Skyrim:Broken Oar Grotto

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SR-mapicon-Cave.png
 Cave:
Broken Oar Grotto
(view on map)
# of Zones 1
Clearable Yes
Dungeon Yes
Respawn Time Never (storage is safe)
Level Min: 6
Occupants
Blackblood Marauders, Jaree-Ra, Captain Hargar
Important Treasure
Cherim's Heart
Console Location Code(s)
BrokenOarGrottoExterior01, BrokenOarGrotto01
Region
Haafingar
Location
North of Solitude
Northwest of Brinewater Grotto
Special Features
# of Tanning Racks 1
# of Smelters 1
# of Forges/Anvils 1
# of Grindstones 1
# of Workbenches 1
# of Fishing SuppliesCC 1
Ore Veins
# of Corundum 1
# of Iron 2
# of Silver 1
Broken Oar Grotto

Broken Oar Grotto is a small cave north of Solitude containing the Blackblood Marauders and their leader Captain Hargar. It contains only one zone, Broken Oar Grotto.

Related Quests[edit]

Radiant Quests[edit]

Walkthrough[edit]

Exterior[edit]

Located at the northern tip of the coastline of Solitude, the entrance to Broken Oar Grotto resembles a landslide next to a small cave entrance. A crushed longboat can be seen among the rubble, rock, and broken trees. Two rowboats are beached in front of the entrance. A small lit campfire is nearby along with two spiky grass plants and a couple barrels, one of which contains food. A number of small islets nearby can be explored for ore veins.

Broken Oar Grotto[edit]

Grotto interior

Broken Oar Grotto is a huge flooded cavern where a group of raiders, the Blackblood Marauders, have built facilities for housing and launching the vessels they use to raid along the coast. The main cavern entrance for their ships has been blocked by a cave-in, preventing any large vessels from being launched in the last year, leading to most of them being sunk or repurposed. Recently, one of the crew has thought to find someone gullible enough to aid them in causing a ship to run aground and using rowboats to capture and strip it of its valuables. The other half of the longboat seen outside can be found inside, crushed under the cave-in.

Upon entering the cavern, there is a wooden platform in front of you, with a rowboat tied up to the platform and a stack of crates beside it. A flight of steps leads down into the water, which can be used to find the first of four underwater chests lying next to a lootable skeleton (see notes). There are three bear pelts resting on the stacked crates, and a fourth pelt and a lootable barrel and sack on the rowboat. Beyond this is a suspended wooden bridge crossing to another wooden platform with shelves of sacks, barrels, and various goods, including alchemical ingredients. There is also a novice-locked chest with a medium coin purse beside it on a set of boards above and to the left, which can be reached from the top of the first ramp. Against the south wall is an open crate containing many bottles of wine, with more on the shelves to the left. There is an oil lantern hanging from a beam above, and a couple ramps leading up to a higher platform to the left. Two marauders are standing at the top, talking about a chest they've found hidden on the deck of a sunken ship. At the top is an open crate containing three haunches of raw venison beside more barrels, and a path leading to the northeast. The path soon splits, with one path climbing a steep natural stone bridge to the northwest, while the other path continues at the same level to the east.

Climbing the bridge brings you to a much higher platform with three fillets of horker meat and several pieces of cheese by the edge on a small set of shelves. The path follows the west wall and descends to an area guarded by a marauder, with a lever that operates a raised drawbridge across to the east side of the cavern. To the left of the lever is another wooden ramp that descends to another platform, with an open crate containing more bottles of wine and a second ramp descending to a platform at water level, with a rowboat on the platform containing an unlocked chest. With the Fishing Creation installed, some Fishing Supplies can be found here; fish from Underground waters can be caught here. There is also a ladder that descends into the water, which can be used to find the second underwater chest.

Continuing to the east from the initial junction, there are crates on either side of the path with a couple bear pelts, an unlocked chest, a bucket of red apples, and a cart containing more bear pelts and a couple cheese wheels. Just behind the cart is an iron ore vein on the south wall. Beyond the ore vein, the path follows the east wall of the cavern, passing another ladder into the water on the left, before climbing back up to meet with the eastern side of the drawbridge. At this point, there is a tunnel to the east, and a table beside the bridge with a small coin purse on top. There is also a path continuing to the northeast following the eastern wall of the cavern.

