98 Fun Facts About Skyrim

On what date was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released worldwide?

Skyrim launched on 11 November 2011, a date Bethesda marketed as '11-11-11'; a leaked Xbox 360 copy let modded consoles play it about ten days early.

Which studio developed Skyrim?

Bethesda Game Studios developed Skyrim with a team of roughly 100 people under director Todd Howard; its parent Bethesda Softworks published it.

Which technology, forked from the Fallout 3 codebase, powers Skyrim?

The Creation Engine, forked from the Gamebryo-based Fallout 3 code, powers Skyrim; it brought dynamic snow, longer draw distances and an updated Radiant AI that lets NPCs farm, mill and mine.

Skyrim is set how many years after the events of Oblivion?

Skyrim is set in 4E 201, 201 years after the Oblivion Crisis of 3E 433; in between, the Empire lost the Great War and signed the White-Gold Concordat.

What is the name of the World-Eater, the dragon prophesied to destroy the world?

His name breaks into Al-Du-In, 'Destroyer-Devour-Master' in the dragon tongue, and he calls himself the First-Born of Akatosh.

How many playable races does Skyrim offer at character creation?

Skyrim offers 10 playable races: Altmer, Argonian, Bosmer, Breton, Dunmer, Imperial, Khajiit, Nord, Orc and Redguard; race sets starting skills and a racial power but never locks out quests.

Skyrim's 18 skills are divided evenly among which three schools?

Skyrim's 18 skills fall evenly into combat, magic and stealth, six each; characters level by raising skills, and the class system of earlier Elder Scrolls games was dropped.

Traditionally, into how many holds is the province of Skyrim divided, each governed by a jarl?

Skyrim has nine holds, each ruled by a jarl: Whiterun, Eastmarch, the Rift, the Reach, Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, the Pale, Falkreath and Winterhold; each was hand-crafted to feel topographically distinct.

Which deified human general do the Nords worship as a ninth god, in defiance of the White-Gold Concordat?

Talos, the deified Tiber Septim, is the Nords' ninth divine; the Thalmor forced the ban on his worship into the White-Gold Concordat, and it helped ignite Ulfric's rebellion.

Who is the last known dragon, secretly protected by the Greybeards atop the Throat of the World?

Paarthurnax, whose name breaks into Paar-Thur-Nax, 'Ambition Overlord Cruelty', was once Alduin's lieutenant; he lives atop the Throat of the World and the Blades demand his death.

What is the name of the pacifist discipline practised by the Greybeards, founded by Jurgen Windcaller?

The Way of the Voice, founded by Jurgen Windcaller, holds that the Thu'um should serve worship rather than war; Ulfric Stormcloak trained in it with the Greybeards, which is why he can Shout.

How many words of power make up a complete dragon shout?

A complete shout has three words of power; each is unlocked by spending an absorbed dragon soul, and holding the shout button longer releases more of the three.

Which shout, forcing a dragon to land by making it comprehend mortality, must the Dragonborn learn to fight Alduin?

Dragonrend forces a dragon to land by making it comprehend mortality; Arngeir refuses to teach it, so you learn it by reading an Elder Scroll at the Time-Wound where Alduin was banished.

Which captured dragon flies the Dragonborn to the Nord afterlife in exchange for freedom?

His name Od-Ah-Viing means 'Snow-Hunter-Wing'; after the main quest you can call him down with a shout that is simply his name.

Which composer wrote Skyrim's score, having also scored Morrowind and Oblivion?

Jeremy Soule, who also scored Morrowind and Oblivion, wrote Skyrim's music; his 'Dragonborn' theme is sung in the invented dragon language and reworks the series' 'Nerevar Rising' melody.

Bethesda's Adam Adamowicz created the Draconic language and a runic alphabet of how many characters?

Adam Adamowicz's dragon alphabet has 34 runic characters; new words were added to the lexicon, in designer Bruce Nesmith's words, every time the studio 'wanted to say something'.

Which Academy Award nominee voiced Esbern, the Blades loremaster?

