Mod Monday - Lore Based Loading Screens

There are a ton of mods out there that alter the loading screens. My favorite, however, is Lore Based Loading Screens by Chesko.

This mod adds in more lines to the loading screens that are soaked in Elder Scrolls lore. It also adds in more snippets from books.



We all get to the point when we have seen every loading screen and get bored. Loading screens are a fact of life, so why not make it more interesting?

There are many other loading screen mods out there. These are just a few:

Sheogorath themed loading screen text.
Uncle Sheo Does Legendary Loading Screens - by Elianora

Corrected grammatical errors on existing loading screens.
Grammatical Loading Screens - by Umaros

Mod Monday - Save the Dark Brotherhood! *Spoiler Alert*

Warning:

This whole post has a

!!!Spoiler Alert!!!

So I have been in max "Hail Sithis!" mode for the past few days and in that spirit I'd like to talk about the dearly departed family members...

Oh! Wait! As with everything, there's a mod for that,

Save the Dark Brotherhood by PrinceShroob!

Yes, really! You can actually save the fallen members! You don't even have to save all of them! You can pick and choose who lives and who dies! And once they have been saved they relocate to Dawnstar (like they should) and are available for recruitment (and marriage). As a bonus the members will still communicate as they used to in Falkreath! They'll talk about their missions and adventures, even with the members who initially survived the fiasco. 

I love this mod. I was so depressed when the DB was massacred. They were my family. I loved them all, even Arnbjorn! (I still love Astrid. I understand why she did it but I don't approve. She's just so badass!) 

Now you don't have to run around with only nameless Dark Brotherhood Initiates and Cicero (but you know you still will)!

Now come on everyone!

*in Skyrim only*

Mod Monday - KenMOD Lockpick Pro

Today I would like to talk about cheating. Not like on a test or anything, in Skyrim of course! I don't approve of cheating outside of a video game context.

I am at a ridiculously high level on my main profile and have spent countless hours on various locks and breaking who knows how many lockpicks. Yeah, I hoarded the Skeleton Key for a while, but I felt so guilty about it that I returned it as soon as I felt I had enough potions to make it through the Twilight Sepulcher. Now that I've started several profiles, I don't want to take the time to actually pick all of these locks. I love immersion but still! If I am at lockpicking level 100 or even at level 75 and still breaking lockpicks how am I a master of the craft?

Behold! I free you of guilt and hand to you the KenMOD Lockpick Pro by Kenney!

The mod is pretty straightforward. It adds a bar at the top of your screen when you begin lockpicking showing where the "sweet spot" of the lock is located. As a bonus, Kenney also added in a bar to show you the health of your lockpick.

This has been a quick little mod introduction so I'll add in several lockpick related pictures for your amusement. (If you get the Lockpick Pro, you'll never have these problems ever again!)

Mod Monday - Skyrim Profile Manager

Once I started having several profiles in Skyrim, I was really bugged that the load menu was sorted by date rather than profile. Well, as always, the internet has a solution for that. The Skyrim Profile Manager by Chocklymon!

Initial Image on the Skyrim Profile Manager.

The mod is actually very user friendly no matter how it looks on the site. One of my favorite things about this mod is that you can select which Skyrim style to load, if that makes sense. You can choose to load SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender) right from the manager rather than "normal" Skyrim. This manager also works with Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas rather than just Skyrim.

Yay! A personal image!

The mod dives into your Skyrim folder and sorts your pre-made profiles for you! You can also sort them yourself if you'd rather. You can also start a new game via the the manager as well. You can also at in images to distinguish between profiles if you can't recognize them by name. The manager may look very daunting at first but is actually very simple.

I hope this has been a good representation of the Profile Manager but hey, that's why I insert links! I'll add an obvious link HERE just in case.

Here's your funny Skyrim related image of the day:

Note: You can't download this mod with the Nexus Mod Manager. You have to download the file and then launch the .exe.

Mod Monday - Civil War Repairs

Did it bug you as much as it bugged me that Whiterun and Solitude were completely mangled by the Civil War? No? Well it bugged the crap out of me! Civil War Repairs by terrific01 does what I want it to do and does it nice and neatly.

Look no further than Civil War Repairs!

