Thieves Quests and Other Big Lines: Bethseda Petition

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Ace

New Member
Dear Bethseda:

After truly enjoying many of main quest lines in Oblivion, it was greatly dissapointing to see your implementation of the thieves. stormcloaks, and imperial quest lines. In Oblivion, working for the thieves guild was enjoyable. The grey fox had a certain sense of "Thieves Honor" so to speak. You didn't feel like an angel working for the Grey Fox, but at least you didn't feel like the brutish bully of a thug you do in Skyrim.

Two Words- Maven Blackbriar. Even before I started questing for the thieves guild, I wanted to stick a dagger in her back. Then I found out I had to work for her during the thieves guild quest. I was instantly furious, paused my quest and went online to ensure that I would later have a chance to kill her.

To my and thousands (if not millions) of other SKyrim fans, I found out I would be unable to kill or even damage her reputation in any way (except for one scantly clad horse quest which I had already completed).

This woman is a serious bitch, and I am sure you designed her that way. However, to implement her into not only the thieves guild quest but the imperial line is the biggest sham of Elder Scrolls I have seen to date. The player should be able to choose what kind of thief they want to be. Like the grey fox, many of us want to be a thief with a certain sense of grandeur or adventure. In skyrim, your nothing more than a bully, a thug, a burglar, etc. These quest lines force the player into something they must do if they want to complete that quest line or reward. They are but a single river flowing one direction, when it should be a river with many forks and choices in the road.

I literally wanted to quit the thieves guild quest the second I found out I would be helping her. Then I later found out that when I work the imperial quest she becomes jarl YUCK. After completing the stormcloaks quest with my first character, it was my biggest regret to have to serve Ulfric. That arrogant self righteous coward who barely shows his face in battle, the man who sent his armies to attack whiterun instead of challenging Whiterun's Jarl (whom most people like). THerefore, I was much happier to start a 2nd character and work for the imperials thinking I would not serve the Ulfric slime. However, I then put Maven Blackbriar upon the Riften Throne, and that was the end of all gratitude for the Imperial quest line.

Literally, the entire Skyrim storyline had been ruined for many fans. Join the thieves guild and empower Maven Black Bitch. Join the Imperials and serve Maven Black Briar. Join the stormcloaks and empower Ulfric Slime.

These are the main quests (arguably) of Skyrim- Dragons, Mages, Companions, Thieves, Brotherhood, Imperial, and Stormcloak. And the thieves, imperials, and stormcloaks have turned out to be such trash. No player wants to serve Maven blackbriar, and few Ulfric.

You should at least give the players the option of turning agaisn't Maven. You may say Maven represents evil or what the thieves guild is all about. Then it is hypocritical and ironic to not allow an "evil" character to turn agaisnt an evil Maven. It is preposterous to force players into serving a character they cant stand with multiple main quest lines; to not give players a choice of what kind of thief or what kind of imperial they want to be

The base concept behind Skyrim is a free world. The player should be able to do what he wants when he wants. However, bethseda implement "Quest line" or "storyline" characters, which are unkillable. The few staunch defenders of Bethseda have argued it would affect or break the game if characters like Maven were killable.

Then you should not implement these characters into major storylines. Or you weave a possible alternative into these storylines. You let players backstab Maven, or Ulfric towards the end of the line. Something...........anything...............Because quite literally. I wanted to quit Skyrim when I found out I would be serving up Maven Blackbriar in both the Thieves GUild and Imperial quest lines. It enfuriated me, and it has enfuriated thousands and thousands of other fans.

What I wouldn't give to work with the grey fox. Yes I said work with, beacause you felt like the Grey Fox was more of a mentor and friend. Whereas in Skyrim you are a mere servant to slime like Maven and Ulfric (you feel like a dog being forced to serve a character for the sake of the quest line).

The thieves guild was intriguing and exciting with a sense of adventure. In Skyrim, we are serving (not working with or working for) the likes of Maven Blackbriar. Instead of feeling like a mischevious, clever, exciting Oblivion thief, we feel like an absolute thug and bully in Skyrim. Instead of having a choice as to what kind of thief we would like to be, we are conscripted into nothing more than ogres with clubs bullying people into paying debts. Even many of the lore books in skyrim (in game books), thieves have a whole different persona and aura about them. The Virtuous Thief, etc, etc. We dont read books of the thief who went from person to person bullying them into paying debts.

Bethseda this is hypocrisy and poor design in every way. I dont know whether its through laziness to not implement alternative routes to Maven et all, or through poor design. There is no sense of grandeur, adventure, excitement whatsoever working within these quest lines. If you can explain this in any way, the fans encourage you to please do so. I guarantee we can counter any point you attempt to justify for such bad storytelling and poor player choice implementation. At the very least, come out and admit that this was a mistake. Bethseda you need to change this, as it disappoints many fans and violates your own basic fundamentals for the game.
 

