I talk a lot on this channel about gaming intentionally, slowing down, being present, and letting RPGs be about the journey, not the checklist. For me, nothing does that better than role-playing. Creating a character forces you to think differently, make choices you wouldn’t normally make, and experience the world through someone else’s eyes.
In this video, I break down why I role-play, how it deepens immersion, and the simple steps I use to create meaningful characters, from backstories and aesthetics to moral choices and letting go of min-maxing. If you’ve ever wanted your next playthrough to feel more personal, memorable, and alive, this one’s for you.
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#Roleplaying #RPG #Skyrim #BaldursGate3 #EldenRing #Oblivion #DivinityOriginalSin2 #Divinity #TaintedGrail # #IntentionalGaming #CozyGaming #SlowGaming #FantasyRPG #mindfulgaming #slowgaming
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A Redguard child who was rescued from slavers by an Orc Shaman and trained in their fighting techniques. She does not know what her name is and who her family was.
I once in skyrim made a wood elf who was disowned by his family simply for being gay. His parents had hm set up to marry a wood elf lady to make the bonds between hsi family and hers stronger as hers were pwoerful and rich. When his family discovered hew as gay and had been seeing this guy he was disowned and had to flee Valenwood. He of course when fleeing ot caught crossing the border. He soon found his place in the companions and over the time he and Kodlak formed a father and son relationship. Losing Kodlak hit him really hard. After the funeral service he stayed at hte pyre all day and night then jsut dissapeared. People started hearing tales of a perticulerly vicious were wolf rampaging across the lands, guess who it was. The catch was, the whole time he was doing this Kodlaks ghost followed him around trying to stop him. My wood elf chracter at first ignored him not willing to accept it was really Kodlak and thinking he was just seeing things because of his greif. Eventually though while running in his werewolf form he was found by someone who could see Kodlak and took him in, helping him move through the rage and the pain . He helped my wood elf to master the courage to talk to Kodlaks ghost and find the strngth to move on, to go back and lead the companions like Kodlak had wanted for him. Of course he stil lthought of Kodlak a lot but at least he was now actually living again. The guy who took him in eventually became my wood elfs husband.
I cna still vividly remember so much of that playthrough. I dunno why this one stuck with me so much , but now every time i see Kodlak i remewmber that playthrough and it pulls at my heart.
Call this an excuse but "being wrong" is one of the biggest hurdles for me cause the idea of not going optimal really urks me.
I've been gaming for years, and I've honestly never thought of role-playing like this. The most I've done is decide whether I'm going for the good ending or the bad ending. I'll be doing this going forward, especially with some remaster replays that I've been putting off.
hi stryder, hopefully you see this. I have never roleplayed in the way that you describe here. I think it could potentially be an amazing experience. Do you do this on your first playthrough of games as well or usually just the ones you know pretty well already.
This is an absolute gem of a channel, glad I found you
I played Skyrim over and over when it came out same that and new Vegas, it became boring to me , then one character in Skyrim I said where is my character from and what does he want, after that I just wrote massive back stories for each character I made in fallout or Skyrim. I've played dnd a few times as well long into being an adult. Playing casual is great sometimes but, you can feel yourself looking through your characters eyes thinking as your character and its just phenomenal. also no hud as much as you can.
Can please someone tell me which games are those three from 9:37 to 10:26?? Thank you so much 🙂
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I have a hard time even coming up with a name for my character so role playing is difficult, I guess I don't have enough imagination.
I never know how I want to play the game, what my characters motivations are and usually end up playing it the way I am in real life (helping out every single npc and getting completely side tracked)
Except for Dragon Age Origins, depending on which origin you choose you know your background and can continue with that.
I loved playing the Couslands origin, I knew my character's family, where she grew up, the people she grew up with so by the time I reached Ostagar I was pissed as heck. It felt so real and immersive.
So thank you for this video, it is helpful.
Really resonated with me. The whole idea of becoming the head of every guild, thane in every hold, didn't make sense to me. And it all felt so goal-oriented. How to get the best start. What to do and in what order. How to make the most money, get the most gear. It wasn't … relaxing … at all. Stress-producing. What you said made sense. So, last night, I started writing out a character bio (and doing a bit of research on places and such). As I did so, I started to think about this person, not as a vehicle for 'getting things done' but as a person. His ethics and how what he's been through in the past would define what he does in the future. It all started to make a bit of sense. I agree with those that have said how they seriously love the quote "living in the space between the quests." No need to push through. Take the time to sleep, to cook, to putter with alchemy, learn how to work the forge. Because that's part of a character's life, part of the journey.
I could see him wanting to help the people who helped him (Ralof, Gerdur, and Hod, for example). So, yes, he'd warn the Jarl and get the Dragon Stone because that would help these people. But then, he'd come back to Riverwood. Putter. Spend time with friends and figure out his next move.
Thank you for this series of videos. It's helped me put things into perspective and I'm going to try it out starting with Skyrim.
I created a Skyrim character based off of and named, Prometheus. I made him a nord, that steals all fire possible. It ended up with hoarding all torches in Skyrim and learning all the base game words of power. I did all the Thieves guild quests and gathered all the stones of barenziah. Then I deleted the file. Great time.
Remember when building a character, there are no bad or wrong, only different values, goals or life perspectives. Thanks you for your video, i will start my new journey on Skyrim by really role playing, i had never done it before 🙂
Hmm, will try this approach in my next playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077.
Changed my entire mindset ty
One of my most memorable characters was the 5th playthrough attempt of Baldurs Gate 3, and the second to actually finish the game before getting bored. The whole character started from one question. What if everything about this character is a potential lie? Like even the information I know could be a lie. Even his name is likely a lie. So he turned out to be a charlatan swashbuckler rogue pirate captain with a love for spectacle, hatred for any semblance of control, and a habit of compulsive lying. He hated Selune and Shar equally, he refused to kill a dwarf he had planned to kill since he met him, because the priestesses of Umberlee ordered him to, his finishing blow to Raphael was a vicious mockery, and all in all, the concept, as the game went on, shifted from chaotic neutral to chaotic evil, cemented when he agreed to help Astarion ascend, because on principle, even if he thought it a bad idea, he would never stand in the way of someone's ambition, or force his choice on someone. So thats how I played a chaotic evil playthrough who had the smallest proportional oldschool bodycount of any of my characters, which included a pacifist (in npcs, not statistically).
Edit: And one of my most impactful characters was a simple nord boy in Oblivion who started as just a boy out to prove himself, and turned into a whole arc of depression, self worth, purpose and imposter syndrome.
in my latest Skyrim play through I’m roleplaying a Redguard scholar who grew up in Elinhir, the City of Mages. He always wanted to be a powerful mage, but he basically has zero natural talent and stunted magicka (I never put level-up points into magicka). So instead of raw spellcasting, he survives using scrolls, staves, potions, and enchanted gear. When it becomes clear he’ll never be a “real” mage, he decides to gain renown as a scholar.
He becomes interested in the Dwemer, especially since a lot of their ruins exist in Hammerfell. However many were picked clean after the Great War. That’s what pushes him to Skyrim, where tons of Dwemer sites are still undiscovered. He hunts down books (especially Dwemer related), actually reads them, and slowly builds a library in his Markarth home. Every Dwemer ruin is treated like a full-on expedition with prep, research, and gear planning beforehand. His endgame goal is finally tracking down the Tools of Kagrenac, which I’m saving for late game as his crowning achievement.
This was thoughtful and powerful. It forced a moment of introspection, to reevaluate how I approach games as an adult.
You’re my new favourite creator. Thank you! 🙂