THOUGHTS ON ENCHANTING ITEMS

Without doubt, magic is the very heart and soul of Daggerfall and, in my not-so-humble opinion, the item-maker is the most powerful feature of the game. In fact, this feature is so powerful that it is quite easy for a player to stack the odds in his favor and thus distort the player's abilities to the point where the game becomes a walk in the park. This is especially true at higher levels with spell effects tied to the caster's level.

To give credit to the game development team, they understood how powerful this feature was and took steps to limit its effects. For example, the player may only equip a limited number of items, those items can only hold a limited number of effects and they can only be had by players with both access to the item-maker AND the requisite amount of money (typically 10 GP per EP). Midnight Adventurer’s Supply and the Rusty Ogre Lodge pretty much removed the money restriction. Some judicious spell casting and doing/redoing a couple of easy quests takes care of the access problem, even for a 1st or 2nd level character (yes, I've been a 1st level Archmage). And now your character has the potential to become a veritable demigod at will (and that's not counting "cheat mode"). Beware of making the game too easy!

Magic item effects come in a lot of different flavors, but they boil down to about three general kinds. There are effects that make you better at what you do (like attribute and skill-enhancing effects), there are effects that allow you to do something you wouldn't normally be able to do (like additional magica points, spells that you couldn't normally cast or fixing items that you can't repair), and there are effects that simply make it easier for you to survive (like absorbing spells, regenerating health points, stronger armor, etc.). If you think of enchanted items as tools, then the process of creating tools is determined by how you plan to use the tool. In other words, what problem are you trying to fix?

Dealing with Hostile Magic: in the area of dealing with hostile magic, you have three choices. You can endure it, avoid it, or use it. To endure it, you either need resistance (Resist Fire, Resist Frost, etc.) or lots of health points (Heal). Avoiding it most easily done at the character generation stage with class resistances or immunities, but illusion-type effects (Invisibility, for example) can help you by decreasing the chances that spells will be tossed at you in the first place and successful "Far Silence" effects force hostile magic-users to fall back on melee rather than ranged magic. Using hostile magic means either absorbing it (Spell Absorption) or reflecting it back on the caster (Spell Reflection or Shalidor's Mirror). In the area of using hostile magic to your advantage, Spell Absorption can be dangerous. The effect is iffy at best and absorbing magic when your magica reserves are full can kill you. If you are going to rely on absorbing spells as a defensive measure, couple the effect with "Extra Spell Points Near <critter type>". When you get near the type of critter in question, your magica capacity will increase to allow room for the absorption to work. When you are out of range or the critter has gone to the happy hunting grounds, your magica will return to normal levels.

Dealing with Damage: same idea. Endure it or avoid it. If you have Namira’s Ring you can use the damage against the critter (sometimes), but it doesn't work against humans or animals and is only half effective against Daedra. To endure damage, effects such as "Shield" are helpful and "Heal" is a must-have. "Vampiric Effect When Strikes" lets you regain points (hopefully) quicker than you lose them and "Regenerate" or "Troll's Blood" lets you speed up the healing process while you're wandering around. Avoiding damage goes back to either avoiding the critters that hit you (illusion-type effects), making it harder for critters to hit ("Strengthens Armor" and "Enhances Skill: Dodging"), or "doing unto others before they can do unto you" (ranged offensive spells or Enhances Skill: Archery).

Dealing with Hostile Critters: avoid them or take them out before they take you out. Avoiding goes back to illusion-type effects and being sneaky. It was intended that the "Wizard Lock" effect would help keep hostile critters safely out of the way, but I haven't found that it works very well. In fact, it usually has the opposite effect: try to wizard lock one door and you wind up locking ALL doors. Great for the lockpicking skill; lousy for anything else. This is the area where players are tempted to load up on attribute-enhancing items. Because of the problems already mentioned with these items, I recommend using them only when you find yourself overmatched.

The key is to remember that the development team did not set up the game conditions for the player to lose (no one wants to buy a game they can't win -- a few really weird people excepted). By the same token, an easy win is OK once in a while, but gamers generally like a challenge. So the game parameters are set up to where the average character will have a somewhat difficult, but not impossible time in achieving his/her objective. That is why human critters generally equal your own level. The fighter that you encounter has a more or less equal probability of hitting you as you do of hitting him and inflicting a more or less equal amount of damage. And since they are about equal to you in level and are canned classes, they are going to be about as tough to kill as you are. The big difference is that their use of magic tends to restrict itself to offensive uses (they're supposed to die, remember?).

Dealing with Hostile Environments: four spell effects take care of just about everything you will ever encounter in this area: water breathing, water walking, levitate and open. Get some and use them with impunity.

