Oblivion:Containers

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A container is an object in Cyrodiil that a player can activate and open an inventory list of its contents. Using this definition, NPCs (alive and dead) and Creatures (alive and dead) can be viewed as just another type of container, just like the more Traditional Containers (boxes, barrels and chest).

After opening a container you will be able to transfer items from your personal inventory to the container's inventory and vice versa. Storing your items in a container is a great way to sort the items that you don't want to always carry with you, as well as prevent misplacing some of the smaller items like rings. Most containers are only good for short term storage, a few containers are safe for long term storage. If you are just looking for a place to leave items, you can just drop them on the ground. They will typically be left there until you come back to collect them.

  • Containers in Cyrodill have a magical quality that gives them an unlimited volume and therefore the ability to store an unlimited number of items.
    • There is a glitch with inventory lists which causes Items to Disappear from Containers that have a large number of items stored in them. Saving and reloading can clear the glitch or you can keep removing items until the 'lost' items re-appear.
  • Traditional containers may be locked. To open a locked container will require you to successfully Pick The Lock.

Contents

[edit] Container Regeneration

In Cyrodill, almost all of the containers (with the exception of the traditional Safe Containers noted below) are regenerated, respawned or removed, as part of the cell reset event. This makes the majority of the containers in Cyrodiil UNSAFE to store items in. After your character has been absent from the cell/area/zone for a minimum of 72 to 73 hours, the cell reset procedure will be triggered. The article on Dungeons - Loot provides a more detailed explanation of the timing for the cell reset trigger.

The result of the cell reset procedure will obviously be based on what is in the cell. Actions triggered by the cell reset procedure include: regenerating/replacing items in traditional containers; removing corpses; respawning generic NPCs(?), respawning/replacing creatures, resetting Traps, Locks and doors; and, respawning certain types of Ingredients (ingredients identified as food, and plants that provide ingredients). Both items and creatures that are regenerated,respawned or replaced are level dependent. As your level increases, so will the quality and value of the items created and the strength of the creatures that you will encounter.

[edit] Special Containers

There is an Enchanted Chest located in the Archmage's Tower, which is given to you to use as part of your promotion to the rank of Archmage in the Mages Guild. This rank is achieved during the Confront The King quest. This chest will multiply certain ingredients that you place in it.

[edit] Using NPCs as Containers

[edit] Alive

A living NPC, either awake or asleep, is effectively a container, when you are using your Sneak skill to pick their pocket. When pickpocketing an NPC you typically remove items from their inventory, and place them in yours. However, it is also possible to reverse pickpocket zero weight items, placing the item into the NPC's inventory.

[edit] Dead

An NPC's corpse is not only useful for the items you can loot from it, but it is also useful as a temporary container (though some might consider this a form of cheating). Corpses can be moved to a place and positioned so they become a very useful container. Moving the corpse into an awkward position is a useful way to indicate the corpse is being used as a container, so when you go running past the corpse on the way out of an area, its position will remind you that it has stored loot on it. In areas that your horse can access, place the corpse slightly elevated above the ground, like on a rock. This allows you to access them from horseback, move items to your inventory and move a lot of items at one time that would typically overburden your character.

Using the corpse of an NPC as a container must be done with caution because the corpse and its contents will disappear when the cell reset event is triggered. When reset, the corpses of an generic NPCs will be removed and another generic NPC will be respawned and eventually take their place (like City Guards or Legion Soldiers). For named NPCs, their corpse will be removed and they will not be respawned.

The exception to this is for the corpses of an NPC related to a quest. In this case, the corpse and its contents will disappear only after you have completed the quest in which that NPC participates (e.g. Jearl in the Spies quest). Any items stored on the corpse when it is removed will then be permanently lost.

[edit] Creature Containers

[edit] Alive

You can access a living creature's inventory list if it is unconscious, as described in the article about Shadowmere.

[edit] Dead

A dead creature's corpse has all the possibilities and benefits of a dead NPC corpse and more. Some of the creatures are much lighter and easier to position to be useful as a container.

A dismembered corpse has an extra advantage. With a dismembered Skeleton, move the skull to a location well away from the entrance of a cave or ruin that is a fighting “hot-spot” and place the torso near the entrance of the ruin. You can now transfer items looted in the ruin, into the Skeletons inventory by activating the torso and hopefully not attract too much attention from the nearby hostiles. Do this repeatedly until you have looted the entire ruin. The amount of loot deposited can be well in excess of your encumbrance limit. When you exit the ruin, run/sneak past the hostiles, then return to the skull when things have cooled down. There you can activate the skull and remove the items placed in the torso's inventory without hopefully being attacked.

Using the corpse of a creature as a container must be done with caution because the corpse and its contents will be removed when the cell reset event is triggered. You will then have permanently lost any items you were storing in your creature corpse container. The Creature will then be replaced by another creature based on location and level. That means as you grow stronger, when the creatures are replaced, they will be replaced with stronger creatures.

There are some creature corpses, however, that do not respawn. One prime example of this is the two slaughterfish corpses used by the goblins at Miscarcand (one is stuffed in a barrel, the other is on top of an inactive fire). These are very lightweight (grab behind the back fins for easier moving) and do not respawn or reset, so you can take them with you or leave them somewhere as a storage bin.

[edit] Traditional Containers

Traditional containers are what you would normally expect a container to be; a box, chest, or barrel. A list of the types and where you would expect to find them is presented below. Traditional containers can either be unsafe or safe for you to store items in.

