Morrowind - How to become ridiculously OP upon start

Ever sigh and think of how ridiculously unprepared you were after you got brutally slaughtered by cliff racers as soon as you took one step out of Seyda Neen? Don't worry, I hate them too - which is why I made this guide! This involves little to no cheating (depending on your definition), and requires no modding whatsoever.

Step 1: Create a New Game!

Fitting name, huh? 8D

This is pretty obvious. Go ahead and hit new game on that good ol' title screen, enjoy the opening monologue, and name your character. In terms of creating a character, it truthfully doesn't matter in terms of this guide, in which I have tested with several characters of different races. Personally, I like a race with a more stealth-based background, as you will be doing some stealing later. Or now, actually.


(proving it can be done with any race - I have an easier time with a sneak class/Khajiit race, though.)

Step 2: Census and Excise

(For those of you that don't know, Census and Excise is the name of the complex you enter after leaving the ship at the very beginning of the game. Neat, huh?) This part is a little complex, but I'll go over it with you the best I can. First of all, talk to the old man ahead, and pick your class. Again, does not matter, I like a stealth/combat mix myself. NOW, this next step is important. To your immediate right, there is a bookshelf behind the desk. (Keep in mind you should do this AFTER taking your papers on the desk.) On that bookshelf, there is a large object that will display as "Limeware Platter" when you hover your cursor over it.



Now, this next part is a little tricky. As fast as you can, press space while looking at it, and, without panicking, look towards the door as fast as you can, right-click (to open your inventory), then drag and drop the platter out of your inventory. The guard will talk to you about crime and how it's bad, but pssh. Whatever. Go ahead and click on the red text, cancelling out the dialog. You can now look back down and press space on the platter to take it - it's now yours, no worries! The drop method is basically preformed in order to fool the game that they've already taken the platter from you, as it was designed at the time to totally ignore the worldspace around it. As you probably would notice, this changes later in Oblivion and Skyrim.

Alright, Limeware Platter now in hand, this'll probably score you around 600 gold in the tradehouse. Next, go through the door opposite the bookshelf. I always have a weird habit of closing the door behind me, and I'm fairly sure that's necessary for this next part, but, I'm not entirely certain. Right, another important part! See this room? With the dagger stabbed into the table, and the candles, and the cutesy little chest on the bottom of the bookshelf? TAKE. EVERYTHING. This is a more common step when starting Morrowind up, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of you already knew this one. After taking everything, equip the lockpick and unlock the chest on the bottom floor of the bookshelf. This has a cool 31 gold in it. After doing this, go ahead and head out the door and into a small little courtyard thing.


Before...


AFTER! :D

Step 3: Courtyard/Census and Excise pt. 2

Right! We're in a courtyard now. It's fairly nice and unimportant out here - what is important, however, is the little barrel by the door. I probably shouldn't be even including this in the guide, since it's required for you to take the ring to proceed anyways, but whatever. Take the engraved healing ring out of the barrel, then continue to proceed through the door.

Right, this next part is IMPORTANT. This is probably one of the most vital parts in the guide, believe it or not. Right, talk to the captain about your duties, get your release fee, blah blah blah. What you're actually looking for is behind him, so go ahead and hold down lctrl and sneak over behind him. Now, look at the bookshelf, on the eye-level shelf (while standing up). On the far right hand side, you'll see a small key that's labelled "Warehouse Key." Go ahead, as far as you can get away from him (while still highlighting the key), press space to take it. IMMEDIATELY after you do this press right click, as he's much closer to you than the guard this time. Immediately drop it on the floor, talk to him, same dialog as before. Press the red text, then go ahead and take your key! You can go ahead and leave now - there's nothing else here.


Where the key is, for those of you that missed it.

Step 4: Warehouse/Tradehouse

We're gonna start this off with the most annoying character in the game, sadly. This is useful for later, though. Go ahead and talk to the nerdy-sounding blond elf named Fargoth wandering outside. (I would also save here, as you're allowed to start saving as soon as you exit the office.) Ask him about his ring, then give it to him. He'll let the guy at the tradehouse know you're a friend, so the overall price of items will be dropped, and you can sell items to him for more.


ew. eeeeewwwwww.

Now, parallel to the place you just exited out of is another door. Use the key to unlock this. Sneaking inside, you'll find a couple guards lurking around inside. Don't worry - they don't really give two sh*t's that you're there. In fact, they're pretty derpy and get stuck a lot. While they're derping around upstairs or something, you really want to worry about the left side of this complex. Immediately head to the crates (while sneaking) with the book and candles on them, and (before checking next to your health bar and such if there's a little icon there - this says it's okay to steal) take EVERYTHING in these crates - EXCEPT the skooma and moon sugar. This may sound appealing to your at first, as it's worth a lot of money, and don't worry, we'll come back for it later. Just leave it there for now. Being careful, take everything (especially the stuff upstairs) EXCEPT the moon sugar and skooma. (It's the little white diamonds and a little purple vial in your inventory, they'll bear the names when you hover over them.) After you're done, casually stroll on out of there as if nothing happened. (If you get caught, just boot up one of your old saves! New opportunity.)


What moon sugar looks like...


And what skooma looks like!
(author's note - IGNORE THE LACK OF STUFF IN MY INVENTORY. Took more than one character to get this right. xD)

Next, head over to the tradehouse. It's one of the larger buildings with a deck that you have to go onto to enter. Once you're in, talk to the person straight ahead, and click barter. Go ahead and sell everything that you've picked up (except your clothes. Don't go nudist on me.) He probably won't have enough coin for all this, so pick up the armor set that your class is proficient in, same with the weapons. If it's STILL above 800, just use the little slider to move it down. Come on, it should only be like, 10 gold. Equip your new items, and stroll on out of there.



