I've seen a number of complaints regarding this quest: it can be started anytime by reading the book named "Forgotten Legends" though it cannot be completed in any way without having to join the college of mages. Non-magic users are effectively shunned from this quest because Bethesda developers didn't provide (or, most likely, forgot to) an alternate way of completing it.

If you're reading this topic, I assume you're familiar with this quest and its goal. If you don't want to be spoiled, stop reading NOW.

The problem lies in the dungeon of Saarthal which can be opened only with a specific key. I've tried forcing my way using the console but the amulet fragment cannot be obtained because another door inside the dungon is activated only through a script tied to the quest. The sole possible solution is to obtain the amulet fragment directly via console, which I did.

Open the console and type:

player.additem 0002D75A 1

This command will add to the player inventory the amulet fragment located inside Saarthal. Note that the quest journal won't update yet but this is not a problem. Continue through the quest and retrieve (if you haven't already done so) the other two fragments. Then head to Reachwater Rock and finish the quest. The journal will be updated and also the secondary objective of retrieving the fragment from Saarthal will be marked as complete.

End of the story. This way, even players who don't plan to join the college will be able to complete the quest.

So your "solution" is to use the console to add the item lol. This is not a solution, this is cheating, and irrelevant to console users.

This is a solution for people who are shunned from the quest because there's no other way to complete it outside the mage guild even if the quest may start outside it.

See the logic?

Crap, is it really the only solution? I was looking forward to obtaining the cool Ice Form shout inside Saarthal. Bugger.

Aahhh man so I can't do the quest to get the necklace of a fabled mage without joining the mages college.......aaawww shucks

really...really.....your complaint is that there's no way to complete this optional quest without going to the person that has the completely unique item required to complete it.....you don't need a trick, you obviously know who has the item and where it is. If you want the item......do the required quests to acquire it for whoever has the item

Cheating is not a "Trick" to complete a quest it's cheating. If you're going to cheat anyway why bother going through the quest at all

agreed. if a warrior truly wanted the 'fabled' amulet spoken of in forbidden legend i would think they would do whatever it takes to acquire it including spending years if necessary to rise in the ranks of the mages guild just to get access to it. however, i can also see that it would be nice to have an 'alternate' way to get in there, maybe through another quest....

(spoliers) I know others have said it, but i couldn't find the thread to link but when you try to enter the College of Winterhold you can either use a dragon shout or magic to enter the college, and its like the 2nd quest to get the dungon open for the "Forbidden Ledgend" quest. So even my str8 fighter character with no magic can still get in, and easily complete the first couple quests for the mages until I can get into the dungon for "Forbidden Ledgend" quest.

If you just are unwilling to join the mages college, then yes, the only option is to use console commands for the PC, but for PS3 and xbox users they have to join the mages college.

Actually, in my own experience, the Forbidden Legend quest seems to be breaking the mage quest. It renames the item in Saarthal and you end up stuck (none of the suggested fixes for getting stuck in that particular location has worked for me). Your fix may be a nice way to avoid that particular glitch by allowing you to complete the Forbidden Legend quest before attempting the mage quest. I'll give it a shot anyway. Thanks for posting this!

Edit: When I played through this portion of the mage quest without the Forbidden Legend quest, I didn't encounter any problems.

Thanks for this. I haven't been able to get through the Saarthal dungeon in multiple tries because of bugs. The first bugged gate freezes many systems,(PC), including mine, but I was able to get through it via advice on the Wiki although it was far from easy. The second bugged puzzle gate was impossible on my system due to the runes you're supposed to set spinning and spinning and resetting the others, also noted in the Wiki. I suppose these bugs will be a priority in a patch.

Lol, just join the effin' mages guild. The saarthal quest is literally the first one after the introduction to the guild quest. I did it with my thief who has 100 mana. qq moar, rpers.

Can I point out you can join the mages guild and never actually use magic

Not completley true, you have to demonstrate some ward spell and use a spell in part of saarthal. Every person should be able to do it though, regardless if they put points into mana or not.