The Gift

The Gift
Quest Giver	Vingalmo
Location	Castle Volkihar
Type	Side quest
Quest ID	DLC1RV06

It can be obtained from Vingalmo in Castle Volkihar. The Dragonborn is required to turn their spouse into a vampire.

Walkthrough

To begin the quest, the Dragonborn needs to first be married. Next talk to Vingalmo and he will initiate the quest. Additional side quests given by the vampires of Castle Volkihar need to be completed before Vingalmo will initiate this quest. "The Bond of Matrimony" is neither required to be worn, nor is it required to be in the Dragonborn's inventory.

In order to turn a spouse into a vampire, first use Vampire's Seduction to calm them, then feed on them.

Quotes

• "I never knew the darkness held such colors, or the night air smelled so sweet. You have given me a great gift." – First comment made by spouse after becoming a vampire. Also said by the target of the quest "New Allegiances."

Journal

Journal Entry
Vingalmo has "suggested" I bestow the Gift of Harkon's Blood upon my spouse, <spouse's name>. I should first render him/her pliant through the use of Vampire's Seduction then embrace and bite him/her on the neck. If I currently lack the power, I should forego feeding for a day as I will gain the ability. I should then return to Vingalmo while <spouse's name> undergoes the change. Objective: Mesmerize and turn <spouse's name> into a vampire.
Objective: Return to Vingalmo
I have bestowed the Gift of Harkon's Blood upon my spouse, <spouse's name>, at Vingalmo's "Suggestion." Quest complete

Considerations

If the Dragonborn's spouse is also a follower, turning them into a vampire entails advantages as well as drawbacks that should be considered before conferring the gift of vampirism.

Advantages

• Resist Frost +50
  • Nord spouses become almost immune to frost damage due to their inherent frost resistance of 50 adding up.

• Vampiric Drain
  • All vampire spouses gain this Destruction spell regardless of their combat specialization. While somewhat useful for mages, warriors won't get much use out of it due to their small magicka reserves.

Disadvantages

• Weakness to Fire -50
  • Dunmer spouses have the least problems with this effect, although it cancels out their inborn resistance to fire damage. All other races are in lethal danger against fire-wielding enemies (dragons in particular). Equipping the spouse with Resist Fire enchanted gear is highly recommended.
• Immunity to Restoration spells
  • Vampire spouses cannot be healed with Restoration spells at all. Since vampirism does not flag non-essential characters as essential, this drawback alone puts them at serious risk in any battle against powerful foes, especially ones that deploy fire attacks. Buffing their weapon(s) with the most powerful Absorb Health enchantments available should be made a priority before leading the spouse into battle.

Trivia

• It is not possible to turn Aela the Huntress, Farkas, or Vilkas into vampires, as they are already werewolves. However Vilkas and Farkas can be turned if they are cured from their lycanthropy. Any other member of the Companions or anyone else is turnable.
• In some cases, spouses turned into vampires by this quest will not gain the same type of glowing orange eyes that all vampires have. Some characters, like Ysolda, will have very dark red marks below her eyes, instead of her normal bright red.
• The quest may not be given if the Dragonborn is married to Aela the Huntress, Argis the Bulwark, Athis, Benor, Borgakh the Steel Heart, Cosnach, Derkeethus, Dravynea the Stoneweaver, Farkas, Ghorza gra-Bagol, Jenassa, Muiri, Octieve San, Omluag, Perth, Roggi Knot-Beard, Romlyn Dreth, Scouts-Many-Marshes, Shahvee, Sondas Drenim, Stenvar, Torvar, Vilkas, Viola Giordano, or Vorstag.
• It is possible to turn the Dragonborn's spouse into a vampire without being given the quest, if they have completed the "Rings of Blood Magic" side quest.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to The Gift. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following: Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

• Despite being turned into a vampire, spouses may be highlighted in Detect Life spell instead of Detect Dead.
•  360   It is possible that Vingalmo will not give this quest.
  •  360 (Fix)   A possible circumvention to this is as follows:
    • 1: save before asking to help (save 1).
    • 2: Ask to help; if it's Vingalmo, then save again (save 2) otherwise, revert to save 1.
    • 3: Speak with Vingalmo; if a gives The Gift quest, save (save) otherwise, revert to a previous save (the most efficient save is usually save 2 but use save 1 if after several tries save 2 is still ineffective).
    • 4: If all else fails, uninstall Dawnguard (walking around during after uninstalling may help) then reinstall and try again.