er,but i always resort to playing the same character type.

i am VERY happy to have returned to skyrim again,after a break due to selling my last 360 (i now have another 360 and now the legendary edition version (fantastic as i don't have a broadband line/xbox live).

for as long as i can remember since starting to play oblivion back in the day (will have to buy it again also) i always seem to create the same type of character (a crusader type character (breton) who does use magic also),i feel at home playing this type of role (although my new skyrim nord female elzbeth yar is more "neutral" type of character/not lawful good as in the old eye of the beholder days)

.i have been trying to learn some new skills that i usually wouldn't use e.g alchemy,lockpicking,archery and learning to forge armour e.t.c too.the trouble is that for the most part i am still resorting to the play style that i have been accustomed to (mainly go in with swords/fireball blazing/no stealth).

how do you go about trying a completely new character without resorting to what you know?

did you find it easy to do e.t.c

i would love to do the dark brotherhood quests (both skyrim/oblivion) for example,but i just cannot bring myself to playing an assassin (same with thief e.t.c) they are both a completely new direction for me to comprehend.

well apologies for the long winded post,but i would be most interested in how you adapt to playing as a completely new character/play style.

ta in advance

I plan my characters and roleplay. I do use a sword on 90%+ Characters though.
I am currently playing 2 different characters. a pure mage and a warrior.

I found it easiest to go completely different, I like rushing in with sword swinging or sword and spell. When I try to play a "pure" mage I end up using conjured swords. So I tried a Thief and this is the way I did it, I wrote down ALL the skills I though she would have ( I researched alot first) and ANY time I found myself reverting back, I deleted to the last save. I RP'ed the character, not heavy, but exact. After awhile it got easier. I got mad at myself after a bit and then kept to it. I had a BLAST.

Sennia wasn't truely "evil" just misguided about steeling things, she never murdered anyone and didn't kill anyone that didn't attack her first. No bounty and no murders on her crime list, actually she never got caught at steeling either. My assassin was much harder as she was evil to the core and I couldn't play her as much I did other characters and never really "got into" the RP. I played other characters at the same time as Dalhia, only way I realy got through the DB.

That's how I did it anyway.

I don't adhere to the board games categorizations of morality. I let those defining terms remain outside the world of TES.

As for the skills the character will endure over a given playthrough? Well it varies drastically pending their personality. That is the core of every character and what they become. I try to create a backstory for every character, prior to loading the game. This backstory can be anything from a short story to a paragraph to a basic idea to no idea at all. While they are few and far between, the last one does happen.

That is when, I really have no idea who they are. I just spend a few hrs playing around with the creator and then asking them... "Who are you?" If nothing comes to mind, I create another one. The they evolve as we go.

However, most of the time the backstory is what actually defines their personality. The rest is just a simple question as the game progresses of. 'What would they do?" If an action, skill, dialog choice or choice of direction to start walking, doesn't fit their personality... We don't do it.

I don't play these characters as an extension of myself. I play in 3rd person, for the most part, as sort of a spiritual advisor. They just take me along for the ride and tell me their story.

thanks for your replies,definitely food for thought.

i especially liked your idea jesuis cache-cache

i focus too much as to impose my morals/thoughts on the character and not letting them take the reins and making the story themselves.i will definitely be trying this from now on

The first Skyrim character I played was a warrior using two handed and heavy armor. Since I was new to TES, I found this style the easiest to use as I learn.
Making the transition from this style to playing a pure Mage was relatively easy. Just a different way of thinking and planning your battles instead of just rushing in. Once I started doing the sneaky assassin/thief characters I was hooked. I snuck everywhere I could just to level the skill. I guess for me the biggest transition was putting myself in that frame of mind. An assassin isn't going to rush into battle. They're going to kill you with one shot from a bow from afar. A thief that gets caught pick pocketing or breaking into a home isn't going to retaliate with violence ( well depending on your thief play style), they're going to cast a calm spell in the angry NPC then simply walk the other way. You just need to think differently and like Michaelpk said, plan your character accordingly, skill wise in addition to a RP idea. It'll be easier to stay in character that way.