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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
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Downloaded Content FAQ
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Version 1.25
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By NightmareHunter
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devilmaycryfreak@hotmail.com
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1  - INTRODUCTION                     - OBL-INTR
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Its been a while, but, in the words of Bender, I'm back, baby! I wrote my last
FAQ (which was also my first FAQ) a little over a year ago, and, after
overcoming my extreme laziness I've finally gotten around to writing another
one, and what a great game to write it about. I can't even begin to count
the number of hours I've put into Oblivion, and I'm still finding new things
all the time. The amount of content and replay value in this game is mind-
boggling, and once you add extra content through downloads, it makes the amount
of time you could spend playing the game seem almost ridiculous.
The main reason I'm writing this FAQ is due to the periodic nature of the
updates; the official guide doesn't cover them, and, as of the time I'm
writing this, not many other FAQs I've read have information on them either.
All of this content can be downloaded from Xbox Live or
www.obliviondownloads.com, see Section 4 - Downloading the Extra Content for
details. I'll periodically update it for each release of new content as soon
as I can but it may take a few days, so check back regularly if you're waiting
for coverage of a new dungeon.
Its also worth noting that this FAQ has been written using the Xbox 360
version of the game. As far as I know the content is the same for the PC
version, but if anyone has any information regarding differences between the
two, and any tips specific to the downloaded content on the PC version (which
I don't have), please let me know.
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A Note on the Levelled Loot
---------------------------
I've received a lot of e-mails about the unique loot in the downloaded content,
specifically that the stats people have gotten are different than what I've
listed. While most people understand the levelled loot concept, many don't know
what level they should wait for to get a piece of equipment, and I don't always
know the answer. That's why I'm listing the stats for every unique piece of
equipment in the content at the various levels at which I have gotten them. If
anyone can provide me with the following details for the following pieces of
equipment it would be greatly appreciated and you will be credited: Mehrunes
Razor, Morag Tong Armour, anything from Frathen Drothen, the Raiment of the
Crimson Scar, any magic items from the four caches in the Vile Lair, the
Pentamagic Loop in the jewellery box in the Frostcrag Spire Bedroom Area, all
Knights of the Nine Relics and Umaril's Sword.
Details: Level obtained, Septims (value), weight, damage/armour, enchantments
and enchantment magnitudes.
---------------------------
Also, please note that it has been a while since I've played this game, and
as such I'm no longer responding to emails regarding it. Feedback is always
lovely, but I just don't have the time to do so anymore.
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2  - VERSION HISTORY                  - OBL-VERS
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Version 1.25
23/12/06
Added FAQs, Pentamagic Loop (finally!!!), effects of the Crusader's Relics,
Vile Lair Poison Cache and Prisoner info, Spell Tome info.
Version 1.20
26/11/06, 27/11/06
Added Knights of the Nine Content, Spell Tomes Content.
Version 1.12
17/11/06
Corrected numerous spelling and grammatical errors. That'll teach me not to
proof-read.
Version 1.11
18/07/06
Added Reader Contributions about the Vile Lair, Downloading Issues.
Version 1.10
14/07/06
Added The Vile Lair. Updated FAQs.
Version 1.01
26/06/06
Added Reader Contributions: Orrery Powers, Armouring Shadowmere, Frostcrag
Vault. Added Downloading Mehrunes Razor Issues, Mehrunes Razor stats.
Version 1.00
20/06/06, 21/06/06
Completed Introduction, Contents, Where to Download, Horse Armour, Dunbarrow
Cove, Repairing the Orrery, Frostcrag Spire, Unearthing Mehrunes Razor, FAQs,
E-mail Policy, Thanks and Copyright Information.
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3  - CONTENTS                         - OBL-CONT
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Note: Use the quick reference code to find the section you're looking for by
highlighting the code, then pressing ctrl+c, ctrl+f, ctrl+v and enter.
Oh, and if anyone can tell me why I bothered putting a quick reference code
for the contents section, can you let me know, because I have no idea.
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1  - INTRODUCTION                     - OBL-INTR
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2  - VERSION HISTORY                  - OBL-VERS
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3  - CONTENTS                         - OBL-CONT
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4  - DOWNLOADING THE EXTRA CONTENT    - OBL-DOWN
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5  - HORSE ARMOUR                     - OBL-HORS
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6  - DUNBARROW COVE                   - OBL-DBRC
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7  - REPAIRING THE ORRERY             - OBL-RTOR
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8  - FROSTCRAG SPIRE                  - OBL-FCSP
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9  - UNEARTHING MEHRUNES RAZOR        - OBL-MEHR
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10 - THE VILE LAIR                    - OBL-VILE
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11 - SPELL TOMES                       - OBL-TOME
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12 - THE KNIGHTS OF THE NINE          - OBL-NINE
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13 - FAQS                             - OBL-FAQS
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14 - E-MAIL POLICY                    - OBL-EPOL
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15 - THANKS AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION - OBL-TCPR
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4  - DOWNLOADING THE EXTRA CONTENT    - OBL-DOWN
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Downloading Mehrunes Razor and The  Vile Lair
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Thanks to hckydude1103, Michael Chappell, and Seizure for the answer to this
problem.
