Forums » Elder Scrolls

Character Generators: try, try again..?

    • 694 posts
    October 1, 2015 12:10 AM EDT

    So if you haven't had the chance to read over Idesto's Guide to Immersive Roleplaying (protip: you should!), one of his suggestions for enhancing your roleplay experience is to roll a random character. Now, Idesto published this guide some weeks back, but I keep coming back to this particular point. I can be a bit of a control freak planner and letting go can be difficult for me. So I thought I'd ask all you fine folks:

    • Have you or would you ever play a randomly generated character from start to finish? If so, how'd that work out for you?
    • Just for fun, why don't you roll a random Skyrim character now? You don't have to actually play it or anything... just share some of the basic stats with us. Throw down, say... basic Profile and Skills. Don't hit refresh if you don't like it; post it as is.
      • Bonus points if you actually post picture of your random character though!
    • Would you actually play what came up on the Generator? Why or why not?

    UPDATE: This generator may be a little better since you can reroll just a single column if there are just too many inconsistencies to reconcile in the initial result.  http://www.scenariogenerator.net/game/skyrim


    • 98 posts
    October 1, 2015 12:22 AM EDT

    I've always found the random character generators for Skyrim characters to be pretty non-sensical. Like, for example, in this generator I got an Altmer Werewolf who apparently adores the Volkihar Clan. Like, whaaa? Lol. I mean I guess you can use it to draw inspiration but honestly I much prefer starting from scratch with a concept of my own because I just find it too messy tbh.

    • 40 posts
    October 1, 2015 12:27 AM EDT

    My level 25 orc character, his name was actually generated from a list of Male Orc Names!

    His name is Murkamul Khatbuk. I just call him Murk. :) My cheeky Bosmer character Tav, likes to call him Murkamule Khatbutt. Murk doesn't think that's funny.

    Okay giving this generator a go! Haha, got an Argonian lady. She's not too far from my actual Argonian female, Azollah.

    Race:  Argonian
    Gender:  Female
    Age:  Venerable
    Class:  Warrior
    Supernatural:  None
    Apparel Style:  Heavy Armour
    Combat Style:  Two-handed
    Residence:  Proudspire Manor

    Talent:  Restoration
    Preferred:  Enchanting
    Backup:  Heavy armor
    Auxiliary:  One-handed weapons

  • October 1, 2015 3:22 AM EDT

    A Dunmer who loves Nords, adores Altmer, is tolerant of Khajiit, is friendly towards Redguards and vampires, and is indifferent towards vampires?

    Ha! He is a typical Dun--hostile towards Dunmer? Okay... now he's acting like a Dunmer.

    • 394 posts
    October 1, 2015 3:34 AM EDT

    Im a big fan of randomness: I like surprises! Also, it saves having to make a decision: if it doesn't work its not your

    fault, ahem. Just sayin'. Shinbira of course was a totally random creation. Thanks for the mention 

    • 649 posts
    October 1, 2015 10:30 AM EDT

    That random generator is really weird. I got Altmer Agent. Wears only robes, but one of his skills was Heavy Armor. Weird.

    Then I got Derkeethus as Spouse. But it says I dislike Argonians. Or they dislike me. It´s really too much random for my liking. But I guess people can choose only some things from these results, right?

    • 127 posts
    October 1, 2015 11:09 AM EDT

    Race: Orc
    Sex: Female
    Class: Rogue
    Supernatural: Werewolf
    Apparel style: Robes
    Combat Style: One Handed
    Residence: Proudspire Manor

    Talent: Archery
    Preferred: Conjuration
    Backup: Heavy Armor
    Auxiliary: Smithing

    She is Chaotic Neutral (the best kind), hates the Stormcloaks and the Imperials, hates the Dawnguard but is friendly towards the Vigil of Stendarr.  Oh yes, and CuSith is her Familiar.

    Yeah, I'd play that.