ITEM POWERS

The aim of creating a magic item is to have it do something you need done (unless you just like seeing the swirly animation on your inventory screen). There are a variety of powers you can add to an item. Some are handier than others; some are costlier than others. The following tables list the powers that can be added and the cost in Enchantment Points (EP's). The cost in GP is ten times the EP cost. For example, an item with 1750 EP in powers would cost 17,500 GP. You may add no more than 8 powers or side effects and the total number of powers and side effects may not exceed 10. So you may give your item 8 powers and 2 side effects or 8 side effects and 2 powers (if you're truly masochistic) or something in between as long as there are no more than 10 total.

Cast When Held

When an item is created with these powers, the effect is operational as long as the item is equipped. Because the power will be continuously operational, the items tend to wear out a bit faster if they are equipped for long periods of time. Spells will be renewed automatically as the duration expires. Special care should be taken with items that enhance attributes. Extended wear of the item can actually lower the attribute after the item is unequipped. Spell duration and effects are as per the purchased spell. Comments are the spell description from the game manual plus any personal observations from my own experience in using the power.

Chameleon Form (210 EP’s): "If caster does not move, he or she is mostly camouflaged, as per an "Invisibility" spell." And the big, bad, scary monster will just wait until you move and dispel the effect. Don't bother.

Free Action (1650 EP’s): "High-level chance of curing, and creating an immunity to, paralysis for the duration of the spell." If you're not a High Elf, you really need this spell effect at some point. I've never experienced a spell failure with this one while it was active, but it has failed when cast after being paralyzed.

Invisibility (540 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of causing caster to vanish." No chance involved. You actually do vanish until you attack something or the spell expires. But each critter gets a chance to see through the illusion. This effect is more effective in an item as "Cast When Used" unless you use the Invisibility (True) effect. This is one of those effects that doesn’t automatically renew itself. If you attack something, you must unequip and reequip the item to renew the spell.

Levitate (330 EP’s): "Causes caster to become weightless and able to float in any direction for the duration of the spell." A must-have effect, especially for non-spell-casters.

Resist Cold, Resist Fire, Resist Shock (1560 EP’s): "Improves the caster's chance of resisting spells based on the <Frost/Fire/Electricity> element." Character takes half damage or no damage from attacks based on the appropriate element.

Resist Poison (1650 EP’s): "Improves the caster's chance of resisting spells based on the poison or acid elements." Again, you take half damage (failed save) or no damage (successful save) from spells based on those elements.

Slowfall (240 EP’s): "Slows the descent of the caster when falling, so little damage is taken on impact." Your path of descent is a straight line from the launch point. You cannot maneuver while slowfalling. Best to use when stepping off backwards so enemies can't get free shots at you while your nose is stuck up against the wall.

Shadow Form (150 EP’s): "Improves the caster's ability to hide in the shadows, moving invisibly in dark places." My Thief is attempting to "Hide in Shadows" in the hope that the monsters will pass him by without seeing him. Yeah, right. If you have to do this, do it with Invisibility.

Spell Absorption (1720 EP’s): "Creates a sphere around caster to disperse targeted spells, replenishing the caster's reserves." Chance of success is based on your level rather than your INT/WIL average. Functions much better with higher level PC’s.

Spell Reflection (1720 EP’s): "Creates a sphere around caster to reflect targeted spells back toward their source." This is probably the handiest power to have at higher levels. It does not appear to work with traps; only with live casters. Unfortunately, Shalidor's Mirror is not available in a "cast when held" form.

Spell Resistance (1230 EP’s): “Creates a sphere to dilute and disperse low level spells targeted at the caster.” Increases your saving throw against hostile magic.

Tongues (1590 EP’s): Casts "Comprehend Languages" "Caster can read, speak and understand other languages for the duration of the spell." Of limited utility since languages were not fully implemented in the game.

Troll’s Blood (920 EP’s): "Regenerates caster's health continuously while spell is active." Rate of regeneration is slow.

Water Breathing (170 EP’s): "Allows the caster to breathe in an underwater environment for the duration of the spell." A must-have spell effect if you're not a spell-caster. If you are a spell caster, you can probably live with out it since it’s a cheapie Alteration spell.

Water Walking (170 EP’s): “Allows the caster to walk on the surface of water for the duration of the spell." Allows you to move underwater (not on the surface) at about your normal overland movement rate rather than the swimming rate, which is based on swimming skill.

Orc Strength (1200 EP’s): "Temporarily boosts caster's Strength attribute." Boost is about 15 points.

Wisdom (1200 EP’s): "Temporarily boosts caster's Intelligence attribute." Boost is about 15 points.

Iron Will (1200 EP’s): "Temporarily boosts caster's Willpower attribute." Boost is about 15 points.

