Advice for a beginner

[danV]

I'm play Elder Scrolls 3 for the first time and I could use some advice. Right now I'm still learning this game on how it works and all the mechanics of it. So far I am starting to figure things out but I would still love some advice on how to proceed for a beginner like me. So far I've already gone through Balmora and visited Caius. He told me about some of the Blades trainers whom I've checked out. I already tried doing one of the training methods but I only got 1 skill point and some of these training methods cost a lot of gold of which I don't have a lot right now so I can't really be doing a lot of these right now especially since I only get 1 skill point. Aside from the Blades trainers Caius sent me out to meet Hasphat who sent me on my first quest to retrieve the Dwemer puzzle box. But when I got to the bridge I encounterd some magic guy that summons skelotons and I cannot defeat him so clearly I started to soon on this. I'm still only on level 1 and I'm not sure where I can go or what I can do to gain experience this early in the game. So I was hoping someone could give me some advice on how to get started and what I should be doing or how to start gaining experience to get stronger. While in Balmora I picked up one piece of Heavy Armor and some Light Armor. I also recently acquired a long blade sword.

Here are some of the statistics of my Character:

Race: Dark Elf
Class: Knight
Sign: The Shadow

My main skills are primarily based around combat.

I also wanted to ask about some of my miscellaneous items I've been collecting. I've sold a few of them recently but so far I only get 1 or 2 gold for them. But i also wanted to know if any of these misc items can be used or are just random junk for selling.

Here are some of the ones I have right now:

Ash Yam
Green Lichen
Hound Meat
Saltrice
Scutlle
Goblet
Bottle
Spoon
Vase.

Sorry this post is so long but I just wanted to give as much information as possible to help anyone to give me proper advice. This is my first time ever playing an Elder Scrolls game so any advice I can get to help me move forward would be greatly appreciated.

[psychotron666]

First and foremost, never go into battle with no stamina (fatigue). Fatigue affects every skill and especially chance to hit or cast in combat.

Now as for the main quest, before caius gives you that quest he advises you go join some guilds to get experience, which is good advice. Go join the local fighters guild in Balmora and there's a chest that respawns health potions stamina potions and repair hammers every month (these are at all fighters guilds).
If you use magic, join the mages guild too and they have respawning chests of magic potions.

Joining the thieves guild might be a good idea too in case you get a bounty for crimes, you can pay off at the thieves guild for half price and not have the guards confiscate your stolen goods (they're located in South wall corner club in Balmora just down the street from caius house) .

Other guilds you can join are the imperial Legion (in gnisis to join), the imperial cult, the tribunal temple, Morag Tong (legal assassin's guild), and there's 3 great houses you can join but you can only join one of the three, though in later quests they'll build you your own stronghold, these are the telvanni (slaver mages), the redoran (honourable warriors) and hlaalu (politicians and criminals).

All these guilds offer tons of quests that will get you money, gear, and experience in combat and a feel for the map as you rise in ranks in the guilds (eventually to become leader).

For your character, the fighters guild and imperial Legion are good starting places to get some gear and combat experience. House redoran would be the obvious choice too for great houses(as for all guilds to rise higher in ranks you need to do quests and have certain skills affiliated with the guild at certain levels).

Note too there are various networks of fast travel throughout morrowind, including silt Striders, boats and mages guild teleports. The silt Striders and boats only go to certain places depending on where you are, for example to fast travel to gnisis you'd need to first go to Ald ruhn and take a strider from there because there's no direct route from balmora.

The mages guilds teleport to Ald ruhn, Balmora, Caldera and sadrith Mora.

And browse enchanters at mages guild or temples or churches and see if you can find any amulets of divine and almsivi intervention , these will teleport you to the nearest church or temple.
The mages guild gives some scrolls of these out for free in their respawning chests, though they only last one use. These will save your ass in dungeons or even help you get teleported back to town.

Also keep an eye out for amulets or potions of mark and recall (some enchanters or alchemists sell these). Using mark potion or enchanted item will mark the spot you're standing, and the recall spell in an Amulet or potion will teleport you back to that spot.
The Balmora mages guild is a convenient spot to have marked because you can easily teleport from there to across the map or take a nearby silt strider, and as far as civilization and settlements go, it's pretty central.

As for your items, those first 5 items are alchemy ingredients for making potions. The rest are useless trinkets for decoration or selling.
Any item you find that has effects on it (with a low alchemy it'll likely just be 4 question marks when you hover over it with your mouse) are just alchemy ingredients.

