Skyrim talk:Thane

Turning down the offer

I turned down the offer to become the Thane in Solitude. I later regretted that decision. I can't seem to reverse that decision, I've talked to everyone in Blue Palace. Is it true that if you turn down the offer once, you don't get another chance to become the Thane? Or am I missing something. — Unsigned comment by 46.163.204.248 (talk) at 13:51 on 2 December 2011

Other thane

We should add the information about other thane in the game.(Vvardfell 11:35, 10 December 2011 (UTC))

Note about certain Thane quests

The Thane quests in some holds can be repeated after completing the Civil War quest line. Almost any Hold that has its Jarl replaced can have its Thane quest repeated. Riften appears to be an exception, since Mabel Black-Briar is the replacement Jarl. You might need to complete the Thieves Guild quest line to unlock her Thane offer. Torinir 01:10, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

Mabel? You mean Maven, right? Vyc Ðarkshådøw 01:40, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

how often can the title be used to get rid of a bounty?

Just once seems odd. oes anyone know of a timer for how often it can be done, once a month maybe? — Unsigned comment by 83.200.149.32 (talk) at 13:05 on 18 December 2011

Once, period. The first time, the hold can forgive you. The second time makes you a repeat offender, and your title will not save you. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 01:41, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

Old post, but technically Darkshadow's answer is incorrect. You can use the thane title once for each time that you are granted it; e.g. if you become Thane of Whiterun under Balgruuf, then use it to get rid of a Whiterun bounty, then the hold is taken by the Stormcloaks and you become Thane again you can use it one more time. No hold can change hands more than two times in one game, but theoretically you could become Thane of the Reach, Falkreath, Hjaalmarch, the Pale or Winterhold three times. --Morrolan (talk) 22:46, 29 August 2014 (GMT)

Probably worth noting. I added it to the page. --AN|L (talk) 22:59, 29 August 2014 (GMT)

I can't use the thane title in solitude to get rid of my bounty

I have a bounty of 5 gold in solitude, I cant seem to use my thane title to get rid of it — Unsigned comment by 117.20.164.150 (talk) at 07:58 on 28 December 2011

Why would you waste your title on just a 5 gold bounty? Pay the 5 gold and be done with it. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 01:42, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

Fixed with the beta Unofficial Skyrim patch. Riveon 10:02, 17 March 2012 (UTC)

Thane Bounty Removal

To answer the previous 2 comments. The ability to get a bounty removed because you're a Thane is only usable ONCE per hold. However I have seen it work a 2nd time if the Jarl is replaced during the Civil War and you become Thane a 2nd time. But again even then its just once per hold. Lord Eydvar 21:52, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

Reward

On various pages, I've seen reports that the "Blade of <whatever>" is a sword, greatsword, axe, or mace. Looking through the game data, I can't find anything specific for these weapons, so my guess is that the reward is just as Radiant as the quest is (perhaps even based on your skills?), which is why we're getting varying reports. Does anybody have any more information on this? – Robin Hood↝talk 00:04, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Never seen a mace (or a warhammer, which makes sense since neither is "a blade"), but I'm fairly sure I've had all four of the 1H/2H/sword/axe combinations at some point. If skill is a factor (which it did seem to be to some extent) it's not an absolute one, because you can still get 2H's even if you have 15 in that and much more in 1H. Aliana 00:17, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Vignar gave me a weapon called "Blade of Whiterun". It is a mace. I also received the axe of whiterun from the previous jarl. It looks like there are possibly two rewards for becoming thane in each hold, save solitude. Can anyone confirm, and should the chart be updated to reflect that?