--------
A lot of people have had trouble with these two downloads, the reason for this
is that you need to  have the latest patch for the 360 version, just like the
PC version. To get the patch(es), simply load the game while you are connected
to the internet, and you'll be prompted to download the update patch. There
a few to download, and you'll have to restart each time you download one; you
will need them all to play use the downloaded content.
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This FAQ isn't going to help you much if you don't have the extra content. So
the first thing you'll need to do is download it.
Where to Download
If you have the game on Xbox 360, you need to download it via Xbox Live, if
you have the PC version, you need to download it from
www.obliviondownloads.com. This is vitally important: the Xbox 360 downloads
will NOT work on the PC version, and vice versa, and, considering that you
have to pay for them, its not a mistake you want to make.
To download the Xbox 360 content, follow these steps:
1. Sign in to Xbox Live through the Xbox 360 Dashboard (See xbox.com if you
don't have an Xbox Live account).
2. Select Xbox Live Marketplace.
3. Select Games.
4. Make sure you have points. Press X on the Games screen and you'll be taken
to the add points screen, where you can view your current balance and
purchase points using a credit card. If you don't have access to a credit
card, don't worry, you can buy pre-paid cards at game stores and redeem
them from the main Marketplace screen by selecting Redeem Code and entering
the code on your pre-paid card.
5. Select Played Games (if you've played Oblivion already. Otherwise you can
find the downloads through All Game Downloads).
6. Select Oblivion from your played games list (or All Game Downloads).
7. Select the downloads that you want, and, assuming you have the points to
buy them, the downloads will begin.
Once the downloads are complete that's all you have to do: they'll
automatically load themselves when you start playing Oblivion.
To download the PC content, follow these steps:
1. Go to www.obliviondownloads.com.
2. Select the downloads you want by clicking on Add to Cart next to that
download (Note that the download Mehrunes Razor requires the v1.1.511
patch, which can be downloaded from
elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patches.htm).
3. You'll be taken to the shopping cart screen, to add more downloads click
Download Store Home at the top of the page.
4. When you've selected all the downloads you want, at the cart screen click
Checkout.
5. Enter your details and click Continue.
6. Enter your payment information and click Continue.
7. You will then be sent a receipt by email, and given a hyperlink to the
downloads you have purchased.
8. Once downloaded, I assume there will be documentation in the download
instructing where it has to be put in order to work (I don't have the PC
version so I haven't actually done this, if anyone could clarify the
process for me it would be greatly appreciated).
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5  - HORSE ARMOUR                     - OBL-HORS
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Remember Snak gra-Bura of the Chestnut Handy Stables outside the Imperial
City? She was going out of business because she didn't have any horses (She
ate them all. No I'm serious, she ate them all!! Just look at her name. Say it
quickly). Now she's making a living by armouring other people's horses for
them. Your journal says that you need to take the note to Snak gra-Bura and
she'll armour your legally owned horse for free. So climb atop your trusty
steed and ride (or fast travel) to the Chestnut Handy Stables to speak to her.
She's inside when the stables are open during the day, speak to her and
mention the I'm here about the horse armour topic. She'll ask whether you want
steel armour or elven armour. The steel armour is slightly stronger than the
elven armour, however it will also slow your horse down a bit. The other
consideration is purely aesthetic; I think the Elven armour looks pretty pansy,
so I always go with the steel. If you're not sure, exit the conversation and
save your game, try out one type of armour, then reload it and try the other
type to see which one you like the most. Once you've selected the type you
want, your horse will be automatically armoured and the note will be removed
from your inventory. Sometimes you will get a message saying your horse is too
far away to be armoured, but if you fast travelled to the stables on your
horse, you should be fine. In fact if you horse is anywhere reasonably close
to the stables you won't have a problem and even if its not you still might be
okay; I've received this message twice, but both times my horse has been
armoured anyway. I would recommend that you get your horse as close as
possible though, just to be safe.
You'll also receive a journal entry saying that you can now have any legally
owned horse armoured for 500 gold, so if your horse bites the dust and you
have to get another one, you can get that one armoured too, but it'll cost
you.
Thanks to lightwhiz for pointing out that you shouldn't armour Shadowmere,
if you do and you lose him, he doesn't go back to Fort Farragut.
