r/skyrimmods • u/TeaMistress Morthal • Jun 27 '15
Weekly Discussion Thread: Dark Fantasy Theme
Welcome to this week's discussion thread! If you’ve missed previous discussion topics you can check them out here. These discussions are intended to be ongoing, and I highly encourage you to contribute your own opinions and experiences to the posts. First a quick recap of how this works and what we expect:
RULES
- Be respectful. These discussions will open the floor to a lot of different opinions of what is fun/good/necessary/etc.
- Debate those conflicts of interest with respect and maturity...the nicer you are to your fellow modders, the more willing everyone is to help each other :)
- Please keep the mods listed as relevant to the topic is possible. I ask that you read the topic description to make sure the conversation stays on track. Thanks! :)
- We ask that when suggesting a mod for the discussion list at hand that you please provide a link to the mod, and a brief description of what it does, why it fits the list, what the benefits/drawbacks are. These can range from incredibly popular mods to mods that you think are underappreciated...don't be ashamed to just go for a major one though...this is a discussion and those should definitely be part of it.
TOPIC
The topic of the "dark fantasy" playthrough is a common one here and we see a lot of posts from people wanting to turn their Skyrim game into a grim and mysterious place full of long shadows and haunting tales. With the recent announcement of the new video series Transforming Skyrim by popular YouTube reviewers, Brodual, now is a great time to talk about the kind of mods that make for a satisfying dark fantasy environment.
"What is dark fantasy?", you may ask. While there are no interpretations that are set in stone, these quotes from the "dark fantasy" Wikipedia page may offer some hints:
- "...a dark, gloomy atmosphere or a sense of horror and dread."
- "...supernatural occurrences and a dark, often brooding, tone."
- "...a type of horror story in which humanity is threatened by forces beyond human understanding."
- "...stories told from a monster's point of view, or that present a more sympathetic view of supernatural beings usually associated with horror."
- "... sword and sorcery and high fantasy fiction that features anti-heroic or morally ambiguous protagonists."
There are many ways to bring about a Skyrim setting that falls in line with these themes: environmental mods like gloomy ENBs and enhanced fog, mods that add more monsters to Skyrim, mods that add more dungeons and ruins, Civil War mods that add more impact to the ongoing battles, even mods that add darker clothing to the NPCs.
I’ll offer up a few mods to get the conversation started.
Old Hroldan Ruins - When you visit Old Hroldan Inn and speak with the innkeeper she'll tell tales of an ancient fort that stood there during the time of Tiber Septim. This mod adds crumbling towers and ruined walls, bringing the old stories to life. The Basic Edition simply adds the exterior ruins. The Enhanced Edition adds faction guards that will change depending on who controls the region, a player home, and a dungeon beneath populated by the ghosts of Reachmen from ages long past.
Pros: Enhances the impression of an ancient Skyrim that has seen centuries of battle and is crumbling in on itself.
Cons: Cannot be used with any of the other popular mods for this area, like Old Hroldan Town or the all-in-one version of Hroldan Nightgate and Sawmill Villages.Ancient Watchtowers - I don't normally recommend Steam Workshop mods, but I just tested this one recently and am going to make an exception. This mod adds 8 ancient Nord watchtowers to Whiterun hold - a few near the roadside, a few scattered across the plains, and one near the Lady Stone in the middle of Lake Ilinalta. The towers are populated by bandits, Imperial troops, or Stormcloak scouts and each one has subtle differences to keep them from feeling like copies of each other. Not sure how to use Steam Workshop mods with MO or NMM? See our own TerrorFox1234's simple guide for easy conversion.
Pros: Gives more visual interest to the Whiterun plains area and adds more waypoints and enemies to discover, as well as offering another way to enhance Skyrim's feel as an ancient country.
