This address used to host the Daggerfall hub of the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP), and that project still runs today at uesp.net as the largest Elder Scrolls wiki. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall came out for DOS in 1996 and is free to own today. The best way to play it now is through Daggerfall Unity, a community-built engine with a large mod scene on Nexus Mods.
Key takeaways
- The DOS version of Daggerfall is free on Steam and GOG and runs in DOSBox, already patched to the final official build.
- Daggerfall Unity is a free fan rebuild that uses those original game files. The newest stable build is 1.1.1, a security update from October 2025.
- Avoid the “GOG Cut” bundle. The Daggerfall Unity developers say it is badly out of date.
- The main quest branches. The ending depends on who you give the Totem of Tiber Septim to, and later games wrote all the endings into canon as the Warp in the West.
- UESP lists 23 artifacts. Many come from Daedric Princes, who can only be summoned on set days of the in-game calendar.
What Daggerfall is, and why people still play it
Daggerfall is the second main Elder Scrolls game and the biggest one by map size. It is set in the Iliac Bay, between High Rock and Hammerfell, and has thousands of towns and dungeons, mostly generated by the game. Later games in the series never tried anything that open again, and that is the main reason it still has players almost 30 years on.
It plays differently from Skyrim or Oblivion in ways that catch newcomers out:
- Skills grow by use. You choose primary, major and minor skills at character creation. Using them levels you up, so a class you build yourself shapes the whole run.
- Custom classes trade advantages for disadvantages. Taking extra weaknesses (such as a phobia of a creature type, or bad effects from sunlight) speeds up levelling. Taking extra strengths slows it down.
- The world is a sandbox with a deadline-driven plot. Guild work, temple service, knightly orders, banking, buying houses and ships, vampirism and lycanthropy all run alongside a main quest whose steps can be on a timer.
- Dungeons are huge 3D mazes. Many players find the procedural dungeons the hardest part of the game, and a lot of today’s mods aim at them.
Daggerfall also built much of the series’ lore. The Underking, Mannimarco (the King of Worms), the Numidium and the Blades all became central to Elder Scrolls history through this game.
How to get Daggerfall today
You have two legitimate options. One is the original DOS game, which Bethesda gives away free and which comes set up in DOSBox on Steam and GOG. The other is Daggerfall Unity, which needs those same free game files and runs them on a modern engine. Daggerfall Unity is the better choice for most players.
| Option | Cost | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOS Daggerfall on Steam | Free | Original game in DOSBox | Purists, and as a source of game files for Daggerfall Unity |
| DOS Daggerfall on GOG | Free | Original game in DOSBox, DRM free | Same as Steam, without needing the Steam client |
| Daggerfall Unity (GitHub release) | Free | Rebuilt engine, bug fixes, mod support, modern controls | Nearly everyone playing today |
| “GOG Cut” of Daggerfall Unity | Free | An older bundled build | Not recommended. The developers call it nearly two years out of date |
The original DOS version
The free Steam and GOG releases are the 1996 game running in DOSBox. Back in its fan-site days, this page tracked the official patches up to version 2.13, and 2.13 is still the last official DOS build. The free releases come already patched, so you no longer need to hunt for patch files.
Use the DOS version if you want the exact original experience, slow pathfinding and old bugs included. On Linux, Lutris has an install script that sets up a Steam or GOG copy.
Daggerfall Unity
Daggerfall Unity is a full rebuild of the Daggerfall engine in Unity. It was started by Gavin Clayton (known as Interkarma) and is developed by the Daggerfall Workshop community. It reads the original game data, so it is the same game, with:
- mouselook and modern controls
- fixed quest scripting and many fixed vanilla bugs
- higher resolutions and optional visual upgrades
- a mod system with hundreds of mods on Nexus Mods
Version 1.0 marked the project as complete. Version 1.1.0 followed as a stable build for general play, and the release notes say mods made for 1.0 still work on 1.1. The current release is 1.1.1, reissued in October 2025 as a security update after a vulnerability was found in the Unity engine. The notes say Linux was less exposed than other platforms, and Linux users will see no difference. There is also an unofficial Android port maintained separately on GitHub.
Before you install
Download Daggerfall Unity only from its official GitHub releases page or dfworkshop.net. Older copies, including the GOG Cut, came before the October 2025 security fix.