[Valden21]

Don't mix-and-match your armor. To get the best armor rating you can for your character, stick with the armor type which your character is best at. For you, that would be Heavy Armor, as Knights have that as one of their Major Skills. You probably bought the light armor due to it being affordable, and if that's the case, I would advise that you go back to Seyda Neen and do a little bit of exploring in the area around that town. Another thing you can do to get some money is get some ways out of town and sleep. If you keep doing this, a Dark Brotherhood assassin will attack. He's kinda tough to kill at low levels, but his armor is worth a lot if sold to the right person.

Speaking of the right person, that would be Creeper. He's in the town of Caldera, on the second floor of Ghorak Manor. Identifying him is easy, as he's a Scamp and everyone else in the house is an orc. He's friendly, so don't kill him. He'll buy weapons, armor, magical items, and booze up to a total of 5000 gold; his money will refresh every time you rest for 24 hours.

[psychotron666]

Man don't tell him about creeper this early, that dude breaks the economy and the mercantile skill and takes some of the wonder and fun out of the game. I stopped using him years ago because he makes the game more boring.

At least give him a chance to explore the world and live the hardships of raising money and buying equipment first.

Same with exploiting dark brotherhood assassins, that also breaks the economy. Not to mention if he can't kill the dude on the bridge he's not gonna kill one of those dudes

[Valden21]

Originally posted by psychotron666:

Man don't tell him about creeper this early, that dude breaks the economy and the mercantile skill and takes some of the wonder and fun out of the game. I stopped using him years ago because he makes the game more boring.

At least give him a chance to explore the world and live the hardships of raising money and buying equipment first.

Same with exploiting dark brotherhood assassins, that also breaks the economy. Not to mention if he can't kill the dude on the bridge he's not gonna kill one of those dudes

That's YOUR opinion, not mine. I regard Creeper as a useful part of the game, so I use him. OP asked us to give tips, so that's what I was doing.

[Gorejar]

my advice to all beginners dont stray from the path if you have no idea where you are
take all you can and sell it but not to the people you rob it off they know
sneak jump and run around town to boost they terrible skill you have at the start
oh yeah get to town using the silt strider

[󰀉tempeh󰀉]

Oh b'vehk, I can't advise anything I did because I rushed a bunch of artifacts and high-tier armor by level 3. Um... for a first play-through, just chill and take things slow, I suppose?

As suggested above, the Legion's probably a good fit for you, and they'll give you a uniform that'll suit you better than what you have right now. I like the Imperial Cult quests, and most of them aren't a challenge, especially if you have a little speechcraft. (Incidentally, don't dismiss personality and speechcraft; they will make life easier!) They're a bit out of your way, though. Also, if you have any interest in joining the Temple, it's probably better to do so early rather than late. They won't help you much with equipment, but most dark elves are members and they'll like you a little more if you join, which can help with social interactions. You'll likely also learn a little more about Morrowind from talking to the priests and reading their books. Their first quest is an elaborate series of pilgrimages, though, and it takes a long time to complete, so it's better just to treat it as something to gradually work on if you're in the area, not an urgent priority.

Another thing to consider at level 1 is fighting rats and scrib in the countryside, maybe some pearl diving. Just stick to the shallows and you probably won't encounter anything worse than a slaughterfish.

I'd also suggest checking enchanters for an amulet of stamina. Dirt cheap, restores 10-30 stamina per use and it recharges quickly. You really won't do anything well when you're tired so it's an essential piece of early-game equipment.

Bound weapon spells are cheap, easy, and give you weightless daedric weapons for a minute. Even if you don't really think of yourself as a conjurer, these are too useful to ignore. Check Balmora's Mage Guild and pick something that suits your preferences. I'm personally not a fan of bound armor, but bound shields can help if your normal shield breaks.

Lastly, guard towers in Hlaalu and Redoran settlements often have bonemold armor lying around or stashed in crates that the guards aren't watching. It's not a game breaker, but it is ever so slightly better than steel. Lots of spare iron spears and imperial swords, too. If medium armor's to your liking, and stealing is too, then why not combine those interests?

Originally posted by psychotron666:

Man don't tell him about creeper this early, that dude breaks the economy and the mercantile skill

I agree in principle, but oddly enough he doesn't break mercantile skill as much as mercantile skill does. Say what you will about Creeper, at least he'll never sell things for free. Morrowind's mercantile is so broken (even with patches), you'd swear Marukh mistook it for Akatosh.

