History Skyrim / TropesNToT

** [[invoked]] Unintentional example. Until the 1.9 patch, a bug sometimes caused the courier to make his deliveries [[http://steamcommunity.com/id/StarSword_C/screenshot/452848015066825877 wearing nothing but a hat and a loincloth.]] It renders him TheComicallySerious.

*** With the ''Dragonborn'' DLC, we get Ahzidal (Bitter Destroyer), Dukaan (Dishonor), and Zahkriisos (Sword Blood/Finite Kill Blood/Bloody Sword). Only Vahlok (Spring Sky/Guardian), Qahnaarin (Vanquisher) and [[spoiler:Miraak (Allegiance Guide)]] break the tradition.

* NamesToTrustImmediately: Subverted with Grelod the Kind. Played (arguably) straight with Elisif the Fair and Balgruuf the Greater.

*** Ulfric fulfills the trope on another level, too. [[spoiler:The civil war, in which "the sons of Skyrim spill their own blood," is the final portent in the Prophecy of the Dragonborn. Because of his rebellion, the dominoes of fate are lined up for Alduin's return.]]

* NoCampaignForTheWicked: Neither the Thalmor nor the Forsworn can be joined, despite both being arguably valid factions in the Civil War questline.

** The Master-level Destruction spells, but in particular Firestorm and Blizzard. The former is basically a fantasy nuke centered on you, obliterating anyone without fire protection in the area. The latter conjures up a devastating hailstorm that constantly chews away at the health of everyone within the vicinity. Both will pretty much guarantee that you kill anything and everything with an HP bar dead. The problem is this would often kill friendlies too, which will cause everyone you didn't hit to start attacking you (and potentially racking up an impossibly huge bounty). This makes both of them completely unusable if you're running around with allies, or fighting in a neutral zone with people you don't wanna piss off. Factor in the fact that most bandits are Nords and in the Reach there are the Brenton Forsworn means that your seemingly fearsome Blizzard is not hitting quite as hard as you like you got a huge waste of both time and magicka though at least it slows down the guys with weapons (the mages? Not so much).
* NoOntologicalInertia: ZigZagged. Attacking summoners and necromancers plays this straight: their zombies and/or atronachs will vanish or disintegrate. However, unlike in ''Oblivion'', where the gates vanish after banishing Dagon, [[spoiler: the dragons are still around after you kill Alduin.]] Justified in that [[spoiler: Alduin ''revived'' a bunch of dead dragons, but he isn't ''keeping'' them alive, so they can continue to exist after he's gone.]]
* NoSell: If you hit an atronach with a destruction spell of its elemental alignment, it just stands there. It doesn't aggro, it doesn't stagger. You get a notification that it "resisted" the attack too.
** Easily invoked by the player character, in several possible ways at that:
*** The most straightforward way is to simply raise your armor/blocking effectiveness or elemental/magic resistances up to the caps, depending on which type of attack you're facing. Combined with a respectable health pool, this results in you taking barely noticeable amounts of damage even on the highest difficulty setting.
*** The Deflect Arrows perk out of the Block tree describes itself as causing arrows that hit your shield to "do no damage." In practice, it's not ''quite'' that effective; it automatically raises the percentage of damage blocked to the maximum (85%) when blocking arrows, which is still pretty close to the described effect.
*** Once they are fully charged up, wards can achieve this with respect to blocking magic spells. Even dragon shouts can be negated by them!
*** This is the whole point of the Become Ethereal shout, which causes not just enemy attacks but even ''fall damage'' to NoSell against you.
*** You normally cannot achieve a full immunity to magic, since resistances cap at 85%... but the rarer and more powerful magic '''absorption''', on the other hand, has no cap. This means it is possible to become completely immune to all magic while simultaneously [[FeedItWithFire recovering magicka whenever you are hit with a spell]]. This always requires the Atronach Stone sign and the Atronach perk, which combined raise magic absorption to 80%. In order to take it further (without the usage of mods), you need to either A) be a [[GameBreaker vampire with the Necromage perk]] or B) wear Miraak's Robes and either his gloves or his boots. This not only protects you from hostile spells, but also from some environmental effects, so you can stand in the blizzard that blocks the way to Paarthurnax, walk around in the poison gas-flooded passage in Calcelmo's Laboratory, and even '''swim in lava''' with no ill effects, while normally any of these things would get you killed in seconds, regardless of resistance. However, the Drain Vitality shout used by high-level dragons can bypass magic absorption. Additionally, it does come with an odd drawback: Your conjuration spells are counted by the game as spells cast on you, which means they can also be absorbed, preventing them from actually working. This makes spell absorption rather problematic for a conjuration focused character.
* NoSenseOfDirection: Plautis Carvain and Salonia Carvain, two Imperial nobles who are on their way from Cyrodiil to Solitude to attend a wedding. You can encounter them all over Skyrim, except near the place they need to be. In fact, they'll never make it to Solitude and instead end up in Windhelm, which lies in the north''east'' of Skyrim, while Solitude lies in the north''west''. Quite the accomplishment, because while Skyrim is a big place, sticking to the main roads and following the signs normally gets you where you need to be - not to mention that there are carriages (including at Windhelm) that can take you to Solitude for a small amount of gold.
** Another character you can meet on the road is Faldrus. He's a Dark Elf on his way to the Shrine of Azura. No matter how many times you encounter him in locations that are miles apart, he never seems to reach the shrine. However, if you follow him after encountering him, he does eventually reach the shrine
* NoTrueScotsman: Heard on both sides of the Civil War. The Stormcloaks believe that the Empire is weak, and no true Nord would surrender to the Aldmeri Dominion or agree to the White-Gold Concordat; while the Imperial-allied Nords believe that Skyrim has always been a loyal part of the Empire and no true Nord would be only a fair-weather ally.
** Dragons too. [[spoiler: Alduin fleeing from the player after being beaten at the Throat of the World makes other dragons question his leadership, as a ''true'' dovah would either die fighting or submit to his superior.]]
** If you're a [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch High Elf]] Dragonborn, Thalmor goons will utter some phrases to this effect at you as you have at them.
** If you're a Nord, enemies that are also Nords may sometimes shout "true Nords never back down!" or "Skyrim belongs to the Nords!" while they're fighting you.
* NoiselessWalker: The Muffle spell reduces or completely silences the sound of your footsteps. Joining the Dark Brotherhood gets you a pair of boots enchanted with a permanent Muffle effect.
* NonMammalMammaries: The Argonian females, again.
** Also, Flame Atronachs and Spriggans. Flame Atronachs do at least have the excuse of being Daedra, to which different sexes are nothing more than a mortal contrivance and they simply choose to take a female form because of their whim (as is the case for Daedric Princes too).

* NoobCave: Helgen Keep and the adjoining caverns. Several locales around Riverwood are also toned down in difficulty, like Bleakfalls Barrow and Embershard Mine.
* NoodleImplements: After winning a staff in a drinking contest, the guy you made the bet with leaves you a note saying he needs a hagraven feather, giant's toe, and holy water to fix the staff. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope It turns out to be an elaborate prank on his part.]]]]

* NoodleIncident: Unlike the previous games, this time we know why and how the player character ended up being imprisoned. However, it's unclear why the player character was crossing the border into Skyrim in the first place, nor is there any set canon on whether or not the player ever did anything more illegal than just being around a bunch of Stormcloaks. (Dialogue at a few points will let the player decide this, but it's just for flavor.)

