Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-90.149.148.209-20130721230025/@comment-5569775-20140630011339

@107.3.63.111: You can't start the main story of the Dragonborn DLC until that point, but you can still do other quest, including Karstaag.

If you pick/loot a decent amount of cabbage at Lv.1 you can sell it to Pelagia, then hop a carriage to Windhelm and take the boat to Solstheim. Once there do the Chief of Thirsk Hall quest so that you can get a Riekling as a follower. Ask one to follow you, then return to Skyrim, and start the Dawnguard quest. When going into Dimhollow you might have to leave and enter several times until a group of 3 Rieklings show up, then go through Dimhollow letting the Rieklings kill everything. Escort Serana back home, accept to become a VL, then leave and start leveling the VL tree. Get the Ritual Stone power, thn go back and have Serana Follow you, return to Solstheim and go get Karstaag's Skull; it might help to exit and enter the cave until the group of 3 Rieklings show up. Then go pick the lock to the his throne room, and repeat the exit enter thing until the extra Rieklings show up. Kill all hostile Reiklings(as VL). Place Skull and use bats to get away from where he spawns. Let the Rieklings and Serana fight Karstaag while you provide back up. After the Rieklings die, use Super Natural Reflexes, then change back and use the Ritual Stone power to revive as many Rieklings as possible; change back into VL afterwards and continue providing backup.

If you are a Nord and playing on Novice, you should be able to kill him while still being Lv.1. Before fighting him you could also do the quests to get the rings of Blood Magic and Amulets of Night Powers. Using the Amulet of Gargoyle and Ring of Erudite helps.