DiD will make you more attached, and more careful. For one my mage and my assassin, both DiD carry 5 fortify/restore health potions, and 5 ultimate restore health potions. And when bad things happen... you feel something you don't normally feel in an rpg.... fear. Fear that your character will die forever if you make one wrong move. My DiD assassin is far more careful and patient than any previous assassin, and he is far more apt to use poisons and invisibility potions, and once a day powers than a non DiD assassin. If I run out of ingredients I will scour to find more because I will not go into a new dungeon without a safe supply of potions and poisons. The mage is also very particular about having a dremora lord at his side at ALL times, even when things feel safe.

You will also be more careful around cliffs and waterfalls. My mage and assassin are both level 60 plus.

DiD is an interesting concept if there were several alternative starts, like the ones available on mod forums, cause having to repeat the whole riverwood/whiterun - factions - etc... with every new char kills the fun.

first time on master, so we'll see how I do. Due to its nature, I plan to take advantage of every non-console, non god cheat glitch I can think of, first being attacking invincible Hadvar to level up some skills off the bat.

I guess there should be a mod that would just spawn your character in a random part of the world to start your DiD game.

Wow, that's really lame. Just play on expert, IMO.

I reload a save if I accidentally cheese somehow.

I erased my first character (level 20ish) after i realized smithing was bugged -- I mean you get more experience for iron than you do for ebony. So I've never crafted Iron since. In fact I skip leather and studded as well. Of course, it's pretty easy with jewlery as well. I don't know. I hope Bethesda balances this.

You don't have to the same thing over and over. For that matter even staer the MQ. I have some chars that never entered Riverwood until level 20 or so. Escape Helgen and go west young man...go west...

I actually enjoy the game more AFTER I have built my char. I see no shame in grinding out a char and THEN doing quests and such.


I don't. If I cheese up, then that's just too bad. I should have paid closer attention. It just doesn't feel right, reloading a dead char. Playing with them and all the time I KNOW that char fell. Especially if it was due to my own stupidity. If the game glitched or the controller/mouse failed...that is a whole different story.

Nope, the animation starts when they start their attack, or close enough as to make no difference. I've been killed at full or near full health before by what should have been a slow power attack that would've given me plenty of time to block or get out of the way. Now I stay far away from NPCs using two handed weapons, or always keep my shield up.

Dead is Dead, if your character dies, you have to delete that save, if you dont, then it's not considered DiD anymore

Great post/story, Senior Cinco - I wish that sort of thing was the standard in DiD threads ( all I see in those threads are very short descriptions of character deaths, but no truly epic *successes*).

I totally understand the thrill of coming back from the brink of defeat like that - but when it goes the other way?

OK, an epic fight like that - maybe I could say it was a "good" death and start a new character. The problem is, so many character deaths have been definitely NOT epic - I just turn a corner in the level scaling and suddenly I'm the punching bag for enemies I owned a couple levels ago.

An earlier poster mentioned something about needing a good imagination to play DiD. Sorry, but that's not the issue for me. I have a ton of great character ideas waiting to be tried out. I come up with little RP hooks for each character, and try to stick to them.

But I don't have 5 or 8 hours at a stretch to play games anymore. On average, I play for an hour or an hour and a half at a stretch, maybe a couple times a day. I understand the intense immersion factor that comes from playing DiD, but man... I just can't take the frustration! That's why I need a slightly more forgiving playstyle.

Anyway, to each his own, and I know nobody is insisting I play that way - and I'm glad everyone's having fun.

Keep posting those write-ups!

Thank you and yes it is not for everyone, that is for sure. The people who forego the playstyle and post in the Skyrim Dead Is Dead Thread, vary from just a brief update to nothing short of a fanfic. People love to read about their adventures. I think it not only shows that there is such a thing as a great community thread in this mess of complaints and smart remarks, but it lets others get close to our characters as well. When they fall in battle and are added to the Memorial the loss is felt across the community.

I see your point about gametime. I have the luxury that most don't, in that I am retired and every day is Sunday. I can easily spend 15 hrs+ if i so choose. Still I am glad you are enjoying your play. That is really what matters.

^^ I would LOVE to post my long stories on the forums. I even had a looong starting story for Lilith, my current DiD character. The thing is, I don't know if most people want to read such long diaries, so now I stick to quick updates.
I too often see TL DR. And it kinda hurts when you know you put so much thought in the story, someone comes and says: "Sorry TL DR, make it shorter next time" or "Whow, what's with the wall of text?!"
Or you get ignored...because your story is too long and people skip it.

@ JKs Husband : Here is a couple for ya...

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1277166-the-skyrim-dead-is-dead-thread-ii/page__view__findpost__p__19332758

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1277166-the-skyrim-dead-is-dead-thread-ii/page__view__findpost__p__19355851

@ lorelai : Post away girl! Tell your story and say it loud and proud! If there is no response...then ok. If there is a direct response...then fine. If there is a neg response...then sux to be them. There are, on average 6,000+ visits to THAT thread. Some people are not members that follow it. They still enjoy them and I know I do. So if there is a Negative Nancy that post a sharp comment. Think about those that can't post.

Yes, you're right! Thank you for the encouragement!
I just don't get it why some people are so hostile these days and in such a rush. And I'm not talking about constructive criticism, that's all fine and even appreciated...

I don't like dead is dead playthroughs in skyrim its hard.