Nimbleness (1200 EP’s): "Temporarily boosts caster's Agility attribute." Boost is about 15 points.

Feet of Notorgo (1200 EP’s): "Temporarily boosts caster's Speed attribute." Boost is about 15 points.

Fortitude (1200 EP’s): "Temporarily boosts caster's Endurance attribute." Boost is about 15 points.

Charisma (1200 EP’s): "Temporarily boosts caster's Personality attribute." Boost is about 15 points.

Jack of Trades (1200 EP’s): "Temporarily boosts caster's Luck attribute." Boost is about 15 points.

Cast When Used

Items will have a limited number of uses (using them wears them out) and can be accessed either through the inventory screen or by using the "U" hot-key. Spell duration and effects are per the purchased versions of the spells. Comments are the spell description from the game manual and any personal observations from my own use of the effects.

Levitate (330 EP’s): "Causes caster to become weightless and able to float in any direction for the duration of the spell." A must-have effect, especially for non-spell-casters.

Light (250 EP’s): "Creates a sphere of light around the caster, improving visibility for the duration." Actually creates a floating candle in front of the caster, which illuminates the area. Has a bad tendency to go behind objects when you get close to them.

Invisibility (540 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of causing caster to vanish." Caster vanishes until he attacks something or the spell expires. The “medium level” part apparently comes from the saving throw nearby critters are allowed. Each critter gets a chance to see you, but it works pretty well if you are not within melee range at the time. I find this version much handier than the “Cast When Held” version (even though the cost the same).

Wizard’s Fire (480 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, inflicting low-to medium-level damage." A handy, but also common, spell effect. You might want to pass this one up in favor of finding or buying a premade item.

Shock (380 EP’s): "Shocks the next creature struck by the caster with lightning-based medium-level damage." This is fairly effective since you must be in melee range to start with. For high-level characters, it can be very useful for taking down an opponent quickly since damage is based on your level.

Strength Leech (480 EP’s): "Transfers Strength attribute points from target to caster on a successful strike." The effect does not transfer strength, but rather reduces the target's strength. The Duration part does not seem to be functional and the critter usually makes its save.

Free Action (1650 EP’s): "High-level chance of curing, and creating an immunity to, paralysis for the duration of the spell." If you're not a High Elf, you really need this effect. I've never experienced a spell failure with this one while it's active, but I've had it fail a few times while trying to cure paralysis.

Open (900 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of unlocking a mundane or magically-locked door." The spell is not too terribly effective against magic locks, especially at lower levels, but persistence will pay off in the long run and it works a lot better than wearing out your weapons or knuckles trying to bash it in.

Resist Cold, Resist Fire, Resist Shock (1560 EP’s): "Improves the caster's chance of resisting spells based on the _____ element." Handy if you know what's coming your way.

Wizard Lock (1740 EP’s): Holds door securely locked for the duration of the spell." Critters that can’t open doors NEVER come through closed doors, and critters that CAN open doors won’t let you keep it closed long enough to get the spell off. Some players have reported that using this spell locks all doors in the game. Personally, I’d pass this one up as either useless or buggy.

Fireball (470 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, delivering medium- to high-level damage." No good if you’re at melee range. If you have to take a fire-based, ranged effect, consider using Wizard's Fire (480 EP’s) since it gives you continuous damage.

Cure Poison (1020 EP’s): "High-level chance of curing caster of poisons." The spell did not work in earlier versions of the game. This effect was fixed in one of the later patches, but an intermittent bug will sometimes turn the poison into a disease, so be cautious. If you have health points to spare, the poison will usually wear off in a few rounds.

Ice Bolt (990 EP’s): "Fires a ball of frost which inflicts medium- to high-level damage to a single target." Same effect as Fireball, except frost-based.

Shield (1040 EP’s): Creates a temporary shield around caster, capable of absorbing damage meant for the caster." Very handy at lower levels, but the effect and duration aren’t very large at lower levels. One hit can usually dispel it. 'Course it's better than taking the damage yourself.

Spell Shield (1980 EP’s): "Creates a sphere to dilute and disperse low- to medium-level spells targeted at the caster." A very good effect for lower level characters that won’t get consistent effects from 'Shalidor's Mirror' or 'Spell Reflection'.

Silence (1530 EP’s): "Quiets the next creature struck by the caster, making spellcasting impossible for the duration." A favorite spell of Daedroths and spell casters up to about 5th to 7th level. It's nice to be able to return the favor, but with a range of "touch", you'll never be able to beat the computer in getting the spell off before the other guy. Opt for "Far Silence" if you can.

Troll’s Blood (920 EP’s): "Regenerates caster's health continuously while spell is active." The rate of regeneration is slow and the spell wears off too quickly. It's a stopgap measure if you don't have 'Heal' and/or aren't in an area where you can safely rest. If you must have this effect, take it as a “Cast When Held” effect.

