History VideoGame / TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall

** The Daedric princes have significantly different personalities than they do in ''Morrowind'' and on, perhaps most notably Azura. That said, they are at least called "Daedra" here.

* NintendoHard: Cheat codes are not only encouraged, but sometimes ''necessary''.

A source port-like clone, called ''[=DaggerXL=]'', was in development since 2009 but later officially announced to be dead in 2020. Fortunately, a separate project called ''Daggerfall Unity'', which renders the entire world of ''Daggerfall'' in the UsefulNotes/{{Unity}} engine, is also in development at the [[http://www.dfworkshop.net/ Daggerfall Workshop]]. Despite still being in the beta stages, it's evolved enough that the Daggerfall community now considers it to be the definitive way to play the game. In fact, in June 2022, it even got its own [=GOG=] release called ''Daggerfall Unity: [=GOG=] Cut'', courtesy of Youtuber [=GamerZakh=]. This "official" release contains the core Daggerfall Unity build, plus a number of mods that improve the graphics and music, update the [=UI=], and provide a number of quality of life improvements. A run through of this build can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7fmp4gLUjQ here]].

** When ''Daggerfall'' was first released, [[ObviousBeta it could not actually be completed due to bugs.]] It would later be patched, but it is still one of the buggiest video games you'll ever see.

* ObviousBeta: Resulting in some unbeatable quests (including, prior to the first patch, ''the story itself''), frequent opportunities to fall through floors and fly around in the Void, and some [[ArtificialStupidity very confused monsters.]]

** In terms of the real meat of the gameplay, ''Daggerfall'' is still basically a first-person roguelike with a ton of other features and a main quest thrown in. Guilds are mainly focused on benefits & training, though unlike ''Arena'' they ''can'' be joined, and some of them have mini-arcs of two or three quests that follow on one another interspersed in the mainly random quests. Later games, beginning with ''Morrowind'', would focus more on pre-written content and have a dedicated questline for each major joinable organization.

* DiscOneNuke: if you choose, during the chargen, to define your character's personality by answering some questions, you could start the game with an ebony dagger, which is significantly more powerful than anything you'd find till level 6-7 (since equipment scales with player level).

* NoMacGuffinNoWinner: [[spoiler: The Underking's victory is as close to this as it gets; while the Underking finally dies, he dies in most scenarios anyway, and his capture of the Totem prevents any of the other factions from employing Numidium or the Mantella to achieve their goals.]]

* OnlyTheChosenMayWield: Only those of great power or the right bloodline may wield the Mantella. Notably, your character is ''not'' among them; this game averts you being TheChosenOne, so if try to use the Mantella yourself, you will die.

* LoveTriangle: [[spoiler:Lysandus, Mynisera and Medora Direnni were all in a love triangle, culminating with Mynisera having Medora banished to Direnni Tower and cursed to prevent her from leaving.]]

* TriangRelations: [[spoiler:Lysandus, Mynisera and Medora Direnni were all in a love triangle, culminating with Mynisera having Medora banished to Direnni Tower and cursed to prevent her from leaving.]]

** The Daedric princes have significantly different personalities than they do in ''Morrowind'' and on, aside from perhaps Azura. That said, they are at least called "Daedra" here.
** While the original Eight Divines are properly introduced here, Talos is ''not'' a Divine (he would be RetConned into one in ''Morrowind'').

In September 2019, some of the game's leading developers, most prominently ''The Elder Scrolls'' co-creators, programmer Creator/JulianLeFay and designer and writer Ted Peterson, announced that they are working on a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Daggerfall'', and are putting together a small team for the purpose under the banner of [=OnceLost=] Games. The project, titled ''VideoGame/TheWaywardRealms'', was initially set for a 2021 release but was pushed back into 2022.

