NPC Crafting and Enchanting Services

You don’t have to craft everything yourself. NPCs across Skyrim offer professional crafting, tempering, and enchanting services—perfect when you’ve reached max gear and don’t have the skills yourself.

How NPC Services Work

Blacksmiths craft new items and temper existing equipment. Enchanters add magical properties to your gear. Both services are:

• Skill-based: Higher-skill NPCs produce better quality items and more powerful enchantments (but cost more)
• Material-dependent: Blacksmiths use their own materials; you provide rare items (dragon bones, etc.)
• Time-intensive: Minimum 24 hours to complete; longer if the NPC needs to acquire materials
• Cost-scaled: Price = material cost + NPC skill multiplier + flat fee
• Financially rewarding: Money goes directly to the NPC’s inventory (useful for bartering)

Before Collection: You cannot see the cost or completion time until you collect the finished item. Assume minimum 24 hours and price at 50% above the item’s final value.

Key Mechanics

For Blacksmiths

• Will craft items you can’t create yourself (requiring higher smithing perks)
• Will temper weapons/armor to improve their stats
• Use their own materials but need YOU to provide rare materials (dragon bones, ebony ingots, etc.)
• Skill level determines what equipment types they can work with
• Can adjust NPC skill levels via MCM menu if limited by available smiths

For Enchanters

• Only know common enchantments (no rare effects you disenchant from artifacts)
• To add a rare enchantment, bring an item that HAS that effect and they’ll learn it
• Cannot disenchant NPC-crafted items—you lose the enchantment data permanently
• Cost depends on soul gem size, their skill, and a flat fee

Item Retrieval & Downtime

• NPC takes your item during crafting/tempering and holds it
• You cannot use it until completion (plan for 24+ hours downtime)
• Bring a spare if you depend on that equipment for survival
• You get it back when you pay the full cost

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Blacksmiths by Location & Skill

Strategy Tip: Look for investable smiths (marked ✓) if you want to improve their reputation and barter better prices. High-skill smiths (90+) like Moth gro-Bagol and Baldor produce superior gear but aren’t investable.

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Enchanters by Location & Skill

Best Enchanters: Sergius (Winterhold, Skill 100) and Neloth (Raven Rock, Skill 100) produce the highest-quality enchantments. Hamal (Markarth, Skill 90) is the strongest non-DLC option.

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Available Enchantments

Weapon Enchantments

Absorb Health, Absorb Magicka, Absorb Stamina, Banish, Fear, Fire Damage, Frost Damage, Magicka Damage, Paralyze, Shock Damage, Soul Trap, Stamina Damage, Turn Undead

Armor Enchantments

Fortify Skills: Alchemy, Alteration, Block, Barter, Destruction, Evasion Armor, Healing Rate, Heavy Armor, Illusion, Lockpicking, Marksman, One-Handed, Pickpocket, Restoration, Smithing, Sneak, Speech, Two-Handed, Unarmed

Fortify Stats: Carry Weight, Health, Magicka, Magicka Regen, Stamina, Stamina Regen

Resistance: Disease, Fire, Frost, Magic, Poison, Shock, Waterbreathing

Other: Conjuration, Muffle

Enchantment Potency Reference

Sergius Turrianus (Winterhold, Skill 100) produces enchantments equivalent to player enchanting at level 100 with all perks (except double enchantments):

• Fortify Skill (Combat): +21% damage/barter improvement
• Fortify Skill (Magic): -17% spell costs
• Fortify Skill (Crafting): +13 points (Alchemy, Smithing)
• Fortify Stat: +86 points (Health, Magicka, Stamina)
• Fortify Magicka Regen: +108%

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Strategic Application

When should you use NPC services?

• Mid-game gear upgrades: You’ve outgrown starting equipment but lack smithing perks
• Rare material use: You found dragon bones but don’t want to invest in Smithing
• Exotic enchantments: You want effects you don’t have disenchanted items for
• Time-sensitive gaps: You need gear improved NOW, not after grinding Smithing

Cost management:

• Invest in smiths with high Barter to reduce service costs
• Use low-skill smiths for cheap repairs on non-critical gear
• Save high-skill enchanters for important equipment (weapons, main armor)

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Next Steps

You’ve mastered NPC services and completed the core mechanics guide! Now expand your knowledge:

1. Explore Start Here in Wildlander World - Learn world systems and advanced mechanics
2. Reference Enchantments Analysis - Deep dive into specific enchantment effects
3. Consult Tempering - Understand gear progression and durability

Congratulations! You’ve completed the core Wildlander mechanics guide. You now understand character building, survival, combat, gear management, and NPC services. Use this knowledge, adapt to challenges, and most importantly—have fun exploring Skyrim’s dangerous world.

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