Special Locations

Hidden ruins, sacred temples, forgotten mines, and more. From the Wall to the farthest reaches of Essos, secret places reward the curious with loot, troops, companions, and quests. Many must be discovered before their riches can be claimed.

Cave beyond The Wall

Beyond the Wall, there is a cave in which several wildlings live. Here you can find obsidian arrows and an obsidian dagger, useful to help defeat wights if you lack Valyrian weapons.

Giant Lair

Beyond the Wall, west of Thenn, between a group of trees lies the Giant Lair.

If you defeat all of the giants and are Free Folk in starting people, you gain two giant companions, Wun-Wun and Dongo.

If you defeat all of the giants and are NOT Free Folk in starting people, you will receive a trophy that can be exchanged for 3,000 stags.

Wolf Den

In the forests near Deepwood Motte, there is the Wolf Den. After killing all the wolves, you will obtain a Dire Wolf as a companion if Northman in the starting people.

Occult Tower: Battle for Brightroar

North-East of Qohor, there is an occult tower. If the player chooses to explore the Occult Tower, there will be a battle between the player and the occultists led by Magus Crowley, who wields the Valyrian steel sword Brightroar. If the player defeats all of the occultists, the player will gain Brightroar, receive 200 renown, and receive a positive relation boost with the R’hllor religion.

Shipwreck

There is an explorable shipwreck south of Laertigar. You can find wine, ale, and a cutlass at this location in chests/crates.

Island Peak

There is an explorable peak on an island south of Jorar. You can find a Fiery Scimitar in a chest.

Pirate Base: Storms Eye

There is a pirate base on an island south of Jorar. You can hire pirates, sell prisoners, and perform other activities at Storms Eye.

Ice River Cannibal Camp

Beyond the Wall, along the shore north of Bear Island, there is an Ice River cannibal camp. If the player chooses to explore the Ice River camp, there will be a battle between the player and the cannibals led by Gragg Bloodrager, who wields the unique bastard sword, Blood Bringer. If the player defeats all of the cannibals, the player will gain loot including Blood Bringer and human flesh.

There is also a chest in the cannibal camp that the player can loot if they explore the camp post-battle.

Gold Mine

In the eastern part of the Westerlands region (near its border with the Riverlands) can be found a gold mine; it sits between two mountains and two castles, Clegane’s Keep and Deep Den.

There are two interactions with the gold mine: you may volunteer to work honestly and get paid each day in the mine, or profit off slave work by moving your prisoners to the gold mine along with some troops to guard them. The troops help avoid breakout attempts from the slaves and, of course, keep morale high 😉

Net profit from the mine will be affected by the amount produced by the slaves minus the cost of paying the salary of your guards. Using slaves in the mines, however, does adversely affect your reputation/honor.

Gold Mines (More detailed)

General Notes:

(1) Payment each day is influenced by the amount of troops in your party, their quality is not a factor as you will earn the same no matter if it is a peasant or a robber knight captain, higher quality troops increase your expense at the end of the month therefore Slaves and Peasant Women are most optimal.
(2) The profit from a single prisoner working in the mines is static, meaning that it is forever the same and doesn’t get influenced by the prisoner’s quality. You gain 10 stags per prisoner working in the mines each week.
(3) To avoid a breakout in the mines, the player must have a 1:1 ratio of guards and prisoners; the quality of either is not a factor.

More small things to note ~

Please remember that you pay your guards a higher price each month when you station them in the gold mine; see my leadership calculations below. For example, instead of 1, you pay 4 stags for Peasant Woman.

The first troop you move to be a guard in the mine will be forever locked to the mine, so if you put multiple, they will stay there forever; make sure it isn’t one you value. For the love of god do not put Unsullied in the mine, it’ll take for 50 of them 1050 days for them to just return the investment, doubt your playthrough would last long enough to be worth the sudden loss of 75,000 stags early in the game.

