PC/CD Gamer UK 41/PCGAMER41.bin/walkthru/dagger.txt

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The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall - Playing Guide

Set in and around the Iliac Bay of the Empire of Tamriel, the game allows you to
explore over 40 provinces, each containing scores of towns and villages, dozens
of perilous dungeons and cave systems, hundreds of people to meet, and quests
beyond measure. Although there is a central plot, you are free to pursue it or
ignore it as you wish. Likewise, you can play almost any type of character you can
imagine, from an immoral assassin to an honourable knight.
Unfortunately, while this vast scope is one of the game's key strengths, it also
means that playing Daggerfall can be more then a little overwhelming to start off
with - a fact not helped by the vague and inconsistent manual.
The purpose of this guide is to give both new and experienced Daggerfall players
a helping hand. Although it would be impossible to cover Daggerfall in its
entirety, what follows is a look at two of the most important parts of the game ╨
character generation, and the Guilds. Both of these will play a pivotal role in your
character's career.

FIRST THINGS FIRST
Before you even start to play Daggerfall, you should check that you have the most
up-to-date version of the game. Considering its huge size, it's hardly surprising
that there were still several bugs in the initial release. Since then, Bethesda have
released several updates, gradually fixing the problems as they came to light. The
most recent update, Version 1.04.191, was on last month's CD Gamer, and can
also be downloaded from Bethesda's World Wide Web site. Although the above
patch fixes most of the bugs, there are still some problems to be solved, so keep
an eye out for further updates in the near future. This guide assumes that you're
using 191, and if you're not, some things may not work or may work differently.

GETTING INTO CHARACTER
The first thing you have to do when you start to play Daggerfall is generate your
character. It's worth giving some serious thought to character generation, as the
decisions you make at this stage will affect the entire game. The vast majority of
what you decide in the game itself can be altered later on, but not character
generation.
It's definitely worth taking the time to experiment with the various options, and
even to try out different characters. If you're not really sure what type of character
to play, pick one of the standard classes that appeals to you and play the game for
a while. From this you'll get an idea of which skills you use frequently and which
are the most useful.
As a rule, once you've decided what type of character to play, it's best to create a
custom class to match. Not only does this give you complete control to create
exactly the character you want, but all of the standard classes have some fairly
major weaknesses in their skill selections.
Before starting to create your class, you must select a race. It's best to choose one
that matches the type of character you want to play, as your race affects a variety
of aspects of the game. A spell-casting assassin, for example, would do well to be
a Dark Elf.
With the race chosen, the most important decisions you have to make when
creating a class is selecting your skills. This is why it's a good idea to 'test run' a
few characters, as you'll get a feel for what suits your tastes and style of play. It's
also a good idea to understand how Daggerfall deals with level and skill
advancement...

THE SYSTEM
Daggerfall uses a very complex rules system to calculate the effects of everything
from a simple sword swing to what the royal family of a particular province thinks
of your character. For the most part, all this stuff goes on in the background, and
you don't really need to worry how something is worked out. The results of your
actions are generally fairly obvious, and obey common sense - that a character
with a high weapon skill is going to hit the enemy more often than a character
with a low skill, for example, is fairly obvious.
There are two areas, though, that are worth understanding in order to get the most
out of the game, and make wise choices during both character generation and
play. The first is the way that levels are calculated, the second is how skills
improve.

Gaining levels
Unlike most level-based roleplaying games - whether computer or pen-and-paper
based ╨ your character in Daggerfall doesn't gain levels by amassing vast sums of
experience points. The designers of the game thought that it didn't make much
sense that a thief only gained levels by killing monsters, for example, not by doing
'thief stuff'. Instead, then, your character's level in Daggerfall is determined by his
or her important skills. This is one of the vital strengths of Daggerfall, and the key
to the game's flexibility - you can play whatever type of character you like, and
still gain levels and progress. Your level, then, is calculated according to the
following, easily memorable, formula:

Level = (A-B+28)/15

Where A is the starting total of your character's three Primary skills, two highest
Major skills, and highest Minor skill, and B is the current total of those same
skills.
From this you can see that your character's level is based on the value of just six
skills. To get to level 2 you only have to increase the total of these skills by 2
points, while each level thereafter requires you to increase the total by 15.

