which is very cool, since now I don't have tag ends of stuff left in the log. What I'm having a hard time dealing with is that it took me hours today finagling - when if I'd just bothered to really READ things on the wiki, I could have been up and running in about 5 minutes. REAL "duh" moment (not really a surprise, I have a LOT of those as I get older!)

It's seriously fun just being the "not-Dragonborn", exploring and questing as things come up talking to people. The only "directed" effort I'm doing is enough stuff in Riften to get the "let me make you a Thane after you buy property" option. Otherwise, I'm just going along as the wind changes....

Playing an RPG and avoiding the main questline is like trying to drive a Corolla in the Baja 1000... If you want a game where you can run around and do whatever, there are sandbox games for that. Sure it's fun to pick what quests you want to do when, but purposefully avoiding the main questline just doesn't make a whole lot of sense, IMO. That's the whole point of the game.. to be Dovakiin.. and take on Skyrim from Dovakiin's shoes.

Well.... I've been playing TES series since Arena. I always do the MQ on one toon. THEN I do my thing forever. In fact, I'm now playing the previous 4 games as well as Skyrim. So - where's the beef?

This IS a sandbox game. I don't have to care what the devs and their writers think is fun - because anything I do is for ME, not for anyone else. The most wonderful thing about TES through the years is that it's pretty much open to interpretation.

If you want to play the devs' game, that's fine. If I DON'T want to play the devs' game, that's fine too.

Sounds like fun, if that's what you're into. There's a little too much St. George in me to not love being a dragonslayer

Well, yes. I do that on the toon which completes the MQ. But after that.... there's a little too much predictable dragon-slaying.... It's fun to just RP a wanderer (usually Khajiit or Nord) with a backstory that explains WHY she's on a quest to find her star....

I'm a refugee from PnP AD&D. No way to play tabletop any more, and since most FCRPGs since then have been seriously anol as to playstyle, it's been a really wonderful thing that TES ISN'T.

Did pretty much this for my second character, although now I've started the main quest. But for about fifty levels I hadn't even bothered to do anything after finishing "Unbound". So, for fifty levels - no dragons, no shouts, no Dragonborn bruhaha. Until recently, because I felt like starting the main quest.

But now at this point, pretty much every dragon I encounter is an Elder dragon, yet they don't chomp me dead in two hits either.

I agree and am in the same boat. I usually do one of my characters usually the 1st one, they do the main quest and then I avoid it like the plague. I Did the exact same thing in Oblivion and was much better off.

Would you care to elaborate on how to do this? O-o? I always get the quests for the MQ when I leave the starting area. Or are you just saying your not doing them? Im slightly confused.

It's been a revelation to me, going clear back to Arena. First there's how MUCH of each of the older games I remember. In fact.... that's a shocker - since I played each of them (as this one) at release.... My GODDESS - I guess I don't have to worry about memory issues.... even at my age! Second, I expected to be turned off by the lack of graphic "excellence". That isn't the issue at all - the main issue with Arena and Daggerfall (and to some extent Morrowind) is that the controls aren't the way I want to "move" etc. - and there's not a whole lot I can do about that.

But the games themselves are FRESH and fun today, all these years later - which makes me a very very happy Beth fan. Again! I can envision playing all these games forever (well.... as long as I have a couple of antique laptops with equally antique versions of Windows so that dosbox is a happier camper....)



Oh sure! Actually, I did just for a bit "ignore" the stuff. But then you have to be rather careful just what you do where so you don't trip something.... And I hate to have to say this, but this is only for PC users, I have no idea how you would be able to do this on console, or IF you could.... Sorry!

I have a file saved as altstart (do NOT save it as .txt or any other extension). Here's the contents:

player.removeallitems

;Armor
player.additem 0010594d 1
player.equipitem 0010594d
player.additem 00013920 1
player.equipitem 00013920
player.additem 00013921 1
player.equipitem 00013921

;Weapon
player.additem 00013790 1
player.equipitem 00013790

;Spellbooks
player.additem 0009cd53 1

;Gold and Lockpicks
player.additem f 35
player.additem a 15

;Create Character
showracemenu

[This file goes in the Skyrim main folder inside the Steam folder. NOT in Data.]

Open the folder where your save games are stored. Copy skyrim.ini somewhere else for safety. Then open skyrim.ini, and add this line in the General section under anything else:

SStartingCell=GuardianStones (or use any other cell you like - you can get a list at http://www.skyrimsearch.com/cells.php)

Start a new game. You'll wind up in the starting cell you specified, in first person view. Open the console, and type "bat altstart" (without the double quotes.