EDIT: It is now called blade of the reach, and is an axe with a different enchantment. I have no explanation for this change.71.166.57.105 21:46, 24 January 2012 (UTC)

the reason you can get a mace is because the developers put in those maces in the leveled list instead of swords. Go check use info of EnchIronSwordStamina01 and EnchIronMaceStamina01. TES series is the game series you can find the highest number of bugs on. --Lampuiho 18:00, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Investor perk

Instead of posting this on an individual thaneship page I decided to post it on this. If you invest in the different shops within a town, it counts as "Aiding the people of X area." Most major cities in the area can have as many as 4-5 merchants laying about. So if someone has the gold handy it'll take mere moments to become thane of whichever town. (I chose Markath and Windhelm)Chronic 06:03, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

It's mentioned on "Thane of Haafingar", but you're right: this is a better place for it. Aliana 06:38, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

I've also noticed that giving a beggar money counts as aiding the people.Chronic 08:03, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

I'm going to make a small edit because I had to check the talk page for this info... As it is now, It simply says investing counts but it doesn't say what it counts for... 108.92.176.211 06:44, 1 November 2012 (GMT)

I think it's based on disposition. Anything you do which makes someone like you as a friend counts towards the Thane quest. Beggars like you if you give them money, lumberjacks like you if you sell them firewood, farmers like you if you sell them crops, miners like you if you sell them ore, merchants like you if you invest in their shops. --Morrolan (talk) 22:42, 20 February 2013 (GMT)

Every Jarl got the same "personal armorer"

Is it supposed that every blade I got (just got the fifth) have the same lame, useless spell? First was the axe of whiterun, unique with a fire spell, after that, blades of solitude, morthal, dawnstar, winterhold and now falkreath, all with a "undead under level 6 flee" shit. I mean, even if I had any use for one of those, five is definitly useless, and it is long since I encountered level 6 zombies as I am now level 30. Aren't they supposed to at least be leveled? Am I only on a very unlucky sequence to get always the same enchantment?

Edit: the blade itself is not the same, I got long and short swords. Never got an axe when it says blade, thought. — Unsigned comment by 66.131.163.62 (talk) at 19:38 on 1 March 2012

The weapon and the enchantment on the weapon are completely random. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 01:44, 13 March 2012 (UTC)

Prerequisites to Thane Questline

As of now, some of the quests needed to fully become Thane are a bit unclear. For instance the following quests aren't really mentioned except in the footnotes:

Eastmarch: Blood on Ice

Pale: Waking Nightmare

Haafingar and the Rift shows those types of quests in the table (Man Who Cried Wolf & The Raid). Perhaps the above can be added to the "Favors & Quests" column of the table, or maybe mentioned as a step in the "Thane of ----" pages. Or maybe they could be mentioned as prerequisite quests? I think it'd be better if the page actually detailed every single step of a Thane Questline, and not just the specific radiant Thane quest. "Befriend Jarl" isn't really helpful advice. I'm not editing anything right now because all the pages are consistently formatted.

I also noticed a lot of pages like Elisif's Tribute mention prerequisite quests in the walkthrough but doesn't have a "Prev=" (ie. Prerequisite Quest: ) section like most other pages. Would be nice to have I think. Ace Blazer 04:36, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

Blood on the Ice is not a prerequisite quest to Thane of Eastmarch. I just had a character get the Thane quest activated without doing it. It is a prerequisite to decorating Hjerim and that is it. --Morrolan (talk) 16:43, 2 February 2013 (GMT)

Winterhold Problem

I've given the Jarl the Helm of Winterhold but Korir will not offer to make me thane. Could it be because I'm arch-mage? 173.73.159.61 22:03, 8 January 2013 (GMT)

Once you've given him the Helm, you must follow this up by completing 5 additional quests under the umbrella quest. Although if you've completed all the student quests in the college, you may not be able to become thane, and the game isn't bothering to raise your hopes. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 02:36, 9 January 2013 (GMT)

I'm Arch-Mage of the college, I just checked this out and I can still become thane of Winterhold. I've got no patches, no mods, just the original version of Skyrim. After I got the helm I was required to help 3 people, but somehow (probably the college) i'd already completed that part and said so. After that I received the title of thane so I'm sure it's a different reason. Mikeyboy52 (talk) 09:09, 21 January 2013 (GMT)

The Archmage of Winterhold can also become Thane. And yes, it's just 3 people you need to help (it's 5 people for the walled city holds, 3 people for the smaller holds). Since everyone in the College is a citizen of Winterhold, you generally always get the 3 people you need for Thane while becoming Archmage. So it's some other problem, probably a bug. If 173.73 above could give more details about the situation, we might be able to help. Did you just return with the helm? Normally there should be a dialogue option, something like "What can I do for you, my Jarl?" that appears after you've done the prerequisite quest for thaneship. --Morrolan (talk) 21:58, 20 February 2013 (GMT)

JobJarlFaction

Moved from article

Following from a paragraph identifying all Thanes as belonging to the JobJarlFaction, this was placed.

