My first time through a Bethesda game I make a "test character" to get the feel of the controls, gawk at the landscape, and to get a feel for things in general. I usually don't do many quests with these characters.

Next I make a "main quest character." This character does nothing but the main quest. In Elder Scrolls I make "guild characters" to go through guilds. In Fallout I make a "side quest" character to go through side quests.

When I feel I know the game pretty well, inside and out, I begin to make my first roleplaying characters.

In all RPGs, I make my first character loosely, and accept how it turns out. I then play the game through to the end (if its fortunate enough to have one).

With my hands

I′ll make it up as I go. If the main quest is interesting enough maybe I′ll stick to it.

Exactly this.

this.

I will not build settlements nor weapons nor perform side quests.

But when BGS releasing all DLC's, I come back, with a brand new char. And that's where the real fun begins. I hope so.