Morrowind:Starting out

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Morrowind

Contents

This is a list of hints to help you start your adventures in Vvardenfell on a good note. For more tips, see Hints.

[edit] Starting out

[edit] Tips

Make good use of the difficulty slider; it is recommended that you start out low and increase it every few levels, maxing out at +100 around level 35. You can find your own comfort zone where the game is still challenging, but not frustrating. The slider effects every action in the game, a little bit like Luck.

[edit] Easily Obtainable Items

[edit] The Census & Excise Office

Once you finish talking to Socucius Ergalla, but before you give your release papers to Sellus Gravius, there is a perfect opportunity to make a little extra cash to start the game out on. You can steal anything and everything with little effort from the rooms that are unguarded. In the rooms that are guarded, it is also possible to steal quite a few things, but it takes slightly more effort. All you have to do is pick up the item and then immediately drop it. The guard will run towards you, and tell you that stealing is wrong, but you will not be given a bounty. Now you can simply pick up the item off the floor. This is an excellent way to obtain the Limeware Platter that's worth 650 gold and the books on the shelf for 50 gold each. You may also choose to pick up the lock pick in the room near the exiting door. There's a level 1 locked chest in that same room containing gold, so you should always be able to pick the lock.There's also a level 5 lock chest near Socucius Ergalla containing gold. Characters with a high sneak may also sneak up behind Socucius Ergalla and try to pick pocket him (he carries gold as well). The guard will run to you if you pick locks, or pickpocket and take gold, but he won't retrieve the stolen gold from you even if it's in your inventory at the time. On your way out (but once again before you hand in your papers), be sure to swipe the key off the shelf in the last room. It is the key to the building across the street, which is filled with lots of valuable stuff. Now turn around and go back to the outside section (with the healing ring) before you hand in your papers and use the wall glitch to get out and repeat the steal/drop trick.

If you don't know the wall glitch: Go outside to the barrel that you grabbed the healing ring from; a little to your left a brick wall meets up with the building where you're supposed to hand in your papers. Face a little towards the building, and hold forward then jump a few times to get through the wall.

[edit] Around the Lighthouse

Scattered in and around the Lighthouse of Seyda Neen are numerous items that can be taken and sold to increase the amount of money your character has early on in the game.

[edit] Stash in Tree Trunks

There are two rotting tree trunks around the Lighthouse. The one close to the Lighthouse entryway contains 25 gold pieces and a silverware cup worth 13 gold. The second trunk contains an Iron Shardaxe worth 100 gold. The first trunk can be reached by jumping down from the wooden walkway leading up to the entrance; getting the Shardaxe is more of a challenge. One way to get to them is to climb onto the stones touching the Lighthouse and jumping off toward the trunk.

[edit] In the Lighthouse

If you go into the Lighthouse and climb all the way up the stairs you will find, next to the roof access, a bench. Under the bench is the book The Wraith's Wedding Dowry which is worth 300 gold and increases your unarmed skill. No-one will see you if you take this book.

[edit] Exploiting the Early Quests

Three quests starting in Seyda Neen can all be exploited for a little extra cash early in the game.

  • First and most obvious is the Fargoth's Ring quest. You could keep the ring, but it's much more profitable to give it to him, as you'll get it back later (see below), and giving it to him gives you an instant Disposition boost with Arrille, the only trader in town. Perfect for selling the stuff you stole from the Census and Excise building above.
  • Next, you can exploit the Death of a Taxman quest. If you find the body just outside the town, he'll have a bunch of cash on him. When you report it to Socucius Ergalla, he'll ask if there was any cash on the body. You can just lie and keep the money. If you figure out who killed him and take care of it on your own, you can still get the reward money on top of the stolen taxes. Finally, when you find Processus Vitellius' Ring during this quest, instead of returning it to Thavere Vedrano, keep it - it's an Exquisite Ring, the best you can find. Either Enchant it, or sell it for profit, it's worth far more than the healing potions you'll get for returning it. (If you remember who you sold it to, you can always buy it back later when cash isn't a problem if you want to complete the quest.
  • The third exploitable quest is Fargoth's Hiding Place. Not only do you get back his ring during this quest, but you get a nice pile of gold. While you were told to return two thirds of this gold to Hrisskar Flat-Foot, there are no negative consequences if you just keep it. Again, you can always give it back to him later when you've got more money than you know what to do with.

