Best overall house?

[TheLonelyWolve]

I just got hearthfire and hear people talking about what houses are better and such, people have there opinions and all, what is better though?

Which wives moan about the house the most or do all of them moan.

What is hjaalmarch like, is it a good place/spot (Want to know because it's close to solitude)

Do all houses have basements?

Do you have to adopt a kid (Which makes a quest stay in your questlog forever, until you adopt?)

 

[tonj]

The Falkreath house, Lakeview Manor is prone to frequent Dawnguard, bandit, wolf and dragon attacks, but I think visually it is probably my favorite spot. The other two spots are a bit barren, but each have nice views of Solitude or Whiterun. I built the green house, trophy room and library at the Lakeview Manor plot (retirement home lol). That location gives you the special item "apiary" which allows you to harvest bees and honeycomb and such. The green house in that location is pretty neat because with the apiary your addition becomes a hive of activity for bees and butterflies. The second house I built is the H...something hall through Dawnstar. Here I built the bedrooms, storage room and kitchen. This place is used to store my wife and kid... These wings are kind of boring, the storage room is decent, but it's hard to find things I want to store there that aren't more suited to other properties though. The final house I built is Windstad Manor, which has a really neat view of Solitude. Here I built the armory, alchemy tower and enchanting tower. These are probably my favorite of the wings because I save a lot of skill/profession items, despite the fact that mannequins creep me out (and this one is full of them). My obnoxious wife, Sylgja, just told me the house was perfect and then defaulted to her incessant litany of "yes, my loves". Yes each house comes with a basement, which turns out to be the space I use the most (the load screen in my own house kind of irks me a bit though). As for adoption, no you don't have to have a kid, I decided to get one just because occasionally they bring home stray animals which I enjoy. There are several options when interacting with a kid, including strict/absentee phrases like go do your chores, go play outside, shouldn't you be in bed? lol. i believe the quest just reads "speak to Constance Michel about adoption" so I think if you just go talk to her it will probably go away. I'm pretty sure the dialogue has the option to postpone adoption, or you can choose one of the jobs she won't like and she'll tell you to come back when your serious or something along those lines.
--In conclusion... the coolest visual wings are the library (if you collect all the books like me) the green house, and the trophy room is pretty neat, I went with all big game animals and made it my "hunting" room. The most useful wings in my opinion are the armory, enchanting tower and the alchemy tower (although you don't really need the towers as every home has the option of adding both the tables). Hope that helps

 

[TheLonelyWolve]

I guess the falkreath one does sound better, Also sounds secluded in the bush area with a nice view, probably good for my new hunting character too.

With the trophy room, as Ive seen on youtube and stuff people have different creatures, what I was wondering was can you have the animals/creatures you want or the ones the game selects? Say the whole row is fulled with bear(Which is what I want) but the vid had, Hagraven,Spriggan,bear, Ect.

Also when you create the house with the required components, does it ask you what you want built, like rooms/areas or does that itself too? Because I like the idea of a library, and greenhouse.

 

[tonj]

You get to pick from a list of several different creatures for your trophy room. There are two base sizes, small and large. Unfortunately most of the cooler mounts require the large size, which is why I opted for 2 bears, 2 wolves, a slaughterfish and a goat in my room haha. You actually make the mount out of a related item (like a wolf pelt) and straw. Choose wisely as you can't get rid of them once you craft them. Well first you use the drafting table to get the blue prints for a small house. Once all the components are created you can return to the drafting table and obtain the blue print for a main hall. Once that is done you can add up to 3 wings, but can only work on constructing one at a time. Make sure the additions you want are compatible, for instance the trophy room will always be attached to the back of the main hall, but that is also where the storage room must go so you can only have one or the other. After the home is constructed you work on the interior, and although there isn't a variety of furnishings, and each house places the furnishings/storage in the exact same place you can have some control by choosing to leave off making barrels/alchemy tables/wall sconces etc

 

[RY14NCE]

I personally prefer the Falkreath house, because of its woodland setting and the fact that it feels like somewhere you would actually want to build a house. I built the alchemy tower even though I have never even brewed a potion. I built it purely because of the view you get of lake Ilinalta from the top. The storage room seems like a waste of a wing as the rest of the house has so much storage anyway ( most of my cupboards are still empty ).

