Daedric Princes Guide

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The Daedric Princes are some of the most powerful beings in The Elder Scrolls series. They are featured in many titles throughout the series and promise powerful artifacts for players willing to get their hands dirty to help them. Whether it be slaying a wayward champion, desecrating the shrine of an Aedra, or piecing together the shattered mind of a long-dead royal, the Daedric Princes always have plenty of work they need to be done.

To fully understand the Daedric Princes, however, players have to piece together bits of information from throughout the entire series, or you can just read on and learn everything about The Elder Scrolls‘ Daedric Princes guide right here.

Big Picture Up Front

The Daedric Princes are some of the oldest beings known to be in existence. There are 17 that each has their domain, known as a sphere and a realm in Oblivion. The Daedric Princes are kept mainly from invading the mortal realm of Nirn, or Mundus, but they still have worshippers there that they can communicate to and influence into doing their bidding.

The Origin of the Daedric Princes

Daedric Princes

In the universe of The Elder Scrolls, everything began with a race of divine beings known as the et’Ada that populated the first realms of existence. However, one of them, named Lorkhan, wanted to create the mortal realm of Mundus.

Lorkhan created the realm as a medium for which beings could free themselves of the influence of the base forces that created the universe, effectively becoming gods. This opened up the possibility for et’Ada and mortals to attempt processes such as CHIM and Amaranth, although very few individuals have successfully done so.

However, creating Mundus was no easy task, so Lorkhan had to trick other et’Ada into giving some of their power to do so. Many of the et’Ada did so, but some did not, splitting the beings into two groups. Those fooled by Lorkhan became known as the Aedra and conquered Mundus in the early years of its existence, while those who were not were inspired by him to use their powers to create their realms of Oblivion they could rule unchallenged, becoming the Daedra.

Eventually, the Aedra realized that Lorkhan had tricked them and stripped away his divine spark and threw it at Tamriel before taking residence in the realm of Aetherius.

Azura

Azura

Sphere: Dusk and Dawn

Titles: Mother of the Rose, Queen of the Night Sky, Anticipation of Sotha Sil

Realm: Moonshadow

Azura is one of the few Daedric Princes that many Mundus consider “good.” This is both because of how benevolent she has been in her dealings with mortals in the past. Her realm of Moonshadow is characterized as a fantastical realm of blurred colors where the air smells like pleasant perfume, and the cities are made of brilliant silver.

However, she has shown that her wrath, when incurred, is swift and cruel. She is responsible for cursing the Chimer to have gray skin with red eyes, transforming them into the Dunmer, and playing a role in creating the Khajiit as the moon plays a significant role in their birth.

Quests

Morrowind: Azura’s Quest

Oblivion: Azura

Skyrim: The Black Star

Artifacts

Ring of Azura: Awarded to the player at the end of the main questline in Morrowind. Gives the player 20 points of Night Eye and 3 points of Restore Fatigue.

Azura’s Star: Obtainable from her quests in Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim. Acts as a reusable Soul Gem that can be filled with any soul size and used for enchanting.

Boethiah

Boethiah

Sphere: Deceit, Conspiracy, Plots of Murder, Assassination, Treason, and Unlawful Overthrow of Authority

Titles: Prince of Plots, Anticipation of Almalexia

Realm: Attribution’s Share

Boethiah is often depicted as a female despite, like all Daedra, not having a particular gender. She is primarily worshipped by the Dunmer and is known to enjoy combat and the suffering of mortals. She frequently changes the name of her realm of Oblivion.

Still, it is characterized as constantly having a complicated web of rules that are impossible to all follow and as being made of serpentine towers and gardens of mazes. Boethiah is perhaps most well known for hosting the Tournament of the Ten Bloods, a competition featuring a champion from each of the ten races of Tamriel.