Ice Storm (1420 EP’s): "Fires a ball of frost which explodes on contact, delivering medium-level damage to all within range." Not terribly effective against cold-based critters and very easy to catch yourself within the area of effect. A very nice effect if you can catch your target at range, though.

Fire Storm (840 EP’s): "Creates a fiery aura around caster, delivering medium-level damage to all within its boundaries." I’ve not had too much success with this effect. Maybe you’ll be luckier than me.

Resist Poison (1650 EP’s): "Improves the caster's chance of resisting spells based on the poison or acid elements." A very nice effect to have when you know you’re going to be encountering assassins. It’s much nicer as a “Cast When Held” effect, though.

Wildfire (1020 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, inflicting medium-level damage and then low-level damage as the fire continues to burn." Not effective against fire-based critters, but the continuous damage part can take down a big critter if you see it early enough.

Spell Drain (1300 EP’s): "Drains magica from a target on a successful strike." A beefed-up version of 'Magica Leech" Only effective against spell-casters and they usually make their saving throws. ‘Course all critters have 100% resistance to spells you never cast.

Toxic Cloud (1020 EP’s): "Fires a ball of acid at a single target, inflicting medium-level damage." Description does not jive with the effect, which is an area-effect spell. In either event, not too many critters have natural acid/poison resistances.

Wizard Rend (1610 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of paralyzing and silencing a target successfully struck." This is what Ghosts like to toss at you -- very nasty for spell-casters and at higher levels it can put a severe hurt on one.

Shalidor’s Mirror (1930 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of reflecting spells fired at caster back to the aggressor mage." The chance is based on your level, but it’s higher than for Spell Reflection. A VERY handy effect to have around in areas populated by spell casting critters.

Lightning (760 EP’s): "Fires a ball of lightning at a single target, delivering high-level damage." Although the effect more or less mirrors similar spells (Fireball, Acid Bolt, Ice Bolt, etc.) it never seems to do anything to the target. I'm not sure whether this is a bug on my system or whether almost everything is immune to electricity. Not a very effective spell in my experience.

Medusa’s Gaze (2140 EP’s): "Medium- to high-level chance of paralyzing a target on a successful strike." Very useful when you can see your target before it sees you.

Force Bolt (3030 EP’s): "Fires a ball of energy at a single target, delivering high-level damage and a chance of paralysis." Small chance at paralysis from what I've seen, but fairly effective with higher level characters. Lower level characters might want to save their money.

God’s Fire (1750 EP’s): "Fires a ball of energy at a single target, delivering very high-level damage." It packs a big punch and the continuous damage is great if you can spell the target while it's a goodly distance away from you. Humans will literally keel over while trying to shoot you with arrows.

Stamina (130 EP’s): "Replenishes lost stamina, invigorating the caster." A very useful spell and very cheap to include in an item.

Heal (360 EP’s): "Heals low-to medium-level wounds of the caster." A must-have for all dungeon crawlers. Fortunately it's a relatively common item effect in treasure items. Don't waste your money on making one yourself unless you absolutely have to.

Balyna’s Antidote (930 EP’s): "Medium-level chance of curing caster of paralysis, poison and mundane diseases." This is the only power that includes curing diseases. Very useful at lower levels, especially if there isn't a temple handy.

Recall (480 EP’s): "The first casting of the spell sets an immovable anchor. The second casting instantly teleports the caster to the location of the anchor" Next to "Heal" this will probably be the most used spell in your inventory. Exercise extreme caution in setting anchors inside buildings. It's very easy to fall into the void when trying to teleport into a building.

Cast When Strikes

The following spells will be cast whenever the item strikes its target. This means it won't work on anything other than weapons (and maybe gauntlets in Hand-to-Hand). Comments are the spell description from the game manual plus any personal observations from using the effects.

Paralysis (1620 EP’s): "Medium level chance of immobilizing the target for the duration of the spell." Paralyzed targets are great opportunities to develop pickpocketing and backstabbing skills. Paralyzed targets are moved backwards each time you strike them in melee, so you'll have to move forward to re-engage them after a couple of hits.

Hand of Sleep (780 EP’s): "Destroys stamina from a target with a successful strike." Might be a good effect for a missile weapon, but why bother to damage fatigue when you're in melee and the critter is beating on you? You’re probably going to kill it before it goes to sleep in front of you.

Vampiric Touch (1380 EP’s): "Transfers health from a target to the caster by touch." I haven't had much success with the duration and, as a spell effect, the target gets a saving throw. I find "Vampiric Effect" to be much more workable (and at a cheaper cost, too).