Install steps
- Add the free DOS Daggerfall to your Steam or GOG library and install it.
- Download the latest Daggerfall Unity release for your platform from the official GitHub releases page.
- Unzip Daggerfall Unity into its own folder, outside Program Files.
- Run the launcher. When it asks for the game files, point it to the Daggerfall folder that contains the “arena2” data folder.
- Set resolution and controls in the launcher, then start a new game.
Modder's note
If the launcher won’t accept your folder, you have usually picked one level too high or too low. The folder you select must contain “arena2” directly inside it.
The main quest
The main quest starts with Emperor Uriel Septim VII sending you to the Iliac Bay. You have two jobs: lay to rest the ghost of King Lysandus, which haunts the city of Daggerfall, and find out what happened to a letter the Emperor sent to Queen Mynisera. The trail leads to the Mantella and the Totem of Tiber Septim, which together control the Numidium, the giant brass golem Tiber Septim once used to conquer Tamriel.
How you deal with the region’s rulers decides how the game ends. UESP notes that only three branches of the quest are required to finish the game. It strongly recommends the three optional branches too, because without them the story makes little sense.
Main factions and players
| Party | Who they are | Role in the plot |
|---|---|---|
| The Blades | The Emperor’s agents, led locally by Lady Brisienna | Your first contact. They want the Numidium in the Empire’s hands |
| Kingdom of Daggerfall | Ruled by Lysandus’s family | One of the Bay powers bidding for the Totem |
| Kingdom of Sentinel | Hammerfell’s power in the Bay | Rival bidder for the Totem |
| Kingdom of Wayrest | High Rock rival of Daggerfall | Rival bidder for the Totem |
| Orsinium | The Orcs under Gortwog | Want the Totem to secure an Orc homeland |
| The Underking | Ancient undead sorcerer tied to the Numidium | Wants the Mantella for himself |
| Mannimarco, King of Worms | Leader of the Necromancers | Wants the Mantella to make himself a god |
| Nulfaga | Mad sorceress of Shedungent | The only one who can send you to Aetherius in the final quest |
Endings and the Warp in the West
The final quest, Journey to Aetherius, sends you into the Mantellan Crux to recover the Mantella. You can’t leave until you find it. When it is touched, whoever holds the Totem gets their ending:
- The Underking takes in the Mantella’s power and finally dies, leaving a large area around him empty of magicka.
- Mannimarco uses it to become a god.
- A Bay kingdom (Daggerfall, Sentinel or Wayrest) briefly uses the Numidium against its rivals, until the Underking destroys it.
- The Orcs, or the Blades for the Empire, get their own outcomes.
- If you activate the Mantella while holding the Totem yourself, the Numidium kills you, goes out of control and is destroyed by Imperial forces.
Most sources say Daggerfall has six endings. Some guides count more, depending on how they treat the player and Blades outcomes.
Did you know?
According to later Elder Scrolls lore, recorded on UESP, Daggerfall’s endings didn’t cancel each other out. An event called the Warp in the West let all of them happen at once, which is how later games explain that Daggerfall, Sentinel, Wayrest and a new Orsinium all came out of the war intact.
Modder's note
Some main quest steps have timers, and the original DOS engine could stall certain stages. Keep several save slots. Daggerfall Unity’s rebuilt quest system fixes many of the classic stalls, but saving before each new step costs nothing.
Artifacts and Daedra summoning
UESP’s Daggerfall artifact list counts 23 artifacts, which matches the old version of this page. Many of them come from Daedric Princes. You summon a Prince at a witch coven or a Mages Guild by paying for the ritual, and each Prince can only be summoned on their own day of the in-game calendar. The book Invocation of Azura hints at these dates. A summoned Prince gives you a quest, and finishing it earns the artifact.
| Daedric Prince | Summoning day | Artifact |
|---|---|---|
| Clavicus Vile | Morning Star 1st | Masque of Clavicus Vile |
| Sheogorath | Sun’s Dawn 2nd | Wabbajack |
| Hermaeus Mora | First Seed 5th | Oghma Infinium |
| Azura | First Seed 21st (Hogithum) | Azura’s Star |
| Mephala | Frostfall 13th | Ebony Blade |
| Boethiah | Sun’s Dusk 2nd | Ebony Mail |
| Malacath | See UESP’s summoning table | Volendrung |
| Mehrunes Dagon | See UESP’s summoning table | Mehrunes’ Razor |
| Hircine | See UESP’s summoning table | Hircine’s Ring |
A few points the table doesn’t show:
- Rituals are expensive and the price goes up with your level. Low-level characters often can’t afford one.
