Skyrim talk:A Daedra's Best Friend

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new comment; fixed missing barbas with console[edit]

Im bad at wiki stuff but i had a glitch where Barbas would NOT SPAWN after talking to Lod and having the 'Look for Dog' misc quest. I was able to solve it by using starquest DA03 and setstage DA03 10, even though 20 did not work, and theres no step 10 on this wiki. I was just trying stuff randomly. This worked, even completed the Misc quest properly and Barbas functioned normally instead of just standing there silently, as he did if I tried to just place him there through placeatme. So if someone could perhaps add the mention that stage 10 of DAO3 seems to complete the intro quest... thanks. Otherwise, this comment may still help another person someday.

Dog is unkillable[edit]

take the quest. get the dog. dog is unkillable. there are many ways to get rid of him (i.e. complete quest, tell him to gtfo, or simply attack him), but who will? may be especially useful for someone who tries to stay away from all those dumb and drunk nords with their rebellion, all those greedy and corrupted imperial dogs, as well as honorable, but naive companions, and even dragons, as far as possible. not that this pretend to be complete and detailed description of quest. just a hint what may be worth to write about. — Unsigned comment by 95.72.138.71 (talk) at 13:33 on 16 November 2011

New comment[edit]

When I first entered Falkreath, the quest was not initiated even though I roamed extensively and pursued every dialog path with the blacksmith. I think I was about level 6 or 7. When I returned, about level 9 or 10, a guard inside the town mentioned the missing dog, allowing me to initiate the quest. Oldmanleschi 05:08, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

Other Wishes[edit]

When Clavicus Vile offers you a wish after "curing" his vampire followers, does anyone know what happens if you choose power or peace or whatever the other options are instead of helping Barbas?49.225.136.68 08:23, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

I decided I may as well answer my own question, if anyone else is interested, choosing Power makes him say that you are already more powerful than most people, about as powerful as him. Peace makes him say that he would do that, by killing everybody, but he isn't strong enough. Afterwards, the quest continues normally.49.224.154.234 12:14, 10 January 2012 (UTC)
And for the record, completing the quest with the other dialogue options selected will result in Clavicus Vile threatening either to let the dragons continue their work, thus killing everybody in Skyrim (Peace), or to bind your soul to the axe (Power). After a pause, he gives in and offers the Masque as usual.31.205.60.14 16:20, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

Do I have to?[edit]

My quest journal says 'Retrieve the Rueful Axe with Barbas.' I, however, find Barbas to be the worst companion ever, and I really don't want to have him in my company one moment longer than necesary. Will the quest still work if I go on my own? 68.92.156.190 01:33, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

My opinion - Barbas was one of the best. By the time I finished looting the back-trails he had almost cleared the Statue room of mage-types. For me, as a Combat player, this was a real boon (I HATE Ice Spike). Regarding your question, try that approach after you start a new game and let us know. Han 19:20, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
Oh - you mean when actually going to retrieve the axe. Yeah, then he IS kind of a pain - especially if you need to do other things first - because he's always nudging you and barking, and getting in your way. I just jump over him :) Han 21:43, 25 April 2012 (UTC)
Funny as I had the same idea of leaving him behind when I was told to get the Rueful Axe. It's on the northern tip of Skyrim, so I am not too happy with the distance either, imagine having Barbas pushing me all the time. Alas, I chose to stick to him, as otherwise he might disappear on me and ruin the quest. -F. — Unsigned comment by 187.67.226.140 (talk) at 17:53 on 23 January 2013

Bug[edit]

I lost the axe and cannot complete the quest. No way of returnig the axe nor killing Barbas. 84.208.151.161 18:15, 16 January 2012 (UTC) Imwer

Barbas won't stop following[edit]

It seems that If you choose the "I've got things to do" dialogue option during your initial encounter with Barbas, he will instruct you to meet him near Haemar's Shame if you change your mind. Despite this, he continues to follow you and will not obey the "Wait here" command. —Vinifera7 07:37, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Bugged boss location in Haemar's Shame?[edit]

