Some of the random 'rules' that improve immersion for me:
- Find a home! It could be a stock shelter in Cyrodiil, the basemant in an inn, etc.
- Use your map (and books) appropriately. Make sure your character has sufficient lighting to read the map and it's not raining, otherwise find some shelter.
- Dismount your horse in a realistic spot. Give the poor thing some shade under a tree after lugging you around!
- Sprint when you would sprint and gallop when you would gallop. It makes emergencies seem more urgent. Reserve galloping on your horse for open spaces.
- Switch your armor privately! Have some decency and go somewhere private to change your clothes.
- Eat a couple of times a day.
- Bow to players of the same calling and race as you.
- Don't fast travel to hostile locations. Go to a nearby settlement and ride/run to your destination.
- If you die, give your character time to recover. Have a potion, take a minute to rest.
- Pick a personality alignment and act it out through quest decisions (google images has examples of 'personality alignment' if you don't know what I mean).
- Choose a job to do in your free time to aid your faction (cook, armorsmith, gathering, bard, etc).
- Stick around town at night for safety if it fits your character.
- Quirks. Is your character a priest? Refrain from looting anything from a crypt and make a pilgrimage to some different chapels. A Bosmer? Follow the Green Pact and avoid harvesting flora in Valenwood.
- Carry an object of importance with you. Pick something and carry it throughout your journey as a keepsake.
- Different environments call for different behavior. Is it raining? Wear a hood or wait it out in a shelter! Is it night? Maybe you prefer a different method of combat when the moon appears. Is it hot? Go for a swim. Snowing? Cover up.
I hope this list can help anyone interested in improving immersion. A lot of these ideas were collected from other people. Also, you can turn off some of the ui to make ESO seem more like Skyrim (such as the glow around enemies, floating health bars and the action bar).
What different roleplay rules do you employ? Thanks for reading .