10 Secret Decisions you didn't know you could make in Skyrim

[@chloe-historyandgames]

wuunferth the unliving. give him the diary rather than the steward and you prevent his arrest and save the next victim

[@Sanguivore]

After playing this game from release night, I only *just* discovered that myself about a week ago. I thought that was really cool!

[@grivebulbs7539]

I've literally only been able to finish that quest correctly once without it bugging out after ten years of play.

[@RealBradMiller]

​@@grivebulbs7539I used to avoid Windhelm at all costs.... If I didn't figure out the murders within a few days the whole thing glitched, and I had to do it or any time I got close to Windhelm it crashed my game.

[@Sanguivore]

@@grivebulbs7539 Yeah, that one has a history of being very buggy for me too. That one and the Forsworn Conspiracy/No One Escapes Cidhna Mine are the two buggiest quests quite regularly in my playthroughs.

[@KimberlyKjellberg]

Interesting I never known to show him the diary. I just made sure to speak about him with Calixto and Viola and then come at him with "I heard that you are dabbling in Necromancy" and go from there. Since it seems to have led to misunderstandings for some people, I should mention that when I talk to Calixto it includes me showing him the amulet, he tells me that it's a wheelstone traditionally carried by the court mage. I ask him if I shouldn't give it to Wuunferth and Calixto replies something about how he founds Wuunferth creepy and that he heard that he is into necromancy.

[@warriorwithin44]

If you want to both keep the golden claw AND complete the mission to return it to the Riverwood trader without stealing it, just turn around and retrace your steps without ever opening the puzzle door that needs the claw after you get it off the thieves body and return it to the trader. Then when you start the dragonstone quest it'll give you the prompt to retrieve the claw from the trader. When you get there you can either buy it from them outright or pass a persuasion Check to convince them the jarl needs it

[@stormbringer126]

I didn't know this one. Awesome!

[@amberlyndetrout7239]

Ok this is an actual 'today I learned' thanks 🎉

[@3.1415-with-sauce]

You got me with this one too, kudos.

[@chahinebourenane6291]

Seriously? Isn't this fake ?

[@warriorwithin44]

@@chahinebourenane6291 it worked when I would play on xbox. Of course on PC you can always console Comand it into inventory

[@Sunseahl]

During the Silverblood quest in Markarth... If you keep going back to the Talos shrine as you pick up a new pieces of info, the guy who picked up your "dropped note" will usually pay you a sum of coin for finding each new info up until he's killed by the guards after discovering who "the nose" is.

[@My0ldFr13nd]

you don't need to discover who "the nose" is. you just need to finish investigating either of the leads - the one with the nose or the one that leads you to speak with the Silverblood at the Treasury house

[@pamjarvis2318]

He has the same full amount of money on his dead body in temple after being sent to prison by guards from my own experiences because sometimes I do forget to keep visiting him in between doing his quest too. I have learned to do town npc quests first and foremost along with Jarl's quests that ends with getting his family shield to get the house before this questline begins or you might get glitch bug where you are unable to get the house and one of my favorite housecarl Argis who is amazingly balanced warrior follower that doesn't get in your way liked Lydia and potential one of best male spouses because you can be frustrated of not get buy the house option to show up with Jarl's uncle at his side if you do this quest first before doing all of town npc quests and Jarl's quests.

[@trafforddan2]

Y😂gyt8😢

[@BucketBoatable]

Which is literally what he tells you to do

[@deejmeht2338]

I always save Margeret in Markath, it just feels like a necessity 😂 to the point where if I fail I'll just restart! Great vid!

[@dolfuny]

Same

[@Cthulhus_Mum]

Yep. I reloaded my first game to save her because I thought I’d failed! I also tried to save Rothgar (sp?) from beheading, but shooting his executioner turns everyone hostile so I figured I had to let him die. Killing Margaret’s murderer isn’t flagged as a crime, so I figured the game wanted me to do it!

[@Cthulhus_Mum]

Roggvir - had to look him up. Apparently my hearing is *terrible* 🤣

[@RusticKey]

​@@Cthulhus_MumMust've from meditating on High Hroggvir.

[@XSilver_WaterX]

Weirdly, the guards JOIN in on the manslaughter of the would-be assassin?! Markarth really has a grudge on the Forsworn than the Thalmor.

[@AJUniverse]

14:28 Yeah we do. Saadia us lying. The lore is clear that the Alikir are one of the few factions still in open opposition to the Thalmor. They would never punish someone for speaking out against the Dominion, but would definitely be assigned to brining in a Dominion sympathizer.

[@desolationking7911]

Except the kill her. They don't take her back to hammerfell.

[@slater1978]

Are you sure that Saadia is lying? Have you researched the Skyrim lore?

[@xmercyme3923]

​@@slater1978 I mean, the Alik'r are warriors, not assassins. And like the original comment said, they are DEFINITELY not Thalmor sympathizers. Saadia is definitely lying, but we don't know if that means she deserves it or not.

[@Ali-mv3jc]

​@@desolationking7911they might actually not? They paralyse her when you hand her in. I know her urn appears in the catacombs, but it was my understanding that that's how the game "removes" resident NPCs.

