So most every one should know that the game always starts out with you in prison. but I find it odd that you are allways let off the hook, surely the big shots of tamerial have better places to recruit for heroes? but any ways, so why not have a non prison guard group break you out of prison, (its a little more believable that way, and fresh) some group trying to break some one else out but get you by mistake.

I came up with this earlier today because I was wondering why TES could not have a MQ from the bad guys perspective. I know people don't want to be forced to rp a MQ as a bad guy, but maybe the main quest would start off you figuring these 'bad guys who broke you out' who they are and then when it reveals that they are like the mystic dawn or something you can choose to help them or stop them. this is kinda inspired by a few threads recently about how there are not a enough evil character options. so maybe their should be a MQ that has you in with the wrong crowd and you are giving a chance to be evil for the MQ or a chance at redemption.

thoughts any one.

To serve the plot.

read the post, not the topic.

It's not really a direct reply to the majority of your questions, but I found this MK post to be tangentially relevant:



There is an engineered significance to the role of the Hero as Prisoner.

I always just assumed you were a very minor criminal since no one reconized you. Maybe the guard don't care that much about releasing a reformed necromancer, pickpocket, or drunken brawler.

I agree with you. but there is even a greater and more moving significance to redemption, in movies people always suddenly care a great deal for a bad guy who suddenly does the right thing and redeams himself. I think that getting you stuck with the wrong crowd at first will give heroic characters a chance to be even more heroic and give the people who want a chance for their evil characters to be more relevent.

This question is answered in each game.

In Morrowind you were being let out because you'd served your time (I think)
In Oblivion, the Emperor saw you in his dreams and gave you a pardon.

Not sure about Arena and Daggerfall.

I always see it as Political Forces put my character in prison, not for crimes, but because he or she was potential trouble for an official somewhere. Like in Oblivion, a minion of the enemy arranged for my imprisonment. In Morrowind, the Emporer sent me to the island as a deep undercover agent, because the Elder Scrolls told him to.

In any event, it is about the best way to have a blank canvas to create a back story with.

that's part of the mystery of TES. I see starting off in prison as a mechanism allowing the character to "start anew." I love how there's no back story for the character, they are what you make them.

yeah, a blank canvas is a must for TES. My idea was just a genral ball park of a situation in which you aren't being arbitarily set loose by guards and in which would give a possible MQ in which you could be evil or a good guy without having MQ resembling a root system. I am sure the devs arleady picked out how the character will leave the prison and they probably really like it, this is just kinda a suggestion of a solution for the people who are wanting more relevance for their evil plays without turning the whole MQ into a evil role play. if any of that makes sense.

In Arena, you escaped the prison to save the Emperor.

In Morrowind, you find out the Emperor set you free (for purposes unknown....wink wink)

In Oblivion, you sort of escape along with the Emperor whi is going to get killed.

So, I dont see anywhere this thing about they letting you "off the hook".

However, you may get your wish in Skyrim, since, apparently, and this I gather from a mix and synthesis of different articles, you are a prisoner about to get executed, and Esbern saves you, probably after a dragon attack (there's something about this in an article where a journalist sort of talks a bit about the beginning).

The first time I escape from prison it was because I was such a pretty man, but after using my face as a shield, the guards weren't so lenient on me the next time I pay them a visit.

Your idea was cool, But then how would you have a tutorial for new Elder Scrolls players?, It wouldn't make that much sense

Wrong this trend started in the 2 last games only.



Why not scrap all that prison crap anyway, and you start as a Jhon Doe doing meaningless stuff in a small village. After a Dragon attack you re the one few survivor, loot the place getting crappy stuff (weapon, armor, you get it) and start from there totally free and unchained and another thing like that..And you get hint in strange dreams, your start to see strange things...

Ho wait i remember!!! People complained you were too free in Morrowind, so Dev. decided to slap the whole game point in the face of the cryers to se if they would shut up...
It worked so they are reapeating the same pattern, and we get a less interesting game.



Actually i would love it and it would be refreshing especially if the bad guys wouldn t be stupidly evil in their claim leaving a good marge for doubts. Thats how terrorist, secret agency, etc recruit normal people. And if you wake up your in a so dense [censored] that you don t know what to do. because switching side is as dangerous as staying there or trying to get neutral.

"When you see someone succefull its because it had to take a hard decision and had the balls to do it"
Not anonimous quote and not mine either.

Well on that note, the tutorial should be waaaay toned down from Oblivion's style to where such things wouldn't be at issue. Movement and basic combat is all that needs to be explained right off the bat, which is communicable in just a few seconds either through popups or top-screen messages. Everything else can be done through starter-area quests after the breakout a la FONV.

Search function

Its been said that they will be doing the start off in prison thing pretty much from now on. maybe they'll change their minds but they said that they like the way that it leaves an empty space for people to decide on their own why their character is in prison. there probably is a better way to do this but i think its fine.



I don't care if there already has been a topic like this, there are thousands of members registered on these forums and they all don't get the chance to discuss topics before the get shut down. so if you have already seen a topic like this don't bother posting that a topic like this has already existed. besides, the search function is crap it never turns up any thing close to what key words you use.

Just used the search function and found 5 threads about this in 20 seconds, none were closed. We dont need thousands of repeat threads. Thats what clogs up the search function.

There were some mods for Morrowind (never tried the ones for Oblivion) that changed the Char Gen part of the game so that you could start out somewhere else besides the Census Office. They never felt right to me, probably because they were a mod and not as well intergrated into the story as the original opening.

Of course they could start the game out where you wake up in the hospital with amnesia, ala Jason Bourne, and things can start out that way. Or you could wash up on shore because your ship sank. There are many ways to get a blank character, although Amnesia of some kind has to be an element.

I agree that it would be nice to be able to play the bad guy, even if it wouldn't 'jive' with the actual game storyline. Mortal Kombat does something like that, where you can do the main game with any character but only one of the things would actually happen and carry on to the next in the series. There were so many times I wanted to team up with the Mythic Dawn in Oblivion, just to see what would happen. Honestly it could just be a single moment in the game in the tutorial. What if in Oblivion the person who killed Uriel Septim would try and convince you to to join him? You would either flee with him or fight him like you do normally. From there the entire main quest would change and it would be amazing.

I Prefer the prisoner char gen, considering you can choose to use that when rp'ing or just pretend the whole prison thing never happened, Ive never tried any MW mods that changed the start of the game though so I wouldn't know if they felt right or wrong to me.



I was thinking more along the lines of a quest that diverges (some where closer to the end) which had a good quest line leading to a conclusion and a evil quest line leading to a conclusion. HOWever not a whole and separate MQ for evil and good characters, just more like a defining point after the middle of the MQ or something you come to a fork in the quest where if you do the evil thing the rest of the MQ would be a bad guy main quest and doing the heroic thing will lead to the normal tes save the world quest ending. Naturally only one would become cannon which would probably be the saving the world ending since it would be odd for TES were to end a note on something along the lines of meruhnz dagon wins the end.

In Morrowind they set you free because they had a task for you. In Oblivion they set you free because they had no choice.