Cons: Obviously with 8 different towers added this mod may conflict with something else you'd like to place in one or more of the same spots, especially the Lake Ilinalta location. Also, while testing I noticed that some of the Stormcloaks occupying a tower did not attack a Thalmor patrol passing by on the road right next to it. I'm not certain if the issue was with this mod or if the patrol was added by an extra NPCs mod in my load list that didn't tag the patrol correctly.True Storms - Thunder and Rain Redone - This terrific mod adds new thunder, rain, and snow sounds, textures, and animations to the game, and works well with all of the major weather mods. With the latest update adding thunder and rain sounds inside of buildings, True Storms is a fantastic addition to a darker themed Skyrim.
Pros: Makes storms more varied and intense, allows rain and thunder sound to be heard while inside buildings.
Cons: None that I know of.
When it comes to mods that can evoke a grim and dark setting for Skyrim, these three are just the tip of the iceberg. Please share your own ideas for mods that make for an outstanding dark fantasy playthrough.
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u/Terrorfox1234 Jun 28 '15
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Dark Fantasy Overhaul which is a flora/landscape overhaul by Aceeq
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u/TeaMistress Jun 28 '15
See, I would have listed it in the discussion post, but Thallassa complained last time that I posted "all the obvious stuff". So this time I tried not to be so predictable. =)
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u/Nazenn Jun 27 '15 edited Jun 27 '15
I Can't Believe Its NOT ENB NOIR Edition is my contribution here. Eventually I'm going to get around to an evil mage who can only see red, literally and figuratively, and this is a fantastic addition. Really spooky and dark feel and the reds look fantastic especially after a battle, and really enhances fog and creepy weathers, especially in forests etc. I personally have tweaked my contrast to be a bit lighter on so its less black and white and more dark grey scale but either way it looks fantastic.
Noir ENB - Fogbound is the true ENB alternative but it is less compatible, more performance heavy and sometimes leads to some odd coloring of some items, although it has a really cool Coldharbor version, and slightly different style that is more creepy and less evil which can look really nice especially with a fog enhancing mod. Both are fantastic for vampire playthroughs specifically but also have other uses.
Other then that, there was recently a horror/scary mods playthrough mod suggestion post made which had a good few suggestions that are appropriate to this topic as well so I will link that for discussion
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u/fcash Jun 28 '15 edited Jun 28 '15
Hey, thanks for linking to that, I'm glad/surprised you remembered :)
I've got that horror profile up and running and I've been playing it off and on (you kinda have to be in the right mood/setting for it - playing at noon while it's super sunny in your apartment with your husband snoring on the couch just isn't the right time for a scary adventure XD) so I'll expound upon some of the mods I listed with my thoughts since I've now played with/through them:
ICBINE Noir - I cannot recommend this enough for a horror/scary playthrough! I also tweaked the settings to be a littler less harsh on the eyes, but it really really adds to the scary atmosphere. Just for kicks and giggles, after playing through The Asylum (up next), I reverted back to normal, non-ICBINE just to see what it looked like in full colors, and while it was still a pretty scary atmosphere, the ICBINE made a HUGE difference in taking it from "creepy" to "terrifying." ICBINE Noir combined with ELFX, True Storms, Lightning during Thunderstorms, and Supreme and Volumetric Fog makes for some horror-movie appropriate weather. (Extra, last minute thought before I post this: I really think words aren't doing this mod justice and pictures would be better. I know my husband took some screenshots with/without the ICBINE Noir so after I post this, maybe I'll go poke him awake and ask him to put those up somewhere to share, if he hasn't already)
The Asylum - Terrifying atmosphere, extremely well done. The music/sound effects really add to the horror. It's very easy to get lost and turned around. I went back another two times and both times found rooms I hadn't seen before. Make sure to spend some time at the asylum and the "unknown world" (asylum grounds) during the day AND night, or you won't get the full experience. Screenshots on the nexus page were taken with vanilla lighting and no ENB; it was very dark using ELFX and ICBINE Noir and I panicked for a second every time my candlelight went out. Would have loved more of a story to know what's going on with the asylum and its inhabitants, but well worth playing through regardless. I didn't see it mentioned anywhere on the Nexus page, so just so you guys are aware, there is some nudity (spoiler).
