This all may sound kinda lame, but maybe try these out? Doing stuff like this is the reason why I'm 117 hours into this game and now even close to bored. (:
- Maybe right a backstory for your character? It doesn't have to be long, maybe just a brief summary of his past pr something? Don't even right it down, just think of some details and try to remember them!
- Actually read the dialogue choices like, out loud, or phrase them the way your character would say them. When I'm home alone, on my Khajiit, I read out my character's dialogue, accent and all. Really dorky, but fun
- I'm not gonna say DON'T fast travel, because let's face it, the map is huge. But maybe if you're on your way to a certain objective, fast travel to some area half-way between you and the marker, and just continue on from there! I try to just walk to the nearest hold and get a carriage or something, and I still feel immersed because it's like, an in-game travel system (if you get what I'm trying to say).
- Loot what matters to your guy! Like, maybe a mage wouldn't steal valuable plate armor so he could flip it to a vendor for a profit (this is kinda why playing a thief-like character is awesome - loot everything that isn't nailed down and it'll still make sense from a role-playing point of view )
- Of course, sleep at night. :b

These aren't necessarily restrictions, just guidelines, I guess. Do little things like this, and it'll really start to feel like you're your character.

Edit: These are just the things I can do, given the limitations of playing on a console. As other people have mentioned, there are some great mods on the PC that make RP'ing that much more awesome (limping, survival mode, etc.).

Edit 2: At least, there WILL be some mods soon. :b

Most of my characters tend to get into dangerous situations, and often, so they pretty much all lust after nice gear and awesome combat skills. Where they vary is in how they approach the story - which guilds and factions they join, how they choose to complete quests (if given options, which are unfortunately sort of lacking in this RPG) and how they respond in dialog. The character for my first playthrough usually responds the way I would - in this case, generally trying to be a good guy, and staying neutral as far as the civil war goes, instead focusing on the dragon threat (which unfortunately managed to break both the main quest and civil war quests, hopefully that bug gets fixed soon.) My second character is primarily an assassin, but hates the empire with a passion (as a nord that was on the verge of being executed by them.) She also tells most daedric gods to go f themselves when given the chance, particularly Molag Bal (daedric lord of domination? I'm sorry, but you're quest is getting ignored.) I generally dislike the Thalmor personally, but my next character's going to be an Altmer mage that fully supports them, just to see how that plays out.

*edit - and I highly recommend playing without fast travel. Its the only way to get a sense of the scale of the landscape, and a feel for where you actually are in game.

Getting into roleplaying isn't about gameplay rules. You can still be powergaming within those rules and they will just appear as annoying constraints.
Roleplaying is about being in the characters shoes, diving in the world and try as much as the game allows to act as if you were a citizen of this world. It's about thinking about the unseen and the unsaid.

You write your own story and you play it like... a play, theatre. Removing fast travel may be tedious and not fun at all after you finished a dungeon, are full of treasures and have only one will : come back to town. But on the other hand, once in town you may find fun to remove your armor, put on cool clothes (and walk in like a boss). And when you look at your character in third view, thinking of how make him look badass or make her cute, it's fuel for your imagination : how do townfolks see you? how do you want to appear to them? Shy and humble helping hand for the community or devastating beauty on her high horses? Then it'll give you lots of ideas of what to do in that direction.

It's a bit like adding auxiliary notes in music. The original measure is cool, but you want to add something more.

I started roleplaying a Bosmer hunter. I made up a story about why he went to Skyrim. How he reacte to being caught up in the rebellion by being dragged off to the chopping block. I took on Faendal and now we're sneaking about the landscape, hunting animals, dressed in fur both of us. The hide we make into armor that we sell and make a living off it. I kept on playing like this and soon realised I considered Faendal a close friend. Well, basically what I did was pretend I was the character I was playing, to me, that's how you get into roleplaying. I didn't go for loot, but instead kept on upgrading the fur armor and played the game accordingly. Sometimes I had to struggle more for not wearing plate, but hey, that was my character. He's a devil with a bow now though...

I'll offer my own examples. In my first complete (in my eyes) playthrough...

Because I played my character as someone who embraces becoming Dovakhiin, and a Nord, he did alot of Jarl favor stuff, did a lot of exploring ruins, and honestly, didn't stop to smell the roses. (I also never fast traveled.) I also didn't choose a side in the Civil War: Anundr believed Ulfric is too much of a [censored] to be High King, but the cause of the Stormcloaks was just. Then on the other hand, if he could, he'd try to marry Elisef, and Balgruuf he considers a strong ally/friend. So he didn't want to choose, and like a true Dragonborn (in his eyes), he focused on Alduin, and when that threat was gone, he quietly retired, and let the two sides kill one another.

Meanwhile, my Khajiit might embrace the notion of destiny, because he has been just kind of a loner, but he's also a hunter, and he's an outsider. He's going to lurk around, and do whatever work comes his way. I spent a bit cutting wood in Riverwood to get some money before I even did anything else for example. He does what's needed to get by.

How does one do this? I'm always a tad annoyed at the compressed days that Oblivion had and now, Skyrim. Real time should be real-time.

Here's what I did.

Started a Nord Warrior, focus on One-Handed, Block, Light Armor, Archery, Sneak and Smithing. Note I'm not trying to get all the perks on these trees (except Smith) just a select few.

The first thing I did that helped a lot was decide that I was not a rogue and I was not going to make any potions. My character NEVER picks up anything that can be used as a alchemy ingrediant. The sole exception is Salt since he uses it for cooking. All his healing comes from Meat he cooked or potions he found. He also never enchants anything. He also never learned any spells. He has sold every spell tome he's found.

I have found this playthrough VERY REFRESHING. Not worrying about picking up everything. Not worrying about learning spells. The character can focus on what he is, a Nord warrior. I love it.