Now, head back to the warehouse. Yes, you heard me, we're going back! Now go back and take all of the skooma and moon sugar. (While being cautious and sneaky, of course.) We can do this now because if we had done it before, then the merchant wouldn't have sold or bought any of our things, since they're illegal. If you set them down in there and took them later, it would be a crime because they would magically repossess those items. Don't ask me how it works - I freaking wish I lived on Nirn. Now, casually strolling out, follow the path out of the town.

Step 5: CRAZY FLYING MEN

You heard me right. Walk along the path until you come to a book. All of a sudden, a man will fall out of the sky and die. Go ahead and take his stuff - especially his 3 scrolls of Icarian flight. The stuff sells for a lot, and even if you don't need the cash later, they can be pretty useful for getting around quickly. Just don't jump, or you'll end up like he did. After taking this, walk back to town, and head up the hill towards the crazy thing with legs. Talk to the dark elf up there, and click on travel, then click on Balmora.


It's all fun and games until...


HOH SH*T


err... oops.


Lady you talk to in order to go on ADVENTURES! TO BALMORA! YEAH!

Step 6: Balmora

Alright, now for the final stage in this guide! Once you're in Balmora, go down the steps and go to an immediate left. Look at some of the signs here - you're looking for the one labelled Ra'Virr, trader.


That's the one!

Go ahead and go in his shop, head to your immediate right - he's against the wall. Talk to him, ignore his talk about daedric weapons, they're just enchanted. Go to his barter page, and, being a Khajiit who looooooveeeeees moon sugar and skooma, they'll buy it from you. Seeing as he can't afford it every time, go ahead and buy a really fancy weapon at this point, you should be able to afford it. You then kind of want to loiter around until his gold restocks, then you can sell the rest of your stock. You have to do it multiple times, though - each vial of Skooma is worth about 500 gold, and he has 600 generally. Go ahead and sell him your Icarian Flight scrolls and fancy robes and such now, if you want - unless you want to wear them over your armor, that's fine too.


iz dokeh, dah hoomans scurr mi 2.

Step 7: FINALE!

Okay, I lied. There's really no more to this guide - I just wanted to thank you for your time you've taken out of your day to read it, and I hope you enjoyed! While I realize a lot of this is common knowledge, this guide is primarily targetted towards newer players. Well, happy gaming, happy looting, happy killing, or whatever the heck you wanna do in Morrowind!

[Winters]

Next should be go to vivec city vaults and rob it blind, then go sell everything to talking mudcrab and just pay to train your way to being OP with all your money.

[Cioby]

Really? This is supposed to be the guide? Well without the internet I did manage to realize there is a trade bug and get money that way but regardless, if you want to tell people how to get cheap money and base game gear, you could just tell them to get alchemy, sell the potions, buy more materials, sell more potions, repeat until you have a billion gold, the best skill in the game. Also buy and sell back ingredients to the vendor so then he magically has more "default" ingredients of the same type. You should be a billionaire without having to steal some crappy 600 septims item.
Alchemy breaks the game, buff yourself with alchemy, sell potions, ez game. No guide required just common sense. Also bound weapons are not the end game, they are mid at best, end game are the unique weapons you get with ridiculous stats and damage enchants, it's why the other Elder Scrolls have dogshit legendaries that you need mods to make "work".

[Patchouli Fleur]

Just wanted to say you don't need to worry about timing since from the inventory screen you can directly pick up and drop things.

[Pookaball]

"press space to pick up the limeware platter" what kind of beginner guide is this? You should begin by rebinding the stupid-ass controls

[Sly-Scale]

Addendum to Step 6 -- Bound Weapons are super powerful! ...Seriously. Get one.

While you're stopped by at Ra'Virr, you might as well help yourself to one of his enchanted weapons. They let you summon Bound versions of themselves, which come in Daedric (TES3's best) quality and don't weigh anything. They also boost your hit chance by 8% to 12% (depending on your Fatigue level.)

With the way that Morrowind handles armor and health and encumbrance, Bound weapons are pretty much the end-game tools of warfare. You get to move faster, carry more, and most things you hit will die. Competitors are few and far between, those ones weigh like 25-80 pounds, and don't come nearly as quickly nor as easily.

Get one.

Later on, you can learn spells or get rings enchanted with said spells. And- well, okay, your weapon skill levels slower and caps at 90 when you're using Bound weapons... but the short and sweet step: buy a bound weapon enchantment from Ra'Virr. Do it. Your backpack will thank you.

[[Luna Wolf] Garviel Loken]

I have never stolen the Limeware platter successfully or known about Fargoth helping get personality up for other characters or known that Khajiit would buy moon sugar and skooma... always something new with this game. A MASTAHPIECE!

[Grandpa's Tummy Hurts]

I just sprint against a wall while i afk to eat and play on my phone. Gets my character in military grade fitness shape effectively eliminating the biggest issue this game has which is fatigue all the while significantly contributing towards my governing speed stat and main leveling

[Unseen]

You can also make conjurer your main skill early on, you start out with a ghost, go buy the least bonewalker from the teleporter in the mage guild. Keep summoning a bit (altho you don't really have to), then rest. Do enough resting and brotherhood goon attacks. Run to fighters guild and summon and rest, until another brotherhood attacks. Use double summons to kill both assassins. One set of decent gear, and the other you can sell to the creeper in caldera for over 3k gold. Good start and you don't even need to buy, sell, steal, or do any quests.

[JustSaiyan]

i got the goty edition of morrowind for pc a long time ago and never beat the main story. Your outline is basically my default for this game and i always just wander and explore. delve a little. then console command my way to godhood and punch vivec to sleep, walk on water to solstheim, maybe even levitate since the dominion hasnt banned it. good stuff man

[Moon Tiara Action!]

Thanks for the guide. Very useful info.