Skyrim:J'zargo

thumb|right|J'zargo without his hood
'''J'zargo''' is a Khajiit sorcerer and an apprentice at the College of Winterhold. He is one of several apprentices encountered soon after joining the College and plays a minor role in some quests in the main College questline. He can initially be found attending Tolfdir's lecture during First Lessons, then at Saarthal during its excavation. J'zargo at first comes across as very conceited or even arrogant, but he is not completely above asking for your help. Once you aid him, he is willing to follow you, and can also be recruited into the Blades.

He knows a variety of spells from each school of magic, though as a follower he only uses some of them. As one of his primary skills is Destruction, he prefers to use shock damage spells when fighting. He can also summon a Ward to defend himself. If he has not been given any weapons by you, he will equip a bow and arrow when not in combat but will still use only spells in combat. Unlike his fellow students Brelyna Maryon and Onmund, J'zargo's level does not cap at 30; he will continue to level up with you beyond this.

After the excavation at Saarthal, J'zargo will assume his normal schedule: he sleeps from 10pm to 8am, then wakes up and wanders around his room at the Hall of Attainment. At 10am he heads to the Hall of the Elements to practice spells, firing various Destruction spells at the targets. After four hours of spellcasting practice, he returns to the Hall of Attainment and stays in his room for the rest of the day.

J'zargo wears a set of novice robes of conjuration, a novice hood, and a pair of boots.

He is smug and ambitious, asking often about learning and artifacts that will make him a more powerful mage. He will boast about his skill in magic at nearly every chance he gets. Given his philosophy on competition, a less charitable interpretation of the quest J'zargo's Experiment is that he is actually attempting to eliminate a rival, i.e. you, using customary Khajiiti cleverness. Having survived the ordeal and become powerful in your own right, you earn his respect. You may even confront him about this supposed plot, which he of course fervently denies.

If you try to speak with him during the lecture, he will be dismissive of you: "Leave me alone." After the lecture concludes, you may now engage in conversation with him. He'll first ask you, "You are new, yes?" and then question your skill in Destruction: "Have you mastered the Expert level destruction spells yet?" You have three options in total, though it depends if you have unlocked the Expert Destruction perk:

:"Yes, I have." (only available if you have the Expert Destruction perk)
:''"You... you have? Already? Well, J'zargo is surprised. And pleased! There is real competition here. This is good."
:"Not yet, but I will." (only available if you do not have the Expert Destruction perk)
:"Ah, this is good. But J'zargo will know them first. It is good to finally be around mages who may be able to keep up with J'zargo."
:"That's far beyond my level of skill." (only available if you do not have the Expert Destruction perk)
:"Is it? This is disappointing. J'zargo hoped there might be one who could keep pace with his accomplishments."

When you approach him, he may comment, "Khajiit are not known as mages, so J'zargo has much to prove." or "Skyrim couldn't be more different from Elsweyr. But magic... Magic's the same no matter where you go." He can also be found boasting, "J'zargo will go wherever he can to learn more. Oblivion itself, if need be." or "J'zargo can learn magic from these men and elves, but they cannot learn to be as dashing as he. J'zargo comes out on top." After you have become the new Arch-Mage of the College, he may also remark on your position: "J'zargo is pleased, and more than a little jealous, to greet the new Arch-Mage.", "J'zargo had expected to be named Arch-Mage. But there is still time.", or "Are the Arch-Mage's robes as comfortable as J'zargo believes them to be?"''

You can ask him why he became a student at the College. He'll explain, ''"Mages in Cyrodiil are all about politics. The Synod and the College of Whispers are too busy guarding secrets to bother to teach. Skyrim was not J'zargo's first choice, but Winterhold is removed from politics, dedicated to study. This is the place for J'zargo to become great." Should you mention to him that he seems very sure of himself, he will say with pride, "There is much for J'zargo to be sure of. There is skill in magic, there is charm, and there is a strong will. J'zargo will be successful, of this there is no doubt." If you try to convince him that not everything is a competition, he will slyly disagree: "Oh, but you are wrong. The only reason you could disagree is because you are losing so badly you cannot see it."''

 
Spells
J'zargo knows the following spells:


As a follower however, he will only use the spells marked with an asterisk * .

Related Quests
 
 
 
 

Quest-Related Events
After the excavation at Saarthal, J'zargo may question you on your findings while exploring the ruins with Tolfdir, asking, "I hear you found some... thing in Saarthal. You think it could help make me a powerful mage?" or ''"This thing from Saarthal. What does it do? J'zargo cannot say."''

As you progress through the College quests, a Psijic monk named Quaranir will appear and ask for your audience. J'zargo can be heard remarking on the sudden visit by the monk: ''"J'zargo regrets that there was no chance to speak with the Psijic Monk." You may also ask him if he has ever heard of the Augur of Dunlain, though he will reply, "The what of what? No. No idea."'' He'll point you to Tolfdir instead: ''"If it's important, maybe Tolfdir knows. He seems to know a lot."''

During Revealing the Unseen, you will discover where the Staff of Magnus is located. During the quest, J'zargo may have a request for you: ''"J'zargo has heard of the Staff of Magnus. Once you are done with it, perhaps you will allow J'zargo to... Borrow it?"'' Upon discovering that the Arch-Mage, Savos Aren is dead, J'zargo will immediately deny any involvement: ''"This is not J'zargo's fault!"'' Once you've retrieved the Staff of Magnus, he can be found glumly saying, ''"J'zargo is sure this is the end. And this was supposed to be a safe place..." but conversely he will express his faith in you: "J'zargo knows that you will save the College. You must."'' As you prepare to defeat Ancano, J'zargo can be heard telling you, ''"J'zargo is going to stay right here until this is all over." Note that these lines will not be spoken if he is your follower.