* NostalgiaLevel: Solstheim, for veterans of ''Morrowind'' and ''Bloodmoon''.
* NotMeThisTime: During the "Diplomatic Immunity" mission, you can ask someone to do you a favor and distract everyone at the party so you can sneak off. Unless you're asking Razelan himself (who gives a sarcastic toast) or Erikur (who hits on a serving girl), the distraction will usually consist of the person walking up to Razelan and accusing him of saying something horrible. Razelan protests, claiming that ''this'' time he's completely innocent! It's an example of this trope because Razelan is a notorious drunkard, so whatever he's being accused of saying would not be out of character for him to say; it's just that ''this'' time he didn't actually say it.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: In the ''Dragonborn'' DLC, Hermaeus Mora's [[FauxAffablyEvil facade as a friendly]] [[DotingGrandparent Doting Grandfather]]-like figure slips when he shows us just what he does to people [[BerserkButton who try to keep secrets from him.]] [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice The results are not pretty.]] We also get to see what he ''really'' looks like.
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: [[VanHelsingHateCrimes The Silver Hand]]. While one can certainly see where they're coming from, considering how terrifying and dangerous [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]] actually are, the fact that the Silver Hand extends their hatred to that of the [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampires friendly werewolves just trying to live their own lives without hurting other people]] ''and'' even [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals ordinary wolves]] makes it clear that they're all just a bunch of insane extremists who deserve to be put to the sword.
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Some incredibly long falls can be survived just by dropping into SoftWater, such as [[BottomlessPit Kagrenzel]] and Bard's Leap (although the latter is said to have killed many people who tried to make it before you).
** The lethality of the most famous [[MakeMeWannaShout Shout]], [[BlownAcrossTheRoom Unrelenting Force]], is not from the blast wave but from the potential of inflicting this. If the sudden stop at the end doesn't kill a foe outright, oftentimes they'll still be really hurtin'.
* NotTheIntendedUse: The shout "Elemental Fury" is clearly meant to be used in battle so you can get more swings of your weapon in. However, since the pickaxe is counted as a weapon, using Elemental Fury will let you mine from an ore vein faster than normally interacting with one vein.
* NotUsingTheZWord: They're called "Draugr", a name taken from Myth/NorseMythology.
** Averted with the Zombies ''you'' raise, however.

** All dragon words literally glow, accompanied by a vortex of wind that clouds your vision of everything ''but'' the word as you get close; and if that doesn't clue you in, the crescendo [[OminousLatinChanting chorus of dragon words]] will.
*** Lampshaded in the ''Dragonborn'' DLC, where one of the walls is buried under the Red Mountain ash, but you can hear the chorus calling you.

* OddFriendship: In ''Dawnguard'', this can potentially occur with Serana (Vampire) and the Dragonborn (VampireHunter).

*** Hilariously, as - unlike Morrowind and Oblivion where weapons are sorted by Blade and Blunt - Skyrim separates weapons by one or two-handed, this can lead to cutting a foes head clean off with a ''mace'', a ''wooden sword'', or even a '''''[[LethalJokeWeapon fork]]'''''.

* OffingTheOffspring: Done in a very twisted and tragic fashion, by a certain man in Morthal. Turns out [[spoiler:it was an enthralled vampire who actually did the act, but he himself was enthralled to not give half a donkey's ass about it.]] Ironic, because children can't be killed in the game.

* OhCrap: "Never shoulda come here!"
** Also with the very first dragon the Dragonborn will slay.

* [[OminousLatinChanting Ominous Draconic Chanting]]: A rare heroic version in the Dragonborn's theme songs, "Dragonborn" and "One They Fear," as well as "Watch The Skies" which alternately plays when a dragon attacks.

* OneHitKill: Easily performed by the player character with sufficiently high abilities and/or if playing on lower difficulty settings, usually accompanied by a flashy execution sequence. Meanwhile, Legendary difficulty is notorious because of how easy it is for certain enemies to do this to ''you''.
* OneSizeFitsAll: Armor and clothing has separate versions depending on whether they're worn on a male or female character, sometimes drastically (e.g. the Ragged Trousers are just that if equipped on a male, but on a female it also includes a full shirt), but this has no effect on a character's ability to equip it. Interestingly, when looting/pickpocketing armor off of an NPC, the version shown on the menu is that of the player's gender and not the item's owner.
** It gets even worse playing a beast race. Somehow, they can squash all of those horns, long ears and muzzles into a human head-shaped helmet.
* OneWomanWail: "Night Theme 6,", AKA "Aurora", combined with some Ominous Chanting and bits of DroneOfDread.
* OnlyFleshIsSafe: The Adept-level Alteration spell Telekinesis cannot be used on living targets. It ''can'' be used to throw objects at them.
* OnlySmartPeopleMayPass: Subverted with the combination locks on the claw-operated doors in draugr barrows. One of the books you can read in-game contains speculation as to why these puzzles were made so easy (the combination is engraved on the key itself). The answer, according to the author, is that the combination is there in order to ensure that the door is being opened by a sentient being, rather than a mindless undead. In other words, the doors aren't there to keep people from getting ''in'' - they're there to [[SealedEvilInACan keep things from getting]] ''[[SealedEvilInACan out]]''.

** OrphanageOfLove: [[spoiler:Once Grelod is out of the way]], the much kinder Constance Michel (herself another poor soul who chafed under Grelod's tyranny) takes over tending the orphanage.

* OurGiantsAreBigger: Giants are enormous humanoids about three times the size of humans. They are roughly comparable to cavemen, and form camps with mammoths, which they apparently use as pets, guard animals, and a source of milk and cheese. Giants are generally peaceful unless you intrude into their camps, though you periodically get bounties on giants that have been stealing cattle or raiding farms; if you have ''Hearthfire'' installed, random encounters at the homes you build may include a giant showing up to kill your cow. (Even if you don't have a cow, they sometimes show up anyway, and [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments stare at the empty cow pen in utter confusion]].) Otherwise, [[BullyingADragon anyone provoking a giant]] [[MegatonPunch gets exactly]] [[TooDumbToLive what they deserve.]]
** Alternatively, [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential you're attacking a peaceful giant, who would never attack you if you just left it alone.]] This does not apply to the ones who attack your home, of course.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: In this game, ''Sanguinare Vampiris'' is a contracted disease that, if left untreated, eventually turns you into a traditional blood-sucking fiend; but in an inversion from the typical rules, the strength of your powers is proportional to how hungry you are. This results in a careful balancing act as you become more conspicuous to townsfolk as your hunger increases. Vampires in ''Skyrim'' also show a marked preference for ice magic and cold environments. Being undead and thus having an increased weakness to fire will do that to you.

** As per the lore, Molag Bal, the King of Rape and Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement, created pure vampires (read: not bitten) and allows them to transform into Vampire Lords. By entering Lord Harkon's court, you are turned into a pure vampire. Harkon made a pact with Molag to not only become one of these himself, but also to have his wife and daughter turned into them. Harkon's court view vampires turned by a bite to be mere half-breeds and thus lesser than a true vampire blessed by Molag.
*** Despite vampirism being Molag's trick, Clavicus Vile, Daedric Prince of Tricks and Deals, has a group of followers that he turned into vampires to grant them immortality (possibly by having a vampire bite them) and lets you kill them to grant their wish for death. [[JerkassGenie Vile's a real dick like that.]]
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: As with ''Morrowind'', they're the man-wolf variety. If you become one [[spoiler:by accepting the Companions' offer]], you can transform regardless of the time of day, but the transformation only lasts for 210 seconds, plus 30 for every human you eat while transformed. ''Dawnguard'' adds a skill tree mirroring that of the Vampire Lord, and there's an achievement earned by unlocking all of the perks on one or the other.

* ParentalIncest: An intrepid player can piece together some very {{squick}}y hints about the Black-Briar family: Maven has three children, Hemming, Sibbi, and Ingun. She calls them her children, they call her their mother. However, Hemming will also refer to Sibbi and Ingun as ''his'' children, and peeking at the character files shows that Maven is designated as Sibbi and Ingun's ''grand''mother. It's possible that this is just an oversight, but they've yet to clarify the issue and thus the implications remain, whether erroneous or intentional.
** Given that Sibbi is AxeCrazy and Ingun is fond of [[MasterPoisoner poison]], this actually would explain a ''[[RoyallyScrewedUp lot]]''.
** An alternate explanation is a FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo in which Hemming is actually their father and Maven is their grandmother, but for whatever reason it was more socially acceptable for her to pretend that he's their brother and she's their mother. (Maybe her ego refuses to let her accept that she's old enough to have adult grandchildren.) Again, as there is no spelled out explanation for this, the implementation of either of these tropes is ambiguous.
*** A third possible explanation, which has been given in some fan-made analysis videos, is that Hemming was originally coded to be Maven's husband, with Sibbi and Ingun as their children. This accounts for the fact that he sleeps in the same bed with her. For some reason, when the game launched, he was mistakenly flagged as her son instead.