SussMofo

New Member
i do agree... good on you sir! great rant! :p
 

Nameless1

Active Member
True that, eessential NPC's make me wannna cut throats, so next time I murder someone, blame it on bethesda for ont letting me doi it in a game. ahaa, but seriously.
It would not break tha game. Many many many people absolutelly adore Morrowind, and there was no such thing as "'essentials" back then. And on tha contrary, having essentials breaks tha game. I wanted to kill ralof after we escaped Helgen, obviously couldn't, and now he has eternal aggro towards me. I cant go to riverwood because he once attacked me there and so gerdur also has eternal aggro, whom I also cannot kill. and when I did tha Stormcloak quests he had aggro on me still!! fluff off my nuts Ralof!
 

Black-Tongue

Prey approaches...
Not all theives are the robinhood type. It's just business. Either you are in it for the money or you're not. I'm glad bethesda didn't make it so everything you do is justifiable in some "greater good" kind of way. The world is not black and white, you can not always have your sweetroll and eat it too. The strongest appeal to bethesda's writing for me is that they create situations where there is really no clear cut right choice to make. Skyrim is a brutal place and I think bethesda did well to capture some of the desparation of its citizens.

The theives guild in oblivion was no different. It just had a cherry on top that was easier to swallow. You ruined people's lives by cleaning out their stores and their homes. You weren't in it because "Oh everyone loves me, I'm a compassionate thief!" In reality, the gray fox used you the whole time to get rid of his curse that came about because of his own greed. What do you get in return? His legacy? The hatred of hundreds of people, not to mention all the guards? He played us all like a fool, and we fell for it. Read this:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Purloined_Shadows

^very similiar situation.

I largely prefer characters to have personality and motivations of their own. It makes the world more realistic; it's bigger than just what you want to do.


I agree that essential characters are annoying. I mean, I was told to kill every stormcloak I came across... what about those invincible d-bags with officer armor? Pretty sure I'm not getting any quests from them. lol.

They do it so you don't miss out on quests. However, It would be nice to turn on an option that allows killing of essentials. I actually miss the old "Your actions have doomed the world you are playing in..blah blah blah =]"
 
Im really sorry , i couldn’t get through your whole B#@$% session. I don’t agree , this thieves guild feels more realistic to me. In the sense of a bunch of thieves with a total bitch pulling the strings also saw the main plot unfolding with the leader being a total ass. I liked it it was realistic and you are seen as criminal wich a thieve is. It will be like being a hypocrite if i wanted to be a thieve with honour it a strange sense of this main plot you do get a rid of a major evil within this society and maven is a necessary part of why the thieves guild can exist in Riften Sorry that i don’t agree i just wanted you to know you don’t speak for all Skyrim fans,
 

Shoor

Clan Thu'um Guard
With all due respect, I don't really agree with alot you said about the game, especially the Thieves Guild. To be honest, it's far more realistic to have someone of influence pulling the strings. That's kind of how it works. Without that influence, Thieves Guild has no political pull. It's just darker in Skyrim; more political. Really, it wouldn't be much of a Guild if you could be the kind of thief you want to be. Go run back to Oblivion if that's what you want.

And hey, the Thieves Guild does have honor. And there is adventure to be found. Have you finished the questline? The Nightingale part put so much more depth into "just being a thief." Being one with the shadows, and everything they said made thievery seem more like an artful game, in a good way. I'm sorry, I respect your opinion, everyone is entitled to their own, but I love the Thieves Guild.
 

Jeff the DragonBorn

Active Member
I guess because our Skyrim character doesn't have KARMA his killing and stealing have no effect on his moral outlook.
My only thoughts to Bethesda is: Man how the hell did you make this game???? It must have taken 10,000 people to build this game and it's just overwhelming when I play this game and am at level 55 and have NO IDEA how long it goes on.

Kudos to the makers! HAIL CAESAR!
 

FenrirofSatan

TheMan TheMyth TheLegend
Dear Bethseda:

After truly enjoying many of main quest lines in Oblivion, it was greatly dissapointing to see your implementation of the thieves. stormcloaks, and imperial quest lines. In Oblivion, working for the thieves guild was enjoyable. The grey fox had a certain sense of "Thieves Honor" so to speak. You didn't feel like an angel working for the Grey Fox, but at least you didn't feel like the brutish bully of a thug you do in Skyrim.

Two Words- Maven Blackbriar. Even before I started questing for the thieves guild, I wanted to stick a dagger in her back. Then I found out I had to work for her during the thieves guild quest. I was instantly furious, paused my quest and went online to ensure that I would later have a chance to kill her.

