Oblivion:Roleplaying
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[edit] Guidelines for Contributions
- Please alphabetize any new ideas.
- Please place them in the correct place. (Simple Roleplaying Ideas or Game Changing Roleplaying)
- Please avoid use of "Be A..." and just use the role for the header. So, "Wiki Editor" under "W", not "Be A Wiki Editor" under "B" or "W".
- Please check the Simple Roleplaying Ideas before adding an entry. For example, don't write that a merchant should rent a room at an inn when traveling through cities.
Please feel encouraged to contribute new ideas to this page. Roleplaying can be either a fun little sidetrack or a full blown overhaul to the game depending on how you play it. The following are several ways you can get the most out of an already amazing game. Roleplaying is a way to take advantage of the game by playing whatever type of character you want. There are classes and birthsigns, but for many people, this is just a game mechanic that helps you advance with a certain style of battle you prefer. To make your roleplaying experience more enjoyable, the next section, Simple Roleplaying Ideas, gives you a wealthy number of tips and guides to help you enjoy playing practically any type of role. The lengthy section after that, Game Changing Roleplaying, gives a great amount of ideas for roleplaying and how to play and enhance that specific role. Another Idea, if you are a PC player, is to use mods, as these greatly enhance the experience (ie a Imperial Legion Mod is in the making that would help enormously with playing a Legion Trooper.) Remember, you don't have to start a new character to roleplay, although you can start a new game and make the player look like a real world person. Example: Your player could be named John Paul II, a Breton with a "Pope" custom class. Play the whole game pretending to be him! You can do this with anyone in the world: Jack Bauer, George Washington, Queen Victoria, or even you! The possibilities are endless.
[edit] Simple Roleplaying Ideas
Here are some ideas to get more into the spirit of roleplaying.
[edit] Traveling
- Fast-travel less and actually experience your journeys across Cyrodiil. This can greatly enhance the aesthetic appeal of Oblivion as some of the lesser traveled places are stunningly beautiful.
- Don't fast travel till level 5, 10, or 15. Force your character to travel the lands, enchant an amulet and name it Amulet of Teleportation or something similar, and then you may fast travel. Maybe you lost the amulet in a cave, and have to travel on foot again until you get the materials to make a new one. Or give it so many charges and when it runs out you have to enchant it by walking the pilgrimage etc.
- Or you could ignore your map all together. Maybe you have to buy it [Use a piece of parchment] and pretend that you now have a map.
- If you must fast travel, do so only between cities (like in Morrowind) and give someone a little bit of money as a "fee" to take you to the other city.
- Slow down! You don't need to run/jump everywhere. Take a walk in the forests, pray at the chapel and relax.
- When traveling between cities, rent a room for the night at the local inn. Put your armor in the cupboards, put your sword on the bed next to you, etc, before you sleep. Why go to bed wearing metal armor pajamas? Similarly, anywhere you decide to sleep, try to imagine what you would do if you were about to go to sleep.
- Use your map and compass "realistically" by asking for directions
- To avoid relying on the quest marker (the red or green arrow in your compass and the red or green icons on maps) when traveling to a location, don't make the quest active in the first place. As long as no quest is active there will be no compass arrow. Or you can "disable" the arrow by selecting a quest other than the one you are working on; the quest arrows will appear but you can just ignore them. For example, selecting the Weynon Priory quest will add arrows to your compass and map guiding you to Weynon Priory. Just ignore them. (PC owners can use one of the horse location mods , such as "Dude, Where's My Horse", so the arrow and marker will just point at your horse.)
- When traveling on the roads, don't look at your map. Actually look at the signposts by the side of the road to find the towns and cities.
- When traveling to a place unknown to you, don't look at your map. (Also, turn off the red/green compass marker by selecting an unrelated quest.) Head in the general direction of the location, but when you get closer or get lost and need directions, find a local resident at a city, inn or settlement, or a guard or traveler on the road. Talk to that person and pretend to ask directions. Look at your map when you've spoken to them to get an idea of where the location is. This is equivalent to them telling you where it is. (Don't forget to re-select the quest to get the correct map marker if you have "turned it off" by selecting an unrelated quest while you look at the map - and de-select it afterwards.) Put your map away. Don't look at it again unless you get lost again and ask someone else.
