I have only played the Daggerfall demo(I assume it's the same as thf ull game) It's a bit clunky, and the advantages/disadvanteges system is WEIRD(I like the idea, but the possible choices are just a bit too extreme, even in a fantasy world(like sun damge :blink: )
Oblivions system is the best in the way that you get to choose when you actually know what on earth you are choosing, but it's also annoying to have that dungeon all the time.
I would like the possibilities of daggerfall(but less extreme) with the ability to try things out and do choices before it's final.

Daggerfall. You'd only vote otherwise if you haven't played Daggerfall. The character creation is complex and great...

Yeah? I prefer that song in SoundBlaster emulation. I could record it as that or convert the actual midi to an MP3 though...

I loved both Morrowind and Oblivion's options, but I have to admit Oblivion's is much more user friendly. It was so daunting at the beginning playing Morrowind, it seemed like I was being tested on something I hadn't revised for

I'd say Oblivion , I don't remember the accidental making of my character in Morrowind .

Daggerfall for its complexity and Oblivion for its accessibility.

Daggerfall Daggerfall Daggerfall.

Anyone else spend sometimes HOURS creating a character in that game? Re-rolling over and over, copying down your stats on a notepad, calculating what materials you know you wont want to use? The little specialties like exta mana regen in darkness/immersed in water, acute hearing, etc. God did they ever neuter that whole concept in the later games.

I would rank Daggerfall in the top 3 most in-depth character creation in gaming history.

What would the other two be, out of curiosity? (I'm guessing that by gaming history you still dont mean pen and paper games

Seeing the results, this poll would have also needed 'havent played them all' option.
My previous post sums it all up quite nicely, but I agree that the WAY it was done in TES3 was great, if it only had as much depth as TES2. Also, you can walk right out of the door; Privateer's Hold and Sewer become frustrating after the 100th go through... if not earlier

Now that I think of it, it also is frustrating to do the same damn Fargoth quests again and again, and suprise suprise, the same guy drops form the sky in the same place he did the last time... In TES2 EVERY game is different. At least when you get out of the Privateer's Hold.

Morrowind. I just hated that starting dungeon in Oblivion.

I would like a Class Creator like this.

You are in your cell, and you see next to you an argonian named Amusei who says calmly, "Hmm, what is your name?"

You say your name...

The guard opens the gate and says, "Your free to go "

The argonian waves farewell and says, "Goodbye, "

You are then taken to the Imperial Jailor who asks, "Alright, , where do you hail from."

You pick your race.

The Jailor then says to the guard, "Escort this to Tax and Records office"

The guard salutes and says, "Yes, Sir."

The guard and you exit the building and walk to the Tax and Records office.

You see a bald imperial who asks a lot of seemingly meaningless questions (DF's questions), and once they are over he says to the guard, "Take off his/her shackles, he/she is free to go."

And ta da, its done.

Daggerfall has the most depth, but it made easy to create unbalanced characters. (I mean, with restrictions / disadvantages that don't make sense)
Morrowind system was perfect IMHO. Not only the system creation, but also the way it was implemented into the plot. The birth signs make more sense than the pros / cons as far as lore and role play are concerned.

Oblivion's possibility to modify your character was a good move. Bethesda kept it for Fallout 3, so I expect TES5 to have it.

I wonder if the Daggerfall's veterans who dislike Oblivion's dungeon also disliked Privateer's Hold ? I don't really see the problem with Oblivion's dungeon. It's an excellent tutorial. The problem was the main quest, not the dungeon.

The restrictions, advantages, and disadvantages were targeted more at hardcoe roleplaying people, which in some ways was Daggerfall's target audience (like the food and drink in the tavern which is for little purpose except roleplaying).

Perhaps your character is an avid worshipper of the Divines and has sworn off the use of Daedric equipment? Maybe he had a curse placed on him that stunts his magicka? Perhaps he's like Indiana Jones and when encountering undead he goes, "Zombies. Why did it have to be zombies?"

Sure, from a lore standpoint, birthsigns make a bit more sense (albeit they're a bit corny), but Daggerfall's system contributed greatly to rp possibilities and overall replayablity of the game itself.


I think the Oblivion dungeon is pretty decent in that it lets you try out various game concepts and equipment. In Privateer's Hold, most of the loot was scaled so you didn't always have the chance of finding a bow and arrows and then finding that you prefer them over your current weapon. It'd be nice if, right before exiting the dungeon, you got prompted if you wanted to change anything about your character, like at the end of Oblivion's dungeon.

My main complaint with Oblivion's was having to sit through all that dialog over and over again, even if it was skippable - rather tedious.

From the TES games, I only played Morrowind and Oblivion. The Daggerfall system sounds very nice, but I cannot vote without seeing it.

