AsSkyrimis well over half a decade old, one would think that all there is to be found in the game would have been discovered by most of its fans. However, Bethesda is a game developer that prides itself on how creating immersive worlds, filled with vibrant environs, dynamic denizens, dangerous monsters, and content oozing out of every orifice.

Skyrimreally shines when it comes to easter eggs, hidden story elements, and random encounters. These elements create not only depth but add replayability and motive for exploration. In addition, the developers insert call outs to many of the other titles in theElder Scrollsfranchise. This attention to detail provides another layer of immersion as the world feels less static. Connecting current games to the past provide a historical context that adds levity to your actions.

It seems thatSkyrimhas a lot to offer even still. And why not? You don’t create a vibrant and living world by phoning it in! I hope the community keeps on digging to unravel all the mysteries that likely still await discovery. Until then, let’s see what hidden details you may have missed on your first, second, or even third playthrough. Hell, I missed some of these on my fifth!

20 Cool… But What About Elder Scrolls 6?

Alduin’s wall can be found in Sky Haven Temple. This prophetic wall outlines the return of Alduin and the consuming of the world. However, it does contain subtle allusions to events from previousElder Scrolls’games.

For instance, there is a reference to the Staff of Chaos, which is central to the story of the firstElder Scrollsgame,Arena.The giant Dwemer golem, Numidium can be seen, which was a part ofDaggerfall. The explosion of the Red Mountain fromMorrowindis also included. And lastly, there is an Oblivion gate opening above Cyrodiil fromElder Scrolls IV.

I like this one because the game doesn’t go out of its way to inform you of all these events. It is just left for the player to discover.

19 Wow, Even Skyrim Has Its Creeps

Deep within the Nord ruin of Yngvild, dwells a particularly disturbed necromancer. His name is Arondil, and he is one twisted High Elf. True, he is a necromancer, and by definition defiles the dead, but Arondil steps up the creep-factor.

Around the crypts, you can find the elf’s journals, in which he admits to his twisted endeavors. Arondil violates the female draugr of Yngvild. In addition, he lures nearby women—of the living variety—to the ruin, where he has his way with them and eventually ends them.

Seriously, this is one gnarly character. I mean, if your character is a female, Arondil says: “Ah, another plaything for my collection.” Not today Arondil… not today.

18 Don’t Trust Kids… For Real

Babette is a member of the Dark Brotherhood. She at the same time the oldest, and youngest member… for a certain point of view. Babette is a vampire who was turned as a child hundreds of years prior toSkyrim’sevents.

What is interesting about her is that you can encounter her around Skyrim on the rare occasion. She is often found standing idly around the province's roads. When you ask her what she is doing, she says that the Sanctuary’s food is decent, but she has more specific tastes. In other words, she is hunting.

This is another cool instance of adding depth where they didn’t have to. This event is so rare, that I missed in on multiple playthroughs.

Just think of the poor sap who wants to help out a stranded little girl, and BAM! You’re just another piece of meat.

17 It Pays Being A Goon

Have you ever just felt bored while wandering around Skyrim, and just decided to start wailing on the nearest poor bastard? Yeah me too. But instead of busting out your sword and laying waste to all who oppose you. Why not just use your fists and rough up a couple people.

If you pummel some people in public, you will receive a letter in the near future. It will inform you that they saw said pummeling and would like to commission your fists for some future endeavors. This letter could be sent from any NPC who witnesses the beating, whether its shopkeep in Whiterun or the bartender in Windhelm.

Once you receive this letter, you will initiate the quest “Scare My Enemy,” which has you rough up a specific target for some cash. But make sure you only assault the target and not end them as your commissioner will run away from you in terror instead of paying you.

16 Trollolololo-lolo-lolo

Beneath the Dark Brotherhood’s Dawnstar Sanctuary, there is another connection to previousElder Scrollstitles. This connection comes in the form of a unique troll named Uderfrykte. It is a powerful cave troll with green eyes, and a pretty aggressive temperament, even for trolls.

Uderfrykte has been referenced in every singleElder ScrollssinceMorrowind’s Bloodmoonexpansion. InMorrowind, the troll was inspired by the Grendel and Beowulf epic. InOblivionit was an Uderfrykte matron. InSkyrim, the creature doesn’t seem to have a backstory, nor does it have a quest attached to it.

I guess this version of the famous troll is just there for the hell of it. Speculators, start your engines.

15 Stop Chasing That Bad Wacky Thing

Sinderion was an Altmer botanist with quite the obsession with Nirnroot. His corpse can be found in a house in the Dwemer ruin of Blackreach. Sinderion’s house is not out of the ordinary, as it is a lab converted from a Dwemer home.

He was in Blackreach looking for an item known as Crimson Nirnroot. If you look in his journal, you will begin a quest called “A Return to Your Roots,” in which you will be tasked to collect the plants.

