Hearthfire opinions wanted.

got the download, got sick of the glitches, never bothered just deleted, seems rubbish to me, IMHO

Delusional said:

Aren't all housecarls essential? If so, then that problem solves itself. When you purchase the property, they will patrol it anyways, so why not just make them steward, so you can have all of the capabilities with the steward? They are already living in your house.

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I've seen housecarls beaten down outside my house, but never killed, so I guess they are essential. It would seem kinda silly if they came up with a character who is required to patrol the perimeter of your homestead, but can actually get killed off in the process.

Personally, I do like having an individual housecarl AND steward AND spouse. The more the merrier!

My problem with housecarls is they wander off a bit too far when doing their rounds, and it can be awkward to find them if i want them to join me. If you do make them a steward or spouse, do they stop doing patrolling and stay closer to home?

Get mauled by a bear? Rain sleet and HAIL no, your kids will beat the crap out of anything from a wolf to a dragon if it's within punching range.
The best one imo is Lakeview manor. or however that is. The kids don't complain about it constantly like in the other two, and it's the only house in the whole video game that doesn't have a ridiculously harsh or weird climate, and is in a normal forest. One's in a marsh, one's in a wasteland, one's in a mountain... seriously people. I just want a little cottage.
And Lakeview is that one.

Koala Jack said:

I have no time for kids, people need killed, and unfortunately daggers don't just walk up behind someone all by themselves

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Thank you for saying it. I completely agree.

dragontology said:

Better yet, pick somebody who is marked essential, such as Lydia. Marriageable, essential, and can be made your steward. So it's one fewer person to trip over in your home.

If you want a list of NPCs who can be made stewards, consult this. But you will have to check their individual page to see if they are protected (essential).

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Why is Lydia essential? She serves absolutely no purpose.

Daelon DuLac said:

Why is Lydia essential? She serves absolutely no purpose.

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She is a housecarl, and thus essential.

Koala Jack said:

I was just wondering what house you think is the best. Pros/cons, deal breakers, selling points etc. Is adopting a child risky? I don't want my kid to get mauled by a bear, it'd be a damn shame if my child was taken out by a mere bear.

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Move to markarth and do not live out in the wildnerness. Due to the bandits, for I am returning home from solthiem and I expect ysolda to serve me a crap load of gold and stew.I am moving to my markarth house.

Delusional said:

She is a housecarl, and thus essential.

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That's too bad. I have 2 of them and have never, nor ever will use them. They're just pointless fluff to me and only get in my way. AFter all, Skyrim is a single-player game. If I wanted to play as a team, I would go co-op or MMO.

Daelon DuLac said:

That's too bad. I have 2 of them and have never, nor ever will use them. They're just pointless fluff to me and only get in my way. AFter all, Skyrim is a single-player game. If I wanted to play as a team, I would go co-op or MMO.

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Well, if you don't want them to follow you, they default to guarding your house. I prefer this, then my homes feels less empty.

All the places have appeal and the houses themselves have limited variety so I guess you can go by the scenery that you like. It's not like you can't travel back to pick up fish from the fishery if you need it.

We started out at Winstad Manor since it was the first I earnt. Random encounters left right and centre (Bandits, Drauger, Giants, Spiders. It just went on and on) and both the kids complained constantly about the monsters in the marsh. I wasn't too impressed with the view either to be honest. So I decided to buy a bard for the place to keep my housecarl Vladamir compny (yeah, I know, just a game but I felt guilty about leaving him on his own!) and move out.

We've just moved to Lakeview Manor. Much nicer. Fewer random encounters and the scenery is beautiful. Lovely forest and the river. We've had no trouble from the conjuror since I killed him way back before I had hearthfire and only one lot of bandits have come a callin'. The bandits down the road don't bother us at all and I'll get around to wiping them out at some stage. I deliberatly built the house with a homey feel, we have the kitchen and bedroom and it makes the place feel very warm and welcoming. I do wish I'd left the entry way as a small house rather than changing it as it felt friendlier. I left it that way with Heljarchen Hall and much prefer it in retrospect. The kids seem happier at Lakeview and I see them outside playing more often.

I've only just earnt Hel Hall and I suspect it will end up being my hunting lodge and the family will divide it's time between Lakeview and Proudspire Manor once I get it set up since I do want the kids to mingle a bit with other children. I really don't know all that much about the houses in the game so we'll have to see. I have Breezholme but rarely visit. Lydia creeps me out a bit with her bed staring and was soooo frustrating as a compnion. Two quests and I just parked her back in Whiterun and left her. Heavens knows what she gets up to in my room when I'm gone.

Just a question if anyone knows, with the extra children mod, are they all in one house or do you have to spread them out in pairs?

EDIT: No worries found the link in an earlier post. Love this Forum.

Tris / Accidental Archer and Armourer / Nord / Level 35