Gaining skills
So, to gain levels you need to increase your character's skills. The game calculates
skill increases based on two things - practice and training. Every time your
character uses a skill, the game gives it a 'tick'. Training in a skill gives it a
variable number of 'ticks', equal to between 10 and 20 uses. Whenever your
character rests, the game looks at each of your skills in turn. If the number of
'ticks' for that skill is higher than a number calculated by the game system, the
skill is increased by 1 and the number of 'ticks' is reset to 0.
The formula used to calculate the number of 'ticks' required to improve a skill is a
complex and arcane beast. The key element, though, is the current level of the
skill ╨ it's harder to improve at something you're already good at. Other factors
that affect this include whether the skill is Primary, Major, Minor, or
Miscellaneous ╨ it's easier to increase the skills on which you've decided to
concentrate. For example, a character with a high Agility will find it easy to learn
Stealth and the difficulty modifier of your class (see 'Ups and downs' on page
102).
So the key to improving your skills is to use them as much as possible, and to
train at Guilds - although you can only train in skills with a rating below 50%. It
also means that although the skills you use the most while adventuring will
naturally increase, you can also take time to practise. Simply running around a
city will increase your Running skill, for example, and climbing the city walls
repeatedly will do the same for your Climbing skill. Likewise, if you want to
speed up your advancement in the Magical skills, book yourself a room in an Inn,
and cast a relevant spell (a Destruction spell to increase Destruction skill, for
example) until you run out of mana, sleep, then repeat. It's not the most interesting
way of playing the game but it works.

Picking your skills
So, of the 12 skills you have to choose - three Primary, three Major, and six
Minor - only six actually affect the level of your character. When you're picking
your skills, it's a good idea to consider which six will be your 'Levelling' skills,
and which will be your 'Secondary' skills. Leveling skills should be the ones you
both use most and can increase fairly easily, Secondary skills can be anything you
like - they're a way of adding 'colour' to your character. There are no 'right'
choices here, as everything will depend on what kind of character you want to
play - a skulking thief with an aversion to fighting will require very different skills
to a proud knight seeking to destroy evil everywhere.

Some skills are inherently harder to increase than others, and these should
probably be avoided. By all means pick them as Secondary skills, but don't rely
on them to gain levels. The skills that fall into this category include anything that
can't easily be practised - all the languages, Etiquette and Streetwise, Dodging,
and Mercantile.
On the other hand, don't pick skills that are too easy to advance. A great deal of
the difficulty of Daggerfall depends on your level, and although picking Running
almost guarantees a rapid rise in levels - just run everywhere - it's not going to
help you defeat the higher level monsters you'll meet. Running is perhaps the
worst offender, because you can practise it effortlessly, but be wary of Climbing,
Swimming, and Stealth - if you pick them, don't go overboard practising them,
and try to keep your other Levelling skills at a similar level.
As far as Weapon skills go, Long Blade is probably the easiest and best choice.
The weapons covered by this are by far the most common, meaning it's not hard
to find a good one, and the most damaging weapon in the game - the Dai-katana -
falls under this skill. Short Blades don't do much damage, but are fairly common.
Axes are rare, and not very effective. Archery is handy, but it's only useful in
certain situations - ideally at a distance when the monsters can't get close to you.
Blunt weapons aren't too rare, but they're still not as good as the swords. Hand-to-
Hand should only be chosen if you want to play a martial artist character - to do
any amount of damage, you need a high skill, Strength, and Critical Strike.
It's best to choose only one Weapon skill as a Levelling skill, otherwise you have
to keep switching weapons to gain levels. It's normally worth choosing Short
Blade as a Secondary skill, though, to make use of the Ebony Dagger (see 'It's all
in the past'on page 103).
Magic. Although it's possible to succeed in Daggerfall without being able to cast
spells, it's definitely a harder route to choose. Spells can make your character's life
much easier, they allow you to join the Mages Guild and use the SpellMaker and
ItemMaker, which are two great aspects of Daggerfall, and Magic skills are easy
to practise - just create some cheap spells and cast them over and over. None of
these problems are impossible to overcome - you can use potions and magical
items to make up for your lack of spells - but why make life hard for yourself?
Even if you don't intend to have a very magic-orientated character, it's worth
choosing some magical skills, just make them Secondary ones. Good ones to
choose for almost any character are Restoration (Healing spells are always
useful), Thaumaturgy (Levitate can make your dungeon exploring much simpler),
and Alteration (Water Breathing is likewise very useful in many dungeons).
Notice that because of the formula used, only two of the three Major skills are
important to your level, and only one of the Minor skills. When you've decided on
your six levelling skills, remember to assign one as a Minor skill.

