That sounds fun, Willster. There are enough settlements with guards but no walls to make it work.

This one was actually created by Tom Francis from PCGamer but I felt it would be okay to share it here.
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The Illusionist

The idea is that, in Skyrim a mage is an unstoppable storm of destruction. In real life, a mage is just an illusionist: they can't do much except trick you. Since Skyrim has a school of magick comprised entirely of illusions the illusionist will have to stick to that, he/she can't wear any armour, hold any weapons, cast any non-illusion spells, or even attack anyone directly - not even with a punch (Of course you can use punches to break stuff like the web in Bleak Falls Barrow). Recommended race is Altmer and it is also recommended to travel with a follower/mercenary. Oh and he/she can't use any enchantments other than "Fortify Illusion".

Good idea, PhoenixGamer!

I’ve tried two Illusionist/no weapons characters, but both used other magic schools as well.

Achille (Breton) couldn’t do any direct damage. He dealt with everything including dragons using Illusion, Conjuration, and his follower. It was a lot of fun.

I also tried a pacifist character, Pax the Benevolent (Altmer, former Thalmor agent). He could not kill anything at all, nor would he travel with a follower who might kill something. Calm, Fear, Turn Undead, and Healing were his only tricks. Also running away. I was surprised by how many quests could be completed without killing anything. The big one that couldn’t was Bleak Falls Barrow, and so he never released the dragons.



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This post has been edited by Grits: Jan 15 2013, 04:52 PM

I think if I tried a character like that, they would be allowed to destroy the undead. Maybe some of the more foul creatures too (SPIDERS), but no NPCs.

Thank you for sharing. I could see doing a modified version of this...there's no way I would do this personally without some sort of backup. At least a daggar. But it's a mighty fine idea. Let us know how it works out.

The thing about Illusion as a school is (in a way) it is somewhat cheaty in my opinion. NPCs can't make us run away in fear or calm us, for instance, and I've not ever noticed them doing any of these things to our followers or other NPCs. I could be wrong on that last one, though.

So therefore, playing a character who uses Illusion specifically seems like it could be a way to balance out this discrephancy.

Yep, that would make sense. Also Dwarven constructs could be fair game. And of course the evil spiders!

Pax’s “Do No Harm” approach was a result of a complete break from his past and mostly intended to make me look at quests differently. He was not very fun to play.

I kind of agree, but it would be really difficult to get those spells to work as intended on the player character.

If the player has a follower however, I wondered if just making the player's ally attack the player when either of them are hit by a fury spell (that is effective) would work.

Not very fun to play? Wow, that's interesting! I always wonder if my Scout (Dyami) would have been fun or whatever. I created my scout but never actually gamed with him much. He was supposed to be a pacifist, other than hunting deer and elk.



OH I know. If NPCs could use Illusion on us, that would force the game to take away our freedom in-the-moment, and that's something (obviously) we would have a problem with. The closest thing to this I've ever noticed in a TES game is paralyzation. The PC is paralyzed, can't do a damn thing (unless they've got Dispel).

Wait, can PCs get paralyzed in Skyrim? I know they could in Oblivion.

Back in the day (tabletop games) it was possible for our characters to get calmed or afraid. What would happen is the DM (dungeon master) would take over the PC for a turn or whatever. It downright sucked, to be honest.

Oh yes I definitely see why you did it that way, I was just saying if I made a character like that, there would be some things that are fair game to rain burning fire upon. SPIDERS.


I've never had it happen, but I don't see why not. I wonder if paralyze weapons are in the equipment lists?

The Survior
The survior is a female nord who is a gifted mage and healer.

Nero's Journal
My Legacy
My name is Nero,and I was born in a small village in the woods north of Falkreath. We lived on a hill overlooking the lake. The land here was bountiful and water abundant, it was paradise. My mother was a Nord, who's occupation was the village doctor and she was highly religious. She offered blessings to the men as they left on the hunt,and provided aid to those who needed it. My father was a Breton who thought himself an Artisan. Oh the things he could craft! Anything you desired, from potions, to arrows, to houses he could craft it all. They worked hard and their love was strong and so came me and my brothers.

My Childhood
Mother allways said I was a handfull. According to her i was allways in some sort of trouble. But then again how could I not be? I enjoyed helping her in the medical tent. Medicine was an excellent study and I thought I was rather good at it. At night father would read to me. I became obsessed with the legends. I told him one day that I would be a Dragon Priest, that I would one day be friends with a Daedra. The Prince of Madness allways made me laugh.

A Member of Society
As I grew I gained more knowlage. I took lessons from the village scholar and took up magic. He taught me how to make medicines, how to heal people magically, how conjure a friend when I was lonely. I learned how to harness the energy of the Land. I could make fire, I could make snow. I allso began to study religion. My people allways celebrated Dibella, for we found beauty in the Land and art in it's features. I finnaly found a role in my home, I became the village priest.

