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Walkthrough · The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall - Elder Scrolls 2:Daggerfall walkthrough - pre

Contributor
Dave Humphrey, Andrew Frankling, Michael Bodenhoff
Last updated
July 27, 2026
Sections
27
Reading time
30 min read

THE ELDER SCROLLS CHAPTER 2: DAGGERFALL FAQ, version 0.97

*Authors:

Dave Humphrey
Andrew Frankling
Michael Bodenhoff

CHANGES SINCE THE LAST EDITION (version 0.96)

  1. Updated Demo Information
  2. Updated DAGGERFALL Preview
  3. Updated Monster Descriptions
  4. Updated Bug Alert! Section
  5. Updated DAGGERFALL FAQ Locations
  6. Expanded Wrap Up Section.
  7. Updated information about the DAGGERFALL Box Cover Artwork
  8. Updated DAGGERFALL Release Date
  9. Added an Assumption to the Encounters Section
  10. Updated DAGGERFALL Description
  11. Renamed DAGGERFALL System Requirements Area & Updated it

INDEX

(1) General Information - Answer to some basic questions (2) Description of DAGGERFALL - What features DAGGERFALL will include (3) DAGGERFALL Previews - Info about the Poster and Screenshots (4) Encounters - Info on what you are up against (5) Artifacts - Serious Hardware (6) Bug Alert! - No it isn't only your computer (7) Information about BETHESDA Softworks - Some info on an awesome company (8) DAGGERFALL Information Sources - Where to find DAGGERFALL information, where all this came from (9) Wrap Up - That's all for now

(1) GENERAL INFORMATION =============================================

What is DAGGERFALL anyway?

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THE ELDER SCROLLS (TES) CHAPTER 2:DAGGERFALL is the sequel to the award winning role playing game TES:ARENA released in 1993. DAGGERFALL will be 'free-form' 1st person perspective (you know, like DOOM) role playing game. A 'free-form' game is a game in which the player has a large, sometimes infinite, choice of what to do, unlike some games where the player has to do everything in a given order in at given time and sequence. See (2) for a detailed description of what features DAGGERFALL will include.

When will DAGGERFALL be released?

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*The current official Bethesda policy is "Late January 1996". If you order the DAGGERFALL Limited Edition you are "guaranteed" to get it earlier than this.

Its release date was initially going to be February 1995.

Tell me about the Demo

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The DAGGERFALL Demo is out.

The demo is currently 10.3 MB zipped (46 MB unzipped), which
includes a swap file on your hard drive similar to the one in
Windows 3.1x.

It is available from:
[url=http://www.bethsoft.com/cgi-bin/daggerfall.cgi]http://www.bethsoft.com/cgi-bin/daggerfall.cgi[/url]:
[url=http://happypuppy.com/games/link/daggerfa.htm]http://happypuppy.com/games/link/daggerfa.htm[/url]

Is should eventually be available from CDs on Game Magazines.

Download dagdemo1.zip (5.38MB), dagdemo2.zip (4.71MB) & dagread.me file (2KB)

Both zip files must be unzipped with the -d option. The demo does not work with the Matrox Millenium video card; a fix is being worked on. Windows 95 users must boot to DOS before playing the demo.

It includes demo versions of the character generator, the item maker, the potion maker, the spell maker, a tour of sites of interest, and a playable dungeon. Your character is a pregenerated male 16th level spellsword. There is no save in the demo. The Demo's 3D rotatable automapping function combines the areas covered by your various dungeon attempts; until you log out of the demo proper.

*The dungeon is off the pit of jagadha. It consists of 4 8x8x8 3D blocks. Each block loosely has 8 "levels": there are many partial levels, intersecting ramps between the levels, stairs, balconies, overhangs and rooms with different height ceilings. (Prepare to get lost. The map won't be out for some time.)

So how do I order DAGGERFALL & What is In the Limited Edition?

You can order the DAGGERFALL Limited Edition from the online Bethesda
shop at:
[url=http://www.bethsoft.com/cgi-bin/order.cgi]http://www.bethsoft.com/cgi-bin/order.cgi[/url]

It can also be ordered by ringing 1-800-677-0700, which is toll free for American customers.

It can also be ordered by mail:
Customer Service-DAGGERFALL Pre-Order
Bethesda Softworks
1370 Piccard Drive
Rockville, MD 20850

Bethesda accepts all major credit cards, money orders, certified checks, cashier's check and personal checks. All certified checks, money orders, cashier's checks and personal checks must be in US dollars. Your credit card will not be charged until the game ships. Personal checks will be cashed in September to ensure that it clears prior to shipping the game.

The "credits" that you get for registering on the Bethesda WWW page are worth $US0.50 each when you order the game.

The serialised limited edition of 10,000 copies costs $US99.99. Shipping costs are currently being determined for non-American customers. The Limited Edition includes:

- the DAGGERFALL demo will be shipped to you upon release
- DAGGERFALL will be delivered to you before its general
release
- a Limited Edition DAGGERFALL T-Shirt (100% cotton) Features
the DAGGERFALL Box Cover design on a black background
- a "World of Tamriel" mousepad
- a Limited Edition DAGGERFALL poster
- overnight Federal Express Delivery included in the US

Orders for the regular edition are not yet being accepted.