* PhysicalGod: Alduin takes the form of a dragon, [[spoiler:and is the Nordic aspect of Akatosh, as well as his firstborn (despite being older). Therefore, he is the physical incarnation of an aspect of Time itself. He is unable to be slain within the bounds of Mundus.]]

* PlayingWithFire: Sunderstone Gorge, a cave/Nord barrow in eastern Falkreath Hold, has fire as a motif. Inside, you find a myriad of Fire mages, fire pots, oil slicks (which light up when subject to fire), fire salts here and there, varying stock alchemy potions and poisons related to fire resilience, a flamethrower soul gem turret, a flame atronach summoning circle, and most importantly, a [[KillItWithFire Fire Breath]] Shout word wall.

* PoliceAreUseless: In regards to you, at least, there may as well not be any guards in town. As long as you don't commit any major crimes like murder, guards can be bribed through use of a perk or your membership with the Thieves' Guild; and if you're Thane of the settlement, you can pull rank to get them to leave you alone (but only once). If you've committed a minor crime, like trying to break into a locked house or stealing a potion, you can just convince them you aren't worth the time. Walking around town while you have a small bounty will prompt mutters of "wait, I know you" from guards you pass, but none of them will actually try and apprehend you.

** Saadia also has a copy of ''Thief of Virtue'' under her bed. ''Thief of Virtue'' is a raunchy pulp romance novel featuring an encounter between a dashing Imperial master thief and a Redguard noblewoman. Eugh.
* PowerCopy: A variation. You learn a Word of Power simply from hearing someone speak it or reading it on Word Walls, but you can't "decode" them without using the knowledge in a dragon's soul. So it's a two-part deal: steal their voice weapon, then steal their ability to use it.
* PowerGlows: All enchanted items have a colored glow around them, and these auras are generally visible even outside your inventory. The Dragon Aspect shout gives the Dragonborn themselves a glow of power.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: With Auriel's Bow and sun-hallowed arrows, you can fire arrows directly at the sun itself, causing it to ignite and rain fiery bolts upon all your enemies. Alternately, you can use this same bow to squelch the power of the sun with bloodcursed arrows.

* PowerupLetdown: Gaining access to the Master level spells of the Destruction school requires a lot of grinding, including through low levels where using spells as your main damage-dealer results in a much harder game, then finding and completing a special quest. When you finally get them, you find that they require two hands instead of one, take an insanely long casting time during which you're very likely to get interrupted by an enemy attack, and even if you do get one off, they do less damage for the magicka and less damage per second than lower-level spells, and - since Destruction damage doesn't scale with level - CantCatchUp to archery or swordplay. ...Congrats?
** There is one exception in Lightning Storm, which sends out a sustained lightning bolt that does high damage over time for an acceptable magicka cost, with extreme range and hitscan speed that make it perfect for destroying enemies like dragons at long range. Compared to spamming the lower tier thunderbolt, it deals somewhat less damage for a whole lot less magicka... which makes it great up until the point when your character can achieve -100% magicka cost and the formerly prohibitively expensive thunderbolt trumps it. Unfortunately, for many characters the free casting comes before achieving the master level destruction spells, relegating Lightning Storm to the same heap that Fire Storm and Blizzard reside in.

** The Aetherial Staff from the quest "Lost To The Ages" is thankfully not the '''only''' reward from that quest (the other two being the Aetherial Crown, which is a GameBreaker, and the Aetherial Shield, which has some use for crowd control purposes), but is an absolute noob trap. Summoning Dwarven automatons sounds cool and all... but even at the highest possible level variation of the staff, even the '''better''' outcome - the Sphere - absolutely pales in comparison to the Dremora summoned by the much easier to acquire Sanguine Rose. Oh, and no matter the level, there's always a chance that the automaton created by the staff will be literally '''dead on arrival'''.

** The dragons, without exception. While crueler and arguably less noble than most examples, they are all [[BloodKnight eager to battle]] and possess a [[BlueAndOrangeMorality bizarre but firm code of honor]], and admire strength above all else. In the main quest, Salhoknir boasts of his prowess and taunts the Dovahkiin during their duel and Odahviing is quick to respond to the Dovahkiin's challenge. Durnehviir, who resides in the Soul Cairn in the ''Dawnguard'' expansion, is so thrilled to have met someone who can face him in combat that he [[DefeatMeansFriendship formally introduces himself and strikes up an acquaintance]].

** The Redguards are supposed to be one, although this isn't as thoroughly explored. Their pride in warrior ways seems more focused upon skill with weaponry than bravado or testing how much punishment they can take.
*** There is, however, a Redguard known as the Ebony Warrior. He is the single hardest battle in the vanilla game, and he, like the old orc above, seeks honor in death, that he may journey to Sovngarde proudly.

* PhysicalGod: [[GodIsEvil Alduin]], [[PlanetEater the World Eater]] is an aspect (or son of, it's complicated) Akatosh, the Aedric Dragon God of Time. Fittingly, he is the most powerful dragon you'll fight in the game (besides the legendary ones you encounter in ''Dawnguard'') and is totally invincible [[spoiler:until the Dovahkiin learns to foist mortality on him using the [[BrownNote Dragonrend shout]].]]
** The Dovahkiin is also implied to have the potential to become one: [[JackassGenie Clavicus Vile, the Daedric Prince of corrupted wishes]] tells the Dragonborn (while in a greatly weakened state, no less) that they are about half as powerful as He is, in a quest that becomes available at Level 10 - the level {{Cap}} is 81, by the way. There is also a line in the Dovahkiin song ([[spoiler:the one you hear in Sovngarde]]), "Voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein", which translates to ''"With power to rival the sun"''. In the cosmology of the setting, [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm the sun is no celestial body, but actually a gaping hole in Aetherius]] created by Magnus, the God of Magic, when he created the mortal plane and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere ran away]], and the hole is believed to be ''the source of all magic in Nirn''.

* RagnarokProofing:

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The titular Dawnguard from the ''Dawnguard'' DLC - a ragtag bunch of weirdos dedicated to hunting vampires. In fact, they were such a bunch of misfits that they split up years ago, and you (if you choose that path) have to help with PuttingTheBandBackTogether if you want to have a shot at defeating the blood-sucking menace.
** Interestingly, the 'minor', low-ranking members of the Dawnguard, who don't play any particular role in the story, seem to be fairly normal people who simply decided to do their part in fighting the (genuinely dangerous) vampires. So apparently, being a ragtag bunch of misfits isn't a requirement for joining, it's just a requirement for advancement.

** If you're Imperial and wearing heavy armor, a Nord might say you "[[StayInTheKitchen clang like a kitchen and should stay in one.]]" A Nord in heavy armor, on the other hand, will get compliments. However, regardless of race, wearing a set of ''dragonbone'' armor will elicit nothing but envious awe from anyone who comments on it. A lot of Nords would give just about anything for a set of those, and you're the only person in the entire world who knows how to make it.

* [[RealMenLoveJesus Real Nords Love Talos]]: The major cause for the Stormcloak rebellion is that TheEmpire [[LesCollaborateurs caved to the demands]] of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] and outlawed worship of their native god-man.

** Vampires, with special mention going to a 300-year-old vampire assassin who takes advantage of looking like the ten-year-old girl she was when she was turned.
*** Of particular note, Serana was put away during the Interregnum in the Second Era, before the Third Empire of Cyrodiil, at ''least'' 635 years before the game's time period. Probably even longer, as the Third Era was only declared when all of Tamriel was brought under Tiber Septim's banner, and it took the closing years of the Second Era for Tiber to achieve that. She and her parents are likely the oldest surviving vampires in Nirn.

** [[http://i.imgur.com/iXl5a.jpg Let Jarl Balgruuf educate you.]]

* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Dremora Daedra and, by association, Daedric equipment. Also the Dark Brotherhood uniform.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[UnreliableNarrator Maybe]]. The Dunmer aren't evil as a race, but their red eyes are the result of evil. Long before the events of ''Skyrim'', the Tribunal, a trio of PhysicalGods, broke a sacred promise in order to obtain their divinity. The Daedric prince Azura punished them and their entire race by giving them the dark skin and red eyes they now have... however, if you ask Azura, it just happened without her interference.

