Guide to Random Character Creation

[JerkyGunner]

I’d like to document the process I undergo when creating a new Skyrim character. I’m quite indecisive when it comes to picking features or classes or anything like that so I like randomising things to change things up.

 

First I’ll list the main mods I use, the ones I believe are integral to this system. If you’d rather not download any or all of them then you can probably figure out how to go through this anyway, skipping any steps that are no longer applicable. Following the ones I think are essential I’ll list the ones I consider to be optional and just add that extra layer of shine to the roleplaying experience.

 

ESSENTIAL

S.T.E.P. - The amount by which it improves the vanilla game means it’s hands-down the best and first thing I download when installing Skyrim. It might take a while to download all the textures and little mods but it is totally and completely worth it.

 

Live Another Life - My favourite alternate start mod and something I can’t play without. Yes, there are ways to just skip the main intro but this goes a step further and adds new RP-friendly starts for your character.

 

Tendos Skyrim Redone - My favourite overhaul mod. I’ve disabled some modules to allow the use of the Duel - Combat Realism mod but you’re free to eschew that and just stick with the combat changes from this mod. As far as this guide is concerned, Skyrim Redone is more than enough.

 

OPTIONAL

Deadly Dragons, SkyTEST - Realistic Animals and Predators, Skyrim Monster Mod (Lore Friendly Version) - Adds and improves on vanilla creatures and monsters. Adds a bit more depth to the creatures you encounter.

 

SkyRealism - This series of mods adds a lot to the roleplaying aspect of the game. It has a number of individual mods you can pick and choose from so take your pick. Personally, I use Feast and Famine, Capacity and Carry Weight, Simple Save System, Time Scale and Travel Speed, and Encumbrance. (You can find links to all the others in the mod page of the one I linked.)

 

Better Fast Travel - Carriages and Ships - Since I don’t use fast travel when RPing, carriages are a great way to get from one corner of Skyrim to another. This mod adds carriages to all the major cities and towns and ships to the coastal cities to give you more options when traveling.

 

Economics of Skyrim - Improves the merchants in such a way that makes them seem much more realistic. Adds regional values to goods so areas where Ebony is plentiful, for example, will sell it at a much cheaper price than areas where it isn’t. Also removes the multitude of magical items from vendors so finding them means more.

 

Breaking and Entering - A mod that allows you to perform lock-bashes rather than fumbling around with lockpicks. Good for warriors who aren’t exactly the most gentle of folk and who have no time for picking locks.

 

I use a number of other mods besides these but these are the ones I’d most recommend if you decide to go for a roleplay playthrough of the game.

 

Now for the system I use when creating a character. Besides the mods I’ve listed, you’ll need a random number generator like RANDOM.org to randomly (no way!) pick from the options available.

 

1. If you’re using the SkyRealism - Feast and Famine mod I’d suggest starting without it until you have your character right where he wants to be with regards to perks, location and items.

 

2. Randomly choose a race and then randomize as many of the visual aspects of your character creation as you’d like. I tend to randomize everything and stick with it no matter how odd-looking he turns out (not everyone has to be model-material). It’s pretty simple: there are 10 vanilla races so have your random number generator pick a number from 1 to 10 and then choose the race corresponding to that number. Same thing with the physical features: if there are 21 different levels of Chin Width, randomise that number and choose the corresponding width.

 

3. Randomise a lore-appropriate name for your race and gender. That can be done from THIS website.

 

4. Once your character is created, you’ll begin in a simple cell with a few objects (provided you’re using the Live Another Life mod), namely a bed and a statue of Mara. Go ahead and talk to the statue and it will give you a number of possible alternate starts, some of which are race-specific. Randomise your start! Some starts will have a further choice, like if you choose to own property you’ll then need to choose which property. Randomise that, too. I also tend to ignore the start where you’re caught crossing the border illegally as that will have you go through the normal intro.

 

Having chosen your start, sleep in the nearby bed and when you wake up you’ll appear in your new starting location.

 

5. The next step is to choose a class. Now there is a mod that uses the classes from Oblivion, called the Character Creation Overhaul. I prefer Skyrim Redone overall so I tend to just stick with that but I do take note of the author’s Skyrim versions of the Oblivion classes. For example, an Archer would have Archery, One-Handed, Smithing, Restoration, Light Armour, and Sneak. You can take a look at the full list in this spreadsheet.

You’ll notice the skill names follow those implemented in Skyrim Redone. It’s possible that with the change in skill names that the classes should have different skills in your opinion. I’m interested to hear if you think the favoured skills for the classes should be different given the changes.

 

Now the aim of your game is to use the skills your class includes and only put perk points into those skills. So, most classes would have to bash locks or use keys rather than trying to pick them (which I find is a bit more realistic since lockpicking isn’t easy).

 

OPTIONAL I give myself one perk point in each class skill. It’s not necessary at all it’s just to make my character seem a bit more proficient in those skills from the get-go.

OPTIONAL Another thing I do that isn’t necessary but can help you get further into character and flesh him/her out a bit further is to randomise their alignment. Using a typical D&D alignment chart simply randomise from 1 to 9 and choose the corresponding alignment. Try and make decisions and take quests in line with that alignment.

OPTIONAL Do you want your character to work alone or to have a partner? Once you’ve made that decision you can even randomise the follower your character will have accompanying him/her. Of course this is for someone who’s -really- unsure of who or what to choose but, hey, might as well cover all bases.

 

So that’s about it. Feel free to ask any questions or let me know if something is unclear or could use a bit more explanation; I’d really like to flesh this guide out so any improvements you think could be made are welcome. Also, let me know if you have any further ideas for mods that might be useful for RP purposes or another efficient way to randomise another aspect of your new characters. Really, anything you think would beef this guide up a bit would be good to hear.

 

Thanks for reading!