Whacky characters! (image warning)

[Sever]

Ok. This place is dead. So i'm not gonna apologise if this kinda thread has been done before. I'm not even gonna check lest i lose the sudden urge to breathe a little life into this forum. It could certainly use some discussion. So, in a round-a-bout way, here we go.

Morrowind has the dubious honour of being right at tha smeggin' top of my list of games that i've wasted (nay, spent) countless hours playing. The thing i love most about it is the fact that its gameplay is so open to interpretation and pretty much free of all the rules that have bugged me to tears in EVERY other rpg i've played. Don't get me wrong, rules are important to achieving a satisfying rpg experience, but morrowind's distinction lies with the fact that you, the gamer, could set the rules of your alter-ego according to the creativity of your own imagination. Now, depending on just how imaginative you were feeling, this led to characters developing any number of weird and whacky traits that bore the hallmarks of your own personality. Traits that are only possible with morrowind's open-ended, freedom of choice gameplay.

This thread is my salute to Bethesda. And it's purpose is for people who, like me, may have expressed their lesser realised personality traits through characters that grew to be unique in some way or another. Or just had fun roleplaying unorthodox characters in ways that only morrowind allows and wanna share their experiences. Whatever floats your boat.

I've played about a dozen characters and each were unique in some form or another. But three in particular were special and i had a blast playing them. To start the ball rolling...

[ 11-13-2005, 06:17 AM: Message edited by: Sever ]

[Sever]

There was this chick called Naesha. She stepped off the boat at Seyda Neen all bright eyed and bushy tailed being the first and only female character i've RP'd. Admittedly, her creation was purely an experiment into the possibilities of gameplay options within morrowind. But she grew to be so much more.

You see, Naesha was a wuss. A true pacifist in every sense of the word. With an aversion to violence that bordered on obsessive, her career on Vvardenfell was always gonna be tough. I didn't realise just how much fun she was gonna be until the first time she was caught in a life or death chase with six wild, rabid creatures.

After that she learned that stealth was really her only option and she set off to become the best thief that infernal island had ever known.

She did it all. Temples, shops, caverns, fortresses, guildhalls, mushrooms, ruins... No place was safe from her grubby mits. And the greater the risks; the crazier the target; the more homicidal the occupant - the more fun she had doing it. And she did it all without ever killing anything. Not even a scrib.

My only regret with her was that she was my third character and it was still early in my morrowind days. She had countless insane moments and each and every mission held more elaborate and devious schemes than a whole hour of daytime tv drama. (Acquiring DB armour - now that was a challenge!) But i've since explored morrowind more thoroughly and learned so many tricks that would have really brought her to life. It's a shame she's stuck in an archive save file that i don't have the patience to open...

The significance of this character for me is that it was the first time i was able to roleplay a true thief. Someone who doesn't go around killing people to get their stuff. Someone who gets better at sneaking by sneaking. (As oposed to killing things. Never could wrap my head around that one.) I can't think of another rpg that lets you do this. And i certainly can't think of any other thief character that i've enjoyed playing so much. My hat goes off to Bethesda.

[Beddy byes now. The other two can wait...]

[SecretMaster]

I have to agree. I have much respect for Bethesda for these reasons.

1. They remain an "independant" developer. They aren't owned by Vivendi or EA and forced to make unfinished, crappy games.

2. The Devs actually listen to what their audience says.

3. Each game is masterfully done, and all of their products are made with the finest quality.

For me, my main character is Jorlon the Crusader. I picked the Crusader class and followed two very strict laws. I would refuse to steal. I stole nothing. I only raided bandit caves and such. Also, I refused to wear/wield daedric weapons/armor purely because it was dark and "demonic". The only way I could wield them were if I enchanted it so it was "purged". I never got around to that though, seeing as how I got better items.

My main focuses were on personality, strength, and endurance. He was a defender for the rights of the poor, an activist in the anti-slave movement and strived to maintain the Imperial Ideals.

His guilds were the Imperial Legion and the Fighters Guild. Later on he was to join the Imperial Cult but somehow that part escaped me. Either way, it was quite the experience.

I've played other characters, but Jorlon was my favorite and my best. I enjoyed scouring the countryside getting rid of bandit dens, freeing slaves, and purging Daedric Ruins.

[Sever]

And i bet Jorlon's career was made all the more satisfying due to the fact that you played him according to your own guidelines. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

He sounds a lot like my second last character, Akulakhan, the cleric. He too upheld the rights of the poor. Hated slavery, witchcraft and necromancy and vowed to erradicate them all. But he was a fanatical temple zealot who didn't get out much. Still, he'd turn over his valuable finds to the temple for nought, confiscate heretical scriptures wherever he found them, horde ash statues and sixth house relics for safekeeping and generally do all that righteous temple stuff. And all according to the rules i gave him. Which made it work.

Newcomers to Morrowind often get overwhelmed by the freedom that Bethesda give you. I'd hazard a guess that those same people are the one's who luuurve Bioware games to death. Which is fine. But there's only so many different ways you can play the same rigid storyline. Bethesda doesn't fall into this trap. They let you roleplay your character the way you want to.

Which brings me to the second of my whacky characters...

[Sever]

Swims-With-Fishes was an Argonian hunter-gatherer. Not too sure how a simpleton such as he gets mixed up with imperial law. But it happens to the best of us, i guess, so i'll leave that bit of his history to your imagination.
As with Naesha, Swims-With-Fishes was created as an experiment. I wasn't too sure how he'd turn out, but was pleasantly surprised with the results.

