I always roleplay as a Dunmer who immigrated to Windhelm (via mods ofc). Granted it’s a bit hard considering you can’t do much to improve ethnic relations or the quality of life for Dunmer and Argonians in Windhelm/Skyrim (and you also cannot kill that abhorrent racist nord that harasses people in Grey Quarter) but I digress. Love your videos man, they are well throughout and put together!
I made an ex bandit khajiit from Skyrim who when trying to migrate his clan of brigands to cyrodil was ambushed by a platoon of soldiers. Betrayed by one of his own via information leak he was captured and brought to the imperial city. After a few years of prisoner life he started to turn a new leaf given lots of time to reflect on his actions and who he is. He took up an oath of non-lethal violence. (Hand-to-hand) Then eventually he was dragged out once more by the imperials. First by carriage, and now by boat, to the east, to Morrowind.
My first Morrowind character was a Dunmer orphan raised by Imperial farmers living in a rural area near Chorrol who ended up getting framed for a murder on a trip to the Imperial City after the death of his stepparents. I also felt really satisifed with my last Oblivion character's backstory even though it was way simpler. Just a poor Argonian man (probably like 19 y/o) from the Waterfront District imprisoned due to not being a very good thief. It's hard for me to ever really get into roleplaying in Skyrim because of how much it forces on you with both the story and quests I don't want to accept or have no other options to complete. It's just frustrating and obviously built with completionism in mind unlike the previous games.
I've got this Orc Artificer/Archeologist character I've run in DnD and Skyrim whose name changes frequently but his story and traits remain mostly the same. An expert on ancient technologies (specifically dwemer) and magical enchantments, he's adept with a hammer and shield, proficient in crossbows, and even dabbles in spellcasting. He makes his own Dwemer equipment out of scrap and enchants them himself (he never uses precious Dwemer artifacts found in ruins -- those belong in museums.) I sort of jokingly refer to him as an "experimental archeologist," using ancient techniques out in the field to test how Dwemer warriors fought. I've also got some mods that let me "hack" automatons.
This reminds me of a character I made once in Morrowind who branded himself as an incredible magician. The gimmick was that he had 0 magicka and it was actually all enchanted items, potions, and scrolls. A magical con man. It was a fun character. I should revisit it :)
One of my biggest issues with Bethesda's design direction is not letting the player make mistakes or be committed to something. If I make a high elf mage I can immediately pivot to being a heavy armour warrior, then a stealth archer. I can join every faction and be the leader with no real effort or even skill in what they specialise in. I can not say no to a quest, essential npcs are everywhere and even the rewards I got for most things feel meaningless when I will just craft something significantly better.
It's a real shame that they're so afraid of allowing the player to miss out on something during a single playthrough. It's like they don't even understand the benefits of multiple characters.
Amen to all of that bru. You can only really roleplay via mods or headcanon ("my character is a blacksmith that doesn't know Alchemy or Enchanting", etc). About the last one, I fondly remember the GAULDUR AMULET, that supposedly made you the most powerful mage on Tamriel... and is significantly worse than anything double-enchanted by you.
personally thats my favourite thing about elder scroll series (except arena) not being bound by class and the faction thing really applies only to skyrim, in daggerfall factions were a huge grind, meanwhile in morrowind it required some skill to NOT be expelled from one of guilds when doing their quests (fighters and thieves, easy to get expelled from thieves)
I have been so torn about this for years because I have had plenty of moments where I almost quit a game due to irreversible decisions that either ruin my RP character or completely cut out a section I was really looking forward to. A lot of the time if it’s a longer game odds are I might not get the time to go back and do another play-through so it’s just something I won’t experience. On the other hand I do completely get that’s it is super goofy and hard to explain RP wise why our version of the DB is allowed to join the imperial army after taking out their emperor (etc.) I think ultimately I’m okay with having RPG’s without hard locks or cutting people out of content but my free time is limited so that might paint my final thoughts on that
This is a fair argument, and I totally get it. I guess I just don't care about finishing the main quest on every character in TES? My goal going in is typically to explore a character mechanically, with some roleplaying for flavor. I create new characters very often, just to try new things.
@@Takarias Try Skyrim Unbound. You can set your character to non-dragonborn and the main quest won't start. You can also make it so you can't learn shouts if you want to.
It's more that you have to *work* to avoid the main quest. Side quests in Skyrim don't really send you to places where you'll pick up other side quests - they send you to a dungeon that you fast travel back from. Small adventures that you can't get lost in.
I do have one issue with your analysis. The Stormcloaks being ambushed in Darkwater Crossing and ending up where they are at the start of the game is not illogical. Based on my memory, Darkwater Crossing is in the southern part of Eastmach, a hold controlled by the Stormcloaks. Going north from there would be to face constant ambush from Stormcloaks, especially if you're carrying their dear leader. West isn't much better, as there is a major stronghold manned by bandits along the road to Whiterun. So it's not illogical to choose the southern route, skirting the western edge of Riften Hold through Ivarstead, a rather unassuming town, and going up into the mountains toward Helgen. That would be the route of least resistance. But more importantly, the road you are going down during that intro sequence is the road that passes by an Imperial fort, Newstead or something like that, I forget the name. I believe there is a Stormcloak mission to attack that fort and rid it of the Imperials at one point. So one might expect the Imperials to take prisoners, especially high-profile prisoners on a path that isn't well-trodden and might be more difficult but that leads to a major imperial fortification. There they would naturally hold the prisoners for a time. Tullius probably wasn't there and they would have waited for him to arrive before moving on to Helgen. Furthermore, your character's time of capture is not specified, and could have been joined with the Stormcloak prisoners at the fort some time after their capture and arrival, which doesn't require your character to have been in a coma in order to wake up in the cart when they do.
Agreed! I find it's much more interesting for the player to have mechanical limitations, since that forces the player to come up with creative solutions for problems that arise.
You'll have Stealth, Melee, and Mage skill trees, and that's it. No weapon type skills, everything is identical in DPS, and you begin every faction questline as its leader. /s
I actually find in Morrowind and Oblivion you are the Superman style character. Because of how leveling works, you need to get enough skills up before a level to get 3x the character growth from leveling. If you get too many or little you waste it. You'll have access to everything because the leveling system outright rewards it. You can and should be omnipath.
Sure, if you metagame you can become incredibly powerful. If you don't, you grow into a character that is very powerful in specific areas, and you never lose needing to find creative solutions. Oblivion is a little different because the level scaling is wonky.
I'm surprised that no one ever talks about lockpicking and how it breaks roleplay. In both Oblivion and Skyrim you can lockpick any lock regardless of level or skill, you(as in the player) just need to be good at the mini game. But if you are playing as a brawler or any kind of character that wouldn't or shouldn't be able to lockpick, you are still basically forced to or lose out on loot. Basically all dungeons have locked chest and lockpick can be found everywhere. I know unlocking spells are a thing, but it would be nice if you could bash them open too so you didn't have to somehow be the best locksmith barbarian.
