PC Alduin's Bane- Cannot travel to the past

[Sehnder]

This quest has been a railroad of problems. First I could not find the Elder Scroll, as the quest tracker lead me to a dead-end in the dungeon. No biggy I thought, console commanded that portion of the quest to complete and went on my merry way.

I returned to Alduin and the timescar to find that I have no Elder Scroll in my inventory to read to advance the quest. Still solvable- used the console to add the Elder Scroll to my backup.

The problem now is that I cannot get the next stage of the quest to trigger by reading the Elder Scroll. If I read the Elder Scroll nothing opens up (makes the sound though and locks you into "reading mode"), and no cutscene/flashback occurs. I can cancel out of the "read mode" to get back to the game, but reading the Elder Scroll will not advance the game.

I am a bit of a loss as to how to proceed from here- it looks like my only option is to advance the quest chain manually through console commands, but since this is a pretty crucial part of the story I'd rather not do so unless I have to. Any thoughts gentlemen?

 

[Rayven]

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Alduin's_Bane

Take a look at this link, Sehnder. There is one specific note in the Bugs section about getting locked in the scroll reading that suggests restarting the game to fix it. (Not restarting the game from the beginning. Quitting, closing the game and restarting the program.) Read through the list though because there may be some other things in there to try as well since you've had to console through so much.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[Dagmar]

The problem with using console commands to advance a quest is that you can glitch your game further down the road. Your game may even become unplayable so you may be digging yourself into a deeper hole if you use another console command.

Using console commands to advance Elder Knowledge was a mistake IMO. Your quest marker could have lead you to an apparent dead end because you took a wrong turn. This is very possible in Elder Knowledge since it takes you into Alftland and Blackreach. I recommend you reload from before using the console command to complete Elder Knowledge and try to finish the quest without console commands, especially if you didn't make it to Blackreach.

 

[Sehnder]

Thanks for the responses guys. I ended up needing to load a previous save to get things working properly, but I definitely appreciate your time in helping me determine this was the correct course of action. Thanks again for the help!

 

[Tryst]

I found that the quest marker for the time rift is not in the right place., you see a flurry of snow making a circle on the ground nearby and a blue haze around it. Stand in the center of it and read the scroll and not where the quest marker tells you.

I got to that point and went back in time but Alduin won't arrive. They said he's approaching and stand to wait for him but that's as far as it gets. All that happens is dragons fly about overhead forever until I exit the game.

I tried posting this on Bethesda forums but for some reason, they just delete any posts about it without an answer. I tried searching but nobody seems to be allowed to say anything about it on their forums, the only 3 posts that mentioned it today have all been deleted.

All I want is an answer because it's a total game stopper. Is there a step I have missed somewhere along the line? Something missing from my inventory maybe?

I'm hoping that this forum will allow me to ask the question and the mods here won't just delete it without an explanation.

 

[Rayven]

Well, if I feel moved to delete a post, I have the habit of explaining why I've done so. I can't see anything in yours that moved me to such action

Give me a few minutes to see what I can find concerning your bug. I know I've heard of it happening. Hopefully that means there's a solution.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[Rayven]

And here is what UESP has to say about it:

Sometimes after you read the Elder Scroll you will see into the past but nothing will happen. Your character will just stand there looking down a rocky path towards the red sky. You will hear and feel the dragons flying around but no dragon will land, no fighting will occur and there will be no dialogue. This glitch may occur after the three Nord heros talk about the Elder Scroll and say Alduin is coming. Alduin will fly around but not land making it impossible to continue. Restarting the game seem to fix this.

It seems like this bug has troubled you for a while, though. Have you had the opportunity to restart the game?

 

[Tryst]

Thanks Rayven. I have been on boards where mods never explain why posts have been deleted or locked. When you post a new one asking, they lock that without comment too. Bethesda seem to be pretty touchy about this bug as I have searched and can't find any reference to it.

Having been a mod myself, I at least have the decency to PM the OP if I had to delete a topic explaining why I did so and made a comment on why it was locked in the thread if I locked it.

I have tried a restart. I got annoyed about a blatant game stopper that should have been picked up in Beta and shut the game down the first time. I tried again later but to no avail.

 

[Tryst]

Is there a console cheat to skip over this quest and mark it as completed? Send it as a PM if you don't want to make it public but I would think I'm not the only one in the same boat so it might be helpful to others as well.

I have tried over and over to do it, reboot the client and even reboot my whole PC with no luck. I have even gone off to do other quests to see if that clears the error but not a hope.

 

[Dagmar]

You can probably use the same setstage commands for when you are stuck in time after the Elder Scroll is used to defeat Alduin:

Setstage mq206 70, and then setstage mq206 100. If it works it will give you the Dragonrend Shout and allow you to finish the rest of the quest normally.