A couple of weeks ago, I watched and participated in a live stream with the folks at The Character Crusade. During that show, a small comment turned into a new project for them, and for me. They call it Character Crusade Unbound. I’ll refer to it simply as Unbound. The premise of the project is role-playing Skyrim based on a random start. The random start is achieved using the mod for Skyrim named, wait for it, “Skyrim Unbound” (Legacy Skyrim | Skyrim SE | Xbox One). With that mod, a controllable set of parameters can be set forth so that a unique starting experience can be created. The mod can even prevent the character from being dragonborn and can prevent the spawning of dragons entirely. Basically eliminating the main quest line that all of us have done dozens (or hundreds) of times.
However the Unbound project’s main focus isn’t to use the mod’s abilities to customize the game to a specific set of parameters, rather to let it “throw the dice” and pick everything at random. The rules are simple. Roll a 10-sided die up to three times to pick the race of the character. Select that race in the mod and leave everything else set to random. Tell the mod to “start your adventure” and then role-play through the game with the outcome. The main purpose being that with so many unknowns, it will bring out more of your imagination and role-playing skills.
Upon the announcement of the project, I immediately said “I’m in”. I was reconstructing my modded setup anyway, so I added Skyrim Unbound to the list and once that was complete, I started my character. I followed the rules on all but two ways: I chose for the character to be male and I selected the character’s appearance. Everything else was left to the mod to determine.
Well, I was impressed with the mod, but less than impressed with my starting scenario. Allow me to introduce you to Morgan Teague, my Unbound character:
Yes, the man in the rags is Morgan. His situation is this: The start location is an Imperial Camp near the northern coast of Skyrim. He has nothing save the tattered rags he’s clothed in, a bottle of wine and the Healing spell to begin his journey. No money, no weapons, no armor, no potions, no food and no shoes.
I almost re-rolled him when I discovered this situation. But, the more I thought about it, the more I like the idea. So many things I need to explain, so many more I need to do. So instead of re-rolling, I’ve decided to run with it.
The last thing I’ll mention in this post is this: If you look in the upper right of this page, you’ll notice the menu item “UNBOUND”. That link will take to a section of this blog that will become Morgan’s story. I’ve been writing a series of journal type entries as if the journal were written by Morgan. I’ve not settled on that format yet, but I have decided to write this play-through up in some way. Stay tuned for more on that.