10 Rarest Skyrim Discoveries From Players In 2023

Players are still making discoveries in Skyrim, even though Bethesda’s critically acclaimed RPG is over 12 years old. The action RPG set in the northern region of Tamriel was well-received by critics and players alike due to its immersive storytelling in a huge world filled with secrets in every corner. Although it is outdated regarding technical performance and some mechanics, it is still widely regarded as one of the best games ever made.

This article may contain spoilers about Skyrim.

There is much to see and explore in the game, along with horrific enemies to face in Skyrim. Among this great variety of content, there are multiple hidden details, be they secret treasure chests that are hard to locate or gameplay features that allow players to trigger minor exploits – even if they are not game-breaking glitches. In 2023, new and old players made fun discoveries about the RPG.

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10 Paarthurnax Can Order Your Death

Like All Other NPCs In The Game

In a post made on Reddit, a player discovered that the legendary dragon Paarthurnax, who can be their ally for a significant amount of time, can actually put a bounty on their head. Eventually, players can choose to kill Paarthurnax in Skyrim or spare him from the deliverance of the Blades, but this bounty can be put out much earlier.

The Redditor explained that they stole food from High Hrothgar on their Survival playthrough, which resulted in Paarthurnax putting a bounty on their character’s head. This is a very common thing for other NPCs to do, even some followers in Skyrim, but it is a bit shocking since Paarthurnax is a giant dragon who resides hidden at the top of the Throat of the World, as opposed to the Greybeards who live in the monastery itself.

9 Pregnant Skeletons

Baby Skeletons Dwell Inside Adult Skeletons

Another Reddit user posted a discovery they claim to have made “years ago”, which features an adult skeleton with a baby skeleton in the area where their womb would have been. Although the original Redditor found out about this secret in Skyrim years, comments in the post evidence that other players did not know about this before.

The positioning of the baby skeleton within the adult skeleton suggests that this was a person who was pregnant, but died before they were able to give birth. This is a perfect example of how subtly creepy Skyrim can be, which comes across as a reward for players who pay enough attention to detail.

8 Skeleton Killed By A Horker

Evidence Suggests The Animal Impaled The Humanoid

Yet another unsavory death was uncovered by a Reddit user, which highlighted a skeleton that was impaled by a horker tusk. The creature’s tusk was removed from its body and left on the person’s right chest plate. The skeleton in Skyrim lies there, impaled and with a shield in hand.

This suggests that they died there on the spot, while fighting against the horker. In the comments to the post in which other users ask for the location of this special skeleton, the Redditor points them toward the outside area of the Broken Oar Grotto, along the northern coast of Haafingar.

7 The Richest Trader In Skyrim

Neloth Can Hold Around 30k Gold

Although traders in Skyrim usually have a limited amount of Gold on them, a Redditor discovered that Neloth from Tel Mithryn in Solstheim can hold over 30,000 Gold in their inventory. This is a notably large sum of money for an NPC to have.

As pointed out by comments on their post, however, it seems like the Gold acquired by Neloth actually comes from the player themselves, who must have trained their Enchanting with the NPC. This is a costly process and could have been the source of Neloth’s abundance of Gold.

6 You Can Mine Bugs

Mining Bugs Provides Shellbug Chitin

In the Dawnguard expansion for Skyrim, there are two bugs that players can mine for resources. The Shellbugs are located in the Forgotten Vale and can be mined like veins – instead of ore, however, they provide Shellbug Chitin, as shown off by a post made on Reddit.

They will also often provide gems if players are lucky enough. After collecting three pieces from the Shellbug, they die. These creatures cannot be killed in any other way. The Shellbug Chitin serves only one purpose: crafting a Shellbug Helmet at a blacksmith’s forge.

5 You Can Cast Magelight On NPCs

Use Allies As Torches & Locate Invisible Enemies

A curious Skyrim discovery shown off in a post made on Reddit highlights the fact that players can cast Magelight on their allies. This spell will latch on to the follower, allowing them to navigate like a mobile beacon, without having them actually carry a torch and sacrifice their weapon slot.

As was mentioned by a few comments in the Redditor’s post, this can also be done with enemies. In turn, it could be a way to highlight opponents that go invisible, such as Mercer Frey, and make encounters much easier, as the player will know the location of their foes regardless of their invisibility.

4 Honorhall Orphanage’s Roof Can Be Devoid Of A Hitbox

You Can Kill Grelod The Kind With An Arrow From Above

As shown by a post on Reddit, there is a way of entering Honorhall Orphanage in Riften without triggering the cutscene with the kids and Grelod in Skyrim. This can be done by entering the orphanage through the playground rather than the main entrance. In doing so, this also makes the location’s roof devoid of a hitbox.

The video pleasantly shows how to access the area by utilizing the Whirlwind Sprint Dragon Shout in Skyrim. Later, the player demonstrates how the hitbox on the roof is unavailable by shooting an arrow upward, which then comes tumbling onto Grelod’s head, thus killing her.

3 Forelhost Has A Dark Secret

Find A Mass Grave For Children

In addition to the pregnant skeleton and their skeleton baby, another creepy secret found in Skyrim revolves around the Nord Tomb Forelhost. In a post on Reddit, the user shows that they encountered several baby Draugr corpses inside the tomb, all set next to each other in a mass grave.

To give further context, it is possible to find a note relative to the event, in which the author talks about harvesting the blossoms in the location, bringing them up to the alchemical lab, and then clearing space to begin burying the bodies of children. The very concept of child deaths is inhumane, and seeing this subtly inserted into Skyrim shows exactly how dark Bethesda’s RPG can be.

2 There Are Ants In Skyrim

This Tiny Detail Can Remain Relatively Unseen

One of the most curious discoveries made by a player is that, among the vastness of the map and the several elements that make up the world, there are also tiny ants in Skyrim. In a post on Reddit, the user shows a line of ants marching atop a tree trunk and says they discovered the game has those insects.

This was one of the big discoveries in the game when it was released, so seeing it rediscovered so many years later is quite amusing. This is yet another example of the tiny details that are hidden within the world of Skyrim, which nearly feel like a reward when uncovered, as only those who pay attention to detail will actually notice the presence of ants in a game with such a wide scope.

1 Two Hidden Chests In The First Dungeon

A Lesson In Exploration In The Early Stages Of Skyrim

A funny discovery made by a Skyrim player, as shown on Reddit, is that of the two hidden chests at the end of Bleak Falls Barrow. The user claims they have over 2,000 hours in the game and had never encountered the two chests before that moment this year.

These are not particularly rare or even well-hidden secrets, but they serve to show how players can spend so much time in a game and, if they do not search for every nook and cranny, they will likely miss out on a piece of content, as trivial as it may be. While most of the game seems to have been discovered by the community, not all players have found the secrets hidden in Skyrim, even over a decade after its initial release.