I. Features
II. Known Issues
III. Recommended Mods
IV. Credits

I. Features

A Witch's House
The main feature of Witch's Cottage is... the cottage!

It's a small but fully-featured, very cozy, warmly-cluttered home suited to a witch, herbalist or reclusive/rural mage playstyle. All crafting stations bar spider crafting are included, along with a small number of displays and mannequins. A combination fireplace and Hearthfire oven, with a cooking pot in front, can be found in the open kitchen with plenty of storage and clutter. The overlooking loft features your cauldron (alchemy table), enchanting table with special animation, tons more clutter, and storage. Downstairs you'll find the bedroom, a two-kid bunk bed neatly nestled into a corner in case you use the Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions mod and want kids, and a hot tub bath with decor, hanging towels and seats that you and NPCs can sit in. The bedroom features more storage, some named and scripted displays (ex. for Elder Scrolls, Black Books and Paragons), bookshelves and wardrobe, along with the Staff Enchanter. You'll also find two small shrines: one to Nocturnal, one to Julianos. The downstairs area also features three mannequins (two miniature on the bedroom shelf), a weapon rack and three weapon plaques. The outdoor stables--featuring a chicken coop--has room for the included horse along with a smithing area.

The house is fully Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions compatible, and features quite a few idle animation markers to keep a spouse, two kids, or followers busy sandboxing. (You could use My Home is Your Home to move a follower here, but they'll probably sleep on the floor in front of the fireplace!)

A Haunted Wood
Nestled in the fog and high forest of the Dragon Bridge Overlook, you'll be secluded far from meddling company--and your view will look downriver straight out past Solitude! The outdoor stable features a smelter, anvil, workbench, grinding stone and skinning table with storage. You'll find a chicken coop with chickens and nests just to the right of the stable. There's plenty of Hearthfires pots--and a full-sized garden--in front of and alongside the cottage for a witch to grow their own herbs! You can find an apiary in the underbrush beside the garden. The approach to the house, along the hill, has a lot of atmospheric trees, fog, spiderwebs and watching ravens.

To find the Witch's Cottage, head south across Dragon Bridge, pass the mountain on your right and turn right after it to reach Cliffside Retreat. Then head further right, up to the top of the plateau and turn back east toward Dragon Bridge along the hill; if you start running into spooky foggy woods you're going the right way!


A Witch's Cauldron
Rather than your typical alchemy table, you'll find a bubbling green cauldron in the upstairs loft. Surrounded by tons of alchemy and herbalism clutter, storage space, the enchanting table (which has its own unique visual effect when in use), and more, the cauldron uses existing pot-stirring animations so you can really get into your role of creepy neighborhood witch.

A Witch's Familiar
Choose the animal familiar best suited to you! You can select any animal that's currently following you (modded animals must use the vanilla follower quest to be candidates) and choose it as your new familiar. Your familiar's bond will boost your magicka pool and regeneration rate, and your power, in turn, will make it immortal (Essential). While you can only have one familiar at a time, you can change to a different familiar whenever you like (after severing the bond with your current familiar via dialogue), and if you leave your familiar at home it will still be your familiar when you return!

A Witch's Hat
Inside the house, you'll find a witch's hat--and at your Forge/Anvil, a new recipe to make more! Fully enchantable and taking up a Circlet slot, the
Witch's Hat will put the final perfect accents on your witchy look. (Credit to Backsteppo & Elianora for the model! Note that it doesn't play nice with all hair types.)

A Witch's Horse
Nightshade can be found in the stable (with room for a second horse), and is an Essential custom horse that's a tad faster than usual. The custom, plain leather saddle is adorned with a witch's paraphernalia, and the horse's coat is a pretty black with white socks and a blaze. (Skin derived from the Black & White horse from Bellyache's Animals and Creatures Pack!)

A Witch's Spider
For those wanting a spookier familiar, you'll find the little black Frostbite Spider, Skitters, in or near the large broken tree stump out front. (He wanders around a little.) Talk to him to recruit him on your journeys! Skitters levels with the player, and uses typical Frostbite Spider combat, including venom spit. He can also be chosen as your familiar, if you so choose! If you're not a fan of spiders, don't worry; Skitters is very quiet and generally stays out of sight. (You can always click him in console and type Disable if you're really arachnophobic!)


II. Known issues

- The smelter animation clips through the workbench a little.
- The two mini-mannequins sometimes wander. If they're missing, or standing staring eerily at you from the kitchen, or if you think you're running into an invisible obstacle somewhere in the house, access their stands on the bedroom shelf and adjust their inventory. This should put them back. (The method used to prevent mannequins from wandering does not work too well with the miniature variety.)
- If you play with certain mods that add outdoor light sources, you may find a random light source out by the well that can't be removed. It isn't a huge deal but it is not from my mod.

Potential issues:
While I haven't tested this yet, there was a Forsworn camp on the Overlook. I've scooted it and all its markers a bit farther along the hill. However, this camp is used in a couple smaller or radiant quests, so let me know if issues crop up with those--hopefully it'll be fine, as nothing was outright deleted.

III. Recommended Mods

Triumvirate - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/104083
Adds quite a few beautiful, balanced spells that can mesh very well with a witch playstyle & aesthetic.

A Cat's Life - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/104070/
If you want a black (or any color) cat buddy, or just like cats, Darkfox127 has this pretty sweet cat mod. As it doesn't use the vanilla animal quest, it can't be set as a familiar--but it can enhance your house with that witch aesthetic.

Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/29249
Make the most out of this home by using Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions's "Bless Home" spell while inside. This way, you can move your spouse and any children (Witch's Cottage has two kids' beds) into the home!

Lind's Standalone Robes Pack - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/74242
Or any mod that adds witch-appropriate robes!

Credits:

MrDanSG1 - Modder's Display Compendium  https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/62732/?
Custom displays and activators

Elianora/Backsteppo - Hat .nif made by Backsteppo, adjusted by Elianora
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/11767
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71215

wring675 - Bellyache's Animal and Creature Pack  - Black & White Horse Skin (edited by me)
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/3621

Artisanix - Paintings and Frames
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/17423

Blary - OpenBooks Resource
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14134

Blary - PotionShelf Resource
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14136

Blary - Ingredients Wall Art Resource
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/30602

Blary - Alchemy Clutter Resource
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/30599

Blary - Booksets Resource
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14135/

Darkfox127, as always, for his super useful YouTube tutorials!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtYB2iX9_52X_DNtSIJXyWg

And a shoutout to Reddit user Drag-oon23 who helped me quickly solve an incredibly frustrating issue with the saddle .nif!

If you spot something in my mod that I didn't credit, please contact me and let me know. I'm pretty sure I got them all but just in case!

Requirements:
Skyrim Legendary Edition (Skyrim + all 3 DLCs)