Morrowind Thieves Guild quests

This address once hosted the Thieves Guild quest page of the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, a fan project that is still running today at uesp.net as the UESP wiki. Below is a current guide to every Thieves Guild quest in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. It covers the four guild bosses, the seven Bal Molagmer jobs, rank requirements and the traps that can lock you out, plus how to play the questline now on Steam, GOG or OpenMW.

How the Morrowind Thieves Guild works

The Thieves Guild is one of Vvardenfell’s joinable factions. It has a hall in each of four towns, and each hall has a boss who gives you jobs. Most jobs are thefts from wealthy targets: Great House manors, the Mages Guild, Telvanni wizards. The later jobs put you into a turf war with the Camonna Tong, the Dunmer crime syndicate that has taken over the Fighters Guild.

The quests unlock hall by hall. Sugar-Lips Habasi in Balmora gives the entry-level work, Aengoth the Jeweler in Ald’ruhn and Big Helende in Sadrith Mora give mid-ranking jobs, and Gentleman Jim Stacey in Vivec runs the endgame and the separate Bal Molagmer questline. UESP’s quest category lists 23 Thieves Guild quest articles and a separate category of 7 Bal Molagmer quests. That matches the 30 entries on this page.

Joining and the Fighters Guild conflict

The usual way in is to talk to Sugar-Lips Habasi in Balmora and ask to join. The thing to watch for is the Fighters Guild. The Camonna Tong runs the Fighters Guild leadership, and the two factions’ storylines collide. UESP notes that the conflict comes up during The Code Book, a quest Eydis Fire-Eye gives in the Balmora Fighters Guild. If you complete The Code Book before joining the Thieves Guild, you will not be allowed to join. Later on, the Fighters Guild asks you to wipe out the Thieves Guild leadership in Remove the Heads of the Thieves Guild, while Jim Stacey’s last job asks you to kill the corrupt Fighters Guild master in Vivec.

The usual fix for players who want both factions is to join the Thieves Guild early, push its questline forward, and then take the Fighters Guild through its non-conflicting quests. A UESP forum thread on avoiding the Fighters Guild and Thieves Guild trap also suggests finishing Hrundi’s quests before the final Percius Mercius jobs, because those jobs push the Fighters Guild storyline toward its showdown with the thieves.

Thieves Guild ranks and requirements

The guild has ten ranks, from Toad (rank 0) to Master Thief (rank 9). Each rank needs minimum Agility and Personality, a minimum level in the guild’s favoured skills, and faction reputation, which you earn by finishing quests. The favoured attributes are Agility and Personality. The favoured skills are Acrobatics, Light Armor, Marksman, Security, Short Blade and Sneak.

What actually blocks promotions

Attributes rarely block you, since 35 Agility and Personality is a low bar for any character built around stealth. The skill requirement is what stalls most promotions. At Ringleader you need one favoured skill at 70 and two others at 25, so a character who has only trained Sneak will stall. The cheapest fix is to spread a little training into Security and Acrobatics. Both rise naturally when you pick locks and jump around rooftops.

Reputation is the other lever. If your skills qualify but the boss won’t promote you, do another job for any hall. Every completed quest adds faction reputation, and you can take jobs from more than one boss in parallel.

Playing the Thieves Guild questline today

Morrowind is sold digitally as The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition on Steam and GOG. It bundles the Tribunal and Bloodmoon expansions. All 30 quests on this page belong to the base game, so any edition has them. The real choice is which engine to run them on.

OpenMW

OpenMW 0.51.0 shipped on 19 June 2026. Its headline features include letting modders create magic effects through the Lua scripting API and terrain vertex painting in the OpenMW-CS editor. It also fixed a long list of Lua-related crashes. In November 2026 the team put out the first release candidate for 0.52.0. PC Gamer reports that its biggest addition is clustered lighting, which removes the old per-object light limit. Saves from 0.51.0 load in 0.52.0, but a save made in 0.52.0 can’t be loaded in an earlier release. Keep a backup before you try the candidate builds.