It's a pretty simple mod that is desperately needed. I hate that the well in the Solitude market fell and this mod shows that the people of Solitude value the place in which they live and repared it to represent such. Sames goes with the Gildergreen in Whiterun. The shrine was nearly destroyed and the Temple cares so deeply about the Gildergreen to send you out to help it but not enough to fix the area around it? I find that it conflicts with the apparent determination that the Nords have.

Anyway, enough moaning and groaning. Go out and fix up Skyrim you damn faithless Imperials!

And speaking of the Civil War, did this happen to you?

Screenshot Saturday 10/17

At the Throat of the World

Bloodstained Fahlbtharz*

Evening of the Beast**

Morthal Marsh***

Ravenholm Single***

I just wanted you all to know...

...besides this post.

Expansions/Mods:

* Darkened sun from Dawnguard at a Dragonborn location.

**Dragonborn location.

***Mod locations.

Mod Monday - Enhanced Camera

I was ecstatic when I discovered the Enhanced Camera by LogicDragon. I used to be a primarily third person gamer and when I eventually switched to first person, I was irritated when I found out that we were basically floating heads (also with arms, strangely enough)! That's why I love the enhanced camera. It lets you actually see your body if you simply look down!

Images from Nexus Website

This mod also turns almost anything that is normally in third person, into first person! This includes smithing, alchemy, enchanting, horse riding, dragon riding, etc.

Tempering an Iron Sword in first person.

It's a fairly simple concept that is really easy to get used to in-game and just adds an extra layer of immersion to Skyrim.

You thought there wouldn't be a gif...

Mod Monday - Interesting NPCs

Now before you all think I'm stupid and think that Tuesday is Monday, I'll have you know that I was busy yesterday and still wanted to update you all on Interesting NPCs.

So remember how I was complaining last week how Interesting NPCs is too big and my computer isn't beefy enough. Well, I decided to try it anyway! (Yes, I am a little crazy.) The amazing thing? Skyrim still runs as it did before I installed Interesting NPCs! (*NOTE* I do have Skyrim Script Extender installed which might be why Skyrim wasn't destroyed.)

I absolutely LOVE Interesting NPCs! It's AWESOME! There are literally no words for how amazing it is! You get random people talking to you all over the place! (I love that, maybe you don't. Well, maybe this mod isn't for you.) There is even a little orphan in Riften who steals money from you! It also ads a lot more Khajiit and Argonians to the world! Another amazing thing? YOU CAN PLAY BARDIC INSTRUMENTS! Not spontaneously of course, but you can play with other bards as a part of their dialogue options! I am screaming way too much so I'll just let the developer Kris Takahashi explain:

"Interesting NPCs is a project to add color and life to Skyrim through three-dimensional characters. Each NPC is integrated into the world, with a backstory and an extensive dialogue tree to explore. Many of these characters are fully voiced by a talented team of over 80 voice actors. The dialogue choices allow you to role-play, providing humor and depth to each conversation. You can be a jerk or a jester, a white knight or an assassin, as the most important character is you." 

The download is 2 gigs if I remember correctly, which is pretty daunting. But I definitely recommend this mod and I still recommend last week's mod as well. I also recommend you check out the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) if you have problems with Skyrim slowing and crashing on you after you install this mod and any others that add a lot of dialogue.

Original SKSE Silverlock Link (This site is FINE. This is where I downloaded SKSE.)

SKSE Steam Link (Additional link for those who may be scared of the Silverlock link.)

Mod Monday - Follower Commentary Overhaul

I like chatty followers. I enjoy their comments on the environment or the quest at hand. Because my internet is slow and my computer isn't very beefy, I can't enjoy the benefits of Interesting NPCs. If you want to save computer space and have more immersive followers, check out Follower Commentary Overhaul by terzaerian. 

The magic of Follower Commentary Overhaul give every follower of each voice-type access to more lines of dialogue. Now this doesn't mean that you can talk to them, they just talk at you while you run around. If you are in a cave your follower might comment on it. The same goes with dwarven ruins, cities, holds, and so much more.

The lines do get repetitive after awhile, but it's still more enjoyable than stale old lines or even none at all. All this means is that it's time to run with a follower of a different voice-type. 

