BEASTIES AND THEIR GOODIES

According to the "Daggerfall" manual, "There are more than fifty varieties of adversaries you may face in the course of your adventures." By my last count, I've got 57 listed here (kind of like Heinz' "57 varieties"), so if I'm missing anything, it's not for lack of trying. I have included combat info from Bethesda's hint book regarding armor class and health. As far as I can tell, it's still accurate, except for the Health statistic, which tends to be toward the high end. My best guess would be that critter health works like level health points -- somewhere between 50% and 100% of the maximum.

A few things to keep in mind about critters and their treasures:

First, there is absolutely no relation between the type/class of critter you kill and the goodies they have when you search the body. Lamia and Dreugh (who have no legs) can be found with greaves. Thieves can be found with plate armor. Ghosts can be found with coins (I’d really like to know where they keep it). Archers almost never have arrows or bows. In other words, don’t look for logic regarding what the critter can do and what it carries.

Second, what you find on the body has a great deal to do with your Luck attribute and your level. The higher your Luck and your level, the more gold you'll find and the better your chances of finding stuff made of better materials.

Third, you’ve got to kill the critter to get its goodies. You can try to talk it out of fighting (if it has a language), but you can’t talk it out of its treasure. This would have been a great place for Bethesda to have effectively used the Pickpocket skill. Pickpocketing the critter could have actually taken items out of its inventory rather than a random 1 to 5 gold pieces.

Animals

Animals all carry the same treasure: none. So pickpocket them before killing them if you want to get anything. If you kill them with arrows, you can still retrieve your arrows as long as it took more than one to kill it. On single-shot kills, you will find an empty inventory screen.

Rats, Bats:

Rat

(Armor 6, Health 9 to 16, Damage 1-4 + Disease)

Bat

(Armor 6, Health 12 to 36, Damage 2-12 + Disease)

What can you say about flying rodents and crawling rodents? They don't do much damage and don't have many hit points, but they do carry diseases (about 0.5% chance per successful hit).

Tigers, Bears:

Tiger

(Armor 6, Health 13 to 34, Damage 1-10/1-10/3-15)

Bear

(Armor 6, Health 13 to 34, Damage 1-10/1-10/3-15)

Pretty easy to kill. They hit slowly, though, so you can probably finish them off before they get in more than one or two swings. Once you've got a few hit points under your belt, they're excellent for practicing Hand-to-Hand.

Spiders, Scorpions:

Spider

(Armor 5, Health 13 to 34, Damage 5-15 + Spell [Spider Touch -- surprised?])

Scorpion

(Armor 0, Health 18 to 74, Damage 15-25 + Spell [paralyze])

They're slow hitters, but their poison paralyzes if you fail your save. Surprisingly enough, the poison counts as a spell, so it can be reflected or absorbed. If paralyzation isn't a worry, practice your Hand-to-Hand on them.

Slaughterfish:

Slaughterfish

(Armor 6, Health 15 to 50, Damage 2-12)

Underwater only. They bite fairly frequently. If you have soul-bound one of these into an item, they can and do appear above ground when the item breaks -- makes for humorous encounters.

Humans

Humans make up about a third to half of the critters you'll run into. Except for some of the tougher critters (liches, vampires and daedra), humans are about as nasty as you can get. The reason is that they have pretty much the same abilities as you do (except they're all "canned" classes) and aren't afraid to use them (even it if means blowing themselves up with an area-effect spell). Their abilities function at about your level when you enter the dungeon (hint: level while you're inside the dungeon and you'll usually be 1 level higher than the critters you're fighting).

Spell-Casters are a special case. Generally, they don't start tossing dangerous spells at you until you're somewhere between 5th and 7th level. Up to that point they prefer to beat on you rather than fry you and if they do cast a spell, it's usually a defensive one like "Shield" or a minor offensive spell like "Silence". Just about all humans carry bows and prefer to shoot at you before engaging in melee.

Thieves, Rogues, Burglars, Bards, Acrobats:

Thief-class humans. Their hit points will be about your level times 9 (average) and they have the same armor restrictions as the standard class. No spells, but they do use missiles. These guys prefer short-bladed weapons, which means less damage. On the other hand, these bozos are FAST, especially when they take those three swipes in a row, so they get in more shots and you'll run into the occasional poisoned weapon. On the good side, though, they don't have all that many hit points and aren't terribly difficult to hit, so they're easier to kill than fighter-types. With a few exceptions, their goodies consist of minor armor pieces, ingredients and money.