Lighting matters more for a thief than for most characters. Morrowind’s detection checks don’t depend on how dark a room looks, so better lighting changes the atmosphere of a heist, not your odds of getting caught.

Morrowind Code Patch and Patch for Purists

On the original engine, the Morrowind Code Patch by Hrnchamd fixes engine-level bugs, and Patch for Purists fixes data-level bugs in quests, dialogue and items without changing the game’s balance. Both are published on Nexus Mods. Install them through Mod Organizer 2, or by hand into the Data Files folder, before you start a new character. OpenMW players skip the Code Patch, since the engine has its own fixes, but Patch for Purists still applies.

Tamriel Rebuilt

Tamriel Rebuilt adds the mainland province of Morrowind, and UESP documents a separate Tamriel Rebuilt Thieves Guild with its own halls and jobs. The newest release is version 26.08, “Poison Song”, dated 23 August 2026. UESP’s coverage describes it as both a major content expansion and a revamp of earlier areas, and it adds a joinable Great House Indoril. GamesRadar reported on 28 August 2026 that the mod can now be installed in one click on GOG. The vanilla Thieves Guild quests below still play the same with Tamriel Rebuilt installed, because they all take place on Vvardenfell.

Sugar-Lips Habasi’s quests (Balmora)

Habasi is a Khajiit who runs the Balmora hall from the South Wall Cornerclub. She gives six jobs. Most are short thefts in and around Balmora, and they suit a low-level character who has just joined.

Diamonds for Habasi

Habasi wants a diamond, and any diamond counts. The obvious source is Nalcarya of White Haven, the alchemist in Balmora, who keeps several in a locked chest upstairs. You can also just buy one from her.

1. Get a diamond by buying one, stealing one from Nalcarya’s upstairs chest, or using one you already own.
2. Return to Habasi at the South Wall Cornerclub.
3. Hand over the diamond for the reward.

Buying is the safe route. Stolen items keep their owner flag, and players have long reported that stealing from Nalcarya can spoil later diamond trading with her.

Nerano Manor Key

Habasi wants the key to the upper floor of Nerano Manor. Two people in Balmora carry it: Ondres Nerano, who lives on the lower floor, and his servant Sovor Trandel, who drinks at the Council Club. Killing Ondres Nerano fails the quest.

1. Find Sovor Trandel in the Council Club in Balmora.
2. Ask him about Nerano Manor. UESP notes that a small bribe of about 10 gold gets him to hand over the key. Pickpocketing either key holder also works.
3. Bring the key to Habasi.

Keep the key afterwards. It opens the manor rooms, and the loot there is worth a visit once the quest is done.

Dwemer Artifacts

A thief named Ra’Zhid has run off with Dwemer artifacts that Habasi considers hers. He is holed up in Fatleg’s Drop Off in Hla Oad, the fishing village on the coast south-west of Balmora. Talking to him gets nowhere.

1. Travel to Hla Oad and enter Fatleg’s Drop Off.
2. Find the locked chest tucked behind the barrels and crates.
3. Take the Dwemer goblet, Dwemer bowl and Dwemer tube while Ra’Zhid is not looking.
4. Return the three items to Habasi.

Use the Sneak key while you open the chest. If Ra’Zhid sees you, he attacks. All three items are common in Dwemer ruins, and UESP’s Habasi page frames the task as bringing her those three item types.

Vintage Brandy

Habasi wants a bottle of vintage brandy from the late Ralen Hlaalo’s manor in Balmora. That is Hlaalo Manor, the home of the murdered councilman, not the Hlaalu council building. Both entrances are locked, and town guards patrol nearby.

1. Go to Hlaalo Manor, across the river in Balmora.
2. Get in through either locked door. The balcony door is less exposed to patrols.
3. Take the brandy from the shelf near Ralen Hlaalo’s body.
4. Bring it to Habasi.

The same manor starts a separate murder quest when you talk to Ralen’s widow, so you can combine the two visits.

