I'm not sure if this question belongs here but I was curious as to why trading Dwemer Artifacts is illegal. Obviously I missed something in Morrowind most likely explaining it, also I tried look on The Imperial Library but couldn't find anything.

Thanks in advance .

"Dwemer artifacts taken from Dwemer ruins are very valuable, particularly Dwemer weapons, armor, and other enchanted devices, but they are protected as property of the Emperor by Imperial decree, and trade in such artifacts is illegal."--An Imperial Legionnaire
"The Emperor, however, has declared all newly discovered Dwemer artifacts to be possessions of the Crown, and forbids their trade or sale."--Hasphat Antabolis

It's never really said exactly why they are claimed as Imperial property, but since it specifies "newly discovered" and the Emperor has recently taken interest in Morrowind lore I'd guess he's hoping for some useful weapon or such.

It is not completely illegal, it is just to protect Imperial monopoly.
But you can see several traders, enchanters and such who sell them normally.
Correct conclusion is that unauthorized trade in Dwemer artifacts is illegal.
Btw, exemptions from Imperial decrees are valuable tool in negotiations and for keeping in check possible dissenters .

Muthsera,

I concur with Luagar2. I would further add that the decree is likely the remnant of when the Blades were seeking the pieces of Numidium scattered across Tamriel after its use by Tiber Septim. (This is the story of TES II: Daggerfall)

I do not think that the illegality of trading in Dwemeri artifacts is limited to Morrowind.


___TWM

I'm trying to think how Dwemer armor fits into this. In "Morrowind", it's taken from defunct Dwemer robots. If I remember right, it's rare and doesn't decay. I think, though, that Daedric armor is still stronger than Dwemer. In "Morrowind", the only ones who can afford Dwemer armor are the nobles.

In terms of gameplay, yes, Dwemer is two steps below Daedric armor (not sure about weapons), the one between the two being Ebony. This holds true for both TES III: Morrowind and TES IV:Oblivion. If would then likely follow that the lore is the same; it's the second best mundane armor, the best being Ebony and any better armors must come from the planes of Oblivion.

Ah well thanks a lot guys, you helped me out here and now I understand. Cheers!

Yup, the Dwemer seem to have been able to modify the Earth Bones such that they could have certain physical items resist decay. I always thought the Dwemer Cuirass in MW was butt-ugly - particularly in the rump area, with that bonnet sticking out in the back. Made my character look absolutely ridiculous.

It could also be that those traders don't care, or that in this case, gameplay just does not accurately reflect lore. In fact, it's pretty clear that at least SOME traders who trade in Dwemer artifacts should not be doing so, as is made apparent by the Thieves Guild quest where you had to free some unsightly Bosmer in Pelagaid, this was done by threatening one of the Legion members there to reveal that she takes bribes from the trader to keep the fact that he trades in Dwemer artifacts secret, there would be no need to bribe someone about this if it were legal.

It's probably as has been said, though, the Emperor want to make sure that he can use any useful items that might be found for his own ends.



Actually, if I remember correctly, Orcish is better than Dwemer in Oblivion, but worse than ebony, in Morrowind, this comparison was not an issue as Orcish armor was medium armor in Morrowind.

All natural resources are considered property of the Empire, right?

Talos was very preoccupied with Dwemer technology, and with good reason. The law has probably been around since then, and it's not as if the government is going to give it up voluntarily.

The Empire is not a friend to the Dwemers. So I'm guessing they would like to forget all traces.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Battle_of_Red_Mountain

Huh? There aren't any Dwemer around to not be friends with. And the First Empire had diplomatic relations with Dumac.

It was a poor choice of words when I said "a friend to". I gave a back ground to show what happened to the dwemers. They made things that can overthrow a governing power. The Empire will not want this to fall into the wrong hands.

It's also probably no coincidence that several powerful artifacts, including a piece of Trueflame, and the Daedric artifact Spellbreaker, resemble or were originally Dwemer artifacts. It's possible the Emperor saw the potential for enemies of the Empire to misuse such pieces of Armor/Weapons and wanted them to himself.

I always believed the trade restrictions were due to value, not some pseudo-quest for ancient artefacts. Much like the ebony and glass has been declared property of the Empire so to control the wealth, the Dwemer items have too.

If this were some sort of imperial scavenger hunt, I doubt the East Empire Company would have been chartered to carry these items.

That a good point. I hadn't thought of that.

In Daggerfall they wrote so many books and such that when Bethesda wanted to make the next release they actually had to go to all the lore followers for the information.
You can bet your last Dwemer Coin that the Devs read this area of the forum. To be honest we most likely are making lore ourselves. bliviongate:

I think it's that, combined with a possible 'threat' of a new Numidium of sorts. Of course, the Emperor would want that first.

Oh, no Daggerfall 2.0 :shocking:

You're right, I forgot about Orcish armor.

Ah, we can only hope..

http://www.svatopluk.com/daggerfall/material.stm

In Daggerfall ( boy I wish I could play area but it's just to dos old for my taste ) Orcish was the rarest to find. But if I remember both Ebony and Adamantium that were weaker material had better magical item abilities.