How do the 'Lore Buffs' play? : The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion

» Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:43 am

You're right that lore has nothing to do with whether or not the player character sleeps at night, but it has everything to do with how your character might perceive certain events, the knowledge he or she should have just based on the fact that he or she was born and raised in Tamriel. (Why exactly can I go around asking idiotic questions in Skyrim like "Who is Mara?" or "Who is Azura?" Could my character be so dense as to not know who the major deities of their universe are, even on a name-basis? I understand wanting to give the information to new players, but surely there's a more appropriate way, such as "What can you tell me about Mara?" etc. But I digress.)

Understanding lore for the sake of roleplaying is the difference between having an Argonian named Bob the Lizard who acts like an Imperial and an Argonian named Kajeei-Zel who feels the Hist. Both might go around making their characters eat and sleep all day, but I'd be willing to bet that one of them is far more immersed in their character and in the world of Tamriel than the other.

Agreed.

Coincidentally, that's exactly the type of roleplaying we weren't asked about. Though I would say that "playing make believe at realism" isn't roleplaying.

» Wed Dec 07, 2011 11:56 pm

I tend to separate lore and roleplaying as somewhat distinct pursuits, but at the same time I think that knowledge of lore allows for far, far richer roleplaying in the game than otherwise. I roleplay all my characters not in the strict way of making sure I eat all my meals at given times (Though I try to eat every now and then, and sleep regularly and eat at inns and such, but not to the extent a person should have to to stay alive) and whatnot, or prepare enough food for a journey (though that might be a fun thing to try someday...), but instead, roleplay in a sense of giving my characters a distinct, detailed past and mentality that fits within existing lore, and, well, crafting a narrative with them as I play. Storytelling, rather than strict roleplaying.

And lore is the chief flavour of all stories in Tamriel.

» Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:26 pm

Dude. I already have to cook, eat regular meals, sleep at night, do the laundry, go to work and study at a university. Doing all that again in game seems like waste of good gaming time. :flamethrower:

I'm playing for fun. Do the quests that seem interesting, walk when I feel like it or when it's close, or when I need souls, or furs.

This pretty much sums up my style as well. I just play the game. I choose to follow whatever quest that seems interesting at the time. I explore, I fight, I collect ingredients, I sell, I rest. I walk when I can, run when I need to, and use fast travel when I want to get somewhere really quickly. I do what I want to do when I want to do it.

» Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:40 am

I'm new to these forums, but have been a very big fan of the lore since I first bought Morrowind upon its release.

I'd say that I roleplay-lite. My Dark Elf Mage wants absolutely nothing to do with the Storm Cloaks. He didn't follow them out of the opening scene and he's sure as hell not joining them. I tend to follow this in the quests as well. My mages don't join fighter factions, for example, and my characters won't take quests that are too far out of what I've deemed their personalities to be. So, my fairly upstanding warrior won't take a quest that's out-right thievery or a con, etc, but he may not shy away from using some muscle to get stuff done. There are also those times that maybe they look the other way when they REALLY want that daedra artifact, etc... within limits, of course.

As for the eating sleeping, pooping stuff. I usually stay at Inns fairly frequently, and will often roll the timer to 8 or 9am the next day if it's already evening or close to it. I figure that my character doesn't literally sleep the whole 10 -14 hours he was there. He grabbed a bite, took a poop, maybe pvssyd up a bar maiden over a pint, etc. I feel the same about fast travel. I spend a lot of time just exploring the world. If I want to get somewhere to finish a quest and it's close to a place I've already been, I just figure in the fade-to-black, that my guy probably stopped to catch some dinner, relieve himself, and possibly even setup camp if it was a long walk. My character's an advlt, I don't have to be there to babysit him through those details.