Yeah, it is so interesting though. I found the storyline much more interesting than the one in Oblivion. Haha have not been too distracted. Although a freaky rabbit which ran up a cliff distracted me for a while. Until I realized it was also possible for me to traverse. I am enjoying the main quest line though. I also am not so much in a rush to do main quests usually as well.

Still haven't married anyone yet. How long did you wait before doing that?

Thieves Guild quests are quite fun. I like how steathy they are. Not to mention alot of the optional quests typically deal with having you attempt to steal x amount of wealth from people in a specific city. It's fun and feels good bringing out the evil in my character who has no regard for property rights because he's a bastard. Not to mention there's one amusing twist in the Thieves Guild quest line that gets really interesting once you actually get to that point. Love dem plot twists in a quest.

@Crimson: Completing the main quest feels like completing the game to me, so I always wait to do them last. With Skyrim that took months. XD

In my first playthrough I waited till probs level 25-30 to get married. About a month irl. Marcurio was my main man. He was a hilarious husband and awesome as a vampire. I have not gotten married in any other playthrough, though. I should. My poor children. XD

@Howdy: Come over to the dark side. I swear we have cookies. Or at least blood. Which tastes like cookies after you're turned into a vampire. [twisted]

The thieves guild is not really all that evil. The dark brotherhood, though? You are going to do some messed up shiznatch for that questline.

I have only just the two properties. Even then I have not finished decorating either of them. I don't tend to have the gold for it often. Definitely want to follow your path though and purchase them all.

I haven't played around with it all that much yet. I seem to recall playing with it in Oblivion for a little while and the result killing me. o.o; Might play with it in Skyrim though at some point.
Yes! It was very interesting indeed. I was surprised how captivated I became.
Yeah, I can sometimes find it difficult to play as an evil character too.I am never really a goodie goodie however. As I usually do have a few aspects of evilness in my character. Like in Morrowind I would ruthlessly hunt down people who were involved in slavery.
You are right about the Thieves Guild. They can be perceived as suiting the more morally guided character in their opposition to injustice. Especially in Oblivion. I mean I never consider them to be an evil guild.

Ah, I am level 48 and I have not gotten married yet. No idea who I even intend on marrying.

As for feelings of completion, I usually run the risk of feeling so whenever I get too involved in a quest line. Sometimes when I become so fixated on it, whether it is the main quest or a faction quest line, completing it makes the game feel a bit more empty. xD

The unusual gem quest took me months to complete. I did not work on it all at once, of course, but it took forever.

@Crimson: I've never felt evil playing thief characters in any game. Usually in those games you get a Robin Hood type of feeling--stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. That or just stealing from freakishly rich people and keeping it for yourself. I don't feel bad about that at all. [ninja]

I knew I wanted to marry Marcurio the first time he insulted me. XD He had a personality unlike the other marriageable men. I wouldn't worry too much about not marrying. It does get you some extra gold, but otherwise they're just house warmers. I used to take Marcurio with me everywhere, though. Made dungeons less creepy.

I feel the same way each time I complete a quest, but it's not as bad as completing the main questline. I did feel really empty after the thieve's guild quest was over the first time, though, because I consider the thief characters my "Skyrim family."

Sooo annoying! Just had the game glitch on me and I lost over an hour of game play as a result. The Draugr Deathlord hit me with unrelenting force and my character and camera went in different directions. As amusing as it is to play the game as Big Brother, I can't actually play the game this way. >.<;;

@Captain-
Yeah, I usually do end up being neutral with a leaning towards good.

I am quite terrible at finding those unusual gems. I believe I have just four of them at the moment. Although I have not been actively looking for them. I think my gold will start increasing more quickly now, as I have mastered smithing. No longer need to spend large chunks of gold to increase it. :P Enchant is also close to 100 as well. :)

Haha, I don't think we can really be judged based purely on our thoughts. That would be more than a little harsh.

@Elysium-
Yes that makes sense. I tended to think about it that way as well. Well kind of. I sometimes tell myself that the person offering skill training to me doesn't "really" want to get paid for the service. So it is acceptable for me to pick pocket the money back. Can I help it if they just love that skill so much? I'm really a kind person like that. Kind of how I give some co-workers frights out of pure kindness.

I am probably not ever going to bring anyone dungeon crawling with me. I am too paranoid they will die. As for marriage, I will probably just do it for the trophy. Although it will most likely be the one of the last I get.

It really depends on how engaging the quest line is. I mean I am not going to feel that way about a bounty hahaha. But yes, it was so easy to feel attached to the thieve's guild!

I think you can fix that with console commands on the PC. I had something similar happen when I was playing as a werewolf but I was able to fix it.

Lol, aw, that's mean. I suppose skill trainers do take a lot of gold though so I don't blame you. Honestly, I should've tried pickpocketing them long ago.

