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My Homestead Project

  • Member
    November 3, 2017

    After completing the Reaper's Harvest challenge in ESO's Witches Festival and earning the Sun's Dusk Reaper title, I felt I needed something more and a lasting project to make Tamriel a place to truly call home. So I got the Exorcised Coven Cottage as it was thematically appropriate for my wyress character whom I created for the event. The property is compelling as it is a unique homestead, being both modest and with a lot of land to play with. I made the mistake of buying it unfurnished as I had no clue just what I was getting myself in for and simply wanted to build in it from the ground up. This thread serves as a place for me to keep a record of what I have done, changes I make, and upgrades I lay my paws on as I adventure around the Starry Heart.

    This is the loading screen art of the cottage, and although evocative, represents something I wanted to incorporate to a degree yet also move away from. That said, for Halloween I did do my best with what resources I had to make the place feel spooky, mostly in the garden as seen in the following video:

    Pretty basic stuff. And the roof leaks. Everything is crafted from whatever patterns I had found throughout all my character's journeys, plus a few housewarming gifts. The way I play is pretty much to have one crafting character, my turtle cat Majhin-do, to whom the wyress will send patterns she finds except Enchanting related ones. The other characters on my account will, from time to time, send her gifts from Achievement Vendors she hasn't personally unlocked. RP-wise this makes for good fun imagining them to be her friends, and lessens the burden on this one character.

    So my process is mostly to craft whatever mishmash items I find and either bank them or deliver them to the cottage from whatever character supplies them. In addition to crafted items and gifts, I keep an eye on Home Goods Furnishers and what I can buy to make the place feel like home. At the moment, that means mostly purchasing trees and plants.

    I've found that I really like the Bosmer stuff for its down-to-earth style. In this picture we can see a Wood Elf Leather Stool and Table, and a Narrow Wood Elf Divider seperating the dining area from the sleeping area. For lighting I had to craft whatever diagrams I had, so we have a Dark Elf Claw Case Candle on the table, and an Indoril Shrine Candelabra against the wall. For the hearth I got creative and bought Fires of the Wilderking from an Achievement Vendor in Marbruk - a gift from Dominion Hero, Marjhin-do. The bookshelf holding 25 crown books from the Purchase Tab that don't quite fit (go figure) is a Tall Breton Bookcase. I had no other options but wanted a place to put books. On the floor is a Rustic High Elf Carpet.

    Domihaus the Bloody Horned is mounted above the fireplace as a trophy of the wyress' trip to Falkreath for the Horns of the Reach dlc. I think I bought the Rough, Short Clothesline from a Home Goods Furnisher. Hell, I forget. The Common Washtub was crafted. Not sure about the fish. The Gilded High Elf Flask was crafted just because I could and went a bit nuts at first. There's also a Practical Common Skillet, a High Elf Dinner Plate, and a Common Bowl of Soup.

    The bed, currently occupied by Jarlcat playing with Sir Socks's Ball of Yarn, is a Nord Single Bed. I had a few choices of beds to craft, but I liked the look of the simple, quilted piece of furniture. Same with the Rough Nord Nightstand and Dresser - I had other options but liked the used look of these items. On the top of the latter is a Rough Pillar candle, while the Nightstand holds the Common Candle Set. I have a Nordic design I could craft, but it requires a ridiculous amount of skills to make, including Enchanting and Metalworking which neither character have a combination of, so is on hold for now. There's a Carved Tea Table visible on the bottom right. I crafted two of them before upgrading to the Wood Elf table.

    My other furniture likes are the Khajiit style. Above the Daedric Skull Throne (a holdover Halloween decoration from Guild Vendor for 999 coins) is a Khajiit Crescent Banner, and to the far right on the tea table is a Khajiit Amber Bottle. The centrepiece is a Branded Orcish Counter (crafted before I figured out ESO Fashion showed me what I was crafting and saved me valuable resources). Another Halloween decoration surrounds the candle, while an Arched Redguard Shelf sits on the wall. A Common, Practical Bookrest holds nothing right now. It did have a Atmoran Eagle Totem Medalion resting on it but that's now outside. The carpet is a Tribunal Rug, a gift bought from an Achievement Furnisher in Mournhold by When-Doves-Cry, possibly as a joke.