What is interesting about Sinderion, is that he could be found inThe Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. Only that time he was looking for regular old Nirnroot. He even gave the player a quest called “Uncovering Your Roots.” It seems chasing his passions all the way to Skyrim meant the end for Sinderion.

I really appreciate these little connections to past games. Gives a real sense of continuity and develops the idea that Nirn has a realistic historical presence.

14 The Little Bandit That Could

This little gem is well hidden. So well hidden in fact, that you can only reach it through console command.

Head over to the troll pit within Bleak Falls Barrow. In this room, if you look up, you will see a rope hanging from the ceiling, but nothing else. If you use the free cam or no clipping, you can observe or physically reach a corpse high above the entrance. This body belongs to a man named Thomas.

On Thomas’ body, you will find a letter. It tells the story of how Thomas wanted to become second in command of the bandit group he was in. So he was tasked with rappelling down into a troll cave and slaying the beast to prove his worth. Unfortunately, the rope snapped, along with poor Thomas’ neck.

13 Bethesda’s Pumpkin Patch

To the southeast of Helgin, you will come across a cave known as South Ridge Sanctum. This is your run of the mill bandit cave. Full of baddies and a boss baddie, all who become fodder for your destructive implement of choice. What is unique about the cave, is the multi-franchise easter egg that lays within.

A little bit into the cave, you will run into a unique fox named Pumpkin. It is usually found in its cage, though it can sometimes spawn outside of it. Within the vanilla base game, this is the only named fox inSkyrim. However, this Pumpkin is part of a long line of squash-named animals in Bethesda games.

InFallout 3,there was a mole rat named Pumpkin. Also inOblivion, there was a dog of the same name in Rockmill Haven.

This is a neat little feature that places some connection between some of my favourite games.

12 Paid The Cost To Be The Boss

Random encounters are one my favourite things about Skyrim. It never gets old seeing what kind of bizarre scenarios that be thrown at you, especially the rare ones. Now this one is not too rare, though the circumstances can be quite particular.

In your travels, a thief may approach you and demand that you surrender some of your gold. You have the choice to comply, resist, or pass a speech check to convince him to leave you be. However, if you are rocking the Nightingale armour, things play out differently.

As only high ranking members of the Thieves Guild are known as Nightingales, the would-be robber recognizes your prestige and instead pays you for the privilege of your presence.

This is refreshing in a game that has difficulty overtly acknowledging the player's achievements. Bought time we got some respect!

11 No One Likes A Rat

Living under the Honningbrew Meadery near Whiterun is a Breton named Hamelyn. He is a rogue mage who has been disgraced by the College of Winterhold and exiled. You are tasked to end him by the Thieves Guild.

While fulfilling the quest, you may notice that he has a legion of skeevers under his command. If you look around you will find his journal outlining his ultimate goal of returning to the College with an army of skeevers to enact revenge on those who wronged him.

It seems the developers at Bethesda are fans of fairy tales as this character seems to be inspired by the story ofThe Pied Piper of Hamelin. Though the piper from the story only leads mice out of town, you get the clear influence.

I think I prefer the vengeful version more.

10 Real Subtle Guys

The Companions are a faction that is based in Whiterun. Once you join them, you will eventually be made privy to the fact that most of their leadership are werewolves. However, if you have any knowledge of Eastern European languages, this might not have been too much of a revelation to you.

For example, Kodlak means werewolf in Serbian. Farkas means wolf in Hungarian, while his brother Vilkas’ name means the same, though in Lithuanian.

This is a just neat little easter egg. A nice subtle way to add a little trivia into the game for us hyper nerds. Shout out to Bethesda for throwing us writers a bone! We scratch your back, you scratch ours.

9 That Poor Kid

Right off the bat, I don’t like kids. They are irritating, overly opinionated, and just generally a terror. So when I came across Braith in Whiterun, I thought Bethesda did a good job in capturing ‘the spirit’ of childhood. She is rude, brash, and terrorizes a little boy named Lars Battleborn. However, that’s only half the truth.

Upon further digging, you will find out that Braith is a tragic figure. Her parents are completely neglectful. Her father Amren, is obsessed with tracking down a family sword, while the mother Saffir is consumed by romance novels. It seems Braith is lashing out because she is being completely ignored. It seems she just wants attention, and if that attention comes from being a brat, it is literally better than nothing.

8 A Nordic Jamie Oliver

Nils is a Nord who lives in Windhelm. He is the cook at Candlehearth Hall and a relatively boring NPC. He spends most his time puttering around the inn or chopping wood. In addition, his dialogue is limited to 3 or 4 generic phrases. However, you will find out that he may be more creative than you think.

If you look around town, you will find a book entitled, “Chaurus Pie: a Recipe” was written by Nils. This book not only features a lovely recipe for cooking up those giants bugs that lurk in underground ruins with the Falmer. But it also offers a commentary on the recipe itself and a bit of musing on the life of Nils himself.

