Skyrim talk:Rescue from Fort Kastav

Bug - Imperials unequip items

After freeing the Imperials they don their armor and weapons, even unsheathing their swords, however they unequip them at the first sign of trouble and fight with their fists. This makes them easy pray and susceptible to the stormcloaks.--Zar Pof 05:49, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

I just ran afoul of this bug too.--MadCat221 07:32, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

BUG - Waiting too long

the waiting too long thing in the notes is incorrect. I believe that it is actually a bug because no matter what i do i keep getting that bug, regardless of how fast i get there fom starting the quest and what method. By cheking the map, its showing me that Hadvars platoon immediatly begins to walk into the fort and attacks without me. — Unsigned comment by 86.174.35.42 (talk) at 19:22 on 19 December 2011

I agree the same thing happened for me as you describe. The best thing I could do was to keep the freed prisoners alive which wasnt easy given they are mostly unarmed. Thanks to a nice choke point right after leaving the prison and a well timed shout I managed it.— Unsigned comment by 81.96.166.247 (talk) at 09:33 on 8 February 2012

It seems that it is a problem with Hadvar's group and the Stormcloaks who are supposed to be manning the fort.

I got the quest, ran there on my speedy horse (complete with a horse mod that makes them faster) and the Stormcloaks were sitting outside the fort waiting and Hadvar and his platoon were garrisoning it. Once I showed up the Stormcloaks charged in to fight the Imperials.

Reloading to a previous save and using the console commands to teleport myself to Hadvar immediately after receiving the quest put them some distance from the fort, slowly making their way there. The Stormcloaks are relaxing in a large group outside the fort just standing there (again moving to assault the keep once you show up, detected or not). If you can catch Hadvar before he gets to the fort, by some miracle of speed and/or cheating, you will be able to receive the proper quest progression, sneak in, free the prisoners and take the fort as intended. Stepping outside of the prison into the main area of the fort, even while undetected, triggers the take the keep part of the quest, regardless of the status for freeing the prisoners.

Hadvar does not seem to understand that when he says he'll wait to hear combat, he's supposed to wait to hear if there's combat, not waltz in there like he already owns the joint and it's no wonder Ulfric's losing the war with soldiers like this.- Vainamoinen-Talk-Stuff 02:28, 4 December 2012 (GMT) P.S. on a side note the issue with visiting the fort prior to this quest is not a variable for this - I hadn't even discovered it yet on this save game.

Quest stages

This quest automatically started for me before I talked to Legate Rikke. And the quest didn't update when I met with Hadvar and his men. Also, it seems you don't need to rescue first, you can just kill every enemy outside the fort, then go inside the empty fort and unlock the cells. All objectives will be fulfilled at once. (ZekunD 09:48, 6 January 2012 (UTC))

Glitch - No Stormcloaks inside

Before the stormcloaks went in the fort it was filled with conjurers and skeletons and I killed of those and when Igot this mission Hadvar and his men are standing inside the fort. After talking to Hadvar the stormcloaks appear and the fighting begins immediately and the guards in the prisin came out too because when I went in the prison to free everyone no stromcloaks where inside. — Unsigned comment by 82.74.58.224 (talk)

I had this happen as well. Same situation--I cleared the fort long before doing the civil war quest and when I got there, in broad daylight, Hadvar started the assault. I went inside before the fighting was finished, and there were no Stormcloaks inside. I freed the prisoners, and immediately got the quest completed notice.Evilneko 21:48, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

Bugged Kastav - All dead

I can't get the last icon to fill. Hadvar says there are more of them around, but they are all dead. Prisoners, imperials, and stormcloaks, so how can I advance it? — Unsigned comment by 24.154.156.135 (talk) on 24 February 2012

I'm having the same problem. No matter how long I wait or what method I take to travel there everyone is always dead except for one imperial and the prisoners. I go inside and free the prisoners but they just stand in their cells. I'm going to try reloading a couple of saves back, discover the fort before I get the quest, and then try to fast travel directly to the fort. If that doesn't work, I'm just going to use the console commands to advance through to the next quest. — Unsigned comment by 27 February 2012 (talk • contribs)