Free New-Shoes Bragor

New-Shoes Bragor, an Argonian guild member, is in jail in Pelagiad. The way to free him is to blackmail the guard Shadbak gra-Burbug, who has been taking bribes from a local smuggler of Dwemer goods.

1. Travel to Pelagiad and find the smuggler’s shop.
2. Pick the small chest on a shelf in the private upstairs rooms and take the Dwemer coherer.
3. Take the coherer to Shadbak gra-Burbug in the fort and let him question you about it.
4. Once he incriminates himself, make him release New-Shoes.
5. Talk to New-Shoes in the cells, then report to Habasi.

New-Shoes gives you his own pair of shoes as thanks, on top of Habasi’s payment.

Secure the South Wall

Habasi wants to find the security expert who keeps the South Wall safe. She only knows that the person is an Altmer. Several High Elves live in Balmora, and townspeople will point you to them.

1. Ask around Balmora about Altmer in town.
2. Visit the candidates and ask each one about the South Wall.
3. Hecerinde, in his house, turns out to be the expert.
4. Report back to Habasi.

The quest pays nothing directly. Its real value is Hecerinde himself: he trains Security and sells top-quality picks and probes, which makes every later lock in the questline easier.

Aengoth the Jeweler’s quests (Ald’ruhn)

Aengoth runs the Ald’ruhn hall from his jewellery shop. His six jobs send you after Redoran nobility, the local Mages Guild and a wizard’s study in Maar Gan. The manors in Ald’ruhn’s Manor District, inside the shell of Skar, are tight, guarded spaces, so a few points of Chameleon or Invisibility help a lot here.

Loot the Mages Guild

Aengoth claims Anareren’s Devil Tanto lies unguarded in the Ald’ruhn Mages Guild. It isn’t quite: a guard watches the entrance.

1. Enter the Ald’ruhn Mages Guild and sneak past the entrance guard.
2. Go downstairs to the alchemy corner and find the small locked chest on the top shelf.
3. Take the tanto and bring it to Aengoth.

Redoran Master Helm

Aengoth wants a Redoran Master Helm from Arobar Manor in the Manor District. The manor stands next to the Council Hall.

1. Enter Arobar Manor and go through the guard quarters into the private quarters.
2. Go on to the manor bedrooms and enter the left bedroom.
3. Take the helm from the top of the closet while sneaking.
4. Deliver it to Aengoth.

Another Master Helm sits in a chest in the Llethri Manor bedrooms. Either copy should do if one is easier to reach.

Naughty Gandosa

Next, Aengoth sends you back to Arobar Manor for Boethiah’s Pillow Book, owned by Gandosa Arobar. It sits across the hall from the helm, in a well-locked, trapped chest in a room with guards and witnesses.

1. Follow the same route through Arobar Manor to the manor bedrooms.
2. Enter the right bedroom and find the chest behind the screen.
3. Disarm the trap, open the lock and take the book unseen.
4. Bring it to Aengoth.

Many players take both Arobar thefts in a single trip. The quest still has to be active before the book counts, though, so get the job from Aengoth first.

Withershins

Aengoth wants the book Withershins from Miles Gloriosus at the Andus Tradehouse in Maar Gan, north of Ald’ruhn.

1. Take the silt strider from Ald’ruhn to Maar Gan.
2. Enter the Andus Tradehouse and go downstairs to Miles Gloriosus.
3. Open the locked crate by his desk while sneaking and take the book.
4. Return to Aengoth.

Other copies exist in the world, including one in the Ald’ruhn Mages Guild, and players report that any copy satisfies Aengoth.

Retrieve Scrap Metal

Aengoth asks for four pieces of Dwemer scrap metal. Any four pieces work.

1. Collect four pieces in a Dwemer ruin, where centurions drop them, or buy them from a trader who stocks them.
2. Hand them to Aengoth.

Scrap metal is heavy, so carry only what you need. Spare pieces also sell well to traders.

Darts of Judgement

Aengoth’s last job is to steal four daedric darts, the Darts of Judgement, from Eindel, a Redoran guard at Llethri Manor. Eindel won’t talk about them and doesn’t carry them on him.

1. Enter Llethri Manor, beside the Council Hall in the Manor District.
2. Go to the guard quarters off the entrance hall.
3. Take the four darts from Eindel’s bed while the other guards are not watching.
4. Return them to Aengoth.

Big Helende’s quests (Sadrith Mora)

Big Helende runs the Sadrith Mora hall from Dirty Muriel’s Cornerclub inside Wolverine Hall. Her five jobs mix theft with guild business, including hiring protection against the Camonna Tong. Two of them send you back west to Ald’ruhn and down to Tel Branora.

Potion Recipe

Helende wants a Dispel potion recipe stolen from Anis Seloth, the alchemist north of Wolverine Hall, and delivered to a contact in the Wolverine Hall Mages Guild.

1. Cross Sadrith Mora to Anis Seloth’s shop.
2. Go upstairs and take the recipe from the crate under a plant. There are usually no witnesses.
3. Deliver it to Helende’s contact in the Mages Guild in Wolverine Hall.
4. Report to Helende.

The Grandmaster’s Retort

Helende needs a Grandmaster’s Retort from Berwen, a trader in Tel Mora, north of Sadrith Mora. Any Grandmaster’s Retort satisfies her.

1. Take a boat to Tel Mora.
2. Find Berwen’s shop in the centre of the town.
3. Steal the retort from the shelf in front of Berwen, or buy it.
4. Hand it to Helende.

The retort sits in plain view of its owner, so buying it is the cleaner choice for a low-Sneak character. The reward is small anyway.

Wizard for Hire

The guild wants magical protection against the Camonna Tong. Helende sends you to the Mages Guild in Wolverine Hall to hire a battlemage.

1. Enter the Mages Guild in Wolverine Hall.
2. Ask Arielle Phiencel about hiring a wizard.
3. Pay her four pieces of raw ebony, from a mine, a trader or a stash you have found.
4. Arielle sends the battlemage Natalinus Flavonius to Dirty Muriel’s.
5. Report to Helende.

Raw ebony is heavy and valuable. Check your stash before you go hunting, because many players already carry some by this point.

Redoran Cookbook

Helende wants the book Redoran Cooking Secrets from Dinara Othrelas in Llethri Manor, Ald’ruhn.

1. Travel to Ald’ruhn by Mages Guild teleport or silt strider.
2. Enter Llethri Manor and find Dinara’s bedroom in the private quarters.
3. Open the locked chest and take the book, or persuade Dinara near the entrance to give it to you.
4. Return to Helende.

Felen’s Ebony Staff

Helende’s final job is optional. She asks you to steal the ebony staff of Felen Maryon, a Telvanni wizard in Tel Branora on the south-east tip of the map. Telvanni towers have no stairs, so she supplies Levitation potions.

1. Take a boat to Tel Branora.
2. Levitate up the tower to the upper levels, where Felen works.
3. Take the staff leaning against the bookcase behind him.
4. Hand it in for the reward, or keep the staff and skip the payment.

Felen sells a wide range of Conjuration spells. Players who rely on him as a spell merchant should avoid getting caught and turning him hostile.

Gentleman Jim Stacey’s quests (Vivec)

Gentleman Jim Stacey is the head of the Thieves Guild in Vvardenfell. He works from behind a locked door at the back of Simine Fralinie’s bookshop in Vivec’s Foreign Quarter. His main jobs need a high guild rank and take the war with the Camonna Tong to its end. His final job promotes you to Master Thief.

Find Brother Nads

Jim’s first job is to track down Nads Tharen, a guild member who used to drink at the Elven Nations Cornerclub in Vivec’s Hlaalu Canton. Some older pages spell the name “Nads Theran”. If Nads is dead, Jim wants his key back.

1. Go to the Elven Nations Cornerclub in the Hlaalu Canton.
2. Ask the patrons about Nads Tharen. The bar staff can be persuaded to say where he lived.
3. Travel to the St. Delyn Canalworks and find Nads’ wrecked home.
4. Take the key from his body.
5. Return to the Cornerclub and question Arvama Rathri about Nads.
6. Bring the key to Jim.

Arvama Rathri is mixed up in the killing. Long-standing quest notes say Jim pays more if Arvama is dead when you report.

Camonna Tong information

Jim sends you to Percius Mercius in the Ald’ruhn Fighters Guild, a guild officer who opposes the Camonna Tong’s takeover. He only talks openly if he likes you, so raise his disposition first.

1. Teleport from the Vivec Mages Guild to Ald’ruhn.
2. Raise Percius Mercius’s disposition with persuasion or a bribe, then ask him about the Camonna Tong.
3. He names three Fighters Guild figures: Hrundi in Sadrith Mora, who might be turned through his Dunmer lover; Eydis Fire-Eye in Balmora, a follower of the Daedric Prince Clavicus Vile; and Sjoring Hard-Heart in Vivec, who is too deep in debt to the Tong to save.
4. Report back to Jim.

Hrundi’s Lover

Jim wants Hrundi, of the Sadrith Mora Fighters Guild, on the guild’s side, and suggests using his Dunmer lover as leverage.

1. Go to Fara’s Hole in the Wall in Sadrith Mora, where Hrundi spends his time.
2. Ask Fara and the patrons about Hrundi’s woman. They point to Falena Hlaren.
3. Speak with Falena.
4. Confront Hrundi at the Fighters Guild and get him to join the cause.
5. Report to Jim.

The Bitter Cup

Eydis Fire-Eye, the Balmora Fighters Guild master, can’t be blackmailed. Jim thinks she will turn on the Camonna Tong if you offer her the Bittercup, an artifact sacred to Clavicus Vile. It lies in the ruins of Ald Redaynia on the islands in the far north.

1. Sail or levitate to Ald Redaynia. Skeleton archers guard the approach.
2. Climb the tower and take the cup from the upper level. A skeleton war-wizard guards it.
3. Do not drink from it. Drinking raises your highest attribute and lowers your lowest, makes the cup vanish, and stops the quest.
4. Give the cup to Eydis Fire-Eye in the Balmora Fighters Guild.
5. Report to Jim.

Quest notes also report that killing Eydis completes the job, so the cup can be kept. Doing that has knock-on effects for any Fighters Guild playthrough.

The Brothers Ienith

Once you are high enough in the guild, Jim orders the deaths of Navil and Ranes Ienith, two of the Camonna Tong’s best enforcers, at Dren Plantation north of Vivec.

1. Ask Jim about Dren Plantation to get it marked on your map.
2. Enter Dren’s Villa and go down past the locked, trapped doors.
3. Find Navil. When you attack, Ranes appears behind you.
4. Kill both brothers. Their blades carry paralysis and poison, so bring cures.
5. Report to Jim.

Kill Hard-Heart

Jim’s last job is to kill Sjoring Hard-Heart, the master of the Vivec Fighters Guild, to break the Camonna Tong’s hold on that guild.

1. Enter the Vivec Fighters Guild and find Hard-Heart.
2. Kill him.
3. Return to Jim for the Skeleton Key and promotion to Master Thief.

The Skeleton Key is a reusable lockpick of exceptional quality. Hand this quest in only after the Bal Molagmer series is done, for the reason below.

The Bal Molagmer quests

The Bal Molagmer, or “Stone Fire Men”, were legendary thieves who stole from the unjust and gave to the needy, and they vanished early in the Third Era. Ask Jim Stacey about them at a modest guild rank and he hands you a pair of black Bal Molagmer gloves. Wear them and talk to him again to start the series. Each job ends with you giving something to a deserving person “in the name of the Bal Molagmer”.

The Hlervu Locket

Braynas Hlervu, a poor retired egg miner, paid his taxes with his family’s locket. It now sits with the tax haul in Venim Manor in Ald’ruhn.

1. Enter Venim Manor in the Manor District and search the guard wing’s locked chests.
2. Take the Hlervu Locket.
3. Find Braynas Hlervu outside his house at the east end of Ald’ruhn.
4. Give it back in the name of the Bal Molagmer, then report to Jim.

Yngling’s Ledger

Jim wants proof that Yngling Half-Troll is corrupt: a ledger kept in Yngling Manor in Vivec’s St. Olms Canton.

1. Enter Yngling Manor and get past the guard at the top of the basement stairs.
2. Open the heavily locked basement door and find the ledger.
3. Bring the ledger to Jim.

If you confront Yngling about “corruption” afterwards, he demands the ledger and fights if you refuse. He carries the basement key and an enchanted glass dagger.

Land Deed

Velanda Omani plans to take Indrele Rathryon’s land with a forged deed lodged in the Library of Vivec.

1. Go to the Library of Vivec in the Halls of Wisdom, Temple Canton.
2. Take the deed from the bottom shelf at the north end without being seen by the guards.
3. Travel to Seyda Neen and find Indrele behind her shack on the west side of town.
4. Give her the deed in the Bal Molagmer’s name and report to Jim.

Enamor

The blade Enamor, a gift from Vivec himself, was stolen from Salyn Sarethi, and the guild doesn’t want the blame. Jim gives you the sword and a note to return.

1. Travel to Ghostgate, at the edge of the Ghostfence in the centre of Vvardenfell.
2. Enter the Tower of Dusk and go to the lower levels.
3. Place the blade and the note in Salyn Sarethi’s labelled chest.
4. Report to Jim.

Brallion’s Ring

Brallion, a slave trader, owns a ring that Jim wants given to Ilmeni Dren, a secret abolitionist.

1. Find Brallion in Sadrith Mora. During this quest he is usually downstairs in Fara’s Hole in the Wall.
2. Buy the ring or pickpocket it.
3. Travel to Vivec’s St. Delyn Canton and find Ilmeni Dren.
4. Wearing the gloves, give her the ring in the Bal Molagmer’s name.
5. Report to Jim.

Buying is expensive but safe. Pickpocketing is cheaper but risks a fight.

Books for Vala

Jim wants all four volumes of A Brief History of the Empire taken from Odral Helvi in Caldera and donated to Vala Catraso at the Ald’ruhn Mages Guild.

1. Go to the Governor’s Hall in Caldera.
2. Open the locked chest next to the bed in the room beside Helvi’s and take all four volumes.
3. Teleport or travel to Ald’ruhn.
4. Give the set to Vala Catraso in the Bal Molagmer’s name and report to Jim.

The Dwemer Goblet

The final Bal Molagmer job is to take a large Dwemer goblet from Berel Sala’s office in the Hall of Justice and donate it to Danso Indules, who waits outside near the High Fane.

1. Enter the Hall of Justice in Vivec’s Temple Canton and find Berel Sala’s office.
2. Take the goblet from his desk, right in front of him. Chameleon or Invisibility helps.
3. Find Danso Indules near the High Fane.
4. Give her the goblet in the Bal Molagmer’s name and report to Jim.

Once this is done, you can safely finish Kill Hard-Heart.

Common problems and fixes

Most Thieves Guild trouble comes from three things: quest order, getting caught, and stolen-item ownership. The table covers the usual cases.

Getting caught less often

Detection in Morrowind is a skill check: your Sneak and Agility against the observer’s awareness, with Chameleon and Invisibility on top. Always take items in sneak mode, approach owners from behind, and use Chameleon for the jobs where the item sits in front of its owner, like the Grandmaster’s Retort and the Dwemer Goblet. Many jobs also accept any copy of the item, which takes the risk out entirely. That covers the diamond, the scrap metal, the raw ebony and the retort. For several of the books and the Master Helm, quest notes report that other copies work too.

Mods that help with the Thieves Guild questline

For this questline, the mods that matter are bug fixes and engine improvements, not new heists. All of these are published on Nexus Mods, and several also have OpenMW-ready versions.

