How to become Thane of Riften

Step 1: deal with the skooma trade for the Jarl

Three linked quests earn you the Jarl's trust, and they are required no matter who sits on the throne. Start at the Riften Fishery by the docks. Wujeeta, an Argonian worker, is in tears over losing her job to a skooma habit.

1. Helping Hand. Give Wujeeta a standard healing potion (crafted potions and healing spells do not work). She rewards you with a ring.
2. The Raid. Ask where she got the skooma. Pass a persuade, bribe or intimidate check and she names Sarthis Idren in the Riften Warehouse at the south end of the docks. Report to the Jarl in Mistveil Keep, take the warehouse key, kill Sarthis and his bodyguard, then read the note called Shipment's Ready in the basement.
3. Supply and Demand. Tell the Jarl about the note and go clear Cragslane Cavern, north of Riften and northeast of Shor's Stone. Return for an enchanted weapon.

Wujeeta is not essential. If she dies before these quests are done, the Riften thane route is closed unless the Empire later takes the hold.

Step 2: help five people of Riften

You need five completed miscellaneous quests from citizens of Riften itself. Helping Hand and The Raid already count as two, so three more will do. The rules are stricter than in other holds:

• Only quests started inside Riften count. Ivarstead, Shor's Stone and other Rift villages do not.
• Investing in shops with the Investor perk does not count here, unlike Windhelm or Falkreath.
• Quests added by DLC do not count.
• A quest giver who dies after you helped them still counts.

The table above lists every eligible quest. The fastest picks are Bring It! (walk across the market), Pilgrimage (one trip to Whiterun), Spread the Love (hand out pamphlets inside the city) and Bloody Nose if you can win a brawl. When enough favors are done, a miscellaneous objective called "Speak to the Jarl of Riften" appears.

Step 3: buy Honeyside

Talk to the Jarl and she will say the title is yours once you own property in the city. Buy Honeyside from the steward: Anuriel under Laila Law-Giver, Hemming Black-Briar under Maven. The house sits in the northwest corner of Riften with a back door onto the docks.

The listed price is 8,000 gold, but in the unpatched game the steward's check uses Breezehome's 5,000 gold minimum. If you carry between 5,000 and 8,000 gold, the steward takes whatever you have. You do not need to buy any upgrades for the thane quest.

Do not walk into Honeyside before you are named thane. UESP records a bug where entering the house first can permanently block the title and the housecarl. Buy it, then go straight back to the Jarl.

Step 4: rewards, Iona and the Blade of the Rift

Speak to the Jarl again and you become Thane of the Rift. You get three things:

• Iona, your housecarl. She waits inside Honeyside and can follow you like any other follower.
• The Blade of the Rift, a leveled enchanted weapon. Despite the name it can be any weapon type, even a mace, and without the Unofficial Patch it is usually a plain iron weapon with no special name.
• Thane privileges: guards will let you off a minor crime once if you mention your title, and the guest bedroom in Honeyside gets furnished for free.

Laila Law-Giver or Maven Black-Briar: what changes

Laila Law-Giver rules Riften at the start and supports the Stormcloaks. If you hand the Rift to the Empire during Season Unending, or take it for the Legion in the civil war, Maven Black-Briar becomes Jarl and her son Hemming acts as steward.

Under Maven you can buy Honeyside right away without any prior quests, but the skooma trio (Helping Hand, The Raid, Supply and Demand) and the five favors are still needed for the thane title. One more warning from UESP: if you already finished this quest and the Jarl changes during the war, you cannot become Skyrim Riften thane a second time under the new ruler.