TES: DAGGERFALL is the Ultimate non-linear game. You are free to go anywhere
you want and develop your character as you see fit. There is no way to write
a classic step-by-step walkthrough for it. This little helpguide is merely
designed to help get you started and on your way to enjoying the biggest most
comprehensive gaming experience ever!
THE BEGINNING
GENNING YOUR CHARACTER
You will probably want to try DAGGERFALL with several different character races
and classes. Some are much easier than others. If you are new to the world of
TES you may want to start out with one of the easier classes and go on to the
more challenging ones as you gain experience and new strategies.
Listed below are the different races of characters you can choose from:
Argonian from Black Marsh
Khajiit from Elsweyr
Nord from Skyrim
Dark Elf from Marrowind
Redguard from Hammerfell
Breton from High Rock
High Elf from Summerset
Wood Elf from Valenwod
Each race has its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses,
which are detailed in your Game manual.
I prefer the option where you can choose your character's class
or create a custom chracter.
Classes to choose from are:
Mage Burglar
Spellsword Rogue
Battlemage Thief
Sorcerer Assassin
Healer Archer
Acrobat Ranger
Nightblade Barbarian
Bard Warrior
Custom Knight
Many players enjoy using the Spellsword which is one of the most versatile
classes in TES. Spellswords are excellent fighters and spellcasters and among
the easiest to start out the game with.
Nightblades are more challenging, since they do not get the Ebony Dagger or
Shock Spell in the beginning of the game.
Custom characters are also often excellent since you create them to your own
specifications. When assigning Advantages to your Custom character, keep an eye
on the Arrow that indicates the ease or difficulty of going up levels. If you
overload your hero with Advantages and don't balance things out with
Disadvantages your character will be at Level One for a long time--and Level
Two,and so on. This will get old very soon--even if you did create a super
duper fighter, if he never levels he won't get far. So remember to balance your
Advantages out with Disadvantages and keep the Red level indicator Arrow as
close to the center as possible.
I usually chose only a few basic Advantages, such as skill with a particular
weapon,magic skill and perhaps regeneration or resistance to disease. The least
harmful Disadvantages are No Shields (since the best weapons are two-handed
anyway), and perhaps Forbidding a material such as Iron or Steel. When chosing
Skills (Primary, Major & Minor) remember the system for leveling in Daggerfall
(Determined by raises in any of your Primary Skills, the two top Major Skills
and your Highest Minor Skill--for Level 2 it takes two raises in these, after
that it takes 15 cumulative). With that in mind be sure and choose Skills that
you will be utilizing often. The ones I have found to go up most frequently are:
Your Weapon of Choice,ie "Long Blade",Critical Strike, Destruction--if you cast
spells like Fireball (which you can also practice in your Room during those
long, lonely nights), Stealth,Swimming (After you start exploring dungeons with
the Water Breathing spell),Lockpicking, Mercantile (used when shopping), Medical
(used when resting and healing), Dodging (used when fighting), Alteration (goes
up when using spells like Water Breathing and Invisibilty), Jumping and Climbing
and Running (which are easy to practice when travelling about town--keep your
"Run" button down, climb up walls and buildings and jump everywhere).
For Shifter (my PC)--(the updated version uploaded in Library 8)--I put in the
following Skills:
PRIMARY: Long Blade, Destruction, Critical Strike.
MAJOR: Stealth, Swimming, Lockpicking.
MINOR: Mercantile, Medical, Dodging, Alteration, Jumping and Climbing.
His Advantages are Long Blade, Mage Skill 1.75 x INT, and Regen (General).
Disadvantages are All Shield types, Steel, Blunt Weapons.
Because Short Blade isn't one of his top Skills, he didn't level til I got to
Daggerfall and "Trained" at the Fighter's Guild in Critical Strike. He then
purchased an Elven Dai-Katana (thanks to a bank loan). He will now be regularly
employing all of his top Skills in his Dungeon explorations.
It is ideal to try to balance your character out with decent fighting skills and
adequate magical ability. But you can emphasize one or the other as well. It
is more of a struggle to start out a character with weak fighting skills, but
finishing the game with such a hero gives a true feeling of accomplishment.
Daggerfall has a character and class for every type of player.