[danV]

Thanks everyone for all this advice.

Stay safe & healthy!

[danV]

Originally posted by psychotron666:

First and foremost, never go into battle with no stamina (fatigue). Fatigue affects every skill and especially chance to hit or cast in combat.

Now as for the main quest, before caius gives you that quest he advises you go join some guilds to get experience, which is good advice. Go join the local fighters guild in Balmora and there's a chest that respawns health potions stamina potions and repair hammers every month (these are at all fighters guilds).
If you use magic, join the mages guild too and they have respawning chests of magic potions.

Joining the thieves guild might be a good idea too in case you get a bounty for crimes, you can pay off at the thieves guild for half price and not have the guards confiscate your stolen goods (they're located in South wall corner club in Balmora just down the street from caius house) .

Other guilds you can join are the imperial Legion (in gnisis to join), the imperial cult, the tribunal temple, Morag Tong (legal assassin's guild), and there's 3 great houses you can join but you can only join one of the three, though in later quests they'll build you your own stronghold, these are the telvanni (slaver mages), the redoran (honourable warriors) and hlaalu (politicians and criminals).

All these guilds offer tons of quests that will get you money, gear, and experience in combat and a feel for the map as you rise in ranks in the guilds (eventually to become leader).

For your character, the fighters guild and imperial Legion are good starting places to get some gear and combat experience. House redoran would be the obvious choice too for great houses(as for all guilds to rise higher in ranks you need to do quests and have certain skills affiliated with the guild at certain levels).

Note too there are various networks of fast travel throughout morrowind, including silt Striders, boats and mages guild teleports. The silt Striders and boats only go to certain places depending on where you are, for example to fast travel to gnisis you'd need to first go to Ald ruhn and take a strider from there because there's no direct route from balmora.

The mages guilds teleport to Ald ruhn, Balmora, Caldera and sadrith Mora.

And browse enchanters at mages guild or temples or churches and see if you can find any amulets of divine and almsivi intervention , these will teleport you to the nearest church or temple.
The mages guild gives some scrolls of these out for free in their respawning chests, though they only last one use. These will save your ass in dungeons or even help you get teleported back to town.

Also keep an eye out for amulets or potions of mark and recall (some enchanters or alchemists sell these). Using mark potion or enchanted item will mark the spot you're standing, and the recall spell in an Amulet or potion will teleport you back to that spot.
The Balmora mages guild is a convenient spot to have marked because you can easily teleport from there to across the map or take a nearby silt strider, and as far as civilization and settlements go, it's pretty central.

As for your items, those first 5 items are alchemy ingredients for making potions. The rest are useless trinkets for decoration or selling.
Any item you find that has effects on it (with a low alchemy it'll likely just be 4 question marks when you hover over it with your mouse) are just alchemy ingredients.

Thanks, This has been good advice. I just have a few quick follow up questions

1. For the alchemy items hovering over them just shows question marks like you said. I have a low alchemy skill so is that why it's not showing info on them yet? Would I not be able to start making potions yet or if I can how do I do it?

2. If I am unable to start using these alchemy items right now they are just taking up space in my inventory. I discovered recently that if I overload my capacity I become immobile. Will my capacity increase by leveling up or do I have to do something else like train a specific skill for that? In the meantime is there anyplace I can store unused items for now like an empty house and/or crate that doesn't spawn items where the items I store won't disappear after some time? If I am able to increase my alchemy skill later and be able to start making potions I don't want to sell these alchemy items right now but since they're just taking up space I was hoping for a way to store them somewhere until I need them.

3.You mentioned joining House Redoran. Where is that at?

4. I recently joined the Fighter's Guild in Balmora like you suggested and have started doing missions for them and I will also plan on eventually joining the Imperial Legion in Gnis as well. I plan on doing several missions at these places to gain experience to get to a higher level. Though right now I still have that Puzzle Box mission that I started earlier active. What level should I be at before I attempt to go back and fight that mage on the bridge and continue that mission? Enemies don't appear to have a specific level at least not what I've seen so I won't know how strong enemies are until I try to fight them.

[Defective Dopamine Pez Dispenser]

In addition to everything else already said: save constantly. Keep numerous rotating saves. While much better these days thanks to the unofficial patch and other resources, the game can still have issues at times, and even failing that (as you learned with the bridge mage in the first quest :P) there are times you will want to have recent saves handy. That kind of experience will persist throughout the game.

