History YMMV / TheElderScrollsVSkyrim

** Also in ''Dragonborn'', there's the [[BonusBoss Ebony Warrior]], a MetaGuy who can be argued as the TrueFinalBoss to all of Skyrim, being a NighInvulnerable adventurer who has SeenItAll and [[DeathSeeker wants you to kill him]] so he can go to [[WarriorHeaven Sovngarde]]. The fact that you fight him in an inevitably awesome duel atop the Throat of the World and that he has [[MakeMeWannaShout Dragon Shouts]] just like you is just the veritable icing on the cake.

** Creator/CharlesMartinet's role as the wise dragon Paarthurnax has been very well received, especially by fans of his [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros most well-known role]] in which he's little more than a cheerful [[TheEveryman everyman]].

** Similar to the Silver Hand above, the [[ChurchMilitant Vigilant of Stendarr]] are universally agreed by fans to be underutilized, serving only as thugs who attack the player if they meet certain conditions. Unlike the Silver Hands you actually do get to interact with one as a part of Molag Bal's quest but [[spoiler: the only way to progress that quest at all is to kill the man]]. Considering their entire deal appears to be going around stomping out Daedra worship and fighting monsters, many players would've liked a questline where we join them properly and help in their endeavors.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: This can be said for the tiltular Dawnguard in the expansion named for them. While joining them is an initial requirement no matter which side the player takes, it's clear that Bethesda wrote the Volkihar side of the storyline first (with some lines from Serana even referring to her and the player as 'two vampires' regardless of the player's side or status). Serana and the drama surrounding her family takes over the plot midway through, and while it feels like a more natural transition if the player sides with the Volkihar (as the player regularly interacts with Lord Harkon and his court), it feels jarring when taking the Dawnguard side, as their role in the plot completely drops off until the final assault on Castle Volkihar. As a result, this leaves characters like Isran and the other Dawnguard members feeling underdeveloped.

** The Dunmer:

** Connected to the Dunmer example, it's possible to make this case for Brunwulf Free-Winter. Is he an overly soft-hearted old fool who's trying too hard to uplift the new minorities in Windhelm by affording them special status in spite of few of them barely doing anything to truly uplift themselves and contribute meaningfully to Windhelm? Or is he simply a reasonable, good man trying to afford basic dignity to every resident of his city?

** Ulfric Stormcloak gets this quite a bit thanks to his [[BadassBaritone deep, commanding voice]] and manly disposition.

** If you're a Vampire Lord, Serana is probably your follower. The problem is, in order to advance in the Vampire Lord perk tree, you have to finish off the enemy with your Drain Life spell, and Serana has a nasty tendency [[KillSteal to fry the opponent with lightning bolts before you get a chance]], not helped by the fact that due to a bug, her presence as a follower neuters the damage of said spell.

** If you're a Vampire Lord, Serana is probably your follower. The problem is, in order to advance in the Vampire Lord perk tree, you have to finish off the enemy with your Drain Life spell, and Serana has a nasty tendency [[KillSteal to fry the opponent with lightning bolts before you get a chance]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: This can be said for the tiltular Dawnguard in the expansion named for them. While joining them is an initial requirement no matter which side the player takes, it's clear that Bethesda wrote the Volkihar side of the storyline first (with some lines from Serana even referring to her and the player as 'two vampires' regardless of the player's side or status). Serana and the drama surrounding her family takes over the plot midway through, and while it feels like a more natural transition if the player sides with the Volkihar (as the player is more regularly able to interact with Lord Harkon and his court), it feels jarring when taking the Dawnguard side, as their role in the plot completely drops off until the final assault on Castle Volkihar. As a result, this leaves characters like Isran and the other Dawnguard members feeling underdeveloped.

** Innkeeper Jonna in Morthal occasionally [[DeadpanSnarker informs]] her customer Lurbuk that if he continues singing like that somebody will eventually come around to kill him. [[spoiler: Guess who's another Dark Brotherhood target...]]

* LoveToHate: Not any of the villains, but ''Nazeem''. The guy's smarminess makes him one of the more memorable characters in the game, and hatred for him is so universal it almost loops around to making him ''popular''.

** When assassinating Vittoria Vici in the Dark Brotherhood questline, one of the guests' responses is, "Oh no no no this is so wrong." It would be appropriate for the situation if the line wasn't delivered in a ''complete deadpan''.

