One of the things I hate about MMOs is that your character very truly feels like a part of the bigger world. You never truly feel heroic. The reason for this is that questing and story must be written for the massive audience and so that amazing RPG feel can get a bit muddled if not outright lost.

My first character play through was in AD as a Khajiit NB. As the story unfolded and I imagined the prospect of being that special forces kind of scout/black ops character I became engrossed and then gradually just disappointed. Oh I knew it was coming, ever MMO has the same issue of the storyline or game mechanics not hitting on the right notes for everyone and that was okay. However as I hit VR 1 I did not feel invested in the character any more and just was not interested in pressing on.

For my second character the RPer in me wanted to try something so I decided to build a classic, DnD Paladin build. I have seen a lot of people claim to do this type of build but when I look at their characters I see a toon that has been min/maxed to the game system owing little to actual character development as a Paladin. So for me I kept it traditional, I have a basic heal with Rushed Ceremony, I have Nova as my Ultimate (calling down God's Wrath) and then filled the rest with various fighters guild and weapon skills based on sword and board as well as two handed. This character will care for his people, protect them as he can and is the wrath of God on undead and Daedra.

I did not know the story lines for Daggerfall or Ebondheart but knew I wanted something new. I decided to make this character a Redguard and go through Daggerfall.

Now if you have not played through the Daggerfall quest line yet I will not provide any spoilers, I hope, but you do not know what you are missing. Out of the gate I felt like the quest line had been made for my character and it's build. I kept waiting for the eventual break of this feeling that all MMOs have but was amazed as the deeper I got into the quest line the more my character fit in perfectly the story drew me in.

When I hit the Alik'r Desert I thought I found where my character would break. The Redguard do not fight the undead, they consider it a shameful act. Well I thought that's okay my character could be a less devote follower of Redguard traditions but still I was kind of disappointed until.....

THE ASH'ABAH

Suddenly my Redguard Paladin made perfect sense, he fit perfectly into the world and holy crap the rest of the Alik'r Desert felt written just for my character. I still have one zone to go but if the general feel of the storyline holds true I am excited for what comes next.

In most MMOs you reach the upper levels, around 35 or so and a grind mentality sets in. Everything feels like it is more of the same and the pull forward is the next level, seldom the story. However right now the story and the investment I have in my character is what is driving me. I seek groups out to do Dungeons and Bosses with a vigor I did not have at this point with my Khajiit. I cannot wait when I sit down to the computer to see what is next for my character, what evil he must vanquish.

Thank you to the people that wrote this story arc and to the devs for bringing it to light for me. Thank you for a great game and one that is WORTH a monthly subscription fee.

Before I close I do have one request.... Can we please get a way to rename our toons. I kind of chunked together a name for this character because I was bored when I made him from my Khajiit experience and now I want him to be named something worth of a hero... or maybe not after all... True honor need not be named