This is one of the main reasons I loveSkyrimso much. Take a random NPC, one that you could pass by and never notice (as I did), and give him a backstory. And not an obvious one.

7 A Fallen Knight

Northeast of Winterhold you will find a somber scene. Jutting out of the ice you will see a thread-bare flag blowing in the cold wind. Just beneath it, half-buried within the iceberg is a skeleton, still clutching the flag. Laying near the skeleton is a book entitled: “Knights of the Nine.”

This book is both a reference to the Knights of the Nine who worship the Nine Divines and to theOblivionexpansion of the same name. I really enjoy it when Bethesda puts these little easter eggs into the game. It makes the work that much bigger and historically vibrant.

In addition, it provides a really good opportunity for role-playing and speculation. Why was that knight there? What happened to them? Are there more in Skyrim? Always a good time!

6 An Act Of Remembrance

This is my kind of easter egg. Subtle, meaningful, and immersive. In the small hold of Dawnstar, when a person dies, the citizens of the hold perform an act of remembrance.

Upon a person’s death, a Red Mountain Flower spawns at the White Hall on top of a nearby mountain. This is known as an act of remembrance throughout Skyrim, one that could go completely unnoticed as the game makes no effort to inform the player.

This has links to a bit of cut content in which deceased NPCs were to return to the mortal plane to haunt their loved one's former hangout spots. While the latter was removed, this small gesture goes quite the distance in creating a believable world for you to discover.

5 You Need To Practice More My Man

Ilas-Tei is an overeager Argonian mage and he has an obsession calm spells. Word around the College of Winterhold is that he was getting a little overzealous with his test subjects. You see, he liked to practice on skeevers.

But exploring the College, you will see no sign of Tei or his skeevers. And nothing else is mentioned about him, no quest, no more rumours. So one may think this may be some banter Bethesda added for atmospheric flavour. But one would be wrong.

Heading over to the Shrine of Talos near Ysgramor's tomb. You will find Tei’s corpse surrounded by a Scroll of Fury, Scroll of Calm, a bunch of dead skeevers, and one sole surviving rat. It turns out that Tei couldn’t handle the raging rats, and was ended before he could calm them with a spell.

I guess Argonians really can’t be mages.

4 Ya’ll Are Crazy With The Details

We all know that Bethesda makes some detailed worlds. The environments onThe Elder ScrollsandFalloutare exploding with charm and vibrancy. But these little details are kinda crazy even in the context of fine detail.

First, you may notice that birds can be seen in the skies of Skyrim. But did you know that they have homes? That’s right, the random birds you see flying return to specific nests! In addition, if you look at tree stumps, you will often find columns of ants crawling all over them.

But the most impressive little detail is the fact that water visibly reacts to fire spells. If you cast a fire spell into a body of water it will bubble, boil, and steam away.

I mean come on guys… settle down.

3 Highway Robbery

During the quest “A Night to Remember,” you will wake up from slumber and be made to retrace your steps, discovering how you got to your location from the night before.

While you’re on the road, you will come across a descriptively named Argonian, Deep-In-His-Cups. Evidently, homeboy likes to party!

Anyways, in your stupor, you evidently promised to pay him 10,000 gold if he snuck into a bandit’s camp and stole one of their hats. Seems like Mr. Cups has made good on his end and has come to claim his reward.

Now be careful here, if you mash through the dialogue you may find yourself unable to buy your next drink. I made that mistake myself, and played for a couple hours before realizing I had been swindled…

Dude ought to change his name to Deep-In-My-Pockets.

2 Skooma Is No Joke

In an innocuous cave on Solstein, north of the Ashfallow Citadel, you will find a dead Argonian named Usha. Well... “find” might be a hard sell, as Usha is behind a locked door that you can only get around if you use console commands or have superb platforming skills.

Back to Usha. How did he get here, and why is he dead? Looking around you will find out what sealed his fate. Strewn around the corpse are a bunch of Skooma bottles, gems, rare ores, and a letter. The letter is from his significant other—Monesa—who begs for his return. Monesa wants him to come home regardless of his lack of wealth.

It seems that Usha took those words personally and felt he needed to amass a modicum of fortune before returning home. However, it seems that he succumbed to a Skooma overdose.

1 But Where's The Lotion?

Way up north of Skyrim, lies the island of Solstheim. And at the very north of that frozen island is a cave known as Benkongerike. This place certainly has some crazy acts going on within.

So this place is filled with a bunch of Rieklings, no biggie, just slap ‘em around a bit. Closer to the end of the cave you will come across a tent filled with books. The funny thing is, every one of these books—except for one—is a copy of “The Lusty Argonian Maid.” A book renowned throughout Skyrim for its fun-filled content. The lone exception is a telekinesis spellbook. Next to this pile is a bunch of linen wraps, and a bin… Do I need to paint a picture? The tissues… I mean linens are a dead giveaway.