Max von Sydow, twice Oscar-nominated, voiced Esbern; the cast of more than 70 actors also included Joan Allen as Delphine, across over 60,000 lines of dialogue.

Which actor voiced Arngeir, the spokesman of the Greybeards?

Christopher Plummer, who won an Oscar for Beginners, voiced Arngeir, spokesman of the Greybeards; he was 81 when Skyrim shipped in November 2011.

Which Japanese magazine gave Skyrim a perfect 40/40, the first Western-developed game to earn it?

Famitsu's four editors each gave Skyrim 10/10 for a 40/40, the first perfect score for a Western-developed game; reviewers elsewhere criticised the 'floaty' melee combat.

Roughly how many units of Skyrim had been sold by June 2023, according to Todd Howard?

Todd Howard put Skyrim at over 60 million units sold in June 2023; it had shipped 7 million copies in its first week of November 2011, earning about $450 million.

Which of Skyrim's three add-ons revolves around a battle between vampire hunters and Clan Volkihar?

Dawnguard pits the vampire-hunting Dawnguard against Clan Volkihar; it adds the Soul Cairn and the Forgotten Vale, and PS3 performance problems delayed it there by eight months.

The Hearthfire add-on lets the player build houses and adopt up to how many children?

Hearthfire lets you adopt up to two children, who can live in any of the three new homesteads you build from lumber and clay that you gather or buy.

The Dragonborn add-on takes place on which island belonging to the province of Morrowind?

Solstheim, an island off Morrowind's coast with the Dunmer settlement of Raven Rock, hosts the Dragonborn add-on; its antagonist Miraak is the First Dragonborn, and the DLC lets you ride dragons.

Which Daedric Prince taught Miraak, the First Dragonborn, to control dragons?

Hermaeus Mora, Daedric Prince of knowledge, taught Miraak to control dragons; Miraak slaughtered his winged overlords, the dragons razed his temple, and Mora spirited him away to his own realm.

Which city is the capital of Skyrim, seat of the High King, and built on a natural arch over the Sea of Ghosts?

Solitude's Jarl Elisif the Fair, widow of the murdered High King Torygg, rules from the Blue Palace; the Bards College and the Legion's Castle Dour are also in the city.

Which city is built inside an ancient Dwemer city, with much of it carved into the surrounding rock?

Markarth sits inside the Dwemer ruin of Nchuand-Zel in the Reach; its Silver-Blood family owns half the city and Cidhna Mine, said to be Skyrim's most secure prison.

The Thieves Guild inhabits the sewers beneath which city?

Riften's guards demand a 'tax' at the gate, which you can pay, talk your way out of, or pickpocket the key for.

Which family, headed by Maven, controls the Rift's meadery and has ties to the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood?

The Black-Briar family, led by Maven Black-Briar, runs the Black-Briar Meadery outside Riften; if the Imperials take the Rift, Maven replaces Laila Law-Giver as jarl.

Windhelm's Dark Elf refugees are confined to a cramped slum called what?

The Gray Quarter, formerly the Snow Quarter, houses Windhelm's Dunmer, who fled Morrowind after the eruption of Red Mountain; Ulfric turns a blind eye to their plight.

In Skyrim, which Whiterun citizen, who claims to advise the Jarl, famously asks whether you get to the Cloud District very often?

Nazeem owns Chillfurrow Farm and claims to advise the Jarl, but never sets foot in Dragonsreach and sleeps at The Drunken Huntsman.

Which mead hall in Whiterun serves as headquarters of the Companions?

Jorrvaskr, the Companions' mead hall, sits in Whiterun's Wind District beside the Skyforge, worked by Eorlund Gray-Mane, the greatest smith in Skyrim.

How much gold does Breezehome, the first house offered to you in Whiterun, cost from Proventus Avenicci?

Breezehome costs 5,000 gold from steward Proventus Avenicci; it is the cheapest house in the game and the only one of the five city homes without an arcane enchanter.