** Nazeem's own ''wife'' snarks to anyone within earshot about him stuffing himself up the Jarl's backside.
*** One of the targets of the "Hired Muscle" quest is Nazeem, and it’s pretty satisfying to give the smug Redguard a good beating. There's also a minor quest on the vampire side of ''Dawnguard'' which involves assassinating an important NPC in a town - hilariously, if you choose Nazeem, ''you fail that objective''.

** [[IronicNickname Grelod the Kind]], who [[WouldHurtAChild bullies and tortures orphans]]. She absolutely cannot be reasoned with no matter how strong and intimidating the Dovahkiin may be, and goes down in one hit. The nice, actually kind Constance is the only one who is upset; for everyone else, [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing there was much rejoicing.]]

* ReformulatedGame: While it started from a joke, ''Skyrim'' for the smart home assistant Alexa is a real thing; it plays like an InteractiveFiction game.

** Ulfric Stormcloak, if you're under the belief that he's [[AntiVillain actually evil]]. Besides being the charismatic leader of his own army, [[AFatherToHisMen whom he genuinely cares for]], he's one of the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking fiercest warriors]] in all of Skyrim and has a BadassLongcoat to go along with it.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring:
** The tone of ''Skyrim'' can be rather bleak and filled with a notion of fateful doom at times, especially in some side quests that only seem reinforce a feeling that happiness and bliss are only temporal joys that will surely pass. Though some side quests ending unquestionably happily does help alleviate this. The main stories also tend to be fairly optimistic, though also [[BittersweetEnding rather tragic.]]
** By far the worst is the [[InherentInTheSystem Forsworn quest line in Markarth]]. The only way to finish it is to align yourself with either [[spoiler:a bunch of genocidal terrorists]] or [[spoiler:an exploitative and oppressive CorruptCorporateExecutive who previously used said terrorists as his private assassination squad]]. Do the latter and you [[spoiler:perpetuate the hold of the Silver-Bloods on the city]], and nothing changes. Do the former, and [[spoiler: the Forsworn indiscriminately massacre their way through the city, with you squarely to blame]]. There is a good reason fan mods exist that make it so you don’t have to assist either side.

** While Delphine's reception is overwhelmingly negative, Esbern has divided a lot of fans regarding his character. In particular, fans can't quite agree whether or not he should be held just as accountable as Delphine for [[spoiler:ordering the Dragonborn around including slaying Paarthurnax]], or if he is only doing what Delphine told him to do, on account of him being far more civil and polite to the Dragonborn than she ever is not to say that he's clearly not in the best mental state due to his isolation and paranoia.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The tone of ''Skyrim'' can be rather bleak and filled with a notion of fateful doom at times, especially in some side quests that only seem reinforce a feeling that happiness and bliss are only temporal joys that will surely pass. Though some side quests ending unquestionably happily does help alleviate this. The main stories also tend to be fairly optimistic, though also [[BittersweetEnding rather tragic.]]

** Amaund Motierre. [[spoiler:Is he, as Astrid suggests, trying to get the Emperor assassinated to better his own position within the Elder Council or could it be a more collective feeling calling for desperate measures in desperate times? The Emperor seems to be aware of harsh opposition among his political elite. Is he really ruling ''that'' badly? Not to mention how, after the deed is done, Motierre seems to genuinely believe that the Emperor's death has "saved" the Empire.]]

*** About Alduin specifically, the final battle with him is disappointing because you recently already defeated him once in a one on one battle at the top of a mountain. That the rematch should [[spoiler:give you back up]] makes it much less exciting. Beyond that, Alduin is outright weaker than [[spoiler:Tsun, the guardian of Sovengarde that you have to defeat shortly before the rematch with Alduin. Tsun feels like the true final battle with how strong he is.]]

** It's got the usual remixes of varying quality, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z9TdDCWN7g this one]] stands out, combining one of the tavern songs with the main theme... and the singer, Music/{{Malukah}}, has a voice that's about as beautiful as the [[SceneryPorn graphics in the game]].
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNDT7EInclo Another]], by the same singer.

** While Delphine's reception is overwhelmingly negative, Esbern has divided a lot of fans regarding his character. In particular, fans can't quite agree whether or not he should be held just as accountable as Delphine for [[spoiler:ordering the Dragonborn around including slaying Paarthurnax]], or if he is only doing what Delphine told him to do, on account of him being far more civil and polite to the Dragonborn than she ever is not to mention that he's clearly not in the best mental state due to his isolation and paranoia.

** The Soul Cairn, for pretty much the same reason as the Black Books. It's easy to get lost in there, but there's so much stuff to explore, you don't care.