*What are the system requirements/recommendations for DAGGERFALL?

Currently, the minimum system requirements stand at:

  • 486DX2/50 MHz IBM PC or compatible running DOS 5.0+ - 8MB RAM - 512-540KB Base Memory (Not Yet Finalised) - 2x CD-ROM Drive - VLB or PCI VGA graphics card - Minimum of 30Mb Hard Drive Space - Supports: Aria, Ensoniq, Roland, SoundBlaster, UltraSound. Bethesda uses the Miles Design sound drivers - Joystick or Microsoft compatible mouse.

There are some added features for gamers with systems that exceed the minimum requirements.

*Debate is currently raging among DAGGERFALL Demo Gamers whether or *not it runs slowly. Here are some tips to help you optimise its *performance:

*1) While you can run the Demo on 8MB RAM, 16 MB is strongly *recommended *2) Your character will move faster is you use the mouse for *movement, rather than the keyboard. Remember the further the cursor *is away from the centre of the screen, the faster you will move. *3) In your CONFIG.SYS file, set FILES=99 & BUFFERS=55. *4) In your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, create a 2MB SmartDrive utilising *the /X switch.

Whats this I hear about the sequels to DAGGERFALL?

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Details remain sketchy. I doubt that even Bethesda has thought this through fully yet. Whether there will be add-on mission disks for DAGGERFALL will depend on the amount of requests Bethesda gets. Bethesda does have plans to do a Gold Enhanced Edition of DAGGERFALL.

The sequel to DAGGERFALL: "THE ELDER SCROLLS CHAPTER 3", may run under SVGA. It will probably not be a native Windows 95 application. You will be able to import your character }from DAGGERFALL, meaning that the opinions that the various NPC Types have formed about your character will be carried over.

(2) DESCRIPTION OF DAGGERFALL ======================================

*TES: DAGGERFALL is set in the area of Tamriel surrounding the Iliac *Bay. The Bay is bordered by 2 of Tamriels Provinces, Hammerfall *and High Rock. DAGGERFALL includes many additions and improvements *to the ARENA gameworld such as:

An SGI Machine was used to create a 3-D, texture-mapped engine, Bethesda's new full, 3-D X(n)gine(Tm) (also used in Bethesda's THE TENTH PLANET and the soon-to-be-released Terminator: Future Shock), which promises to redefine the role-playing genre. The new engine allows quicker actions, unrestricted viewing angles and complete freedom of movement. Having taken 3 years to make, this powerful proprietary technology allows full 360 degree rotation with fully textured polygons, multiple shaded light sources, VGA graphics and specialised video effects. The X(n)gine can create weather such as snow, sleet, and fog, as well as realistic shading and a fully contoured fractal terrain. In DAGGERFALL, the player can stop by a stream and watch a waterfall while listening to the ambient sounds of birds and running water, and thus actually feel like they are there.

  • the X(n)gine will not support 3D Accelerated GFX boards in the initial DAGGERFALL release; but it is certainly planned
  • the video refresh rate will vary depending upon what is on the screen at any given time. The 3D X(n)gine should average between 16-20 frames per second and should probably never have to do more than 40. It has no ceiling.
  • a fully topographical landscape with elevations marked every 6 metres, an area the size of Turkey
  • thousands of towns, fortresses and villages to explore
  • texture maps considerably more complex and detailed than ARENA's, allowing for larger, even multi-story buildings.
  • much improved plot over ARENA; your character is asked to undertake a special mission for the Emperor and obtain artifacts before rival groups of the court of the town of DAGGERFALL can get them & use them to instigate an uprising. In investigating the court of DAGGERFALL, stories of madness, unrequited love, dark sorcery, seduction, betrayal, and a plot

to recreate a powerful force from thousands of years past will be revealed.