I never use the "Fast Start" option, as I prefer to answer the questions to
further customize my character's background and skills. Read the questions and
options carefully and answer with the most advantageous development of your
character in mind. If you are given an opportunity to get the Ebony Dagger, take
it! This is the most important weapon in the early part of the
game and characters who do not receive it are at a definite disadvantage. You
can survive without the Ebony Dagger, but it takes a great deal of strategy--and
probably more "Restores".
The game offers a chance to use tutorial, which is not a bad idea for first time
TES players.
After the Introduction video, you find yourself in the Starter Dungeon:
Privateer's Hold. You have had an accident at sea and ended up in a strange
cave.
For now you are safe in this room, no monsters are roaming yet, so let's take
this opportunity to get to know your character better. Study the icons and
become familiar with them.
Clicking on the character's face will bring up the Character Screen where your
vital statistics are displayed. These are described in the manual, but I will
just touch on them to give you an idea of what they mean and how they affect
your game.
AFFILIATIONS: You won't have any of these at first. To get them you need to
get out of the Starter Dungeon and into town where you can join some Guilds
and Temples. Once you do this, all of the ones you belong to will be listed
here, along with your Rank. Remember, you are only evaluated for Promotion in
Temples and Guilds once a month, so don't expect to go up everytime you
complete a quest!
SKILLS: You need to develop these to go up levels. So make sure you are using
and developing your top Skills in each category: Primary, Major, Minor. To
level you need to advance in any of your Primary, the top two Major and highest
Minor Skill. To go to level 2 requires 2 raises in any of these. After that
you need 15 raises.
LOG: Keeps track of your current quests. Good to refer to when you forget where
you are supposed to go or how to spell it! Quests will vanish from your Log as
you complete them or when time runs out.
SPELLBOOK: Lists your available spells. The Spellbook can also be accessed from
the Adventure Screen.
INVENTORY: Also accessible from Adventure Screen.
HISTORY: Is your personal story correlating with the answers you gave when
genning your PC. If you are using a Custom Character, you will be able to view
his Advantages and Disadvantages here.
Adventure Screen Icons:
STARBURST: Brings up your Spellbook. Double click on the spell you wish to
cast. The spells you start out with vary somewhat according to your character
class.
HAND HOLDING WAND: Brings up any magic items you may have in your inventory so
that you can use them.
ACTION ICON: (Observe, Steal, Grab, Talk)
Pay attention to which icon is visible--it makes a difference, especially when
in towns. If you are out to get info from the townfolk, be sure the Talk icon
is on and not the Steal icon. People get really mad when you try to steal from
them--even if you didn't mean to! Can also land you in jail or in a major fight
with the town guards. The Thieve's Guild may be impressed, though. Another
problem is having the Information Icon (Eye) visible--normally it will not allow
you to talk--will just tell you who you are facing. "You see so and so". But
you will need to use it to identify buildings when you are looking for a
particular residence or store. Simply click on a building and it will
automatically annotate on your map.
If you run into a store that is not opened, bring up the "Eye" icon and click on
the store and it will tell you the store's--Temple's or Guild's--operating hours.
That way you know how long you need to loiter.
You need to use the Grab Icon to climb ladders. Click on a rung and you will be
up to the top in no time.
INVENTORY: (Two tied bags) This option will show a picture of your character
with all of the clothing, armor and weapons he is currently using. The small
numbers are the Armor Class. Across the top of the screen are listed all of
the types of items you may have in your inventory:
Weapons & Armor
Magic Items
Clothing & Miscl
Ingredients (For making potions)
Click on each of them to see what you have.
At first you won't have much to see--a few weapons and maybe a piece of armor,
perhaps a torque and a Spellbook. Your character didn't get out of the
shipwreck with much to aid him in his quest.
Options going Up and Down the Inventory Screen:
Left-Hand Side: Shows equipable accessories: Amulets, Bracelets, Rings,
Bracers, Marks and Crystals.
Right-Hand Side: (Wagon, Info, Equip, Remove, Use, Gold)
These can take a little getting used to--you need to pay attention to which one
is highlighted when you click on items in your inventory, on your character or
on a dead monster.
WAGON: Obviously you don't have one yet, but you will probably want to pick one
up as soon as you can get to a town and buy one. A Wagon gives you the ability
to carry 1,000 kg of loot. A must in some of those HUGE Dungeons.
You cannot carry your wagon inside of a dungeon--but you can park it outside and
access it without actually leaving the dungeon; Which is a great feature, since
dungeons reset when you leave them. To move items to your Wagon, click on
"Wagon" then "Remove" and select the items you wish to put into your wagon.