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6  - DUNBARROW COVE                   - OBL-DBRC
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***Undead Enemy Alert - Bring a Silver or Magic Weapon, it'll save you a lot
of trouble***
This quest leads you through a cave under Anvil Castle is search of good old
fashioned pirate booty. Fast travel to Dunbarrow Cove, just south of Anvil,
and swim across the bay, picking up the Nirnroot on the small island on the
way, and enter the partially submerged door to Smuggler's Cave in the cliffs
beneath the castle. When you enter there'll be a tunnel directly in front of
you, but head to the left alcove first to pick up more Nirnroot hiding in the
shadows. Next to the Nirnroot is a path up to the upper part of the cavern,
where there are a lot of barrels, crates and chest lying around, although most
contain nothing more than valueless items, you'll probably find nothing more
than some food and maybe a couple of Torches or Repair Hammers. Also up here
is a door leading to the Dining Hall, however it needs a key you don't have
yet, so its back down to the lower tunnel opposite the entrance and the door
that leads further into the cove. Through this door a journal entry tells
you that the cove is overrun with the skeletons of the pirates. Seems you'll
have to send them to their graves again before you can refit the cave.
Stealthy characters will be the most effective in this dungeon, sneak attacks
are easy and extremely useful here. Check your map to find six green arrows
and one red arrow, we'll start with those skeletons that are in this area.
Head out to the right; the left is a dead end, and follow the wall around to
the left, where you'll meet your first Red Sabre Skeleton. These guys have a
lot of health for a skeleton, the key to an easy victory over them is to make
sure you fight them one on one, then some good block and counterattack tactics
will make bonemeal out of them. Once you dispatched the first skeleton,
continue to follow the wall across the bridge to a second Red Sabre Skeleton.
Once its been dispatched head down the path leading north and downhill, when
it turns west, follow it all the way to the end, ignoring the south path
leading back to the lower level of the main cavern, and into the small
chamber at the end of the path. There'll be a couple of crates behind a rusty
door, you probably won't find anything good but you never know. That's all in
here, so head back to the path you came down, and to the upper level of the
main cavern. Take the bridge leading south, at the other end you'll fight your
third Red Sabre Skeleton. Once its dead take the bridge heading west along the
south wall, where the fourth Red Sabre Skeleton awaits. By now you've probably
noticed that the remaining two skeletons are on the ship itself, however
during the fight with the fourth skeleton they will probably become aware of
you and come to attack you from the bridge on the east side of the cave (the
bridge you which led to the third skeleton. Despite the fact that there's two
of them this fight isn't much harder, just make sure both of them have swung
and had their attacks blocked before you swing, otherwise you'll get hit when
you lower your defences to attack. If you get the chance to take them on one
at a time or knock one of them off the bridge, take advantage of it. Once
they've been taken care of, drop down from the middle of the bridge onto the
ship itself. There's beer lying around on deck, grab it, check the crates then
head through the door and into the ship (there's literally nothing on the
lower level around the ship so you don't need to bother exploring down there).
There's no beer in this small room, so you'll just have to make do with Ale,
Cheap Wine and Mead. That's all there is in the ship, so head back out on deck,
climb the stairs to the south and jump on the boxes, then up to the upper
level. Take the bridge to the west to the door to the Captain's Quarters.
Cap'n Dugal will attack you as soon as you enter, but he is no more difficult
than any of the skeletons, he just has a bit more health. Once you've reduced
him to a pile of bones, and thus claimed the cove, a journal entry directs you
to Dahlia Rackham of the Clarabella for assistance in turning the cove into a
base of operations.
Head back out of the cove and make the swim over to the Anvil docks, follow
the marker to The Sea Tub Clarabella, a ship turned into a pub, where you can
find Dahlia Rackham. Speak to her and bring up the topic Dunbarrow Cove
Upgrades, and you'll be able to hire various people and upgrade the cove. The
upgrades are as follows: Hire a Fence, 1000 gold; Hire a Fletcher, 1000 gold;
Upgrade your Quarters, 500 gold; Hire a Security Expert, 1000 gold; Hire a
Spymaster, 1000 gold; Hire a Supplier, 1000 gold. As you can see this isn't
exactly cheap if you want to buy everything (and you need to officially
complete the quest) but the results once you have a full crew can be worth it.
Also, when you get a full crew, several pirates will join your crew, it is
them you must talk to if you want to send them out on a mission.
First of all, here's a list explaining exactly what each member of your crew
does.
Spymaster - Kovan Kren           - He can be on the upper level of the main
chamber, across the bridge which heads
east from where you enter the chamber. He
can provide you with expert level Sneak
training, and also sells Illusion and
Restoration spells and various pieces of
armour.
Fletcher - Melliwin              - She can be found in the south east corner
of the upper level of the main chamber.
She can provide you with expert level
Marksman training, and also sells
Restoration spells and various bows and
arrows.
Security Expert - Tahm Blackwell - He can be found on the southern end of the
deck of the ship. He can provide expert
level security training, and sells
Restoration and Alteration spells and
various potions and books.
Supplier - Jak Silver            - He can be found in the lower decks of the
ship. He can provide expert level
Speechcraft training, and also sells
various potions and a lot of lockpicks.
Fence - Khafiz and Bacon         - Khafiz can be found in the small chamber
in the north west of the main chamber,
accessed through the tunnels leading north.
He can provide expert Mercantile training,
and also sells various weapons, armour,
ingredients, books and a lot of lockpicks.
Bacon is his pet warthog by the way.
