There are reports of bugs in quests which make it impossible to trigger those quests, or finish them, once started. Blood on the ice is one that many players have trouble with. Many others. So what is a safe way to play?

If I create a new game before future quest fixing patches, and NEVER went to the particular town, cave, or house where a quest starts, until patches came out, would I be safe? OR, am I at risk from the moment I begin the new game, and walk out of the Helgen Cave?

Since npc's are always eating, sleeping, working, and all that 24/7 no matter what. Is it safe to just avoid an area until later? should I avoid that particular city, or cave, or the entire hold? I am fine with making tons of saves, and reloading old saves if I encounter a dead npc, or some quest breaking bug. But I don't want to have to go back to a save 100 + hours old.

Bump.

There is a Quest that stops the main quest. The quest that stops the main one is either: Joining the Stormcloaks or Joining the Legion. I've done the Legion one so I won't have no probs so there's a head's up

Really? Joining one side or the other makes it to where you cannot complete the main quest??

No it's just when you get to a bit in the main quest you have to make a peace treaty with the legion and the stormcloaks. If you don't do a few quests for the side you wanna join you can't do the main quest without going to another save file.

There's no way to avoid bugged quests without spoiling them for you. Because you will need to read through the bug threads. I think there's a thread that includes a section for quest bugs, but from what I can tell there's safe workarounds for all quest bugs except for those that don't involve a weapon i.e. Panea's Flute...if you see it don't pick it up unless you have a quest requiring you to find it. Essentially, the problem is that the game code just is not looking in the player's inventory to see if the item is there. Unfortunately, the game rules won't let you drop quest items thus you will have the item to complete the quest, but the game can't see it in your inventory. If the quest item is a weapon then you can weild it and then activate a weapon rack in your home so that it's out of your inventory and back into the world where the game code can see it. But, there's apparently a book as well as the flute where you it can get stuck in your inventory and can never get rid of it.

I believe the very first mod I will make is to bypass the quest item rule so I can bloody put quest items where I want.

It don't bother me if I do or don't have quest items in my inventory.

Siilent - that depends on how heavy the quest item is.

Is there a better place than the uesp wiki for me to go read about every known bugged quest, so that I can learn how to avoid them/properly complete them?

I do not mind the spoilers at all.

I wouldn't know I don't go on wiki's that much. And most quest items I get don't weigh anything.

I found some threads that appear to list all the bugs when I searched for Enthir Staff...here's some links:

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1309733-unofficial-buglist

There's also some threads in the 360 subforum such as this one:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1283763-organised-list-of-broken-quests/