After completing major questlines (see list below), the player can tell their tale to Olvus the orc Bard to have Ballads written. These Ballads will be sung in town squares throughout Skyrim - spreading the word of player's exploits and gaining them a reputation, which can have an impact on how human, khajiit, argonian, and orcs react to them.
Once the player has met Olvus, available after completing the quest "Tending the Flames", he will have a dialogue option related to Ballads. If the player has completed a valid questline, they will be given the option to share their story and help craft a Ballad about it.
For each Ballad, the player will be asked a series of questions about how they want to be portrayed in the lyrics. These questions will be about focusing on certain elements of the stories, claiming the player took a certain path to resolve a situation, or speaking about the player in a particular way.
These choices not only change the lyrics of the final song, but begin to paint a picture of the player as Cunning, Honorable, or Ruthless. (See below for more details on the invisible Renown system this creates.)
Once Olvus has crafted a Ballad, they can ask him to sing it again anytime. Or periodically, they might find him in Solitude singing one of them on his own.
The more Ballads that the player has completed, the more likely they'll find groups of Bards singing in town squares.
The player can speak to the singer of these groups and hire them to sing a specific Ballad. They can also ask them to stop singing if they don't like hearing it.
As more Ballads are written, the player begins to silently build a "Renown" score. Higher Renown has a chance to lower the confidence of enemies, occasionally causing them to flee from the player in combat.
Finally, the player's reputation is changed based on the actual selected lyrics for each song. Each choice adds a point to Cunning, Honorable, or Ruthless, and the final score determines which secondary benefit is received. This secondary benefit grows as the player's Renown score does.
Player's whose reputation leans Cunning will receive a discount from most merchants.
Player's whose reputation leans Honorable will gain an advantage to Persuasion checks.
Player's whose reputation leans Ruthless will gain an advantage to Intimidation checks.
In the case of a three-way tie, no secondary benefit is granted, so players will want to push their reputation towards something.
Companions Questline
Mages College Questline
Thieves Guild Questline
Dark Brotherhood Questline
Bards College Questline
Alduin Questline (Main Quest of Skyrim)
Dawnguard Questline
Dragonborn Questline
When making choices, the player does not have to be truthful - they are the victor writing history.
The below tables will show which choices the player has while crafting a Ballad with Olvus and what the resulting reputation impact will be.
As a shorthand to remember which choices do what, for all choices where there are only three options: the first option is always Honorable, the second is Cunning, and the third is Ruthless.
Note that while not all answers feel like they might match to a particular Reputation modifier, it's OK to answer whichever feels best for the character. The player only needs to choose one more option towards the Reputation they desire than the other two, so having a few stray from a single path will still work out.
| Question | Choice | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| ...Now, let's tell the audience about some of your accomplishments! Which do you think best? | Helping Kodlak Whitemane find his peace. | Honorable |
| My efforts to reforge Wuuthrad. | Cunning | |
| My rise to absolute power! | Ruthless | |
| ..Hmm. You know, everyone has their own style of combat. But what should we say yours is?.. | Steadfast and focused. Discipline is key! | Honorable |
| Methodical. Speed and cunning are my weapons. | Cunning | |
| Rage and frenzy! Let the blood flow... | Ruthless | |
| ...We're coming to the end now. How shall I close this? | Speak of our glory and camaraderie! | Honorable |
| Speak of our continued struggle, and our respect for each other. | Cunning | |
| Speak of our ends, in glorious combat! | Ruthless |
| Question | Choice | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| ...Hm, yeah! I like that. But, I need to describe you somehow... What would be your preference? | Speak of me as a teacher, one who wants to foster passion in others. | Honorable |
| Speak of my skillful mastery in the arcane arts! | Cunning | |
| Speak of my prowess and might, obliterating the weak before me! | Ruthless | |
| ...That works! And then... Hmm... We should probably mention some of your exploits. Anything come to mind?.. | My exploration of Saarthal, and recovery of... arcane mysteries. | Honorable |
| My thoughtful council with the Augur of Dunlain. | Cunning | |
| "Exploits"? Surely people would care more for my application of raw power? | Ruthless | |
| ...We need more. More exploits! Help me out here. | Tell of my victory over the Thalmor "advisor", Ancano. | Honorable |
| Tell of how I overcame the Dragon Priest, Morokei. | Cunning | |
| Tell of how not even dragon, nor the dead, can escape my wrath! | Ruthless | |
| Hmm. Tell me, which school of magic do you favor? | I wield the might of Destruction to cleanse the realms. | Honorable |
| The restorative touch of Restoration. | Honorable | |
| The power of Alteration rests in my hands. | Cunning | |
| Conjuration of beasts and thralls serves me well. | Ruthless | |
| Best to cloud minds with Illusion and falsehoods. | Ruthless |