Assassins:

Nasty. They're pretty much the same as thief-types, but they like to use poison at higher levels. Be prepared to cure it when you run into them. There is apparently a random bug in the game that will sometimes turn poison effects into Witches Pox and other diseases after you cast "Cure Poison". It's kind of an iffy thing, so be prepared to cure the disease after you cure the poison. If you have the health points to spare, you might just want to ignore the poison and deal with the damage rather than deal with the disease. The best tactic for dealing with assassins is to stand off and make pincushions out of them or fry them with magic. Their goodies are about the same as thieves.

Warriors, Barbarians, Knights, Monks, Rangers, Archers:

Warriors:

average health points is your level times 10, no armor restrictions and decent weapon skills (axe, long blade and blunt weapons are primary skills). They are middling proficient at archery and will use it if you encounter them at range.

Barbarians:

average health points is your level times 18, but no plate armor makes them easier to hit. Not so hot at archery, but they'll try.

Knights:

average health points is your level times 14 or 15, and they'll be harder to hit since they can't wear Leather. Middling proficient at archery, but more often than not, they'll just close for melee.

Monk:

average health points is your level times 9 or 10. They can't wear armor, but with Critical Strike as a Primary, they'll hit you pretty well. Poor archers, but they'll try.

Rangers:

average health points is your level times 14. They have few armor restrictions, so they'll be more difficult to hit at higher levels when Plate is more readily available. They're good archers and can put a severe hurt on you at range.

Archers:

average health points is your level times 10 and they can't wear Plate, so they won't stand up for very long. But with Archery as a Primary skill, they can and will put a real hurt on you if you encounter them at range.

Treasure for all of these warrior-types is a few gold pieces (more from the Knights), weapons, armor and the occasional ingredient (more likely from Rangers).

Spell-Casters:

Spell casters are some of the toughest and some of the wimpiest critters in the game. More often than not, they try to hit you with an area-effect spell and wind up blowing themselves to smithereens. But in spite of the stupidity of the AI routine, they can and will put a severe hurt on you. Their hit points will be about your level times 8 (average for a standard spell-slinging class) and they have the same armor restrictions as the standard classes, so they aren't too difficult to hit. Their magica reserves are sufficient to get off one or two spells, sometimes more.

Spellswords, Nightblades, Battlemages, Healers:

Spells can often get you at range and they're pretty handy in melee. At lower levels (up to about 4th) they simply try to melee with you. At mid-levels (4th to 7th or thereabouts), their spells tend to be non-lethal ones like "Silence". At higher levels they'll try to nuke you or paralyze you and then close for melee. Battlemages and Healers prefer ranged spells and can get off a couple before they close. Spellswords and Nightblades like to leech your magica, shock you and paralyze you and prefer spells with a range of "Touch". "Spell Reflection" can take care of a lot of this. Missiles are a good defense since you're probably a better archer than they are. Treasure usually consists of a couple of armor pieces, a weapon or two, money and potion ingredients.

Sorcerers:

Sorcerers are pussycats as long as you don't throw spells at them. Since they can't regenerate magica, they have to absorb it. As long as they don't have any they'll engage in missile fire or melee and they don't have many hit points. Bethesda could have made these guys tougher by giving them some magica to start with.

Mages:

Surprisingly enough, Mages like to get off a spell or two and close for melee. Maybe they think they're Warriors. Anyway, they can't stand toe-to-toe with anyone for very long, but their spells can put a severe hurt on you. Treasure is usually money, a weapon, and lots of potion ingredients.

Orcs

Orcs come in four types:

Orc

(Armor 7, Health 13 to 34, Damage 1-6):

A straight slugger, but the stated damage range is way on the low side (it's closer to 15 points at the top end – probably due to extra damage from high Strength). Treasure is usually less than 100 GP's, a few cheesy weapons and armor pieces.

Orc Sergeant

(Armor 5, Health 15 to 50, Damage 5-15):

Another straight slugger. Damage is a bit more severe than a regular Orc, but the chances of getting a decent weapon or armor piece are slightly better.