[@TravelerLily]

Suppose you help get Braith to stop bullying Lars. In that case, you can simply enter the battleborn house and take the missive without it being marked as stolen because the game marks you as a friend and so all cheaper items in the house will be considered free to take including the missive.

[@ryanroyce]

This is the bypass I've always used. I didn't know about going through Idolaf or Jon because of it lol

[@TravelerLily]

@@ryanroyce Neither did I 🤣

[@Danceofmasks]

I just worked for Olfina at the farm. Hand her some produce, and you can enter the house.

[@Brizzle427]

Even easier option is when asked "grey mane or battle born" to simply answer, battle born. This also marks you as friend

[@batarasamuel5591]

Idk about everyone, but since the first time I played Skyrim I've always started the Golden Claw quest from the Valerius siblings, because isn't it like RPG player's common courtesy to check every item shop in every town or city?

[@gvsd3]

True, I always go to the shop first, Im actually shocked to my bone that you can overhear the bandits talking about that trapped dark elf, and discover the claw first lol

[@RS_Alban]

Same here, I always go there first and I discovered very recently that this is not how most people start the quest

[@assistantmagus5213]

It's not so much common courtesy as just straight up necessity, you're always carrying shit to be sold and without mods they only have like a pitiful 500-1000 gold, so every opportunity you're in and out of vendors

[@beastgamer5712]

I always go straight to the tomb and then make my way to riverwood

[@nebulastar9050]

I'd also usually do the golden claw quest first and then I'd have the dragonstone by the time I got to Whiterun pretty much skipping that quest. It wasn't until I finally went to Whiterun first on one playthrough that I found out that if you have to actually go retrieve the dragonstone, Delphine is there talking to Farengar when you return with it.

[@tynytian]

The funny thing about the forsworn conspiracy quest is that, if you are playing on anniversary edition and you give some gear to Hilda the pet goat to carry, you can summon her with a spell from inside Cidna mine and retrieve said gear to use during the escape.😂

[@mihceakun90]

Or in a moded game you can do the same with Inigo ! And have an ally to help you !

[@ccerutid4301]

Or you could summon the spectral servant from the black book, thats what I do for both this quest and the embassy quest. I tried it in the mind of pelagius but you cannot access spells.

[@halo1989100]

This is the only correct answer.

[@MoonstarGem1]

@@ccerutid4301 Yeah, this is what I do.

[@zintosion]

It just works

[@sleeplesstime]

Most people don't seem to know that you don't actually need to complete Brynjolf's initiation quest to get into the Thieves Guild. You can fail the quest, for example by getting caught lockpicking, pay your fines and Brynjolf will still tell you to go to the Ragged Flagon and join. And you didn't send Brand-Shei to jail for nothing. Which is nice since he also has a quest for you.

[@galileogalilei325]

You can also tell Brynjolf that you lost the ring. Even when you have it! in witch case you also save Brand-Shei :)

[@Miss_Camel]

I just walk into the bee & barb for a few seconds until it says failed. lol

[@michaelsykora1997]

This is what I did..👍

[@masterthune]

I think Saadia is the liar with 99% certainty. I remember that this quest sets an assassination flag if you side with Saadia it will be the Dark Brotherhood, but if side with Kematu it is Thalmor agents.

[@YourPalKindred]

Huh! Very interesting. Guess I'll side with Kematu in my newest playthrough

[@The2FRANKGRIMES]

It looks like you’re buggered either way

[@zoesommers2927]

can confirm. if you help kematu you'll get hunted down by thalmor agents, its happened to me several times including on a playthrough where it was the first side quest I'd done and I hadn't even encountered any other stuff to do with the thalmor so literally nothing else could have set off the flag

[@Cthulhus_Mum]

I literally didn’t know you could start the Golden Claw any way *other* than overhearing the traders arguing. I can’t imagine not going to the shop on the way through, and you can’t avoid getting the quest, so I didn’t know it would start anyway on killing the bandits! First playthrough I didn’t do it before visiting Whiterun, but ever since then I have (since Farengar praises you for bringing the stone before he asks for it lol)

[@rayhendrickson8055]

The only problem with that is that Delphine won't be there, and she brings the book, Holdings of Jarl Gjalund. I like to roleplay a book collector, of sorts. Specializing in rare and instructional books, and a few notable series. That book being one-and-only, it is a necessary part of my collection.

[@bad-people6510]

You can also get the quest by just picking up the claw in the first place.

[@maxtube1952]

Yeah I dunno what happened with that one. Riverwood is...literally the first place you go to. How the hell could anyone have missed that interaction in the only shop in the first place you're in after the tutorial.

[@RustyMerc4Hire]

If you kill Saadia after turning her in, Kematsu expresses an upset nature that now they can't bring her back to be judged for her crimes. Why would Kematsu be upset about this if he was lying, therefore turning her in is the correct path.

[@galileogalilei325]

However, if you give her to Kematu, you will later find her tombstone in Whiterun in the Hall of the Dead. Which implicates that they never gave Saadia a fair trial but killed her right there and then.