- Turning down a Prince’s quest has consequences. Some Princes punish a refusal.
- Daggerfall artifacts behave differently from later games. Many have limited uses or a chance to break, so check each one’s UESP page before relying on it.
Monsters, vampires and werewolves
Daggerfall’s bestiary ranges from rats and imps to liches, Daedra lords and ancient vampires. Enemies scale with your level, so dungeon danger depends more on your character than on where you are on the map. The two diseases that change your whole character are vampirism and lycanthropy.
Vampirism
Vampires can bite you and pass on a disease that turns you into a vampire after a few days if you don’t cure it. Daggerfall splits vampires into regional bloodlines. Each bloodline gives different powers and a different quest line through its clan, so where you get infected affects how the run plays. Cures exist, but they are long quests, not a potion.
Lycanthropy
Werewolves and wereboars spread lycanthropy the same way. Infected characters have to hunt regularly and change shape under the moons. Hircine’s Ring is the lycanthrope’s artifact. If this is your first run, either aim for one of these deliberately or keep a cure in mind before clearing deep dungeons.
Guilds, temples and other ways to spend your time
Most of your playing hours go into joinable factions, not the main quest. Your standing with each one rises with completed jobs and falls with failures and crimes, and ranks unlock services such as training, spellmaking, item making and better prices.
| Faction type | Examples | What membership gets you |
|---|---|---|
| Guilds | Fighters Guild, Mages Guild | Quests, training, spell and item making (Mages Guild) |
| Shadow guilds | Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood | Hidden contacts, illegal work, special services |
| Temples | Orders of the Eight Divines, such as Akatosh, Arkay, Dibella, Julianos, Kynareth, Mara, Stendarr and Zenithar | Healing, curing, blessings, quests |
| Knightly orders | Regional orders tied to the Bay kingdoms | Quests, rank titles, standing with nobility |
| Witch covens | Scattered around the Bay | Daedra summoning |
| Noble courts | Regional kings, queens and lords | Political quests, main quest links |
Banks deserve a mention as well. You can take loans, store gold as letters of credit (which also protects it from theft) and buy houses and ships. Running away from a loan ruins your reputation in that region.
Best Daggerfall Unity mods
Daggerfall Unity mods are distributed mainly on Nexus Mods as.dfmod files. You place them in the game’s mods folder and turn them on in the launcher’s mod settings. Load order matters less than in Bethesda’s later games, but terrain mods conflict with each other a lot.
Mods were picked here on three things, in this order: how widely they are recommended in community setup guides and Nexus collections, whether they still work on current Daggerfall Unity releases, and how much they change the experience. Quality-of-life and stability come first, visuals second.
| Mod | What it does | Requires | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel Options | Lets you choose between fast travel and sped-up real-time travel | Daggerfall Unity | Hazelnut |
| Basic Roads | Adds roads and dirt tracks across the map | Travel Options (for travel along roads) | Hazelnut |
| Roleplay & Realism | Optional modules for more realistic gameplay | Daggerfall Unity | Hazelnut |
| Roleplay & Realism: Items | Overhauls loot and items. Works without the main pack | Daggerfall Unity | Hazelnut |
| DREAM | Remasters Daggerfall’s textures, sprites and audio | DREAM compatibility patches where listed | DREAM team |
| Distant Terrain | Greater view distance with low-poly far terrain | Daggerfall Unity | Nystul |
Travel Options and Basic Roads
These two are the most commonly recommended pair. Daggerfall’s original fast travel skips the whole world. Travel Options lets you actually ride across the Iliac Bay with time sped up, so the world feels like a real place without the trip taking hours. Basic Roads adds roads that Travel Options can follow. Many curated setups assume you are running both.
Roleplay & Realism
This is a modular pack, so you switch on only the parts you want. Community advice is split. Some players find the main pack intrusive and run only the Items companion. Users running DREAM often switch off the pack’s NPC and enemy sprite replacers so they don’t fight with DREAM’s art. Some also turn off its horse riding changes.