Orc Warlord

(Armor 0, Health 18 to 90, Damage 5-50):

The heavy hitter of the Orc family. He doesn't hit quickly, but he does hit hard. You usually won't encounter him at lower levels (except for a few pre-placed ones). There's a good chance of getting a decent weapon or armor piece off of him and he's usually toting a couple of hundred GP's.

Orc Shaman

(Armor 7, Health 18 to 74, Damage 2-20 + Spell [commonly Wizard's Fire and/or Invisibility]):

The Orc Shaman's favorite tactic is to blast you with a fire-based spell (at mid- to high levels), then turn invisible and try to beat you to death. It isn't unusual for them to be blown up by their own spells. If he turns invisible, just start swinging in that general direction and he'll walk right into it (no one ever claimed that Orcs were terribly bright). Treasure is commonly a few GP's, a couple of weapons and/or armor pieces and a few ingredients.

Centaurs

Centaur

(Armor 6, Health 14 to 42, Damage 5-15)

Their "Ho-ho!" is almost as annoying as "Halt! Halt! Halt!". Melee is their strong suit and they have enough hit points to stand for a few rounds. Treasure is usually money and weapons with an armor piece or two thrown in for spice.

Spriggans

Spriggan

(Armor -4, Health 12 to 26, Damage 1-8/1-8/1-10)

Walking trees. Tough hides (bark?) and lots of hit points. No missles from these guys. They like to slug it out and aren't very good at it. Treasure is potion ingredients and sometimes a few gold pieces. Supposedly they regenerate two or three times and come back at you, but I've never seen it.

Giants and Harpies

Giant

(Armor 3, Health 18 to 74, Damage 10-30)

Slow, big, ugly. But they hit HARD. Engage them with missiles or ranged spells if you don’t have many health points. Treasure is money and weapons with an occasional armor piece and/or ingredient.

Harpy

(Armor 2, Health 16 to 58, Damage 2-12/2-12/5-15 + Disease)

Flying uglies. They can inflict serious damage if you're not prepared and they also carry diseases (standard 0.5% chance of catching one). You need Dwarven or better weapons to hit. Treasure is usually a few GP and a couple of ingredients (like the Imp), but occasionally you'll come across a weapon or armor piece.

Nymphs

Nymph

(Armor 0, Health 15 to 50, Damage 1-5)

Naked girls. They don't damage your health; they drain your fatigue points. They don't have many hit points and aren't very good at melee. They can be encountered underwater. Treasure is usually a little money and a couple of ingredients.

Lamia and Dreugh:

Lamia

(Armor 6, Health 16 to 58, Damage 5-15 + damage fatigue)

Dreugh

(Armor 6, Health 13 to 34, Damage 5-15)

Always encountered underwater. Dreugh can sometimes be tough to hit because they're usually above you. No missiles or magic from these two; straight sluggers. Like the Nymph, the Lamia drains your fatigue points with each hit. Treasure for both is money and ingredients and an occasional weapon or armor piece.

Undead

Undead come in a variety of types. From the essentially annoying (Skeletal Wariors) to the truly deadly (Vampire Ancients and Ancient Liches). They can be encountered above ground, below ground and under water.

Skeletal Warrior

(Armor 2, Health 17 to 66, Damage 5-15)

They hit slowly and do not have a missile or magic attack. They're also very light. If you can position yourself just right you can hit them from the front and inflict damage when they slam the wall. In theory, edged weapons only do half damage. Once you've got a few levels they're strictly an annoyance. Treasure is a few coins, weapons and armor.

Zombie

(Armor 0, Health 52 to 66, Damage 15-50 + Disease)

They hit very slowly, but they hit hard. They've also got a lot of hit points. Don't try to stand toe-to-toe with them at lower levels. Either I've been very lucky or the disease part is wrong, but don't be surprised if it happens. Treasure is money and a couple of armor/weapons.

Wraith

(Armor 0, Health 20 to 90, Damage 20-45 + Spell [lightning, usually])

A spell attack followed by melee. Wraiths like to throw little fuzz-balls at you if you're far enough away. I haven't noticed any effect from them hitting and they never seem to reflect or absorb. In theory these are lightning balls, but if so, they don't work very well.