My next character will be an Imperial focusing on Two-Handed and Heavy Armor. Then a Dark Elf focusing on Sneak, One-Handed, Alchemy. Then a Breton Mage focusing on Spells, Enchantment. I guess the key is to just pick a focus for your character and play them using those skills as much as possible.

Open the console (google if you don't know how) and type:

set timescale to 2

This means 1 minute equals 2 minutes in game. Do not set it to 1, because it will bug some characters out.

My next character will be a non-magical type, on the Stormcloak side. Also, I'm going to focus on the eastern part of the world instead of going from central to west like I did on my first go-round. I'm going to do a bit of 'living' at first, hunting and smithing for money. I'll probably try to marry someone with a store and a house so I can bypass having to do 15 different quests for a jarl just to then drop 5,000 septims on my own place. Eventually though....

I will use potions of healing, as I'll treat these as a medical kit of sorts, but will try to restrict myself from using them during combat, which isn't realistic.

I will make some serious use of poison to enhance my weapons, so will develop my alchemy a bit.

Here's a screenie of me and my good friend Faendal.

http://vinterdimma.se/skyrim/images/faendaldungeon.jpg

Very well said. For me, coming up with and writing down a fairly in-depth back story really helps to inform the actual self-imposed gameplay restrictions I place upon myself (plus it was nice to look like I was busily writing at work when someone walked by my office). Here's an example of ten questions you can ask yourself before you start your character. If you know the answers and understand that these answers are what makes your character tick (not necessarily the pursuit of loot or gear), then you may find yourself enjoying the game more.

1. Did anything set your character apart growing up?
2. Did you grow up in a "normal" family setting? If not, why not? Describe the circumstances.
3. What are your parents' or guardians' trades?
4. Do you have any phobias as a result of traumatic events in your youth?
5. Do you have any addictions? (Food, alcohol, a certain type of potion, ingredient)
6. What's your basic world view? (You can pick an alignment a la D&D or you be more broad and say something like "I want all the toys" or "I want to help those in need" or "my life is misery and everyone else's should be, too")
7. What interested your character when he or she was young?
8. Were you ever apprenticed as a crafter/warrior/hunter/thief (think Oliver Twist)/magician? Did it work out, or did you discover you hated it?
9. Are you religious? Why? If not, why not?
10. What is the turning point? What placed you in the back of that cart at the beginning of the game (This is probably one of the more important question to answer).

For instance: My initial character is a Breton who had zero aptitude with magic (I have never cast a spell). As such, my merchant father and politician mother sent me away to apprentice with an Imperial blacksmith, where I learned that trade (after my escape from Helgen, I set out to work a forge and establish a base of operations to get back on my feet). My mentor was a self-sufficient man who gathered his own materials... so he taught me the basics of mining for ore and hunting for leather (this is where my character learned to love archery).

At one point during a hunt, I nearly drowned. As such, my character will avoid water at all costs. If circumstances force me to enter water above my knees, I remove all armor first. I don't have any addictions, and I basically live a life based upon "The Golden Rule." This means no deceit, and absolutely no stealing (If the hand is red, I don't hit A. Period.) My character is not religious, though he is open to learning about others' beliefs. In particular, he's interested in Talos on a philosophical level, but not in terms of devotion. (If your character is religious, which of the divines does he/she follow? Do you make it a point to visit the appropriate temple and make offerings/devotions?)

The "turning point" was when I returned to my parents' estate to find them murdered. Rumors suggested it was at the hands of the Dark Brotherhood, so I decided to track them. I had tracked them as far as Southern Skyrim, and I had stopped at a camp near Helgen to share fire and food with the people already there when we were set upon and captured by Imperial soldiers...

With just those three paragraphs in mind, I've been able to craft an experience that goes a good bit deeper than a to-do list of quests and a house full of loot and septims.

I have a few characters that I have been attempting to 'roleplay' with, and they are, for the most part, quite a bit more fun than my uber 1-shotting character.

I have a Khajiit Thief who is steals just about everything he can, but he does not kill. Anything. Not a person, not a troll, not a bear, not even a skeever. As you can imagine, this can be quite difficult in certain dungeons, especially early on in the game. What makes it fun is using the environment to your advantage. Shoot an arrow to draw attention, and then sneak past the four Draugr, or lure the Skeevers into a bigger room, then close the gate behind them. I am only perking Sneak, Pickpocket, Speech and Lockpick (for the two extra monies perks).

I have another character who is like a Paladin. He went with Heavy Armor, 1-H, Block, Restoration (though I may end up perking Blacksmithing so I can upgrade the two artifacts). He does not steal or rummage or take anything that is not in a chest in a dungeon. He has three main 'quests': To obtain Dawnbreaker, Spellbreaker, and to defeat the Dragon Princes that have recently awakened, but he will help people in need. He does not start the Dovahkiin questline, and thus the dragons never spawn.

The biggest thing is to come up with a concept that you think will be fun, or be challenging (which can be fun), figure out how that character would play things out, and follow that as best you can.

Sounds like fun. Nice one.

Thanks for asking this question. I've never thought of the 'role-playing' side of things beyond just creating the character and then just doing what I wanted. I like some of the ideas I've read about restrictions and think I'm going to have a go myself. Cheers all.

Wooooooa!

Easy, people! Too much text...the guy will think it's hard to roleplay.

I do it all the time and the best way to figure it out is:

Imagine that guy in the screen is you and act as so in every situation.

Oh, there is an Ice troll just ahead! What your real you would do?

I'd be scared as hell and would try to sneak past him.

Or...

Someone asks you to kill someone you dont even know.

I'd try to understand why the person must be killed, so i'd sneak him for a while and see if he's a scumbag that deserves to die.