Hi,

Pretty basic question, how do you get into Skyim?!

I have had the game since release, and I havent been able to get a character passed level 20. I find myself sick of the character after the first 10 or so levels. They feel soulless reguardless of what I do. Even my old Character from MW (and Oblivion a little) and an amazing backstory somehow had his soul stripped by this game.

I stopped playing about a month or so ago, because I figured the game just wasnt for me, but I picked it up a few days ago determined to give it another shot. Started a new char and... same problem.

My original thoughts were that it was to do with the lack of attributes etc making me feel like the character wasn't a real person, but I think there is more to it than that. What is it about Skyrim that despite its graphics and lovely world that makes it feel more like a game than a vanilla MW with low graphic settings? I have even considered going back and playing Oblivion (I hate that game) just to get rid of my want for TES.

I dont want any answers like 'pwn newbs lolz'. I like to play TES in a Roleplaying fashon. Those of you who are into role playing.. would you be so kind as to let me know how you get into Skyrim? How do you Roleplay a character in a world like that? I am going to start one new character, and I am going to think of an amazing story for him/her and roleplay it correctly. If it doesnt work out this time, I will get another frisbee CD to add to Oblivion.

You cross the border. That's the vague default story for everyone.

I guess it`s possible through a dimensional doorway that leads through to a Skyrim world. They say in Quantum physiques that there are a million million alternative versions of Earth, maybe one is just like Skyrim. You`ll need to really concentrate though or find some kind of-


Oh wait!

You mean roleplay? Oh, oh sorry, my bad.

I'm not a hardcoe or veteran roleplayer, so I don't know if my reply will be helpful, but here it goes.

Right now I play with all markers disabled. And I mean both compass and map markers, either visited or unvisited. I can only see the compass on my screen, so it gives a lot of immersion. Also I hide the "current position" marker on the map so even if I open it on my travels (I don't), I can't see where I am at all.

I walk everywhere (not run), which makes the exploration and adventuring longer and more immersive. My Timescale is set to 3, so for example if I play for 4 real life hours, ingame time advances 12 hours. It's good because you can wake up (ingame) at 8am, go around sell some stuff, walk to a dungeon, clear it, walk somewhere else, etc... and be back at home at 5pm ingame time after playing for about 3 real life hours. Default timescale is 20, which is too fast in my opinion.

Also I enforce rules for my char, so I only use the skills I choose (in this case, Archery, Sneaking, Light Armor, Merchandise, Lockpicking). It's good-aligned so I don't go around picking items that are not mine, even if they interest ME, just because my character wouldn't do it.

About the back story? I'm not quite sure really... I though on it later, while playing the game. Though that I could be some traveler who hit his head with a rock and forgot about everything.

Then I just try to adapt to this world and live in it. This character is pro-empire (not a fanatic tho), so it's also following its orders. As for other guilds, only one that fits it's Companions, so she's in too.

I know I haven't been much help, but anyway, if you hate Oblivion and are more MW-fan, then maybe this game isn't for you at all, because is more Oblivion style. Maybe you're too much expecting something like MW... and you only need to make your mind to this different style.

In any case, good luck and have fun.

It's a shame its not working for you I no you have to be in the mood,(have a day watching LOTR) and it was while reading someone eles view on this game and how he played it, that determined my 2nd char and to an extent i have copied his style of game play. And i live work and plan this style. Basicaly I decided not to follow much of the quest line. insted I became a blacksmith, bought the house in whiterun next to the blacksmith, so every things there, and now Lydia lives with me and i get changed into somthing cosy at the end of every mission, back at home both sitting in a chair by the fire. last night saw me make NEW Flawless Elvin armour and Lydia put it on striaght away, plus her new shield, and elvin Bow our armour is now 108 armour, and we look like twins.LOL.. and had a great battle clearing a tomb last night Iam now LvL30, and as a warrior it great ..haveing compleated the main Quest as a Mage Lvl 40 this is far more interesting...good luck hope you find your place in this game...

Yeah I find that is much more fun to play a character type rather than just smash quests. I may do something quite similar.. make an absent minded female redguard alchemist.. I dunno. All I do all day is look for cool new ingredients. If something gets in my way then I guess I HAVE to sneak passed or fight for my life. Hah. Maybe not. I'll see. It should be entertaining at least.