Ghost

(Armor 0, Health 17 to 66, Damage 10-35 + Spell [Wizard Rend])

A spell attack followed by melee. Ghosts like "Wizard Rend", but they will only hit you with it once. If there is a "Wizard Rend" effect already active on you, they will not throw others, but will close for melee instead. Since "Wizard Rend" has a range of "Touch", hitting Ghosts with missiles is a good defense. "Spell Reflection" also works very well.

You'll get to know Wraiths and Ghosts very well if you spend much time in Daggerfall between 7 pm and 5 am. You need Silver or better weapons to hit them. They move quickly, but hit slowly. They have a real problem with corners. If you can get them where they need to go around a corner to get to you, it's best to use missiles or run up and hit them a couple of times and then back off a few steps and do it again. Both are very difficult to see in dim conditions or after dark. Wraiths have dancing spots in them, but ghosts just have the red eyes. At night they'll turn kind of purple if you can get a light behind them. Treasure is an iffy proposition (most of the time they don't have any). When they do, it's usually one item: money, armor, weapon or ingredient. I have picked up the occasional magic item from them, though. You can pick their pockets (go figure).

Mummy

(Armor 2, Health 17 to 66, Damage 5-15 + Disease)

Hits pretty decently (I think the damage range given by Bethesda is a little on the low side) and the possibility of disease can be a major pain. Decent treasure if you like money and the occasional ingredient.

Vampire

(Armor -2, Health 28 to 154, Damage 20-50 + Spell + Disease + Vampirism)

Likes to sling fuzz-balls at you (Sleep, I think) and then close for melee. They're all female, they hit slowly and don't hit very well, but a real owie when they do connect. Their biggest weapon is their chance of infecting you with vampirism AND other diseases. Fortunately you shouldn’t run into them until you've got the levels to handle yourself. Treasure is money and lots of ingredients. Occasionally they'll have miscellaneous items like a holy dagger or holy tomes (don't ask me why - this is one of those illogical logic things) or a weapon.

Vampire Ancient

(Armor -5, Health 30 to 170, Damage 20-60 + Spell + Vampirism)

A very nasty character. Unless he's pre-placed, you probably won't run into him until you're well over 10th level. He likes spells that can put a severe hurt on you (Paralysis and Shock are his favorites). He hits VERY HARD and closes very fast. Spell Reflection is a must with this guy and you must have Mithril or better weapons to hit him. Treasure is LOTS of money and ingredients with an occasional weapon or miscellaneous item.

Lich

(Armor -10, Health 30 to 170, Damage 70-100 + Spell)

I very seldom have encountered a lich underwater unless I knocked him there first or he was a quest object, but all things are possible. Essentially he's an undead version of the Spellsword or Nightblade. He hits very hard, though. Spell Reflection is helpful (he likes Shock, Fireball and Wizard Rend), but healing and good weapons are more helpful. He's not too picky about where he slings his spells, so it's not unusual that he will blow himself up while trying to get at you.

Ancient Lich

(Armor -12, Health 30 to 170, Damage 70-100 + Spell):

One tough customer. Heavy-duty spell attack (Shock, Fireball, Toxic Cloud, Lightning, Wizard Rend) and very good melee skills. Not for the faint of heart or low of level. Mithril or better weapons to hit him and he's usually got decent goodies.

Daedra

Daedra come in five varieties (aside from the Daedra Princes you can summon, but can't touch): Daedroth (sometimes called a Lesser Daedra), Daedra Seducer, Frost Daedra, Fire Daedra and Daedra Lord. You must have Mithril or better weapons to hit any of these guys.

Daedroth

(Armor 1, Health 27 to 146, Damage 15-50 + Spell)

Spell attack (usually Silence) plus very good melee skills. Mithril or better to hit them. The Fighers Guild isn't kidding when they say be prepared for a tough fight. Treasure is usually money, but there's another item occasionally.

Daedra Seducer

(Armor 1, Health 28 to 154, Attack 15-50 + Spell)

Likes to get in close, zap you with a spell, change into a female with dragon wings and then beat up on you. She's not quite as tough of a fighter as the Daedroth, but still a rough opponent. If you have Spell Reflection up her spells (usually "Energy Leech") will recharge your fatigue if she fails her save. Treasure is money and an occasional ingredient, but I've picked up a couple of armor pieces and weapons off of them, too.