** Cicero. His jester outfit, dances, and giggling are all very unnerving, but he's arguably one of the best followers in the game.

** Many players feel that the Forsworn are misunderstood freedom fighters working for a just cause to overthrow a government that demonizes them, and wish that they could join ''them'' in the Civil War. As a group that practices raiding, genocide, cannibalism, hagraven worship, and CrueltyRichLeather, the most we are going to say here is "two wrongs don't make a right". You ''can'' actually join the Forsworn by [[spoiler:helping Madanach to escape from Cidhna Mine]], but as seen above under Audience Apathy, this has its own problems. [[spoiler:Madanach]] claims that all he wants is the peace they knew before Ulfric put down the previous Forsworn rebellion. The problem with this is that the guy himself is an admitted ManipulativeBastard, and has been using rhetoric to radicalize young, impressionable Bretons into suicidal terrorists for nearly ''25 years''. While Ulfric is a polarizing figure himself, pretty much all information on the previous Forsworn rebellion comes from The Bear Of Markarth, which is essentially Imperial propaganda, or from the Forsworn themselves.

** Skeletons for similar reasons as lesser Draugr. They're especially common in caves and tombs, often mixed in with the Draugr, and are about as dangerous as a wet noodle given that they die in one hit to just about everything.

** The Magic Anomalies from the College of Winterhold questline. They're tiny little wisp-like creatures that fly around randomly and are a nightmare to hit. Offensively, they're kind of a joke -- they don't hit really hard, and the worst they can really do to the Dragonborn is an ice bite. However, what they lack in power they make up for in resilience. Anomalies are the '''only enemy in the entire game''' to level up with the Dragonborn '''indefinitely'''; specifically, their level will always be '''75%''' higher than yours (for reference, ''[[FinalBoss Miraak]]'' will only be 10% higher leveled than you, and he caps out at 150). This means they get ''harder to kill'' as you level up due to the level disparity. Oh, and when you're fighting them, you're either fighting a whole '''horde''' of them running rampant, or they're spawning to pester you during a boss fight where it's quite hard to damage the boss in the first place (thankfully, they pester the boss, too). Luckily, once you're done with that quest chain you're pretty much done with them forever; just don't ask Tolfdir if there's anything you can do to help the college, and he won't send you to find any more of them. There is one upside to them, though; you can Soul Trap them for Grand Souls, making them one of the two farmable sources in the game. They also drop filled soul gems, all the way up to black.

* HarsherInHindsight: North of Riften you can find a bandit camp which includes a wolf imprisoned in a cage. Naturally, it is hostile, so the player's best course of action is to kill it while it's caged so it can't fight back. Come 2013, try telling this to a ''Series/GameOfThrones'' fan; especially if you're using a crossbow, you've just re-enacted [[spoiler:Grey Wind's murder at the Red Wedding]].

*** Similarly, one gag in that manga is the titular Dragon Maid attempting to have Kobayashi eat her tail. Someone would eventually make [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/60989 a mod]] that would let you eat the meat of '''Alduin'''.

** Braith in Whiterun earned the playerbase's ire for being a rude, aggressive bully to pretty much everyone. Talk to her and listen to her conversations with her parents, and you learn that she bullies a boy her age [[LovingBully because she has a crush on him and can't figure out how to express it]], and isn't getting any help from her mother (who pretty much ignores her) or her father (who tries to help but is pretty clueless about how). Suddenly she seems less like an archery target and more like an ordinary confused kid.

*** [[spoiler:"Su'um ahrk morah" means "Breath and focus", and seems to be a Dragon goodbye. An alternate interpretation is that he is not pleading - [[FaceDeathWithDignity he is acknowledging that you need to kill him and saying his last farewells to you]]. Depending on your perception, this can make killing him easier or ''even worse''.]]

*** The end of the Stormcloak quest line is very similar. Tullius, completely defeated, admits that what the Empire did in the past may not always have been right, and basically begs you to at least respect that he fought for his cause as valiantly as you did, while Ulfric and Galmar unmagnanimously mock him as a loser and asserting that because MightMakesRight he deserves nothing, before killing him. Also, even if you are of the opinion that Tullius had it coming, poor Rikke certainly didn't deserve to die; but you have to cut her down to get to him, and she gets no such fanfare as Ulfric does.
*** Also for Stormcloak players, having to fight Jarl Balgruuf certainly counts.

