to the original start cell and the main quest will begin.
Set this option to 'No' to disable this start method.
* Main Quest (Kvatch)
If you complete the quest 'Breaking the Siege of Kvatch' and the main quest has not begun, this will initiate the main quest.
After a couple of days Jauffre will come to hear of your great deeds and decide you are the person he needs to help him.
He will send a messenger to find you...
Set this option to 'No' to disable this start method.
* 'No Quest Markers' Dummy Quest
From Vince Bly's excellent and simple idea.
I include it here because it is something I intend to use and saves me loading his mod as well.
* Thieves Guild House
It always bugged me that you didn't have access to Thieves Guild house until the end.
Select this option to have the door there from the start.

*** START GAME ***
Off you go!


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Things to note
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* You can bring the 'Other Options' menu up any time in the game:
open the console and type 'set HQst.menu to 1', then wait a few seconds.
* The beggar start is intended to be used with the 'Street' option, to give you a bedroll.
* The fugitive start is tricky as you want to be away from any guards.
I suggest you choose an inn outside a city but steer clear of Imperial Bridge and Drunken Dragon Inns, as they have guards!
* You can stop the main quest from starting at all by setting each of the Main Quest options to 'No'
* These options have no effect after the main quest has started.
* I admit that the start main quest after Kvatch method is not seamlessly done, but it works OK and provides another option.
* The tutorial popups have been removed. You don't need them, do you?


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Future plans
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Alternative Main Quest Start (after Kvatch)
This could be done better. I especially don't like the silent voice Jauffre.
If anybody can do a good imitation of Jauffre and would like to help out, please let me know.
With a decent voice actor I would probably expand the dialogue somewhat and paper over the cracks.

Compatibility with other Alternate Start no main quest mods
Prevent the mod from taking you to Character Generation area but still allow you to access main quest with my mod.

Choosing Attributes & Skills
An option to manually alter attributes and skills, similar to old-school RPGs like Daggerfall.

Automatic Levelling Compatibility
Devise a method to make the automatic levelling compatible with the different levelling mods.

The start screen
I would like to bring on the free view camera and set it to point at the player character while you are choosing start options.

Can you make it so I can start in... [insert house mod here]
Yes I can but it will take a bit of effort to do and I have limited time.
If I get enough requests and for a few different mods I will probably include them into the start menu.

Other start ideas
If you have any other ideas that I can add to the start choices, please let me know and I will try to include them.
Fully credited of course.


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Compatibility
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I very much doubt this will be compatible with any other start mods.
Apart from that it should be fine. One of the reasons I included so many start locations was to aid compatibility.
Starting in the street with an Open Cities mod would be a bad idea, but anywhere else should be fine.
The street locations are compatible with Better Cities.


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Questions, Comments, Criticisms
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Please address the Release thread, or leave a comment on the Nexus.


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Credits
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Mod Author: Horny Quintus
Thanks to JOG and lhammonds for the MP3 encoder batch script (http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8122).
Thanks to Vince Bly for the quest marker suppression method I stole so shamelessly.
Many many thanks to the OBSE team for their wonderful and essential work.
Thanks to TeamGecko for TES4Gecko.
and of course, thanks to Bethesda for Oblivion.


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Legal
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Do what you like with it. Just remember credit where credit is due.