A quest for your particular race (assuming you build your character earlier) that is set prior to the current opening sequence or in place of it.

Yay or nay?

What would this quest involve? But so far, yay.

Yay, intro is getting boring when you make lots of characters

Like in DA: O?

Nay, doesn't let me use my imagination. I love the vagueness of these games so you can imagine your characters backstory.

Just because I want to be an elf doesn't mean I want to be a slave that gets captured on the day of his wedding. I'll do the roleplaying here, thank you

Yes, much like Dragon Age: Origins, pre-build your character when selecting New Game, you do that particular racial quest that leads you to being captured.


I was not aware a single quest meant you couldn't make up your own backstory.

It's "yea". And I wouldn't want my character to have to deal with whatever baggage that would accompany any such quest.

Then yeah, if they were optional.

It works in DAO because DAO is a much more closed RPG than TES. In TES I don't want to have to be forced to be a Cousland and everything that entails with every character.

Maybe my elf was homosixual, very ugly and can't get a girl, too shy to ask out any girls, or just plain does not like marriage.

It's not a single quest down the road that you might be able to avoid, it's the quest that introduces who your character is. A pre-opening sequence like DA: O will kill the openness that TES lets you have. You can role play however you want in TES and that character becomes more of "yours" that way.

I would only approve if it was less like how DA:O took it. The guy above me is making the same point. This could only work if it was open and vague and let you use your imagination more.

But I still like Skyrim's choice: Any race could end up in that predicament and it doesn't force a backstory, besides the fact that you somehow were caught crossing the border with a bunch of stormcloaks and a thief.

Again, who says you're actually being forced?

By putting you in the main sequence you're already forced that you were taken prisoner. What if instead of Helgen where you Alduin, you wanted it to be Winterhold?


Yet it does, read above. The opening sequence does not allow you to have been caught at say Winterhold, or Riften, etc. You have to be a prisoner near X location. It forces you to be a prisoner, etc.

If now you're just talking about alternate starting locations everyone has access to and can choose from that's a different discussion(though I still wouldn't support it). But if you want differing starts based on race, as I thought this was about, that's too restrictive.

How is that too restrictive if it's something like a generic quest? How is the opening sequence not any less restrictive? You have to be a prisoner, you have to be saved from death simply because the dragon drops in. You can't start the story as say, a guard who was transferred from the Imperial City, you can't start as a Dark Elf spy who was looking for Ulfric in the first place, etc. The starting sequence itself is restrictive.

I don't see how generic they could be while being racially specific and worthy of inclusion. But you're right, the intros of every TES game have been restrictive in some way or five others...wanting to minimize not increase that.

There's nothing wrong with the way gamesas starts their elder scrolls games. You have been a prisoner since Morrowind. You're freed somehow and your life is as you make it at that point.

There are numerous alternate start mods and you're free to do the same here if you are so inclined.

I think there was a lot wrong with the way Oblivion started.

However I believe it's not actually constricting as you might think. If you pre-create your character, especially if you select skills as well as race, it could dump you into a opening quest that's predisposed to what you selected. If you create a Dark Elf Assassin/Thief it would make sense to dump you into a quest like that. You could even expand on it further by allowing the player to select where they wanted to start the game, it could allow you to blend your own story even better.


Because everyone plays on PC?

As is now the only thing that the world knows about your character is that they were at the Skyrim border (without a passport i guess) and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting them caught.

That isn't so restrictive. You haven't given any actual details to these "racial quests" so there isn't a way to argue against them without you saying "but you're a prisoner already!" Give some examples of these quests.

I'd rather they get what they are already doing right before we add more.

Also at some point they have to ber restrictive as a matter of story telling. If you're not there to see the events the story is lessened

Sorry that you chose a different platform that doesn't allow you to modify the game. I guess that's your option though. Accept what the game is for your platform or get it for the PC where you can change things to your liking; or even use things that others have created to enhance the game.

I honestly think you have a good idea. Just that you presently have no way of implementing it.

One thing I believe they could do is somewhat akin to Mass Effect and what D&D does. Mass Effect allows you to either use what you had before (when starting ME2) or use a generic one. D&D also offers pre-made stories or you can create your own.

I feel Beth could potentially, with the next TES, make some special starting quests (if you want to choose them) or a generic one that leaves you completely open.

Sounds better off being class based than race based. And something that expansive would have to be generic indeed... but even still, maybe as a Dark Elf assthief I don't want start off right in the thick of it. Maybe I've long since retired and don't wish to be in the game anymore. Or maybe I'm already working for an organization and doing this intro quest would conflict with their goals. Or I'm a freelancer and wouldn't do the job that's being asked of me.

As long as it's incredibly vague, like a Khajiit traveling with a caravan for an unspecified reason, or an Orc leaving a stronghold for an unspecified reason, then I'd be okay with it.

But something like DA:O? It wouldn't work very well, and would limit RP potential.

ESPECIALLY if they follow ANY racial stereotypes (Khajiit thief, Altmer mage, etc.)

Problem with that idea is you can play for a hundred hours and never bother with the mq. Where will the next game pick up with your continued save? Also skyrim is 200 years after Oblivion. Not exactly picking right up where the CoC left off.

No no, I'm not suggesting they do what ME2 actually did. I'm suggesting the idea of either a) choosing a generic start (i.e. you would do the current intro segment) or choose a specified one (like your save from ME1) and do that one.