INFO: Highlight it and click on an item in your inventory, on an item on a dead
monster or on a store shelf. It will tell you all about that item:
What it is; its Condition; its Worth, its Weight; and its Damage range if it is
a weapon, or Armor Class if it is armor.
EQUIP: Highlight it and click on an item--it will then equip it if your
character's class allows it to be used or worn. Clicking on an Item that is
already equipped will take it off of your PC and put it in your inventory.
REMOVE: Will take things off of your character or out of your inventory and
dump them in a pile on the floor. There will then be a pile of loot visible
where you dropped your items.
Items that are not in your inventory are shown in the far-right column. The
image at the top of the column illustrates where the items in it are.
If it shows "dirt", items are on the ground; if guts, it is on a dead
monster; etc.
**Be sure the REMOVE button is highlighted when looting a dead monster.
The game defaults at EQUIP--which you obviously don't want to do with each
item you find on a dead enemy.
USE: Highlight this button and click on notes that you receive in order to read
them, or to perform any action with an item in your inventory. If you "USE"
certain items of clothing (like shirts) they will change in style.
GOLD: Shows you how much gold you have (also shown on Character Screen) and
gives you the option to drop some or all of it. You probably won't do this
very often--a bank is a much better place for your gold. And once dropped, Gold
is gone forever. It does not show up as a pile on the floor.
That is it for the Inventory Screen--now back to the Adventure Screen.
EQUIP WEAPON (Crossed Swords): Does just that.
AUTOMAP: Right Click if you are in a Dungeon or a Town. In a Dungeon there
are two types of maps: The 3-D and the flat one you look down on (but still
need to raise and lower because it will often be several layers thick). Click
on the grid to change map types.
The 3-D map is different than the usual ones you may have seen before and it
takes some getting used to, however it is very informative once you become
expert at using it. After you have explored the Starter Dungeon a little,
practice using the function keys (Top to Bottom, Left to Right, Rotate Left
and Right and Up and Down) until you can make the map give you the information
you desire.
The little Yellow shape on the left hand side of the map shows you your
orientation as to the Dungeon exit. As the dots get closer together you are
closer to the exit--but may be several levels above or below it!
The Town Map: Is color-coded: Guilds and Temples=Blue; Shops=Orange; and
Taverns=Green.
If you walk through the town with your Info icon (Eye) on and Right Click on
Buildings, the Building's identity will be automatically recorded onto your
Automap.
Certain secret Guilds, like the Thieves' Guild and the Dark Brotherhood will
not show up on your map until you have become a member.
Right Clicking on the Map icon brings up the Regional Map.
You can click on the province or town you wish to go to and travel. If you
only know the name and not the location of a place you wish to visit, you
have the option to type it in. You can also select what appears on your map--
Towns, Temples, Dungeons, Homes--by clicking on those buttons.
CAMPFIRE (Rest Icon): This icon gives you the option to rest for a specified
number of hours or until you are fully healed. In a dungeon you will usually
want to rest until you are fully healed; in an Inn you will usually rest for
as many hours as it takes for the next morning to arrive. Or you can Rest until
Healed and spend the remainder of the night practicing your Magic.
There is also an option to "Loiter". This is very handy when you are waiting
for a store or a Guild to open up. You can only Loiter for 3 hours at a time,
but you can Loiter more than once.
Clicking on the Compass will tell you Where you are, what time it is, the Date
and your current Reputation. It also tells you your state of Health. If you
notice that your PC is diseased, get to a temple at once! If possible carry a
few Cure Disease Potions. A diseased state is not always made apparent on your
Condition Screen until it has progressed to a more advance state. You will have
seen "You are not feeling well" messages on your screen, however. Heed these
even if you are apparently healthy otherwise. Disease can be quite insidious.
Keep track of your PC's Health, Stamina and Magic Indicator Bars. If you allow
your Stamina (red bar) to get too low, your PC will drop in exhaustion. In
this state he is easy prey for roaming monsters and will most likely die.
Hitting ESCAPE brings up your options to SAVE Game, LOAD Game, EXIT Game and
set or adjust your Controls. This hint guide will be referring to the
Default Controls, since those are the ones I always use, though you can set
the Hot Keys to whatever is best for you.
