I've been playing Skyrim since the day it came out, and i've played through 10-12 characters. 1 of them was an Argonian, and the rest of the them have been Bosmer... I just can't seem to shake my love for them. However, I'm at the point where I feel obliged to play the game as another race, as I feel it will add a whole new aspect to role-playing, and further my experience with Skyrim.

To get to the point, I have no idea what race to play. I've done research, looked up the lore, tried to find some interesting builds, but none of them seem to work for me. Was just wondering whether any of you had a build for me to try out?

The only way I got myself to play a Nord was to play a "dark Valkyrie" of sorts - female, black hair, grey eyes, focusing more or less evenly on Two-Handed, Heavy Armor, and Archery, but also using Conjuration for bound weapons and Restoration for the Turn Undead spells. Her backstory was that she was a Stormcloak soldier who, at some point, gets infected with Vampirism. Her struggle to find a cure (and her discovery of Meridia's beacon) made her decide that the "secret war" against Vampires was of more pressing importance than the civil war.

Granted, much easier to do with an alternate start mod (and more fun with a mod that added a Bound Greatsword spell), but could also work mod-less.

You've already swayed me quite a bit LMAO. I've literally never played a female, if I'm honest, i completely forgot about them. Might follow the same route of destroying the vampires and such. Also, I've never really used conjuration or restoration so perhaps i'll delve into them?

Thanks

I feel your pain my friend. All of my characters have been female Nords. To break that cycle I went Khajiit, just to do something that isn't human.

Glad you like the idea, but be wary of hopping on the first bus that comes along.

In truth, my "working" character concepts (i.e., those I don't delete in the first twenty levels) come from two basic things: 1) Take a standard, trope-ish concept and put a spin on it (e.g., a gung-ho Nord warrior who goes dark side); or 2) take any two (or three) quest lines and ask what kind of character could or would play them (e.g., an Illusion-casting Breton member of the Thieves' Guild who "accidentally" becomes Archmage). Other very creative folks on these forums have other sources of inspiration as well, but I can't speak for them (hint hint nudge nudge).

I to have played since release... on 360 til last April when I got my PC.... I literally have a notebook full of back-stories and the ground work for Play-through's. What inspires, you ask?? Movie, book, Tv characters... Random thought's... Game Lore... A Mod... yes... A Mod. Sometimes though.. I just create a character as as he or she takes shape, their personality forms... running through Helgen ( or using Alternate Start mod... ) They enter Skyrim with not a clue who they are... we both learn.

I had a Mod I saw give me one of my characters... personality, job and all... I saw "Become a Bard"... This made me think... and the cover of a book popped into my head "Solo" by Jack Higgins... and Their I had it... and a Bard/ Assassin... Now I wanted someone that would "stick out" as a Bard...that would be her "cover"...She was a cloth's horse, most of her weight was taken up by her outfit's, she rarely rode her horse...it was a pack mule... Now a Nord isn't really going to Stick out in Skyrim... nope... Thus http://i.imgur.com/yhGEzQw.jpg stand's out like a Beautiful songbird... but hide's in the shadow's to kill her contract's... total glass cannon... 1 shot..1 kill... and 1 shot would pretty much kill her... so 1st she had a dog, then Belrand as a follower then Husband... as she gained in "fame" ( part of the mod ) and progressed through the DB line.

What I'm saying is.. anything can inspire... Eventually I plan on a "Dwemer Scholar" this character will only use Staff's and Scrolls..with a Dagger as back-up... but she will have protector's in the other people in her ( or his ) group... I have not been in all the Dwemer ruins... I have chosen not to explore them... to not go into one unless a quest-line requires it..

Hunter, explorer, Mercenary... A Nord who think's it's His/ Her job to hunt down all the Dragonpriests or Deadric Relic's...

Of the many, many characters I've created, the ones I've stuck with longest and keep going back to:

Breton female. Nature-loving wildcat. She's friends with bears, wolves, and saber cats (mod makes this easier). Doesn't get along well with most people, though. She lives in the woods, going into cities only when she must. She dual wields daggers, is decent with a bow, but has no patience for sneaking. Light armor and alchemy are her other skills. No magic otherwise. Dual daggers is even more fun than I expected it to be, and once I found the patience to really get into Alchemy, it was very rewarding.