Which Daedric Prince hands you the Wabbajack, a staff that turns enemies into chickens or cheese?

Sheogorath, Prince of Madness, gives you the Wabbajack after you meet him on 'vacation' inside the mind of the mad Emperor Pelagius III, in the Blue Palace's Pelagius Wing.

The Ebony Blade grows stronger only when you use it to kill whom?

Mephala's artifact gains 4 points of Absorb Health for every two betrayed friends, maxing at 30 after ten victims.

What is the only place in Skyrim where crimson nirnroot grows?

Blackreach, the vast Dwemer cavern under Skyrim, is the only place crimson nirnroot grows; it is reached through Alftand, Mzinchaleft or Raldbthar and is overrun by Falmer.

Konahrik, the strongest dragon priest mask, requires collecting how many other masks?

That is the eight named masks plus the Wooden Mask; wearing it can summon a spectral dragon priest to fight for you for 60 seconds.

Which Khajiit wanderer in Morrowind, Oblivion and ESO breaks the fourth wall with jokes about the game?

He carries three bottles of skooma and, after three lines, tells you 'M'aiq is tired now. Go bother somebody else.'

Kodlak Whitemane, Harbinger of the Companions, wants to be cured of lycanthropy so his soul can go where?

Kodlak wants to reach Sovngarde, the Nord afterlife, since a werewolf's soul otherwise belongs to Hircine; if you finish the Companions questline first, he appears among the lost spirits in Alduin's mist there.

Which Nightingale betrayed Nocturnal by taking the Skeleton Key and murdered his predecessor Gallus?

Mercer Frey, the Guildmaster, stole the Skeleton Key and framed Karliah for killing Gallus; his Riftweald Manor in Riften is guarded by Vald because he is never there himself.

Most of the city of Winterhold fell into the Sea of Ghosts in an event known as what?

The Great Collapse of 4E 122 sent most of Winterhold into the Sea of Ghosts; locals blame the College, while the College points to the aftershocks of Red Mountain's eruption in Morrowind.

Which Thalmor 'advisor' at the College of Winterhold is behind the plot involving the Saarthal orb?

Ancano, the Thalmor 'advisor' to Arch-Mage Savos Aren, seizes the Eye of Magnus dug up at Saarthal; until then he spends his time eavesdropping in the Hall of the Elements.

Which town's most distinctive feature is a large cemetery that inspires the names of several local businesses?

Falkreath's large cemetery gives names to the Dead Man's Drink inn and the Grave Concoctions apothecary; its economy runs on lumber, and the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary sits nearby.

In the vampire add-on, shooting the sun with Auriel's Bow and Bloodcursed Elven Arrows does what?

Sunhallowed arrows do the opposite, making the sun fire rays of light at your enemies.

Serana, found sealed in Dimhollow Cavern, is the daughter of which pure-blood vampire?

Serana is the daughter of Lord Harkon, master of Clan Volkihar; she carries an Elder Scroll when you find her, and Harkon wants her blood for the prophecy called the Tyranny of the Sun.

Which title was Bethesda's last release on a Nintendo console before Skyrim came to Switch in 2017?

Home Alone for the NES, developed by Bethesda and published by THQ in 1991, was its last Nintendo release before the 2017 Switch port, which supports Amiibo and Joy-Con motion controls.

Skyrim: Very Special Edition, the E3 2018 joke, really ran on which platform?

The gag mocked Bethesda's habit of porting the game to everything; the voice-driven Alexa skill was a genuine Bethesda product.

The first Skyrim mod, made by Bethesda with Valve, dropped what object from the sky?

'Fall of the Space Core, Vol. 1' drops Portal 2's Space Core from the sky; voiced by Nolan North, it then follows you around Skyrim dispensing space-related comments.

Alexander J. Velicky built the Falskaar mod as a job application and was hired in 2013 by which studio?

Bungie hired Alexander J. Velicky in 2013 after Falskaar, which added a new landmass, around 25 hours of play and 29 voice actors; another modder, Elianora, was later hired by Bethesda for Starfield.

