Skyrim:Falmer

A Falmer crouching in a Dwemer ruin

Falmer, once known as Snow Elves, were thought to have been hunted to extinction by the Nords. They now live deep underground and have devolved into disfigured, violent remnants of their former selves, and their senses have adapted to a life in the dark. Their primitive weapons and armor are made from chaurus chitin, and they often live near chaurus, apparently keeping some of them as livestock. Despite their elvish heritage, the Falmer are considered to be creatures, not NPCs (and therefore they do not have black souls). They tend to prefer poisoning their weapons with toxins developed from both chaurus and Frostbite Spider venom. They often make their lairs in close proximity to Dwemer technology, apparently unwilling to wander far from where their ancestors took shelter from the Nords. In dungeons, Falmer often emerge from hive traps to ambush you. Falmer are blind and hunt by sound. Although their hearing is very sensitive, their lack of sight can be used against them if you can move silently or attack from a distance.

The Dawnguard add-on adds further depth to the history of the Falmer. Knight-Paladin Gelebor, one of two known surviving Snow Elves, recounts how the Snow Elves sought protection from their Nord enemies long ago. The Dwemer agreed to shelter them, but at a high cost: the Snow Elves were forced to eat a toxic fungus, which rendered them completely blind. This was an extremely unsavory choice in the eyes of many of the Snow Elves, but those who sought alternatives to the deal were either killed (by the Dwemer or others), relented, or simply vanished. In time, the now-blinded Falmer became slaves to their Dwemer protectors. In light of their sad fate, Gelebor refers to the monstrous Falmer in contemporary Skyrim as "the Betrayed". He also claims that the toxin the Dwemer used to blind them is not responsible for the sorry state of contemporary Falmer, and hints that the rest of the transformation can be explained by thousands of years of evolution.

Falmer Types

Falmer utilize a variety of fighting styles, including melee, ranged, and magic attacks. The specific variety you will meet is level-dependent, and you will continue to meet low-level versions even at high levels. Boss-level Falmer, however, will always be at the highest possible level. The Dawnguard add-on adds the Falmer Warmonger, which is one of the few creatures to have a grand soul.

All Falmer are blind (80 pts) and have a Fortify Sneak ability (30 pts). Most Falmer you will encounter are male; in fact, the Falmer listed in the tables below are all male in the base game. If Dawnguard is installed, however, the Falmer shaman will all be female and wear a special female Falmer outfit (their gender is still marked as male in the game data, however; only the Falmer Warmonger shaman is actually marked as being female).

Any Falmer that uses martial attacks (all types except shaman) also has a leveled "Falmer Poison" perk, which allows them to apply a leveled poison to their weapons. This poison is actually a spell that lasts for 3-4 seconds and causes a set amount of damage to health on hit (rather than damage per second over time).

Melee Fighters

A Falmer fighter carrying a Falmer sword

These Falmer prefer to fight up close, wielding a fearsome weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. In addition to a Falmer Shield, they carry either a Falmer Sword, a Honed Falmer Sword, a Falmer War Axe, or a Honed Falmer War Axe. Falmer of level 22 or higher (except Warmongers) will also be equipped with a Falmer Helmet.

In addition to the gear listed above, melee Falmer loot includes the following items:

• 50% chance to carry leveled amount of gold
• 75% chance to carry gems, ore, Dwemer metal objects, ingredients (common, uncommon, or rare), a shovel or pickaxe, or damage health poisons
• May also drop Falmer ears (one at a 50% chance, one at a 25% chance)
• Falmer of level 15 or higher have a 50% chance of having a healing potion (Falmer Shadowmasters and Warmongers are guaranteed to carry one)

If Dawnguard is installed, Falmer Skulkers, Gloomlurkers, Nightprowlers, and Shadowmasters may spawn either with the default gear listed above, or with the same heavy armor outfit as the Falmer Warmongers. These "heavy armor" alternatives are identified by the "xx" at the beginning of the IDs listed in the table below. Falmer Warmongers are equipped with the following armor:

