Hilarious problem

[Jelena]

Finn Wolfshorn, Magritte is pretty in a "refined" way. On the other hand, Mauin, Narji is truly beautiful but in a "wilder", stronger way. I hate her hairstyle, though, sorry xD
Nord85, I like Didrich, because you managed, in my opinion, to design him exactly fittingly as a Viking/Germanic lore hero - Dragonborn. That's the same thing I tried to achieve with Haraldr (although red or blonde hair would be better than black in that case), since Skyrim is all Viking-inspired game anyway.

[Nord85]

Nord85, I like Didrich, because you managed, in my opinion, to design him exactly fittingly as a Viking/Germanic lore hero - Dragonborn. That's the same thing I tried to achieve with Haraldr (although red or blonde hair would be better than black in that case), since Skyrim is all Viking-inspired game anyway.

Well, I figured that I should make the most atmosphere-wise of the character with whom I was going to complete the MQ for the first time. So I wanted him to fit as well as possible to the Nordic culture and thinking, especially as I'm interested IRL of medieval customs and legends, Germanic ones in particular. I also wanted to see what the game had to offer without having to learn a new playstyle at the same time, so I reverted to the light-armored warrior type I have mostly used in every TES game. Plus, the traditional hero-type seemed to best fit the main story. The end result was deeply satisfying.

[Mauin]

On the other hand, Mauin, Narji is truly beautiful but in a "wilder", stronger way. I hate her hairstyle, though, sorry xD

No kidding. There just aren't any decent hairstyles like that. Or scars, for that matter... I was going to tweak both of them, but I haven't gotten around to it. I might now, though. I don't like that hair either. I'm iffy on the warpaints as well.

Edit:

Hidden:

She got tweaked. No hairs really work for her... Or scars. I'm trying to map out the actual positions of the scars at the moment.

Edit #2:

Hidden:

And that's where her scars would be if the game actually had scars like that. The black on the ear is where the piece is missing. Same for one spot on the nose.

[Lord Timster]

So, at last I can post piccies.

Like I said, she is basically just one of the presets with a few changes.
But hey, presets are people too, right?

<edit>
I guess I must have a 'thing' for tall, ass-kicking red-heads dressed in bits of dead dragon.
Or something.

[Nord85]

Very pretty, Lord Timster! What kind of build do you have? Evidently something including archery and light armour, but what else?

Like I said, she is basically just one of the presets with a few changes.
But hey, presets are people too, right?

Well, Skyrim's presets definitely are better than the randomly rolled monstrosities in Oblivion. Especially the Nords seem to be easy to fine-tune; change the hair-cut and colour according to taste, maybe change the nose type or the eyes, and you're good to go. As for Oblivion, I still remember how long it could take (before I installed a character overhaul) to get the character's mug to look merely not deformed. And that was just the start, to make something remotely good-looking was a rather dreary process.

[Mauin]

As for Oblivion, I still remember how long it could take (before I installed a character overhaul) to get the character's mug to look merely not deformed. And that was just the start, to make something remotely good-looking was a rather dreary process.

Gods, even with OCO that's still a challenge. The only reason that's really stopped me from making a new Oblivion character is that I just can't create one that doesn't look like a monster. Especially the Elves and Beasts. It doesn't seem to matter what I do with them... They always look deformed. The Dunmer tend to come out looking like vampires (though I really wish that OCO had done something about the damn ugly vampires Oblivion has. I mean... Vulom looks pretty when compared to the average vampire in Oblivion and she's a monster).

Seryna is the best looking character I've ever managed to make for Oblivion and that was more a fluke than anything else.
You can look here for photos. I don't currently have any to post.

[Lord Timster]

@Nord85: Very kind of you, Sir. (or possibly madam..?)
That is Juliet IX, the latest character on my 'Ironman (Ironwoman?) Challenge' on Legendary difficulty. She is currently Level 85... which has been an epic, astonishing and awesome RPG experience - hence the 'emotional attachment' which is the subject of this thread.
As you say: "It's akin to the feeling one has towards a favourite character in a story one writes"

Initial concept was Scout/Ranger, mainly because I think Skyrim does both Stealth and Archery really well, with Sneak-Archery-Smithing being the big three skills for the first 30 Levels. Since then she has diversified a lot, War Axe and Dremora Lord being a popular combat combo against minor enemies since about Level 60 or so. She's always wanted to go 'bad-ass' with a greatsword but never has, and still uses a bow despite having a superior Dwarven Crossbow.

Also you should totally take your Oblivion character through Shivering Isles.
I've always found the SI ending an especially fulfilling RP 'retire point', even more so if you take your time exploring the Isles and investigate/ponder the underlying mythos as the MQ progresses.

---

Re: Seryna. Wow. These mods fascinate me. One day I will get a PC that can actually run these things. One day.

Re Oblivion, tbh I thought the default female Breton was okay - you could get to 'kind-of cute if you don't look too closely' reasonably easily. A bit of a shame though, most of the NPCs managed to look just fine. If only the random button gave you a random NPC's face... Never mind.

Cheers

[Nord85]

@Nord85: Very kind of you, Sir. (or possibly madam..?)

It's sir.

Initial concept was Scout/Ranger, mainly because I think Skyrim does both Stealth and Archery really well,

That's very true. I liked archery in Oblivion, too, but Skyrim's version is leaps and bounds ahead of that. Sneaking is very nicely done, too. Too nicely, even, since my favoured playstyle is the sneaky archer, too, and I've done sneaking in one form or another with all my characters. When I'm finished with my current character (or maybe even earlier), I think I'll try something completely different. Maybe a battleaxe-wielding hulking gung-ho warrior with Restoration, with Destruction as long range weapon?

