Daedric Shrine Quests - Observations SPOILERS

[OblivionDuruza]

I've been having some fairly miscellaneous thoughts about Daedric Shrine Quests in Skyrim, and I guess I wanted to see what others think.

First of all Calvicus Vile is a creep, particularly with that new voice has has. I loved the whole Barbas thing, as far as Vile wishing the PC to slay him, it was a nice twist, for me. Also, side question, if you've done this, did you kill Barbas or spare him?

Secondly, the quests feel a lot more 'evil' or at least less virtuous than previously, particularly with Mephala, Namira and Boethiah. While I certainly would expect Namira and Mephala to be a little dodgy, I was caught off guard by the whole cannibalism thing, even though I knew that cannibalism was featured somewhere in-game, and the fact that you have to sacrifice up to 11 friends to complete Boethiah and Mephala's quests to their full extent sort of disturbed me.

The game really does throw a lot of moral questions at the PC as far as Daedric Shrine quest go, which is nice and a welcome element, but it also makes it hard to remain untainted and still get the best gear going round, particularly with the Ebony Mail being so attractive as far as its enchantment. And then of course there is Molag Bal and Dagon to consider, classic offender's for doing evil.

And inevitably, Sheogorath. While I haven't done this quest yet, I'm sure people will want to talk about it, and how Sheo seems to make it fairly clear that he was the Champion of Cyrdoiil.

So what are you thoughts and comments about the Daedric Quests so far? Pleased by the large number of morally ambiguous quests?

[Jeff]

- For the most part, the quests were fun, and sort of enjoyable.

- I like that you do have a moral choice, in some, not all as far as I was able to determine.

- I do not like that you are tricked into doing them, sort of. They are Daedric Princes, and are decietful, so it does sort of make sense, see next part...

- I think that if I reply with "No, I am not going to do it", then it should not still be in my quest log, it should be removed, and count as a failed quest. I should not have the option later do go back and do it still.

The first one I did, was Azura, and I chose to help her, as I felt doing the black star was more evilish like.

The next one I did was Vaermina, and I was not actualy aware that I was doing that quest at first. I thought it was an independant quest. I chose to not kill Erandur.

I then had got stuck with Hermaeus Mora's quest, which I said I would not do, but was stuck with the quest, and the blood harvester as a quest item. I did this, just to see what the repricussins would be. I was dissappointed that it still remaind a quest, and I was able to finish it later on.

I am upset with there being a Sheogorath Daedric Quest, and there not be a Jggylag Daedric Quest. I have not seen a reason for this from any in-game books, and I did not get the impression from Sheogorath's Quest that he indicated he was the Champion of Cyrodill, or what happend to Jggylag. To me, it seems sort of Lore Breaking, without an explination. Don't get me wrong, I like Sheo, and it was a fun quest... but it just doesn't flow right for me lore/game wise.

- I did like that some of the items were different items, added a bit of change.

- I did like that you did have a choice which would determin which items you would get on a few of them.

- I do not think any of the Skyrim Daedric Quest Rewards are that worthwhile.

- I do not like that some of the Abilities of the Items are changed.

[JoeyDestructo]

-I like how Hermaeus Mora's quest was the longest and most difficult imo, obviously because Ohgma Infinium is the most powerful artifact.
-also I though The House of horrors was cool with the effects and all that.
-was dissappointed when I found out that The Ring of Hircine didnt give the same bonuses as it did in Daggerfall...... :p still useful to be able to transform twice

[Iaius Amaius Heron]

I think it makes perfect sense that most of them wouldn't exactly be nice quests, considering one of the loading screens explicitly mentions that only Meridia is a daedric prince not considered wholly evil.

You want to work for the dark gods? Woe to your unsullied soul, then. You've made your choice, made your bed, now lie in it.

Remember, some of the best fantasy literature involves the protagonist selling his soul or doing something twisted and nasty for an artifact of real ultimate power (Elric and the Stormbringer come to mind).

[RedDeadFred]

and I did not get the impression from Sheogorath's Quest that he indicated he was the Champion of Cyrodill

But he blatantly says that he was their for the whole Oblivion crisis and how he likes Martin. He also says the title of Sheogorath was passed down to him.
He also indirectly references other quests that the champion could have done.

[Mithrandir]

I love the Daedric quests in this game. They just feel so unique. The quest that really left me in awe was Molag Bal's.

[Modryn]

I didn't kill Barbas. My experience in Oblivion with Calvicus Vile taught me better (Umbra for a mask that increased personality? HA! I think not). And this time was no different, except the mask was worthwhile.

Shegorath quest was nice, no complaints there. I was happy to find out he was the Champion of Cyrodiil, and was amused at dialogue referencing the events in Oblivion. I am disappointed however that there seems to be no trace of Jyggalag. I liked the concept behind him, and wouldn't have minded seeing more of him... perhaps in an expansion?

