I wrote this in the spoiler thread, but it's generated little feedback. So I thought maybe here would generate more feedback.


If I were Bethseda and I had sat down to write the guilds of Skyrim, these would be the what I would have written. To me they are "fixes" because they aren't what they wrote, but at the same time this is what could have been done.

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Note: Let me make disclaimer right here this thread wasn't created here to bash the guilds. This thread was created to share how I would have made the guilds more interesting for a roleplaying aspect and a story aspect. And some elements will always be the same. I think all the guilds should have been extended further and longer and took multiple days to beat. Not an afternoon. And I'm using Oblivion as a base for Skyrim, I know. But this isn't me saying Oblivion is better and that Skyrim is bad. It's just using and comparing elements to help me approach where I am trying to get at.

The College of Winterhold

Elements-

Much like in Oblivion where you had to do minor quest before every main quest and every leveling up. The College of Winterhold since it would be the only source of magic school in Skyrim would follow a pattern somewhat like this. You enter the college as a no one. You take the course in the main court. With Tolfdir teaching you what he needs. He leads the student as followed to the ancient Nord ruin, all things lead to the final outcome. But here is the thing. You're locked. Tolfdir says you're no longer needed for this item and that you should help out the other members of the College before coming back to him for a main quest. And this is how it should have been throughout the story. Stop the main storyline and then do minor quest, but each minor quest becomes more interesting as you level up.

Story-

Story wise I would keep it the same, but changing certain elements. Because I like the idea of interesting setups and making you think about elements of the story. I like to created intriguing scenarios. Personally, in the story Tolfdir would have been succumbed by the power of the object they found. And Ancano was the one trying to protect you and save you this whole entire time. Even though Ancano was a jerk and seem like an [censored], and everyone hates the Thalmor right now, etc. So it would have had some interetsing impact on how the character perceives the Thalmor now that he has been painted with a different picture. And it also with the elements above makes for a more interesting story line. Tolfdir was your teacher and your mentor and would have brough greater impact to the story.

Also the story should have left some mystery. When you were suppose to talk to a certain someone the certain someone basically spills the beans that the guy you know is the bad guy because Bethseda just told you he was. Bethseda should have never set up just in a few short seconds of the storyline that you know who the bad guy was. Instead when you talked to that spectral someone in the Miggen it should have been mysterious as in, "I wonder what that person's intentions are"

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The Thieves Guild

Elements-

Much in the same way that The College of Winterhold is set up. However, in this case. All those Radiant Quest they make you do after you do the main storyline for the Thieves Guild should be quest you do before in the beginning as a beginning thieves member. These are minor quest that are so tedious. They make me feel pointless. I'm thinking hey wait a minute didn't they say that I could be the elect leader so why the heck am I doing these boring Numbers Job or Sweep Jobs. And everyone treats me like their my leader when I am the leader of them. So instead all these sweeps and heist jobs, the boring errand boy ones should have been done when you were a newblet. It would have given a greater sense of climbing up in the ladders. The moment you became the leader, those boring Numbers Jobs should be given to the lowest members of the thieves guild, not the top. Then as the leader you should have been given more intriguing radiant quest heist rather than these boring what feel like low level jobs. And those quest should be mandatory. Like if you try to go to far on ahead in a main quest line then they tell you cannot do it cause you need to do such and such jobs. Much like Oblivion when they said you need to fence this many goods before you can continue and I have more interesting jobs for you.

Story-

My main gripe with the thieves guild is about the same as The College of Winterhold. They basically spell out to you very early on who the bad guy traitor is. And they don't do much with the story. That and steal doesn't seem all that convincing or didn't seem to have an impact. I think stealing something more befitting to gain reputation for the guild would have been better. Such as in Oblivion you had to steal the Elder Scrolls. There should have been something you should have stolen that had some significance that played into the game. And that's another thing, there should have been more weight when these quest were being done instead of a couple of thieves from time to time failing in broad daylight to steal and getting mowed down by guards. I remember stealing the Elder Scrolls and everyone talking about it. And the courier wrote about it.

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The Dark Brotherhood

Elements-

Like I have been saying over and over again, the elements are the same in here as well. Small minor quest that are mandatory to complete before you get to go unto the main storyline.

