That is the biggest load of bull I have ever heard, especially coming from a Cure fan.

spoofnutz

Huh. Is Robert Smith, like, some gung-ho Ted Nugent firearms freak or am I missing something?

Anyway, weapons will always exist in one form or another. They get more powerful, "smarter" and smaller. Bad guys will ALWAYS have access to them. I think it's only fair that us law-abiding citizens have the right to protect ourselves. Besides, they go "boom" real loud.

That's what you get for being willing to eat processed commercial crap. Shame on you. Try a lobster with melted butter next time.

spoofnutz

Crab is better, IMO.

Chicken isn't bland and tasteless; it's light and, well, chickeny. I have tried one thing that isn't real chicken but TASTES like it ... nono not THAT!

I mean: snake. Had it once as a kid during a desert camp-out. I forget what kind but it tasted just like chicken.

Definitely side-boob ...

Prototype looks amazing. I hope everything in the game is as good as it is trying to be.

But I am eagerly anticipating Bioshock 2 and Halo: ODST.

I didn't get my red elite online I walked in and walked out. But I DID buy my expensive a** HDTV from a well-known online electronics shipper. I did this after a LOT of thought. I got it cheaper, which was the main reason why -I also at the time didn't have a vehicle BIG enough to fit the box in, haha-.

Well, I got the TV, shipped ALLLL the way from the east coast and the box wasn't even dinged. Manufacturers package their products extremely well nowadays.FedEx, UPS, DHL, even USPS are ALL great parcel shippers. Whenever you get something shipped it will be with one of these guys (the vast majority) and more than likely your stuff with be fine, even expensive complex electronics like an Xbox or Tv.

And yes, my TV worked and is still working fine.

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!!

Don't forget: you can always use a lockpicking scroll, learn the spell, or enchant an item to pick a lock.

If you love the game IMO ALL the DLC is worth it. It just extends the game that much further. If I could magically turn Oblivion into a persistent, ever-changing world (I guess an MMORPG),I would.