SegmentNextLocations
Skyrim's map is full of places that do something for you, and the useful way to sort them is by the bill. A standing stone rewrites how fast you learn and asks nothing. A dragon shrine teaches a word of power for the price of the dragon guarding it. A tanning rack turns any hide into leather wherever you find one. Then there are the houses, which are the only locations in the game with a price tag, and the tag runs from nothing at all on Solstheim to 25,000 gold in Solitude before furniture. This guide walks the folder's five location pages in that order, free things first.
Free: thirteen standing stones
Touch a standing stone and its blessing stays with you until you touch another. Finding one is an achievement, finding all thirteen is a second. The three Guardian Stones outside Helgen are the first choice the game offers, and the builds guide pairs a later stone with each archetype.
| Stone | Blessing | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior, Mage and Thief (the Guardian Stones) | Combat, magic or stealth skills learned 20% faster | Southwest of Riverwood below Anise's Cabin, on the road out of Helgen |
| Lady | Faster health and stamina regeneration | An islet in Lake Ilinalta, to the west of Riverwood |
| Lover | All skills learned 15% faster | East of Markarth, about a fifth of the way to Solitude |
| Steed | 100 more carry weight and no armor movement penalty | The highest peak northwest of Solitude, beside Ironback Hideout |
| Apprentice | Magicka recovers twice as fast, magic damage taken doubles | An island in the marsh south of Solitude |
| Atronach | 50 extra magicka and part of incoming spells absorbed, slower recovery | The marshland between Riften and Windhelm, near Eldergleam Sanctuary and Darkwater Crossing |
| Ritual | Raise nearby corpses once a day | East of Whiterun, south of the river toward Valtheim Towers |
| Shadow | Sixty seconds of invisibility once a day | A small mountain south of Riften |
| Tower | Open one expert or lower lock a day | A mountain between Winterhold and Dawnstar |
| Lord | Resistance to magic and physical damage | The northern peak of the range southwest of Dawnstar |
| Serpent | A ranged paralyzing poison once a day | An iceberg in the sea east of Winterhold, north of Windhelm |
Free, after a dragon: ten shrines
A dragon shrine is a word wall with a dragon sitting on it, marked on the map with a dragon icon. Killing the guardian is not always required, only reaching the wall, and each of the ten teaches a word of a different shout. The shouts themselves, and the other walls that do not come with a dragon, are catalogued in the skills and shouts guide.
| Shrine | Word taught | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient's Ascent | Animal Allegiance | East of Falkreath |
| Autumnwatch Tower | Marked for Death | West of Riften, below the Throat of the World |
| Bonestrewn Crest | Frost Breath | The swampland south of Windhelm |
| Dragontooth Crater | Elemental Fury | West of Morthal, northeast of Markarth |
| Eldersblood Peak | Disarm | Southwest of Morthal |
| Lost Tongue Overlook | Dismaying Shout | South of Riften |
| Mount Anthor | Ice Form | The mountains south of Winterhold |
| Northwind Summit | Aura Whisper | North of Riften, south of Windhelm |
| Shearpoint | Throw Voice, all three words | The snowy mountains east of Whiterun, with a second guardian beside the dragon |
| Skyborn Altar | Frost Breath | The mountains east of Morthal |
Free: tanning racks
A tanning rack scrapes a hide into leather, and every strip of leather weighs 2 and sells for 10. The yield depends on the animal: four leather from a bear, cave bear, snow bear or either sabre cat pelt, three from a cow or horse hide, two from a deer hide, and one from a fox, snow fox, wolf, ice wolf or goat. The page then lists more than seventy racks, and the useful ones are the ones next to a forge you already visit: Warmaiden's by the Whiterun gate, the Solitude blacksmith, the Scorched Hammer in Riften, Windhelm's blacksmith quarters, Rustleif's house in Dawnstar, Lod's house in Falkreath, Alvor's house in Riverwood, Understone Keep in Markarth, Fort Dawnguard, Volkihar Keep and the Skaal village. The rest are camps, mines, ruins and strongholds you pass through once, from Dushnikh Yal to the wreck of the Pride of Tel Vos.
