Skyrim Pirate Ship Mod
About this mod
Be a pirate or privateer! Pillage enemy vessels and obtain unique loot. Sail the Sea of Ghosts and explore the ocean floor! Pay your crew by sharing the spoils of your pillages, or better, give them rum!
The usual mode of manually installing mods is to copy and paste the files from the mod folder into your '.skyrim/data' install folder. If that doesn't work for the mods u want, then there isn't much we can do to help u. U use the keelhaul approach. This includes acquiring an historic ship. The Sailable Ships of Skyrim mod lets you buy a longboat with an interior that you could use as a mobile player home. The interior is pretty basic, but that might be part of the appeal for some people. Also, as the name implies, the ship is controllable, and you can even change the controls as well. Jul 3, 2018 - Developed as Pirates of the Caribbean Build 14, 'New Horizons'. Any ship, building, location or prop that was custom-built for our mods can.
Mods requiring this file
| Mod name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Pirates of Skyrim - The Northern Cardinal under the Black Flag - Japanese | |
| Pirates of Skyrim - The Northern Cardinal under the Black Flag - Portuguese - Brazil | |
| Pirates of Skyrim - The Northern Cardinal under the Black Flag SPANISH | |
| Pirates of Skyrim - The Northern Cardinal under the Black Flag Traduzione Italiana | |
| Pirates of Skyrim FR |
Author's instructions
To make this fair and easy: All models and textures etc. are not from me, so you'll need to ask the authors of those for their permission. MY assets are the script work, the Sea Of Ghosts worldspace, the decorating/landscape/editing etc. And speaking for those: you will need to ask me for permission if you want to edit or use them in your mod. UNLESS I have not been active on the Nexus for over 8 months. Then you are free to use them without my explicit permission.
YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO UPLOAD THIS FILE TO ANOTHER WEBSITE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
File credits
Blary for Open Books, Alchemy Clutter, food containers etc.
Stoverjm for Open Books Library.
yourenotsupposedtobeinhere for Rug Resource.
BrettM for Experiment Pack and Aquarium Kit.
InsanitySorrow for all his Skyrim Resources.
Oaristys for Modder Resource Pack.
Ghosu for the Pirate Saber from his Weapon Pack and for the Flintlock Rifles.
Horrorview for the texture in Sexy Boats.
Daemonjax for his Just In Time Lighting Scripts.
TESA for Skyrim Resource Kit Project.
Tamira/Stroti for Assorted Resources.
Khugan (user name Conifer) for the crowns.
The coin texture is made by Bartalon.
LordKarnak for the pirate flag.
hothtrooper44 for the Seadog Armor and the Captain's/Ebony/Steel/Cutlasses.
747823 for the Iron Cutlass.
swordboy for the original Northern Cardinal mod.
Harvey2112 for the assets used in the GeneralStores version.
Mr.Dave for the Tricorne & Feathered Tricorne, all the awesome hats (I named them Explorer's Hat), the mão esquerda, the rapier and the glaive.
TH3WICK3D1 for the blue stripes armor and the redanian retexture of it (Explorer's armor).
From the corresponding mod page:
'Meshes and textures belong to CDProjektRED, the developer of The Witcher 2 (http://www.thewitcher.com/)
These models and textures were not created by me (unless specified otherwise), it was simply used to create this mod.
the models were edited in Blender to adjust to the Skyrim set of bones.'
markusliberty for the cyrodilic ship resource.
Luddemann for the 'Feathered Beret' aka Bard's hat.
Teh-Husky for the amazing Netch Leather armor.
monk_ide for the new furniture (table and stands).
Donation Points system
This mod is not opted-in to receive Donation Points
Translations- Turkish
- Spanish
- Portuguese
- Japanese
- French
Translations available on the Nexus
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Turkish | PoS - The Northern Cardinal - Turkish Translation |
| Japanese | Pirates of Skyrim - The Northern Cardinal under the Black Flag - Japanese |
| Portuguese | Pirates of Skyrim - The Northern Cardinal under the Black Flag - Portuguese - Brazil |
| French | Pirates of Skyrim FR |
| Spanish | Pirates of Skyrim - The Northern Cardinal under the Black Flag SPANISH |
Do you consider Pirate King of the Abecean to be a how-to manual instead of a cautionary tale? Do you fancy donning a fine feathered hat, swinging a cutlass, and captaining your own ship surrounded by your trusty crew, plundering treasure, charming wenches, guzzling alcohol, engaging in duels, and exploring the wonders of the Sea of Ghosts? If so, this list is for you.
