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In the beginning, stuff goes down and you must choose one of two NPCs. What are the differences between them in terms of how my choice-of-whom-I-pick will affect me?
I can grind Sneaking and One-handed on Ralof. Can this also be done on Hadvar?
NiteCyper
NiteCyperNiteCyper5,7382323 gold badges8484 silver badges145145 bronze badges
8 Answers
Roleplay/story factors aside, the main gameplay differences between the two are the gear you'll get access to during the Unbound quest, and the amenities and items you'll get in Riverwood.
If you plan to wear Heavy Armor and use One-handed Weapons, Ralof's a good choice - but if you plan to start levelling Smithing and/or use a Two-Handed Weapon, Hadvar may be preferable. You'll likely pick up a level or two your chosen skill(s) before you get out of that cave under Helgen.
Really, though, anything you pick up at this early stage is highly likely to be replaced once you start exploring properly - particularly if your questing takes you to the nearby Bleak Falls Barrow - and neither choice affects later quests in any major way, so don't lose any sleep over the decision.
If you follow Ralof:
- You will have the opportunity to take and wear Heavy Armor early on (taken from the first pair of Imperials you battle after getting your bindings removed,) but it will be a little longer until you get easy access to a Two-Handed Weapon.
- You will be directed towards, and become friendly with, Gerdur, Ralof's sister in Riverwood, providing you with a house in which to sleep and free access to some limited loot.
- You will be able to name-drop Ralof when encountering Ulfric Stormcloak in Windhelm (although this has no major effect on the dialogue or outcome thereof.)
- If you accompany Ralof to Riverwood, you'll recieve the miscellaneous quest to Join the Stormcloaks on your way out of the cave.
- During the Jagged Crown quest:if you've sided with the Stormcloaks and meet Ralof, he'll respond to you positively. (If you didn't follow him at the start, he'll respond in a more neutral manner. Neither affects the outcome of the quest, and for the remainder of the quests in this chain, his responses aren't affected by your actions in Helgen.)
If you follow Hadvar:
- You will have the opportunity to take and wield a two-handed weapon early on (taken from the first pair of Stormcloaks you battle after getting your bindings removed,) but it will be a little longer until you get access to Heavy Armor.
- You will become friendly with Alvor, Hadvar's uncle and the Riverwood blacksmith, providing you with free access to some limited loot and some Iron Ingots by the Anvil outside Hadvar's house.
- You will be able to name-drop Hadvar when encountering General Tullius in Solitude (although this has no major effect on the dialogue or outcome thereof.)
- If you accompany Hadvar to Riverwood, you'll recieve the miscellaneous quest to Join the Imperials on your way out of the cave.
- During the Jagged Crown quest:if you've sided with the Imperials and meet Hadvar, he'll respond to you positively (if you didn't follow him at the start, he'll respond in a more neutral manner. Neither affects the outcome of the quest, and for the remainder of the quests in this chain, his responses aren't affected by your actions in Helgen.)
Source: UESP, adventuring!
psyk0psyk0
The only differences are the route you take out of Helgen and the encounters there (side with Hadvar and you'll fight Stormcloaks, side with Ralof and you'll fight Imperials).
There are also slightly different rewards if you choose to follow them to Riverwood. Hadvar's uncle Alvor will give you free materials if you went with him whereas Ralof's sister Gerdur will let you stay at their house.
Both can be used for levelling- they're both invincible and never turn hostile.
Neither choice affects the Civil War Questline or any other quests.
It's also worth noting that neither Ralof nor the Stormcloaks tried to cut your head off. Just food for thought there..
shanodin9,13399 gold badges5353 silver badges8787 bronze badges
StudokuStudoku37.8k1515 gold badges113113 silver badges174174 bronze badges
Adding to Studoku's answer :materials are Iron Ingots and basic Iron equipment which becomes available for pickup near his forge.
If you are willing to steal they are easy to get ( as well as the steel ingots lying right beside them . just saying) and if you value the resting place, then siding with Ralof can be considered the better choice.
Community♦
CiacciuCiacciu
There aren't really consequences, but if you go with the imperial guy you get discounts on items at the blacksmith in Riverwood. And if you go with Ralof you get to stay at his sister house and her husband's. It wint effect civil war quests either
GeekyGamerGeekyGamer
The consequences of following either Hadvar or Ralof at the beginning of the game reflects on who you kill when escaping:
- If you follow Ralof, you kill Hadvar with the Imperial lady as they come through the gate together.
- If you follow Hadvar, you join up with him instead and kill the Stormcloaks (which is Ralof and his dead friend) trying to get through the gate.
Ever wonder what happened to either one after following one or the other? Now you know. You kill them escaping Helgen. Additionally:
- Ralof gives you more heavy armor and one-handed weapons as you fight through imperials to get out.
- Hadvar's path gives you more light armor and two-handed weapons early on as you fight through the Stormcloaks getting out, but does not reflect what you get after escaping as it's open-world.
- After getting to Riverwood, either one gives you a place to stay with their family and free stuff.
So in truth, it makes no real difference who you choose to follow escaping; only that you have the option of killing either one, which is why they are gone from the game after leaving Helgen.
