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Having done the CoW quest line once, I told myself I wouldn't run through this somewhat flat and unsatisfying quest line again. However, I found myself completing it again so that I could experience and complete Arniel's Endeavor, which I didn't finish with my earlier character.

In my case, I'm not much spurred on by the drive to complete everything. Most of my game time is spent in Indiana Jones-style game world exploration, while trying to "peek behind the scenes", as it were, in an effort to understand what the developers were thinking when they stitched Skyrim together.

Seeing the responses to the eternal "What's your favourite Armour/Weapon/Race" questions, I'm struck by how many gamers fly the flag of aesthetics & appearances. While I personally don't give a fig for someone else's fashion sense, I'd find it interesting to understand what it is that motivates different gamers to pursue or ignore certain chunks of game content.

For me it is a bit of all four. My motivation changes at the moment I'm replaying the Companions quest line just to fill my characters back story at the moment she is a legion deserter who has become a merc. as she has lost the desire to die for the flag. At some point though I know this character will end up Faldor's Tooth just because it is my favourite dungeon to raid. Then I will spend some time wandering to find new locations and head to the Dainty Sload to get my curved Sword.

Only roleplay, for me. I played through the first time with a character who did everything, so I knew what would be suitable and/or worth it for any of my roleplaying playthroughs. Mostly because I find that these games lose their charm quickly if I don't restrict some things from myself, to give each character a different meaning. Also, it makes the heart grow fonder for questlines I haven't completed in a while, which leads to more concepts to be able to play through them, and the cycle continues.

Besides, it's not like most of the quest rewards are worth a damn.

Role-playing, all the way. I find completionism (is that even a word?) unsatisfying; I greatly dislike doing every quest and guild in the game with one character. I highly doubt that
i'll ever have my High Elf mage join the Companions. It's just not in his character, and it's not in my interests.

Roleplaying dictates a helluva a lot of things I do in Skyrim. I can go months in game without joining any guild or factions.

But yes, typically roleplaying motivates me when doing questlines.

Honestly, the treasure is the last thing that motivates me, the first being the fun of roleplaying. I just like being either sassy or sneaky, whichever gal I happen to be playing. The best part of the questlines is seeing the story unfold and the options the pc is given.

Like the Dark Brotherhood questline when all the [&@%!] hit the fan...I was like WHOA whaaaa...and it was awesome.

It really depends on what I'm doing. In short, it tends to be a combination of all four. Though, I think, it is probably mostly for roleplay.
But there are those odd characters who I create just to be a fool. I don't even know what sort of motivation that would fall under.
Varied experience? If one sticks to characters who act semi-normal most of the time. Which I don't. Well, maybe. Depends how one defines normal.

Role-Play, but i think in a weird way.

I'll generally play through all of the quest lines a few times to get a feel for them, which ones I like, which ones I don't. After a few completions I create a character that I feel will fit the most of what I enjoy and fit in the world the best. I'll plan out what guilds and quests I'll do then start. After that I just let the character be and form vis a vis role play. By the time I'm "finished" with Skyrim I want ONE character that is canon in MY Elder Scrolls universe.

The roleplaying, really. I do things like not fast-traveling and spacing out the quests to keep it fun, and I usually think about things in terms of playtime (eg I'll not finish the DB questline before 100 hours because it's the main attraction, I'll start Dawnguard at about 150 when I've done everything else).

Roleplaying for me. The characters I have made have their own stories and their own personalities (even if they are only in my head), which are what I use to base their decisions on. For me, it brings me closer to who I am playing, giving me enjoyment and making each play through significant.

Guild quests are always roleplay. Main quest turned into completionism-rewards after doing it quite a few times. Some side quests are RP, some are for reward. For example, I love the solitude and deadric questlines, I do grind quests for rewards.. which are sometimes ridiculously small for rare items.. Getting three flawless amethysts won me a weak poison.. wooooo.

None of the above, I get bored very quickly with the questlines in Skyrim.

I don't know why, it didn't happen in oblivion/Morrowind.

Maybe I just matured enough to not care about video games as much as I used to.

Roleplay, combined with a lot of above.
Also, shouldn't the poll be up to two, three max. Choosing all for options seems a little weird.

For me it is all about the roleplaying and my own curiosity. I despise "one character to rule them all" mentality, i dont ever make one character leader of more than two guilds and that was only one example.

