Snakestone's 2025 Skyrim SE Non-JKs Town Mod Guide

Word of warning, this guide is constantly being updated and is very much a WIP. If you find any issues please let me know.

Okay, to start off this mod I am gonna suggest a vanilla farmhouse replacer:
Northern Vanilla Farmhouses - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/91311
Unique Northern Vanilla Farmhouses - Base Object Swapper - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/92491

Whiterun Walls:
You can go either way with these two and they will work but for Whiterun Walls I suggest either;
Whiterun Has Walls - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/101603
Whiterun Has Walls Redone - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/119229

Also for Solitude and Riften walls I highly suggest:
Skyrim Fantasy Overhaul -Fantastic City Walls SE-AE - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/130952 (Just Solitude and Riften.)
Also grab this for vanilla texture paths: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/141384

The major 5 cities (Whiterun/Windhelm/Riften/Markarth/Solitude):
Dawn of Skyrim (Director's Cut) SE - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/9074
(Note: Please be sure to go through and download all the fixes and patches for this mod. It's a good mod but a little old and seems abandoned, though it is pretty much finished. I mostly note this cause it has some navmeshing issues, mostly in Riften, that need to be patched.)

Falkreath:
The Great City Of Falkreath SSE Edition - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/19709
Cities of the North - Falkreath - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/56731 (grab this mesh edit for better CoTN buildings: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/144037)

Solsthiem:
Raven Rock Overhaul - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/146200
Immersive Skaal Village - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/137448
Tel Mithryn Overhaul - Exterior and Interior Improvements - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/104813
Solstheim Lighthouse - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/14329

Markath:
Markarth - City of Stone - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/92028
Markarth Outskirts - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/70213 (I HIGHLY suggest this Lite version addon: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/148405) (Note Part 2: If you use Landscape Fixes for Grass Mods you can find a patch for the two here https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/71562 normally I don't link non-made by me patches here but this one was well hidden and I had to do some digging to find it so I figured I'd link it for simplicity sake.)

Solitude:
Solitude Weaver's Lane - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/119955
Solitude Docks Updated - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/33777
Better Emperor Tower 2 - https://mega.nz/file/wzAz3S4Y#IqXWzwJSQm2bj_Hu64xGiMHucGpmHm_aCyeexVF1OAo (This is a LE mod port, esfpe'd that makes the exterior of the Emperor Tower massive as seen here https://i.imgur.com/VVCSEam.jpeg)

Whiterun:
Ryn's Whiterun CIty Limits - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/65661 (Now this one is optional, cause it may be demanding on weaker computer, it runs pretty fine for me, but I also must warn you that I have been seeing reports that scarecrow02.nif may sometimes cause crashes, I haven't run into this yet but the person who reported it said they disabled the scarecrow nif in xedit and that supposedly fixed it.)

Windhelm:
ALT - Windhelm Entrance - Defensive Towers - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/118674
The Citadel of Snow - Lively Windhelm Bridge - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/103917
White Lighthouse - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/21955
TS - Windhelm Docks East - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/144809

OPTIONAL Windhelm mod:
Windhelm Exterior Altered - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/5824
The reason this one is optional is I have used it in the past and it has had problems, but it recently got a 2025 update that claims to have fixed the deleted navmeshes, though I see a report that you need to download the only 2.0 version and then overwrite it with 2.1 to fix a face bug ontop of that for some reason the one building it has is missing windows and I can see right through the mesh (https://i.imgur.com/gSQnfhv.jpeg) and I have no clue what is causing that. So I'll test it for awhile before I put it as a for sure download or not, so use this one at your own risk.

Riften:
RYFTEN - Make Your Riften - Inner - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/63340 (Use the following plugins https://i.imgur.com/CYVmMzY.jpeg)

Dawnstar:
Cities of the North - Dawnstar - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/28952
Minor Cities Dawnstar - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/72742
(Note: If using the mod Complementary Grass Fixes you will need to open the grass fixes mod in xEdit and remove it's Dawnstar edits. You can find them in the Tamriel worldspace section, Sub-Block 0,3).

Morthal:
Skyfall's Fortified Morthal - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/126871
Spaghetti's Cities - Morthal - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/83280

Winterhold:
The Great City Of Winterhold SSE Edition - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/17127
Cities of the North - Winterhold - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/40088
Winterhold Docks - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/100889

Misc vanilla towns/locations:
Spaghetti's Towns - AIO - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/89775
The Great Village of Kynesgrove - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/42639
The Great Town of Ivarstead SSE - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/34505
The Great City of Dragon Bridge SSE Edition - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/19962
Anga's Mill - Cities of the North Addon - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64398
Half-Moon Mill - Cities of the North Addon - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64360
The Great Town of Shor's Stone SSE - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/35977 (Might aswell get The Great Town of Shor's Stone Enhanced - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/52916 for addition little clutter and QoL stuff.)
The Great Village of Old Hroldan SSE - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/33189
Ryn's Farms - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/72305
Stonehills - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/76508
Hvislharan - Whistling Mine Overhaul - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/90444
Nightgate Inn Revived - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/121244
Docks of Riverwood - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/141169
The Great City of Rorikstead SSE Edition - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20151
The Great Town of Karthwasten SSE - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/33032
The Great Village of Mixwater Mill SSE - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/36350
Darkwater Crossing - A Great Towns and Villages of Eastmarch Addon - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64266

Orc friendly:
Orc Strongholds - Narzulbur - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/88809
Orc Strongholds - Dushnikh Yal - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/92485
Orc Strongholds - Mor Khazgur - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/94796
Orc Strongholds - Largashbur - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/89354
Orc Exiles - Bilegulch Stronghold - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/130169
Orc Exiles - Rift Watchtower - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/136668
Orc Exiles - The Cracked Tusk Keep - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/133489

Note: An AIO exists for the Strongholds mod. The AIO is a slight improvement on the originals but currently has very little patch support so use at your own risk: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/150246

New towns:
Iggath - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/75157
Lainalten - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/61422 (NOTE: Cities of the North - Morthal is required for this https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/34168 but ONLY use the meshes and textures, do NOT use the actual mod. The meshes and textures from this mod are required.)
Amol Village - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/75264
Vernim Wood - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/79036
Neugrad - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/92376
Sunthgat - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/55343
New Weynon - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/90041
Granite Hill Village - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/58335
Greymoor - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/80824
Oakwood - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/61007
Amber Guard - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/55564
Dunpar Wall - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/60728
Laintar Dale - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/75768
Reich Corigate - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/58214
Helsmyrr Village SSE - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/76811

Quest mods that add towns:
Helgen Reborn - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/5673
Moon and Star - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4301

One last note, do NOT forget to check each mod for compatibility patches and patch collections. They are VERY essential.

Edit

Pub: 15 May 2025 18:29 UTC

Edit: 20 Jun 2025 11:49 UTC

Views: 1447