Skyrim:Totems of Hircine - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (2024)

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Detail

Walkthrough: written by multiple users, not checked
Reward: written by 90.222.231.175, checked by RobinHood70

Contents

  • 1 Quick Walkthrough
  • 2 Detailed Walkthrough
    • 2.1 Accepting the Quest
    • 2.2 Retrieve the Totem of Hircine
    • 2.3 Reward
  • 3 The Totems of Hircine
  • 4 Notes
  • 5 Bugs
  • 6 Quest Stages

Journey to the given location to find a Totem of Hircine.

Quest Giver:Aela the Huntress
Location(s):Whiterun
Prerequisite Quest:Glory of the Dead
Reward:A Totem of Hircine, leveled gold
ID:CR12

The Totem of Brotherhood in its receptacle in the Underforge

Quick Walkthrough[edit]

  1. Travel to the indicated location on your map.
  2. Retrieve the Totem by any means necessary.
  3. Return to the Underforge, then use one of the totem receptacles to complete the quest and receive your reward.

Detailed Walkthrough[edit]

Accepting the Quest[edit]

Asking Aela the Huntress, "Is there any work to be done?" will prompt her to tell you about the Totems of Hircine. She will say that she has located one and would be honored if you go with her to retrieve it. If you accept the quest, she will become your Shield-Sister and will replace your current companion.

Retrieve the Totem of Hircine[edit]

Aela prays to the Totem

Journey to the location given by Aela and kill the enemies lurking around. The location is radiant, and it can be any animal den, vampire lair, or warlock lair with a boss chest. The totem is most often found in the boss chest. Once you have the totem, Aela will approach and ask if you have it. When you tell her you do, she will tell you to bring it back to the Underforge. When you return to the Underforge, place the totem on the marked area—the quest will finish and you will receive a leveled amount of gold. You can now pray to the totem to receive a new power while in Beast Form, which replaces your old one.

There are three total totems, each granting a different ability in Beast Form.

Reward[edit]

LevelsRewardUSLEEP Reward
1–9100100
10–19150150
20–29300200
30–39300250
40+300300

Level is based on when the player completed the previous quest (or level one for the first quest), not the player's level when receiving the quest or its reward.

The reward amounts for radiant Companions quests do not progress as intended.

  • Skyrim:Totems of Hircine - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (3) The Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch, version 3.0.3, fixes this bug. (details)

The Totems of Hircine[edit]

Left to Right: Totem of the Hunt, Totem of Fear, Totem of Brotherhood

The totems are described in detail in the tome, The Totems of Hircine. By praying to these totems, you will be given a unique ability that replaces the older Howl of Terror; it is activated by pressing the shout button while in beast form. All abilities last for 60 seconds, though the duration can be increased by 15 seconds by equipping the Ring of the MoonDB before activating Beast Mode.

  • Totem of Fear: Causes Fear
  • Totem of Brotherhood: Summons 2 Pack Members
  • Totem of The Hunt: Grants Detect Life

Notes[edit]

  • If Dragonborn is installed, some radiant locations may be on Solstheim. If you are in Skyrim, you will not receive a quest marker pointing you to the quest location, but must travel to Solstheim first (at which point any quest markers you have to quests in Skyrim will disappear).
  • The location you are sent to may be an already "cleared" location, even if there are other non-cleared locations of the same type yet to be cleared or even discovered: the game does not, in this case, appear to prioritize new locations over known locations.
  • You can only trigger this quest if you are still a werewolf. If you have purified yourself, you are unable to do this quest.
  • If Whiterun is under attack, you cannot enter the Underforge until Whiterun is back to normal. It will tell you a key is needed to enter and that it cannot be lockpicked.
  • At the end of this quest, Aela will begin praying to the new totem in the Underforge. It is possible to ask her to follow you while she is praying; her dialogue will change, and she will allow you access to her inventory, but will not stop praying or move away from the totem.
  • Aela will not give these quests while she is an active follower, though she will give Animal Extermination quests.
  • If you have just dropped off a totem in the Underforge, Aela will be praying to it and only offer an Animal Extermination quest (dialogue option, "I'm looking for work"). Leave the Underforge, return, then talk to Aela again. Repeat until Aela (still in prayer) offers the next totem quest (dialogue, "Is there any work to be done?").
  • This quest is considered by the game as 1 even if it appears 3 times in the journal (once for each totem). This means that the counter for "Quests Completed" and "The Companions Quests Completed" will permanently increase by 1 only by the end of the third quest (it appears as increased by 1 every time you complete one of the three quests, but it will drop back in a few in-game cell loadings).