The keys I find myself using the most are: The ARROW keys to move; "D" to
duck down or crouch in order to remove loot from a chest or a dead enemy
(hit D again to stand up); "INSert" looks UP; "DELete" looks DOWN (This is
very important when fighting monsters that are on the ground--like rats.
They are much easier to hit if you are looking at them! The same goes for
looking up (INS) when you are fighting bats above your head.)
"HOME" centers your viewpoint after you are done looking up or down.
"J" is to JUMP. This is very handy to hold down in conjunction with your
"UP" Arrow when you are climbing walls or steep ramps.
The "S" Key. Once, I accidently hit the "S" Key when attempting to hit
the "D" key. And my weapon Vanished!! I had no idea what had happened.
It turned out that the S key Switches your weapon to your other hand--
where you can no longer see it--or apparently use it. It appears to be
gone but still shows up on your Inventory Screen as Equipped. If that
happens, hit the S again and your weapon will come back to where it belongs.
THE STARTER DUNGEON (PRIVATEER'S HOLD)
OK--let's take a quick walk through the Starter Dungeon.
Remember!! SAVE YOUR GAME OFTEN!! Save it before you enter a new room,
after you defeat a tough monster, before you fight a not-so-tough monster
(they can surprise you!), before you rest and after you rest successfully.
This walkthru will not tell you everytime to save--just remember to do it
often!!
Your first battle is with a rat--remember to look down (DEL) and swing away!
Rats don't normally carry treasure, but there is some gold on a table in this
room. After you click on it, remember that the gold will show up in the far
right column in your inventory screen. You need to click on the gold icon to
put it in your inventory.
Go up the stairs and head down the hall--the first thing you will come to is
one of the two bats that live in this hallway. Kill him and continue on down
the hall. Behind the first door is an Imp. He can cast a spell that will fry
you. And he CANNOT be harmed by IRON weapons. I often save the Imp til last on
this level--until I have gained a bit more experience. But you should be able
to kill him right away. Be sure and save the game before you go in--hurry and
try to hit the Imp before he gets his spell off. He is usually behind one of
the cages on the right side of the room. The Imp carries a bit of gold--so be
sure and search his little body. And don't forget the treasure in the cage.
You will probably have to hit "D" to get it.The room after this has an easy rat.
Then you come to a staircase leading down. There is a thief down there, just
to the left of the stairs. Try to run into the room and give yourself a little
maneuvering space so you can swing and back up--trying to stay out of his
attack range.
This fighting technique: hit, back up out of range, step forward, hit, back
up, etc. is an excellent strategy for doing fights in DAGGERFALL.
Many players who are veterans of TES: Arena developed it there and use it in
DAGGERFALL as well.
If during this time your PC gets injured and needs to rest, you can go back to
the first room--where you started out--and rest with a certain degree of safety.
However, there is no guarantee some creature will not wander in and wake you up.
After killing the thief, head back upstairs and left down the hall, where you
will meet your second bat--at the foot of some stairs. Once the bat is
dispatched go to the door at the top of the stairs. There is an Archer in that
room, behind a "U"-Shaped table. You can fight him across the table, or run
around to the back of the room and fight him there. He isn't too tough if you
back out of the way of his blows when you are fighting him.
Two doors lead from this room. The one to the left as you enter leads to a huge
room with a massive staircase and upper balconies. I usually save that til
later. So I go out the door to the rear of the "Archer" Room. There are two
rats behind that door, and one door leading out of the room. This door leads
to a passageway with a very steep ramp going up to another hallway that leads
to two doors. Use the UP Arrow key in conjunction with the "J" key to zip up
this ramp. The room to your left contains a grizzly. The room in front of
you has a thief beind the door. So open the door and start swinging--
sometimes you can hit them right through the door. And vice versa. The pink
coffin in this rooom has some loot--look down (DEL) so you can center your
cursor on it and pick it up.
Two doors lead out of this room--the one to the left as you enter leads out to
an overlook if the Big Room with the Stairs. There are steep stairs leading
downward--you can look down and see them--and below you will notice an angry
skeleton stomping about. I don't usually go down there yet.
The other door leads out to a hall--there will be a bat waiting when you open
the door. In the hall there is a door to your left leading to an empty chamber.
At the end of a hall is a door to a large room containing an Imp. After you
dispatch the Imp, you can explore the room a bit. To the left of the door you
entered through, there are some bookcases concealing loot in the corner. To
get the bookcases to open, go over to the Podium by the candles and click on it.