  • the plot is a lot more "active" than ARENAs, involving many non player character types. For example, you can arrive at a town to find it under siege
  • keeping with TES "open ended" philosophy, it is even technically possible to win by working against the Emperor
  • conversation remains handled via a menu driven branching strategy, with the new feature of being able to select your conversational goal.
  • greatly improved player interaction with NPCs, both in dialogue and action. For example, depending on the circumstances, the completion of say a mini-quest by a character will be remembered later on either positively or negatively by a particular NPC social group, a NPC, a NPC's family, the NPC's allies or enemies, or all of the above. DAGGERFALL keeps track of your characters reputation with each NPC. This applies even to characters that are imported into later games in the TES series. Player language skills, though based on the common tongue, will reflect specific groups & social affiliations and will also affect interaction with NPCs. Character clothing, weapons & armour, which can be changed in shops, also affects NPC interactions
  • adventure in intricately designed caves, castles, homes, highlands, lowlands, rivers, cliffs, sand dunes, swamps, underwater and different dimensions: a whole range of environments
  • many objects in the world have mass and can be moved or picked up by the character. These objects follow the normal laws of physics eg. inertia. Some objects, such as houses and pebbles, can't be moved.
  • buy & use houses, castles, ships and other crafts. Property can be furnished with furniture & treasure. Option available which will protect your property against burglary.
  • travel from town to town by foot, horseback, horse drawn carriage or ship. Beware! you can be attacked while using any of these transport methods.
  • use banks to safely deposit gold, get letters of credit & take out 1 or 3 year loans to finance large purchases
  • join guilds, temples & knightly orders to help enhance your character's reputation with various social groups; trade goods and services, even smuggle
  • new spells include identify, polymorph, shadow, slowfall, telekinesis, teleportation, waterbreathing and water walking: there are some 78 standard types
  • create more unusual and powerful spells with the spellmaker
  • customizable spell duration icon which flashes towards the end of the spell period
  • new improved special effects eg. polymorphing
  • surface dependent walking sounds
  • 3-D graphical movement is handled much more efficiently than in ARENA
  • random monster encounter will be largely done away with. It will only occur where it has a direct relationship to the plot, or in a "cleared out" dungeon in a period of time
  • Each created character, must take 3 primary skills, 3 major skills, and 6 minor skills. When characters begin the game, they are naturally better at the primary and major skills, and worse at the minor and miscellaneous skills (the latter being the skills not chosen, but in which advancement can still be made with great difficulty). It is easiest to advance in primary and major skills, because of the formula used to check the chance of increasing a point every night, and due to you're character being most likely to use the primary and major skills and thus advance in them. Advancement of your character's primary and major skills will cause them to advance in their class as well.
  • customizable character classes. Characters will be able to take on up to 7 special advantages/disadvantages, which will increase/decrease the amount of experience needed to make the next level.
  • Bethesda has attempted to reduce the potential power of high level characters in DAGGERFALL by including negative effects for some of the items produced by the ItemMaker and by ensuring that, for instance, "high level characters face up against up high level monsters". There will be no "levelling up" like that occurring in ARENA, an orc will remain a weak monster, regardless of your level increasing the relative "toughness" of some of the monsters
  • - the imbalance in ARENA towards spellcasting character
  • classes has been partly addressed by allowing all non-spell
  • casting classes in DAGGERFALL spell points equal to half
  • their intelligence.
  • advanced, multi-channel, digitized sound effects and music
  • although speech will be a part of the game, there was not enough room to implement full speech
  • enjoy a large variety of song/ballad lyrics written especially for DAGGERFALL
  • a large variety of quests and adventures offered by individuals and guilds
  • a standard character generator similar to ARENA will also be available, allowing you to choose one of the 18 character
  • types from that game
  • create potions and magical items as an extension of ARENA'S SpellMaker. Like in character creation, items can be made more powerful if a side effect is included
  • Magical items appear with a green background in your inventory
  • have eavesdropping ability
  • you can choose an option so that the terrain will have an affect on your constitution
  • read virtual books graphically covering aspects of Tamriel
  • Like ARENA, the layout of major dungeons are fixed. The random dungeons will be more variable than those in ARENA.
  • import your old ARENA character into DAGGERFALL or begin a new one; most spells can be transferred over
  • Unlike ARENA, there will be no dungeon riddles
  • a new CHILDGUARD feature which allows parents to set the amount of violence and sex displayed with password protection
  • will be a CD-ROM only game
  • the following Virtual Reality Helmets will be supported: Virtual I/o, CyberMaxx, Forte VFX1

"What is wonderful about ARENA and DAGGERFALL is that you can be and do whatever you want with virtually no limitations," said Bethesda President Chris Weaver. "Aside from all the sophisticated technology operating in the background we think that freedom is one of the most important features of TES series. The vast detail of the computer world we have created and the freedom to explore and live an unhindered life has hit home with numbers groups of "non-standard" role players. A case in point is the thousands of ARENA users over age 55. We are very gratified by such cross-over demographics."

"We've taken the best elements from the highest quality game engines out there, and improved upon them", said President Chris Weaver. "X(n)gine has the immediacy of DOOM and DARK FORCES and the greater flexibility of DESCENT all in one engine."

"X(n)gine is the most sophisticated 3-D engine currently available." Weaver said. "The speed, clarity and dynamics are better than all the others within the 3-D genre. It's as realistic as you can get within the current limitations of the PC. We believe it is also the fastest at moving real world polygons."

(3) DAGGERFALL PREVIEWS =============================================

For a wide range of DAGGERFALL Information:

a) The Unofficial Elder Scroll Pages (Still Under Construction):

http://www.newforce.ca/~jackel/esp/esp.html

Has a whole range of goodies including some not found at the Bethesda Site.

b) the Bethesda Software WWW Page:
[url=http://www.bethsoft.com/cgi-bin/daggerfall.cgi]http://www.bethsoft.com/cgi-bin/daggerfall.cgi[/url]
ftp.bethsoft.com/pub/ScreenShots/DAGGERFALL/

*c) the Bethesda Library Section in the GAMPUBA Forum on Compuserve

*Both b) and c) provide access to the Box Cover Artwork, DAGGERFALL *Midis and DAGGERFALL Screenshots listed below

Box Cover Artwork:

dagboxc.gif (256 colour 550x757 194KB)
dagboxc.tif (true colour 625x860 1.6MB).
dagboxc.zip (zipped true colour version 908KB)

*The Box Cover Depicts the Underking, one of the most powerful bad *NPCs in DAGGERFALL

DAGGERFALL Midis:

Note: These are general MIDI files and should be played with a sound card capable of wavetable synthesis.

dag_l.mid
dag_2.mid
dag_3.mid
df_mid_1.zip - (this zipped 10KB file is the only file available for
downloading)