No chests, but Daggerfall allows you to attack doors and bust them open that way. I think the calculation might take strength into account? The downside is that you can only attempt to pick a lock once, but you can attack the door as many times as you like, so lockpicking is ultimately totally irrelevant. I do wish they'd revisit the idea, though.
@@Snockooz I have done several playthroughs where my character can't pick locks. There is plenty of loot in the game, you aren't missing much. Did another where I couldn't loot bodies, that was hard to stick to. Did one where I couldn't craft, buy, store or sell anything. Was limited to what I found and could carry. That one was fun, I might do it again.
@@matthews7335 I find it's often enough just to limit yourself to one crafting system. Only enchanting, smithing, or potions. (Or whatever else if I'm missing one via brain fart.)
Although Morrowind is my favorite TES, and probably one of my favorite games, Skyrim was my first elder Scrolls and I love the series as a role (currently starting a daggerfall unity playthrough). And I find it very funny, as you said, that they presented us with the "faction" choices in the start of the game, like, there's absolutely no reason to go with the people who just tried to murder you if you are thinking of RP sake. Also I believe that the civil war would do a great video by it self, I really don't like the way it leaves the world, but it's one of the quests that the players action have impact on. Great video as always.
One of very few quests, unfortunately. I understand they want to avoid another Dragon Break situation, but they've gone too far in locking down the player's ability to have an impact. Hope you enjoy Daggerfall - it's a *very* different game, but it's a super interesting entry to the franchise.
@@Takarias Yeah i agree, hope on the next TES (I know I'm being to optmistic) we'll have better impact. Until now i'm having a great time with daggerfall! Unity has made it a lot more acessible, and I will be forever grateful to their work.
I'm afraid skyrim has had an affect on my ability to play rpgs. I have a habit of trying to play a jack of all trades, that likely stems from being able to do anything and everything build wise in skyrim.
@Takarias It always starts something along the lines of "Oh, I'll be a knight, but wait I need a source of in combat healing, and then there's all these locked doors..." Next thing I know I've essentially taken a level in everything.
@@BoneWalker Locks and lock picking are a predicament, for sure. Morrowind solved this by having the security skill, but also making spells and scrolls reasonable alternatives. Morrowind is like that in general: There's usually a straight skill, a spell, a potion, and/or a scroll for any given action, so all characters have access to all effects, it just differs what form that access takes.
There's another possibility. That Ulfric and his guard were indeed captured at Darkwater, and they were carted to the border pass as they might have been on their way to the Imperial Capitol. But the pass was clogged with drifts, they captured the Dragonborn crossing into Skyrim without documentation. This would be punishable even if the dragonborn is a Nord. Was he a Nord born somewhere else in the empire? Who knows. One thing makes me wonder; the dungeon under Helgen has a Dragonborn book in the torture chamber. They were interrogating folks, with the book right there (perhaps insinuating they were looking for the dragonborn?) The Thalmor know the dragons and their potential meaning. Good, thoughtful video Tarkarias, very enjoyable.
Taking a page or 2 out of my DnD campaigns, my character just showed up. That's it, that's all the backstory we need. The reason for this is that I can justify my lack of knowledge of the series or planning on my character's in-depth role play. For example, the ambush gave my Orc ammesia, so he is still learning about himself as the game continues. My High Elf, Pancake, is a schoaler who loves to collect books but can't read. So, in her case, she was captured on their way to Helgen. Ralof just thought she was trying to cross the border, but in actuality, she legitimately thought she was in Solitude and was confused why the Blue Palace wasn't there (she can't even read a map). Or if it's my channel mascot on my alternate account (I have yet to show her), Shenron sent her to Skyrim by accident.
@Takarias the best part about it is that the moment you release that almost 50 or 90% of Skyrim involves some sort of book or letter the Dovakiin needs to read at least once. For example, you need to read a book to learn about Red Eagle or start the Athrium Forge quest. Or how Delphine leaves a letter for you when you collect the horn. Because of this, I always have at least one follower with Pancake at all times, in case she needs to read something. Otherwise, everything is just out of instinct or coincidence.
Can't have roleplay in a game that poorly written, no siree. Skyrim got a lot more praise than it deserved, for being something it wasn't - an RPG. Its still a fun game - mostly due to the modding community valiant efforts, but the fact you can't enjoy the game before modding it (which can turn game into whatever you want) speaks volumes about the devs' vision. Even more can be said about, say, making updates that break half of the existing mods or right before a large total conversion is about to drop...
I played a lot of Skyrim on the 360, with no mods, and I enjoyed my time with it. It was moving to PC and fighting with the terrible UI that made me start swearing by SkyUI. Of the 19 mods I have installed, 11 of them are fan patches and fixes. The remaining 8 are minor graphical enhancements. It's still a solid game as designed, it's just not the RPG that it bills itself as.
@@JackHugeman I felt that way for a while, but I've grown to appreciate Skyrim more as I've come to realize that it isn't an RPG, despite the marketing to the contrary. The combat is still very stiff and awkward, though. Morrowind honestly feels better to my ancient self.
Still, Skyrim has more roleplay options than Fallout 4. At least you don't HAVE to be a 108th Infantry Regiment veteran, father to a disappointment son, husband of wife who's shot, owner of Codsworth, etc.
@ Yeah both Fallout 4 and Fallout 3 should have let you be anyone you want like Fallout New Vegas did. I liked Fallout 3 but it would be alot funner if I wasn't forced to look for my father Liam Neeson the entire game.
And that's why Alternate Start exists as a mod, but it only works bc it's for a second (or more) playthrough. As compelling and consistent the opening of Skyrim might be, it's true that practically moves you to a melee build. Great video! (And now, I'm going to watch it 😅)
Skyrim is the game where I started to go off Bethesda, I'd played Morrowind for what must have been thousands of hours back in the day and while I had a few issues with Oblivion I played it through multiple times so it couldn't have been that bad. Skyrim has a stunning world but to me it felt more like a theme park just as Fallout 3's world did, nothing I did made me feel like I'd made a difference and I wasn't given any reason to care about any of it. For me the problems started with the opening, no sane person would side with the guys who were about to separate you from your head and you wouldn't side with them in the war for the same reason, the Imperials are introduced to the player in a way an antagonist would be introduced.
Fallout 3 grabbed me, but I'm a bit predisposed to enjoying post-apocalypse media. I think it deserves saying that the mechanics of VATS hooked me, too: I played it on console, where the controls were so bad that VATS was the only way I could reliably hit anything. It turned the game into a cover-based pseudo-turn based shooter, and I found that pretty interesting.
