Untold Legends Black Book not working (SOLVED)

[76561198834990009]

I can't complete the black book quest with Untold Legends. The book is there in my inventory, and so it must have worked the first time I read it, but it won't now. Like all the other black books, I didn't start the quest immediately but re-read it to leave Apocrypha. The other books work, and I have completed 3 of them, so it looks like Untold Legends has glitched. I've Googled this, but I can't find any mention of this problem elsewhere. Any ideas what has gone wrong here, and how I can fix it?

[Catness]

Are you in Solstheim when you try this? You can only read a Black Book there, not when you're in Skyrim.

[76561198834990009]

Yes, I'm in Solstheim.

I ought to have added that I have played through the Summit of Apocrypha quest, although I have not used Bend Will on the dragon yet, since I wanted to complete all the Black Books before facing Miraak.

I have now completed three, which leaves The Hidden Twilight and Untold Legends, and then back to the Summit of Apocrypha (Waking Dreams) for the big showdown.

[Catness]

In case the book itself has indeed glitched out perhaps it can help to remove and reacquire it using the console.

Hit the tilt key ~ (the key to the left of the 1 key) to bring up the console and type the following:

player.removeitem 04016e2d 1
player.additem 04016e2d 1

The first two digits 04 references the Dragonborn DLC in its correct position of the loadorder. It is possible yours is in a different position, if the console cannot find the item you might need to use this command to get the correct ID:

help "Untold Legends" (you need the quotation marks if you use more than one word)

Be careful though, quest items are not meant to be removed from your inventory by force, especially in the case of Black Books which have scripts attached to them and will always remain in your inventory even after completing the related quests. This is just to test if the book is indeed glitching and the cause of your issue. Make a save before you attempt this but not afterwards, even if it happens to fix it only continue at your own risk.

[76561198834990009]

Firstly, thanks for responding.

The console commands worked, and the new copy of Untold Legends works also. But as you advised, I did not save the game afterwards.

Alternatively, I used a mod: AddItemMenu (which leaves me with two copies of the book in my inventory). When I click on them I am taken into Apocrypha. As before, I did not save afterwards and in both cases I deleted the autosave made in Apocrypha.

I'm uncertain how to proceed. The latter solution appears to be safest, since it doesn't involve deleting anything. What do you think?

[Catness]

It looks like that mod makes use of that same additem console command. Normally this command is perfectly safe to use by the way, I'm just cautious because of this particular item that has scripts attached and will normally never leave your inventory (probably because if you would lose it inside the Apocrypha realm there would be no way out).

Me personally, I would not try to fix it, the ability that is rewarded from this book is not that important to risk messing up my savefile. Since you already collected the book I assume this will be enough to eventually get the Hidden Knowledge achievement (which requires reading 5 Black Books). If not, you can always remove/add this book to try to get this achievement to pop, and then not save the game while keeping the achievement.

On the other hand, there's maybe another way to fix this. There are several house mods that I know of that let you (temporarily) store those books on a pedestal. I have used 2 of them in the past without any issues. Maybe they also remove/add those books in the same manner the console command does and it is actually safe to do so but I'm not sure. Perhaps someone else can give you a definitive answer on this. If you want to I can give you some links for those house mods so you can at least take this bugged book out of your inventory, and perhaps when you pick it up again it might just give you a good copy.

[76561198834990009]

I have just got the Hidden Knowledge achievement, having just completed Hidden Twilight and since, as you say, the reward isn't that important, my inclination is to just skip over Untold Legends and proceed to the Summit of Apocrypha. I've never got this far before with Dragonborn main quest, and I don't want to risk messing things up at this stage. But those house mods sound worth having a look at.

Thank you again for your help.

[Catness]

That's good to hear, you're welcome. :)

These are the 2 houses I used that I can confirm have Black Book displays:
Halamshiral - Mage Tower[www.nexusmods.com]
Ayleid Palace Remastered[www.nexusmods.com]

Their authors have made a lot of great and popular housemods, I'm sure you'll find something you will like. They also both have a distinct focus: Elianora[www.nexusmods.com] makes smaller cozy themed homes while skyrimlazz[www.nexusmods.com]makes grand castles. :)

[76561198834990009]

Thank you. I will certainly check those out.

And you'll be glad to know that I've just completed the Summit of Apocrypha. It was on my third attempt, because of the Miraak ethereal glitch, but Miraak is finally dead.

[Catness]

Congrats. :)

Since you mention the ethereal Miraak bug, I assume you don't have the unofficial patch installed? I highly recommend you to do so, even though you're already in the midst of a playthrough. This patch fixes that bug, and even though it is not documented, not having the patch may well be a reason that Black Book bug occured. Installing it now may not fix everything it addresses opposed to starting with a new savegame, but it will fix any quest bug you may possibly run into going forward.

As it applies to many mods added mid-game (which is not always a good idea, but will be fine for this patch and those house mods) it's recommended that after you install it to go into an interior (like a house or dungeon) and use the "wait" function for at least 3 days (72 hours) so the world cells around you can reset and changes be applied.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71214/

[76561198834990009]

I've begun to suspect a lot more is broken in this game than I'd thought, namely quests not starting and other events not happening. For a couple of examples: I have searched every tavern in Skyrim several times, and there has been no sign of Sam Guevenne. I always play A Night to Remember so I can obtain the Sanguine Rose, but not this time. And there has been no sign either of the Vigilant outside that house in Markaath, who starts another of the Daedric quests.