- Example: If you're in the Great Forest having trouble finding Shadeleaf Copse, walk or ride to Skingrad, or to the Gold Road, and speak to someone. Assume you have asked them for directions. Look at your map and remember the location. Don't look at your map again until you get the "You have found Shadeleaf Copse" message, or you ask someone else. For example, you might get lost again and stumble upon Brindle Home, where you can ask directions again.
- You may decide that only certain people will be able to give you directions, such as guards, as not everyone will know where everything is. A traveling merchant, for example, would be able to give you directions to towns, villages and inns, but not mines and ruins.
- If you think the person you're asking might only have a vague idea where the place is, don't look at the map when you talk to them, but re-select the related Quest instead. Look at where the compass marker is pointing, de-select the Quest, and head off in that direction. This is as if you were told "I'm not sure, but I think it's over that way."
- This can work in towns and cities too. If you're looking for The Copious Coinpurse, don't look at your map - ask a guard or local citizen.
- You can make use of Cyrodiil's waterways to justify Fast-Travel. If your intended destination is located on a shore, permit yourself the use of Fast-Travel as if you hired a waterman to carry you in his boat. This would require your origin point to be from a harbor or dock, and there must be a continuous water route between origin and destination.
- For example, you can Fast-Travel from the Imperial City Waterfront to Bravil or Leyawiin, but not to Anvil.
- If your intended destination is somewhat close to shore, you cannot Fast-Travel. Seek the closest waterside destination, then proceed the rest of the way on foot.
The Modular Oblivion Enhanced mod provides more realistic traveling.
[edit] Owning Horses
If you own a horse, it can be fun to roleplay owning, riding, and taking care of them.
[edit] Stables
When leaving it at the stables, make it more interesting. Drop food such as carrots or apples in front of it before you leave. When entering and leaving stables, get off your horse, open the gate, ride it in, then close it behind you after you get off--don't just jump over the fence. Make sure your horse has adequate shelter. Chat with the proprietor and tell them to take extra good care of your horse. When you're out travelling, tell a follower to wait next to your horse so he can care for it until you return.
[edit] Riding
Think about how much fatigue the horse has, what it's capable of physically. Just because the game lets your horse run nonstop straight between cities through the middle of the wilderness, jumping over boulders, running into trees, and swimming across lakes, does not mean it is realistic. Just to start, stick to the roads when you are riding. Slow down sometimes after it is exhausted or hurt by a bandit or animal. Only run full speed when you are attacked or urgently need to get somewhere. Avoid using the journal map to direct your travels; try to see if you can memorize the way roads look and figure out faster ways from one place to another. Learn to avoid certain dangerous spots.
CONSOLE TRICKS: If you are playing Oblivion on the PC, you may use the console to give your equestrian friend a unique name. You can also pay the owners of the Stables five gold (or whatever you consider reasonable) when you return for your horse.
[edit] Housing/Storage
- Try playing the game using a realistic limit for the amount of items your character can carry. Ensure that you are never carrying more than one set of clothes and armor, a melee weapon and/or bow and arrows, a few lockpicks, one repair hammer, and perhaps a single potion. If you need to transport more items than a human (or "beast") could realistically carry, use a horse.
- If you can't afford a house (or don't want one), "rent" a room at an inn. This is the most realistic option in some cases. For example, if you "work" at the vineyards in Skingrad, your character probably wouldn't have enough money to buy Rosethorn Hall, especially if you are roleplaying a relatively poor character. When you rent your room, place your belongings on the tables and chairs. Place a drink or a book on the bedside table. Living at an inn also makes it easier for your character to eat proper meals, since most innkeepers sell food and drink. Many citizens gather at the inns around 9:00 PM, giving your character the chance to socialize after a long day. Don't forget to pay your rent to the innkeeper once a day.