[@bad_spike]

@@galileogalilei325i doubt it, the urn is probably just an oversight on the developers part, because saadia is technically no longer in the game and the urn is just automatic

[@namenlossterbliche6239]

​​@@galileogalilei325yeah, probably that's just unintended consequence of the urn mechanic and not a deliberate hint, so I whould not read into it too much

[@panzer00]

​@galileogalilei325 that is just how the game handles deaths. It is an oversight.

[@jonoboi8069]

Also considering the fact that hammer fell and the Thalmor are even greater enemies than the imperials and Thalmor as part of the white gold concordat, hammer fell was given to the Thalmor but Hammerfell staged an uprising. It would make zero sense that alik’r warriors would be helping the Thalmor

[@chrismiller5940]

Overall nothing new for me but then I have over 11,000 hours in the game (half from mod playtesting). One quest that I have not seen anyone discuss: You can get a second quest from Sibbi Black-Briar to find a girl named Svidi who was supposed to marry him. She found letters he had received from another woman and confronted him which resulted in her brother being killed and her going into hiding. He hires you to find out where she is so he can have her killed. Turns out she is Lynly Star-Sung and you can confront her and if you pass an intimidation or persuasion check she will ask for your help. You can tell Sibbi where she is or that she has fled into Morrowind.

[@Miss_Camel]

Nothing new for me in the video either, but THIS I didn’t know!! Thanks!

[@taylorslade961]

What? Camel has mentioned that quest at least twice.

[@Miss_Camel]

@@taylorslade961 I did what now?!

[@calebbraun9505]

If you enter Markarth without going through the front entrance, then Waylin won't attack Margaret until you get close to the market. The easiest way to do this is to start the quest "A night to remember", which puts you at the temple of dibella

[@shasta1101]

Yup, pretty much the only way I go to markarth

[@axecarver]

With Gissur, if you make yourself seen in the Flagon, he wil report your pressence to the Thalmor at the bridge point in the Ratway entrance. Killing them there would prevent the Thalmor from entering the vaults.

[@aelinalice9194]

I honestly didn’t know most of these. The one that surprised me the most was the golden claw quest. Mostly because for me it was the opposite. I thought you HAD to visit the siblings first this entire time lmao

[@sarahnoia3495]

Same here 😂

[@bronwaith]

Mctooooooo

[@davidmcdaniel5310]

I don't acknowledge the Alikr Warriors. They remain at the entrance and kill all the vampires that randomly spawn in.

[@gjg5789]

There's a quest where you join some hunters to slay a werewolf. You can instead kill the hunters and spare the werewolf, leave the cave you get a reward for "turning the hunt on it's head" or something like that. You can then re-enter the cave, kill the werewolf, leave and be given another reward.

[@stormbringer126]

Ooh, the Hircine quest! That's a good one :)

[@darcraven01]

i believe that was patched out

[@INeedLore]

Just did it on the switch ​@@darcraven01

[@amberlyndetrout7239]

​@@darcraven01nope, it works. Did it on anniversary edition yesterday July 22

[@randylittlebatfleck3539]

If you go to Bloated Man's Grotta(that cave) prior to starting that quest, you can get Bolar's Oathblade. It's by a Shrine of Talos that isn't in the cave if you start that quest. If you haven't yet started the quest, the Shrine is there with the sword. Great early game sword too

[@lexm.4309]

Finally, after 13 years, a video that actually shows me new content

[@spicybeantofu]

Which part? Cause I was holding out.

[@shasta1101]

The missing in action one got me. Thank goodness

[@d3adpan_]

Literally

[@Wandering_Nowhere]

The 'far horizons' music track gets me every time. No matter the video or topic, as soon as that track hits I'm transported into the Skyrim back when it was still a new experience.

[@knightingale9833]

You can also kill Thonar Silver-Blood after he gives you the ring to attain your revenge. Three rewards in one quest.

[@JaegerDominus-mi1ln]

Funny, for me the golden claw mission was in reverse. I always enter the riverwood trader every time I go through the city and hear their argument. Finding out you can learn about the golden claw BEFORE going to the riverwood trader was news to me!

[@lalalalasagna]

During “The Cornered Rat” if you follow Gissur into the ratway you’ll hear him tell the Thalmor that he saw you in the Flaggon asking around. Then if you go back to the Flaggon undetected and hide you’ll see the thalmor walk in and ask around. The Guild will tell him to fuck off and if you appear, they’ll all kill the Thalmor(If you’re part of the guild). You’re welcome 😉

[@lalalalasagna]

Speak to Vekel. He’ll basically tattle on Gissur 😆

[@Sksk27547]

There is a character named narfi. You can get him to leave town and say that you killed him. When you didn't and get paid for it.

[@keithmichael112]

Yeah, if you kill narfi the dude makes fun of you for murdering a defenseless bum

[@Sksk27547]

@@keithmichael112 😆 guy, I don't think you read my comment carefully 😆

[@keithmichael112]

@@Sksk27547 I did, I was saying it's better if you leave him alive

[@Sksk27547]

@@keithmichael112 okay 😆 I was making sure 😆

[@2spky5me]

Does this work for the Dark Brotherhood quest involving him?