In Oblivion's system, I like the FaceGen (as an idea, it had its problems, but overall i seems better then fixed predefined faces) and the fact that you have the ability to alter your class after practicing it.

In Morrowind's system, I like the fact that you have more skills, you can choose more skills and you have better hierarchy of skills, i.e. major-minor-misc which is nice. I also like the fact that each skill as well as class has its own description taht gives you an idea of what you are doing.

What I would definitely prefere is a further character customization. Not only the appearance, but also the actual skill and atribute points. I do not mind a CharGen dungeon as the one seen in Oblivion if it is optional. I have made some hundred characters for Oblivion already. I do NOT need to be told that I can use a hammer to repair my armour. The pop-ups were really a pain. I do not mind being forced to make choices at the begining of the game based on reading descriptions and use of common sense. Well, if you make a character that does not suit you, you can make another one. No problem there.

And lastly, to the people, who concider Morrowind's system too complicated, I would say it was complex, not complicated. And complexity is good in an RPG. Oblivion was simplified here a lot. And that is bad IMHO. In Morrowind, when you left the CharGen, you were still a blank piece of paper. You knew already what you wish to be, but you still had nothing. You had to try hard to get you first armour/weapon/whatever. Almost nothing is given to you for free (not counting several plates, one dagger, one candelholder and some ingredients). After leaving teh CharGen in Oblivon, you were fully equipped and ready to fight. For some reason,that does not seem right to me.

Well, in DF, you can with a bit of luck have 4 ebony daggers straight from the get-go

Daggerfall plain and simple.

I liked aspects of all three games' class/character creation processes. They all have their pros and cons.

Daggerfall's character creation system, while very diverse, wasn't very informative or user friendly, in my opinion. Now I'm certainly not promoting "dumbing down" a game for the sake of ease, but a game needs to be user friendly. I disliked having to look up online what each advantage/disadvantage did, all of what each skill encompassed/the purpose it served/how it was used in the game/etc. Not to mention, I dislike how you have to choose your class right from the beginning with having no chance to figure out your play style. While that way may be more optimal after a few play-throughs, again, it's not very friendly to new players who are unfamiliar with the game. Another thing I disliked about Daggerfall's character creation system was the fact that it forced such a detailed a background on the character (I found the questionnaire to be far too unspecific in terms of determining a background; if they're going to use such a system in the future, I'd prefer there to be more player control over it (as in the player has more control over determining the outcome) and not something as "randomly" generated).

Morrowind's was far more informative than Daggerfall's, and had plenty diversity as far as skills goes. However, again, I dislike starting the game out like that before being able to try the skills out or figuring out my play style. And my play styles vary from TES game to TES game, given that they're so different. Also, while birthsigns are a bit useless compared to the adv/disadv. system of Daggerfall, Daggerfall's system was quite unbalanced and could be taken advantage of.

Oblivion's character creation system was far simpler in terms of skills, but I did like how I got a chance to figure out my play style before choosing my class. The beginning tutorial could stand to be shorter, however, or there should be an alternative for more seasoned players of the game who don't want to play through it for the fifteen-hundredth time, without being a mere "Would you like to skip this tutorial?" Something not quite as immersion-breaking. I do believe the system held the player's hand a little too much, and in future games there should be more challenge to the beginning without being as daunting as Daggerfall was.

So on that note, I didn't vote. Not yet anyway. They all have their merits.

I think by far, it is Daggerfall, although I've never played Battlespire. I do like the level up system of Morrowind, but maybe less level grinding like Oblivion.

It was practically the same. The only difference between MW and OB's leveling was different stats for different skills, and trainers can be used as much as you want in MW.

Daggerfall was made in the olden days of gaming, when fans were supposed to be really "hardcoe" ( i.e: :nerd: ). Though I can't see Bethesda doing it, If they were to reuse a system like Daggerfall's now, I'm sure they would add more options for letting the computer generate the aspects of a character automatically, better descriptions for what skills and (dis)advantages actually do, etc. I've enjoyed all the TES games for their own merits, and best character creation was definitely Daggerfall's achievement. Morrowind and Oblivion just can't compare to its flexibility.

How?

Nah, just computer games.

I don't know what the other two would be, nothing that I have ever played though.

I didn't want to make a strong statement like 'Daggerfall has THE most in-depth character creation', so I toned it back and said it would be in the top three. I'm sure there are some out there that are comparable, nothing that I have played though.

Sort of OT, but for those who have played DF, anyone got anything that comes close?

Never played Daggerfall. I would have to say Morrowind, as the depth of it was true freedom. Like the diffrence between short and long blades. Or the 4 types of armor

No.

In Morrowind? Well, you just wrote it. Using the keyboard most often.

Lies. You repeatedly picked up and dropped Socucius Ergalla's quill on the release papers until the dripping ink trails wrote it out for you.