Magica Leech (930 EP’s): "Transfers inherent magica energy from a target to the caster on a successful strike." Doesn't work if the target has no magica (animals, some undead, some humanoids) and should read, “Drains magica,” rather than “Transfers magica.” If you're going to use this effect, use it in a missile weapon since the time to worry about a spell caster is BEFORE he's close enough to zap you.

Hand of Decay (1830 EP’s): "Low to medium-level chance of disintegrating a target with a successful strike." Cheaper than "Sphere of Negation" with slightly better chances of success. If you want to put a disintegration spell into a weapon, this is a good one to choose.

Wildfire (1020 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, inflicting medium-level damage and then low-level damage as the fire continues to burn." The continuous damage is nice if you can put this into a bow and catch the critter at range.

Ice Storm (1420 EP’s): "Fires a ball of frost which explodes on contact, delivering medium-level damage to all within range." Very bad news. This is an area effect spell and you're within the area of effect when it goes off. Much better to put this one into a missile weapon and catch the critter(s) at range.

Fire Storm (840 EP’s): "Creates a fiery aura around caster, delivering medium-level damage to all within its boundaries." A handy effect when they're ganging up on you (it's an area spell). The "Continuous Damage" part doesn't work very well on my system.

Ice Bolt (990 EP’s): "Fires a ball of frost which inflicts medium- to high-level damage to a single target." Not effective against critters like Frost Daedra or Ice Atronachs. Decent damage at higher levels and Continuous Damage really needs to be in a missile weapon, not a melee weapon.

Wizard’s Fire (480 EP’s): "Fires a ball of flame at a single target, inflicting low-to medium-level damage." Not effective against fire-based critters. Slightly lower damage than Ice Bolt (might be a mistake in the spell file, though). Again, Continuous Damage effects are more useful in ranged weapons rather than melee weapons.

Sphere of Negation (4230 EP’s): "Creates a sphere around the caster which may disintegrate any sentient form trapped in its radius." An expensive enchantment and one that is best NOT used on a weapon since it will be cast each time the weapon strikes and, consequently, wear out the item faster. But if you have the GP's to spare, it's a great effect, even if the chance of success is a little lower than "Hand of Decay".

Energy Leech (1260 EP’s): "Transfers stamina from target to caster with a successful strike." Handy when you need to avoid resting. Best if combined with another effect or used in a small weapon that can be equipped and unequipped quickly.

Other Item Powers

There are a variety of other powers that you can embed in an item. Many are very useful; some are not so useful. The following describes these powers with EP cost for each power and a few comments from my own experience.

Side Effects

So, you've picked out all of your enchantments and found that the item won't hold them. You can increase the EP potential of your item by adding various side effects to the item. If you're feeling particularly masochistic, you can give your item some side effects with no powers just to make life hard for yourself. Some side effects are an annoyance; some can be pretty deadly. One thing to keep in mind is that you can't give item side effects that cancel out one or more of the powers. For example, you can't give an item a "Feather Weight" power and an "Extra Weight" side effect (but you can add "Feather Weight" and then soul bind an critter which has an "Extra Weight" side effect). In the table that follows you'll find the name of the side effect, the conditions under which it operates, how many extra EP's you get for the effect and my comments from my use of the side effect.

Soul Binding

You can increase the EP potential of the items you create by the process of soul binding. In order to soul-bind an item you need to have a soul gem with something inside it. You may buy soul gems from Mages Guilds (rank 4 and above), Assassins Guilds (rank 5 and above) and from some temples. The gems look like diamonds and may be empty or contain some creature (the description box will tell you what the gem contains when you examine it using the "info" button). If you buy empty soul gems, you must buy or make a soul-trap spell in order to fill it.

When you're ready to fill the soul gem, cast the soul-trap spell at the creature you want to collect. The creature gets a saving throw against the spell, so you'll either see "Trap Active" or "Spell effect failed" at the top of your screen. Once you get the "Trap Active" message, you must kill the creature before the spell duration expires. Once this is accomplished, the creature's soul is trapped inside the gem and ready for use. Randomly encountered Dragonlings may be soul trapped, but will not work in the item-maker. The only Dragonlings which will work in the item maker are those which you go after on Knightly Order quests or which you buy from the guild. Please note you may not soul bind humans.

"Danger, Will Robinson": If you have cast a "Soul Trap" spell and do not have an empty receptacle, the creature WILL NOT DIE until the spell duration expires. You can inflict hundreds, nay, thousands of points of damage on it and it will just stand there and sneer at you. On the other hand, when the spell expires, a good sneeze will take care of it.

Once you have a filled gem, you may use it by selecting the "Soul Bound" disadvantage on the item-maker screen. In the unpatched version of the game, it was possible to bind multiple souls into an item. This ability was removed with the v.195 patch.

