LE Alternative start ideas

[BadMaker]

So I got to thinking about how to start the game differently. FYI I might spoil the beginning of the game a little bit. As it stands, you really start the game when you emerge from the tunnel out of Helgen. At that point, you can pretty much do as you please, coming back to Riverwood if you want to start getting the main quest going. Instead of starting like that, I would like to see a mod that gives a number of different starting points to the player, perhaps allowing the player to start the main quest by talking to the court wizard of Whiterun about the stone in the barrow. I have a number of ideas for alternative beginnings. Some actually start the player off in a better position than in Vanilla, others start the player in a significantly worse position and still some ideas just start the player off in a 'different' position, with its own pro's and con's.

 

Easiest start: Player begins as a neutral Thane.

Has an essential companion, a small fortress with fully stocked home, about a half dozen guards and a small farm attached with a half dozen servants and peasants, perhaps a number of horses. The player also has the major cities already added to the map and perhaps starts with everything at level 20. There can be some excellent background info as to why the player is a Thane to flesh it all out. Player also gets income of 500 gold per day.

Easy start: Player begins as a land owner with a farm and mill.

Has a non-essential companion, a horse, set of decent weapons/armor but not as much of a stat boost, but can clear out a nearby cave to get rolling. The player also owns a home, has a pair of workers who give a small income of 100 gold a day whenever the player asks for it. This farm also has a pair of guards posted to it.

 

Somewhat easy start: Player starts as stall owner in major town/city.

Has one worker who gives daily income of 200 gold per week, starts with 2000 gold and basic equipment equivalent to what you get in Vanilla. Also starts with small shack in a major city.

 

Neutral start: Player begins as hunter/mercenary/wanderer.

Has basic weapons/armor roughly equal to what you get from Vanilla start, but begins in different location, perhaps has a non-essential companion.

 

Neutral start: Player is home owner in major city

Has 1000 gold, small house, but no equipment besides a sword and clothing.

 

Neutral/slightly harder Start: Player begins as a bandit.

Starts with basic bandit weapons/armor and a few weak, non-essential companions. Has a small bounty in all cities.

 

Hard start: Player is a peddler.

Player starts with normal clothes plus one piece of armor, a random weapon, 100 gold, a dozen random clutter items of low value and starts at a random farm/mine/mill instead of a city. This farm/mine/ whatever is distant from any city.

 

Harder start: Player is a beggar in a major city.

Player starts with a dagger, beggar clothes, one random food item and a dozen gold coins.

 

Very hard start: Player spawns in cave with a weapon, crummy clothes and has to fight their way out past basic monsters.

Perhaps the player was knocked out by a bear/troll and now has to escape while avoiding said bear/troll, or just outrunning it.

 

Delayed start/very hard start: Player is a bandit slave.

This was originally intended to be used with adult mods, but I am going to leave that out, it obviously doesn't need to be an adult mod thing. Player starts without any items, has bandits all around but they are neutral. Player is given a series of small quests, like cooking food, entertaining the bandits and foraging around their camp and having to bring them items. The player will get some little opportunities to steal some things here and there, but for the first few days of the new game, the player is basically a slave. To make it even harder, the player will have to do some quests that involve poaching animals/robbing people, effectively giving the player a small bounty in each city even though you are forced to do it, or get attacked.

[coolmanwow]

I like that slave start idea

[Icedgamer]

instead of being a bandit slave, maybe a bandit's prisoner. in a huge bandit cave. and theres another prisoner that has a lockpick and knows how to pick locks with you but soon after he opens the cage, he gets killed and you have to try and fight your way out. with a random iron sword or something that was laying on the guard's table near the cages.

 

have the cave populated highly with bandits, for hard mode, and have it like a normal bandit cave for easy/normal.

 

edit: have the cages/prison in the very back of the cave so you have to fight your way out.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Icedgamer

[clorox42]

when i saw the trailer i thought it would be like this.

 

Dragonborn wakes up from the call of the greybeards, later goes to the town of Windhelm and there's a dragon burning it, then the dragonborn takes the dragon down.

 

Although, The dragon is Alduin, i think.

 

Like this.

Edited January 6, 2012 by clorox42

[Allephus]

So I got to thinking about how to start the game differently. FYI I might spoil the beginning of the game a little bit. As it stands, you really start the game when you emerge from the tunnel out of Helgen. At that point, you can pretty much do as you please, coming back to Riverwood if you want to start getting the main quest going. Instead of starting like that, I would like to see a mod that gives a number of different starting points to the player, perhaps allowing the player to start the main quest by talking to the court wizard of Whiterun about the stone in the barrow. I have a number of ideas for alternative beginnings. Some actually start the player off in a better position than in Vanilla, others start the player in a significantly worse position and still some ideas just start the player off in a 'different' position, with its own pro's and con's.

