Every Race gets a racial bonus from the very start of the game which lasts through the entire game. I think there should be a religious bonus where at the character creator you choose a deity which this character revers and then for the whole game you get a special bonus as well as unique speech options and opportunities. Come up with the bonuses you think fit.

Talos: +5% Damage against Dragons, +5% Shout Recharge Speed, +20% chance to be attacked by Thalmor on the road

Dibella: +10% Persuasion Success, +5% Damage against the Opposite Gender

Hircine: +5% Damage against Animals, +10% Sneak Increase when Outdoors, Wolf Howl Ability (Like the Werewolf Howl)

Mara: +5% Increase to all Healing Effects, Massive Calm Ability, Can get married without an Amulet

Nocturnal: +5% Pickpocket and Lockpick Success Chance, +5% Sneak Increase at Night, Blind Ability (Blinds a Target once a day)

Sithis: +5% Backstab Critical Hit Chance, +10% Poison Lethiality, Void Drown Ability (Traps an enemy in a Void and steals their soul if they die)

Don't we sort of already have that? I wear Talos amulet and pray to Talos every day to get the shout bonus.

Magnus would be great for mages. I don't know what you'd get though, Possibly more Magicka, Faster Magicka Regeneration and +20% chance to be attacked by Magic haters. ;D

We sort of have this since we can already just pray to get a minor bonus haha. If we got a permanent one as well though, more bonuses the better.

What if you're character is an Atheist or at least doesn't want to worship the gods? Do you get a bonus? Maybe +15 for science.

A minor bonus wears off and you can have 1 religious bonus while wearing a different amulet

Hmm. I believe he's suggesting a religious bonus that doesn't require... well, piety.

Plus you are all forgetting the RP aspect and the possibilities of dialog options

Kinda like... birth signs? They did away with those.
We have agent of Dibella/ agent of Mara. Do those count?

The Religious Bonus would add-on to those, as would doing daedric quests and praying at shrines. The birthsigns are still in the game though, only in the form of stones

Start off by saying I don't think this is a bad idea. In fact, it might've worked well... in an older TES game. Fact is, Skyrim moved away from the realm of permanence when it came to a player's decisions in character creation; all that's left are racial bonuses which honestly don't amount to a gob of [censored] after the first five levels. I prefer my character's beliefs to come into play as actions, not statistics. And no speech options would make it seem more real than my imagination could.

EDIT: Absolutely could not help myself. I'd make it sparkle if I could.

I remember in OB at the start the Emperor asks you what you think of the Divines and you can say a sort of "Yes, No, Maybe" kinda response. I feel that it adds something to the character. Maybe even makes a tattoo or something available for your toon"s aesthetics if you so desire

This is a great idea.
Choosing say, stendarr, could let you join the Vilgilants of Stendarr?
That'd be cool.

Just as you could maybe join any type of cult that corresponded to the deity you chose

I hope they realease some future DLC that more involves cults and gods ect.
They've got so many cool possibilities in game already that we unfortunately can't join.

EDIT: I also miss Knights of the Nine.

I love this idea, blind is a nice touch, I'd love to see it in TES.

What about:

Sheogorath: 20% more chance of positive random events

Funny, maybe a chance for spells to cause odd things to occur...like you do a shout for call storm and the sky yells "Shut Up im Trying to Sleep!"

^ This ?? sheo's my favourite deadric prince, I want another Shivering Isles

I think every daedric prince should have a full questline

But what would Aheistic characters get? A bonus in science?

Something along the lines of resistance to all the other choices' dominions. Perhaps Neutrality options and such

That would make sense, kind of like a vigilant of stendar, anti deadra and all.

yea except also anti-aedra

You win money, sir.

No offense intended, but I think this idea is terrible. During the course of the game my characters can change their religious affiliations many times - this thwarts the idea of a bonus chosen at the beginning. They could also worship multiple deities, or none at all.

But the most glaring problem I see: we already have religious bonuses. Let's count. We can pray at shrines, wear an amulet, become an agent of Aedra, receive gifts from Daedra... Plenty of choice. And it requires us to actually do something to show our faith, as RandomEncounter already pointed out - not just pick a name on the character creation screen and then forget it.

The system we have now is well thought out and works flawlessly. All I would add is opportunity to become agent of all Aedra, not just Mara and Dibella.

You lack RP-fueled creativity

Not really. He brought up a lot of valid points. You're idea is less RP friendly, as it shoehorns you into worshiping a particular deity and only that deity. You have a lot more freedom and can roleplay a lot more effectively if you're free to suddenly decide you no longer want to serve Nocturnal but instead choose to earn your money legitimately and ask for help from Zenithar.

Agreed, on all points. If we had the opportunity to do quests for each divine, then the system would be perfect. My Nord warrior didn't have a religious affiliation when he first entered Skyrim. He only began to worship Kynareth when she cured him of his skooma addiction.


Sorry, but it's YOUR idea that lacks RP-fueled creativity. Being forced to choose a deity to worship, and having to live with that choice for the entire game, limits your possibilities enormously.

It was a nice idea, but wouldn't work. Sorry.