| Question | Choice | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| ...No honor amongst that particular thief, hm? You obviously survived the betrayal, but how should we paint such a picture?.. | Though injured, I could not allow such dishonor to go unanswered. | Honorable |
| Divine intervention. Someone out there likes me... | Cunning | |
| Blood, sweat, tears and wrath. I would have my vengeance. | Ruthless | |
| ...Now, after all that, how do we end this story?.. | My course was as righteous as it could be. So naturally, people followed. | Honorable |
| I used my mind and talents. Cunning and guile saw me true. | Cunning | |
| I was swift, and unrelenting. The man never stood a chance. | Ruthless |
| Question | Choice | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| ...So, they kidnapped you, right? Made you one of them? How should we describe that?.. | I stoically accepted the fate thrust upon me. | Honorable |
| I accepted the opportunity offered. | Cunning | |
| Before finding them, I was already one of them. | Ruthless | |
| ...And um... The next part. You were asked to... you know, "remove" someone. I'm not exactly sure how we should word that... | Mild euphemisms are okay. No need to be too graphic. | Honorable |
| Be precise, but dispassionate. It is what it is. | Cunning | |
| Speak plainly. I want them to know the sordid details. | Ruthless | |
| ...I still can't believe that-... Not to say you did do anything! But, after you, you know... you were betrayed, how should I put that?.. | I performed my duty, the treachery was uncalled for. | Honorable |
| I did everything right, even when I was wronged. | Cunning | |
| I had no fear, any who stood in my way would fall. | Ruthless |
| Question | Choice | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| ...This party you attended, how shall we say you were perceived by the other Bards?.. | I was respected and welcomed as a bard of the highest order. | Honorable |
| Despite their false decorum, it was clear I was beyond them all. | Cunning | |
| Fear was in their eyes. They all knew they'd met their superior. | Ruthless | |
| ...Your confrontation with the dragon, any particular way you'd like me to describe it?.. | For the good of the land, Volgaafsonaan had to fall. | Honorable |
| The dragon was a means to an end. I would profit from its defeat. | Cunning | |
| Volgaafsonaan was a challenge to be conquered. | Ruthless | |
| ...Now, we know how this all ended, but that doesn't need to be what is sung. So, what fate befell Sledrig and the dragon?.. | I kept my promise to Sledrig, I granted his rest by ending Volgaafsonaan. | Honorable |
| I found another solution allowing both Sledrig and Volgaafsonaan to be restored. | Honorable | |
| I opened Sledrig's eyes, allowing him to draw greater power from Volgaafsonaan. | Cunning | |
| Sledrig used me, Volgaafsonaan was more worthy of being restored. | Ruthless | |
| Tiring of it all, I slew Sledrig and Volgaafsonaan. | Ruthless |
| Question | Choice | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| ...Yeah, yeah, that feels good. Tell me, for the next verse, what attribute of yours shall we shine the spotlight on?.. | My physical prowess. | Honorable |
| My arcane talents. | Cunning | |
| My wielding of the Thu'um. | Ruthless | |
| ...Hmm. Time for a proper introduction. This is your story, so what do we say of your origin?.. | Who I was before doesn't matter. In Skyrim I found myself. | Honorable |
| My past made me who I am, I made mistakes, but regret nothing. | Cunning | |
| I'm a veteran of many campaigns. Alduin was but my latest conquest. | Ruthless | |
| ...You had some help on your journey. But who most deserves to be exalted in song?.. | I couldn't have done it without the warriors of Sovngarde. | Honorable |
| The Blades deserve some credit. | Cunning | |
| The aid of the Greybeards was invaluable. | Ruthless |
| Question | Choice | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| ...It's a good opening, but we need a focus. What's your preference on your entrance to this tale? What's our "focus"?.. | Someone just trying to do what's right. | Honorable |
| A curiosity that had to be sated. | Cunning | |
| The destruction of the vile undead! | Ruthless | |
| ...Speaking of, which particular discovery would you rather have the audience associate with you?.. | The beautiful and mighty Auriel's Bow. | Honorable |
| My search and retrieval of an Elder Scroll. | Cunning | |
| My finding and subjugation of the dragon, Durnehviir. | Ruthless | |
| Obviously, Harkon was defeated by your hand. But how I sing of this, well, that's up to you... | I did what any decent person would, and ended the evil creature. | Honorable |
| Although I took pity on Harkon, his final death was simply necessary. | Cunning | |
| Make up something... ruthless and final. | Ruthless |
| Question | Choice | Reputation |
|---|---|---|
| ...Hm. I like that. Now we arrive at the Dragonborn I know. How do we bring you into this? A little artistic license is encouraged... | Miraak's lackeys drew my ire, provoking me to action. | Honorable |
| I flew in on the back of a dragon! | Cunning | |
| I sensed an adversary worthy of notice. | Ruthless | |
| ...As I understood it, it was somewhat of an ordeal gaining the knowledge to defeat Miraak. How should we describe that?.. | It was a sacrifice, but a necessary one. | Honorable |
| I learned what was needed gladly and without hesitation. | Cunning | |
| It was... disturbing. Not something for the faint of heart. | Ruthless | |
| ...I think it's time we drew this one to its close. Now, how shall we say you defeated your foe?.. | With tempered and just might. | Honorable |
| Via mastery of the magic. | Cunning | |
| With brutal and unstoppable power. | Ruthless |