WARNING: This challenge should only be accepted by those who have a fair amount of free time on their hands. Failure to possess such free time may result in job loss, lowered grades, unfed children, unpaid bills, lack of sleep, and the classic 'fat-cat stuck in cat door' situation because you were in such a rush to play Skyrim and didn't want to bother giving your cat just 2 standard meals a day, instead dumping the whole box of cat biscuits into its bowl and entrusting it to feed itself, little did you know that your cats stomach is an great bottomless void that can never be fulfilled and so it eat the entire thing, got really really enormous, and then got its fat ass stuck in the cat-door. You have since taken to calling your cat Sithis.

However if you do possess lots of free time or simply have a godlike schedule plan then welcome friends.


First thread of mine on this forum! Awesome!


Okay, before tell you all the terms of the challenge, I would tell you all the story of what brought me here today...

Simply put, I have a problem. It is a problem that I both love and hate at the same time, and is one that I know can never be fixed, nor do I want it fixed. The problem is that I cannot play on the same save file of a game, almost any game, once said save file has died in a way that is my fault. This does not apply to all games mind you, racing games, arcade games, multiplayer games (for obvious reasons) and other games in which it is impossible not to die (Dark Souls). But for many games, such as Skyrim, I need to be able to complete the game in a single life, without cheating, abusing glitches, etc...

It sounds a bit absurd I know, and believe me it can get really, really [censored] annoying when you die at level 20+, but I have no choice, I have to make myself restart and make a new character, fortunately I am one of those people who can listen to the same song over and over again without ever getting bored of it. The reason why I do this is for the tension that you feel when you're halfway through the game and haven't died yet, but know that you could at any time. A game like Skyrim forces me to prepare for whatever I might encounter and traveling the landscape and entering tombs actually becomes a bit scary, and I love it! Also, the sense of accomplishment that you feel after beating a game in single life is also really great. But... as you can imagine, failure to survive has serious consequences if you play by the rules.

For some, this must seem like a really stupid rule to play games by, and I understand why, but for anyone out there that feels the same way or would like to give it a try then power to you! We should get together and touch willies sometime

So here are the rules of my challenge for any brave champions out there willing to give it a try and feel what I feel when playing a game like Skyrim...

1: You have one life and one life only, death means deletion of that character.
Exceptions: If a game bug kills you or does something to mess up your character you may reload. Death is only permanent for you if it is your own fault.

2: No fast travel.
Exceptions: Carriage use is permitted.

3: No more than 3 potions of any kind can be used during a battle.
No exceptions. Just make sure you buy high quality potions.

4: The game must be played on adept difficulty or higher.
No exceptions.

And that's it! Or at least I think so... if I remember something else later I'll let ya'll know, but till then, enjoy the challenge and let me know how you get on! Also, let me know what ya'll think! Cause I'm super interested in your thoughts!

Ive thought about doing this, but could never get myself to do it. It would definitely add a new level of immersion. Maybe ill try it on my next playthrough.

This is near enough how I play the game anyway; besides the potions maybe, I am usually a mage so restoration is always readily available. But I'd like to give it a try on master for one play through!

Aye, there are some people who adhere to the Dead is Dead playstyle. It definitely vamps up the intensity of the game.

Actually, a lot of people play like this. You haven't come up with anything really original or time consuming.

Isn't there a DiD thread around here somewhere?

So basically Dead Is Dead, but with 3 potions. kewl

I already play like this, minus the potions.

In fact, to make it funner, I play on master with a bunch of difficulty increasing and realism mods. Plenty of people already play like this and have done so for years... it's pretty rewarding. It doesn't take nearly as much time as you seem to think though, I'm on a rather tight schedule these days and I still manage this playstyle with no real difference from normal play.

I definitely agree that it makes the game vastly more fun and intense. I just wish I had the self-discipline to delete my character once I've died

Ah, so obviously this DiD thing has been ongoing for years, I truly had no idea. I have been playing most games like this now for a long time and it tends to take me a long time to complete a game (maybe I'm just bad), Skyrim specifically took me until just several months ago to finally complete, and I've been trying on and off since its release. It is good to know that so many others find this same type of play so immersive and intense. The 3 potion rule thing just adds further challenge by preventing me from potting constantly in battle and guaranteeing victory.

Well, I never really take Alchemy, and combined with master difficulty I tend to have too few potions on hand to risk spamming them when I could potentially really need one later. My problem with the DiD playstyle is actually deleting the character. Instead of deleting them, I typically 'retire' them for awhile and make a new character, only to play the old one again after awhile; sans DiD of course.

If you want true terror, install some of the more brutal combat overhaul mods and start a melee character. In the most recent one I tried, one mistake could (and did) end my campaign in a heartbeat. I foolishly thought I could get an extra swing in instead of blocking, and got skewered by a stormcloak's greatsword.

Except for the DiD part, I generally try to play by those rules. I'll allow fast travel through safe zones, though (Blue Palace to Katla's, for instance).

Tried DiD, played 9 hours or so... decided it wasn't for me.

I've never really had the desire to play dead is dead, but if that is how you want to play then have fun with it.

Yep, our Skyrim dead-is-dead series has reached thread #12 now. You might wnat to post your thoughts there: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1420847-the-skyrim-dead-is-dead-thread-xii/page__fromsearch__1

Yeah... I don't know how they do it, putting so much time into a character and then having it all go up in flames (sometimes literally) because of one mistake or bit of bad luck. And then starting again. And again. And again...

It's all about the experience. As you said, we put so much time and effort into a character and it can all be ended on a dragon's whim. It's that ever-present and incredibly potent threat and fear of death that makes the playstyle so engaging. You might not care so much whether or not that Draugr gets a hit in on you, but would you care if that hit could potentially end dozens of hours of gameplay? Would you care if that hit were capable of destroying your favorite character? That's the fun, caring about every single aspect of this environment that manages to be deadlier than Australia.

You sir, summed it up perfectly. That is exactly why I play this way, it's exactly why I played Diablo 3 on hardcoe mode (though in the end lag got me) and is also the reason why I want to purchase a 3DS just to play Fire Emblem. I don't think I could ever go back to playing normally again.