Story-

The story for this one I think has the most impact. It's written well and I enjoyed all the little twist and turns. It seems someone actually put some time into this story. However, I have a few major problems. Again it's truly the lack of weight in Skyrim that makes the story feel useless. I remember in Oblivion when I killed someone the towns people went, "did you hear so and so died they said she died in her sleep". I also miss that too. That there wasn't just one way to kill someone. I found that in the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim, I found I stabbed a lot of people, but didn't setup interesting ways for people to die. In the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion they would say oh exchange this man's medicine for his poison. But if you don't want the bonus go on a killing spree. I also to mention should have really had a game changing moment. Maybe we see Imperial Soldiers backing off in Skyrim because they need tor retreat back to the Empire or something along the lines. Something that indicates that this actually had some sort of impact to the world. Because right now I feel like his dead corpse was for nothing.

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The Companions

Elements-

My repeated phrase. Lock main quest make the newblet have minor quest. And don't make the AI so trusting of me.

Story-

To me the Companions was the least interesting of the stories. It was sort of lackluster and boring. And I still cannot believe that like five or so quest and the companions are already spilling their most trusted secret out at me. No it should have been like, I had no choice you found out our secret and they throw you into prison or something. And then one of the AIs of some sort explains why this is happening. They convince them you're not a bad guy, but in chance you must promise not to speak of their secret. And that's it. They don't ask you to become a werewolf. Instead you go through the ranks, do the main storyline, minor quest. And then we find out that the SIlverhand are trying to awaken some really powerful evil vampire mage. This is the climatic sort of exchange. And there during the climatic change the Companions give you the power of the wolf because that's the only way you're going to be able to defet this vampric lord.

I find that find times more intirguing than the one they have now.

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So these are my "fixes"/"review" of the guilds and what I would have done with them.

Completly agree
Guilds in Skyrim are shallow and weak

hah, i actually read this while i was in the spoilers section earlier. I just tend to be a lurker and don't comment all that much. but since you asked so nicely....

I'm satisfied with the guilds as they are, though of course they could use some improvement in different ways. I think radiant quest was designed to give you the smaller more common quests that you say you want in nearly every bullet...of course they aren't as well implemented as the "mundane quests" of oblivion and before because they are more procedural and less scripted. the more scripted, generally the more flavor, but it also means it is the exact same quest every playthrough, at least radiant story changes the location and what not.

SMALL SPOILERS AHEAD

as for guild ranks....we've gotta be honest here the reason why there are no ranks is because not a single faction in the game is an Imperial Guild. every previous game was set in the empire, with imperial convetions and philosophies heavily influencing everything. mages guild is no more, and who knows what the structure of the synod and so forth is. the companions aren't the fighters guild. They're just a band of mercenaries in this game...and the dark brotherhood has had no night mother in how long? it makes sense that the traditional hierarchy isi't followed. as for the theives guild....the gray fox and his band were in cyrodiil, now they are a more common rabble of thieves, with only a small dedicated band in the nightingale group who protect nocturnal.

So I can definetly see lore wise why the rank structure is gone, but on the same hand I didn't like oblivions ranks nearly as much as morrowinds where you had to actually have required skills to advance. that form will always be the best for me.

Well I think it should be a combination of both really. I like both ways and a system that implemented both of the worlds would have been better. Though I'm also talking story wise. Skyrim just dropped the ball and told who was the bad guy. Didn't even let you try to figure it out or anything.

another note, i liked the guilds, but do agree the plotlines were just too short.

To short and to easy to predict.

I wanted to do little small College quests, y'know little oddjobs, just like for the thieves guild. It made it seem more guild-like.

Companions quest line was very boring, i wish i wasn't forced to be this thing i didn't want to be and being this thing wasn't significant at all.

Thieves guild wasn't bad

Dark Brother hood was wasn't good

College of winter hold could have been longer and it was okay.

I wouldn't have minded the briefness if they had more, like Vigilant faction, Forsworn faction, maybe even a Vampire faction you can join only if you're a vampire.

I would have enjoyed to join the Silverhand. That would have been neat.