Candlehearth is an inn overhaul that adds extended inn rentals and safe storage to every inn in Skyrim. Extended inn rentals allow players to make themselves at home in an inn, and to use that inn as a temporary base for their travels through Skyrim. Adding safe storage allows players to manage their inventory more efficiently without the risk of their items disappearing–or without using meta knowledge to hide items in “safe” storage such those two random barrels in the middle of Whiterun.  

To further expand the services available from inns, check out Gourmet - A Cooking Overhaul, which adds cooking pots and baking ovens to many inns through Skyrim.

Inn Rentals

When Candlehearth is installed, you will have expanded dialogue options with Skyrim’s innkeepers. You will be able to rent a room for one night (for 50 gold); for one week (for 250 gold) or for one month (for 750 gold). Inns in major cities, such as the Bannered Mare, Candlehearth Hall, the Silver-Blood Inn, the Winking Skeever, and the Bee and Barb charge more (75 gold for a night, 350 gold for a week, and 1000 gold for a month). These prices are weighted heavily towards longer stays, and provide players (especially Survival players) with long-term access to beds and safe storage.

Safe Storage

Every inn in the game has a special chest which counts as safe storage for the player. When you have rented the appropriate inn room, the chest will automatically unlock for you. When your room rental expires, the chest will automatically relock itself, and your goods will be trapped inside. This is no cause for concern, however; your goods are secure, and will never disappear. Simply renew your rental of the room to secure access to your missing gear.

These chests are all locked with a “Key Required” lock and cannot be picked. This is designed to protect the player from unfortunate (but admittedly humorous) situations, like being arrested for stealing their own gear, or having the guards confiscate one-of-a-kind artifacts or treasured items. It also prevents players from abusing these chests without paying Skyrim’s hardworking innkeepers for their services. 

Inns outside of Skyrim’s major cities use the default “treasure chest” for their safe storage (yes, the one you’re thinking of right now). Inns in the major cities, such as the Bannered Mare, Candlehearth, the Silver-Blood Inn, and the Winking Skeever, use an actual safe for their safe storage. There is no difference in feature or function between the chests and safes; the differences are purely cosmetic. The inn room in the Bee and Barb has a chest instead of a safe because Riften is a fucking shithole. 

Frequently Asked Questions

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Q: What the fuck, Simon? I thought you were a gameplay author? Why are you making an inn overhaul?

A: Although Candlehearth is very different from my other mods, it is primarily a gameplay overhaul. Candlehearth designed to improve the services that a specific set of vendors (innkeepers, in this case) provide to the player. Furthermore, as I've expanded into more "Survival Lite" gameplay, I've worked on several mods which reduce the player's Carry Weight, or force them to spend more of their Carry Weight on items like travel packs or camping supplies. To make this mechanic fun instead of tedious, players need early, reliable access to safe storage. Candlehearth is designed to fill these needs in the cleanest and most immersive way possible.

Q: Aren't there other mods that do the same thing?

A: Yes, there are several other approaches to both "extended stay" mechanics and "inn storage" mechanics. In particular, I benefited from Robbie's inn mod and his help with locating some source scripts. The main thing that sets Candlehearth apart from these mods is its approach to inn storage. Shared storage was a bit too "gamey" for my tastes, and I didn't want to use a mod that added an entire basement to the inn when all I needed was one good, reliable chest.

Compatibility 

Candlehearth makes edits to just about every inn in Skyrim, so it will conflict with mods that edit inn interiors. However, it’s worth pointing out that the large majority of the “added” chests in Candlehearth are actually existing Vanilla assets that Candlehearth has retooled, which minimizes the mod’s compatibility profile as much as possible.

Load Candlehearth after the Gourmet - Cooking Pots and Baking Ovens addon.

The Simonrim Team 

Simon Magus (Nexus / Patreon) 
DeltaRider (Nexus / Patreon)
Oreo (Nexus / Patreon)
Colinswrath (Nexus / Patreon)

The Simonrim Suite

Aetherius - A Race Overhaul
Mundus - A Standing Stone Overhaul
Mysticism - A Magic Overhaul
Adamant - A Perk Overhaul
Hand to Hand - An Adamant Addon
Blade and Blunt - A Combat Overhaul
Arena - An Encounter Zone Overhaul
Scion - A Vampire Overhaul
Manbeast - A Werewolf Overhaul
Stormcrown - A Shout Overhaul
Pilgrim - A Religion Overhaul
Thaumaturgy - An Enchanting Overhaul
Artificer - An Artifact Overhaul
Sorcerer - A Staff and Scroll Overhaul
Apothecary - An Alchemy Overhaul
Gourmet - A Cooking Overhaul
Journeyman - A Fast Travel Overhaul
Candlehearth - An Inn Overhaul
Starfrost - A Survival Overhaul