Beyond that, once you begin to feel more comfortable (usually after you've leveled up a few times and done a few quests,) another piece of advice for a new player that should serve you well is: relax and immerse yourself in the world. Slow down, stop and soak in the atmosphere. Live in the world. Read every entry in people's dialogue options. Re-read your journal frequently. Read lore books. Get acquainted with local politics and religions. The game becomes much more enjoyable and meaningful.

[psychotron666]

Originally posted by danV:

Originally posted by psychotron666:

First and foremost, never go into battle with no stamina (fatigue). Fatigue affects every skill and especially chance to hit or cast in combat.

Now as for the main quest, before caius gives you that quest he advises you go join some guilds to get experience, which is good advice. Go join the local fighters guild in Balmora and there's a chest that respawns health potions stamina potions and repair hammers every month (these are at all fighters guilds).
If you use magic, join the mages guild too and they have respawning chests of magic potions.

Joining the thieves guild might be a good idea too in case you get a bounty for crimes, you can pay off at the thieves guild for half price and not have the guards confiscate your stolen goods (they're located in South wall corner club in Balmora just down the street from caius house) .

Other guilds you can join are the imperial Legion (in gnisis to join), the imperial cult, the tribunal temple, Morag Tong (legal assassin's guild), and there's 3 great houses you can join but you can only join one of the three, though in later quests they'll build you your own stronghold, these are the telvanni (slaver mages), the redoran (honourable warriors) and hlaalu (politicians and criminals).

All these guilds offer tons of quests that will get you money, gear, and experience in combat and a feel for the map as you rise in ranks in the guilds (eventually to become leader).

For your character, the fighters guild and imperial Legion are good starting places to get some gear and combat experience. House redoran would be the obvious choice too for great houses(as for all guilds to rise higher in ranks you need to do quests and have certain skills affiliated with the guild at certain levels).

Note too there are various networks of fast travel throughout morrowind, including silt Striders, boats and mages guild teleports. The silt Striders and boats only go to certain places depending on where you are, for example to fast travel to gnisis you'd need to first go to Ald ruhn and take a strider from there because there's no direct route from balmora.

The mages guilds teleport to Ald ruhn, Balmora, Caldera and sadrith Mora.

And browse enchanters at mages guild or temples or churches and see if you can find any amulets of divine and almsivi intervention , these will teleport you to the nearest church or temple.
The mages guild gives some scrolls of these out for free in their respawning chests, though they only last one use. These will save your ass in dungeons or even help you get teleported back to town.

Also keep an eye out for amulets or potions of mark and recall (some enchanters or alchemists sell these). Using mark potion or enchanted item will mark the spot you're standing, and the recall spell in an Amulet or potion will teleport you back to that spot.
The Balmora mages guild is a convenient spot to have marked because you can easily teleport from there to across the map or take a nearby silt strider, and as far as civilization and settlements go, it's pretty central.

As for your items, those first 5 items are alchemy ingredients for making potions. The rest are useless trinkets for decoration or selling.
Any item you find that has effects on it (with a low alchemy it'll likely just be 4 question marks when you hover over it with your mouse) are just alchemy ingredients.

Thanks, This has been good advice. I just have a few quick follow up questions

1. For the alchemy items hovering over them just shows question marks like you said. I have a low alchemy skill so is that why it's not showing info on them yet? Would I not be able to start making potions yet or if I can how do I do it?

2. If I am unable to start using these alchemy items right now they are just taking up space in my inventory. I discovered recently that if I overload my capacity I become immobile. Will my capacity increase by leveling up or do I have to do something else like train a specific skill for that? In the meantime is there anyplace I can store unused items for now like an empty house and/or crate that doesn't spawn items where the items I store won't disappear after some time? If I am able to increase my alchemy skill later and be able to start making potions I don't want to sell these alchemy items right now but since they're just taking up space I was hoping for a way to store them somewhere until I need them.

3.You mentioned joining House Redoran. Where is that at?

4. I recently joined the Fighter's Guild in Balmora like you suggested and have started doing missions for them and I will also plan on eventually joining the Imperial Legion in Gnis as well. I plan on doing several missions at these places to gain experience to get to a higher level. Though right now I still have that Puzzle Box mission that I started earlier active. What level should I be at before I attempt to go back and fight that mage on the bridge and continue that mission? Enemies don't appear to have a specific level at least not what I've seen so I won't know how strong enemies are until I try to fight them.