Bugs[edit]

  • If you've completed A Daedra's Best Friend, you may be taken to Haemar's Cavern and your system can lock up when entering Haemar's Shame. You won't be able to complete the quest and will have Aela as a follower, but with no dialogue options.
    • The Official Skyrim Patch, version 1.4, fixes this bug.
    • This also seems to happen if the totem is located in Morvunskar, and A Night To Remember has been completed. This can be worked around by carefully navigating around the point where the portal to the Misty Grove was placed earlier. ?
    • Skyrim:Totems of Hircine - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (5) This can be resolved by manually advancing the quest with the console command setstage cr12 20.
  • Curing yourself of lycanthropy while this quest is active causes the Underforge door to become unresponsive. You cannot end the quest or get rid of Aela as a result.
    • Skyrim:Totems of Hircine - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (6)You can finish the quest using the console command coc "WhiterunUnderForge" and placing the totem in its place, but Aela may stay inside, forcing you to use the command each time. ?
  • While recovering a totem located in Ansilvund, it is possible that one of the swinging axe traps may knock Aela through a hole in the map, rendering the quest un-fulfillable. Aela may reappear at a later time although the trigger is unknown. Common factors such as fast traveling and waiting are worth trying. ? One method that has been found effective is to pray at one of the previously acquired totems. Aela may then appear at the entrance of the Underforge.
  • If Aela won't give you the first totem quest, check the status of this quest with the console command "sqs cr12". If both Stage 0 and Stage 1 are marked as completed (with a 1 behind the respective stage), use the console command "resetquest cr12". It is recommended to do this after handing in an Animal Extermination quest but before asking for more work.
  • If you do not complete all of the radiant quests of Aela the Huntress in the initial wave before advancing, you will be stuck doing Animal Extermination quests from her indefinitely, unable to collect the Totems of Hircine. ?
    • If you have this bug take Aela's animal quest and finish it. Then talk to Vilkas and take his quest and complete it. Then talk to Aela again and you should now get the totem quest. Repeat for all three.[verification needed]
    • Skyrim:Totems of Hircine - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (7) Firstly, use the console command setstage CR12 1. Then, get an Animal Extermination quest from Aela. Now use the console command setstage CR01 20 or setstage CR02 20 (depending on which version of the quest you're assigned), and return to Aela to finish the quest. Ask for work from her again and use the command setstage CR12 20 to complete the quest, and go to the Underforge to place the totem, which completes this quest. Repeat these steps 2 more times for the remaining 2 totems. The crucial part seems to be to Tab out of the conversation before Aela finishes her voiceline, when finishing the Animal Extermination quest. If you keep her dialogue open, she will have another Animal Extermination for you. If you close the dialogue before she finishes, she will have a dialogue for the Totems of Hircine quest. Alternatively, this can be fixed by marrying Aela, then again asking her for work after deciding on a place to live. [verification needed — see talk page]
  • If Aela is chosen as your wife, after completing a totem quest she will stay and pray at the totem and will not return home.
    • This can be fixed on Xbox 360: You need lots of healing and dual-casting master illusionist abilities. Have her as a follower, take away all her weapons and give her a cheap sword. Then punch her enough times to get her to attack you (heal yourself as needed). Go through the front exit so you are outside of Jorrvaskr... she should follow you out and continue to attack you. Lead her off a good ways at which point, Dual-cast Calm on her and immediately talk to her and have her re-join you. Test her compliance by drawing a weapon or spell (she should do likewise, not just stand there - if she doesn't draw, restart the process). Once she's drawn a weapon, fast-travel to another location. She should now act normally, and if a spouse or steward, should remain at other locations when dismissed.
  • When obtaining the quest for the second totem, your quest marker may point to Jorrvaskr instead of the dungeon indicated in your quest log. The reason is that the quest item spawned on the floor in the main hall of Jorrvaskr instead of in the intended dungeon. The quest item will not be located anywhere in the dungeon indicated in the quest log. ?
    • Skyrim:Totems of Hircine - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (9) The item is located in an inaccessible cell within Jorrvaskr. By the way, this problem may also occur for another totem (e.g., the third instead of the second totem). Furthermore, the quest log may offer nothing more than the direction to go collect the totem. Anyway, to resolve this problem, open the console and type movetoqt CR12 which will move the player to a small interior unlighted cell after closing the console. The totem will be found on the ground. Pick up the totem to advance the quest. Next reopen the console and type player.moveto 1A697 and the player will now move to a position beside Aela the Huntress. She should then ask the player if he or she has the totem and the quest can now carry on as normal.

Quest Stages[edit]

Totems of Hircine (CR12)
StageFinishes QuestJournal Entry
10Aela has tracked one of the Totems of Hircine to <Alias=Dungeon>, and has come with me to retrieve it.

Objective 10: Retrieve the Totem of Hircine

20Aela and I retrieved a Totem of Hircine from <Alias=Dungeon>.

Objective 20: Take the Totem to the Underforge

200Skyrim:Totems of Hircine - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (10)
  • The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 0, 1, 100.

