Skyrim talk:Saarthal

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Book on Alchemy Table[edit]

Not sure if there's any rhyme or reason to what book is there, but the book on the alchemy lab in the "Saarthal" zone is not static. Making note of what's been seen here:

  • Magic From the Sky
  • The Argonian Account, Book 2— Unsigned comment by Shurhaian (talkcontribs) at 19:35 on 7 January 2012
  • The Rise and Fall of the Blades Hanpritcher 20:42, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Description of Ruin[edit]

The walkthrough for this ruin was pretty thin so I copied the description from Under Saarthal to here. I'm not sure if we need two versions of it though (one for the ruin and another for the related quest). I think it makes more sense to have it here and have the related quests point to this page, but I'm not fussed either way. 209.121.55.214 06:58, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Removed. Makes more sense to keep in the quest page itself. Too hard to maintain duplicates. There is the wiki syntax for subpage transclusion, but my guess is not everybody here is skilled in wikification.
--DayDreamer 02:32, 2 March 2012 (UTC)
Aha! There is already a requirement to avoid duplication and full support for subpage transclusion. I'll built the subpage here, so that it can be transcluded into all three places (also Under Saarthal and Forbidden Legend).
--DayDreamer 12:41, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

Second Pillar Puzzle[edit]

Just so I hopefully don't have to do this pillar puzzle a hundred more times, I'm dumping absolutely everything I've scribbled down about them here.

Pillar Original Symbol Correct Symbol Activating Pillar Rotates Minimum # of Activations
Southeast Snake Dolphin SE, NE, SW, NW 1
Northeast Dolphin Snake NE, SW, NW 1
Southwest Dolphin Hawk SW, NW 2
Northwest Hawk Dolphin NW 1
  • "Activating Pillar Rotates" means if you click "activate" on the pillar, all of the listed pillars are turned, always by one rotation.
  • "Minimum # of Activations" means if starting from the original symbols, this is the minimum number of times that pillar has to be activated in order to solve the puzzle (taking into account the effects of all the other pillars). The order in which you do those activations doesn't matter.
  • When a pillar rotates, the symbols always change Snake -> Dolphin -> Hawk -> Snake

You approach the puzzle from the north, so the northeast pillar is the first on your left, and the northwest pillar is the first on your right as you first walk up to them. I've checked alll of this info using two different characters and multiple different saves/reloads/etc.

The current recommendation is to set each of the pillars in the listed order, and rotate it until its symbol matches. The reason for that recommendation is that in the given order, you don't end up messing up any of the previously set pillars. Furthermore, if you follow that recommendation it also ends up solving the puzzle the fastest -- setting the pillars in that order will always solve the puzzle with the minimum number of total pillar activations. In theory, you could do those same activations in any order. However, it seems far easier to do them in the order where it's obvious that you've done it correctly -- because the symbol now matches the one behind it on the wall.

As a result, I deleted the second solution method that had been listed on the page (which also incorrectly said each pillar needed to be turned just once). --NepheleTalk 18:27, 17 March 2012 (UTC)

Is there a particular reason that, unlike every other puzzle door in this wiki, this solution isn't actually on the page, but tucked away in here on the discussion page? It's rather irritating to have to go looking for it a second time.Dunerat (talk) 05:40, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
While the solution on the page isn't clear that this is the simplest method for the puzzle, it is listed, and it lists the four pillars that need turned in the order shown above, with the correct names for the symbols. Turning the pillars in that order until each displays the correct symbol before moving to the next one would be fairly obvious, even if it neglects to mention that one of them needs turned twice. Silence is GoldenBreak the Silence 20:18, 12 February 2018 (UTC)

"Nordic" Clutter[edit]

I apologize if my search skills are weak, but there are items in Saarthal that I can't find anywhere on the wiki.

Throughout the ruin there is rust-colored pottery called Nordic Jug, Nordic Plate, Nordic Vase, etc. I can't find any mention of them on the wiki. The list of miscelaneous clutter has generic pottery but doesn't list anything specifically "Nordic". They're physical and can be moved and taken. Do they need to be added? I only remember seeing them in Saarthal and a chest in QASmoke, but maybe I just never noticed before. — Unsigned comment by 98.160.100.108 (talk) at 04:01 on 11 December 2013

Are they objects that can be picked up and added to the inventory? Jeancey (talk) 04:04, 11 December 2013 (GMT)
I can see what items you are referring to in the CK but in-game they are named just like any other piece of miscellaneous clutter. Did you check in-game to see if they were actually named like that? And if so, are you running any mods that could affect this? Because I just checked my game and they're just named pot, jug, plate, etc. --S'drassaYes? 04:22, 11 December 2013 (GMT)
Yes, you're right. One of my mods changes some of the clutter names for variety. I thought because I saw them in QASmoke they must be "official" and not added by a mod, but it turns out the mod renames the vanilla clutter instead of adding new clutter. I'm dumb. XD — Unsigned comment by 98.160.100.108 (talk) at 04:32 on 11 December 2013

Moved from article[edit]

In the room with the female draugr, when standing on the edge of the upper platform and trying to reach the northeastern platform using Whirlwind Sprint, it is possible to "break" through the wall and end up in the chamber with Jyrik Gauldurson, which is strange as the chamber is actually southwest. He will not become active so you can safely backtrack to where you should be (the room with the four-pillar puzzle). Your only hope is if you have a follower who will have come through the proper path; you can direct them to activate the pillars and open the gate. Oddly enough, Tolfdir was waiting on the wrong side of the gate.

I moved this bug from the article because it is overly specific and seems like a one-off experience, and because it has been left unverified for over eight years. Anyone is free to re-add it if they have experienced it. --O-a11y Talk 00:08, 17 September 2020 (UTC)