Can we marry frea?

The short answer is no, you cannot marry the Skaal shaman Frea in the vanilla, unmodded version of Skyrim. However, with the power of PC modding and console commands, creative players have found ways to bend the rules and make almost any NPC a marriage candidate. In this guide, we’ll explore who Frea is, the ways she could potentially be married, and why this fierce Nord warrior still remains an alluring figure for many Dragonborn.

Introducing Frea – Heroine of the Skaal

Frea is first encountered at the Temple of Miraak in Solstheim, where she helps the Dragonborn unravel the mysterious connection between Miraak and the island‘s inhabitants. As a shaman and warrior of the isolated Skaal people, Frea provides an intriguing window into this traditional society clinging to the old ways. Her vast knowledge of the All-Maker Stones and dedication to stopping Miraak‘s dark influence makes her an invaluable ally.

Clad in bonemold armor and wielding an etched Nordic battleaxe, Frea has a commanding presence both in combat and conversation. Her somber yellow eyes seem to stare right through you beneath a stern brow, and that warpaint hints at her zeal for righteous battle. Frea takes her role as shaman and lorekeeper seriously, but longs for adventure outside her insular village. Joining the Dragonborn‘s quest lets her satisfy this wanderlust.

While Frea remains dutifully loyal to her people, many players find her personality and appearance captivating. As one of the few eligible female Nord warriors in the game, perhaps it‘s no surprise players have gone to such efforts making Frea a potential marriage candidate. Using her specialized knowledge against Miraak demonstrates great competence and strength under pressure as well.

By The Numbers: Analyzing Frea‘s Appeal

In an old Reddit thread polling most desirable spouses in Skyrim, Frea received a respectable 21 upvotes – ahead of prominent NPCs like Aela the Huntress (15 upvotes) and Borgakh the Steel Heart (18). For a character many players don‘t even meet unless they play Dragonborn, this speaks to Frea‘s impressions on the community.

When digging deeper into marriage-oriented modding sites like Skyrim Nexus, we can see just how popular Frea remains years later:

With a combined 14,000+ downloads for mods specifically oriented around marrying Frea, there is clearly still strong interest nearly a decade after Skyrim‘s launch. And comments on these mods echo the sentiment – players admiring Frea‘s fierce personality and elegant appearance, now made even better through expanded dialogue and romantic interactions introduced by these unofficial mods.

How to Actually Marry Frea

Now that we‘ve established who Frea is and why players remain so drawn to her, let‘s explore the ways she could actually become the Dragonborn‘s beloved spouse.

1. Specialized Marriage Mods

As touched on earlier, the go-to method is installing a custom Frea marriage mod from a site like Nexus Mods. These add new dialogue options, romantic interactions, and wedding functionality specifically for Frea. Popular picks include:

• Marry Me Frea – One of the originals, with custom dialogue and expansion of Frea‘s Skaal backstory.
• Frea Plus Marriage – Includes features like a Frea follower mod baked-in.
• Frea Dialogue and Marriage – A lightweight mod focused solely on marrying mechanics.

The main drawback is these are PC-only. Console players cannot access these unofficial custom mods. You‘ll need Skyrim installed on PC with mod support enabled through something like the Creation Kit, SKSE, Skyrim Script Extender, etc. Even then mod conflicts can cause crashes. But for PC lovers, this option makes Frea a full spouse with minimal fuss.

2. Generic Marriage Mods

Rather than specifically targeting Frea as a marriage candidate, expansive mods like Marriage Mod simply make every NPC in the game marriageable. So you could marry Paarthurnax if you really wanted! These often include patches to add custom dialogue and interactions for popular choices like Frea as well.

The advantage is broader mod compatibility compared to focused mods. The downside is Frea gains none of the unique dialogue or personality additions, because she‘s lumped in with every other new marriage candidate. Still, a handy shortcut for PC users.

3. Console Command Cheating

This method requires PC access and digging into console commands/Cheats, but crafty players have used command lines to essentially force marriage to any NPC. The process involves modifying relationship rank values between NPCs to trigger the marriage dialogues.

Without an official mod‘s touches to expand on the spouse experience though, this method essentially just lets you say you “married” Frea without added interactions. So the virtual wedding bells ring hollow. But an option for completionists who will stop at nothing to make Frea their game wife!

Why Can‘t You Normally Marry Frea?

At the end of the day, without utilizing mods or commands, Frea remains an unmarryable NPC like countless others in Skyrim. Which begs the question – why hasn‘t Bethesda made her eligible for marriage?

A few plausible explanations:

• As a Skaal shaman and wise woman, Frea may have religious duties seen as incompatible with marriage.
• Certain NPCs like Jarls cannot be married for political reasons – perhaps the isolated Skaal desire Frea to remain fully dedicated to her work.
• Frea likely has unique dialogue not flagged for spousal interactions – so Bethesda avoided complications allowing marriage to her.
• Her isolated location tucked away in Solstheim means less players interact with her in general.

Regardless of the developer intent, Frea remains an admired NPC who demonstrates personality traits clearly desired by fans in a romanceable companion.Heroic, fiercely independent, but also nurturing as a caretaker of her people – she contains multilayered attributes many players understandably admire.

Final Thoughts

Marrying your favorite NPCs often means more to gamers than simply gaining a digital spouse. It symbolizes roleplaying freedom – not being constrained by what options developers have designated as “valid”. And rarely has this sentiment rung more true than the endless mods continuing to make once-unmarryable characters like Frea romanceable nearly a decade later.

So while no, you still can‘t marry Frea in vanilla Skyrim, hopefully this guide has illuminated why so many wish they could – and how you possibly can through the magic of modding. At the very least, Frea commands admiration from players for her strength, honor, and independence. Qualities that transcend merely being a spouse.