I made a wood elf scout/forest ranger who's main skills are archery, alchemy and light armor and find it alot more fun when i purposely limit myself to the skills that only apply to my character and play only as a scout would as opposed to gettting better at everything and having a character thats good at everything. Most people i talk to feel the opposite and dont really have a set theme or class for theyre character, and get really good at alot of the skills in the game.

I tried playing both ways and have always prefered limiting myself to my class, i find it alot more fun being bad at the skills that my characters class wouldnt have me practice. Anyway i was just curious how other felt about this, to me theres someting special and fun about limiting yourself, i guess the struggle equals the fun. So just want to get other opinions on this, thanks.

I used to try to get good at everything. But then I took an arrow to the knee ...

My politician/thief doesn't fight. Doesn't shoot a bow, doesn't swing a sword, doesn't throw fireballs, doesn't spit ice from his hands or his mouth. He gets other people to do his fighting for him, and will summon creatures. The most actual fighting he'll do is use the Wabbajack as a last resort if he's cornered and there's literally no other choice. I'm actually having alot of fun playing as him.

I agree. Limits make things fun (and make a replay more likely).

I played a necormancer character.

Only raises dead (plus the one summon shade spell you can get) for summons
Only uses ice magic for attacking

Plus to take care of other undeadhe also has the turn undead spell.


It was really fun to play.

Well I don`t think much about it, but when I choose a character, it`s always a warrior, either skilled in the two handed sword and bow or single handed sword and bow. He never uses magic except if from a companion and sometimes from a ready- made scroll, but not often.

He`s really the Conan of Skyrim.

I guess that makes him barbarian warrior class.

I thought I had the Conan of skyrim ...

Me and you should face of and see who really desearves the title ...

You better prepare yourself. My monolouge will render yours worthless. My sketchs will split your sides and Tonights guest is Academy award winning actor, Tom Hanks!

Give it up for Jimmy Vivino and the basic cable band!

- Jimmy!

I know all the Conan jargon, but you can have the title as my character is a Redguard. So I guess you could call him the `Juma` of the Skyrim world.

Juma was a black friend of Conan`s and fought many battles to the south. I think he even went north with Conan for a while but found it bitterly too cold.

Thats why I made 3 characters in this game this time around. First was my normal mage, then I made and archer/thief nord girl(to do stormcloaks and companions/thieves guild/dark brotherhood) and a Imperial wolverine lookalike for the imperial side of the civil war.

That sounds awesome, gotta be a challenge playing as the smooth non-violent type, playing to your class makes the game a blast for me. Thanks for all the replies people.

I am the same way, OP, I like designing a vision for my character and playing to that vision. Now, I typically don't play traditional archetypes (I.E.: pure mage, warrior, thief, etc.) but I aim to stick within the build that I do make.

In the case of Skyrim, my main build is Thadious, a Breton warrior / Necromancer (I guess that'd be a Shadow Knight?)

Heavy Armor and Dual Wielding blades, various magical skills but focusing on Conjuration (Necromancy specialization) and Enchanting. I avoid stealth skills for the most part (though I do occasionally sneak just a tad), save for Speech, because my character, despite being a Necromancer of sorts, is a good character and would resolve conflict with words before fighting if possible. No archery. No 2 handed weapons (although it wouldn't exactly be out of character, but not the build), no Light Armor, mostly Mage's Guild, possibly Fighter's Guild, no Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild, no "evil" quests (although I have done a couple out of character, I.E.: Molag Bal. I roleplay it as some of the mistakes and errors of judgment my character has made in his growth). No Destruction magic.

I feel like the experience is more rewarding when you stick to your character and not just do everything.

Yes i was playing a hybrid melee and magic user but for some reason it didnt feel right as if i was enjoying too much too soon. When i switched to to a archetype class of a barbarian with limits all of sudden it jived together very well. Its kind of funny since i havent played a character like this since Tes 2 Daggerfall and in four player party classics like Dungeon Master and Eye Of The Beholder where i saw myself as the melee character with everyone else just as backup companions. In Morrowind and Oblivion for some odd reason playing hybrid mixes didnt seem odd. Not that it feels odd in Skyrim just that its too early for me. I wanna explore a focused character to its fullest skill potential and not be all over the place yet.

Still its fantastic we can choose to play either way.

lol. I had to think about that for a bit before getting it.

Same here for when the mood hits me to play something else besides my current character.

I always thought people who roleplay classes actually roleplay morons.

So you play a "mage" and you encounter a closed chest in the dungeon... nope, can't open it! Can't even try even though I looted some lockpicks moments ago!
Or roleplaying a "warrior", your first encounter with a dragon and you run straight for its massive jaws even though you have a bow and a hundred arrows... I'm a warrior! That's what I'd do!

Only a very stupid warrior would do that.

This is just for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSDfxde8fSg&fb_source=message

Well am not that strict with my character. Kind of reminds me of the old D+D argument about Paladins and all one had to do was fight dirty to defeat them because their code of honor would prevent them from fighting in the same manner etc.

All my characters use lockpicks since its part of the trade when exploring chest filled dungeons. I used to in previous Elder Scrolls though avoid archery with my warriors due to it feeling cowardly. In Skyrim i have no qualms about using it because it feels realistic and logical at certain times like when hunting or when up close combat is too dangerous especially for a barbarian who doesnt use magic with many long range spells.

same with me, didnt mean playing that strict with character, just meant for the most part playing to my class

I used to be offended by stuff like this ...

but then I took an arrow to the knee ...

It does make the game a bit more fun. I have a female nord nightblade with sticky fingers and a hatred of magic. A Mage that doesn't steal or kill anything that doesn't attack him first. And a dunmer two handed tank that.. Well he just don't give a damn. He uses healing spells once and a while. But I'm thinking of adding some destruction dice he doesn't use bows.

You're only missing one thing. Ritual Stone. Resurrect everything around you for something like 3 minutes once a day.

my paladin does take on dragons in melee combat, not because she cant use a bow, but because it would be seen as a sign of weakness.

she does not show fear, and through doing that, instills it in her opponents. she fights dragons in that way to showcase her skill.

I am an archer and my self-imposed restriction is that I only use a bow and arrow, with a dagger in my belt for sneaking kills only.

I don't have a character concept based around 'character class'- I'm not from a D&D type background! I like the fact that you can play to a certain style, but you can change or have a fallback style for situations that don't suit your initial idea. I'm only slightly regretful that I have dumped so many perks into smithing (to get some decent gear) when smithing is no part of my character concept- it's now probably my highest skill. :/