The Elder Scrollsis Bethesda’s landmark fantasy franchise, beloved for its expansive settings,utterly insane lore, and compelling quests. Indeed, the series' quest design is a strong reason the games still serve as a quality benchmark for modern open-world RPGs.
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There are several amazing games that recapture the magic of Skyrim with their interactive open world and fantastic lore.
Over a decade after the most recent installment,Skyrim,these games continue to inspire affection and admiration. AsThe Elder Scrolls 6allegedly creeps closer and closer, let’s celebrate some of the most memorable adventures from prior games.
Whether you crave hack-and-slash action, skullduggery and intrigue, or chilling horrors,The Elder Scrolls’quests provide these and more!
10Ghosts of the Tribunal
Canonized Fan Creation
Skyrim: Anniversary Edition
Quest Location
Raven Rock Temple
Questgiver
ReadHeretic’s Dossier: Blacksmith’s Confessional
Our first entry is also the newest! Originally published as part ofSkyrim’sCreation Club,Ghosts of the Tribunal was included inSkyrim: Anniversary Editionin 2021.Consideringthe ElderScrollsfans' prolific modding scene,this canonization of third-party work is well-deserved recognition.
Naturally, Ghosts of the Tribunal doesn’t “merely” reflect a nice sentiment. It’s an excellent quest, too, tying togetherMorrowindandSkyrimever more tightly on the island of Solstheim in an adventure about the aftermath ofMorrowind’smain quest.
Given a choice between two cults, who would you support? The modern religion of the “good Daedra,” or those Dunmer still dedicated to the ALMSIVI triumvirate?
Filled withMorrowindcallback artifacts and enticing options on how to complete the story, Ghosts of the Tribunal demonstrates how nostalgia can enrich more modern games.
9Frostflow Abyss
Horrors Lurk Below
Frostflow Lighthouse
Murder mysteries, monster hunts, and horror stories fillThe Elder Scrollsgames—after all, there are entire expansions dedicated to vampires and werewolves! Despite the strengths of those quests,Frostflow Abyss is still the creepiest quest I’ve played in the series.
What makes Frostflow Abyss particularly eerie is its use of ambiance and in-world texts to tell its story. There’s no questgiver, no living NPCs, and no obvious reason to discover the site unless you’re just wandering through Winterhold.
Inside is a scene of slaughter, and hints that you can learn the family’s fate by venturing below…
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8Antabolis Informant
Your Journey Begins
Caius Cosades
At the beginning ofMorrowind,you’re dropped off a ship at the village of Seyda Neen and the world is simply … open. You’re encouraged to visit a man named Caius Cosades in the city of Balmora, who will provide you with further directions—if you choose to go that way, that is.
Once he thinks you’re ready, Caius’s first quest,Antabolis Informant,introduces key themes ofMorrowind’splot and gameplay,including your first visit to one of Vvardenfell’s expansive Dwemer ruins. Somewhat mundane antagonists contrast with a fantastic environment as you seek out a Dwemer puzzle box to pay off your informant and learn a bit about Morrowind’s history.
What really makes Antabolis Informant click, though, is how it foreshadows the rest of the main questline. UnlikeOblivionorSkyrim,Morrowinddoesn’t come straight out and tell you what the story’s about.
Yet, as the plot progresses, it becomes clear that Antabolis’s information was, indeed, valuable for your prophesied confrontation with Dagoth Ur.
7Diplomatic Immunity
007: Dragonborn
Diplomatic Immunity is one ofThe Elder Scrolls’best stealth missions because it requires both sneaking and intrigue.
The premise is a little contrived—forcing you to temporarily leave behind most of your equipment—and it’s a shame you may’t return later to raid the Thalmor embassy, but the mission nonetheless is the most tense and memorable inSkyrim’smain questline.
In true James Bond fashion, you get access to a high-class party, trade social barbs with the antagonist, cause a scene, and then slip away in the chaos.
Exploring the embassy not only nets you sensitive political materials, but also a tour of the Thalmor’s dungeons (and an inevitable back-door out of a nearby cave).
6The Purification
Track Down A Traitor
Cheydinhal Sanctuary
The Dark Brotherhood isthe source of strange questsin bothOblivionandSkyrim.But this quest is no mere assassination:inThe Purification, Lucien Lachance requires you to slaughter your friends in the guild Sanctuary.
Lucien’s command goes beyond mere assassination as he tries to end the reign of an unidentified traitor in the Dark Brotherhood’s midst. For an organization that values loyalty so highly, this is a somber turn of events.
The greatest irony is that Ocheeva gives you the letter to meet Lucien, which in turn results in your mission to kill her. The Purification is a strong quest about loyalty and betrayal, instigating the latter half ofOblivion’sDark Brotherhood questline.
