I'm on my 3rd character, with over 200 hours in and still haven't 'beaten' the major questlines. I think I am having the most fun on my 3rd character, because I have a grasp on Skyrim now, and so I created a class to use, but with some rules in place that make it a blast to play with. I think that kind of freedom is what makes Skyrim incredible, and I feel that a lot of people just abuse this kind of freedom which takes away from this killer open world. From all the readings I have done on these forums, it seems like a big chunk of the community is approaching this game like WOW, where they power level and max all the gear and for what? Who are you impressing? There is no PVP in this game. Anyway back to rules.

So my newest character is what I like to call a 'Ronin'. He's a Khajiit treaure hunter with no real loyalties to the Nords or the Empire. Although, for RP purposes I am steering more towards the StormCloaks simply because of the Thalmor, and the fact that the Dominion wiped out Elseweyr. He uses stealth, archery, and dual wields in light armor. He also uses a bit of Conjuration, but can only summon familiars and Atronarchs, no Necromancy, and no Soul Trapping (unless with staffs or weapons). No Destruction, NO restoration, no Illusion

He cannot enchant at an Arcane Enchanter, has no interest in alchemy, and cannot Blacksmith (although improving weapons on a grinder is allowed). Also, he cannot purchase items from vendors unless it's the trading caravans, although I can sell to anyone.

So far, by following these rules, I have been having an even greater and more immersive experience with the game (again I've already played over 200+ hours with other characters). It is challenging even on 'normal', as I am using the gear that drops, and I'm not stacked with tons of potions, or using Resto spells.


As far as lore, it's awesome because he's a Khajiit, who wants treaure, so it allows me to morally feel okay about dipping into gray areas like the Guild questline, or the Daedra quests, but then be able to turn around and help out a miner who has a Daugr infestation knowing there's some reward in it.
Please, share your class rules, or self imposed game rules which you feel enhance your experience!

I have no rules, or maybe I should say I don't have a single set of rules. With 200+hs in and multiple characters, 3 of which @40+, I have to agree with your strategy of "what would this char do" that way each decision cements and further delineates how he will behave in the future.
This makes it so that each play through is unique and entertaining.
Also, I have a base character that I play without spending any perk points that encompasses the characteristics common to all my characters, this way when I feel like playing a new char, provided he is not totally different from my previous ones, I can skip the initial parts of the game which get old fast, and can also "define" the character right at the "start" by spending the available perk points. This works best if you try to keep a balanced skill list. If 1-h weapons are getting too high use another damage dealing skill and so forth. Also, since the char starts at a higher level but with skills that may not be useful to him, the game remains challenging despite increasing player skill.

So far this process has worked the best for me, at keeping things interesting and as non-repetitive as possible

I've just started a dunmer assassin/thief called Molag Lor. Well, actually that's not his real name, Molag Lor means Dark Fire in the ancient ayleid language. He just gave this name to the imperial guard before being sent to execution.

He pretty much despises everyone who is not a dunmer. He's an ashlander member of the ahemmusa tribe, the least fortunate of the four ashlander tribes. After spending his whole life fighting for survival in the inhospitable wilderness of Morrowind he decided it was time to search for better luck in the lands of Skyrim. Unfortunately he got caught in the middle of a civil war. Now he's headed to Riften, a place he heard has many opportunities for people with nothing left to loose.

Rules:

- Don't carry unrealistically ammounts of stuff on inventory (1 set of armor, 2 weapons, 1 bow, 1 ring and 1 necklace. Only 6 potion/poison slots.)

- Sleep at least 6 hours a day and eat twice.

- Don't "run" when traveling, just walk. It doesn't matter if it takes a whole in-game day to go from city A to city B. That's how it's supposed to be.

- No fast travel, only carts.


I was gonna play dead-is-dead with this character but I found I need to understand better how sneak, dual wielding and archery works. So playing that way now wouldn't last long.

I have no rules, it all just comes naturally.

I've got a couple of characters I RP with a special set of rules. I agree with your philosphy completely; with my first character I min maxed everything, used every glitch and exploit I could to power level, took every bit of anything even worth 1 septim from every house I was in and sold it, took every pound of dwemer scrap from the ruins and turned them into armor to max out my smith skill so I could get dragon armor.

But at the end of the day, it was just boring. I had a character that could win any mage duel, could kill a giant in a stand up fight, could sneak in broad daylight, and could pickpocket everyone's gear off themselves. There was no challenge. And really, is that any way to play a game all by yourself? I was only one notch away from just entering console commands to max out all my skills and attributes. Really I should have done that in the first place, would have saved me some time.