The door next to the bookcases leads to an empty room. You can rest there, if
you need to. The other door leads to another overlook of the Big Stair Room.
Go out there and on down the stairs and take the hallway on your left--keeping
an eye out for the skeleton, who may have seen you come down. The hallway to
the left of the stairs takes you to a monster-less room with some treasure on a
table in the back. You might want to save here--and get ready to fight the
skel--who will be your worst foe so far. Give yourself a lot of room to
hit and back up, etc. Sometimes the skel doesn't show up--but don't count on
this happening. Often, you can knock the skel off of the edge of the parapet.
Unfortunately, the fall doesn't kill him--he will be waiting for you when you
finally go down--but he doesn't ever find his way back up the stairs. After the
skel is put away, continue on to the hall at the other end of the ledge. This
one leads to a room with your first orc to fight. He's big, nasty and ugly,
but just stay out of his reach and you should be ok.
Walk back out and you will see a throne that has a lever to the left of it.
You can get on the throne and click on the lever and it will take you up to the
next level. However, I don't usually go up this way, though it is sort of fun.
But there is an alternative route. I turn around and go down the Big Staircase
and fight a bat. There are three doors leading from the Big Room. The door in
front of the staircase leads to a room containing a grizzly bear. The door to
the left of the staircase leads to the "Archer" Room where you have already
been.
The door to the right rear of the stairs leads to a new area to explore. There
is a bat on the other side of the door. Through the door you will see
passageways leading left, right and forward. To the right is a dead end. Go
to the left and down the hall. The only room in this hallway is empty of
monsters and treasure. The hall then leads to some stairs --walk up just to
the open doorway at the top--don't go in yet--and you will fight the biggest
rat you have ever seen!
This room has a closet containing some treasure.
Now you can go back to the third passageway--the one you haven't been down yet.
The first thing you will come to is a short hallway leading to two rooms, each
with an Archer. Good place to practice your fighting
skills! They usually have some pretty good armor on them.
TIP ON PICKING UP LOOT: Until you get your Wagon and can carry more, your
carrying capacity is severely limited. You should come out of the Starter
Dungeon with a lot of stuff to sell so you can afford a horse and cart right
away. In order to do this you need to be pretty picky about what you carry.
Just keep the stuff that looks like it might fetch you a good price in town.
That means discarding all of the leather armor, bucklers, helmets and cheap
iron weapons. Just keep the nice chain armor and quality weapons. Use Info
and check them out if you have any doubt.
MAPS you find tell the name of Secret Dungeons that you can explore later.
Write down the name, for the map will vanish--although it will show up on your
Regional Automap as a light orange dot.
Ok--after you have killed the two Archers, go on down the hall and up the
stairs. They will lead you to the level where the throne would have taken you.
Turn left and go up the hall. You will meet a rat on the first ramp. After
this is a room to your right--Don't Go In Yet!! Keep on going, you will meet
another rat on a ramp. The next door leads to a hall that will take you to a
skel. No treasure.
Back to the main hall at the end of which leads to a room and a thief. There is
a hidden door in this room, behind which a skeleton is hiding. OK. Back to the
room you skipped. This of course is the last room--the one containing the Exit
from Privateer's Hold. Here you will have to fight a bat, a rat and an Imp.
Be sure you are well rested and Save before entering. Sometimes one or two of
the monsters will come out of the room so you can fight them one on one. But
usually you get to face them all together. After you have successfully
defeated these last monsters, you can rest and then Exit the Starter Dungeon.
The Exit is on the right-hand wall and is shown as a Stone Archway surrounding
blackness. Click on the Black area and you are outta there!!
Congratulations!! You made it though your first small dungeon.
This is only a taste of what awaits you in the huge world of DAGGERFALL.
Next I will briefly cover a few basics to help get you started out on your way.
Once out of the Starter, after you have finished admiring the scenery, you need
to head to a city. Right click on your Map Icon to bring up the Regional Map--
there is no local map in the wilderness. Click on "I'm At" to show your locale.
I always start out by going to Daggerfall--it isn't the closest city--but is
where the action is.
So click on "Find" and type in Daggerfall.
Once you are there, be sure and put away your weapon--no one will talk to you
if you are brandishing a sword. And be sure you arrive there in the daytime--
click on the Compass to see what time it is.
