riverwood, then im going back to helgen see if theres anything lying around to loot then whiterun mq until dragons are released followed by companions then scour the continent killing dragons, vamps, and elves until my hearts content.

1. Set difficulty at master
2. Get some clothing/weapon
3. Head to Markath

i'll hang around in Helgen and the surrounding area for a short period of time, do a few sides quests and then i'm heading straight for Winterhold to get into the Mage guild. According to the map it's quite the distance, gonna be a long journey I think.

Riverwood, then of to Whiterun to become a Thane and get Lydia, after that explore every city and then join the Legion

I'm actually gonna explore the entirety of Riverwood. I think it might hold a nice female for me to marry. It seems like a relatively safe place for loved ones to stay. After that, I have no idea. My mind is boggled by the many possibilities.

I kind of want to do Bleak Falls Barrow and Riverwood (to get my first Dragon shout, level up, and procure some money). After that I think I will head east. That's all. . .

I think I might backtrack to explore Helgen (sp?) then I'll just see where I end up. I want to acquire some sort of housing asap though. I need to collect all the loots.

you should do a little of the MQ for dragons

Does anyone know at which point the MQ sends you to Winterhold? I want to get there asap but I don't want to miss out on early game shouts or anything that maybe helpful. I'm wondering if I should go to Riverwood for awhile first before heading out to Winterhold...

I wanna fight that [censored] dragon

Riverwood(Golden Claw= Dragon Tablet and Word Wall), then Whiterun (Dragon Soul= DragonShout)

Since no one has said this, I will go to white run and slay their dragon so dragons will spawn in the world, and then Hunt dragons. Wandering in search of my quarry

Going to get my crafting up. Seriously, I will be a master smith and enchanter before I do anything to do with the MQ or guilds.

No set plan really, I might end up doing the generic Riverwood quests before going anywhere else just to strengthen my character.

Solitude, join the legion

I think I will go join the thieves guild. I always find it fitting to join them after starting out as a poor exprisoner. It will also get me enough gold to buy a house.

Once out of the cave, I'm heading straight to Winterhold, where I will live for a few months, building up my Alchemy, Enchanting, and Smithing skills to the point where I can afford a house, then settle in Winterhold and become a Master Mage. Then I will slowly go around the map (counter clockwise) living in each area for a while until probably in a year's time (real time) I will start the MQ.

if u do that u wont be seeing any dragons soon (for atleast a year that is)

u need to do atleast a little of the main quest to trigger dragons

Same here. Markarth looks so cool. In fact I might visit all of the different cities in turn, they look so fantastic.

Sir,

Yes, I am well aware of this and I want my first year in Skyrim to be Dragon free (apart from the opening tutorial of course) as I get to know the lay of the land, and bury myself in the Lore.

No one wants to climb those 7000 steps? Interesting.

I want to go to Riverwood and acquire some gear, then head to Riften and try to join the Thieves guild and keep there a while to advance my rogue character in powers, and then head back to Helgen and Falkreath, and after that Markarth side to see what adventures await my rogue character in the route and further ahead.

Main Quest up until dragons, then its either to Windhelm to join the Stormcloaks, and Thieves guild in Riften. Then I'll go for the Dark Brotherhood. After that I'm gonna do everything else

I'm first going back to Helgen to see if anything can be found/looted there.
Then I will go to Riverwood and stay there for a while to build up some skills while hunting and exploring the vicinity and do some crafting. I'll do this until the Creation Kit gets available.

After that, I'll mod in some parts I need for my own background quest. My character - a Nord - came back to Skyrim because he received a message that his mother, father and three brothers were killed. For that I need my Father's keep (tower, some walls, three or four buildings with half a dozen NPCs) and a few items that will reveal that my family was killed by the Dark Brotherhood. For that I will also have to mod the Dark Brotherhood NPCs to be killable. Then I'll go after those sons of sneaking dogs and wipe the Dark Brotherhood from the face of Skyrim - which will be quite a task cause I expect those guys to be rather tough. During that I'll also learn that one of my brothers was not killed but still lives ... and he is behind the killing of our family. So I will hunt him down and confront him to make him pay for what he did. For that I'll make the brother NPC spawn in one of several locations so I will really have to go look for him.

This will give me my own personal quest to follow with only a few minor moddings and added text dialogue. It might sound strange to add a quest that I already will know how it works so basically "spoil" it completely for myself obviously. But I just like to have a personal background to play through.

Inbetween I will also join the Companions and eventually will start the MQ but not until much later. So the Jarl of Whiterun will have to live in fear of a possible dragon attack for quite a while.

I'll head to the College of Winterhold, learn me some magics, become a necromancer, then join the dark brotherhood. I also want to dual cast lightning while wearing black robes and go "UNLIMITED POWER!!!".

Am I the only one who will hightail to Markath and see if I can find some Dwemer civilisation/ruins? That, and the Labyrinthian are my top priorities...

Also, good news - I thought I would have to wait till 20 Dec to play Skyrim (long story involving overseas travel for work and last minute pre-order cancellation by the seller because they can't guarantee 18 Nov delivery date) but now everything's working out - husband secretly pre-ordered with another store so there'll be some Skyrim/Markath exploration before work consumes me.