I initially decided not to follow Barbas to the first dungeon after the initial meeting. I returned to this quest a long time later by traveling there directly. When I arrived at the statute, Barbas was fighting the boss in the sealed area behind the statute (ie the back exit to the dungeon behind a gate controlled by the chain on the wall). Barbas had corned the boss in the very back of this area, so it actually wasn't possible to assist the battle with melee weapons: approaching the fight would force you to leave the dungeon to the outside world. Anyone else seen this before, and if so, perhaps it should be noted on the Bugs section of the page? Cappo 20:13, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

I don't think so, as I believe this situation is very rare. Wolok gro-Barok 13:07, 8 April 2012 (UTC)
Sounds like Barbas somehow pushed the guy he was fighting through the gate.Sulhir (talk) 05:09, 23 September 2012 (GMT)

No Barbas...[edit]

Barbas wont show up, no matter how much I search for him. Have been looking for him where he should be, where he shouldn't be and everywhere else. Really frustrating, can't start the quest! — Unsigned comment by 87.93.64.75 (talk) at 11:03 on 21 May 2012

This happened to me too, although in my case, I probably had it coming. Since the game more or less forces this quest on you when you enter Falkreath, and Lod asks you about the dog before you can get to his sale menu, it's probably rather common to just tell Lod you'll search for the dog without going out and immediately talking to Barbas, simply because you had better things to do and only went into Falkreath in order to sell stuff to Lod.
To be specific, I didn't have time to do an entire Daedric quest just so I could sell something, so I just fast traveled away once I'd talked to Lod so I wouldn't have to deal with Barbas. And... lo and behold, when I finally decided to tackle the quest, Barbas was nowhere to be seen, and in fact, the quest marker pointing to him was gone... Not that I really regret taking the path that I did. My philosphy is, there's no shame in not immediately throwing yourself into a quest that the game forces you to take part in before you're ready.
That being said, anyone know a console command that will spawn Barbas in front of me so I can do the quest?
Vellup 10:10, 1 June 2012 (UTC)
A full list of console commands can be found here. Kitkat TalkContribE-mail 10:41, 1 June 2012 (UTC)
Spawning an additional copy of an NPC that already exists in the game is not recommended. Better that you player.moveto him than player.placeatme him. The placeatme commmand creates a copy, it does not move the original actor. A particular problem since Barbas is flagged as essential and you could create quite a few of them running around your world with this - causing who knows what kind of problems with the game and to poor Tamriel. Sulhir (talk) 05:11, 23 September 2012 (GMT)

Achievement[edit]

Do both the artifacts count towards the achievement for getting all artifacts — Unsigned comment by 68.231.197.3 (talk) at 21:20 on 27 May 2012

Check this page for a complete list. --Krusty 22:44, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

Both the Rueful Axe and The Masque[edit]

YES IT IS POSSIBLE. New glitch found.

Upon entering Haemers shame with the axe you have to make the choice to kill Barbas or save him. Get to the end of Clavicus' dialog where you make the choice then click "No way, take Barbas back", quickly back out of the dialogue use slow time and exit Haemers shame out the back, fast travel to Whiterun and use slow time again whilst running to breeze home. When inside breeze home place the axe on the weapon rack and the quest will still finish like normal.

AFTER THIS Barbas will dissapear in the conjuration purple smoke. RETURN to Haemers shame and the quest will finish completely and you will receive the Masque of Clavicus Vile. — Unsigned comment by KingK (talkcontribs) at 17:47 on 6 July 2012