The major disadvantage of soul binding is that when the item breaks, the creature you bound is released. It will appear somewhere nearby, and will not be a happy camper. In the case of most creatures, this is more of an annoyance than a threat. In some cases (e.g. Daedra Lords, Vampire Ancients, and Ancient Liches), the release of the creature can result in a major confrontation.

In addition to the EP's they provide, some souls will add advantages or disadvantages to the item you create. These advantages/disadvantages take up slots and may reduce the number of powers and side effects available to give the item. Some souls cost additional GP to bind. If there is a number in parentheses below the creature's name, it is the cost in GP to bind the soul into the item, if there is no number, then the soul-bound disadvantage is a freebie.

THE CALENDAR

The game designers did not want to mess with strange orbital and rotational periods, so the calendar of Tamriel is simple: 24 hours per day, 30 days per month, 23 months per year. There is a major holiday throughout the Bay at least once per month and individual provinces and regions have their own holidays. Most major holidays have some benefit to your character, but local holidays are for atmosphere only.

DAEDRA SUMMONING

Unless you just like spending a few hundred thou', the only reason to summon a Daedra is to get an artifact.

There are only three ways to summon a Daedra:

each Mages Guild has a Daedra Summoner available to members of rank 6 or higher;

most temples have a Daedra Summoner available to members of the appropriate rank (usually rank 7);

Witches Covens will summon for anyone who has the money

Each Daedra Prince has a particular day of the year when he/she/it can be summoned with a reasonable degree of certainty. Temples and Mages Guilds will only summon on those days. If you try to summon on any other day, you will be politely referred to the library to go do a little research. The base cost to summon is 100,000 gold pieces, plus an additional amount of up to 100,000. This additional amount is modified by your rep with the summoner, so the higher your rep, the less it will cost you.

Witches Covens will summon every day, but the Daedra Prince is randomly determined each day. The Glenmorial Witches will only summon Hircine, however. The odds of a Prince showing up is determined by your rep with that Prince, but there is always a 5% chance that Sheogorath will show up, so save the game before attempting any summoning. The cost to summon at a coven is a base 100,000 plus an additional 100,000 minus your rep with the coven times 1000 (for the non-math-impaired, that's (100K + (100K - (rep * 1000)))). The higher your rep with the coven, the less it costs.

Finding a Witches Coven is the hard part. There are a couple of noble quests you can get that will net you a map showing the location of a coven. Covens appear as black squares on the overland map. The second way requires having the v.212 or v.213 patch installed and using the appropriate cheat code (<ctrl>+f1 in this case) to make everything show up on the overland map.

If you don't want to mess with that, the following are maps and directions to the various covens. Traveling cross-country is slow going, so if you want to make it easier, install the v.212 or v.213 patch and use the super-speed cheat (the "1" key) to get there faster. Except for The Coven of the Peaks and the Tamarilyn Coven maps (which are mine), all other maps and directions are courtesy of Bethesda Softworks.

Daggerfall: Coven on the Bluff is on the western seacoast. To find it, go south from the Burning Martyr of Kynareth.

Ilessan Hills: Glenmorial Coven is located in the eastern central area of the province. Go north-northwest of Old Chrystausa's Place

Shalgora: Daggerfall Coven is on the border with the Daggerfall province. Go south-southwest from Woodham Manor.

Daenia: Beldama Coven is in the north central area of the province. It is south of Greenham Manor and northeast of The Old Masterhouse Shack.

Phrygias: Skeffington Coven is near the border in the south central area. Go west from Old Barbyn’s Farm.

Alcaire: Alcaire Coven is in the northwestern area near the border. Go southeast from The Ashsmith Plantation.

Wrothgarian Mts: Wroth Coven is near the southeast edge of the map. Go east from Deerville.

Dragontail Mts: Devilrock Coven is on the northern coast. Go west from the Joyous Altar of Arkay.

Dragontail Mts: Coven of the Peaks is down in the southeastern corner of the map. Go south from the Reliquary of Sai, East from Old Khoctba's Shack, or northwest from the Baircta Farmstead.

Dak'fron: Kycos Coven is in the central/southwest area. Go west from Cerumbator.

Alik’r Desert: Coven in the Marsh is on the northern border, near the middle. Go northwest from the Gentle Star of Stendarr.

Antiphyllos: Coven in the Dust is in the western part of the province. Go northeast from the Perpetual Sunrise of Mara.

Myrkwasa: Coven of the Tide is about in the middle of the province. Go southeast from Rhanotujer or northwest from Thofyl Manor.

Menevia: Tamarilyn Coven is near the end of the small peninsula. Go east from The Dunyak Excavation or northwest from Tamborne.