But enough ranting, here are the characters I play.

Rex:

He's an Argonian mercenary. Hailing from black marsh before he was intercepted by the imperials when they ambushed Ulfric Stormcloak, he's true to his argonian blood. He uses two handed swords exclusively, and suppliments his fighting with alteration magic. I've put every point into stamina as he's fast and strong, the heaviest weight I could make him, but he's also weakened in the frozen north. He doesn't have much health.

I made him join the Stormcloaks, as he owes no allegiance to any faction, but being almost executed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time put a bad taste in his mouth for the empire. He joined up with them after the dragon attacked whiterun. I've advanced the entire civil war plot on the stormcloak side with him, and he hasn't even gone to the grey beards yet.

Rex is the picture of Argonian Paladine. He hasn't stolen a single item in his life, has never assaulted an innocent person, and has never once found himself on the wrong side of the law, no matter what land he's in. To that end, he was deeply insulted with the imperials nearly beheaded him for something he wasn't a part of. His crime stats are zero items stolen and only a handful of assaults (I've never assaulted anyone, so I don't know where these came from)


Warza:

A female Orc from the stronghold that's west of Riften. She planned on joining the imperial legion like a lot of orcs do once they leave the stronghold, and was traveling to Solitude when she heard the fighting between Ulfric's men and the legion. She joined in the fight as the imperials were capturing the last of them, and in the confusion, the imperials thought she was a stormcloak too. Once the dragon attacked Helgen and she was freed and traveled to Riverwood, she joined up with the legion, knowing full well that her near execution was just a terrible misunderstanding.

I have her make all her own gear, enchant all her own magical items, and she's maxed out on health with only a few points into stamina. She's got every heavy armor and block perk, and she doesn't use a lick of magic unless its infused with an item. She's also the polar opposite of Rex in demeanor. If someone bad mouths her, no matter where she is, she starts swinging punches. She's been in every jail in every hold and is something of a loose cannon. However, she's not a brigand, though she doesn't shy away from stealing the occasional magical item. She respects authority and her betters, she just doesn't care much for social expectations in these Nord upstarts. (That guy in Whiterun that asks if you've been to the Cloud district very often has been beat up by Warza a dozen times. Now when she's around he doesn't mention the could district, only pleads for her to "not get into another brawl again.") I've completed the Imperial civil war story line with her

Michelle:

Michelle is a Breton born in Skyrim, in Morthal, to be exact. She's a natural talent for magic, but she can't wear any armor. Her frail, lithe body simply won't put up with the stress. On her way to join the College of Winterhold, she was assaulted by bandits and was forced to be their prisoner while they marched south. One of the bandits was soft on her though, and she played his feelings to try and secure her release. It worked, and the night he cut her binds, the both of them escaped through the forest... ...only to be caught in the middle of the ambush the imperials set up for Ulfric and his men. The horse thief and Michelle were caught, and summarily sent to death at the block.

Being a natural summoner, michelle silently chanted all the summon spells she could remember on her way to the headsmen's axe, and for the first hour of the attack, she thought SHE had summoned the dragon at Helgen. However, once it became clear that she didn't and that it was part of something much, much bigger than herself, she immediately went to the grey beards and sought their council.

I've been collecting all the shouts on Michelle, and also had her join the College. She only wears heavy armor on her arms and legs, she can't bear the weight of a heavy briastplate, and she doesn't know how to move in light armor to make it effective.

In all regards I try to play Michelle in as boringly normal a way as possible, as if I myself were in her shoes and the only thing different is that I have a talent for magic. Anything I would do, she does.


Zeshi:

Then there's Zeshi. She's an argonian arsehole. When she got to Riverwood, she killed everyone. Just for fun. She joined the dark brotherhood, and they're the only people that she is ever nice to. She kills every traveler she finds on the roads, she says all the worst possible dialogue options. She steals at leisure, kills people in their sleep for insulting her, robs jarls blind in the night... It's kinda fun playing a no holds barred criminal after playing someone upstanding like Rex.



In every character, I try to do what you all have mentioned too, about carrying only one set of armor and a few weapons, only 50 arrows or less (have you ever held 50 arrows? They're not weightless, as the game would have you believe XD) eat twice a day and sleep at least 6 hours at a time. I do run everywhere except in the cities, simple because I don't have the patience to walk, but I don't fast travel. It really has made Skyrim come alive for me. You miss so much when you fast travel!