Upgrading your quarters puts the following things in the Captain's Quarters:
5 lockpicks on the table, a Steel Cutlass on the table, a Superb Steel Cutlass
on the floor, Cap'n Dugal's Journal Parts 1, 2, and 3 on the floor, a bed and
a chest at the foot of the bed containing the Smugglers Key.
The Smugglers Key opens, you guessed it, the door to the Dining Hall in the
first chamber. This is nothing more than a corridor which leads to a hard
level locked Wooden Door to Royal Quarters of Castle Anvil.
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Plundering
----------
Plundering is pretty simple actually. Talk to one of the pirate who joined
your crew (not any of the crew members listed above) and bring up the I want
you to go out plundering topic, and your crew (once again not the crew members
listed above) will leave to go plundering. They return a week later (you'll
get a message telling you when they're returned) with the booty they
collected, from which you'll get a share, which can be found in the chest in
your quarters. This booty is a random amount of gold, which is usually a
couple of thousand or more. You have to allow your crew at least a day to rest
after plundering again, but this is the only restriction on how often you can
send them out. All of a sudden the cash you spent on hiring your crew doesn't
feel like such a big deal anymore, does it?
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7  - REPAIRING THE ORRERY             - OBL-RTOR
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This is a simple quest that requires more travelling than anything. Note that
the enemies you face may be different from those listed, while I've tried it
at different levels and still encountered the same enemies (at different
levels as well), this game sometimes throws substantially different enemies
at you in the same area depending on your level, so be careful.
Your journal entry advises you of a reward should you be able to recover the
missing Dwarven artefacts from the Arcane University, and tells you to head to
Camp Ales to try and track down the bandits. Unfortunately this place is quite
far north of Kvatch, and you can't fast travel there. If you haven't already
been out that way, your best bet is to fast travel to Kvatch and head north.
If you've explored that area travel to Fort Linchal or Varondo and head to the
camp from there. Be careful though, as undead enemies spawn around the Fort
Linchal. When you reach the camp you'll face two bandits; one Bandit Bowman
and one Bandit Carrier. Killing them should be easy, as they usually attack
you separately. Once the carrier is dead loot his body immediately for a
Dwarven Cog. The reason for this is that there is a lot of shrubbery and other
small plants in this area and if you go off to kill the other bandit you may
have trouble finding the carriers body again. This is the same for the other
camps as well, always loot the carrier straight after you kill him. Loot
the other bandit as well, and the camp itself, although you'll only find some
food and valueless items. As you enter the camp, you'll receive a journal
entry notifying you of four other camps in which Dwarven Artefacts are
located, you need to go to each of them and kill the carrier there to retrieve
all the artefacts.
Start by heading north-east to Brotch Camp. Follow the bottom of the hills
heading east; the camp is at the foot of this hill range, so you don't need to
worry about climbing them, they're often too steep anyway. Awaiting you at the
camp will be a Bandit, a Bandit Bowman and a Bandit Carrier. These three tend
to attack you as a group, so be ready for a defensive fight, and try to
separate them to deal with them one on one. When they're dead loot the carrier
for another Dwarven Cog, once again you'll only find food and valueless items
in the camp, in fact, its like that for all the camps in this quest. From here
make the short journey south to Dagny's Camp, where you'll find a Bandit
Carrier and a Bandit Hedge Wizard. If the wizard gives you any trouble try
running at him: he'll run away to cast more ranged spells at you, which can
give you valuable time to get out of sight of the caster and attack the
carrier. Once you've dealt with the carrier and looted him for a Dwarven
Coherer, just charge the wizard and kill him in melee combat: he'll run at
first, then stop to pull out his dagger. If you're good up close you'll kill
him easily before he gets his weapon out, even if you're not it'll still be a
pretty one sided fight.
From here fast travel back to Camp Ales and head west to Varus Camp. Here
you'll find only a Bandit Carrier, so standard one on one tactics here. Once
she's dead loot her for a Dwarven Tube, then its off to the final stop at
Bodean Camp, which is just a short trip to the south. Once again you'll only
find a Bandit carrier here, when she's dead grab the Dwarven Cylinder, and
you'll receive a journal entry telling you to return the artefacts to Bothiel
at the Arcane University.
Fast travel to the university and head into the Arch-Mage's Lobby to talk to
Bothiel during the day, at night she sleeps in the Mages Quarters, if you're a
member of the Mages Guild you can wake her up and give them to her there.
She'll thank you and give you a reward of 200 gold. But that's not all. Shortly
after giving her the artefacts a journal entry tells you to return to the
university after a day or so when the Orrery has been fixed. You can either
wait for 24 hours in the Arch-Mage's Lobby or go off and do other things for
a day; you'll be prompted by another journal entry when the Orrery is ready.