@@Takarias I think the exploration is where the game really shined, for me the world felt like a theme park but one worth exploring because there was so much cool stuff to find that those following the main quest marker would miss. Many would have missed out on that exploration, the main quest all took place on the bottom third of the map with the exception of Raven Rock but even then you're teleported to it and would no doubt fast travel back, that leaves two thirds of the map full of things to see but no reason to go there, it's poor design, contrast that to games like Morrowind, Oblivion and New Vegas where the player is sent to places all around the world. I think those who didn't like Fallout 3 should give it another try, only this time when they leave Vault 101 they should ignore the main story and just head north, it's much a better experience.
15:42 In Arena you do start as a prisioner, but yes, you do have some established backstory before being a prisioner, unlike III, IV and V. Jagar Tharn throws you there for considering you a ally of the original emperor (I dont remember if it is exactly this though), and possibly a threat to his plan, but thanks to the ghost of Ria Silmane you understand the circunstances the empire is in and you escape the prison to thwart Jagar's plan.
15:44 uh oh, akshually☝ no. There's a "History" button in your character's menu, which contains your history generated on which skills and prohibitions you've choose or which answers you had gave during character creation mini-game. 17:05 necrophilia, Hero of Quatch is inprisoned for necrophilia, but i'd suggest what that line was invented by devs more for a joke purpose.
@@Takarias Last time i checked, my character has appear to be a hereditary member of blades, who's family was a close friends with Emperor Uriel Septim himself.
I like Skyrim, it makes a great survival sandbox if you mod it right. Always makes me want to play Morrowind though (which is the reason I'm playing Morrowind right now) I'm really hoping that once the OpenMW lua scripting thing happens someone can port Ashfall to OpenMW and I can live out my Ashlander hunter best life.
I think Skyrims setup is fine. Comparing Skyrim and Morrowind, the roleplay origin question that you're promted to ask is "Why did my character decide to enter Skyrim?" and "Why is my character in prision?". Skyrim has the problem that it's hard to have a concrete goal to fullfill in Skyrim since the game will never recognize that goal and you can't leave when you've completed it which make reasons like "to run away from something in Cyrodiil" or "to start a new life" easier to roleplay. Morrowind provides a convenient excuse for why goals you might have had in your past life aren't relevant anymore, which is a little bit better but I ultimately don't think that this is a very large issue. One of my favorite roleplay experiences in Skyrim was playing as a scholar who wanted to study Dwemer ruins in Skyrim with the Aetherium Crown questline serving as a main quest of sorts, which would have fit just fine with Skyrims opening (even if I happened to be playing with an alternate start mod because who has the time to replay the intro after you've seen it twice?). For most characters however, it does get out of the way enough that I can just do whatever I want with my character which is the most important thing at the end of the day.
I would argue in morrowind that you're the chosen one because you complete a certain set of objectives and criteria & that anyone could have been the nevarine if they matched the criteria.
I also really like the interpretation that the player becomes Nerevarine through their actions, though surely one needs to be predisposed to being able to do so
@@Takarias I mean yeah, you need to be both strong enough, smart enough & have the motivation to need or want to fufill the prophecy. We see a ton of people who failed in the game.
I had assumed the player character and Stormcloaks were traveling from Helgen from Fort Neugrad, where they were all imprisoned. That seems to be the route they're taking to Helgen and it's not implausible that Stormcloaks captured in Darkwater Cross would be held there. Also, crossing the border is illegal in itself and that's why the player character is imprisoned. Furthermore, the game doesn't 'force you down the dragonborn path' as you say, since you can avoid fight dragons altogether if you want to. T
I’m a lurker by trade and I just have to say, I am so glad I found your channel! Keep up this good work. I look forward to your thoughts on Oblivion’s intro and maybe one for Starfield?! Regardless, you have earned a permasubscriber! Us Morrowboomers have to look out for each other 😉
Offtopic but the intro highlights one of the rules i have for playing Skyrim. I do not move during the animations of doors opening, pulling levers, etc, cuz otherwise the traps are pointless
20:42 - One thing about this part of Hadvar's line that annoys me? If you pick an Argonian, he asks about your origins with a bad line take. "Are you a relative of one of the Riften dock workers, Argonian?" Where that comma is, it sounds like he stopped the sentence early with a ?, and then says 'Argonian?' as though he's responding to someone who told him what race someone is and he was surprised by the answer. On the positive side, the Helgen Opening mod, which changes how the opening plays and changes some VAs, fixes that bad line read. Once again, Bethesda's work being done by modders.
You aren't necessairily the choosen one in Morrowind, or well er..at least the choosen one by pure chance. There is a lot of dialogue that leaves it to the player to decide if you're really the prophesized hero, or just some random dude who was at the right place at the right time.
I love that this ambiguity exists, I just didn't think that was a rabbit hole I should get lost in during a Skyrim video. I would argue that, by successfully fulfilling the prophecy, you *become* the Nerevarine, even if you were not at the start of the game.
@@Takarias That's a valid way to look at it too ofc, but there is specific dialogue at multiple points in the main quest, that let's players who reject the 'phrophesized hero notion', roleplay as just some insanely lucky random dude. Ofc players who want to be the choosen one can easily roleplay that too.
They could certainly do a better job introducing you to a world, but opening on it's own to be honest is not bad or not that much limiting. You could for example say you're a Kajit spy, you crossed the border the other way so you got into the Skyrim instead of leaving it, but then got caught in that whole capturing mess, and just went with caravan story to avoid further suspicion; Or you could be member of caravan either in game ones or one that you don't see on screen, maybe they managed to leave on ambush and you were the one caught. Depending on how you go about it there are plenty ways you can have backstory for your character. What pains me more is just how much the main plot is pushed on the player after Helgen, they easily could have halted main story progress so you could enjoy the world, and then invitation to a main quest could look like some minor thing, which then could snowball into full story, but once you actually start commit to it. But god Howard probably decided that it's best to force people to experience entire thing on the go. If you go through first playthrough it's not that bad actually, and urgency can add to the story, but it kills roleplaying a bit, and greatly diminishes replay experience because the guardrails just keep forcing you to do main quest. All that is probably because they believed this is good thing sales wise based on previous Oblivion sales.
Something I find ammusing is the number of people who claim they never sided with the Stormcloaks. Yes you did, you start the game with the Imperials unjustly lumping you in with them and trying to cut your head off without even a made up charge. Ralof calls you by your name while Hadvar calls you prisoner. It was only later when you found out the Stormcloaks have some racist tendencies that you decided you didn't want to side with them, even if they were legally in the right. Following Ralof at the beginning is also the fastest way to get Heavy Armor at the start of the game, the Stormcloaks you fight following Hadvar all wear Light Armor.