Quests

Morrowind: Boethiah’s Quest

Oblivion: Boethiah

Skyrim: Boethiah’s Calling

Artifacts

Goldbrand: A golden katana that is known to burn its victims. It can be found in Arena, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim with the associated Creation Club content.

Ebony Mail: A powerful suit of armor with a range of enchantments in each of its appearances. In Arena, it comes with Resist Fire, Spell Shield, and Shield. Daggerfall protects the player from spells that would drain their health or skills. In Morrowind, the Ebony Mail protects the Nerevarine from fire, Magicka, and has the Shield enchantment. In Skyrim, it bears the Muffle enchantment and damages nearby enemies with 5 points of poison damage.

Fearstruck: A shield said to have been given to the hero Lyrisius during the Akaviri invasion. However, a dragon destroyed the shield and has not appeared in the games thus far.

Clavicus Vile

Clavicus Vile

Sphere: Power, Trickery, Wishes, Serenity, and Bargains

Titles: Child-God of the Morningstar, Master of Insidious Wishes, Prince of Bargains

Realm: The Fields of Regret

Clavicus Vile is well known for making deals with mortals, although they frequently end up with him twisting the agreement in some way in the end. He most often appears as either a red mist or an impish man that sprouts a pair of horns. There are also many stories of him splitting part of his soul to create sentient artifacts to create chaos across Mundus.

Quests

Redguard: Saving Iszara

Oblivion: Clavicus Vile (Quest)

Skyrim: A Daedra’s Best Friend

Artifacts

Bitter Cup: An urn that, when drank from, raises the player’s highest attribute and lowers their lowest by 20 points each. It can be found in Morrowind and is featured in a Creation Club pack in Skyrim.

Feyfolken: An enchanted quill chronicled through in-game novels that curse its users to write portents of suicide before taking their own lives eventually.

Masque of Clavicus Vile: A helmet made in his image. In Daggerfall, it improves the player’s reputation similar to the Charm spell. In Oblivion, it gives the player 20 points to personality. In Skyrim, the helmet provides the player with 10 points in Speech, improves the prices of items by 20%, and grants 5% Magicka Regeneration.

Rueful Axe: Only appears in Skyrim, where it deals 20 points of Stamina damage.

Umbra: An enchanted sword that traps the victims’ souls it is used to kill in Soul Gems. It appears in Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim through a Creation Club pack.

Hermaeus Mora

Hermaeus Mora

Sphere: Knowledge and Memory

Titles: Hoermius, Hormaius, Hermorah, Herma Mora, the Woodland Man, and the Gardener of Men

Realm: Apocrypha

Hermaeus Mora is a Daedric Prince of neutral morality that focuses on preserving knowledge of all kinds. However, he has been known to trick or slaughter mortals to gain their understanding. He often appears as either a black cloud or a horrible mass, with numerous eyes and tentacles protruding from them. His realm of Apocrypha is an infinite library where every book has a black cover and no title.

Quests

Oblivion: Hermaeus Mora

Skyrim: Discerning the Transmundane, Dragonborn

Artifacts

Oghma Infinium: An ancient tome of knowledge that he rewards his champions. In Arena, Daggerfall, Oblivion, and Skyrim, the book is read to boost the player’s abilities.

Black Books: Tomes of strange knowledge featured in the Dragonborn DLC that teleport the reader to sections of Apocrypha where they can gain unique abilities and powers from the knowledge held within.

Hircine

Hircine

Sphere: Hunt, Sport of Daedra, Great Game, and the Chase

Titles: The Huntsman of The Princes, The Father of Manbeasts, and The Hungry Cat

Realm: The Hunting Grounds

Hircine celebrates the hunt in all of its many forms. He is believed to have risen to power after the original creation of the realms of Oblivion and is responsible for creating manbeasts such as Lycanthropes. He appears in Mundus once every thousand years to participate in an event known as the Bloodmoon Prophecy.