Paid: the house ladder
Nine homes are on offer and the houses page prices every rung. Five are bought from a steward after quests for the local Jarl, three are Hearthfire plots you build on, and one is given away. There is no limit on how many you own, and the order below is by price, with the free one last because you cannot reach it until Solstheim.
| Home | Where | Price | Furnishing | Earned by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breezehome | Whiterun, second door past Warmaiden's | 5,000 | 1,800 per room from Proventus Avenicci | Finishing Bleak Falls Barrow |
| Heljarchen Hall (plot) | The Pale, north of Loreius Farm | 5,000 | Built by hand; a grain mill can go here instead | Level 22, Waking Nightmare and Kill the Giant for the Jarl of Dawnstar |
| Lakeview Manor (plot) | Falkreath, south of Lake Ilinalta by the Guardian Stones | 5,000 | Built by hand; room for an apiary | Thane of Falkreath via Rare Gifts and Kill the Bandit Leader, or handing Falkreath to the Stormcloaks |
| Windstad Manor (plot) | Hjaalmarch, with the Abandoned Shacks on one side and High Gate Ruins on the other | 5,000 | Built by hand; a fish hatchery is an option | Laid to Rest for the Jarl of Morthal |
| Honeyside | Riften, the corner house on the right inside the gate | 8,000 | 5,000; comes with an alchemy lab, arcane enchanter and tanning rack | The Skooma Trade, then helping five townsfolk for Jarl Laila |
| Vlindrel Hall | Markarth, up the steep stairs beside Nepos's house | 8,000 | 3,900 for a child's room, 4,200 for an alchemy lab | Jarl Igmund's quests, including recovering Hrolfdir's shield |
| Hjerim | Windhelm, northwest corner opposite the Cruel-Sea house | 12,000 | Kitchen and bedroom 1,000 each, living room, alchemy and enchanting 1,500 each, armory 2,000 | Blood on the Ice and the Civil War line, bought from Jorleif |
| Proudspire Manor | Solitude, beside the Bards College near the Blue Palace | 25,000 | 11,000 for an enchanting table, alchemy station, child's room, mannequins and racks | The Man Who Cried Wolf and Elisif's Tribute, sold by Falk Firebeard |
| Severin Manor | Raven Rock, Solstheim | Free | None; comes with storage, a smelter, an alchemy station and an enchanting table | Served Cold, after finishing March of the Dead and then The Final Descent |
Hjerim is the one to weigh: our page puts its furnishing at 10,250 and its all-in price at 20,500, and it repays that with the biggest armory, twelve bookshelves and seven display cases. Proudspire's three floors cost the most and hold less. The Raven Rock page walks the three Dragonborn quests behind Severin Manor in order: the ash spawn attack at Old Attius Farm starts March of the Dead, The Final Descent in the mine is not needed for the house but unlocks Served Cold, and Served Cold ends with Councilor Morvayn handing over the key. Building the three plots is its own system, covered by the Hearthfire design page, and the thaneship that unlocks most of the bought homes is explained on the become thane page.
Location questions
Which stone first?
Whichever Guardian Stone matches the skills you mean to raise, since it is on the road out of Helgen and costs a minute. Swap to the Lover Stone once every skill matters, or to the Steed Stone the first time carry weight stops a dungeon run; the builds guide names a stone per archetype.
Is there a house that needs no quest?
No. Every purchase waits on a Jarl's favor, the plots on a quest each, and the free manor on three. Breezehome is the fastest, because Bleak Falls Barrow is part of the main story.
Do dragon shrines respawn their dragons?
The page treats each shrine as a single visit for the word; how dragon encounters work more generally, and what their bones and scales are for, is on the Skyrim hub under crafting and combat.