I think we can all agree that Skyrim was never intended to support a seafaring playstyle. The northern coastal areas are barren and lifeless and the docks areas of the major port cities are woefully under-developed. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do on the Sea of Ghosts, and for a long time it seemed like it was fated to stay that way. But mods like Pirates of Skyrim: The Northern Cardinal Under the Black Flag, Northern Encounters, Pirates of the North, Sea of Ghosts, and a variety of settlement mods have made the idea of a seafarer-style playthrough merit more consideration...and consider it I have.
After much testing I've concluded that a seafaring playthough is absolutely doable if your heart longs for a life of travel, adventure, cold salt winds, dockside taverns, and the endless ocean. So grab your crew and your favorite doxy, button up your peacoat, take a swig of ale, and hold onto the wheel. We’re off to adventure on the Sea of Ghosts!
A few ideas to get you started:
Pirate - You cut throats, sink ships, plunder booty, ravish virgins, and generally make a nuisance of yourself wherever you go - whatever it takes to earn enough coin to keep your cup, coinpurse, and bunk overflowing. You are not a nice person and you don’t do favors for anyone unless there’s coin involved.
Smuggler - Moving contraband is your profession and you operate in some questionable circles, but the money’s good, the people are interesting, and you have the freedom to chart your own course.
Merchant - You’re a businessman moving goods from one place to another. You have goods you specialize in and you spend a lot of time seeking out customers, making business connections, doing favors for wealthy patrons, and buying and selling. If there’s profit to be had you might even make a trip inland now and again. Maybe someday you’ll have enough money to build a house on the coast, get married, have a few kids, and retire.
Marine or Privateer - You’re an agent of one of the game factions (Stormcloaks, Imperials, Thalmor, East Empire Company, etc.) and your business is to make life difficult for the opposition. You spend your time sinking enemy ships, wreaking havoc on enemy forces, and being as disruptive as possible whenever opportunity presents itself.
Traveler/Explorer - You’ve always been fascinated by the sea, and now you have the time and the opportunity to make traveling by sea a full-time hobby. What mysteries lie beyond the horizon?
While there are a number of ship/boat mods on the Nexus and the Workshop, these are the ones I consider to be the “best” of the lot. All of these mods have their own quirks, so I advise you to do your research before committing any of them to your load order.
Pirates of Skyrim - The Northern Cardinal Under the Black Flag
Docks at: Solitude, Windhelm, Dawnstar, Raven Rock (quest - see mod description)
Feature for feature, this is the best ship to go with if you want the full raid and plunder pirate or merchant marine experience. In addition to a purchasable and upgradeable ship home, this mod offers naval battles, search and rescue, and diving for lost treasures. The system to build and customize the ship, recruit crew, and manage loot and crew morale is very robust. You even wind up building a dockside staging area in Solitude in the process, with your own blacksmith and other support staff. The downside is that it’s not compatible with much of anything else that touches the Solitude docks area. It docks in the same location as other ship mods and the dock upgrades interfere with the various other dock improvement mods. In my opinion, the raiding and ocean exploration aspect of the mod is a worthwhile tradeoff for all of the above. But if naval battle and ocean exploration aren’t important to you and you still want a big ship with lots of features, I’d advise going with The Scarlett to have access to its pirate hideout, river travel system, and the various docks overhauls.
Probably compatible with: Nothing?
Probably not compatible with: Anything else that alters the Solitude Docks
The Scarlett
Docks at: Solitude, Windhelm, Dawnstar, Solstheim, Lostport Cavern (pirate hideout added by this mod)
Riverboat destinations: Riften, Riverwood, Ivarstead, Morthal (the only realistic riverboat travel destination based on Skyrim’s geography, but whatever...)
This is a highly customizable ship that includes Lostport Cavern, a buildable pirate hideout.
While this doesn’t have the open ocean and combat aspects of the Northern Cardinal: Black Flag mod, there are some other advantages it brings to the table. The big one is the pirate hideout, which you need to spend time and money to overhaul to a usable condition. Once you do you'll have access to vendors who will make a tidy profit for you. Another advantage is the river travel system with return boats. Having the option to take a boat upstream to the smaller settlements cannot be overstated. Finally, unlike The Northern Cardinal, this boat should be compatible with the various docks overhauls you might wish to use.