Tips to ensure profit:

A good way to recruit the two most efficient troops for the goldmine is through increasing relations with either the faith of the Seven Faced God in Westeros or R’hllor in Essos, by going around septries or temples the player can choose to ask if anyone is willing to join them and on occasion, slaves and peasant women would offer their services (described as widows in the ingame event).
In cities owned by Volantis like Volon Theyrs, Selhorys, Valysar, and of course Volantis, the player can recruit on occasion a troop called Volantine Slave, the only level 5 troop in the game, which at later leadership levels equals slaves and peasant women profit margin.
Due to the fact that the quality of the troop guarding and the quality of the prisoners working doesn’t matter, technically the best way to ensure the biggest profit would be to put the worst troops like faction peasants and thieves as prisoners. If you come across peasant women or slaves, it is more worthwhile to attempt to recruit them as they are scarce.
Thief parties, among other outlaw parties, sometimes have peasant women as prisoners or as troops; defeating and enslaving them can help you get a bigger workforce in the mine.
One could make their settlement near the gold mine and stockpile prisoners/guards for their eventual career retraining.

At leadership level 0 the following troops are worthwhile:

You profit 6 stags for placing one Peasant Woman or a Slave^(1) (level 4).
You profit 4 stags for placing one Volantine Slave (level 5) or a Camp Woman (level 7).
You profit 3 stags for placing one peasant of any faction (level 7).

Examples of Leadership Effects on Mining:

At leadership 1, you begin to break even when placing a Thief (level 8).
At leadership 3, you begin to profit one stag per Thief.
At leadership 5, you begin to break even when placing a Farmer.
At Leadership 7, you begin to profit one stag per Farmer, and both Volantine Slave and Camp Woman are equal to Peasant Woman and Slave in profit.
At Leadership 9, you achieve the highest possible profit per troop (Leadership 10 doesn’t seem to affect the profit margin further):

Profit examples:

You profit 6 stags for placing one Peasant Woman or a Slave (level 4).
You profit 6 stags for placing one Volantine Slave (level 5) or a Camp Woman (level 7).
You profit 5 stags for placing one peasant of any faction (level 7).
You profit 3 stags for placing one Thief (level 8).
You profit 2 stags for placing a Farmer (level 15).

Note:

Female slaves, not to be confused with the hireable Myrish Peasant that (funnily) upgrades to a troop called slave, which is not cost-efficient.

Iron Mine

There is an Iron Mine located between Crow Spike Keep and Downdelving on the Iron Islands.

You may either work in the Iron Mine for 5 stags per day or profit off slave work like the Gold Mine by moving your prisoners to the mine along with some troops to guard them.

Quarry

The stone quarry is located between Norvos and Nestaris in Essos. You can work at the stone quarry for 21 silver stags per day. You can also buy stone in bulk, with 20 stones for 2,800 silver stags.

Septs

Specific religious-based troops can be recruited from the Septs if your character’s religion is Faith of the Seven. You gain a mixture of Begging Brothers, Septons, farmers, herders, slaves, and women villagers when recruiting from Septs.

Here are the troop trees for Faith of the Seven-based troops:

Locations of the Septs:

Location of Septry near the Twins(Riverlands):

Location of Septry near the Grandview(Stormlands):

Locations of Septs near the Highgarden(The Reach):

Locations of Septs near Oldtown and The Arbor (Southern Reach):

Location of Septry near Norvos (Essos):

Temple of Light

Specific religious-based troops can be recruited from the Temple of Light near Volantis if your character’s religion is R’hllor. You gain a mixture of Red Worshipers, Red Priests, farmers, herders, slaves, and women villagers when recruiting from the Temple of Light.

Both Fireborn and Veteran Fireborn utilize fire arrows, which can damage wights, which can be helpful in fighting against the White Walker invasion.

Location of Temple of Light:

Temples of R’hllor

Specific religious-based troops can be recruited from the Temple of Light if your character’s religion is R’hllor.

