Mod Impressions

[Fear2288]

There are a few quest/new lands based mods out there I’ve been eyeing up but before I actually dive in I’ve wanted to get impressions from people who’ve actually played them.

To give you an idea of what appeals to me in regards to anything added by a mod I prefer lore-compliant or as close to it as possible.

Meaning that the things I enjoy being in my game - whether they be characters, locations, creatures, quests, items, weapons, armors, spells, etc - are either actually from the TES universe (and just aren’t featured in Skyrim) or they would be believably a part of the universe despite not actually being officially in the lore.

With that said, I’d like to know how the following mods stack up with that in mind:

Falskaar
Beyond Reach
Wyrmstooth
Vigilant/Glenmoril/Unslaad
Undeath

I know that Falskaar is an entirely made up island that doesn’t exist in TES lore, but how is it otherwise?

Beyond Reach and Wyrmstooth I’m fairly certain take place in lore-compliant locations and such but do they handle it well? Does Beyond Reach do a good job capturing a lore-based eastern High Rock, the Bretons, etc?

Vigilant/Glenmoril/Unslaad look like they’d be up my alley in regards to story/quests but what turns me off is that it looks like the creator went with a visual design for weapons, armor, architecture, and creatures that are less TES and more Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Elden Ring - is that the case?


And ofc if anyone has any recommendations for mods that fit my preferences I’d be happy to hear them.

I was looking at ESO Imports for awhile as it seemed interesting with it adding locations from ESO (though appropriately changed to reflect the passage of time) and items/spells/weapons/armor for ESO as well, but then I realized that the creator didn’t bother making the items, weapons, etc actually look like their ESO versions and just used vanilla assets, renamed them, slapped an enchantment on them, and tweaked the stats.

[Vlad 254]

Not much to think about with these mods:
Falskaar
Beyond Reach
Wyrmstooth
Vigilant
Glenmoril

their reputations proceed them and most importantly seem to fit your game style for mods.

[Ihateeverybody]

I have only played Vigilant 8/10ths of the way through (completed acts 1 and 2, bailed near the end of 3). Your Dark Souls like Impressions are dead on. Act 3 was my favourtie but end of act 2 kind of a bad taste in my mouth. I understand what the devs were doing I just didn't see what the point was. It's well made and while the story is weak in some parts of Act 1, Act 2 was pretty Solid and with a few changes I would say Act 3 was phenominal. Act 3 is the most Loreish of the 3 (and I didn't find it too lore breaking, in fact I found it a better take on the lore).

Going to add two recomendations to your list.

Hammet's Dungeon Packs for SE

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12186

New Vominheim - SE

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/70963

Dungeon Packs add new places all over skyrim and solsteim. They are very lore friendly and are the best dungeons I have seen. But they can be Brutal at lower levels.

Vominheim is a seperate Land. I have played earlier versions but not in the last year or so and they just released a new version with a structured quest line that I have no experience with but I have faith its top quality.

[Vlad 254]

Originally posted by Ihateeverybody:

Going to add two recomendations to your list.

Hammet's Dungeon Packs for SE

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12186

New Vominheim - SE

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/70963

Dungeon Packs add new places all over skyrim and solsteim. They are very lore friendly and are the best dungeons I have seen. But they can be Brutal at lower levels.

Vominheim is a seperate Land. I have played earlier versions but not in the last year or so and they just released a new version with a structured quest line that I have no experience with but I have faith its top quality.

Agree. I've either played or am currently playing those mods and they are imo excellent.

[FauxFurry]

Falskaar is good for its time and the size of the team that worked on it, that being essentially a single modder, a few voice actors and a musician. There have been others who have come along to give the mod much needed bug fixes and outright overhauls.

Vigilant/Glenmoril/Unslaad are exactly what you thought that they were, they are indeed approximations of Dark Souls, Demon's Souls and Bloodborne in Skyrim.
They even add one handed pistols which can be used to interrupt enemy animation in the same way that pistols did in Bloodborne. They are good for what they are trying to be but it will not be to the taste of anyone who would rather keep the experiences separate.

Wyrmstooth is lore compliant enough that it could be considered a supplement to the main game. It even enables a few shouts which were cut from the game for release.
If you play it, be sure to keep around some of the alchemy ingredients that you would not normally use as they will be of utmost importance to the side quests therein (especially Wisp Wrappings).

[Vlad 254]

In regards to "Hammet's Dungeon Packs for SE" and the mod "New Vominheim - SE"
All by the same mod author (venjhammet)
Just make sure (as always) that you are game version aware and I do not simply refer to LE vs SE

He has mods for SSE version 1.5.97 and for 1.6.xxx

venjhammet is currently updating many of his mods and some are strictly for 1.6.xxx (what some call AE).

