What are the best side quests in Skyrim?

Mad Mike

Back in 2006 I started a thread called "Best Side Quests in Oblivion" and the thread refuses to die. Every six months or so some new convert stumbles across it and adds to it.

In order to keep up in the tradition therefore I am asking people to discuss their favorite side quests in Skyrim (A side quest being anything outside of the main Dragon Slayer path.) Lets try to avoid spoiling it for others so name and location of the quest can be prominent but any detail hidden under spoiler tags or at least pushed down the page.

I have just finished the main quest at level 21 and so far I haven't come across any side quests on a par with the best of Oblivion. Could it be that Oblivion had better side quests?

Anyway a couple that did stand out for me are:

A Night to Remember (started in a pub somewhere. I can't remember )

A Taste of Death started in Markarth was quite surprising but I have to confess I couldn't go through with it.

Bobby Baccala

A night to remember is quite the side quest, absolutely loved the ending,wasn't expecting it and when

the lad you were looking for at the start turned into a draemora in the end, i thought he was about to absolutely rape me

thankfully he didn't though.

IcedOut

I liked Mind of Madness

DyldeBrill

have to say mind of madness was pretty cool!

Cill94

Yeah A Night To Remember is awesome and has a good bit of humour in it. The Forsworn Conspiracy is fun too (if a bit long).

In contrast to the aim of this thread, I just thought I'd warn people to avoid pursuing the 'A Return To Your Roots' quest - the one about the crimson nirnroot. It requires you spend a maddening amount of time searching for the blasted plants in the maze of an underworld beneath all the dwarven ruins, while being attacked by enemies ranging from giant dwarven robots, to goblins, to dragons! On top of all that, you don't even get a good reward! (Unless you're mad into alchemy)

podgemonster

Blood on the Ice. The murder mystery mission in Windhelm. Great fun, just a series of talking to random people, following bloodtrails and when you finally see your suspect arrested, its leaves a sour taste in your mouth......maybe i was wrong.

Which of course you are because when you return again after a few days, dead bodies start appearing again.

Adyx

podgemonster wrote: »

Blood on the Ice. The murder mystery mission in Windhelm. Great fun, just a series of talking to random people, following bloodtrails and when you finally see your suspect arrested, its leaves a sour taste in your mouth......maybe i was wrong.

Which of course you are because when you return again after a few days, dead bodies start appearing again.

This is definitely one quest where you shouldn't rely on the quest markers to tell you where to go next.

Try talking to your suspect before you turn him into the steward.

viclemronny

Essentially all of the Daedric quests are good. The Dark brotherhood quest line has a good story to it.

Washington Irving

Technically, A Night to Remember, A Taste of Death and Mind of Madness aren't side quests, they're Daedric quests.

The Forsworn Conspiracy is pretty good though

hurleyman15

I loved the daedric quests too, a night to remember was great, just the fact that you end up going all across skyrim on a bender. Mind of madness was pretty fun too XD.

Cookie_Monster

Rise in the East

Raiding a pirate base, pretty cool.

Cookie_Monster

Rise in the East

Raiding a pirate base, pretty cool.

Mad Mike

So any opinions on whether Oblivion or Skyrim has better side quests? I vote for Oblivion (even though Skyrim improves on Oblivion in many other ways). I haven't tried the DLC add ons for Skyrim yet though.

Toots

I liked Lights Out in Solitude, and the Galdur Amulet ones weren't bad either - plenty of loot to be had in both of them!

RuairiMul

liked the thieves guild missions although ill never complete the overall quest to return it to its former glory:

<spoiler>**** all those pointless stealing quests, you have to do like, 50 of them</spoiler>

allibastor

thought the mind of madness quest was good, but it would have been SO cool if bethesda had a way to use your oblivion save if you played shivering isles to load the charactor you play with as who became the madgod