Nord male. No magic, not even to use enchanted items. No potions, only food and rest to heal. He accepted the blessings of the divines and his Dragonborn abilities. Light armor, smithing, sword and shield. No other skills. This was a fun challenge. Not using magic at all made shouts much more important. Really recommend trying a character like this.

Nord female. Frost Mage. Since (more than?) half the foes in Skyrim are resistant to frost damage, this is also a great challenge. No armor but the flesh spells and mage armor. Destruction, alteration, and a little restoration are her skills, with some enchanting. (Enchanting gets so powerful so quickly, though, so I try not to use it much.) She has a dagger, but only uses it if she really has to.

These builds aren't very original or that creative, I know, but they are the ones I've had the most fun with. The more creative ones were too weird, got too powerful, or just didn't click, even though the characters were interesting. Or, most often, the game mechanics didn't really allow what I was trying to do. I lost interest quickly in stealth archer, conjuration mage, restoration and heavy armor paladin-type builds. Not enough excitement with those, I guess?

Even though those characters above are human, I still really enjoy playing Khajiit and Argonians for their stories. They come with conflict and a different perspective, being such small minorities in Skyrim. And you get to hear the rudest insults from people trying to kill you! The lore of those two races is fascinating. A lot to draw from there when creating a personality.

I hear you there. I've been inspired to create a character by a single outfit. That's my problem - I get too inspired to make new characters all the time.

My favourite play style is something John Two Horns has touched on already... Nord, Male. No magic, only consumption of foods (and Nord mead!) attired in light armour with a war axe and shield for primary combat and a battle axe for those tougher enemies.


I take a quick look at some of the Nord names used since Arena and through all games (so it fits in with lore as much as possible) and away I go...

i probably wont be making the character for another week, just wanted some solid ideas to pick the best from!

My problem with taking inspiration from books and films is that I'm a HUGE fan of Tolkien books and the films based from LOTR and the Hobbit; hence why i always use a Wood Elf (though small, i feel they match Tolkien's elves the most).

You could play an orc and conquer Skyrim for Malacath. Just slay every non-essential NPC in the world (either before or after doing any relevant quests).

I get where you're coming from, OP. I tend mostly to play Nords. I think I've only done a Bosmer.... once or twice? Which is strange, because I genuinely think Bosmer lore is fascinating, and I love archery, both IRL and how it's implemented in Skyrim.

I've put up most of my Nord builds here if you feel like taking a look: http://tamrielvault.com/profile/PaulEngland They run the gamut from rogue to wizard to barbarian ... I kid you not, 15 Nord builds there alone!

Apart from that, though, I do have a soft spot for power-crazy Dunmer Destruction mages.

It's interesting how some people let setting influence them and others don't. For my "main" characters in the Elder Scrolls series, I couldn't imagine playing anything other than a Dunmer in Morrowind, an Imperial in Oblivion and a Nord in Skyrim. I like to use the other races for factions that don't make sense for my main-quest conquering heroes and that's pretty much been my modus operandi for years now. That said, I still haven't found an angle for Altmer or Argonians. I'm just not interested in them as PC's. If Argonian's were more like D&D Dragonborn I'd be all over it.

This ^

One of the things that can happen, when we're playing, is looking at the NPCs in the game, and seeing the world as they see it. It's not necessarily an easy thing to do, because Bethesda's NPCs are often very undeveloped as characters. But it can happen.

Here's an Argonian, working on the docks in Windhelm. What's his life like? How does he feel about being an "outsider" in a strange land? What would he do about it, if he had the opportunity?

I find the idea of being "stuck" as a Dunmer in Morrowind really a bit strange (even though I've seen many other players say the same thing.) In that game, we are always the "outlander." The local people (even the local non-Dunmers) recognize us as outsiders on sight. To me, it makes more sense, gamewise, to play any race other than Dunmer in that game.

It all comes down to how we "see" the setting, I guess.

Hi OP - try playing a female Orc - the strongholds are pretty cool once you're accepted inside.

Also, playing a female character has solid advantages if you finish certain ... unnamed ... quests..