So I was looking for mods for Oblivion, and stumbled accross this:
http://www.nehrim.de/indexEV.html
Some German guys are making what is essentially a new game on the Oblivion engine.
Points of interest:
Different world - unrelated to ES
Different skill system. You increase skills at trainers after you gain enough experience, similar to Gothic 3. Actually, the game/mod generally seems to resemble the Gothic series atmosphere, which is great, but the game would not be as unplayable because the engine is better optimised than Gothic 3's.
Much greater focus on story. They promise more complex characterisation, a more interesting story, and less black and white choices.
"Nehrim will have more roleplaying game elements than Oblivion. We did not develop an action game with RPG elements, in fact the opposite is the case."
Oh, and a fully voiced English version (I understand the team has made total conversions for Morrowind in the past, but only in German).
They're aiming for a 2009 release. Sounds interesting, no?