Hello!
I've been lurking for a few weeks, and I love how friendly and helpful everyone seems. I've been looking over a lot of builds while I've been setting up a mod list, originally just to pass the time and get some inspiration for a modded playthrough or two, but some of the stuff on here is so good I decided to join. I've now a couple in mind myself (I also thought that getting in to this a bit might be a helpful exercise for writing more generally).
Regarding any builds I might post: I've never been super into TES lore, though I enjoy reading about it and find digging through lore and inventing back stories and things fairly staightforward and fun. However, though I've played Skyrim and Fallout on and off for a few years now I'm the kind of gamer who is in it for the RP and escapism, not maximising gameplay, exploits and things like that. So I don't know skill trees, quests, perks, items, etc very well at all. Is there a primer, guide or tool somewhere for this aspect of things?
Pleased to meet you all anyway!
Hi Annaresti! Please to meet you as well. Good to have you with us and get to know a little bit more about you and your interests. :) As far as getting into character building goes, a general primer on building exists, but as far as a catalogue of items and abilities goes, that can probably be found on the Skyrim Wiki or UESP. We have a few different discussions and resources for new builders about the actual building process though. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Ponty's Guide to Character Building, which sort of touches on what you should include when thinking about your build. I would suggest making an outline of your character maybe before you even start play testing it. It doesn't have to be a completely exhaustive list. I think some of the best builds have happened somewhat organically too, but it's good to have a general idea before you even start playing.
Noodles has also put together a really awesome build template as well, which I would recommend checking out. And, of course, you can always bounce ideas off of people in the Workshop to ask for feedback and advice for things that might synergize well with your idea.
Also, if character development and roleplay is really your thing, I'd also recommend checking out the Roleplay group too. If you're not as into the mechanics and more about the roleplay or the story, you can create an RP profile which really digs into the character's motivations, story, etc. a little more than a build. You can create a freestanding roleplay profile or use it as a supplemental material for a character build or blog. Hope that makes sense. Let me know if you have any questions and again welcome the site!
Thanks everyone. Right, so if I want help with getting started - "I have an idea for a character like X that focusses on Y an does Z. What would be people's roleplay / mechanic suggestions for that be, if any?" - where would I post that, please? Might do an outline first etc, obviously
Edit: A thing I just noticed. Loads and loads of pictures on different builds and threads, etc don't seem to load for me. Is this just normal or is something going wrong?
@Annarresti - What you want is under Other Groups -> The Workshop you can post there a preview of whatever you want to make and ask for some feedback.
Regarding the photos I think some older posts haven't retained their photos in them not sure about that though Paws or Edana probably know better.
Thanks, Duvain. Just realised that Edana mentioned that already, too. Whoops.