What questlines in Skyrim can you do regardless of your choices/actions other than the main quests?

What questlines in Skyrim can you do that will disable the advancement of other questlines?



I know the Main Quest is a Questline which you can without affecting other Questlines. I am also sure the Dark Brotherhood, Companions, Thieve's Guild, and Winterhold College are all doable without affecting other Questlines.

I also know the Imperials/Stormcloaks Questlines affect one another and will disable the other. I know the Blades/Paarthurnax Questlines affect one another and will disable the other.

What are the others?

I'm just trying to find out, because on my next Character playthrough I want to do the opposite Questlines.

Fun fact: You can do all the Blades' recruitment and all that stuff before they ask you to do in Paarthurnax, meaning you can pretty much finish off their questline and stay in good standing with the Greybeards.

These are what I know of that affect quest *lines:*

1. Stormcloaks vs. Imperial Legion (Civil War sides)
2. Penitus Oculatus vs. Dark Brotherhood (destroy or join DB)
3. Season Unending normally suspends the Civil War until the MQ is complete
4. Killing Paarthurnax before the truce suspends the MQ until the Civil War is complete
5. Completing the Civil War bypasses Season Unending
6. The Battle of Whiterun (Civil War, either side) can interfere with one of the Thieves Guild radiant quests by blocking its target with rubble
7. Though not a quest per se, having a bounty can complicate both the MQ (Delphine may attack you) and the Companions (Farkas and Vilkas count as guards.) Having a Whiterun bounty will certainly complicate the MQ and the Companions.

The Companions questline can be disabled if you join the Stormcloaks and then assault Whiterun. What happens is there's a quest you may (or may not) get from the Companions called "Hired Muscle". You're supposed to go intimidate an individual in Whiterun (I forget his name right now). But if you assault Whiterun first, his house and him are destroyed. This means you cannot intimidate him and the Companions won't give you a new quest until you finish one that's already been assigned, thereby destroying the entire Companions adventure.

Alteration Ritual Spell: There's a Nordic Ruin called Highgate Ruins west of Solitude. In that dungeon is a person named Sanska. When you enter she asks you to help her with a quest. If you go all the way through the dungeon you meet up with a dragonpriest. You then kill him and take his mask. There are two sets of gates in that cell that only open once you take his mask. So you take his mask, the gates open, and you grab the loot. Here's where the problem coms in. If you you get your Alteration to 90 you can get the Alteration Ritual Spell quest. Without this quest you can't get Dragonhide, the best Mage armor spell in the game. So Tolfdir sends you to Highgate ruins to get a certain item. To get that item you have to kill the Dragonpriest so that the gates will open. But the Dragonpriest is dead and you've already taken his mask. So the gates won't open and you can never fetch the item.

The Companions questline can be disabled if you join the Stormcloaks and then assault Whiterun. What happens is there's a quest you may (or may not) get from the Companions called "Hired Muscle". You're supposed to go intimidate an individual in Whiterun (I forget his name right now). But if you assault Whiterun first, his house and him are destroyed. This means you cannot intimidate him and the Companions won't give you a new quest until you finish one that's already been assigned, thereby destroying the entire Companions adventure.

Totally forgot about Hired Muscle interactions. In that case, Dark Brotherhood (joining OR destroying) has a chance to block the Companions:
-Hern and Anoriath are both Nazir targets and possible Hired Muscle targets (joining)
-Commander Maro may have died during the true Emperor kill (joining.) Destroying the DB ensures that Maro becomes impossible to brawl.

Also, Civil War (Imperial) can block the Companions because of Brina Merillis; (Stormcloak) because of Severio Pelagia.

Atar, the leader of the mercenary Occupy Karthwasten group, is a Hired Muscle target, and becomes unavailable if you chase them away.

Sven and Faendal, one might kill the other, or those evil Riverwood chickens might kill either. Both are HM targets. (Simply random.)

That dagger can be found at any of the Dragon Priest lairs I think. I found mine up in Volunruud.

Yes, that dagger has multiple locations. I have two of them.

Also, the assigned dungeon is random. So, make a save before you get the quest, then if you get this dungeon, then reload and get the quest/dungeon again.

Here are the other dungeons

• http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Forelhost, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Lost_Valkygg, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Volskygge, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:High_Gate_Ruins, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Valthume, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Ragnvald