- Rosethorn Hall of Skingrad has many upgrades with display cases and shelves. You can decorate it with all of your awesome trophies.
- Fill the wine cases with wine, the shelves with books or unique staffs, display cases with your favorite weapons, etc. You can even place decorative armor (e.g. Imperial Dragon armor) up on some of the shelves.
- In case of murderers, hide poisonous apples among regular food and swords in cracks or on top shelves while you're at home.
- To make things look pretty, fill up a display case with all the jewels in Cyrodiil.
- Set up goblets and bottles of wine in a small table with an open book to make the house look more lived in.
- Display every one of the Daedric artifacts in a single room.
- Once you have the maid for Rosethorn Hall (Skingrad House), you can treat her as your wife.
- When you find flawless jewels, rings and amulets, bring them home and give them to her. Display them on her shelf or reverse pickpocket her.
- Place vintage wine on her table, replace her cutlery with silverware. Put a Shepherd's pie on her plate and a sweetroll next to it.
- Take the bouquet of flowers from the Count of Cheydinhal's throne and place it in her silver urn.
- Don't just treat her like royalty, treat yourself too. Put Shepard's pie on your plate (head of the table) in the dining room, surround it with one Rosethorn Mead, one Ale, One Newheilm's special brew and a Tamika 399. Place a sweet roll next to your plate. All this makes you look like a rich, fat noble, which you certainly are living in a house like that. On the plate next to yours put a tobacco leaf and on top of this a piece of Ham (It's flat and stays on the plate well, as opposed to Mutton). Next to this put a potato. Near the plate put either a beer or a Rosethorn Mead. The next plate can have a Shepherd's pie or a slab of Beef or Venison. Mudcrab meat is small and looks good as a garnish on top of the steak. You can squeeze a potato on the side of the plate, or perhaps a radish, onion, carrot or tomato, or any odd ingredient that fits, such as flax seeds, which could pass as baked beans! The last plate should have another vintage wine and a dish of your choice. Try to think up something else with inspiration from the rest of the table.
- Take the strawberries from around the bread in the middle of the table and place them in the middle bowl. Put a cheese wedge next to the bread. Put an orange, an apple, some grapes and a pear in the bowl and you have a fruit bowl. Move it about a bit until it looks realistic. On the plate in the middle near your place, place a sweet cake. Next to it place a spoon, and on the side of the plate put a silver knife. You now have a banquet fit for a king! EATING the banquet with guests is not advised because it takes a long time to prepare. It's just there to boost your over sized ego even further. Put some snazzy daggers and swords in the display cases.
- Put a quill and parchment on the desk in the room to your right as you enter, along with some of the envelopes (such as "Sitting Area" or "Storage Area", that you buy with the house. These look like letters.) in the corner of the desk piled up (not too many), a book, 2 pieces of crumpled paper, a weight perhaps on the parchment, a inkwell in the center and an hourglass on the shelf of the desk. This can go along with the other roles, such as the alchemist. Put the Alchemy skill book on it. You could also put Septims on the desk if you're playing the merchant businessman role, although you'd have to carry them (z) from the place you find them all the way to your house, because you can't separate them from the rest of your money. Perhaps you can find the console code for creating 'physical' (virtual!) Septims. (Maybe the money cheat does this.)
- If an opulent house isn't quite your style, there are more humble ways to furnish a home.
- Set up the kitchen area as if food is being prepared. A ladle in a pot or bowl or a bag of flour adds a subtle touch. Leave plates or flat baskets of various mushrooms on the floor as if set aside to dry.
- A basket can easily hold a dozen Tinder Polypore Caps. Set one by the fireplace as if they're being used to kindle the hearthfires. Bonemeal piles near the flames give hint of sloppy cooking habits (the Sundas roast fell into the fire...again).
- Flag your storage chests to give you a hint as to what they contain. Leave your favorite weapon atop your armaments chest, a pickaxe over the crate where you keep your Varla, Welkynd, and Sigil Stones, etc.