DAGGERFALL Screenshots:

As the final release date for DAGGERFALL draws nearer, Bethesda claims it will be releasing new straight-from-the-game screenshots almost every week. The various zipped files available are not listed here.

army.gif (640x400 149KB) and cameron.gif (640x400 121KB) are both shots from the opening animation we showed at CES: the former is of the army of DAGGERFALL meeting the army of Sentinel at the Battle of Cryngaine Field, and the latter is of Cameron, the late king of Sentinel, preparing for battle at his castle in Hammerfell. battle1.gif (320x200 38KB) Under the attack of a Lich near the Pit of Jagadha battle2.gif (320x200 38KB) A better, if unappreciated view of the approaching Fireball battle3.gif (320x200 41KB) A Shield Spell for defense battle4.gif (320x200 38KB) A Fireball Spell for offense battle5.gif (320x200 39KB) The Fireball Spell makes contact battle6.gif (320x200 35KB) One last look at the standing Lich battle7.gif (320x200 35KB) The remains of the Lich bow.gif (320x200 41KB) charfem.gif (320x200 29KB) character sheet of a female charmale.gif (320x200 29KB) character sheet of a male chars.gif (320x200 20KB) (formerly called newflats.gif) From the obscure temples, covens, and guilds, here are several of the more extraordinary people of DAGGERFALL crypt.gif (320x200 39KB) dagger2.gif (320x200 29KB) A Daedra Seducer welcomes you into her temple dagger3.gif (320x200 34KB) In an ancient, crumbling cathedral of a forgotten god, a resident giant scorpion defends its lair. dung01.gif (320x200 32KB) Standing in the Dungeon of Citainth, battling an orc warlord dung02.gif (320x200 32KB) Swimming through the Dungeon of Citainth dung03.gif (320x200 32KB) Swimming through the Dungeon of Citainth dung04.gif (320x200 34KB) Flying through the Dungeon of Citainth dung05.gif (320x200 31KB) Standing in the Dungeon of Citainth, battling an orc warlord dungeon1.gif (320x200 42KB) faces_1.gif (320x200 22KB) A gallery of some of the more notable citizens of the Iliac Bay, taken from their dialogue portraits: the diplomatic Lady Northbridge, one of the mysterious Dark Brothers, the tyrannical Baron Shrike of Lainlyn, the indiscreet Queen Mother of DAGGERFALL, the noble Acolyte, the Shaman Charvek-si, King Gothryd of DAGGERFALL, and his grandmother the mad witch Nulfaga. faces_2.gif (320x200 29KB) More of the DAGGERFALL cast of characters taken from the dialogue portraits: the priestess Britsa, the horrific Underking, the revered Oracle, the unfortunate Queen Aubk-i of DAGGERFALL, the Lord-General of DAGGERFALL, the dark-elven sorceress Karethys, the ineffectual mage Popudax, and Baroness Dh'emka of Lainlyn. jagadha0.gif (320x200 34KB) An overhead view of The Pit of Jagadha jagadha1.gif (320x200 31KB) Casting a Frost Spell jagadha2.gif (320x200 32KB) Your Frost Spell collides with a Fire Daedra's fireball jagadha3.gif (320x200 30KB) You're allowed a moments rest after the battle jagadha4.gif (320x200 34KB) The remains of the Fire Daedras jagadha5.gif (320x200 34KB) The remains of the Fire Daedras and a Frost Daedra jagadha6.gif (320x200 34KB) The remains of the Fire Daedras and a bag of gold jagadha7.gif (320x200 33KB) A cavern off of The Pit of Jagadha jagadha8.gif (320x200 35KB) Same cavern with a slain monster at the other end jagadha9.gif (320x200 29KB) Same cavern from another angle newmon.gif (320x200 21KB) A Daedroth, a Giant Scorpion, a Frost Daedra, an Orc Shaman, and a Fire Daedra newtow1.gif (320x200 37KB) shows a picture of a woman riding a horse past you in town. (Old Screenshot) newtow2.gif (320x200 31KB) shows you approaching a house in the country wielding your sword. (Old Screenshot). newtow03.gif (320x200 42KB) a quiet courtyard in the little village of Straclyde, north of the Wayrest city-state sca0013.gif (320x200 32KB) scr0003.gif (320x200 24KB) scr0010.gif (320x200 31KB) scr0013.gif (320x200 25KB) scrshot1.gif (320x200 39KB) scrshot2.gif (320x200 45KB) scrshot3.gif (320x200 40KB) scrshot4.gif (320x200 26KB) scrshot5.gif (320x200 42KB) scrshot6.gif (320x200 40KB) scrshot7.gif (320x200 45KB) scrshot8.gif (320x200 39KB) scrshot9.gif (320x200 34KB) scrshota.gif (320x200 36KB) scrshotb.gif (320x200 33KB) spell.gif (320x200 40KB) swamp.gif (320x200 25KB) was taken in Bothidori Marsh during a fight with a brood of wereboars *tam_map.gif (320x200 66KB) A map of Tamriel town01.gif (320x200 40KB) shows a rumble between the player and a battle maiden in the town of Anticlere town02.gif (320x200 31KB) is a shot taken while scurrying over the rooftops (you can, of course, break in through a window, but the view is not as nice), with a view of Anticlere Castle in the distance town03.gif (320x200 34KB) shows one of the shady characters from the Dark Brotherhood giving the player an assassination assignment town04.gif (320x200 34KB) shows a clandestine meeting between the PC and Lady Flyte on her balcony town05.gif (320x200 39KB) is another view taken from the rooftops of Anticlere, over a silversmith's shop town06.gif (320x200 32KB) is a town square during New Life Festival, an all-night-long celebration held on the first of the year. water.gif (320x200 28KB) is a shot of an Argonian reptilian player investigating the south end of the Iliac Bay, the tropical water off the village of Abibon-Gora

