Many people complain about what the guilds got wrong in Skyrim, but I feel like Bethesda came close to something. Something special.

The beginning quests for the College of Winterhold struck me as brilliant. The dynamic requirement just to get into the College is in itself a nice beginning, but the real good stuff comes next.

They give you a nice tour, then they actually have you attend a class. They had something somewhat like this is Oblivion, with attendable lectures, but the class in Skyrim actually teaches you a new spell, and lets you practice it. After the one class, the questline changes from a school atmosphere more to a Guild-esque "go here do that" routine. But I feel like the school feeling of that first quest, actually learning magic, practicing it, made it so fun and so different from the other Guilds at that point. I wish that Bethesda could expand more on this type of thing in their next TES making their Mages Guilds seem more scholarly and requiring more proficiency at magic.

So what do you all think?

Agreed, College of Winterhold has a brilliant start, sadly it's not as brilliant for the rest of its questline.

I think the questlines where decent, but it does feel like... bam new guy shows up does 3 things everyone he is the leader now :/

Collette actually gives a lecture about restoration magic sometimes, but that is the only one

I totally agree with you, I would LOVE if they expanded on some of the guild/had a few more, as long as they have good storylines.

Each mage gives you an individual lecture about their magic school of expertise if you ask them.

@OP Joining Bards College is even more fun, they even have classrooms and classes. Too bad the quest line was so short, it started out wonderfully.

It's not the lecture that Restoration is a valid school of magic is it? XD

But seriously, another thought occurred to me, about maybe occasionally having a test type of thing in your favored (or neglected) school of magic. Have it so if you can't cast the spell, you couldn't proceed in the questline until your proficiency is up to par

All of Skyrim guilds starts wonderfully for me.

The Bards College was very nice too. I agree, it was a shame to have seen it cut so short.

In addition to that one i meant, she speaks to everyone at the Hall of the Elements.

However, if it was the school like atmosphere and you only just got around to the guild in late game, it'd get annoying to have to listen through, "And this is how you cast a fireball, any questions?" When your destruction was at level 75 or something. But it would be a nice environment, bring more realism and learning to the 'college' part of it.