Any downside doing the daedric quests in Skyrim?

[Sewer Rat]

Really the only outright "evil" Daedra I can think of are Mehrunes Dagon and Molag Bal (probably butchered the spelling) so I doubt helping any other than these 2 you should be fine. I'm just a little disappointed that they haven't brought Jyggalag back into the picture,instead we are back with Sheogorath, who is awesome but... glad to know my efforts in the Shivering Isles amounted to nothing Bethesda!

 

[Swifty714]

Wasn't Boethia quite the female-dog?

I've done
Sheogorath (Had fun)
Vearimia (Butchered spelling, not a very useful reward)
Molag Bal (Less than nice actions)

That's about it, so far nothing though.

 

[ThatLankyBastard]

Let's see.. I did Azura's Star right off the bat and just did Miridia's... don't think theres anything bad about them!

BTW: Anyone know where Nocturnal's Quest is? I want her priest's clothes sooo bad and I can't find her shrine...

 

[I Max95]

ive done two already

and i didnt even realize it!
one began by some random talking dog finding me, and in the other i got drunk and ended up in a city halfway across the map

it was only at there ends did i realize they were Daedric quests, so yes, there are no big downsides

 

[swiftax]

Yes, on Clavicus vile's
You have to listen to his dog's painful brooklyn accent....

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I inadvertently got caught up in Hircine's quest and my memory from Oblivion must be scratchy because I just thought he was a lesser god. Then I got a message after finishing his quest about finishing a Daedric quest and I thought "WTF? A specteral deer doesn't seem too evil."

Seems I was operating under the premise that all Daedra are evil, when it turns out that some are merely indifferent. So far I've seen no down side.

Erm, Hircine is kinda the patron of werewolves, amongst other things. In the Bloodmoon expansion of Morrowind he's also the final boss. And if you're a werewolf in that game every night you need to hunt and kill someone or get hurt I believe. He doesn't seem that nice to me...

Well colour me informed! I've played some of Morrowind, but not finished it. From memory all Hircine asked me to do in Oblivion was to hunt a unicorn or something; which I guess isn't necessarily "good".

 

[Hagi]

In universe, the Daedra aren't really evil (except for Dagoth Ur)

Except you know.... Dagoth Ur is not a Daedra....

Oh, you're right. I was thinking of Mehrunes Dagon. Heck, for that matter I'm not even sure if "evil" is the right word for Dagoth Ur. He's a bit deeper than just "good" or "evil."

I'd turn to Molag Bal if you want evil. Being commonly referred to as the "King of rape" pretty much puts you straight into "evil" territory.

 

[fanklok]

Erm, Hircine is kinda the patron of werewolves, amongst other things. In the Bloodmoon expansion of Morrowind he's also the final boss. And if you're a werewolf in that game every night you need to hunt and kill someone or get hurt I believe. He doesn't seem that nice to me...

]

Hircine is the god of the hunt, it's not about murdering people for the fun of it it's about a challenging and exciting hunt which it would be if NPCs weren't limited to in game AI. I suggest you read The Most Dangerous Game sometime to get a better understanding of this.

 

[EHKOS]

HAHAHAH I AM THE FIRST ONE HERE TO DO....H...fuck. The Daedra of intelligence/knowledge. He's on the coast. It seems like there is a downside but I didn't choose it. You get a nifty book that increases a bunch of skills by five tho.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

In universe, the Daedra aren't really evil (except for Dagoth Ur)

Except you know.... Dagoth Ur is not a Daedra....

Oh, you're right. I was thinking of Mehrunes Dagon. Heck, for that matter I'm not even sure if "evil" is the right word for Dagoth Ur. He's a bit deeper than just "good" or "evil."

I'd turn to Molag Bal if you want evil. Being commonly referred to as the "King of rape" pretty much puts you straight into "evil" territory.

Point being, very, very few of the Daedra are either truly "good" or truly "evil." They're more true neutral; they only do stuff if it suits them. (Some are Chaotic or Lawful Neutral, but very few are actually good or evil.)

 

[JMeganSnow]

A guard in Markath said "Keep that mace away from me." immediately after I finished the quest and got the mace. It could just be the standard "gear reaction" NPCs may give you in passing, much like those comments on the dwarven armour I was wearing for a while.

It's a standard gear reaction, nothing ever comes of it. I was using that mace for quite some time on my first character. Like everything in the game, you don't get positive/negative reaction for the things you do with the Daedra unless someone actually catches you at it, and since most of the quests occur in remote locales, this is a non-issue. Heck, I stumbled upon the Hall of the Vigilant (i.e. where Stendarr's anti-daedra monks hang about) carrying no fewer than six daedric artifacts and they didn't even bat an eye.

