...and I must say I'm hooked. I normally don't like hack n slash n orcs n trolls games (I usually prefer shooting things), but the atmosphere and sheer size of the game is incredible. I've only played the game a short time but have had some awe inspiring moments like climbing the 7000 steps or turning around and having a dragon appear 20 feet away from me.

One question I have before I proceed any further: I have Lydia as a follower and might later take her as my wife. I also might want to buy a house in Whiterun. How do I go about these things while siding with the Stormcloaks (I have no interest in siding with the guys that almost cut off my head, plus my character is fairly "Chaotic Good" which seems to suit the Stormcloaks)? I'm aware of the later quest that involves the Stormcloaks raiding Whiterun and can see that there might be a problem here. Alternatively, could I simply ignore the whole "civil war" portion of the game, side with neither side, and simply concentrate on the "shouting at dragons" bit?

Oh, and one negative comment: "Excuse me, giant orc-troll-monster thing that's about to tear my head off. Could you pause right there while I eat a whole block of cheese, six tomatoes, some potato soup, and a few cabbages? Thanks!"

You'll be alright if you side with the Stormcloaks. They do raid Whiterun and you have to take part in it, but after the city is taken it goes back to pretty much normal. Everything operates the same way, except the guards are on your side and the Jarl is replaced.

You can ignore the civil war and still finish the main story, I believe. But I wouldn't the civil war line opens up so many things.

If you join the Stormcloaks and attack whiterun. the Jarl is replaced and there is a bit of damage done in the city but everything else continues as normal.

yeah, it hooked me too. i was always a FPS gamer... until i wasn't

to answer your question, yes you can avoid the civil war quest... actually you can avoid any quest (including the Main-Quest) if you find that it doesnt "fit your character". i ususally avoid both the civil war and MQ.

also, if you may find the game to be pretty easy in combat. i know i did when i first started playing. if you do, go to settings and change the difficulty.

have fun, and welcome to the forums

Yeah, I'm playing on Expert. That's usually my default difficulty setting when I start a game; one higher than the middle difficulty. I don't think I need to up it further; it's simply that, due to the fact that you can pause combat, if you are paying attention, it's nearly impossible to die unless you get one-shotted or run out of food or potions.

Oh, and another thing-wow I have a lot of side quests. I'm getting new quests faster than I can finish the old ones. I can see how there is 200 hours of playtime without duplicating anything and without mods.

Yes, there are side-quests EVERYWHERE. It's a good idea to do them or at least look them up to decide whether or not you want to do them, mainly because sidequests sometimes open up larger quests. (POSSIBLE SPOILER INCOMING)

Yet another thing-I find it...odd...that doing quests doesn't seem to actually give you XP or help you level up. Things like killing randoms things, selling stuff to vendors, smithing stuff, and picking locks do (anything that increases a skill), but actually doing the storyline doesn't, except if you have to do one of the above to finish the quest. I don't think I've ever seen a game before where the quests don't directly give you XP when you complete them (at least they all seem to give you money or valuable items, so there's that).

To get married .

That does take some time to get used to, considering it's so different from the majority of RPGs. In typical RPGs, it usually goes along the lines of: You level up by getting Exp and then spend "skill points" on the skills you want, thereby making your character stronger..

In Skyrim, the only thing your character's level affects is the level of enemies and the loot you get. It doesn't affect how "powerful" your character is because if you wanted you could level infinitely without doing a bit of fighting. Alternatively, you could level up your fighting skills only while keeping your character's "main level" low. Wouldn't recommend playing either of these ways but they are possible.

Well, you also get skill points to spend in Skyrim too when you level up...

A word about potential spouses - there are a lot of them. Some are followers, others are not. And there's no way to remarry (except with mods) so make sure you pick one you like.

You can get Breezehome through the Main Quest Sir.
Suggest you get to that stage first as Breezehome is for me the best vanilla home in the game for so many reasons.
Then pursue the Civil War Quests if you RP and the CW fits your character. Or not.

CW Quest? Warpigs on both sides Sir. Just like Ozzie sang it.
I made the mistake of going against my character and pursuing it up to the first major battle.
Distressed me, my character and her children. Reverted to an earlier Save.

Top tip: Never pursue any goal that does not feel right for your character.
I learnt that the hard way.

Have fun Sir.

Yes, this is different than "traditional" roleplaying games. This has always been a hallmark of the Elder Scrolls series. They are skill-based games. Skills improve as our characters use them. This is roleplaying to me.

I think the D&D-style leveling system is asinine. Accumulating "experience points" with, say, a Thief and then being able to put those points into magic-related or warrior-related Attributes, Traits or Feats is the exact opposite of roleplaying, as far as I'm concerned.

It may take a while to get used to, if you have not played an Elder Scrolls game before. But it is a much more realistic and organic system of character development and it should not take too long to adjust.

It should be noted that if you follow the Main Quest, you'll eventually have to mediate in the Civil War anyway. No way around it, and storywise it does make some sense. You can stay neutral but it is VERY difficult to do, and it'll still actually wind up slightly in the favor of one side or the other.

I usually only do the MQ up to a certain point just to avoid it. You're explicitly told it's going to happen. I prefer to stay out of it, and I don't overly love the MQ anyway, it's everything else in the game I like.

Soon you'll be 500 hours in and realize you've barely done half the quests in the game. Too much random running around to do first.

Yeah, this game certainly has the biggest "Avoiding the main quest" potential of any game I've ever played. There doesn't seem to be any large negatives to NOT do the main quest, which is fairly unique, and the ratio of side quests/fart about prospects to main quest is also the highest I've seen.

Seriously? I hate Lydia so much. She is the stupidest companion. Even Sven is a better fighter than that dwarf lookin n*gga. Out of all the beautiful women in Skyrim, you choose the fart face Lydia???!!! Perhaps you should reconsider on life. Perhaps you should marry the woman at the Ivarstead Inn. She blows her lute all day long for me.