Skyrim players are debating just how gross the Dragonborn might smell

Given that they spend a lot of time going on heroic quests, battling the ebony warrior or teaming up with the Blades to defeat Alduin, Skyrim’s Dragonborn probably works up quite the sweat on a daily basis.

Sadly for those in Tamriel obsessed with hygiene, even the prophesied hero’s breaks between adventures are filled with a lot of dangerous partying, pick-up basketball games and bouts of tag with couriers.

The end result of all of this is a character that generally doesn’t spend a lot of time sleeping or taking care of themselves, as one player on Reddit has recently taken a fair bit of pleasure in pointing out, sparking a discussion.

Have you ever considered the stenches of Skyrim?

The thread containing this conversation about cleaning on the Skyrim subreddit began with a post from the aforementioned player, user RelaxyCalm, who kicked things off by declaring: “The Dragonborn probably smells like a rotting corpse.”, elaborating that they came to the conclusion based on the character’s penchant for taking armour from slain foes and spending a lot of time in dungeons.

A number of their fellow players quickly pointed out that everyone’s favourite shouty warrior probably isn’t the only thing making Skyrim a bit of a pongy province, with user Hguols saying: “I bet the raw beef and venison that's stayed in a room temperature chest by the kitchen for several in-game months doesn't smell any better.” and Captain_Canuck97 begging Tamriel’s chefs to: “throw some frost salts in your meat chests for realism’s sake.”

Though, user tisnik argued that Skyrim’s climate might make its stored food smell a little less gross than that of Cyrodiil and Hammerfell, citing the average temperatures in the Scandinavian forests and tundras the game is geographically inspired by.

Returning to the personal hygiene of the player character, users naughtydog2022 and j_grouchy suggested that the province is home to plenty of geographical features they could wash in, from regular rivers to refreshing glacial streams.

Meanwhile, user Sostratus illustrated one negative consequence that could result from the hero refusing to take this advice, putting on the voice of a bandit to say: “If the Dragonborn sneaks up on us, I will smell him coming. Or I might not, we will see.”

Regardless of how many of your Skyrim sneaking attempts have been foiled by body odour, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the wacky world of Skyrim modding.