

Can we get rich in Skyrim as an average Joe? No quests, no dragons - just hard work...

Conquer Skyrim with our must-read tips, essential secrets and Word Wall location guide.

[UPDATE: Part two is now live!] Say hello to Olaf. He's a Nord from the snowy land of Skyrim, but he isn't an adventurer. He can't cast magic spells or kill frost trolls, and he doesn't have the blood of a dragon. He doesn't even own any shoes. He's just a regular guy trying to make an honest living.

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But Olaf has a dream. One day he wants to live in Solitude, the capital of Skyrim. The problem is, he doesn't have any gold - and he needs 25,000 to buy a house there. The Dragonborn could raise that in a few hours by looting dungeons, but Olaf would flee in terror if he ever saw a frostbite spider. He's a simple man with a simple fear of giant, poison-spitting arachnids.

So he has to earn his keep the honest way. Chopping wood, hunting, fishing, mining, picking crops, and generally avoiding excitement of any kind. If it pays gold, and it doesn't involve exploring haunted ruins, Olaf will do it. But he isn't immune to temptation. Although he's a law-abiding citizen, he is absolutely driven to escape his life of shoeless poverty. So if things get desperate, his moral code may be tested. He needs a lot of gold...

The rules

  • Start the game with no money, gear, or skills
  • Earn 25,000 gold to buy Proudspire Manor in Solitude
  • No quests allowed, unless they're completely mundane
  • He will only ever kill another person in self-defence

Will Olaf's dreams come true? Will he ever own a pair of shoes? We'll be following his quest for wealth on CVG with diaries, videos, and screenshots, but we want you to get involved too. If you have any moneymaking ideas, share them and we'll try them out in the game, then record the results. For now, though, here's the first chapter of Olaf's not-so-epic journey...

P.S. If you want to read more like this, check out the amazing The Elder Strolls on our sister site, PC Gamer, as well as the equally superb Living in Oblivion by the same author. Both were the original inspiration for Olaf's voyage for fortune and glory.

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