The tunnel to the east turns to the north then back to the east, before opening into a small cave with a wooden plank wall on the right shielding a raised area with a long wooden table surrounded by an oil slick, with an oil lantern above and a marauder sitting at the table. There is a second marauder sleeping on a bedroll to the east. Once these are dealt with, you are free to explore. On the table is a bowl of tomato soup, a cabbage, and a loaf of bread, with an unlocked chest and a set of shelves to the west, against the wall. The shelves hold a random healing potion, two bottles of alto wine, a sweet roll, two carrots, a bowl of bread, and a haunch of raw venison on top. An alcove to the west beside the entrance holds a bucket in a hole in the floor, and a convenient table and lantern. There are a total of four bedrolls against the walls to the north and east, and an exit to the southeast into another small cave.

This cave holds two healing potions and a poison on a barrel against the north wall, and more crates and an unlocked chest against the south wall. A flight of wooden stairs against the southeast wall leads up to a loft, with a medium coin purse and two loose gold coins on a crate. Under the stairs is a corundum ore vein. A tunnel to the northeast leads back to the main chamber of the grotto, where to the left, against the southwestern wall, is a pile of barrels and crates with two goat hides on top.

After emerging back into the main chamber, you will see to the north a partially sunken boat beneath a large wooden structure built out over the water, composed of wooden scaffolding incorporating pieces of what was once a large ship, with the cabin forming a wooden building on top. To the northwest, the path continues and forks, with the left-hand path leading up an earthen ramp to another natural stone bridge across the water, and the right-hand path continuing along the edge of the water. This right-hand path comes to a second lever-operated raised drawbridge that gives access to the lower level of the wooden structure, before continuing around to the southwest, past another iron ore vein, and back to the first drawbridge.

The ramp and stone bridge leading up to the northwest is guarded at the top by a marauder. From the top of the bridge, it is possible to see several marauders below you on the wooden structure on different levels, thus serving as an excellent location to start picking them off (possibly with the long bow and quiver of iron arrows by a railing at the rear of the ledge), due to the distance they need to travel to engage you. This path continues northwest across the cavern to the west wall, before descending and following the wall around to the north end of the wooden structure. Near a rock column on the right is a wood chopping block, with a silver ore vein opposite this against the northeast wall, and a flight of stairs leading down to the left of the chopping block.

The path continues to the east, passing an entrance on the right into the wooden building seen from the far side, while to the northeast is a forge, along with a workbench which has a steel greatsword, a random stamina potion, and a copy of the Smithing skill book Cherim's Heart on top. A grindstone sits against the north wall, to the left of which is a smelter with a square wooden table beside it. On the table is an iron sword, an iron warhammer, and a pair of iron gauntlets. On the far side of the smelter is a row of three weapon racks holding an iron greatsword and battleaxe, with a round table holding an iron helmet beside them and a tanning rack to the left. To the southeast is the prow of a ship, with three more weapon racks in front holding a couple more random bows. Near these weapon racks is a leveled potion of true shot, while on the prow are a couple archery targets with a few iron arrows lying on the deck.

View of the sunken ship

Entering the building leads into a room with an unlocked chest on top of a table in the western corner. A set of shelves behind the door against the northeast wall holds a bowl of honey nut treats, leather strips, a couple bottles of wine, an iron helmet, and a few common books. Beyond an internal wall is a small square wooden table with three medium coin purses, an iron dagger, a random healing potion, eight gold coins, and Hargar's Journal, which describes where Captain Hargar keeps his loot hidden from these lowlifes and also provides a bit more of an explanation regarding the job planned by Jaree-Ra and his sister Deeja. Against the northwest wall is a long wooden table with a set of random armor and two bottles of wine on top, and a weapon plaque above holding a random two-handed weapon.

