Because the Ning allows me to post only limited number of words, whole guide didn´t just fit in, so I have to post the final section like this.
Unique Armor
Escutcheon of Chorrol
Heavy shield gained by returning the Honorblade of Chorrol to the people of Chorrol during the quest Sins of the Father. It has the look of an Ebony Shield with the difference of having the golden Oak of Chorrol engraved on it.
It has an Armor Rating of 22.5, and an enchantment of Fortify Endurance 10pts and Reflect Damage 35%.
This shield is really good to combine with Spellbreaker, because Escutcheon reflects physical damage, while Spellbreaker reflects spell damage. I can imagine this shield being used by some knight character, though. It isn´t a Daedric Artifact after all. But I would say that this shield can be used by any character for one reason: Shields in Oblivion can be equipped in your inventory and it´s enchantments will be active even if you don´t have the shield in your hand. So you can have a bow equipped in your hand and this shield equipped in your inventory, and you will get it´s bonuses. Just note that you won´t get the AR of shield this way, you will only have the shield’s Armor Rating when it is equipped with a one-handed weapon in your hand.
Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw
This helm is a reward for completing the Fighter´s Guild questline.
It has an armor rating of 7.5, and an enchantment of Fortify Endurance 10pts and Fortify Agility 10pts. It is not a levelled item, so it will always have the same stats. Interesting thing about this helmet is that it´s health is 3750, which is extremely high. For example, a Daedric Helmet only has 1350 health. I always had a hard time imagining this helmet on any character, but some brutish barbarian might actually like this “skull” helmet.
Boots of Bloody Bounding
Light boots given as a reward for completing the side-quest Renegade Shadowscale in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
They are the only pieces of Pit Armor that actually made it into the game, so they have their own unique look. Aesthetically, they work very well with Monk Robes or a Black and Gold Garment.
They have an Armor Rating of 2, and an enchantment of Fortify Acrobatics and Blade 18pts. Very useful for any acrobatic oriented character like a thief, an agent or an assassin.
Gray Cowl of Nocturnal
Obtained at the end of Thieves Guild questline and isn´t exactly a piece of armor because it doesn´t have any armor rating.
A truly powerful artifact which hides your true indentity and replaces it with that of the Gray Fox everytime you put on this Cowl. It has an enchantment of Detect Life 120ft, Fortify Sneak 25pts and Feather 200pts. Every thief´s wet dream! Also, anytime you put on this cowl, you will immediatelly gain 500 Bounty and 100 Infamy, so guards will be right on your track. Also, if your Bounty goes higher while wearing it, then when you take it off, the Bounty will disappear and if none of the guards saw you taking it off, they´ll stop pursuing you!
Apron of Adroitness
Light Cuirass obtained for completing the quest A Brush with Death. It has a similar look to a blacksmith apron, with the difference that this one is stained with color paints.
It has an Armor Rating of 12.5, and an enchantment of Fortify Intelligence 10pts and Fortify Agility 10pts.
If you ever wanted an artist like character that is running around and killing everyone with red paint, this is the item for you. Technically it should be clothing, but the fact that it is listed as Light Armor and has Armor Rating, allows Blacksmiths or any other workers who need aprons good protection in combat.
Jewelry
Weatherward Circlet
Ring obtained after completing the quest Unfriendly Competion in the Imperial City.
It has an enchantment of Resist Fire and Frost 35%. This isn´t a very powerful object, but if you know you´re going into Oblivion at early levels, there are a lot of enemies that use fire damage, so it might come in useful.
Spelldrinker Amulet
Amulet given as reward for advancing through the Mage´s Guild ranks.
It´s enchantment is Spell Absorption 26pts. Spell Absorbtion always comes in handy when you are dealing with spell casters. It is best combined with items with the same enchantment, but Resist Magic or Reflect Spell are good combinations too. As I explained on my Antimage, if Spell Absorption fails, Reflect Spell kicks in. If that fails, you have Resist Magic as safeguard.
Ring of Sunfire
Given as a reward for completing the quest Order of the Virtuous Blood.
This ring has an enchantment of Reflect Spell 25% and Resist Disease 35% which makes it an ideal item to wear when fighting vampires. Also, combining it with other Reflect Spell items is advised.
Ring of Eidolon´s Edge
Reward for completing quest Whom Gods Annoys where you have to get rid of Staff of Everscamp.
It has an enchantment of Fortify Block and Blade 15pts. It’s a pretty good ring for any melee fighter who prefers swords.
Shivering Isles Unique Weapons
Ruin´s Edge
Unique bow given to you by the Duchess of Dementia during the SI main quest.
