Morrowind:Myths

This page exists to help dispel some of the more popular myths regarding the game.

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Will Luck...
...get me better loot?
  Short answer: No. Extensive testing has proven that Luck has absolutely no effect on the quantity and value of goods produced by Leveled Lists. The only aspect that matters is (sometimes) your level. Everything else is determined by sheer random chance.
...get me more ingredients from plants?
  Again, no. For the same reason. Plants (and Ore rocks) obtain their goods via leveled lists just like loot chests, and your chance to harvest ingredients depends solely on random chance. Luck has no effect, nor does your Alchemy skill or anything else for that matter (since ingredients on plants are all available at level 1, even your level has no effect here).
...get better numbers from spells/enchantments?
  Once again, the answer is no. If a spell/enchantment says it will do from 10-30 damage, its chance of doing 10 damage is exactly equal to its chance of doing 30, or 20, or any other number in the range. Your Luck has nothing to do with it, nor does your Intelligence, Willpower, or skill with the relevant magic school.
...improve the effectiveness of Reflect or Spell Absorption?
  Another no on this one. If you have 20% Reflect, it means what it says - you have a 1 in 5 chance that an incoming spell will be reflected back to its caster. This probability is unaffected by Luck.
...decrease my chance of spell failure?
  In this case, it actually does have an effect, in that it raises your Intelligence, Willpower, and magic skills by a small percentage, thus effectively increasing the chance of successfully casting a spell. It may be difficult to discern the difference, however, as each point in Luck only increases your chance of success by a very small amount.
...decrease my chance of potion making/enchanting failure?
  Likewise, in these cases, Luck will increase your Intelligence and your Alchemy/Enchant skill, respectively, making it easier to successfully create potions and enchanted items. In the case of Enchanting, however, you'll need such a major boost in Luck (as well as Intelligence and Enchant skill) to have any discernible effect that it's just much easier to pay a professional to do it for you.
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Will carrying a...
...Muck Shovel increase my odds of harvesting Muck?
  No. This item is merely a decoration, no more useful than buckets, bottles, plates, cups, and silverware. You can pick them up and sell them, but they're not even worth enough to bother.
...Miner's Pick increase my odds of harvesting Diamonds/Raw Ebony/Raw Glass?
  Again, no. About the only thing you can do with a Miner's Pick is use it as a weapon (it's a very low-damage two-handed Axe). Carrying or equipping one will have no effect on your chance of harvesting mined minerals. There is one quest in Bloodmoon for which you need to retrieve some Miner's Picks, for which you'll get paid far more than they're really worth, but outside of this quest, there is no reason to even bother picking them up.

Note that one exception to this is the Ancient Nordic Pick Axe in Bloodmoon. Without it, you cannot extract Raw Stalhrim, but with it, your chance is 100%, though only once, since it does not respawn.
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Can I find...
...a Secret Master's ____?
  No, you can't. These exist only in the Construction Set, and are not seen in-game. The sole exception to this rule is Sirollus Saccus' Hammer, the Secret Master level Armorer's Hammer. It is sold only by Sirollus Saccus in Ebonheart. Additionally, there is The Skeleton Key, which is actually better than the Secret Master's Lockpick. This is only acquired by completing the quest-line for the Thieves Guild. Any other Secret Master's equipment you find comes from a 3rd-party mod, because none of it is available in-game by default.
...the key to free the slaves in ____?
  None of these slave keys exist. The only way to free these slaves is to cast Command Humanoid on them, bring them to some location for which you DO possess the slave key, then free them there.