Ups and downs
After you've picked the skills for your class, you can give your character up to
seven special advantages. Unfortunately, these increase the difficulty modifier for
the class (as shown by the dagger on the vertical scale on the class creation
screen). To bring the dagger back down, you can pick up to seven disadvantages.
You can also edit your character's reputations, although this is hardly worth it
unless you have a particularly good character-based reason to do so - the effect on
the game is minimal at best.
Likewise, you can alter the distribution of your attributes. The usefulness of this is
dubious, as you can always re-roll until you get decent stats, but if you do want to
play around with them, bear in mind that Personality seems to have little effect,
and can safely be lowered, while Strength, Intelligence and Speed are probably
the most useful overall attributes.
Finally, you can adjust the maximum hit points awarded each level up or down,
which likewise affects the dagger's position.
As with skills, the advantages and disadvantages you choose are largely a matter
of taste, although it's always a good idea to keep the dagger at or below the
midway mark - any higher and gaining skills and levels gets tough. As with skills,
though, there are some that are more or less useful overall...

1. The three best advantages are Spell Absorption, Increased Magery (vital if you
want to be able to cast spells), and Expertise in Long Blades (for the same reasons
listed under skills). Spell Absorption can always be achieved with spells, but
having it as an innate ability makes life easier. Unfortunately, it's one of the most
costly advantages, in terms of the difficulty dagger. Spell Absorption in Darkness
is the best bet - most monsters live in dungeons, after all.
2. Resistance or Immunity, especially to magic, are both nice, but expensive.
Bonuses to hit Animals or Humanoids can come in handy, and aren't too costly.
3. All of the other advantages are of questionable use, either because they can
easily be replicated with spells (Rapid Healing and Regeneration, for example), or
simply aren't worthwhile.
4. There are several disadvantages that really aren't much of a problem to deal
with. The first is Forbidden Weaponry - just forbid weapons that you haven't
chosen the skill for.
5. Likewise, Forbidden Armour Type - both leather and chain are pretty useless.
Don't forbid plate, unless you really don't want to ever wear any decent armour.
6. Forbidden Shield Type is also a good one, as Bucklers are next to useless.
7. Finally, Forbidden Materials Iron and Silver are unlikely to cause you any
problems. Iron weapons and armour are rubbish, and Silver isn't very good, but
gives a good reduction to the difficulty dagger.
8. Inability to regenerate spell points should be avoided unless you know what
you're doing. It gives great reduction, but that's because it can cause you a lot of
problems. And regardless of how experienced a player you are, never ever select
it without having the Spell Absorption advantage.
9. Darkness Powered Magery doesn't cause many problems - once again,
dungeons are dark by their very natures - but Light Powered Magery is very
limiting and should be avoided.
10. Phobias, Critical Weaknesses and Low Tolerances should be treated carefully.
Critical Weakness gives a better reduction than Low Tolerances, so if you're
going to choose one, go the whole way.

It's all in the past
Now, all that's left is to give your shiny new class a name, and complete the
character generation process. It's always worth re-rolling the attributes until you
get a high spread - Strength, Intelligence, and Agility have the most general use,
but all can come in handy and you could always do with a high Speed.
Likewise, always choose to answer questions about your past, and be sure to take
the Ebony Dagger. Until you get to at least the 5th level it's likely to be the best
weapon you come across, and it's even worth making Short Blade a Secondary
skill just to be able to use it.
Finally, don't be afraid to change your mind and try a different character. If you
restart before getting too far into the game, it won't take long to recover your
position, and there's no point playing the game with a character you're not happy
with.
Now let's look at another vital aspect of Daggerfall - the Guilds.

