Karstaag’s Resurrection*

Headless and Furious

Solstheim’s ancient tales speak of a frost giant lord both frightening and furious. This brute is said to have died more than 200 years ago, during the time of the Bloodmoon. Perhaps it is time for this gargantuan terror to stalk the northern lands once more? If you’re keen on this idea, you should first visit the Glacial Cave, north of Saering’s Watch below the glaciers along the northern shores of Solstheim. Expect lounging Horkers on the ice floes as you near.

Inside, an ice tunnel winds south, flanked by the trinkets of a Riekling clan. The cave is home to three easily defeated Rieklings. Search their belongings, but the real prize is at the eastern end of the cave. Embedded in the wall, as part of what looks like a very basic shrine, is a horned skull of a frost giant. Remove it from the ice.

• Karstaag’s Skull

An Audience with Karstaag

Emerge from Glacial Cave and make your way up the steep snowy slopes toward Castle Karstaag Caverns and Castle Karstaag Ruins. These are massive mounds of ice and rock, rather than crenellations of stone, and look just like a mountain. You can enter Castle Karstaag Courtyard, where Karstaag’s remaining bones can be found, in one of two ways:

The Short Way: Master of Unlocking

Travel to the south side of Castle Karstaag Ruins and face north. The entrance is an ice door to the north, with an infernal lock to pick [Master]. If you’re able to open this door, you need not fight through the caverns.

The Long Way: Castle Cavern Slogging

Otherwise, you’re in for a slog through the Castle Karstaag Caverns. Find the raging mountain stream and look to the west to find the cave entrance. Clamber to the top of the passage, look left (south), and venture into a massive ice cavern with at least five Rieklings. Head along the broken ice, passing the corpse of Esmond Tyne (who has an excellent formula for Bonemold Armor, part of Raven Rock Regional Activity: Thievery and the Karstaag Connection). Now climb the icy banks, fighting Rieklings before crossing a bridge heading west into a narrow vertical fissure passage.

• Bonemold Formula

Navigate the ice chamber with the campfire and several more Rieklings. Open the ice door to the west, and unlock any of the other doors [Apprentice, Novice, and Novice] to reach small alcoves with minor items. Head east, through another ice door, up the passage to the top of the camp room, and head left (southeast) through the exit, back out onto an upper walkway of the massive ice cavern. Deal with three or four more Rieklings before crossing the long wooden bridge heading east.

Slay two more Rieklings on the far side of the bridge, then head up the ice tunnel, peering down to a Bristleback pen with four animals and a Riekling; ignore or slay it. Check the chest under the outcropping [Novice], then move back up the path to an ice door. This leads out to the highest part of the initial ice cavern. Dispatch two foes, cross the bridges heading southwest toward a couple more foes, and claim one more chest (plus two more nearby, if you can reach them; consult the Atlas for details). Head out the open ice door to a tunnel that brings you into Castle Karstaag Courtyard.

Summoning a Mighty Terror

You emerge into the ruined shell of the once-great Castle Karstaag. A group of Rieklings immediately sets upon you; engage the Mounted Riekling first, then slay his two infantry lackeys. It is important to search the Mounted Riekling, as he is carrying the key allowing a swift exit through the ice door in the south wall [Master] (unless you picked that lock on your way in). Then approach the icy throne of Karstaag, where a scattering of giant bones rests between two ice torches. Are you ready to meet Karstaag? Then activate the Throne, place Karstaag’s Skull, and prepare yourself!

• Castle Karstaag Key

Karstaag: The Glacial Guardian

Know Your Enemy

Before facing Karstaag, it’s important to know what dangers you’re up against and to have a plan for dealing with the threats this behemoth poses:

• Almost Omnipotent: Karstaag is a high-level opponent, with massive reserves of health and devastating attacks. Although there’s no “hard” level requirement, you should plan to be Level 50 or higher before you take him on.
• Fire and Ice: Karstaag has high health (4,000) and rapidly regenerates his health—fast enough that some weapons and spells may not do any meaningful damage to him at all. However, he does have one weakness—fire damage will stop his regeneration for as long as it lasts. Most flame spells inflict Burning for a few seconds, but by far the most effective at this is Ignite (available only through Ahzidal’s Ring of Arcana, found in Solstheim Side Quests: Unearthed), which deals its damage over 15 seconds. Use it, or your highest-damage fire weapons or flame spells, to wear him down. The Marked for Death Shout is also effective at weakening his defenses.
• A Frosty Reception: Most of Karstaag’s attacks and abilities inflict Frost damage—he has Frost Cloak, casts Blizzard, summons Ice Wraiths, and his club has a Frost enchantment. Armor and/or potions that increase your Frost and Magic resistance are critical.
• Stay Away: Karstaag’s attacks cause obscene damage—enough to slay a Dragon Priest in a few hits! Warriors with well-tempered Daedric Armor and high health may be able to stand up to him. Every other adventurer should plan to stay well out of his way—Karstaag is slow enough that if you keep moving and avoid backing yourself into a corner, you can generally avoid getting hit.
• No Mean Feet: When Karstaag first appears, and each time he performs a stomp attack, a powerful blizzard is triggered at his location. If you are standing nearby, you will be flung backward—leaving you defenseless for several seconds. If you decide to fight Karstaag in melee, make sure to block when he prepares to stomp; this will negate the Blizzard’s knockback, though not its damage.
• The Cold Shoulder: Karstaag is constantly surrounded by a Frost Cloak that makes melee combat even more difficult. While it is possible to dispel his cloak for a time (using Soulrender, found in Solstheim Side Quests: Deathbrand), it will be renewed when Karstaag next performs his ground stomp.
• Karstaag’s Minions: When Karstaag’s health falls below certain thresholds (80%, 40%, 15%), he will summon Ice Wraiths to harass you. Melee fighters may want to ignore them entirely—compared to Karstaag, they don’t inflict much damage. Mages and ranged combatants should take them out quickly, as their speed and harassing attacks make it significantly harder to keep away from Karstaag.
• Knocking Your Block Off: All of Karstaag’s club attacks are power attacks and will break your block. While you can block his Stomp and Grab attacks effectively, dodge his club strikes.
• Strengths and Weaknesses: Karstaag is immune to Frost and Resistant to Shock (75%). He’s weak to Fire (25%). Karstaag is also immune to Poison, Disease, Paralysis, the Wabbajack, the Aetherial Shield, and Mora’s Grasp.

Know Yourself

When fighting Karstaag, your tactics will depend largely on your play style:

• Close Combat Savagery: Melee fighters should come heavily armed and armored. Make sure you have the best (preferably Daedric) weapons and armor you can get, temper them well, and imbue them with enchantments to resist frost, resist magic, and increase your one- or two-handed damage. Fire damage enchantments on your weapons are a must. Bring as many health potions as you can afford, focus your attacks on Karstaag, and try to cut him down as quickly as possible.
• Stealth and Sprinting: Archers should come prepared to dodge and run. Equip armor that increases your Archery and Stamina—Frost resistance and Health are still useful but somewhat secondary, as you may not survive even a single hit. Stay mobile and try to remain as far away from Karstaag as possible, taking shots (preferably sneak attacks) whenever you can. If Karstaag’s health regeneration is swamping the damage you do, consider casting Ignite on him (from Ahzidal’s Ring of Arcana), which will allow you to shut down his regeneration for a time.
• Incantations and Conjurations: Mages should bring their best Destruction spells and abilities to enhance them. While the other schools of magic are still useful, conjured allies won’t distract Karstaag for long, and no amount of wards or armor spells will protect you from his attacks. Try to do as much damage to Karstaag as possible, as quickly as possible. One good combination is to wear the Zahkriisos Mask (increasing the potency of your Shock spells), use the Slow Time Shout, use either the Secret of Arcana Black Book Power or Root of Power Tree Stone ability, and then cast Lightning Storm for as long as you can. Despite Karstaag’s shock resistance, the sheer damage of the spell will burn through most of his health. Then quickly switch over to the Ahzidal Mask, cast Ignite (from Ahzidal’s Ring of Arcana) on Karstaag to stop his health regeneration, and finish him off with Incinerates.

Plan Ahead

As noted above, two Solstheim Side Quests have rewards that are especially useful when challenging Karstaag.

• Deathbrand: Solstheim Side Quests: Deathbrand is a treasure hunt that begins with the search for a suit of Stalhrim Armor (good, but not ideal for this battle). However, by the end of the quest, you will have earned about 10,000 gold and found two unique swords—Bloodscythe and Soulrender. These are effective at weakening Karstaag if you plan to fight him in melee. Once Bloodscythe has reduced his armor and Soulrender has dispelled his Frost Cloak, switch over to weapons with Flame enchantments for maximum damage.
• Unearthed: In Solstheim Side Quests: Unearthed , you can use the gold from Deathbrand to cover the 11,000 gold cost of excavating Kolbjorn Barrow. The barrow contains a number of unique items, including Ahzidal’s Ring of Arcana (which allows you to cast the Ignite spell, disabling Karstaag’s health regeneration for the duration) and the Ahzidal Mask (which increases the damage done by your fire spells).

Quest Conclusion

When Karstaag is finally dispatched, you receive a mighty power: the ability to summon this ghostly (and ghastly) Frost Giant.

• Summon Karstaag (Summons Karstaag to fight for you for 120 seconds. You may use this ability only three times, and only while outdoors.)

Postquest Activities

Don’t waste these opportunities; save Karstaag’s next outing for when you’re facing a particularly powerful foe, such as the Ebony Warrior!