* ContinuityDrift: The game's geography is slightly different from how the Iliac Bay appears on later maps of Tamriel. For example, the landmasses of High Rock and Hammerfell extend from East to West, when later maps have them running Northeast to Southwest. In addition, most more recent maps of Tamriel, plus ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'', show Daggerfall ([[NamesTheSame the city]]) as being on the opposite side of the peninsula from the Iliac Bay.

** If you're in good standing with the Thieves Guild (you don't necessarily have to be a member), they might even help you out during certain quests. For example, during a quest to find a noble who absconded with some gold from a loan and the valuable land deed used to secure it, they can send you letter explaining where the missing deed is.

* SchrodingersQuestion: The game generates a background for the PlayerCharacter based on your answers to a series of questions during character creation. These questions affect your starting skills, equipment, and reputation. Answering them in certain ways (you'll likely [[GuideDangIt need to consult a guide]]) can make you a [[MinMaxing Min-Maxed]] powerhouse) and can hand you a DiscOneNuke starting weapon. You can also choose to skip the questions, which has the game answer the questions at random. [[VideoGameDelegationPenalty Skipping can be quite detrimental]], however, as the game is likely to saddle you with buffs to skills you don't intend to use and can give you poor starting equipment.)

* ThievesGuild: They were around in ''Arena'', but you can actually join them in this installment, after some initiation rites. In addition to quests to steal stuff, they also offer fences (which in this game buy magic items at a higher price than other merchants), [[KnowledgeBroker spymasters]], training, and the ability to the bribe the judge into acquitting you if you're arrested for theft. Their ThouShaltNotKill characterization has yet to take hold; in many of their quests, it's okay to kill whoever's guarding the item you need to steal (or whatever, as it's sometimes guarded by monsters), but there is one quest where you get worse rewards if you kill a guard.

* VideoGameDelegationPenalty: The game generates a background for the PlayerCharacter [[SchrodingersQuestion based on your answers to a series of questions]] during character creation. These questions affect your starting skills, equipment, and reputation. Answering them in certain ways (you'll likely [[GuideDangIt need to consult a guide]]) can make you a [[MinMaxing Min-Maxed]] powerhouse) and can hand you a DiscOneNuke starting weapon. You can also choose to skip the questions, which has the game answer the questions at random. Skipping can be quite detrimental, however, as the game is likely to saddle you with buffs to skills you don't intend to use and can give you poor starting equipment.)

* HideYourChildren: The only ''Elder Scrolls'' game before ''Skyrim'' where this is averted (excluding mods). They're unkillable, though. Well, at least ''most'' of them. If you [[spoiler:become a vampire and wish to get cured, you actually ''have'' to kill a child because you need his blood]].

''Daggerfall'' saw the series' transition into full 3D. The world is mostly flat with some hilly and mountainous areas, but the cities themselves feature solid houses and walls that are climbable and the dungeons just revel in the fact that you can cross over your own path on three or four different levels. ''Daggerfall'' is also the last game where Bethesda Software implemented procedural generation as a major part of the game. The size of the game world is massive (at 161,600km[[superscript:2]] it is second only to ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]''[[note]]which is infinitely large[[/note]]) and they really wanted to implement a [[WideOpenSandbox go anywhere and do anything]] feel, limited only by time constraints and a legendary inability to keep the game stable and store things in cabinets. The game has multiple endings, multiple routes to get to those endings, and there are many things to do, as long as you didn't miss your [[TimedMission appointment]].