The City of Daggerfall is no place to be after dark. The Ghost of the slain
King Lysandus and his legions prowl the streets of Daggerfall during the night
crying for "Vengeance"--and they will attack without mercy. So if it is late
in the day when you arrive, you might want to seek out an Inn to spend the
night in and start your exploration in the morning. (Inns will show up as Green
on your Automap). If it is after dark when you arrive in Daggerfall, the gates
will be closed and the ghosts on the prowl. Run away from town until you can
travel, then use your Automap to take you to a nearby town and go back to
Daggerfall in the morning.
When I get to Daggerfall, the first thing I do is look for a place to sell my
loot. If you do the Starter Dungeon thoroughly, you should come out with enough
loot to sell to afford you a horse and wagon.
Look at your map and see where the shops are--they will be shown in Orange.
Most cities have a cluster of shops--in addition to shops scattered throughout
town. Look on your map for the Orange buildings all in one place. Ask NPCs
for locations, have your InterAction Icon on the Eye so when you click on a
building it will identify it for you. I visit a few Armorers' Shops and see who
will give me the best price. The quality of the shops varies a lot--some
contain rusty, shabby equipment, some have soft music playing and incense
burning. This not only makes a difference if you are buying equipment,
but also if you are selling. Many of the pricier shops are pretty cheap when
it comes to buying your wares. And some of the dumpy shops will pay more.
Once you have visited a few dungeons and accumulated a wide variety of loot,
you will have to check out several different stores to find out which one buys
what kind of merchandise. It pays to check around whether buying or selling.
You will quickly learn that you need to seek out certain shops for buying or
selling more specialized items. The Spice and Herb shops will buy your
Ingredients. Pawn Shops will buy your Religious Items. So take a look at all
of the different shops in the Cities and learn how to best utilize them.
After I get my money I seek out a few General Stores and check out the prices
for Horses and Carts. The game has built in bartering--according to your
Mercantile skills--so don't expect to pay the "sticker price" for anything.
It is often considerably lower.
Once the horse is bought you may want to ride him around for fun--but it is
still easier to do your Town business on foot.
GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR NPC ENCOUNTERS:
Make sure your Action Icon is on "Conversation" and click on a Townsperson.
This will bring up the NPC Interaction Screen. The upper left-hand corner of
this screen gives you all of the options you will need to use when conversing
with people in Daggerfall. Try out all of the different selections to see
how they work. Below is a quick review:
"Tell Me About": Gives you the option to ask about General News
(Rumors), Certain People and all of the different Guilds and Temples in
Daggerfall. Some NPCs are a lot more informative than others, so if one brushes
you off, go to another one. They can be a source of important information such
as rumors about lost Artifacts and hints about the Main Quest.
"Where Is": Will prompt the NPC to give you the location of Shops and Temples
in the city--as well as places you may be seeking on a quest. For example if
you select "Armorers", it will bring up a list of all of the Armorers in town.
The nearest one is at the top of the list. Pick one and double click on it to
ask where it is.
In the list of places you will see "General" and "Regional".
"General" brings up locations like residences you may be seeking on a quest.
"Regional" lists Temples that are not located in the town you are presently in.
"Location" is what you use when you are on a Quest and need to find specific
people, residences or objects.
"Work" is a good way to get directed to a person who will give you
a local Quest.
After you click on an Option and the question comes up, click on OK and the NPC
will answer.
Remember, don't waste your time on grouchy NPCs--some are a lot more willing to
help you than others. At first they will all greet you somewhat nastily--after
all, they don't know you and you don't have much of a reputation--but for the
most part they will still help you out.
The NPC Screen gives you the option to copy a coversation to your Log Book--but
as far as I know you cannot erase them once they are there--so copy only
important conversations so you don't clutter your Log with a bunch of useless
stuff. I usually just take notes--with good old fashioned pen and paper!
Tone of Voice can be important--stick to Polite or Normal unless you are
seriously trying to intmidate someone. However, this strong-arm tactic may
just make them angry.
THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY:
First off, join every Guild that you can find. It is good to start out early
in the Guilds because you go up in Rank after a month, assuming you have done
a few Quests for them and managed to advance your skills, through training
and use. I always start out with the Mages Guild (where you can buy and
create spells), The Knights of the Dragon (who give you some free Armor--and a
free House after you have sufficiently advanced) and the Fighters Guild (where
you can rest for free and get your Armor and Weapons repaired quickly and
relatively cheaply). I also join a Temple or two--whichever one I specified
when I was genning my character and any other that seems advantageous. There
are specific advantages to belonging to any Guild and Temple which become more
apparent as you advance in Rank, such as the ability to buy potions--which are
a big help in Dungeons when your magic points are running low. You can also
train in your different skills in Temples and Guilds--which will speed up your
leveling.