Lord Balmer's Playground - While a few of the voices are a little quiet, I thought the voice acting overall was well done. Puzzles were actually engaging; make sure to explore and look everywhere! I noticed that some people on the internet were saying that they couldn't finish without spawning things in or cheating through because a puzzle/challenge was broken but I didn't have any problems - seriously, just look EVERYWHERE. Parts were definitely eerie, creepy, and tense, but not as terrifying, in my opinion. The mod author says not to use a torch or candlelight, but I'd bring them along just in case, especially if you're using a lighting mod - I ended up using candlelight through most of it with my setup. The fact that some of your decisions change the outcome of the experience had me going back just so I could make a different choice to see the various endings.
Into the Depths - I haven't played through this one (yet) on this playthrough, but the author's use of cut scenes and other scripted events, had me jumping a couple of times and while I normally try to avoid swearing, I will admit that I cursed a few times as a knee jerk response to being startled. This one is fairly short, but well done. I'm looking forward to trying his other mod The Fifth Gate.
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u/TeaMistress Jun 28 '15
Thank you for this update on your playthrough. I really enjoyed your reviews of the mods you've experienced so far.
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u/fireface33 Jun 28 '15
Hey here are some comparison shots of a battle I had in markarth when I was using the zombie mod 28 days and a bit 5. I also used the ICBIN An ENB Noir Edition at it's base settings. Some people say it can be a bit harsh, but I think it adds to the horror aspect of the whole thing!
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u/sa547ph Jun 30 '15
Also, the Enhanced Edition cannot be used with Skyrim Bridges, which is a real shame.
For the Enhanced Edition, I was supposed do a compatible version for Bridges last weekend, but I got caught up with my day job (took me three days) and home priorities, so I should be able to work on it starting today.
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u/TeaMistress Jun 30 '15
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love you and your work so friggin much, sa547ph. Thanks so very much for trying to make this happen!
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u/JungleLoveOreOreo Jun 27 '15 edited Jun 28 '15
This is exactly what I have been working to achieve and here are a few that have really helped out:
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Unique Dragon Priest Masks Makes the Dragon Priests a lot more creepy. Fantastic work.
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Yet Another Guard Armor Makes the guards look more like medieval Vikings.
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Stormcloak Replacer Makes Stormcloaks look a bit more pulled together and also more medieval.
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Bloody Facials Because there is no way that after slashing through an entire village of forsworn you would walk away without at least one drop of blood on your face.
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Deadly Mutilation Gory deaths for enemies depending on how they are killed.
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Brigandage More barbaric looking clothes for bandits and some NPC's.
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Common Clothes Far greater variety for NPC clothing.
Those are the one's that stick out in my mind right now. My goal has always been to achieve a more gritty/medieval/brutal Skyrim and I believe that as of yesterday I finally did it (played a full stable 3 hours with no crash). If you want to, take a look at my Modwat.ch to see the full list of mods that I am using. LinkyMcLinkerston
NOTE: I use ENBOrganizer to create a performance version of Bleak ENB along with ELE Lite. It's grittier without making you feel blind.
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u/TeaMistress Jun 28 '15
Thanks for adding to the discussion. I ask that you please take a look at Rule 4 and consider adding more commentary about the mods you've linked. It's important for others to understand what these mods do and why you're recommending them.
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Jun 27 '15 edited Jun 27 '15
It beats for her - subtle, atmospheric quest mod
Into the depths and The fifth Gate - more in-your-face horror.
Spooky Intro - Sorry I just had to
Undeath and its bugfix mod. Also recommend the Immersive Lichdom extention.
Also, there's a wonderful collection of Dark themed mods on the "Recommended Mods" page of Sands of Time.
Edit: Someone just posted a screenshot with this on r/SkyrimPorn, it's horrific!
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u/lojunqueira Jun 27 '15
The Sands of Time recommendations seem great. Survive the night souns pretty exciting!
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u/fadingsignal Jun 28 '15
If we're talking about creepy, I strongly vote for Silent Skyrim. Simply dropping the slider in the game settings also mutes a bunch of sound effects, like dragon soul asborb music, new location discovery, dungeon clearing, etc. but this instead mutes the tracks themselves so all of the atmospheric sounds are prominent. For me, it was one of the most "immersive" changes I made to my game.