First Lessons
thumb|right|"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started!"''

When you enter the Hall of the Elements after you've been accepted into the College, you will witness J'zargo, Brelyna, and Onmund arguing with the professor, Tolfdir:



Tolfdir will then address you and ask, "You've been quiet so far. What do you think we should do?" You have three dialogue options to choose from. Stating that safety should be more important than anything will have him reply, amused, "Well, your classmates certainly seem to disagree with you."'' J'zargo will join in and tell him, ''"Oh, don't listen to him/her. We can do it, just give us a chance!"''

Whichever dialogue option you choose, Tolfdir will give in and request that you assist in his demonstration by casting a Ward spell. He will then cast another spell at it. J'zargo will stand behind Tolfdir along with the other students, watching the demonstration.

Under Saarthal
thumb|right|"Who knows what we might find in here."

During this quest, J'zargo and the other students can initially be found just outside Saarthal. He is eager about the excavation and this is seen in his conversations with the other students:



Should you approach him, he will wonder, "Who knows what we might find in here.", or tell you, "You know, there might be gold somewhere in here." When told that he seems excited to be at Saarthal, he will confirm, "Oh, yes. J'zargo hopes to find things that will make him a more powerful mage here." and continue by suspiciously hinting, "Hopefully small things that fit inside pockets, and will not be noticed if they are missing."'' If you ask him why he thinks they're there, he will answer, "Because Tolfdir says so. He says there are things to learn here."

As the group ventures farther into the ruins, Tolfdir will task J'zargo with something: ''"J'zargo... what shall we have you do... Ah! Why don't you verify that we're the first ones here? Look for any amount of tampering with the tombs."'' After this J'zargo may mention, ''"J'zargo finds nothing but dust in these ruins." or more optimistically ask you, "Do you think there's treasure here? Something to make J'zargo a powerful wizard?" He will express his disappointment when talking with Brelyna:



J'zargo's Experiment
thumb|left|''"J'zargo is working hard, but cannot do it alone."''

Once everyone returns to the College, it turns out that J'zargo has been experimenting on some spells, but does not have time to test them. Now he needs your help, and will ask you, ''"Can you... can you possibly help J'zargo?" or if you have refused to help before, "It is difficult to admit, but J'zargo could still use some help."

If you wish to do the quest, speak with him on what he needed help on. He will respond, "J'zargo has seen that Tolfdir likes you. You must be very skilled with magic, yes? J'zargo is working hard, but cannot do it alone. Can you help with this?" Since he is being vague, to continue you must press him by asking exactly what kind of help he needs. He will finally explain, "J'zargo has worked hard on learning new spells, trying new things. This will make J'zargo stand out as a mage.  But J'zargo works so hard, there is no time to test these new spells. If you help with the testing, this will make learning easier. J'zargo will give you scrolls, you will use them and report the results. This is a good plan, no?"'' He'll end by saying, ''"You tell J'zargo when you are ready." If you refuse, saying that maybe he should do his own work, he will not seem angry: "J'zargo sees what you are up to. Very well."'' If you instead agree and tell him to give you the scrolls, he'll remark, ''"Ha! You can't resist, can you?" He will continue by explaining, "Let's see... this one, I think. J'zargo has designed it to be an excellent flame cloak, with a twist. It is especially potent against the undead, and should burn them to a crisp in no time. J'zargo gives you plenty of these scrolls, so you try them and return when you can say whether they work."'' He will hand you ten of his Flame Cloak scrolls, which you need to test on at least three undead creatures. What J'zargo may or may not know is that his spell on the scrolls also will cause damage to the player and everyone else in the area, to the point of even turning your follower against you (make sure to read the more expansive quest page for this quest for more information).

If you've agreed to test the scrolls, he will say, ''"J'zargo awaits word of how well his scrolls work." as you part ways with him. Talking with him again will similarly have him tell you, "J'zargo is eager to hear how the scrolls are working."''

Once you're done testing J'zargo's scrolls, inform him of this, and he'll ask, "And? Were they magnificent?" You have three dialogue options:

:'''"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to kill me."
:"Oh. J'zargo takes this to mean it did not go... well. This was not the intention, to be sure. It is true that J'zargo was slightly concerned there may have been... problems. But you were not placed in harm's way on purpose. Still, you are a good friend to J'zargo now, for taking this risk. J'zargo thanks you."
:"Were they supposed to explode? Because they exploded."
:"Ah. No, that was not supposed to happen. But... J'zargo is pleased to see that you are here, and not in pieces! You are a good friend to have done this. J'zargo will not forget it."
:"It did not go well."
:"No? It is true, J'zargo suspected there might be problems. But this is most disappointing. It is good that you were willing to help J'zargo. This will not be forgotten, friend."''

Whichever option you choose, the quest will be successfully completed and J'zargo will be available as a follower. However, you can fail the quest by running out of scrolls before you have used them against three undead. Upon telling him this, he will be incredulous: ''"You what? How could you run out? J'zargo gave you more than enough. Bah, just forget J'zargo ever asked for your help."''

Follower Dialogue
thumb|right|J'zargo in combat


Notes
J'zargo is one of only two Khajiit followers available in the game, the other being Kharjo.
 
J'zargo was supposed to converse with Onmund, but does not due to a bug.
:'''J'zargo: "J'zargo continues to struggle with wards. You have time to practice?"
:Onmund: "Maybe later. I'm sort of busy now."
:J'zargo: "J'zargo understands. You hesitate because you know J'zargo will be better than you. Very well."''
J'zargo also appears as a card in Legends, during the Return to Clockwork City storyline.
For more information on recurring characters, please see the main article.
Bugs