Evil-i wrote:What motivates you during Quest Lines?

Fuel drawn from a huge built-up store of trust that I have in Bethesda (accrued primarily through playthrus of TES: IV and FO3) to deliver rich, quality content in all most areas of the game. Which of course includes, for a man of wealth and taste such as myself, aesthetic appeal in terrain, equipment, character models, and more.

Roleplaying doesn't factor into the motivation in any serious, coherent way. Beyond developing an idea of the character's basic personality and equipment/skill preferences (which, coincidentally enough, often seem to align quite closely with my own aesthetic and moral tastes) the rest of the journey is essentially left in Bethesda's capable hands. Which is to say that content is explored in the order in which it is naturally encountered in game, not that an attempt is made to explore all content, just because it was included. Much of the content (including many questlines) I find morally repugnant, vulgar, boring, etc., and undignified to experience, from a metagame standpoint. Completing it would actually take away from my enjoyment of the game.

With that explanation, option four: Curiosity/Need for game-world exploration and varied experience, is the only one that really fits.

Believe wrote:None of the above, I get bored very quickly with the questlines in Skyrim.

I don't know why, it didn't happen in oblivion/Morrowind.

Maybe I just matured enough to not care about video games as much as I used to.

I agree with that, to an extent. Skyrim's guild quests had the remarkable ability to create disinterest in their story-lines in record time.

Exploration.
I certainly not a completionist, but I love to go through with different characters and experience different things even within the same questlines. In Morrowind this was 1000000000x more valid. In Skyrim you still have a handful of alternative realities during questlines.

Zuzu wrote:Only roleplay, for me. I played through the first time with a character who did everything, so I knew what would be suitable and/or worth it for any of my roleplaying playthroughs. Mostly because I find that these games lose their charm quickly if I don't restrict some things from myself, to give each character a different meaning. Also, it makes the heart grow fonder for questlines I haven't completed in a while, which leads to more concepts to be able to play through them, and the cycle continues.

Besides, it's not like most of the quest rewards are worth a damn.

^ This, pretty much.

If you play any of the TES games, as is, without any roleplaying whatsoever, it tends to lose itself pretty quick and there's not much replay value in that XD I think it's been a solid two months now that I've played Skryim pretty religiously, and that's all through roleplaying and exploration :>

I like to go into the game thinking, "What would XYZ character do?" My mage wouldn't join the Dark Brotherhood, but to my sneaky thief, there might be some profit in that. My chivalrous warrior probably wouldn't condone the way Brynjolf cheats people for profit, but he'd happily bull his way with the Bard's college so that everyone can have their holiday again ; w;

Most of the rewards during Questlines aren't all that great anyway XD

yeah roleplaying primarily for me too. I tend to have one pathfinder character which plays as comprehensive a game as possible and is an all rounder. Can be very difficult justifying the hero of skyrim turning to the dark brotherhood and some of the dodgier daedric quests, but there are mechanisms within the game that can make you RP a 'posessed' character or from different moral stance (eg ebony mail made me do it, i was a vampire lord at the time). Exploration is huge too but when i get to interact with the events and inhabitants of the game its based round RP decisions

the initial playthrough unlocks the game for new characters, cos i generally know then where to steer them throughout their adventures

role playing makes this game mean something

Fortune and glory, kid... Fortune and glory...

I put Curiosity/Need for game-world exploration and varied experience

But I think the best thing to put there would be "Lore" or story driven quest.
I love questlines about say dwarves, or what happened in Morrowind.
I love learning about the Falmer during the dawnguard mainquest. I wish Knight Paladin Gelabor had more to say.

Radian quests bore me. I want story driven quests

Roleplay all the way. It's my character's motivations that drive me to complete quests or decline them.

Roleplay for sure. Right now im focusing on tavern quests and quests for the Jarls stewards. Most of them are clearing out bandit hideouts and taking down beasts. I usually create my own quests/story.

For the first part , i want to experience new quests and things, i dont care about Quest rewards and Roleplay , i want to see and do cool stuff

for the second , im a bit of completionist but i do have certain restrictions (Like not having someone join the companions AND the Theives guild and Dark brotherhood)

I never really thought about it...I just like completing everything.

Next time I play I should place some restrictions on myself. If only those guilds would stop trying to recruit me! I wish the Thieves Guild would leave me alone.