However, this is because all of them do or were planned to become Jarls. Dengeir will replace Siddgeir should the Stormcloaks take Falkreath. Hrongar was supposed to replace Balgruuf after Whispers in the Dark - as it was originally intended for Balgruuf's children to commit patricide. Erikur was to replace Elisif after she had been murdered in an unfinished quest for Boethiah, and Bryling would supposedly replace him if the Stormcloaks took Solitude.

It is quite possibly true, but still seems too speculative to include imo. Silence is Golden^{Break the Silence} 12:20, 27 July 2013 (GMT)

It seems plausible, but unless someone can cite something like a bethblog post to back it up we probably shouldn't include it. --Morrolan (talk) 00:36, 28 July 2013 (GMT)

The information on all these unfinished quests can be found around the wiki, and unused dialogue (like Hrongar's dialogue paralleling Balgruuf's for the main quest and Civil War, Ulfberth having dialogue talking about Hrongar as Jarl (calling him short-tempered and aggressive), Bryling having recorded dialogue for making you Thane of Haafingar, guard dialogue that can still be triggered if Elisif somehow dies, wishing Erikur better luck as Jarl) in the Creation Kit is pretty good evidence that all of them were supposed to be Jarls, and that JobJarlFaction really has nothing to with them being thanes. 109.153.131.239 11:48, 29 July 2013 (GMT)

Yes, but it's not conclusive. There's a lot of things in Skyrim that feel kind-of unfinished, like the game was shipped according its scheduled release date instead of when it was actually completed. This is especially true of the Civil War, where there are a ton of strange little omissions. Without something directly from the game designers on the subject of what was supposed to be in the game, all we can do is guess as to what their intentions were. --Morrolan (talk) 15:26, 29 July 2013 (GMT)

Even when the material in the Creation Kit makes it blatantly clear? 109.153.131.239 13:21, 30 July 2013 (GMT)

The material in the CK you reference makes it clear that there were plans for all these characters that weren't fully realized. It doesn't make it absolutely clear what those plans were. I've wondered if jarls were originally supposed to be just not essentials, but rather be like merchants in that if one of them dies there's a backup jarl to take the position. Another unsolved mystery which probably had something to do with the fairly well-documented planned ability to change sides in the Civil War (currently you can only change sides at the end of Jagged Crown, but there were plans to allow you to switch sides at the end of Season Unending and possibly at other times) is the fact that all enemy camp commanders are marked as essential for no apparent reason, even after the civil war has finished, so enemy camps can't be cleared. --Morrolan (talk) 13:32, 30 July 2013 (GMT)

The rest of what I mentioned (Jarl Balgruuf being killed by his own children after they'd fallen under Mephala's influence, Erikur/Bryling replacing Elisif as Jarl of Solitude after the unfinished part of Boethiah's quest) is mentioned on this wiki and the one on Wikia, plus a great many other things in the CK that I'll probably not remember all of them, for example 5 unused markers in the Dragonsreach living quarters, "DA08BalgruufKillMarker", "DA08ProventusWaitSpot" (plus 3 similarly named markers to the latter for Balgruuf's children). Their names alone make it obvious what their purpose was and which quest they belong to, and the aforementioned dialogue that refers to Hrongar as Jarl is just a simple matter of adding 2 and 2. As far as killing Elisif and her being replaced by Erikur go, unused stages in Boethiah's quest, namely "Slay the Jarl of Solitude", plus a few more unused triggers and objects in the Blue Palace, like "DA02ElisifAfraidTriggerRef" make it abundantly clear Elisif was supposed to be killed on Boethiah's orders, and guard dialogue that emerges after Elisif is killed confirm Erikur as her successor, and of course the quest "DA02Post", which exists to set up Erikur as Jarl in the aftermath. In Bryling's case, I'll concede I can't prove anything concrete, but aliases in "CWFinale" seem to indicate Elisif and/or Erikur were to be replaced as Jarl by someone else at the end of the Civil War. Who is uncertain, but her having recorded dialogue to make you thane indicate it would have been Bryling, that and her Stormcloak-leaning dialogue in-game ("Many condemn the Stormcloaks, but I refuse, there is honour in fighting for what you believe."). Bear in mind that there are undoubtedly many more remnants of these unfinished quests and stuff that I've not found or forgotten to mention. I'd say the evidence is pretty damning for the roles of these characters. 109.153.131.239 14:03, 30 July 2013 (GMT)