Also, if you are running the full version of 1.6.353 (includes Anniversary DLC) then instead of Hammet's Dungeon Packs you may want to try "Hammet's Folly - AE" which is a single dungeon mod which, as I said, requires the Anniversary DLC add-on

[Fear2288]

Sounds like I won’t be happy with Vigilant/Glenmoril/Unslaad. If I wanted to play Souls/Bloodborne, I’d play Souls/Bloodborne.

Don’t get me wrong, they look good and they wouldn’t be as popular as they are if they weren’t relatively well-made and I’m sure the maker is talented…but I’m just not into those kind of immersion-breaking, let’s make game X into game Y type mods.

I’ll have to check out ihateeverybody’s recommendations too.

Also, for my own input, I tried out one of the “over the border” mods - those ones that use the spaces on the map that are there but invisi-walled off (sorry I can’t check the actual mod name rn). I tried out the one that adds parts of Cyrodiil and Morrowind…I don’t know how this guy’s mods made it to the first and second page of the most endorsed on nexus…

The concept is cool, adding these little bits of Cyrodiil, Morrowind, Hammerfell, and High Rock (across all three mods), but really sub-par dungeon/location design, bugs galore, and just…not well made at all.

I was very disappointed and didn’t even bother finishing it or trying the other two.

I think they were made by only one guy, but it shows - as does the guy’s mediocre at best skills.

[seal cub clubbing club]

falskaar=the swedish cheff DLC

[FauxFurry]

Originally posted by Fear2288:

Sounds like I won’t be happy with Vigilant/Glenmoril/Unslaad. If I wanted to play Souls/Bloodborne, I’d play Souls/Bloodborne.

Don’t get me wrong, they look good and they wouldn’t be as popular as they are if they weren’t relatively well-made and I’m sure the maker is talented…but I’m just not into those kind of immersion-breaking, let’s make game X into game Y type mods.

I’ll have to check out ihateeverybody’s recommendations too.

Also, for my own input, I tried out one of the “over the border” mods - those ones that use the spaces on the map that are there but invisi-walled off (sorry I can’t check the actual mod name rn). I tried out the one that adds parts of Cyrodiil and Morrowind…I don’t know how this guy’s mods made it to the first and second page of the most endorsed on nexus…

The concept is cool, adding these little bits of Cyrodiil, Morrowind, Hammerfell, and High Rock (across all three mods), but really sub-par dungeon/location design, bugs galore, and just…not well made at all.

I was very disappointed and didn’t even bother finishing it or trying the other two.

I think they were made by only one guy, but it shows - as does the guy’s mediocre at best skills.

Have you seen Beyond Skyrim: Bruma?
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10917

[Ihateeverybody]

Originally posted by Vlad 254:

In regards to "Hammet's Dungeon Packs for SE" and the mod "New Vominheim - SE"
All by the same mod author (venjhammet)
Just make sure (as always) that you are game version aware and I do not simply refer to LE vs SE

He has mods for SSE version 1.5.97 and for 1.6.xxx

venjhammet is currently updating many of his mods and some are strictly for 1.6.xxx (what some call AE).

Also, if you are running the full version of 1.6.353 (includes Anniversary DLC) then instead of Hammet's Dungeon Packs you may want to try "Hammet's Folly - AE" which is a single dungeon mod which, as I said, requires the Anniversary DLC add-on

Good Catch. Still in the 1.5 and I didn't think about the rest of the world moving on.

Thanks!

[Fear2288]

@FauxFurry

Ofc.

I’m waiting to finish up everything else I’m planning to do in my current run before I then install and playthrough BSB.

That one I know for sure meets my parameters, and I’ve read/seen/watched enough of it already to know that too.

I truly hope the other Beyond projects actually materialize and before TESVI comes out.

Can you imagine?

If all of those actually release we’ll have Skyrim, High Rock, Hammerfell, Elsewehyr, Morrowind, Argonia (Black Marsh), Cyrodiil, and Atmora to explore, dungeon dive, and quest through in ONE game.

That’s insane!

What makes me nervous though is that most of the previews/news/etc I’ve seen of where those projects are come from two years ago…and the Atmora one - then - was I think the one most likely to full-release first (or get a “preview release” like Bruma soon) given that it uses a lot of the same assets as Skyrim…yet it’s been 2 years now…

I get that they’re massive projects and the makers are doing it for free in their spare time but…they’ve made some big promises and sold everyone on these things becoming reality…I really hope we start seeing them release within the next year or so here.

The longer it takes them the more likely the teams themselves are going to lose interest, and if they’re not even done by the time TESVI comes out it’s gonna be an even harder sell on getting peoples’ attention or keeping it.

Same with the Skyblivion and Skywind projects.