Which 2015 Skyrim mod was later remade as a standalone game released on PC and consoles in 2021?

The Forgotten City, a 2015 Skyrim mod by Nick Pearce, was rebuilt as a standalone game released on PC and consoles in 2021; Enderal, by contrast, stayed a free total conversion.

Which new top difficulty setting did Patch 1.9 add in March 2013, along with resettable skills?

Patch 1.9 added the Legendary difficulty and let skills at 100 be reset to 15 as 'Legendary'; an earlier patch had added Kinect support with over 200 voice commands on Xbox 360.

The Anniversary Edition of 2021 bundled how many Creation Club 'Creations' with the Special Edition?

The Anniversary Edition bundled all 74 Creation Club Creations, including the four given free to Special Edition owners, and added fishing and player-owned aquariums; it reached the Switch in 2022.

Skyrim's Collector's Edition shipped with a 12-inch figurine of which character?

It also came with a cloth map, a 200-page art book and a making-of DVD.

How many named dragon shouts can be learned in the base game before add-ons?

The base game has 20 named shouts; Dawnguard adds three and Dragonborn four, taking the total to 27.

In Skyrim, when you first meet the Greybeards, which shout must you use on Arngeir to prove you are Dragonborn?

Unrelenting Force, with the words Fus Ro Dah, became one of the game's biggest memes; the full version ragdolls enemies.

How many people designed Skyrim's 150 dungeons, compared with a single designer for Oblivion's?

Eight designers built Skyrim's 150 dungeons, against a single designer for Oblivion's; the team also hand-crafted the whole landscape instead of generating it as Oblivion had.

At which televised ceremony did Todd Howard first unveil Skyrim in December 2010?

Todd Howard unveiled Skyrim at the Spike Video Game Awards on 11 December 2010, presenting the teaser trailer onstage and announcing the release date.

Skyrim's main theme layered several recordings of a 30-man choir to mimic how many voices?

90 voices came from three separate recordings; Todd Howard had imagined the Elder Scrolls theme sung by a choir of barbarians, in the fictional dragon language.

In 2014 Bethesda partnered with 2K Games to bundle Skyrim with which other game?

The two-game BioShock Infinite and Skyrim bundle, a Bethesda and 2K Games pack, arrived on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in February 2014.

Which magazine's February 2011 cover story gave the first details of Skyrim's story and gameplay?

Game Informer's February 2011 issue carried Skyrim on the cover; Matt Miller's cover story followed the game's reveal two months earlier.

Skyrim's open world of tundra, fjords and mountains is modelled on which real region?

Skyrim's tundra, fjords and mountains are modelled on Scandinavia, with a Nord culture drawn from the Vikings; the team built the whole province by hand rather than generating it.

Ulfric Stormcloak, who leads the rebellion against the Empire, is jarl of which city?

Ulfric rules Windhelm, the Nords' ancient capital in Eastmarch, from the Palace of the Kings; his revolt is driven partly by the Thalmor-imposed treaty clause banning worship of the Nords' ninth god.

Which jarl does the Dragonborn warn after escaping the dragon attack in the opening?

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater of Whiterun stays neutral in the civil war, which is why a truce has to be brokered before a dragon can be trapped in Dragonsreach.

Which general commands the Imperial Legion during Skyrim's civil war?

General Tullius commands the Imperial Legion from Castle Dour in Solitude, with Legate Rikke as his second-in-command; the player can join either the Legion or the Stormcloaks.

Which joinable faction's questline has you reconstruct King Olaf's Verse?

The Bards College in Solitude, led by headmaster Viarmo, sends you to recover King Olaf's Verse from Dead Men's Respite and revives the Burning of King Olaf festival.

Which Daedric artifact does Meridia grant for cleansing Kilkreath Temple of the necromancer Malkoran?

Dawnbreaker, Meridia's sword, is the reward for killing the necromancer Malkoran in Kilkreath Temple; its enchantment burns the undead and can make them explode.