This bow has a base damage of 12 and 80 Charges, but what makes it so special is it´s enchantment that works on a Chance system.
1% chance: Ruin's Paralysis, Paralyze for 15 secs
9% chance: Ruin's Paralysis, Paralyze for 1 sec
10% chance: Ruin's Silence, Silence for 20 secs
20% chance: Ruin's Fear, Demoralize all levels (magnitude=100) for 20 secs
30% chance: Ruin's Fury, Frenzy all levels (magnitude=200) for 30 secs
30% chance: Ruin's Burden, Burden 100pts for 20 secs
As you can see, it has some pretty powerful effects...if they proc of course. Especially the Frenzy and Demoralize - they are really powerful because they can work on any creature because of their high magnitude. Note that that high magnitude is unobtainable via a spell or any other means.
Dagger of Friendship
This dagger is random loot that can be found anywhere in the Shivering Isles, and it belongs to the Museum of Oddities.
This one is really one of those crazy things in the Shivering Isles, because it´s enchantment is Restore Health 10pts. Yes, everytime you hit someone, you heal him. Not much use, but I guess that if you have followers, you can heal them with this weapon, because they shouldn´t attack you if you strike them just a few times.
Shadowrend
Two-handed sword or axe obtained during main quest of Shivering Isles. Whether it will be an axe or a sword depends on which skill - Blunt or Blade - is higher.
It has a base damage of 28, 76 Charges, and an enchantment of Damage Health 30pts and Weakness to Magic 15% for 30s.
Weakness to magic potentially makes this weapon the second most powerful weapon in the game (second to Chillrend). As I said before on Chillrend, everytime you hit your enemy with Weakness to Magic, you will be doing more damage with each hit of the Damage Health enchantment. If fight lasts longer than a few seconds, this weapon will really shine.
Fork of Horripilation
Type of dagger found in Longtooth Camp in the Shivering Isles.
This one is a really funny one. It has a base damage of 2, no Charges and it´s enchantment stunts your Magicka. What is the purpose of this item? Well, those who remember it from Morrowind know you can kill a Netch with it… But seriously now, those of you who know Albino´s Spellfork will be thrilled, because this Fork can actually be enchanted. So if you want to run around sticking this thing into people´s butts, you can do some serious damage with it.
Nerveshatter
Unique two-handed hammer obtained by killing Duchess Syl during the main quest.
It has a base damage of 29, 65 Charges, and an enchantment of Shock Damage 24pts and Weakness to Shock 48% for 0s.
This really could have been the most powerful weapon in the game because it has the strongest Weakness effect. Unfortunately, it has a duration of 0 seconds, which means it does absolutely nothing. The Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch fixes that.
Sword of Jyggalag
Two-handed sword obtained after completing the Shivering Isles main quest.
It has a Base Damage of 24 and no enchantment, but what makes this weapon interesting is that it can harm creatures with resistance to normal weapons. Also, it can be enchanted, which makes it quite an unorthodox artifact.
Dawnfang and Duskfang
One-handed sword of Akaviri origin obtained early in the Shivering Isles main quest.
Pretty much my favourite artifact in game, because it has some of the most interesting enchantments in the game. During the day you will have Dawnfang, with an enchantment of Absorb Health 3pts for 1s and Fire Damage 7pts. During the night you will have Duskfang, with an enchantment of Frost Damage 15pts, Damage Magicka 7pts for 1s. Both have a base damage of 25 and 79 Charges.
Everytime the sword switches, it will be unequiped and the other version will be placed in you inventory. What´s really cool about this is that everytime it replaces, it recharges. So it is possible to completely avoid recharging this weapon.
Also, it has a special enchantment called Nourish Blade.
Nourish Blade effect: Each weapon keeps track of the number of opponents killed with the blade; providing you killed at least 12 enemies during the preceding 12 hour period, the next blade you receive will be Dawnfang/Duskfang Superior. You must kill 12 enemies in each 12 hour period in order for the following weapon to be the Superior version. Killing your own summons is a good way to obtain the 12 required kills. Like other enchantments, the Nourish Blade effect requires charges in order to successfully activate upon killing the enemy. The Superior version does have an increased enchantment charge and absorbs health (Dawnfang Superior) or magicka (Duskfang Superior) in addition to the previous fire/frost enchantment. Kills are attributed to the blade only if the blade delivers the killing blow.
A really cool weapon.
And that´s it, folks. Pretty long read, hm? So, would you care to tell me which Artifact is your favourite? Or if it isn´t listed here, which unique item is your favourite? And least favourite? Is there some item you would like to see here?