There are insufficient details provided above to offer good answers. It is possible to think that everyone is dead, but they may not be. Often, the last remaining enemy is on the rooftop of the main structure. I have done this quest dozens of times, and I've never experienced anything like arriving to the undiscovered fort and finding everyone dead. --JR (talk) 03:12, 16 October 2012 (GMT)

well there is a much bigger problem it revolves around hadvar i speak with the legat as normal i travel to fort kastav as normal free the prisoners kill all the storm cloaks and then go of to report to hadvar but no matter how hard i try and no matter what i do i just cant get hadvar to even acknowledge that the fort has been taken and all stormcloacks was killed in many of the run throughs including the one that is occasionally found on the main infrastructures roof.......... i tried all of the following: killed and resurrected hadvar with console disabled and reenabled him saved exited and loaded and nothing i do seems to work and im now just about getting to my wits end with it

Bug - Game Freeze

I'm having similar problems, after I accept the quest the imperial's allready attack the fort without me. After defeating all the stormcloaks in the courtyard, evrytime I try to enter any of the inside sections of the fort the game freezes! -Tom. — Unsigned comment by 78.151.73.205 (talk) on 10 April 2012

If you had entered the fort before receiving the quest, see the above section "Glitch". If not, and you are still having this problem, (or if anyone else does), please provide some more detail. 1) How did you travel to the fort after receiving the quest? (What travelling method did you use, and what route did you take? 2) Are you playing on PC, PS3, or Xbox, and which version of the program are you using? To find the version: Bring up the main in-game menu, and read the information on the lower-left portion of the screen. --JR (talk) 04:24, 7 November 2012 (GMT)

Frost Troll

i think it was random but when i got to the meeting spot only Hadvar *sorry if that's miss spelled* was alive, the others were killed by a frost troll which i h ad to finish off (71.178.178.53 18:21, 6 May 2012 (UTC))

Random enemies can appear at basically any time in any place, you were probably just unlucky with the frost troll spawning when it did. RIM 18:38, 6 May 2012 (UTC)

The area just to the south of the meeting point with the scouts is an enemy spawning point. It is therefore quite likely that an encounter will occur between one or more scouts and one or more enemies as you approach the area, and this will almost always include a frost troll. As of this writing, there is guidance for this in the "detail" tables in the "Meeting the Scouts" section of the detailed walkthrough. Also take a look at the troll entry for information about fighting them.--JR (talk) 02:34, 16 October 2012 (GMT)

Armory chest looting

"If you have not looted the chest just above the cells, the prisoners will get arms and armor from it and be ready to join you in the fight."

If that is the case, can you fill the chest with better armor and weapons ahead of their accessing it and will they use the new good stuff? I don't know, but I'll give it a try. Kalevala 03:42, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

Result: My character had cleared this fort prior to joining the Legion. Consequently the chest on the floor above the prisoner cells, to the prisoners right as they ascend the stairs, was empty prior to filling it with 5 complete sets of all legendary level Imperial Light armor, bracers, boots, helms, swords, bows and arrows. After being set free, each prisoner went up the stairs and turned right toward the chest. After a second or so at the chest each was in turn equipped but NOT with the provided gear (which remained in the chest.) It is not a real "use" of the chest, just an animation. So I think the part about "If you have not looted" is NOT true. Kalevala 17:01, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

In the detailed tip it says:

"Don't loot the chest next to the guard who was sitting at the table.

It contains the prisoners' weapons and armor."

Given my experience above this detail seems dubious. However, since my character looted this chest before this quest began I don't feel comfortable editing it out. Kalevala 05:24, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

I am almost certain that one of the recent patches (1.6.x or earlier) changed this situation. As of patch 1.6.89.0 (PC), the prisoners' equipment is always available in that chest, the freed prisoners will equip it from there, and the chest shows "empty" before this occurs. (In other words, the equipment is "there," for the prisoners, but we cannot see it.) When I did this quest using an earlier version, I am quite sure that I could see the prisoners' equipment in that chest prior to their equipping it. I will update the walkthrough accordingly. --JR (talk) 03:05, 16 October 2012 (GMT)

quest doesn't start

I have the objective pointing at Rikke, but when I talk to her there is no 'Reporting for duty.' option. I tried going back to Tullius, but he doesn't have anything to say either. — Unsigned comment by 78.84.66.186 (talk) at 08:10 on 24 August 2012

I also have same problem. I have gone through several hours of progressively further back saves and have quit trying to fix it after restarting the rift section of the Legion quest. The whole Imperial quest must be broken for me. I can't even move through the quests doing setstage because I get the same problem. Arrows show up with no dialog to continue. No matter where I am in the progression. King Mango (talk) 06:49, 29 November 2012 (GMT)

Hi. So, the first time, you completed The Battle for Whiterun. Then, you completed one or more "Take back the hold" quests? (Do you remember which, or can you list from your journal?) And then General Tullius told you to report to Rikke at Winterhold Imperial Camp? When you got there, she is there with an objective marker over her, but she will not give you the quest?

