Playing Morrowind first might raise your standards to the point of not enjoying other games, which is always annoying.

I agree with this, to a degree. Morrowind is great, and it ruins Oblivion for many people. Oblivion is still a good game, even for experienced RPG players. I found Oblivion first, and I thought that it was all I had wanted in a game. I had played RPGs for my entire life up until that point, and Oblivion was the first one that I played that was as open as an RPG should be, and I played I loved playing Oblivion. I got the ps3 version, and I loved it, without mods. Then, I got interested in the other Elder Scrolls games. I found Morrowind for the original Xbox(which I have), and I bought it. Then I found Daggerfall and Arena on Bethesda's website, for free. I never downloaded Arena yet, but I didn download Daggerfall. I am playing TES games starting with Oblivion and going backwards. Oblivion is still my favorite, as it introduced me to the series, but Morrowind and Daggerfall are also amazing. Daggerfall is huge. I don't know if Arena is good though. I haven't played it yet. So, from personal experience, I recommend starting with Oblivion.

Welcome to the forums. You shouldn't worry to much too much about doing the games out of order. Bethesda doesn't make squals when it comes to The Elder Scrolls. Each one is a stand alone game and has a stand alone story. So again no worries there. If I were you I would definitely start with Oblivion. Its the best gamplay wise and it will allow you to get a feel for TES (the elder scrolls) games. Oblivion is a long game so you'll have plenty to do for months to come, but after your done with it, and if you liked it, you should try Morrowind. Its not really for the novice, and has old school RPG rules like dice throws. Thats why I recommend doing Oblivion first, not that Oblivion is easy its just easier than Morrowind. Now as for the other games I can't speak to that. I've only played the last two.

Also the setting and lore is rich in TES. Its also very deep and I guarantee you wont get it at first. If you have any lore type of questions you should go over to the lore forums. The people in there are very helpful. Also I can't recommend these sites enough
The TES wiki found here http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page
It has lore and gameplay but its content leans more toward gameplay

And then there's The Imperial Library found here http://www.imperial-library.info/
It contains almost all the books found in the game and is lore heavy. So with this site you don't have to go back and play the other games you can just read about them if you so choose.

Indeed, then you could truly be thankful for and understand the value of how far the series has come. But this aside, Morrowind is probably the best middle-ground between Daggerfall's extremist PnP-esque dungeon delving and Oblivion's more shallow gameplay.

I'd like to take this opportunity to state Daggerfall is not an extreme game for extremists.

Thank you for your attention.

Oblivion is pretty, user-friendly, and very simplified. Perfect for beginners. The other three games are a bit more hardcoe and take more willingness to get into.

why does everyone think morrowind's graphix were bad? i played oblivion for about 2/3 years before i got the original xbox games support disk for my 360 so i could play morrowind, and i didnt think they were terrible at all. on a scale of 1-10 i give it a 7. the only downside to morrowind was the walking animations, never being able to hit anything and being able to hear the annoying svcking sound of a kwama 3 miles away. if i had the chance i would go chronologically, just for rping reasons. so thats what i would recommend.

Morrowind's graphics were good for the time, but Oblivion is much better looking.

true, but morrowinds arent awful

The OP didn't really give us enough information. I've only played Daggerfall, Morrowind and Oblivion. Out of those three Daggerfall is my favorite and Oblivion is my least favorite although all three are great games. If you are a hardcoe/long-time PC gamer and you can handle playing an older game then go for Daggerfall first. If you are new to gaming or want something that is very simple to understand choose Oblivion. Morrowind is between those two.

Just to clarify some things...

The world in oblivion is larger, but the fast travel system makes it seem small. As for the main quest, I felt that it was way to rushed. It was "OMFG DEMONS INVADING STOP THEM!!!!" I never felt like I had a reason to join the guilds or do quests. And when the main quest was over, I never felt like having a reason to join the factions...

Morrowinds world is smaller, but nu fast travel (only public transportation) and the fact that the island consists of a greate vulcano makes it feel larger. The environments are also very distinct.
The main quest is one of the most interesting I have ever played. It is not urgent, you are told to deliver some papers to a guy, and then you are sent out into the world to fend for yourself as an undercover agent. It is very long, deep and totaly gray, not the good vs evil [censored]t other games feed you. The bad guy is not that bad, the good guys are not that shining white. LOADS of politics and manuvering is involved. It is wonderful.

I'm afraid I must disagree with you there. Oblivion's graphics were good, but everything looked spit-polished and covered with plastic wrap, while in Morrowind things were gritty, rough and had a more realistic feel about them.

In a nutshell...

-Oblivion graphics are still not that great
-Morrowind's graphics aren't that bad. => While not having the "best" graphics around (in terms of quality), its creative art direction is well rendered by the game, allowing for "That's so pretty" moments.
-Morrowind's object models (cutlery, vessels, houses) are quite tolerable.
-Oblivion characters all look dumb.
-Morrowind characters don't QUITE look dumb. Just ugly (not because of the game's "graphics", however)
-Morrowind animations are stiff and rigid. (a bit more masculine too)
-Oblivion's animations need work, but they're more fluid.

Morrowind, like was stated, is a good middle ground between Daggerfall being very deep/complex, and Oblivion being very shallow/simple. If you don't mind out-dated graphics then go Daggerfall all the way, it is my favorite game out of the entire series, and will hook you in from the beginning. It really accomplishes the feeling of you being just another person trying to make their way in an unforgiving and tough world. You can fail things in that game and not feel like you have to reload. If you feel you just can't get past old graphics, then get Morrowind. I enjoyed Morrowind a lot, just not as much as DF.