* RedShirt: When you go to [[spoiler:trap the dragon Odahviing in Dragonsreach]], the people on the Dragonsreach balcony are you, the Jarl of Whiterun, his adjutant, and some nameless guard. No points for guessing which one gets snapped up and spectacularly flung into the distance on [[spoiler:Odahviing's]] first pass.
** The Vigilant of Stendarr are an entire faction of this in ''Dawnguard''. The moment the DLC is installed, everyone at their headquarters is killed by the Volkihar Vampires.[[note]]Well, almost the moment. If you have the DLC installed prior to starting a new game, the Hall of the Vigilant will remain intact until you reach level 10.[[/note]]
*** Not just killed. Before ''Dawnguard'' is installed, the Hall of the Vigilant is a fully stocked home base for a sect of Daedra hunters. After installation, it becomes a burned-out husk filled with corpses.
* RegeneratingHealth: Your health bar will slowly refill - emphasis on ''slowly.'' This is so you don't have to waste your precious health potions between battles; it's not really meant for recovery in the middle of one.
** This also seems to apply to all humanoid [=NPCs=] as well. Possibly a fix for the issue seen in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas,'' where caravans and traveling [=NPCs=] would slowly run out of health and eventually die due to fighting minor enemies over the course of several days.
** And the Argonian special ability, Histskin, multiplies their health regen by 10, bringing them up to HealingFactor levels.

** Notably absent with werewolves. If a werewolf needs to heal, it needs to eat someone. On the plus side, one or two feedings is usually good enough to get back to full health.

** TheEmpire itself is a mere shadow of its former glory, with only three provinces remaining under its control. Three (Summerset Isle, Elsweyr and Valenwood) have seceded and have become part of what is now the Third Aldmeri Dominion while the other two (Black Marsh and Hammerfell) have gone completely independent (Black Marsh has also expanded north, conquering a fair quantity of what is left habitable in Morrowind). Out of the three provinces that the Empire still controls, only High Rock has been untouched by either war or natural disaster.
*** The Dovahkiin can further this decline by helping the Stormcloaks throw the Imperial Legion out of Skyrim and [[spoiler:assassinating the Emperor]].

* ReviveKillsZombie: Not directly, but the [[LightEmUp Sunfire]] spell set only damages undead (for a significantly lower magicka cost than comparable Destruction spells) and are in the same school of magic as healing spells.

* RevivingEnemy: Trolls and Frost Trolls will fall prone and appear dead when they have a small sliver of health, but continue regenerating their health... although the fact they don't get knocked back is a bit of a giveaway. Spriggans are a much more noteworthy example; if brought down to low health without dying, the Spriggan will restore almost all of its health and continue fighting. See ISurrenderSuckers for some honorable mentions.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised: The Forsworn, though they spend most of the game trying to kill you on sight, are ''still'' arguably more sympathetic than their enemies in Markarth. They'd probably be even more sympathetic if their ''modus operandi'' wasn't "Murder everyone we don't like because we once ruled this place thousands of years ago."
** They also consort with Hagravens, conduct sinister blood rituals, and will attack the player on sight even if he or she has sworn to fight for their cause. All in all, not a nice bunch.

*** The game does offer some small clues, though. If you follow the horseman, he eventually leads you to Hamvir's Rest, a very remote graveyard located at the foot of the mountains southeast of Morthal. There's little of interest here, but on the northwest side of the graveyard is a tomb with an axe, a helmet, and a skull beside it, implying that this is where his remains are buried. The horseman occasionally speaks, and has unique dialogue; if he does not reach Hamvir's Rest before sunrise, he may comment, "Such an abrupt end to our game."

*** Note that [[spoiler:Commander Maro himself qualifies for this, given that you killed his son earlier in the questline.]]

* RomanceSidequest: The player character can get married if they so choose.
** FourthDateMarriage: So long as you've spoken to the priest in Riften about marriage customs and have an amulet of Mara, you can get engaged to someone after having known them for all of an hour, and your sole interaction with them being beating them bloody in a bare-knuckle brawl. Most of the marriage options are more complex than that, though some simply involve a fetch quest. The priest of Mara explains the custom: in the land of frigid blizzards, hungry trolls, temperamental giants, unpleasant undead, insane bears, and an endless supply of vampires, bandits, wizards, and [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs wizard bandit vampires]], the people of Skyrim don't really value long courtships - aside from the inherent lack of romance, one might easily kick the bucket before the courtship is complete. If you like someone, you ''tell'' them, and if they care enough about you, marriage ensues.

* RousingSpeech: There are several notable ones on both sides of the Civil War.
** For a specific example, try this early speech by Ulfric Stormcloak:

* [[RubberForeheadAliens Rubber Forehead Elves]]: Less so than in previous games, though; elves look much less human than they used to, with elongated skulls and strangely shaped and colored eyes.

** ''[[RefugeInAudacity The Lusty Argonian Maid]]'' now has a second volume.
*** And it gains a SpearCounterpart spin-off in ''Dawnguard'', ''The Sultry Argonian Bard''.

* ScalingTheSummit: This is done as part of the main storyline when the Dragonborn has to scale ''The Throat of the World'' in order to speak to the Greybeards and later their leader [[spoiler: a Dragon named Parthunaax]] who lives on the peak.

* SceneryPorn: Par for the course for a Bethesda game. Someone most definitely put a ''lot'' of work into the sky textures this time around. The water physics have also ''vastly'' improved. [[http://youtu.be/CQB4wkmKOv8 Case in point, this time lapse video.]] For a nice view, go to an iceberg in the middle of the northern sea, use Clear Skies, and marvel as [[TheWorldIsJustAwesome you can see from Winterhold to Solitude.]] And if you've been delving into Dwemer ruins, you'll likely have come across Blackreach... it's a sight to be seen, for sure. Let's just say that there's a reason the game is currently the page image for the Video Games page of the trope.
** The [[http://youtu.be/ZhBBa2jLqe4 Northern Lights]].
** The view of the sky at the top of High Hrothgar when Clear Skies is used is absolutely breathtaking.
** And in late 2016, the game was remastered for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and Xbox One. If you thought it was beautiful ''before,'' [[https://youtu.be/lTjRZ__-278 the Scenery Porn]] has been taken even further.

* ScrewDestiny: An interesting example since no one is certain whether it's TheHero doing this or the BigBad. Paarthurnax muses on the possibility that Alduin is the one acting against destiny by trying to end the world before its time. The vagueness of the prophecy concerning Alduin and the Dragonborn doesn't help matters. Throughout the game, the Dragonborn always has the option of saying s/he doesn't care about destiny whenever someone brings it up, despite being TheChosenOne of destiny.
** This is an actual element of the setting; there are certain individuals who are born who do not have destinies at all. These individuals are able to dramatically change history simply by existing. To date, all player characters in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series have been such. You can actually read a "Book of Fate" in Windhelm that is supposed to be a magical artifact that tells something about the future of whoever reads it, and that certain individuals only see blank pages because they have no fate. (It's not clear, however, if this is the truth or if the owner of the museum involved is just talking out his ass, especially as said owner is [[spoiler: the insane serial killer haunting the streets at night]].)

* [[ScrewYouElves Screw You, Thalmor!]]: Neither the Imperials nor the Stormcloaks have much love for the Thalmor, and for ''very'' good reasons.

* SealedEvilInACan: The Dragonborn's defeat of Alduin is only temporary, as confirmed by Arngier. Alduin is, in fact, a god, and therefore will return at the end of the world, meaning all your efforts have only extended the time until the end of the world. The difference is that it will occur when the gods plan it, rather than according to the caprices of a power-drunk domineering dragon entrusted with the task.

