Why does the main quest do this? (Spoilers)

[tnyrmn]

I got pretty frustrated the other day when the main quest forced the thieves guild on my character to get information about Esbern. NO, I don't want to talk to brynjolf (sp?) and do some errand for him. I want nothing to do with him and his guild of crooks, now though, i'm stuck with "Talk to Brynjolf in the Ragged Flaggon" in my quest log forever.

 

Then, a little further in the main quest they force the damn mages college on you too! Why can't I just go to the college and get the info I need without being admitted as a member of the college. Are regular guests not allowed? If I go and visit Harvard I'm not suddenly a student just by talking to a security guard in front of one of the buildings. My character is a hunter and warrior with some shamanistic inclinations (restoration), not a scholarly mage.

 

I really wish they hadn't done that, maybe there were ways around this but they didn't seem real obvious (no intimidate/brawl option for Brynjolf).

 

That being said, I think I like this main quest more than oblivions. Oblivions did feel more epic, but it also felt way way way more urgent and I found myself rushing to complete it because collecting bear pelts for a farmer pales in comparison to stopping hell from swallowing the planet whole. At least with Skyrim I haven't felt as pressured to get things done.

 

I think thats my main problem with the main quests for both games though, they force your character to do things they may not normally do, but you pretty much have to or the damn world ends. Why would I be messing around with bandit bounties when Alduin is about destroy civilization? It results in your character having serious cognitive dissonance.

 

Sure the world is ending, but I'm gonna track down some nirnroot for that lady in Riften instead.

 

 

And sure, you can do all this side stuff after completing the main quest, but then you just feel like you're slumming it. I just slayed this uber-mighty dragon and saved the world, now some condescending jarl is asking me to do some bs errand. Great.

 

Well, I guess there will be alt start mods that bypass the main quest eventually.

 

Anyone else bothered by this sort of stuff?