Notes

  • Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.
  • Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
  • Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.
  • If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
  • On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage CR12 stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest CR12.
Skyrim:Totems of Hircine - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) (2024)

FAQs

What is the puzzle for the totems of Hircine? ›

Top Voted Answer. If you are talking about Ansilvund then you are supposed to find Lu-ah's Journal and read it to obtain clues on how to solve the puzzle. The solution is, from left to right, Eagle, Snake, Whale, Snake.

What happens when you get all the totems of Hircine? ›

Once you have 1 or all 3 totems placed in the Underforge, you can pray to any 1 of them and receive their corresponding blessing that will change how your Werewolf howl affects enemies. The Dawnguard add-on expands upon these abilities even further.

How to trigger Totems of Hircine? ›

The Totems of Hircine quests are available to werewolves after becoming Harbinger of The Companions or marrying Aela. The questline revolves around recovering three distinct totems from three different dungeons. The quests are available through Aela the Huntress.

Do you think you could handle Vilkas in a real fight? ›

Aela will then turn around and ask a surprising question: "Do you think you could handle Vilkas in a real fight?" Two options are available; either say you don't care for boasting or tell her that you could kill him before he could even draw his sword.

How do you solve the animal puzzle in Skyrim? ›

The riddle can be solved by activating the handles "Snake", "Bear", "Fox", "Wolf." The first fears all, the second fears none. The third eats what it can, preferably number one. The fourth fears the second, but only when alone.

Where is the final totem of Hircine? ›

Retrieve the Totem of Hircine[edit]

Journey to the location given by Aela and kill the enemies lurking around. The location is radiant, and it can be any animal den, vampire lair, or warlock lair with a boss chest. The totem is most often found in the boss chest.

Does the Ring of Hircine work if you're not a werewolf? ›

Description. The ring only works if you are already a Werewolf, granting you one additional transformation per day. Normally, you would only be able to transform once per day.

Should I help Sinding or Hircine? ›

Do not kill Sinding. Help him kill the Hunters, exit the cave, Hircine will greet you, quickly exit the conversation if Sinding has exited the grotto with you, kill and skin Sinding and another spirit of Hircine will greet you rewarding you with the Savior's Hide.

Is Hircine good or bad in Skyrim? ›

Hircine is typically considered to be in this category. While he cannot exactly be seen as benevolent, he is very honorable and always gives his prey a sporting chance; he is even willing to be congratulatory to those who were deemed as prey if they manage to turn the hunt to their favor and become the hunters in turn.

Can I get Savior's Hide and Ring of Hircine? ›

It is possible to obtain both the Savior's Hide and the Ring of Hircine if Sinding's help is accepted, and, if after killing all hunters, Sinding is killed. Hircine then appears and gives the Dragonborn the hide. Hircine's Ring is also collected at this time.

What is the best werewolf totem? ›

Totem of Fear is best until level 25 (or 35 with the perk when it stops working). Afterwards, Totem of Brotherhood is superior because two summoned werewolves always affects the enemies while Totem of Fear only sometimes works. Totem of Brotherhood also is useful for enemies immune to Totem of Fear, like Dragur.

How do you get the Uncursed Ring of Hircine? ›

If you kill Sinding, you will lose the Ring of Hircine, only to receive Savior's Hide in its place. If you help Sinding kill the hunters pursuing him, you will be rewarded by Hircine by being allowed to keep the ring, with the curse removed.

Does Aela ever want to be cured? ›

Aela the Huntress is a werewolf in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Does she regret becoming one? She is the one who enjoys it the most. After the companions quest line the only one who doesnt want to be cured is Aela.

What happens if Vilkas dies? ›

If he dies, he dies. You can load from an earlier save or use cheats to resurrect him maybe.

Why marry Aela the Huntress? ›

When playing Skyrim, one of the first characters you can get romantically involved with and eventually marry is Aela the Huntress. Aela is known as a member of The Circle, which, along with a few other group participants, can transform into Werewolves, so having such a wife will make you feel more secure.

How to solve an ansilvund puzzle? ›

Ansilvund is a Ruin located in Eastern Skyrim. You can find it by traveling North of Riften or South East of Windhelm. In the ruin, there is a puzle trap with four pillars. When facing the pillars from behind the switch, the answer is: Eagle, Snake, Whale, Snake.

How do you activate werewolf totems? ›

Go into the underforge, pray at the totem you want. The howl will change and your werewolf bros will come.

How do you get the Ring of Hircine and the Savior's Hide? ›

Hircine's Ring is also collected at this time. Another way of obtaining both the Savior's Hide and Hircine's Ring is to help Sinding, then go outside and quickly talk to Hircine, and then kill Sinding and skin him, thus receiving the Savior's Hide as well.

References

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