Bonemold Armor (Dragonborn) is the classic Dunmer heavy armor that Morrowind veterans will recognize instantly: plates of real bone reinforced with a resin-like material, worn by the Redoran guards who protect Raven Rock on Solstheim. It’s early-to-mid game gear. The basic four-piece set gives 73 armor, slightly better than Steel, and the Improved version raises that to 79 – a touch better than Dwarven.
How to get it
You can forge it with Steel Smithing, the very first perk in the Smithing tree. The materials are a Dunmer twist on the usual: Bone Meal, Netch Leather and a single Iron Ingot per piece. Bone Meal drops from skeletons and draugr, and Netch Leather comes from the netch floating around Solstheim’s ashlands.
Improved Bonemold comes from the quest Paid in Full. Glover Mallory, Raven Rock’s blacksmith and the brother of Delvin Mallory of the Thieves Guild, explains that a Breton called Esmond Tyne stole his improved bonemold formula. Track Esmond down at Castle Karstaag Caverns, bring the formula back, and from then on you can forge the improved pieces at any forge, adding Netch Jelly, Stalhrim and Void Salts to the recipe.
You’ll also see the armor on Solstheim’s people: Redoran guards wear the pauldron version, reavers the version without pauldrons, and Captain Veleth his own guard variant.
Is it worth wearing?
The basic set is pleasantly light – 49 for four pieces – and dirt cheap to make, which is great for grinding Smithing. The Improved set gains only six armor while jumping to 70 weight, a poor trade unless you have Conditioning. Either way it’s a fun detour rather than an endgame choice: Orcish and Nordic Carved Armor beat it handily.
Good to know
- Cuirass variants: Bonemold Guard Armor and Bonemold Pauldron Armor; only the pauldron style has an improved version.
- Tempering uses Bone Meal rather than an ingot.
- Unlike in Morrowind, there are no helmet or shield variants.
Set pieces
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonemold Helmet | Head | 17 | 4.5 | 135 | 0401CD95 |
| Bonemold Armor | Body | 32 | 34 | 290 | 0401CD93 |
| Bonemold Gauntlets | Hands | 12 | 3.5 | 60 | 0401CD94 |
| Bonemold Boots | Feet | 12 | 7 | 60 | 0401CD92 |
| Bonemold Shield | Shield | 21.5 | 8 | 95 | 04026234 |
| Improved Bonemold Helmet | Head | 18 | 11 | 135 | 0403AB23 |
| Improved Bonemold Armor | Body | 35 | 43 | 290 | 0403AB26 |
| Improved Bonemold Gauntlets | Hands | 13 | 7 | 60 | 0403AB22 |
| Improved Bonemold Boots | Feet | 13 | 9 | 60 | 0403AB25 |
| Improved Bonemold Shield | Shield | 26 | 11 | 95 | 0403AB24 |
Full set totals
- Bonemold Armor – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 73 armor, 49 weight, 545 gold; with the Bonemold Shield: 94.5 armor, 57 weight.
- Improved Bonemold Armor (improved) – helmet, cuirass, gauntlets and boots: 79 armor, 70 weight, 545 gold; with the Improved Bonemold Shield: 105 armor, 81 weight.
Variants
These versions share the set’s look or slot but are separate items in the game files:
| Piece | Slot | Armor | Weight | Value | ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonemold Guard Armor | Body | 32 | 34 | 290 | 04037564 |
| Bonemold Pauldron Armor | Body | 33 | 36 | 290 | 04037563 |
Crafting and upgrades
Recipes at the forge – requires the Steel Smithing perk:
- Bonemold Helmet: 6 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Leather
- Bonemold Armor: 10 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Netch Leather
- Bonemold Gauntlets: 4 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Leather
- Bonemold Boots: 6 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Leather
- Bonemold Shield: 8 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Leather
- Improved Bonemold Helmet: 6 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Jelly, 1 Netch Leather, 1 Stalhrim, 1 Void Salts
- Improved Bonemold Armor: 10 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Jelly, 2 Netch Leather, 1 Stalhrim, 1 Void Salts
- Improved Bonemold Gauntlets: 4 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Jelly, 1 Netch Leather, 1 Stalhrim, 1 Void Salts
- Improved Bonemold Boots: 6 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Jelly, 1 Netch Leather, 1 Stalhrim, 1 Void Salts
- Improved Bonemold Shield: 8 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Netch Jelly, 1 Netch Leather, 1 Stalhrim, 1 Void Salts
- Bonemold Guard Armor: 10 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Netch Leather
- Bonemold Pauldron Armor: 10 Bone Meal, 1 Iron Ingot, 2 Netch Leather
Improve (temper) the pieces at a workbench with Bone Meal.
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.