I wanted to start something fresh after beating the main quest, finishing all guild quests and many side quests. So I thought I may start a roleplay character.

There is only one problem: I can't really get into it. It's just like I am missing the right mindset to do this because everytime I try to roleplay I end up with the typical "Need moar LVLz and GEEEAAAAAAARRRRRZ" attitude... Which is really frustrating when I finally notice.

Do the experienced roleplayers of you have any tips on how to get into this aspect of the game?

You're supposed to play the way you like to play. But I suggest starting out with small restrictions if you want to rp. Should be easier now that you've beaten the game.

I don't think it's something you can sort of 'get into', you already know if you're the type of person who likes roleplaying or not. Personally I find it really easy to roleplay, but I've got a friend who burned through all the quests at about 100 hours in, console hacked the rest of his levels to get the best gear, and then complained because he ran out of things to do. Roleplaying certainly extends the game's longevity.

That may be a dumb question but what kind of restrictions are you talking about? Something like "When I die, I'm dead"?

Maybe you start with Riding an Horse and no fasttravel.

That Way you can at least expierience the awsome landscape and have time to calm down .

Good Luck

I'd love to roleplay, but its much too difficult to walk around through the cities on the PS3 because there is no way of toggling off running like their is on PC. Pretty annoying having to focus on the joystick. Can't wait to get a good gaming PC soon.

i haven't completed the main quest yet but i have started over (unwillingly, i created a new character to see if i would like a different build and it autosaved over my previous save lol)

the best way i have found is to give your guy a story at the beginning (like why he is captured / imprisoned) and only use stuff you find, no smithing

also make up your own story, like my story is i finished the civil war quest first, thought of myself as a civil war hero who became a drunk in riften, joined the thieves guild, got caught stealing from the companions and joined them to repay my debts, after becoming a warewolf joined the mage's college to learn more about the disease, etc. etc. etc.

on another character i made i did the mage's college first so i could fast travel to places, i just said while there i learned how to teleport lol

Doesn't have to be that extreme. Just create a small backstory for your character in your mind, what kind of morals he has, etc, and then when you make decisions in game, first think what kind of decisions your character would make, rather than yourself. An example would be to make a very traditional Nord character who only steals from or kills non-Nord characters.

Is there a way to toggle off always running on PS3 or will I always have to focus on walking with the joystick? kind of annoying really.

i'm not sure about this, sometimes my guy starts running without me pushing the joystick but i'm not sure if this is a bug or if i actually hit a button to make him auto-run

By far the most helpful thing in RP'ing is to only carry what you yourself would realistically be able to carry. So no having 15 swords in your invent.

Thanks for the tips! I hope there'll be more to read tomorrow because I'll go to bed now

No what I mean is, when I move the joystick, is there a way to make it so that I always walk, no matter how hard I press it down? seems like if I put just the tiniest bit of pressure on it I'm running around like a maniac. breaks immersion. I know there is a key on the PC to make it so you only walk and can't run, at least in Oblivion.

Roleplaying in a one-player game is primarily about discipline.

You need to start with a character idea, a list of traits and attitudes, personality and moral code, and then you have to try really, really hard to stay "in character" (ie: working within the restrictions you've outlined) when you're the only one who will know if you don't.

You need a certain degree of self control to do it properly. More specifically, you need a -lot- of self control when the restrictions you've placed before yourself become obstacles to attaining your in-game goals.

I'm a big fan of sticking to one or two class themed guilds for a particular character type.

That and no fast travel combo'd with sleeping 6 hrs a day and eating. It seems silly at first, but then you really get used to having to put your character "to bed." Creates a more living and breathing world.

With my thief character it very quicly became apparently that my sleep schedule would CHANGE based on if I needed to do something at dark. And it wasn't even really on purpose. My character just ended up going to bed much later and had to "sleep in."

