The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has so many quests it's no wonder players may have missed a few, especially since a few of Skyrim's quests are well-hidden. Skyrim's sheer number of quests is a large part of what gives the eleven-year-old game its replay value. With over four factions to join in the base game alone, many side quests might have escaped even the most experienced player's notice. Whether the player is a lore fanatic or a gaming completionist hunting down rewards, these hidden quests in Skyrim are a lot of fun.
The main questline and faction quests in Skyrim are packed full of lore and offer a full and rounded adventure for the player. However, one of the best things about Skyrim is that there is something new to do if players go off the beaten path. Many of the side quests in Skyrim flesh out the world's lore in unexpected ways, further immersing the players in Bethesda's fantasy creation.
Players can find quests by exploring Skyrim's immersive open world, talking to random NPCs, or even reading a book. With so many hidden secrets, Skyrim can surprise even those who have been playing since its release. The quests found here are some of Skyrim's most overlooked - though there are still other secrets waiting for inquisitive players.
Skyrim's Blackreach Hides A Hidden Dragon
Deep underground in the unique area of Blackreach, players will find a labyrinth of Dwemer ruins, Falmer, and crimson Nirnroot. Players will initially gain access to this subterranean city via the Tower of Mzark, located in the north of Skyrim a little way south of Dawnstar. The Dragonborn will most likely first come to Blackreach during "Discerning the Transmundane," the quest for Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora, or Skyrim's main story questline mission "Elder Knowledge."
While in Blackreach, players will discover a large capital city filled with buildings and Falmer. Players should travel to the center building and use the Unrelenting Force shout, aiming at the large glowing orb suspended above. The resulting ring will echo through the cavern and summon the ancient dragon Vulthuryol. Vulthuryol is not a very difficult enemy, especially for higher-level Dragonborn, as his damage output is not as high as other ancient dragons in-game. Vulthuryol will also land and fight on the ground rather than flying, making him much easier to defeat. When he dies, this hidden Skyrim dragon has disappointing quest rewards, as he drops the standard dragon loot of dragon scales and bones.
Skyrim's Hidden Quest Rise In The East Earns Players A Lot Of Gold
Players can find a fun quest on the docks of Windhelm, where they come across the offices of the East Empire Company. Unlike their Solitude warehouse, this office has seen better days, and the manager Orthus Endario will apologize for its appearance. Players will start the quest "Rise in the East," which can only be found by actively going into the office and speaking with Orthus.
Orthus suspects his business rivals of Clan Shatter-Shield of making a deal with pirates and asks for the player's help. This Elder Scrolls quest has a few different objectives involving the theft of logbooks and eventually fighting the pirates. After a joint operation between the Dragonborn and Imperial troops, the matter will be resolved and result in a substantial amount of gold as a reward for the player.
The Book Of Love Lets Skyrim Dragonborn Aid Ghostly Lovers
Players who visit the temple of Mara in Riften will unlock a sweet questline to earn Mara's favor by performing tasks themed around love and relationships. "The Book of Love" has three main stages after speaking with the priestess of Mara, Dinya Balu. After each task, the player must report back to Dinya for the next part of the questline.
Players are sent to the village of Ivarstead to help a young woman decide which suitor, if any, she should spend her life with. After that, players will travel to the interesting Skyrim city of Markarth to aid the researcher Calcelmo in declaring his love for housecarl Faleen. The final stage will involve reuniting lovers beyond the grave. This reward for this questline gives the player the Agent of Mara blessing, granting a permanent +15% of Resist Magic.
Skyrim's Forbidden Legend Hidden Quest Sees An Ancient Amulet Reassembled
"Forbidden Legend" is one of the longer quest chains in Skyrim involving multiple stages and dungeon crawls, but it's packed full of Elder Scrolls lore. The hidden Skyrim quest starts when the player reads the book Lost Legends, which can be found all over Skyrim. The most accessible place to read this book is in Dragonsreach, Whitehold, as the court mage Farenagar has a copy in his library.
Skyrim players must find the locations of the missing pieces of an amulet, broken into three pieces eons ago by three brothers. The Dragonborn must find the amulet pieces, defeat powerful draugr and reforge this amulet. The rewards for this questline are impressive such as the Gauldur Amulet itself, which grants +30 to Health, Stamina, and Magicka. However, it is worth noting that players cannot complete this quest without joining the College of Winterhold due to all the requirements of what is a long and challenging questline.
Coming Of Age
Located southeast of Dawnstar, just off the road to Whiterun from Windhelm, is Ironbind Barrow. The player will meet Salma, a Redguard, and Beem-Ja, a creepy-looking Skyrim Argonian, sitting outside arguing about the barrow. Beem-Ja is supposed to be working for Salma, but she has lost her nerve about entering the mysterious crypt.
To start "Coming of Age," the player should talk to Salma and follow her and Beem-Ja into Ironbind Barrow. Inside there are several draugr to fight until players finally reach the throne room where Warlord Gathrik, a powerful whose appearance and weapons will change based on level. Once Gathrik is defeated, Beem-Ja will turn on the player and Salma and attempt to sacrifice the Dragonborn to gain Gathrik's power.