I do, in fact, have the unofficial patch installed, but perhaps it is not working properly. I have never had the same issues with previous games, and have been using pretty much the same mods (except for those I mentioned above) and the same load order for a long time, so perhaps something has got broken. Would you suggest re-installing the patch?

If I do so I would prefer to wait till I have finished the Dawnguard quest line, I am currently seeking Auriel's Bow, and I'd prefer not to abandon the progress I have made. When I have finished with that, I will re-install the patch and retire to Proudspire Manor and wait for three days, as you suggest. Then we shall see if things are working properly.

[Catness]

Do you meet the level requirements for the Daedric quests you try to start? For example for the Sanguine Rose quest you need to be level 14.

I don't think reinstalling the patch is necessary, unless your modlist is that old that your version of the patch is outdated. But it wouldn't hurt either if you want to try though.

When updating a mod, be sure to make a clean save first. You do this by making a manual (hard) save inside an interior that is not influenced by the mod (in this case one of your houses or a merchant shop for example will do), quiting the game, removing all files that came with the mod, starting the game again with that last save you made, waiting for a while (not the game's wait function, just wait for about a minute or two so the game can adjust to not having the mod), making a new manual save, installing the new version of the mod, and then continue to play from that last save you made.

Unfortunately, some quests don't always play out like they should, with or without the patch. Quitting the game (to desktop) and then trying again might yield different results at any attempt. You can always try to do another quest first and then return to the one that gives you trouble, or delete your last save and try to continue with the previous one instead.

If all of these steps fail and you're not able to start a quest, you can always try to start/advance them by using console commands. When you google for a quest I recommend the website UESP (the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages) for help and reference of these commands. Here's the page for the Sanguine Rose quest for example:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:A_Night_To_Remember

Good luck!

[Mr. Monday]

Originally posted by Elynda:

I do, in fact, have the unofficial patch installed, but perhaps it is not working properly. I have never had the same issues with previous games, and have been using pretty much the same mods (except for those I mentioned above) and the same load order for a long time, so perhaps something has got broken. Would you suggest re-installing the patch?

First thing I suggest is posting your load order. That should have been one of the first responses.

[Catness]

Originally posted by Mr. Monday:

First thing I suggest is posting your load order. That should have been one of the first responses.

You're right, I should have. When someone is that far into a playthrough I try to directly find a fix to keep the game going before looking for other approaches though. Since she now mentioned having an old loadorder and several issues arising that would of course be my next question.

[76561198834990009]

I started keeping an eye out for Sam Guevenne at around level 15. I am now at level 41 and still haven't met him.

Here is my load order, copy pasted from Notepad.

GameMode=Skyrim

Skyrim.esm=1
Update.esm=1
Dawnguard.esm=1
HearthFires.esm=1
Dragonborn.esm=1
Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch.esp=1
RaceCompatibility.esm=1
TERAArmors.esm=1
RSkyrimChildren.esm=1
Skykids.esm=1
SK Drow Child Race.esm=1
SK Monli Race.esm=1
SK Children of the Sky.esm=1
SK TheEyesOfBeauty.esm=1
Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp=1
RaceMenu.esp=1
RaceMenuPlugin.esp=1
SUNMagicArmor.esp=1
UIExtensions.esp=1
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp=1
SofiaFollower.esp=1
RSChildren.esp=1
Sabina.esp=1
The Manipulator.esp=1
Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul Lite.esp=1
Child Follower 2.esp=1
Bounty Gold.esp=1
SummonFollowers.esp=1
Quick Start - Skip the Opening Sequence.esp=1
LovelyHairstylesLITE.esp=1
RenameItems.esp=1
AddItemMenuLE.esp=1
Mark and Summon Friends.esp=1
mjollfacelift-v4-1-Blonde.esp=1
Companions No Werewolf Option.esp=1
TheEyesOfBeauty.esp=1
Race Scale Remover.esp=1
SkyUI.esp=1


(Sabina, BTW, is the name of my child aged follower, created using the Skyrim Creation Kit. She's the reason for having the Skykids and Child follower mods. She's a sort of mascot really, and I've never had any problems with her).

[Catness]

Thanks. I see nothing in there that should interfere with this quest, or the black book you had a problem with. Can you give some more information about the other issues you ran into?

To advance the Sanguine Rose quest you could type the following in the console, it will teleport you to Sam:

player.moveto 000A96A0

Alternatively there is another way to advance the quest, I quoted this from the link I gave you in my previous reply to you:

Originally posted by UESP:

There are a number of ways to bypass parts of the quest. At the start of the quest, you can go straight to Witchmist Grove and loot the Wedding Ring off of Moira, and continue the quest from there. Also, rather than getting the information from Ennis (by passing a Speech check or by bringing Gleda back), you can go straight to Ysolda. Or she can "ambush" you in front of some store in Whiterun when you are leaving the place demanding on your debt to her. It happens if passed a long time after events in Dibella Shrine and nothing after in questline.