The Standing Stones are magical stones found in the wilderness which can give your character special abilities and powers. There are thirteen Standing Stones in total, each associated with one of Tamriel's thirteen constellations. Usually, only one stone's effects can be active at a time, although you can change which stone is active at any time by activating a different Standing Stone. However, by wearing the Aetherial CrownDG, you may be affected by two Standing Stones concurrently.
The first three stones most players will encounter are the three Guardian Stones: the Mage Stone, the Thief Stone, and the Warrior Stone. These three stones are found together in a circle along the road to Riverwood near Lake Ilinalta. Selecting one of these stones allows you to effectively specialize in one group of skills. All of the other stones are located on their own.
| Icon | Stone Name (IDs) |
Description and Effects | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
The Apprentice Stone Ability ID: 000e5f4e Weakness ID: 0010e439 |
Those under the sign of The Apprentice recover Magicka faster, but are more susceptible to Magicka damage:
|
On an island in the Hjaalmarch marsh, just north of Fort Snowhawk, west-northwest of Morthal Compass Marker visible from the East Empire Company Warehouse. (map). |
|
The Atronach Stone Ability ID: 000e5f51 |
Those under the sign of The Atronach absorb a portion of incoming spell damage and have a larger pool of Magicka, but recover it more slowly:
|
In the southernmost part of the hot springs of Eastmarch, northwest of Mistwatch and east-northeast of Darkwater Crossing (map). |
|
The Lady Stone Ability ID: 000e5f54 |
Those under the sign of The Lady regenerate Health and Stamina more quickly:
|
On an island in Lake Ilinalta, directly north of Falkreath (map). |
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The Lord Stone Ability ID: 000e5f58 |
Those under the sign of The Lord are more resistant to both Magicka and physical damage:
|
East of Morthal, northeast of the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon, about one and a half times as far as Stonehills, up on the mountain. Follow the path starting north of the Hall of the Vigilant to the Shrine and the Stone (map). |
|
The Lover Stone Ability ID: 000e5f5a Perk ID: 000e5f57 |
Those under the sign of The Lover always feel a Lover's Comfort (All skills improve faster):
|
Northeast of Markarth (Follow road North), just north of Kolskeggr Mine (map). |
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The Mage Stone Ability ID: 000e5f47 Perk ID: 000e5f49 |
Those under the sign of the Mage will learn all magic skills 20% faster:
|
Southwest of Riverwood, by the roadside, one of the Guardian Stones (map). |
 |
The Ritual Stone Ability ID: 000e7329 |
Once a day, those under the sign of The Ritual can reanimate nearby corpses to fight for them:
|
East of Whiterun, by the roadside, above the entrance to Graywinter Watch (map) |
 |
The Serpent Stone Ability ID: 000e5f61 |
Once a day, those under the sign of The Serpent can use a ranged paralyzing poison on opponents:
|
Directly east of the College of Winterhold and northeast of the Wreck of The Pride of Tel Vos, on an icy island in the Sea of Ghosts (map). |
 |
The Shadow Stone Ability ID: 000e732a |
Once a day, those under the sign of The Shadow can become invisible for an extended period:
|
South of Riften, near Nightingale Hall (map). |
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The Steed Stone Ability ID: 000e5f5e Perk ID: 0001bac9 |
Those under the sign of The Steed can carry more and do not suffer a movement penalty from armor:
|
Northwest of Solitude, near Ironback Hideout (map). |
|
The Thief Stone Ability ID: 000e5f45 Perk ID: 000e5f46 |
Those under the sign of the Thief will learn all stealth skills 20% faster: | Southwest of Riverwood, by the roadside, one of the Guardian Stones (map). |
 |
The Tower Stone Ability ID: 000e7328 Perk ID: 000e7326 |
Once a day, those under the sign of The Tower have the option to automatically open an Expert or lower lock:
|
About halfway between Dawnstar and Winterhold, on a high snow-covered cliff (map). |
|
The Warrior Stone Ability ID: 000e5f4c Perk ID: 000e5f4a |
Those under the sign of the Warrior will learn all combat skills 20% faster:
|
Southwest of Riverwood, by the roadside, one of the Guardian Stones (map). |
AchievementsEdit
Achievements related to the Standing Stones are:
Blessed (10 points/Bronze) — Select a Standing Stone blessing
- You must discover one standing stone, then activate its blessing. This is most easily accomplished using one of the three Guardian Stones.
Standing Stones (30 points/Silver) — Find 13 Standing Stones
- You must discover all thirteen of the standing stones (see bugs).
NotesEdit
- The Standing Stones are comparable to the Birthsign Stones from Oblivion.
- If you are at or near one of the Standing Stones, and bring up the local map, the map title may refer to it as a "Doomstone". Nothing else in the game seems to use this term for these objects, though.
- Reading An Explorer's Guide to Skyrim will mark the locations of the following Stones on your map: the Guardian Stones, the Ritual Stone, the Shadow Stone, and the Lover Stone.
BugsEdit
- The Atronach Stone has a 50% chance of causing all Summoning spells and powers to fail. See Spell Absorption for details.
The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.0, fixes this bug.
- Archery is assigned to the Thief Stone, instead of the Warrior Stone.
- The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.2, fixes this bug.
- Reading An Explorer's Guide to Skyrim after the Guardian, Ritual, Lover, and Shadow Stones are marked on the map will cause a "Map updated." message to appear on the top left of the screen again, though no new Stones will be marked. ?
- It is possible to receive the "Standing Stones" achievement by visiting any of the standing stones a total of 13 times rather than finding all 13 (or visiting the Guardian Stones 5 times). This may result in being stated to have visited more than 13 stones, as repeat visits are not taken into account. You must wait for the location to respawn for repeat visits to increment the counter.
- The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.2.7, fixes this bug.