After dealing with Beem-Ja, Salma will express her sadness at his betrayal and allow the Dragonborn to claim all the treasure. This hidden quest is interesting as Gathrik is the most powerful draugr lord in Skyrim as well as the tallest. "Coming of Age" can sometimes glitch and not correctly display in player journals, sometimes showing empty stages in place of quest text.
Players Can Star In CSI: Skyrim In An Untracked Quest
If players follow the road southeast out of Dragon Bridge, they will find an unmarked location where a terrible event has occurred. A married couple and their horse have met a violent end, and players can examine the scene to look for clues. There is no named quest associated with this crime scene; however, if players can follow the clues, they will be pointed to two other locations to give the merchant couple some justice.
Following the clues, players can also discover a camp set up by a band of adventurers. Going through the camp, players will uncover a journal that details how the three adventurers have decided to investigate Chillwind Depths, as they believe this is the source of recent attacks on caravans in Skyrim. Going into Chillwind Depths, players will find the bodies of the adventurers and a lot of Falmer.
A Night To Remember
When out drinking in one of the many inns of Skyrim, Dragonborn over level 14 might meet a man called Sam Guevenne. If spoken to, he will invite the player to join him in a drinking game with the chance to win a staff. If players take him up on his challenge, the Dragonborn will blackout after three drinks, and then fun really begins.
"A Night to Remember" is a hilarious quest where the player has to backtrack all over Skyrim to try to find Sam and remember what happened while they were drunk. Everything from goat stealing, statue groping, and even an odd marriage are involved before the player finally tracks down Sam Guevenne again. It turns out Sam is really Sanguine, one of Skyrim's underrated Daedric Princes, the Prince of hedonism, and the player has just completed his Daedric questline. The reward for "A Night to Remember" is the Sanguine Rose, a magical staff that can summon a leveled Dremora to fight for the player for sixty seconds.
Frostflow Abyss Hidden Quest Holds One Of Skyrim's Great Tragedies
But to offset the lighthearted quest, there's a serious one about the tragic deaths at a remote lighthouse. Frostflow Lighthouse is located on the coast between Dawnstar and Winterhold. This hidden quest is obtained by entering the central room of the lighthouse for the first time. Skipping this room and going straight down to the cellar can cause bugs with the quest, however, so players should be careful.
Looking around the lighthouse, it is obvious something terrible happened to the couple who lived here. Following the visual clues and text in journals scattered around, it is possible to piece together what happened here and avenge the inhabitants. Skyrim players should explore the cellar and adjoining cavern, where they will find Falmer and chaurus along with the remains of the two Redguard who lived in the lighthouse.
"Frostflow Abyss" is an easily overlooked quest but a worthwhile one. It is one of the better examples of environmental storytelling in Skyrim, and the enemies will provide a challenge to most players. The reward for this quest is excellent, as Dragonborn will receive an ability called Sailor's Repose. This permanent ability means that healing spells cure 10% more and also stacks with the Restoration perk Avoid Death, making "Frostflow Abyss" very rewarding.
The Pale Lady Hidden Quest Lets Dragonborn Help Or Hinder
"The Pale Lady" is an easily missed quest for players who like to stick to the roads or fast travel everywhere. Just south of Dawnstar is a Nord tomb called Frostmere Crypt, and outside is a bandit named Eisa, who another one of Skyrim’s many bandits is attacking. If she survives the attack, Eisa will explain that one of her bandit friends stole a sword from their leader but that he went mad. She wants the Dragonborn to go and find the sword.
Inside there are plenty of bandits, and the player will have to track down Eisa's friend, Ra'jirr, who took the sword, called the Pale Blade. The player must journey into Frostmere Crypt to retrieve the sword and return it to the mysterious Pale Lady. The Pale Lady in question is a wispmother who attacks, along with wisps, and players have two choices for completing this hidden quest. Dragonborn can kill the Pale Lady of Skyrim, allowing the player to keep the Pale Blade, or if the blade is placed back on her alter, the Pale Lady will be appeased and vanish.
The Ghost Of Old Hroldan Appears In A Hidden Skyrim Quest
South of Soljund's Sinkhole, near Markarth, is a lovely historic inn for players who wish to rest their heads. The innkeeper will tell the Dragonborn all about how Tiber Septim himself once stayed there and offer to rent them the very bed he slept in. However, if the player pays the gold and goes to sleep, they will trigger a hidden quest.
A scream will wake up the Dragonborn, and going back into the main inn will find it being haunted by one of Skyrim's ghosts, that of an old Nord. This is Old Hroldan, who will be under the impression that the player is someone called Hjalti. Old Hroldan wants the player to find Hjalti's missing sword, which will be in one of eight random locations. Once the blade is brought to Old Hroldan, he can finally be at peace and rewards the player with +1 training in one-handed and block.
Searching out new things to do in open-world games is a lot of fun, and hopefully, players will now have a good idea of what to look out for when searching for more. There is so much detail packed into Skyrim that no one may have fully discovered it. All these hidden quests show a lot more content to be found by exploring and digging into some great environmental storytelling.