(4) ENCOUNTERS=====================================

*ASSUMPTION: "Monster Types", "NPCs" & "Random Events" is a *summation of the results of the FAQ Authors dissecting the Demo *Files, verifying as much as practicable with Bethesda, & making some *educated guesses. Exact details are likely to change at short notice.

Monster Types

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There are 43 main monster types, which are listed below. Further there are approximately 100 monster subtypes, varying by colour and characteristic. An ! means that you can learn the language of the particular monster, which could allow you to negotiate. *Alternatively, casting the Tongues spell would temporarily have the *same effect A # indicates those able to be encountered in the demo. The information in the brackets, where it occurs, covers: FIRST BRACKETS: known special attacks/defenses SECOND BRACKETS: best known ways to fight the monster *THIRD BRACKETS: gives alternative names

*ANCIENT LICH#; (spellcasting, normal weapon immunity)
*(Get in a straight line of fire & as close as possible without
*meleeing. Cast Shield, Spell Absorption & as many Fireballs as
*required)
CENTAUR!;
DAEDRA LORD!;
DAEDRA SEDUCER!;
DRAGONLING!;
DREUGH#;
FLESH ATRONACH;
FIRE ATRONACH;
*FIRE DAEDRA!#; (fire resistance, spellcasting)
*(Spell reflection. Cast Cold spells).
*FROST DAEDRA!#; (cold resistance, spellcasting)
*(Spell reflection. Cast fire spells)
GARGOYLE;
GHOST#; (silence, paralyzation)
GIANT!;
GIANT BAT;
GIANT EEL;
GIANT SCORPION; (NA) (NA) (Giant Scorpian)
GRIZZLY BEAR;
HARPY!;
HORSE;
ICE ATRONACH;
IMP!; (NA) (magic)
IRON ATRONACH;
LAMIA;
*LESSER DAEDRA!#; (normal weapon immunity) (offensive spells)
*(Daedroth)
LICH#; (spellcasting, normal weapon immunity)
*(Get in a straight line of fire & as close as possible without
*meleeing. Cast Shield, Spell Absorption & as many Fireballs as
*required)
MUMMY;
NYMPH!;
ORC;
ORC SERGEANT;
*ORC SHAMAN#; (spellcasting) (conventional weapons more effective
*than Spell Reflection & Offensive Spells at higher character levels)
ORC WARLORD#;
PLESIOSAURUS;
RAT; (disease)
SABERTOOTH TIGER;
SKELETON WARRIOR#; (NA) (NA) (Skeletal Warrior/skeleton)
SPIDER#;
SPRIGGAN!; (NA) (regeneration)
VAMPIRE; (normal weapon immunity, spellcasting, vampirism)
VAMPIRE ANCIENT;
*WEREBOAR; (normal weapon immunity, lyncanthropy) (NA) (lycanthrope)
*WEREWOLF; (normal weapon immunity, lyncanthropy) (NA) (lycanthrope)
*WRAITH#; (spellcasting, normal weapon immunity)
*(Spell reflection, cast offensive spells)
ZOMBIE;

*In addition, there are a number of other species in DAGGERFALL that *do exist but which dont fit into the above list of 43 monsters:

*DAEDRA PRINCE;
DRAGON!; (NA)(NA) (Wyrm)
SLAUGHTERFISH;

*A further grouping doesnt sit comfortably anywhere:

*DWARF; {part of Tamriel Folklore?}
*GIANT GOBLIN; {part of Tamriel Folklore?}
*GOLEM; {one may exist}
*TROLL; {part of Tamriel Folklore}
*ZOMBIE; {one of the 43 monsters above, referred back to the Bethesda
*Art Department for reworking. Status Unknown)

*There are also 12 major bad NPC types that you will have to deal *with, of which the UnderKing, monks, nightblades, faerie! (fey) *are examples.

NPCs

There are some 295 "NPC types" in DAGGERFALL, whether they be nobility, laymen, humanoids, professions, nations or one of the 20 distinct factions of some of these. Their particularly characteristics can be ascertained from the "factions.txt" document that comes with the DAGGERFALL demo. Future versions of this FAQ will explain all the parameters listed in this document.

Some NPC descriptions, (both good & bad) are listed in various screenshot descriptions in the DAGGERFALL Preview Section.

