Key things
- Decorations in Elder Scrolls: Castles provide passive bonuses such as reducing food consumption or increasing luck.
- Decoration effects stack, so using multiple decorations with similar bonuses can be very beneficial.
- Choose decorations based on your specific needs, such as reducing oil consumption or increasing gold from orders.
Decorations in Elder Scrolls: Castles aren't just for decoration. As well as adding some much-needed flair to what could otherwise be a dreary and dark interior, decorations have passive bonuses that they provide just by being around.
These bonuses vary greatly in purpose, some help craft certain materials faster, some provide some help in combat, and so on. A little help is better than no help, and there's a time and a place for everything. But some decorations will be a little more useful than others.
Decoration effects stack, so using multiple decorations that provide the same/similar bonus can be very beneficial.
8 Garden corner
Reduce food consumption
The Garden Corner is a top-level decoration that reduces the food consumption of ordinary people, with each Garden Corner doing so by two percent each. It's not a big difference, but the bigger your general population is and the more of them you have, the bigger the effect. There areother decorations that have a similar effect on food consumption, so make sure you choose the one that best helps your particular case.
This is one of the smaller effects of the decorations, but still, if you're having trouble keeping your pantry stocked and have more than a few commoners, it can be somewhat useful. There is usually something else that will have a better effect. That said, you might like the way it looks! Your castle should make you happy; if you like it, build it.
7 A field of lanterns
Reduce oil consumption by 3 percent
Similar to Garden Nook, Lantern Array reduces the consumption of a certain resource, this time reducing how much oil all stations burn. Without oil, your castle will come to a complete halt, and especially without food, everyone will be worse off. If you have trouble keeping your oil level (which can be a particular problem during an eclipse) then this would be a good pick up.
There are other decorations that provide a similar effect, and as always, tailor your decision to your situation. This is definitely the best decoration of its kind, but if you are looking for a specific difference, the Wall Garden reduces the use of cooking oil.
6 Sword Banner
Increase the happiness of ordinary people
The happier your people are, the better. This reduces the chance of someone thinking about committing suicide, which can easily put a real blanket over the castle. There are banners that affect the happiness of different groups of people, so plan for either your biggest or unluckiest population.
When there's always a certain section of people (or one topic you really don't like) you're always up against when deciding on the throne, it might not hurt to have banners to keep their spirits up more often than not. than not.
5 Green dragon egg
+3 gold from orders
More gold is actually better than less gold, and if you place dragon eggs around your castle, you'll have more and more gold. For every green dragon egg you place, you get three more gold from every order you complete.
These orders are generally very easy to complete, require minimal attention to what you're making, and adjust accordingly. These can add up tremendously and really start filling your coffers.
4 The Red Grimoire
Increase the maximum health of nobles by 2
It's a story (almost) as old as games. The more health you have, the harder it is for things to hit you hard enough to knock you to the ground. You'll often be sending adventurers into battle, and keeping them healthy will keep them ready to get back out there and fight again.
Each red grimoire increases the maximum health of your nobles. Those two points won't make much of a difference, but start stacking more and more of them and they'll become noticeably harder to knock down.
3 Purple Grimoire
Increase Magick of Noble by 10
The higher Magicka a character has, the more damage their spells and elemental attacks do. This will especially benefit those equipped with a staff, since they are the ones who use magic attacks the most. But it will also increase the elemental aspect of certain weapons, which can include things like battleaxes.
Stack a few of them together and your spellcasters, in particular, will deal much more damage and wipe out waves of enemies much faster. It will keep some of the pressure off your shield bearer and get you through a few more rounds of Sheogorath's Gauntlet.
2 Hanging garden
Increase Stamina
Stamina increases the weapon damage your characters do. This will make a noticeable difference on pretty much any character you have, but most on those that use a battleaxe, daggers, or bows. Shielders will still get some help from this, but their primary focus should be tanking damage instead of dealing it.
Similar to the Purple Grimoire, this will make a huge difference in combat and help you wipe out waves of enemies much faster. Combine that with some extra damage from the Purple Grimoire and many enemies won't stand a chance.
1 Steel Armor Stand
Increase the effect of a healing potion by three percent
Sometimes you will be in a fight and you absolutely must use a healing potion. When this happens, it's a sign that the fight didn't go very well. But the more help the potion provides, the better the chance you'll make it through the fight and come out on top.
Stacking the effect of multiple armor stands will make all the difference and turn a potion that won't keep you on your feet into a potion that will bring you to near full strength. Keep your adventurers on their toes, keep them fighting and you'll go far.