[edit] Unsafe Containers

Be careful! The majority of containers in Cyrodiil are UNSAFE to store items in because they are routinely reset. When the cell reset has been triggered, the contents of traditional containers will be created or replaced. The attributes of the container and your level will affect the amount of gold and the type and quality of the items left in the container (including whether or not they are magical). This is good news if you have previously emptied the container because now there will be more loot placed in the container for you to collect. This will be bad news if you are using the container for storage. You will lose the items you placed in the container (maybe removed by other citizens of Cyrodiil?) and you will probably be left with a lesser replacement for your loot.

[edit] Safe Containers

Few containers in Cyrodill are safe containers and are not reset. Items placed in a safe container will remain there, even if you do not visit that zone for a long period of time. Additionally, NPC characters will not remove items from safe containers, except as noted below.

There are a few types of containers that are always safe, no matter where you find them:

  • Clams. There are 321 clams in the game, found underwater in various bodies of water. Two can be found just outside the entrance to the Imperial Prison Sewers, when you first finish the Tutorial.
  • Torn Sacks of Grain (labeled "A Torn Sack of Grain"), 91 of which exist in the game.
  • Open-topped grain Sacks (but not closed-top Sacks, neither short nor tall). There are 520 such containers, all labeled "Sack"; when you first find them they will either contain 5 identical samples of a grain (Corn, Flour, Rice, or Wheat Grain) or be empty. A large number of other sacks are also safe containers, but cannot be safely identified visually.

[edit] City Houses

  • Anvil - Since you can enter the house before you complete the related quest in which you acquire ownership of the house, Where Spirits Have Lease, some of the containers found inside are not safe. Containers that have been identified as unsafe are the overturned drawers near the entrance and the cupboard in the south west corner of the dining room. These containers disappear when Velwyn cleans up the house at the end of the quest. Warning! There are probably other containers that disappear. The cupboard in the north west corner of the sitting area is safe.
  • Bravil
  • Bruma
  • Cheydinhal
  • Chorrol
  • Imperial City
  • Leyawiin
  • Skingrad

[edit] Quest Related

Also check the discussion notes for Other Safe Containers that are under investigation.

[edit] Types of Traditional Containers

Box Locations: Everywhere

Typical boxes you see almost everywhere

Chest Locations: Everywhere

Ayleid Ruins, Caves, Forts, Mines (Bandit lairs, Conjurer lairs, Goblin lairs, Marauder lairs, Monster lairs, Necromancer lairs, Undead tombs, Vampire lairs)

The links listed under Ayleid Ruins, Forts, Mines and Caves, typically indicates what chest can be found, where exactly they are located, and a link showing what is likely to be found inside.

  • Round-top Chest
  • Flat-top Chest

In Ayleid Ruins, Caves, Forts, Mines these are the Boss Chests and will contain significantly better loot.

Covered Barrels Locations: Everywhere

The covered barrels located both inside and outside. Not to be confused with open or broken barrels.

  • Tall Barrels

Tall barrels are relatively easy to access while you are riding your horse. You will need to position your horse carefully so you can access the barrel. This is useful when you use your horse to Carry Lots of Items at one time.

  • Short Barrels

Short barrels can be opened just like tall barrels, however positioning your horse needs to be more precise, consequently opening short barrels can be a little more difficult.

Sack Locations: Everywhere

Cabinet Locations: inside churches, houses, guild halls, shops and castles, in cities, villages, settlements and farms

Covered Pot Locations: inside churches, houses, guild halls, shops and castles, in cities, villages, settlements and farms

Small container which is easily overlooked, since there is a Non-Container that looks identical to it. Additionally, this is the only Traditional Container that can be moved.

Desk Locations: inside churches, houses, guild halls, shops and castles, in cities, villages, settlements and farms

Drawers Locations: inside churches, houses, guild halls, shops and castles, in cities, villages, settlements and farms

Some drawer units are double high and are treated as two separate sets of drawers and consequently have two inventory lists.

Jewelry Box Locations: inside churches, houses, guild halls, shops and castles, in cities, villages, settlements and farms

Fort Location: Caves (goblin lairs) Forts are Boss Chests and will contain significantly better loot.

Ayleid Cask Locations: Ayleid Ruins (Conjurer lairs) These are sometimes used as Boss Chests and may contain significantly better loot.

Ayleid Coffer Locations: Ayleid Ruins (Marauder lairs, Monster lairs, Necromancer lairs, Undead tombs, Vampire lairs) These are sometimes used as Boss Chests and may contain significantly better loot.

Ayleid Reliquary Locations: Ayleid Ruins (Marauder lairs, Monster lairs, Necromancer lairs, Undead tombs, Vampire lairs) These are sometimes used as Boss Chests and may contain significantly better loot.

Coffin Locations: Ayleid Ruins, Caves (Necromancer lairs, Undead tombs, Vampire lairs) These are sometimes used as Boss Chests and may contain significantly better loot.

Fleshy Pod Location: Planes of Oblivion

Looks like a hanging caterpillar cocoon or pod.

The Punished Location: Planes of Oblivion

Looks like a beating heart suspended on a tripod. These are Boss Chests and will contain significantly better loot.

[edit] Non-Containers

There are several things in Cyrodill that look like containers, however you can not activate them and they do not have an inventory list. You can place items on them, or in some cases use the grab function or a Telekinesis spell to move them.

Basket

Bookcase

Bowls

Broken Boxes

Covered Pot

Display Case

Open Barrels

Smashed Barrels

Weapons Rack

Wine Rack

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