Spoiler What are cool things to collect?

[OckhamsFolly]

It would be fun if we could name the soul-gems we collect, sort of how we can name weapons and armor we enchant. Maybe too much fun..

"This one is Mercer Frey, over here I've got Ulfric Stormcloak, on your left there is a Thalmor named Ancano- that's a good story- and the big one in the center is Emperor Mede II. "

... As your guests slowly edge out of the door...

 

[Kalin of High Rock]

"This one is Mercer Frey, over here I've got Ulfric Stormcloak, on your left there is a Thalmor named Ancano- that's a good story- and the big one in the center is Emperor Mede II. "

... As your guests slowly edge out of here door...

Well. I was thinking more for purposes of the cataloging the taxonomy of native fauna and as academic references material in the study of white souls..

I've got my eye on you.

 

[OckhamsFolly]

Well, there was that section of the collection too, but it wasn't as interesting.

 

[DrunkenMage]

I generally just collect everything I find, I have a nice set up for one of my houses, I have a safe that holds treasure (Gold ingots, gems, dragon claws, silver ingots, candlesticks) a safe for rings, one for necklaces, another for circlets. A chest for magical things like daedric artifacts, robes, staves, dragon priest masks etc. A chest for enchanted armor aswell as ebony, glass, daedric. A chest for enchanted wepons aswell as ebony, glass and daedric.

I also have a safe for building materials, a safe for common ingots, a safe for more expensive ingots, a safe for ore and a safe for things you get off creatures, like leather, leather strips, tusks, dragon bones/scales, fur and hides. I have chests for potions and a chest for soul gems. Satchel for ingredients.

Probably around several million septims worth of stuff.

 

[Anwrise888]

Skulls!!!

 

[Eleidon]

I really keep track of most things I decide to pick up on my journeys. I have a desk full of flawless diamonds, sapphires, rubies, amethyst, and so on. Compartments for weapons and armor and a special container for my Dragon Masks and Daedric artifacts. Even with all that action, nothing interests me more than finding a book I haven't seen before. I have around 230 books collected, and I'm always eager to search for new ones. I also enjoy collecting ingredients. Nothing says you're more well traveled than having various flora from all across Skyrim and Solstheim, and other exotic locations.
And I almost forgot, sadly, about my Dwemer collection. It was the first thing that came to mind, since I've collected Dwemer artifacts and pieces since Morrowind, but I managed to forget it in my first post, heh.

 

[Rhubarb&Custard]

Speaking of weapons, the named weapons like Dawnbreaker and shield like That special dwarven one, can't think of the name that absorbs magik.

Spellbreaker. INCREDIBLY useful, especially against dragons.

I'm silly, on every character I collect gems, and ingredients, even if I'm not going to use them, ESPECIALLY if I'm not going to use them! I'd have a bedside cupboard bursting at the seams with Amethysts, Rubies, Emeralds, Diamonds and Sapphires, they're just so pretty to look at! With the ingredients thing, I have a sort of weird issue with it, if I see mushrooms in a cave, I have to pick them, otherwise I get antsy. Picking mountain flowers, lavender, bone meal, troll fat, ectoplasm, spiders eggs, chaurus eggs, all these unique ingredients all over Skyrim that are meant to be used in creating potions just sit in a barrel or a satchel, unused because their owner likes to pick EVERYTHING.

I also enjoy collecting ingredients. Nothing says you're more well traveled than having various flora from all across Skyrim and Solstheim, and other exotic locations.

I'm not the only one?!?!

 

[Eleidon]

I totally understand that feeling with the mushrooms. It doesn't bother me until I pick one, then I'm compelled to collect them all and give them a warm home in my barrel at the house. I don't usually use them, but really that mushroom is a small trinket of remembrance of a journey. Another piece of the character I've made. Then again, that might be giving too much depth to something so insignificant.

 

[Hildolfr]

I have a character that collects circlets. Any circlet, really. She wears one instead of a helmet and I often find myself swapping out my current one when I change armor sets or if I'm looking for a different type of enchantment. Circlet of Water Breathing has been a mainstay for awhile, though.

 

[Wildroses]

I'm addicted to alchemy so I pick/chase every ingredient I see. I can't even stop myself when I hit 100 Alchemy. I also collect books just for the hell of it. One of my roleplay characters can't stop buying jewellery.

Interesting someone has mentioned collecting precious gems. I just decided to do that.

 

[Twiffle]

I collect Ice Wraith teeth, , , you bite me ill pull em out,
I collect flowers too, , if anyone messes with me i leave one on there corpse , , its the only thing they have left in the after life.
Oh, and iron arrows, i never use them i just collect and buy them, one character currently has over 30000 ,

 

[Skulli]

Having just finished the Companions (again), i collected 12 silver swords and 2 silver greatswords for my display racks.

 

[SherlockJones]

The mace of malrog bal, that is a nasty little weapon

 

[Harc]

I collect all things Elven and thalmor

 

[Volanere]

I have found books to be a great collection ecspecially after you have the library in one of the hearthfire houses.

