Monday, November 21, 2016

Skyrim SE: The Demure Dragonborn Level 05 Lakeview Manor


When it comes to Skyrim, I'm definitely a homebody and not a wanderer.  I know from experience that being homeless is painful; having to haul ingredients and travel to forges, alchemy & enchanter stations; having to sell my loot immediately.  As I mentioned in my last post, one of my first priorities this time around is building a home, adding all the amenities and then sticking to it.

I choose Lakeview Manor for its beautiful location.  The most southerly of the three homes that can be built, it's also close to my favourite town, Riverwood, and city, Whiterun.  Living in real-life Canada, I appreciate a place that's as far away from snow as possible!

I did hear rumblings that Lakeview Manor was also the most dangerous location for a home but I turned a deaf ear and went ahead and bought my plot.  After all, being the Dragonborn should mean being able to defend your home, shouldn't it?  Shouldn't it?!  More about fending off various attacks later ...



Saving, Spending & Skills

Being house-hunger means that I currently hoard most of my gold so there's no spending on training or fancy gear.  My first "big" purchase was hiring Marcurio as a follower so that I could drag him to the marriage altar.  I made those 500 coins back in five days from my share of profits from our store.

My next big purchase was the lot for Lakeview at 5000 coins.  Now my first time around I was building a house came much later in the game when I had money to burn and so I blithely purchased fully furnished rooms from my steward.  This time, money is tight and I'm building everything myself which does have a lot of benefits skill-wise as well.

Most of my money goes into buying iron ore, logs, and filled Petty Soul Gems.

Smelting iron ore and then using the ingots for building components is a great way to increase Smithing skills.

I disenchant most of the enchanted loot that I find to increase my repertoire of enchantments. I then use the Petty Soul Gems to enchant regular weapons & armor.  Not only does this quickly increase Enchanting skills but the resale value of the newly enchanted items is much better.

I actually find this much more satisfying/productive than the old "make a million iron daggers & enchant them" scenario and when I run out of loot it's time for another quest!

My finally source of crafting income is of course my potions.  Growing ingredients in my garden saves a lot of foraging time and I'm increasing my Alchemy skills all the way to the bank.


Defending Hearth & Home

Skeevers in the Cellar:  I wasn't sure if I actually wanted a cellar as I prefer Smithing outside but what the heck, might as well add it on while I'm building the Main Hall.  Just after completion, Marcurio starts complaining about "noises" in the basement.  Since he's supposedly a bad-ass Spell Sword you'd think he'd take care of it but ohhhh noooo.  Down I go to clear out the vermin.  Post skeever massacre I read that if you leave the one "good" skeever alive you won't ever be infested again.  Reload a previous, save, and voila a pet skeever is now protecting the cellar.

Bandits in the Hall:  Day one post construction finds Marcurio & I staggering home after another successful quest.  Lydia is out mining iron and we pass her on the way into the house where we're immediately attacked by a group of bandits.  I guess since she's a steward and not a housecarl, Lydia didn't think it was her problem though a warning really would have been nice.

The loot gathered from the bandits was welcome, their dead bodies blocking the entrance way was not.  I've since become Thane of Falkreath and added Rayya as our housecarl.  Keeping my fingers crossed that she'll do a better job at defense than Lydia.

Dragons on the Doorstep: Day two post construction I step outside to watch the sunrise but instead I'm greeting by an ice dragon.  Lydia & Marcurio help me take it down.  Rinse and repeat for day four post construction.  Though I'm profiting from their bones & scales, I'm really hoping the flying lizards don't show up every second day.  At least with the addition of Rayya the take down should go a bit faster.

Giants in the Animal Pen?:  I've yet to experience an attack by giant, perhaps because I haven't added any animals to my homestead.  One poor soul recounted how he actually had to move from Lakeview because of the never-ending stream of giants.  Likewise, no wolves or marauding mages. Whew!

Mods

I used Lakeview Garden Extended to increase my garden size so that I could plant & harvest more crops.

Cheats

Cheats/ Consule Commands are activated on your PC by typing ~ (located on the key under the Escape key).  I'm not big into cheats but in some circumstances they can save you a lot of frustration.

I needed some Moonstone to build an Arcane Enchanter so after searching every merchant I knew and coming up empty, I used the following to add Moonstone (ID=0005ad9f) to my inventory

Syntax: Player.AddItem <ID> <#>
Example: Player.Additem 0005ad9f 2


"Have you seen Lydia?" is a bit of a Skyrim running joke with a kernel of truth behind it.  I definitely left her safe and sound in Dragonsreach but when I went to retrieve her for a move to Lakeview Manor as my steward she was nowhere to be found.  I waited a full day and when she still didn't show up I cheated.

Syntax: MoveTo Player <ID>
Example: MoveTo Player 00a2c94

I'm delighted to have a place to hang my hat with the Main Hall, Entry Way, Cellar & Alchemy Tower completed.  I'll looking forward  to adding furnishings and new wings as my adventure continues.

I'm curious about your building experiences.  What house do you consider to be Skyrim's best?  What are your favourite house mods?  Do you have trouble defending your abode?


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Skyrim SE: The Demure Dragonborn Level 05 Lakeview Manor by  on 2016-11-21 When it comes to Skyrim I'm definitely a homebody looking to settle down in Lakeview Manor

Images: Tatiana Dokuchic

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