- Another simple way to put yourself in the world of Elder Scrolls is to stable your horse before entering interior cells (buildings, cities, caves). Remember to close the wooden gates of the stables (if there are any).
- Make memorials - Collect memorable items from your travels in a room in one of your houses. For example, turn the basement of Benirus Manor into the "Black Cave" with memorabilia from run-ins with the Blackwood Company.
- Try "upgrading" Cyrodiil. Clone lots of silverware (easily gotten from guild halls) and swap it with cheap clay pots, etc, that you find lying about. You could do this to your Imperial City House, or the Arena. You could also try to make your houses more 'real' - in Frostcrag spire (for example) the house is quite empty and spacious so you could place piles of books that you are reading, bottles of ale, food, silverware, weapons and armor around the house. This gives places a much comfier feel and you can brag about how your Waterfront is the best with all the good stuff in it.
- Set level caps for houses. Maybe buy a shack in the Imperial city when you reach level 5, and buy Rosethorn Hall at level 30. Or if you prefer the darker, seedier houses like the ones in Anvil, buy Benirus Manor at level 15, and practice your evil spells and potion-making in the basement.
- Some houses have waste bins, so collect crumpled paper and drop them in the bin and grab a broom and move around like you're cleaning your home.
- Have a butler in the manors. Get a follower, take him/her right inside (or outside, to taste) your doorway. Have them wait, so that they will greet you when you come home. This could be anyone from Martin or Jauffre to (more realistically) a Mage Apprentice or Adoring Fan. If you can stomach him, station the Fan outside so that he will light up the doorway with his Torch at night.
[edit] Pay Homage to Fallen Comrades
- Consider this if you get attached to the NPCs your character is involved with. This can become a need and a ritual.
- If your character is high-enough level to have followers; (for example Mage Apprentices and Knights of the Nine) try picking up their robes/cuiriass and/or sword and lay a little corner in your house with the robes of these fallen comrades surrounded by lit torches.
- Collect Viranus Donton's armor and sword from Forsaken Mine. Put them in a display case at the Chorrol Fighters Guild or return them to his mother Vilena Donton, for example by placing them on her desk. Add troll fat, an item of Blackwood Company armor, or an item of Eduard's armor to the memorial.
- At the end the Dark Brotherhood quest series when you go to Applewatch, toss the Mother's head out and watch Mathieu Bellamont stutter. Then, while Arquen is talking, eviscerate the traitorous cur. Sure, the other members will hate you for it, but you're getting revenge for the way Lucien was murdered.
After all is said and done, take the Mother's head, the Traitor's Diary, and cast them out into the Abecean Sea (off the coast of Anvil where the seed of evil spawned), and return to Applewatch. Scatter Nightshade all over the cabin's doorstep. Leave the Five Tenets, and shoot a flame arrow into the sky. Warning: Perennia Draconis' ghost will attack you upon your return if you view her headstone.
- After the Great Oblivion Gate in Bruma, if Jauffre and/or Baurus fall during the battle, take their Akaviri blades and place them at Cloud Ruler Temple.
- After Martin is gone (make sure you've taken some Mana Bloom flowers from Mankar's Paradise), go to Cloud Ruler Temple and scatter Lichor inside Martin's room, along with some lit torches. Shoot a flame arrow into the sky just outside the temple, and say your last goodbyes (you can even simulate dropping to one knee in first person by going into sneak-mode).
- Go to Dive Rock and get Svenja's body from the Uderfrykte Matron. Lay it out in her tent or on the overhang.
- After completing "The Sunken one" quest, scatter flowers and torches where Sythe fell and take over his farm.
- After you kill random Bandits in the wilderness (by an ocean or lake), pretend you killed them for your own protection and cast their bodies out to sea. Alternatively, you could find a bonfire and drag their lifeless bodies into the flames (Vilverin is a great place for this task).
- When Hannibal Traven dies, make a memorial with his robes and staff. You can also add flowers and Ayleid statues and stones.
- Create a history for a character that isn't an NPC. Create a sword called _____' sword/shield/axe/etc. Rename armor using the enchant for a larger memorial. As stated above, decorate with torches or flowers.