Some of the most repetitive lines as of late are: "Have you seen that Shrine of Azura...", "I once shot a bear at 300 yards. In a blizzard.", and my personal favorite "Fine. But you're wrong anyway!" I tend to yell back "Shut up hubby! I'm right! I'm always right!" I still like the blizzard one, simply because my follower is supposed to be a Dark Brotherhood Assassin. The Azura one however, gets old quick, "I am shoving the Star of Azura in your FACE! I have done the quest already!" *smack* "Sorry. It's okay, I still love you."

Even though some lines may be repetitive, I still recommend checking out this mod. It is a different way of adding some depth to your followers.

Screenshot Saturday 9/26

Ah... Another Screenshot Saturday...

Dayspring Canyon*

In The Rift 

Ravenholm Double**

View of Whiterun

Winterhold Beacon

Expansions/Mods:

*Location in Dawnguard Expansion
**Location in Mod

Mod Monday - Character Creation Overhaul

So, as I've said before, I really got into role playing with my Skyrim characters. Yeah vanilla Skyrim is wonderful for this but it needed a little extra umph and the Character Creation Overhaul by Syclonix gave it just what I needed.

Main image on the Nexus page.

One of my friends introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons and I liked the feel of it but I still craved my good old-fashioned Skyrim. The Overhaul helps add some of the Dungeons and Dragons feel to Skyrim by adjusting different stats for all races and both genders. It also allows you to choose one of the Standing Stones to have as a birthstone so you don't have to run all over the map to find your favorite.

Initial dialogue box that opens after creating your character at Helgen.

It also reuses the class system from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion so those of you who transferred in will feel right at home. If you don't like any of the preexisting classes you can also make your own! Have a preexisting character you want to have a birthstone and class? No problem! When you boot up your previous save, a dialogue box will open and ask if you want to add them!

The Character Creation Overhaul is essential to creating dynamic characters in Skyrim who will have to try harder to succeed with different skills. I love it and recommend that any Skyrim role players out there check it out!


*Images from Character Creation Overhaul Nexus page.

Mod Monday - Sicarius' Refuge

I’d like to kick off the first Mod Monday with Elianora’s Sicarius’ Refuge.

First of all, I want a huge amount of applause for Elianora! I am not one who comments directly but I absolutely love your work! You put so much hard work into each of your projects. Never let a lack of comments and likes to get you down because some of your biggest fans might be shy like me!

So, Elianora has a ton of different houses for all different characters*, but now I’d like to talk about Sicarius’ Refuge. I fell in love with this mod. I have several different characters and each one has at least one house (mostly downloaded houses). My assassin character lives in the Refuge and it fits her needs completely (as does every Elianora house). Elianora herself describes the Refuge:

“I am willing to bet a few septims that not every assassin likes to live in a moldy dungeon full of gore and blood. Some of us have class! We like the comforts of a well-kept home with all mod cons! So here's my attempt at making the perfect assassin's hideout…”

Persephone (in Assassin's Armour) after Praying at the Altar of Sithis.

The Refuge comes in two flavors: Hearthfire/Dawnguard and Vanilla. The Refuge is located a little ways from Morthal so you can fast travel and get inside without being mauled by its guards if you caused a little ruckus. In game acquisition is free. All you have to do to acquire the Refuge is to kill the previous owner (he’s already dead so I guess you are re-killing him), loot the body and take his key. The mod also comes with a ton of custom stuff that you can’t get all in one mod, like poison arrow crating, a disenchanting font, a functional Altar of Sithis, a Jarrin Root plant, a mirror to change your appearance, a functional bath, and a retractable follower bed! Elianora also included her fabulous Assassin’s Armour**, which she also has as an individual download.

I recommend you check out Elianora if you are an avid lover of homes, armours, and Uncle Sheo Does Legendary Loading Screens!

Sicarius' Refuge

Assassin's Armour 

Poison Arrow Crafting

Elianora

*Other homes:

Routa - Stormcloak and Warrior Cabin

Dovahkiin's Vault

The Rookery - Bard and Thief Loft in Solitude

Ravenholm - Vampire House

Myrheim - Tiny Swamp House

And many more for every type of player!

**Other Armours:

Battlemage Armour (Female)
Blue Telvanni Mage Robes
Telvanni Hood
Northguard Ranger Armor
Ancient Nightingale Gear