When you reach the university the orrery door will be unlocked, proceed
through to dwarven door to enter the orrery itself. For those of you who don't
know an orrery is a mechanical device which shows the positions and movements
of all the different bodies in the solar system. You'll see what I mean when
you climb the steps inside and activate it. Once activated, watch it for a
little while, because the longer its on the more the planets and stars on the
walls of the circular chamber will glow. But there's more here than just a
real cool light show; activate the console while the orrery is on to receive
a new power based on the phase of the moon. As of yet I don't know what all
these powers are, some are quite useful, others aren't, but you should check
back every week to see if there's a new power available. There is a catch,
however, you can only have one power at a time, and you don't know what the
new power is until you get it, so if you have a power you like, either don't
bother check to orrery or save your game first.
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Orrery Powers
-------------
Thanks to Naranek Angmar for providing this info
------------------------------------------------
When you activate the Imperial Orrery Console you gain a Greater Power based
on the Moon Phase displayed by the Imperial Orrery Console.  The Moon Phase
changes every three days giving the following Greater Powers that can be used
once per day.
New Moon - Masser's Might (STR +20, SPE -20 for 60s)
Waxing Crescent - Masser's Grace (AGI +20, END -20 for 60s)
First Quarter - Secunda's Will (WIL +20, INT -20 for 60s)
Waxing Gibbous - Secunda's Opportunity (LUC +20, PER -20 for 60s)
Full Moon - Masser's Alacrity (SPE +20, STR -20 for 60s)
Waning Gibbous - Secunda's Magnetism (PER +20, LUC -20 for 60s)
Last Quarter - Secunda's Brilliance (INT +20, WIL -20 for 60s)
Waning Crescent - Masser's Courage (END +20, AGI -20 for 60s)
"Masser" and "Secunda" and are Nirn's two moons.
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8  - FROSTCRAG SPIRE                  - OBL-FCSP
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----------------
Unique Loot Info
----------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to WhyteSythe, Jeff Wilcox and everyone else who e-mailed me about this,
I can't remember all your names!! This ring was originally brought to my
attention quite some time ago, but every time I wrote an update I seemed to
forget about it.
----------------
Pentamagic Loop
---------------
Level NA (Stats are the same no matter when you pick it up).
Septims: 2640
Weight: 0.1
Enchantments: +5 to Conjuration, Destruction, Mysticism, Illusion, and
Restoration.
------------
According to your journal entry, you've inherited a property from a long-lost
relative, and that you should go and check it out as soon as possible. The
journal entry is right, this place is incredibly useful, especially if you
have a magically inclined character or an alchemist. Its up in the middle of
the Jerall Mountains, but don't despair, its actually quite easy to get there,
because you can fast travel to it without having to get there first.
Once you get there head up the three flights of stairs to the door, along the
way you'll be prompted by a journal entry to go inside to... a single empty
circular room, with nothing more than a hand made of ice sticking out of the
floor. But wait a second, in the palm of the hand is a book. Once you read the
book, you get another journal entry and the place comes to life. The circles
of ice around the edge of the room begin to glow and rise out of the floor and
then the wall opposite the door retracts revealing the main level of Frostcrag
Spire. The journal entry tells you where you need to go to get everything you
need to restore Frostcrag Spire to its former glory, which is the purpose of
this quest, and in completing it you'll gain access to a number of useful
things.
Before you run off to get what you need from Mystic Emporium in the Imperial
City Market District, take a few minutes to check the place out. On the main
level there are two portals, one to the Vault and one to the Living Area, as
well as an Altar of Enchanting, an Altar of Spellmaking and an Atronach
Altar. Neither the Altar of Enchanting nor the Altar of Spellmaking works,
you are told they need Magetallow Candles. The Atronach Altar summons
Atronachs of the three types, but requires Frost Salts to work. You'll need
3 Void Salts for a Storm Atronach, 3 Frost Salts for a Frost Atronach and
3 Fire Salts for a Flame Atronach. Head down to the Vault to find nothing but
an empty cave (it's not actually empty, see below: Frostcrag Vault), then head
up to the Living Area to find another portal, a door leading outside and a
handy little garden full of alchemical ingredients. Grab them now if you like,
or you can leave them; you'll be coming back later. Out the door is a balcony
with nine portals, one to each of the eight mages guilds around Cyrodiil, and
one to the Arcane University. Note that the eighth guild is the Kvatch Mages
Guild, if you try to travel there you get a message saying the Kvatch Guild is
no more. Also note that these portals are one way trips, there are no portals
at the other end to take you back to Frostcrag Spire. You can always fast
travel, just keep in mind that time will pass on the journey back. The other
portal inside takes you to the top of the spire, you can't walk off the edge
but you can jump off so be careful.
---------------
Frostcrag Vault
---------------
Thanks to Metalslugger X and kage-inu for the info about Frostcrag Vault
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you buy the Vault, its not actually empty. There are two graves in the
vault.
One will give you a bottle of Daedric Lava Whiskey which will give you
"Fire damage 1 point for ten seconds on self"
"Paralyze for 10 seconds on self"
"Restore Health 20 points for 20 seconds on self"
and "Summon Dremora Lord for 60 seconds on self"
Also, the Vault Guardians are actually Grand Souls.