    • 64 posts
    October 1, 2015 11:19 AM EDT
    I like this very much!
    • 694 posts
    October 1, 2015 11:30 AM EDT

    Yeah I would say if there's anything that conflicting in the roleplay then it's dealer's choice! After all, you still want to end up with an interesting and believable character at at the end, so I think it's completely fair to take some liberties, especially when you get down to that level of detail (social, personality, family, etc). I think it's unlikely you'd get that cohesive of a character if you tried to apply every single condition. Myself, I would just look at race, appearance, alignment, skills... but leave it there and write the rest myself. 

    Unless I noticed there happened to be some really interesting combination that emerged.

    • 694 posts
    October 1, 2015 11:32 AM EDT

    Haha, yeah there can definitely be some weird contradictions, which is partially why I suggested just sort of looking at core of the character so, profile and skills. If you just took the basic alignment and sort of played through it with no real "agenda" I feel like it's possible some really interesting roleplay could emerge. Coming up with the story is one of the best parts, so I'd hate to be that boxed in with some of these personality and social dispositions. That's a little too specific in my mind.

    ...And even when you take the core of the roll (profile and skills)  it can be conflicting.  It would be really great if some of these had better conditional coding implemented into them. So I think drawing inspiration from them could be a solid middle ground. 

    This tool gives you a little more control so you can reroll just a single column:

    http://www.scenariogenerator.net/game/skyrim

    In fact, I'm gonna throw this link up in the discussion topic.

    • 694 posts
    October 1, 2015 11:36 AM EDT

    I think "Murk" is an awesome nickname!  Where is this orc name generator btw?

    • 694 posts
    October 1, 2015 11:42 AM EDT

    Well that's sort of what brought me around to all this! I feel like I don't seem to have much luck with these things. And yet your Shinbira is a really interesting character that came from a random roll: a thief-y Dunmer barbarian with a chip on his shoulder for all the right reasons. Surely lightning must strike twice sometimes?? 

    • 404 posts
    October 1, 2015 11:45 AM EDT
    I Tryed this and ended up with a Chaodic evil Female Orc Mage that wears heavy armor and is friendly with the good guys. I might use that as a base but change some of it to better fit a Chaotic evil character. For my just for fun character is currently a Wood elf That is in the Ranger Class.
    • 694 posts
    October 1, 2015 11:57 AM EDT

    It's a tangled web we weave. 

    I'd say if the info conflicts to the point of being unbelievable thennnn... dealer's choice...? That or REROLL! 

    • 694 posts
    October 1, 2015 12:00 PM EDT

    Hm. I confess, I do like the idea of a chaotic evil female orc battlemage in heavy armor. Huh. Maybe she could wield a bound sword in one hand and some sinister spells in the other..? That could actually make for a pretty cool playthrough, Mathias. 

  • October 1, 2015 1:30 PM EDT

    I actually got a really interesting character: 

    Race:  Breton
    Gender:  Male
    Age:  Mature Adult
    Class:  Acrobat
    Supernatural:  Werewolf
    Apparel Style:  Light Armour
    Combat Style:  Any
    Residence:  Severin Manor

    Talent:  Speech
    Preferred:  Block
    Backup:  Pickpocket
    Auxiliary:  Speech

    He's Lawful Neutral, Insane, Honor-Driven, and reveres Hermaeus Mora. His disposition toward most of the races is fairly neutral, but he loves Bosmer, Dunmer, Khajiit, Nords, and Werewolves, and doesn't like Imperials.

    His faction interactions are pretty funny, especially the Vigilants/Daedra part:

    Blades:  Zealot
    Greybeards:  Tolerant
    Imperials:  Dislike
    Stormcloaks:  Adoring
    Companions:  Friendly
    College of Winterhold:  Zealot
    Dark Brotherhood:  Dislike
    Thieves Guild:  Dislike
    Bard's College:  Hostile
    Dawnguard:  Hostile
    Volkihar Clan:  Dislike
    Forsworn:  Zealot
    Thalmor:  Indifferent
    Vigils of Stendar:  Zealot
    Daedra:  Adoring

    And lastly: his familiar is a stray dog.

