Hardcore RP and Immersion - Creating a character and setting up the ga

[Aventinus]

Hello guys, I finally replaced my outdated GeForce 460 with a brand new MSi 760 GTX and I'm planning a new playthrough this time heavily focused on graphic enhancements and some hardcore RP and immersion stuff. This post is about the character design, story line, and play style I'm going to be playing as well as the mods I'm going to be using for achieving this experience. What I want from you is to tell me what you think of it and of course suggest any changes you deem necessary.

 

Some background

 

I'm actually a bigger fan of the Fallout series than the Elder Scroll series for one sole reason: Fallout through it's more sophisticated dialogue options and quest options lets you RP better. In Fallout you can actually be evil. You can make some seriously evil and sadistic choices through dialogue or different quest paths. The same goes for being neutral or good. Also aside form the actual choices, Fallout gives you plenty of dialogue options just for the sake of it. Do you want to be the douchebag neutral guy who cares only for coins? Yes you can. Skyrim doesn't emphasize on this feature so much. For most of the people this isn't a big deal but for me it is. Being evil in Skyrim sometimes doesn't make much sense. Apart from your evil look and powers you find yourself being really nice to everyone cause you don't have another choice or just being the errand boy without wanting something in return. "Yes, I will go kill those bandits who stole your necklace but I'll do it only for money. And you know what? If you really want this necklace you should give me all your money. I don't care if you're poor." <- This cannot happen in Skyrim. At least most of the times. Where in fallout it's almost mainstream.

 

Also the fact that you're Dragonborn kind of limits you from being anything other than a great hero. Yes you can be a petty thief but does this actually make any sense? If you look it from a hardcore RP perspective it's not ideal. My previous character was a female Nord thief/assasin. She was a twisted young lady who's only purpose was money and the pleasure of killing. But nowhere in the dialogue options or the quest paths/objectives was I able to express these feelings. (Obviously the Assassins Guild and Thief Guild quests lets you experience such things but only for the limited time these story lines are played). Also the fact that this twisted silent assassin had the thu'um power didn't make much sense imo. (To be clear, I'm not saying that being Dragonborn limits you to be good, I'm just saying it does not add up to every character build and playstyle).

 

To sum up, the majority of quests are made up with a good guy in mind which brings us to:

 

My New Character

 

I've never had a lawful good or neutral good playthrough (I know right?!) in Skyrim and I have also not played an orc. So I thought that the time has come. Maybe now I will enjoy the game even more :smile:. My initial inspiration for this character was this build. The Old Orc but with a lot of twists. I really like the idea of following a code (The Code of Malacath in this character). "don't steal, don't kill, don't attack people for no reason" is going to make things a little harder where with my assasing/thief I was able to get by easily with stealing and murdering. I also like the idea of "having a honorable death". According to the author this character actually wants to die but seeks an worthy opponent to grant him the eternal rest. But that's not enough for me. I want a deeper, more motivating story. One of my favorite heroes, Hercules (yes I'm Greek) has an interesting story. Hera, Hercule's stepmother hated Hercules so much that she cursed him with a "madness spell". As a result Hercules murdered his wife and two children. When he escaped the spell and realized what he had done he asked the gods what can he do to amend for his sins. So to purify himself he had to do a series of impossible tasks. Combine these to two stories and you have a pre-alpha version of my new character's story. Briefly: This character was once a mighty orc warrior who -for some reason- inflicted serious damage to his own people. To atone for his sins he was cast away from him homeland and somehow ended up in Skyrim seeking an honorable death only to find out that he's is the Dragonborn. Maybe it was the will of Malacath to be here and help this country fight its enemies(?) (Again, this is only a pre-alpha version of the story).

 

Build

 

I'm going for One Handed instead of Two Handed the author suggested. I dislike two handed weapons, I find them slow and not practical. I prefer the more tactical approach One Handed + Shield. So I'm going to be a tank. Obviously my other two main skills will be Block and Heavy Armour. Next, Smithing, as it's absolutely lore friendly. I'm not going for Enchanting though. That's right, this Orc is pure warrior and knows nothing of magic and other such trickeries. Also no Alchemy for similar reasons. The last skill will be Wayfarer (SkyRe) but more on that later.