Probably compatible with: Solitude Docks District, Solitude Expansion, Serenity
Probably not compatible with: Anything that adds content to the pier where it docks in Solitude
Serenity - Player House Ship
Docks at: Solitude, Windhelm (E of the city), Dawnstar (out in the harbor)
(optional DLC pack) Raven Rock, Volkihar Castle, SeaPoint Settlement, Tel Thirith in Morrowind
This pretty little ship is a good choice for a small scale operation. It’s cozy and homey inside, with room for yourself and 2-3 crewmembers, depending on how literally you define the term “First Mate”. This is the one to consider if you find the other boats too large, don’t care about complex upgrade features, and really like author Elianora's signature style. Its docking location north of the East Empire Warehouse makes it compatible with most of the seafaring quest mods. It also offers the possibility of adding one of the other ships that dock on the other side of the warehouse if you fancy starting your own fleet.
Probably compatible with: Sea of Ghosts, The Scarlett, Grytewake Legend
Probably not compatible with: Solitude Docks District, Solitude Expansion, Northern Cardinal: Black Flag
EDIT: Great news! Someone made a mod that offers a variety of tweaks for some of Elianora's mods, including one that moves Serenity's Solitude docking location further west near the Solitude Sawmill. You can find the mod here.
The Grytewake Legend - Quest and Movable Ship
Docks at: Solitude, Windhelm, Dawnstar, Winterhold
While this magical vessel isn’t as fancy as some of the others, it’s very unique in its own right. It offers a quest to find and take ownership of a magical ship that may appeal to a more nature-oriented or scholarly type of character. Special features include a new ruins location on the coast, a nice library, a garden, custom displays, and chickens. The biggest drawback is that it doesn’t include room for a crew, presumably because this ship is powered by witchery. Adding beds with something like Jaxonz Positioner and assigning crewmembers with one of the My Home is Your Home variants can overcome that obstacle easily enough.
Probably compatible with: Solitude Docks Districts, Solitude Expansion, Serenity
Probably not compatible with: Sea of Ghosts, The Scarlett, Northern Cardinal: Black Flag
The Pirate King (part of the Ol' Arrow Knee mod)
Docks at: Your guess is as good as mine, as the author doesn't specify. It definitely docks at Armada and probably Smuggler's Haven (settlements that are part of the mod this ship is from). It likely docks at the port towns of Solitude, Windhelm, and Dawnstar, as well.
I'm going to be straight with you and say that the ship itself is not quite as fancy as the other ships on this list, but it does dock at multiple locations. It's the end reward for the questline involving Armada and the guy who runs the show there. I go into more detail about it later on in the guide, but it's no walk in the park. The appeal of this ship is the challenge to obtain it and the idea that you're essentially taking over this guy's pirate organization. Since this is a higher level adventure, though, you may not want to put off owning a ship until later game.
One thing you could do (and what I would do) is select another ship to use as your main ship, do the Ol' Arrow Knee quests mid/late game, and hand this one off to your loyal first mate once you've liberated it. You can keep it docked at Armada or Smuggler's Haven (maybe?), assign it to your friend as a new home with MHIYH, recruit some crewmembers for them, and stop in and visit when you're in the area. Congratulations, you are now on your way to building a fleet.
Probably compatible/not compatible with: It's hard to say, given that the author never indicates where it docks or has any screenshots of it docked in the port cities. One of the main quests involved with Ol' Arrow Knee is definitely not compatible with SeaPoint Settlement, as it adds a pretty heated battle there.
Honorable mention: The Winter’s Warmth (Quest: Sea of Ghosts)
Docks at: Solitude
This one is a “seafarer light” scenario, because you don’t actually own the ship and the ship can’t be docked at any of the other port towns. Instead, you rent a cabin and charter the ship to take you adventuring. There are several new places to explore and quests to complete. You get a player home on the ship and an island manor home you can purchase later on (optional). If you plan on pursuing The Pirate King and waiting until later game to own your own ship, this may be a good way to enjoy seafaring (depending on where TPK docks in Solitude). It's also compatible with Serenity, if you're good with owning a smaller ship.
