Daggerfall Fan Thread

Excuse the gloom, but none may know of this meeting. I have summoned you to talk about how AMAZING Daggerfall is. For starters, the absolute SIZE of the world:



But it's not just size - it's the mechanical DEPTH the game had, outshining later entries in the franchise in ways that seem unbelievable. Just look at the difference between a Skyrim dungeon and a Daggerfall dungeon:

Skyrim:


Daggerfall:


Or take dialogue for another comparison

Skyrim dialogue lets you walk up to an NPC and chat about a couple of things at most with them:



But just LOOK at the sheer amount of things you can talk about with an NPC in Daggerfall! And this is just one page, there's a whole other section that lets you ask directions, and these sections get dynamically updated with even more things to talk about with quests and gained knowledge of areas. And you can even talk to them in different tones of voice and that actually matters based on that NPC's disposition! And if you chat with them too long, or if they're mean or even a bigot, they will actually get fed up with talking to you. You weren't owed a meaningful conversation, but if you had the speechcraft and right tone, you could talk about whatever you wanted with them!



Not to mention the factions and religions having a huge amount of depth!

In Skyrim, you can maybe do one or two quests per deity, and you can get a temporary buff by activating a little statue dedicated to them. One evil one grants you cannibalism, one good one lets you save a tree, and you can chat to the 1-4 followers of that god that exists in a single building dedicated to them and that's really about the level of depth we're talking about.

In Daggerfall, you can devote your entire life to a deity, and join that deity's holy temple, whereupon you will be granted a place to rest, people who can cure you of disease, a system of reputation with every member of that deity's religion, people who can improve your skills, people who can grant you blessings and spread your charity to the community, a large variety of radiant quests that let you advance in the ranks of that religion, and favor with that deity that can grant permanent buffs to you as long as you remain devoted to them. You can wield their holy symbols and talismen, use holy water, say prayers and wear amulets and sacred raiment if you so choose to immerse yourself into a holy role. There are also prayer books, pilgrimages, heretics and the ability to become one or turn them in, aiding those in the name of that deity, and so much more.

Oh, and each kingdom also has a prominent religion that is established throughout the kingdom, with smaller sects of other religions sprinkled throughout. One region may be dedicated to Mara, while one across the ocean may only have a few followers of Mara. It was so, so much more a world simulation than "this npc is designated the Talos preacher" like in Skyrim.

Daggerfall is actually more akin to a massive open world simulation with an equally robust and fleshed out RPG attached to it than an RPG with sim elements tacked on like in Skyrim, and that's why I love it so dearly - not to mention the vast landscape giving you that all important balance between civilization and loneliness. Daggerfall wasn't afraid of letting you wander the forests and dunes for hours if you so choose to lose yourself in them while listening to the most glorious, serene and melancholic music to fit the mood.





So whether you're a fan of the OG version, Daggerfall Unity, vanilla or modded, this thread's for you! Come share your love of Daggerfall! (Just no screenshots of the nymphs or dancers cause SpaceHey don't like that mmkay)