Remember: both Ralof and Hadvar enter the same building on different sides. Hadvar's family has better valuable free stuff than Ralof's, and a better home with a basement to use anytime. However, Ralof's family member (Hod) gets stuck and never comes out of his home, so not deciding to follow Ralof early-game could result in a crime while trying to get to him to sell or to buy wood from him. He is not, however, the only one in charge of a mill in Skyrim.
No matter who you choose to follow early on, it comes down to who you like the best, and has no consequences in game as you can still join either faction no matter who you follow. I personally like following Hadvar as I like him more, but I have followed Ralof quite a bit in other play throughs. I tend to join the Imperials side most of the time, just because am a huge Game of Thrones fan and Ulfric's clothes remind me of Jon Snow's outfit :P
Keaanu10.9k1212 gold badges5757 silver badges101101 bronze badges
NXS1FYNXS1FY
A few years too late lol. Well if you follow Hadvar you end up killing Ralof and another Stormcloak in the beginning of the dungeon. Remember Ralof enter the opposite side, those tunnels ends up joining one another. If you follow Ralof you get to kill Hadvar and that stupid legion officer lady that wanted to chop off your head instead. Ever wonder why they disappear after Helgen well know you know. It doesn't take a mind f*ck to know that. It all rallies around who you like the most. It doesn't matter or have any late game choices other than that you sent one or the other to Valhalla escaping Helgen. The only difference is the rewards with armor or weapons early on escaping from Helgen, but that means nothing as you will find far better armors and weapons within your first few hours of gameplay. Following Ralof will grant more gold by selling items than you would necessarily with Hadvar. But gold is easy to come by in Skyrim if you know what your doing by picking up nearly everything to sell throughout your adventure. No weapon or armor in game is more powerful than the weapons and armors that you create and improve. You will get the dialog to join either faction Stormcloak or Imperial but you can get that dialog after talking to the other faction later in game. If you follow Hadvar and join the Stormcloaks Ralof is not around because hes dead and vise verse with Hadvar The choice is yours. Who you rather kill Hadvar or Ralof you can't avoid it. That is the only consequence. I say follow the one of the faction you rather join that way they are around and help you during the missions.
Wayne PadgettWayne Padgett
If you follow Ralof you get heavy armor right away but if you follow Hadvar you get two handed weapon right away
shanodin9,13399 gold badges5353 silver badges8787 bronze badges
saibinsaibin
Luke SmithLuke Smith
protected by Wrigglenite♦Jun 12 '17 at 12:16
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Skyrim The Choice Is Yours Bugs
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- LevelSkip»
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Keep in mind that this article is about the roleplay aspects of playing a thief, not leveling and gameplay mechanics.
In the years that I've been playing Skyrim, I have mostly taken pleasure in making up different character builds to roleplay. While most of my characters seek to defy the in-game stereotypes for my own personal amusement, the khajiit thief is actually one of the stereotypes I enjoy embracing.
So here is how I roleplay a khajiit thief.
Personality
Appearance
Faction
Follower
Spouse
House
Main Quests
Mods Used in the Opening Pic
The Dragonborn has the soul of a dragon. This is, therefore, a person I imagine would kill, steal, and cause mayhem all for the sheer pleasure of it. Dragons revel in carnage, love treasure, and (rightfully) believe themselves to be literal gods.
The nice thing about Skyrim is that it gives you leeway to roleplay either way. You can roleplay a Dovahkiin who is basically as bad as Alduin but only stops him for selfish reasons (why should they let him destroy their playground?) or you can roleplay a Dovahkinn who is a good 'reformed' dragon like Paarthurnax.
The choice is yours. But since Skyrim doesn't give you an option to be a noble thief (Not that I care. Just stating facts), it makes sense to play someone who is a giant asshole and enjoys being rich for the sake of being rich. Because, let's be honest: there's no real reason to be rich in Skyrim.
As a Thief Dovahkiin, I feel it makes sense to steal, kill, loot, and horde as much as possible, all for the sake of gaining power and dominance over Skyrim. Dragons are all about dominance, and by the 'end' of one playthrough, the Dragonborn could have possibly conquered every faction and hold, wielding enough power to be the real seat of the throne from the shadows.
Like all thieves, your khajiit loves gold, so they should be using dwarven weapons where possible. They should also be decked out in jewelry: necklaces, rings, and gold rings in their kitty ears.
You'd also be wearing light armor with a hood constantly up to hide your face. You are a thief, after all. You rob people. Hiding your identity should be pretty damn important. For this reason, you only take your hood and scarf off when at home or when a quest demands it.
Faction: The Thieves Guild
The Choice Is Yours Skyrim
This one should be obvious.
If you want to get the most out of thieving -- and if you want to be rich -- it makes sense to join the Thieves Guild. I find the Guild Master armor and the Nightingale Armor (which I like to mismatch) to be worth it.
Sure, all the characters are insufferable assholes, but if you're an insufferable asshole too, it makes sense to join them.
I also enjoy joining the Dark Brotherhood on a Guild Master character, since my thieves are usually assassins too -- and since the two guilds seem to have connections.
