So yesterday I re-rolled a 2h Nord Warrior. I've played approx 50+ hours with my dual wield dagger stealth char, I played all through thief guild and assassin guild, lots of side jobs for them etc. but as I continued with the main quest I felt unable to believe any of it, I felt a fraud, how can I be this summoned saviour of Skyrim, when I'm running around stealing stuff and murdering people... How can I pick a side on the great war when I... *spoiler pertaining to the Dark Brotherhood questline* and when I cannot stand a single Stormcloak.

After about 15 hours of my 2h Nord Warrior I feel like a hero, I feel awesome, I feel like the bards are singing songs about ME. I feel like a badass.

It's a shame, I wish there were an alternate path, where as my thief I were just a citizen, with no grand fate etc. I felt overwhelmed by my potential as a thief, I felt I was an under achiever!

Oblivion never reallt cattered well to the evil character, neither does skyrim. Oh well

If you're going to play a character like that it's best to stay away from the main quest. The main quest was clearly intended for the warrior viking archtype, but it's fun to play a stranger in a strange land for the many side quests in this game. I say play the main quest as a Nord warrior, and then make all the alts you can think of to dungeon delve and explore and test the AI etc.

Being Dovakin is a gift of Akatosh .... as a citizen of Tamriel you are one of his child , no matter what you do you where born to kill a great evil (even you are an insane bloodthirsty assasin) . You don't want the world to end cause it would mean no more murder..... Na ?

While I am playing the main quest as a Nord, it would actually be very interesting to play as an outsider... One with the voice...

Yup, I feel as if I'm forced to play a Nord if I even want to start the main quest. Hopefully there'll be some mods that allow Dragons to spawn even if I do not do the main quest.

As a result pretty much all my characters have been Nord Warriors. Not that I mind that much though, as I've been drawn to Warriors since Morrowind.

I'm playing a robin-hood type stealth character who's also quite the scholar.

It's pretty fun.

Dunno...it always felt weird to play a melee character in TES games...(although I play one in pretty much every MMO and other RPG series I've played).

With elder scrolls, the immersion is never higher than when playing a pure mage (with a bit of stealth thrown in).

I'm disappointed in how evil the thief type factions are. I just want to play a good light armored, sneaky character that helps the innocent
and get rewarded some badass thief gear from a guild. I don't want to be a mercenary or a thug.

I agree.

The whole "Nord barbarian dovahkiin" seems kind of forced on the player.

Niether did Morrowind or Daggerfall or Arena.

Not really. It all just depends on how you see it...of course you can't fit in as an archtypical assassin/murderer/thief, because they only look out for themselves. So you have to change the objective. THEY might think you're in it because you're a hero, but when they're not watching you're laughing about how their false trust, let you rob them blind and kill their grandpa(and blame it on the dragons, of course!).

That's how i RP'd my assassin character in oblivion, and it worked quite well. The question that was always on the tip of my tongue, never quite spoken, was "What's in it for me?", and everything i did revolved around that. It cracked me up thinking of how they were managing to convince themselves i was a good guy while i was cutting out their enemies hearts right in front of them!

So it's very definitively possible, it's just a bit trickier than usual =P

Well, the main quest doesn't really imply any moral connotations; you're just a guy who found out he has this awesome power. Even the way the quest progresses is more because of necessity than because you are a 'good guy'.

The way I approach my game is from the perspective that my character is simply a guy who will do whatever it takes to make money and survive; he has no real concept of morality. That doesn't mean he can't pursue the main quest and take the role of the anti-hero. Depending on the order in which you pursue the quests, it would make perfect sense.

I'll finish the rebellion and main quest with my Nord Warrior while doing some sidequests. After the construction kit is out I'll start again as an Assassin/Thief and live in the world more. That's usually (for me) the best way to play TES games.

I justify it as a means of redemption, I suppose. My character tread a dark path, and now they're seeking to make ammends.

Agreed about avoiding the main quest with a character like the on OP is talking about. I am currently RP'ing a guy not too unlike his character..an aging, half blind, former warrior, turned thief (and soon to be assassin). He doesn't care about gods, stones, or the empire. All he wants is to advance his own goals. Not the least bit interested in the love of the empire or in helping the Stormcloaks.

@Op: rp away if that what you want. Don't think that you always have to follow the main quest. I can't count the amount of times I've gone through Oblivion without even touching the MQ beyond visiting Kvatch.

The real issue here is you're playing a thief while thinking less of the role you play, so when you get praised for it, it seems wrong and uncomfortable to you. A real thief would think highly of stealing and be proud to be acknowledged for it.

If stealing makes you uncomfortable don't play a class that steals?

I'm playing a good aligned stealther, a Ranger type if you like, and it's loads of fun. All the joys of sneaking combined with the nice feeling of helping others and fitting into the main quest.
She's never picked a pocket or stolen a thing in her life, and has joined the Companions rather then the Thieves guild or the Dark Brotherhood.

It's what you do, not how you do it that makes you a hero. Not every hero has to be an axe-in-the-face type warrior, just as much as that an axe-in-the-face type warrior can be a simple thug and murderer rather then the hero you aspire your character to be.

People who think the game doesn't cator to evil characters just have a really childish definition of evil.

Evil people don't go around terrorizing and pissing everyone off, because only in a video game that is built to let the player succeed no matter how stupidly they play will anyone ever get away with that for any length of time.

If you offered someone who's actually evil and not just hollywood muhaha evil an opportunity to be the savior of the world they would absolutely do it, then abuse the hell out of all the power and respect that brings them.

Why would an evil character have to commit evil acts 24/7? More importantly, why would a selfish/evil character not see the advantage of getting in good with whomever will be ruling the region (i.e. Imperial/Stormcloaks). And why would an evil character want to be destroyed by some evil god-dragon thingamajigger? If I pay an assassin enough to go donate gold to an orphanage, I don't think he'd care so long as he got something out of it. Just be creative with your reasons for doing things that are seemingly just and noble.

Don't be absurd, it's that the gameplay options given to me in the Dark Brotherhood have me running around killing people I'm supposed to be motivated to save. I tried running the whole "cool, I can use dragon shouts, this will help me be a bastard" RP thing and it just feels forced in the concept of the game.

I absolutely loved playing the game as a stealthy type, it's far more tactical and enjoyable, like playing the game Thief in an Elder Scrolls setting, basically a dream come true for me but I digress, just trying to share my opinion on the situation. I'll probably wait for mods to come out. I'd like to just use dragons swooping down as an opportunity to steal and murder, but I can't because they'll kill so many NPCs that I have to kill them, then the guards cheer, and I don't feel very much like the dark underbelly of society I've been trying to roleplay.

Bethseda didn't handle the races/classes very well. You are practically forced to play a Nord if you want true immersion. No amount of imagination can change what's written in the dialogue lol

I was in the same dilemma, too then i found myself a solution.

Complete Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild quests. You will feel bad and then continue with the main quest to redeem yourself. Antoher way, maybe you want every evil organisation in your hand as Dovahkiin and make sure every evil organisation is under your control. You feel like you can create a real mess if you want or stop a vital situation before it happens-with your resources. hardcoe rpg needed.