Honestly, I hate the smell of daedra pretty much any time of the day.
This is my not-so-subtle way of admitting that I really, really despise the main quest in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. My least favorite elements of Morrowind were those long stretches where you had to slog through arid, daedra-infested landscapes seemingly just for the sake of it. In Oblivion, it seems like roughly 70% of the main quest is slogging through smoldering, daedra-infested landscapes for even less evident purpose.
The loot sucks. If you have a stealth-oriented character, chances are you can’t carry much of it. The whole process of closing gates to Oblivion is repetitive and seems largely pointless. I don’t like the frequent necessity of keeping non-player characters alive, not because I’m especially bloodthirsty in my style of play, but… well, I just don’t care that much. And when your weapon of choice is a bow, it’s irritating to have to wait for your shot until all the “helpful” soldiers clear a path to whatever horrible thing you’re trying to kill.
I’d rather just wander around Tamriel and pursue my own interests, advance in guilds, and chat aimlessly with the local populace, when I’m not firing arrows into them. Is that so much to ask?
Because I love the side parts of the game. I’m having a lot of fun trying to get into the Mages Guild. I apparently murdered someone at some point (though I swear I don’t remember it) and have been invited into the Dark Brotherhood. And someone’s finally confirmed for me that there is a Thieves Guild. What do I care about all these damned daedra? Why should I spend a minute of my time dealing with another of those stupid clanfears as they do their velociraptors-at-the-prom impersonations?
So, what I think I’m going to do is just set the difficulty slider at zero and charge through this stupid main quest to get it out of the way. Then, my lizard-woman assassin can get on with her life the way she chooses. Because Tamriel could be a lot of fun, if it just weren’t for all the damned daedra.