Namira and the whole cannibal thing was... very disturbing. Very, very, very disturbing.

I liked the quest with Meridia as well... I actually like Dawnbreaker a whole lot, and I found the quest fun. Something about it reminded me of playing Legend of Zelda....

Also, Sanguine. Very amusing quest. At first I thought it was Dark Brotherhood related since at the time I was trying to get their attention... all of a sudden some random guy in black robes asks me to get drunk with him.

Everything else was... rather decent I'd say. I wasn't bored of any of the quests so I guess it did right in my book.

[AeraDunmerMoon]

I personally don't see any incongruencies with Sheogorath being the Champion of Cyrodiil. Since Sheogorath was originally a persona created by a Daedric Curse, it makes perfect sense to me that the curse might have been transferred to CoC and retained much of his power and persona.

I was kind of sad about Vaermina's quest. It was cool, but I would have liked to hear more from her, she's one of my favorite Daedra. Two lines really don't cut it.

I also wonder about certain Daedra claiming me as their champion. What if Namira and Meridia decide to have a battle, and send their champions out to fight. Would I have to commit suicide? And who would win? Just a little conflict I noticed.

I want to find Malacath, but I still haven't found him yet...

[Jeff]

Malacath Location:

Spoiler:

Talk to the Orcs at Largashbur, an Orc camp located far west and slightly south of Riften

I am not as disappointed in that Sheogorath could be the CoC, as much as I am that there is no Jggylag Daedric Quest.

[ArotosMarkos]

and I did not get the impression from Sheogorath's Quest that he indicated he was the Champion of Cyrodill

But he blatantly says that he was their for the whole Oblivion crisis and how he likes Martin. He also says the title of Sheogorath was passed down to him.
He also indirectly references other quests that the champion could have done.

Yup. The lore dictates that the Champion of Cyrodiil became the new God of Madness; I assume that he just sort of evolved to adopt the appearance and mannerisms of the old Sheogorath as part of his new title.

Anyway, I though the Daedric quests were one of the only improvements Skyrim had over Oblivion. They were varied, interesting, and the spontaneous and unexpected quests were lovely! It was pleasant to not be forced to go find a shrine for each and every artifact. It also seemed that the nature of the quests paralleled the scale of "evil" of each prince. That is to say, Meridia and Azura, two of the Daedra not considered to be evil in the traditional sense, had quests with rather benign or noble purpose. Then you have the Princes like Sheogorath, Sanguine, or, to some minimal extent, Clavicus Vile (who often seems to play on the precipice of evil versus mischief), who are moreso agents of discord than malice, and the former two had, appropriately, rather silly questlines. The same is true for the truly evil Daedric Princes, like Namira, Peryite or Mehrunes Dagon.

I was especially pleased with Molag Bal's quest, which just hit me completely out of the blue, and it seemed like a fantastically placed and paced quesst.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Jyggalag stated that "Perhaps you will grow to fill your station" before he departed into the waters of Oblivion at the end of Shivering Isles, so I assume the COC simply began to gradually look and sound like Sheogorath over the decades.

[OblivionDuruza]

I think it makes perfect sense that most of them wouldn't exactly be nice quests, considering one of the loading screens explicitly mentions that only Meridia is a daedric prince not considered wholly evil.

Meridia and Azura are both considered benevolent.

As for your point about 'selling your soul to the devil', so to speak, it's an effective literary device, but perhaps getting a little hackneyed?

Bethesda has really stepped up the brutality in comparison to past games. Boethiah's quest in Morrowind was simply restoring his Shrine, now it's killing friends.

[StingingVelvet]

Didn't read a lot of this thread as I have probably only done half the Daedra quests so far. Hircine and Molag Bal were highlights for me so far. I love how evil most of them are, though it does mean my upcomming third character, a heroic nord who will finally do the main quest, will probably not fit with doing them very well.

Oh, and I agree it's a shame there is no Jygg... I thought after Shivering Isles that he would join the pantheon of Daedra who get a quest every game.

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

Does Azura's cursing of the Chimer make her a bit evil, slightly?

[Velothi]

No, it was mostly due to the ALMSIVI taking power for themselves and really betraying Nerevar's wish to betray the tools.

So even if they did 'good', they ultimately went to the same low the Dwemer sought. To create a God in order to become 'Greater' than the Gods they worshiped.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Does Azura's cursing of the Chimer make her a bit evil, slightly?

The Tribunal mudering Nerevar makes them more than a bit evil. He was a faithful and stalward champion of Azura and the Velothi lifestyle. Of course, punishing an entire race for the sins of a few is not exactly kind or thoughtful either.