** Doubling as a ShoutOut, in 2011, PC Gamer magazine jokingly said that Skyrim will release a "Crab Armor" DLC for $5.99, in a parody of the infamous "Horse Armor" DLC for ''Oblivion''. In 2017, they released the Dwarven Armored Mudcrab Creation for what would normally be 50 Creation credits, but it's always 100% off.
*** In 2021, they also released a Horse Armor Creation, also for free.
* [[invoked]] SelfImposedChallenge: There are several of them.
** Skipping the very first quest of the game that (among other things) unbinds your hands and allows you to pick up objects and interact with people. [[http://www.reddit.com/r/skyrim/comments/n3w4k/selfimposed_challenge_hands_bound_from_the/ Link]].
** [[invoked]] Some roleplaying or hardcore players do a "[=DiD=]" ([[NoDeathRun Dead is Dead]]) route when playing ''Skyrim'': If their character is killed, it's time to delete the save file and start a completely new game.
** No Equip Load Run: Complete the game without picking up items that raise your Equip Load above 0. You'd think this would condemn you to a run where you can't use armor or weapons... [[LoopholeAbuse but]] [[spoiler:quest items have no weight as long as you remain on the related quest]].
** Pacifist Run: There are a few variants of this type of run:
*** Complete the main questlines while killing as few things as possible. Note that enemies killed by your followers count as being killed by you. Almost every "required" kill can be avoided through creative use of Fury, Pacify, gravity, paralyzing followers, sequence breaking, glitches, or broken items. To complete all three main questlines (the base game, ''Dawnguard'', and ''Dragonborn''), you are required to make a grand total of [[spoiler:one kill: Alduin]]. [[note]]This is because Alduin is a Protected [[NonPlayerCharacter NPC]], which can only be killed by a direct hit from the player. Lord Harkon and Miraak both have scripted kills that are normally attributed to the player, but can be avoided by savewarping after the quest completes but before the kill is properly registered.[[/note]]
*** Complete the Dark Brotherhood questline while killing as few things as possible.
*** If you complete the Brotherhood questline normally, you require a grand total of [[spoiler:two kills.]] [[note]]Again, both required kills are Protected [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]].[[/note]] If you opt to [[spoiler:destroy the Brotherhood]] instead, you require a total of [[spoiler:no kills]].
** No Crime Run: Complete the ThievesGuild questline AND become the Guild's leader while committing as few crimes as possible. You are required to commit a grand total of [[spoiler:''one'' instance of crime: trespassing]].
** No Spells Run: Complete the College of Winterhold's (the ''mage'' college) questline without casting any spells, using Shouts, or even learning any new spells. You are required to cast a grand total of [[spoiler:zero spells to complete the questline, though you are required to use a staff given by a quest at least once.]] [[note]]The game doesn't seem to think this counts as casting a spell, though.[[/note]]
** Level One Run: Complete the main three questlines while at level one, which requires you to go through the game without leveling ANY skills. [[spoiler:[[LoopholeAbuse Werewolf form, Vampire Lord form, and Shouts don't contribute experience]], so you're not necessarily stuck punching things to death.]]
*** This means you can't:
--->Use any weapons, armor, shields, or spells.\\
Purchase any items from or sell any items to vendors.\\
Persuade, Bribe, or Intimidate any [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]].\\
Pickpocket or Lockpick anything.\\
Craft weapons, armor, or potions.\\
Enchant or disenchant any item.\\
Sneak.
** No Shout Run: Clear the main questline while learning and using as few Shouts as possible. At the very minimum, you are required to Shout a total of [[spoiler:seven times, although you really need to make your Shouts count in the boss fights]].

** [[invoked]] One particular example exists for the quest "Lights Out!", received from Jaree-Ra. It's possible to get a random quest from Falk Firebeard, Jarl Elisif's steward, to take out some bandits in Broken Oar Grotto... which happens to be the lair of the Blackblood Marauders, the pirates for whom Jaree-Ra and his sister Deeja are working. You can then read Captain Hargar's journal and find out that they're looking for a fall guy to put out the lighthouse for them. You can continue with the quest anyway, and after dispatching Deeja, you'll find Jaree-Ra alone in the grotto with the dead Marauders you took out earlier; apparently he's unfazed by the fact that the crew he's been working with has been slain to a man and he just attacks you on sight. Unfortunately, there is no option to let Jaree-Ra and Deeja know you're wise to the fact that they're trying to set you up and rub it in their faces [[AntiClimaxBoss before you kill them without breaking a sweat.]]

* SerialKiller: One of these is on the loose in Windhelm, although you won't learn about it until your fourth visit to the city. [[spoiler:A quick count of the skulls in his lair indicates he has killed at least 14 victims before you got involved.]]

* ShootTheShaggyDogStory: [[invoked]] A remarkably short example: you find a roughly circular area where everything was torched. In the middle, a [[WreathedInFlames spell tome of fire cloak]]. [[GoneHorriblyRight Next to it,]] [[ManOnFire a burnt, doubled over corpse]]. This is one of four apprentices of the Mage College in Winterhold who recently left to perform experiments in the field. The other three can also be found - one as a corpse surrounded by skeevers, with a few scrolls of fury and calm (perhaps he tried one and found it [[GoneHorriblyRight too much a success to try the other]]), and the other two as (respectively) a frostbitten corpse and riddled with arrows, both as a result of failures to find ways to keep mead magically chilled.
** [[invoked]] In the [[GrimUpNorth icy, Arctic-like wasteland]] near Winterhold, there is a skeleton with its leg caught in a [[BearTrap bear trap]]. Another skeleton is [[PleaseDontLeaveMe sitting next to it]], [[TearJerker looking towards the trapped one.]]
* [[invoked]] ShopliftAndDie: While shopkeepers will draw weapons and attack (and report you for crimes) if you do take stuff in front of them, they ''finally'' don't put steal-able items in front of them so you don't accidentally bump the mouse or the analog stick and the game interprets this as theft. On the other hand, if you do steal from them and don't pay with your life... they might send thugs after you to "teach you a lesson", telling the thugs on their contract they don't have to kill you but the hirer doesn't mind if they do. That's right, the victim may try even harder than just attacking you to ensure you will die for theft, even if it was something incredibly small and you paid off your bounty! Sometimes they'll even send thugs after you when there were no witnesses to prove it was you - or even when they're dead!

** There are a ''lot'' of useless items scattered all throughout the game world that you can pick up and stash in your inventory. Pretty much any object that you could realistically pick up with one hand, you can take along with you. You can sell them off to willing merchants, though the majority of these things are worth no more than a few coins (even if, realistically speaking, said items ''should'' be quite valuable, such as silverware).

* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: The primary material for Dragonbone equipment is, of course, bones acquired from slaying actual dragons. There's really nothing more appropriate than killing dragons with the bones of other dragons you've already killed. (There's even unique dialogue for it from the final boss.)
* SlaveRace: The Falmer spent many generations as slaves to the Dwemer before rebelling and warring with them until, for unrelated reasons, the Dwemer all disappeared. [[spoiler: The Dwemer were so thorough in their enslavement of the Snow Elves, who turned into the Falmer, that now only ''two'' Snow Elves are known to remain... and one of those is a vampire whom you must kill.]]

* [[invoked]] SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: On occasion, a quest will prevent a follower from tagging along. Sometimes, the follower will just announce that he/she will be waiting where you found them, but other times, the follower just won't be there when you go through a door or talk to a certain person. This can be maddening if you have them carrying something important for you, like a weapon too heavy for you to carry or specialized gear you bring for specific situations. Also, it's ''not'' unheard of for the game to "lose" them. In most cases you can simply find them by returning to their home (or wherever you recruited them), but it's also possible for followers to glitch out and/or "die" on the way back to the meeting spot, in which case.... yeah.