You can also recruit the companion Connacht Vynaris from this Temple of R’hllor. You also need to be of the starting people/religion R’hllor and have a 70+ relation with R’hllor.

The Crossroads Inn

At the crossroads between Saltpans and Lord Harroway’s Town, you will find The Crossroads Inn. You will find Ser Janis Lyren at the inn along with other NPCs. Ser Janis Lyren will give you a quest to find and rebuild his ruined castle (this is one way to start your own kingdom).

Temple of the Bearded Priests

The Temple of the Bearded Priests is located north of Norvos.

The player can recruit Norvos Holy Champions from the NPC Calypso Eranelar if governing Norvos directly. Norvos Holy Champions are one of the most elite shock units in the game.

Alternatively, the player can choose to raze the Temple of the Bearded Priests if he or she has a large enough army. The Valyrian steel glaive Retribution can be obtained by razing the Temple of the Bearded Priests, defeating the army led by Calypso Eranelar, and then selecting the option to execute Calypso Eranelar.

The Iron Bank

The Iron Bank is located in Braavos. The player can either take out a loan or deposit money and earn interest at the Iron Bank.

The Temple of Black and White

Faceless Men can be recruited from the Temple of Black and White if the player directly governs Braavos. Faceless Men are elite archery units who can also hold their own in melee combat. The cost to hire 1 Faceless Man is expensive at 10,000 stags.

Illyrio’s Manse

The player can visit and explore Illyrio’s Manse, which is located near Pentos. The player can recruit Dragon Guards from Illyrio Mopatis if both Valyrian is chosen at the beginning of the game as the player’s background and the player has a high enough renown (at least 900 renown).

Note: The Dragon Guard are one of the most elite heavy cavalry units in the game.

The Water Gardens

The player can visit and explore the Water Gardens near Sunspear. The player can recruit 3 companions known as The Sand Snakes (Obara Sand, Nymeria Sand, and Tyrene Sand) if Dornish is chosen at character creation as the player’s starting people.

The Iron Legion Camp

The Iron Legion Camp is located between Norvos and Qohor, on the bit of land that protrudes into the sea, which is referred to as The Axe in lore. You can hire the Iron Legionnaires located at their camp for a sufficient price. The Iron Legionnaires are expert spearmen; it is said that their parent legion was the inspiration for the Unsullied.

Old Stone Bridge Inn

You can explore the Old Stone Bridge Inn and rest there for 2 silver stags per night.

The Old Stone Bridge Inn is located between Rosby, Castle Stokeworth, and Brindlewood.

Obsidian Mine

The spot to build an Obsidian Mine is located near Dragonstone.

Setting up mines can be expensive and time-consuming, but with enough coin and equipment, you can set up a mining operation at the Obsidian Mine spot.

Permission from the local village elder will be needed prior to building and working within the mines (cost of 75,000 stags). You also need 12 pieces of stone, 12 timber, and 7 tools to start building the Obsidian Mine. It takes approximately 3 months before the Obsidian Mine is ready and fully operational once building has started on it.

You can recruit specialized Obsidian-equipped troops after the Obsidian Mine is completed, which are helpful in combating the White Walker invasion.

You can recruit the following units at the cost of both Obsidian ore and silver stags after construction of the Obsidian Mine:

Tower of Joy

You gain 200 experience when discovering the Tower of Joy for the first time. You can explore the site around the Tower of Joy.

Tarbeck Hall

You gain 200 experience when discovering Tarbeck Hall for the first time. Tarbeck Hall was once the seat of House Tarbeck. You cannot explore Tarbeck Hall.

Craster’s Keep

You gain 200 experience when discovering Craster’s Keep for the first time. You have the option of exploring the area around Craster’s Keep.