Bethesda doesn't make RPGs, and they really need to drop the act of doing so. They build open-world sandbox action-adventure games with light role-playing elements, but they don't make RPGs.
3:00 There is a WASD mod for Arena on Nexus, along with a few UI mods. I've been playing it recently and I think its a decent game, although its much lighter on side content than every later game in the franchise, and has completely linear quests.
My understanding is that Arena is pretty similar to Daggerfall. I'm sure there's interesting differences and I would like to play it eventually, but I'm not chomping at the bit to do so. Glad you're enjoying it, though!
7:42 I give his ring back only to steal it later. 😅 Heh, actually for roleplaying sake I leave his ring in the trunk and just take his money. But yeah, Bethesda really goes out of their way to make things too easy for the player. Having trouble fighting mages with your two-handed warrior?...Just level up a few mage perks and you'll be better than enemy mages. A better game would encourage you to work around that, maybe craft or quest for magic resistance equipment (which the game already has!), but nope, you can be the best warrior, the best rogue, the best mage, and you can become every faction's leader!...why?! I guess we're lucky that at least you can't be the leader of either civil war faction.
1) I'm unsure of what you mean about the Imperial Captain's likeability. She's in charge of the execution of the leader of a rebellion and probably some their best troops. Had they succeeded, the war more than likely would have ended faster. It's a high pressure situation and they couldn't really afford any surprises; which is why the player was added to the chopping block. Incidentally, they had a surprise with Alduin showing up. 2)There's... a fair bit of casual racism in the Elder Scrolls universe as I understand it. I've only played Skyrim and Oblivion but I'm pretty sure through out the series (and in game books) there are some racist comments here and there. Nevermind the overt racism. 3) The Empire isn't the only group to use torture. In Skyrim alone, there are torture racks in forts, most of the jails, Fort Dawnguard, and even the Dwemer ruins, etc. 4)Personally, I've always thought highly of Hadvar. He helps you through the attack on Helgan, he tries the diplomatic approach with those Stormcloaks in the keep, he's uncomfortable at the fact the Empire uses torture. No slights against Ralof but I've always preferred Hadvar. --I don't recall how the star signs are in universe. Like if you are born under the thief sign are you destined to become a thief or is it like being predisposed to those skills i.e. a farmer who happens to step lighter then anyone not born under the thief sign? I suppose the intro is a bit boxed in but it's not a small box. You can still be pretty creative in your characters back story.
All Elder Scrolls games start with the PC as a prisoner. It's probably done as a conceit to explain why they only have access to the most basic starting equipment, but it's become just a tired meme at this point. Bethesda really needs to come up with something else. Also, after doing Oblivion and Skyrim, I tend to avoid a lot of the main questline. Oblivion's was just tedious; endless repetitive Oblivion gate maps. Skyrim's was better, but not amazing. Morrowind's story was probably the last (and only) truly interesting main questline of the ES series. For ES 6, then should just abandon the idea of a main questline and just do all side-quests.
Ah well, I tried. English is not especially rife with pharyngeal consonants, so I'm not exactly practiced at them. Hopefully my attempt is more recognizable than not!
I dont understand the reasoning here, probably because this RP stuff does not interest me at all. But from a story aspect, Skyrim is the only open ended one of the entire series. Daggerfall (you are a friend of the emperor sent on a mission, if you are not playing an imperial you are probably not canon). Morrowind, (slightly more open, the empire sends you on some mission for some reason). Oblivion (King tells you he saw you in his dreams saving the world or something like that, but arguably your background could be anything). Skyrim (just some random guy who probably just arrived in Skyrim with no prior motivations, personality, or backstory)
You didn't "wake up" in the cart. You died in the cart at the same time Alduin returned. Your proximity and timing of death had Akatosh return you to life reborn as the dragonborn.
@@Takarias look into how aedra and daedra have acted in mundus, constantly working to keep balance or thwart another. Akatosh needs Alduin's soul back in order to bestow it on another that will fulfill the destiny of eating the world. Alduin chose domination of mundus over destruction. He needs a mortal able to defeat Alduin upon his return to reclaim the soul. He needed a dragonborn. You we just in the right place at the right time and it is the only dragon soul you don't devour. It is returned to Akatosh so he can bestow on one that full devour the world.
It's grown on me. I'm still disappointed with what it is, but it's not an objectively bad game. I wish it was more, and I wish Bethesda would take lessons from it other than 'braindead good.'
Have you come up with a character origin that you're proud of? Doesn't even have to be Skyrim!
I always roleplay as a Dunmer who immigrated to Windhelm (via mods ofc). Granted it’s a bit hard considering you can’t do much to improve ethnic relations or the quality of life for Dunmer and Argonians in Windhelm/Skyrim (and you also cannot kill that abhorrent racist nord that harasses people in Grey Quarter) but I digress. Love your videos man, they are well throughout and put together!
I made an ex bandit khajiit from Skyrim who when trying to migrate his clan of brigands to cyrodil was ambushed by a platoon of soldiers. Betrayed by one of his own via information leak he was captured and brought to the imperial city. After a few years of prisoner life he started to turn a new leaf given lots of time to reflect on his actions and who he is. He took up an oath of non-lethal violence. (Hand-to-hand) Then eventually he was dragged out once more by the imperials.
First by carriage, and now by boat, to the east, to Morrowind.
My first Morrowind character was a Dunmer orphan raised by Imperial farmers living in a rural area near Chorrol who ended up getting framed for a murder on a trip to the Imperial City after the death of his stepparents. I also felt really satisifed with my last Oblivion character's backstory even though it was way simpler. Just a poor Argonian man (probably like 19 y/o) from the Waterfront District imprisoned due to not being a very good thief. It's hard for me to ever really get into roleplaying in Skyrim because of how much it forces on you with both the story and quests I don't want to accept or have no other options to complete. It's just frustrating and obviously built with completionism in mind unlike the previous games.
I've got this Orc Artificer/Archeologist character I've run in DnD and Skyrim whose name changes frequently but his story and traits remain mostly the same. An expert on ancient technologies (specifically dwemer) and magical enchantments, he's adept with a hammer and shield, proficient in crossbows, and even dabbles in spellcasting. He makes his own Dwemer equipment out of scrap and enchants them himself (he never uses precious Dwemer artifacts found in ruins -- those belong in museums.) I sort of jokingly refer to him as an "experimental archeologist," using ancient techniques out in the field to test how Dwemer warriors fought. I've also got some mods that let me "hack" automatons.
