Unfortunately, gamers would have to wait another year as Bethesda announced Starfield delayed release until 2023. Despite this bad news, the holdup could be a positive thing to bring out more meaningful and deep romance options that would improve from shallow questlines in other Bethesda games.
With hopes of improved romance options, Skyrim became their first game to include romance as a gameplay aspect. Skyrim’s marriage options aren’t exactly “fleshed out,” but it has some fun marital options, especially when players add mods into the mix.
10 Borgakh, The Warrior Wife
One of the more unique marriage options, Borgakh is unique amongst the companions as she is plotting to escape a marriage. Although orc women are still strong warriors expected to fight for their strongholds, they are still subject to the backward practice of arranged marriages.
The player can rescue them from this predicament by either paying off her dowry to her father or simply convincing her to go on adventures with the Dragonborn. Either way, doing so will earn the player Borgakh’s respect, and mighty, muscular hand in marriage.
9 Kharjo, The Stoic Bodyguard
Players who often wander the roads of Skyrim are bound to bump into Kharjo a lot. After all, he surprisingly tall for a Khajiit, and also wears heavy armor, another unusual sight when most Khajiit travel light. Despite his intimidating frame, he’s one of the kindest people the player meets on the road.
Kharjo travels with Akhari’s caravan in thanks for freeing him from a Cyrodiil prison. However, he misses his home of Elsewyr, and the favor the player does for him is retrieving an amulet from his mother. Though hating the cold, Kharjo is a stalwart companion, and his love for family makes him great husband material.
8 Jenassa, The Cold Archer
Jenassa is a Dark Elf ranger mercenary in The Drunken Huntsman, and the player can hire her as their companion. As far as companions go, she’s one of the “ice queen” types and is not shy about showing her derision for the misadventures the players get themselves into. Unlike Lydia, she’s always been like that.
Still, the game does have her as a marriage option for a good reason. Jenessa’s cold attitude is a wholesome contrast to her loving dialogue. Despite all the snark, she got your back, and it helps that she’s a badass archer as well.
7 Marcurio, The Smug Spellcaster
Marcurio is the charmingly arrogant spellsword mercenary that the player can find hanging out at the Bee and the Barb in Riften. In contrast to the Jenassa, Marcurio is a very talkative and upbeat man whose skill with spells is only outmatched by his ego.
Then again, that ego is what makes him such an endearing follower. Not to mention, his bravado is perfectly backed up. His dialogue often mentions studying abroad in Cyrodiil, and his skill in battle is no joke. He is the perfect husband material, if the player is into the smug, silver-tongued devils.
6 Sylgja, The Hard Worker
In contrast to the spellswords, Sylgja is an honest Nord woman making a simple living. Like her father before her, she is a miner and works 12 backbreaking hours of mining with nary a complaint. It’s very rare for a woman in Skyrim to be a miner, but she’s considered one of the best by her fellow workers.
Of course, she still attracts some unwanted attention from some unsavory men. Still, she rejects them outright, and that show of force means she’s swayed by action, not words. Syglja will only marry the player after they do her a favor involving her family, and that care for her family makes her a great spouse.
5 Roggi Knot-Beard, The Mead Lover
Roggi is one of the nicest Nords the player will ever meet and a man with a great passion for mead. Found near the dragon tomb of Kynesgrove, Roggi is unlike many Nords. They are friendly to the player regardless of race, and he loves to talk with everybody around him. Oftentimes, the topic will be about his beloved mead.
When the player meets him, he claims to be in debt to a friend, the innkeeper Iddra, whom he has a large tab with. Iddra does not care, and the player gets to tell Roggi the tab’s forgotten, whether he likes it or not. It’s quite telling of a person’s character that the worst that can be said about them is that they want to pay off a debt. Funny, friendly, and obsesses over mead, he might as well be a typical dad.
4 Aela, The Huntress
Aela the Huntress is one of the most fleshed-out female characters in Skyrim. She is heavily involved with the Companions questline and takes great pride in being part of the honored group. She’s a legacy member, as everybody in her bloodline has been a companion. Among the circle, she is the proudest of Hircine’s gift.
That passion is what drives many players to pursue her as a spouse. She’s always heard wanting to be out in the world more, outside of the Harbinger commands. There are foes out there greater than the ones around Whiterun. The player can do just that for them, and more.
3 Vilkas, The Strong Leader
Vilkas is one of the most veteran members of the Companions, and he knows it. He treats many of the “whelps” under his protection as the amateurs that they are with the player included. However, he is shown to be a very introspective person and often wonders about the place of his companions in the world.
Vilkas is the closest responsible leader figure in the Companions after the deaths of its other veteran members. Farkas and Aela buckle under responsibility in a way that Vilkas does not. The player even meets him for the first time seemingly planning a way to free themselves of some mysterious “curse” – a smart warrior in a place full of brute force thugs.
2 Ysolda, The Thrifty Merchant
Ysolda is one of the first women that the player meets upon entering Whiterun. The first impression many players get is just how friendly she is to almost everybody around her. She dreams of one day running her own business, and is surprisingly thrifty, trading with Khajiit caravans when others do not.
Still, she’s not all sunshine. If the player has the fortune of finding a note on a dead orc and confronts Ysolda about it, they’ll admit to running a Sleeping Tree Sap business on the side. The drug is perfectly legal, but it’s likely the methods of acquisition are decidedly not. Still, that does not change how kind she genuinely is. After all, everybody needs to make a living.
1 Farkas, The Charmingly Blunt
Farkas is one of the most popular marriage options for a good reason. In a world full of rude warriors looking for a fight, Farkas is nice to the player the first time they meet. Also, rare is his acknowledgment of his flaws. He is blunt to others, but he’s the same for himself, always bringing up his confessed lack of “smarts.”
Still, that humility is what makes him such reliable husband material. His blunt honesty is far more endearing than most chest offers in Skyrim. Not to mention, Farkas has a speech skill of 100. So perhaps it’s less than Farkas is “dumb”, and more that he only says what is needed. Speak softly and carry a big stick is a good life motto.
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