How does everyone roleplay wearing some of the supped up armor sets from mods?

Examples:
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/19468-2-1219958342.jpg
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/22794-1-1235755840.jpg
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/10505-1190663207.jpg

Quests for the armor or buying it doesn't really matter for me, but I can't seem to
justify my character getting ANY kind of the above armors. The strange thing is he's
a wood elf warrior using mostly heavy armor cuirasses/gaunlets with huntsman pants/shoes.

Does anyone else have the same problem, or should I get over the fact that my little wood elf warrior is ready for some kickass armor sets?

My character changes outfits many times a day to suit her purpose and surroundings. She generally wears more clothes than armor. The armor she does wear tends to be pretty realistic. If it is hot enough, she might go with a halter top and loincloth, but generally her outfits tend to be pretty practical. She really doesn't care for the concept of 'metal bikinis'. If you look, you can find armor mods to suit about any taste. Although much of her armor is modded, it is all rather simple. Here are some typical examples of her 'working attire':

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/Acadian6/ScreenShot694.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/Acadian6/ScreenShot448.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/Acadian6/Cho%20Bk%201/ScreenShot737.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/Acadian6/Cho%20Bk%201/ScreenShot738.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/Acadian6/Cho%20Bk%201/ScreenShot736.jpg

I'm sorry, but I don't understand what exactly your problem is. What do you mean you can't justify your character wearing any of the above amor sets? Why can't you justify it?

Generally speaking I leave modded armors (and weapons) for later in my character's life. I often spend the first 10 or fifteen levels using only vanilla gear.

The way my characters come into possession of the gear depends on the character and the character's story and how I intend to play that character. I often re-do mods to place the gear in different spots than the original author placed them. A favorite place is in the bottom of a dungeon, where my character has to work to get it. Sometimes I roleplay that a particular piece of gear is an heirloom from a parent or friend. In these cases I drop the gear into the interior of a house (roleplaying that my character has a letter of introduction to the NPC and will stay with the NPC overnight. Before my character leaves the next morning the NPC will say something like, "Oh, before you leave, your father wanted you to have this...").

A lot of the modded gear I use nowadays (Armentarium, Oscuro, etc) is added to the leveled lists and I happen to stumble across it by accident. That's what I like best. What I like least are mods that add their gear to merchants. I don't much like buying gear from merchants. Somehow it feels vaguely like "cheating" to me. This is usually the gear I put in different places myself.

I can't justify my character wearing any of the above armor sets because it seems like a heavy armor using wood elf can't use them.
Just wondering if it's just me or what.
Around lv 15-16.

In that case I'd suggest getting over it. It's just a stereotype, and while the average Bosmer might favor light armors there is no reason why an individual Bosmer couldn't be using the heaviest of heavy armors. If you're strong enough to carry the armor's weight I see no reason not to use it. Especially since you say that you're already using vanilla heavy armor.

Edit: I just remembered that in Leyawiin there is a Wood Elf who not only uses heavy armor himself, but is also a trainer for the Heavy Armor skill. his name is http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Brodras and the UESP wiki has this to say about him:


On a related note, the master trainer for Heavy Armor in Morrowind was a High Elf.

I misunderstood your question. I agree with Dragatus. You need to think more creatively, try not to be too influenced by stereotypes. In real life, every person is an individual and not just individual but often eccentric. Characters that are being roleplayed in video games should ideally be just as unique and just as idiosyncratic as people in real life.

Oh, I see. I agree too. If your wood elf says he wants to use heavy armor, you should support him. I mean you may want to offer him some tips on exercise and stuff to get very strong, but go for it!

I made a Breton who never touches magic, an Orc Master Wizard, and Altmer Warrior, and other things that aren't normal. Making Unique characters like a Heavy armor Bosmer is better than following the archtypes that people seem to have given the races. And do you have a link to the armor mod in the last link, per chance?

Ok thanks everyone, time for me to stop being so paranoid about it.

It's really more a question of your character's personality than anything else. As mentioned, you have to drop stereotypical view of the races and play your character as an individual.

I have no problem using modded armors or 'metal bikinis' as some call them. It's no different to me than people wearing a shirt and pants while dungeon crawling. The 'metal bikini' simply protects the areas mostly exposed during combat, like shoulders and knees. It also depends on which fighting style you apply to your character (roleplaying-wise). If you're a hack and slash tank, I'd go with a full metal suit. I play an agile fighter who relies on not getting hit rather than absorbing the blows, so I only need protection of some critical areas not protected by my shield. It also reduces the weight, which is handy when you rely on dodging a lot.

I don't see why they shouldn't be available in stores either. They typically cost more, which is ok with me. You're not paying for the material cost, but rather the workmanship. I think the vanilla armors are pretty boring, and I can't stand jogging around in full metal plate. Just looks...wrong. The way to look at really is: Would you enjoy the game more if you used modded armors? Would you like your character more? Don't apply any restrictions which decrease the experience for you.

Personally, I'd say that if those are what you consider to be "crazy" armors, then I'd say you need to play more fantasy games, I mean, not one of the screenshots linked to in the opening posts even shows an exposed belly or hips. It really isn't so much a question of race, because your character's choices should be defined by that character's personality, not the stereotypes of that race. My current character for example wears only light armor and tries to approach situations with stealth whenever possible, if she can, she will try to pick off enemies before being detected, rather than confront them directly, despite being an orc. She also steals things, not too long ago, she broke into the quarters of the countess of Bruma and stole everything of value she could find, this is because this is the sort of character I set out to play.

In general, if I feel an armor doesn't fit my character, I wouldn't wear it, so it comes down to a matter of whether it feels right for the character you chose to make to wear that armor. I'm sure it would be pretty strange if my current character wore glass armor, not because she is an orc, but because glass armor doesn't seem like something that would be very good for stealth, but that's fine. The nice thing about having such a large modding community as Oblivion is that whatever you're preferences, you can probably find mods to make the game closer to them, armor is just one aspect where this is reflected.

We sure hope you don't think we were criticizing your choice in armor wear. Camarilla has such a distinctive style that so very suits her! Her wardrobe is beautiful, and my goodness, she surely has the figure for it! No scrawny wood elf there, nope. :hugs:

Lol, not at all, just trying to make a point of adjusting the game to match your personality, not the other way around. And thanks =). She does wear regular clothes too, those situations never really make it into the stories posted here, though.

I love making Heavy Armour wearing Wood Elves! I like creating characters that are unusual or unique.