Good evening. I am Lady Saga, and as you can see I'm liking for you to choose which one of these 2 characters I shall play next? I simply cannot decide.

To get a fuller idea of how I'm going to start either character, have a look at the Skyrim Roleplay Ideas thread's OP. I'm literally torn between

(1) a Scout type of character who doesnt' get involved with combat, and who's main function will be to "scout" out new areas of the brown paper map. I'm going to somehow get an oversized copy of the map made (it's okay to do this, according to someone I know who works in a copy place), and then use the copy to travel about, making notations as the scout goes. The Scout will most likely assist other characters of mine who need to get into an uncharted areas safely.

(2) A bandit. Just a low-life, low-intelligence bandit! I envision this guy raiding Riverwood first off, and then moving into some sort of dwelling (or camp) by the side of one of Skyrim's busiest roads. He's going to live here for awhile, literally waiting for NPC's to walk by. The bandit will do this until he thinks of something better, whatever that may be.

For you who don't know me yet, I have but one weird little thing. Whenever I start a new character it must be raining outside. I only start new characters when it's raining for some odd, subconscious reason. But it's supposed to be raining this weekend, so that's good.

Have a vote and an opinion, if you like.

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I am going to go for the scout. The character is more proactive, going out and exploring uncharted territory. Where the bandit just sits back and waits. It sounds like the scout would be more interesting, and challenging, to play.

I gotta go for the scout. That sounds like a lot of fun. I'd perk them in stealth skills so they can maybe sneak inside for a look-see.

I'd say scout. Less chance either an Imperial or Stormcloak patrol or 'random' adventure takes the bandit out. You know those Jarls give out bandit hunting bounty's like lollipops.

Even though I like the occasional bouts of random violence, I ditto the other three. You made an interesting idea about the scout, really, its a stroke of genius.

I think the scout will be fun. I like the no-looting approach. Combat tends to find you when you're exploring, though. Do you mean that she won't fight, or that she will just defend herself rather than seek out fights?

Okay, that does it then, I"m playing the bandit. Ha ha, just kidding.

Thanks for you input, folks, I'm gonna do the Scout, then. Some of my ancestors were Cherokee, and I'm gonna try to locate an old picture of a man in one of my mom's old picturebooks. I"m looking forward to his existence.

He'll probably be involved with the Imperials eventually, since that makes sense that he's helping outsiders find their way around, but I'm not sure if he'll actually do the official Imperial questline. He may wind up starting it, perhaps. We'll see.

He'll travel mostly by horseback (it's just better to avoid faster enemies this way) and will actually live for extended periods in remote areas. He'll be adept at cooking, hunting wild game, bow & arrow, 1-handed (he'll carry a daggar or an woodcutter's axe for a weapon), and may also wind up taking on a few Illusion and Alteration spells. Calm and Fear will fit in perfectly. Maybe Oakflesh, too. Anything I can link up to traditional American Indian folklore I'm gonna borrow in the game, so far as magic goes.

But like I said, he's mostly gonna be a pacifist. He won't do any dungeon-diving, nor will he get involved with offensive combat. He'll reserve his combat roles for purely defensive purposes.

....It better rain this weekend.
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Conjure Familiar? It's fun to have a spirit wolf around.

Fingers crossed for rain!

Conjure Familiar would be perfect I think. The only trouble is that it is so woefully underpowered that after level 2 it tends to die after one hit. It is too bad you are on PS3, there are mods to fix that.

An idea: Don't level up! You won't get any perks then though.

Yep, the fun is having it running along and occasionally howling. Not so useful for us console players.

Yes, he's going to have Conjure Familiar, forgot about that spell. This won't be a problem in his game, though, as leveling occurs. Since he's going to be a pacifist, he'll simply conjure the animal spirit and then use this as a chance to get away from any enemy who attacks him. He'll probably do ceremonies for each time he conjures the wolf, too, since this isn't an illusion, it is an actual spirit that is being summoned to aid him (in his mind).

I actually have an old Tarot deck of cards that's based on American Indian symbology. Wow, I forgot all about it until now. This particular deck is PACKED with little facts and stories, too. One of the few things I do know is when an indian killed an animal, he wouldn't just kill it. There was usually a sort prayer said for the animal's spirit. All of this is going to be incorporated into his game.

He'll also (more than likely) eventually wind up getting an actual dog, too, though the dog won't follow him everywhere. It'll just stay wherever his main home winds up being.



I've actually considered this for other future characters, but it won't work for the Scout because he's going to need to have environments that level upwards, so he can more-accurately tell others what could appear in certain areas of Skyrim.

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Yes indeed. This is common among other hunter/gatherer societies as well as Native Americans. A major part of hunting mythology is that animals are spirits - gods - that have descended from the heavens to take a mortal form. Killing the animal releases the spirit to return to the spirit world. It is not simply killing, but rather and act of divine sacrifice. It is a holy act, a covenant that bonds the human and animal communities. Joseph Campbell goes into great detail about this in Mythologies of the Great Hunt.

Thank you SubRosa. I read some Joseph Campbell in college, I don't remember much but I do know he's about finding oneself spiritually, and he also goes off into nature with groups of others on spiritual quests.

I'm really psyched, everyone. It'll be easy to create a good-looking indian in Skyrim. Males in general are easier for me to create (so far as looks go) than females. I haven't really been as satisfied by the Skyrim females I've created so far.

On the other hand, I've spent over an hour (maybe 2) fussing over female looks in Oblivion. the difference is I always wind up with something I'm satisfied with. The work pays off!