[edit] The Road to Balmora

Most likely, your character's first destination after leaving the Chargen area and exploring Seyda Neen will be Balmora. There are several ways to get there. The easiest way is certainly to take the Siltstrider. A more lucrative and satisfying way is to walk. There is one path in particular on which the new adventurer can find many stashes of loot along the way.

As you exit Seyda Neen, you will see a road ahead that splits - you can go to the right and follow the path up to the Siltstrider, or you can go straight ahead and pass over a little bridge. The second swamp-like pond on your right hand side contains a rotting tree trunk with three stumps - one of them contains two piles of 25 Gold pieces and a Firebite dagger worth 7 gold.

Continue following the path and an unfortunate Bosmer will fall out of the sky to land just in front of you. The corpse can be looted for three Scrolls of Icarian Flight worth 117 gold each; for details and safety tips, see this page.

Continue on the road until you see a sign. Leave the road at the sign and head out left towards the water. Follow the narrow coastline between the mountains and the water in a north-westerly direction.

Pass the dungeon entrance and continue along the narrow coast. You will find a remarkable tree on which you can find all four of the mushroom types you will need for the mushroom quest from the Balmora Mages Guild. While you're there, you can just as soon pick the samples. Just ahead you will see another tree trunk. (The fourth tree trunk you'll find if you looted the Seyda Neen Lighthouse previously.) This trunk contains a sack of gold.

Continue along the coast and you will find the Unexplored Shipwreck, within which you can find Diamonds and ash statues. There is also a Silver Longsword in a chest on the shoreline near to the shipwreck.

The next landmark is the Odai River, turn inland and cross it, so you are on its west side. Follow the river upwards until you find its second bridge near the miners, and cross going east. You shouldn't have to explore the area too much to find Vassir-Didanat Cave along the pathway, to the right side cliffs. Enter and leave immediately, there are strong creatures in the vicinity, your journal will update. There are several Hlaalu councilors interested in this mine, if you later speak to Dram Bero in Vivec, this quest will net you a Daedric weapon of your choice early on. Note that Daedric weapons can be somewhat heavy...

Return to the Odai and follow it northeast until you reach Balmora.

[edit] Sword of White Woe

In Balmora's Eastern Guard tower, you can find a Sword of White Woe on top of a closet, on the top floor. You don't have to fight the guard there to get the items as there is a blind spot. If you are by the foot of the bunk beds, you can take the items and not be noticed. You might need to jump/levitate to see the sword. There is a second Sword of White Woe in Suran. This one is under the bunk bed at the top of the guard tower. The sword in Suran is much harder to obtain, as you cannot put anything between the guard and yourself and still have the sword in sight. If you cannot frenzy/taunt the guard then just steal the pillow, resist arrest, and kill him. That way you'll only get a 1 gold fine instead of a 17,000 gold fine for stealing the sword, or alternatively you can steal one of the weapons hanging on the racks, run to the basement and trap the guard behind a door, pay the fine, and run back up and take the sword without having to kill the guard.

[edit] Making Easy Gold

[edit] Balmora Mages Guild

This hint can net you about 80,000 gold* quite easily with no fighting/haggling/anything difficult involved. Basically, when you go to Balmora, go to the Mages Guild and join. Then, head downstairs to Ajira, the Khajiit alchemist. She will give you a quest to find four mushrooms. Do it, then report back, its the next quest you want. Now, she will ask you to put a fake soul gem in Galbedir's (the wood elf enchanter upstairs) desk. As you're going up the stairs, you will pass her going down. Run up to her desk and swipe everything on it. There is a Grand Soul gem with a Winged Twilight's soul in it, worth 60,000 gold along with some other filled Soul gems and a limeware platter. Once you have it all, you can put the Soul gem in the desk if you want, there's no real need to now, unless you want to complete the Mages Guild quests. Be aware, however, that you will not be able to use Galbedir's Enchanting services if you do this, as she will from then on believe that ANY soul gems you show her (other than Azura's Star) were stolen from her, even if you bought or found them legitimately elsewhere, and she'll accuse you of the theft and attack you. (You may even be kicked out of the Mages Guild for this.)

