Most of my characters start with a basic back story, answering questions like why are they in Skyrim? At first, I went great detail for the first few characters, but now I "meta-game" a bit, knowing what is what in the game.

Even with that "foreknowledge", I still have yet to find all the "strange gems" (I usually retire after maybe 15-18 are found on those characters) or find all the Guardian Stones or grab all the Dragon Shouts on one character.

The game just levels me way too fast for any lengthy goals for me. Not even the backstory and/or goals can't keep me ineterested. Between levels 40 and 60, I just "lose interest"

Backstory is important to me, but not as much in the game of Skyrim. I run into too many "obstacles" for my RP (like NPCs who forcefully give me quests)

Forcibly putting quests into my journal doesn't hurt my RP at all. I just think of them as suggestions. They're like mental notes my character makes to herself: "Hmm, maybe I should look into that someday. Or not." And just like the mental notes I make to myself in real life, I invariably do nothing about it.

I have never felt pressured to deliver the amulet to Jaufrre or to meet Glarthir behind the chapel in Oblivion. Bethesda can stick all the quests they want in my journal, it makes no difference to me. I'll damn well do the quests *I* want to do and not one quest more. It's the same in Skyrim. I don't feel the slightest bit pressured to speak to Brynjolf about joining the Thieves Guild.

I'm a very obstinate person. If they stick a quest into my journal that I have no interest in doing, I simply ignore it. And that's the end of it. I'm in charge of my game, not Bethesda. I don't let developers tell me what to do.

Thanks for the long explanation Rick, i appreciate it. It gave me some food for thought even if it still looks like a multiple personality type of...power

Nah, i'm kidding. Have you tried putting all this energy into writing? I bet you could write some killer stories of Adela's life.

If you find yourself with free time and a nice dose of inspiration, try to transfer one in-game day worth of gameplay to writing and share it. I'd love to read how she spends her typical day in Skyrim's harsh environment in a fun fiction type format.

True - I mean, I and Lugk Agumbuk are one in the same

I'm an Immersionist type of roleplayer, so many of my characters adventures are seen and lived through a 1st person perspective, not 3rd person as is usually the case. Backstory for me is only useful in giving a reason to be there and begin the telling of a tale, so they aren't complicated or fleshed out much more than a base character idea, and maybe a few chosen likes or dislikes. Playing this way allows me to not know or anticipate any outcomes, and the stories that result have a more personal, deeper meaning to me. I don't plan story lines ahead of time, and I don't alter or redirect choices so that they follow a character script. The stories tell themselves based on whim, chance, mood, and whatever the game throws at me. I will, however, take a step back to play director at times, and manipulate the game so that a particular whim or choice is possible in my story. An extra benefit of being a console guru and a modder.

Backstories make the game more fun to me. I love roleplaying and immersing myself in the world and creating a backstory for my character just helps him fit in as part of the world.

Of course, how you have fun in the game depends on you.

Same.

For me I've done backstories before but strangely not with open world elder scroll games. I never thought of it terribly. In those games I am more 'in the now' whether I am enjoying exploring and gathering herbs or I am talking to people in a town or on a quest.

The games I did backstories were the ice wind dale 2 where I was used to playing balder's gate with NPCs that had backstories so IWD2 everyone just arrived on a boat with no backstory so I made them. For that game it was a lot different from open world elder scrolls and I did not imagine the characters banter rather the game was mostly combat but having the backstories made me sort of bond with the characters which helps to sustain playing the game to the end.

My girls always show up in my head. They poke at me - "listen to me, you need to create me, here's what's going on in my story!" This is nothing new for me - I've been writing since I was about 2 (I told my mother my stories, and she wrote them down for me) - so.... nearly 70 years I've been writing, and these people have been showing up in my head screaming "WRITE ME! Write me now!"

So - by this time I have literally millions of words written about these people and their worlds. Playing this game is no different. They show up, and insist I play them, and write their stories as I play. Some of them wind up as actual RP tales. Others - just live in my mind until they're finished with whatever they set out to do.

I find it fun and absorbing, if a bit.... outré....

I have an entire back story for my character that goes from Morrowind to Oblivion, I actually posted it in the Morrowind forums!

Perhaps I could have the link?

It's five threads away from the "Pants...where are the PANTS" thread you posted in.

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1611552-my-character-build-and-story/

Thanks Selene!

Wait, where did I put my pants again?

Thanks for giving him the link!

'Tis good, Bob, very good to see others writing backstories!

Yeah, I love to flesh out my characters

That's cool! I know quite a few players can do that. My mind just doesn't allow me to "overlook" strangers asking me to perform some personal task for them. I wish I could! I also find it difficult to lie to myself in real life

I like to at least have a general concept and a few possible goals in mind for a character. Then I hit the 'new' button and see what happens. I find that for me, if I start getting to detailed and expansive with the character backstory, I may never get around to actually playing the game.

It's kind of funny, but this Become a Bard mod is making me reinvent my whole backstory. That's a first. I like it.

It kind of works too, as I'm a musician in real life. So I can come up with a story a little more personally this way.

I LOVE Become a Bard! Not for every girl, but sometimes one of them lets me know up front that she's an aspiring bard....