DREAM
DREAM is the big visual and audio remaster. Its Nexus page recommends running it with the compatibility patches listed there, and the community recommends those patches even for lighter setups because they fix terrain issues. Newer DREAM presets are released as separate files, so check which preset the patches you use were built for.
Distant Terrain and other terrain mods
Distant Terrain fills the empty horizon. It works with Enhanced Sky. Terrain overhauls such as World of Daggerfall’s terrain module, Interesting Eroded Terrain and Mountains and Hills often conflict with each other or with Distant Terrain, so read each mod’s compatibility notes and run one terrain generator at a time.
Modder's note
For a big modded setup, start from a curated Nexus collection such as “Daggerfall Overhauled” rather than putting together dozens of mods yourself. Then add or remove one mod at a time, so you know which change broke your terrain or sprites.
Common problems and fixes
Most problems today come from wrong game paths, outdated builds or conflicting terrain mods, not from the 1996 code itself.
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Daggerfall Unity won’t accept the game folder | Wrong folder level selected | Select the folder that contains “arena2” |
| Old build with a security warning | Pre-October 2025 Daggerfall Unity or the GOG Cut | Install 1.1.1 from the official releases page |
| Terrain spikes, holes or floating towns | Two terrain mods active together | Keep one terrain generator and add the listed compatibility patches |
| Doubled or mismatched NPC sprites | DREAM and Roleplay & Realism replacers both active | Turn off one set of replacers |
| Main quest stops progressing in DOS | Classic engine quest bugs or missed timers | Load an earlier save, or switch to Daggerfall Unity’s fixed quest system |
| DOS version runs too fast or slow | DOSBox cycle settings | Use the settings included with the Steam or GOG release before changing anything |
| Mods stop working after an update | Mod not updated for the new build | Check the mod’s Nexus page for a matching version |
Modding the game files
The old UESP pages hosted hacking guides and file format notes for editing Daggerfall’s data. That kind of work now mostly happens inside Daggerfall Unity, which has its own mod framework, documentation and tools from Daggerfall Workshop. If you want to make content such as new quests, items or textures, start with Daggerfall Unity’s modding docs, not hex editing the DOS files.
Where to go next
Choose your build before you choose a class. Install Daggerfall Unity 1.1.1 over the free Steam or GOG files, play the first stretch with no mods or only Travel Options, and add DREAM and terrain mods once the game is stable for you. Keep UESP’s Daggerfall pages open for quest steps and summoning dates. They grew out of the fan pages that once lived at this address and are still the most complete reference.
FAQ
Is Daggerfall free?
Yes. Bethesda gives the DOS version away for free, and it is listed free on both Steam and GOG. Daggerfall Unity is free too, but it needs those original game files to run.
Should I play the original or Daggerfall Unity?
For most players, Daggerfall Unity. It plays the same game with modern controls, many fixed bugs and mod support. Play the original in DOSBox only if you want the exact 1996 experience.
What is the latest Daggerfall patch?
For the DOS game, the last official patch is 2.13, and the free releases come already patched. For Daggerfall Unity, the current release is 1.1.1, reissued in October 2025 as a security update.
Can I use the GOG Cut?
It isn’t recommended. The Daggerfall Unity developers say the GOG Cut is nearly two years behind. Install the free DOS game and get Daggerfall Unity from its official releases page.
How many endings does Daggerfall have?
Most sources say six. The ending depends on who holds the Totem of Tiber Septim when the Mantella is touched. Later lore says all of them happened at once in the Warp in the West.
How many artifacts are in Daggerfall?
UESP lists 23. Many are Daedric rewards you earn by summoning a Prince on their day and finishing their quest, such as the Wabbajack from Sheogorath or the Oghma Infinium from Hermaeus Mora.
Where do I find Daggerfall Unity mods?
Mainly on Nexus Mods, in the Daggerfall Unity section, where there are also curated collections. Put the.dfmod files in the mods folder and enable them in the launcher.
Does Daggerfall Unity run on Linux and Android?
Linux has official desktop builds. Android has an unofficial port maintained separately on GitHub.
What changed
- Nov 13, 2026 First published.
About the article
- Fact-checked by Hollis Tremaine before publication.
- Published
