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I'm still on my third character, after having abandoned my first two (as I think I mentioned in my previous thread), so I guess he's a keeper-- although he's a Bard, and I must say that I'd have never chosen to play a Bard willingly, because I think the whole "Bards are the most well-rounded character class in RPGs" idea is bullroar, invented by some guy who dreamed of being a rock-and-roll star and saving the world from evil and just generally being cool and stuff. Also, Bards can't wear armor better than Chain, so that's a major bummer. But everything about this character's initial creation-- class, race, gender, first name, last name, backstory, etc.-- was chosen using a random spinning wheel picker website, which was something I first tried in Arena and ended up with a character I had a lot of fun with.

Anyway, I spent my first few weeks in Daggerfall just hanging out in the town just south of Privateer's Hold, doing quests for the Fighters Guild, the Temple of Z'en, and (once they finally deemed me worthy of joining) the Mages Guild. This has helped familiarize me with most of the different dungeon building blocks that make up most of the standard dungeons, not to mention getting much better at using the 3D automapping feature which made my head spin at first. I'm now (usually) able to find all of the "hidden" areas which can only be accessed by using portals or by figuring out how to open locked trapdoors.

Unfortunately, I finally decided to go to Daggerfall to begin the Main Quest, and now it seems like each stage is coming up more quickly than I'd prefer. I was level 8 when I started, so I guess that's why completing one stage leads almost immediately to the next stage coming up. I feel like I'm being rushed into doing each stage when I'd actually like to go back to doing quests for the Mages Guild and Temple of Z'en for a while. It's those time limits which are making me feel rushed or pressured, because when I read a letter and it mentions a time period-- even a vague one, such as "before the end of next season"-- it makes me think that I'd better go talk to that person or else I might miss the window of opportunity. Are those time references actually meaningful, or can I safely ignore reading and acting upon the letters without suffering any negative consequences?

The only letter that actually applies a time limit is Lady Brisienna's initial letter asking to meet in a tavern. Otherwise a time limit for a quest only starts when you speak to them and accept the errand. So feel free to take your time!

Ah, that's great to hear! Now I just have to complete the Stronghold of the Blades quest quickly enough to not fail it, or else just restore back to before I completed the painting quest.

I'm really enjoying a lot of the dungeons, although they're much more enjoyable when I can fully explore them at a leisurely pace. When I'm up against a time limit (in the side quests), I often go turn in the quest as soon as I can, sell all of my loot, and then head back to the dungeon to explore it all over again from top to bottom. Sometimes I think I've explored all of it, then I go through a door and find out there's another large section I hadn't known was there.

I was able to complete the Stronghold of the Blades quest by restoring to just after I'd arrived there and making my way directly to where the cursed item was stashed so I could return to the Agent of the Underking in time. If I wasn't sure which way to go, I had a save from my earlier attempt, just after finding the item, that I could reload to check the map.

The letter that starts the next phase of the Main Quest hasn't been handed to me yet, so I've been able to go back to doing quests for the Mages Guild and Temple of Z'en without feeling pressured to continue the Main Quest, which is nice.

Just when I think I've got the dungeon mechanics figured out, something new pops up that surprises me. For instance, the quest I'm currently on took me to a dungeon that seemed very small, with a room I couldn't enter because a cage was in the way of the door. I'd seen that in a different dungeon, but I was able to complete that quest without having to get through the blocked doorway, whereas this time it was obvious that I needed to find a way into the room. I finally tried "using" a torch on the wall by the doorway, and lo and behold, the cage slid out of the way so I could enter the room. And then I realized that "using" a box inside the room also made the cage slide aside. So now I'm going to have to keep an eye out for that mechanic in other dungeons.

Coincidentally, the quest I just completed in The Saheusah Cave in Daggerfall, which contained a room blocked by a cage that had to be slid out of the way using a torch (from outside the room) or wooden box (from inside the room) was followed by a quest that sent me to The Den of Mordistyr in Daggerfall, which just so happens to be the dungeon where I'd previously encountered a door blocked by a cage. Now that I know what to do in that scenario, I was able to slide the cage out of the way and gain access to the door!