Quests

Morrowind: Bloodmoon

Oblivion: Hircine

Skyrim: Ill Met by Moonlight

Artifacts

Savior’s Hide: The Savior’s Hide is a cuirass earned in Oblivion and Skyrim. In Oblivion, the armor grants the player 25% resistance to Magicka. In Skyrim, it increases Magic Resistance by 15% and Poison Resistance by 50%.

Hircine’s Ring: This artifact appears throughout the series and is closely tied to lycanthropy. In Skyrim, it gives the player an extra usage of their werewolf power each day.

Spear of the Hunter: The Spear of the Hunter only appears in the Bloodmoon DLC. It is mighty, and applies 50 points of Burden on the enemies for 10 seconds, paralyzes them for 10 seconds, and deals 4 points poison damage per second for 5 seconds.

Malacath

Malacath

Sphere: the Ostracized, the Sworn Oath, and the Bloody Curse

Titles: Malak, Orkey, The Blue God, and Mauloch

Realm: Ashpit

Malacath is most closely associated with the Orcs, and he looks over them diligently. He values combat and bravery among his followers and promises that worthy orcs get a place in his realm of Ashpit when they die. Ashpit is a barren wasteland where orcs have many wives and constantly feast, drink, and battle one another for amusement. The realm is said to have been made from Malacath’s own body as its defining feature is the Backbone of Ashpit made from real bone.

Quests

Morrowind: Malacath’s Quest

Oblivion: Malacath

Skyrim: The Cursed Tribe

Artifacts

Volendrung: One of the most consistent artifacts throughout the series, Volendrung is an enchanted Warhammer. The hammer is present in Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and Online.

It heals its user with each hit while also paralyzing and leeching the strength from enemies except in Skyrim, where it absorbs 50 points of Stamina, and Online, where it deals 331 Magic Damage and restores 145 Stamina on top of also reducing the power of the enemy by 107 for 5 seconds.

Scourge: Scourge is a mace with the unique Curse of Scourge enchantment in Morrowind. When the mace is used, it summons a Dremora and a Scamp for 30 seconds.

Mehrunes Dagon

Mehrunes Dagon

Sphere: Destruction, Change, Revolution, Energy, and Ambition

Titles: Prince of Destruction, the Exalted and Most Puissant Lord, Gerent of Dagon, Lord of Blood and Flames, and Black Daedra Lord

Realm: Deadlands

Mehrunes Dagon is the Daedric Prince with the most apparent hatred of mortals. He has attempted to invade Mundus and meld it with his plane of Oblivion, Deadlands, on numerous occasions. The plane of Deadlands is a horrifying realm made of islands surrounded by lakes of lava-filled with torture and atrocities. He is also associated with natural causes of destruction, such as fires, storms, and earthquakes.

Quests

Battlespire: Mehrunes Dagon is the primary antagonist of the main questline in An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire.

Morrowind: Mehrunes Dagon’s Quest

Oblivion: Mehrunes Dagon is also the primary antagonist of the main questline in Oblivion.

Skyrim: Pieces of the Past

Artifacts

Mysterium Xarxes: A magical book written by Mehrunes Dagon instructs the reader how to complete some magical rituals connected to Oblivion. It plays a key role in Oblivion and is found in a display case in Skyrim.

Mehrunes’ Razor: A powerful dagger that is said to have the power to take lives with a single blow. This is true in Daggerfall, where enemies have to make a save against its magic or be instantly killed. In Morrowind, the dagger disintegrates armor, gives the target weakness to poison, and poisons them. In Oblivion, the dagger disintegrates armor and banishes Daedra back to Oblivion. In Skyrim, the dagger has a slight chance to instantly kill any target it hits.

Mephala

Mephala

Sphere: Lies, Secrets, Murder, and Sex

Titles: Webspinner, Spinner, Spider, androgyne, and Plot-Weaver

Realm: Spiral Skein

Mephala is a dark Daedric Prince that frequently adopts elements of spiders when appearing to mortals. Her children are known as Spider Daedra, and she has a close association with the assassination guild known as the Morag Tong as its founder and their divine patron.

