In Morrowind and Oblivion you start in prison (or a prison ship), and I ask how did you end up there?

In Morrowind, my dunmeri knight, Sir Zalphon Broodikus, was framed for a crime he did not commit.

In Oblivion, the same knight was once again framed.

Tried to pick up a spoon.

"I learned my lesson honest!"
"That'll teach you, you dirty spoon-thief, you're going to be executed at dawn!"
"Please i'll never move another spoon again!"
"You're going to die in here spoon-thief! Die!"

Edit: The last line comes from the dunmer in the prison which taunts you

On Morrowind my character got drunk and started smashing the bar up and when a female guard came to try and get him to calm down he started to hit on her.

In Oblivion my character got caught having an affair with one of the Emperors sons wife.

Morrowind: The note was a cover up. *Toon was hire by a group of people (who are later, Blade) to go to Morrowind. Being a cheap ass, Toon hitch a ride in a prison ship. Very easy to manipulate this intro.

Oblivion: Toon is in prison by.................... oh [censored] this. I never like that crappy intro and I end up using a mod to remove such a lousy intro.

* Toon is a name placer for [insert character]

True that for Oblivion.

For Morrowind, I worked in a kinda elaborate story for my main character about how he was part of a scouting party at the tail end of the War of the Red Diamond, who was imprisoned by the Elder Council during the reign of Mad Pelagius for accidentally uncovering the Wolf Queen's last revenge on her brother's lineage. And so he rotted in prison for two full centuries until Uriel sent him sightseeing.

Trying to imitate the intro to overlord.
How was I supposed to know those halflings were actually bosmer?

In Morrowind: I was caught stealing a powerful Imperial Artifact for someone who was paying me big, a night Guard which was unexpected happened to come in the same corridor I was in and caught me with the Artifact in my hands, the guard tried to arrest me but I ran with the Artifact. The Guard lost footing in the darkness of the pursuit but when I turned in the item to the buyer two guards confronted me in the buyer's house and threw me in jail along with taking back the artifact. The justice of the Empire sought my exile and cast me out to Morrowind for the crime.

In Oblivion: I was mysteriously fined for Loitering in the Archer's Paradox when I was simply waiting for the shipment or weapons to arrive. The Guards arrested me and Despite the store owner's protest against my arrest the guard threw me into the Bravil jail. After several days of being cramped up in the jail, the guards came down to visit me along with the castle mage. The guards restrained me to the ground as the mage casted a spell on me then I passed out. When I awoken, I found myself in the Imperial city's prison. Soon after which the Blades arrived with the Emperor right behind them, shocking it was I journeyed with him until his demise. Then carried forth to Bravil to see if my weapons shipment arrived. The guards in Bravil ignored me as if the crime never happened...

I littered.

*shakes head*

The gods had placed him there so he and the emperor might meet....

^^
Lol.

I like this one

"STOP! You violated the law, pay the court a fine or serve your sentence!"
"WTF?! I just dropped that piece of paper?!"
"Have it your way criminal scum!"

I assaulted a prosttute that bit my lip when I tried to kiss her and then I went on to sell German products on TV. Oh, you mean in-game?

I have a bunch of different scenarios. My latest mage in Oblivion was framed for the murder of his sister by his best friend and was in jail for an hour or so before the Emperor arrived. There's a lot more to it, but you get the idea.

Morrowind: Poaching Illegal Animals in Skyrim.

Oblivion: Blade (Characters Name) killed his superieor officer in the Imperial Army, and tried to escape by jumping out a window. All he can remember is his name and his crime, but he was arrested and sent to Imperial City.

Dunno, somebody called Bethesda just told me I ended up there. Ask them, really.

Jagar Tharn had me put there when my mentor discovered his plot to overthrow the emperor.

A landslide trapped me there.

The emperor had me spirited away on a whim about some prophesy.

I was arrested for petty theft, mistaken identity, divine intervention, murder, a coverup... anything I want. I really prefer Oblivion's opening, cos its the only one where I don't get my history forced on me by either the emperor, Azura or the weather.

