Skeleton Key

The Skeleton Key is the artifact of Nocturnal, the Daedric Prince of shadows and the patron of the Thieves Guild. It’s an unbreakable lockpick – no more snapping picks on Master locks.

How to get it

You recover it during the Thieves Guild quest “Blindsighted”, in the pursuit of Mercer Frey. The guild expects you to return it to Nocturnal at the end of the questline – but you can hold on to it for as long as you like simply by not moving on with the guild’s story.

Good to know

• It’s the only Daedric artifact that doesn’t count toward the Oblivion Walker achievement.
• There’s a Lockpicking perk that makes ordinary lockpicks unbreakable too, so you won’t miss it forever.