** Many fans equate the Vigilants of Stendarr with a real-life Inquisition who oppress, murder, and torture daedra worshippers. In-game, all they do is patrol the countryside, occasionally fight vampires and werewolves and wild atronachs, and in one case investigate a house with a dangerous shrine to Molag Bal, and don't really express the extreme fanatical views and violent behavior that many fans ascribe to them; in fact, they're known to kick people out for being ''too'' fanatical. The one "fanatical" thing they do is attempt to forcefully confiscate any Daedric artifacts the player has obtained, and even then that was DummiedOut so its canonicity is questionable.
*** And considering how a daedric cult nearly caused the end of Nirn in the [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion previous game]] or how daedric quests often involve fairly unscrupulous acts like ''murdering someone who considers you a friend'', the Vigilants would have a point.

** Maurice Jondrelle. Being arguably the only straight case of an EscortMission in the game (all other temporary followers in the game either can't die (e.g. Brother Verulus) or can be left behind with no ill consequences (e.g. Enmon)) annoy most players enough; but his annoying voice, entitled attitude, and TooDumbToLive behavior irritate people greatly. Escorting him does allow you to skip a troublesome Spriggan gauntlet, but given how difficult the trip can be, you might be better off taking your chances with the Spriggans.

** Ice Storm, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard when used by enemy cryomancers and magic traps]], because it deals continuous damage and moves very slowly, and enemy mages get damage boosts as they level up, meaning that you'll likely be annihilated unless you act quickly. Not to mention it slows you for a few seconds. The one bit of good news is that frost-resistance potions are very easy to make with abundant materials around Skyrim, so if you know you're about to face frost-wielding mages you can prepare ahead of time. For extra fun, the Dragon Priest Dukaan from ''Dragonborn'' has an ''even more powerful'' version.

** Dragon breath. While a dragon's bite attacks are bad enough and can easily killcam you, the beast needs to land to use those, and a grounded dragon is slow, clumsy, and generally a sorry sight. Breath attacks, on the other hand, don't have the same limitations. Similarly to Ice Storm, above, it's a continuous stream of pain that is hard to get out of (since the dragon will angle it to pursue you) and harder still to find cover from (considering dragons fly and can attack you from pretty much anywhere). And yes, the ice variety will absolutely shred your stamina. High level dragons have '''extremely''' powerful breaths that can melt even well-geared players with a lot of health effortlessly, especially on difficulties above Adept. Best hope you've capped out your magic resistance by the time you start running into Revered and Legendary dragons. There's a reason why the Atronach stone is considered one of the best in the game - it essentially cuts the power of breath attacks in half.

** Hamelyn can be a big surprise if you proceed through the Thieves' Guild questline for the first time. While most of the quests involve just stealing and doing hits on targets, the last thing that a new player expects is fighting a fireball-happy madman who can kill you in a few hits and pretty much automatically knows you're there because his skeever buddies will almost certainly spot you on the way in, thus warning him. You can even confront the quest giver about this afterward.

** Although not to the extent of the Falmer, since the time skip, a lot of the races in Tamriel have it pretty rough. The Nord way of life is under attack by the Thalmor-directed Empire leading to a bloody war, and the Imperials have been whittled down to a VestigialEmpire under the Thalmor's thumb and are being forced to wage a war they didn't want. The Dunmer have lost half of Morrowind to the Argonians, and the other half was pretty much destroyed by Red Mountain after the Oblivion Crisis; they have only recently begun to rebuild Morrowind. Orsinium has been destroyed yet again and the Orcs are now scattered across Skyrim and Hammerfell while building another Orsinium. Valenwood has been forcefully annexed into the Aldmeri Dominion and Bosmer are being treated as indentured servants. The Khajiit were tricked into joining the Aldmeri Dominion, are barred from entering most cities outside the Dominion, and there are plenty of Khajiit who are unhappy that Elsweyr’s pretty much slaves to the Thalmor. The Redguards are currently the only race who are openly defying the Thalmor yet with Hammerfell declaring themselves independent, they have practically no allies to help them and it’s clear they can’t handle another invasion of any kind. Even Altmer who are [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch openly against the Thalmor]] are being hunted down by them, and those who aren't so open are scared of them. The only races who haven’t been any worse are the Argonians and the Bretons and even then, they aren’t any better overall either.