Probably compatible with: Solitude Docks District, Solitude Expansion, Serenity
Probably not compatible with: Anything that adds content to the end of the pier where this ship docks, including The Scarlett, The Northern Cardinal, The Grytewake Legend, and possibly The Pirate King.
Want more ships? I made a huge list of ship homes awhile back, though I'll warn you that many of the other ship mods only dock at one location. The list hasn't been updated in awhile, but it might be worth a look: Bring Me That Horizon - A list of Skyrim's boat and ship homes for seafaring folk
PILOTABLE BOATS:
Realistic Functional Boats - Allows you to build havok-enabled wooden boats in forested areas or near woodpiles and pilot them in water. Untie and Row Boats allows you to replace static boats temporarily with boats from Realistic Functional Boats.
Finally Real Boats - Replaces all the static boats in Skyrim and Solstheim with pilotable boats. Requires installation of the Pilotable Rowboat BETA mod.
FAST TRAVEL BOATS:
Travel by Boat - Adds 15 new boat fast travel ferries divided among 3 travel lines - west and east + a Solitude to Yngol Barrow route that travels in real time and allows you to stop at various points along the way. Travel includes a starting animation and you will receive a trip event report at the end of each trip.
Better Fast Travel - Carriages and Ships - Overhauled - Adds 8 boat travel locations along the coast and Riften and Ivarstead, as well as a variety of new fast travel carriage locations.
Realistic Boat Travel - This allows you to purchase boats that can transport you around Skyrim’s waterways via fast travel. The boat will stay at your point of arrival. Visiting Solstheim? Also check out Dragonborn - Solstheim Boat Travel - the companion mod to Realistic Boat Travel.
FAST TRAVEL TIPS: Look, I know you guys hate fast travel. You want an immersive experience. You think fast travel feels like cheating. It’s hard to keep yourself from using it.... I get it. But many of these new places don’t have fast travel options to the vanilla ports or the ship mods you want to use. If you want to use these mods together, you’re going to have to be creative.
So here’s what I suggest: In order to fast travel between places, you must A) always stand in a boat and B) always travel somewhere that boats can be found.
Obviously this isn’t going to work for everywhere you want to go. Winterhold, for instance, has no dock area down by the water, and no boats anywhere nearby. Same thing for Dragon Bridge. But most settlements near water have at least one boat docked somewhere, whether it’s a vanilla town or a place added by a mod. It’s really up to you how you want to handle getting around to places where you should be able to get to by boat, but just can’t because of the limitations of mod interactions. Just remember, if ever there were a playthrough where “cheating” would be OK, a pirate one would be it.
Any place that’s on the outer edge of the coastal region of the map - from Windhelm to the far northwest corner of Haafingar is fair game, as are the swamp waterways of Hjaalmarch and the vast expanse of the Sea of Ghosts. It’s more than you may think, and there are plenty of adventures to be had.
SETTLEMENTS ACCESSIBLE BY WATER (Vanilla):
The port cities (reachable by any size boat): Solitude, Windhelm, Dawnstar
The waterfront towns (reachable by small boat): Winterhold, Morthal, and (surprisingly) Dragon Bridge and Kynesgrove (a short walk up from the shore.)
MODS THAT OVERHAUL PORT CITY DOCKS:
Expanded Towns and Cities - Dawnstar (adds a lighthouse, as well), Morthal, Raven Rock, and the base of Winterhold’s cliff.
Better Docks - Adds more boats and dockworkers to the docks of various cities. Check mod page for compatibility list.
Snow City - The Great Expansion of Windhelm - Windhelm
In addition to expanding the interior of Windhelm in a variety of ways, this also adds a waterfront docks area, warehouse, and inn to the south side of Windhelm. If you’re not a fan of the dubious welcome of Candlehearth Inn’s snobby racist owner, you may prefer this less genteel establishment.
Windhelm Exterior Altered - If you’re not interested in using Snow City, but still want access to the south side docks expansion and inn, install this instead.
Solitude Docks District - Solitude
This greatly expands Solitude’s docks area, adding many piers, ships, NPCs, merchants, a tavern, a temple to Julianos, and more. Highly recommended if you choose a ship home that’s compatible.
Solitude Expansion - Solitude
This one overhauls the entire area from the front gate of Solitude down to the northern docks area. It’s very impressive, but not compatible with any Solitude mod that overhauls the exterior (trust me; I’ve tested the patches for Solitude Reborn and True City and they do not work). Should be compatible with boats that dock on the piers east of the East Empire Warehouse. One of the things I like best about it is that it adds a boat travel point from Solitude to a small shanty town on the other side of the bay in Hjaalmarch - very convenient.