I wouldn't recommend Oblivion if you have played older RPGs before because IMO it just doesn't live up and may taint your opinion of the series, they made it very...'accessible' to people who are new to the genre (The running joke is that Oblivion is an RPG for people who don't like RPGs). It is very simple and seems to hold your hand throughout the game, I see that as a negative, but that is just my opinion. As I see it the only thing it had going for it over Morrowind was graphics, but those seem kind of bland and generic compared MW's more unique landscapes. If OB kept true to the lore and made Cyrodil the lush jungle that it should be, then the graphics argument may hold more water for me. It has full voice acting, but I don't see that as a positive when it limits dialogue choices and you start recognizing the same voices over and over again. That said, if you take it for what it is, it is a decent adventuring game with a few RPG like features sprinkled in. You don't have to invest much time in it and its an easy game if you only want to play it in short spurts.

Conclusion:

Daggerfall if you dont mind old graphics, Morrowind otherwise.

Oblivion if you don't like older RPGs or are just looking for a simpler game style. It's fun for the first few hours.

I'd like to throw in my opinion on the order to introduce yourself to the games:

1. Oblivion. The streamlined, action-oriented gameplay, high-fantasy atmosphere, and many of the qualities the Morrowind fans complain most about will allow easy access to the series. It's a pain to run on my outdated computer, but I managed to put up with hundreds of hours between CTD's, which shouldn't be a problem for you. (My computer is a piece of crap).

2. Daggerfall, to introduce you to the core values of the series. And awesome dungeons.

3. Morrowind.

This order should allow you to enjoy the strengths of each game while smoothing over the faults and weaknesses, and prevent you from becoming one of the Annoying Highbrow Elitist fans that love to talk about how much Morrowind is far better than all games.

Or you can play Morrowind first and learn how fun it is being an Annoying Highbrow Elitist.

How about this answer to end all arguments, try all games simultaneously, currently i'm playing morrowind and oblivion at the same time and plan to add daggerfall to my timetable.

No more arguments.
Play both.
Have a good life.
End.

I personally prefer Morrowind BECAUSE it does not have so many dungeons. I like story and roleplaying, and I think the initial game and the extensive modding community for Morrowind focus on these much more than the hack and slash stuff. Plus the lack of dungeons can be easily remedied by download some of the excellent dungeon quests from the mod community. Havng entered the series with Morrowind myself, and having since played Oblivion, both are excellent games, but very different. For more RPG/Lore bent, go Morrowind. If you like more adventure gaming, try Oblivion.

At this point I think Arena and Daggerfall are better games to play afterward. Sure, the graphics aren't as modern, but only love for the series convinced me to jump through the hoops necessary to run them on modern equipment.

Either Morrowind or Oblivion, it doesn't matter which one but I would wholly recommend playing through both.

Hey, I just found out that http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page has compiled lists of differences called http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Oblivion_for_Morrowind_players and http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Morrowind_for_Oblivion_Players

You can get an overview of how would it be to start with each of these two. Shame there are no such lists for Daggerfall and Arena, but the page features extensive descriptions of the games themselves...

If I could have started at Arena, I would have. I found MW in the 99cent bin, unplayed, and it looked interesting. Years later, still here.

I think it all depends on how patient you are when learning a new game, as well as how 'hard-core' of an RPG player you are.

If you come from playing PnP RPGs, then you would probably enjoy Daggerfall the most. I've played very little of it myself, but from what I have played I can tell you that it is a fantastic game. However, the graphics are quite dated, so if graphics are a big deal to you, then you probably won't like it. Also, it has the steepest learning curve when compared with Morrowind or Oblivion, so be prepared to invest a good deal of time learning how the game works, particularly if you are brand new to the series.

On the other hand, if your background in gaming is primarily action titles and shooters, then Oblivion is probably more your speed as it is easier than either Daggerfall or Morrowind to learn. The combat and magic systems are controlled more by the player's reflexes than by your character's stats, which is why some consider it more of a sand-box action title than a true RPG. That said, it would definitely be the easiest game to start with if you are looking to get your feet wet. Only caveat would be that it might make it harder to transition to Daggerfall or Morrowind once you get used to Oblivion. There is a quite a bit of hand-holding in Oblivion, whereas Morrowind, and especially Daggerfall, can be almost brutal by comparison. Also, Oblivion's graphics are generally accepted as being 'prettier' (read: newer), though that is mostly a matter of personal opinion and taste.

Morrowind is like a compromise between Daggerfall and Oblivion. It isn't nearly as involved as Daggerfall, yet it is a good deal more complex than Oblivion. While the graphics aren't as bright and shiny as Oblivion's, it is easier on the eyes than Daggerfall. IMHO, it has the best blend of traditional PnP RPG characteristics, visuals, and game mechanics of the three games. To summarize, if I were to rate the three games on overall content, graphics, and difficulty, it would look like this*:

Daggerfall

Content: 10
Graphics: 2
Difficulty: 9

Morrowind

Content: 7
Graphics: 6
Difficulty: 7

Oblivion

Content: 5
Graphics: 8
Difficulty: 4

*these numbers are, of course, subjective

Fix'd for you. Oblivion fans say graphics aren't the only thing going for it: Engaging gameplay does it. Even Morrowind fans say that it has horrible gameplay, but the story and content make up for it.

Personally, I started with Oblivion, then moved to Morrowind, then Arena (hated it) and then Daggerfall.

I would recommend Either Daggerfall or Morrowind.