To the left of this table is the Icerunner's main chest. To the southwest is a ramp up to a small bedroom area with a single bed in the western corner, and a round wooden table beside it with a boiled creme treat, a bottle of wine, an easily missed silver amethyst ring, and a common book on top. A large coin purse sitting on top of a yardarm is visible through a gap in the wall behind the bed; the purse can be knocked off with an arrow or the Unrelenting Force shout, or reached by jumping onto the end of the yardarm from a higher rock ledge and acrobatically balancing along it while avoiding a hazardous misstep. Above the table is a shield plaque with a banded iron shield and an unlootable iron sword (see bugs). By the head of the bed is a bowl of red apples, and against the southeast wall is a set of shelves holding four bottles of wine, a red apple, and seven common books, with a mammoth tusk on top. There is a ramp leading down beneath the bedroom area, past a lookout post, to another storage area among the scaffolding with an oil slick on the ground and an oil lantern above it.

There are many sacks and barrels in this area along the rear wall, with a wooden table holding a bottle of alto wine, a honey nut treat, and a cooked horse haunch, and a baked potato and portion of grilled leeks on a lit brazier to the left. Farther to the left is the flight of wooden stairs seen previously beside the wood chopping block. In front of the stairs is another wooden ramp down to another part of the ship that was used to build the structure. There is an oil slick on the deck along with an oil lantern above and a long wooden table with chairs around it, with a mammoth steak, a bowl of horker stew, and several common books on top. There is a second table with a mead barrel on top, with a pair of iron boots underneath. There is a rowboat below that can be reached via another ramp, with a ladder down into the water to the left. The ladder can be used to dive down and board the partially sunken boat beside the structure. On the deck of this boat is a master-locked chest that can be opened using a key in Captain Hargar's possession. There is also a large coin purse and an expert-locked chest among the pilings that are supporting the wooden structure (see notes).

Notes[edit]

  • There are four underwater chests hidden inside:
    1. Immediately after entering the grotto, head left down the ladder leading into the water. The first chest will be on your right next to a rock and a skeleton.
    2. Continue along the wooden scaffolding, take the stone arched path up to the ceiling of the cavern, then continue down past the first wooden drawbridge to a dock with a boat pulled up onto it. Take the ladder at the end of the dock down into the water, and the second chest will be directly in front of you a short distance away, next to a large rock and a skeleton.
    3. The third, master-locked chest is on the deck of a partially sunken boat, next to the captain's quarters, as noted in Hargar's Journal.
    4. The fourth is an expert-locked chest on an underwater platform among the pilings that support the captain's quarters. From the bottom platform of the structure containing the captain's quarters, there are two ladders into the water. Walk off the southeast one toward the partially sunken boat. Turn left, and go between the scaffolding and the partially sunken boat. Swim to the bottom, and look left for the only space between pilings that isn't blocked by cross-bracing, then swim northeast until you're blocked by more cross-bracing. Turn right, and you'll see the chest on a platform above you next to a large coin purse.
  • Two gold ore veins are due west of the grotto on a large islet with a flag, with one at the east base of the rock ledge that forms the peak of the islet and the other at the base of the ledge on the west.

Bugs[edit]

  • After clearing this location before the quest Lights Out!, Jaree-Ra may attack you, which will provoke the guards near Castle Dour to attack you.
  • Followers may get stuck inside and will not go outside with you. See the bugs section of the Reanimate article for how to fix this via PC console.
    • If any followers remain stuck inside, it may be possible to release them by traveling to Solitude and paying off a bounty (if you have no bounty, create one). All followers should then be in your party.
  • If the quest Amulet of the Moon directs you here, check to see whether you have already visited this location. This location does not respawn, so if you have been here before, the Moon Amulet cannot spawn here and you cannot complete the quest.
    • You will need to reload a previous save to get a different location from Kharjo.
  • When in the water, you may randomly fall to the bottom as if there is no water and may or may not be allowed a breath. Swimming will continue to work normally afterward.
  • You may not be able to interact with the iron sword on the wall plate above the captain's bed.
  • Sometimes, the Icerunner's main chest will not appear.
    • If this happens, you'll need to revert to a previous save.
    • The chest will not appear if the quest Lights Out! is still at stage 175 ("Find out where Jaree-Ra's bandits took the loot"). You need to (re)read Jaree-Ra's note found on Deeja to progress to stage 200 ("Travel to Broken Oar Grotto"), then enter the grotto again.[verification needed]

Maps[edit]

  • Broken Oar Grotto

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