Chaurus Chitin is the hard carapace of the chaurus, the oversized poison-spitting bugs that the Falmer keep as livestock and guard dogs. Fittingly, it is the material used to temper Falmer gear: it improves 16 items, including Falmer armor, the Falmer Hardened and Falmer Heavy sets and the Falmer bow, sword and war axe. You cannot forge anything new from it. At 50 gold and 4 weight it is decent loot to sell if you are not wearing Falmer kit.
How to get it
The main source is the chaurus itself: kill one and loot the carcass. Anywhere the Falmer live – Dwemer ruins and deep caves – you will find chaurus nests and plenty of chitin.
The game also places loose pieces in a handful of spots. The richest is outdoors near the Forgotten Vale (Dawnguard) with 12 pieces. In Skyrim proper, Chillwind Depths holds 5, the Irkngthand Slave Pens and Grand Cavern of Irkngthand have 4 and 3, the Frostflow Abyss under Frostflow Lighthouse has 3, and Tolvald’s Crossing in Tolvald’s Cave has 3. Smaller finds sit in the Deep Market of Raldbthar (2) and the Animonculory in Alftand (1).
Improving gear
At a grindstone or workbench, Chaurus Chitin is the material used to improve (temper) 16 items, including Falmer Armor, Falmer Hardened Armor, Falmer Heavy Armor.
Good to know
- Chaurus Chitin only tempers – Falmer gear itself cannot be forged from it, so most players simply sell it.
- Chillwind Depths is a quick, compact run if you want a stack of chitin early on.
Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0003AD57 is the item’s form ID for the console.
