The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is a first-person computer role-playing game (CRPG) for MS-DOS, developed by Bethesda Softworks and released in 1996. It is a sequel to the CRPG The Elder Scrolls: Arena and the second installment in The Elder Scrolls series.

The key feature of Daggerfall as in all The Elder Scrolls games is the freedom the game offers to players. Players are free to play the game in any style, from an honorable knight to an evil assassin. Players are also free to stray from the main quest at any time and can choose not to do it at all.

Daggerfall features a spell creation system where, through the Mages' Guild, players can mix a variety of different effects, such as fire damage and levitation, into custom spells. The game will then automatically generate the mana cost of the spell based on the power of the effects chosen. Daggerfall shipped with several spell effects that did not function correctly, or simply did not function at all, namely the transformations.

Other features include an equipment enchantment system (similar in concept to the spell creation system), the ability to buy houses and ships, vast amounts of clothing and equipment, dynamic political relationships between kingdoms, the ability to become a vampire, werewolf, or wereboar, and the combat system, which utilized mouse movement to determine the direction and effect of weapon swings in melee combat.

The political system is supported by a net of Guilds, orders, and religions, all with unique tasks and quests. Joining and contributing to these facilities allows the player to raise ranks and achieve higher reputation in the game world. According to one's reputation, NPCs in Daggerfall will react differently (for example, over time nobles will be more well-mannered with the Player character if he's a high-rank Knight or Royal Guard).

Daggerfall has genre-typical gore elements and some adult topics. It displays cartoonish nudity (showing breasts but no genitals) both on NPCs (particularly witches, nymphs, temple priestesses) and on the character's paper doll when all equipment is removed. The game installer includes a password-protected childgard feature that hides blood and corpses (instead showing just the skeleton of the corpse), disables adult topics (though not removing all nudity), and ensures the character portrait is wearing underwear at all times.