Secret Guilds, like the Thieves' Guild and Dark Brotherhood are joined by
invitation only. They will keep an eye on you and if your actions indicate
you are worthy to join their ranks you will hear from them. Once you are a
member, the location of their Guilds will be automatically inscribed on your
map in each town you visit.
As you eventually load up with gold--and yes it WILL happen--you will want to
visit the Bank. You can deposit your gold there--keeping a small amount on
hand for spending money. You can also get a loan for that Sword you just
can't live without! But keep track of the date so you get your loan paid off
in time. For a small fee, gold can also be exchanged for Letters of Credit--
which are much lighter to carry around.
QUESTS:
These are the main way you will be building up your skills, money and reputation
in Daggerfall.
When you first get to town--newly out of Privateer's Hold--you are not ready to
be taking on much in the way of quests. But you can build up a couple of
levels--from raiding Crypts and exploring Dungeons you find on your map. Be
sure and always SAVE before entering these in case you run into something
beyond your experience--or want to try again for some better loot. When you
finally think you are ready for a Quest, you might want to take on a local
quest to start with. Ask an NPC what he knows about Work. Clicking on "Talk"
when in a shop, Temple or Guild will often resultin the NPC asking you for
some kind of help. These small quests are a good way to gain experience and
often turn out to be a lot more complicated than you expected them to be!
I have gotten quests from Booksellers--who seem more interested in their
woes than in buying your used books.
SAVE YOUR GAME before taking on any Quest!!! That gives you an out in case
things go bad.
Quests all have a time limit (Except for the Main Quests)--so keep an eye on
your travel and resting time.
Some Quests are quite complicated and have several parts, so be sure to read
any notes you may receive and pay attention to what people tell you. All
Quest details will be enscribed into your Log.
After you have finished your Quest, go back to the person you got it from
(assuming it wasn't a simple delivery Quest) and click on "Talk". He will
not automatically acknowledge your completion of the Quest.
You need to prompt him.
At Level 3 or so you should be ready to start taking on Temple and Guild Quests.
Do NOT worry about the main Quest until you are at least Level 5. Though it is
adviseable to respond to Lady Brisienna's Note and meet her where ever she is
staying. She has a little info that you might find to be helpful later on when
you start working on the Main Quest--assuming you decide to do it. And she
gets REALLY angry if you stand her up.
Dungeon Crawling
When you select your Regional Map only to show Dungeons, the graveyards and
crypts will show up as Red Dots. Large Dungeons you have been to and Dungeons
you have found maps for will show up on your map as light orange dots. Right
clicking on a specific area will show it in greater detail. As far as Crypts
go--some are better than others. My favorite is the Copperston Crypts, up near
Privateer's Hold. One room has a secret door that you can open by clicking on
the contents of one of the coffins. I reentered that crypt several times and
built up my gold to several thousand which enabled me to buy better weapons
and spells. I also found maps to new dungeons and built up much-needed experience for
quests and exploring new dungeons.
There are several spells I have found essential for dungeon crawling.
1) Recall: Allows you to set an "Anchor" at the dungeon entrance and "Teleport"
back to it so you can unload treasure into your Wagon--or to escape from
baddies in the middle of a hopeless fight.
2) Levitate: Gets you over pits or up and down them--better control than
"Slowfall" for dropping down pits.
3) Water Breathing: Essential for exploring the many underwater areas in
dungeons.
4) Invisibility: Can be a lifesaver when you get paralyzed by a Spider bite.
Cast it and he won't keep biting you--since he can no longer see you. Your
paralysis will wear off before the Invisibility does--and you can swat the
Spider before he knows what is happening.
It is also good to have an Offensive Spell, such as Fireball and a Heal Spell.
Open is very expensive to use--so I created a cheaper version called
"Enter", which is pretty effective. There are quite a few locked doors in
dungeons.
Be sure and take advantage of the Spells and Spell-Maker at the Mage's Guild.
This file will be updated as new information becomes available.
There is a lot to Daggerfall and I'm sure this will be the case.
Any suggestions or additions would be appreciated.