Interestingly, her realm of Spiral Skein is exceptionally intricate and is inaccessible to mortals. This makes descriptions hard to come by, but it is believed to be connected to numerous smaller domains similar to a web.

Quest

Morrowind: Mephala’s Quest

Oblivion: Mephala

Skyrim: The Whispering Door

Artifacts

Ebony Blade: In Arena, the Ebony Blade is a blade enchanted with lifesteal. In Daggerfall, it gives the player +15 to Long Blade and stealing health and Stamina while rebuffing enemies. In Oblivion, the sword absorbs health from enemies while those attacked also don’t consider the attacks assault. In Skyrim, the sword steals health again and can be powered up by taking followers’ lives with the blade. While the blade appears in Online, it is not accessible as an inventory item or weapon.

Ring of Khajiit: Extremely valuable for thieves in Morrowind, this ring makes the wearer invisible as well as fortifying their speed attribute.

Meridia

Meridia

Sphere: Life and Energy

Titles: Lady of Infinite Energies and Merid-Nunda

Realm: Colored Rooms

Meridia often takes the form of a beautiful woman, and as the Daedric Prince of Life, she has an innate hatred for the undead. She is recorded as often rewarding mortals who do anything to help fight against the undead plague. Her realm, Colored Rooms, has very little known about it beyond that it is native to the Aurorans. It is often depicted as a colorful void filled with floating rocks and islands with little foliage.

Quests

Oblivion: Meridia

Skyrim: The Break of Dawn

Artifacts

Dawnbreaker: A unique sword in Skyrim adorned with a glowing orb of light that burns enemies for 10 points and has a chance to cause slain undead to explode and turn or destroy nearby undead.

Ring of Khajiiti: Meridia is also associated with a Ring of Khajiiti that appears in Daggerfall and Oblivion that also makes the player faster and turns them invisible, similar to Mephala’s.

Molag Bal

Molag Bal

Sphere: Domination and Enslavement

Titles: King of Rape, King of Strife, Scheme Prince, Harvester of Souls, and Father of Coldharbour

Realm: Coldharbour

Molag Bal is a vile Deadric Prince reviled for creating vampires by raping women and feeding them his blood. He prides himself in collecting the souls of mortals to torture and enslave them. His realm of Coldharbour is dedicated to collecting mortal souls and tormenting them as much as he can while looking like a twisted version of Tamriel itself.

Quests

Morrowind: Molag Bal’s Quest

Oblivion: Molag Bal

Skyrim: The House of Horrors

Artifacts

Mace of Molag Bal: His iconic mace is Molag Bal‘s only known artifact. In Daggerfall, the mace can temporarily give the player more spell points or strength than usual. In Morrowind and Oblivion, the mace absorbs Strength and Magicka from enemies. In Skyrim, the mace deals 25 damage to Stamina and Magicka and fills a soul gem when it kills an enemy.

Namira

Namira

Sphere: Sundry, Dark Spirits, and Ancient Darkness

Titles: Mistress of Decay and Spirit Daedra

Realm: Scuttling Void

Namira is generally associated with everything reviling and ugly. She is often thought to be represented by spiders, insects, slugs, and anything else that instinctively makes the skin of mortals crawl. She is believed to bless followers with physical deformities as her mark, and no living soul has traveled to Scuttling Void and returned, keeping the realm a mystery.

Quests

Oblivion: Namira

Skyrim: The Taste of Death

Artifacts

Ring of Namira: Namira has been known to give a ring of hers to her champions. In Oblivion, the ring reflects 12% of damage as well as reflecting 10% of spell damage. In Skyrim, the ring raises the player’s maximum Stamina by 50 points, as well as allowing them to feast on the corpses of dead enemies to heal.