To my and thousands (if not millions) of other SKyrim fans, I found out I would be unable to kill or even damage her reputation in any way (except for one scantly clad horse quest which I had already completed).

This woman is a serious bitch, and I am sure you designed her that way. However, to implement her into not only the thieves guild quest but the imperial line is the biggest sham of Elder Scrolls I have seen to date. The player should be able to choose what kind of thief they want to be. Like the grey fox, many of us want to be a thief with a certain sense of grandeur or adventure. In skyrim, your nothing more than a bully, a thug, a burglar, etc. These quest lines force the player into something they must do if they want to complete that quest line or reward. They are but a single river flowing one direction, when it should be a river with many forks and choices in the road.

I literally wanted to quit the thieves guild quest the second I found out I would be helping her. Then I later found out that when I work the imperial quest she becomes jarl YUCK. After completing the stormcloaks quest with my first character, it was my biggest regret to have to serve Ulfric. That arrogant self righteous coward who barely shows his face in battle, the man who sent his armies to attack whiterun instead of challenging Whiterun's Jarl (whom most people like). THerefore, I was much happier to start a 2nd character and work for the imperials thinking I would not serve the Ulfric slime. However, I then put Maven Blackbriar upon the Riften Throne, and that was the end of all gratitude for the Imperial quest line.

Literally, the entire Skyrim storyline had been ruined for many fans. Join the thieves guild and empower Maven Black Bitch. Join the Imperials and serve Maven Black Briar. Join the stormcloaks and empower Ulfric Slime.

These are the main quests (arguably) of Skyrim- Dragons, Mages, Companions, Thieves, Brotherhood, Imperial, and Stormcloak. And the thieves, imperials, and stormcloaks have turned out to be such trash. No player wants to serve Maven blackbriar, and few Ulfric.

You should at least give the players the option of turning agaisn't Maven. You may say Maven represents evil or what the thieves guild is all about. Then it is hypocritical and ironic to not allow an "evil" character to turn agaisnt an evil Maven. It is preposterous to force players into serving a character they cant stand with multiple main quest lines; to not give players a choice of what kind of thief or what kind of imperial they want to be

The base concept behind Skyrim is a free world. The player should be able to do what he wants when he wants. However, bethseda implement "Quest line" or "storyline" characters, which are unkillable. The few staunch defenders of Bethseda have argued it would affect or break the game if characters like Maven were killable.

Then you should not implement these characters into major storylines. Or you weave a possible alternative into these storylines. You let players backstab Maven, or Ulfric towards the end of the line. Something...........anything...............Because quite literally. I wanted to quit Skyrim when I found out I would be serving up Maven Blackbriar in both the Thieves GUild and Imperial quest lines. It enfuriated me, and it has enfuriated thousands and thousands of other fans.

What I wouldn't give to work with the grey fox. Yes I said work with, beacause you felt like the Grey Fox was more of a mentor and friend. Whereas in Skyrim you are a mere servant to slime like Maven and Ulfric (you feel like a dog being forced to serve a character for the sake of the quest line).

The thieves guild was intriguing and exciting with a sense of adventure. In Skyrim, we are serving (not working with or working for) the likes of Maven Blackbriar. Instead of feeling like a mischevious, clever, exciting Oblivion thief, we feel like an absolute thug and bully in Skyrim. Instead of having a choice as to what kind of thief we would like to be, we are conscripted into nothing more than ogres with clubs bullying people into paying debts. Even many of the lore books in skyrim (in game books), thieves have a whole different persona and aura about them. The Virtuous Thief, etc, etc. We dont read books of the thief who went from person to person bullying them into paying debts.

Bethseda this is hypocrisy and poor design in every way. I dont know whether its through laziness to not implement alternative routes to Maven et all, or through poor design. There is no sense of grandeur, adventure, excitement whatsoever working within these quest lines. If you can explain this in any way, the fans encourage you to please do so. I guarantee we can counter any point you attempt to justify for such bad storytelling and poor player choice implementation. At the very least, come out and admit that this was a mistake. Bethseda you need to change this, as it disappoints many fans and violates your own basic fundamentals for the game.

As we all can see, there are mixed feelings on this thread. This obviously disproves your argument that ALL or MOST fans dislike this game. I personally waited 2 months to buy this game. Why? Because I knew a game like this was going to have bugs, and I wanted to give Bethesda time to correct as much as they could. And over a 2 month time span, Bethesda worked endlessly to fix or find alternatives around the bugs. Even despite the bugs, they managed to sell 10 million copies (650 million dollars in revenue) worldwide. Obviously if the game was as bad as you portrayed it to be (and if people had the same pessimistic mindset as you), then the game wouldn't even have sold half of the copies it did.