The top "NPC Types", mainly nations, are listed here, with their power ratings. These are likely to have the greatest long run effect on your game of DAGGERFALL:

Name Power
DAGGERFALL 8000
Wayrest 8000
Sentinel 6000
Lainlyn 5000
Oblivion 5000
Satakalaam 5000
The Septim Empire 5000
Abibon-Gora 4500
Mournoth 4500
Archmagister 4000
Dwynnen 4000
Menevia 4000

You will have the fortune (or misfortune!) to interact with many of the less powerful NPCs as well, perhaps right down to the lowliest:

Name Power
Cyndassa 5
Lord Auberon Flyte 5
Lord Plessington 5
The Acolyte 5

Remember, each of these NPC Types will be forming opinions of you based on your actions; even into the sequels of DAGGERFALL. But your character is not the only one who interacts with NPCs in DAGGERFALL. NPC types interact with each other, and many have allies and enemies. You may get caught in the crossfire!

This Section will eventually tell you which NPCs you need to interact with to complete the optional DAGGERFALL plot.

Random Events

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These will further enrich your DAGGERFALL experience. Tamriel is divided up into 65 towns/regions for the purpose of generating random events. The type of events that can occur are: Bad Harvest; Crime; Famine; Mad Wizard Nearby; New Ruler; New TGM(?) Plague; Prices Down; Prices Up; Scary Holi (?); TGM Executed (?) TGM In Jail (?); TGM Set Free(?); War; War Lost; War Won Witch Burnings

Future versions of this FAQ will explain the impact of random events in more detail. Please note that some random events have stages eg. War Beginning

(5) ARTIFACTS=====================================

ARENA had 16 artifacts. DAGGERFALL has 13 of these, all bar the Ring of Phynaster, Oghma Infinium & King Orghnums Coffin.

ASSUMPTION: the DAGGERFALL treatment of artifacts is the same as ARENAs.

The FAQ Co-Authors understand that there are no artifacts in the Demo

While you are holding one artifact, you cannot get another artifact quest. Go to a shop (or bank in DAGGERFALL?) and leave your artifact for repair. It can only be repaired if it is below maximum charge. Then get another artifact quest in your log book, pick up your repaired artifact(s), and go on the quest for the new artifact.

To get an artifact quest, pick a NPC and ask them 10-20 times. If after 3 or 4 requests you get 'I know nothing' type replies, go to another NPC. Eventually you will get something like "A is at Inn B trying to sell a map to find artifact C'. If you want the artifact, go to this person A to negotiate a price for the artifact rumour; if you dont want this particular artifact repeat the process, & all the artifacts you do not have should be mentioned. An individual artifact in ARENA could be found in any Tamriel province bar one; this excluded province changed every time you started a new game. When you are on an artifact quest, the map to the second dungeon will be in a chest somewhere on the 4th level of the first dungeon. The artifact will be in the 4th level of the second dungeon, which is in a different province to the first dungeon.

Artifact Explanation

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Object Description / Weight (kg) / Condition When Found / Unhaggled Down Price for the Artifacts Rumour in Gold Pieces

USE: Normal class restrictions apply, eg. mages can't use the Ebony Blade, as it is a katana. Artifact rings and amulets can be worn simultaneously with their normal counterparts. Each artifact disappears after a fixed number of uses, (the number increases with your characters level), & will then only be available through a quest again. You can increase its life expectancy by not using its artifact properties, or by having the item repaired (the latter restores the item to its original number of charges it had when you first found it). Repairing artifacts in ARENA was normally expensive. It is unknown whether DAGGERFALL contains the ARENA bug allowing you to have artifacts repaired for 13 gold by a shopkeeper in less than 15 hours

Auriel'S Bow

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Elven LongBow / 1 / New / 800 USE: -3AC overall, damage: 2-12, fires spell (save vs. Magic) that kills type unknown, provides invulnerability to lesser attacks

Auriel'S Shield

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Kite Ebony Shield / 8 / ? / 710

Use: -3 AC overall, Fire and magick resistance

Chrysamere

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Claymore / 14 / New / 560

USE: damage: 2-18, heals, resist fire, reflect spells

Ebony Blade

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Ebony Sword / 6 / New / ?

Use: damage: 3-16, unknown death spell, save vs. magic

Ebony Mail

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Ebony Plate Armour / 16 / ? / ? Use: AC -9 overall, resist fire, spells; shielded

Lord'S Mail

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Plate Armour / 16 / New / 500 USE: torso -9AC, resist spells, regenerate, cure poison

Necromancer'S Amulet

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Robes / NA / ? / 680

Use: -9AC overall, absorb/reflect spells, regenerate, increases users intelligence

Ring Of Khajiit

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Ring / NA / ? / ?

USE: -6AC overall, invisibility, user becomes non-target, increases users speed

Skeleton Key

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Key / NA / ? / 830

Use: once per day, anyone can unlock non-magically locked doors or chest. Skilled lockpickers can open some magically locked doors.

Spell Breaker

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Tower Shield / ? / ? / ?

Use: ?