    That's it for indoors. Garden to follow as I have bought lots more trees and redesigned since making the video.

  • Member
    November 3, 2017

    Very nice, so far! Loving the mounted Minotaur head and Mossy baby Netch.

  • Member
    November 3, 2017

    Instant 'like' for the thread, Phil

    Looking forward to seeing how this develops as player housing is something I've barely scratched the surface with in ESO yet.

  • Member
    November 3, 2017

    Tenebrous said:

    Very nice, so far! Loving the mounted Minotaur head and Mossy baby Netch.

    Thanks Tene! The minotaur is a proud trophy, now has company on the wall in the form of an Earthgore Amalgam  from Bloodroot Forge:

    Man, that dungeon set, the Flameblossom Light Armour, looks mental. It's like a padded sci-fi jumpsuit!

    Paul said:

    Instant 'like' for the thread, Phil

    Looking forward to seeing how this develops as player housing is something I've barely scratched the surface with in ESO yet.

    Thank you Paul, I'll update with exterior pictures sometime tonight. It's a big thing to start and I probably could have researched better - that Rough Argonian Chair which has replaced the throne is basically a trunk with driftwood roped to it but still cost five Heartwood to make. Crafting this stuff eats through resources like a fat guy eats through Big Macs. A fair amount of skills are needed, too. For a new character just starting out, furnishing the house will develop only as fast as he or she can learn to craft. Having money helps as it allows for buying patterns and blueprints from Guild Vendors, but without the skills to craft that which you've just bought, it could be a slow process indeed.

    So for me there was quite a learning-curve. To make Nord Tealight Candles I need a character with Blacksmithing skills and a Potency Improvement 2 in Enchanting. It requires 7 Regulus, 4 Mundane Runes, 4 decorative Wax, 5 Corundum, and 9 Honing Stones... To make a sodding candle?! :D

    To make a Grilling Rack I need Recipe Improvement 4 and Potency Improvement 3 in addition to Blacksmithing. It needs 11 Regulus, 7 Mundane Runes, 8 Wax, 10 Nickel, 14 Red Meat, and 6 Dwarven Oil. Mental!

  • Member
    November 4, 2017

    This is the view as we enter the front gate. Similar to the way I had it for Halloween, I wanted to line either side of the path with trees but without the creepy feeling.

    Of note is the Hagraven Totem, purchased by the wyress from an Achievement Vendor in Glenumbra: "Folk legends claim that if you camp in the Hag Fens, you will awaken to find yourself rooted in place, your body slowly twisting into the form of a withered tree." I thought it really cool, especially opposite the Redguard Street Lamp. The tree Grumps the Colovian badger is next to is a Healthy Privet from a Home Goods Furnisher in  Rawl’kha. It has a nice dark brown trunk.

    I'm quite pleased with this area. The two blue mushrooms are Lanky erupted Stinkcaps from the Home Goods Furnisher (HGF from now on) in Vvardenfell, souvenirs of the wyress' adventures to become the Champion of Vivec. The mushroom on the far right is a Spongecap Button from Vvardenfell's HGF, and the smaller one near Emmy the netch calf is a Sturdy Milkcap from the same place. The sapling with the red leaves in the foreground is a Budding Red Sapling from the HGF in Riften, a gift from Morihaus. Almost hidden behind that is a Netch Hide Shade mushroom from Vvardenfell's HGF. Lighting up the background is a Tanzelwil Culanda Stone, bought from Skywatch's Achievement Furnisher (AF) and a gift from Majhin-do. I'd like to use similar crytsals only blue in colour to illuminate everything outside eventually.

    While the AF items start to make things expensive, costing as they do about 5k each, the trees and plants are really cheap. Most only cost 100 gold from HGFs, and rarely go above 750 each.

    The massive Ancient Mountain Pine is an absolute beauty. I got that from the purchase tab as I had crowns left to play with.

