I've put 200 - 350 hours into Skyrim, until I had to put it down for being meh. However, I want to try to pick it up and rp an Imperial legionarie, who was sent to Skyrim to help with the civil war, but is arrested by mistake by his own allies. So to the meat of the thread, what can I do to better immerse myself, other than rping my character and acting like he would? I was guess eating and sleeping, but the way time goes by in Skyrim is messed up compared to Oblvion.

1. Buy a replica of ancient Roman armour and wear it when you play the game. (Also good for cosplaying Rory from Doctor Who)
2. Ignore your bodily functions IRL.
3. When you eat or drink something ingame, also eat that same thing (or the closest equivalent) IRL.

LUL

There's a hunger mod if you're on PC, I tried to eat to add immerision before I had it and... it was horrible.

How do you think a thirty something legionarie could carry? Also, would Master be a good dificulty to use to get immersed?

Dead is dead (within reason); No fast travel; If you are on pc there's various hardcoe mods...otherwise, eat regularly and well, manage your healing (again, certain realism mods help with this...I suggest a balance such as 'overuse' of healing potions requires you to use the 'realistic skooma' mods and use skooma when you use X amount of healing potions to relfect the addictive effects...same same for stamina potions).

I'm venturing into modding at the moment looking at various ways I can add addictive effects to various potions and spells, as well as a few other 'realism' type effects.

turn the hud opacity all the way down, take away the targeting thingy (crosshairs?), only wear legion armor and use legion weapons, no magic, and just try to create a really in-depth backstory. Why did the other imperial soldiers think he was trying to cross the border? Why was he near the border in the first place? Also, don't do a bunch random things - your a trained soldier, you should have enough discipline so that you wont run to explore the closest cave. Try to stay with the imperials you find in the game, and just do the main auest (with a little time on the side improving weapons/armor, hunting, etc.

How should I handle eating and sleeping with Skyrim's weird time system? Also, I play on the 360, I'm pretty sure its in my sig.

i would definitely pick your major (can max) and minor skills(mid-range and used more sparingly) before-hand and do not use or worry about the others.

decline/accept quests that fit your character's traits/alignment, etc. only.

turn the hud down and markers off. get a printed map of skyrim and add the locations as you get them but do not use your in-game gps, ever. it's amazing how much fun and satisfaction i've been having since i started this.

personally, i come up with rules for skill use, depending, on the character build and roleplay:

for lockpicking, my nord had to train to certain levels before he could pick the varying lock levels. i made notes on chests and their levels that i could return to later.
as well, he was a smith, but, he only smithed for a bit of xtra coin and current equip upgrade. as well, thanx to previous thread by ygramul he now only smiths from ore and ingots he mines himself. though, iron/steel can be bought due to being common.
also, (can't remember who suggested it) he does no magic, so, when enchanted items are used up they are now discarded.
alchemy, is purely basic, first tier only potions that he learned while growing up in skyrim.

so, it's little rules like that to keep me honest to my character. don't hesitate to ask for other hints from people to really fine-tune your skills and roleplay.

edit: as for sleeping- i decided he was a daytime character and so would sleep during those 12am-6ish or so as a norm. though, when in a dungeon and losing track i often just carry on or sleep if it happens to have a camp/bed. personally, i found eating to be very bland and meaningless, though, stopping in at the inns of towns can add some dimensions.

Here's what i do ( all on pc )

Walk in towns and on main roads. only sprint for short distances when need to, run when in fights.

Eat, drink, sleep. i do use the more complex needs mod on the nexus so it goes into great detail.
I use Hypothermia mod. really nice immersion there too. ( i also use timescale 5 )
Read every book and stack book shelves.
Do not use every skill, i limit myself to the certain build/roleplay. for instance i'm currently roleplaying an Altmer pure mage that came from Morrowind. i do not use smithing at all because it's out of my abilities and such. same goes with weapons and armor, i do not use them at all.

Actually immerse into the conversations in the game, i do not skip the convo for any reason ( even to sell items )
i be sure to get my exercise by running around towns or holds for 10 minutes. i also challenge myself to walk from Solitude to Riften at least once a week.
Pick every plant and flower to mess around with alchemy to learn new things for my craft, same goes with enchanting.
I never join every faction/guild, i only limit myself to the player. since i'm a pure mage, i started out in the Mages College ( i use the "Live another Life mod ) he does not know how he feels about the Dark brotherhood though, been getting dark feelings so i think deep down he knows he loves Sithis.

You can also choose a religion so to speak, by picking a god or lord to worship if you so choose, or if you decide to be an atheist and do not believe in them or hate them for past reasons in your back story?
If you do choose to worship somebody, be sure to visit the shrines and temples atleast once a week or however many times you would like.
If you feel bad for the poor, toss em a few septims. or food/drinks.

Use a realistic lighting mod, for instance, brighter days and darker nights/caves/dungeons etc...actually makes sense to use torches/candle light spells etc. plus it looks awesome!
I never fast travel either.
I disabled health regeneration too.
Actually for the fast travel and health regen i use a program called "Automatic Batch File Execution - ZAutoExec by Kvalyr" which can be found on the Nexus.
What this does is starts a console command on startup of a save file. so therefore when i load my game, it disables health regen and fast travel ( can also be used for TONS of other things too )

Use the Immersive HUD mod, i use it and love it, the way i use mine has everything disabled and love it so much!
Use the Water FX mod which adds water effects when you get wet.
Use the Killable children mod ( a huge immersion breaker to have dragons kill entire towns and leave a stupid kid alive ) or can sacrifice children to Sithis, as a type of roleplay
Try to roleplay as a vampire/werewolf, that is if you plan on getting turned.
You could also play 'Dead is Dead' it's pretty fun to do.

Now this next part may not be for you but i do the following also.
Master difficulty 24/7
uncapped levels and skill levels ( no more 81 and 100 caps )
Deadly Dragons maxed settings
PISE ( most settings )
Deadlier traps
Wars in Skyrim
WARZONES
A few ' sounds of Skyrim : ******* mods <--i used **** because there are a few, simply adds more sounds to the game, more immersion feel too!
use the Dragon remains mod on the nexus. this stops dragons from turning into skeletons after you kill them. makes sense too. i love it!

There's a TON of things you can do to immerse yourself and roleplay!

P.S. i only listed some of the main mods i use. i actually have over 100. and they all work perfect together.
P.P.S for more immersion with the hypothermia mod, i would use the better snow/dynamic snow mods, and get the more snow mod too! i use the 150% esp on it. makes blizzards so fun and realistic!
Oh and to mix with the snow stuff i said, get the heavy rain mod too. it looks much better. and the Immersive Skryim Thunder mod ( can find it on the Nexus, same as all these i have said )

Can I still use in the in game map?

of course, do what works best for you.

i'm on the 360, as well, so you can't disable your current position on the map. and, all i can say is that NOT using the in-game map for scouting your current position as related to a current destination is VERY gratifying.

i happen to print out a map from on-line and then plot them as i get them by using the in-game map for that purpose only. you can then even add roads and natural landmarks or whatever suits you to add even more gameplay.

How much do you think is acceptable to carry?