(←) You should probably have an account. I'd be asking you to set up a sandbox with your deductions somewhere so we could figure out which of them are conclusive and add them to appropriate pages if you did. Do Erikur and Bryling have voice data for Tending the Flames, Fit for a Jarl, and/or The Man Who Cried Wolf? --Morrolan (talk) 00:22, 31 July 2013 (GMT)

I made a mistake with Bryling, BTW, it seems Ulfric has similar dialogue for both Elisif and Erikur at the end of the Battle for Solitude, and either way they would have stayed (basically the same dialogue, just substitute all mentions of Lady Elisif with Jarl Erikur, and Ulfric gives a slightly different speech on their affiliations with the Empire). As for if they have dialogue for the quests, I'll have to check that, I've never thought to look, although I'm unsure if some of them will, since they are specifically tailored to Elisif, Tending the Flames specifically wouldn't make sense for anyone else, Elisif is the only one of herself and Erikur with much reason to oppose the concept of burning an effigy of a High King. Makes me wonder if that's why (or part of the reason, since Elisif's death would destabilise the Empire's claim to Skyrim in the CW) they decided against including Erikur as Jarl in the first place.

EDIT - Erikur and Bryling don't seem to have any dialogue (as Jarl at least) for any of those quests. Erikur doesn't seem to have any recorded dialogue for granting thaneships either. Vicano (talk) 09:04, 31 July 2013 (GMT)

Yeah, so it's looking a lot like this was an idea that was abandoned. Tending the Flames may be the reason actually; Fit for a Jarl and Man Who Cried Wolf could easily be done with other jarls. --Morrolan (talk) 18:57, 31 July 2013 (GMT)

Retaking holds after Season Unending.

Does anyone know whether, if you hand over The Reach, Winterhold, The Pale, Falkreath or Hjaalmarch during the Skyrim:Season Unending negotiations to the side that is hostile to you, and then retake them using the Civil War strategy, whether the Jarl that you just reinstalled allows you to skip the normal prerequisites for starting the Thane quest the way that freshly-installed Jarls of hostile holds that you conquer do, or insists that you go through the original process all over again? (I didn't list the three holds that can't be transferred, plus The Rift, whose Jarls don't let you skip the original process anyway). --Morrolan (talk) 01:29, 10 September 2013 (GMT)

Yes, they'll like you just like any other Jarl instated thanks to you. Vicano (talk) 17:00, 11 September 2013 (GMT)

Oh lord, that's gonna make for some fun in those quest headers and the table on this page. Oh well, I'll do it eventually. --Morrolan (talk) 06:46, 12 September 2013 (GMT)

red and blue

What do the red and blue highlights on this page mean? — Unsigned comment by 68.57.218.109 (talk) at 15:33 on October 25, 2013‎

Red → Imperial-aligned; Blue → Stormcloak-aligned. Same as the jarls' article. I'll add the legend to this article too. ~ Psylocke 15:43, 25 October 2013 (GMT)

Be careful - certain console commands can bug these quests permanently.

I have discovered through experiment (and unfortunate experience) that using the console to set the game day/date/time back to an earlier value consistently bugs the thane quests so they cannot be initiated. Scripts that do the same also will bug the thane quests. In both cases, the quest will not start, or if started, cannot complete. Time can be advanced forward, but not reset backward. And once the quest is bugged in this manner, no console command or script can get it to start again. Game time simply cannot be set backwards without breaking these quests. 174.28.241.102 03:41, 25 March 2019 (UTC)