* SpaceCompression: With a little bit of ThrivingGhostTown. Major battles are fought by dozens of men rather than, say, hundreds, and the cities aren't exactly huge. These are mostly AcceptableBreaksFromReality, though, and pretty par for the course for an ''Elder Scrolls'' game by now anyway.
** Particularly noteworthy in ''Skyrim'' is the complete removal of about 4-5 small towns entirely from the world map, and 3 are now just random inns along the road. This wouldn't be so notable if it wasn't for the fact that one of towns reduced to an inn is Old Hroldan, which was the site of a major battle that would be the start of TheEmpire. The game even mentions that Hroldan should be a town and calls attention to it with a quest due to its historical significance with Talos. At least one of them, Heljarchen, was intended to be in the game, but was ultimately scrapped; the only remnants of its existence are the Nightgate Inn and some DummiedOut keys that used to belong to its inhabitants.
* SpamAttack: If you time your castings right, you can put out an impressive volume of fire with two-handed non-dual-cast Destruction spells. Special shout-out goes out to a [[ReviveKillsZombie non-destruction-school attack spell]] provided by ''Dawnguard'': [[LightEmUp Vampire's Bane]], which charges up ready to cast even faster than the Destruction spells, allowing you to put out a blinding amount of area-effect LightEmUp damage and emptying your magicka bar in very short order.
** Can also be done by dual wielding daggers with the appropriate perks from the One-handed tree. Exaggerated if combined with the Elemental Fury shout.

** Not you this time: [[spoiler:Alduin pretty much ruined Tullius's clean capture and execution of Ulfric in the beginning of the game. It would likely have ended the civil war then and there.]]

* SpearCounterpart[=/=]DistaffCounterpart: Thongvor Silver-Blood and Maven Black-Briar. Each is the head of a commercially successful family - who owes that success to shady and illegal dealings. Maven works with both the Thieves' Guild and the Dark Brotherhood; Thongvor employs mercenaries to bully mine owners and Forsworn assassins to silence his enemies. Both are replacement Jarls for their respective holds if said holds change sides. In both cases, they have so much influence in the hold and have bribed the local guards so successfully, they arguably [[IOwnThisTown have more power over the town than the rightful Jarls do]]. Also, each of them have goons in town who will warn the player of their respective family's influence over the town (Maul for Maven, Yngvar the Singer for Thongvor), and said goons become Housecarls if Thongor/Maven become Jarl.[[note]]For a dash of funny, the goons in question also have the same voice actor.[[/note]]

* SpikesOfDoom: Everywhere. You can't [[HoldYourHippogriffs swing]] a dead [[CallARabbitASmeerp skeever]] without hitting a spike trap in some dungeons.

* SpiritualSuccessor: The ''Dragonborn'' expansion can be seen as this to ''Bloodmoon,'' a DLC for ''Morrowind''. They both take place in Solstheim, both have quests involving Falx Carius and Fort Frostmoth, and both expansions are the only times you'll run into the Skaal.

* TheSquadette: Gender makes very little difference in ''most'' professions, but standard nameless town guards or Imperial/Stormcloak soldiers have about a 1:7 ratio of women to men.
** Generic female Imperial Legion soldiers are so rare, if you spawn one or find one out in the wild, they actually don't have any voice lines recorded. They're one of the few types of generic NPC that is entirely mute.
* SssssnakeTalk: Averted! Argonians have a slight rasp to their voices, but otherwise speak completely normally this time. They don't even mutter "The prey approaches!" anymore if they don't like you. They sometimes hiss in combat, but it lacks words.
** The males have a slight rasp to their voice. Females sound like they've been smoking three packs a day for the last ten years.

* StealthBasedMission: Ideally, most of the Thieves' Guild missions are set up to be completed by stealth and guile rather than brute force; enemies are often much stronger than you can take on in multiples at your current level and are better off backstabbed or avoided entirely. However, as Maven Black-Briar herself puts it, all that matters is the results, so you ''could'' run around in the open stabbing enemies if you feel like it.

** Dragons' powers, such as breathing fire, are powered by speaking words of their ancient language. The game describes this as "a deadly verbal debate", or in other words, a flame war.
*** Their combat-by-words system also evokes a fantasy version of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyting flyting]], i.e. ancient Viking rap battles with all the personal attacks that entails. They're literally roasting each other.

*** Speaking of the Flame Atronachs, their mode of attack is to throw fireballs at the enemies of whoever summoned them. Or, to put it another way, they provide fire support.
* [[invoked]] StealthRun: As noted above, this is encouraged by the Thieves' Guild, but the Dark Brotherhood also encourage this to some extent, and a large number of quests can be completed this way, if the player so chooses. [[spoiler:Boethiah]] demands you do this for her quest, though there are no consequences for being detected.

* StormingTheCastle: The ''second'' main plotline (the CivilWar) culminates in you doing this to your opposing faction. Also, the good path of [[spoiler:the Dark Brotherhood has you pulling one on their Sanctuary.]]
** You also get to storm [[spoiler:Castle Volkihar]] during the climax of the Dawnguard storyline if you've sided with the Dawnguard, or [[spoiler:Fort Dawnguard]] if you've sided with the Volkihar following [[spoiler:the overthrow of Lord Harkon]].
* StoryDrivenInvulnerability: Alduin. Also happens with any number of [=NPCs=] who are necessary for certain quests (some keep this status only until their quest is completed, while others keep it permanently). This is particularly vexing after the civil war plot is resolved; you are pretty much directly instructed to find the remaining enemy camps and wipe them out, but each one will be overseen by an "Essential" enemy leader who cannot be killed.
* StrippedToTheBone: What happens to pretty much every dragon you kill, due to the effects of absorbing the dragon's soul. In ''Dragonborn'', we learn that this effect even extends to [[spoiler:Dragonborn]] as well, as the fate of [[spoiler:Miraak]] proves.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Refreshingly averted (mostly), since the female armor actually looks like it could protect vital areas in combat [[JustifiedTrope (also, it gets cold in Skyrim)]]. There are some exceptions, however. One type of fur armor only has a bra on top if you're female, and if you're male it's fully topless. Also, PC gamers who miss this trope can find many mods which bring it out in force.

* StupidCrooks: The bandits who pretend to be Legion soldiers. Trying to squeeze "taxes" from either a Stormcloak or a real Imperial Legion officer (who also happens to be the walking divine intervention against giant fire-breathing god-lizards) is not a good idea.

** Similarly, the random Thieves encounter. Even if you're currently a werewolf, vampire lord, or member of the ThievesGuild, they'll still walk up to you and try to extort money. (Now, if you are a member of the Thieves' Guild and wearing the Guild armour at the time they try to rob you, you can point this [[FailedASpotCheck obvious oversight]] out to them... and if you're the Guild-Master, you get the infinitely better option to shake ''them'' down for money for having the gall to try and rob their boss!)
* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: One quest that involves tracking down the corpses of a fallen expedition into a Dwemer ruin includes the objective to find and activate the Dwemer defenses, namely their golems, which you then must fight to escape. However, justified - in a NiceJobBreakingItHero moment, the player killed the giant spider that was stopping the Falmer from invading Markarth from below, so reactivating the defenses is necessary to prevent this from now happening.

* SuicidalOverconfidence: Aside from what we've grown to expect, occasionally [=NPCs=] will try to pick a fight with you, and accepting the challenge starts hand-to-hand combat. While all this is by no means unusual, said [=NPCs=] will pick fights with you even after it becomes known nationwide that you're the Dragonborn - which means you've killed at least one huge dangerous dragon. This doesn't seem to faze them. They'll also challenge Khajiit (who have huge claws) to unarmed combat.
** Hired thugs sent by someone you've stolen from will walk up to you, declare their intent to "teach you a lesson", and attack. Setting aside the possibility of the player being much more powerful than them, thugs aren't picky about where or when they turn up, resulting in them having a chance to show up in places like the College of Winterhold or even '''High Hrothgar''', which are inhabited by people that can tear them a new one and don't take kindly to people making threats to one of their own.
* SummonBiggerFish: As noted above under StupidityIsTheOnlyOption, clearing out one Dwemer ruin of the Falmer that would invade the connecting city requires the player to activate the Dwemer golems, which will then wipe them out. The golems, at least, will stay in the ruin.

* SycophanticServant: In the Dark Brotherhood questline, Cicero is this to [[spoiler:the Night Mother]] and, later, to you [[spoiler:if you spare him]].

* [[TakeThatAudience Take That, Player]]: M'aiq the Liar reappears [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mxx4Qf1-Xc once more]]. About a third of his dialogue is shots at the UnpleasableFanbase, another third is [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall comments about gameplay]], and the rest is [[SelfDeprecation comments about disliked parts of previous games]].