ARTIFACTS

Artifacts are super-nifty magical items that usually do more than one thing. They can be obtained by characters who complete certain quests. On the whole, most artifacts can be replicated in an Item-Maker, although some serious side-effects are usually required to balance out the powers. Some artifacts (the Oghma Infinium, for example) cannot be replicated.

There are two general types of artifacts available in the game: aligned and non-aligned. Aligned artifacts are obtained through the process of summoning a Daedra Prince and completing the required quest. Non-aligned artifacts can only be obtained through Knights Guild quests (available only to members of the guild). It has been said that a player can only have one artifact at a time. This is completely false. A player can have as many artifacts as he/she can gather and, for the non-aligned artifacts, as many of the same artifact as he/she can get quests for.

Most artifacts allegedly disappear after a year and a day, but it has been my experience that they simply wear out, the same as any other magical item. However, like any other magical item, an item with the “Repair” power can repair them.

Aligned Artifacts

There are sixteen aligned artifacts in the game. These can only be obtained through summoning the appropriate Daedra Prince. Be aware that there is always a 5% chance of Sheogorath appearing at any summoning and the chance increases if it's raining at the time. Also, it has been my experience that refusing the artifact quest runs a 50-50 chance of crashing the game (error 116), at least when dealing with Sheogorath when he shows up unexpectedly. Helpful hint: save before summoning. Here are the aligned artifacts in order of their summoning dates. The description of the artifact is what you will see when you click on the item in “Info” mode. It is taken from the text.rsc file.

Masque of Clavicus Vile

Daedra Prince: Clavicus Vile

Summoning Date: 1st of Morning Star

Description: Ever the vain one, Clavicus Vile made a masque suited to his own personality. The bearer of the masque is more likely to get a positive response from the people of Tamriel. The higher his personality, the larger the bonus. The best known story of the masque tells the tale of Avalea, a noblewoman of some renown. As a young girl, she was grossly disfigured by a spiteful servant. Avalea made a dark deal with Clavicus Vile and received the masque in return. Though the masque did not change her looks, suddenly she had the respect and admiration of everyone. A year and a day after her marriage to a well connected baron, Clavicus reclaimed his masque. Although pregnant with his child, Avalea was banished from the baron's household. Twenty one years and one day later, Avalea's daughter claimed her vengeance by slaying the baron.

Comments: For those with a strong need to be loved and appreciated, the Masque is tailor made. Essentially the same as an item with an "increases reputation" effect, which takes one of your ring slots (go figure). Like most artifacts, the quest is to descend to the depths of some dungeon and off someone (a werebeastie in this case) and then go collect your artifact.

Ring of Khajiiti

Daedra Prince: Meridia

Summoning Date: 13th of Morning Star

Description: The Ring of the Khajiiti is an ancient relic, hundreds of years older than Rajhin, the thief who made the Ring famous. It was Rajhin who used the Ring's powers to make himself as invisible, silent, and quick as a breath of wind. Using the Ring he became the most successful burglar in Elsweyr's history. Rajhin's eventual fate is a mystery, but according to legend, the Ring rebelled against such constant use and disappeared, leaving Rajhin helpless before his enemies.

Comments: It casts Invisibility and Feet of Notorgo, which can be replicated in an Item-Maker.

Wabbajack

Daedra Prince: Sheogorath

Summoning Date: 2nd of Sun's Dawn (5% at any Daedric Summoning)

Description: Madness and chaos are the trademarks of Sheogorath. The Wabbajack embodies these same traits. Using the artifact on a creature will transform it into something else. The creature can become any one of the following monsters: rat, imp, spriggan, giant bat, grizzly bear, spider, nymph, harpy, skeletal warrior, giant, zombie, giant scorpion, iron atronach, flesh atronach, ice atronach, fire atronach, lich. The problem is the bearer has no way of controlling the transformation. He could change a giant bat into a lich, or a fire atronach into a rat.

Comments: Wabbajack is a fun artifact. It looks like a staff made of iron, but when you strike your opponent, it is changed into something else. Multiple strikes do not yield multiple transformations. One of the benefits of using Wabbajack is that you usually wind up with two sets of treasure (the original treasure and the treasure that the new critter has). The problem is that you have no control over what you get, so use it cautiously and be prepared for anything.

Sanguine Rose

Daedra Prince: Sanguine

Summoning Date: 16th of Sun's Dawn

Description: The Sanguine Rose is not an artifact most folk would care to have. It summons a lesser daedra to the user. The daedra will attack any other creature in the area except the bearer of the rose. The rose is like any other in that it will wilt. The more of its power that is used, the more wilted it becomes. Eventually all its petals fall off and it loses its powers. Somewhere in Oblivion a new rose blooms and is plucked by Sanguine herself to be given to a new champion.