If you can go back to that point, can you tell me if Rikke offers any dialogue at all, and if so what it is? Also, which version of the game are you running? (The number on the bottom-left of the main in-game menu [ESC].) Are you running any mods or add-ons? Do you know if you entered Fort Kastav prior to reporting to Rikke? --JR (talk) 15:02, 29 November 2012 (GMT)

Hi JR. Well I've spent the last few days on a new character and can't remember exactly but it's pretty far into the quest. I had taken the rift, the pale, and one other area I believe though I'm not sure. I think that I may be confusing that with Hraggstad. She had two conversation options from what I remember I want to say they were "Why do you fight for the Legion?" and "What will it take to end the war?"

I have quite a few add-ons. About 20 (you 100+'ers quit laughing) I had not entered Fort Kastav prior to the quest. One of the mods I use is Dungeon Quest Awareness and I ALWAYS avoid tagged locations. Here are the other mods I'm running and their load order.

• Sounds of Skyrim - The Dungeons
• Ranger Camps
• Improved Skill Books
• Seabreeze Estate
• Sounds of Skyrim - The Wilds
• Complete Skyforge
• Jonte's Better Alchemy Satchel
• SkyUI
• Dungeon Quest Awareness
• Enhanced Distant Terrain
• Stones of Berenziah Quest Markers
• Whistle
• More Dragon Loot (yes after two hundred hours I got tired of grinding :D)
• Bag of Holding
• Birds and Flocks
• Genuine Morokei
• Item Sorting
• Realistic Map + Roads !
• Dragon Falls Manor (never used)
• Leveling Merchant's Wallets
• HighResTexturePack01
• HighResTexturePack02
• HQ Snow Texture

I am running the Steam version which is updated to 1.8.151.0.7 and I'm using the SKSE for SkyUI, on top of which I am running the Borderless Windowed Mod.

Tonight I was just able to complete this stage (Rescue From Fort Kastav) with no problem. However as I said earlier, this was a fresh character and prior to starting this new character I also added the Unofficial Skyrim Patch which loads last in the add-on order. Hope this helps JR and thanks for answering. King Mango (talk) 07:56, 1 December 2012 (GMT)

You do have the mods! OK, glad you have the quest working for you now. --JR (talk) 09:03, 1 December 2012 (GMT)

Tip on doing this quest without Failing the Sneak portion

Don't fast travel. Jet there on horseback immediately after getting the quest. Going through Wayward Pass helps. You want to approach the fort from the south. If you're fast enough you should be able to catch Hadvar outside of the walls. Don't listen to him when he says to wait until night. Run immediately to the hatch that lets you into the prison. Don't bother sneaking. The Stormcloaks aren't actually inside the walls. They spawn north of the fort and start walking towards courtyard. The Imperial soldiers also keep walking towards the courtyard. You have to get to that hatch before either side sees the other.--RumblePen (talk) 13:48, 17 September 2012 (GMT)

This may work, but it is not necessary. All of the information needed to achieve the sneaking objective is contained in the walkthrough as of this writing. --JR (talk) 04:18, 7 November 2012 (GMT)

I tried numerous times following the walkthrough and never managed to reach them before they approached the fort, no Hadvar to give me the sneak option. I finally gave up and proceeded with the battle, freed the prisoners then met Hadvar after we took over the fort. Not sure where he was earlier. Kellynne (talk) 18:25, 26 May 2014 (GMT)

Freeing the Prisoners by Lockpicking vs. Key

It has been reported that picking the locks to the prisoners' cells—instead of using the Fort Kastav Prison Key—breaks the quest. I have not been able to reproduce this (PC v 1.6.x), and have successfully completed the quest in several ways while releasing the prisoners by picking the locks. If anyone else seems to have a problem with using lockpicks to free the prisoners, please note here, or add a bug to the page. --JR (talk) 04:45, 16 October 2012 (GMT)

Hadvar only survives

If Hadvar is the only other survivor after the battle he says he can't believe that he and the player are the only ones left alive. He also mentions garrisoning the fort on his own. — Unsigned comment by 82.73.72.148 (talk) at 21:08 on 12 January 2013

Stormcloak Commander

after the battle i explored the Captain's Quarters and went up to the roof. atop the stairs was an unaggressive Stormcloak Commander, even though every other occupant of the fort has died, aside from 4-5 Imperials with me, only to warn about me trespassing. 208.53.115.151 21:57, 8 March 2019 (UTC)