Honorhall Orphanage Bugfixes and Expansion
⚪ Last updated 2023⚠️ Install Order · 6 steps
Install in this order, then this mod last — most mods fail to load without their framework and dependencies in place.
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🔍 Analysis
- 👍 0.4% endorsement rate
- 🏆 #60 of 243 Patches mods in this game by downloads
📋 About This Mod
Hearthfires DLC attempted to expand the functionality of Honorhall Orphanage by allowing children who didn't start off as orphans, but were orphaned during the course of the game, to move in. ( UESP Wiki Page )
However, this was never fully implemented for reasons unknown. Mila Valentia, as one example, will never move into the orphanage even if she becomes an orphan due to her mother, who is her sole guardian, dying. However, Aeta, who was added by the Dragonborn DLC, will!
Fixes in the Orphanage Framework provided by this mod:
1) The four "missed" children in the base game that could possibly become orphans, will now move into the orphanage if they become orphans and the orphanage has room. (Mila Valentia, Haming, Grimvar and Kayd)
2) In vanilla, once all the orphan beds filled, no more orphans could move in- even if the player adopted one or more orphans, freeing up their beds!
- Now, the Orphanage is checked every 24 game hours, and if it has one or more free beds it re-opens its doors for more orphans.
2a) As a subset of the previous, adopted orphans were never removed from the Orphanage quest's aliases- meaning they were forever "tying up" their former bed and preventing an orphan from moving in to replace them!
- Now, adopted orphans are removed from Honorhall's resident rolls, freeing up their former bed for needy homeless orphans.
3) The game maintains two "lists" of children: those who might become orphans, and those who live in the orphanage. When a child was moved into the orphanage, they weren't removed from the first list- and a rather intensive scripted condition check was run on them every 24 game hours!
- Now, when an orphan is moved into the orphanage, they are removed from the "potential orphan" list - we don't need to waste CPU cycles checking if they're an orphan and finding them a bed if they already live in the orphanage!
4) There was no check to prevent the same child from being added to the list of those who might be orphaned, multiple times.
- Now, the same child will only be in that array a maximum of once. If a child is already in the array, and they're requested to be added again, the reply is a "true" response- same as if they were being added the first time.
4a) As a subset of the previous, the vanilla script would give a "true" response if it tried to add a child to the potential orphans array, but without verifying success.
- Now, it actually verifies that they have actually been added successfully before responding "true".
5) The original syste
This patch fixes and expands Honorhall Orphanage in Riften, addressing the Hearthfires feature that allows children orphaned during gameplay to move in. With 3,210 endorsements and 836,140 downloads, it's a popular fix for a long-standing issue. Last updated in 2023, it remains a go-to for players wanting a more functional orphanage.
✨ Key Features
📊 Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Huge download count (836k) shows this fix is in high demand.
- 3,210 endorsements means the community backs it.
- Directly addresses a broken feature from Hearthfires—essential for immersion.
⚠️ Cons
- Last updated in 2023—might not be compatible with the latest Skyrim updates or mods.
- Requires Hearthfires DLC—if you don't have it, this mod is useless.
For Skyrim players who care about the orphanage system and want orphaned children to actually move in as intended. If you're a completionist or roleplayer who adopts kids, this patch is a must-have. Skip if you never interact with Honorhall or don't have Hearthfires.
💡 Beginner Tips
- Make sure you have the Hearthfires DLC installed, as this mod depends on it.
- If you're using a mod manager like Vortex or MO2, just download and enable—load order usually doesn't matter for patches like this.
- Check for compatibility patches if you use other mods that alter Riften or orphanage behavior.
📊 Mod Details
- Game
- Skyrim Mods
- Author
- subhuman0100
- Version
- 2.03
- Downloads
- 836,140
- Endorsements
- 3,210
- Category
- Patches
- Created
- 4/28/2022
- Updated
- 10/9/2023
🧩 Commonly Used Together
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