Easter Eggs - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Guide - IGN (2024)

This page contains information the plentiful Easter Eggs found in Skyrim.

Assassin's Creed Reference

A nod to a well-loved franchise, the "leap of faith" is an acrobatic performed by the protagonists of Assassin's Creed. It can be found at the Bard's Leap near Markarth.

Pac-Man Cheese Wedge

In Endon's House in Markarth, look for a shelf in the back of the room with Sliced Goat Cheese, a row of Garlic and some Glow Dust arranged to look like a scene from Pac-Man.

300 Reference

If you head just south of the Shrine to Peryite, only small journey west of Karthwasten, North-North East of The Lover Stone, it requires some mountaineering you will come across a skeleton (about halfway up the mountain). If you look just to the side of the skeleton you will see a sabre cat stuck between two rocks with a glass sword through its mouth and head. This is a reference to the scene of 300 where Leonidas leads a wolf to a narrow passage then stabs it through the mouth with a spear.

Sweetroll References

The Guards in various cities will sometimes say "Let me guess... Someone stole your sweetroll." This is referring to the first Elder Scrolls game "Arena" where it is asked as a class-determining question. The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall also uses a sweetroll question as a class-determining question. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind allows you the option of picking your class, or answering a series of questions to determine your class: if you choose to answer the questions, this will be one of them. Also references are to be found in the Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, where some NPC's may relate a story of a stolen sweetroll to you. This story is acted out in Fallout 3 when you are given a sweetroll by a lady, and then a bully proceeds to demand the sweetroll. Finally, the sweetroll reference appears in Skyrim. I have personally played all of these sequences and seen these references in each according game.

Minecraft Reference

As many know, Bethesda and Minecraft creator Notch clashed over the name "scrolls" a while ago. At the top of the highest mountain in Skyrim (called The Throat of the World) you will find a secret weapon called the Notched Pickaxe as well as some Malachite ore.

"Be aware that the Notched Pickaxe was in previous Elder Scrolls games before Minecraft and Notch were popular, so it is likely that it has nothing to do with Notch or Minecraft."

M'aiq the Liar

M'aiq is a long-standing NPC easter egg in Elder Scrolls games. He is again seen wandering many locations, offering words when spoken with. One particular reference is to The Elder Scroll 4: Oblivion, quoting many NPC's who discuss Mudcrabs far too often.

Headless Horseman

Throughout your adventures in Skyrim, a headless horseman ghost can be found wandering around. You have the option to "talk" to this ghost but nothing happens. If you follow this mysterious horseman, he will eventually say "finality" randomly while he is riding his horse, as well as saying "you are not welcome here" upon entering a new location with hostile enemies while traveling on foot. He leads you to a graveyard with a few skeletons and a dragur (Hamvir's Rest). He stands here, so it can be assumed that this is where he is buried. If you look at the grave to the left of the entrance you will find a skull and a magical helmet, most likely his.

The Force Wasn't With Him

During the Companion Quest "Animal Extermination", you will travel to Bleakcoast Cave to clear out some Frost Trolls. Inside, there is one room where there are a bunch of bones laying around. If you look up, there is a torso sticking out of the ceiling. Directly below this, there is a glass greatsword. This is a reference to Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Poltergeist

After you complete the "House of Horrors" quest, locate the table in the abandoned house and you should find the chairs. The chairs are rearranged in a strange way, just like in the movie Poltergeist.

Katatonia

• During the quest Darkness Returns, you can recover Nystrom's Journal, detailing a plot by two individuals to try and infiltrate the dungeon and its priests. The two are Nystrom and Anders, a reference to Anders Nystrom, guitarist and songwriter from Swedish goth rock band Katatonia.

• The terms in the last paragraph: "He also mumbled some nonsensical phrases like 'night is the new day' and how he was the 'ghost of the sun.' I have no idea what these cryptic sentiments mean, but hopefully during tomorrow's ritual, Anders and I will put everything we've learned to the test." are references to multiple Katatonia albums and songs- the most obvious being the album Night is the New Day and the song "Ghost of the Sun" from the album Viva Emptiness.

Hidden Chest Dawnstar

In Dawnstar there is a hidden chest before the mine on the left in the middle of some rocks, inside the chest is a variety of items that are respawnable after a certain amount of time.

This chest, as well as many others (including the ones underneath Whiterun) is just the inventory of a shopkeeper. This one is believed to be a Khajiit caravan in/near Dawnstar.

Bioshock Reference

In most of the dwarven sactuaries found in Skyrim, you will bump into many holes that resemble the object were the little sisters would exit in order to meet with their Big Daddies and vice versa.

The Legend of Zelda Reference

After being ambushed by the Silver Hand and seeing Farkas transform into a werewolf, if you ask him if all the Companions are werewolves he will answer, "Not everybody, just the members of the Circle. It's a secret to everybody." The latter sentence is, of course, the famous line from the original Legend of Zelda.

Robert Frost reference

If you go to Riften and go to The Bee and the Barb there will be a guy asking to get a horse named Frost. Then you are giving promises to keep, which is a line from the poem Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening. You then travel through some woods to the black-briar estate. This refers to the line "whose woods these are".

Scandinavian Fairytale Reference

On the road from Dushnikh Yal, southwest of Markarth, to Dead Crone Rock, west of Markarth, there is a bridge. When approaching the bridge three goats will start running away, but under the bridge lies a dead troll. This is a reference to the Scandinavian/Nordic fairytale about the three goats outsmarting the troll living under the bridge.

Fairy Tale Reference

When doing the Thieves Guild quest Dampened Spirits, the player will come across a character named Hamelyn, who leads an army of Skeevers in the Honningbrew Meadery Basem*nt. This is a reference to the folk tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who used his music to rid the town of rats

Morrowind Easter Egg (Dawnguard Only)

Reposted from Robbie922004:

Last night I was exploring the Soul Cairn in Dawnguard, a realm of Oblivion where souls that have been trapped and used end up.

Imagine my suprise when I bump into a familliar face, Jiub from Morrowind, who is the first person you meet when you wake up on the prison boat during the intro to that game.

He told me the story of how he became Saint Jiub the Eradicator of the Winged Menace. After his prison sentence was done, he devoted his life to hunting every cliff racer in existence to extinction. He was made a saint by the Tribunal Temple and decided to retire and live in Kvatch, where he was soul trapped by some angry Daedra during the invasion. And thus ended up in the Soul Cairn. Poor ol' Jiub.

So that's why there are no cliff racers to kill anymore. If I've ever heard a good reason for being made a saint, that's it.