Summary
- Various factions in Skyrim offer unique questlines involving different organizations and story arcs, culminating in great rewards.
- The questlines differ in length and engagement, with some featuring dramatic twists and memorable battles.
- Each questline has its own challenges, allowing players to immerse themselves in different parts of Skyrim's world and lore.
Skyrim is known for having a large world with many quests and countless places to explore. Those range from the main quest focusing on saving Skyrim from the threat of returning dragons to the local side to miscellaneous quests that deal with the problems of a particular city or person. There is a lot of variety in what to do, and one of the most notable types of quests is the faction questlines.
Each revolves around a particular organization that has settled in Skyrim and usually involves both the main storyline quest and repeatable tasks. The quest starts with the player joining the faction and gradually rising through its ranks, in some cases even becoming the leader of said faction through a number of trials and tribulations. The questlines vary in quality, but most engage in their own way.
7 Bards’ College
A Short Initiation
- Starting quest: Tending the Flames
- Location: Solitude
Bards’ College is a faction in name only, while in reality, they are more representative of a group of side quests that involve fetching and dungeon-crawling. The players can join the College after helping the guildmaster Viarmo reinstate the festival of the burning of King Olaf, which has traditionally been the only event where they allow recruits to join in. The task of restoring it falls upon the Dragonborn if they want to join the college.
The introductory quest is interesting, involving some dungeon crawling, conversations with Jarl Elisif, and a festival scene at the end. However, this is where the Bards’ storyline ends, as the only quests left for the player to tackle are side quests related to various guild members and the instruments they need. This leaves the Guild without an interconnected storyline and thus makes it feel lacking compared to other guild quests.
6 Companions
A Fighting Guild With A Dark Secret
- Starting quest: Take Up Arms
- Location: Whiterun
Companions is the Skyrim version of the Fighters’ Guild. It comprises strong and honorable warriors who do their best to defend Skyrim. The player can join them after helping some recruits fight out a giant. Eventually, the player will have to complete various tasks for the group to go up in their ranks and earn their place in the inner Circle. Those are the Companions that mastered the werewolf form.
The questline is sometimes engaging, especially when the player first becomes a werewolf, but it has a few flaws. The questline is the shortest of the proper Guild quests, and the events' pace is very quick. This leads to insufficient time for the player to attach to the characters, and therefore, the eventual loss of some of them wouldn’t hit as hard as it is supposed to.
5 College of Winterhold
Uncovering Arcane Secrets
- Starting quest: First Lessons
- Location: Winterhold
College of Winterhold is the mage guild of Skyrim. Its storyline focused on discovering artifacts related to mages and uncovering a plot from within. The player will be encouraged to use spells and solve puzzles as they advance through the quest line. To join, the players will have to demonstrate some of their magical talents by casting a spell before the recruiters, which will then allow them in.
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The questline suffers from problems similar to those of the Companions, but they are not as pronounced due to the greater development and focus on the Guild and characters. The overall questline is longer and more engaging than the Companions, and while the twist at the end is predictable, it serves for a dramatic encounter at the heart of the College itself.
4 Imperial Legion Or Stormcloaks
The Civil War
- Starting quest: Joining the Legion or Joining the Stormcloaks
- Location: Solitude or Windhelm
This questline involves two warring factions, and the player can only join one of them. The Imperial Legion seeks to keep Skyrim a part of the Empire, while Stormcloaks try to fight for its independence. The Civil War storyline is central to Skyrim, and the player has a choice of whom to side with. The quest lines are similar, including battles, fort assaults, and clashes.
While the questline features some repetitive quests, such as clearing out enemy strongholds, the exciting parts make up for it. Delving into a dungeon with a group of soldiers and participating in a battle for Whiterun make for a very memorable experience. The culmination of the questline, ending with a siege of Solitude or Windhelm, is the highlight, as it is one of the few large-scale battles that Skyrim portrayed.
3 Thieves Guild
Becoming Nocturnal’s Champion
- Starting quest: A Chance Arrangement
- Location: Riften
Thieves Guild is the one that had been featured heavily across previous Elder Scrolls games and it makes its return in Skyrim. It operates in Riften and is declining by the time the Dragonborn chooses to join them. After a stealing attempt and ensuring some debts are paid, the player can join the Guild and enter its headquarters. They unlock miscellaneous tasks for the thieves and an opportunity to partake in the main quest.
The quest begins by doing some odd jobs for the thieves, with quests usually involving multiple routes for players accustomed to stealth and those who prefer a direct approach. Eventually, however, the questline turns into a cat-and-mouse game between the treacherous leader of the Guild, Mercer Fray, and the rest of the Guild. The player can hunt the traitor down and claim the Skeleton Key for Nocturnal.
2 Dark Brotherhood
Restoring A Fainting Cult
- Starting quest: Innocence Lost
- Location: Windhelm
Dark Brotherhood is similar to the one in Oblivion, which is clearly going through some difficult times by the time of Skyrim. There are barely any contracts available for them, and the guild is hunted by Imperial agents in Skyrim. The player can begin the questline by stealing a contract from the Brotherhood, which results in them being captured by Astrid, its leader. They can choose to destroy the guild or join it.
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If they choose to join, they will help restore the Brotherhood from scratch, fulfilling contracts and working with members from around Tamriel. Eventually, it culminates in the sanctuary getting attacked and most of the assassins killed, leaving the player to become the new Listener of the guild. In the end, they can kill the Emperor himself, which makes the Dragonborn one of the most accomplished Listeners in the guild.
1 Dawnguard Or Clan Volkihar
End An Ancient Conflict
- Starting quest: Dawnguard
- Location: Fort Dawnguard
This storyline is introduced in the Dawnguard expansion and serves as the central questline. While it is not technically a guild storyline, it does involve a conflict between two powerful factions, with the player being able to join one of them. The choice they will eventually have to make is between the Vampire Hunters of Dawnguard and the ancient Clan Volkihar, with each faction granting unique perks such as pet trolls or the ability to become a vampire lord.
The storyline is mostly the same between both factions, as it involves the conflict with Lord Harkon and an alliance with his daughter, Serana. Eventually, the player discovers ancient relics such as Au-Riel's bow and learns some secrets of ancient Skyrim related to Falmers. The storyline engages and ends in a climactic battle against the villainous vampire.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
