OK, after a nice break for dinner and some quality time with my wife, I think it's time to try and finish this shakedown run. When we left off, I had just swiped the golden claw from Arvel. Well, actually, I had entered the Draugr part of the dungeon and fought through the first and second encounter rooms. So now we'll continue deeper into the dungeon and make our way towards the Dragonstone.

 

 

Almost immediately I find brawler's gauntlets that do more damage than my steel sword. So I guess we'll give those a try.

 

 

A few times now I've noticed that the glowing mushrooms' light source looks weird. I'm going to have to see if I can find a better asset for these... added to the punchlist.

 

 

The alternate dungeon paths are really refreshing - I have Bleak Falls more or less memorized, and this is a nice change of pace to play through. Its kind of an unavoidable issue that all the treasure-mod loot is located along the primary path, but that's not a dealbreaker since this is a repeatable dungeon and the LOTD research station will eventually reveal any treasure the player missed on their first run through. The modded version of the dungeon is mazey enough that I actually got turned around once or twice, which was kind of a unique experience compared to how linear Skyrim dungeons normally are.

 

 

At first level the brawler's gauntlets really wreck the enemy 😆

 

 

After a surprisingly long time I finally found an ancient Nord bow for that extra +1 damage compared to my hunting bow.

 

 

I entered Bleak Falls Sanctum through an alternate route that was a little hairy (ended up with a patrolling Draugr almost right on top of me) but with careful moves and some stealthy tomfoolery such as dropping flaming pots onto oil, I cleared the chamber and advanced to the room with the combination lock.

 

 

Word learned, Overlord defeated, Dragonstone acquired.

 

 

Exited the dungeon at 2 AM. Fortunately, the sky was well illuminated by aurora lights and I was able to make my way to Anise's cabin without any serious problems.

 

 

Wait, what? Apparently Anise was eaten by wolves   And her bed is still marked as owned so I won't be able to rest there. I'll have to get to Riverwood in the dark. Its kind of a bummer that she got killed, but I guess the game can't make her protected since she potential becomes hostile to you. I think I need to add her to the "friends with all animals" faction.

 

 

Oh, seriously?! Hopefully Alvor is feeling hospitable.

 

 

Nope, I'm locked out here too. I'm going to have to walk down to Whiterun, unless...

 

 

Whew, looks like the Valerius siblings are still up and about.

 

 

I walk in on an argument about thief-chasing. Sounds like I've got a chance to make a good impression!

 

 

Sadly, there wasn't anywhere for me to sleep there, so I ultimately had to hit the road and head down to Whiterun.

 

 

Those wolves were still out there on the road, but my torch (mostly) kept them at bay. They occasionally nipped at me, but I managed to get down the hill and reach the patrolled road.

 

 

I passed Anders and Buttercup on the road as we got close to dawn. They seem to be working correctly and look good in their new outfits. 

 

 

Sunrise

 

 

Finally! I head upstairs and get in a few hours of sleep so I'm feeling fresh for my meeting with Farengar... and the start of MQ104.

 

So here's the shakedown punchlist I have for the first three main quest segments:

 

* Improve Matlara's dialogue options
* Thalmor consular guards
* Check navmesh edge links near Helgen/Riverwood
* ZDD nif defects
* Sexlab Solutions Sex -> Seduce
* Glowing mushroom light source
* Anise needs animal safety faction

 

Not bad! When we come back, we'll discuss these fixes and then start assessing our needs for MQ104. See you then!