SETTLEMENTS ACCESSIBLE BY WATER (Mods):
Pirates of the North (v3.3 recommended only): Pirate’s Cove, Frostcombe Landing, Ashcombe Landing, Wilvercombe Landing, and Barbella Island
How to get there: Fast travel marker at Frostcombe Landing, internal fast travel system between mod locations, sailable boat mod
This mod adds 6 new locations to visit oriented towards a seafaring character - a pirates cove multi-level shanty town, 3 fishing villages of varying levels of sophistication, an abandoned village, a smuggler’s tavern near Windhelm, a cozy cave player home near Frostcombe Landing, and a small island (very much a WIP) with 2 tiny villages and a few small caves. The author also has a Windhelm Lighthouse mod that compliments the smuggler’s tavern. The mod does need some polishing. The settlements are in desperate need of a boat fast travel system to the port cities, and Pirate’s Cove, while amazing in concept, needs a lot more love - outdoor clutter, more nighttime lighting, and more NPCs outside. Regardless, this is still a nice enhancement for a seafarer playthrough.
Want more/different lighthouses? Windhelm Lighthouse and Windhelm's Ancient Lighthouse
Ol' Arrow Knee: Smuggler’s Haven and Armada
How to get there: Take a boat from any port city to Smugglers Haven and then locate the boatman to take you on to Armada.
I’m going to be honest with you, there are some considerable pros and cons to this mod. I’ll address the cons first.
Cons: The enemies/battles are insanely difficult - ridiculously high enemy health, explosive arrows, and master spells. It makes no sense whatsoever considering you’re battling pirates and the Imperial Navy. The mid-point reward of the main quest of the mod (rescuing the owners of Ol’ Arrow Knee) is a player home on their ship, docked at Smugglers Haven. You fight your way through a series of incredibly hard battles to get a bedroom on a boat owned by someone else. The end reward of all the quests is that if you kill a certain NPC (optional) you also get The Pirate King, a ship player home that you will be able to dock at port cities. Also, if you choose to do the main questline , the mod is incompatible with both SeaPoint Settlement and Northern Encounters.
Pros: The settlements add a lot of pirate flavor. Smuggler’s Haven is a port on a rock in the Sea of Ghosts that includes an inn, docks, fences, and a boat to Armada. Armada is a flotilla made of various ships lashed together. It’s a neat place that's interesting enough to visit more than once or even set up house there. If the settlements interest you but the quests don't, I’d recommend installing the mod and not pursuing any of the quests.
Hroldan Nightgate and Sawmill Villages: Ravenscar Village and Anga’s Mill Village
How to get there: Ravenscar - Follow the road to the northeast coast of Haafingar. Anga's Mill Village - Just a short distance upriver from Windhelm.
Ravenscar is a harbor town that boasts a lighthouse, piers, and a busy fishing operation, as well as an inn and merchants. Anga’s Mill Village surrounds Anga’s Mill and has a tiny waterfront tavern, various merchants, and a mine.
Immersive Windhelm TPOS (now hidden on Nexus) - Adds a waterfront village to Windhelm’s exterior. If you happen to be using the Anga’s Mill Village part of Hroldan Nightgate and Sawmill Villages, this will make the area between Windhelm and Anga’s Mill one sprawling village.
Expanded Towns and Cities: Dragon Bridge South
How to get there: Pilot a small boat upriver to the ancient bridge.
Dragon Bridge South is just a short walk uphill. This add-on to the vanilla town includes some unique vendors, and of course the north side with its tavern and merchants are just a quick jaunt over the bridge.
SeaPoint Settlement
How to get there: Vanilla boat travel to Icewater Jetty, sailable boat mod, Serenity ship mod
This adds a pretty little village in the far northwest point of the map near Icewater Jetty. Has a lighthouse, inn, shops, and upgradable player home you can purchase, as well as a fast travel carriage back to the major cities. If you use Elianora’s Serenity ship, there’s an optional file that will allow you to dock here.
Syerscote
How to get there: It's on the north coast of Hjaalmarch across the bay from Solitude.