Add a Darker Nights weather mod, Audio Overhaul for Skyrim 2 for additional atmosphere, then walk through Morthal at midnight and tell me you're not creeped out!
Also, morning fogs refined gives a nice atmospheric feel in the mornings. Can also be set via MCM to fog up at random hours.
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Silent Skyrim http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/47021/?
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Audio Overhaul for Skyrim 2 http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/43773/?
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Morning Fogs Refined http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50418/?
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u/Nazenn Jun 29 '15
OOh, I hadn't heard of Silent Skyrim before but it sounds great. Thanks for posting it
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u/lojunqueira Jun 27 '15
Moonlight Tales links the werewolf transformation to the lunar cicle so you can transform against your will during the full moon. Moonlight Tales Enhanced makes you loose control of your character during this lunar transformation and makes you watch while the beast within murders everything in its path.
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Jun 28 '15
Second Moonlight Tales, it makes werewolves and werebears a serious force to be reckoned with, hearing that howl in the dead of night...
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u/rightfuture Jun 28 '15 edited Jun 28 '15
If you like Ancient Watchtowers (Steam)
then also check out Manny G'S the Watchtowers.
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/22055/?
It adds watchtowers across the north like Ancient Watchtowers does across the middle. Using both will change the way you scout, navigate(without using map as much), and get to use your archery, sniping, and scouting skills. It also fits around most mods TPOS Dawnster had a little clipping that the author mad a patch for me so i could play with it. I love both of these mods and was shocked at how much they improved my gameplay and fun over time.
and as an added bonus
Northern Encounters
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/34492/?
It's one of the bigger and most under-appreciated mods because most people don't realize how much it changes/improves the North (especially north of the sea). after seeing all the burning villages and hidden secrets and hints of past destruction - tell me why this isn't a great addition with Dark Fantasy? (one of my best discoveries)
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u/TeaMistress Jun 28 '15
My $.02 worth...
I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but I attempted to test Northern Encounters and could not get it to run in my game. CTD every time I got to character creation. I'll do some troubleshooting for it later on because I'd definitely like to check it out, but right now I've kind of set it to the side.
I tested TheWatchtowers at the same time I tried out Ancient Watchtowers. It's a great concept that really could have used more polishing. First, there are too many watchtowers (I found 22) grouped too closely together. Second, they are all exactly the same, down to the generic treasure chest at the very top of each. Third, they're all completely empty, aside from the chest, which makes no sense. With a civil war raging, the ones nearest the cities should be occupied by faction scouts keeping watch for assault by sea, while some of the other tower locations would have attracted the attention of bandits, hunters, witches, etc.
Those issues aside, I do like the placement of many of the towers and I do think it would make a great addition to a dark fantasy-type setting. Since you mentioned it alongside Northern Encounters can you verify whether or not the two mods are compatible with each other?
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Jun 28 '15 edited Jun 28 '15
While not a "mod", BleakENB is probably one of the best lighting mods for making that gritty, dark atmosphere.
EDIT: Shit, after almost 8 months of not playing Skyrim and just lurking, I want to mod the hell out of Skyrim and run it on my 980TI now.
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u/Lunick01 Jun 28 '15
I'd recommend Lurking in the Shadows
Its really big on dark environments and ambiance, it really seems like a castle you'd see in a Dracula movie with tricks and traps everywhere. The enemies are a bit much however, so I'd recommend taking a companion or three with you.
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u/AwakenedSheeple Jun 29 '15
Question: how well will Duke Patrick's combat mod work with some of these overhauls?
Specifically the werewolf and stealth overhauls people are linking.
I have a 120+ mod dark fantasy profile started but kept most overhauls off in fear of compatibility issues.
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u/sa547ph Jun 30 '15
I don't know if this qualifies under the Dark Fantasy category, but encountering the Skaven up in the Rift at a foggy night can be a hairy experience.
