Yep... leave Helgen and just make your own way. If you do decide to loot that one ruin that contains the claw, just make sure you don't pick up the Dragonstone. If you do, you'll be stuck with a 25lb. rock in your inventory until you give it to the Jarl of Whiterun (which instantly kicks off the battle with the dragon at the tower).

Dude, in Oblivion, the whole reason you were let out of prison in the first place is because the Emperor saw you in a dream, gave you the Amulet of Kings, then told you to bring it to the Priory because it was your destiny. You had to totally ignore the whole reason for your freedom in order to role-play anything else in that game. Plus, Kvatch was always doomed, whether or not you pretended that you were never in prison.

Morrowind, by far, had the best initiation out of the three. But Skyrim at least gives you a similar freedom to Morrowind in that you are not obligated in any way, shape, or form to become the Dragonborn. The minute you leave Helgen, the world is your oyster and there are no irritating quest hooks that lock you into the linear quest line. I loved Oblivion, but I didn't like the way your freedom was instantly stripped from you to role-play the way you wanted. I was so happy when I realized that Skyrim didn't lock me in like that.

Ok? I'm not quite sure why you quoted me. I was saying the beginnings of the games are not the same. I was not saying which one was better or which one you could easily roleplay with.

It makes perfect sense. I even followed that guy to Riverwood. Sure, he told me to speak to the Jarl. My guy said, "Whatever, I'm not a native of Skyrim and I'm not a Nord. I don't really care about your lore and your people. I'm here to loot, make money, get rich, become powerful... and what in the hell makes you think I want to get invovled with anything that has to do with dragons? You think I enjoyed getting almost killed by a dragon at Helgen? Nuh uh... you go talk to the Jarl at Whiterun... I'm off to make my fortune... by the way, got any free stuff I can use? Thanks."

Oops sorry. I thought you were saying that you could roleplay after the initiation in Oblivion as you could in Morrowind. My bad.

Ah, no I have only played a few hours of Morrowind but I also prefer Morrowind's style of opening, it leaves a lot up to the player. I also agree with you that Oblivion is the worst of the three for roleplaying from the start although it is still my favourite from the series.

You're not forced to do anything once you leave the caves outside Helgen. On some playthroughs, once I leave the caves, Helgen didn't happen... or rather that character wasn't there.

I agree with the idea that each race should have a different 'start', and that you should be able to also start in a location other than Helgen. That would be truly awesome.

Unfortunately, I've been to every single location in Skyrim and have utterly exhausted the map, as well as every-single-quest. I have low motivation to start a new character, but would like to just for variety.

Need a major DLC/expansion, and need it sooooooooon. I'm getting withdrawal tremors.

yep i did this. dont know exactly how much time it saves.

i guess its not that bad now that i've heard some different points of view.......... good talk see you out there