I've put maybe ten hours into Skyrim so far and I'm enjoying it immensely. However, I've completed my visit to High Hrothgar and want to diverge from the main quest for a while. I've been trekking around, marking places on my maps on my way to visit the various Holds of Skyrim -- and I'm a little disappointed. So far, they resemble each other immensely and I haven't been given any particularly captivating quests.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a truly awesome hold to visit or a really awesome quest-line for my mage-warrior to follow? I know there must be great content in the huge world, but right now I find myself skimming the too-similar surface.

@NeonBlackJack said:

I've put maybe ten hours into Skyrim so far and I'm enjoying it immensely. However, I've completed my visit to High Hrothgar and want to diverge from the main quest for a while. I've been trekking around, marking places on my maps on my way to visit the various Holds of Skyrim -- and I'm a little disappointed. So far, they resemble each other immensely and I haven't been given any particularly captivating quests.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a truly awesome hold to visit or a really awesome quest-line for my mage-warrior to follow? I know there must be great content in the huge world, but right now I find myself skimming the too-similar surface.

Markarth is pretty different from your run-of-the-mill towns... Don't really know much else to tell you.

I find the dwarven/dwemer ruins to be quite lame. Caves are the best setting I find.

A good quest is 'A night to remember.' Go to the inn in Whiterun and start the drinking contest with the bloke at the counter.

Oblivion and Skyrim both suffer from this. Everything pretty much looks the same, and all the dungeons and quest areas do as well. Makes me miss Morrowind where each area had a distinct look and even weather to it.

I dunno, I thought there were a few areas that looked pretty different. The Reach has that Scottish highlands vibe, The Rift with it's autumnal forests, the huge glaciers up near Dawnstar, the huge plains west of Whiterun...I thought the exterior areas were pretty varied. Now the dungeons, that's a slightly different story.