He didn't care too much for people, preferring his own company most of the time. He wasn't interested in traditional adventuring at all, preferring a relaxed lifestyle of hunting and, er, gathering. He never paid for training, transport, weapons, armour and spells. He never bothered with guilds and quests and he certainly couldn't be assed tracking down Caius Cokhedius or whatever his name was. The main quest just didn't fit his personality at all.

And it worked beautifully.

Straight off the boat at Seyda Neen, he bought a spear and started spearfishing. It wasn't long before he was pretty deadly with it and he turned his attention towards a career of harvesting dreugh wax and pearls for a handsome profit. Soon after, he was using his natural swimming talents to good effect and exploring underwater grottos and shipwrecks - turning over a greater profit still. He made his first home in a pleasant little ship that was hard docked at Seyda Neen (ship.esp mod). Fitting though it was, it was purely cosmetic and couldn't actually sail anywhere. But then i found the Fishing Academy mod and S-W-F's career TOOK OFF.

Tooled up with a fully furnished, fully sailable, (fully sick [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] ) ship, he was ready to travel the coasts of Vvardenfell. And travel he did. His profit margin increased tenfold with his new means of transport and accomodation. He spent every day from dawn til dusk out in his groovy little dinghy (also fully sailable) fishin' for pearls and huntin' dreugh. When he got tired of that, he'd just drift around and gaze at the lush scenery along the coastline. Or brave the dangers of the grottos. Or loot some old shipwreck. Occasionally, he'd test out his land legs and go hunting for skins in the Grazelands or Ascadian Isles. While he was there, he'd gather ingredients to practice his alchemy skills in which he was steadily becoming a master. Life, so it seemed, was a smeggin' sea breeze!

It wasn't long before he'd amassed a minor fortune and rumours of the strange, nomadic sea traveller were being spread around the taverns of the coastal villages. That's when he decided to make brief forays back into civilisation every now and then. He'd donate his potions to the local temples, trade pearls and skins for the rare ingredients that were beyond his means of acquiring, stock up on armour repair tools, get tanked at the tavern (and pick up some green, scaly wench with a name that shouldn't be mentioned aloud), and generally do all the stuff that he couldn't out on the sea. And when he'd had enough, he'd head back out and do another lap.

Again, it's been two years and a format since i've played this guy and he now resides in an archive save with and endless loop of error pop-ups.

The significance of this character for me? It was the first time ever in an rpg where i've been able to kick back, relax, and do things the way i wanted to do 'em. No other rpg lets you do this. Due to this, it was also the first time that i really noticed just how beautiful the hand crafted world of Morrowind really is. When you're not powergaming hither and thither, you tend to appreciate the little things like sunsets and twilights. And when you're not off on this meaningless errand or that, you tend to dream up less grand, but ultimately more satisfying paths in fictional life. Kudos to Bethesda once again. Swims-With-Fishes was my fourth. Between him and Naesha i learned so much about how a roleplaying game should be played. Every other character i've made owes something to these two pioneers.

Special kudos to MADMAX [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] , author of the Fishing Academy v2.0 mod. Without which Swims-With-Fishes just may have drowned early on in life...

[ 08-26-2005, 07:33 AM: Message edited by: Sever ]

[SecretMaster]

Originally posted by Sever: And i bet Jorlon's career was made all the more satisfying due to the fact that you played him according to your own guidelines. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] He sounds a lot like my second last character, Akulakhan, the cleric. He too upheld the rights of the poor. Hated slavery, witchcraft and necromancy and vowed to erradicate them all. But he was a fanatical temple zealot who didn't get out much. Still, he'd turn over his valuable finds to the temple for nought, confiscate heretical scriptures wherever he found them, horde ash statues and sixth house relics for safekeeping and generally do all that righteous temple stuff. And all according to the rules i gave him. Which made it work. Newcomers to Morrowind often get overwhelmed by the freedom that Bethesda give you. I'd hazard a guess that those same people are the one's who luuurve Bioware games to death. Which is fine. But there's only so many different ways you can play the same rigid storyline. Bethesda doesn't fall into this trap. They let you roleplay your character the way you want to. Which brings me to the second of my whacky characters...

Akulakhan eh? That name sounds awfully familiar

[Sever]

Originally posted by SecretMaster: Akulakhan eh? That name sounds awfully familiar

[img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] Smeg. I've been made.

Yes i admit it. I'm terrible at coming up with new names over and over. Just before i made him i was testing a mod from a save file in Akulakhan's Chamber. I guess the name was stuck in my head or something. And it seemed fitting, after all, as this guy was gonna be the first to play through the MQ in three years or so.

Refresh my memory SecretMaster, Akulakhan is the true name of the god Lokhi, yes?

[SecretMaster]

I only know of Akulakhan in terms of Morrowind, sorry.

[Sever]

That's what i meant. Lorkan, Lokhi, there's a few different versions IIRC. Or i may be thinkin' of something totally different. I forget.

[Felix The Assassin]

Originally posted by Sever: He never paid for training, transport, weapons, armour and spells. Straight off the boat at Seyda Neen, he bought a spear and started spearfishing.

Very interesting story.

The boat you speak of? Mod created?