SKYRIM.

Following the Dragon attack on Helgen, the player character can choose to escape either with an Imperial soldier or a Stormcloak rebel. Following the escape, the main questline has the player travel to the nearby town of Riverwood. The player is asked to travel to the city of Whiterun, to request aid from the Jarl. The Jarl agrees to send a detachment of soldiers to Riverwood, and asks the player to aid his court-wizard in return. The player discovers a Word-Wall in the process, learning their first "Thu'um", the shouts used by the early Nords.

Upon returning to Whiterun, the player is asked to help defend the city from an attacking Dragon. The player character absorbs the soul of the Dragon upon its death, and learns from the Whiterun soldiers that he may be a Dragonborn, able to naturally speak the dragon language and absorb their souls. After returning to the Jarl with news of the Dragon's defeat, the player is summoned to meet with the Greybeards, an order of monks who live in seclusion on the slopes of the Throat of the World, in their temple of High Hrothgar. The Greybeards further train the player in the Way of the Voice, teaching the player more powerful Thu-um's and instructing the player on the destiny and role of the Dragonborn. As a further test, the Greybeards instruct the player to retrieve the legendary Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. However, the player discovers the Horn has been stolen. The player discovers the thief to be Delphine, Riverwood's innkeeper, who turns out to be one of the last surviving members of The Blades. Delphine and the player witness Alduin awakening a Dragon from a burial mound, and after defeating the Dragon, she instructs the player to locate Esbern, another Blade, known to be hiding in the sewers of Riften.

The player character learns from the Greybeard’s leader that the ancient Nords used an Elder Scroll against Alduin, inadvertently sending him forward in time. The player is instructed to locate an Elder Scroll within a Dwemer ruin and uses it to travel back in time and learn the powerful "Dragonrend" shout to combat Alduin. Armed with the knowledge of how the ancient Nords defeated Alduin, the player battles Alduin on the summit of the Throat of the World. Overpowered by the player, Alduin flees to Sovngarde, the location of the Nordic afterlife. The player learns that Dragonsreach, the palace of the Jarl of Whiterun, was originally built to trap and hold a Dragon. The Jarl of Whiterun refuses to allow the player to utilise Dragonsreach and possibly endanger the city while the civil war between the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Legion still rages. With the help of the Greybeards, the player calls a council between General Tullius and Ulfric Stormcloak, succesfully calling for peace while the Dragon threat exists.

The player summons and traps a dragon named Odahviing in Dragonsreach, learning from the Dragon that Alduin has fled to Sovngarde through a portal located high in the mountains, at an ancient fort called Skuldafn. Odahviing, impressed with the player's Thu'um and ability to capture him, agrees to fly the player to Skuldafn, claiming Alduin has shown himself as weak and undeserving of leadership over the Dragons. Upon arrival at Skuldafn, the player is able to travel to Sovngarde and meets with Ysgramor, the legendary Nord who, along with his Five Hundred Companions, drove the Elves out of Skyrim. Ysgramor informs the player that Alduin has placed a soul-snare in Sovngarde, allowing him to gain strength by devouring the souls of deceased Nords arriving at Sovngarde. The player meets up with the three heroes of Nordic legend who defeated Alduin originally, and, with their help, confronts Alduin in Sovngarde and destroys him.

 

The nonlinear gameplay traditional in the Elder Scrolls series is incorporated in Skyrim. The player can explore the open world of Skyrim on foot or on horseback, and fast-travel to cities, towns and dungeons after they have been discovered. Quests are given to the player by non-player characters NPCs) in the world, and through the Radiant Story system, the quests can be dynamically altered to accommodate for player actions which may influence the quest's characters and objectives. The Radiant Story system further directs the player's interaction with the world by setting unexplored dungeons as quest locations. When not completing quests, the player can interact with NPCs through conversation, and they may request favors or training in skills from the player. In addition to scripted quests certain ones will be dynamically generated, providing a limitless number to the player. Some NPCs can become companions to the player to aid in combat. The player may choose to join factions, which are organized groups of NPCs such as the Dark Brotherhood, a band of assassins. Each of the factions has a headquarters, and they have their own quest paths which the player can progress through. The economy of cities and towns can be stimulated by completing jobs such as farming and mining, or harmed by sabotaging industrial buildings.

Character development is a primary element of Skyrim. At the beginning of the game, the player selects one of several human, elven, or zoomorphic human races, each of which has different natural abilities, and customizes their character's appearance. A perpetual objective for the player is to improve their character's skills, which are numerical representations of their ability in certain areas. There are two skills divided evenly between the three schools of combat, magic and stealth, and training until the necessary required experience is met, results in the player's character leveling-up. Previous Elder Scrolls games made use of a class system to determine which skills would contribute to the character's leveling, but its removal in Skyrim allows for a preferred play-style to be developed naturally. When their character levels, the player may choose to select a skill-specific ability called a perk, or store perks for later use. Upon levelling fifty times, the player character can continue to level and earn perks, but the rate of levelling is slowed significantly.

A heads-up display appears when any one of the player's three attributes are being depleted. Health is depleted primarily through combat and can be restored by spells, potions, or resting; the loss of all health results in death. Magicka allows for and is depleted by the use of spells; it is rejuvenated naturally over time, but it can be restored in similar ways to health. Stamina determines the player's effectiveness in combat and is depleted by sprinting, jumping, and power attacking, but can be restored in similar ways to health and magicka. The player's inventory can be accessed from the menu and items can be viewed in 3D, which may be essential in solving puzzles found in dungeons The player's effectiveness in combat relies on the use of weapons and armor, which may be bought or created at forges, and magic, which may also be bought or unlocked. Weapons and magic are assigned to each hand, allowing for dual-wielding, and can be swapped out through a quick-access menu of favorite items. Shields can be used either to fend off enemy attacks and reduce the damage intake, or offensively through bashing attacks. Blunt, bladed and hacking weapons can be used in close combat and each have specific advantages and roles; as an example, the player can perform power attacks with each weapon. Magic can be used in the form of spells; each of the eighty-five spells have different functions, such as the regeneration of health, or the depleting of enemy health and stamina through frost spells. The bow and arrow may be utilized in long-range combat, but the bow can be used as a defensive melee weapon in close combat. The player can enter a sneak mode and pickpocket, or deliver sneak attacks to unsuspecting enemies. If the player drops unwanted loot, such as a shield or item of clothing, some NPCs will attempt to pick the item up, some even asking the player's permission to take the item.

 

Bethesda developed the Creation Engine for Skyrim allowing for dynamic snowfall.

When exploring the game world, the player may encounter wildlife. Many wilderness monsters are immediately hostile towards the player and thus can be slain. The inclusion of dragons in Skyrim affords a major influence on both story and gameplay. During the game's development, a team was set aside to work on dragons and their interactions with the world. In the world, a variety of different dragons are encountered either alone or in small groups. They are randomly-generated, meaning their numbers are infinite, and they can attack cities and towns at any time.

Not every dragon is hostile, and the player can interact with non-hostile dragons. Early in the main quest, the player character learns that they are Dragonborn, which allows the player to use powerful spells called dragon shouts. Twenty different dragon shouts can be discovered by visiting "word walls" in dungeons, and they are unlocked for use by absorbing the souls of slain dragons.

A regeneration period limits the player's use of shouts in gameplay.

Another significant change from previous games in the series is the elimination of weapon and armor durability; in which a player would periodically have to repair or pay to have items repaired or risk rendering them broken and unusable.