Craster’s Keep is involved in the main questline, specifically Mutiny at Craster’s Keep. You get notified three weeks after the Lands of Always Winter quest via letter from Jon Snow asking you to meet him there. See the Quests section of the Wiki for further details regarding this quest.

Hollow Hill

You gain 200 experience when discovering Hollow Hill for the first time. Hollow Hill is the hideout that serves as the headquarters of the Brotherhood Without Banners.

You can ask if anyone is willing to join you at Hollow Hill. You can also explore Hollow Hill and gain access to the quest A Lannister Always Pays His Debts after speaking to Beric Dondarrion. See the Quests section of the Wiki for further details regarding this quest.

Inn of the Kneeling Man

You gain 200 experience when discovering the Inn of the Kneeling Man for the first time. You can explore the Inn of the Kneeling Man and rest there for 1 silver stag per night.

The Inn of the Kneeling Man is located between Raventree Hall, Fairmarket, and Stone Hedge.

Oldstones

You gain 200 experience when discovering Oldstones for the first time. It is the remnant of an ancient castle that once belonged to House Mudd. Its original name has long been lost, though the local small folk have given it the new name, Oldstones.

Nagga’s Hill

You gain 200 experience when discovering Nagga’s Hill for the first time. Nagga’s Hill is said to be built from the remains of the first sea dragon killed by the Grey King. Nagga’s Hill is the site of the Grey King’s Hall, where the Ironborn would once choose their kings through kingsmoots.

Wildfire

You can commission the creation of Wildfire through Hallyne the Pyromancer at the Alchemists Guildhall in King’s Landing IF you control King’s Landing and are king. There is an option to visit the Alchemists Guildhall under the option “Other activities” when visiting King’s Landing.

After the Wildfire is created, you can use it to throw at your enemies to inflict damage upon them. If you drink Wildfire, you will turn into a dragon. On further experimentation, we advise against drinking Wildfire, but it does make great lube haha.

Chataya’s Brothel

You can visit Chataya’s brothel in King’s Landing, which can help boost the morale of your army. There is an option to visit Chataya’s brothel under the option “Other activities” when visiting King’s Landing.

There is a dialogue option to give a “gift” (we do strive for full realism in the mod lol) to ascertain the services of one of the brothel’s employees (i.e., hookers) for yourself or your army (gangbang anyone?).

The cost is 1,500 silver stags to hire the brothel employee and their friends to “play” with your soldiers. Remember, sharing is caring haha. Sex is known to boost morale. However, getting crabs does not. After much deliberation, we decided to remove this potential random event as it was causing too much PTSD within our community, especially our development team.

You can also choose to “hang out” with one of the Ladies of the Night on an individual basis for 100 silver stags. This gains you 40 experience, decreases army morale by 2 (go back to the important lesson of sharing is caring that we discussed earlier), and may or may not give you a sense of fleeting satisfaction of having your avatar getting laid to either compensate for things on a personal level or really have things hit home. I personally called up Daisey and ordered a pizza afterwards haha 😉

Great Sept of Baelor

You can visit and explore the Great Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing. You can speak with the NPC High Septon Portar and take in the ambience and epic splendor of the Great Sept of Baelor.

For the quest The Message, you are tasked with meeting Lord Varys near the Sept of Baelor to discuss silent matters.

Dragon Lair

You gain 200 experience when discovering the Dragon Lair for the first time. The lair is of Silverwing, the dragon of Alysanne Targaryen and Ulf the White. Silverwing became wild during the reign of Aegon III Targaryen and eventually made her lair near Red Lake.

Whitehall

You gain 200 experience when discovering Whitehall for the first time. Whitehall is the remnants of an old castle that once belonged to House Butterwell. The castle was said to have been costly to build and was nicknamed Milkhouse by those who lived near, mainly due to its pale walls.

Golden Company Camp

Golden Company units can be recruited from here; however, you need between at least 500 and 1,000 renown to recruit from them.

Credits

This guide is written by Fallen Lord and Daddy.