Bethesda is no stranger to featuring entertaining side quests within their games. Each one of those is known for its engaging and bizarre fantasy side stories that keep you hooked until the very end. It’s the magical RPG that we’ve come to know and love over the years:The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
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As we journey through the cities scattered throughout Tamriel, wecome across charactersoffering us thrilling adventures. They remind us how expansive Skyrim’s world is, showcasing the ins and outs of all the unique communities. However, among these typical fantasy side quests lies unexpectedly strange stories. These quests are usually unknown and sometimes downright odd, representing that Skyrim is a lot more than just magic and dragons.
10A Night To Remember
After waking up and trying to recover from a night of drinking, you face quite a bit of angry citizens. Because of this, you’re tasked with figuring out what happened the night before to see why everyone is oddly so upset.
You’ll need to encounter Sam Guevenne to start this quest, leading to him having a drinking contest with you and causing you both to pass out. From there, you’re led on a journey to make up for your drunken antics. While it isn’t exactly the weirdest, this side quest is amazing and oddball entertainment if you need a break from the main story.
9Darkness Returns
Once you almost reach the end of the Thieves' Guild questline, you’ll enter the Twilight Sepulcher to return the Skeleton Key. However, when you arrive, you’ll find more than expected as you come face-to-face with the Daedric Prince of Darkness: Nocturnal.
Getting to the point of meeting this Daedric Prince is a tedious one. You’ll be required to walk through a variety of shadows and combat, which all will lead you toward the rare and beloved encounter of the mystical Nocturnal. What makes this quest on the odd side of things lies in the ghostly battles and eerie environments you have to endure.
8Sovngarde
The Sovngarde side quest comes toward the end of the main questline, where you end up in Sovngarde to pursue Alduin. Once you’ve arrived in this hazy environment, you’ll go through the mist to the Hall of Valor. However, along the way, you’ll come across a dead soldier who tells you that Alduin has been eating souls lost in the mist.
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Traversing through the mist is an ethereal experience, and you’ll almost feel like you’re walking through a dream. Everything about this side quest is strange in the sense that it’s almost an out-of-body experience for your character, as Sovngarde has been beautifully built-up for you during the entire game.
7The Pale Lady
Being downright creepy of a side quest, The Pale Lady is a questline that will make your skin crawl. Everything starts like your typical Skyrim quest, getting a stolen sword in a cavern filled with bandits. However, the subtle terror really makes its mark as you journey further through the deep crypt ahead of you.
Elements about this quest are never answered for us, like who Pale Lady actually was before being tied to the sword’s blade. This makes our final decision before the questline ends even harder, encouraging you to either lay her sword to rest on the altar or decide to kill her.
6Boethiah’s Calling
After you come across a book titled “Boethiah’s Proving,” you’re set on an adventure that you’ll never quite forget. The quest formally starts after you’ve obtained the book (or headed directly to Sacellum) and have brought a sacrifice to the Shrine of Boethiah in Sacellum.
You can choose just about any of your followers to sacrifice for Boethiah. It goes without saying that it’s best to pick a follower that you’re okay with parting with, as their death is permanent and can possibly influence the world around you. Overall, this is a strange quest as your sacrifice only benefits you by gracing you with heavy armor anda Daedric Artifact.
5Mind Of Madness
In the beginning, this questline might appear as though you’re doing a good deed by helping a beggar roaming the streets of Solitude. However, there’s much more beneath the surface as you’re tasked with taking this beggar home as his master is on vacation before disaster falls on his province. From there, you find out that his master is none other than the Daedric Prince of Madness, Sheogorath.
It’s soon revealed that Sheogorath is taking a vacation in the mind of the dead Emperor Pelagius. This side quest ultimately sets you on a journey full of puzzles as you try to “cure” Pelagius and his emotional problems, such as anger and paranoia.
4The Book Of Love
This quest is more on the unknown side of things. Handing the responsibilities of others' love lives in your hands, you’ll have to go about The Book of Love quest as lovey-dovey as you can. After visiting the Temple of Mara in Riften, you’ll help Mara in the mortal realm by making fascinating romantic stories a reality.
Love knows no bounds, which becomes especially true when it comes to finishing this quest. Going through different areas in Skyrim, it slowly becomes satisfying to help others across the land fall in love. This side quest is precious, and its strange nature only comes from our odd newfound matchmaking power.
3Ghost Of Old Hroldan
Spending a night in at the Old Hroldan Inn grants you this side quest. With what is a place believed by some to be haunted, the ghost that greets you is harmless yet mysterious. They strangely believe that you’re a figure named Hjalti, referring to the times they had with one another as they converse with you.
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Toward the end of this conversation, the ghost will ask you to get Hjalti’s sword and bring it back to them. It’s not exactly easy to find this sword since it’s hidden in a location that’s full of Forsworn and Hagravens. Regardless, when you eventually do find it, the spirit will gift you a level in both Block and One-Handed.
2Innocence Lost
Innocence Lost features an orphan who has taken refuge in his old home, planning an act of revenge on an older figure. Once you meet him, he asks you to kill Greold the Kind because of her abuse toward him and other children. All in hopes of getting the revenge that he wants on top of fulfilling his rite to summon the Dark Brotherhood.
If you decide to act on his request, you’ll be in good graces with the dark league of assassins. Unless you have taken the time to look for the Dark Brotherhood storyline, this quest will largely be hidden away.
1Laid To Rest
This is a side quest that is downright one of the strangest side stories in Skyrim. At first, the Laid to Rest questline will feel like it’s a murder mystery of sorts. But, interestingly enough, it is quite the opposite. With an utterly twisted story behind it, a vampire with malicious intentions is behind the mystery plaguing Morthal.
Everything about this story is entirely spooky and odd. After you’ve started investigating a burned-down house that once belonged to a family, a series of eerie events lead you down the path to finding the vampiric culprit. It’s a long and creepy road, so it’s best to be prepared for all the combat and oddities that end up coming your way.