[@0rangutann]

After I binged every single one of Epic Nate, Fall Damage, and Fudge Muppet’s videos and learning more Skyrim knowledge than anyone I have so far met, this video still with me some things. Well done Black Rose 👏👏

[@s0ul3dg3]

those were interesting, definitely didn't know some! here's one for y'all tho: in Missing In Action, there's also a broken option to go to General Tulius for that letter, if you had sided with the Imperials, I remember downloading a mod that fixes it (it's fully scripted+voiced by Bethesda)

[@theprinceofawesomeness]

i have never not done Forgemasters fingers, i know orcs can give you bloodkin title but the npcs are so rare that i have not done forge masters fingers

[@Ed_man_talking9]

Not to mention some of the requirements, two of them are in markarth, one asks for a daedra heart while the other asks for a rare skill book, another requires you to become a mage, idk if itll make you blood kin but if yoy kill the morthal bard youll make a chief smile. Not to mention those who bother to get the investor perk in the speech skill.

[@ArienRiley]

I only ever got the Forgemasters Fingers twice in all my many playthroughs. I always clear the mine above the shack on my way to Markarth early on and the orc in the small community just outside Markarth says I'm a friend to the orcs.

[@dennis.k8499]

Usually I go clear the gold mine near markarth. When you cleared out the forsworn go to the city by foot. When you get close to the farms in front of markarth, go to the iron mine and let the npc dialogue continue. The north and orc will enter a building, follow them and talk to the northern first. He will give you gold for clearing the mine, next talk with the orc and he'll make you bloodkin. A nice update, when the forsworn spawn in again, they have a chance to lose, but if they win there's a high chance you'll receive an inheritance of small gold, notifying you the mine has respawned it's gold. You will not lose the bloodkin status

[@Ed_man_talking9]

@@dennis.k8499 or if you got the real estate mod then rent the whole mine for 50 gold and you got yourself a way to level up smithing, make some extra cash, all without the transmute ore spell

[@alessiodaniotti264]

I did many times the forgemaster quest too, sincei like to explore the open world a lot, but come on.. you can't say that it's hard to find quests outside strongholds to become bloodkin! - the orc outisde Markarth walls, in the Left Hand mine, after you take back Kolskegg mine from Forsworns (the quest can be given by other miners, mainly Pavo, but it counts anyway) - the orc smith female inside Markarth outside the palace, after retreving the smithing skill book - the orc smith male in the Markarth palace, after bringing him a daedra hearth (that he need to made daedric armors) - the orc miner in Karthwasten, after the quest about the closed mine (but only by making the mercenaries leave). The quest is usually given by Ainethach, but it counts anyway - the orc miner in Shor's Stone, after completing the radiant "mine ores" quest (easiest of all) - the orc librarian at the Mage College, after completing the radiant quest about retreving a book - the orc Dawnguard after the quest "Prophet". If someone goes in the Reach, there are 4 quests, all easy to find (being acquired in town/city) and 2 of them easy to do since the one about the mines don't involve random dungeon or a rare item (cleaning Kolsklegg mine in particular is easy, being acquired just outside a main city and with the quest involving a place just north, with the forsworns that can be already dead if the player to reach Markarth travels from that road). If someone goes to Shore's Stone before finding some orc stronghold, is hard not doing the mine ore quest (even only by talking to the orc miner and selling him an iron ore already in inventory). Also, if someone mainly follows the main questlines (something quite some players do), fullfills the requirement via the Dawnguard orc or the College librarian. Plus i would say that for most players the first orc stronghold is Largashbur, since it's the closest to a main city (maybe tied with the stronghold in the Eastmarch), and more important the only one close to a main road, thus they become bloodkin via the Malakath quest. To find one of the other 3 strongholds before becoming bloodkin, one must go "offroutes" often and/or early, while doing randiant quests or while simply exploring (i do, you do, many dont as much)

[@odg1190]

16:05 I've never not done it this way, I always thought you were just supposed to walk into whiterun and flex you have the stone already. Always would sell off the armor and weapons I collected in Helgan to Lucan immediately

[@lazlotakahashi4150]

Same lol And I sorta imagine this is how most players do it.

[@lordsetsuna2287]

I just play the Gissur part yesterday, i thought he was one of people who come to Flagon after i revives the Thieves Guild. But suddenly he got attacked and killed by Guild members, just realized his identity after read the note.

[@ArienRiley]

I didn't realize who he was either. I've never killed him in the Thalmar Embassy. I've always crept in and waited for him to leave because you are supposed to be stealthy.

[@ThisguySL]

I've literally always started the golden claw quest in Riverwood since it's less work to go straight to Bleak Falls before Whiterun. It wasn't until pretty recently I realized not doing that and starting in Dragon's Reach instead means you "meet" Delphine for the first time there and not at the inn in Riverwood. I figured going to Whiterun first to get the quest would be the secret decision if anything especially since it's hard to even find footage of that on YT.

[@agwarddd]

Honestly, I always set myself up so I don’t see Delphine bc I hate her guts and want to avoid her as much as possible lmao.

[@IsiDemon]

I recently found Froki's Bow while exploring. Didn't even start the quest, hell haven't even been to his shack by then. It's always there until you take it, whether or not the quest is active.

[@dannyfox9262]

Bethesda put so much into skyrim that people are still finding new stuff in it all this time later. Meanwhile, their newer games have so little content that they may as well be flash games from the early 2000's.