Comments: I don't know why Sanguine is referred to as "her" because she looks a lot like a he. But if having Daedra do your fighting for you is what you want, then the Rose is what you need.

Oghma Infinium

Daedra Prince: Hermaeus Mora

Summoning Date: 5th of First Seed

Description: The Oghma Infinium is a tome of knowledge written by the Ageless One, the wizard-sage Xarses. All who read the Infinium are filled with the energy of the artifact which can be manipulated to raise one's abilities to near demi-god proportions. Once used, legend has it, the Infinium will disappear from its wielder. It leaves one with 50 bonus points to distribute among the character's attributes as one wants.

Comments: The Oghma is arguably the most useful of the artifacts. How much more useful can you get than 30 attribute points to distribute as you like? Unlike other artifact quests, you are to assassinate someone in a town. The actual assassination is usually not a problem, but the friends of the victim (rangers/barbarians/knights) make getting away again a tad difficult. Afterwards, you'll find your contact in a library in a different town (easy enough since there are rarely more than one or two libraries in a town).

Azura's Star

Daedra Prince: Azura

Summoning Date: 21st of First Seed

Description: Few mortals have the stomach to trade in souls. The Dark Brotherhood does it, as do certain groups within the Mages Guild. For these cruel folk, Azura's Star has a particular fascination. The Star acts as a reusable soul gem. The soul of any creature killed by the bearer of the Star is trapped within it. If the Star already carries a soul, nothing happens. Using Azura's Star empties it, freeing the trapped soul to make its journey to Oblivion. Azura's Star can be used to make magical items over and over and over.

Comments: For those with access to an Item-Maker, but who don't want to blow 5000gp a pop for a soul gem or take the chance of their Soul Trap spell failing, Azura's Star is the solution to their problems. The Star is a reusable soul gem and looks like a big, blue, multi-faceted gem. When equipped (it takes up an Amulet slot), the next creature killed is automatically placed in the gem, ready for soul binding. Rumor (actually one of the forums on CompuServe) maintained that it was possible to soul-trap humans with Azura's Star. I have tried multiple times and not been able to do this. Using the item will harmlessly release the trapped soul and the Star is ready for another occupant.

Spell Breaker

Daedra Prince: Peryite

Summoning Date: 9th of Rain's Hand

Description: Spell Breaker, superficially a Dwarven tower shield, is one of the most ancient relics of Tamriel. Aside from its historic importance dating from the Battle of Rourken-Shalidor, the Spell Breaker protects its wielder almost completely from any spellcaster, either by dispelling magicks or silencing any mage about to cast a spell. It is said that the Breaker still searches for its original owner, and will not remain the property of any one else for long. For most, possessing Spell Breaker for any time is power enough. Spells: Free action and Spell Reflection

Comments: Superficially, Spell Breaker looks like a rainbow-colored tower shield. Other than that, it pretty much does what it says.

Ring of Namira

Daedra Prince: Namira

Summoning Date: 9th of Second Seed

Description: Namira is aligned with the darker side of nature, as is her ring. While the ring is being worn, any damage the bearer takes is suffered by the attacker as well. Spells and missile attacks are ignored. How much damage the attacker suffers depends upon his nature. Animals and Spriggans take no damage, being creatures of nature. Daedric beings only take half the damage they do, being supernatural creatures. Humanoids and monsters take full damage. Undead take twice the damage they dole out, because they are wholly unnatural creatures.

Comments: Hit me, will ya? A fun artifact for the revenge-oriented, but make sure you have more hit points than your opponent before relying on the Ring to save your bacon. If you have a lot of health, a critter (especially an undead) will literally kill itself.

Hircine Ring

Daedra Prince: Hircine

Summoning Date: 5th of Mid-Year or any date by Glenmorial Coven

Description: The curse of lycanthropy has its advantages. The incredible strength, speed, ferocity of a werebeast make it a fearsome opponent. There are, of course, disadvantages. The bearer of the Hircine Shield can choose when to be a lycanthrope and when not. Essentially this gives him all the advantages with few of the negatives.

Comments: The Glenmorial Witches will only summon Hircine, but they will do it on any day. So if you're shaggy, in need of help, have a couple of hundred thou' to spare, and stumble across one of their covens, you're set. The Ring (actually a Buckler Shield that occupies a ring slot) allows the wearer to assume wereform at will and it removes the need to feed on the innocent. If you are not a Lycanthrope, the Ring will do nothing for you.

Skull of Corruption

Daedra Prince: Vaernima

Summoning Date: 10th of Sun's Height

Description: Using the Skull of Corruption on an opponent creates a duplicate

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1577