- Use Hannibal Traven's staff and robe when confronting the king. Also, to pay homage to Volanaro, use his Summon Dremora Lord spell to finish Mannimarco off.
This idea can apply to enemies too. After fighting a battle, if your opponents have fought honorably (unlike assassins or thieves), try to honor their bodies. Take their armor only to upgrade your own, not for profit. Try to straighten out your opponent's body (folding the arms if possible) and placing him or her in a nice location. If he or she died in the water, drag the corpse onto land, possibly a meadow of flowers, and perhaps leave a flower next to the body.
[edit] Realistic Tolerance and Actions
- When making a mistake, for example killing someone on a quest and not initially planning to, don't load a saved game. Continue on playing and roleplaying and see how that changes and affects the rest of the game.
- Although it is not necessary, eating regularly is an easy way to enhance roleplaying. Eat three meals a day at the appropriate times (or less if you are dirt poor). Breakfast should consist of grains, rice, bread or fruit. Lunch can be more bread, fruit, and vegetables. Save the meat and potatoes for dinner, along with your character's preferred alcoholic beverage. Try to base your character's diet on the price of different foods. For example, a beggar or commoner would not be able afford boar meat and Tamika Vineyard wine everyday.
- Become a vegetarian, or have your character get "Sick" after eating certain ingredients. Make "Restore Fatigue" potions named "Water" and drink them daily.
- After fighting in the Imperial City Arena, take the rest of the day off from the Bloodworks to clear your mind. This makes it seem more realistic than to compete in matches back-to-back all day long.
- Wear fur armor when in the Jerall Mountains, nothing when swimming, simple clothes without shoes when sleeping, and upper-class clothes when wandering around town. Only have armor with you when going into combat. Don't have a ton of Daedric armor and a plethora of powerful weaponry all the time.
- Give your character a personality! What does he like to eat? What creature or race does he/she hate/like the most? Is there any favorite activity he/She likes to do? What do they prefer to wear? Set yourself into the mind of the character, and a new world will appear.
- Read The Firmament to determine which month your character was born in (though those with the Serpent birthsign may find this impossible) and have a month-long birthday party as you best see fit. or, if you want, choose a certain day for it. If you were born under the Warrior sign, you can make Last Seed 27 (the day you get out of jail) your birthday, and celebrate being free!
- Use Followers as bodyguards, friends or colleagues. For example, Mazoga the Orc can become your bodyguard once you reach the top of the Fighters Guild. Alternatively, she can simply be another Fighters Guild member who you can ask for help if you are setting off on a dangerous mission. Martin can work in a similar way as a member of the Mages Guild. Tell them to wait in a place where they would actually stay (Inn, bar, guild hall etc.)
- You can try pushing the difficulty slider all the way to the left (easiest setting). This multiplies the damage you inflict on your enemies. Although the game may not be as challenging, it makes it seem a lot more realistic. Sneak attacks will probably be enough to kill most enemies, making sneaking much more worthwhile. It is also much more satisfying to see enemies fall after a single power attack or shot. To counter the simplicity of play, set your own limit for your health. Depending on the type of character you are roleplaying, they might only be able to take 3 - 8 arrows or 3 - 10 blows before they die. You can also pick a certain fraction of your health. If you lose that amount of health, force yourself to load the last save, as if you had died. These are good methods when roleplaying characters like mountain men, trappers, hunters, Imperial guards or bounty hunters.
Losing health is one part of the combat, but there can also be casualties after.
- If your character's leg has been pierced with arrows, he will have to walk, not run until he gets the leg healed. Switching between Sneak mode and regular (upright) mode can represent limping.
- You also want to catch your breath after a battle, to be prepared for your next fight.
- If you're shooting arrows at an enemy, and he gets closer, drop your bow and reach for your sword. I mean, actually drop the bow, so that it falls onto the ground. It makes combat more realistic; in real combat, you probably won't have time to place it on your back and go for your sword when the enemy gets close and raises his weapon to hit you.