• Boots: 25% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Boots or Falmer Heavy Boots
• Cuirass: 75% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Armor or Falmer Heavy Armor
• Gauntlets: 25% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Gauntlets or Falmer Heavy Gauntlets
• Helmet: either a Falmer Hardened Helm or a Falmer Heavy Helm

Name	PC Level	NPC Level	IDs			Sta.	Perks
Falmer	1	9	00023a99 00052382	180	177	163	• Extra Damage 1.5 • Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Skulker	15	15	00023a9a xx00e8e4	290	197	198	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (6 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Gloomlurker	22	22	00023a9b xx00e8e8	410	220	210	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (7 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Nightprowler	30	30	00023a9c xx00e8ee	550	197	300	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (9 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Shadowmaster	38	38	00023a9d xx00e8ef	700	273	362	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer WarmongerDG	48	48	xx015caa	920	307	378	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 4 sec.)

Melee Bosses

A Falmer Warmonger in full heavy armor

Falmer melee bosses have the same equipment and loot as the melee Falmer listed above, but appear at higher levels. At low levels, Falmer bosses can be much more difficult than normal Falmer; at higher levels, the bosses are actually lower level than regular melee Falmer, but have slightly higher stats.

Name	PC Level	NPC Level	IDs			Sta.	Spells	Perks
Falmer Skulker	1-22	18	00052387	370	182	228	• Healing	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (6 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Gloomlurker	38	26	0005238c	500	233	242	• Healing	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (7 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Nightprowler	46	35	0005238d	640	213	357	• Healing	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (9 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Shadowmaster	54	44	0005238e	830	293	372	• Healing	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer WarmongerDG	64	54	xx015cb2	930	327	388	• Healing	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 4 sec.)

Archers

A Falmer archer stalking toward his enemy

Some Falmer prefer to stay at a distance and assault you with missile attacks. These archers wield a Falmer Bow and carry 12 Falmer Arrows, and have a chance to carry a small number of other arrows (of any quality from iron to Daedric). Level 1 archers also carry a Falmer Sword, and any archer of level 22 or higher is equipped with a Falmer Helmet.

In addition to the gear listed above, Falmer archer loot includes the following items:

• 50% chance to carry leveled amount of gold
• 75% chance to carry gems, ore, Dwemer metal objects, ingredients (common, uncommon, or rare), a shovel or pickaxe, or damage health poisons
• May also drop Falmer Ears (one at a 50% chance, one at a 25% chance)

If Dawnguard is installed, Falmer Warmonger archers will appear starting at level 48. These heavily-armored Falmer have the following equipment in addition to the gear listed above:

• Boots: 25% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Boots or Falmer Heavy Boots
• Cuirass: 75% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Armor or Falmer Heavy Armor
• Gauntlets: 25% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Gauntlets or Falmer Heavy Gauntlets
• Helmet: either a Falmer Hardened Helm or a Falmer Heavy Helm

Name	PC Level	Level	IDs			Sta.	Perks
Falmer	1	9	00025d2c 00052385	180	177	163	• Extra Damage 1.5 • Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Skulker	15	15	00025d2a	290	197	198	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (6 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Gloomlurker	22	22	00025d24	410	220	210	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (7 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Nightprowler	30	30	00025d26	550	197	300	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (9 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Shadowmaster	38	38	00025d28	700	273	362	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer WarmongerDG	48	48	xx015caf	920	307	378	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 4 sec.)

Shaman

A Falmer Shaman wielding her bound sword

A Shadowmaster shaman using a staff of Lightning Bolts

Falmer shaman are skilled spellcasters, relying primarily on the use of offensive spells in combat. Although they do not know the Bound Sword spell, all shaman carry a bound sword with the following enchantments: Banish Summoned (an effect that functions like the Oblivion Binding perk), Soul Trap (5 seconds), and Turn Raised Undead (essentially a Turn Undead effect). Falmer shaman do not wear armor.

