So everyone knows that we start the game off as a prisoner about to be executed, this leaves alot of room for people to create thier own backstories and reasons for this, but i heard recently that the reason we are being executed is because we crossed the border into Skyrim illegally, now i dont know about you but this is a stupid thing to be made canon for all characters because what if i decided i wanted to be Nord raised in Skyrim and is being executed because of some reason i come up with up with myself and on another character i can then decide that for example he was a Dunmer who crossed the border illegally to get away from the collapse of Morrowind... i dont know if what i heard was correct but it would be much better if it was just "Your being executed, you decide why" instead of "Your being executed, we tell you why". I realise people can extend the reason WHY they were crossing the border illegally but for people who want to be a true Skyrim blooded character then it is just plain stupid as removing it would add MORE roleplaying options as people could implement this themselves instead of being told that thats what happens...

just because your crossing the boarder doesnt mean your just entering skyrim. maybe you were a skooma trader leaving skyrim but were caught.

Maybe you weren't crossing the border at all, you might have just been near the border and the authorities believe that you were crossing the border. Maybe you were out hunting and chased an animal across the border, and you were on your way back. Maybe you are a political prisoner, and the guards are just using that as an excuse to kill you (if they don't actually show you getting arrested while crossing the border.) Maybe you had a defective map, and thought you were still in Skyrim, but were wrong. Maybe somebody drugged you, and took you across the border, and you are on your way home. Maybe...

You get the point.

I can RP anything I want. I don't need the game to assume anything for me.

But what if you DONT want to enter or leave Skyrim... what im saying is it will take more dev time having to get someone in the game to tell you that you were crossing the border and thats why you are being executed and than leaving the player to decide themselves, wether that be that they were crossing the border which they can expand on or some other reason. It would just be an all round win-win situation so i dont realise why make this canon.

That was only used as an example, but even if not, you still have to figure out why they've arrested you, under what charges are they executing you...

If the "crossing the border" part will be included, it has been done to give a reason why everybody treats you like a stranger, because you're new there.
If you actually lived there all your life you should meet with some people you know...

Where on earth did you hear that?

AFAIK there has been nothing indicating why you are being executed. In fact they've said they want to leave that up to the player to decide so I highly doubt that they would ever come up with a back story.

Heres what happened. Your right. You were raised in Skyrim, but...you have a secret twin that you never knew about, he ran over the border and escaped the guard, so they went looking for your twin, found you, and assumed it was you. There you go

And what if you don't want to be going to your execution? Where do you draw the line?

Even if they came up with a backstory, which I highly doubt, i'll ignore it and create my own.

Well I don't know if this is true because Todd Howard said you can make up your own reason for being executed. I heard the same as you but maybe he was using an example of something you could use as your story. But if that is the case, you crossing the border, I don't think it will be a big part of the game and you can just forget about it.

Just listen to this.
"we never say why."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUUY8J7-NJg

Yeah, I believe the phrase was something along the lines of being arrested when you crossed the border, not because you crossed the border.

I really, sincerely, hope this is not in the game. I want NO backstory at all - absolutely none. I meet my character at the beginning of the game, and everything that happened before that point is for ME to decide - not Beth.

*Insane laugh* Luke!!! I fell out of my computer chair! Oww, how am I ever going to get used to such an awsome pic *Histerical laughing* XD :rofl: Back on topic, just forget about the whole execution once you get out and start your own story.

Believe me, i certainly hope that what i hear was incorrect, i love making up my own backstory as to why i am being executed and i didnt hear it from anyone from Bethesda, just someone on these forums so i guess it was just stuck in my mind, i really am starting to feel better and more confident that Bethesda are going to let you decide why you are being executed. I do respect all of your feedback as to all the different options i could have if they DID make it canon that we were crossing the border... but leaving it to the player to decide gives more roleplaying options as you will all understand but either way i have just kicked myself back into reality and that i believe that i most likely just heard it from a wrong source on the forums and that Todd Howard will let us decide ourselves as i have total confidence in him, i dont know why i even started to doubt :facepalm:

This is about the same thing as your character being put on a boat and shipped off to Morrowind to become the Nerevarine. It's how you got to where you are, not why. You will not be told why you were crossing the border or from where. Perhaps you weren't crossing the border and were wrongly accused. Maybe you're a murderer trying to flee from justice in Cyrodiil. Perhaps your Argonian is fleeing from vengeful Dunmer in Morrowind. Maybe you're a nord and crossing borders is your hobby, laughing raucously as you stand astride two nations, daring anyone to stop you (and then they do.)

I read about a thread wondering if we are spoiled. Guess we are.

Duh

I'm so sick of "you're in prison" and the "you are being executed" is just more of the same. I'd rather we just got plopped in a forest or woke up in cave or in a little hand-made shelter.

I've never been in prison in real-life, why does my hero character have to be incarcerated?

I can make up my own reason for why I was crossing the boarder can't I?

This again?

Okay, how about in order to make everyone happy Bethesda is no longer allowed to make any decisions about their own world.

Your character must start- nowhere, because giving anything, even the slightest locational information, begins to define where you are which then leads into how you got there and "restricts your roleplay."

They're not allowed to determine a setting for the game any more- demanding you be in Skyrim "restricts your roleplay," because you may want a character who would never go to Skyrim.

No races. You might not want to be one of the standard 10, so there those evil thugs at Bethesda go "restricting your roleplay" again.

No skills, no combat system, no magic system, nothing- any element of any of those might not fit what The Almighty Roleplayer? wants to do, thus "restricting their roleplay!"

:facepalm:

Get a grip here, people! If the "OMG tehy restrictz mah roleplayz!!!one!!1!!!" mentality prevails, the only thing thing Bethesda will be able to do is sell you a copy of the game engine and the Creation Kit because any material they design "restricts your roleplay" in some way.[/rant]

This.

What if I don't want my hero character to know how to build a shelter? Or what if I wanted him to have lost an arm while fighting in the civil war?

Even though this a very open-ended game, with many possibilities, there are still some restrictions. You have to be in Tamriel (specifically Skyrim, this time), you are 200 years after the end of Oblivion, you have to be one of the 10 playable races, you are dragonborn (though you can choose not to follow the path), and you start out in prison.

The other thing that "being led to your execution does" is allows for both the extremely good characters (wrongly accused, or political prisoner-type) and the extremely evil (mass murderers, or people who own spears) to start at the same spot. I could easily justify any back story as to why I am in prison.

You've also never thrown fireballs or been an elf. Jesus.