Yup, old news. I guess this slims our origins down to High Rock, Hammerfell, Cyrodiil, and Morrowind. It's up for us to decide what we were doing in one of these provinces and why we crossed the border.


What is this I don't even...


Check out http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1191640-where-we-might-start-off-in-the-beginning-of-skyrim/page__p__17701807#entry17701807. It's all about where the games starts. Pretty off topic here.

Your always a prisoner starting out in a TES game

my character was set up and was caught in route to assassinating his next target.

Except for Redguard, BattleSpire, and Daggerfall.

It works for me perfectly. I like to play Imperial, so I'll be coming over from Cyrodiil escaping the fall of the Empire.

You are arrested as you are crossing the border, not because you crossed the border. You are supposed to explain that to yourself depending on your character.

They never said WHICH border. AND Skyrim is in a civil war, SO you probably entered the enemy nord territory and they thought you were a spy from the other side.

My Dunmer merc signed up on a botched escort run with a Noble and his family. After the Noble's evil greedy brother was slain in protection of Aaros's (my character's) clients, the guards arrived and were like all HO SH*T YOU DUN KILLED A NOBLE even though that Noble was bad, so they nab him up and ship his ass to Skyrim. After a botched trial (which the evil Noble's wealthy family attended) he got the death sentence. Enter Esbern...

I like the opportunity to make up your own back story.

My Dunmer Bounty Hunter was arrested while in the act of sneaking around the ship of a HVT he was trying to assassinate.

I'm not sure I see the point of this thread.
He doesn't tell you why you're in jail. He tells you how you got caught.
They did the same for Morrowind.
"They have taken you from the Imperial prison. First by carriage, now by boat. East; to Morrowind."
:shrug:
That doesn't say why you were in jail. Just sets up the parameters for your personal RP. Same with Skyrim. You decide the why.

I disagree here, really. Starting in prison gives plenty of leeway for starting with a "blank slate" and devising an intriguing character backstory. Perhaps even moreso, I'd argue, than a more mundane and orthodox starting sequence could. By starting as a prisoner, you can choose to justify (or not justify) your character's imprisonment however you so choose. If the game just plopped you down in some random town, sure, perhaps there's no "status" associated with your character to lampshade anymore, but there's plenty of other issues. "Why specifically this town?"

The execution does place this under a bit of scrutiny, of course. Let's just say that the law system in Skyrim is more visceral and leave it at that. :toughninja:

The guards asked me to explain myself : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPiGJBHVadA

Well for my Morrowind Altmer, it was Dwemer Smuggling and unsanctioned magical experiments (she didn't have the proper paperwork).

For my Oblivion Nord, it was Drunk and Disorderly conduct, destruction of property, and assaulting a Legionnaire (All started when a guy made a unwelcomed pass at her.)

And for my future Altmer, well she will be an Altmer, so it will likely be the classic "being black in a white neighborhood at the wrong time." kind of story, and I'm sure being Dragon Born didn't help.

"You cannot go that way. Turn back."
"You still cannot go that way. Turn back."
"Turn back now."
"Well okay fine, it's your funeral."
"STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!"

*blink* No necrophilia pasts? I thought the character was arrested for bringing his date across the border.

My character made a new spell effect. His research was burned.

I was thinking about this very thing a couple of days ago. I had started creating my backstory and given my character a Nordish name even though she's a Breton. It would still be possible to create something around that but I'm considering a change since she'll be coming from somewhere else. Since she's Breton, she could be coming from High Rock. I may have to wait until I learn more about Skyrim and then decide.

:tes:

I think Beth limited the imagination on how you got to jail. Sure you can think what you were doing at the border but What if you want to get arrested in the middle of Skyrim?

Got arrested for anthropophagia.

i crossed the border and threw a rotten piece of fruit at a guard

Nords don't dike around when it comes to immigration laws.



Did he ask you to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNd8iNx1gGk&feature=related first?

I think you are thinking that we were caught coming over the border and that's why we were arrested. When, I'm pretty sure, it's we did something to warrant being arrested(that part is up to you) and we were simply found and caught, as we were crossing into Skyrim. I hope that makes sense.

Probably because my Argonian is Mexican. Racist Nords : :angry:

This time my Argonian is a mighty pirate. He swears to himself though that he is going to stop plundering if he is somehow saved from execution. Remains to be seen if he does that...

Well, at least it's a plausible reason for going to jail, instead of it being "you're in jail, lulz" with every good character having to make up the "I was framed" line.