    Things are thinning out now. The stone with blue flowers on is Wyrdstone. "Marks an area that is under the protection of the Beldama Wyrd." This was from Daggerfall's AF costing only 2500. I will get more of them. To the right of that is another budding red sapling, while the big tree at the back is a Mossy Murkmire Cluster from Redfur's HGF. As that area is swampy, it just seems to work. Behind the torch is a Standing Slab. "This menhir of the ancient Nords stands in solemn tribute to the hero of Eastmarch." Another gift from Mor, bought from Fort Amol's AF in Eastmarch. On the wall next to it are Curtain Ivy Vines from Vulkwasten's HGF. Completing the image is a Forked Ashland Tree from Vivec City's HGF.

    That's about it for now. I got another forked ashland tree seen on the left, and crafted a common hanging lantern for above the door.

  • Member
    November 6, 2017

    A quick update of changes to the interior as The Mighty Chudan trophy from the Ruins of Mazzatun now graces the walls, along with a Wood Elf Fur Wall Hide. As I keep changing my mind as to whether I like Bosmer, Argonian, Khajiit or Nord furnishing styles best (although I now have a fondness for the Dark Elven stuff), I have decided to focus on each in turn. So I have replaced the Branded Orcish Counter with a Long Wood Elf Counter, upon which rests a newly crafted Stationary Common Lantern to illuminate the Atmoran Eagle Totem Medallion resting upon the bookrest. There's a fish there too.

    I quite like how the white bone and almost art nouveau carvings of the Wood Elf style add a touch of light and detail to the room. A full illustrated list of each item in every style can be found here: Furnishings by Style.

  • Member
    November 9, 2017

    Minor update: Replaced the bookshelf with a Wood Elf Tiered Shelf in which books actually fit nicely with no clipping :D There are a couple of Factotum parts on display which I found within Clockwork City, a head and torso. I finally got a plant for the room, too. The Tall, Flowering Yucca in the pot there is from the HGF in Evermore, Bangkorai and cost a mere 100 gold. Apart from the lighting and the desire for just a little something for the walls, I'm really happy with that part of the room.

    I'm not happy with this part of the room and so my goal now is to overhaul it. Which I will do as soon as I can get a Wood Elf wall shelf and more furniture patterns/blueprints/whatever. Of note is the Revolving Celestiodrome from CWC, lit from within by a Blessing Stone from Vivec City's AF. It doesn't work as well as I hoped, though :D I'll likely move the Vivec battery outisde and more prominently display the Celestiodome. We'll see.

     

  • Member
    November 15, 2017

    I bought the Trees of Tamriel garden pack for 400 Crowns. It was that or blow it on a crate, and I did need more trees.

    The canopy from the entrance is now looking how I'd lke it, just need to replace that street lamp.

    I'm happy with the changes to the entrance of the cottage, a touch of colour from the Garden Pack's flowers kind of makes a world of difference.

    In the distance is a Dream Shard from Wayrest's Achievement Furnisher. At only 2000 gold, I'll get more of these little glowing crystals as they illuminate the area nicely at night.

    This area is looking sparse still. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. More trees? Once I figure out how to make decking I reckon I can get a bit more creative here. Am happy that I gave the wolves some cover. The robot there is The Precursor from Clockwork City. It's a low-level practice dummy but still useful for getting a very rough idea of a character's DPS. For Xbox players the time ellapsed and average DPS is displayed in the chat log: Start - Social - Text Chat for the readout after combat when the factotum collapses.

    I've figured out why I still hate this area: It's totally useless and just feels contrived. I need to make it feel like a useful space. Still, the Wood Elf urn and Violet Prairie Flowers add a touch of colour to the cottage. I'll put another large flower where that vase is now when I get to it. I'm also happy that there is now something to see from each window of the hut.

  • Member
    November 15, 2017

    Just found this thread, which makes me feel even prouder that I tresspased into your house xD

  • November 15, 2017

    This thread is so awesome. 

    Phil decoratiing services will not be far off.