I have had this idea running through my head for a couple of days, and well I need to get writing again! The only things that I have about this new character is that he will possibly be a Treasure Hunter, and will be a Nord, talk about bare bones, eh?
In my mind he is from one of the higher class families but ran away from a reason or another. That's basically all I have about him .
I need some help with the build though! I know speech will somehow make it there, due to the fact of having to barter for a better price, Light armor for quicker movement.

Hmm, my brain is pretty fried right now, any suggestions? I mean I know for a fact that he will only go into Ruins, trying to find ancient treasures, his home will be Bruma, can't see him having big fancy home, he is humble, and won't go out buying expensive items.

*Brainstorm time*

Edit; got his name Aurum, he ran away from his home, his parents were Deadra worshipers and as my friend put it "jerks", most of the money is donated to the Temple of Mara, he only keeps enough to survive.

Well, he's got to defend himself, so think about ways he could do that. Has he studied witchcraft and the mystical arts? Is he more of a fist fighter? does he like to swing a sharp blade or does he prefer to beat them with a blunt weapon?

Saying that, you may want to consider sneak so he can sneak round those tricky traps and risky people if he doesn't like fighting at all or prefers the hard hitting sneak attack

I can easily see him favoring a long sword, and knowing how to fling some weak spells, nothing to fancy, he would be terrible at the bow and ,would only use one as a last resort....hmm as for sneaking, he would probably want to avoid any form of contact during his dungeon runs, only attacking when there is no other way around.

That would actually be enough for me to start with. Some characters demand a long, involving backstory. Others, you can just "get to know" the character as you go.


Only you can say. Do you want him to level up slowly or quickly? Nowadays, that's the only thing I pay attention to when setting Majors & Minors. I like games that level up slowly, or medium-slowly.


Kewl. See, I knew you could do it!
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I am the same way. Sometimes I have an elaborate backstory when I start a character. Sometimes I just have a vague idea. I always have in mind what general type of character they are going to be however (fighter, pure mage, hybrid mage, thief, archer, etc...).

Unfortunately with Oblivion's class system, you need to know what skills you are going to be using, and which ones you are not, before you get too far into the game. Otherwise you wind up sabotaging your character by picking the wrong majors. On the PC it is not a big deal, because you can use the console to change your class at any time. But on an X-Box or PS3, you are forever stuck with what you pick when you leave the sewers. So it better work.

Ironically, this is one area where Skyrim shines. You can start that game without any set idea of what you want to play, and you won't suffer for it.


As far as your original post goes KillerP, I guess you should consider how traditional a Nord Aurum is? Your standard Nord is a Shor-loving fighter, whose idea of making friends and just plain having fun is a fist-fight in a bar and guzzling copious amounts of mead. He is someone who distrusts magic (that's elvish stuff after all), and is probably contemptuous of sneaking around. A real man fights his battles head on, and trusts to his steel and mighty thews to win the day. If he dies, then Sovngarde is his reward, as it is for all true Nords who die in honorable combat. Yeah, its a stereotype, but stereotypes exist for a reason. They are often true, and they work very well for creating the bare bones of a character. My current Sky character Hrafn is all these things, and more.

Given that his parents were daedra worshipers, it sounds like he is not from a traditional Nord family. What daedra did they worship? Azura would probably create a vastly different family atmosphere then say Mephala. Were his 'rents magicians? If they were, and being jerks, then Aurum might have a knee-jerk reaction to shy away from magic in general.

Mmm hmm. I don't think I've ever had any characters with a super-detailed backstory, but this is partially because I dont' know lore as well as I should. Usually a paragraph or 2 of backstory is enough to get me going.

Ann Thraxx is the main exception to the rule. I started her game (as you know) with a few total preconceptions of who she is supposed to be. I assumed she'd be wanting to become a hero, that she would take on the Arena, and so on. At every turn, she's spoken to me, revealing to me that in fact, I had it all wrong! Characters like this seem to be on the rarer side, at least for me.


When I first got Oblivion my problem was everything leveled up too fast (for me). Subsequently after playing multiple characters over the years, now my prob is games that level up too slow!



Heh, never thought of it that way. That's probably why they simplified attributes and whatnot. I still want all the attributes back though, as clunky as it could be sometimes.