---------------------------------------------------
Now that you've had a look around head to Mystic Emporium to gather the items
you'll need to get everything working again. When you get there speak to
Aurelinwae when the store is open during the day; at night she can be
wandering the Arboretum, you'll get a marker telling you to go there, but she
won't actually sell you anything so you may as well just wait outside the
store until it opens in the morning. In order to complete the quest you'll
need to buy all the following things from her: Books: Frostcrag Alchemy Lab,
Frostcrag Bedroom Area, Frostcrag Library Area, Frostcrag Vault Area, and
Misc: 2 Magetallow Candle Boxes. But you probably won't be able to buy them
all at once. The character I used for this quest only had a Mercantile skill
of 29, but she's only a novice of Mercantile, so bump up her disposition for
the best prices, but its still going to cost you: the Alchemy Lab cost me 2400
gold, the Bedroom Area, Library Area and Vault cost me 1400 each and the
Magetallow Candles cost me 2800 each. That's 12400 gold total. If you can't
afford everything I'd recommend starting with at least one box of Magetallow
Candles for the Altar of Enchanting, a second box for the Altar of Spellmaking
if your character is a mage, or the Alchemy Lab if you use alchemy a lot. The
Bedroom Area, Library and Vault aren't that useful (although the Bedroom Area
gives you a bed to sleep in), and considering you get nothing special for
finishing the quest, you may not even want to bother with the Library or
Vault.
If you do want to finish the quest, (its technically finished when you buy the
last item, but what use is any of it if you just carry it around) when you've
purchased everything you need from Aurelinwae (even if it takes multiple trips
to get enough gold) you'll get a journal entry confirming this. Once you've
got everything you need head back to Frostcrag Spire to put it to good use.
The Alchemy Lab, Bedroom Area, Library Area and Vault Area will all be
automatically delivered and be there when you arrive, the Library is situated
in the alcoves of the main level; there are now several book cases and tables
filled with many different books and a few other items. The Vault is now
filled with chests and boxes, however none of them contain anything good,
usually you'll just find valueless items that you can't use. There are also
several Imp Guardians down there, they just fly around and don't attack you,
so don't panic and think that the gold you spent just put enemies in your
Vault. You may be able to find something good there, but I haven't yet, so if
anyone does, please let me know. The Alchemy Lab and is in the Living Area
along with the Bedroom Area (if you bought it), and is very useful indeed. It
has several ingredients on it, as well as a Novice level Retort and an
Apprentice level Mortar and Pestle and Alembic. But the real bonus is
Alchemical Brilliance, a skill which is added to your active effects when you
stand next to the Alchemy Lab, and fortifies your alchemy skill by 15.
Combined with the nearby indoor garden, this is a great place to increase your
alchemy skill or make some high level potions and poisons. The bedroom area
also contains a Jewellery Box on top of the shelves which has the Pentamagic
Loot inside (see above for stats). From here its back down to the main level
to finish the quest with what I think are the two best things about Frostcrag
Spire. The Altars of Enchanting and Spellmaking. To place the Magetallow
Candles on them simply walk up to them and press A. But be careful if you
only bought one box of candles, make sure you've got the altar you want before
you use them; it'll save you the headache of having to reload your game. The
altars function exactly the same as those in the Arcane University, but you
don't actually need to be a member of the Mage's Guild to use them, so no
longer will you have to complete all the recommendation quests for the Mages
Guild if all you want to do is enchant a weapon or piece of armour. As for the
Atronach Altar, it will create an Atronach Familiar of the type you request,
providing you have the three required Salts to summon it. You can only have one
at a time, and once summoned you can command it to follow you, wait, or you can
dismiss it. It will follow you anywhere, even when you fast travel, and will
only disappear if you dismiss it or it gets killed, and then you can just go
back to Frostcrag and summon another one. That's everything Frostcrag Spire has
to offer. Yes its a bit pricy, but its well worth the gold.
------------------------------------------------
9  - UNEARTHING MEHRUNES RAZOR        - OBL-MEHR
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***Vampire Alert - Bring a Silver or Magic Weapon, it'll save you a lot of
trouble, as well as a couple of cure disease potions if you're worried about
Porphyric Hemophilia (the vampire disease)***
***Long Dungeon Alert - Make sure you come prepared with enough equipment and
potions, especially if you're a low level character***
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Thanks to daved wanker for the info about the profitability of this quest
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, when you get the
beating heart right before you get the razor, instead
of trying to force open the wall that separates you
from the razor, you can eat the heart instead and you
will be attacked by that statue guy.  Then kill him
and the door opens and you get Mehrunes Razor.  Also,
at either the beginning or the end of the Mehrunes
Razor quest walkthrough, tell people how awesome this
dagger is.  Some people may be deterred by the idea of
a really long dungeon, and if you put what Mehrunes
Razor is capable of at the beginning of the FAQ, more
people may want to perform the quest.  Finally, if you
wait until you are around level 18 or so to do the
quest, the loot is amazing.  I did it at level 19 and
every person in the dungeon besides the labourers had
at least one piece of glass, ebony, dwarven, or elven
equipment.  I made 70,000 gold cashing in all this
loot, and i got a full suit of ebony armor.
