What determines which Blade of Hjaalmarch I get?

the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim

I've helped the people of Morthal, so now Jarl Idgrod has made me Thane and wants to give me the Blade of Hjaalmarch. Apparently, this blade can be either a sword or a greatsword. Searching the internet for a while, I've found a source that claims it is random, while another one claims it's based on your one-handed and two-handed skills.

I use one-handed weapons only, so naturally that skill is higher and I want the one-handed version of the blade. However, I always get the two-handed one, even after restarting the game a couple of times. Am I screwed or do I just have bad luck and should keep trying?

Solution 1:

It's random.

This should be obvious, given that of the two hypotheses you've seen - either that it's random, or that it's based on whichever skill is higher - only one actually conforms to your experience.

Sorry for your bad luck, if you want a 1 handed version that badly, you're going to need to do a bunch of reloading.

(It's possible that the random variable is seeded at some earlier point - when you start the quest perhaps? - and that you're well and truly out of luck here. But this seems unlikely for a variety of reasons.)

Solution 2:

Type of weapon

From UESP wiki's "Thane of Hjaalmarch" article (emphasis mine):

The reward, the Blade of Hjaalmarch, is a random, leveled, enchanted sword. There is a 50% chance that it will be a sword (one-handed), and a 50% chance it will be a greatsword (two-handed). Due to a bug*, however, maces are also occasionally awarded.

*The list for enchanted iron swords that do stamina damage contains only maces. (This bug is fixed by version 1.2 of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch.)

Material

The probability of getting a Blade of Hjaalmarch of a particular material is detailed in the table below. It shows what material is added to the list of possible materials at which level. This means that if the player character is at level 20, then every single material added at levels 1, 2, 3...20 are on the list, not just the material(s) listed at level 20.

^{Source: UESP wiki's "Skyrim Leveled Lists - Enchanted Weapons" article}

Enchantment

The Blade of Hjaalmarch's enchantment will depend on the player character's level and the weapon's material. The possible enchantments and at which level you will get them are detailed in the table below. (Click the table to view a larger version.) ^{Source: UESP wiki's "Skyrim Leveled Lists - Enchanted Weapons" article}