 

[Shadow King]

I have collected all books in the game from all the dlc's, i collect bugs in a jar/gold/all the gems.

i also collect Thalmor boots/gloves/robes and any elven gear a Thalmor has on them, I strip them butt naked to humilate them even in death, I wish I could take there ears

 

[XHardcoreX]

Well one thing you can collect is A complete set of every type of armor, every weapon in that type, and have every enchantment put on each item. Lol just a thought

 

[Destionomous]

I'm kind of an oddball. While everyone on this forum seems to collect cool weapons or Gems Shields or hard to get things, I collect:

• Whole Goat Cheese Wheels
• Whole loaves of bread
• Iron Daggers
• Torches

I have over 500 Goat cheese wheel, 370-ish Bread loaves, 250-ish iron daggers, and about 50 torches.
I keep this entire collection in one chest in my house, and I often come home with like, 20 of each (Except for torches, who seem very hard to find... :/)
My dad, who has played Elder Scrolls since it came out, has installed the Elysium Estates mod (It's a huge house with huge bathtubs) and filled one bathtub with skulls, the witch heads from some quest where you have to cut off five witch heads, only 1 troll skull, and this one weird skull that is red and floats. He has about 200 skulls and heads in his bathtub.

 

[Destionomous]

I have a character that collects circlets. Any circlet, really. She wears one instead of a helmet and I often find myself swapping out my current one when I change armor sets or if I'm looking for a different type of enchantment. Circlet of Water Breathing has been a mainstay for awhile, though.

If you want more kinds of circlets, try the expansive jewelry mod. It makes the coolest stuff.

 

[The Seanster]

So I went out and got all of the Dragon Masks and want to go for the next cool thing. So I'm not really familiar with anything other then the masks as collectables and was wondering if there were more things like that in the world of Skyrim.

Im not worried about spoilers I have played most of the campaign at least after the war and after you send the main dragon away the first time.

So what has everyone found that is worth finding/collecting.

Re. cool Skyrim things to do post main quests. This also presumes you have or will soon join all the guilds and have the DLC content loaded and those quests completed. That in mind, here is my list of both things and achievements to collect.

And, yes, several things in my list have been mentioned, like the bug jars, but I think this is a pretty good list which requires a considerable amount of effort to fulfill. And not sure what I'm talking about? That's OK, just research it.

1. Find all 48 word walls (I think that's the total, there's a bunch...)
   
2. Get all the Dragon Shouts – 20 'standard' shouts, plus 4 in Dragonborn dlc, 4 in Dawnguard dlc
   
3. Get all 9 Dragon Priest masks, plus the 4 that come with the DLC expansion
   
4. Acquire all 85 (or more?) uniquely named weapons. You'll have most, but there are a few more.
   
5. If not yet, become the Arch Mage of The College of Winterhold and get the Mage's Quarters
   
6. Become Thane in all the 9 holds
   
7. Purchase or be awarded all 6 homes, including Severin Manor in Raven Rock (dlc
   
8. Get married
   
9. Adopt two children and get a dog and a fox (note that in Breezehome you might lose your crafting room...)
   
10. Install Hearthfire, build and decorate all 3 Manor homes (Lakeview, Windstad, Heljarchen Hall)
    
11. Craft the Shrine to the Divines in one of your Hearthfire homes and equip with all 9 respective Shrines (trickier than it sounds, and glitchy. Can't have any stolen items on your person, for starters.)
    
12. Complete the five Ritual Spell quests and receive or purchase the five Master Spells
    
13. Make one each of all the items available at the Atronach Forge (more detailed than it sounds)
    
14. Find all 16 of the Thieves Caches, raid, then store the loot in one place (they will respawn)
    
15. Do the execrable No Stone Unturned quest to gather the 24 gems and the Crown of Barenzia
    
16. Perfect the resto-alchemy-enchanting loop and craft insanely powerful armor and weapons
17. Find all the hidden chests of the khajiit Caravans (I believe there are 3)
    
18. Pick a skill to make Legendary to get perks and grind away. Speech with Ahkari the Khajiit in Dawnstar is a great one.
    
19. Level all the skills and fill completely all the perks.
    
20. Find the friendly Hagraven. Yes, there is one.
21. Get all the claws and put in one display case, including the Golden Claw (usually in the Riverwood Trader and without killing Lucan or Camilla)
    
22. Make the Shellbug Helmet. (dlc) Find the two giant and beautifuly macabre Shellbugs, probably the creepiest and most cleverly hidden things in all of Skyrim, harvest their chitin without killing them, and craft the Helmet.
    
23. Steal all five bug jars. Display on your dining room table.
    
24. Put as many manequins as possible in your homes and outfit them with the various named, unique amours and garb you aquire. (Tullius, Linwe, Nightingale, Theives Guild, Arch Mage, The Savior's Hide, Guild Master, Miraak et cetera...)
25. Collect all the common books. There are 860 at least, so good luck. They're all over. Skyrim is one literate place!
    
26. Become a multimillionaire 'overnight'. Use the duplication exploit with your Companion until you have a thousand East Empire Pendants. (It's grinding and takes a couple hours, with one pile inside Breezehome and one pile outside in the street). Take them to Fethis Alor in Raven Rock (dlc) who will give you 500 gold coins for each, EACH, pendant! And he will do so indefinitely...it is an open quest. Boom! Your ship has come in. Rinse and repeat. Three iterations later and you've got two million coins. Suddenly money means nothing. You can pretend you're Eurotrash!

Well, that's my list of 'free form' things to do. Some require considerable time and effort, and the list is not complete. Happy adventuring!