Barbas (Skyrim)

"Skyrim is now host to giant, flying lizards and two-legged cat-men, and you're surprised by me? Yes. I just talked. And am continuing to do so."

- Barbas

 is a dog found along the road outside Falkreath. He is the only talking dog in the game. Barbas is Clavicus Vile's companion, a supernatural creature that usually takes the form of a dog, and as with every dog in Skyrim, takes the form of an Irish Wolfhound.

A Daedra's Best Friend
Barbas appears outside of Falkreath upon first visiting the city, or during the middle of The Break of Dawn. One of the guards or Lod will direct the Dragonborn toward Barbas, who needs help locating his "master". Following the talking canine to Haemar's Shame, the Dragonborn discovers Barbas is the pet of Daedric Prince, Clavicus Vile. The Dragonborn can choose to kill Barbas for Vile in exchange for the Rueful Axe, or choose to reunite Barbas with this master and recover a powerful Daedric artifact. Additionally, should the Dragonborn choose to recover the axe and postpone doing so, Barbas can become a permanent and invincible follower.

After returning Barbas to Clavicus Vile, the Dragonborn can return to Lod for a small reward by telling him "The dog was more trouble than he was worth".

As a follower

 * Barbas is one of the quest characters that can be exploited to follow the Dragonborn throughout Skyrim along with an additional follower. The downside of this is that since he isn't technically a follower, he'll trigger the detection "eye" while sneaking, making stealing very difficult, because the player can't tell who has spotted them and will give a bounty if Barbas sees the crime. You can, however, tell him to "stay" before attempting any tricky stealth activities.
 * Barbas is a useful follower to have in a fight since his bite is strong enough to kill many weaker enemies in one strike, and he's an effective decoy against more powerful enemies, because he cannot be killed during the course of the game. Even if he were to sustain enough damage in a single attack to kill him, he will not die, but instead he'll flee, then return to the fight immediately when healed.
 * Barbas may attack the summoned dremora from the Conjuration Ritual Spell quest.
 * His barking, as with any dog follower, is incessant, but it does not alert enemies.
 * He maintains a very close proximity, frequently bumping into the Dragonborn; any attempts to stop may result in him shoving the Dragonborn, making many basic actions difficult, including boxing the Dragonborn into corners, or worse case, shoving off cliffs or narrow walkways. This can be solved by hitting Barbas with a weapon once, where he will back off and whimper.
 * It is possible for the Dragonborn to kill Barbas in the heat of battle. Doing so will result in a notice to "speak with Clavicus Vile". Searching Barbas' remains will show that he carried varying amounts of every type of arrow.

Oblivion
In Oblivion, Barbas's statue guides the player to find the Umbra Sword. He first tells the player to go to Pell's Gate. When the sword is acquired, return to Clavicus Vile's Shrine and either give the sword to Clavicus, or keep it and have all of his followers attack instead.

Quotes

 * "Just don't trust anything he offers you." - when speaking about Clavicus Vile.
 * "All right then! We'll get together later."
 * "Lead the way!"

Quests

 * Clavicus Vile's Shrine
 * A Daedra's Best Friend
 * Speak to Lod

Trivia

 * Barbas is the only talking non-humanoid creature in Skyrim, apart from Dragons.
 * Barbas's ability to speak telepathically is likely a reference to the post apocalyptic film A Boy and His Dog, which featured a telepathic talking dog named Blood.
 * Barbas makes a brief appearance in the novel Lord of Souls, along with his master, Clavicus Vile.
 * Barbas shares his name with one of the 72 demons of the Ars Goetia who takes the form of a lion and answers honestly to the conjurer's questions.
 * Like many other dogs that appear in game, Barbas resembles an Irish Wolfhound.
 * Sheogorath makes a reference to Barbas in The Mind of Madness if the night terrors are dealt with first.
 * In the English version, Barbas speaks with a thick New York accent.

Appearances


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