This reminds me of a character I made once in Morrowind who branded himself as an incredible magician. The gimmick was that he had 0 magicka and it was actually all enchanted items, potions, and scrolls. A magical con man. It was a fun character. I should revisit it :)
One of my biggest issues with Bethesda's design direction is not letting the player make mistakes or be committed to something. If I make a high elf mage I can immediately pivot to being a heavy armour warrior, then a stealth archer. I can join every faction and be the leader with no real effort or even skill in what they specialise in. I can not say no to a quest, essential npcs are everywhere and even the rewards I got for most things feel meaningless when I will just craft something significantly better.
It's a real shame that they're so afraid of allowing the player to miss out on something during a single playthrough. It's like they don't even understand the benefits of multiple characters.
Amen to all of that bru.
You can only really roleplay via mods or headcanon ("my character is a blacksmith that doesn't know Alchemy or Enchanting", etc).
About the last one, I fondly remember the GAULDUR AMULET, that supposedly made you the most powerful mage on Tamriel... and is significantly worse than anything double-enchanted by you.
personally thats my favourite thing about elder scroll series (except arena) not being bound by class
and the faction thing really applies only to skyrim, in daggerfall factions were a huge grind, meanwhile in morrowind it required some skill to NOT be expelled from one of guilds when doing their quests (fighters and thieves, easy to get expelled from thieves)
I have been so torn about this for years because I have had plenty of moments where I almost quit a game due to irreversible decisions that either ruin my RP character or completely cut out a section I was really looking forward to. A lot of the time if it’s a longer game odds are I might not get the time to go back and do another play-through so it’s just something I won’t experience.
On the other hand I do completely get that’s it is super goofy and hard to explain RP wise why our version of the DB is allowed to join the imperial army after taking out their emperor (etc.) I think ultimately I’m okay with having RPG’s without hard locks or cutting people out of content but my free time is limited so that might paint my final thoughts on that
This is a fair argument, and I totally get it. I guess I just don't care about finishing the main quest on every character in TES? My goal going in is typically to explore a character mechanically, with some roleplaying for flavor. I create new characters very often, just to try new things.
This is exactly why alternate start mods are so popular. No more long intro sequence, and lots of options that make your character make sense.
Live Another Life is very well done, but I find it just isn't able to stop the player from falling into the main quest. Skyrim railroads too hard
@@Takarias Try Skyrim Unbound. You can set your character to non-dragonborn and the main quest won't start. You can also make it so you can't learn shouts if you want to.
Shouts aren't exclusive to the dragonborn anyway, anyone can learn them
@@imonke5303 Just pointing out that the option is there.
It's more that you have to *work* to avoid the main quest. Side quests in Skyrim don't really send you to places where you'll pick up other side quests - they send you to a dungeon that you fast travel back from. Small adventures that you can't get lost in.
I do have one issue with your analysis. The Stormcloaks being ambushed in Darkwater Crossing and ending up where they are at the start of the game is not illogical. Based on my memory, Darkwater Crossing is in the southern part of Eastmach, a hold controlled by the Stormcloaks. Going north from there would be to face constant ambush from Stormcloaks, especially if you're carrying their dear leader. West isn't much better, as there is a major stronghold manned by bandits along the road to Whiterun. So it's not illogical to choose the southern route, skirting the western edge of Riften Hold through Ivarstead, a rather unassuming town, and going up into the mountains toward Helgen. That would be the route of least resistance. But more importantly, the road you are going down during that intro sequence is the road that passes by an Imperial fort, Newstead or something like that, I forget the name. I believe there is a Stormcloak mission to attack that fort and rid it of the Imperials at one point. So one might expect the Imperials to take prisoners, especially high-profile prisoners on a path that isn't well-trodden and might be more difficult but that leads to a major imperial fortification. There they would naturally hold the prisoners for a time. Tullius probably wasn't there and they would have waited for him to arrive before moving on to Helgen. Furthermore, your character's time of capture is not specified, and could have been joined with the Stormcloak prisoners at the fort some time after their capture and arrival, which doesn't require your character to have been in a coma in order to wake up in the cart when they do.
Strange how they don't acknowledge your point.
I get why Bethesda did it, but I much prefer the limited character paths in Morrowind to the Omnipath Superman style Skyrim character.
Agreed! I find it's much more interesting for the player to have mechanical limitations, since that forces the player to come up with creative solutions for problems that arise.
TES6 is going to find a way to be even worse.
You'll have Stealth, Melee, and Mage skill trees, and that's it. No weapon type skills, everything is identical in DPS, and you begin every faction questline as its leader. /s
I actually find in Morrowind and Oblivion you are the Superman style character.
Because of how leveling works, you need to get enough skills up before a level to get 3x the character growth from leveling. If you get too many or little you waste it. You'll have access to everything because the leveling system outright rewards it. You can and should be omnipath.
Sure, if you metagame you can become incredibly powerful. If you don't, you grow into a character that is very powerful in specific areas, and you never lose needing to find creative solutions. Oblivion is a little different because the level scaling is wonky.
The Imperial Library Arena transcript is a mistake on our part due to our recent migration. Should be fixed soon, thank you for pointing it out.
I thought it was odd that it wasn't there. Thank you for be an incredible resource for the community
I'm surprised that no one ever talks about lockpicking and how it breaks roleplay. In both Oblivion and Skyrim you can lockpick any lock regardless of level or skill, you(as in the player) just need to be good at the mini game. But if you are playing as a brawler or any kind of character that wouldn't or shouldn't be able to lockpick, you are still basically forced to or lose out on loot. Basically all dungeons have locked chest and lockpick can be found everywhere. I know unlocking spells are a thing, but it would be nice if you could bash them open too so you didn't have to somehow be the best locksmith barbarian.
No chests, but Daggerfall allows you to attack doors and bust them open that way. I think the calculation might take strength into account? The downside is that you can only attempt to pick a lock once, but you can attack the door as many times as you like, so lockpicking is ultimately totally irrelevant. I do wish they'd revisit the idea, though.
@@Snockooz I have done several playthroughs where my character can't pick locks. There is plenty of loot in the game, you aren't missing much.
Did another where I couldn't loot bodies, that was hard to stick to.
Did one where I couldn't craft, buy, store or sell anything. Was limited to what I found and could carry. That one was fun, I might do it again.
@@matthews7335 I find it's often enough just to limit yourself to one crafting system. Only enchanting, smithing, or potions. (Or whatever else if I'm missing one via brain fart.)
@@Takarias agreed. No matter my character, they will only use one crafting option. Just doing 2 makes it absurd.
Although Morrowind is my favorite TES, and probably one of my favorite games, Skyrim was my first elder Scrolls and I love the series as a role (currently starting a daggerfall unity playthrough).
And I find it very funny, as you said, that they presented us with the "faction" choices in the start of the game, like, there's absolutely no reason to go with the people who just tried to murder you if you are thinking of RP sake. Also I believe that the civil war would do a great video by it self, I really don't like the way it leaves the world, but it's one of the quests that the players action have impact on. Great video as always.