NICE. Verified on Xbox360. The first time I tried it, it acted a little buggy - when I returned after racking the Axe in Whiterun, Vile said the "have my boon" line, but then nothing happened. I Waited an hour, and then the Masque was added to my inventory and the quest completed. The weird thing was that Barbas remained in living dog form and the statue of Vile disappeared completely. That bothered me, so even though I had successfully acquired both artifacts, I reloaded and tried again. The second time through, I had no issues. Great find. username12345 02:00, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
There are a few others involving the same sort of process for the Wabbajack and Wuuthrad, Aslo found by me :) KingKTalk 16:47, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
Confirmed on the PS3 as well using the same method as above. A heads up though to those who haven't done this yet. When you speak to clavicus to return both the axe and barbas and exit the dialogue to head to Whiterun, be aware that your camera turn radius will be limited due to it still being in "dialogue mode" so be prepared to make an awkward escape. Cjesseg (talk) 03:07, 11 March 2014 (GMT)
It also still works on the PS4 Special Edition. Just checked. KingK (talk) 06:28, 9 January 2020 (GMT)

Talking to Lod[edit]

To talk to Lod about Barbas you don't have to complete the quest. If you tell Barbas I have things to do and then talk to Lod he will also give you a reward. — Unsigned comment by 82.73.72.148 (talk) at 19:33 on 26 July 2012

Moved Note[edit]

The following note was recently placed on the page:

"* It´s possible to keep both artifacts:

  1. At the end of the quest, decide not to kill Barbas, then instantly exit the dialogue and use the Slow Time shout.
  2. Run out the cave and fast travel to any location with a weapon rack (e.g., Breezehome, or any home you own).
  3. Use the shout again, run into the house and place the axe in the weapon rack.
  4. Barbas will disappear; enter the cave again. The quest will finish and you will receive the mask."

While it seems reasonable in some ways, it seems to run counter to most of the item-removal scripts I've seen, which wouldn't give one nearly enough time to do all of this, as well as quite likely to cause bugs when the quest tries to remove an object you don't have, and, if it works at all, like it would require exquisite timing.

Since it also needs a fair bit of formatting, I've moved it here until it can be verified and rewritten, rather than simply adding a VN tag to it.--TheAlbinoOrc (talk) 09:42, 6 October 2012 (GMT)

It worked. Xbox 360. You clearly have enough time but you need the Slow Time shout. --SRX2 (talk) 12:19, 6 October 2012 (GMT)

Of course it works read my posts further up the page. I found this glitch myself (Sorry for not signing, im on a library comp. You get plenty of time to do this, the slow time just makes his dialogue slow down therefore increasing the time it takes for the quest to finish. KingK

I lost Barbas[edit]

I remember telling him to wait somewhere a while back, but i can't remember where i put him. reloading a save file isn't an option, unfortunately i've been progressing through other quests while he's been gone. But i don't dare try to finish the quest alone in case i'm stuck with a bug. am i unable to finish the quest? Anastasia0812 (talk) 03:56, 2 September 2013 (GMT)

I lost Barbas and....[edit]

After I told Barbas to stay and later when I tried to find him again and he was gone this is what I did....

console and put player.moveto 52535 and it warped me right to him and I simply told him to follow me again. 173.21.24.17 13:07, 26 November 2013 (GMT)

Avoided Helgen completely[edit]

When I was following Barbas, instead of going into Helgen (the first gate we got to was shut), he backtracked, made a wide circle to the left over the snow, and rejoined the road just after Helgen. As a result, we never entered Helgen at all, though I could hear the bandit's voices raising the alarm. Perhaps this was triggered by a gate being shut that should have been open? 174.6.51.17 05:47, 5 January 2014 (GMT)

Glitch - stuck on top of lootable objects[edit]

I went around a did lots of other stuff before going to get the axe, but when I did go back to Haemar's Shame, when I entered the final chamber, I was automatically trasported to the back of the cave and couldn't move, and all of the lootable objects were stuck in the same spot with me (a sword, some food, a couple of pots, etc.) Nothing I do in-game lets me move from that spot, or remove the objects I'm stuck there with. The problem occurs identically whether I enter from the front of the cave or the back.