[@Tzephtan]

I knew of all these quests, but you definitely knew some options that I had never heard of! Nicely done!

[@nameless3777]

You can start the Dragonborn questline without being attacked by the cultists. You have to go to Solstheim, learn the Bend Will shout, and use it on the Wind Stone (you can even cleanse all but the Tree Stone at this point). That will free most of the Skaal. Storn will thank you, and tell you to meet Frea at the Temple of Miraak.

[@mongopoe5099]

The cultists attacked me. Is there any point in trying this trick you mentioned at this point.

[@nameless3777]

@@mongopoe5099 Only if you want to see some dialogue you'd normally miss.

[@rossalbane7743]

In the clavicus vile quest, if you talk/interact with barbas while he should be joining Clavicus in the statue he’ll stay a dog and you get to hear what he said to Clavicus instead of that long pause we’re all familiar with… and then the whole statue disappears afterwards

[@gestaltdude]

One thing you forgot to mention in the last segment is that, after killing Madanach, you have to go back unto the mine and come back out and through into Markarth before Thonar shows up.At least, that's what I've had to do every time I've followed the course of action you recommended. When you kill Madanach the quest defaults to instructing you to read the note on his body, and everything flows from that.

[@ThisguySL]

Whenever I tried to pull off the both rewards trick the game glitched to where Thonar and some guards just stood outside indefinitely and couldn't be interacted with and I was forced to reload a previous save. I ended up cutting my losses and did it as the game intended but maybe I should have tried going back into the mines because that armor is pretty slick.

[@gestaltdude]

@@ThisguySL Of all the glitchy quests in Skyrim, this has to be near the top, possibly surpassed only by blood on the ice. I always make point of putting down a hard save before surrendering to the guards, just in case something happens that a quick save can't fix. PS A helpful little tip I've picked up over the years. Go through Benkongerike before doing this, do the black book, and get the secret servant reward. That way you can bring all your stuff, armour, weapons and all, into the mine with you; you just have to rmember to give it all to the daedric servant before surrendering yourself.

[@mongopoe5099]

I ended up murdering thonar and all of the forsworn when I was supposedly aiding the forsworn. The guards didn’t start attacking me on sight until I walked close to the jarls throne. So I killed the jarl and learned that he can’t die. He just kept respawning.

[@kendo2377]

Yeah you got me. I didn't know about killing Madanach after the escape starts and getting both rewards. There's a 'did you know' thread on my home forum and I linked your video there.

[@jazzitall]

I'm almost sure it wasn't modded and at some point of missing in action if you're higher imperial legion rank you can ask Tullius for help

[@BlueLighteningGojo]

You can.

[@binglover694]

​@@BlueLighteningGojo But... It's so buggy you need a mod to actually use that option...

[@mlmii1933]

​@BlueLighteningGojo ... Only if you have the Unoffical Patch ... in vanilla the option doesn't work.

[@aubreyhuff46]

​@@binglover694I've never needed one

[@fuckpaying6545]

It's worked for me with no mods don't remember if it was ps3 or 4 though

[@TheZeroNeonix]

The first "decision" being an unintended exploit had me skeptical. However, the alternative solutions in the "Missing in Action" quest are new to me. I didn't know about the "Forgemaster's Fingers" either. Funny thing: I started a playthrough as an Orc once, but I did the Dawnguard DLC pretty much right away and became a vampire. When I happened upon an Orc stronghold, they didn't recognize me as an Orc. My guess is that the "vampire" status overrides the player's chosen race. That or I encountered a bug.

[@MelodyPeridot]

Come to mention it... I'm a vampire in this playthrough I'm doing, and not one person has made a racist comment on me being a khajit....

[@insertname9514]

Because being a vampire changes your race to the vampire version of that race, for example if you were a nord before becoming a vampire then your race in the game will go from just Nord to NordVampire

[@zoesommers2927]

Vampire status overrides race. I had a similar experience when playing as a nord vampire and when I started the college of winterhold quest, Onmund said to my face how sad he was that he was the only nord among the new students instead of the whole 'its good to see another nord' thing he does if you're playing a nord

[@zacharypendragon49]

With the gislier one in the ratway, if you speak to vekel while he’s there he will actually leave the ratway, you can then follow him and see him speak to the thalmor outside telling them you are in there. if you manage to sneak back into the ratway, the thalmor will question vekel and he’ll tell them they better watch their mouth where they are and you’ll see everyone pull out there weapons almost like starting a fight. the leader of those thalmor will say no not right now. but we will be back and you better have answers if we don’t find him and then walk down into the warrens to wait for you to show.

[@shasta1101]

8:20 finally, one of these things actually gave me something new. Thank you.

[@michaeltelson9798]

If you go to the basement of the Blackbriar house in Riften. The master locked room (your right) has the Black Sacrament performed. On the small table is a complaint letter to the Dark Brotherhood about their agents not being able to kill a certain person. Yes! She has sent the DB after you. Sibbi becomes killable after Frost is stolen. “In time of need “, understand that the events happened 30 years earlier and there has been a treaty between Hammerfell and the Aldmeri Dominion for the past 15 years. Kematu says that a couple of noble houses hired them. Saadia is also from a noble house. The city is ruled by a king. The lore is different from how the present situation is. No Aldmeri troops are in Hammerfell presently or actually for almost 30 years. The occupation of Taneth was only for about a year.

