Breaks in the main quest arc

[p1t1o]

Hey there,

 

I try to play the game as if the character was me, so I make decisions on what to do based on whether or not I personally would do it ie: I dont run around looking for every quest to complete, but my character does need to make a living (Imps more complex needs) and I need loot to survive.

 

So early in the main story arc I find out I am "dragonborn" and am advised to meet the greybeards ASAP.

 

I need to come to terms with this revelation, not to mention build up my loot and level before embarking on such a pilgrimage, so I am doing odd jobs and quests and such, basically playing the game.

 

Can anyone tell me if there are any such other "natural" breaks in the story where I can go about my business for a while? Or is does the rest of the questline have some sort of vital urgency? (given a life or death situation, I would be unlikely to say, go and look for some random's lost heirloom or whatever and would complete the story).

 

I have plenty of extra gameplay installed in the way of mods etc but dont want to wipe out the mian story arc too early.

 

Hope that makes sense,

 

Cheers,

 

Pete

[neiljwd]

Straight after the next bit would be quite good, as they do give you a task, but its not mentioned to be timed sensitive, and there's lots of talk of discipline, learning, controlling your voice, understanding its meaning, true power, usage all that stuff, so you could then spend time finding your self as it were.

[RustyBlade]

I use the Alternate Start - Live Another Life mod just so I don't have to put up with the urgency created by the dialogue of the game. There are no time limits on anything but they way they word things, it always feels like there is. I also use Immediate Dragons so I can still kill the beasties. As long as I refrain from speaking to Jarl Balgruuf, the main quest-line will not trigger; I can enter and leave Whiterun at my leisure, go where I want, do what I want to do and there is no one nagging me about the Greybeards. Sure the guards will mumble something about dragonborn IF they actually see me kill a dragon but those are just old wives tales, right?

[BrettM]

I would say that all of the quest lines have plenty of natural breaks. There is no sense of urgency until the last few quests at the climax of the story line. Many intermediate quests in each line send you on long journeys that have no deadline but will ensure that you run into other problems along the way and other people needing your help.

[RedRavyn]

Unlike Oblivion, in which there were a few timed quests that you could fail if you weren't "on-time", I don't think there are any in Skyrim. Sure, your Blades ally will rush off to Kynesgrove, telling you that a dragon attack, there, is imminent. If you don't feel like slaying a dragon, just ignore her and take a vacation. Do some hunting and collecting. Explore some caves. Mine some ore. Smell some roses. Watch some sunsets. Enjoy a bottle of Skooma. She will still be there in a month, waiting by the rock, if it takes you that long to get there.

 

The same is true with every other quest I've done, and I think I've done most of them at least once. So take your time and enjoy yourself, and ignore the guilt trips the NPCs try to shove on you if you don't jump when they say "jump".

 

Now, getting a quest and then not doing it immediately might have some consequences. I just had a really annoying bad experience with Barbas, Clavicus Vile's pet pup, tagging along with me because I interrupted the "A Daedra's Best Friend" quest to do some side adventuring, including the main quest up to killing the first two dragons. On the other hand, Barbas can't be hurt, even though he sucks in a fight, so he makes a good distraction. You can take advantage of this little trick and get some essential "followers" along the way to help you out.

 

Mostly, though, just play the game at your own pace. There's no "urgency" anywhere in any of the primary questlines except in the minds of the NPCs that nag you about priorities. Your priorities are yours to set. Don't let the game dictate them to you.

[Georgiegril]

The first time I played this I had just come from months of killing zombies and my brain was definitely still in FPS mode. I frenetically got through all the main quest lines before reaching level 30. No crafting, no enchantment, no mods. A lot of whacking enemies on the head with a big hammer. Every time now that I've started a new game, I have added more mods, spent more time with various crafting and smaller side quests. This time around I am already level 51 without finishing any of the main quests and not even starting over half of them. I find the less I hurry and the more I get involved, the more I enjoy the game. Mods have made my game more beautiful, interesting and challenging. I suspect all the "hurry-up" dialogue was intended to instill a sense of urgency and importance, but I think it works against Skyrim's real strengths, which to me are immersion and personal choice. So, like some others have posted, I ignore them. Unless I really feel like doing what they want. : :happy:-)

[fraquar]

To me there really isn't a natural break in the main quest line once you have been outed as the Dragonborn. Once you've been summoned there is no turning back from your destiny. i.e., putting the fate of the world on hold so that I can settle a petty Civil War issue really isn't an option.

 

The thing I do whenever I have a new playthrough is keep going west once I get to the Guardian Stones, and I usually head for The Rift afterwords. I avoid Riverwood and the start of the inevitiable like the plague. Yeah, every once in a while a guard will remind you of the Helgen incident, but other than that you are free to do what you want without the pressing need of saving the world on your shoulders. When you are ready to have your life dictated to you then head to Riverwood/Dragonsreach.

Edited April 14, 2012 by fraquar

[Calamachus]

I use the Alternate Start - Live Another Life mod just so I don't have to put up with the urgency created by the dialogue of the game. There are no time limits on anything but they way they word things, it always feels like there is. I also use Immediate Dragons so I can still kill the beasties. As long as I refrain from speaking to Jarl Balgruuf, the main quest-line will not trigger; I can enter and leave Whiterun at my leisure, go where I want, do what I want to do and there is no one nagging me about the Greybeards. Sure the guards will mumble something about dragonborn IF they actually see me kill a dragon but those are just old wives tales, right?

 

 

I've been looking for something like the Alternate Start mod for a while. Can someone please explain to me why that's not on the Hot List?

 

Awesome mod.

[ElricOfGrans]

After meeting They Greybeards for the first time, I felt the main quest almost fell over. I had another quest, but there was no urgency behind it, nor did there appear to be any motivation for me to do it. This is a VERY natural break and was where I stopped for several characters.

 

Following that point, most of the quests are quite similar. There are very few that give an RP feel of `I need to do this NOW', or even `I kind of really WANT to do this now', in the same way as the early quests did (eg Dragon attacking RIGHT NOW! PS you are conscripted to help).

 

The Hot List tends to be mods that where recently released, which the alternate start mod is not.

[Brandy1123]

There is no quest timeline at all. The only thing you will find that even remotely resembles a timeline is a quest order. Certain quests will break if you go somewhere when Bethesda didn't want you there or pick something up before you spawned the quest. As this game was written for a dumb terminal box, they took out all cognisent thought processes. They made a completely open world, completely linear. The worst part about the linear world is they have no means setup to fix the quests you break by thinking and playing as you want to.

 

If what you mean by natural break, a part in the quests when you're between quests. You never get rid of them til they're all done or stuck broken" when you dont have to rush off and meet someone, kill someone, rob someone, beat someone, steal something or return something, then no. Every quest will give you a sense of urgency. By the way it was delivered, the quest was written or in game dialog. EVERYone is in need of your service, NOW. Quests spawn just standing in a spot long enough, i gaurantee a quest will eventually spawn.

 

My advice for playing "you" in the game is this. Treat all these quests/quest givers like the begger on all our street corners. They all are belivers in some form of god, they all wish you blessings from that "eternal being", they are all disablesd service veterins with 4 wives/husbands, 12 kids, a 3 legged dog, lost both their houses, their dentures are being repossessed, and they're living in a box behind the walmart dumpster. Not only that, but they all give you a sense that they need you and your pity for their unfortunate trials. Their quest is to win you over so that you offer them what they want by making you think that only you can help them. Time is urgent to them, the light is about to change.

 

Just pass them by and give at the temple. The temple of Mara only asks for 5 septims. how can you beat that???