Casting About the Magical World of 'Skyrim'! Quiz

Answer: Health

Your skill points reflect how effectively you can perform certain tasks. The six skills in the magic class are alteration, conjuration, destruction, enchanting, illusion and restoration. Skill points can be increased by completing quests, reading skill books and by learning from trainers (usually in exchange for gold).

Answer: Shout

Dragon "shouts" unleash powerful forces that manipulate the world around the player. The twenty different shouts (twenty-seven with all official downloadable content) include phrases to slow time, drain enemy health, summon warrior heroes, disarm enemies and breathe fire.

The player must learn the three separate words that make up each shout to achieve the strongest effect. Words are learned by visiting a word wall. These walls are spread throughout Skyrim; many at the end of long and challenging quests. To activate a shout, the Dragonborn must use the soul of a dragon defeated in battle.

Answer: Magicka

Magicka is one of the three basic attributes belonging to each player - the other two being health and stamina. Casting a spell uses a defined number of magicka points, determined by the power and duration of the spell, and the player's skills and special abilities.

This drainage of magicka needs to be carefully handled to ensure the player doesn't use all of it before a battle is concluded. Players can drink potions to restore and enhance magicka, which otherwise regenerates at a relatively slow rate.

When gaining levels throughout the game, a player can choose to enhance their base level of magicka points.

Answer: Air

Fire spells are the simplest and cost least magicka. They only affect enemy health. Frost spells cost more magicka and deal health and stamina damage. Shock spells cost the most to cast but reduce an enemy's health and magicka. Each category has spells for the novice up to the master. Players can cast spells from one level above their current expertise provided they have sufficient magicka.

Answer: Soul Gem

Most soul gems that are found throughout the game are empty. Before they can be used to restore an enchantment, they need to be filled with a soul. This is most commonly achieved by using a weapon or spell with a "soul trap" capability or simply by buying filled soul gems from appropriate vendors (a very expensive option). Only black soul gems can contain human souls. Soul gems are also required for the initial enchantment of the weapon or armor.

Answer: Rune

Runes (fire, frost or lightning) are apprentice level spells that are cast at a suitable surface (usually the ground or floor). When an enemy comes near, the rune is triggered, resulting in 50 points of health damage. These spells can be purchased from several vendors including court wizards and conjurers. Care must be taken as exploding runes can harm any followers in the vicinity as well as the intended target.

Answer: College of Winterhold

Sitting high on cliffs overlooking the Sea of Ghosts, the College of Winterhold provides living quarters and training for aspiring magicians from across the world. The College has an uneasy relationship with the citizens of nearby Winterhold as the latter blame the college residents for the "Great Collapse" that caused much of the city to fall into the sea hundreds of years ago.

In addition to the major questline starting here, there are numerous "radiant" (renewable) requests that can be given by Tolfdir, Urag gro-Shub and Sergius Turrianus.

Answer: Serana

After solving a puzzle, the player releases Serana from a sarcophagus during the 'Dawnguard' quest "Awakening". She is the daughter of Lord Harkon and his estranged wife Valerica, both of whom feature in the continuation of that questline. Serana protects one of the Elder Scrolls.

She wields a small elven dagger but mainly engages in combat using her Drain Life, Ice Spikes and Lightning Bolt spells. Later, the player has a choice of assisting Serana to cure her vampirism or perhaps becoming a vampire themselves.

As with many aspects of 'Skyrim', a player's choices dictate further story lines.

Answer: Ancano

The Eye of Magnus is a powerful ancient artifact of unknown provenance. It is discovered in Saarthal and transported to Winterhold where Ancano places it under his supervision. Ancano's meddling with the Eye, in an attempt to control its prodigious power, results in ruptures to the continuum, which the player needs to repair using the Staff of Magnus. Ancano is eventually defeated in the final quest of that questline.

The Eye is retrieved by the mysterious Psijic Order who remove it from this dimension to prevent a recurrence of this crisis.

Answer: Arch Mage

Savos Aren is the Arch Mage, the leader of the College of Winterhold. He is eventually killed by his assistant, Ancano, during the Eye of Magnus quest. After the player defeats Ancano, they are nominated as the new Arch Mage by Quaranir of the Psijic Order.

This nomination is supported by Tolfdir and the rest of the College staff. As the new Arch Mage, the player has access to powerful robes, the Arch Mage's living quarters and personal arcane enchanter and alchemy laboratory.