I praise Jenassa a lot but not nearly enough.
Jenassa's only downside is that she doesn't level high, and that can easily be fixed with a mod. Found in the Drunken Huntsman, she is the perfect vanilla follower for a sneaky character, in that she actually knows how to sneak, doesn't trigger traps (as far as I can remember),and wields dual blades like a boss.
What's more, Jenassa is one of the few non-housecarl followers that will allow you to commit crime, any crime. Dnd 5e faerie dragon. So steal all you want in front of her. Slap children. Stab old women. Jenassa does not give one crap.
She can also be married, allowing you to get the Lover's Comfort perk while out thieving on the road.
The one reason I don't like Jenassa as a follower? She is not essential. And because she wears light armor, she can die easily should you accidentally hit her. Razer surround pro crack download. I shot her a couple times on my recent khajiit thief character and was very sad before proceeding to reload.
If Jenassa were essential, she'd be perfect. As it is, though, it's probably best for a thief not to have a follower anyway. Especially a thief-assassin.
I recommend Mjoll as a spouse -- not a follower -- for the sheer sake of the irony. When you arrive in Riften, Mjoll is immediately presented as the only person in town trying to do something about the horrible Thieves Guild. She hates them and wants to see every last one of them caught and thrown in jail.
What's hilarious is that you can lie to Mjoll's face about being Gulid Master and then proceed to marry her. So much thought was put into Mjoll's background . . . and yet that one huge thing was ignored. Bethesda has since updated their followers to actually react to your choices with games like Fallout 4. But still . . . nothing tickles me more than marrying Mjoll as Guild Master
I say Mjoll is a better spouse than a follower because she will leave your party if you commit crimes while she's following you. She also never shuts the hell up and loves talking about the same crap over and over.
No misogynistic 'Women, amirite?' cracks, so help me god.
Spouse 2: Or Ysolda
Ysolda was the first Skyrim character I ever married.
I married her because I was playing a khajiit, and she seemed to really admire and respect the khajiit caravans. She was also kind to my khajiit character, who felt weird and out of place, being the only khajiit ever around.
Nothing amused me more than finding out Ysolda was actually a drug dealer. My wicked khajiit thief then married her, and I proceeded to have lovely head canons of how they raised their two daughters to eventually run their drug empire.
*evil cackling*
As much as I loath most of the characters in Riften, the house in Honeyside is actually my favorite. When you max it out, you can have a pretty nice alchemy lab on the lower floor. This is good for poisoners and assassins, especially given that you can steal fish from the nearby fishery for your poisons.
You can also enter your house from the docks without having to go through the city gates, and given that the Thieves Guild is only a few feet away, being close to your work is convenient.
It's a pretty great house and only requires you to complete a very short quest, then help 3 to 5 people in Riften's hold. Not bad.
Mind Of Madness Skyrim Walkthrough
The only thing Honeyside needs is more bookshelves. And possibly a toilet.
Depending on the way you're roleplaying, you may or may not complete certain main quests. For my thieves, I always complete: the civil war, the main quest, and the Dawnguard DLC.
It makes sense for a thief to help the Imperials win because keeping the Imperials in charge of Skyrim reopens trade routes and means more money. It also gives Maven Black Briar, insufferable creature that she is, more power. This is good for a Guild Master who depends on her Imperial connections to keep the coins flowing.
Finishing the main quest as a thief also makes sense. Thief Dovahkiin doesn't want the world to end. They want to preserve it so they can go on killing and stealing. Those activities are just too fun to let Alduin ruin.
Finally, I recommend that a thief character finish Dawnguard so they can get crossbow schematics. I find crossbows superior to bows for a sneaky character in every way -- while a bow is superior to a crossbow for a combat archer. Having a sneaky thief who uses a dwarven crossbow is pretty great.
That's about it. The point of this article was to help you more deeply immerse yourself in the role of Khajiit Thief. You could even take things a step farther and have your character be a skooma addict, a food poisoner, you name it. There are mods out there galore!
Speaking of which, here are the mods I used in the pictures of my khajiit, as promised:
Maru Mask is a bit overpowered, but I feel like it's something that should have been included in the vanilla game, the kind of reward an assassin or a thief would break their neck going after. It's basically a mask that is enchanted to let you breathe underwater (good for escaping after an assassination or robbery), while also making pricing with merchants better, upping poison resistance, and a number of other great things.
Bandolier -- Bags and Pouches is pretty much a lifesaver for a thief character. Early on in the game, you are not going to be wearing enchanted armor that allows you to carry more, nor are you going to be inclined to have a loud, annoying follower who ruins your sneak. This mod allows you to craft pouches and bags that are very immersive, don't clip, and allow you to carry more without a follower.
Better Claws and Gauntlets basically lets your khajiit character actually have long, awesome-looking nails when wearing vanilla gauntlets. It's pretty great when you're in first person to see those sharp babies.
Kinoko Pose is how I've taken most of my screen shots over the years. For a long time, I was invested in 'Skyrim photography' and enjoyed posing my awesome characters and taking shots of them. Kinoko is full of fun poses just for that.
© 2018 Ash
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