A source port-like clone, called ''[=DaggerXL=]'', was in development since 2009 but later officially announced to be dead in 2020. Fortunately, a separate project called ''Daggerfall Unity'', which renders the entire world of ''Daggerfall'' in the UsefulNotes/{{Unity}} engine, is also in development at the [[http://www.dfworkshop.net/ Daggerfall Workshop]]. Despite still being in the beta stages, it's evolved enough that the Daggerfall community now considers it to be the definitive way to play the game. In fact, in June 2022, it even got its own [=GOG=] release called ''Daggerfall Unity: [=GOG=] Cut'', courtesy of Youtuber [=GamerZakh=]. This "official" release contains the core Daggerfall Unity build, plus a number of mods that improve the graphics and music, update the [=UI=], and provide a number of quality of life improvements. Additionally, the game has been recreated in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' as a mod, found [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/99469 here]][[note]]Legendary Edition[[/note]] and [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/29416 here]][[note]]Special Edition[[/note]] as ''Skygerfall''[[note]]presumably, they chose that name because ''Skyfall'' [[Film/{{Skyfall}} was already taken]][[/note]] - however, it's ''not'' a total conversion mod, since upon completion of the mod, you'll have the option of using your ''Skygerfall'' hero [[NewGamePlus as a Dragonborn]].

A source port-like clone, called ''[=DaggerXL=]'', was in development since 2009 but later officially announced to be dead in 2020. Fortunately, a separate project called ''Daggerfall Unity'', which renders the entire world of ''Daggerfall'' in the UsefulNotes/{{Unity}} engine, is also in development at the [[http://www.dfworkshop.net/ Daggerfall Workshop]]. Despite still being in the beta stages, it's evolved enough that the Daggerfall community now considers it to be the definitive way to play the game. In fact, in June 2022, it even got its own [=GOG=] release called ''Daggerfall Unity: [=GOG=] Cut'', courtesy of Youtuber [=GamerZakh=]. Additionally, the game has been recreated in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' as a mod, found [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/99469 here]][[note]]Legendary Edition[[/note]] and [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/29416 here]][[note]]Special Edition[[/note]] as ''Skygerfall''[[note]]presumably, they chose that name because ''Skyfall'' [[Film/{{Skyfall}} was already taken]][[/note]] - however, it's ''not'' a total conversion mod, since upon completion of the mod, you'll have the option of using your ''Skygerfall'' hero [[NewGamePlus as a Dragonborn]].

A source port-like clone, called ''[=DaggerXL=]'', was in development since 2009 but later officially announced to be dead in 2020. Fortunately, a separate project called ''Daggerfall Unity'', which renders the entire world of ''Daggerfall'' in the UsefulNotes/{{Unity}} engine, is also in development at the [[http://www.dfworkshop.net/ Daggerfall Workshop]]. Despite still being in the beta stages, it's evolved enough that the Daggerfall community now considers it to be the definitive way to play the game. Additionally, the game has been recreated in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' as a mod, found [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/99469 here]][[note]]Legendary Edition[[/note]] and [[https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/29416 here]][[note]]Special Edition[[/note]] as ''Skygerfall''[[note]]presumably, they chose that name because ''Skyfall'' [[Film/{{Skyfall}} was already taken]][[/note]] - however, it's ''not'' a total conversion mod, since upon completion of the mod, you'll have the option of using your ''Skygerfall'' hero [[NewGamePlus as a Dragonborn]].

In September 2019, some of the game's leading developers, most prominently ''The Elder Scrolls'' co-creators, programmer Creator/JulianLeFay and designer and writer Ted Peterson, announced that they are working on a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Daggerfall'', and are putting together a small team for the purpose under the banner of [=OnceLost=] Games. The project, titled ''The Wayward Realms'', is as of this writing in the early planning stages.

* VendorTrash: There's a lot of loot that doesn't have any practical purpose other than selling them to merchants. However, some -- like Holy Tomes and Daggers -- are very valuable, while others can (in theory) be used to hold enchantments.

* ArtificialStupidity: Liches have the unhealthy tendency of blowing themselves up with their own spells.

* FantasyCounterPartCulture: High Rock to [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy medieval Europe]], Hammerfell to [[{{Qurac}} medieval Arabia and North Africa]]. In fact, the Iliac Bay (which is located between the two provinces) is laid out like Earth's Mediterranean Sea, with High Rock on the northern side, Hammerfell on the southern side, stretches of land connecting the two as well as a few rivers on the eastern side, and open sea to the West.