1. Higher alchemy skill will reveal more effects of ingredients, but you can still make potions and use those ingredients without knowing the effect on them. To do alchemy you need alchemy apparatus (you need just a mortar and pestle but there's 4 apparatus you can use that will increase the effects)

Look here: https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Alchemy_(Morrowind)

2. Pretty much any storage in the world is safe besides the few respawning chests like the fighters guild supply chest.

I typically leave my stuff on the ground at caius house, he gives you the house later in the main quest and eventually you'll get a stronghold from one of the great houses if you join them.

3. Ald ruhn is the seat of redoran. They are in the council chambers under skar (inside the giant crab shell building at the end of town)

4. That guy on the bridge is easily killable at level 1, but because of your experience with the game I'd just go back once you're comfortable. Get some gear and healing potions and try and fight him again (remember, don't fight with 0 fatigue. That's probably your biggest hurdle at low levels)

[󰀉tempeh󰀉]

Originally posted by danV:

Thanks, This has been good advice. I just have a few quick follow up questions

1. For the alchemy items hovering over them just shows question marks like you said. I have a low alchemy skill so is that why it's not showing info on them yet? Would I not be able to start making potions yet or if I can how do I do it?

2. If I am unable to start using these alchemy items right now they are just taking up space in my inventory. I discovered recently that if I overload my capacity I become immobile. Will my capacity increase by leveling up or do I have to do something else like train a specific skill for that? In the meantime is there anyplace I can store unused items for now like an empty house and/or crate that doesn't spawn items where the items I store won't disappear after some time? If I am able to increase my alchemy skill later and be able to start making potions I don't want to sell these alchemy items right now but since they're just taking up space I was hoping for a way to store them somewhere until I need them.

1. You can discover potion recipes by trial-and-error guesswork, but there's also a few books and people that mention potion recipes. The Mages Guild trains alchemists, so they may be a good place to look.

2. Every point of strength increases your maximum carry weight by 5. You can temporarily increase your strength with Fortify Strength or decrease the weight of things you're carrying with Feather. Feather and fortify strength spells have equal costs, but each point of strength gives 5 times as much weight, +1 maximum fatigue, and increases the damage you inflict with weapons. Feather's more useful for reducing your carried weight close to 0 for optimal jump distance and run speed. You can permanently increase your strength when you level up; the more you improve skills governed by strength, the more you can increase your strength when you level up. For optimal results, raise 10+ points in strength-governed skills to get 5 points in strength. A glance at your character sheet will tell you you only need to increase 10 major or minor skills to gain a level, so you'll likely need to practice some miscellaneous skills too if you want that +5 when you level up.

As for storage, just beware that anything you place in an owned container will be marked as stolen and may be confiscated by guards if you're arrested. (So either don't break the law, or don't get caught.) By default, Morrowind doesn't tell you which containers are owned, but there are mods for this. Containers in bandit lairs and tombs are never owned, so in my first serious playthrough of the game I lived in a bandit cave and a tomb that I'd cleared out, though the wild animals inside sometimes respawned. Also note that without mods, containers have limited storage space. Corpses do not. Some corpses are tied to quests and cannot be disposed of, so there's no risk they'll disappear with all your stuff. Corpses also make no claims to ownership, so you can store things on them without them being marked as stolen. Personally, I just installed a mod to increase container storage capacity to 9999999.

You can leave things on the floor up to a point, but eventually you'll surpass the number of objects the game can keep track of in a cell. Any extra items past that point won't be lost forever, though; the game will spawn an "overflow loot bag" and stick them in there. Those loot bags have practically unlimited storage, but they can only *display* so many things, so you may need to take some things out before you can see the rest. Honestly, container inventories start to lag long before that becomes an issue. I prefer to organise things into a variety of containers, which both makes it easier to find things and prevents lag.

[Valden21]

4. House Redoran is one of the five Dunmer Great Houses in Morrowind. They share power with House Telvanni (mages who hang out on the eastern coast and are based in Sadrith Mora), and House Hlaalu ("entrepreneurs" whose domain is in the southwestern part of the map and are based out of Balmora), and the Imperial Legion. House Redoran's emphasis is on combat and concepts like knightly honor; they're the most martially-oriented of the three Great Houses we see in-game.