 

Mods and Playstyle

 

I'm going to be using more than 200 mods probably but below are the game changing ones.

 

First of all Skyrim Redone. To me this is vanilla. I can't imagine playing the game without it. I think it's a must have because it makes the game truly interesting. Especially for a melee character is a must have cause the default One Handed, Two Handed and Block skills are SO boring. Combine this with Locational Damage and you have some serious gameplay.

 

Frostfall and Realistic Needs and Diseases, that's the core for my gameplay. Where it starts getting interesting. I don't intend for this playthrough to be a conventional one. I want to experience the Frostfall in its worst form. I want this old orc to suffer. Α good portion of this game will go to surviving therefore the Wayfarer skill. That means camping out in the woods, hunting for food (So I will use bows as well but probably only for surviving), surviving the cold etc. In addition to that I'm going to invest in realism a little bit more. That means, no more 500 arrows, 10 pair of boots and 6 helmets in my backpack. Yes I'll do some looting but keep it to "normal" levels. I'll set some upper boundaries such as no more than 100 arrows which is still a lot but more acceptable. And I'll try to give the things I want to sale to my horse. Add to that a ton of immersion mods such as realistic vendors etc. Also no magic at all and no Alchemy. I'm torn on the use of potions though.

 

So to sum up my playstyle: This is going to be a hardcore survival playthrough that happens to happen in a fantasy world full of dragons :smile:.

 

Some Additional Info

1. Due to the difficulty of the gameplay I'm aiming to have 2 companions. Having companions doesn't match with an orc who has a death wish but this is going to change when he learns he's the Dragonborn...
2. I will also use Alternate Start - Live Another Life. I'm thinking of choosing the "Shipwrecked off the Coast" or "Camping in the Woods" start. Those two combined with Frostfall will make a hardcore start.

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What I need from you guys is:

• to tell me what you think of it
• to suggest any lore - storyline changes that will make this character more interesting
• to suggest any good orc oriented Elder Scrolls readings for inspiration
• to suggest changes to the playstyle according to your experience
• to suggest mods that will add to the wanted experience
• to suggest some carrying values that will make the game kind of reallistic but not entirely extreme (i.e. 100 arrows, 5 food items etc)
• to suggest quest lines
• to suggest a proper start for Alternate Start that will fit the character

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p.s.1 The setting up phase will probably take a week. I'm pretty busy this time of the year so no time for hours in front of the PC :sad:

p.s.2 English is not my native language so excuse any grammatical mistakes I might have made.

 

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edit1: Oh snap, I put a large title in the thread that was cut in half. Any ideas on how to change the topic title?

Edited November 13, 2013 by Aventinus

[Sucrilhus]

I loved everything about it!

 

 

Considering your previous thread, aren't you willing to post these on youtube?

 

I can already imagine the cherry of that cake.... which is when you find that misc-quest orc that wants a good death. (When you find him..be sure to dismiss your followers first... so it will be a Duel... not a rape)

 

Two orcs wanting a good death and fighting each other?

 

 

 

There will be only one winner.... the other one, sadly, will remain alive....

Edited November 13, 2013 by Sucrilhus

[Aventinus]

I loved everything about it!

 

 

Considering your previous thread, aren't you willing to post these on youtube?

 

I can already imagine the cherry of that cake.... which is when you find that misc-quest orc that wants a good death. (When you find him..be sure to dismiss your followers first... so it will be a Duel... not a rape)

 

Two orcs wanting a good death and fighting each other?

 

 

 

There will be only one winner.... the other one, sadly, will remain alive....

 

Thanks for the kind words but I'm afraid my pronunciation is just plain terrible. Also my current system will not be able to handle modded Skyrim + recording. I really wish it could though. I'm thinking of posting images from time to time of the character's progression.

[Sucrilhus]

Oh, that's a pitty.

 

Well, good luck there :]