Visitors
Our isolation did not last for long,soon strange men came from the south. They wore strange clothing of red and leather. They spoke of unity, of peace. We belived them. Our little village signed a treaty with the Empire. We would trade with them and live amongst them. Slowly we began to enter-marry, and slowly our cultures merged. Gone was our little village, and slowly the Town of Lakeview took shape.

The Fall
But this peace would not last. The people of the north became angered with those of the south. Freedom they cried! New rule the pleaded! And so the war began. My Father and brothers were appointed for service under the Empire. They fought bravely, but sadly they were not strong enough. Why did they have to die? Why? I hated this war. I hated these people. They alone killed my family. Me and my mother survived and we tried to cope the best we could, but mother was frail. She died that year. I was now alone. As the war progressed I began to discover that not all legends are just legends. The dragons rose. "And the Scrolls fortold, of the black wings in the cold, that when brother wage war come unfold. Alduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound, with a hunger to swallow the world." More and more reports of dragons attacks showed up as the war drew on.

Up in Flames
The dragon attacked. It burned everything. I was the only survivor. No Imperials, no loved ones, no friends, just me alone. I lived in one of the last standing houses in the rubble. Eventally the men of the north found me and took me. I was their slave. One of thier prizes of war. I was beaten, I was defiled, and I was starved. As we attempted to cross the border we were stopped by Imperial guards. Finnaly a Hope! But they did not know me, nor of Lakeview, so they did not save me. I was to be killed for crimes that the people who took me did. Seconds before I was supposed to die is when a blessing of Dibella shown down. A dragon attacked. It acctually aided in my escape!

A New Triumph
After I recovered from the escape I met an Imperial by the name of Hadvar. He helped me, he told me where to go to find shelter, and he told me of the College. I journed there and and learned of new magic. Of ancient and new. I took private lessons and began to learn a forgotten art. I learned how to speak in dragon. I learned how to shout. The professor was astonished on how quickly I learned so he sent me to a fortess on a high mountain. There is where my life changed. There is where I discovered my purpose. I was the unite the land, I was to stop the dragons. And then maybe,just maybe, I could find peace again and reestablish my home an my birthground. I could rebuild...

This post has been edited by Azoth1124: Jan 18 2013, 08:46 AM

Wow, now that's backstory! I'm actually speechless, for once. Guess that's a good thing!

Thanks I think my story works because it blend my own story with that of the game

Excellent story of Nero. The World Eater did some good attacking Helgen didn't he? I like how she learned of her Voice while at the College and then went to High Hrothgar. Good blend of game and original bits.

Haha tried to think of a way to mix in some dlc,like eventually after she reunites skyrim she returns to the ruins of lakeview and build a grand mansion apon the site

Working on a sperate character (Nero's brother). He wont be dragon born, but involved in the war. Whatcha think?

Due to inaccuracies to Lore and obnoxious english i chose to rewrite the story of nero

The Story of Nero
4E 160
It is the year of my birth. I hail from a small hunting and farming village positioned on a hill overlooking Lake Ilinalta. The land was bountiful and life was abundant. It was our own little paradise, we had everything that we could ever need. Crops came in large and healthy every year and the elk were always fertile. Our village worshiped Lady Dibella, for the land represented her beauty. My mother was a native to Skyrim and a healer, she offered blessings of Dibella to the huntsman and healed their wounds when they returned. My father was the leader of our little settlement. He was a Breton who arrived in Skyrim to escape the pressures of the Aldmeri Dominion to seize High Rock.
He was a diplomat. He could talk anyone into doing anything.

4E 165
As a little girl I became interested in the forest. Mother told me that the trees speak to the people. That Lady Dibella guided us through them. Every afternoon I would wander into the woods and rest under the large oak. I became interested in archery after watching a huntsman one day. I bet one day I could out shoot him. With bow in one hand and an arrow in the other I began to practice. But with all of this learning and new experience I was only but a five year old. I loved the old legends, and I found a certain peace within books. I swear that one day I would walk amongst the Dragon Priest and be friends with a Daedra.

4E 168
Strange men started to appear in our village. They wore clothes of cloth and hide. Father spoke to them, asked them why they have come. They had big scary swords. The head of their convoy spoke,”By royal decree of Emperor Tidus Mide II we are to travel the lands of Skyrim and inform it's citizens of the recent induction of Skyrim into the Empire. Nothing will change, the only thing we ask for in return is land to settle. We will protect you and your people with the full force of our military. Do you agree?” Father signed the treaty. And so began a new chapter of our little village. Trade flourished, farms grew and eventually the village formed into a town. Lakeview we called it. Soon families started to marry into each other, our cultures merged.

4E 170
I'm finally old enough to make my own decisions, finally ten. But it seems as the days passed father grew more and more concerned. He says he spoke with the Imperial Ambassador. Things do not look good he says, war is at our doorstep. The Aldmeri Dominion want control of Tamriel,and they'll do anything to achieve it.