One of very few quests, unfortunately. I understand they want to avoid another Dragon Break situation, but they've gone too far in locking down the player's ability to have an impact.
Hope you enjoy Daggerfall - it's a *very* different game, but it's a super interesting entry to the franchise.
@@Takarias Yeah i agree, hope on the next TES (I know I'm being to optmistic) we'll have better impact. Until now i'm having a great time with daggerfall! Unity has made it a lot more acessible, and I will be forever grateful to their work.
I'm afraid skyrim has had an affect on my ability to play rpgs. I have a habit of trying to play a jack of all trades, that likely stems from being able to do anything and everything build wise in skyrim.
Lean into a playstyle! Limitations inspire creativity!
@Takarias It always starts something along the lines of "Oh, I'll be a knight, but wait I need a source of in combat healing, and then there's all these locked doors..." Next thing I know I've essentially taken a level in everything.
@@BoneWalker Locks and lock picking are a predicament, for sure. Morrowind solved this by having the security skill, but also making spells and scrolls reasonable alternatives. Morrowind is like that in general: There's usually a straight skill, a spell, a potion, and/or a scroll for any given action, so all characters have access to all effects, it just differs what form that access takes.
There's another possibility. That Ulfric and his guard were indeed captured at Darkwater, and they were carted to the border pass as they might have been on their way to the Imperial Capitol. But the pass was clogged with drifts, they captured the Dragonborn crossing into Skyrim without documentation. This would be punishable even if the dragonborn is a Nord. Was he a Nord born somewhere else in the empire? Who knows. One thing makes me wonder; the dungeon under Helgen has a Dragonborn book in the torture chamber. They were interrogating folks, with the book right there (perhaps insinuating they were looking for the dragonborn?) The Thalmor know the dragons and their potential meaning. Good, thoughtful video Tarkarias, very enjoyable.
Taking a page or 2 out of my DnD campaigns, my character just showed up. That's it, that's all the backstory we need.
The reason for this is that I can justify my lack of knowledge of the series or planning on my character's in-depth role play. For example, the ambush gave my Orc ammesia, so he is still learning about himself as the game continues.
My High Elf, Pancake, is a schoaler who loves to collect books but can't read. So, in her case, she was captured on their way to Helgen. Ralof just thought she was trying to cross the border, but in actuality, she legitimately thought she was in Solitude and was confused why the Blue Palace wasn't there (she can't even read a map).
Or if it's my channel mascot on my alternate account (I have yet to show her), Shenron sent her to Skyrim by accident.
An illiterate book collector! That's definitely a character premise I haven't heard before!
@Takarias the best part about it is that the moment you release that almost 50 or 90% of Skyrim involves some sort of book or letter the Dovakiin needs to read at least once.
For example, you need to read a book to learn about Red Eagle or start the Athrium Forge quest. Or how Delphine leaves a letter for you when you collect the horn.
Because of this, I always have at least one follower with Pancake at all times, in case she needs to read something. Otherwise, everything is just out of instinct or coincidence.
That's why I find it easier to not play as a nord. The whole "I'm a foreign traveller, so I don't know your map or your legends"
Can't have roleplay in a game that poorly written, no siree. Skyrim got a lot more praise than it deserved, for being something it wasn't - an RPG. Its still a fun game - mostly due to the modding community valiant efforts, but the fact you can't enjoy the game before modding it (which can turn game into whatever you want) speaks volumes about the devs' vision. Even more can be said about, say, making updates that break half of the existing mods or right before a large total conversion is about to drop...
I played a lot of Skyrim on the 360, with no mods, and I enjoyed my time with it. It was moving to PC and fighting with the terrible UI that made me start swearing by SkyUI. Of the 19 mods I have installed, 11 of them are fan patches and fixes. The remaining 8 are minor graphical enhancements. It's still a solid game as designed, it's just not the RPG that it bills itself as.
@Takarias I disagree, I think the game is actively unpleasant to play unmodded, and even with mods there is only so much they can do.
@@JackHugeman I felt that way for a while, but I've grown to appreciate Skyrim more as I've come to realize that it isn't an RPG, despite the marketing to the contrary. The combat is still very stiff and awkward, though. Morrowind honestly feels better to my ancient self.
Still, Skyrim has more roleplay options than Fallout 4. At least you don't HAVE to be a 108th Infantry Regiment veteran, father to a disappointment son, husband of wife who's shot, owner of Codsworth, etc.
Yeah... Fallout 4 was a roleplaying disaster. Starfield is better in the character origin department, but the NG+ mechanic is awful.
@ Yeah both Fallout 4 and Fallout 3 should have let you be anyone you want like Fallout New Vegas did. I liked Fallout 3 but it would be alot funner if I wasn't forced to look for my father Liam Neeson the entire game.
And that's why Alternate Start exists as a mod, but it only works bc it's for a second (or more) playthrough. As compelling and consistent the opening of Skyrim might be, it's true that practically moves you to a melee build. Great video! (And now, I'm going to watch it 😅)
I used to use Live Another Life, but... well, the game railroads you onto the main quest so hard that it kinda doesn't matter :(
Skyrim is the game where I started to go off Bethesda, I'd played Morrowind for what must have been thousands of hours back in the day and while I had a few issues with Oblivion I played it through multiple times so it couldn't have been that bad. Skyrim has a stunning world but to me it felt more like a theme park just as Fallout 3's world did, nothing I did made me feel like I'd made a difference and I wasn't given any reason to care about any of it.
For me the problems started with the opening, no sane person would side with the guys who were about to separate you from your head and you wouldn't side with them in the war for the same reason, the Imperials are introduced to the player in a way an antagonist would be introduced.
Fallout 3 grabbed me, but I'm a bit predisposed to enjoying post-apocalypse media. I think it deserves saying that the mechanics of VATS hooked me, too: I played it on console, where the controls were so bad that VATS was the only way I could reliably hit anything. It turned the game into a cover-based pseudo-turn based shooter, and I found that pretty interesting.
@@Takarias I think the exploration is where the game really shined, for me the world felt like a theme park but one worth exploring because there was so much cool stuff to find that those following the main quest marker would miss.
Many would have missed out on that exploration, the main quest all took place on the bottom third of the map with the exception of Raven Rock but even then you're teleported to it and would no doubt fast travel back, that leaves two thirds of the map full of things to see but no reason to go there, it's poor design, contrast that to games like Morrowind, Oblivion and New Vegas where the player is sent to places all around the world.
I think those who didn't like Fallout 3 should give it another try, only this time when they leave Vault 101 they should ignore the main story and just head north, it's much a better experience.