    I would most definitely play this character.

    • 40 posts
    October 1, 2015 1:36 PM EDT

    Right Here! Some of these are quite silly or hard to pronounce, but there's a lot of potential. I like to mix-and-match some of these too.

  • October 1, 2015 1:45 PM EDT

    Okay, this generator is awesome: I reloaded (after saving) and got a second super interesting character.

    Race:  Redguard
    Gender:  Male
    Age:  Young Adult
    Class:  Archer
    Supernatural:  Vampire or Werewolf
    Apparel Style:  Light Armour
    Combat Style:  Two-handed
    Residence:  Proudspire Manor

    Talent:  Archery
    Preferred:  Conjuration
    Backup:  Destruction
    Auxiliary:  Two-handed weapons

    He's a Lawful Good Insane Joker who hates all gods save for Nocturnal and walks backwards. He hates his own people but loves Argonians, and hates old people but loves children.

    Same weird Vigilants/Daedra thing as the last one:

    Blades:  Tolerant
    Greybeards:  Hostile
    Imperials:  Zealot
    Stormcloaks:  Friendly
    Companions:  Zealot
    College of Winterhold:  Dislike
    Dark Brotherhood:  Hostile
    Thieves Guild:  Adoring
    Bard's College:  Zealot
    Dawnguard:  Friendly
    Volkihar Clan:  Dislike
    Forsworn:  Dislike
    Thalmor:  Hostile
    Vigils of Stendar:  Adoring
    Daedra:  Zealot

    Again: I would most definitely play this character.

    • 288 posts
    October 1, 2015 1:48 PM EDT

    I rolled the link, and:

    Skills...

    Talent:  Two-handed weapons

    Even the random generator knows

    • 404 posts
    October 1, 2015 1:59 PM EDT
    I might give it ago sometime later.
    • 134 posts
    October 1, 2015 2:58 PM EDT

    Ah, damn! I rerolled a few times on the second site and now I've spoiled it!

    I did get an Altmer stealth-illusionist Companion on my first (or maybe second?) run that uses greatswords and daggers [sneak, illusion, speech]. Given a decent backstory, I'll happily see this through!

    I'll check the first site too, subbing in the above to see what the character is like in full.

    EDIT: It seems he's a neurotic insomniac with a pet Troll, who loves sailing. 

    • 207 posts
    October 1, 2015 3:15 PM EDT

    I think thats interesting and both generators rolled something playable. But my problem is they generate stuff you could manipulate. As I read Idestos guide I understood like: You don't choose as what you are born. So role that stuff: Look, Race, Gender maybe, Skills you are naturally talented in. But you can choose whom you marry, what children you adopt, what factions you join (though sympathy might depend on how you were raised). So the first Generator rolls a bit to much things for my taste.

    • 367 posts
    October 1, 2015 3:42 PM EDT

    I would happily play as a randomly  generated character provided there were a few things I could stipulate.

    An Argonian male with green reptilian eyes, as many Bone spikes as possible including eyelids, dark green shading and three scars above his left eye. And he was called Sotek.

    This would be fine as long as he could join the Companions, take Aela as his mate and hunt the plains as a werewolf alongside his she-wolf mate.

    He would have to have Axes and a Bow. (Spear with mods)

    If all that is ok the sure, I'm all for it.

    PS.

    He'll have to worship Hircine, apart from these minor details its all good.

      Oh yes, Alchemy is a must.

    • 404 posts
    October 1, 2015 3:58 PM EDT

    oh you.

    • 30 posts
    October 1, 2015 8:34 PM EDT

    Okay this is weird. A vampire khajiit acrobat who adores the stormcloaks and hostile to nords. Also he serves malacath.