Nocturnal

Nocturnal

Sphere: Night and Darkness

Titles: Night Mistress, Ur-Dra, and Lady Luck

Realm: Void

Nocturnal is one of the oldest and most powerful Daedric Princes. Thieves and assassins across Tamriel worship her, but her very nature makes her unfathomable to mortals. She always appears cloaked in shadow, making getting a clear look at her nearly impossible. Nocturnal also does not have any official clergy of any kind but has three champions called the Nightingales sworn to serve her.

Quests

Oblivion: Nocturnal

Skyrim: Nocturnal plays a significant role in the Thieves Guild questline.

Artifacts

Bow of Shadows: A bow featured in Morrowind turns the wielder invisible and increases its speed for 30 seconds after it is equipped. The bow was eventually added to Skyrim through the Creation Club.

Eye of Nocturnal: The Eye of Nocturnal is featured in Oblivion, although it has no benefit to the player, and it is never revealed what it does.

Grey Cowl of Nocturnal: The Cowl is a mask that allows whoever wears it to sneak better and let them see the life force of others nearby. It first made its appearance in Oblivion before being added to Skyrim through the Creation Club.

Skeleton Key: The Skeleton Key is a magical key that has appeared in numerous games in the series. In Arena, it can be used once per day to open any non-magical lock. In Daggerfall, it increases dodge by 15 and allows the player to open one non-magical lock per day. In Morrowind, it is a lockpick with 50 uses that can be used to open every door. In Oblivion, it increases the Hero of Kvatch’s Security skill by 40 points while also being an unbreakable lockpick. In Skyrim, it serves simply as an unbreakable lockpick.

Peryite

Peryite

Sphere: Pestilence

Titles: the Taskmaster, the Blighted Lord, the Lord of Infection, the Bringer of Disease, and the Lord of Abundant Pus and Bountiful Vomit

Realm: The Pits

Peryite is often depicted as a green four-legged dragon, but he is considered one of the weakest Daedric Princes. He is also considered one of the evilest and is responsible for every disease and plague that has ever existed on Mundus. His realm of The Pits is where Peryite keeps lower Daedra in line, and while very little has been seen of it, it is thought to be very similar to Deadlands.

Quests

Oblivion: Peryite

Skyrim: The Only Cure

Artifacts

Spell Breaker: Spell Breaker is a powerful shield featured in all mainline Elder Scrolls titles. In Arena, it comes with the Silence and Spell Reflection enchantments. In Daggerfall, the shield gives the player free action and reflecting spells. In Morrowind, Spell Breaker silences targets within 30 feet for 40 seconds while reflecting 10-20% of magic damage for its wielder for 30 seconds. In Oblivion, it has 30% spell reflection, while in Skyrim, it creates a ward that protects up to 50 points of damage from spells.

Sanguine

Sanguine

Sphere: Debauchery, Indulgences, and Hedonistic Revelry

Titles: Lord of Revelry, Blood-Made-Pleasure, Lord of Hard-Partying, Prince of Hedonism, and he who tastes the Shaven Fruit

Realm: Myriad Realms of Revelry

Sanguine is a Daedric Prince all about allowing souls to embrace their carnal instincts and succumb to hedonistic pleasures. He has control of over 1,000 planes of Oblivion known as the Myriad Realms of Revelry. Each of the planes is customized by its inhabitants to pleasure them as much as possible. He often stays out of the politics and wars of the Daedric Princes and frequently takes a neutral role in conflicts.

Quests

Oblivion: Sanguine

Skyrim: A Night to Remember

Artifacts

Sanguine Rose: A staff resembling a large rose with a winding stem. In Daggerfall, the staff summons a Lesser Daedra. In Oblivion, the staff summons a random Daedra each time used. In Skyrim, the staff summons one of five different Daedra, depending on the player’s level.

