So my 1H Orc warrior wanted to retrieve the fragments of a certain amulet (you know which one) and to get one of the pieces I have to go into Saarthal. To do that I mist join the mages guild. To do that at my level I must conjure a flame atronach. I do not have, nor do I want, enough magicka to do this.

So now my warrior character has to find a way to be a good enough mage to do this quest. I think that is pretty stupid. I have to keep looking around for more gear to reduce conjuration cost I guess. I have a robe already.

I was considering leveling conjuration to make it cheaper to cast, but the only place I know of to buy soul trap to cheap level conjuration (I wouldn't normally do that, but I will not be using magic as a skill anyway) is in the College. I can't get into the college. Where can I find soul trap besides random loot?

You are right!!! A big dumb ME CRUSH YUUU Orc should have TOTAL access to the mages guild lol
You might be curiouse about a historical artifact, but no ammount of curiousity and desire will get you into the basemants of some museums rr archeology sites unless you prove yourself worthy first. You should have been able to buy your way in by financing the mission but that would have ruined the mages guild quest branch.

Forcing us to become a mage to finish this quest is a total nuisance. I cheated and used the console in order to open the door and disable the hidden and magickly sealed doors inside in order to do it.

Why? It makes perfect sense that a quest involving researching and investigating a legend would require some sort of scholar, not just any old ranger with a blade...I finished this quest with my mage characters, and didn't bother with my other characters, big deal, there's plenty enough quests to do for everyone...

My point was that as a warrior character attempting a quest that is not a part of the College of Winterhold - it is a side quest - I should not have to have mage skills to do it. I should not have to have thief skills. I should not have to have warrior skills. Any character archetype should have a way to complete it fitting their skill set. I don't think I should have access to the College at all, nor do I want it. Re-read my post, comprehend, read your reply, and learn.

You can't cast spells and have no intention fo learning magic. Of course they won't let you join the College.

I agree this quest shouldn't force us into a guild, but then it's just one quest. The world won't crumble if you don't finish it.

Researching and investigating a legend? This one doesn't need any scholar! No riddles to solve, just old draugr to kill. This quest is exactly like Bleak Falls Barrow times 3, that's all.

The thing is, this and one more like it are the only side quests that have interested me more than any other quest. Chasing after legendary artifacts is my favorite thing, and since Morrowind, it has been something that has been lacking in TES. I would like to take advantage of what little Skyrim has to offer in that regard.

Try one of the court mages, like Falion in Morthal or Farengar in Whiterun.

I agree, it was really dumb to tie this quest to the questline of the College.

I so totally disagree. It is like the Telvani would build their strongholds in a way that would make it impossible for you to get to them unless you were a mage that could levitate. Quests were dependent on magic and you not being able to complete them as a dumb brute was part of the experience. Now everyone wants to do everything with any build and that is lame. There should be quests that you simply can’t finish as a pure warrior or a pure mage.

No dumber than not being able to use the Arcane enchanters in Oblivion until you had your reccommendations from every guild hall! You could just fake it, get a potion that boosts your magicka so you over 150 to cast Conjure Flame Atronarch?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_mDTLphIVY

I don't want to do everything at all. I want to play as a warrior who has no magical ability, but hunts down legendary enchanted items to make up for it. This quest is perfect and would give me great and much needed help playing on master difficulty. I should not have to learn magic just so I can complete a quest that has nothing to do with the College. The irony is, you are contradicting yourself.

And yes, I agree, there should be many quests that you cannot finish as a pure mage, or a pure thief, etc. Those quests should be a part of their respective factions - not the side quests in the game.

Wait until you're confirmed as the Dragonborn and impress the person there by summoning a Thu'um. No, not *at* her, through dialogue options.

She'll let you in after that.

I would have liked to see an option where a non-mage character could serve the College in some other fashion (such as being a bodyguard, rooting out dangerous mages, or gathering intelligence) in order to either gain enough favor to enter the site or join the expedition as either some muscle or the traps/locks specialist.

couldnt u have just sed that your the dragonborn? that's how i got in. and do u have to get that amulet now? why not go back when u'v got the gear to do it? I'm sure there's other things to do in the meanwhile and maybe on your travels u'l come across the things that can get u through the door.

I agree with the OP. In fact I had the same problem with the same quest. I found the other two pieces and then thought only one more dungeon to go. But then was disappointed to find it locked until you do a College of Winterhold quest. Well my Nord Warrior did not want to join the College. It was completely out of character for him. It's not a matter of whether he could cast the spell, it's more that he doesn't want to join. So now he has to have a never to be finished quest in his journal.

There appear to be other quests like that. I could think of one that requires your character to join the Thieves' guild even though it doesn't really involve thievery.

Not a good design of quests, in my opinion. I don't remember anything like that in Morrowind or Oblivion (or Fallout 3).

You don't need to know any magic to get into the college! If you don't want your warrior to learn any magic then sharpen his tongue, if your speach craft is high enough to persuade your way in.This is how I did it any way.

While it may be true that some quests shouldn′ t be able to be completed by specific classes, the quest "Forbidden Legend" isn′t one. It doesn′ t relate in any manner to the College, except that one of the fragments is found in a ruin where some excavations are made. And I don′ t think that many people want to join the College just to finish this quest.

That is the same thing only with another skill set. For RP purposes, my Orc isn't exactly silver tongued. He pretty much only uses his tongue to feast on High Elf hearts. Speechcraft is not, and should not be, something he is adept at.

I simply [censored] hate how some quests are intertwined with the freaking guilds. The guilds are all crap (DB excluded) and I have no intention of joining any so why the hell do I have to join the Thieves Guild to finish the MQ????? In reality you should be able to explain to Brynjolf that all you want is some info and that if he doesn't comply, you'll bust his head on the pavement like an egg.

got ya, well I guess I don't mind benden the rules of my "Rp-ing" a little bit.Have you tried a scroll? This might work?

Uhm, a Flame Atronache is what? 130 Magicka? Just buy some enchantments.

But that doesn't really solve the core problem. A warrior that would not normally join the college can't finish that quest. And the quest isn't really magic related and is certainly not related to the college.

I thought base cost of conjuration flame atronauch at like 20ish, was 106, meaning literally any increase in magicka or conjuration would put you under the limit.

Agreed, that's the problem.

If the quest itself was a Mage Guild questline, fine. But it's not. Making the final piece of this quest dependant on joining the mage guild - not a good thing. At all.