In addition to the gear listed above, Falmer shaman loot includes the following items:

• 50% chance to carry leveled amount of gold
• 75% chance to carry a selection of ore, ingredients (common, uncommon, or rare), damage health poisons, or soul gems
• May also drop Falmer Ears (one at a 50% chance, one at a 25% chance)

If Dawnguard is installed, Falmer Warmonger shaman will appear starting at level 48. They do not wear heavy armor like their martial counterparts, but they do have a chance to carry either a Bound Sword or a staff of Firebolts, Ice Spikes, or Lightning Bolts.

Name	PC Level	Level	IDs			Sta.	Spells	Perks
Falmer	1	5	00025d36	133	120	157	• Fast Healing • Ice Spike • Lesser Ward • Oakflesh • Sparks	None
Falmer Skulker	15	8	00025d34	183	185	187	• Frostbite • Lightning Bolt • Steadfast Ward • Stoneflesh	• Extra Damage 1.5
Falmer Gloomlurker	22	14	00025d2e	258	265	197	• Fast Healing • Frostbite • Ice Spike • Lightning Cloak • Steadfast Ward	• Extra Damage 2
Falmer Nightprowler	30	19	00025d30	350	340	230	• Fast Healing • Ice Spike • Sparks • Steadfast Ward • Stoneflesh	• Extra Damage 2
Falmer Shadowmaster	38	25	00025d32	400	420	240	• Fast Healing • Frost Cloak • Ironflesh • Lightning Bolt • Steadfast Ward	• Extra Damage 2
Falmer WarmongerDG	48	35	xx015cb0	533	470	257	• Chain Lightning • Fast Healing • Frost Cloak • Ironflesh • Lightning Bolt • Steadfast Ward	• Extra Damage 2

Spellswords

A Falmer Spellsword chasing down his enemy

Falmer spellswords mix the martial attacks of their melee cousins and the magical attacks of the Falmer shaman. They wield either a Falmer Sword, a Honed Falmer Sword, a Falmer War Axe, or a Honed Falmer War Axe, and they do not carry a shield, preferring instead to keep a hand free for spells. Falmer of level 22 or higher (except Warmongers) will also be equipped with a Falmer Helmet.

In addition to the gear listed above, Falmer spellsword loot includes the following items:

• 50% chance to carry leveled amount of gold
• 75% chance to carry gems, ore, Dwemer metal objects, ingredients (common, uncommon, or rare), a shovel or pickaxe, or damage health poisons
• May also drop Falmer Ears (one at a 50% chance, one at a 25% chance)

If Dawnguard is installed, Falmer Warmonger spellswords will appear starting at level 48. These heavily-armored Falmer have the following equipment in addition to the gear listed above:

• Boots: 25% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Boots or Falmer Heavy Boots
• Cuirass: 75% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Armor or Falmer Heavy Armor
• Gauntlets: 25% chance to have either Falmer Hardened Gauntlets or Falmer Heavy Gauntlets
• Helmet: either a Falmer Hardened Helm or a Falmer Heavy Helm

Name	PC Level	Level	IDs			Sta.	Spells	Perks
Falmer	1	9	00063224 00063225	180	177	163	• Frostbite • Healing	• Extra Damage 1.5 • Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Skulker	15	15	00063226	290	197	198	• Healing • Ice Spike • Sparks	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (6 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Gloomlurker	22	22	00063227	410	220	210	• Frostbite • Frost Cloak • Healing • Lightning Bolt	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (7 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Nightprowler	30	30	0006322a	550	197	300	• Chain Lightning • Healing • Ice Spike • Sparks	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (9 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Shadowmaster	38	38	0006322b	700	273	362	• Chain Lightning • Healing • Ice Spike • Wall of Frost	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer WarmongerDG	48	48	xx015cb1	920	307	378	• Chain Lightning • Healing • Ice Spike • Wall of Frost	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 4 sec.)

Spellsword Bosses

A Spellsword boss readies his war axe and lightning.

Falmer spellsword bosses have the same equipment and loot as the spellsword Falmer listed above, but appear at higher levels. At low levels, Falmer bosses can be much more difficult than normal Falmer; at higher levels, the bosses are actually lower level than regular spellsword Falmer, but have slightly higher stats.