Hey thanks for the reply, its good. I like quite a few of your ideas. Sadly my computer isn't running it at the moment so I have been relegated to console player =(! (Nothing against console players, I just am not used to them).

I like to sit down at an inn and have a drink after each mission also, but with 20 timescale it kills it a little. I also like to take away the compas, but it gets annoying not knowing how much hp you have etc (cant just disable markers on console, stupid f things), but I may just play like that anyway. It might work..

I dont like Oblivion because of the [censored] level scaling.. Totally kills my experience. I find skyrim has Less of this, though not sure how much. It just has other problems.. Like I find that I want to level up my character to get a perk, rather than play my character in the way it should be played sometimes. Grr. But yeah thanks for your ideas, I will try as much as I can out!

I like the way it is open to interpretation. It's the quests and skill trees that flesh out your character's story and how they go about telling that story.

I'm on my third char right now - a Daedra worshipping refugee from Morrowind, who hates the Nords for how they treat him and his fellow elves. I've also done an Altmer Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a Nord Indiana Jones.

As I've played the quests I've found myself planning future characters, and I can't wait to play the widow of of a wrongly disgraced Imperial general who was framed by Emperor Mede and killed by General Tullius.

I try to make discrete playthrus choosing one Thanedom, one side in the war, one guild questline plus some random adventuring in between. I also pick about five or six skill trees that my character is going to specialise in and some skills that they are not going to use at all.

Followers are important and add depth to the gameplay, so I start with Feandal or Sven, Then send them home when I get the Housecarl, who I usually work to death. Then when I'm in the 20's I'll pick a follower who has the most complemantary playstyle to mine to take me to level 50ish. Then I put that character in XBL's cloud saves where they will wait for DLC to come out.

IMO Skyrim is a roleplaying dream. Hope you can find a way to get more enjoyment out of it for yourself.

I think what's wrong is you and your preconceived views of what's a character and what's roleplay.

I think I know what you mean..

I've made some characters that seem kind of soulless. Like they don't blend very well into the narrative or something. I think that's partly my fault, and partly the game's fault for being so Nord centric.

I've found the lack of the character attributes, class etc. screen making it harder to roleplay. Looking at Health, Stamina etc. and Skills alone doesn't tell much about my character. I had to write everything about my character to paper (especially backstory) to remind me who the character I'm supposed to roleplay is.

Another roleplay problem is how NPCs respond and react to your character. Everyone treats you like a Nord. At least in Oblivion characters had low starting dispositions and said like: "Oh, it's you...hi." when they saw you. In Skyrim everyone happily tells you everything about their lives automatically when you just pass by. Not much you can do about this without mods.

Good post. I've also disabled all markers in my Compass and the Quest Markers that are shown above people's heads and on doors.

I always keep myself motivated by:

1. Wanting to find out the outcome of the story.
2. Build a godlike high level character that owns the games.
3. Explore every nook & cranny of the world.

The results might be disapointing, but should keep you motivated to finish something. And then you can always rant here at the end of it.

Too much emphasis on roleplaying and being in character can break the progress of a story and the fun of actually playing a game. Sometimes you just have to start by playing the game and sort of let the story lead you by the nose until you break past a barrier and start seeing your character as an individual in the whole setting.

I think many make the common mistake of trying to re-create a character they were very attached to in a previous TES game and then feel disappointed because the Skyrim system doesn′t re-create that character that well and the character doesn′t fit the story. But if you look back at how this character developed when you originally grew attached to it, you will probably notice that this exceptional and fun character started out quite vague to begin with as well and sort of developed his or her individuality as the story and adventure unfolded.

I like doing that too, and is one of the reasons for me to change the time scale. Also, it didn't make much sense to be 6.00PM while walking to Whiterun, having it perfectly on sight, and arrive there late to sell anything (+8.30PM). Now I can walk around, even enter the Honeybrew meadery, buy some mead, harvest something, and still get there before 7.00PM.


