Difficult leveling as a "bad guy"

Jaemeson_Foster · March 2016

Like a thief or an assassin. It's easy leveling as a good guy, as everything you do in game reflects that. I've been wanting to roll a thief/assassin for a long while now but what turns me off is the idea that for my entire leveling experience I'm pretty much doing good things for people. Perhaps doing it for profit?

Darkonflare15 · March 2016

Jaemeson_Foster wrote: »

Like a thief or an assassin. It's easy leveling as a good guy, as everything you do in game reflects that. I've been wanting to roll a thief/assassin for a long while now but what turns me off is the idea that for my entire leveling experience I'm pretty much doing good things for people. Perhaps doing it for profit?

Well not all thief/assassins are bad guys. Most are just out for themselves so profit or there personal well being. Helping to just help people would be the honorable thing to do. So I suggest if you want to portray a character in not of that persuasion would best to be a selfish character. An example like the main quest maybe is about helping saving Tamriel but you could make it more personal. You only saving Tamriel because you have to live in it and you do not want to be enslave to Molag bal or you may have a personal vendetta against Manimarco for killing you and Molag bal for imprison you. So you character has a resolve for vengeance. There are a lot of quests in the game that can have very selfish outcomes that can fit your character and if you feel something is too goodie for you. You can always see it as a means to an end. To either get stronger, more reputation, or profit.

Samsayia · March 2016

I don't really consider what the Vestige does as part of my thief's background. As far as my character goes, and I think this is pretty standard for roleplayers, the Vestige is either someone else entirely apart from your character, or you just consider all what the Vestige does as non-cannon and they don't exist in RP.

The uh.....the only real trouble I have with being a thief is the intense lack of working Thieves Guilds. The few I've gone through were either inactive, or completely disorganized and not actually roleplaying, OR to take the cake, I joined a type of thieves den annnnnd within a few weeks they pledged to Boethiah and started allowing murderers and assassins in. No part of my character intended to pledge their soul to a daedric prince, so I peaced out real fast.

With a lack of thieves den guilds, you're left with evil guilds that would sooner turn you over and collect your bounty because they're evil, OR good guilds that would also turn you over and collect your bounty. OR in my case as a nord, I approached a few nord clans and you're either thrown out as a pathetic petty thief and a coward who hides in the shadows, OR they demand you become a werewolf which is counter-productive for a thief.

It leaves me with vampire clans that tend to be more familiar with thieving jobs, but I don't really trust vampires as far as I could throw one. Even if they didn't demand I become an undead vampire, the idea of running jobs for people I would sooner plunder their manor doesn't sit well.

But Bruh, the struggle to roleplay a thief or outlaw in this game is for ****ing real.

Grayphilosophy · March 2016

If it fits the character you could always go with a "manipulator" kind of mindset. All the good deeds you're doing are for your own good.

Saving the little girls kitten from the hungry goblins will gain the little girls favor, maybe the little girl tells you where she lives so you can go rob her parents and/or the whole village etc.

If you get creative you can almost always twist even the most virtuous deeds into having sinister intentions.