 

Easiest start: Player begins as a neutral Thane.

Has an essential companion, a small fortress with fully stocked home, about a half dozen guards and a small farm attached with a half dozen servants and peasants, perhaps a number of horses. The player also has the major cities already added to the map and perhaps starts with everything at level 20. There can be some excellent background info as to why the player is a Thane to flesh it all out. Player also gets income of 500 gold per day.

Easy start: Player begins as a land owner with a farm and mill.

Has a non-essential companion, a horse, set of decent weapons/armor but not as much of a stat boost, but can clear out a nearby cave to get rolling. The player also owns a home, has a pair of workers who give a small income of 100 gold a day whenever the player asks for it. This farm also has a pair of guards posted to it.

 

Somewhat easy start: Player starts as stall owner in major town/city.

Has one worker who gives daily income of 200 gold per week, starts with 2000 gold and basic equipment equivalent to what you get in Vanilla. Also starts with small shack in a major city.

 

Neutral start: Player begins as hunter/mercenary/wanderer.

Has basic weapons/armor roughly equal to what you get from Vanilla start, but begins in different location, perhaps has a non-essential companion.

 

Neutral start: Player is home owner in major city

Has 1000 gold, small house, but no equipment besides a sword and clothing.

 

Neutral/slightly harder Start: Player begins as a bandit.

Starts with basic bandit weapons/armor and a few weak, non-essential companions. Has a small bounty in all cities.

 

Hard start: Player is a peddler.

Player starts with normal clothes plus one piece of armor, a random weapon, 100 gold, a dozen random clutter items of low value and starts at a random farm/mine/mill instead of a city. This farm/mine/ whatever is distant from any city.

 

Harder start: Player is a beggar in a major city.

Player starts with a dagger, beggar clothes, one random food item and a dozen gold coins.

 

Very hard start: Player spawns in cave with a weapon, crummy clothes and has to fight their way out past basic monsters.

Perhaps the player was knocked out by a bear/troll and now has to escape while avoiding said bear/troll, or just outrunning it.

 

Delayed start/very hard start: Player is a bandit slave.

This was originally intended to be used with adult mods, but I am going to leave that out, it obviously doesn't need to be an adult mod thing. Player starts without any items, has bandits all around but they are neutral. Player is given a series of small quests, like cooking food, entertaining the bandits and foraging around their camp and having to bring them items. The player will get some little opportunities to steal some things here and there, but for the first few days of the new game, the player is basically a slave. To make it even harder, the player will have to do some quests that involve poaching animals/robbing people, effectively giving the player a small bounty in each city even though you are forced to do it, or get attacked.

 

I love this idea. +1

Edited January 6, 2012 by Allephus

[Deleted3362774User]

Also liking the idea of the bandit/slave starting. One thing I've always wanted is a start where you are hated by all cities and they arrest you on sight (basically having a permanent small bounty) forcing you to always sneak in and out of cities and live a life essentially on the run. Edited January 6, 2012 by Guest

[IkarosCORE]

Fallout Esque Start:

 

Player is born in a village, travel through important parts of youth, learns a few skills and whatever, adulthood, dragon attacks village.

[WildDragonfly]

Love your ideas! It really helps for those who enjoy role playing your characters. And plus there's something for everyone with the ideas you've got there. Some will want to have to work hard to get up in the world and others will want to take it easy and goof around.

[nosisab]

I have one idea for a different start.

 

You awake as someone among a bunch of imperial soldiers in a chart and is informed one of them is General Tulius. The chart stops in Helgen and after some blablablah you have the opportunity to define your race and looking and some more blablah. After someone has been already beheaded your time comes. Meanwhile can be heard some strange growls which are not enough to make people worried to the point of canceling the show. When everything seem terminally bad for good you can see an overwhelming figure descending from the sky...

 

 

OK, OK, I got the point and yes, an alternative start without having to repeat all those steps again would be wonderful :)

[IkarosCORE]

I have one idea for a different start.

 

You awake as someone among a bunch of imperial soldiers in a chart and is informed one of them is General Tulius. The chart stops in Helgen and after some blablablah you have the opportunity to define your race and looking and some more blablah. After someone has been already beheaded your time comes. Meanwhile can be heard some strange growls which are not enough to make people worried to the point of canceling the show. When everything seem terminally bad for good you can see an overwhelming figure descending from the sky...

 

 

OK, OK, I got the point and yes, an alternative start without having to repeat all those steps again would be wonderful :)

 

Its Ulfric, not Tulius that's important in this segment.