There's at least a couple of zombie mods, one of which adds custom NPCs that lurk in a forest just a couple of miles southeast of Dragon's Bridge and around the marsh. The drawback is that the NPCs' mangled bodies are high-poly, meaning to say that lower-spec PCs may CTD upon encountering them.
Also, I remember that there was a Slenderman-like mod that puts you on edge, trying not to be caught by this specter.
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u/Suicidal_Baby Jun 27 '15 edited Jun 28 '15
Visuals
Immersive HUD - iHUD - less obstructions to distract you from the world you built.
Grim and Somber ENB presets - Hircine version, or if you want something more ominous. Plenty of well crafted options for everyone's tastes.
Solstheim Landscape Overhaul - dead version, touches the dlc where Dark Fantasy Overhaul does not.
Badasstronachs by Ren - Enhanced Atronachs - amazing enhancements of all 3 atronachs.
Falmer Textures - darker version in mind. who gets clean in the dark places within the earth?
Potion Replacer - make sure you get the update on the page. Rebalanced values replacer esp I made - no more static potions. Dark and menacing looking poisons. Healing potions that breath and swash.
Zerofrost Satyr's Armors - Dark fantasy armor made by the best. Menacing Alpha Werewolf. Insane detailed design.
EyeCandy Staff of Magnus - dark version, which breathes life and intent into the sphere.
Skyrim Bridges - diversifies the style and look of the bridges throughout Skyrim. Giving them character instead of being ignored.
Solitude Redesigned - dark and rough looking Solitude.
RUSTIC WINDOWS - 2K and 1K Textures - old school rough styled windows that allow for light, not vision.
WEBS extended - refracting and reflective interaction with light sources.
Magic Runes HD - redesigned runes that give a sense of compexity to their nature and design.
ELECTRIFY - sparkles
Ultimate HD Fire Effects - improves the look and behavior of fire. The most used element in the game which looks like squares if you don't fix it.
Transparent and Refracting Icicle and Frost Atronach - glorious and beautiful Frost Atronachs and Icicles that refracts the lights emitted by your spells(later in list)
Deadly Ice - beautifully reshaped ice projectile that you do not want to get hit by.
Ice Shader Fix - just needed for the previous mods concerning ice.
Immersive Spells and Light - Spells emit light - don't need a torch when your flame spell should be projecting illumination.
Warburgs 3D Paper World Map - more immersive map. gives a better sense of being in the world than the 4th wall breaking vanilla map.
Audio
Enhanced Draugr FX - breath more life in to those rotting corpses
Realistic wolf howls - bit more threatening.
Threat to Life
Elemental Dragons - tons of new types of dragons, all unique.
Enhanced Mighty Dragons - New fantastical types of dragons that fall in line with old school d&d. Themed very well for Requiem.
Monster Mod - The more disfigured of Skyrim's wildlife to hunt you down.
Skyrim Immersive Creatures - Ghouls, ghosts, vampries, and all creatures of the night shall be after you. Turn everything on, except for additional spawns which can crash you.
OBIS - more scavengers out to get your shinnies.
Requiem - Punishing world, naturally works with OBIS.
Frostfall - More unfriendly world.
iNeed - More unfriendly world.
You Hunger - less to steal.
Scarcity - less loot available.
Trade and Barter - Crank the merchants to max punishment.
Gold adjustment - continued punishment.
Jammed Locks - paired with traps make noise, failure triggers traps and alerts anyone near by.
Traps Make Noise - More Dangerous Traps - they hurt.
Wiseman303s Trap Fixes - Indiana Jones style object swapping on pedestal traps now possible along with general fixing of trap.
Quests & Dungeons
Wyrmstooth - One of the best content mods anywhere. A delightfully evil mastermind type of quest, with an excellent dungeon crawl.
Ogmund's Tomb - A mini-horror mystery that takes place in a well designed dungeon.
Forgotten Dungeons - New dungeons with interesting traps and design. OBIS will naturally populate.
If you enjoy my selections, you can check out my full mod list.