I have no experience with modding or patching, so I'm not sure where to even start fixing this. I'm open to suggestions. — Unsigned comment by 98.249.30.19 (talk) at 04:59 on 29 January 2014

Stuck at stage 70[edit]

Fast traveled with Barbas to Rimerock Burrow and despatched the Flame Atronach along with Sebastian Lort. Even though the quest marker was on the Rueful Axe, the quest did not update when picking it up. It appears the "Objective 75: Join Barbas outside Rimerock Burrow" was never reached upon arrival. The problem might have arisen with a previous visit to Rimerock Burrow without Barbas, the quest still at stage 70, and a former incarnation of the Flame Atronach despatched as well. Forwarded the quest to stage 100 by console, and it proceeded as per description.--Lmstearn (talk) 09:00, 30 January 2014 (GMT)

Two Rewards[edit]

  • It is possible to get both rewards by slowing time with a dragon shout, and placing the rueful axe on a weapon rack in Breezehome or any house from Hearthfire.

This needs a proper check, considering the claims above. How many words are needed, how do you get to your house (run or fast-travel), and is it actually possible without changing time-flow settings, considering the distance between the houses and the shrine. Silence is GoldenBreak the Silence 17:38, 24 February 2014 (GMT)

I'm not sure if this any helpful but I'm at the point of the quest where you have the choice to kill barbas or say "no deal." Where this glitch is possible. Instead of following through with how the glitch is done written above, I went ahead and put the rueful axe on the weapon rack and returned to clavicus to see if the glitch could be done another way. It didn't work. The only dialogue it gives is "I sure would like to keep this axe.." it doesn't give the option to say "no deal." Also to successfully do this glitch you need all three words of power to slow time and it is necessary to have it because it delays the removal of the axe from your inventory. From standing behind the shrine and exiting out the back, it takes three shout lengths to do so successfully. The same with fast traveling to whiterun (it is necessary to fast travel too, as just running will not work) as soon as it loads up and you use the shout, the three shouts are the perfect length to run and make it to the house and quickly place the axe on the rack. Although it is a close call on this part, so you need to be quick. Saving before all of this is essential too, obviously, since theres a good chance you might not get it the first time but it is possible. Cjesseg (talk) 20:22, 1 July 2014 (GMT)
What will also help is not wearing any armor or wearing light armor because you will run faster than with heavy armor. Cjesseg (talk) 05:52, 2 July 2014 (GMT)
It worked and only required a single word of the Slow Time shout. There's some prep work to do.
1. Equip The Rueful Axe.
2. Make sure the weapon rack closest to the door in either Breezehome or a Hearthfire house is empty.
3. Have your follower wait somewhere out of the way.
4. Wearing light armor or clothes could help you move faster, and make sure you have 20lbs free in your carry allowance so you don't get encumbered when the axe loses quest item status.
5. Equip the Slow Time shout.
6. Activate the pullchain to lower the gate behind the statue of Clavicus Vile.
7. Stand behind the statue.
8. Save the game here in case it doesn't work the first time.
9. Speak to Clavicus and go through the dialogue until he gives you the choice.
10. Refuse to kill Barbas and immediately exit the dialogue, use the Slow Time shout, and back out of the tunnel. (You will have to back out because you are still in dialogue mode and cannot turn.)
11. Once you are outside, immediately call up the map and fast travel to either Whiterun or your Hearthfire house.
12. As soon as you reach the location with your house, use the Slow Time shout again, enter your house, and place The Rueful Axe on a weapon rack.
You will have to return to Haemar's Shame to collect the mask, but if it all goes right, you'll get the Masque of Clavicus Vile, The Rueful Axe will be waiting for you on your weapon rack, and Barbas will be back at his master's side. However, this exploit has been patched in the Special Edition. Too bad Bethesda chose to patch harmless exploits instead of harmful bugs.104.15.180.18 18:36, 26 October 2017 (UTC)
I just tried this on the PS4 (latest game and system updates, no mods) and it worked just fine for me. I did several tests only using fast travel and using Breezehome and Lakeview Manor, so I thought I would give my thoughts and opinions about it. With all three words I could do it every time at both places... once I remembered how to properly use a weapon rack that is. With two words I struggled at Breezehome, but it seemed I could do it every time at Lakeview. With only a single word I was successful one time at Lakeview, but couldn't do it at all at Breezehome. So I personally wouldn't recommend trying with one word, I couldn't even get inside Breezehome before the axe was removed and I always came up a little short at Lakeview. I'm sure some people could manage with only a single word, though I'm not good enough to do that it seems. With two words it's not bad and I think most people will succeed especially with Lakeview, then with all three words I think anyone would succeed using one home or the other.
By the way, you do not need to go back to Haemar's Shame to get the mask. It doesn't seem to matter where you are, because if you wait long enough (around a minute after the quest updates) the mask will be added to your inventory and you will finish the quest. So you could go back home and store the axe, then just sit there and wait for the mask to come to you. If you do return to Haemar's Shame after this, as you walk in you will see the visual effect as if Barbas is being returned though nothing else happens since the quest is already done. --Haywud (talk) 12:11, 27 July 2018 (UTC)
Just for the record, for anyone else who reads through this. This glitch was found by me back in 2012 and posted on this exact discussion page. It’s actually quite a detailed description on how to achieve this outcome. If you’re curious, take a look further up the page at #11 “Both the Rueful Axe and the Masque”, you can read it there. KingK (talk) 06:24, 9 January 2020 (GMT)

