Forsworn Armor is the unmistakable tribal outfit of the Reach‘s native rebels: animal hide, bone, horns and feathers stitched together into something that looks like it was made by a hagraven with a craft hobby. It is light armor sitting firmly in the early-to-mid game – the 26-point cuirass equals Leather Armor and beats Hide, while the whole four-piece set weighs only 12 units. Every Forsworn warrior, shaman and archer in the western hills wears some version of it.
How to get it
You cannot forge Forsworn Armor at any smithy, and no merchant stocks it as regular inventory, so the only reliable source is the Forsworn themselves. Nearly every Forsworn you fight wears the cuirass and boots, while the headdress and gauntlets show up less consistently, so assembling a full set may take a couple of camps. The Reach is full of them: strongholds such as Druadach Redoubt and the many ambush spots along the roads around Markarth are packed with potential donors.
The pieces can be improved at a workbench with plain Leather, which is handy because it means even a low-level character can keep the set competitive for a while. Note that the Briarhearts – the Forsworn with a briar heart in their chest – wear a special variant you can’t equip, so loot their friends instead.
Is it worth wearing?
Purely on numbers, Forsworn Armor is a solid starter set: a total armor rating of 52 for 12 weight is right in line with Leather and noticeably better than Fur or Studded. It has no enchantments, though, so it falls behind quickly once Elven or Scaled armor becomes available. Because it can’t be crafted, the Smithing perks that boost tempering for a specific material won’t help it much – plain Light Armor perks like Agile Defender and Matching Set still apply.
Where it really shines is role-play. If you are running a wild hunter, a Reachman rebel or a nature-touched mage, nothing else looks quite as feral. Just don’t expect Markarth’s guards to treat you warmly.
Good to know
- Male and female versions look quite different: female boots reach above the knee and female gauntlets are long fingerless gloves, while men get bracers.
- Tempering material for all four pieces is Leather.
- Value is low (100 gold for the cuirass), so it isn’t worth hauling home to sell.
Set pieces
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forsworn Headdress | Head | 12 | 2 | 50 | 000D8D52 |
| Forsworn Armor | Body | 26 | 6 | 100 | 000D8D50 |
| Forsworn Gauntlets | Hands | 7 | 2 | 20 | 000D8D55 |
| Forsworn Boots | Feet | 7 | 2 | 20 | 000D8D4E |
Full set totals
- Forsworn Armor – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 52 armor, 12 weight, 190 gold.
Crafting and upgrades
This set can’t be forged by the player – you have to find, buy or earn the pieces.
Improve (temper) the pieces at a workbench with Leather.
Stats from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): base armor rating, weight and value before Smithing improvements and perks. The ID is the item’s form ID for the console.