Experimental Subject is a Dragonborn quest in which you do something most people in Solstheim would advise against: you let Neloth try out untested spells on you. The quest exists in two versions, both handed out at Tel Mithryn, and in both cases Neloth’s apprentice Talvas Fathryon is very relieved that it is you and not him.
How to start
- Health boost version: available after Reluctant Steward. Neloth asks if you would like to help advance the art of magic; ask whether he needs help with his research.
- Silence version: listed as available after At the Summit of Apocrypha and Azra’s Staffs. Again, ask Neloth if he needs help with his research.
Walkthrough
Version 1: Neloth’s Health Boost
Neloth wants to add an extra spectral tether between your life force and the aedric realm, which should make you feel more vigorous. He is fairly sure. Probably. Agree and stand still while he casts it for the very first time. You gain the Neloth’s Health Boost ability, worth +25 Health, and he sends you off with instructions to report any side effects immediately.
The side effect is water. Swim, or get caught in the rain, and the spell flips: instead of a bonus you now lose 25 Health. Walking on water with a Waterwalking effect does not trigger it. Once the penalty has kicked in, go back and tell Neloth you got weaker when you got wet. He briefly considers asking you to avoid water, decides that the ashlands make bathing non-negotiable, removes the spell and pays you for the trouble.
If you refuse his offer at the start, he grumbles that Talvas will have to be the test subject again, and the quest is marked as failed.
Version 2: the eighth order of silence
Neloth claims to have found an eighth form of silence beyond the seven that philosophers usually count, and would like to wrap you in it to study the mental effects. Accept and the screen goes dark: the spell has blinded you, and writhing tentacles have sprouted from your eye sockets. Talvas is horrified and throws up (twice), while Neloth calmly asks you to try wiggling the tentacles and decides it is better not to describe what has happened to your tongue.
The effect soon wears off and your eyes return to normal. Tell Neloth he owes you, and he agrees, mildly disappointed that there were no lasting side effects, and pays up. Declining sends him back to using Talvas, whom he calls a bit of a screamer.
Choices and consequences
In both versions you can refuse. Refusing simply means no experiment and no payment, and the journal records the quest as failed. Agreeing costs you nothing permanent as long as you report back after the health spell turns on you.
Rewards
- Health boost version: 250 gold (and +25 Health for as long as you stay dry)
- Silence version: 250 gold
Tips and notes
- For the health version, the quickest way to trigger the side effect is a swim: there is water right by Tel Mithryn, where some netch float behind the tower.
- A vampire with the Necromage perk gets 31 points instead of 25, both for the boost and the penalty.
- Spell absorption can swallow Neloth’s spell. If it does not take, remove Miraak’s Robes and make sure the Atronach Stone is not your active stone.
- Neloth may later remark in passing how fascinating it was to watch those tentacles grow out of your eyes.
- He also promises a castable version of the silence spell for you one day. Do not hold your breath.