[robmtl]

if you're looking for a great comprehensive guide to character creation, game mechanics, etc, check out this guy's work: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLobdprIgcqJ82TKnySC6yIzP9CO9ixyz_

[danV]

Originally posted by 󰀉tempeh󰀉:

Originally posted by danV:

Thanks, This has been good advice. I just have a few quick follow up questions

1. For the alchemy items hovering over them just shows question marks like you said. I have a low alchemy skill so is that why it's not showing info on them yet? Would I not be able to start making potions yet or if I can how do I do it?

2. If I am unable to start using these alchemy items right now they are just taking up space in my inventory. I discovered recently that if I overload my capacity I become immobile. Will my capacity increase by leveling up or do I have to do something else like train a specific skill for that? In the meantime is there anyplace I can store unused items for now like an empty house and/or crate that doesn't spawn items where the items I store won't disappear after some time? If I am able to increase my alchemy skill later and be able to start making potions I don't want to sell these alchemy items right now but since they're just taking up space I was hoping for a way to store them somewhere until I need them.

1. You can discover potion recipes by trial-and-error guesswork, but there's also a few books and people that mention potion recipes. The Mages Guild trains alchemists, so they may be a good place to look.

2. Every point of strength increases your maximum carry weight by 5. You can temporarily increase your strength with Fortify Strength or decrease the weight of things you're carrying with Feather. Feather and fortify strength spells have equal costs, but each point of strength gives 5 times as much weight, +1 maximum fatigue, and increases the damage you inflict with weapons. Feather's more useful for reducing your carried weight close to 0 for optimal jump distance and run speed. You can permanently increase your strength when you level up; the more you improve skills governed by strength, the more you can increase your strength when you level up. For optimal results, raise 10+ points in strength-governed skills to get 5 points in strength. A glance at your character sheet will tell you you only need to increase 10 major or minor skills to gain a level, so you'll likely need to practice some miscellaneous skills too if you want that +5 when you level up.

As for storage, just beware that anything you place in an owned container will be marked as stolen and may be confiscated by guards if you're arrested. (So either don't break the law, or don't get caught.) By default, Morrowind doesn't tell you which containers are owned, but there are mods for this. Containers in bandit lairs and tombs are never owned, so in my first serious playthrough of the game I lived in a bandit cave and a tomb that I'd cleared out, though the wild animals inside sometimes respawned. Also note that without mods, containers have limited storage space. Corpses do not. Some corpses are tied to quests and cannot be disposed of, so there's no risk they'll disappear with all your stuff. Corpses also make no claims to ownership, so you can store things on them without them being marked as stolen. Personally, I just installed a mod to increase container storage capacity to 9999999.

You can leave things on the floor up to a point, but eventually you'll surpass the number of objects the game can keep track of in a cell. Any extra items past that point won't be lost forever, though; the game will spawn an "overflow loot bag" and stick them in there. Those loot bags have practically unlimited storage, but they can only *display* so many things, so you may need to take some things out before you can see the rest. Honestly, container inventories start to lag long before that becomes an issue. I prefer to organise things into a variety of containers, which both makes it easier to find things and prevents lag.

So just to clarify, I can't store any items in any containers that are inside or outside buildings? You specified "Owned containers". Are all containers inside and outside any buildings considered "owned" even if there's no one around them or has any items in it? For example there is the skar inn in Ald'ruhn that has empty chests in front of the beds or there are the empty chests in front of beds at the fighters guild in Balmora or Ald'ruhn. Can I store items in any of those without getting in trouble or could i just leave them on the floor there without them eventually disappearing? Or should I seek out a bandit tomb? Is there one close by any towns that I can use? I'm not concerned about container capacity at this point right now I just want to find a nice place to leave my alchemy items and a couple of other things until I need them or have increased my capacity. If I can't put my items in any of the chests I mentioned without getting in trouble can you suggest a place that would be good? Preferably around Balmora or close to any town.

[psychotron666]

The overflow lootbag is only something I've seen on the console version. I don't think it exists on PC

You can store as much as you want on the ground, it won't disappear. And if the overflow lootbag is something that exists on the PC version, it's basically a created endless chest for you that you own, so it solves that problem anyway.

As for owned chests, it's mostly a guessing game. I believe it's the morrowind code patch that has an option to show if chests are owned or not.

As far as I'm aware most chests outside of buildings are not considered owned.