I just got Skyrim last night (I know, newbie, newbie) and I'm crawling through Bleak Falls Barrow when I realize - I cannot carry all this stuff! (Actually, for reasons I don't understand, I CAN carry it, I just can't run . . . which is almost more annoying than being frozen in place, if possible).

I need your tips and suggestions for (1) how to carry stuff (. . . is feather still available?), (2) where is safe storage?, and (3) Are there houses for sale and is there a cheap one around?

Thanks in advance for you guidance.

~ Dani ~

I have a house now so I store all my crap there. BUT before I was a homeowner I stored my items at the Blacksmith in Solitude. He has 3 barrels in the back of his smithy I used 1 for weapons 1 for apparel and 1 for random junk. He also has a barrel beside his work bench that i horded all the junk I wanted to sell but didn't feel like selling at the moment. I have over 100 saves and plenty of game time storing my stuff there and it never disappeared

Thank you!

Do you know if this is true for all containers or just those?

They didn't disappear just because he never was away from that cell long enough for it to reset. Homes are the only safe storage places are they won't reset. If he had happened to spend way too much time in a dungeon /resting/ what not, or just left his game running while he went to the store and then forgot about it for the weekend or something (ridiculous, I know, but whatev) then he could've stayed away from that cell too long and the barrels (and the rest of the cell) could have reset. But it's because he used them for storage that he returned often enough that they didn't reset.

My pro-tip, don't pick up anything that looks like its related to a quest unless you have the quest and really want to complete it...

I have 37 whatevers of my carry capacity chewed up by quest items for quests I have completed and yet the game refuses to allow me to drop the item....
Yes, I'm looking at you elder scroll and whats-her-names lute... Im a loot [censored] mage for pete's sake, I only have so much carry capacity to go around without squadering it on un-dropable useless quest items.

On a side note, like the rest of the gimped magic system, they effectively removed the feather spell, though you can enchant items and make potions for additional carry capacity.

it's even more annoying when you have absolutely no idea what the item is for or even where to begin trying to dump it off on someone. Screw whoever you are, Finn, just come take your damned lute!

(1): how to carry stuff:
Boost your stamina and it'll increase your carry weight. You can also get the steed stone which adds 100 to your carry weight and means worn armour weighs nothing at all..nothing at all..nothing at al- sorry, I get carried away. Stupid sixy characters.
(2) where is safe storage:
I've heard dragon corpses make good storage. Also, both the mage college and companion's headquarters have safe storage boxes. I'm unsure about thieves or DB.
(3) Are there houses for sale and is there a cheap one around?
There is one in every major city that has a Jarl. The cheapest is in Whiterun and is $5000.

Thanks! Do you know what the magic number is? I'm assuming cells respawn every three days like Oblivion, but it isn't sooner, is it?

@ code2501: But quest items don't have any weight, right? Like Ob? I mean, it's annoying to have fifty things in your inventory but they don't weigh you do own, do they?



Thank you for the info. I knew there had to be way to raise my carry weight. But $5000 for the cheapest house? Egggh . . .

quest items do have weight <_< but i know how to get rid of the elder scroll! you can sell it to the ork in the college of winterhold, your welcme :biggrin:

Quest items have weight. It's a pain in the ass.

Some of them do. Quite a few quest items are weightless.

A few quest items have no weight, most do, one annoying one in particular (which i can't seem to get rid of) weighs 20!

some (that scroll i mentioned) weigh 20 pounds, most weigh something, but few weigh over 5 pounds (the only quest iems i have found other than the scroll [that i remember] weigh below 1 pound, but it will still add up eventually)

Thank the nine!
I'll try that straight away, any ideas on how to get rid of the two instruments (i've completed the quests), a named bow and some stupid dagger?

have not done thsoe quests yet, im taking the game slow :biggrin: if i find out you'll be the first to know :tongue:

10 days but it does not work like Oblivions 3 days away as far as I know, probably around 10 days fixed + away for some time.

I know the barrel in front of Alvors house respawn.
Some containers in the house might be safe as they have specific items you are allowed to take.

Named dragons like the first you kill in the main quest is verified safe.

Keep in mind the weight - value ratio on items. Draugr weapons for instance are very heavy but sell for almost nothing, best to leave them behind.

In the beginning I would suggest just selling everything (except unique items) until you can afford your first house.
You won't run out of loot in the game anyway.

The other solution to your carry issues is to get a pack mu- um, follower. There are many available... some free (usually after quest completion), some for hire... but there's one available very early, in the first village. You can use the "trade" interaction to give them stuff to carry for you.

Lots of good suggestions here. Apologies if I missed it said above, but another option to remember is that followers will haul junk for you too. There are a couple potential followers as early as Riverwood (just go around doing errands for people until you see the "follow me" dialog option). You'll also get one from an early quest in Whiterun. For a while, I was using a companion as a storage chest (just hanging around Dragonreach in Whiterun, waiting for me out of danger) until I could afford a house.

Thanks for the help, everyone. One more question: how do you know if an item is a quest item when you see it in a dungeon? I'm assuming once you have it in your inventory it's too late to do anything about it.

~ Dani ~

be careful where you store stuff, if it is not in a guild or owned, it can respawn and you lose loot.


what is the number of different items you can carry? I have only once gone over my limit. I took ALL (I thought) of my loot from my chest o items/apparel/weasons/mic to go sell of crap stuff....and when I came back, I found more left in chest. that was only time.

Most of the quest items with weight that I have found are un-enchanted but have unique names, like "Finn's Lute" or "so-and-so's bow".

I wouldn't store jack [censored] in a dragon corpse. I've seen one disappear within ten minutes before.

The best advice I can give you is to not get too attached to much beyond your weapons and armor until you can afford a house. They aren't too much, but it will take a little while. Just be careful regarding smithing. I lost over $1000 before I realized that smithing is not a feasible trade for player characters in the game unless you're finding the ore or ingots for free in dungeons or in veins of ore. Even just going by the base prices of the raw materials and the finished goods, many smithed objects do not sell at a profit. You can lose money right at that level, depending on the item in question. Now, add in the merchant's markup on the raw materials and their mark-down when they buy your finished product, you can lose money rather quickly.

So don't go thinking you can just buy raw ingots, smith armor, then sell the armor, then buy more ingots with the proceeds of the sale and so on until you've racked up some earnings to buy a house. That ain't happening.

If you want some numbers to work with, here you go: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Smithing Check the sections on smelting and forging in particular, to see how you stand regarding profit or loss if you buy the ingots or if you buy ore and smelt it into ingots yourself. A profit can be made, but you definitely need to be wary of what you're doing and understand that in some cases you can buy raw materials, forge them into finished products and have the finished products be worth less than the cost of the raw materials. At a glance it looks like the hide items in particular seem to run in the red, so be forewarned.

I know this isn't precisely what you were asking about, but I know that sometimes people look for every available method to make money to buy a house (which is smart) so be aware that smithing has risks as a trade.

lol

In Oblivion I had a feather spell named "Pack Mule" and I honestly can't remember if I made it or if I bought it with that name. Oops, just checked: it's a pre-made Feather spell.




The sad thing is that I had no idear they could be used to store stuff. Live and learn! I didn't even use Lydia or whatever her name is until last night. For storage! I mean for storage! Honestly! Jeez...