Which Daedric Prince's quest 'A Night to Remember' starts with a drinking contest in a tavern?

Sanguine, Prince of debauchery, poses as the drinker Sam Guevenne; after the contest you wake in Markarth's Temple of Dibella and retrace a wild night to earn the Sanguine Rose staff.

Todd Howard considered which Oblivion setting less interesting than Skyrim's province?

Todd Howard considered Cyrodiil, Oblivion's Imperial province, less interesting than Skyrim; though similar in size, Skyrim's mountains make it far harder to cross than its relatively flat predecessor.

Skyrim is the northernmost province of which continent?

Tamriel is the continent; Skyrim is its northernmost province, bordering High Rock, Cyrodiil and Morrowind, while Akavir, Atmora and Yokuda are other continents of Nirn.

Which ranged weapon, new in the first add-on, stays loaded while you walk around?

Dawnguard's crossbow stays loaded while you walk and uses the Archery perk tree; its bolts can be crafted as exploding fire, frost and shock variants for extra damage.

Which of the character's three primary attributes is depleted by casting spells?

Magicka is the spellcasting pool; each attribute's status bar only appears on screen once the value drops below its maximum.

Which Riverwood inn does Delphine run while hiding from the Thalmor?

The Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood is run by Delphine, a Blade in hiding; her secret cellar holds the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller she takes from Ustengrav before you arrive.

Which god gave the Dragonborn line its power to learn shouts by absorbing dragon souls?

Akatosh, the dragon god of time, gave the Dragonborn line the blood and soul of a dragon, letting them absorb dragon souls and learn shouts; prophecy holds a Last Dragonborn will defeat the World-Eater.

Which actress, TV's original Wonder Woman, is part of Skyrim's voice cast?

Lynda Carter, Wonder Woman on 1970s TV and wife of ZeniMax's Robert Altman, voices Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, one of the three ancient heroes who banished Alduin.

Which actor, the long-time voice of Nintendo's Mario, appears in Skyrim's cast?

Charles Martinet, Mario's voice since the 1990s, voices Paarthurnax; he shared the cast with Battlestar Galactica's Michael Hogan and The 13th Warrior's Vladimir Kulich.

Which store released a DRM-free Special Edition on September 29, 2022?

GOG released the Special Edition and Anniversary Edition DRM-free on September 29, 2022; Steam owners of the original game and all its DLC had been given the Special Edition free in 2016.

Patch 1.6 in May 2012 added which long-requested feature to Skyrim?

Patch 1.6 added mounted combat, letting players fight from horseback; patch 1.5 had already brought the archery and spellcasting kill cams two months earlier.

Which Bethesda designer wrote the guards' 'I took an arrow in the knee' line?

Emil Pagliarulo wrote the line; he pictured a semi-retired 'worn out fantasy beat cop' and expected most players to hear the random guard bark rarely, if ever.

Bethesda promised to put YouTuber Shirley Curry, 'Skyrim Grandma', into which game?

Curry, born in 1936, passed a million subscribers in 2022 and earned a Gold Play Button.

Which actress voices Serana, the vampire found sealed in a sarcophagus in Dimhollow Crypt?

Laura Bailey, later Abby in The Last of Us Part II, voices Serana, who asks to be escorted home to Castle Volkihar off the coast near Solitude.

Clan Volkihar's founder pledged his soul to which Daedric Prince to gain vampirism?

Molag Bal, the Prince of Domination and father of vampires, granted the clan's founder vampirism after the former mortal king sacrificed 'a thousand innocents' to him.

Which shout, learned from the Black Books, lets the Dragonborn subdue Miraak's dragons?

Bend Will, whose three words let you subdue Miraak's dragons and even ride them, is completed only when the Daedric Prince drains the Skaal's secrets from the shaman Storn, killing him.

Reading a Black Book transports the player to which realm of Oblivion?

Apocrypha, the endless library-realm of the Daedric Prince of Fate, Knowledge and Memory, is guarded by Seekers and Lurkers; each Black Book returns you to a different corner of it.