[@mlmii1933]

No, Maven sent the Dark Brotherhood after an old associate who was hiding in Whiterun. You can even find the skeleton in Dragonreach's moat. *edit* The Dark Brotherhood assassins come after the Dragonborn before you ever meet Maven.

[@michaeltelson9798]

@@mlmii1933 We are talking about 2 different letters. And the skeleton in the moat is still a mystery as it has been also associated with the missing wife of Jarl Balgruf. Read the basement letter, multiple failed attempts? Is the letter present prior to level 7? How do you know that you or your family hadn’t known Maven prior to the start of the game? She does have thugs available to kill people also, Louis Letrush is killed by her minions in the Frost quest aftermath. The letter in the Riften basement fits the random Dark Brotherhood attacks upon you.

[@mlmii1933]

@michaeltelson9798 ... Because when you first meet Mavin, it's clear that she doesn't know you. *edit* As for the skeleton, it's only a mystery because people don't bother to put two and two together after reading the letter Mavin sent him.

[@michaeltelson9798]

@@mlmii1933 The letter in the Bannered Mare and the skeleton to me are always associated in my view. But some “deep divers” with large channels say otherwise. We disagree about the Riften basement letter, but that is ok and let’s leave it as that. There are a lot of incomplete quests in the game with loose ends spread around. Some are so poorly integrated with the lore like “In time of Need”, that it has confused players to think that the key events were recent when they are 30 years in the past.

[@mlmii1933]

@michaeltelson9798 ... That's fair, as much as I enjoy listening to the "deep divers" channels, they often make stretches or ignore obvious connections to fit whatever content they are currently making.

[@LaurenSPARTAN177]

I had NO idea about the Missing in Action tidbit!!!! Like 10 years later and I’m still learning

[@isaacbear7115]

The gildergreen quest has had a bug since launch. The old dead tree doesn't despawn when you give the sapling. So the small tree will just kinda stick out of the old dead tree and look awful for the rest of the game. It's okay they, they made the water prettier in one of the re-releases so it's fine.

[@GraniteGhost778]

I actually always talked to the siblings in the store. I had no idea there was anything else to do since that's usually my first stop to sell stuff and buy essentials. As for Markarth, my first visit was after getting plastered. So I ended up above the market area, no where near the murder site. It all happened so fast, I had no idea what was happening.

[@Cronoo]

Didn't know about the speech check for missing in action. Neat

[@DFX2KX]

Didn't know about the blackmail option for Missing in Action.

[@dingleofthedongle9561]

I believe saadia was tricked into doing bad, fled, and with cleverness decided to hunker down in an imperial city, but that's also not thalmor controlled, because loyalty against thalmor. Also the alikir may have come up upon a derisive of saadia's "betrayal" planted by thalmor as a way of getting the warriors out of the way, and possible mutual destruction. Playing a possible clever elder scrolls game would be nice, but also a pipe dream.

[@TheBlackRose3]

👀

[@nickpatrick7021]

I literally don't think I've ever become blood-kin any way other than finding the Forgemaster's Fingers. Guess everyone plays differently though

[@andreafranzen7088]

The Idolaf option for Missing in Action and Froki's Bow were new to me, as were the possibility to get both rewards in Blessings of Nature and Escape from Cidna Mine.

[@gestaltdude]

If you've completed the Civil War quest line siding with the Imperials, you don't even have to kill any of the elves to complete Missing in Action. You simply go see Tullius and ask him for a letter demanding the release Thorald.

[@besinji2000]

Margaret has never died in my play throughs

[@spicybeantofu]

Had a friend playing over my shoulder who told me be ready to save her so me too.

[@DarkBeastDiaries]

I'm currently replaying again (might actually beat it this time!) and I learned a lot here. Liked, commented and subscribed.

[@martini0068]

This quality had me thinking you were a big KZbinr and just to see you got 5k is surprising keep it up

[@TheBlackRose3]

Thank you, I will!

[@Mech299]

I actually knew about the Gildegreen solution mentioned here before I knew about the "Official" way to do the quest, because I did it by accident the first time, having noticed the quest NPC and thought it was the official track. Also, I knew about everything on this list except for the options during the quest to save Thonar. Didn't know you could get the family to help you :) But man, I knew everything else, and I ALWAYS go to the Valerius general trader to begin the quest that way, always have. I've never even done it without seeking them out first ^_^; I've been playing Skyrim for too long. As for other things that you didn't know you could do? Well here's a lesser known one that I found out on my own on a recent playthrough last year: If you save Malborn during the quest "Diplomatic Immunity" he'll be waiting for you at the New Gniss Corner Club in Windhelm's Gray Quarter. He'll say it's all your fault that his life fell apart and there are Thalmor agents out to kill him. He tells you that there's a Khajit outside that's a thalmor agent and you have to kill him. So outside the city (since Khajit can't come into the settlements that are aligned with the empire, no way they're going to be allowed into the ultra-racist Stormcloak Windhelm) kill the Khajit, go to Malborn and tell him. He'll be thankful, leave immediately and leave the city. You can actually follow him, I did, and turns out he goes due east down the road towards the end of the map. There's a scripted bandit that's waiting for you there but if you try to save him by attacking the bandit, you'll get a bounty since I guess it's flagged as an NPC and not an enemy. But Malborn's actually a decently powerful mage, so he'll defend himself, kill the bandit and leave (At least he did for me. If you can stay stealthed, you can defend him from cover and keep him safe). There's also frost trolls and I think some bears on the path, so it's very likely Malborn will die before getting to his destination, but if you save him and make sure he gets there? There's a plinth at the edge of the map along the road with a book relating to Morrowind, where he says he's going to in order to escape; he reads from the plinth and then despawns in front of your eyes. It's a wonderful bit of storytelling through gameplay :)

