I realize I'm probably not the only one who does this - you'll think of a neat little role-play tip that may or may not be immediately relevant to your character, and you'll want to share it...but you'll have nowhere to put it. So it sits there in your brain, never getting the recognition it deserves. Well, now those small, general role-play tips have a home.
All tips will be added to the OP and credited. I've brought a few of my own to kick things off.
Additionally, the Fallout version of this thread can be found here.
Yell them at me like you're Heimskr and forgot how to use an inside-voice
Immersion:
General
- Instead of searching every container in a dungeon, search more sporadically and only hit a few within a dungeon to make looting feel more natural and to give greater value to found items.
- Try only looting boss enemies and chests, and only picking up gold, gems, and lockpicks from them. Skyrim's economy feels much more robust when you can't sell large amounts of irrelevant gear to Belethor (and subsequently punch him in the throat to reset his inventory). Also useful for thieves.
- Wear clothing appropriate to the current climate. For example, fur-lines clothing and armor in cold regions, and looser fitting, light armor and clothing in warmer regions. (Chris Diokno)
- Make Skyrim more risky yet more rewarding by turning off all autosaves except "Save on Rest". Improve this further by only saving when you rest. (PCTY)
- Always carry frost salts or ice wrath teeth to keep the food you carry fresh. (Jen G.)
- Save a book you find on your travels to read before sleeping. (Phil)
- If it fits the character, only check your map when you're in an inn. This can simulate having to check the town's map if your character doesn't own one. (ProbsCoolerThanYou)
- Carry a horse hide to be used as a bedroll for sleeping when setting up an outdoor camp while traveling. Other hides such as deer or bear hides would also work but the horse hide looks more like a typical bedroll. (Gail Olmstead)
Fast Travel
- Instead of fast traveling to your destination every time, or hoofing it out on the same familiar paths, travel to a location nearby your actual destination and walk from there. Every time you return, choose a different nearby location to keep things interesting.
- If you want more RP friendly fast travel, stand by a carriage or near/on a horse, and fast travel where they could logically go. (Chris Diokno)
Death
- If you die, pay the price of continued existence and role-play that you've been saved by dropping several valuable items. (PCTY)
Races
- If playing a Tribunal Dunmer follower, download and listen to the 36 Lessons as read by Rotten Deadite while playing or visiting a shrine. (Phil)
Religion
- Zenithar:
- Restrict your equipment to only things you craft or purchase.
- Only use money earned from crafting (Zonnonn)
- Craft items for shopkeeps as a form of barter (Zonnonn)
Place these items at their respective shrines in order to recieve their blessings (Joshua Primrose):
Akatosh - Gemstone - With his virtue being humility, show your own by giving up a precious gem in his honour. You can alternatively leave a dragon bone or scale as he is the dragon god of time, but they can prove a bit heavy to lug around for the blessing.
Arkay - Bonemeal - God of Life and Death, Bonemeal is an example of life existing within death, and the cyclical nature of the two.
Dibella - Jewellery (and more accurately, circlets) - Goddess of beauty, a beautiful thing is given up to show your appreciation of the beautiful. Her virtue being inspiration, a circlet, often seen on the Jarls, is a god symbol of the inspiration that they inspire in their hold.
Julianos - Book - God of knowledge, virtue of learning, this is pretty self-explanatory. A book is the perfect way to acknowledge his might, and others coming to the shrine may find new knowledge so that they to can honour Julianos.
Kynareth - Egg - Being the Goddess of Nature, and her virtue being ambition, an egg symbolises potential and aiming for the sky and improvement.
Mara - Potion of Healing - Goddess of love, with the virtue of compassion, a potion of healing denotes love for the fellow man who would stumble across the shrine in need. By offering a potion to the goddess, you prove yourself capable of the same love.
Stendarr - Daedra Heart, Fire/Frost/Void Salts, Vampire Dust - God of justice and mercy, offering these items prove your worth to his cause in the 4th Era, and worthy of his blessing.
Talos - Quill and Inkwell - the Hero-God of Mankind, state, law and governance fall under his sphere of influence as a god, and civility is his virtue. An inkwell and a quill symbolise these, and a prayer with such help to write the laws that will bring Skyrim to order once again.
Zenithar - Hammer or Saw - God of Work and Commerce, and work being his virtue, the hammer and saw indicate the hard work and effort gone into your travels.
