Why does Forbidden Legend never get talked about anymore

[RiftenWanderer]

I just replayed it for the first time in years and honestly it holds up way better than I remembered. The whole thing with the three rings and the backstory about the family curse - it's got actual stakes, the dungeons are genuinely creepy, and the payoff feels earned instead of just handed to you like some Daedric quests.

My level 18 character got absolutely wrecked by those spectral enemies in Saarthal though. Had to drop the difficulty down which I never do. But that's kind of what made it memorable? It felt dangerous.

Anyway why is this quest never in anyone's top lists. Everyone ranks Discerning the Transmundane or the Black Star but Forbidden Legend has way more going on thematically. The lore about the Labyrinthian and the whole "don't trust your allies" angle is solid.

 

[DragonbornVet]

Forbidden Legend is solid, yeah. I think it gets overlooked partly because it's tied to the College questline and a lot of people either skip the College entirely or rush through it. Plus the spectral enemies are genuinely annoying - they scale weird and have that frost damage that shreds you if you're not geared for it, which catches a lot of mid-level players off guard like it did you.

The three rings thing is cool but honestly the payoff feels a bit underwhelming once you actually get them. They're not terrible, but they're not "quest reward" tier either, so it doesn't stick in people's heads the way the Daedric artifacts do. Mehrunes' Razor or the Ebony Blade just hit different when you finish a quest.

That said, you're right about the atmosphere. Saarthal especially has that creepy vibe that most Skyrim dungeons don't nail. And the backstory about the family curse is legitimately good lore work. Might just be that people remember the quest but don't think it's worth bringing up in a "best quests" conversation because the reward doesn't match the buildup in their minds.