[@marylinbradford8603]

It is really something that Skyrim being out for a decade and there are things still showing up. There was 3 on you're list that I did not know about , after playing for probably 1000 hrs between PC and Xbox. That is why it is still a top game. Good video.

[@paulwei6596]

Great video! I didn't know half of them. Btw, I highly recommend to side with Saadia, because those two Alik'r warriors may serve Whiterun as vigilant guard forever, greatly reducing the chance of neutral NPCs killed by random vampire attacks.

[@TheBlackRose3]

Ikr. Vampire and dragon attacks used to annoy me sooooo much. But now I turn them off with mods.

[@KimberlyKjellberg]

@@paulwei6596 I had never had a vampire attack on Whiterun or really anywhere, not even when playing vanilla and dragon attacks on Whiterun itself are very uncommon. They mostly attack outside Tundra Homestead and I would hate being stuck with Saadia.

[@paulwei6596]

@@KimberlyKjellberg I only play vanilla, vampire attacks are very common in every big cities. Are you sure you didn't mod your game in anyway?

[@ArienRiley]

@@KimberlyKjellberg Do you only travel during the day? Vampires are nocturnal.

[@isabelle_4207]

@@paulwei6596I only play on console or gamepass (no possible mods) and can’t recall ever having a dragon attack within white run. Every other city yes but weirdly not inside white run, only outside the city.

[@amythystmoon864]

Definitely saving this video and trying some of the things you said so thank you! I can’t believe I didn’t know half of what you mentioned! I’ve been playing for about 10 years now. I was introduced to it a few years after it came out and I am still playing it lol I actually am playing at this moment😂

[@TheBlackRose3]

Me too! lol

[@deozeo4442]

Have played over 14 times, every time thru my wanderings, I would stumble upon a hidden camp, blood trails leading to dead hunters, lovers, and escapees. The side quests, however, I have played them every which way EXCEPT for two. Missing in Action, pickpocketing Jon Battle-Born for a love letter; and that I could recieve a sapling in Gildergreen Quest as a trophy. I am all about trophy collections. MOST EXCELLENT Black Rose, well done!! 🐈

[@vbscript2]

LOL at the 64k damage on Frokki's Bow. It's so good to know, after all of these years, that Skyrim definitely doesn't have any exploits that completely break the game...

[@mememaster9703]

it went back down to 645 in his inventory tho, still really crazy. gonna have to find it and use it

[@MoonstarGem1]

@@mememaster9703 That's because it only shows the first 3 digits. It still does the full amount. If you have an inventory mod like SkyUI, it will show the full damage on the list under damage.

[@ingenarelitems]

i was really skeptical about this video but i actually didn't know about the first one. bro earned a sub.

[@Caz91]

In the Quest ill met by moonlight, you Can get both Hircines Ring and Saviors hide, if you kill Sinding the Werewolf After You’ve helped him

[@Jly9392]

This is so freaking cool! I had no idea about so much of this and I’m going to do a sneak playthrough next.

[@PaulTanner-pc1nj]

Totally agree with your reasons for stealth play, I'm a fan of listening in on NPCs conversation without them being privy to your presence, especially when just roaming the wilds and coming across a new location and character as there's a good chance one will see some thing unique possibly resulting in new scenarios.

[@DespairDoctor]

One well placed spell or shout can take care of that guy, so I would suggest stocking up on spells or shouts before going to Markarth.

[@zachsmith5877]

The variability in ways to complete quests is one of the many reasons I love Skyrim

[@meowmeow4150]

I knew more of these than I expected lol but I'm excited to try the other ways to play missing in action 😃

[@alexandrecayres7731]

2k+ hours and still didn't have clue about the crab and the bow! Thanks for the nostalgia mate

[@chimqanzee3761]

I’m surprised, you genuinely got me with one. The Greymane/Battleborn blackmail isn’t something I’d ever tried or heard of

[@ChronoTriggerHappy85]

Ok 😊 I didn’t know about the alternate options in Missing In Action.

[@jermainerace4156]

I have been playing Skyrim for over ten years and literally never talked to Danica outside the temple, so I have always been stuck taking Maurice. 80% of the time I've done the sapling, but it often glitches and the sapling is kind of funny looking.

[@emdogg3411]

There was only one that I knew about. This was really helpful and makes me want to play Skyrim again!

[@livipup]

Wow, I learned so much. I never knew what to do with Froki's Bow.