The island setting of the Dragonborn add-on first appeared in which Morrowind expansion?

Bloodmoon, Morrowind's 2003 second expansion, introduced the island; by Skyrim's time half of it is glacial, while the other half lies buried in ash from the Red Mountain eruption.

How many followers can be recruited in the base game, before the add-ons added 13 more?

The base game has 45 recruitable followers, from housecarls like Lydia to mercenaries like Jenassa; only one can travel with the Dragonborn at a time, and some must first have a quest completed.

Which Standing Stone gives 50% spell absorption but halves magicka regeneration?

The Atronach Stone grants 50 extra magicka and 50% spell absorption while cutting magicka regeneration in half; it stands in Eastmarch's volcanic tundra south of Windhelm.

Which team developed Enderal: The Shards of Order, the total conversion mod for Skyrim?

SureAI, a German modding team, released Enderal free in 2016 after roughly five years of work; it is a total conversion with its own world, story and voice acting.

Which ore is smelted together with iron ore to make a steel ingot?

A steel ingot is smelted from one iron ore plus one corundum ore at any smelter; corundum ore is mined at Goldenrock Mine near Darkwater Crossing.

Shirley Curry got into gaming when her son taught her which 1996 strategy game?

Civilization II, which her son gave her in 1996, was Shirley Curry's first game; she had retired from a Kmart clothing department in 1991 and uploaded her first Skyrim video in 2015.

The vampire hunters' fort sits in Dayspring Canyon, in which hold?

The vampire hunters' fort lies in Dayspring Canyon in the Rift, south-east of Riften; their enemies' Castle Volkihar sits on an island off the Haafingar coast at the opposite corner of the map.

Serana's estranged mother, who fled the castle with an Elder Scroll, is named what?

Valerica, Serana's mother, hides in the Soul Cairn with an Elder Scroll and warns that her husband plans to sacrifice their daughter to fulfil the Tyranny of the Sun prophecy.

Which ship carries the Dragonborn to the Dunmer settlement of Raven Rock?

The Northern Maiden, captained by Gjalund Salt-Sage, sails from Windhelm's docks to Raven Rock, which is run by House Redoran and policed by the Redoran Guard.

Which Thieves Guild member first recruits the Dragonborn with a scheme to frame Brand-Shei?

Brynjolf approaches you in the market with a plan to plant a stolen ring on the merchant Brand-Shei, the first step into the Thieves Guild beneath the Ragged Flagon.

Roughly how many people were playing Skyrim on Steam at once on launch day?

About 230,000 people were playing at once on Steam on 11 November 2011; Valve called it the fastest-selling game in Steam's history, with double the players of second-placed Team Fortress 2.

Which mage on an ice floe north of Winterhold reveals where the Elder Scroll lies?

Septimus Signus, a mage driven mad by a Dwemer lockbox, lives at an outpost on an ice floe north of the College and sends you to the Tower of Mzark for the Elder Scroll.

Which of Miraak's dragons does the player tame and fly to his tower?

Sahrotaar, the serpentine dragon you tame and ride to Miraak's tower, is later drained by Miraak along with Relonikiv and Kruziikrel to heal himself before the Daedric Prince intervenes.

How many quests does Skyrim feature, alongside 300-plus map-marked points of interest?

Skyrim shipped with 244 quests and over 300 map-marked points of interest; Radiant AI lets NPCs farm, mill and mine, and some side quests adjust to nearby unexplored areas.

Which middleware toolset handled Skyrim's character animation and real-time NPC chats?

Havok Behavior, Havok's animation middleware, let NPCs walk and gesture mid-conversation, replacing Oblivion's frozen-time, zoomed-in dialogue camera.

Which dragon guards the Soul Cairn and, once beaten, grants a shout to summon him?

Durnehviir, the undead dragon bound to the Soul Cairn, teaches the Summon Durnehviir shout once defeated; it joins Drain Vitality and Soul Tear as the three shouts added by the vampire add-on.