- If you get injured in a fight, you could rent a room in an inn (or just stay at your own house) and roleplay as though you can barely walk and/or can't go out of the inn (or your house) and do anything until the wound 'heals' up, in a time frame you decide; although I'd recommend make it depending upon the specific wound that your character supposedly has (broken foot from falling off a cliff, a cut on the chest from a sword, a stab in the arm from a dagger, etc.). You could also actually roleplay as though the wound gradually gets better, so you can slowly begin to do more stuff that the wound used to physically prohibit, such as walking, running, putting on your armor, wielding your weapon, swinging your weapon, crouching, getting out of bed, etc. This could also work if you happen to catch a disease.
- If you get shot by an arrow in the arm that mainly is used to carry your weapon, perhaps that arm is too damaged to be able to carry a weapon for a couple of (Oblivion) days, so you must rest it off and/or not use any weapon in that hand until then. Or, it could be your "shield arm," and you have to go without a shield (or if you tend to use a two-handed weapon, you have to use a single-handed weapon) until it's healed.
- If you get shot by an arrow in the head you might not want to use spells, as they require attention and focus. Or maybe your character died by getting shot in the head, or badly injured. You can't walk for a couple of in-game days. If you think your character should die from the arrow, reload your last saved game.
- Say you had a particularly good meal at an inn, you may want to tip the barman. Do so by bribing him once, you give him a small amount of extra money, he likes you more. Just like in real life!
- For drinking, you could mix ingredients like apples, pear, berries and so on and call the potion "Fruit Juice", to drink when you have meals. You could also find a lake or stream to "drink" from (crouch/sneak down by the water to imitate drinking).
- Bathe! Why be dirty all the time? Every day, once a week, it doesn't matter. But what you do is take off your clothes and swim for a (game) hour.
[edit] Equipment
When you're role-playing don't have your character wear the best gear that they can find; try for something that suits them. Try to pick your weapons carefully, knights should have swords and maces, while assassins should have daggers and shortswords.
- Knights - Knights normally wear human-made armor and weapons (no Daedric, Elven or Dwarven). Knights often lived their life with but one weapon; if you want to swap weapons, break your current one, give it a place of honor and then use the new weapon that you have.
- Warrior - Will wear any heavy armor, and use any weapon type. Not that great for equipment roleplaying unless you give them guidelines. However as they can wear anything, they are easier to use with other roleplaying rules.
- Thief - Wears dark clothing/leather or other suitable light armor. To counter the low defense from weak or no armor, use sneak attacks or avoid enemies altogether. For a weapon use a shortsword or a dagger, with a bow to strike from a distance. Thieves don't use poisons as much as an assassin would.
- Assassin - Wear the Dark Brotherhood armor, the black hand robes or the Morag Tong Armor set (from the Mehrunes Razor official mod). Use daggers and shortswords loaded with poisons to take out enemies. Bows are sometimes used to take out enemies from afar, but the best way is to sneak in close and take them out. Deadly poison tipped arrows are also perfect, for assassins who prefer bows and arrows.
- Mage - Mages wear robes. The only exception to this is the battlemage who wears heavy armor with a hood. For a weapon use a staff with a dagger in case of close combat. Battlemages should have a heavy weapon with enchantments to wipe enemies out quickly.
This is a brief overview of the main classes, there are a lot of different items out there, but this equipment guide is just to give you an idea.
[edit] Character Type Roleplaying
The following subpages list various types of game-changing roleplaying ideas. These articles are also all listed in the category Oblivion-Roleplaying.
[edit] Conclusion
There is no limit to what you can make up!
It is hard, but interesting, to put yourself into the world of the game. If you are bored but still want to play Oblivion, roleplay. Make your own Quests, set your own goals, live your life in Cyrodiil. Use the Construction Set (if you have it) and create an island, or edit the camps around Cyrodiil to make the "Living Off The Land" Roleplay more "homely". If you're adept at using the Construction Set, create a dungeon, house, farm, etc. to aid your roleplaying experience. There are millions of things you could do, and it's a great way to waste some time.

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