I am curious about the connection of the world/story/characters of Skyrim and older Elder Scrolls games. I don't want a full description, just the important stuff, with some links.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Connection to Previous Elder Scrolls Games
the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim
Best Answer
Skyrim takes place 200 years after the end of the last game, Oblivion.
Because it takes place so far from the rest of the games in the series (both temporally and geographically), there are few characters or locations that are relevant to any of the past games.
That doesn't mean that Skyrim has nothing to offer the stalwart Elder Scrolls fan, though.
The Dark Brotherhood, for instance, a player-joinable group of assassins-for-hire, returns in Skyrim, as do the Daedric Princes (or at least minor shrines devoted to them, manned by their followers.)
Even Alduin, the big-bad of Skyrim shows up in the lore of previous Elder Scrolls games, though the rest of the empire thinks he's the Aedra Akatosh. (He's actually his firstborn son)
If you're looking for a general history of Tamriel, the realm in which The Elder Scrolls takes place, the UESP has you covered there too.
But most of that is ancillary to the game itself. Skyrim was not designed as the 5th game in an ongoing series, but as a game able to stand on its own two feet. Even if you've never set foot on Nirn before, Skyrim will welcome you into its lore all the same!