Sheogorath/Jyggalag

Sheogorath

Sphere: Madness/Order

Titles: Skooma Cat

Realm: Shivering Isles

Sheogorath is an insane Daedric Prince created as punishment for the Daedric Prince of Order Jyggalag. Jyggalag was viewed as a threat from the other Princes, causing them to mock his sphere of order by driving him insane. This put him in an endless cycle of ruling as Sheogorath and creating the Shivering Isles over a thousand years, only to return himself as Jyggalag and destroy it all.

Quests

Daggerfall: Sheogorath meets the player during the main questline and helps them during their quest.

Morrowind: Sheogorath’s Quest

Oblivion: Sheogorath, Shivering Isles

Skyrim: The Madness of Pelagius

Artifacts

Wabbajack: The Wabbajack is a powerful staff in Daggerfall, Oblivion, Skyrim, and Online. In each game, the staff has a table of random effects the staff can have when used.

Staff of the Everscamp: A staff found in Oblivion that slows the wielder down but allows them to permanently four everscamp Daedra.

Fork of Horripilation: Simply a magic fork enchanted on a whim by Sheogorath. It is essentially a joke weapon that drains the Magicka of whoever wields it. It has appeared as a weapon in Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim through the Creation Club while being an unusable quest item in Online.

Spear of Bitter Mercy: This spear appears in Battlespire and Morrowind. The spear is quite mighty and reflects spells cast at the player and summons an atronach that fights alongside the wielder.

Staff of Sheogorath: The Staff of Sheogorath is obtained by the Hero of Kvatch and serves as the symbol of office for the ruler of the Shivering Isles. When used, it causes all enemies within range to freeze for a short period.

Gambolpuddy: An enchanted glove, the Gambolpuddy is featured in Morrowind. It has the power to drain an enemy’s Endurance, Speed, Strength, and Willpower while fortifying the user’s Agility, Intelligence, Luck, and Personality.

Folium Discognitum: This magical book only appears Online, and gives the player two skill points to spend on their character.

Ruin’s Edge: Ruin’s Edge is a bow that appeared in Oblivion and was added to Skyrim through the Creation Club that applies a random magical effect to every enemy hit with it.

Vaermina

Vaermina

Sphere: Nightmares, Dreams, Stolen Memories, Omens of Evil, and Psychological Torment

Titles: Vaermina the Dreamweaver

Realm: Quagmire

Vaermina often appears as a female mage and is unanimously depicted as evil across Tamriel’s cultures. Her worshippers often pray to her just before they go to sleep in the hope that they can avoid the torturous nightmares she is known for. Her realm of Quagmire has been described as a nightmarish hellscape that is incomprehensible as it constantly shifts.

Quests

Oblivion: Vaermina

Skyrim: Waking Nightmare

Artifacts

Skull of Corruption: The Skull of Corruption is a powerful staff able to create a vengeful clone of any enemy. It does so in Daggerfall and Oblivion. In Skyrim, the staff instead deals 20 points of damage but is increased to 50 when used against a sleeping target.

FAQs

Question: Who is the most powerful Daedric Prince?

Answer: Sheogorath is often considered the most powerful of the Daedric Princes because of his unpredictability. He has frequently subverted the wishes of his fellow princes while influencing Mundus in numerous ways on a whim.

Question: Are Daedric Princes inherently evil?

Answer: There is nothing that makes Daedric Princes evil. Some of them are, but many are simply bored and don’t value the lives of Mundus as they seem to them as short and insignificant in the greater picture of existence.

Question: Is there a Daedric King?

Answer: No, there is no Daedric King. Daedric Prince doesn’t represent any familial relationship or gender.

Daedric Princes Guide: Conclusion

The Daedric Princes are influential and exciting characters across all of The Elder Scrolls. Each one has a detailed history and personality to learn about, and the games would not be the same without the player being able to interact with them. Their artifacts are usually compelling, and they play a pivotal role for fans who hope to understand the world and lore of the series.

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