Select your race etc., make your changes, save your character, and go on from there. FIRST THING YOU DO ONCE YOU ARE HAPPY WITH YOUR CHARACTER!!!:

Save the game, then exit to desktop. Pull up skyrim.ini, and delete the SStartingCell entry. Otherwise every time you try to load the game, you'll start over (bad thing....!)

Enjoy.... Oh! You can change anything in the altstart file to make your starting stuff what you want. What mine has is fur armor, leather boots/bracers, an iron war axe, a little gold, some lockpicks, and the Sparks spellbook.

Oh! #2 - if you're changing to female from male, you'll see that your toon still appears to be "bound". Not to worry. Just equip weapon, fixes it....

I did this on my last playthrough and I love it! I have close to 70 hours logged onto that toon, all without doing the main quest or any of the guild storylines.

What is a toon?

Do you guys(?) and girl(?) (Serethil) mean tune and not toon?

I don't really know where the term originated, but toon is commonly used to refer to ones player character.

Re: going back and playing Daggerfall. It's worth doing just to realize how far things have come. I was walking through Wayrest when suddenly my character started moving strangely and I seemed to be stuck in the ground. It took me about fifteen minutes to figure out I had fallen in the water - OH! That blue path on the ground is supposed to be water! Duh!

But at the time it was amazingly evocative. I still get chills thinking about arriving in Daggerfall after dark, trapped outside the gates, and hearing the ghosts coming to get me.

The word's derived from "cartoon."

Oblivion is the earliest one I have. Played Morrowind back in the day though. It didn't capture my attention like Oblivion did though, or Skyrim. Could have just been what I was interested in at the time.

Skyrim is a cartoon?

AFAIK the term "toon" for character is from WoW or perhaps older MMOs, which look cartoony. But that's just my take on it. Personally I despise the term when applied to a player character of any game.

No, but WoW looks like one... As far as I know, that's where the term originated.

An interactive one, sort of... like pretty much every video game.

Anyway, the term "toon" is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toon_(role-playing_game) Slightly more recent (and far more popular) uses of the term can be found in the movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096438/ or perhaps you've seen an episode or two of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzgtPJkI0ZM

It's an MMO term. I mentally translate the word to "character" whenever I see it. It keeps me sane.

Oh, and I've used this method too. Only I used AbandonedPrison01 as my starting cell, and did a removeallitems as soon as I materialized, just for fun (you pick up plenty of stuff if you just go through the dungeon, anyway). For additional fun, walk to Helgen and unlock the gate. When you get close, Ralof starts shooting all the Imperials hanging around in the holding area.

I started the TES series with Morrowind and then played Oblivion for oh many years, well it's still installed on my other PC LOL

I totally agree with you, Serethil, the best part of TES games is that you can play as you like. I can be an explorer, an adventurer, a mage, a bandit, and assassin, a goody-two shoes, a noble etc etc there is no limit to your imagination! The lore and myth breathes life into Tamriel and it's as if you wander within a new and different world. My imagination takes flight, when ever I start a TES game!

My 3rd Skyrim toon was supposed to be just an assassin and thief, but I missed slaying dragons for some reason, so I started the MQ again -.- And I like to quest, so I am finished with the DB quest line, and almost done with TG, so now I went and joined the Stormcloaks... again. LOL

I wonder if I can ever just make a toon that does nothing but wanders the land hahahahaha

survive Helgen
follow someone to Riverwood
run to the Whiterun stables
take a cab to Riften or Solitude or... yeah... any other hold
dont do the claw
dont tell Whiterun that Riverwood needs help
play the game without dragons

WARNING: the designers forsaw us doing this and will supplement danger from dragons with incredible combinations of random mobs... before level 10 I'd killed something like 20 bears and a number of trolls and random bandits... sometimes layered over eachother or already in combat with eachother. is fun fun fun in the high skyrim sun!

I dunno, I'm doing just fine without the MQ. I've played every TES (except Morrorwind for some reason) and have never finished the MQ. The best part of Bethesda games, is the fun little sandbox to play in. Sure, I dabble with some of the quests, but exploring, and stumbling across random quests and loot is an adventure that never seems to get old in my book. I'll eventually get to the MQ, but I'm in no hurry since the game world is enjoyable w/o dragons and civil wars.

I think I may start a character like this tomorrow after I get my new PC setup (it arrives tomorrow morning!!!!) one question how does one get into Whiterun playing like this if they wanted to? Only reason I ask is there are murders to be done in that city