Somewhat peculiar glitch I was unable to replicate[edit]

After receiving the Masque (or possibly slightly earlier - certainly after speaking to Vile the first time, but before leaving with it - I fast-travelled to Rimerock Burrow, so it can't have been any other quest or place), I developed a (permanent?) ice aura, similar to that of a Frost Atronach. No unusual effect was listed on the Magic effects page. I've never seen anything like that occur before, and I have no idea what triggered it. Possibly something to do with Rimerock Burrow (which I had previously cleared)? Reloading and running through the same sequence did not reproduce it. 203.166.254.239 06:42, 22 July 2014 (GMT)

Sebastian Lort's Alchemy table???[edit]

I just went there and it was an Enchanting table, not Alchemy. Is it different for different people, or is this merely a typo?

(Also, funny glitch I guess, I sniped Lort and he fell forward onto the table when he died. I looted his corpse, then used the table. His half-naked body was still showing as I leaned over and put my hands on the Enchanter. Instead of Rimerock Burrow, it looked like Brokeback Burrow.) — Unsigned comment by 64.185.135.246 (talk) at 20:13 on 18 October 2014

I've corrected it now as is definitely an arcane enchanter, sshown correctly on place page. Biffa (talk) 01:13, 19 October 2014 (GMT)

Is this a bug plz answer[edit]

Every time I walk through doors the screen turns red and my character turns purple — Unsigned comment by Dray Peree (talkcontribs) at 07:15 on 11 June 2015

Barbas won't spawn(XBOX)[edit]

Ok I entered Falkreath one day and no guard talked to me. So I spent a VERY long time doing other stuff. So I returned after civil war and the guard talked to me. I talked to Lod and he gave me the meat. So I walked to the quest marker and nothing happened. Barbas won't show up. Btw this is Xbox it worked with a different character and I have done a ton of stuff in the meantime so no reloading earlier saves. Help? — Unsigned comment by 207.144.99.8 (talk) at 17:30 on 10 October 2016

Have you tried using a detect life spell to see if he may be nearby. It could be that he just isn't moving, or could have been distracted by some wildlife. Silence is GoldenBreak the Silence 17:36, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

(BUG??) Barbas doesn't disappear[edit]

On Xbone, after you tell Clavicus that you won't kill Barbas, start talking to Barbas while Clavicus is still talking. You don't get the axe, but Clavicus doesn't take Barbas away with him, he is still left in the cave with you. He can no longer talk and he won't follow you, but he doesn't turn into a statue either. — Unsigned comment by 73.26.249.221 (talk) at 17:08 on 12 January 2017

Bug: It won't click[edit]

Once the Rueful axe is aquired, unable to begin the dialogue with Vile rendering the quest unfinishable (SE, pc) — Unsigned comment by 132.208.12.83 (talk) at 15:51 on 13 April 2021