Also you should totally take your Oblivion character through Shivering Isles.
I've always found the SI ending an especially fulfilling RP 'retire point', even more so if you take your time exploring the Isles and investigate/ponder the underlying mythos as the MQ progresses.

I've heard so much praise about the SI that I'm practically compelled to install Oblivion on this computer, too, and check it out. Also I only just started Knights of the Nine when I last played Oblivion, so that's on the to-do list, too. Might well play those through with Inge, so as not to be compelled to start an altogether new character, and then retire her for good.

Re Oblivion, tbh I thought the default female Breton was okay - you could get to 'kind-of cute if you don't look too closely' reasonably easily. A bit of a shame though, most of the NPCs managed to look just fine. If only the random button gave you a random NPC's face... Never mind.

I think the biggest problem with the character face- tool eas that is was too flexible and complex. Every single slider affected who knows how many else, for instance. But yeah, with it one could make even very nice-looking faces. I especially liked the bookseller in Chorrol and Claudette Perrick. The latter, however, only from the front as her profile was a bit weirdly flat (which was a problem with quite a few other NPCs, too).

I have to disagree with you about most NPCs looking "just fine". I found too many of them were simply ugly in a nearly deformerd, uncanny way (case in point, the guard near Bruma's east gate). I think Bethesda simply got lazy with fashioning their looks, and only tried to make them pleasing from the direct front angle, and with some simply hit the "randomize" button. Hence, the often weird profiles and disquieting faces. I got used to them, but installing Oblivion Character Overhaul was still an ummeasurably great improvement.

[Lord Timster]

I have to disagree with you about most [Oblivion] NPCs looking "just fine".

Fair enough. I've never had a problem with them.
To a follower of The Path of M'aiq, all people are beautiful.

Might well play [SI] through with Inge [...] and then retire her for good.

Hopefully we will see a bit of fanfic from this, yes?

[Nord85]

Fair enough. I've never had a problem with them.
To a follower of The Path of M'aiq, all people are beautiful.

Well, different folks, different strokes, of course. For the record, I don't demand every NPC being gorgeous, on the contrary. I have absolutely no problems with those NPCs in Skyrim that aren't beautiful. That's because they are ugly/plain in a realistic way. But Oblivion's NPCs looked just a tad too unsettlingly weird for my tastes.

Hopefully we will see a bit of fanfic from this, yes?

Maybe. That's actually a good idea. I haven't written any TES fanfics before, and it's ages since I've written anything else, either. So it could be fun to have a go at TES universe, too. But in any case that has to wait until I have the time for it.

[Dohva.]

Since I resurrected Sylmirie, figured I'd add her here. Altmers aren't usually good looking. It took me a good deal of time (and several restarts) to get her face just the right kind of perfect.

Spoiler:

[Finn Wolfshorn]

^Sylmirie always has this look as if she were pondering, "What shall I do with this obnoxious insect here?" Aicantar is a brave man (but also a lucky one).

Since there was mention of redheads above, I raise you this brooding beauty:

Hidden:

Sylvaine Emrys, Breton witch gone Forsworn,

Hidden:

Daedra-worshipping Dragonborn, Alduin's and Miraak's Bane,

Hidden:

and dangerous to be around once a month.

Apart from Marilyn II (see my first post) she's the character whose looks I put the most work into (both in her human and lycan forms).

[CreeperX]

Fallen in love? Nope. Grown very fond of? Heck yeah. Some I prefer more than others for variety of reasons and some I might find quite nice to look at too.
I actually have a pretty bad habit of this, especially with my altmers. My current "problem" is Kael who is a Dead is dead character and who I am now afraid of playing in fear of killing him =P. Actually happened once before with Ves who I just couldn't bring myself to delete after she died.

Yakov and Oceloth are two of my oldest characters who are still around. My 2nd and 3rd character I ever created for Skyrim actually. First one I messed up with stupid leveling and just never got that fond of. Yakov has pretty much done everything that can be done within his roleplay so it's been a long time I last time played him (except take screenshots). He, however, did have a lasting effect on various things. Me discovering the joys of playing a mage, actually roleplaying a character, etc. so he thus will always hold a special place among my Skyrim characters.
... and just because I like to make fun of them...

There's a bunch of other characters I'm fond of for one reason or another. Others have more refined roleplay, others are just damn fun to play... Can't really say who I think is the best appearance wise though. I guess I should just spam pictures.

[Finn Wolfshorn]

Creeper, I think I can relate to your problem with Kael and Ves (who is steaming hot btw! not just because of the perspective and her choice of armour, but that too). Sylvaine above started out as my first and hitherto only attempt at playing DiD - I quite sucked at it, and the short lives and tragic deaths of Sylvaine Emrys I-III must still be buried somewhere in the DiD thread - , but after I'd restarted her from scratch for the third time I found I had become too attached to her for this and wanted to do something bigger with her, so I resurrected her and she became my second most favourite Skyrim character ever.

[CreeperX]

^
Indeed. I think it endears the character more effectively when you experience something like that. The ever present death threat makes you get immersed and pay attention in a new way. It's pretty easy for me to grow fond of them so I sometimes have to struggle to... distance myself so I would be able to follow the rules and delete them when they inevitably die (since I kind of suck at DiD too). Turns out it doesn't always work, like with Ves and Kael. I doubt I'll be able to delete Kael when he dies and Ves was just too fun to get rid off. I roleplayed her as a silly party animal getting drunk whenever possible and then doing all sorts of stupid stuff which most likely ends with her spending the night in jail (happened once already XD).

[Emzi 43]

The Familiar Faces Mod was great for stuff like this, since I neglected to give some of my characters meaningful conclusions, it was fun to just throw them into another character's life. One conclusion was that one was killed by another character, just by setting them as hostile. Hey Creeper, what armour does Kael use?

[CreeperX]

^
This one:
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/26313/?