* Note that there are no traders that can pay more than 10,000 gold for an item, unless you have the item's equivalent in value over other items worth less than 10,000 gold, and then you can use the sell-buyback method (a lengthy process) to get its full value.

[edit] Glass Daggers

There are three badly damaged glass daggers you can buy dirt cheap (about 30 gold) and either repair yourself or have repaired for about 300 gold. The first is in Suran, at the pawnbroker's shop. The other two are in Vivec, one sold by Audenian Valius (the Enchanter with a rat problem in Telvanni Canton Waistworks) and the other by Lucretinaus Olcinius, a trader on the St. Delyn Plaza.

[edit] Pearl Diving

In Seyda Neen, once you have a weapon, you can get some easy money by going diving. Walk round the back of Arille's tradehouse and past the little houses until you reach water. There is a narrow stretch of water dividing you from the beginnings of the Bitter Coast region (you should be facing roughly Southeast). Cross this stretch of water and continue forward until you see a mini lake with some Slaughterfish swimming about. That hump of rock in the middle of it is a cave with a door. Kill the fish and enter the cave. There's ample breathing opportunity so no need to worry about potions. Inside, deal with any more Slaughterfish lying about then start checking the clams for pearls. There can be quite a few of them in the cave.

Note: Make sure to save before going underwater. It may sound silly, but you can glitch into a plant, which is very frustrating because then you might have to start over if you haven't yet saved.

[edit] Beginner's Adventuring

[edit] Bandit's Cave

A good beginner quest involves clearing out a nearby cave of bandits. From Seyda Neen, turn right and approach the Silt Strider. As you get closer, there will be a path going left and downhill. Take that path to the door covering the cave entrance.

The bandits here aren't especially tough, but it will be a challenge for a new character. Free the slaves to get a quest later on. You can also pick up their slave bracers and sell them to a merchant. Don't forget to loot the bandits' bodies and all the boxes. There is a thief ring down the path near the caged slave area.

[edit] Melee Combat Hints

[edit] Tips

  • If you're facing a group or a powerful enemy beyond your level, a few swigs of Sujamma will raise your strength, the to-hit ratio and the damage you deal. Other drinks are helpful as well, but nothing offers the bang-for-the-buck of Sujamma.
  • Try to isolate enemies when dealing with groups, use the terrain to your advantage, and any superior reach or speed your weapon might have.
  • Your Fatigue and encumbrance levels affect your ability to successfully hit an opponent. Drop any unneeded, heavy objects in combat, you can pick them up later. If you see an enemy approaching, try to rest your fatigue for a few seconds, there is no need to rush in, unless they are mages or ranged attackers.
  • When facing ranged foes, try to weave and dodge. They are much easier after they expend their Magicka or projectiles.

[edit] Spears to Improve Your Endurance

Since Heavy Armor is, well, heavy and Medium Armor has limited uses in later levels, Spears are the best way to increase your mage's Endurance. Also, it might be a good idea to make endurance one of your favored attributes to max out your endurance as quickly as possible. Also note that spear has a longer reach, helping you to keep critters at bay. Arrille has two Iron Spears for sale. The Conjuration spell Bound Spear is helpful, cheap and weightless. The trader Ra'Virr in Balmora also has a cheap Devil Spear for sale, if you don't want to solely rely on spells.

[edit] Early Quests with Great Rewards

This is a section of quests that have fantastic rewards, and can be done by any player.

Auriel's Bow - Reward of an enchanted Daedric Cuirass and Daedric Greaves (Note that while this is a House Telvanni quest, anyone can do it).

Pilgrimages of the Seven Graces - Easily obtainable Dreugh Cuirass, which can be received over and over again.

Vassir-Didanat Ebony Mine - great Daedric weapon for free.

[edit] Early useful Items

[edit] Useful Spells

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