Also, you cannot expect a gaming company to make a perfect game. Yes it would be cool to have free roam around Skyrim. Yes it would be cool to have a "good vs. evil" vibe from the imperial and stormcloak quest line instead of "evil vs. evil". And yes it would be awesome if when you got a lot of your stats to 100 that the game would not be stupidly boring. But how can you expect a company that is making a game that is by far one of the biggest expansive games on the Xbox to cater to every whim of the millions of fans that were salivating at the mouth when it came out. Since this game is so large, there is no WAY you can avoid bugs. Even on the PC, a console that is built for speed, there are many bugs with the game. That is gives you straight evidence that Bethesda, who has a very sterling reputation for making video games, had difficulty confronting and finding every single bug.

On a side note: Oblivion came out in March of 2006. From that point on, they continued to make marveled games. Fallout was another excellent series that took up the time to concentrate on Skyrim; a project that I am SURE they already started as soon as Oblivion was on the market.

With all of these things in mind, you have to give this company credit. No bad mouthing is necessary; this game provides a service that has given many, many people the satisfaction of reviving the old nostalgic feelings that Oblivion gave them, with the added bonus of stellar graphics and the ability to enjoy the game as yet another invigorating creation by Bethesda.
 

iLouis

Psst...I know who you are. Hail Sithis!
I love skyrim. Your font is extremely hard to read. That is all.
 

HeavyMetal

Life is no way to treat an animal.
Business is business, whether it's thievery, politics or murder, whether it's supposedly justified with "honor" or "purpose", or simply for a paycheck - doesn't matter who you are "serving" or who you are "working" for or with.

If you don't want to feel like a scallywag, don't be a thief.

P.S. - I like Byrijin (or however the hell you spell it) - he's so optomistic and good-natured.

P.P.S. - I like Delvin too, he reminds me of some random actor from one of those fantastic British heist movies :D
 

Jeff the DragonBorn

Active Member
If you want something done right, just send out Lydia.

I don't know about this. The other day I was questing and was in a battle with 2 yetis, a cave bar, and 2 bandits. Where was Lydia? She was fighting a fish in the water using a staff of lighting.
 
It's a natrual idea to have an option to betray any and all characters in an Elder Scrolls game. How is it realistic that you can't kill Maven? In real life there are no unkillable people.
 
I agree and disagree.
In Skyrim, It's obvious that it's good to be bad, you get more gamplay:
  1. You do Daedric quest
  2. More rewards for helping DB rather than destroying it
Uhhh, same thing but with all the questlines..

It's still a great game, but there's no such thing as a perfect one, for;

"There's nothing so good that someone won't hate it, and nothing so horrible someone won't love it."
-me
 

Mikea

Member
Is it just me, or did Ace just say the same thing over and over again in every paragraph? And no, I disagree wholly. You serve her and it feels more realistic, and to say that you would rather work for rather than serve doesn't even make sense. The Grey Fox made you his bitch in Oblivion, sending you on errands everywhere. Would you rather some wimp tell you that you can do whatever? This gives the storyline guidance.


That is all. No hate bro.
 

Bubbels

New Member
LOl being a bitch is not all that bad, then again I like the assassins quest even have a special deadric dagger for it, my hubby thinks its twisted ....
 

Iceman_mat

Member
Hi Ace,

Great post. Very well thought out and I can see what your saying.

The obvious counter to your post has been voiced by some already "Don't do the quests" even though your argueement starts as "It should be an open quest to choose, screw forcing me to obey that %^*$ npc".

My two cents would be as such.

I haven't done the Imperial / stormcloak quest line because I can't choose which side to choose. (debates have been had for both sides) but to sum it up I believe FenrirofSatan put it best in that it is "Evil vs evil". You are pretty much choosing a lesser of two evil's in your view.

Also Skyrim is a warfield and like in RL, there is no "black and white" in war. There are sides and you choose one.

As for not being able to kill certain npcs due to being quest characters. I agree this sucks at times as well but other then them and childern, everyone else can be killed. Though I wonder if the werewolf glitch (for kids) could work on the non-killable quest chars.....worth a try.

Finally in the Oblivion to Skyrim comparision many make, I find it funny that they forget the main complaint with Obilivion was that the main story line, when done, seemed to be a cookie cut out. Enter portal, kill dude, close portal, next portal, repeat. The only time I encounter this really is in the sub-quests (go get me that sword). It could be argueed but i'll leave that to the debaters.

All in all, Skyrim is what you make it. Though on PS3 & Xbox you can't use console commands, i'm sure on pc the char could be removed somehow via console commands but then the quest wouldn't work. Just an Idea.


-Cheers
 

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