15:42 In Arena you do start as a prisioner, but yes, you do have some established backstory before being a prisioner, unlike III, IV and V. Jagar Tharn throws you there for considering you a ally of the original emperor (I dont remember if it is exactly this though), and possibly a threat to his plan, but thanks to the ghost of Ria Silmane you understand the circunstances the empire is in and you escape the prison to thwart Jagar's plan.
2:27 Hi, German speaker here. Just fyi, you did a decent job pronouncing that (:
Also, yay, a new upload
Oh, good. I definitely didn't match my reference, but... I'll happily accept recognizable lol
Just binged your last 4 TES videos. Please make more. I need second monitor content. thanks :D
That's the plan! Thanks for watching
To be fair almost every faction in the game does torture so the Imperials aren't any worse in that way.
Always find your take on the scrolls game and your approach to your videos interesting.
And there's more to come! Not sure what my next video is gonna be, but you can rest assured that it's coming!
15:44 uh oh, akshually☝ no. There's a "History" button in your character's menu, which contains your history generated on which skills and prohibitions you've choose or which answers you had gave during character creation mini-game.
17:05 necrophilia, Hero of Quatch is inprisoned for necrophilia, but i'd suggest what that line was invented by devs more for a joke purpose.
I always forget the history button is there at all! Interesting that some of the generated backgrounds contradict the intro FMV a little
@@Takarias Last time i checked, my character has appear to be a hereditary member of blades, who's family was a close friends with Emperor Uriel Septim himself.
I loaded up the charas I showed in this video, and he was a thief that ended up saving the emperor from an assassin during a parade.
@@Takarias Now i wonder how many answer combinations\skill combinations is in the game to make a different histories
I've been loving all your videos, and I always look forward to hearing more of your thoughts especially on RPGs. Thank you for sharing them with us!
I'm so glad people are enjoying them! Expect more to come :)
I like Skyrim, it makes a great survival sandbox if you mod it right. Always makes me want to play Morrowind though (which is the reason I'm playing Morrowind right now)
I'm really hoping that once the OpenMW lua scripting thing happens someone can port Ashfall to OpenMW and I can live out my Ashlander hunter best life.
I get what you mean. With mods, Skyrim sometimes feels like a high-level game engine you're building your own experience in.
I think Skyrims setup is fine. Comparing Skyrim and Morrowind, the roleplay origin question that you're promted to ask is "Why did my character decide to enter Skyrim?" and "Why is my character in prision?". Skyrim has the problem that it's hard to have a concrete goal to fullfill in Skyrim since the game will never recognize that goal and you can't leave when you've completed it which make reasons like "to run away from something in Cyrodiil" or "to start a new life" easier to roleplay. Morrowind provides a convenient excuse for why goals you might have had in your past life aren't relevant anymore, which is a little bit better but I ultimately don't think that this is a very large issue.
One of my favorite roleplay experiences in Skyrim was playing as a scholar who wanted to study Dwemer ruins in Skyrim with the Aetherium Crown questline serving as a main quest of sorts, which would have fit just fine with Skyrims opening (even if I happened to be playing with an alternate start mod because who has the time to replay the intro after you've seen it twice?). For most characters however, it does get out of the way enough that I can just do whatever I want with my character which is the most important thing at the end of the day.
Skyrim is an action adventure game, not an RPG.
Sadly, you're not wrong... Some day, I'll tackle that claim head-on in a video.
I liked and subscribed for more pedantic lore bits.
Oh no, now I have to live up to expectations!
Thank you for the support
I would argue in morrowind that you're the chosen one because you complete a certain set of objectives and criteria & that anyone could have been the nevarine if they matched the criteria.
I also really like the interpretation that the player becomes Nerevarine through their actions, though surely one needs to be predisposed to being able to do so
@@Takarias I mean yeah, you need to be both strong enough, smart enough & have the motivation to need or want to fufill the prophecy. We see a ton of people who failed in the game.
im really into this video so far
I had assumed the player character and Stormcloaks were traveling from Helgen from Fort Neugrad, where they were all imprisoned. That seems to be the route they're taking to Helgen and it's not implausible that Stormcloaks captured in Darkwater Cross would be held there. Also, crossing the border is illegal in itself and that's why the player character is imprisoned. Furthermore, the game doesn't 'force you down the dragonborn path' as you say, since you can avoid fight dragons altogether if you want to. T
26:55 It’s Anniversary Edition not Special Edition!
Well... as someone how started with Morrowind I can only agree😅
I’m a lurker by trade and I just have to say, I am so glad I found your channel! Keep up this good work.
I look forward to your thoughts on Oblivion’s intro and maybe one for Starfield?!
Regardless, you have earned a permasubscriber!
Us Morrowboomers have to look out for each other 😉
Thank you for the support! Us olds gotta teach the younguns what makes games great!
@@TakariasYou are doing the Lord Talos’ work!
You're a lurker? I didn't know Apocropha had wifi, I guess Hermaeus Mora really is the prince of knowledge. 😂
On my first playthrough I didn't even know there was a choice at Helgen. I just ran into the first door I saw to get away from the scary dragon.😂
Offtopic but the intro highlights one of the rules i have for playing Skyrim. I do not move during the animations of doors opening, pulling levers, etc, cuz otherwise the traps are pointless
great video as always
Thank you for watching, as always!
20:42 - One thing about this part of Hadvar's line that annoys me? If you pick an Argonian, he asks about your origins with a bad line take.
"Are you a relative of one of the Riften dock workers, Argonian?"
Where that comma is, it sounds like he stopped the sentence early with a ?, and then says 'Argonian?' as though he's responding to someone who told him what race someone is and he was surprised by the answer.
On the positive side, the Helgen Opening mod, which changes how the opening plays and changes some VAs, fixes that bad line read. Once again, Bethesda's work being done by modders.
Honestly, most of Hadvar's lines sound drunk...
You aren't necessairily the choosen one in Morrowind, or well er..at least the choosen one by pure chance.
There is a lot of dialogue that leaves it to the player to decide if you're really the prophesized hero, or just some random dude who was at the right place at the right time.
The Cinematic Cutscene says otherwise.
@PowerfulRift It does in fact not. What Azura says to you, she said to countless others.
I love that this ambiguity exists, I just didn't think that was a rabbit hole I should get lost in during a Skyrim video. I would argue that, by successfully fulfilling the prophecy, you *become* the Nerevarine, even if you were not at the start of the game.
@@Takarias That's a valid way to look at it too ofc, but there is specific dialogue at multiple points in the main quest, that let's players who reject the 'phrophesized hero notion', roleplay as just some insanely lucky random dude.
Ofc players who want to be the choosen one can easily roleplay that too.
Liked and subscribed for more pedantic lore corrections.