Frost Daedra

(Armor -5, Health 25 to 130, Damage 50-100 + Spell [Ice Bolt/IceStorm])

Fire Daedra

(Armor 1, Health 26 to 138, Damage 15-50 + Spell [Fireball, Fire Storm])

Ranged spell attack (frost or fire, depending) followed by melee. These guys are hard hitters and have lots of hit points. Treasure is almost always money, though the Fire Daedra will occasionally carry something else.

Daedra Lord

(Armor -10, Health 30 to 170, Damage 70-100 + Spell [Shock, Fireball, Wizard Rend])

Easily as tough as the Ancient Lich. Likes to zap you then close for melee. Treasure is almost always money and ingredients.

Atronachs

(Armor 6, Health 25 to 140, Damage 5-15)

Four major varieties: Flesh, Iron, Ice and Fire, but their stats are the same. The original intent of the atronach seems to have been to mirror the four elements of medieval science: earth, air, fire and water. I don't know why this was abandoned, but the remnant of this idea shows up when you try to soul-trap an atronach. When soul trapped, the atronach changes to its appropriate element:

Iron Atronach becomes an Earth Atronach
Ice Atronach becomes a Water Atronach
Flesh Atronach becomes an Air Atronach
Fire Atronach becomes a Fire Atronach (just to keep you from getting cocky)

Atronachs are medium to light hitters, lots of hits points, and no treasure. From a combat perspective, they're about on a par with the Mummy, but no treasure. They are supposed to generate an aura that damages you according to their type, but this is not an active feature (at least not on my system). Their defense is their resistance to certain types of spells.

Fire-based spells will heal a Fire Atronach
Electricity-based spells will heal an Iron Atronach
Poison/Acid-based spells will heal a Flesh Atronach
Frost-based spells will heal an Ice Atronach.

They aren't immune from a good weapon strike, though. If you want money off these guys, pick their pockets before you kill them.

Gargoyles

(Armor 0, Health 19 to 82; Damage 10-15)

Gargoyles don't carry any treasure and have no special attacks. You usually don't start running into them until you're about 7th level. You need Mithril weapons or better to hit them.

Imp

(Armor 3, Health 11 to 18, Damage 2-15 + Spell)

They like "Shock" and area effect spells (like "Sphere of Negation"). The exception is the "Rogue Imp" you get from the Mages Guild. These sometimes have a couple of other spells up their sleeves, but their tactics are the same as regular imps. After they get off their one or two spells, they're easy to take out as long as you have Steel or better to swing at them. Treasure is usually less than 10 GP and a couple of cheapo ingredients.

Dragonling

(Armor 6, Health 14 to 42, Damage 5-15 + Spell [Fire-based]):

They can supposedly heal themselves, but I haven't seen it. Not bad for a baby, though, if true. They swing pretty frequently. Only the Dragonlings encountered on Knights Guild Quests can be soul-trapped and used in the item maker. All others can be soul-trapped, but they won't work in the item-maker. No treasure, so pickpocket them a few times before you off them.

Lycanthropes

Werewolf/Wereboar

(Armor 5, Health 14 to 42, Damage 1-10/1-10/2-12)

Lycanthropes come in two varieties: werewolf and wereboar, but their stats are the same. You must have Silver or better weapons to hit them. They carry no treasure (bummer). Their attacks can put a hurt on low-level characters, but at mid- to high-levels, they are strictly nuisances. There is a slight chance that any hit will infect you with Lycanthropy, so rest before exiting any dungeon where one has hit you. If you get a spooky dream, head for a temple.

DUNGEON CRAWLING

Throughout the next section on "Questing", you will encounter the phrase "standard dungeon crawl." This section will define the term and provide a few techniques to help your character navigate the dungeons successfully.

The term "standard dungeon crawl" derives from the most common kinds of quests you undertake. When you accept a quest, you accept a mission to accomplish something. This commonly involves venturing into the depths of some dungeon to kill or rescue an NPC or to retrieve some object. In this context, a "standard dungeon crawl" means, "go to the designated dungeon, enter, find the quest object (an item or an NPC), do to the object whatever is required, exit the dungeon, and report back to the NPC who assigned you the quest." I find it a lot easier to just say "standard dungeon crawl" than to repeat all of those instructions for every quest.

So let's take those steps, one at a time, and see how to accomplish them.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 686