Now that Skyrim has been out for a decade and has seen numerous rereleases, the main plot is just tiring for most fans. The good news is that the world is so big and so open that it can be avoided in its entirety and there will still be a massive number of things that the player can do to pass the time.

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Mods make it all better, as there are even some out there that allow for an alternate start, taking away the player's ability to be the dragonborn, adding more NPCs, quests, and other effects to further ramp up the immersion. Even playing vanilla though the game has plenty to offer when avoiding that pesky civil war plotline.

10 Hunting Dragons Is Always An Option

Character in Skyrim battling a dragon

Dragons take the spotlight for Skyrim and show up all over the game. If the player has gotten far enough, killing them also boosts their power as a Dragonborn. If the player wants to destroy these without doing any of the main quests, they're going to need a couple of mods to get going.

For example, Immediate Dragons by P13Darksight will have the dragons spawning without needing to do the main questline at all. That way, if the player has other mods on there to skip it entirely, they can still fight these creatures and make bank off of their bones and other dropped loot.

9 Join The Dark Brotherhood

The Elder Scrolls Dark Brotherhood Assassin In Front Of The Door To The Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary

One of the most complex factions in the series is the Dark Brotherhood, a cult faction following the Dread Lord Sithis and his wife, the Night Mother. The Dark Brotherhood of Skyrim has forgone the Tenents and risks bringing forth the Wrath of Sithis.

In her blindness, Astrid makes several mistakes which results in the destruction of her Sanctuary, the death of much of her family, and the player ending out on top despite her betrayal of them. It's engaging and worth getting involved with for anyone fond of darker themes.

8 Make Bank With The Thieves Guild

Skyrim Close Up Of Brynjolf's Face Imrpoved By A Mod

The Thieves Guild got one major upgrade over Oblivion's version of them, having a far more engaging storyline that actually draws in their patron Daedra, Nocturnal. It susses out the traitor Mercer Frey and brings in some of the more interesting and complex NPCs in the game with Brynjolf, Vex, Delvin, and Karliah.

Not to mention, with the skills honed by the guild and all of the radiant quests that can be completed ad infinitum, the Thieves Guild is one of the best moneymakers in the game.

7 Study At The College Of Winterhold

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The College of Winterhold

One of the other factions in Skyrim that has no bearing over the story whatsoever is the College of Winterhold. It's a Mage's Guild down at its core and has the player sussing out some corruption within the walls and getting into some dangerous situations with the megalomaniacal.

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It's also rich with lore, with entire lectures the player can literally sit in on and tons of books to read that appear in few other places in the game. Even if the player never makes it to becoming Headmaster, it's a wonderful place for the nerd players to get a lot of little-known information about the series in one place.

6 Rally The Companions Together

Skyrim Companions

If the player wants to become a werewolf for the course of the game, joining The Companions is one easy way to do it. It's a fighter's guild with a pretty standard cast of punchy, stabby characters, while also harboring some of the fandom's favorite followers.

Unlike a lot of the other factions, the Companions themselves tend to feel more good-aligned and caring about those around them, even if a few of them are gruffer and are getting into less than savory situations.

5 Explore The Various Dungeons In A Real Dungeon Crawl

Skyrim Dwemer Ruins Mod

Skyrim itself is just full of ruins, many of which are also full of Dwemer artifacts and structures. Even if they were just there for aesthetics it would be enough, but they are also full of really good loot.

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Exploring the Dwemer Ruins and other cave systems, dungeons, and burial mounds making for hours upon hours of satisfying dungeon crawlings to satisfy the need. The best part is a lot of them will eventually respawn enemies, making them decent sources of cash.

4 Tackle The Dawnguard DLC

Skyrim Arvak

The Dawnguard DLC is massive, almost feeling like its own game. It's also full of choices that splinter off into even more choices, making it extremely complex and impressive. The player can join a faction of Vampire Slayers known as the Dawnguard in an effort to eradicate the vampire plague, or they can join an ancient clan of them and become a Vampire Lord themselves.

An interesting fact is that if the player plays their cards right, they can use this DLC to be both a werewolf and a Vampire Lord, reaping the benefits of both of the skill trees at once.

3 Get Tangled Up With The Daedric Princes

Skyrim Sam Guevenne Is Sanguine

The Daedric Princes take more of a backseat on Skyrim than they did in Oblivion, but that doesn't mean their quests can't be hunted down and completed. Some will even find the player regardless of if they want them to or not, so they might as well go about and do as many of them as possible.

The bonus point is that they will be given some extremely powerful loot once they do complete the quests, and some of them are even mixed in with other factions. They'll launch the player all over the map too, giving time for some excellent exploration.

2 Steal All Sweet Rolls In Sight

Skyrim Let Me Guess Sweetroll Mod

Sweet Rolls have been funny gags throughout the series, but due to the Guards having such a looping set of dialogue lines, they hit the peak of their fame with Skyrim. These meme generators litter the world just begging for the player to steal them.

At least they help heal a little bit, more with certain mods, so it isn't a completely ill-advised idea. It's like an extra collection quest when the player doesn't feel like finding the Stones of Barenziah, but this one has meme potential.

1 Build A House To Fill With All That Loot

Skyrim Hearthfire Houses

The Hearthfire DLC is very small, but gives the chance for the player to build a house in one of three provinces and customize it as they see fit. It's not the best housebuilding, but it is still fun to need to go around, get the materials, and go through the work to make them happen.

Then after they're built, they will hold the interior customization the player has painstakingly put themselves through, meaning they finally have a place to store all that cool loot they don't feel like selling. Or their hoard of sweet rolls, one of the two.

NEXT: Skyrim: 10 Ways The Game Can (& Should) Still Be Improved