How infinite is infinite?

I'm aware that there are infinite missions. But is there a limit to the number of missions you can take at the same time?

Can you have an infinite number of active missions?

Solution 1:

Yes and no.

Rather than tracking a list of quests you're on, Elder Scrolls games track your progress on every quest simultaneously. If you haven't discovered a quest, you simply have no progress at all. (And it therefore isn't "active".)

For this reason, there's no specific limit to the number of quests you can be on — you're on all of them at once. Generated quests (those which are "infinite") simply have your progress reset when you complete them, allowing you to take them again (and because they're random, they're unlikely to be the same twice).

Of course, that means you can only be on one of each generated quest at time; you have to finish the current version before you can start another so that it can be generated anew. Additionally, some quests have additional restrictions on them, such as a questgiver not handing out more than one generated mission at a time, even if they're of different types.

There isn't even infinite variety in generated quests, as they are "parameterized", meaning that they're in the form of "Steal an <item> from <person>" or "Kill the <group> leader in <dungeon>". Each parameter can only be selected from a preset list, meaning it's possible to get duplicates. This is particularly apparent in the Thieves' Guild's bedlam jobs, which appear to only have a single parameter and a very short list (the nine holds).

So while there's no limit like "you can only be on ten", there are still limits.