Staff Of Magnus

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Staff / 3 / New / 590

Use: damage: 1-8, regenerates hit and spell points

Volendrung

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Dwarven War Hammer / 16 / New / 620 Use: damage: 3-18, gives health to user, paralysis, leaches strength

Warlock'S Ring

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Ring / NA / ? / 770

USE: reflects spells, increases users speed, heals

(6) BUG ALERT!=====================================

*Bethesda has indicated that there may be further bug fixes to the *DEMO; including a better optimisation of the code. The FAQ Authors *believe an updated DEMO would be very worthwhile, especially since *it is a major part of the advertising for the game. However, *Bethesda is rightly focussing most of its attentions on the game

*Please provide one of the FAQ Co-Authors will any Demo Bug Details *that dont appear below, along with enough information for us to *attempt to recreate the bug. The first 5 bugs are well known to *Bethesda; the company has promised to have them fixed for the full *game. The others may require some lobbying to Bethesda! Our *understanding is that they are using the release of the Demo to *attempt to eradicate a whole range of bugs from the game, if not the *demo

*1) If you pick some chain boots from Monster inventory the game
*will crash
*2) Using the keyboard for movement is slower than the mouse
*3) There is no monster AI (eg. dodging your attacks)
*4) Monsters get stuck in the walls
*5). It is occasionally possible to vanish into the void (the area
*outside the demo)

  1. Character occasionally steers constantly to the left after having moved backwards
  2. When a monster dies close to a wall, you cant get at its treasure *8) If you rest while your weapon is equipped, you often cant *reequip it *9) Helmet Icons often have a black border *10) Casting a spell while kneeling on a downward slope appear to make *the spell effects come from above your head *11) It is possible to see the black background behind where two *walls meet when you look at it from a certain angle

(7) INFORMATION ABOUT BETHESDA SOFTWORKS ============================

Info on BETHESDA, as well as key staff:

Bethesda Softwrks

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Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, Bethesda is the fourth largest privately held publisher of PC Entertainment software. Bethesda's success and long standing technical expertise has attracted world-class programmers as well as veterans of Hollywood animation studios. The company is the entertainment software division of Media Technology Limited, an international engineering research and development firm founded by members of the Architecture Machine Group at MIT.

Bruce Nesmith

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ROCKVILLE, MD (20 May 1995). Bethesda announced today the hiring of Bruce Nesmith, as its Senior Producer. Nesmith, the well-known creator of "Ravenloft (r) Campaign Setting, Dragonstrike (r) Board Game," Introduction to AD&D"(r), "Gamma World"(r), "Fourth Edition" and scores of other role-playing games, is one of the most experienced writers in the role-playing community. As Creative Directory of TSR for the past seven years, he was in charge of the development of many of TSR's best selling titles.

"We are very pleased to have attracted someone of Bruce's caliber," said Christopher Weaver, President of Bethesda. "His extensive background in all manner of role playing over the past twenty years is a unique resource which we intend to utilize to the fullest. Bruce will be an integral part of the core group that directs the future development of role playing at Bethesda."

Nesmith commented that he would miss his friends and colleagues at TSR, but was excited about the prospect of creating cutting- edge products at Bethesda. "Bethesda is really committed to redefining numerous genres and they are one of the few groups that has the capability to do it," he said. "Of all the companies that have courted me over the years, Bethesda is the only one who impressed me as having the critical proportions of ability, experience and vision necessary to pull off their plans. The opportunity to become an integral part of such an organization was just too exciting to pass up."

Nesmith comes on at a time when Bethesda has stepped firmly into the elite "A" group of computer entertainment publishers. Computer Gaming World recently chose their TES: ARENA "Best Role Playing Game of 1995" (ARENA also received "Best" awards }from Computing Game Review, Computer Player and Games Magazine and five other industry awards). Praised as the most realistic and captivating role-playing game on the market, ARENA elevated the category of fantasy role-playing to a new level.

With the success of ARENA, there has been extraordinary anticipations for the release of DAGGERFALL. Bethesda's multi- player showing of THE TENTH PLANET utilizing their revolutionary X(n)gine (tm) 3D technology at the recent Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) in Los Angeles, caused quite a stir at the show. THE TENTH PLANET is the first original science fiction program developed in conjunction with a major Hollywood producer. Centropolis Entertainment, award-winning developer of such hit movies as "Stargate" and "Universal Soldier" is the creative partner in the venture.

Info on the DAGGERFALL Lead Programmer:

Julian Lefay

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Julian Lefay is Chief Programmer of Bethesda and joined shortly after its creation in 1987. He is considered by many as one of the key technical people in the entertainment multi-media industry as he combines a rare mix of programming knowledge and computer language skills with proven design capability and music composition experience

Lefay began programming in Europe in the early 1980's and quickly became known as one of the best Amstrad and Amiga programmers during the high period of Commodore's success. His programs have won numerous industry awards in virtually every category. His TES:ARENA, has developed into the most award-winning Role Playing Game of 1995. He is currently finishing the next TES sequel, DAGGERFALL.

Info on the Bethesda Software President:

Christopher S. Weaver

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Christopher Weaver is President of Bethesda and CEO of Media Technology Limited. Weaver was formerly Senior Technical Advisor and Chief Engineer to the House Subcomittee on Communications for the US Congress, Vice President of Science & Technology for the National Cable Association and directed the Office of Technology Forecasting for the American Broadcasting Company in New York.

A member of the Directors Guild of America, the IEEE, the Society for Cable Television Engineers and the American National Standards Committee, Weaver pioneered some of the earliest academic and commercial work in interactive laserdisk technology in the 1970's and interactive cable projects in the 1980's.