[SpeedFreak1972]

What can I say about Falskaar it's nice ... but it's beginning to show it's age the land is a bit empty and it needs a couple of patches so if you want to that route have a look at everything falskaar related. Wyrmstooth is another good one with its own landmass and is still actively maintained as far as I know.

What is also a good mod Helen Reborn: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/5673 Has not a landmass, but a nice story and good dungeons.

Last, but not least Legacy of the dragonborn: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802 keep in mind LOTD is the primary mod and your whole modlist has to revolve around it. That said lots of mods some of those are mentioned already are seamless integrated in the museum by displays. Also LOTD incorporates some other mods: book covers, Unique uniques, much ado about snow elves, etc

[Fear2288]

@SpeedFreak

I’ve had Helgen Reborn for a bit but haven’t actually run through it yet, I left it out of my current save’s load order this time but maybe I’ll reactivate it when I’m through with some other things (assuming doing so works and it isn’t a “you need to have this from the start” type, I forget if it is).

LOTD did look interesting but I’m not keen on the whole concept of severely altering my mod list for a single mod that I may or may not end up liking, maybe one day…


Other recommendations of my own for like-minded players:

Lunar Armory - turns the inside area of the Silent Moons Camp into a full-on ancient Nord barrow with a small, totally lore-friendly quest localized to SMC, and re-textures Lunar Forge weapons to make them unqiue looking. A good addition for general adventurer types, probably even better for vampire/necromancer/bad guy types.

Royal Armory - gives a number of high status or main-quest important characters unique weapons with their own models/textures/enchantments. You can get some from killing them, others from stealing (if you’re a thief type), and others are not obtainable and just add flavor (though you can use something like Simple Item Spawner to get them).

Civil War Battle Aftermath (might not be its exact name, not the Civil War Battlefields one) - adds 4 locations that serve as areas where recent battles have been fought in the civil war. They’re relatively out of the way and don’t conflict with many other location mods, 3 feature unique weapons to find, music actually mutes when you find them to increase “drama”, great for scavenger-types, and they’re very low impact-high immersion as just these four serve as a reminder that an actual war is being fought in Skyrim.

Tamrielic Imports - puts a new boat in the “port” of Dawnstar. Crew members are voiced and will feed you many bits of TES lore as well as current events in other parts of the world. Merchant offers a good helping of various weapons, armor/clothing, food, etc from other provinces of Tamriel.


Granite Hill and Oakwood are also worth mentioning. Both are villages that exist in Falkreath-hold that were referenced in past games (or even in Skyrim in the case of Granite Hall) but were mysteriously not present in the base game.

There are three different Granite Hill mods - one from the infamous Arthmoor, and two others.

I didn’t try the Arthmoor one, but the other two…the “middle” one was decent. It adds a few shops, a player home, and a quest involving delving into an old Nord ruin underneath the town. Unlike Arthmoor’s, it does not get destroyed when the nearby dragon gets revived by Alduin. The dungeon was alright, the player home is somewhere between Breezehome and a Hearthfire built home in regards to size and usefulness, NPCs involved in the quest are not voiced, some NPCs sport unusual immersion breaking names, and some of the interiors aren’t designed well.

The newer Granite Hill I can’t recommend. It adds a very small “village” at the crossroads. The architecture is like Nord dungeon but above ground, no real interactions, one or two shops, and an inn that’s poorly designed inside.

Oakwood has two versions as well, one I believe is also done by Arthmoor and the second is - I believe - done by the guy who did the more recent Granite Hill mentioned above.

I haven’t tried either, but using an Oakwood mod would be lote-compliant.

[SpeedFreak1972]

I suggest also The elder scrolls online imports: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11729 adds also dungeons, new ruins, etc

[Fear2288]

Originally posted by SpeedFreak1972:

I suggest also The elder scrolls online imports: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11729 adds also dungeons, new ruins, etc

See my OP.

I was going to give it a whirl, but the fact that the creator just took vanilla weapons/armors/items and slapped a new name on them, tweaked stats, and threw in an enchantment rather than actually creating new models/textures to match their ESO design/look is a huge turn off for me.

IMO opinion, if you’re gonna make a mod that’s all about bringing weapons, armor, items, spells, and locations from ESO to Skyrim - then I don’t know why you wouldn’t put the effort to actually make those added things look like their versions from ESO (or collaborate with someone who can do it for you).

It’s like making a mod that adds in all the weapons and armor from Oblivion but all you do is take the weapons and armor from Skyrim, rename them, and adjust their stats…doesn’t make sense to me and eliminates most of the reason anyone would have to download/use the mod.

Not long ago I commented on the mod’s page about it and the reply I got from the guy was essentially “yeah that’d be cool but I don’t care about textures and models”.

[orrngor]

Not tried it yet, but this is one I'm going to load up soon. For explorer types.
Chanterelle - a savage world to explore
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/32603?tab=description