[Gepard]

I'm not sure if this is totally accurate, but a friend mentioned to me (can't confirm as I didn't play Shivering Isles) that Jyggalag isn't known by mortals, and that's why he doesn't have a shrine or related quest.

One complaint I have, somewhat related to what you guys have said, is that not only can you not remove a Daedric quest you don't wish to work on, but acquiring a quest item for one (well, any quest I think) even before starting the quest means you can't drop it since it's tagged as a quest item. Kind of regret picking up the shards of Mehrune's Razor because they looked interesting knowing that as a 'moral' character I probably won't be doing his quest.

[StingingVelvet]

I'm not sure if this is totally accurate, but a friend mentioned to me (can't confirm as I didn't play Shivering Isles) that Jyggalag isn't known by mortals, and that's why he doesn't have a shrine or related quest.

Well he was in the "On Oblivion" book, or one of those anyway, so he was at least somewhat known. Also I think the expectation was that now that he is back full time he would make himself known, especially over the course of 200+ years.

[Squiver]

Sanguine's quest took me by complete surprise, and honestly, giggling with giddiness. That was probably by far my favorite quest in the game so far. I remember my hands shaking after finally killing that [&@%!] storm mage, and, in confusion, stealthing into the courtyard, half expectant of something nasty to come barreling around the corner. All of a sudden, what to my surprise? "Pop!" Why, it's... El Diablo? Nope, it's Sanguine.

As for all of the Daedric quests as a whole, I do really enjoy them. I've been going out of my way to find them all, despite my efforts to actually get my ass on the main questline. I'm very pleased by the shades of gray in their tasks; it makes more sense to me. The Daedric quests in Oblivion seemed too decidedly noble for beings that are explicitly described as generally apathetic, even sadistic, beings of divinity.

[Cuddle_Fish]

I have really enjoyed all the Daedric quests I've done so far! I discovered today that Sanguine is actually a pretty cool guy and we teamed up to fight a bunch of mages. A quest brought me back to the same dungeon that Sanguine's quest ended at and I found him already fighting dudes before I got there. I guess he just hangs outside of the door to the misty grove. Also, don't go back into that misty area as I couldn't find a way out and had to reload a previous save.
I love how evil some of the quests are and how they just show up out of nowhere. Especially when you're trying to do something good, Molag Bal and Namira come to mind.

Also, for the ebony blade. You don't actually have to kill friends such as companions. I got the update that it was fully charged when I killed someone who was actually hostile towards me, but liked me cause I did something for him. So, it is possible to play this one as a good character.

Spoiler:

He was that Argonian who wanted me to turn off the light house by Solitude.

[Chaos the N'wah]

I'm not sure if this is totally accurate, but a friend mentioned to me (can't confirm as I didn't play Shivering Isles) that Jyggalag isn't known by mortals, and that's why he doesn't have a shrine or related quest.

Well he was in the "On Oblivion" book, or one of those anyway, so he was at least somewhat known. Also I think the expectation was that now that he is back full time he would make himself known, especially over the course of 200+ years.

If I remember correctly, the Shrine of Azura in Skyrim is stated to have been built after the Red Year, I don't think it's an excuse that 200 years wasn't enough for him to make a presence if they can chisel Azura out of a Mountain in Skyrim.

On topic: I love how random the quests are, 90% the time they seem like normal quests and then BAM your hit with the realization that you're their pawn. Molag Bal's is a great example of this. It reminds me of Morrowind's Daedric Quests where you had no idea where they were, but one frolic in Vivec's sewers and you find yourself in the middle of a full blown coven to the Madgod.

[StingingVelvet]

If I remember correctly, the Shrine of Azura in Skyrim is stated to have been built after the Red Year, I don't think it's an excuse that 200 years wasn't enough for him to make a presence if they can chisel Azura out of a Mountain in Skyrim.

Right.

And even if they didn't want him to be recognized and worshiped yet, they still could have done a quest with him. Sheogorath's quest for example has nothing to do with a shrine or worshipers.

[Chaos the N'wah]

I'd take any kind of reference really, like getting attacked by a bandit wielding/possessed by a Sword of Order or finding a replica crystal tower during one of the other Daedric Princes' quests...

[StingingVelvet]

I'd take any kind of reference really, like getting attacked by a bandit wielding/possessed by a Sword of Order or finding a replica crystal tower during one of the other Daedric Princes' quests...

Even a book talking about how there might be a new Daedric Prince would have been nice.

[drumgodrob]

Maybe they will add Jyggalag in an expansion. But i think that the Daedric quests are much more entertaining this time around. Oblivion's were good, but kind of mundane. Sanguine's was so unexpected. I never knew i was doing a Daedric quest until he transformed in the misty grove!