*** Also for Stormcloak players, having to fight Jarl Balgruff certainly counts.

*** Also for Stormcloak players, having to kill Jarl Balgruff certainly counts.

** The Switch version of the Anniversary Edition is too much for the console to handle, resulting in marginally terrible performance compared to the first launch Switch version (the first launch Switch version is basically Legendary Edition with removed vampire attacks, the addition of ''amiibo'' scanning for items, and crossover content with ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' as few weapons and items).

* CompleteMonster: See [[Monster/TheElderScrolls here]].
%%Please do not add any examples. If you believe someone qualifies, please take it to this forum first: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=6vic3f9h1cy5qivsenw8llok

* DemonicSpiders: See [[DemonicSpiders/TheElderScrolls here]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: See [[EnsembleDarkhorse/TheElderScrolls here]].

* GameBreaker: See its entry on GameBreaker/TheElderScrolls.

* GoodBadBugs: See [[GoodBadBugs/TheElderScrolls here]].

* MagnificentBastard: See [[MagnificentBastard/TheElderScrolls here]].

* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/TheElderScrolls Has its own section on the Elder Scrolls page]], but for a quick run-down...
** [[http://resistart.ir/static/media/uploads/2nd_new_galleries/Ray%20Lederer%20-%20USA%20/ray_lederer_-_usa_(1116).jpg This piece of concept art]] was mistaken by many people to be depicting the player facing a bear with tentacles coming out of its lower half (due to mammoths having four tusks in-universe). Tentacle bears are bound to come up in any discussion about the game. It's a bear eating a mammoth, in case you're wondering.
** "FUS RO DAH!!" It's the first dragon shout you learn and one of the most consistently useful, and it sounds awesome. In particular, the first glimpse of "FUS RO DAH!" from the trailer, always preceded by the "But there's one they fear..." narration and followed by the game's theme song, quickly became a WebAnimation/YouTubePoop trend.
** Weightless Carrots. This has become the rallying cry of those who decry the constant "ruined" mentality over the most inane things... because someone actually ''did'' complain about them at one point on the Bethesda forums.
** [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Attacking Lydia, Dragon Shouting Lydia, siccing Lydia on a dragon, watching a giant launch Lydia into the air.]] And then [[MemeticBadass watching Lydia get back on her feet.]]
** "Then I stripped the corpse naked and threw it in the river" has rapidly become the standard ending to any story involving bandits, Thalmor agents, or anyone else a player fights. In some cases, it's actually become custom for dealing with dead NPC characters who don't disappear after being murdered, as for many it essentially becomes a funeral.
** "I used to be a [insert occupation] like you... then I [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vncIBREXCwU took an arrow in the knee]]." Every town guard ever says this, due to the recycled script of the generic guards. This phrase is then used to a tongue-in-cheek version of the trope ICouldaBeenAContender, and the Skyrim guards is a popular subject of fanart, usually with TONS of arrows at his knee. Now an AscendedMeme on UsefulNotes/{{XBox}} versions, as "Arrow in the Knee" is an official Avatar accessory, but the overuse of this makes it veer to DiscreditedMeme. One article actually analyzed it, concluding that the reason that line in particular went memetic is a combination of AmusingInjuries and because it's flatly absurd that ''every single guard'' stopped adventuring because they all got shot in the knee.
** [[http://imgur.com/gallery/6Zl7k "Unfortunately, I am the High King of Skyrim."]] Came about after a GameMod was released that let the player actually become the High King of Skyrim, giving them the power to order anyone killed, make anyone a follower, enslave or imprison anyone, etc., with the aforementioned gallery focusing on the various [[TheScrappy Scrappies]] of the game (and [[MemeticBadass the Ebony Warrior]]).
** "You cannot fast travel when enemies are nearby." Usually accompanied by a picture of someone looking around them frantically for whatever's stopping them from escaping.
** After the announcement of Skyrim Special Edition and Skyrim for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, many fans joke about Todd Howard being a seedy businessman who will do nothing but rerelease Skyrim for the rest of Bethesda's life. Tends to be accompanied by photoshops of Todd Howard's face to [[PaperThinDisguise vaguely resemble someone else]] [[ButHeSoundsHandsome to hype up the Skyrim rerelease]]. Has become somewhat of an AscendedMeme with the joke reveal trailer for ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnEW6dX_BmU Skyrim: Very Special Edition]]'' at E3 2018, which promised the game would be coming to Amazon Alexa, an electronic refrigerator, and the ''Etch A Sketch''. This meme has been extended to the point of Bethesda sneaking ''Skyrim'' into completely unrelated properties, usually in the form of other games unexpectedly transitioning into the ''Skyrim'' intro (the "Hey you, you're finally awake" meme below). Up to eleven with the announcement of Bethesda being bought by Microsoft and added to Creator/XboxGameStudios and that all Bethesda games will be added to the Xbox Game Pass, with the joke being that Todd Howard successfully sold and will continue to sell ''Skyrim'' every month for the rest of time.
** "Stealth Archers" became a meme due to the combination of Sneak and Archery being a colossal GameBreaker, to the point where it's joked that [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome every Skyrim character ends up as a stealth archer]] simply because it outclasses everything else.
** [Insert Skill] 100. A screenshot of a real life (or possibly fake) story accompanied by the appropriate skill underneath. For example, Man talks entire lesbian bar into orgy: Speech 100.
** The Chicken of Doom. Riverwood is the first town most players visit after escaping the NoobCave. A chicken scratches around near the front gate, which many players casually attack. They then find out that attacking a chicken is treated the same as attacking a person: everyone in town will suddenly attempt to slaughter you.
** [[IncomingHam "A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON!"]] uttered by Meridia upon grabbing her Beacon. This is almost always the title of any reddit post depicting a dodecahedron encountered in real life. The rest of the comments are usually more Meridia quotes.
** "Rorikroll" [[labelnote:Explanation]]A setup involving a character in another game or film falling asleep or passing out, only to wake up in the middle of Skyrim's opening cutscene. Usually a few more sentences are used, but the first five words ("Hey you, you're finally awake.") typically get the meme across.[[/labelnote]]
** Zenimax Online Studios, the makers of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'', got in on the memes with the release of the ''Greymoor'' chapter, set in (and beneath) western Skyrim. The opening cutscene of the chapter opens with you... waking up... in the back of a horse-drawn cart. The driver then greets you with 'hey, you're finally awake!' Unlike in TES V, you're not a prisoner, just a passenger in a caravan, and the driver is cheerful, but the homage is still glaringly obvious.