This is a quaint Imperial-style settlement near the northern coast. You can play a role in the civil war by either helping the mayor root out a Stormcloak spy or killing the mayor to claim the city for the Stormcloaks. There is a player home here that you can purchase, as well.
Any quest you can pick up at the port cities is fair game. For example:
Rise in the East is more or less mandatory for cutting out the competition.
Someone is killing wenches in Windhelm?! This is a travesty!
The food at the Windpeak Inn has been terrible since everyone in Dawnstar started having these nightmares. Someone needs to do something.
This Septimus Signus guy’s brain is more pickled than a barrel of last month’s mackerel, but he keeps saying that all I have to do to get my hands on fortune and glory is take this ball thing to Aftland. Sounds legit.
Sure I’ll help you get back that cargo your crew lost. It’s always nice to have other captains owing me favors.
The Argonians say that if they had better wages they might steal less from the vessels they unload? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
Deliver Adonato’s book to Solitude? Sure, I’m headed there anyway.
Clear out those amateurs in Broken Oar Grotto. They don’t even have a sailable ship, for Talo’s sake!
Why has trade dropped off in Morthal? The whole place is starting to feel like a ghost town these days.
This Jaree-Ra seems like a clever fellow. Maybe I should hear him out?
Maybe you’ll only get 100 gold for bandit bounties, but those assholes are cutting into your profits by stealing the goods before you can trade for them or steal them yourself. Hopefully your crew won't drink all the ale while you're gone.
Kill some giants for that crotchety bastard, Skald? It’s not glamorous, but you’ve heard mammoth tusks fetch a pretty penny, and there’s nothing like a warm mammoth cheese bowl to keep the cold out. Giants look pretty slow. How hard can it be?
Is it true that Nords bury their dead with gold and booze in those big ruins on the coast?
What happened to the beacon at Frostflow Lighthouse?
Have you seen that shrine to Azura?
If there’s enough profit to be had you might even consider a expedition inland:
Head to Markarth and try to get in on the silver trade, then meet a tattooed guy who wants to give you gold to ask a few questions around town. What’s not to love about this arrangement?
I hear there’s someone down in Riften who can change a person’s face. Maybe I should head down there and find out more about it...for a friend...yeah, a friend.
QUEST MODS: There are a wide variety of mods that add new quests and areas to explore, and I’m definitely not knowledgeable about everything out there. The ones I‘ve included here are mods specifically oriented towards a seafaring character or relatively easy for a sailor to stumble across. I chose ones with higher endorsement rates, but I can’t vouch for the quality of every quest, and it’s up to you to do the research to see which ones are compatible with your modlist. If you know any other mods that should be included here, please let me know!
The Notice Board - You’re going to be spending a lot of time in the port cities looking for things to do between your ale and wench benders. This mod adds a notice board that offers a wide variety of radiant quests to pick up for fun and profit, as well as humorous observations from the vanilla NPCs. Also check out the Notice Board - Dragonborn DLC - Better Solstheim Quests - Keeps the radiant quests found on Solstheim Notice Boards actually on Solstheim, and also adds Riekling bounties. And The Notice Board Redefined - New Meshes and Rextures - Brilliant retexture of the Notice Board. Get this.
Northern Encounters - Adds a large amount of content to the north coast - ruins, beacons, shipwrecks, underwater sites, caves, NPCs… You’ll spend hours exploring the barren north coast and offshore islands and icebergs, then following clues for unmarked quests inland to discover hidden secrets and treasures. The catch is that a lot of the new content is found offshore, so you’ll need some way to make your way out there, be it a sailable boat mod, a waterwalking spell, or a flying mod.
Sea of Ghosts - Adds a ship named the Winter Warmth at Solitude’s docks which you can charter to visit a variety of islands. Includes a player cabin on the vessel and a purchasable player home on an island.
Pirates of the Pacific - The Protection of the Elder Scroll - Find and protect an Elder Scroll from the famous Captain Morgan while 'pretending' to be a pirate so you can learn information from them.
Darkend - Out on the ice floes north of Winterhold is a shipwreck with a secret - a mysterious item that will teleport you to a gloomy island full of wrecked ships, dangerous mysteries, and deadly foes.
Forgotten Dungeons - Adds a total of 25 new radiant quest dungeons to Skyrim, with 5 of them being near the waters and inlets of the northern coast. Optional Solstheim dungeons, as well.
