Welcome.
If you've come to these pages from my Facebook stream, thank you. Sorry that I had to move it, but some folks (Such as my apparently anti-RPG little brother, for example :) ) were getting a bit hacked off with the number of images being uploaded and the frequency by which they were popping up in their news feed.
The Killjoys.
So I've decided to migrate what was initially a bit of curious, simple, fun with Skyrim into a Blog where I can post things up without the aggro...
So, what's it all about?
Well, I'm a huge Elder Scrolls series fan. I played Oblivion relentlessly from its release, on two separate formats, and even despite its now antiquated visual appearance and at times slightly clunky mechanics I have huge respect for Morrowind. The reason? The scale. The in-game infrastructure and economy. The freedom to create and shape a character in a fashion so few other videogames ever get close to.
And naturally Skyrim is no exception.
I'll admit, sad though some might consider it, I acquired Skyrim on release day and as I had some leave owed at work I played the game pretty much relentlessly for a whole week straight. And that still only felt like I was scratching the surface.
My starting character was a Nord male. I named him 'Markus'. It wasn't a very Nordic name, but it was a variation on my own, and I'd used it before in a myriad of other RPGs over the years. I rushed through the character creator somewhat, because I just wanted to get into an on with the game. If I didn't like it? Well, I could always go back and start again later, a short while into the game.
Right?
The thing is, I never actually did. I got too into the game. Wielding a sword in one hand and destructive magic in the other, I ploughed through the story and notched up a stupid amount of side quest successes too. Before I knew it I'd gotten to the third act of the Game's Main Quest, had become Leader of The Companions, Arch-Mage of the Mage's College in Winterhold, and slayed more Dragons than I'd care to remember. I could Smith any kind of Armour in the game AND add magical enchantments to them. My character had reached Level 45 and was well on the way to near God-Like Status...
But that was about the point I hit a snag. You see despite all of the above I was beginning to lose interest a little. I'd been playing through the game aiming to be as much of an all-rounder as I could, largely in the ongoing quest to get as many Xbox Live achievements unlocked as possible. But while I could kind of justify completing the Mage's College storyline (I was... using SOME spells, right?) it was a different kettle of fish when it came to other factions. This is roleplay after all, and while I wanted the achievements, somehow when it came to threatening shopkeepers for the Thieves Guild, or murdering folks for the Dark Brotherhood... well it just didn't feel right. Largely because up to that point I'd been playing my character very much as a 'Hero'. The sudden flip in moral decisions grated with me. Why was he suddenly becoming such an asshole? Or more specifically why was I making him BEHAVE like such an asshole?
It really began to kill my enthusiasm for the game.
It wasn't like I was particularly suited to those kind of quests, either. Those two factions require stealth and subtlety. Hard to do that when playing a character who, up to that point, was running around in armour heavy enough to be heard coming a mile away, and who had not trained in any stealthy skill.
He was even shit with a bow and arrow.
So I stopped playing for a few days, and had a bit of a think. And this was the solution I came up with. Why not create multiple characters?
Now initially I intended to only create a couple a see what I could do. But that fast developed into something of an obsession. Skyrim may have done away with any official concept of traditional character 'classes,' but the number of fighting styles, skill trees, and methods of shaping a character are HUGE. Playing as an all-rounder it's simply not possible to cover them all. You can only really dabble in PARTS of them. So I decided to create a character from each race in the game, trying to pick a fighting style, armour type and skill-set which complimented that race and its natural starting bonuses.
For example, Khajiits and Argonians make natural Thieves. Nords and Orcs are best suited for Tank type Warriors. And Elves make the best natural Magic types. You know, that kind of thing.
By specialising in this fashion I would be able to get the most out of the skills trees, and special perks associated with that style of play. It would also allow me to be a bit choosy with what factions my characters joined, what cities they lived in, and who I paired them off with in terms of comrades and marriage. This way I could still get all of those achievements covered, but without asking them to make any utterly illogical moral decisions they don't have to.
The best of all possible worlds.
My plan was to play all 10 characters through to the end of The Golden Claw, the first real mission encountered when the User reaches Riverwood, the first village after the tutorial sequence. After doing so I'd decide on the fighting styles (or characters) I enjoyed the most, and take those forward into the rest of the game, occasionally taking screenshots and posting details of their progress. I was doing this on Facebook, but as time has gone on a Blog seemed like a better way to keep track of it all.
So, here it is. It'll be updated at lot at first. And then periodically afterwards.
And if you're questioning the name? Well, either you've not played Skyrim, or been fortunate enough not to encounter the most frequently repeated phrase by any Guard in any City in Skyrim.
Because once you DO you'll be hearing it a LOT.
In game. In your sleep. On the internet.
There is NO escape... :)
Update (13/01/2012): All 10 character have now been played through and pieces posted for each.
If you want to view them you can access them all via the links below.
J'Vari - Khajiit Thief
Fimmion - Wood Elf Hunter
Ogrul gro-Khadba - Orc Mercenary
Olda Wolf-Runner - Nord Warrior
Cassius Loran - Imperial Battlemage
Karlirah - Redguard Swordstress
J'Ram-Dar - Argonian Thief
Ocato - High Elf Mage
Vendrela Helas - Dark Elf Spellsword
Ancus Maurard - Breton Necromancer
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