primem0ver Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 I was thinking today about the first main character I came up with to play Skyrim when I restarted after rebuilding my load order on a new computer. I gave him a back story that included an "escape" from prison in Cyrodill. It helped me figure out exactly what his reasons for going to Skyrim were and what he would do after the traditional main sequence/opener had ended. I had always been ambivalent for this playthrough (being a neutral player) on which character to follow in Helgen before that but the back story made it all very clear. Within the next month or two (after I am finished with an alpha version of a new Skyrim Utility) I will be restarting this character for my first time playing SSE. That got me thinking... Wouldn't it be really cool if I could start off my Skyrim game (story) before the main opening sequence happens. Essentially a Prequel to the main story. Remembering that the Alternate Start addon allows you to pick the vanilla start, I am even more curious if this is possible. Have the character start off in their journey outside of Skyrim (such as in Bruma), spend some time doing whatever to get themselves to Skyrim (and perhaps leveling or doing some quests along the way...) As soon as I try to cross the border (or get to Skyrim some other way), I get surrounded by guards and taken away.... (fade to black). Then... I come to in the main starting sequence. Would this kind of thing be possible? An alternate start plugin that would essentially be a prequel? At some point it would trigger Alternate Starts version of beginning the traditional Skyrim start but not right away? Would the quest engine in Skyrim allow me to start that scene even after I have performed other things (such as quests) in other land locations as long as they don't interfere with Skyrim's main quest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsharaMeradin Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 There is an Alternate Start addon for Bruma. So that part is taken care of. As far as crossing the border and being automatically put into the stock start, I do not think that is possible. With LAL the quest(s) governing it have already been advanced beyond that point with the exception of the stock start. Not to say that something couldn't be done, it just probably couldn't be done with LAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primem0ver Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 How far? I suppose I could try the whole thing myself (I did get to the wagon ride but did not wait it out before quitting my test to see if the ride happened)... but are you saying it skips the being in the stock to get your head chopped off and the dragon attacking? Obviously you won't have to pick your name... so it should skip that part. As long as you get the wagon ride, the scene where you are put in the stock, and the dragon attacking.... that should be about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsharaMeradin Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 LAL's stock start option skips the race menu portion. What I was saying: Using a different start with LAL in a separate worldspace (i.e. Bruma) and then trying to trigger the original stock start is not possible. It is not possible because LAL advances the main quest line and possibly others as far as necessary to achieve the given start. At minimum each start other than the stock start is equivalent to walking out of the Helgen cave and seeing Alduin fly off. All that said, your idea may be possible just not possible with LAL as-is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7531Leonidas Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 Have you seen Alternate Perspective (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/50307)? It allows you to start in Helgen, and makes it a regular town, among other options. I have not used it yet, but plan to on my next character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primem0ver Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 (edited) Have you seen Alternate Perspective (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/50307)? It allows you to start in Helgen, and makes it a regular town, among other options. I have not used it yet, but plan to on my next character.That is a fun idea. I will probably try it at some point. But you might want to edit your link (remove the parenthesis). LAL's stock start option skips the race menu portion. What I was saying: Using a different start with LAL in a separate worldspace (i.e. Bruma) and then trying to trigger the original stock start is not possible. It is not possible because LAL advances the main quest line and possibly others as far as necessary to achieve the given start. At minimum each start other than the stock start is equivalent to walking out of the Helgen cave and seeing Alduin fly off. All that said, your idea may be possible just not possible with LAL as-is.Gotcha. I am not sure that makes things harder... it would depend on how other locations interact with the quests in the original game. If those locations and actions wouldn't ruin the main quest, it sounds like all I would need to do is add a second "activator" to the prison cell that offers a different kind of start. That start would transport me to a "prequel" location(without activating a LAL chargen script) where there would be some other third activator or dialogue induced script that would activate LAL's stock start. Edited November 11, 2021 by primem0ver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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