Because the Ning allows me to post only limited number of words, whole guide didn´t just fit in, so I have to post the final section like this.
Unique Armor
Escutcheon of Chorrol
Heavy shield gained by returning the Honorblade of Chorrol to the people of Chorrol during the quest Sins of the Father. It has the look of an Ebony Shield with the difference of having the golden Oak of Chorrol engraved on it.
It has an Armor Rating of 22.5, and an enchantment of Fortify Endurance 10pts and Reflect Damage 35%.
This shield is really good to combine with Spellbreaker, because Escutcheon reflects physical damage, while Spellbreaker reflects spell damage. I can imagine this shield being used by some knight character, though. It isn´t a Daedric Artifact after all. But I would say that this shield can be used by any character for one reason: Shields in Oblivion can be equipped in your inventory and it´s enchantments will be active even if you don´t have the shield in your hand. So you can have a bow equipped in your hand and this shield equipped in your inventory, and you will get it´s bonuses. Just note that you won´t get the AR of shield this way, you will only have the shield’s Armor Rating when it is equipped with a one-handed weapon in your hand.
Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw
This helm is a reward for completing the Fighter´s Guild questline.
It has an armor rating of 7.5, and an enchantment of Fortify Endurance 10pts and Fortify Agility 10pts. It is not a levelled item, so it will always have the same stats. Interesting thing about this helmet is that it´s health is 3750, which is extremely high. For example, a Daedric Helmet only has 1350 health. I always had a hard time imagining this helmet on any character, but some brutish barbarian might actually like this “skull” helmet.
Boots of Bloody Bounding
Light boots given as a reward for completing the side-quest Renegade Shadowscale in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.
They are the only pieces of Pit Armor that actually made it into the game, so they have their own unique look. Aesthetically, they work very well with Monk Robes or a Black and Gold Garment.
They have an Armor Rating of 2, and an enchantment of Fortify Acrobatics and Blade 18pts. Very useful for any acrobatic oriented character like a thief, an agent or an assassin.
Gray Cowl of Nocturnal
Obtained at the end of Thieves Guild questline and isn´t exactly a piece of armor because it doesn´t have any armor rating.
A truly powerful artifact which hides your true indentity and replaces it with that of the Gray Fox everytime you put on this Cowl. It has an enchantment of Detect Life 120ft, Fortify Sneak 25pts and Feather 200pts. Every thief´s wet dream! Also, anytime you put on this cowl, you will immediatelly gain 500 Bounty and 100 Infamy, so guards will be right on your track. Also, if your Bounty goes higher while wearing it, then when you take it off, the Bounty will disappear and if none of the guards saw you taking it off, they´ll stop pursuing you!
Apron of Adroitness
Light Cuirass obtained for completing the quest A Brush with Death. It has a similar look to a blacksmith apron, with the difference that this one is stained with color paints.
It has an Armor Rating of 12.5, and an enchantment of Fortify Intelligence 10pts and Fortify Agility 10pts.
If you ever wanted an artist like character that is running around and killing everyone with red paint, this is the item for you. Technically it should be clothing, but the fact that it is listed as Light Armor and has Armor Rating, allows Blacksmiths or any other workers who need aprons good protection in combat.
Jewelry
Weatherward Circlet
Ring obtained after completing the quest Unfriendly Competion in the Imperial City.
It has an enchantment of Resist Fire and Frost 35%. This isn´t a very powerful object, but if you know you´re going into Oblivion at early levels, there are a lot of enemies that use fire damage, so it might come in useful.
Spelldrinker Amulet
Amulet given as reward for advancing through the Mage´s Guild ranks.
It´s enchantment is Spell Absorption 26pts. Spell Absorbtion always comes in handy when you are dealing with spell casters. It is best combined with items with the same enchantment, but Resist Magic or Reflect Spell are good combinations too. As I explained on my Antimage, if Spell Absorption fails, Reflect Spell kicks in. If that fails, you have Resist Magic as safeguard.
Ring of Sunfire
Given as a reward for completing the quest Order of the Virtuous Blood.
This ring has an enchantment of Reflect Spell 25% and Resist Disease 35% which makes it an ideal item to wear when fighting vampires. Also, combining it with other Reflect Spell items is advised.
Ring of Eidolon´s Edge
Reward for completing quest Whom Gods Annoys where you have to get rid of Staff of Everscamp.
It has an enchantment of Fortify Block and Blade 15pts. It’s a pretty good ring for any melee fighter who prefers swords.
Shivering Isles Unique Weapons
Ruin´s Edge
Unique bow given to you by the Duchess of Dementia during the SI main quest.