GUILDS AND TEMPLES
Your character in Daggerfall starts out as a newcomer to the land, without any
formal ties or loyalties (except to the Emperor). Although this gives you a lot of
freedom, it also limits your opportunities and your access to certain important and
useful services.
The various Guilds and Temples of Tamriel not only offer their members a
number of special benefits and services, they're also a prime source of work for
budding heroes, offering a wide variety of quests and tasks to complete. As such,
they're one of the most important aspects of Daggerfall, aside from the main plot.
If you choose to ignore the main plot and go your own way, the Guilds become
one of the driving forces of the game.
Depending on your tastes and your character's skills, it's possible to join up to six
different organisations - the Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, Thieves Guild, Dark
Brotherhood (the Assassins Guild), a Knightly Order and a Temple.

Joining a Guild
With the exception of the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood (see 'Turning to
the Dark Side', below), joining a Guild is simply a matter of finding one of its
headquarters and asking. When you're in a town or city, the locations of Guilds
are marked on your map in blue. To find out which Guilds are represented in a
town, just ask a passer-by about them (select 'Where is...', 'Location...', and
'Guilds' in the dialogue menus). Those present in that specific town are listed. The
Mages and Fighters Guilds are very common, and found all over the Illiac Bay.
Temples are rarer, but likewise found in every province. Knightly Orders are only
found in a specific area of the Bay - ask people to 'Tell me about...' the Order in
which you're interested, for clues.
Once you find the Guild, go in and select the people near the door. At least one of
them should offer you the chance to join. Selecting this option will either make
you a member of the Guild immediately, or tell you what you need to do to gain
membership - normally it'll be a matter of not having the right skills to the
required level (see 'Getting ahead', below).

Turning to the Dark Side
Obviously, illegal organisations like the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood
can't go about advertising their presence. To join either of these Guilds you must
possess the right skills (see 'Getting ahead', below) and bring your character to
their attention. To join the Thieves Guild, simply keep picking pockets and
stealing stuff - eventually the Guild will send you a letter with instructions on how
to join. Likewise, to join the Dark Brotherhood you must kill enough innocent
bystanders (the people wandering around in towns and cities) or City Guards.
After enough bloodshed, the Brotherhood will send you an invitation to join them.

Getting ahead
Each Guild offers certain special services and advantages to members of a high
enough rank (see 'The Guilds' on page 105). Selecting 'Affiliations' on the
character sheet screen (F5) will show you what Guilds you are a member of, and
your current rank in each.
To gain ranks (and thus access to the special services offered by the Guild), you
must do two things - increase your reputation with the Guild, and prove your
worthiness by possessing the right skills.
Reputation is gained by successfully completing quests for the Guild. Each quest
completed increases your reputation by about five points. However, your
reputation drops slightly as time passes, so even if you reach the highest rank in
the Guild, you must still perform the odd quest to maintain your status.
In addition, every Guild has certain skills which it considers important for its
members to possess. These are listed in each Guild description below. To gain
rank in a Guild, you must possess at least two of these skills to a certain level -
you can't become a Master Warrior without being able to fight.
The minimum reputation and skill levels needed to join and progress in a Guild
are shown below...

Rank   Reputation      Primary Skill        Secondary Skill
0     0                    22                          4
1    10                   27                          8
2    20                   35                          12
3    30                   45                          16
4    40                   52                          20
5    50                   58                          24
6    60                   68                          28
7    70                   76                          32
8    80                   83                          36
9    90                   90                          40

So, to go from rank 0 to rank 1 in the Mages Guild, for example, you'd have to
perform at least two or three quests, and have one of the Guild's 'important' skills
at 27% or more and one at 8% or more. Regardless of your skills and reputation,
though, your character is only eligible for promotion every 28 days of game time.
If your reputation and skills are high enough, however, you can be promoted by
more than one rank at a time.

The Guilds
Each Guild is described below. All Guilds offer their members work in the form
of quests, in return for which your character will be paid with gold or magical
items. Likewise, all Guilds offer their members Training in certain skills. The
important skills listed are those which the Guild requires its members to have at
least two of (see 'Getting ahead' on page 103). Although there are many different
Knightly Orders, they all offer the same benefits, and so are grouped together.