Name	PC Level	Level	IDs			Sta.	Spells	Perks
Falmer Skulker	1-22	18	0006322d	370	257	203	• Healing • Ice Spike • Sparks	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (6 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Gloomlurker	38	26	0006322f	500	283	242	• Frostbite • Frost Cloak • Healing • Lightning Bolt	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (7 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Nightprowler	46	35	0006322e	640	313	307	• Chain Lightning • Healing • Ice Spike • Sparks	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (9 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer Shadowmaster	54	44	00063230	830	403	272	• Chain Lightning • Healing • Ice Spike • Wall of Frost	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 3 sec.)
Falmer WarmongerDG	64	54	xx015cb3	930	437	288	• Chain Lightning • Healing • Ice Spike • Wall of Frost	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (12 pts for 4 sec.)

Feral Falmer^DG

A feral Falmer lurking in the darkness of Darkfall Grotto

Feral Falmer only appear in the Dawnguard add-on, and can be found in Darkfall Grotto, a small cave in the Forgotten Vale. They carry no weapons and have no armor, but do carry a selection of the following items:

• 50% chance to carry leveled amount of gold
• 75% chance to carry gems, ore, Dwemer metal objects, ingredients (common, uncommon, or rare), a shovel or pickaxe, or damage health poisons
• May also drop Falmer Ears (one at a 50% chance, one at a 25% chance)

Name	Level	IDs			Sta.	Perks
Falmer	9	xx00d984	180	177	163	• Extra Damage 1.5 • Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)

Frozen Falmer^DG

Frozen Falmer only appear in the Dawnguard add-on, and can be found in the Inner Sanctum of Auriel's Chapel in the Forgotten Vale. All frozen Falmer are, in fact, Feral Falmer who were encased in ice. They are weak to fire attacks and have 100% resistance to Frost. Frozen Falmer come in two varieties: Frozen Vampire Falmer and Frozen Falmer Shaman.

Frozen Vampire Falmer

A Frozen Vampire Falmer spattered with blood

Frozen Vampire Falmer use unarmed attacks in battle. They do not have any weapons or armor, and carry no other items.

Name	PC Level	Level	IDs			Sta.			Perks
Frozen Vampire Falmer	1	1	xx01511f	100	150	150	-25	100	• Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)
Frozen Vampire Falmer	15	10	xx015120	190	180	165	-25	100	• Extra Damage 1.5 • Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)
Frozen Vampire Falmer	30	20	xx015121	290	213	182	-25	100	• Extra Damage 2 • Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)
Frozen Vampire Falmer	40	30	xx015122	390	247	198	-25	100	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)
Frozen Vampire Falmer	50	40	xx015123	490	280	215	-25	100	• Extra Damage 2.5 • Falmer Poison (5 pts for 3 sec.)

Frozen Falmer Shaman

A Frozen Falmer Shaman unleashing a Lightning Bolt

Frozen Falmer Shaman use spells in combat. Although they do not know the Bound Sword spell, all shaman carry a bound sword with the following enchantments: Banish Summoned (an effect that functions like the Oblivion Binding perk), Soul Trap (5 seconds), and Turn Raised Undead (essentially a Turn Undead effect). Although the Frozen Falmer Shaman have a leveled amount of gold and a selection of other miscellaneous items, all frozen Falmer actually shatter into several pieces and melt on death, so no corpse is left behind to be looted.

Name	PC Level	Level	IDs			Sta.			Spells	Perks
Frozen Falmer Shaman	1	1	xx015127	100	150	150	-25	100	• Fast Healing • Frost Cloak • Ironflesh • Lightning Bolt • Steadfast Ward	None
Frozen Falmer Shaman	15	10	xx015128	190	180	165	-25	100		• Extra Damage 1.5
Frozen Falmer Shaman	30	20	xx015129	290	213	182	-25	100		• Extra Damage 2
Frozen Falmer Shaman	40	30	xx015122	390	247	198	-25	100		• Extra Damage 2
Falmer Shadowmaster	50	40	xx015123	490	280	215	-25	100		• Extra Damage 2

Companions

A Falmer tent

Falmer are typically accompanied by a few monsters, which will vary depending upon your level. The monsters will be the same level as the minimum PC level listed in the table below (so at levels 6-11, the Frostbite Spider companion will be level 6, and so on).