4E 176
We are in the midst of the Great War. The Aldmeri have invaded Cyrodill and the Empire is on the brink of collapse. All able bodied men were forced to enlist in the Imperial Army. After eight years of being members of the Empire, we wanted to help. We wanted to protect our people, the Empire's people. My father was one of the enlisted.

4E 180
Nine years. Nine long years of war. After four years of service my father returned. The war was over. The Aldemri had won. Instead of wiping through and killing everyone they forced the Empire to make decrees to fit the Dominion's desires, including the ban of the worship of Talos. This of course infuriated the northern nords.

4E 183
As the civil war of Skyrim raged over the land we began to discover that not all legends are just that. The ancient prophecy was fulfilled.”Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, Tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein! Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau, Voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!”
The dragons walked the earth again. They start to attack towns and villages all across the land. My brothers were sent off to join the war, as was my father.

4E 197
We receive the news today, my father and brothers would not be returning. They had been killed in battle. I think it hit mother the hardest. She was old, she was sick. She died soon after. I was on my own. I had no husband, I had no family left. I continued to live in the house, it used to be full of life and warmth but now it was all but cold and empty. What a great place to spend my thirty-seventh birthday, all alone and cold! Later that year the dragon's came. They burned the whole city to the ground, everyone I knew had been killed. Only half of our house remained unburned by the tormenting fire of the dragon.

4E 200
They found me, the nords of the north. They punished me for being half-blood. Said I wasn't fit to live in Skyrim. They took me as their prisoner, as their slave. We attempted to cross the border into Cyrodill and to kill the Emperor. We were captured at the border and transported to Helgen for execution. The soldiers had not heard of Lakeview so therefore, did not know that I was a survivor.
It was there at Helgen where I saw Dibella. She saved my life. She summoned the dragon to attack that would give me a chance to escape.

4E 201
After the escape I stayed in Riverwood for a while with one of the soldiers who helped me escape the Helgen attack. He told me of the College of Winterhold. I was no mage, but I had some sense of Restoration magic that I learned from my mother. He told me that someone there could tell me what was going on. I traveled far but finally reached the College. I spoke to the archmage, and it was there where it happened. Lady Dibella was speaking to me, I could feel here power coursing through me, and then she spoke, “My child you are special. You have always been a devout follower, so in return for this I will tell you your future. My child you are destined to unite the Empire. You alone will save this land. You will speak the ancient language. You will master the dragons. Fus Ro Da, these are the ancient words of power. You will use this in your journey, you need only say the words and your heart will do the rest. GO dragonborn. Go bring honor to my name.”


This post has been edited by Azoth1124: Jan 19 2013, 08:29 AM

This is my character bio:
My name is Vyluun Fyr. At a young age I discovered my abilities over the school of conjuration, accidentally summoning a flame atronach that burned down a nearby forest before returning to oblivion. I was born in a village called Vvardenyl on the border of Skyrim and Morrowindn. When I was 11, the Imperial Legion attempted to seize control of my village for fear of an uprising of the local mages. My people resisted, so the Legion sent the Aldmeri Dominion to deal with us. There were only four of them, but they managed to slaughter every last Dunmer in Vvardenyl. All except me, for I conjured a flame atronach that briefly sent me to the plane of oblivion to shield me from the altmer. When I returned, I went searching for my mother fearing the worst. I did not find her, only her pendant that my father gave to her. I swore revenge on the empire, promising to destroy every last one of those that were loyal to the altmer. And so I trained. Spending weeks on end with no sleep studying the art of conjuration in the ruins of the shrine of Azura. I learned the skill of archery in order to hunt and survive. I also tampered with destruction, illusion, and restoration magic. I found them astonishingly interesting in concept, and started focussing on them aswell as conjuration. 11 years have passed sense the massacre of my village. 11 years of grueling days of constant practice of magicka. Now i am ready to hunt down the aldmeri dominion, and show no mercy for them.

Major skills- conjuration, illusion, destruction
Minor skills-alteration, heavy armor, restoration, enchanting

This post has been edited by Vyluun Fyr (Dunmer): Feb 7 2013, 10:00 PM

Well I started a new character randomly. I wanted to make a 'nobility' character that wore heavy plate armor, fought with one sword and no shield, and rode a horse. They would like all things scholarly, and maybe do some conjuration. They would use a crossbow for ranged attacks. No sneaking.

This was doomed from the start.

This is Olivia. She is hardly nobility, she sells all the books that she bothers to pick up, she hates the iron armor she's wearing, and you can see her bow quiver over her shoulder. The only thing that has gone right is the sword, but she's dying to get her free hand on something else... maybe some magic, maybe a shield.

I don't know if I'm going to continue her or not. She plays a lot like Aravi does. Maybe I'll just set her aside.

She's pretty! In a "Man, dirt is awesome" kind of way