I realize I'm probably not the only one who does this - you'll think of a neat little role-play tip that may or may not be immediately relevant to your character, and you'll want to share it...but you'll have nowhere to put it. So it sits there in your brain, never getting the recognition it deserves. Well, now those small, general role-play tips have a home.
All tips will be added to the OP and credited. I've brought a few of my own to kick things off.
Additionally, the Fallout version of this thread can be found here.
Yell them at me like you're Heimskr and forgot how to use an inside-voice
Immersion:
General
- Instead of searching every container in a dungeon, search more sporadically and only hit a few within a dungeon to make looting feel more natural and to give greater value to found items.
- Try only looting boss enemies and chests, and only picking up gold, gems, and lockpicks from them. Skyrim's economy feels much more robust when you can't sell large amounts of irrelevant gear to Belethor (and subsequently punch him in the throat to reset his inventory). Also useful for thieves.
- Wear clothing appropriate to the current climate. For example, fur-lines clothing and armor in cold regions, and looser fitting, light armor and clothing in warmer regions. (Chris Diokno)
- Make Skyrim more risky yet more rewarding by turning off all autosaves except "Save on Rest". Improve this further by only saving when you rest. (PCTY)
- Always carry frost salts or ice wrath teeth to keep the food you carry fresh. (Jen G.)
- Save a book you find on your travels to read before sleeping. (Phil)
- If it fits the character, only check your map when you're in an inn. This can simulate having to check the town's map if your character doesn't own one. (ProbsCoolerThanYou)
- Carry a horse hide to be used as a bedroll for sleeping when setting up an outdoor camp while traveling. Other hides such as deer or bear hides would also work but the horse hide looks more like a typical bedroll. (Gail Olmstead)
Fast Travel
- Instead of fast traveling to your destination every time, or hoofing it out on the same familiar paths, travel to a location nearby your actual destination and walk from there. Every time you return, choose a different nearby location to keep things interesting.
- If you want more RP friendly fast travel, stand by a carriage or near/on a horse, and fast travel where they could logically go. (Chris Diokno)
Death
- If you die, pay the price of continued existence and role-play that you've been saved by dropping several valuable items. (PCTY)
Races
- If playing a Tribunal Dunmer follower, download and listen to the 36 Lessons as read by Rotten Deadite while playing or visiting a shrine. (Phil)
Religion
- Zenithar:
- Restrict your equipment to only things you craft or purchase.
- Only use money earned from crafting (Zonnonn)
- Craft items for shopkeeps as a form of barter (Zonnonn)
Place these items at their respective shrines in order to recieve their blessings (Joshua Primrose):
Akatosh - Gemstone - With his virtue being humility, show your own by giving up a precious gem in his honour. You can alternatively leave a dragon bone or scale as he is the dragon god of time, but they can prove a bit heavy to lug around for the blessing.
Arkay - Bonemeal - God of Life and Death, Bonemeal is an example of life existing within death, and the cyclical nature of the two.
Dibella - Jewellery (and more accurately, circlets) - Goddess of beauty, a beautiful thing is given up to show your appreciation of the beautiful. Her virtue being inspiration, a circlet, often seen on the Jarls, is a god symbol of the inspiration that they inspire in their hold.
Julianos - Book - God of knowledge, virtue of learning, this is pretty self-explanatory. A book is the perfect way to acknowledge his might, and others coming to the shrine may find new knowledge so that they to can honour Julianos.
Kynareth - Egg - Being the Goddess of Nature, and her virtue being ambition, an egg symbolises potential and aiming for the sky and improvement.
Mara - Potion of Healing - Goddess of love, with the virtue of compassion, a potion of healing denotes love for the fellow man who would stumble across the shrine in need. By offering a potion to the goddess, you prove yourself capable of the same love.
Stendarr - Daedra Heart, Fire/Frost/Void Salts, Vampire Dust - God of justice and mercy, offering these items prove your worth to his cause in the 4th Era, and worthy of his blessing.
Talos - Quill and Inkwell - the Hero-God of Mankind, state, law and governance fall under his sphere of influence as a god, and civility is his virtue. An inkwell and a quill symbolise these, and a prayer with such help to write the laws that will bring Skyrim to order once again.
Zenithar - Hammer or Saw - God of Work and Commerce, and work being his virtue, the hammer and saw indicate the hard work and effort gone into your travels.
Now I am imagining what it would be like sitting at a table with that man, "CAN YOU PASS THE TERRIBLE AND POWERFUL SALT?"