I am a previous (more or less) "completionist" gamer who have tried to experiment with new ways to play. Even though I have always put immersion at the front of my gaming (often go slow, dont fast travel etc), and done some DiD in the past, I usually played with just one character in the past that "did everything", accepted all quests, reloaded mistakes, picked from all skills out of usefulness not for any character reason etc etc.

Now I have started to play more with DiD in these games, and I really love it, but the roleplaying part I don't really fully "get" yet. I have often heard the phrase "let your character decide where to go", but I find that hard to really grasp. It have just not "clicked" for me yet in this area.

I have read some guides on roleplaying, but most of them does not describe this part so well, it is more about that you should pick an aligment (good or evil) and what kind of weapons you will use. More or less your class. But I imagine there is a much higher level to roleplay that I have not really got my head around. I mean I can understand the concept, I just dont feel like I am really feeling like the character I am playing is separate from myself and living its own life as so many seem to describe happening when you do a succesful roleplay.

I can do a character when I decide he will use sword and shield, he will be of good morality and help those in need and reject quests from evil persons, and he will have a habit (since i have read that picking habits and quirks can be good for rp) to gather melons. But that is as far as it goes for me, I don't feel like this character "becomes real" or leads me around like I am just watching over him while he does his thing. More often I feel like I am trying to think where it could "fit" that he went next and what kind of quest he should accept that would be resonable. Then I swing my sword a bit and don't pick up a magic staff because that is not his thing and finally I pick up some melons when I find them and throw them in some empty room.

Could really need some help here I think One thing I guess I am lacking is a real full backstory to my characters with a laid out description of their personality indepth. But I find that really hard to come up with. Perhaps I could do it better in time, but in the meantime is there any "templates" out there you could start from? How do you guys make your "backstories"? Do you have some folder with all you characters and a sheet you fill out or how do you do it in practise? Maybe someone could share their setup and some examples of characters you have made?

Or just general tips would be helpful. Maybe I should also mention that the game I am really trying to learn roleplaying with is Fallout 4, and that might not be the best pick as a "newbie" considering I have heard from many who seem to be into rp that it is not the best game to rp... I do plan to go back to Skyrim soon though, and I feelt like there where more people here that have this mentality so that is why I posted it in the Skyrim section. Of course I am interested to learn to roleplay in any game that supports it.

First, it's worth mentioning that this sort of thing comes more easily to some people than to others. I'm a writer and I work with fictional characters everyday, so this is second-nature to me. To others, it's hard. You may find that this just isn't your cup of tea. If that is the case, don't beat yourself up over it. Play the game the way you want to play it. Don't try to play the game the way other people play it just because they do. Have your own fun.

I have two methods for creating characters. One is to invent a backstory before I play and the other is to invent a backstory as I play. When I started roleplaying I always did the former. I spent weeks (two months in a few cases) meticulously crafting every particular of a character's backstory. In recent years, though, I've been "discovering" my characters as I play. I find this to be a really interesting way to roleplay. It is full of surprises. But it is also a bit easier to wander "off-script," at least for me.

As a starting exercise you might try modeling a character after a fictional character you find interesting. Conan, Xena, James Bond...any character you find fascinating. Use their personalities as a template to start with. Keep that character firmly in your mind as you play. Try to take actions you think that character would take if that character were in Skyrim.

When you get the hang of it by using other people's characters as models you can begin to invent your own characters. This will come easier with practice. Take your time, don't rush it. You can start by adding a few of your own touches onto one of your templates. Next time, add a few more of your own touches. Then a few more. Pretty soon you will have created a character of your own.

There comes a time, with some of my characters, when they seem to take on a life of their own. They can actually fight me. I will want to do a quest but I feel a strange kind of resistance coming from the character. It feels wrong. When this happens, I stop and think about what we are doing. Am I pushing the character to do something that is against the character's nature? Am I not "listening" to my character?

If a character is clear and vivid in your mind it will seem real to you. At the best of moments it will seem almost as real as a flesh-and-blood human being. You know this character. You how how she thinks. You know what her favorite color is. You know the kind of foods she likes to eat. When you know a character that well you can "ask" a character what she wants. If you do indeed know her well, she will tell you.

For me, it's automatic.

I start up the game, my character gets washed and dressed and she goes wherever the Oblivion she wants to go.

Like Pseron said, getting to know your character very well, down to the foods that they like and clothes they like to wear, would help immensely in having a character who does their own thing.

Regarding the backstory, I use the same character for the latest 3 TES games so I feel compelled to tie the 3 games together via a backstory. But the story is not set in stone and always evolves when I play as her in a different TES game.

For example, in Oblivion, she was once lost in a forest close to Black Marsh. In Skyrim, she remembered that particular moment and remembered it fondly when she was in the Morthal Inn.

I'm no expert, but what Pseron shared is golden. The key is thinking (becoming) like your character, not yourself. Backstory writing is a great start. It gives one a foundation for their character's decisions throughout the game. And characters, like real people, can change. Nothing is set in stone. And even if it were, stone can be broken

This is where I stumble all the time. I just can not play a downright, dastardly evil character. *I* just do not find being nasty to others "fun." *I* get no enjoyment out of it, though my character might.

And as Pseron pointed out, this kind of playstyle is not for everyone. The most important thing is that you have fun while playing