My compass is not disabled, because I almost need it for orientation (I'm talking about the N, S, W, E thing). What I've hidden is all markers (not only quests, I mean everything), so I don't know where are forts, caves, etc. even if I have discovered them. My map and my compass are empty of markers. If I have a quest on a cave, I enable the quest marker while inside the city, then mark the location on my real-life paper map (as accurate as I can), then disable the quest-marker again, and adventure to the place following the roads, forests etc. using the compass and trying to guess where I am using the paper map. I usually mark up to 2-3 quest locations on my paper map, complete them, and then return to town, all without using my ingame map at all, which gives a lot more immersion.

The marker on the compass was always spoiling everything, so I got rid of it. I knew that I had a cave here, a fort there, etc... even if I couldn't see them... now if a cave is supposed to be behind that waterfall, I have to find, instead of following a location-not-discovered black marker.

How do you alter the timescale, is this something you can only do on PC?

Sorry, I meant all the Markers in the Compass and the Quest Markers that are shown above people and on doors. I also need the Compass to know my orientation, but most of the time I've the Compass hidden (Immersive Hud mod allows enabling/disabling Compass with a button press).

Empty map? That's a very interesting idea. I have to try it.

I'm not at home right now so I don't remember the name, but it's done with a Mod that hides markers, customizable, so you can choose to hide caves but not forts, or whatever you want. I only left Cities visible on the map.

About the immersive hud, I'll give it a try. What I would like is to hide completely the compass and be able to carry some kind of equipable compass, to check it pressing some key when I need. And old rusty compass

About the mana and life indicator, I have no problem with that. If I had another way of knowing my damage (injuries on skin, slower walk, etc.) then I wound't mind disabling it too. Maybe some mod once the CK is out...

it wasn't until I started playing DID, that I really began heavy RPing. I just thought I was RPing before. Playing DID not only raised the excitement level of gameplay, by knowing that it could all end with the very next encounter, but it created a tighter bond between me and my chars. With each new char I made, I found myself creating very different and deeper characters, more interesting characters with interesting backgrounds and personalities.

DID is not for everyone, but it sounds like you should give it a try. There is a current thread going here.http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1332981-skyrim-dead-is-dead-thread-iv/

I find if I just keep plugging away at quests and goals, I don't connect with my character. But then I go off and just ride my horse and explore, or play in third person watching her hunt, do some alchemy, change clothes and relax around my house, or go to taverns and talk to people. Then I start to get a feel for a personality of some kind. It's so much easier to do with a Bioware game where you can see and hear your character talk. But just doing some "nothing" stuff might help you.

on a serious note, I think that enough people probably think about the TES universe at any given time that it has probably materialized by now

I roleplay a person that sells tomatoes. I stand behind my market stall in one of the cities. But nobody ever buys my tomatoes. its actually rubbish roleplaying being a tomato seller I'm not really getting the vibe I get selling veg in other games.

You play a Mexican?

How do you change the timescale?

You're not going to get far as a market trader. No one ever got rich that way. Apply some business flair and move into wholesale. I'm sure there's shops all over Skyrim that would love to buy your tomatoes.

I do miss having something different about the character at the start to hang a backstory on
Wouldn't have to be much, just being able to pick a few skills to be slightly better at in the beginning would help
Still I haven't found it stops me being able to roleplay a character
I'll turn down quests if the character doesn't fancy them, limit the factions I join etc. Theres so much to do its too much for just one character anyway

I find it helps to set a goal. Something entirely independent of anything the game itself might throw at you. I make almost all of my own equipment, so, why does Draug do that? Maybe he takes a pride in working with his own hands. Marries an mechanical goal (get good equipment on the cheap) with a character one. Riften annoyed me when I got there, and I immediately got the idea to go a little Punisher on Riften, try and clean it up, the hard way. I'd been bouncing between Lydia and Aela as potential marriage partners, but when my character met Mjol, and heard her ranting about the same things that annoy him about Riften... well, he was smitten!

I guess it comes down to filling in the gaps. Elder Scrolls games give a decent framework for roleplay, considering the technically silent protagonist, but ultimately, it comes down to your own ability to fill in the little gaps, and brush over some of the more jarring anomalies.