Recently, I asked r/skyrim for advice about how to best start the game for the first time. One of the most common suggestions (other than to not kill a chicken in Rivenwood) was to roleplay.

The first big question I have to answer when starting to roleplay Skyrim, is what race to pick and what backstory to give my character. I've been thinking a bit, and I have 4 possible characters in mind. I'll describe one of them below, but I want to hear about your characters too. How do you RP in skyrim? And if there's interest I will write the backstories to my other 3 potential characters!

I must give a brief disclaimer: I know very little about TES's lore, and I want to keep it that way before I start the game. So these backstories use the little understanding I have, but please forgive them if I completely go against cannon.

• Nord: Veikko Iceborn:

When Veikko was a child, he was always overshadowed by his older brother Odwin. His father died fighting for the empire, and so quickly Owdin became the man of their household. One day, the two brothers were traveling home from a days hunt when they were ambushed by bandits. Odwin rose to fight while the 11 year old Veikko hid behind a tree. Odwin was shot with an arrow through the stomach, and he quickly turned to flee with Veikko close behind. Odwin knew the woods, and soon he got a lead on the raiders despite loosing blood. Leaning on the young Veikko, Odwin decided that they would cut across the frozen lake towards their village. Together they limped across the ice, blood dripping on to the white frost, until the reached the middle of the lake. The ice creaked and moaned, and finally gave way.

They never recovered Odwin's body. It still lies at the bottom of that lake. A woodcutter saw the brothers fall into the ice and somehow managed to pull the poor Veikko out of the water. By the time he made it into the town the boy still wasn't breathing, and his skin was cold as death. It was only after the healer pronounced him dead, and the boy heard his mothers cries, did he gasp for breath.

Veikko was never the same after that. He decided that he would be the man that his brother never was able to be. He grew into a strong warrior, and eked out a living for what remained of his family. Others in the town saw him as a bit strange though. Each winter he would bath in the icey water of the lake, and he seemed able to reist the harshest chill. When asked about his behavior Veikko learned to joke about it, to say that the fire inside his blood keeps him warm. In truth he had no interest in jokes, or frivolities. He was fascinated with ice and fire and strength, nothing else mattered.

Eventually he was recruited into the Imperial Army as his father was, and he served well truly. His fellow soldiers noted that he was somewhat cold to them, and his interest in magic was unusual for a Nord. He fought hard for the Empire, but after a string of defeats in the south he began to feel disheartened. He longed for the chill of Skyrim, for the frozen lakes and streams once again, and he heard of rise of the Stormcloaks. So he deserted the empire after yet another defeat, and made for the north.

Soon, however, Veikko found himself with increasingly dwindling supplies. He avoided the major settlements in hopes of evading imperial forces, only to find himself lost in the mountains. Without food or water or shelter, Veikko thought that he would die of exposure in the middle of a blizzard. Just then, he spotted something from just behind the trees: a frozen lake. Quickly he ran to it, realizing his destiny. He stripped off his cloak and armor and walked on to the ice. With each footstep, he felt the ice creak below him. Soon, the cracking began, and the ice covering began to give. And then Veikko fell into the water, hoping to join his brother at the bottom.

However Veikko was saved again, only this time by an Imperial convoy escorting Ulfric Stormcloak to Helgan. Veikko is fished out and arrested as a deserter, and thrown into the back of the cart, just as the game begins.