Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone out there has actually received the perk rewards for doing the Bards College Quest called Tending the Flames, you are supposed the receive the Gift of the Gab which allows you to learn speech skills 15% faster and is a permanent active effect?

All i got was gold, even though the official game guide says it is supposed to be given.

Also not given is the perk reward for completing the Eye of Magnus and becoming Archmage. You are supposed to be rewarded with Archmage's Authority, which gives you better prices from all members of the college, 50% off Enthir alone. In the guide, not given, all i got was Key to Archmage's Office and his robes.

Can anyone actually see these in their active effects list? I have all the others, Ancient Knowledge, Agent of Mara, Sailor's Repose etc, but not these two, why is that?

I suppose i should not put too much faith in this guide, it was published by Bethesda, just like the game, it also says you can marry Lydia as well, and thats a complete pile of s**t!

Can someone confirm these rewards are actually in the game, or just another pipe dream, like being able to finish the mission to rescue Thorald without using violence, which is impossible, because the armour outfit required to do it does not even feature in the actual finished game. Nice one Bethesda, maybe have a read of your own 'Official Guide'.

Hey now that you mention it I don't see mine either. In fact since it never showed up on the active effects. I never knew we was suppose to get something like that. I've completed the bard's college and the mage college, you are not alone.

Lydia can be married but she's currently bugged...

This is the 'Official List' of Perk Rewards for quests:

Agent of Dibella - Recieved
Agent of Mara - Received
Ancient Knowledge - Received
Archmage's Authority - NOT Recieved
Assassin's Aegis - Currently Unknown
Dragon Infusion - Currently Unknown
Eternal Spirit - Received
Force Without Effort - Received
Gift of the Gab - NOT Received
Nightingales Aegis - On this mission now
Prowler's Profit - Currently Unknown - Reward for returning all the 'Unusual Gems' in No Stone Unturned
Sailor's Repose - Received
Sinderian's Serendipity - Currently Unknown
The Fire Within - Received

Come to think of it, this is my fourth attempted playthrough, and I never received the rewards, ever, pre or post patches, can anyone see Archmage's Authority or Gift of the Gab in their 'Active Effects' list? Or are they as legendary in existance as the 30fps framerate?

I can confirm getting Sinderians serendipity and powerls profit, however prowlers profit DOES NOT appear in the list of active effects but it does work.

It is entierly possible you did get archmages authority and gift of the gab but it doesnt show up in the list.

it is also possible those effects were removed, offical game guides are actually finialized sometime before the game is actually done so they can print them all.

Well there is NO way we are getting 50% off from Enthir or 10% off the other college mages, just look at Enthir's Black Soul Gem price, it NEVER changed. In fact Enthir is still one of the highest charging traders in the game, that perk would have been handy.

Looking at UESP its not listed at all, nor does the quest mention it being bugged.

I find it very possible it was removed after the guide was finalized, Morrowind and Oblivion's guides were equally abysmal in such things.


Also I have gotten Dragon Infusion before from Esbern's Potions

Yep looking at the talk page for it it appears Archmage's Authority and Gift of the Gap do not exist. No one has been able to find them in the game files.

Thanks for the reply and the research, it's greatly appreciated. At least i know now to take the guide with a grain of salt and not be disappointed in the future! Still, it does sting, just a little...

Just got Dragon Infusion in my game, brand new game as of patch 1.3, no old saves etc, it's definately bugged. You drink the potion and glow, but the perk never appears in 'Active Effects' and Esbern does not recognise that the quest is completed and that the potion has been drunk, it's just says bring a dragon bone and dragon scale to Esbern in the Quest log, it never updates and never dissappears from Misc objectives, reloading saves from before accepting the quest does nothing. Fix these damn bugs already

Just updating the list as I continue to try and play on through. I can confirm that Prowler's Profit is received and working after completing "No Stone Unturned" for Vex at the Theives Guild. It does not however show in the list of "Active Effects". The only reason that i know that it is working is that everytime i loot a body, chest etc, the amount and value of recovered gemstones is greatly increased. It would be useful, however, if this did actually show in "Active Effects" like everything else. Now if they would just fix Dragon Infusion, a really useful perk, that just doesn't work...

Strength potion improve carry limit but if basic(pre potion) limit exceeded you are still encumbered