Player Level	Companion
1	Frostbite Spider or Skeever
6	Frostbite Spider
12	Chaurus
14	Giant Frostbite Spider
20	Chaurus Reaper

Hearthfire

The Hearthfire add-on lets you build Falmer statues in the trophy room addition of any homestead. The Falmer trophy can be built on either a large or a small base, but the materials needed are the same for both:

Large Base Falmer				Small Base Falmer
Falmer Sword 2 Falmer Ear				Falmer Sword 2 Falmer Ear

Related Quests

• Discerning the Transmundane: Uncover the secrets of the mysterious Dwemer lockbox.
• Extracting an Argonian: Rescue Derkeethus from his Falmer captors.
• Touching the Sky^DG: Find and retrieve Auriel's Bow.

Notes

Falmer tent with scorpion

• In some ruins, such as Nchuand-Zel, you might see small, two-foot-tall versions of Falmer.
• In Dawnguard locations (such as the caves leading to the Forgotten Vale), some of the Falmer tents are crafted with an unknown scorpion creature.
• Frozen Vampire Falmer do not actually use vampire abilities (invisibility, the Drain Life spell, etc.) but have a unique look: they have Vampire Lord lookalike wings on their backs, though they cannot use them. All Frozen Falmer (Vampire ones and others) shatter upon death, leaving behind no corpse to raise (such as with Dread Zombie), though they can be harvested for a soul with the appropriate spell or enchanted weapon.
• All Feral Falmer (and their "Frozen" counterparts) do not spawn with weapons, but if there is one nearby, they will pick it up and use it. If a Frozen Falmer/Frozen Vampire Falmer picks up a weapon, it will be lost when they are killed, as there is no corpse left behind to loot. If you drop weapons in the Chantry to avoid being overencumbered (a very real possibility in the vast Forgotten Vale), make sure they aren't anything you ever want to use again.
• The weaponry for Melee and Spellsword Falmer is leveled. Only Falmer of level 18 or higher can spawn with "Honed Falmer" weapons. Falmer of level 21 are just as likely to spawn with a "Honed Falmer" weapon as a regular one, and are twice as likely to spawn with one at level 28 or higher.

Bugs

• Placed Falmer corpses or ones you've just killed might have their knees bent the wrong way (forward instead of backward). ^?
• Falmer Shamans do not have "Uses Spelllist" enabled in the Creation Kit, indicating that they don't actually cast spells. ^?

See Also

• For historical information about the Falmer, see the lore article.

Books

• Aevar Stone-Singer — Traditional Skaal myth about a young Skaal's journey to recover the Gifts of the All-Maker
• The Betrayed by Engwe Emeloth — A poem surrounding the tragic fall of the Snow Elves^DG
• Diary of Faire Agarwen by Faire Agarwen — The ancient diary of a Snow Elf lamenting the extermination of their race^DG
• Fall of the Snow Prince by Lokheim — An account of the Battle of the Moesring as transcribed by Lokheim, chronicler to the chieftain Ingjaldr White-Eye
• The Falmer: A Study by Ursa Uthrax — A study on Falmer, recounting their war with the Dwemer
• Ghosts in the Storm by Adonato Leotelli — Author's tale of his encounter with the Falmer
• Journal of Mirtil Angoth by Mirtil Angoth — The ancient diary of a Snow Elf and their plan to seek refuge with the Dwemer^DG
• Touching the Sky by Parmion Saldor — An overview of Snow Elf pilgrimages to the Chantry of Auri-El^DG
• The Wispmother by Mathias Etienne — Summation of legends regarding the Wispmothers