The Shadow of Meresis - You find a body on an island near the Solitude Sawmill. Of course it won’t be needing that lovely trinket around its neck anymore, right? You grab it, and then...…...Waking up you find yourself drenched in sweat in the 'Four Shields Tavern' in Dragon Bridge. A young Vigilant of Stendarr is watching over you. Upon closing your eyes, you can hear it in the distance again: Pained voices and dark shadows haunting you in feverish delirium… What have you gotten yourself into this time?
Skyrims Scholarly Adventures - ”Isolated to the far northeast along the coast of Skyrim a scholar by the name of Alaves Ravel has begun collecting and cataloging old myths and stories. These books only appear to contain lore, but after closer inspection and a clever mind one can begin to put the clues together that can lead to great treasures.” Who says that you can’t read books and decipher puzzles? You’re salty, not stupid.
The Hanging Gardens - If you’ve ventured inland to Markarth and killed Nimhe the spider for Cancelmo, he will contact you again with a request for help locating the legendary ancient Dwemer island that inspired the book Hanging Gardens. Mysteries and treasure await!
The Shroud of Jotunheim - ”A strange meeting, rumors of a mystic island shrouded in darkness and an important mission. An epic journey awaits…” Admittedly, there’s not a lot of description on this one, but it’s fairly well-reviewed and involves islands, lighthouses, and sea travel.
The Lost Wonders of Mzark - Head north of Dawnstar to find the entrance to a Dwemer structure. Take the elevator down and soon discover that being addressed by a giant floating head is only the beginning of your adventure.
Faction: Pit Fighter - Need more gold to buy ale? Need to work out all those pent-up frustrations about rising docking fees, surly crewmembers, slim profit margins, and finicky wenches? Want to knock some heads? Next time you’re in port at Windhelm, consider taking some time off from seafaring to engage in some totally legal and not at all shady head knocking competitions.
Skyrim Mods
Faction: Pit Fighter Travels Add-On - Knock more heads! Get more money to buy more ale. Not only does it make sound financial sense, it’s therapeutic!
It’s not a quest, but Underwater Treasure is quite relevant to the topic at hand.
NEW LANDS: Again, I gotta be honest with you. I tested a bunch of new lands mods and found, with the exception of a few quest mods listed above, most were not anything I was willing to recommend. A lot of new lands tend to be heavy on ambition and light on content. I couldn’t test everything, of course, so if you have a recommendation that you really think deserves a spot on this list, by all means let me know.
As I mentioned earlier, you’re going to be spending a lot of time in the port cities, and I recommend doing what you can to make them more lively and engaging. Here’s a few mods that add NPCs to Skyrim:
Interesting NPCs - Tons of NPCs, followers, quests, and weird conversations. Recruit new crewmembers, talk to strange people, go on new quests.
Inconsequential NPCs - Although this mostly just adds NPCs going about their daily lives, the sheer variety of workers, refugees, laborers, farmers, and other common folk is staggering. It’s a great mod.
Immersive Patrols - Adds spawns of various faction patrols on the roads and coasts. Unless you're interested in the Civil War, I'd suggest opting for the 'no battles' version.
Populated Cities Towns Villages - Adds more NPCs to the cities to make them seem more bustling and alive.
Lively Inns and Taverns and a patch with a few fixes and some crowd control - (Less) Lively Inns and Taverns - adds more NPCs to inns and taverns.
Immersive Wenches - Adds more wenches around Skyrim - customizable with MCM for your convenience.
Prostitutes of Skyrim - Actually quite tastefully done - not a porn mod.
INTERACTING WITH NPCS: There are many mods out that that affect how you interact with NPCS for the purposes of trading, robbing, and more intimate encounters. I think you know where to find more info on intimacy mods, but for trading and robbing, take a look at these 2 discussion topic pages:
Playing as a Commoner
Playing as a Bandit
FURTHER SUGGESTIONS:
Immersive Speechcraft - Lets you rob people or recruit them, among other things.
Skyrim Ship Boat Pirate Mod
Trade Routes - Buy cheap and sell high. This mod changes item values locally based on item scarcity.
Your Market Stall - Set up your own traveling market to trade directly with non-merchant NPCs. You can even have your follower run the stall for you while you run errands.
Follower Goes on a Trip - Send your crew out on their own errands - They can visit taverns and temples, take on bounties, explore dungeons and caves, and more.