Oh no, expectations! (Thank you for the support!)
Going to start a new playthrough now tbh
Glad I could inspire! What character premise has your fancy?
They could certainly do a better job introducing you to a world, but opening on it's own to be honest is not bad or not that much limiting. You could for example say you're a Kajit spy, you crossed the border the other way so you got into the Skyrim instead of leaving it, but then got caught in that whole capturing mess, and just went with caravan story to avoid further suspicion; Or you could be member of caravan either in game ones or one that you don't see on screen, maybe they managed to leave on ambush and you were the one caught. Depending on how you go about it there are plenty ways you can have backstory for your character.
What pains me more is just how much the main plot is pushed on the player after Helgen, they easily could have halted main story progress so you could enjoy the world, and then invitation to a main quest could look like some minor thing, which then could snowball into full story, but once you actually start commit to it. But god Howard probably decided that it's best to force people to experience entire thing on the go. If you go through first playthrough it's not that bad actually, and urgency can add to the story, but it kills roleplaying a bit, and greatly diminishes replay experience because the guardrails just keep forcing you to do main quest. All that is probably because they believed this is good thing sales wise based on previous Oblivion sales.
The railroading that Skyrim does to keep the player on the main quest path is absolutely a topic I want to cover!
Something I find ammusing is the number of people who claim they never sided with the Stormcloaks. Yes you did, you start the game with the Imperials unjustly lumping you in with them and trying to cut your head off without even a made up charge. Ralof calls you by your name while Hadvar calls you prisoner. It was only later when you found out the Stormcloaks have some racist tendencies that you decided you didn't want to side with them, even if they were legally in the right. Following Ralof at the beginning is also the fastest way to get Heavy Armor at the start of the game, the Stormcloaks you fight following Hadvar all wear Light Armor.
Bethesda doesn't make RPGs, and they really need to drop the act of doing so. They build open-world sandbox action-adventure games with light role-playing elements, but they don't make RPGs.
3:00 There is a WASD mod for Arena on Nexus, along with a few UI mods. I've been playing it recently and I think its a decent game, although its much lighter on side content than every later game in the franchise, and has completely linear quests.
My understanding is that Arena is pretty similar to Daggerfall. I'm sure there's interesting differences and I would like to play it eventually, but I'm not chomping at the bit to do so. Glad you're enjoying it, though!
Interesting, that is similar to a Welsh word Hiraeth.
I love learning new words with no direct parallel in my native tongue!
@@Takarias yeah, it's great. German and Japanese always have good ones!
7:42 I give his ring back only to steal it later. 😅 Heh, actually for roleplaying sake I leave his ring in the trunk and just take his money. But yeah, Bethesda really goes out of their way to make things too easy for the player. Having trouble fighting mages with your two-handed warrior?...Just level up a few mage perks and you'll be better than enemy mages. A better game would encourage you to work around that, maybe craft or quest for magic resistance equipment (which the game already has!), but nope, you can be the best warrior, the best rogue, the best mage, and you can become every faction's leader!...why?! I guess we're lucky that at least you can't be the leader of either civil war faction.
Can't risk the player not being able to use a single character to 100% a game that was never intended to be completed to 100%, after all...
1) I'm unsure of what you mean about the Imperial Captain's likeability. She's in charge of the execution of the leader of a rebellion and probably some their best troops. Had they succeeded, the war more than likely would have ended faster. It's a high pressure situation and they couldn't really afford any surprises; which is why the player was added to the chopping block. Incidentally, they had a surprise with Alduin showing up.
2)There's... a fair bit of casual racism in the Elder Scrolls universe as I understand it. I've only played Skyrim and Oblivion but I'm pretty sure through out the series (and in game books) there are some racist comments here and there. Nevermind the overt racism.
3) The Empire isn't the only group to use torture. In Skyrim alone, there are torture racks in forts, most of the jails, Fort Dawnguard, and even the Dwemer ruins, etc.
4)Personally, I've always thought highly of Hadvar. He helps you through the attack on Helgan, he tries the diplomatic approach with those Stormcloaks in the keep, he's uncomfortable at the fact the Empire uses torture. No slights against Ralof but I've always preferred Hadvar.
--I don't recall how the star signs are in universe. Like if you are born under the thief sign are you destined to become a thief or is it like being predisposed to those skills i.e. a farmer who happens to step lighter then anyone not born under the thief sign?
I suppose the intro is a bit boxed in but it's not a small box. You can still be pretty creative in your characters back story.
All Elder Scrolls games start with the PC as a prisoner. It's probably done as a conceit to explain why they only have access to the most basic starting equipment, but it's become just a tired meme at this point. Bethesda really needs to come up with something else. Also, after doing Oblivion and Skyrim, I tend to avoid a lot of the main questline. Oblivion's was just tedious; endless repetitive Oblivion gate maps. Skyrim's was better, but not amazing. Morrowind's story was probably the last (and only) truly interesting main questline of the ES series. For ES 6, then should just abandon the idea of a main questline and just do all side-quests.
Daggerfall didn't :)
😮
2:26 nope, not right. Rammstein has a song of this name
Ah well, I tried. English is not especially rife with pharyngeal consonants, so I'm not exactly practiced at them. Hopefully my attempt is more recognizable than not!
Nah. Skyrim is the perfect video game.
I dont understand the reasoning here, probably because this RP stuff does not interest me at all. But from a story aspect, Skyrim is the only open ended one of the entire series. Daggerfall (you are a friend of the emperor sent on a mission, if you are not playing an imperial you are probably not canon). Morrowind, (slightly more open, the empire sends you on some mission for some reason). Oblivion (King tells you he saw you in his dreams saving the world or something like that, but arguably your background could be anything). Skyrim (just some random guy who probably just arrived in Skyrim with no prior motivations, personality, or backstory)
rice
Saltrice
You didn't "wake up" in the cart. You died in the cart at the same time Alduin returned. Your proximity and timing of death had Akatosh return you to life reborn as the dragonborn.
I've never heard this theory before. Is there lore to back this up?
@Takarias yup
I can find no reference to this anywhere in my searching.
@@Takarias look into how aedra and daedra have acted in mundus, constantly working to keep balance or thwart another.
Akatosh needs Alduin's soul back in order to bestow it on another that will fulfill the destiny of eating the world. Alduin chose domination of mundus over destruction. He needs a mortal able to defeat Alduin upon his return to reclaim the soul. He needed a dragonborn. You we just in the right place at the right time and it is the only dragon soul you don't devour. It is returned to Akatosh so he can bestow on one that full devour the world.
God Skyrim sucks so much.
It's grown on me. I'm still disappointed with what it is, but it's not an objectively bad game. I wish it was more, and I wish Bethesda would take lessons from it other than 'braindead good.'