I've found all of the Daedric quests except Namira's and Mephala's, so I can list them out as to where you can start them:

Spoiler

Azura: start this one by visiting Azura's shrine, not very far south of Winterhold. If you wander the world, you'll eventually run into a lone robed dude on one of the roads who can mark the shrine for you on your map.
Boethiah: Starts at the Sacrellum of Boethiah, in the mountains to the east and south of Windhelm. You can't start this quest at all until you're level 30, so don't think it's bugged if you go there and it's not working. This is probably the most repugnant of the daedric quests, but it's pretty similar to Mehrunes Dagon, really.
Clavicus Vile: in Falkreath, around the third or fourth time you go to the town (you may have to be level 10+ or so), a guard will stop you and ask you about a dog. If you follow up on this, it leads you to Clavicus Vile's quest.
Hermaeus Mora: this one will get kicked off as part of the main quest line when you need to go get the Elder Scroll.
Hircine: In the village that has the symbol of the stag on its map marker (I'm drawing a blank and I'm too lazy to look it up), you'll find a dude imprisoned in the town prison. Talk to him, and he'll tell you about the cursed ring of Hircine that he's stuck with.
Malacanth: in the south middle of the Rift area of the map (between Riften and Ivarstead, basically) is a tribe of orcs that are under siege by some giants. Talk to their wisewoman and she'll get you started on this quest.
Meridia: starts at Meridia's shrine, the second you walk up to it. She's pushy.
Molag Bal: starts in the Abandoned House in Markarth, or actually just outside it.
Mehrunes Dagon: begins in Dawnstar at the Mythic Dawn Museum.
Mephala: no clue, sorry.
Namira: From what I understand, starts at her shrine, but I haven't found it myself.
Nocturnal: is part of the Thieves Guild quest line.
Peryite: Starts at his actual shrine. I haven't actually done this one yet because you need a list of ingredients before you can start the quest, and one of them (flawless ruby) can be hard to find, particularly if you're like me and you sell EVERYTHING.
Sanguine: in a random tavern, this guy named Sam Guerrene or similar will challenge you to a drinking contest for a staff. Hilarity ensues.
Sheogorath: starts in Solitude. Talk to a crazy-sounding wandering street guy and he sends you to try and get into the Pelagius Wing in the Blue Palace.
Vaermina: Also begins in Dawnstar. Talk to the local priest of Mara about the nightmares in the town.

 

[JMeganSnow]

HAHAHAH I AM THE FIRST ONE HERE TO DO....H...fuck. The Daedra of intelligence/knowledge. He's on the coast. It seems like there is a downside but I didn't choose it. You get a nifty book that increases a bunch of skills by five tho.

Hermaeus Mora. His quest is pretty much part of the main quest line, so you'll probably wind up doing it if you finish the main quest at all.

 

[Quickening666]

Well all I can say is that you guys have been damn lucky. I meet a talking dog, having no idea that I'm about to agree to a Daedric quest. But once I merely say "okay dog, I'll follow you", I have not only the the Vigilant of Stendarr after me, but my former friends the Companions too! I was even forced to kill one of them for good. Seems to be no-way for me to earn redemption here. My good-guy character has been tricked into becoming evil. Anakin style.

 

[Quickening666]

Well all I can say is that you guys have been damn lucky. I meet a talking dog, having no idea that I'm about to agree to a Daedric quest. But once I merely say "okay dog, I'll follow you", I have not only the the Vigilant of Stendarr after me, but my former friends the Companions too! I was even forced to kill one of them for good. Seems to be no-way for me to earn redemption here. My good-guy character has been tricked into becoming evil. Anakin style.

Really? there must ave been something odd going on there, because I assisted barbas as well as 3 other Deadric princes and there have been no consequences.

I suspected something might have been up, but I guess it's okay, since I'm the leader of the Companions, and the last quest they asked me to complete was killing a wolf. What an insult. It was also amusing how after butchering Ria right in front of their eyes for attacking me, the rest of them were fine with me after they'd had some time to think it over.

I really hope Bethesda do something about the inconsistencies in logic in this game, as well as the bugs.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

So far I've only done two of the daedric quests, and one of them seems to had a minor effect on how people have reacted to me.

The first quest does have an immediate effect (plenty of accusations of "What the hell you were doing?" during the quest), but nothing really lasting. It's too much fun to spoil actually, but it starts off with a drinking quest in Windhelm... and you can probably just guess what happens next. However, there's one bit I think is rather funny:

Spoiler

Having done the other parts of the quest, I had finally gone to the castle where Sam was to rescue him... but I had died to a Fire Wizard and about five other lesser spell casters. Reloading my save, I decided to to make a bee-line for the wizard and made use of the sprinting shout to close the gap.

I missed and overshot my target, and ran straight into a portal I didn't realize was right in front of me.

So after the loading screen, I run towards the little party Sam was having only to find out he was Sanguine the whole time... AND my crazy (mis)adventures were all the result of what was a prank on colossal scale.

And then I get teleported back to the tavern in Windhelm where it all started, avoiding having to kill all those spellcasters (or die yet again trying to do so).

What.

The second daedric quest is the one which results in you getting the Mace of Molag Bal, which regrettably involves doing some less-than-noble actions (if being forced to do so). Anyhow, this one had a minor effect on NPCs around me; or at least one NPC.

A guard in Markath said "Keep that mace away from me." immediately after I finished the quest and got the mace. It could just be the standard "gear reaction" NPCs may give you in passing, much like those comments on the dwarven armour I was wearing for a while.

oh that Sam... and i assumed that 'minor effect' would be the Vigilant who you did your thing on...

OT: i've done that one, Azura, Sanguine and the Dawnstar one with the nightmares whose name escapes me.
my game glitched out during Nocturnals (aka the Thieves Guild questline after you become Nightingales).