* ScrappyMechanic: See [[ScrappyMechanic/TheElderScrolls here]].

* The VR versions stop having further updates by the time Creation Club came out, and thus underlying bugs in the version were left unfixed, and modders have to fragment their version of mods to make it work on the VR version.

** The Switch version of the Anniversary Edition is too much for the console to handle, resulting in marginally terrible performance compared to the first launch Switch version.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring The tone of ''Skyrim'' can be rather bleak and filled with a notion of fateful doom at times, especially in some side quests that only seem reinforce a feeling that happiness and bliss are only temporal joys that will surely pass. Though some side quests ending unquestionably happily does help alleviate this. The main stories also tend to be fairly optimistic, though also [[BittersweetEnding rather tragic.]]

** Maven Black-Briar, the [[TheDon criminal matriarch]] of the Black-Briar family in Riften, is a condencending {{jerkass}} who constantly belittles and threatens the player with her connections to the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood (despite the fact [[MuggingTheMonster you could be the Guildmaster, Listener or both]]), becomes the Jarl of Riften if you side with the Imperial Legion despite her extreme corruption, and [[KarmaHoudini never receives any comeuppance for her actions]] as there are no quests involving getting back at her. You can't even get the satisfaction of killing her, as she is permanently marked as essential. The most you can do is annoy her during some Thieves Guild quests, but you actively worsen your quest rewards by doing so while leaving her ultimately unharmed.

** When you kill Grelod the Kind, Aventus gives you the reward, all's well and good, right? Wrong. A courier shows up with a message from someone. Whoever sent it was pretty eager to get it to you, apparently. So you read the note. Wanna know what it says? [[spoiler:"We know" below a black handprint.]] Sleep tight. [[spoiler:...on second thought, ''[[NeverSleepAgain don't]]''! That's how they get you!]]

** ''Skyrim'''s guilds all bit gets rid of the older games' SkillGate mechanics where you need to be of level X in a skill or have done a few random quests before you're allowed to progress in the storyline. As a result, although there's the same amount of quests as previous games, it's possible to breeze through all of them one after the other, causing the whole thing to feel rather short. This is particularly obvious with the Companions questline, where one gets to join their Circle of most trusted veteran warriors literally after the initiation and then doing one quest (though there is some justification here as Kodlak, Skjor and Aela fast-tracked you through, Kodlak because he [[spoiler:recognizes you from a prophetic dream]] and Skjor and Aela because [[spoiler:the debate in the Circle about the matter of being werewolves, and Skjor and Aela made you one basically to try and weigh Circle opinion in their favor]].