Just like Oblivion & Fallout 3, exploring dungeons etc. will break quests. A simple one such as finding a 'special' dead body in a dungeon will lead to the quest giver not giving you the quest to go look for him, so it's now stuck in the journal forever.

It's typical and I'm sick of it. Every single Bethesda game just invites you to explore a huge world, but as soon as you do, you'll break something. I'm so sick of it. It limits me in the way I play the game as I eventually start developing a pattern that I follow. I'm now on my 3rd character (yes re-rolled due to bugs) and I find myself following my previous patterns, but avoiding entering dungeons or whatever due to fear of breaking something so I have to roll yet another character yet again. It's boring and I'm so sick of it. Basically what it does is turning a free roam game into a linear game.

Fix your game already.

It`s not broken, just cancelled. Do some other quest, there are plenty.

Failing that, don`t play Skyrim.

It's not canceled. Learn to read already.

I agree that it's a major flaw in a game where they try so hard to encourage spelunking, but I'm sure there's a reason (unless they are just being cheap lazy bastards...).

Seems like you didn't start this thread to have a conversation about it, rather to pound your opinion home.

There's this thing you do with known problems, it's called...adapt.

I seem to not have the problem you do in the slightest, and yet I explore as much as I can. Completed quests are recognized. So this leads me to believe you're either a console player who got boned, or don't know how to use the PC console command line. STBY in any case.

Always happens. they post like they want help but tell them something they don`t want to hear and they shout back in your face. they just want instant mob agreement.

I have never had this problem some seem to have and my game continues running merrily. So maybe I missed a quest, or maybe I didn`t. My game did not stop, it did not break. Point is, there`s plenty more and for all we know any `cancelled` quest could be reset after the 10 or 30 day period.

awesome mate.

i agree with OP. i'm on my 3rd character currently and avoid areas i've been to on the previous characters because i know they break quests. It's usually the radiant quests that i break and i hate it because i then can't keep working with my preffered group.

I think it is more the fear of botching a quest than the actual problem. I've never had a quest ruined by exploration. I've yet to see someone post the actual name of a quest which was broken by exploration. It's always some vague description of a situation that may or may not have occured. Until I see a verifiable breaking of a quest, I call shenanigans and fear mongering.

I think I know the one you mean, a cave up near Riften.

I've only encountered a couple of dungeons which break quests if you enter them before getting the quest. The problem does exist but its very, very rare.

You should just continue to explore freely. At worst just revert to an older save if you do something to trigger a quest you didn't want to trigger.

On my newest character (had to restart because for some reason my other save was broken beyond belief, crashed when walking west of Silent Moons, before anyone says mod conflict, I made a new, went straight there and no crash) I have started only going to places that are in current quests/objectives, less likelihood of breaking anything, and I am spending more time talking to people and getting rumours and that. Obviously once I have done all that, everywhere else is safe.

Or atleast, that's the plan.

That's just one I can remember, there's plenty more around and it annoys the hell out of me. There's also one involving a mage follower that will break if you do something before talking to her - Again, completely ruins the exploration. Grr.

I've fully explored the worlds in Oblivion, Fallout 3 and NV and Skyrim. Not noticed it breaking quests because of this, I've thoroughly enjoyed these games without them hindering my progress.

The only time I have ever had a problem with quests intersecting and clashing is

Balderdash.
Read the UESP, check the bugs section at the bottom of each quest page.
There are numerous instances where picking an item up prematurely or entering a location prematurely will lock you out of content or screw up a quest.
For instance, if you clear out the cave associated with the quest for the Riften house before you get the quest to clear the cave out, you will never be able to purchase the Riften house.
For instance, if you pick up a flute before you get the Bard's quest for the flute, you will never be able to turn it in.
For instance, if you have a briarheart in your inventory when you get the note that activates the repairing the phial quest, you will never be able to complete the quest.

Look at that hardware and software issues forum for a change, or the UESP, before you start to make unfounded accusations.

I've never encountered any problems with quests being 'aborted' or messed up, and I explore - do I ever; 200 hours into my first play and not finished mq yet

And surely the point of radiant quests is that they can't be triggered by anything other than talking to the npc quest-starter; that's kind of how they work!
Whatever, even if there is a small possibility of discovering something before you might want to, there's no reason to let it spoil the whole game for you. Keep exploring, that's what the world is for...

@Merari: I've done the Bard's quest you mention, and I had picked up more than one flute by that point! It worked fine, although like many others the flute was still in my inventory when I'd supposedly handed it in... I think the point here is, some people will have some problems, bugs do vary. I've got both versions of the Gildergreen in Whiterun, for instance (sapling and dead). Doesn't happen for everyone!
And the Repairing the Phial quest is one that's never even started for me (though I did the finding quest ok). I've no idea if I've inadvertently 'broken' it - and I wouldn't know, unless I came on here looking for problems.

Woah, a briarheart can break a quest?! How the hell does that even HAPPEN?!
That's crazy man.

The quest requires you to collect a briarheart. It will point you to a specific one, thats inside a Briarheart boss.
If you already have one this messes things up. The objective will be completed, but you will not be able to turn it in.
Nor remove it from your inventory. Nor any other briarheart from then on.
Thinking about it, it is possible this is fixed in a recent patch, but Im not 100% on that

In this situation I would drop the Briarheart, consult the UESPWiki and look to where the boss is located and go job him. I reckon that would fix it without an issue, though I do believe a recent patch may have fixed it. I've not expereinnced a bug in ages, not since I rolled my 3rd character (lvl39.)

I don't see that this is broken at all. In fact last night I found a body in a dungeon and it started a quest.

also in Oblivion, exploring would not break quests. Except for one instance due to a pure bug (one of the Fighters Guild quests).

The only problem I have with exploring in Skyrim is that I'm afraid of running out of dungeons for "radiant quests" but maybe that's not a valid fear.

No because after youve received the quest, the briarheart will be unable to be removed.
Your only option in this case is to reload a previous save and make sure you dont have a briarheart on you when the courier delivers his note.

One quest which gets broken if you go dungeoneering early, is a book quest from Urag gro-Shub at the College of Winterhold. If you see a copy of 'The Wolf Queen v6' lying around just leave it alone until you get the quest in your journal. Otherwise, it's stuck there forever and no amount of other copies you find will advance the quest.

It's a problem and yet in Oblivion I didn't have to worry about exploring a dungeon would break a quest. The only one that I would have to worry about is Miscarand and that's if I pick up the important item within the dungeon before I was suppose too. I think Skyrim has that same problem with the Flute and Cragslane itself especially when one of the random encounters adds cragslane to your map tempting you to explore it before your suppose too.

You peeps are making me nervous to explore all these dungeons on my own. My newest character (who's lvl 31) rarely fast travels since I was missing all the places to uncover in between my travels from quest to quest. Guess we'll find out if any get screwed up. :/

Most of the issues caused by finding quest items early have been patched out of the game. This is not to say that someone who found them pre-patch are guaranteed success, most after patching the game can go forward.

Of the 26 quest related dungeons, there maybe 5 that you don't want to go in early. The rest of the quest dungeons, the quest starts when you show up. The balance of the 150 or so other ones are safe, game wise, to explore at any time.

Warning, spoilers in the link:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Dungeon_Quests