Mages Guild
Important skills: Alteration, Destruction, Illusion, Mysticism, Restoration,
Thaumaturgy.
Training in: Alteration, Daedric, Destruction, Dragon, Harpy, Illusion, Impish,
Mysticism, Orcish, Restoration, Spriggan, Thaumaturgy.
Special benefits:
Rank 0 ╨ Use of SpellMaker.
Rank 3 ╨ Buy and sell magic items.
Rank 5 ╨ Use of ItemMaker.
Rank 6 ╨ Daedra Summoning.
Rank 8 ╨ Teleportation.
10% deduction in cost of identifying magic items for each rank above 0.

Fighters Guild
Important skills: Archery, Axe, Blunt Weapon, Giantish, Long Blade, Orcish,
Short Blade.
Training in: Archery, Axe, Blunt Weapon, Critical Strike, Giantish, Jumping,
Long Blade, Orcish, Running, Short Blade, Swimming.
Special benefits:
Free accommodation at the Guild.
10% deduction in cost of repairing weapons and armour for each rank above 0.
10% increase in gold rewards for quests for each rank above 0.
At higher ranks you will be given quests that allow you to find powerful weapons,
armour, and artifacts.

Thieves Guild
Important skills: Backstab, Climbing, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Short Blade,
Stealth, Streetwise.
Training in: Backstab, Blunt Weapon, Climbing, Dodging, Jumping, Lockpicking,
Pickpocket, Short Blade, Stealth, Streetwise, Swimming.
Special benefits:
Rank 0 - Given a map to a Dungeon.
Rank 2 - Buy and Sell stolen goods at 50% of normal price.
Rank 4 - Access to Spymaster.
Rank 6 - Given a map to a Dungeon.
Rank 8 - Given a map to a Dungeon.
5% chance per rank of bribing the Judge if caught for theft.

Dark Brotherhood
Important skills: Archery, Backstab, Climbing, Critical Strike, Daedric,
Destruction, Short Blade, Stealth, Streetwise.
Training in: Archery, Backstab, Climbing, Critical Strike, Daedric, Destruction,
Dodging, Running, Short Blade, Stealth, Streetwise, Swimming.
Special benefits:
Rank 1 - Buy potions.
Rank 3 - Use of PotionMaker.
Rank 5 - Buy and sell Soul Gems.
Rank 7 - Access to Spymaster.
5% chance per rank of bribing the Judge if caught for murder.
A graveyard is revealed on the regional map (W) when each rank is gained.

Knightly Orders
Important skills: Archery, Critical Strike, Dragon, Etiquette, Giantish, Long
Blade, Medical.
Training in: No training is available from Knightly Orders.
Special benefits:
Rank 0 - No charges at Inns in the same province as the Order.
Rank 2 - Beginning at this rank, one piece of armour is earned for free at each
rank.
Rank 4 - No charge for staying at any Inn.
Rank 6 - No charge for travel by ship.
Rank 9 - Free house.
The piece of armour you gain at each rank after 2 increases in quality as you
progress, beginning with silver and working up to Daedric at rank 9.

Temple of Aktosh, God of Time
Important skills: Alteration, Daedric, Destruction, Dragon, Long Blade, Running,
Stealth.
Training in: Alteration, Archery, Daedric, Destruction, Dragon, Long Blade,
Running, Stealth, Swimming.
Special benefits:
Rank 1 - Complete healing of all wounds for no cost.
Rank 4 - Sell potions.
Can buy a Blessing of Speed, increasing the attribute by rank+2.
Travelling times reduced to 95% of normal for rank 0, -1% per rank after.