* TerminalTransformation: The Wabbajack is a MagicStaff and artefact of the MadGod Sheogorath, which triggers [[RandomEffectSpell a random effect]] when its magic hits something. These effects can include the target suffering a permanent ForcedTransformation into an inanimate object, such as a sweetroll, a small pile of coins, some random books, or a large quantity of cheese. And there is ''nothing'' that can undo this transformation, nor is there any indication that the victim still retains their mind, making them effectively dead even if you ''don't'' eat the sweetroll.

* TempleOfDoom: The Nordic tombs and Dwemer ruins.

* ThievesGuild: Riften's proud Thieves' Guild is not doing well in this game; there's even a lore book about it (with the author joining up with them to investigate why).
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: You know pain is coming when your follower utters a line like "I've got a bad feeling about this" or "Watch yourself." Farkas is particularly blunt about it, straight up announcing, "Get ready for a fight!"

* TimeTravel: [[spoiler: Alduin couldn't be defeated the last time someone fought him, only sent forward in time to a point when there was someone who ''could'' defeat him - namely, the Dovahkiin.]] The Dovahkiin travels [[spoiler:the opposite way]] on two separate occasions.
* TitleDrop: Done for an individual quest. During peace negotiations in "Season Unending," Ulfric may warn Tullius, "Remember, ''evgir unslaad''," which is Dragon tongue for "Season Unending." In other words, "This [war] isn't over".
** A little bit earlier during the same quest, Arngeir also does a TitleDrop. He tells you that he hasn't much faith that these negotiations will produce lasting peace, as the ancient Nord words for war translate to "season unending".

** Summoning [[spoiler:Karstaag]] and then defeating him gives you a power that lets you use him as a summon in combat, and considering how powerful he is, [[spoiler:Karstaag]] will absolutely demolish just about anything he goes up against. The catch is that this ability can only be used three times before it permanently disappears for that playthrough. Oh, and he also has twice as much health as the Ebony Warrior, is only 25% weak to fire, and can only be used outside. Good luck! At the very least you can use him against the Ebony Warrior - but the fact that you could kill ''this'' guy means you should be tough/crafty enough to beat the Ebony Warrior.
** For the Dark Brotherhood quest to [[spoiler:kill the Emperor]], you are given one sample of Jarrin Root to do the deed. However, you can choose to not use it and instead use it to concoct a poison that will kill just about anything. This is also the only one you get in a single playthrough, meaning that you have to be very careful about what you use it on. Unfortunately, you cannot plant it even with ''Hearthfire'' installed. You can, however, luck out with a perk that lets you make two potions from one sample of the root.

** Just about any dragon, thug, or other enemy who thinks it's a good idea to attack the College of Winterhold. Most of the people there are essential, and if you haven't done many quests for them, it will be full of powerful, ''essential'' mages.

*** One of the random encounters on Solstheim is a group of hunters out to kill a netch. You can choose to simply wish them luck, and let them go to it without your help. They usually die in hilariously short order.

* TookALevelInJerkass: The Altmer (high elves) go from snobbish and stuck up to truly astounding levels of dickery, even ''before'' you include the Great War and the White-Gold Concordat. For example, they've annexed Valenwood and vassalized Elsweyr, making the Bosmer and Khajiit into servants. Also, if you kill one of their kind, ''just one, even if he just tried to destroy the world,'' they'll put out a hit on you.
** That describes the Thalmor, the government of Alinor/Summerset Isle and the Aldmeri Dominion. Altmer not hailing from the Dominion tend to be slightly less dickish, if for no other reason that they [[NoTrueScotsman aren't true Altmer to the Thalmor]].
** The Blades. There are only two in game, but for people whose purpose is to ''serve'' the Dragonborn they have an odd tendency to treat you as a lackey, making demands and presenting ultimatums unless you follow those demands.
*** To be specific: Delphine has dialogue where she explicitly and unequivocally states that the entire purpose of the Blades (and, by extension, her life's goal) is to find and serve the Dragonborn. And yet, she orders you around like a lackey, belittles you when you question her, and eventually gives you an ultimatum to [[spoiler: kill Paarthurnax in revenge for his actions in the Merethic era, thousands of years ago, despite the fact that he had a HeelFaceTurn regarding that and was responsible for teaching the Thu'um to humans back then so they could overthrow their dragon overlords, and it is his actions and advice which make the final defeat of Alduin and saving the entire world from destruction possible - without him, you never would have gotten Odahviing on your side and been able to travel to Skuldafn to save the world. And no, you can't refuse; your choices are to kill Paarthurnax in revenge for deeds done so long ago they're part of myth and legend and in doing so earn the everlasting hatred of the Greybeards, or don't do it, and never have Delphine and the Blades aid you ever again.]] Fortunately, you don't need those hypocrites any longer at this point, and the rewards for helping them any further are negligible to the point of uselessness, so there's nothing stopping you from giving them the middle finger, walking out of Sky Haven Temple, and ignoring them for the rest of their miserable lives. Unfortunately, you can't kill them or tell them off (without mods) for being such stuck-up dicks.

*** Did we mention the abandoned building involved in a quest called "The House of Horrors," which [[spoiler:turns out to have a shrine to Molag Bal]]?

* [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Trademark Favorite Drink]]: Mead, for most Nords. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCHq0m67lq8 There's even a song about it.]]

* TrashTalk: Apparently a time-honored tradition in Tamriel - literally everyone in Skyrim will taunt you in a fight, including the ''dragons'', and some of these taunts are race-specific (such as threatening to turn a Khajiit into a rug). The "Throw Voice" shout also allows you to mock and confuse your opponents with ventriloquism.

* TraumaInducedAmnesia: A [[spoiler:cannibal]] priestess claims that the Dovahkiin has repressed memories of [[spoiler:losing a sibling when they were children, and [[ImAHumanitarian taking a bite of the corpse out of curiosity]].]] Whether or not this is true is up to the player to decide.
** Her whole spiel runs into a bit of FridgeLogic if [[spoiler:the Dovahkiin is a werewolf running around eating people to stay in beast form, or even just a dedicated alchemist who ate some human flesh to find out what potions they could make from it. Or if they're a Bosmer, for whom cannibalism would be a normal and accepted part of their race's culture]].

* TreasureMap: An optional side quest, which does not appear in your quest log, is what the strategy guide calls "The Great Skyrim Treasure Hunt." There are ten maps found in various locations throughout the country, each of which leads you to a chest containing some very good loot. It's a challenge because it can take a little while to recognize the landmarks being depicted on each map. Note that the chests will not materialize unless you have the necessary map (because YouShouldntKnowThisAlready). The Switch version makes this a bit more manageable by adding tool tips to the treasure maps that direct you to the general area they're depicting; from there, you'll have to work out the rest.

* TrickArrow: In the ''Dawnguard'' DLC, you get to find Dwemer schematics for enchanted crossbow bolts. [[MadeOfExplodium Exploding fire arrows]], anyone?
** Quite often, these exploding crossbow bolts are recoverable from the corpse of whatever was shot with them. An exploding arrow that rematerializes afterward is perhaps the trickiest of all.

* TwentyBearAsses:
** Temba Wide-Arm in Ivarstead goes halfway towards a literal example, asking you to bring her ten bear pelts.
** Nearly half the quests in Riften are these, substituting "bear ass" with "ridiculously rare alchemy ingredient." Ingun Black-Briar is the worst, requiring a total of 60 individual samples of three different types of very expensive (and rare) poison ingredients. (''Hearthfire'' mitigates the difficulty somewhat, since two of the three things she wants can be grown in gardens at the houses you build.)

** Dragons will, on rare occasions, retreat when fighting the Dragonborn if they take enough damage. [[spoiler:Also done by Alduin after the first fight at the peak of High Hrothgar; this causes the rest of the dragons to question his leadership, as dragons operate on HonorBeforeReason and AsskickingEqualsAuthority - a dragon who loses a duel with another like should either submit to the winner or be DefiantToTheEnd, not ''flee'' like a coward.]]

** Another character you can meet on the road is Faldrus. He's a Dark Elf on his way to the Shrine of Azura. No matter how many times you encounter him in locations that are miles apart, he never seems to reach the shrine.