You can do smithing just dont power level it, pick what you wanna level up and do it evenly or eventually youll just become too strong and its way too easy, i do smithing, but im level 30 and barely hit lvl 40 smithing

I will start a new character, a Male Breton, and i′ve tought the next Conditions to be followed in the game:

-The Background: I′m a Breton from Bruma (Cyrodill). Use to be a kind of Bounty Hunter and Thief. He Worked as a mercenary for the imperial legion in varius of their local missions in Bruma so he simpathize with the imperial faction. In a mission 3 months ago, he was working as a Bodyguard for a noble, but he failed, and also was acussed for murdering, so he was forced to run to the north...

-No magic at all

-Must sleep 7-11 hours a day

-He must eat at least 1 time a day

-Bow, dual weild(daggers), Light armour

-Only will join The companions and Thief Guild

-No fast travel

-Wait and sleep only in my house or in the guilds

-Alchemy for potions and poisons

-No enchanting or smithing at all

-Only steal from merchants and rich people.

-Very bad relationship with Dark elves.

-No Compass. Only a paper map (a copy from the original) without any locations, i have to write the locations in the place i think i have found it...

-The only think i`m thinking about is, Dead is Dead, or, for example, if iàm killed, instead of starting again, i could assume it as a serius injury, and i must stay in the nearest city for the next 5 days (no waiting, and only sleeping 11 hours a day) in order to get healthy.


i`m looking forward to new tips to add to my experience

PD: sorry for my very basic english, i hope you will understand what i wanted to write jeje

No role play is playing your character. I'll give you an example. I hate Ogmund's mother because he is a Talos freak and she lied to the Thalmor to protect him. The game doesn't give me any option to turn in this Stormcloak collaborator, so I role play. I break into her house, poison her, leave a Thalmor dagger as a calling card, and leave some money for the expense of her funeral, and take her Talos amulet and leave it in the fire. Why, because it is satisfying to do so because I'm roleplaying. Then I find all her friends and make examples of them for tolerating an enemy of the Empire and a law breaker. All of this, outside of what the game is intended for, because I am roleplaying some wacko Nord who doesn't like her own countrymen.

1) Find the type of character you want to play by what name would be uplifting to you. eg. A character named after Anubis could be an evil mage.
2) From the name you have been given by the powers that be (you), choose the most fitting character skills to perfect. eg. Anubis - theif/assasin - mage (mostly alteration so you can control things from afar).
3) Rent/buy a movie that suits this character. eg. Anubis - Stargate series when they fight Anubis or you could go with others; Clash of the Titans might be a nice fit. Lots of material out there.
4) After picking the perfect body/face for your new character and going through the intro... play said movie in the background and just play the game. Background sound helps a lot with roleplaying. Shakespeare movies are good too; for almost any type of character expectations. Music can be a useful tool but they don't have that instant visual by turning your head around to see a good scene.

Hope that is as good for you as it works for me. Eg. Currently playing Orc... warrior - alchemist. I, usually, have Stargate, Four Feathers, Conan, etc running in the background. Or, getting the sweetie to touch my guns regularly.

Restrictions are bad if you don't enjoy it. Forcing yourself to abide by certain rules won't make your game more fun - only if you want to do that. So if there are any rules that appeal to you such as only using carriages for fast travel, eating food, not allowing yourself to carry any armour other than the stuff you are wearing, sleeping every night, then go for it - otherwise it's pointless just following some ruleset and calling that RP if it makes your game less fun.

RP is more about getting into the mindset of your character rather than restricting your gameplay realistically, though the latter can augment this. Just think, who is your character? What's he/she like? What's his opinion on the war? Where did he come from, what's he doing in Skyrim? Try to see the game through their eyes rather than through your own.

Some info on my Nord dragonborn character just to give you some ideas maybe:

- He's a proud Nord who supports Ulfric and the Stormcloaks and worships Talos. He hates the Thalmor with a passion for several reasons not least the Concordat, so any justiciars carting away a Talos worshipper had better hope they don't run into him - same for any Legion soldiers wandering about.

- He's a man of the gods. Talos is his prime god but he worships the other eight too. He'll give to beggars and try to help out people in need. He abhors the daedra.

- He's a man of honour and this good nature is reflected in the kind of quests he will or will not take. He's quick to anger though... and his axe could chop through a mammoth's neck, so don't get on the wrong side of him. Or Ulfric Stormcloak.