I leaked some screenies from Oblivion.

In morrowind,
Dar'Tipahz, Uriel's acrobatic jester, was sent by the Emperor, to be the catspaw of his son's Empire. Ocato advised against this, but the starmappers Uriel was beholden to in those years, swayed him. They were Tharnatos.

Hmm. Seems to me like both scenarios offer the same amount of reasons for being imprisoned. Not sure what your issue with OB's scenario was.

MW-Wise, ya in a boat. Manipulation of such intro is easier and manageable.

OB-wise, ya put in a prison cell. Flexibility is gone. The End.

Either way, though, you're imprisoned. The machinations of fate could have placed you in both situations, just the same. I fail to see how being imprisoned on a boat is somehow more flexible, story-wise, than being imprisoned in a dungeon. Either way, you (your character) was probably destined to be there, at that time. If you're one to place stock in legend, anyway.

Mainly I see that being in a little boat, I can say I am cheap for a ferry of using that boat instead of a cruiser, or mere fact I can be an agent for the Emperor, or I can just be a person who travel around as a homeless. Not to mention one can do what ever the heck the person want when they get out of the office.

Oblivion wise, no matter what, the toon is in jail for an unsaid crime. I RATHER that it does not go as far as to THAT and put the toon in the prison cell. I rather not that I have to create some crappy ass reason as to WHY I am in that jail cell in the first place. As for story wise, the story could have take place somewhere else other then the prison cell. If ya want to go destiny, its not, its just plain blind luck in both cases.

In your opinion. There are higher powers in Tamriel, and they're not shy about exercising their power in subtle ways, when they have to.

I'm sorry, but I think the difference between boat and dungeon is a superficial one if you're being held against your will in both. I mean, that's a concrete fact of your character's situation, lore-wise. They're prisoners. Whether they're there for obvious reasons (i.e. committed an actual crime) or more subtle ones (an assassin purposefully placed in said cell to trail the emporer and secretly aid in his assassination), is entirely up to the player to think around.

If a higher power actually did occur, its merely that the toon is jsut a pawn in a little chess game (Morrowind), but I doubt such involve is that great to event notice. Oblivion is just plain blind luck that it happens.

Except ya left out "prison cell" and put in "dungeon crawling" instead. In any case, I might actually accept the dungeon intro if something like that of Daggerfall did.

Morrowind-wise, its is very vague to even consider that the toon is even a prisoner at all and because of that, one can make up ALOT of story to get to that point. Not to mention the toon is in a boat. Oblivion-wise, toon is put in jail. That limits to how one can be ingame. Both VERY different atmosphere and setting of how to start off the game.

In the waning years of the third era of Tamriel, a prisoner born on a certain day to uncertain parents is being sent, under guard, without explanation, to Morrowind, ignorant of the role he is to play in that nation's history.

In Morrowind, you are a prisoner. The uncertainty stems from why you're being sent to Morrowind, not why you were imprisoned. The reason for inprisonment in both MW and OB are both wide-open to the player for interpretation.

Also, I meant "dungeon" in the sense of a dungeon where you imprison someone, not a dungeon in the "crawling" sense. Though, both definitions apply to the Imperial Prison. So, again, whether you're a prisoner in the brig of a ship or locked up in a cell, you're still a prisoner and your background still has to work around that fact, one way or the other.

I am quite aware of that. Simple explanation for my toon is that he/she got off from a "prison" ship, hench they assume he/she a prisoner, even though the toon is not. I can easily change the background to my favor.

Oblivion does not. The toon end up making up load of crap or excuse just for the reason why the toon is there.

Its more that it is placement of the toon is the problem, not the whole lore thingy. The Setting can easily make or break many background.

In Morrowind my character had gone temporarily insane during the Warp of the West after his completion of his role as the Emperor's agent, he was thus thrown into jail for his own safety.

In Oblivion, after completing the Nerevarine prophecy, he was stripped of his powers by Azura who feared the vast influence he had over the Dunmeri people and in especially devious act forced him back into the same cell which he had previously resided.


Edit: And by the way, you start in prison in Arena as well...