I don't worry about dungeon crawling much. I have such an addiction to quicksaving that even if they do die I'll only lose like ten minutes tops. Plus Marcurio is super over powered and if you give him good armor nothing can kill him.

Yeah, of course. I only feel empty over completing the more main quests. I was kind of relieved to finish the dark brotherhood, though. That was gruesome.

I only really started doing it on my current play through. My pick pocket has never been high enough to make it a possibility. Haha they could try the same tactic a co-worker used. He told me I am too nice of a person to give him a fright. Find myself unable to do so now as I am always "awww he thinks I'm nice for realz. :O"

Yeah, I used to use the quick save function a lot when I played on PC too. Not sure how, but the notion of constantly saving to keep them alive did escape me. Haha read that part of your post and felt like a right twit.

Finished the main quest and I think I like the ending to the thieves guild much more. You were totally right about it having some beautiful environments. Stood out even more as it came directly after a more generic dungeon. Reminds me of both Morrowind and Oblivion a bit. Loved it! :O

Lol, I can sometimes scare people because they trust me too much to think I ever would. It's worked for me in the past. I've won a lot of games of BS (the card game) because people think I'd never lie about my hand.

We all have those days Crimson. [lol]

Hehe, so you've seen Sovngarde then? I want to just stay there for life, I swear, and drink mead with Kodlak and Ysgramor. [cry] Omg, Kodlak. *weeps in a corner*

PC gaming isn't as complicated or as complex as one would think. If you're comfortable with typing on a computer then playing games on a computer is so much easier. Granted, I've had issues of going to type and my hands resting on a, s, d, and w (movement buttons usually), but that's besides the point XD

I got into the habit of constantly saving after I off'd Lydia in my second play through and still wanted to adventure while making my way to Markarth. I also ran away from many places, more because I was scared than anything... Like the barrow in some town where the inn keeper warns you not to go there. First time I decided to go in there, heard the voice and ran away. Second time I went in there with Vorstag who wanted to look for treasure (darn companion knows how to play my gold side...). I fought through all of it and was rather disappointed in myself that I reacted the way I did the first time -.-

I love the mods that PCs allow. I personally have serious trouble playing with game consoles because the controllers are so freaking complicated. Blech. I suppose if I spent time playing one I'd get better, but it'd take some practice.

Yeah, I grew up using PC for games so I'm sure that's why I have so much trouble with console controllers.

The thieves guild takes forever because of all the radiant questlines you have to complete to get the guild master position. I wish they'd made that a little more interesting than "go and steal five bagazillion things."

I think one of the things which held me back here is that I did not feel any particular attachment to him. I didn't find the companion quests, or characters, to be particularly engaging. So I was pleased for the continuity, but was not so excited to see him. It was Blackreach that I fell in love with. The environment, while different, reminded me so much of Morrowind. Massively captured the excitement I felt in that game. Especially as it was what caused me to fall in love with Elder Scrolls in the first place.

@Crimson: Blackreach was gorgeous. I spent a long time exploring that place the first time I found it. If you play on PC I recommend downloading the Wyrmstooth mod. There is one point in that game where you go to a massive dungeon that looks like Blackreach except it's bigger!

Awh, I adore Kodlak and the Harbinger questline is one of my favorites, but I get why it's not at the top of your list. I'm most proud of being Harbinger and Guildmaster in Skyrim. The other positions can shove it.

@Howdy: Which shop lady are you talking about? And I know, I mostly stuck to forging ledgers. It was the quickest.

Ohhhhhhhhh, my bad. I know what you're talking about. I don't know why some of those shop keepers will follow you and some of them won't. I usually end up waiting till they're asleep if they're that annoying about it. Or I try to lock them out of the room I need to burgle.

But yeah it's hilarious and annoying at the same time when they keep opening the door you tried to close. It's like, "what? I'm not dressed as a master thief or anything." [ninja] [lol]

Unfortunately I play on PS3. I think he is more unlucky than anything else. Since I was working towards unlocking the Werewolf skills it tainted my experience of the companions. You would think this would have made me much more sympathetic to Kodlak. I guess it did on some levels. As I was happy to free him from the curse.

Finally bringing Lydia around with me. I have set her up with Dragonbone armour. I definitely need her help. Especially as I have mastered the one handed weapon skill and have consequently switched over to a combination of Destruction and Conjuration. Making it more interesting I have gotten rid of my heavy armour and swapped it for non-armour (Archmage's Robes).

Have you ever read Kodlak's journals that are down by his room? That's what made me sympathize with and love him so much. He truly cares about the Dragonborn. I hate being a Werewolf. It's too easy to die in that form, so I know why it tainted your experience. I just cure myself as soon as I can and then cure everyone who asks for it.

The Archmage's robes don't count as light armor? You can actually stand Lydia, though? Most people kinda hate her.