Temple of Arkay, God of Birth & Death
Important skills: Axe, Backstab, Daedric, Destruction, Medical, Restoration,
Short Blade.
Training in: Axe, Backstab, Climbing, Critical Strike, Daedric, Destruction,
Medical, Restoration, Short Blade.
Special benefits:
Rank 0 - Complete healing of wounds for no cost.
Rank 1 - Sell potions.
Rank 4 - Use of PotionMaker.
Rank 5 - Buy and sell Soul Gems.
Rank 7 - Daedra summoning.
10% deduction in cost of identifying cures for each rank above 0.
Temple of Dibella, Goddess of Beauty
Important skills: Daedric, Etiquette, Illusion, Lockpicking, Long Blade, Nymph,
Orcish, Restoration.
Training in: Daedric, Etiquette, Harpy, Illusion, Lockpicking, Long Blade,
Nymph, Orcish, Restoration, Streetwise.
Special benefits:
Rank 1 - Sell potions.
Rank 2 - Complete healing of wounds for no cost.
Rank 4 - Buy and sell Soul Gems.
Rank 5 - Use of PotionMaker.
Rank 7 - Daedra Summoning.
Can buy a Blessing of Luck, increasing the attribute by rank+2.

Temple of Julianos, God of Wisdom and Logic
Important skills: Alteration, Daedric, Impish, Lockpicking, Mysticism, Short
Blade, Thaumaturgy.
Training in: Alteration, Critical Strike, Daedric, Impish, Lockpicking, Mercantile,
Mysticism, Short Blade, Thaumaturgy.
Special benefits:
Rank 2 - Complete healing of wounds for no cost.
Rank 3 - Sell magic items.
Rank 5 - Use of the ItemMaker.
Rank 7 - Daedra Summoning.
Can buy a Blessing of Intelligence, increasing the attribute by rank+2.

Temple of Kynareth, Goddess of Air
Important skills: Jumping, Running, Dodging, Archery, Harpy, Dragon,
Destruction, Illusion, Climbing, Stealth, Daedric.
Training in: Jumping, Running, Dodging, Archery, Harpy, Dragon, Destruction,
Illusion, Climbing, Stealth, Daedric.
Special  benefits:
Rank 1 - Complete healing of wounds for no cost.
Rank 3 - Buy spells.
Rank 6 - Use of SpellMaker.
Rank 7 - Daedra Summoning.
10% increase in Breath Meter (when swimming underwater) for each rank above
0.
Can buy a Blessing of Endurance, increasing the attribute by rank+2.
Temple of Mara, Goddess of Love
Important skills: Archery, Critical Strike, Etiquette, Illusion, Medical,
Restoration, Streetwise.
Training in: Archery, Critical Strike, Etiquette, Illusion, Medical, Restoration,
Streetwise.
Special benefits:
Rank 1 - Complete healing of wounds for no cost.
Rank 3 - Sell potions.
Rank 5 - Use of PotionMaker.
Rank 7 - Daedra Summoning.
Rank is added to reaction rolls for members of opposite gender.
Can buy a Blessing of Personality, increasing the attribute by rank+2.

Temple of Stendarr, God of Mercy
Important skills: Axe, Blunt Weapons, Critical Strike, Daedric, Dodging,
Medical, Restoration.
Training in: Axe, Blunt Weapons, Critical Strike, Daedric, Dodging, Medical,
Orcish, Restoration, Spriggan.
Special benefits:
Rank 0 - Complete healing of wounds for no cost.
Rank 2 - Sell potions.
Rank 5 - Use of PotionMaker.
Rank 7 - Daedra Summoning.
2% chance of surviving death, although in a weakened state, for each rank above
0.
Can buy a Blessing of Reputation with the Law, increasing it by rank+2.

Temple of Zenithar, God of Commerce and Labour
Important skills: Blunt Weapons, Centaurian, Daedric, Giantish, Harpy,
Mercantile, Orcish, Pickpocket, Spriggan, Streetwise, Thaumaturgy.
Training in: Blunt Weapons, Centaurian, Daedric, Etiquette, Giantish, Harpy,
Mercantile, Orcish, Pickpocket, Spriggan, Streetwise, Thaumaturgy.
Special benefits:
Rank 1 - Sell potions.
Rank 2 - Complete healing of wounds for no cost.
Rank 4 - Use of PotionMaker.
Rank 4 - Buy and sell Soul Gems.
Rank 8 - Daedra Summoning.
Can buy a Blessing of Mercantile, increasing the skill by rank+2.
Donations can be used to increase reputation with the Temple.