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5Discerning The Transmundane
To Deal With The Daedra
Septimus Signus’s Outpost
Septimus Signus
The insidious presence of the Daedric Princes andtheir oh-so-delightful artifactsare iconicElder Scrollsexperiences. While most Daedric quests are fairly straightforward,Hermaeus Mora’s quest will send you even into Blackreach while trying to unleash hisOghma Infiniumfrom its Dwemer-built prison.
Reconstructing the blood of an extinct race to open a locked box and obtain forbidden eldritch lore? Oh, sign me up. This quest’s strong concept and theme are bolstered further by sending you through the extensive Alftand ruin and down into the Blackreach.
That combination of unlocking new areas, disturbing stories, and powerful rewards makes Discerning the Transmundane the best of the Daedric quests.
4Dealing With Orvas Dren
I’m In Charge, Now
Duke Vedam Dren
Joining one of the Three Houses during your rise to power is one of the best experiences inMorrowind.To complete each house’s questline, you’ll need to both build your own stronghold and overthrow the house’s previous ruler.
Duke Vedam Dren wouldloveto name you Grandmaster of House Hlaalu. There’s a teeny-tiny problem:his brother Orvas Dren leads the Camonna Tong, and hehatesoutlanders.That includes you, n’wah.
The Camonna Tong are absolutely brutal, a vicious gang of xenophobes dealing in slaves, drugs, and blackmail. And you either need to remove them, or to get the Duke’s baby brother to support you.
This quest is one of the best in all ofMorrowind—and allThe Elder Scrolls—because it is so open-ended. Want to kill Dren? Sure. Persuade him? Good luck, but it’s possible. Blackmail him?Nowyou’re thinking like a leader of House Hlaalu!
Despite being such an awful villain, I love thatMorrowindoffers you multiple choices in this quest. By this point in the game you’ve probably visited the Dren Plantation a few times.
Knowing what the Camonna Tong gets up to—and also knowing the place iscrawlingwith high-level guards—it’s so enticing to cowardly avoid the fight.
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3Battle For Windhelm / Battle for Solitude
Skyrim’sTrue Ending
Solitude or Windhelm
Galmar Stonefist or Legate Rikke
Even after defeating Alduin, Harkon, and Miraak,Skyrimdoesn’t really feel like you’ve reached an “ending” until the Civil War is over. These two quests play out the final battles, depending on which side you choose to support.
Skyrim’smain quests are epic confrontations, but the Civil War plot hits home most strongly because it’s about thepeopleof Skyrim. Even if you didn’t engage in the Civil War questline for most of the game, this feud permeates the game’s dialogue, characterization, and environments.
The Civil War’s final quests aren’t “just” exciting battles—they’re the emotional climax of, I argue,Skyrim’s"true" story.
2Yagrum Bagarn And Wraithguard
Who Needs Gods, Anyway?
Yagrum Bagarn
Like modern games,Morrowindfeatures NPCs, which are “essential” to the plot.Unlike modern games, inMorrowindyou can still kill “essential” NPCs and sever the thread of prophecy.
Including Vivec, a God of the Tribunal, an entity so mighty he froze a moon in the air over his city. If you kill Vivec, it sure looks like there’s no way to completeMorrowind’smain quest.
Yet the game has a built-in back door. Yagrum Bagarn And Wraithguard is an ingenious quest availableonlyif you’ve broken the main quest. By bringing Wraithguard to the Last Living Dwemer, Yagrum Bagarn, this artifact can be restored to working order, provided you complete his tasks.
Dagoth Ur and the Sixth House may still fall into ruin!
1The End of Order
Enjoy Your Throne, Madgod
Oblivion: The Shivering Isles
Sheogorath’s Palace
Captain of the Palace Guard
Surely you didn’t think I’d leave out Sheogorath?
The Shivering Islesis the best addition to any game in theElder Scrollsseries, whether traditional expansion, DLC, or a fan-made mod.The End of Order is the climax ofThe Shivering Isles’main quest, culminating in your battle against the Daedric Prince of Order, Jyggalag.
And unlike the main quest ofOblivion,no one’s here to do the fighting for you. Oh no, no this time, you’re dueling the Daedric Prince alone.
Even the battles with Dagoth Ur inMorrowindor Miraak inSkyrim: Dragonborndon’t quite reach the storytelling quality at the end of this expansion.
Revelations about the nature of madness and godhood in the setting establish that defeating Jyggalag won’t merely “save the world” or “save Sheogorath’s Realm”—your actions change the nature of theElder Scrollscosmos.
Of all the epic adventures and quests in theElder Scrolls,The End of Order truly does stand at the summit of the series.
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