- He takes his role as dragonborn very seriously and believes it is a gift from the gods to help and free his people, not just from the dragons but also the Thalmor and their Imperial puppets. He feels strongly about the Greybeards' way of the voice and he won't abuse his power... he will use it only to achieve these aims (he won't use clear skies to change the weather for example - that's Kynareth's domain!)

- He has zero knowledge of magic and generally distrusts mages in general. The world would be a better place maybe without mages trying to play god...

I also sleep every night but this is made easier through the use of console commands to slow the timescale down. Obviously if you're on a console you can't do this. I eat sometimes but generally I find this a pain in the [censored] and not fun, so I just assume he's eaten. I don't roleplay him having a dump either but I guess he goes for those too I also never use map fast travel and mostly avoid carriages, but sometimes for that tedious journey I've done a million times before I'll just get a carriage if I can't be bothered. I don't have loot restrictions on this character either but I do on another one I recently made, and I'm actually quite enjoying it.

Just some ideas for you!

I usually do things like:
1. Taking helmets off when i go inside taverns/inns etc.
2. No fast traveling.
3. I don't do unrealistic things like scale mountains in heavy armor.
4. I don't ride horses at all. (Physics are too weird + it would seem like I'm the only person in Skyrim riding a horse around)
5. I try not to kill orcs as my character is an orc.
6. When i'm done playing for the night i'll go to the inn or my house and take the armor off and put on clothes. lol
etc..

I don't mean to derail the thread but that has absolutely nothing to do with what you quoted.

Work your way up Only BS what you mine yourself, don't buy stuff!
Same with alchemy, go pick herbs and butterflies ^^

There are several ways to play this game, just make sure you find your own way

I'm playing a hunter atm (only leather or furry gear). Most importantly only wooden bows, no daedric or any off that crap.

I only craft what i scavenge, so kill wolves, deer, bears etc. Got the arrow crafting mod aswell, so feather, firewood, iron or steel.

4 stamina 1 health, 5 stamina, 1 health, 6 stamina, 1 health, so on and so on.

Using a mod for pure survival, so i MUST eat otherwise my stamina will decrease. After a day without food the stamina will decrease to zero and eventually your health will start to fall.
There's a food list in the game, you can just change how much substance they offer etc .


EDIT :

Some stuff i forgot to post in, kinda need a smoke right now, but i'll write this down fast.

No compass! Use the stars to guide you.
Once again no compass! Want to find a place, read books and search for clues. (This game actually provide you with this hardcoe gaming).
You need to sleep aswell! Trying to fix a fatigue mod for that, still working on it.

Add about 10-20 more stuff here and you're done ^^.

NOTE :

Remember to find your own little place in this game.

which mod are you using for survival? (i didnt find such mod) also other mods which help to role play will be welcome!!

Oh it's my own.

By a request from a friend i uploaded it to skyrimnexus, but i took it down a day later. (It bugged for alot of people).
Searched for a solution etc, but couldn't really find one, since it's only a simple data mod nothing else.

Stamina decrease and health decrease (settime.x), opened the food tab for the list, sorted out some values for energy amount (energy = what keeps you "alive").

It's working fine for me and some people, but a couple of people seemed to have a problem with it, so i myself flagged it as nuked and had it removed until properly fixed.
Though i must be honest with you i haven't taken enough time to actually check it out that much.

Working on the fatigue mod atm (again for personal use).


EDIT :

Just read your earlier post on this thread, LIMP! mod I need one of those, to bad the animation configuration is a pain without the CK.
But it's still doable, s/he only needs to limp after a death. I wonder if it's possible to have a person insta teleported to Solitude after a death and "wake" up in the inn or something.
That would be awesome!

Thanks for the idea

EDIT 2 :

So the person wakes up in the inn with a limp and can only wander around town for a couple of days cause s/he need to recuperate.
And since that person is there, we could always swap the data for the prison skill decrease to *death/wakeupininn/limp/acoupleofdays penalty!

*Death, wake up in inn, limp, a couple of days.