[@faisalliot]

Ok shit you got me. Been playing for most of a decade and had no idea about the Graymane/Battleborn options. Great video 🎉!

[@Torporcelain]

Holy shit - never knew about the sapling! After devoted playing for 13 years, that really is something...

[@ericlewandowskivlogs]

I just started a sneak play through for the first time. I'm only 10 hours in and can't believe how much more I'm seeing by sneaking around.

[@hfontanez98]

Nice work!! I only knew of a handful. Most I didn't know about, and I have logged close to 5,000 hours of gameplay across multiple platforms: PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC.

[@hickorydickory6664]

It's amazing after 3000 years I still didn't know about these things

[@madhuryalilananda]

I saved Margret in Markath by starting a drinking contest with Sam Guevenne which starts the A Night to Remember quest and you wake up in Dibella's temple. Since you didn't come in the main gate Margret isn't killed yet. Then you run to the market, or to where you can see the market , and shoot Welin with an arrow.

[@D-Rock420]

I've had Skyrim for only a year and a half, I'm on my 7th playthrough, and I knew all of these. One thing I like to do that's kind of devious, is marry Mjoll the Lioness, then have her follow me through the thieves guild quests 😅😅

[@jpart3526]

Getting to Forgemaster's Fingers was the very first time I earned access to an Orc Stronghold. Very early on in my first playthrough I really wanted to mine ebony so I looked it up.

[@pantherstar]

Was surprised people didn’t know about the first one. I met the pilgrim at the sanctuary, but if you walk too fast you miss the confrontation with him. My husband was watching me play and was surprised by it.

[@android1617]

Skyrim's the gift that keeps giving

[@garyhart6421]

I did not know there were alternate ways of getting the info in 'Missing In Action'

[@Psilocervine]

I knew EVERYTHING in this video. Because I watched it when it was first uploaded and forgot about it.

[@ShinAk1raSama]

I always save Margaret from Weylin by getting plastered from the quest A Night to Remember, because you teleport right into the Temple of Dibella in Markarth, which doesn't make the event trigger just yet, as it triggers only when you're close enough to Weylin. When you leave the temple, you can head over to the bridge right above Weylin and just snipe him-- ideally with archery, because spells will typically have an AoE issue.

[@TheBlackRose3]

That's how I got to Markarth on my very first trip there in my first playthrough! Good times

[@glennmattsonjr.5251]

A handful of the quests you mentioned about the "hidden" way to complete the quests, those were my first options to start said quests. There were other nuances I wasn't fully aware of, though, in the other quests mentioned.

[@robertparkside2571]

Continuing learning new thing all the time in this game. Thank you. Subscribed

[@samgardner9112]

you know what, I'll give it to you... even as a veteran player there was still at least 1 detail in this I didnt know about (if you stay undetected in the thalmor embassy the guy goes down to the interrogation chamber)

[@Rhydoch]

You got me with Missing In Action. I never bother with pickpocketing.

[@alexlowe6880]

You got me, gotta share the video now.

[@alekvillarreal3470]

For those who don’t know, when doing the quest Dark Brotherhood quest when you wake up in the shack with Astrid and she tells you to kill one of the captured people, you can choose to kill all three of them for an alternate dialogue line, or even choose to kill Astrid, prompting you to side with law enforcement to bring down the Dark Brotherhood.

[@seraphimsorrow2027]

I was pleasantly surprised at a couple of these! Keep it up! (:

[@ÐeathxNøtexAuthør]

If you go to the Left Hand Mine outside Markarth, get the mission to clear out a mine of Forsworn, go back and complete the mission, if you talk to the Orc there, you'll get the Blood-kin label too

[@shadow11829]

I actually didnt know about the orc befriending thing. I always thought you had to go to that one stronghold to get the quest for the fingers to be able to enter the other strongholds. I dont think ive ever befriended an orc before going to that stronghold, and ive definitely never played as an orc before. So ironically you taught me something i didnt know by explaining how "everyone else" does it, and then the actual "no one does this" thing was what ive been doing since 2011.

[@Denvco1]

I must be a super skyrim player, knew of these. Geat info vid!

[@imtherealfish6146]

I like how the narration style Is nervous middle shcooler reading a paper outloud

[@ArnieMcStranglehold]

I disagree, but I think it's because we went to different shcools. 🤣

[@imtherealfish6146]

@ArnieMcStranglehold lol true but you can tell he's reading a script badly

[@ledusse3944]

ok I finally admit it : you got me with the letter of "missing in action" !

[@edgreen2660]

Excellent. Regarding the missing in action quest, are you aware that if you've sided with the Imperials in the civil war and completed a couple quests for them, you can go to Tulius and ask him to release Thorald from the Thalmor at Northwatch? He'll give you a document securing Thorald's release. Take it to Northwatch and give it to the first Thalmor guard you meet, and they'll release Thorald.

[@purple_sim]

After talking to Saadia for the In My Time of Need quest, go straight to Rorikstead and talk to the 2 guys who were just in Whiterun. You can skip the whole dungeon cave and this was is faster if you’re turning on Saadia.

[@googlesucks1039]

Wow even after 13 years there's still things I didn't know about skyrim