(I did this quest with a level 26 character and the loot is incredible. While
many dungeons at this level provide you with similar levels of armour, items,
etc, the sheer size of this dungeon makes it extremely profitable.)
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
The stats of the Razor - is the dagger worth it? (Yes. Definitely.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mehrunes Razor
Septims: 6365
Damage: 2
Weight: 9
Enchantments: Daedric Banishing on Strike**, Disintegrate Armour 15pts on
Strike. Charge: 8000, Uses: 49.
*This depends on the Strength Attribute and Blade Skill of your character. The
number above comes from a Level 26 character with Strength: 89 and Blade: 100.
Characters with lower levels of strength and blade will do less damage.
Also note that as a dagger, the Razor strikes are much quicker than other
bladed weapons, but it also has less reach.
**This enchantment is a chance at an instant kill, as the dagger steals the
soul of whoever it hits. This doesn't happen very often though, and I'm not
exactly sure what causes the enchantment to work, the best advice I can give
is to keep hitting the enemy; in my experience its more likely that the
enchantment will work the more an enemy is hit. The game also keeps track of
how many souls the dagger has taken; every time it takes one a count comes up
on the screen, which is a nice touch. Even if this enchantment doesn't work,
the Disintegrate Armour is useful, and its combination of speed and damage is
very good. Trust me when I say that once you've got the Razor, you'll be glad
you made the effort.
--------------------
The first thing you'll notice about this quest is that the dungeon is in the
middle, and I mean the middle, of nowhere. If you haven't explored out that
way, the closest place will be Bravil. So fast travel to the Bay Roan Stables
outside Bravil, make the swim across the Niben Bay, and begin the trek to
Sundercliff Watch. If you have been exploring in that area, fast travel to
Abandoned Mine, which is slightly north of Sundercliff Watch.
When this download came out, they said it was the biggest dungeon in the game.
My first thought was, how big can it be? The answer: big. I mean really big.
If you know what you're doing and you're good in combat then you could
probably get through it reasonably quickly, but the first time it does take a
while.
Once you enter the dungeon and take two steps forward, you'll be attacked.
That's a great start isn't it? There's a Drothmeri Recruit with a bow in the
south east corner of the room who'll start shooting at you. When you move to
engage him you'll alert a Drothmeri Soldier in the tunnel in the south west
corner. Deal with the archer quickly in melee combat; its a close space so he
can't run, and being an archer he'll drop really quickly when you stick him
with a sword. The archer should be dead before the soldier attacks you, so you
can take him on by himself, where he'll be easy to deal with. Loot the corpses
and grab the gold and any other small treasure in the chest near the archer,
then head down the tunnel to an old wooden door. Try to open the door and
you'll be asked a question from the other side, and your only choice is to say
nothing. Check the sack on the stool next to the door, and take the Small
Diary, which contains the password, and is quite amusing to read. Try the door
again, respond to the question with 'Chimer', and the door will open. On the
other side will be the Drothmeri Steward and a Drothmeri Soldier. They're not
that hard to take on at the same time, neither has that much health, and as
long as you wait for both of them to strike before you lower your defences and
strike, you should be fine. When they're dead loot the bodies and the table
near the door then continue into the chamber. When you reach the bottom of the
steps you'll be attacked by another Drothmeri Recruit with a bow, kill him and
head to the stairs leading down on the east side of the room and you'll be
attacked by two more Drothmeri Soldiers. Use the same strategy as above to
deal with them. When you reach the bottom of the stairs you'll be attacked by
a Drothmeri Veteran. You need to watch out for these guys. They have a good
amount of health, sword and shield, and a shock based ranged magic capability.
The easiest way to kill them is to keep close to them so they don't use their
ranged shock spell, and block and counterattack to kill them while preserving
your own health. After the veteran is dead, follow the tunnel to a round
chamber with a gaping hole in the middle. Take out the Drothmeri Recruit
standing on the opposite side to the entrance, then head down the stairs to
the lower level and take the door to the north leading to Sundercliff Village.
Follow the path down to the village itself, there are a lot of enemies in this
huge chamber, and when one spots you, they'll all come running. This isn't as
bad as it sounds, because they're spread out over the several levels of the
chamber, so the best way to deal with them is to stay on the top level and
take them on as the come at you piecemeal. You will have to move around,
though, as most of them are archers and once they have a clear line of sight
to you they won't come any closer. These guys are also quite good in melee,
so don't expect to walk all over them or you'll just end up getting yourself
killed. Remember to keep you health and defences up, and you should make it
through alright. When they're all dead, loot the buildings then head for the
north west exit following the marker. Be careful in your looting though, there
are three enemies hiding in the Soldier Lodgings, its a very tight space to
get caught between three melee fighters, so be defensive, or just avoid the
lodgings if you don't feel you can take them. There are also two more in the
canteen, so be ready if you decide to go in there. If you can pick open the
door to the private attic you'll find a Khajiit Labourer, and if you can pick
the hard lock on the cell door you can release the Assassin imprisoned there
(he just sneaks off and doesn't there are no topics if yo try to talk to him,
but he does help later on, you should free him if you can). When you're
finished in here, head down the tunnel to the west on the lower level,
towards the door to the Sundercliff Commune. There'll be a Drothmeri Veteran
between you and the exit, but he'll be alone so he should be easy to defeat.
