I want to play an avoid the main quest. How can I do this. I basically want to leave Helgen with nothing. I want no enchanting, basically whatever my character finds is what he uses. I will not be using perks, maybe I'll choose 2 perk trees and that's it. Mainly I want to play as an undragon born.

You can avoid the main quest by not doing the main quest. If you mean somehow jumping over the walls of Helgen with your hands tied and running off into the distance before Alduin appears, I don't think it is possible.

Just do not speak to the Jarl of Whiterun and you're fine to do as you please.

Az

Play the first quests "Unbound" and "Escape Helgen" but do nothing: don't fight, just follow until you're out?

Do not take the dragon stone in bleak fall barrow or at least never deliver it.
This will prevent dragons from spawning.

Dont do the main quest, nothing says you have to do it.

Same as in Oblivion you could just ignore the quest entry and don't visit the person that continued the main quest. This way the world didn't have any oblivion portals in it, and you could just play all the way through the warriors guild, side-quests, etc...

Here just do the same... exit Helgen and be free. Ignore the quest about visiting whoever they tell you.

Anyway, I don't understand your point about "not use perks, don't want enchanting", etc... There is no need for any of those skills here... with my char (I'm playing a dragonborn, doing the main quest, etc.) I just use the only combat skill I choose, wear the armor type I chose, and use 3-4 more skills that fit my template. Even if I want that cool heavy armor because it looks good, I don't use it simply because my char "can't". It's light armored (you know, "light on your feet, smart" ). I pick perks for those 4-5 skills, and that's all. I didn't want a crafter so I don't do smith, alchemy, enchanting, or whatever... same with Magic. It's an archer, so I don't read any books neither use any spells, of any type, even if I would love to. That's why I will create a Mage later.

In any case, have fun!

I have a char the never entered Riverwood until level 20. Leave Helgen and go West. As a matter of fact, after 5 chars ( on my 6th) I have yet to advance the MQ, past meeting the Greybeards. They averaged 200 hrs each and leveled to an average of 55. The one that reached level 65 never even talked to Gurter, in Riverwood.

if you want to buy a house later on you'll need to at least speak with the jarl of whiterun. I use a bat file that gives me an alternate start location and doesn't start the main quest, and the dialogue for house buying, at least in markarth never came up until i consoled the main quest start. But all you need to do to avoid the main quest line after you speak to the jarl of whiterun is just not go to bleak falls burrow.

It is possible you just can't do anything but run around as your hands stay bound. One of the main characters I am playing is a wandering Orc who just hit a 100 explored dungeons a couple days ago. He has never seen a dragon but has run across several strange walls that make him feel tingly but to him they are still just walls. I don't consider seeking shelter and allowing someone to cut your hands free as a part of the main quest that is just survival. After my hands where unbound I attacked the Imperial knocked him down and then ran away not stopping for anything until I was out of the cave then I went Southwest picking up what I needed as I went.

I don't like the houses anyway. I love the arch-mages quarters you get for the college missions. You own it and eveythjng is safe to store plus you get a free arcane enchanter and alchemy table and there is an extra room right around the corner to store even more stuff. It's the best free room and board in the game.


My point about the perks is I don't want to use all the one given to me. I basically gonna play with only putting perks into two perk trees. Any left perks will just go unused. Maybe after a few hundred hours with that character when I get bored I'll use all the perks points I never touched. They'll just sit there.

Sounds like a plan.
On my current new character, a straight up Orc Warrior, I haven't talked to the Jarl of Whiterun yet, so the MQ hasn't started yet. and I'm not sure when I will start it. (I will eventually) No dragons yet, I have gained one shout, but as I have no dragonsouls, I can't use it yet. I'm taking my time and being real careful about what quests I do and do not do, and not really stressing about any uncompleted quests I may still have in my journal. I find it a nice relaxing and fun way to play the game. The only major questline I'm doing right now is the Companions, and i will likely take a break form that one too and just go wandering and do a bunch of random questing here and there.

My current character is a level 50 Khajiit, and I've yet to speak with the Jarl of Whiterun. I've completed most of the major self-contained quests. Next up I'll work my way through the faction quests (DB, TG, College, Companions, Civil War), and I'm planning to save the MQ for last.

Though, I've taken this approach largely because I'm waiting on patches.

Although in going to my do the main quest next time I urge anyone who hasn't done the main quest not to wait on all characters because of the cool things you get and because of the places you get to see that you would never know of unless you did the MQ. At least one character should do the main quest first. It's a blast playing through the whole game with all the great shouts and other stuff you get.

yeh this is cool and where im at at the moment - havent delivered the stone.

can go around the place without those annoying dragons.

Very good advice. My first char basically did everything he came across or was told about, except the DB line, since he killed Astrid in the shack. I was trying out a variety of things that way. I haven't advanced subsequent chars as far, but they are much more focused and, I think, more fun to play.

there's two ways to prevent starting the main quest... more but these are the obvious ones.

the quest starts when you turn in the dragonstone to Farengar, the court wizard at Whiterun.

you can pick up the quest from the owner of the Riverwood Trader and go to Bleak Falls Barrow and then never go to Whiterun to warn them that the dragons are coming, so you have the dragonstone on you and then you can turn it in if/when you're ready to start the main quest.

or, you can head off towards Whiterun WITHOUT the quest from the guy at the Riverwood Trader and you can use the carriage at Whiterun to go to any other hold capital and do whatever you want without your character ever knowing they're missing something. When you're ready to participate you go to Whiterun and talk to the Jarl and he'll take you to his court wizard and you can head off to Riverwood and up the hill to Bleak Falls Barrow (talk to the town merchant for his quest if you want to.)

warning: