This address once hosted the Tribunal main quest walkthrough from the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP), and that project is still running at uesp.net. Tribunal came out for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind in November 2002. Its main quest starts with an assassin attacking you in your sleep and ends with a fight against a goddess. This guide covers the full route through Mournhold for people playing today, on the Steam or GOG release or on OpenMW, along with the mods that fix the expansion’s best-known problems.
Key takeaways
- The quest begins when a Dark Brotherhood assassin attacks you during rest. Asciene Rane in Ebonheart’s Grand Council Chambers teleports you to Mournhold.
- Two patrons share the story: Almalexia through Fedris Hler at the Temple, and King Helseth through Tienius Delitian at the Royal Palace.
- The Royal Palace jobs pay well: 3000 gold for Evidence of Conspiracy, plus 5000 gold for Muckraking Journalist, with a King’s Oath on top if Trels Varis is still alive.
- Once you enter the Clockwork City you are stuck there until the quest is over, so get everything ready before you go.
- Expansion Delay by Half11 holds back the early assassin attacks, so a new character doesn’t meet them at level 1.
What the Tribunal main quest is about
The story is about who really runs Mournhold, the Temple capital in mainland Morrowind. Almalexia is the last Tribunal god still active in public. Hlaalu Helseth has just become king after his predecessor Athyn Llethan died suddenly. Both of them want the Nerevarine on their side. You get pulled in after a Dark Brotherhood contract on your life sends you looking for whoever paid for it.
Mournhold is not part of the Vvardenfell landmass, and you can’t walk there. Magic is the only way in. Four districts make up the city: Godsreach, the Great Bazaar, the Temple and the Royal Palace. Under them lie the ruins of Old Mournhold and the Dwemer site of Bamz-Amschend. Most of the quest moves back and forth between the people above and the dungeons below.
How to play Tribunal today
You can buy Tribunal as part of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition, which includes both Tribunal and Bloodmoon. It is sold on Steam and GOG. Steam lists it at $14.99, and both stores put it on sale regularly. The expansion isn’t sold separately on either store.
You then have a choice of engine:
| Setup | What it is | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original engine + Morrowind Code Patch | Bethesda’s 2002 executable, with Hrnchamd’s patch fixing engine bugs | Purists, mod lists made for MWSE | The Code Patch works only with the original engine |
| OpenMW 0.51.0 | Open-source engine reimplementation, stable release of 19 June 2026 | Modern hardware, widescreen, Linux and macOS | Saves from 0.51 do not load in older OpenMW versions |
| OpenMW 0.52 (release candidate) | Test build released in November 2026 | Testers who want clustered lighting | Pre-release, so back up your saves |
OpenMW needs the data files from a legal copy, Steam or GOG, and runs the Tribunal quests from those files directly. Version 0.51.0 lets modders create magic effects through the Lua scripting API and fixes many Lua-related crashes, which matters if you add Lua-based mods to the run. According to PC Gamer, the main feature of the 0.52 build is clustered lighting, which removes the usual limit on how many lights can affect one object.
Before you install
OpenMW’s save format changed with 0.51.0. Start or continue the Tribunal run on one version and stay on it until the end, because a save made in 0.51 will not open in 0.50.
Mods that help with this exact quest
You can finish Tribunal unmodded. Two problems come up again and again, though: assassins showing up much too early, and a long list of small script and dialogue bugs. These mods fix those problems without changing the story.
| Mod | What it does for Tribunal | Author | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expansion Delay | Holds back the Dark Brotherhood attacks and ends the assassin stream once a guard hints at who sent them | Half11 | Nexus Mods (v1.3, February 2021) |
| Patch for Purists | Fixes quest, dialogue and object bugs across the game and expansions without rebalancing anything | Half11 | Nexus Mods |
| Morrowind Code Patch | Fixes engine-level bugs in the original executable | Hrnchamd | Nexus Mods |
| Early Transport to Mournhold | Allows the trip to Mournhold before the delayed attacks begin | Community | Nexus Mods |
Patch for Purists stopped including the expansion delays in version 4.0.2, and they were moved into Expansion Delay. The two mods are built to work together. To install them, put each.esp in Data Files (original engine) or a data directory (OpenMW), then enable them in the launcher. The Modding-OpenMW.com mod lists include Expansion Delay as a standard step.
Modder's note
The delay also blocks your trip to Mournhold, because Asciene Rane only sends people who have been attacked. If you want to see Mournhold early on a character who is ready for it, add Early Transport to Mournhold. Don’t remove Expansion Delay in the middle of a save.
Tamriel Rebuilt adds mainland Morrowind, but it doesn’t touch the Tribunal quests. Mournhold stays its own city, reached by teleport as it was in 2002. Running both together is a common setup, and Tamriel Rebuilt’s data file depends on Tribunal and Bloodmoon anyway.
Starting out: the Dark Brotherhood attacks
On a fresh install, the quest starts the first time a Dark Brotherhood assassin finds you asleep. Every rest has a random chance of an attack, so you can start it on purpose by resting over and over until one shows up. UESP notes that this is the only Tribunal main quest step that doesn’t begin in Mournhold.
Getting to Mournhold
- Survive the attack and loot the assassin’s Dark Brotherhood armor.
- Ask guards about the attack and follow the trail to Apelles Matius.
- Ask Apelles Matius about the Dark Brotherhood and he sends you to Asciene Rane.
- Find Asciene Rane in the Grand Council Chambers in Ebonheart, just right of the main entrance.
- Tell her about the attacks and ask about transport to Mournhold.
- Arrive in the Royal Palace and speak to any Royal Guard or High Ordinator.
Asciene Rane is a Breton mage, and she teleports you straight into the Royal Palace. The Dark Brotherhood Attacks entry stays open in your journal until you talk to a guard in Mournhold. Any Royal Guard or High Ordinator will close it and start the next quest.
The assassins are much tougher than anything a new character usually fights, and they keep coming as long as the trail is open. A level 1 character who rests in a Seyda Neen inn can lose the run to this. That is the strongest argument for Expansion Delay. The opposing view: on a character who is already strong, the early attacks are a decent source of gear and a fair challenge. If your character can handle them, skip the delay mod.
Hunt the Dark Brotherhood
Who you ask in Mournhold decides who you work for first. A Royal Guard sends you to Tienius Delitian at the Palace. A High Ordinator sends you to Fedris Hler, Chief Steward of Almalexia, in the Temple Reception Area. In both cases the job is to follow clues into the sewers and ruins under the city.
The Brotherhood hideout is beneath the Great Bazaar Sewers, in the Manor District of Old Mournhold. Their local leader is Dandras Vules. Kill him and search the area until you find the contract marked for your execution, and the quest is finished. The contract is what sets up the rest of the story, because it raises the question of who wanted the Nerevarine dead.
Modder's note
Carry a light source or a Night-Eye effect into the sewers. The Old Mournhold cells are dark, and Dandras Vules fights better than the assassins you met on Vvardenfell.
The Royal Palace quests for Tienius Delitian
Tienius Delitian, King Helseth’s steward, gives a chain of investigations about loyalty, rumors and plots against the new king. UESP notes that going through Fedris Hler at the Temple lets you skip several of these. Skipping them costs you a lot of money and a good weapon, so on most characters it makes sense to do them first.
| Quest | What you do | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Speak to the People | Track the rumors about King Llethan’s death back to a broadsheet called The Common Tongue | +10 disposition with Tienius |
| A Temple Informant | Find out how the Temple really feels about Helseth by questioning a healer there | Progress in the chain |
| Disloyal Guard | Look into the Royal Guards for evidence of a plot | Progress in the chain |
| Evidence of Conspiracy | Uncover a plot against Helseth and take a contract on three plotters | 3000 gold for all three, 1000 less for each one who escapes |
| Muckraking Journalist | Find the anonymous writer of The Common Tongue and make them stop | 5000 gold, plus a King’s Oath blade if Trels Varis is still alive |
| Queen Barenziah | An audience with the Queen Mother, Helseth’s mother | Story and dialogue |
The King’s Oath from Muckraking Journalist is a strong weapon for the mid-game dungeons coming up next. The plotters in Evidence of Conspiracy are the main trade-off: each one who gets away costs you 1000 gold. Track all three before you report back.
The Temple quests for Almalexia
Fedris Hler hands out Almalexia’s work, and this line carries the actual plot. The Temple jobs send you deeper under Mournhold each time, and the last one brings in the Fabricants, the creatures behind the expansion’s final act.
| Quest | Given by | Objective | Main location |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Goblin Army | Fedris Hler | Investigate rumors that King Helseth is raising a goblin army | Old Mournhold |
| The Shrine of the Dead | Temple | Find and cleanse a forgotten shrine | Temple Sewers |
| Barilzar’s Mazed Band | Almalexia | Recover the artifact hidden beneath the Temple and bring it to her | Under the Temple |
| An Attack on Mournhold | Almalexia / Temple | Defend the Plaza from Fabricants and learn where they came from | Mournhold Plaza |
The Goblin Army
Helseth is the target of this quest, which puts you in the middle of the rivalry between Temple and Palace. You go into Old Mournhold to find out whether the newly crowned king really is gathering goblins. If you have been doing the Palace quests too, now you are spying on your other employer.
Barilzar’s Mazed Band
You recover the ring for Almalexia. Like Trueflame, it ends up back in your hands later. Barilzar’s Mazed Band can summon a Fabricant for 120 seconds. When worn, it also lets you teleport to Vivec City, Mournhold or the Clockwork City.
An Attack on Mournhold
Mechanical creatures attack the Plaza, and you have to fight them off and find out where they came from. Almalexia blames Sotha Sil, saying his creations attacked her city. UESP notes that another Palace quest or two can be skipped here by going through Fedris Hler.
Did you know?
According to UESP’s Fabricants page, these creatures appear only during and after An Attack on Mournhold. They are Sotha Sil’s own engineering and a separate thing from the Dwemer Centurions you meet on Vvardenfell.
Helseth’s Champion and the duel with Karrod
King Helseth wants proof of what you can do, and he gets it by making you fight his bodyguard, Karrod. Talk to Helseth in the Royal Palace Throne Room and agree to the duel. It only starts when you come back into the throne room after he has set it up. If Karrod won’t fight, step out and come back in.
This quest matters more than it seems. UESP notes that Karrod won’t speak to you at all unless you have fought him in Helseth’s Champion, and he holds one piece of a legendary blade you will need later. Helseth also gives you further unofficial work at this stage, including looking into Almalexia’s plans and following up on a plot against the king. If Karrod won’t talk about the blade, speak to Helseth again, pick up the investigation into Almalexia, wait or rest, and then go back to Karrod.
The Blade of Nerevar: reforging Trueflame
Trueflame was Nerevar’s sword, and putting it back together is one of the best reward chains in the expansion. Almalexia gives you a broken piece, Karrod holds another, and the reforging happens in the Dwemer ruins under the city.
- Collect the broken piece from Almalexia and the piece Karrod carries.
- Travel to Radac’s Forge in Bamz-Amschend and talk to Radac Stungnthumz, the ghost of a Dwemer weaponsmith.
- He needs Pyroil Tar before he can enchant the blade.
- Find the tar deep in the Daedric Shrine of Norenen-dur, inside the Citadel of Myn Dhrur. UESP’s walkthrough lists three Pyroil Tars there, and any of them works.
- Bring the tar to Radac, then return to Almalexia to finish.
Norenen-dur is one of the hardest dungeons in Tribunal, so most characters should leave this for late in the quest. Guides don’t fully agree on exactly where the tar is in the shrine, but they all agree it’s in Norenen-dur. Searching the whole shrine is faster than reading conflicting directions.
A rogue Hand of Almalexia also shows up in the late quests: one of her guards has left his post, and dealing with him is part of the build-up to the finale.
The Mad God: Sotha Sil and the Clockwork City
Almalexia sends you to find Sotha Sil, whom she calls mad, in his hidden Clockwork City. Before you go, keep in mind that this is a one-way trip. UESP’s walkthrough warns that once you enter the Clockwork City you are stuck there until the quest is over. Recall and the Intervention spells won’t get you out.
Before you install
Make a hard save before you step into the Clockwork City, and bring enough healing, restore and repair supplies to clear the whole place. Coming back to Mournhold for supplies isn’t possible.
The city is full of Fabricants and traps. A huge construct called the Imperfect blocks the Dome of Sotha Sil, and the Dome won’t open until it is dead. Inside you find Sotha Sil’s body. From what Almalexia says afterward, it becomes clear she is the one who has gone mad.
The fight with Almalexia
The last fight is against Almalexia herself, and UESP calls it hard. She casts powerful spells, resists magic, moves fast, and hits very hard in melee with Hopesfire. After she dies, take the Hopesfire blade and Barilzar’s Mazed Band from her body. The quest ends when you leave the Temple and Azura speaks to you.
Some things help a lot here. A reforged Trueflame, high magic resistance or reflect, and a large stock of restore health potions will each make a real difference. Characters who spent the expansion fighting with spells usually have the hardest time against her resistances. On those builds, a solid melee backup is worth more than any single spell.
Troubleshooting common problems
Most Tribunal problems come from triggers that don’t fire, not from actual crashes. This table covers the ones players run into most.
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Assassins kill a new character in their sleep | Default trigger on any rest | Install Expansion Delay before starting, or rest only where you can win the fight |
| Dark Brotherhood Attacks never leaves the journal | You haven’t spoken to a Mournhold guard yet | Talk to any Royal Guard or High Ordinator |
| Asciene Rane won’t send you to Mournhold | No attack yet (common with delay mods) | Wait for an attack, or add Early Transport to Mournhold |
| Karrod won’t discuss the blade | You haven’t dueled him, or Helseth hasn’t given the next job | Finish Helseth’s Champion, take Helseth’s next task, rest, try again |
| Duel won’t start | You haven’t come back into the throne room | Leave the Throne Room and come back in |
| Can’t teleport out of the Clockwork City | This is intended | Finish the quest, and always enter with a hard save |
| Old OpenMW refuses a save | Save from 0.51 loaded in an older build | Update OpenMW to 0.51.0 or later |
| Odd dialogue or script bugs | Original 2002 bugs | Patch for Purists, plus the Morrowind Code Patch on the original engine |
What to do after Tribunal
Once the story is done, Tribunal works best as a gear and travel hub: Barilzar’s Mazed Band gives you fast trips between Vivec, Mournhold and the Clockwork City, and Hopesfire and Trueflame are two of the best blades in the game. A good next step is Bloodmoon on Solstheim, which is included in the same Game of the Year Edition. If you want more mainland after that, Tamriel Rebuilt continues the province well beyond what Bethesda shipped. For quest-by-quest detail beyond this guide, the current pages are on the UESP wiki. Its old static walkthrough pages are still hosted too, but UESP marks them as outdated.
FAQ
Do I have to finish the Morrowind main quest before starting Tribunal?
No. Without mods, the first assassin attack can happen on any rest, at any level. Expansion Delay by Half11 ties the attacks to later progress, which is how many players handle it now.
Can I skip the Royal Palace quests?
Yes. UESP notes that going through Fedris Hler at the Temple lets you skip several of Tienius Delitian’s quests. You would miss real rewards, though, including 3000 gold from Evidence of Conspiracy and 5000 gold from Muckraking Journalist, plus a King’s Oath if Trels Varis is still alive.
Where is Asciene Rane?
She is in the Grand Council Chambers in Ebonheart, just right of the main hall’s front entrance. Tell her about the attacks and ask about transport to Mournhold, and she will teleport you to the Royal Palace.
Does Tribunal work on OpenMW?
Yes. OpenMW reads Tribunal’s data from your Steam or GOG copy and runs the whole quest. The current stable version is 0.51.0, released on 19 June 2026, and a 0.52 release candidate came out in November 2026.
Is the Morrowind Code Patch needed with OpenMW?
No. Hrnchamd’s Code Patch changes the original Morrowind executable, so it does nothing in OpenMW. Patch for Purists is a regular plugin and can be used with either engine.
What do I get for killing Almalexia?
You recover Hopesfire and Barilzar’s Mazed Band from her body. The Mazed Band summons a Fabricant for 120 seconds and lets you teleport to Vivec City, Mournhold or the Clockwork City.
Where do I find the Pyroil Tar for Trueflame?
It’s in the Daedric Shrine of Norenen-dur, in the Citadel of Myn Dhrur. UESP lists three Pyroil Tars there, and any one is enough for Radac Stungnthumz in Bamz-Amschend.
Is Tribunal sold separately on Steam or GOG?
No. Both stores sell it only as part of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition, together with Bloodmoon.
What changed
- Nov 13, 2026 First published.
About the article
- Fact-checked by Hollis Tremaine before publication.
- Published
