Oblivion persuading?

this is an amazing game so far, but there are many things that confused me at first. im getting most of it down, but i just need to know how the hell is the persuading system supposed to work? theres 4 options you could use and one of them is always bad so it just puts all the points in the middle down a lot. and you cant just do the 3 good ones because it doesnt let you press done unlesss you've done all 4.. so its pretty much like going in a circle because you do all the good ones but then the bad one just cancels them all out, so i just end up paying the dude all my money

The 4 sections of the circle are filled up different amounts. You want the smallest amount of red coloring or whatever it is to coincide with the negative feelings, and vice cersa. Theres a Strongly Dislike, Dislike, Like, Strongly Like, so each will change the points in the middle.

ehh i still dont really get it.. maybe someone else could explain it better.. but in the meantime i have another question too. are there any benefits to the books in the game?? i also have some amulets and statues that i found in caves or got in quests, they're worth a lot of cold but im afraid to sell them just in case they are important to me later in the game, is this true or should i just sell them?

Figure out which one the person likes the least. You can tell, 'cause they'll look really pissed off. Make sure you use the small piece of the pie on the option that they really don't like. The others will take care of themselves most of the time.

Persuasion differs for each NPC. Some rowdy Orcs like boasting, a Nord may prefer Jokes. You can tell by starting the persuasion and highlighting each action. You will see the player go from scowling to frowning to a Mona Lisa-type grin to full smile - this represents how much they like that action.

Now, when you start your persuasion you will see the four quarters of the circle filled up in varying degrees with yellow. The amount of yellow represents how much of that action your doing or rather how much it will affect the NPC and thus, the disposition number in the middle of the circle. The biggest pie section always has that red edge to it. Idealy, you want to pick a section that they like or love when it's at its fullest. Reversely you want to pick the ones they dislike or hate when they are at their emptiest. The two actions they like will ADD to their disposition (i.e., how they "feel" about you) and the two they don't will SUBTRACT from the number.

Each time you persuade you have to pick each action and only once for each. When you pick an action the yellow pie sections rotate, so treat it as a series of mini-game rounds to get the disposition higher and higher. The yellow pie sections reorganize randomly so sometimes they will be easy to line up with the "good" actions and sometimes you have to take a hit and make the disposition go down. There IS a little bit of strategy to it. Try to look to the next or even the second action down the way. Don't always go for the actions the NPCs like first. If the one they hate is empty click on that, if it moves over to the one they love try to avoid clicking. And try to end with a positive action mostly filled (or fully).

There are speechcraft perks for leveling up that make it easier and easier to persuade:

A Novice can offer bribes to increase a person's disposition. (level 0-24)
An Apprentice can rotate the wheel once for free in the Persuasion minigame. (level 25-49)
A Journeyman's disposition falls 50% slower in the Persuasion minigame. (level 50-74)
An Expert's loss of disposition for 'Hate it' results is lowered from -150% to -100%. (level 75-99)
A Master's bribes cost half as much. (level 100)
The max disposition limit for each NPC differs.

If you want to train your speechcraft skill quickly you can just randomly choose someone and go through the persuasion sequence as quickly as possible over and over. It doesn't matter if you raise or lower the disposition, only that your attempting to do so.

And yes, the books have benefits. Some are quest items that if you find now can really save you some time during the quest. There are skill books that, if read, imbue you with a free skill increase. Some add a map marker to your map for interesting locations. And some are just fun to read (I'm super serial!). The makers of the Elder Scrolls have put A LOT of time into creating the Tamriel lore.

Also, any amulets or statues (or other items) that you find along the way that you NEED in order to finish a quest cannot be sold or dropped, they usually weigh nothing and can only be used for the given quest they are needed for. This was to fix the fact that a lot of quests could be broken in Morrowind by killing an important NPC (now you can only knock them out) or selling a quest item. So feel free to sell, sell, selll!!

I commend you for putting a lot more effort into your explanation than I did.

If you want to train your speechcraft skill quickly you can just randomly choose someone and go through the persuasion sequence as quickly as possible over and over. It doesn't matter if you raise or lower the disposition, only that your attempting to do so.

my_mortal_coil

Be careful not to max the NPC's disposition, though. When you max it, you can't do the minigame anymore.

wow, i love you man.

Hey, it's an old Oblivion topic I posted in, back from the dead.

Bumper: There are characters in the game whose disposition you must increase in order to progress in the game. This can be done with the persuasion minigame, through bribes, or through a spell. The Fighter's Guild porter is not one of these characters.