* NonNudeBathing: A few hunters can be seen relaxing in the hot springs south of Windhelm in their underwear.
* NoobCave: Helgen Keep and the adjoining caverns. Several locales around Riverwood are also toned down in difficulty.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** In the ''Dragonborn'' DLC, cultists approach [[PlayerCharacter the Dragonborn]] in a public (and possibly well-guarded) place, and proceed to taunt and attack them. [[CurbStompBattle We think you can figure out what happens next.]]
** Using Dragon Shouts in a city or town will result in a guard asking you to stop. Magic or not, those shouts are ''awfully'' loud, so of course they'd cause a noise complaint. Even setting aside the ability of Shouts to spew fire, ice, or pure force, or call down lightning storms from a clear blue sky, there's also the fact that Skyrim's High King was recently murdered (or defeated in a fair challenge) by someone who "Shouted him apart."
** If the Dragonborn already has a bounty on them in Whiterun when they try to enter the city for the first time, the Guard will try to arrest them, since a known criminal has just walked up to them. If you rack up a high enough bounty (likely by repeated murder) at any point with a Hold, the guards will decide you're too dangerous to try arresting and will just attack on sight.
** If the Dragonborn takes too long to make it to safety during the tutorial, then the Dragon that is destroying Helgan will begin to attack them too. [[spoiler:This is because Alduin is trying to kill them specifically and standing around gives him the time he needs to find who he is looking for.]]
** Come across any daedra-hunting Vigilants of Stendarr while carrying a daedric artifact or wearing full daedric armor and expect some trouble. Similarly, wearing an Amulet of Talos will ''not'' go over well with any Thalmor that weren't already attacking you, as they're trying to stamp out Talos worship.
** Realizing he's lost, [[spoiler:Alduin]] decides TheBattleDidntCount and retreats. While he plays it off as inconsequential, his followers, staunch believers in AsskickingEqualsAuthority, are not pleased that their leader ran from a fight his opponent rightfully won. It makes quite a few question his authority and right to lead.
** In the "Ancestral Worship" sidequest, a Nord NPC named Golldir asks the Dragonborn help to get rid of a necromancer who is working on the corpses of his deceased family members inside his family's funeral crypt. Golldir reacts angrily (then begrudgingly accepts, considering it would count as a reward for your help) if he spots you taking things inside the crypt, since you're stealing riches and funeral offerings from his family. Notably, even if all you do is look inside - possibly clicking on an urn purely out of habit - he still acts as though you took something.
** This is why Valerica is opposed to Harkon's plot to darken the sun in ''Dawnguard''. While vampires would technically be free to wander around day and night, she assumes (probably correctly) that mortals would ''not'' be happy about TheNightThatNeverEnds and would find and kill every single vampire on Nirn in both retribution and desperation to have the sun come back.
** [=NPCs=] will notice and react to the player dropping things in front of them. This can range from trying to return it, if friendly, to taking it for themselves. Guards in particular will notice and collect any weapons left lying around in plain view - possibly even giving you a fine for disturbing the peace, if you respond to their warning in the wrong way.
** In "Laid To Rest", the people of Morthal will gather their TorchesAndPitchforks and join the Dragonborn as they head off to deal with the Vampires outside town. However, they'll all chicken out once they reach the lair. While they certainly want to help, they're completely aware that they're a bunch of ordinary townsfolk and would almost certainly die trying to kill the vampires.
** When asked why the Dark Brotherhood didn't respond to Aventus's call, Astrid explains that it was because he had no money. While anyone can call them using a Black Sacrament, the client still needs to be able to ''pay'' for their services, and he is after all only an orphaned child.
** The Thalmor are so utterly despised by everybody else that the guards are willing to overlook crimes taken against them. Murdering a Thalmor agent in cold blood in Imperial-controlled territory will only net you a measly 40 gold bounty for assault (a slap on the wrist compared to the 1000 gold bounty for murder). Stormcloak guards don't even charge you ''at all''. To underline this further, you can butcher the immensely arrogant Thalmor ambassador and his two bodyguards right in the middle of the court of the Jarl of Markarth, and the Jarl will slip you enough money under the table that even if you choose to pay off the bounty you will come out 50 gold up. It's almost like he is ''thanking you'' for getting rid of the asshole.
** On a more subtle note, Fur Armor provides one of the weakest armor ratings in the entire game, which makes sense considering how most of it is clearly designed to either have a ChainmailBikini or cause a WalkingShirtlessScene, meaning that it doesn't actually provide a lot of protection in combat. This is averted for Forsworn Armor, though, but that can be {{Hand Wave}}d as a result of the Forsworn using special rituals to enchant their armor and make it tougher than it normally would.
** In "A Daedra's Best Friend", Barbas warns the Dragonborn that Clavicus Vile is a JerkassGenie and that they ''should not'' accept any of his offers. If they ignore this advice and kill Barbas to keep the Rueful Axe, they'll discover that it's actually quite terrible and isn't a daedric artifact like the item they passed up on to get it. What else would they expect from a god known for screwing people over?

* OneWomanWail: "Night Theme 6," combined with some Ominous Chanting and bits of DroneOfDread.

** The unique mace Scourge, from the ''The Cause'' Creation Club would banish any Daedra that tried to wield it back to Oblivion in ''Battlespire''. However, it's wielded by a Dremora that you have to defeat. The creators weren't aware of that particular ''Battlespire'' lore, and were only going by it's appearance in ''Morrowind'' and said they're going to update it.
*** They updated it in Patch Patch 1.6.629, so that the Dremora is wearing special Daedric Gauntlets of Negation that allow him to wield it.

** Mead in Skyrim is serious enough that there's a budding criminal empire based around it.
*** Implying that someone doesn't drink mead (a.k.a. a 'milk drinker') is a fairly serious insult in Nord culture, to the point that you can get into deadly fights with random mercs on the road who call you such.

** They updated it in Patch Patch 1.6.629, so that the Dremora is wearing special Daedric Gauntlets of Negation that allow him to wield it.

* SheatheYourSword: Literally, an option when guards are attacking you for committing a crime--if you put away your weapons they'll simply apprehend and fine or jail you instead of trying to kill you. Sucks, but given that the only other option is KillEmAll...

** UpToEleven in Riften, where everyone knows the city guards are corrupt and in the Black-Briars' pocket, and they will easily forgive you of any crimes for just half the bounty you incurred if you're in with the Thieves' Guild. If you're doing the miscellaneous quest for Dinya Balu and distributing pamphlets about Mara's love, she even advises you not to bother trying to give one to the guards, since "they follow their own path."

** And in late 2016, the game was remastered for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and Xbox One. If you thought it was beautiful ''before,'' [[https://youtu.be/lTjRZ__-278 the Scenery Porn]] has now been turned UpToEleven.

** Can also be done by dual wielding daggers with the appropriate perks from the One-handed tree. Goes UpToEleven if combined with the Elemental Fury shout.

** Another great example is Saadia in the "In My Time of Need" quest. She says that she can't trust anyone because "Jarls and guards can be bought," then immediately offers to pay you for help, despite the fact that she knows nothing about you (the player could even be playing as one of the races with a reputation for being lowlives and thieves, [[UpToEleven or even wearing the Thieves' Guild outfit!]]). In fact, some random adventurer is a lot ''more'' likely to be bought off than the Nords running the city, who at least have a sense of honor ingrained in their culture and have already kicked the Alik'r out of their city once. [[spoiler:Sure enough, you can betray her and get paid by the Alik'r instead.]]

* ReassignedToAntarctica: The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] posted to Solstheim in the ''Dragonborn'' expansion seem to fit this trope. They wear leather armor instead of expensive elven moonstone gear, and have seemingly been relegated to the island for not being ruthless enough - the quest involving them has a speechcraft option, in which you can convince them to leave rather than resorting to stealth or open combat, and if you meet them at any other time, they will not blow you off rudely nor attempt to lecture you about Elven supremacy.

** Redguards, the nativs of Hammerfell. They have high starting stats for one-handed weapons and Destruction magic, and the special power "Adrenaline Rush", which accellerates stamina regeneration.