With Mod Organizer 2 on the original engine, install the Code Patch through its own installer into the game folder, then add Patch for Purists as a normal mod and keep its plugin near the top of the load order. On OpenMW, add each mod’s data folder in the launcher or openmw.cfg and enable its plugins in the launcher’s content list. Check a mod’s page for OpenMW notes before installing, because a few original-engine extensions such as MWSE-based mods do not run on OpenMW.

The best order to run the questline

The cleanest playthrough keeps the Fighters Guild conflict and Jim Stacey’s departure from costing you content. In short: join early, take jobs from all four halls in parallel, finish the Bal Molagmer series, and kill Hard-Heart last.

1. Join through Sugar-Lips Habasi before touching The Code Book.
2. Finish Habasi’s six jobs, making sure Secure the South Wall gets you to Hecerinde.
3. Run Aengoth’s and Helende’s jobs side by side. Both send you to Ald’ruhn manors, so group those trips.
4. Start the Bal Molagmer series with Jim as soon as he offers it, and keep the gloves equipped for handovers.
5. Work through Jim’s Camonna Tong jobs up to the Brothers Ienith.
6. Finish all seven Bal Molagmer quests.
7. Kill Hard-Heart and collect the Skeleton Key and your Master Thief title.

If you plan to add Tamriel Rebuilt’s mainland guild afterwards, finishing the Vvardenfell questline first gives you a well-equipped thief and the Skeleton Key before you cross the water.

FAQ

How many Thieves Guild quests are there in Morrowind?

There are 30 in the base game. Sugar-Lips Habasi, Aengoth the Jeweler, Big Helende and Gentleman Jim Stacey give 23 guild jobs between them, and Jim also gives the 7 Bal Molagmer quests. Tamriel Rebuilt adds separate Thieves Guild content on the mainland.

Can I join both the Thieves Guild and the Fighters Guild?

Yes, but order matters. UESP notes that completing The Code Book for Eydis Fire-Eye before joining the Thieves Guild stops you joining it. Join the thieves first, and expect the two endgames to set you against each other’s leaders.

What happens to the Bal Molagmer quests if I become Master Thief?

Jim Stacey leaves the game once you reach Master Thief, and any unfinished Bal Molagmer quests can no longer be completed. Do all seven before handing in Kill Hard-Heart.

Where is Gentleman Jim Stacey?

He is behind a locked door at the back of Simine Fralinie’s bookshop in Vivec’s Foreign Quarter. His main jobs only open at the higher guild ranks.

Do I have to steal the items, or can I buy them?

Several jobs accept any copy of the item. You can buy or reuse the diamond, the Dwemer scrap metal, the raw ebony and the Grandmaster’s Retort. Stealing is only required where the item is unique to its owner, as with the Darts of Judgement or Yngling’s Ledger.

Is the Thieves Guild questline different on OpenMW?

No. OpenMW runs the original quest scripts and dialogue, so the steps on this page apply unchanged. The current stable release is 0.51.0, and 0.52.0 is in release-candidate testing. Saves made in 0.52.0 can’t be opened in older versions.

Which edition of Morrowind should I buy to play these quests?

The Game of the Year Edition on Steam or GOG. It includes Tribunal and Bloodmoon, and every Thieves Guild quest here is part of the base game it contains. GOG also offers Tamriel Rebuilt as a one-click install.

What does the Skeleton Key do?

It is Jim Stacey’s reward for killing Sjoring Hard-Heart. The Skeleton Key is an exceptionally high-quality lockpick, which makes the game’s toughest locks routine for the rest of your playthrough.

What changed

• Nov 13, 2026 First published.

About the article

NA

Written by Nico Albrecht

Nico covers RPG and action game mods, Bethesda games and the weekly trending mod roundups. He pays close attention to requirements and load order, so a mod list is something you can install without breaking your save.

• Fact-checked by Hollis Tremaine before publication.
• Published November 13, 2026

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