The armory is cool, and a good way to show off your favourite equipment but constantly having to remove and replace items to put the wandering mannequins back where they should be gets a bit tedious (also, when I enter the house through the armory doors, the upstairs mannequin is about eight feet away from its stand, and after a few seconds, turns around and walks a few feet back and then teleports back to the stand)so I think next time, I will try the kitchen.

I have yet to add a west wing but I am leading towards the greenhouse as I have been tempted to try alchemy by the tower and I dont plan on adopting any children as they annoy me.

But yeah, Lakeview Manor all the way!

 

[tonj]

If you change your mind you can have both kids without building the bedroom wing. The main hall comes with the option to build a double bed and two single beds upstairs. Convenient, considering my kids never seem to sleep but wife or steward are always passed out in one of their beds anyway...

 

[RY14NCE]

Thats pretty good. I thought you needed the bedroom wing. Im on PS3 so have only had Hearthfire for a few days. I might end up changing my mind. I started to feel a bit sorry for the orphan in whiterun. Although i'd rather she just told me where her evil Aunt and Uncle live so I can kill them and she can have her farm back.

It's like when I walk past my dog with a bacon sandwhich. I cant enjoy the food anymore because the dog makes me feel guilty for not sharing. I cant walk up to Jorrvaskr without "i'm so hungry"...

 

[Amaketh]

My favourite is the Falkreath house. My kids don't moan about it and so far i haven't been attacked (fingers crossed)
hjaalmarch is really snowy plus my chickens and cow got killed by a giant and bandits killed the horse. It's a good thing i have shadowmere or i would be really annoyed! The one downsize to the Falkreath house is that i have a dead white stag next to the stable... (from the quest ill met by moonlight) and its too heavy for me to move lol. So now it's a nice feature like a fountain

 

[TheLonelyWolve]

Amaketh, just fus ro dah it?

SO basically when you visit your house someone might be missing and a few animals be dead? or a quest comes up while your gone that someone is taken hostage? Well that kinda sucks, I would have expected like something while your home tending the garden bandits come and attack.(that would be cool)

So really you dont need any wing at all, you could start only with the first room and make a tiny shack Or a massive Palace fit for dragonborn.

Well Im definitely not using the armory and trophy room, those are not requirements.

My character is a hunter so I will try make the house small/look small, without any towers.

(Towers could give away my location (RP) as It's going to be my secluded place hidden by the forest where I wont be disturbed)

 

[stormblade]

although the dark brotherhood quest prevents me from getting falkreath, the one near morthal is my favirute at this point because
- the fish catchery is the best to get all fish, even slaughterfish
-good view of solitude
-northern lights at night
- i have only had bendits but shadowmere and mjoll desttroy them

 

[TheLonelyWolve]

All the items in one of the wings workbenches (Eg, Alchemy tower) Can all the items shown be created for that room, or is it limited?


Also can the main hall upstairs hold 2-3 beds?

 

[Amaketh]

I've completed the whole brotherhood quest line and was able to buy Falkreath. You have to make sure there are no fetch or bring quests n your misc as you can only have one at a time. I spent ages messing around trying to get the quest to start until i figured it out lol.

Amaketh, just fus ro dah it?

- What??