This bow has a base damage of 12 and 80 Charges, but what makes it so special is it´s enchantment that works on a Chance system.
1% chance: Ruin's Paralysis, Paralyze for 15 secs
9% chance: Ruin's Paralysis, Paralyze for 1 sec
10% chance: Ruin's Silence, Silence for 20 secs
20% chance: Ruin's Fear, Demoralize all levels (magnitude=100) for 20 secs
30% chance: Ruin's Fury, Frenzy all levels (magnitude=200) for 30 secs
30% chance: Ruin's Burden, Burden 100pts for 20 secs
As you can see, it has some pretty powerful effects...if they proc of course. Especially the Frenzy and Demoralize - they are really powerful because they can work on any creature because of their high magnitude. Note that that high magnitude is unobtainable via a spell or any other means.
Dagger of Friendship
This dagger is random loot that can be found anywhere in the Shivering Isles, and it belongs to the Museum of Oddities.
This one is really one of those crazy things in the Shivering Isles, because it´s enchantment is Restore Health 10pts. Yes, everytime you hit someone, you heal him. Not much use, but I guess that if you have followers, you can heal them with this weapon, because they shouldn´t attack you if you strike them just a few times.
Shadowrend
Two-handed sword or axe obtained during main quest of Shivering Isles. Whether it will be an axe or a sword depends on which skill - Blunt or Blade - is higher.
It has a base damage of 28, 76 Charges, and an enchantment of Damage Health 30pts and Weakness to Magic 15% for 30s.
Weakness to magic potentially makes this weapon the second most powerful weapon in the game (second to Chillrend). As I said before on Chillrend, everytime you hit your enemy with Weakness to Magic, you will be doing more damage with each hit of the Damage Health enchantment. If fight lasts longer than a few seconds, this weapon will really shine.
Fork of Horripilation
Type of dagger found in Longtooth Camp in the Shivering Isles.
This one is a really funny one. It has a base damage of 2, no Charges and it´s enchantment stunts your Magicka. What is the purpose of this item? Well, those who remember it from Morrowind know you can kill a Netch with it… But seriously now, those of you who know Albino´s Spellfork will be thrilled, because this Fork can actually be enchanted. So if you want to run around sticking this thing into people´s butts, you can do some serious damage with it.
Nerveshatter
Unique two-handed hammer obtained by killing Duchess Syl during the main quest.
It has a base damage of 29, 65 Charges, and an enchantment of Shock Damage 24pts and Weakness to Shock 48% for 0s.
This really could have been the most powerful weapon in the game because it has the strongest Weakness effect. Unfortunately, it has a duration of 0 seconds, which means it does absolutely nothing. The Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch fixes that.
Sword of Jyggalag
Two-handed sword obtained after completing the Shivering Isles main quest.
It has a Base Damage of 24 and no enchantment, but what makes this weapon interesting is that it can harm creatures with resistance to normal weapons. Also, it can be enchanted, which makes it quite an unorthodox artifact.
Dawnfang and Duskfang
One-handed sword of Akaviri origin obtained early in the Shivering Isles main quest.
Pretty much my favourite artifact in game, because it has some of the most interesting enchantments in the game. During the day you will have Dawnfang, with an enchantment of Absorb Health 3pts for 1s and Fire Damage 7pts. During the night you will have Duskfang, with an enchantment of Frost Damage 15pts, Damage Magicka 7pts for 1s. Both have a base damage of 25 and 79 Charges.
Everytime the sword switches, it will be unequiped and the other version will be placed in you inventory. What´s really cool about this is that everytime it replaces, it recharges. So it is possible to completely avoid recharging this weapon.
Also, it has a special enchantment called Nourish Blade.
Nourish Blade effect: Each weapon keeps track of the number of opponents killed with the blade; providing you killed at least 12 enemies during the preceding 12 hour period, the next blade you receive will be Dawnfang/Duskfang Superior. You must kill 12 enemies in each 12 hour period in order for the following weapon to be the Superior version. Killing your own summons is a good way to obtain the 12 required kills. Like other enchantments, the Nourish Blade effect requires charges in order to successfully activate upon killing the enemy. The Superior version does have an increased enchantment charge and absorbs health (Dawnfang Superior) or magicka (Duskfang Superior) in addition to the previous fire/frost enchantment. Kills are attributed to the blade only if the blade delivers the killing blow.
A really cool weapon.
And that´s it, folks. Pretty long read, hm? So, would you care to tell me which Artifact is your favourite? Or if it isn´t listed here, which unique item is your favourite? And least favourite? Is there some item you would like to see here?