Weaver holds numerous Masters and dual doctoral degrees from Wesleyan University and MIT. He subscribes to Arthur C. Clarke's observation that, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

(8) DAGGERFALL INFORMATION SOURCES =================

Where to find DAGGERFALL information:

DAGGERFALL FAQ LOCATIONS:

  • - Library Section 10 (Bethesda Softworks) of the GAMAPUB Forum
  • on Compuserve
  • - Library Section 9 (Computer RPGs) of the GAMERS Forum on
  • Compuserve
  • Posted occasionally to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg, comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.misc,aus.games, ncf.sigs.games.computer-games
  • The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages [url=http://www.newforce.ca/~jackel/esp/esp.html]http://www.newforce.ca/~jackel/esp/esp.html[/url]
  • Games Domain Site (HTML format) [url=http://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain/faqs/dagerfal.html]http://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain/faqs/dagerfal.html[/url]
  • Happy Puppy Site [url=http://happypuppy.com/games/faqcht]http://happypuppy.com/games/faqcht[/url]
  • Microsoft Network, under Categories/Interests, Leisure & Hobbies/Games & Gaming/Computer Games Forum/Computer Games File Library/Role Playing

BETHESDA SOFTWORK's WWW Page: [url=http://www.bethsoft.com]http://www.bethsoft.com[/url]

  • register and fill out some stuff to get Emporium credits & a different storyline to the unregistered surfers
  • go to the 'CAULDRON' to access info on BETHESDA's new products. DAGGERFALL is at the top of the list.

*BETHESDA Section of the Compuserve GAMAPUBA forum

DAGGERFALL SCREEN SHOTS: these can be found on the BETHESDA WWW Page [url=http://www.bethsoft.com/cgi-bin/daggerfall.cgi]http://www.bethsoft.com/cgi-bin/daggerfall.cgi[/url] ftp.bethsoft.com/pub/ScreenShots/DAGGERFALL/

DAGGERFALL PREVIEW: Old "SemiFAQ" & some screenshots [url=http://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/gdreview/previews/pview004.html]http://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/gdreview/previews/pview004.html[/url]

The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages

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http://www.newforce.ca/~jackel/esp/esp.html. The one stop for everything concerning gaming in the TES series of games. Developed by the DAGGERFALL FAQ Co-Authors!

MAGAZINES: Computer Gaming World, 1/95, 3/95, 8/95;
Strategy Plus, 8/95; PC Gamer 8/95;PC Power 8/95;
Next Generation 11/95

TES: ARENA FAQ: Since DAGGERFALL is the sequel of ARENA, some areas game play will be similar. This FAQ will familiarise you with what type of game ARENA is, and what DAGGERFALL may be like. This is available via ftp at ftp://wcl-l.bham.ac.uk/pub/djh/faqs/arena.faq and via the Games Domain WWW Pages: [url=http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/pub/djh/faqs/arena.faq]http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/pub/djh/faqs/arena.faq[/url] The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages: [url=http://www.newforce.ca/~jackel/esp/esp.html]http://www.newforce.ca/~jackel/esp/esp.html[/url]

Where we found DAGGERFALL information:

Daggerfall Demo Documentation

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BETHESDA SOFTWORK's WWW Page: [url=http://www.bethsoft.com]http://www.bethsoft.com[/url]

ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (E3) May 11-13, 1995

COMPUTER GAMING WORLD (CGW), January 1995 Issue, DAGGERFALL preview

FIONA JENKINS, ARENA Artifact FAQ Author

TED PETERSON, Chief Designer, DAGGERFALL

MOSH TEITELBAUM (LONEWOLF), the Bethesda WWW Page Maintainer

*Bethesda Section of the GAMPUBA Compuserve Forum

's postings on USENET groups such as comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

(9) WRAP UP ========================================================

If you have any suggestions, or find a mistake in this FAQ(contrary to popular belief, we are _not_ perfect 😉, email one of us.

*The FAQ Co-Authors are currently fiddling with the demo file *z.cfg: which contains an editor, cheat & a multiplayer function. *Thanks to everyone who has contributed their experiences.

*The FAQ Co-Authors are also busily updating their Web Site, the *Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages: *http://www.newforce.ca/~jackel/esp/esp.html. *Check it regularly over the next few months for even more resources *on the world of Tamriel!

*We would like this FAQ to be available to as many people as *possible. If anyone is willing to post this FAQ to *America Online/Prodigy/Genie etcetera, please email one of us.

*There will be a Compuserve DAGGERFALL conference in the GAMAPUB *Forum on November 29th at 9pm OHIO Time. Ted Peterson, the Chief *DAGGERFALL Designer will be there; Julian LeFay, the Chief *DAGGERFALL Programmer might be there. At least one of the FAQ *Authors will try & make it as well.

This FAQ will grow substantially when DAGGERFALL is released. We will eventually provide tips, a walkthrough of the optional plot and the inevitable patch information.

The Elder Scrolls: DAGGERFALL, copyright 1995, BETHESDA SOFTWORKS The Elder Scrolls: ARENA, copyright 1993, BETHESDA SOFTWORKS DAGGERFALL FAQ, copyright 1995, Dave Humphrey, Andrew Frankling, Michael Bodenhoff

Acknowledgement

Annotated by Dave Humphrey, Andrew Frankling, Michael Bodenhoff for the RPG Gamers archive.