I have long been a fan of role playing games. However, this is the first time that I have actually role played - and boy is it enjoyable. I think the reason for this is that Skyrim is the first game that actually feels like a living, breathing, world, so I actually care about playing my part in it, as opposed to just trying to be the most powerful being in it. I came across a man and a woman going to a wedding with fine gifts and murdered them just out of habit, as I would in previous rpgs, to get their loot...but I instantly felt dirty. It just didn't suit the character I was portraying. So, I loaded my last save file and told them to have a nice day. What an awesome experience.

That being said, I simply CANNOT allow myself to turn the difficulty below Adept! Foolish pride? Most likely...but I just can't do it. For my next character, I want to start a pure theif, but in doing so I will likely have to go novice to complete the main quest. Anybody else have similar feelings?

Its always nice to see when someone 'gets' roleplaying.

I miss aspects of Morrowind, a game older than some Skyrim players no doubt. But yeah, its a good game, just could be a lot better.

That's the effect of the environment..............it's awesome and the quests and NPC's are only company at intervals, like a watering hole.

Totally forget the limited NPC interaction ...which is pretty weak and could be vastly improved.Though it's not a point i would want to argue about.
I love this because aside a few minor prefs ...they have this vast and wonderous open world almost perfect.

I'd like a fishing rod.....and deeper pools near waterfalls

yeah some things in this game really make you feel like the gameworld doesn't revolve around you
than again some do, but that's a part of videogames I guess

anyway I agree, never seen it been done this well in a videogame

Funny because I experienced something similar a few days ago.

I was exploring the lighthouse outside Solitude for a quest. I bumped into the lighthouse keeper in his little lighthouse apartment and summarily killed him. Then I'm standing there thinking about how this poor guy probably has a miserable existence just maintaining this stupid lighthouse all day. He's got a crappy little living space - just cooking ingredients, a couple chairs, table and bed. So I reloaded my game and left him alone.

Just funny how I actually felt guilty for shooting a pretend arrow at what amounts to a collection of digital polygons wrapped up in a texture.

Just last night I ran into a guy with my mage on the road to Winterfall, he said he was on his way to join the imperial army. It was a very dense snow storm, honestly looked like something out of Stephen King from his point of view - alone in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard in the wee hours of the morning, along comes a dark hooded figure on horse-back, never to be heard from again.. Being the necro I am, I needed a soul to fill up a particular black soul stone. Needless to say his body was later discovered under the snow...

Edit: His soul now belongs to an ebony sword that I've named "Soul Drinker".. it soul traps on hit. Ahh roleplay.. how I love thee...

By your description of it all, wouldn't it in a sense be more merciful to have left him dead? Possibly his existence in the after-life is grander than his current station =)