Honed Metal - NPC Crafting and Enchanting Services - Allows you to commission NPCs to make armor/weapons/enchanted items for you, because you are a buccaneer, not a blacksmith or mage.
Khajiit Merchants Buy Stolen Items - Need this one say more?
All of the ships I linked are meant to be player homes, and you’ll spend a lot of time on board your ship or off exploring the north coast. But perhaps you’re saving up to retire to a seaside home? Need a place for the spouse and kids? Or maybe you just need a convenient place to dump your excess followers? Whatever the case, here are a few waterfront home suggestions for those who would like a place on solid ground to retreat to.
Windstad Manor - Located near the mouth of the Karth river delta, at the edge of Hjaalmarch’s swamp east of Solitude.
This home is added by the Hearthfires DLC and is the type of place you build bit by bit as time and funding allow. The advantages to this home include the ability to customize the design to some extent, adopt children, have a fish hatchery, install a steward and house bard, and hire a permanent fast travel carriage to get you inland. There are plenty of mods on Nexus that improve and expand on the Hearthfires homes, so I won’t elaborate on them here, but I do encourage you to check them out.
Morskom Estate - Located in Dawnstar.
Here’s another beautiful home that you build bit by bit as your game progresses, and it’s highly customizable for a mod home. Special features include a fast travel boat, a bathhouse, adoption, autosorting, and the ability to choose the color of many of the furnishings. If you use The Serenity, you can dock it right outside.
The Northern Star Retreat - Revisited - Located on the north shore, west of Dawnstar.
I think of this one as the Elysium Estate of the north. It uses the Whiterun architecture and has a similar aesthetic, as well as an eye towards luxury, comfort, and beauty. Features include extensive customizable configurable displays, a bathing room, and adoption support. While a fast travel boat on the shore would be a nice addition, that’s a minor gripe overall. If you’re looking for a place to display all your treasures, this is a nice option.
Haafinheim - Located near the Solitude docks area, between Katla’s Farm and the Solitude Sawmill.
A short quest will win you the right to call this elegant place your home. While it’s skimpy on custom storage and display, has dim lighting, and would benefit from additional beds for followers, its unique design and convenient location may just win you over. If you happen to use the Solitude Expansion mod, this house blends in beautifully.
Seabreeze Estate - Located in Haafingar, just N of the Solitude docks.
This moderately-sized manor is located on a small rocky island a short walk from the Solitude docks and offers stunning views of the Solitude harbor and the northern sea. The interior highlights are the library and the kitchen. What it really lacks is a bed for a steward or housekeeper, but there’s plenty of room in the basement for you to add an extra sleeping area with something like Jaxonz Positioner.
SeaPoint Settlement - Located in Haafingar at the NW corner of the map.
This mod adds a lovely little village that includes an upgradeable player cottage and a fish hatchery. It’s a quaint little place that feels far away from the cares of the world. If you use the Serenity ship mod you can dock it here.
Frostflow Lighthouse Player Home - Located on a cliff on the northern coast between Winterhold and Dawnstar.
If you can get past the sad story and dark secret that haunts this location, you might enjoy turning this into a charming nautical-themed player home after you complete the quest associated with the lighthouse. The author has done a wonderful job converting this place into a warm and welcoming place to hang your hat.
Halamshiral - Mage Tower - Located in the Hjaalmarch marsh.
While this place doesn’t have a seafaring feel to it, the location is relevant and I’ll not be the one to tell you that a seafarer can’t also be a packrat and a bookworm. If you went with the Grytewake as your ship of choice, this home might suit you very well.
Pale Marsh Manor - Located on the coast northeast of Dawnstar.
A crimson and white estate with a lovely and unique architecture style and no load doors. While the coloring is too stark for my tastes, this one has become quite popular.
Live Anywhere - Constructible Shacks - As the name suggests, you can plunk the shacks from this mod down literally anywhere. It’s a great option for players who want to live in a location that doesn’t include a player home and aren’t looking for anything luxurious. Do you fancy a tiny shack of your own at Pirate’s Cove, Ravenscar Village, or Smuggler’s Haven? How about a solitary cabin on the shore near Winterhold? Found a snug little cave fit for a pirate hideout and want to throw together a shanty town for your crew? You can do all of this and more with this easy-to-use mod.
Of course there are plenty of other homes out there and even more accommodations inside the walls of the port towns. If you’re looking for more suggestions, please let me know in the comments.