Not sure if you're interested, but if you've played the game as much as I have, I would suggest trying out a merchant character who lives out his life buying and selling from different towns. On the side if you do alchemy, you'll make enough money to meet your financial needs. Earn and save your money to buy houses, keep enough money for food and drink, and if you're feeling lucky, try your hand at the arena to bet some gold. Stay away from battles as much as possible. Hang out in the Imperial City until you can afford to buy a horse, then travel to the nearest town and travel on horseback. It may not be the most *exciting* form of Oblivion, but it most certainly makes things interesting. It's like playing "The Sims: Oblivion Style"

Agreed there! I made so many characters in Skyrim, just the barebones and as I played them I got their personalities, weapons they preferred, ect ect.

I really can't see Aurum as a traditional Nord, I mean he does enjoy his mead, and a friendly brawl or two, but he would rather avoid any fighting if possible! Magic is a panic button for him, he is not a huge fan of it, but won't shy from using it if he needs to, he is by no means a expert in magic, but knows how to cast a small fireball and heal minor scratches and bruises.
!, you got the Deadra they worshiped in the first try! It is indeed Mephala, from what I gathered the worship happened in secret, of course, after all no one will notice of some urchins vanish from the streets. One of the reasons he ran away actually, he saved one of them, a young orc, from being sacrificed, and they both ran to Cyrodill. His parent's were not magicians, they were simply, corrupt nobles wanting more power.


That...is a really good idea! How exactly does the buying and selling work though? I am really interested in this, have been for a while, but could never find a way to do it.

I've had a couple characters get involved with Arena bets. It's funny how it works, too. An equivalent of a gambler's superstitions can start to come into play. Like when Lou Zehr (a thief dude who's game I haven't touched in awhile) did some Arena bets, I remember sitting there thinking stuff like "Okay, what's the first color that comes into your mind? Yellow? It's yellow, then, which means I have to vote on blue".

Lou and Wanda did have some runs with luck at the Arena...making bet after bet successfully. They never became rich or anything, but sitting there trying to guess who's gonna win, and then getting it right, can be somewhat addicting, just like real gambling.
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Well I tested this theory a long time ago. It works out well actually. When it comes to buying and selling, like I said stick to alchemy and it will be very beneficial to you if you just buy food and go to ingredient shops at first. You can buy food at any hotel/inn and you can also go to bars and food shops like "The Feed Bag" in the Imperial City. Use the ingredients to make potions. If you want a high income quick, focus on an Imperial character that your main focus is charisma and alchemy. Talk to everyone. Buy items you like and sell them at different places for different prices. If you want to become even MORE interactive, do what the real traveling merchants do! Buy yourself a $2 70-page notebook and keep track of how much you paid for your items. That's what I did. There's always a place that is in higher need of items and will pay more money towards it. Also, I'm sure in your travels you will pick up plants along the way to help you with your alchemy. Don't forget, you also can take up blacksmithing. I'm sure you'll have to find some means to defend yourself (Unless you want to play hardcoe and avoid fights altogether) just repair your weapon and the defeated enemy's armor and weapons to raise your skill. Any crafting skill can be used to aid you in making money and such. If you become an expert blacksmith you can go beyond the repair points to access even higher amounts of money making for armor, etc. Also, when you become a master at mercentile you get the ability to invest in shops! Give it a shot. It's a lot of fun. Good luck.

Oh by the way some friends of mine made this website that has some pretty interesting information on roleplaying styles in Oblivion. It's pretty much dead at this point but the information may prove to be useful. Here's the link.

http://obliviontruerolers.webs.com/

I wish they would have added the same arena/gamble idea to Skyrim. Would have worked well near Dragon's Reach.

There's apparently one behind the Palace of Kings in Windhelm, but for some reason it was never completed/included in the game.

Eleanor (my character) hardly ever bets on the Arena. She thinks it's barbaric, forcing people to fight to the death. She does, however, want to see Kvatch's arena rebuilt, as it would be combatant vs. conjured creature, and if the combatant comes close to death the creature can be banished.

I got Lothran′s background more or less as I went along with him and he′s racked up more than 1600 hrs, so that′s a very valid approach.

Good luck with your Nord!