The commune is another large chamber with many enemies, move past the ramp in
front of you and kill the veteran on the stairs in front of the Veteran
Lodgings, and the soldier that attacks you afterwards. At this point an
archer may come down the ramp behind you, kill her then go to the Veteran
Lodgings and deal with the veteran and recruit inside. Now head back to the
ramp and go to the upper level. Kill the soldier and recruit that attack you,
then follow the marker to Frathen Drothan's Quarters. Inside grab his journal,
which will trigger a journal entry instructing you to find two enchanted
bezoars. Leave Dothan's quarters and enter the Commander's Quarters next door.
You'll be attacked by the Drothmeri Commander, but, if you managed to free the
assassin, you'll get some help on this one. He'll come bounding down the
stairs and attack the commander, distracting him and allowing you to attack
from behind. When the commander is dead head upstairs to grab the first
bezoar, then exit back out to the commune. From here you need to proceed back
down the ramp and back to the village, following the marker.
As you enter the village you'll encounter two recruits where the veteran was
when you left, one they've been dealt with, enter the main chamber and follow
the marker to the exit to the Sundercliff Forge on the upper level. Kill the
lone soldier that attacks you almost straight away, then follow the path in
either direction, they both lead to the same place, and take the path that
heads east, then south. Kill the soldier here as well, then, ignoring the
marker for now, take the door into the Sundercliff Mines. The mines are an
easy area. There are two types of enemies here, a couple of soldiers, but
mainly they're just labourers, who attack you with tools instead of weapons,
have no armour and little health. Make your way down the path, it doesn't
matter which way, they all lead to the same tunnel. When you reach the tunnel
though, you start finding strange things. Dead Drothmeri Soldiers. Now before
you start worrying about what hideous thing you're going to have to face next,
let me tell you this is a good thing. You'll find out why in a moment. As you
make your way out of the tunnel to the upper level of the mine you'll be
attacked by a soldier, kill him and make your way across the small bridges to
the encampment in the north east corner. Kill the recruit an labourer here,
follow the marker down the tunnel to the exit. About halfway down though, the
screen will shake and there'll be a rumbling sound, but don't worry, this
isn't a booby trap, just a rock fall up ahead, and it can't hurt you. Enter
the door that leads back to a different part of the forge. The tunnel will
lead you to a chamber with forging equipment and one enemy; the Weapons
Apprentice. He's pretty much a cross between a soldier and a labourer: he has
a good weapon and some armour, but not much health, and he shouldn't pose a
problem. When he's dead, take the tunnel to the north, in the next chamber
will be three labourers and another apprentice. Once they have been dealt with
proceed further into the chamber to fight the Forge master, he's easier to
defeat than a soldier, in fact he's just as easy as the apprentices. Once
you've taken care of him, enter his tent and grab the second bezoar, then take
the tunnel to the north and follow it round to the exit, killing one last
labourer as you go. At the end of the tunnel you'll find a boulder, pull the
nearby rope to lower the boulder, then take the door back to the village.
Take the bridge across the upper level to follow the marker back to the
commune, as you reach the far side of the bridge you'll be attacked by three
soldiers, they don't attack all at once though, you should try to kill
them as soon as they come so you can fight them one at a time. Once you head
through into the commune, follow the right hand wall back to the ramp that
leads to the lower level, and head down the path past the Veteran's Lodgings,
a recruit will attack you here, kill him, then take follow the path to the
Varsa Baalim and a veteran. Deal with him, then, using the bezoars, activate
the two Enchanted Pedestals on either side of the door to unseal it. You can
now enter the Excavated Ruin.
The path leads downhill to a small chamber with a large pile of bones in the
middle, and two passages leading off north and south. Take the north one; the
south one is blocked by a rock fall, and eventually you'll come across a large
blood splatter across the wall, just before the door leading to the Varsa
Baalim. Dead soldiers that you didn't kill, piles of bones and now huge blood
splatters? So what's really happening in this place? You're about to find out.
As you enter the Ayleid city a journal entry tells you to be on your guard,
and as you move towards the edge of the upper level you can see ranged spells
lighting up the lower level. Seems you're not the only one fighting the
Drothmeri. There are vampires having some fun down here as well (okay so you
probably figured out they were the mysterious enemy from the vampire alert at
the beginning of the walkthrough, but at least now you'll have brought a
magic or silver weapon to kill them with). This is a good thing, because it
means that the Drothmeri and vampires will be preoccupied with killing each
other, so you will have to kill fewer enemies and they'll be weakened from