 

[Amaketh]

I'm not sure if it's limited i just make them all lol. When i was doing my library i do know that when i created one item the rest dissapeared so maybe....although i could have been a glitch

 

[drhooke]

I have to agree with Lakeview Manor. I just really like the setting and it's got everything I want in one place. I built the kitchen, alchemy tower, and greenhouse. Have a smithing workshop in the cellar. People talk about it getting attacked a lot, but I haven't had too many problems yet. Before the house was finished I had a giant snooping around. I hadn't built the animal pen yet, and he was just staring at the spot it would be. I think he would have left me alone, but I got up on the roof for some reason to get a better vantage point on him and accidentally fell right on his head, so he attacked me. Other than that, I've had one skeever infestation, but nothing since I've moved my wife and kid in. Just got a chicken, so we'll see if anything comes after him haha.
All in all it just depends what setting you like and which town you want to be closest to as all the houses, for the most part, offer you the same options in terms of rooms and extras you can build.
I just feel like Lakeview is a place my character would actually choose to live. There are some strange things about it, like the mage hanging out just behind the house ? Found that a little creepy, but just killed her. She respawned once, but now seems to be gone. Also, there's a little hunter's camp on a little island in the lake by the house which I found comforting for some reason haha.
As for decorating, I put a few things into the house, but now I'm just paying my steward to furnish the rest. Takes her some time, but it's fun to come back in to the house and see which new things have popped up.
I personally love Hearthfire. Whichever house you choose, the main thing is you'll get to have so many useful resources in one place which is really cool.

 

[drhooke]

Also can the main hall upstairs hold 2-3 beds?

The main hall upstairs holds 1 double and 2 single beds. So, for instance, that's enough sleeping space for me & wife, 1 kid and the steward. No need to build the bedroom wing unless you want 2 kids as well as the steward to live with you.

 

[tonj]

I've completed the whole brotherhood quest line and was able to buy Falkreath. You have to make sure there are no fetch or bring quests n your misc as you can only have one at a time. I spent ages messing around trying to get the quest to start until i figured it out lol.

- What??

He means use your unrelenting force shout on the carcass, that should fling it away. You can also blast your drain life spell at the corpse if you are a vampire lord, and it will send it flying.

 

[tonj]

All the items in one of the wings workbenches (Eg, Alchemy tower) Can all the items shown be created for that room, or is it limited?


Also can the main hall upstairs hold 2-3 beds?

Yes you can create all the items in the list provided you have the materials. Meaning you don't have to pick between a chest or and end table, they all have their predetermined room location. You can also choose not to create some things (I get sick of piles of barrels and sacks) but you can always go to your drafting table and create another workbench for that room at any time if you decide you would like to add things you left off. I never have enough mats on me to make all the sconces or animal mounts, so I leave those until I stockpile some dead animals lol. The upstairs has 2 single beds and a double bed. I had 1 kid, a bard, a wife and a steward in my house with no problem, not sure if it would accommoda,te an additional child, but I don't see why not as all the npcs in my house play musical beds and sleep wherever the heck they want. As a side note, you can choose not to turn your first initial house into an entryway, which gives you an additional bed in the front room. I left one house like that for a bit of variety.

***Note that there is a glitch that occurs when you activate a workbench. Sometimes the workbench will revert to a previous state and list all the things you can build again, even though you know you only have wall sconces or something left. To remedy this exit and reenter the workbench interface. If you attempt to create the listed object (like "sweet! another chest?") you will be disappointed as it will only take your materials and not produce another item.***

 

[Amaketh]

Ahh thanks will try it

 

[TheLonelyWolve]

I got all required components to make the house before buying it, it was so much easier rather than going from place to place in whihc loading takes a while.

Only have a few things left to build inside, I dislike the non-usable barrels and havent started on the wall mounts, I have only built greenhouse and alchemy tower. Havent built anything outside yet, but I really likek the idea of Apiary, it's so hard to find beehives.

So you only need one kid? Once you get one the quest goes and you have an option (Non quest related) to get another kid?

 

[tonj]

You don't actually even have to adopt a kid to fulfill the quest requirement, you only have to talk to Constance Michel, the one who runs the Riften Orphanage. If you do adopt a child from her it enables you to adopt one other child automatically by creating a dialogue option for some kids scattered throughout Skyrim. For instance I got my one kid from the orphanage, but I can go talk to that flower selling girl in Windhelm and offer to adopt her anytime, no quest needed, or given.