LE Raising Your Kids Family Interaction Overhaul

[Markala]

So I clock like 800+ hrs. in Skyim(stupid completion OCD), I ignore the bugs, sometimes laugh, sometimes I ragequit, but at the end of the day I still can say that I had fun, and with all the awesome mods out there, its impossible to NOT find something that spices up the Skyrim experience a little bit more.

 

But I finally get around to Hearthfire, and ignoring that annoying '2 child limit' (seriously what is Skyrim? Haddix's Shadow Children book series much?) I finally get around to interacting with my kids and it's... Meh.

 

Interaction, it's barely there, tell them to sleep, play inside/outside, yes/no on random pet(also I wonder, how the CRAP did my kid not manage to get bitten/mauled/hurt/etc. by the fox/skeever/mudcrab/random dog/FREAKING frostbite spider?!), or do chores. Even the play hide and seek or tag is boring, but I get that in a minute.

 

I would really love to see a mod that overhauls child interaction, something that makes you be a parent, not just 'oh btw' I have a couple kids somewhere', gee Bethesda thanks.

 

Ideas List as follows and not limited to:

-trust/affection/respect meter for kids towards you as a parent(maybe for spouse, not sure exactly how that one would work to be honest) the higher trust is the more likely the child will come to you about their problems, etc.

 

-new kids have a period of adjustment to having a home/parent/loving-parent-instead-of-an-asshole-parent/any of the above, period of mistrust, ask/wonder if you'll send them back/sell them somewhere/abuse them/abandon them, cue the heartwarming reassurance/comfort/etc

 

-family picnic, bring spouse if you have one, kind of like a miniquest, must find a safe/ish spot/location then pack food, supplies and take horse with kid(share a saddle, the kids are small enough to ride double with you) parental bonding dialogue, if multiple kids the run and play tag/flower crown making/wooden sword fight each other/etc

 

-take your kids to work option(maybe small/less dangerous quests? Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild, Companions, meet a Jarl to do something for them, etcetera

 

-people react to you having your kid/s w/ you, having kid/s in general, like 'oh btw did you know that I have kids now?' then they're like "oh really? I never thought you were the type? Hm'

 

-hug/kiss(not in the pedo way you freaks) option for your kids (something warm and gushy that just warms the cockles of your heart, maybe some kids don't want gooey parental love, its embarrassing, some love it, ect)

 

-piggyback rides(kids won't if you are wearing a cloak, or a backpack)

 

-your kid/s can optionally be made into becoming a werewolf or vampire(maybe they'll still age a bit more explanation, not really age in game, but they say they won't stay kid-bodied forever)

 

-dialogue interaction where you can take you kid/s out fishing or on a hunting trip for a few days(with some parent-child bonding dialogue for immersion/rp purposes, that would be awesome) You teach them how to kill and skin animals(some children are more squeemish than others, not girls vs boys, but personality), teach them how to gut fish, campfire stories, camping

 

-set up a little archery target near your home(hearthfire, behind other house, somewhere) craft your child a beginner/child's bow and a quiver w arrows)

 

-you(the parent) could teach them how to swim(maybe they never got the chance to learn or something, not applicable to Argonian children for obvious reasons, maybe Khajiit kids don't like water as much-complaints about soaked fur would heighten immersion

 

-children can get sick(playing outside in the rain, cold/fever/flu/possible deadly pneumonia/broken bone/bad food/) you sit and nurse them like a good parent, Skyrim can take care of itself, your kid is sick, Mommy/Daddy to the rescue! Maybe add a 50-50 chance of your kid being alright if you don't nurse them yourself (make them drink liquids, bathe them, keep them warm/cool, drink healing potions) but if you don't nurse them(optional toggle for this possibly) the kid will die and somewhere there will be a little grave mocking you for being a neglectful parent, husband/wife can comment about it, people who know you will ask about 'so, how's that kid of yours doing?' If you weren't married before, you're future spouse can ask you about it(w/ dialogue options, I really wish a romance mod existed) and any future kids you adopt can ask you about that/those(if multiple kids died) graves(more dialogue options, truth/avoid subject/order them to never ask you about it again/lie/etc)

 

-depending on kid's backstory, maybe your kid is illiterate, teach them how to read/do math/do magic, it's not like public school was invented yet

 

-feed your children something other than apples and sweerolls, seriously, make you kid eat something healthy(some could complain/resist, but you're the parent, and Dovahkiin-daddy/mommy says eat your meats and veggies damnit)

 

-family dinner, Dovahkiin Mommy/Daddy may not be home every night, but family dinners have to exist at some point, conversation dialogue options(how was your day? Did anything happen while Dovahkiin Mommy/Daddy was out slaying bandits/running errands/slaying Dragons/etc.? Kids react to what the player has done, tell them stories of your exploits, 'wow, you're so tough Mommy/Daddy/Mom/Dad etc) Maybe a miniquest start, your kid/s saw someone suspicious skulking around the house or heard a scary monster noise on edge of nearby woods/water's edge that Dovahkiin has to take care of)

 

-teach you kid/s to cook(no they can't cook for you, except maybe like 'look Ma/Da/Pa/whatever they call the player I cooked this for you tell me what you think' they get better over time, you can be honest or lie or be neutral and it affects their progress, immersion yay)

 

-kids will personalize their room/s, seriously, every once in a while I walk into that room and it doesn't look lived in, can there be a stray toy/book/clothing on the floor, drawing tacked to the wall, little knife on the table, child's bow leaning on the wall/against bedpost w/ quiver hanging from strap on something? Maybe some quills lying around, a little inkwell on a little desk or something?

 

-teach your kid/s how ride a horse(maybe buy a small pony or something? since the kids are kinda small?)

 

-maybe one of your kid/s sleepwalks you have get them back to bed

 

-one epic kid/parent argument that makes kid/s run away, search the woods/town/city at night with a lantern for them before something bad happens to them(monsters/necromancers/pedophiles/slavers/bandits/evil things?)

 

-maybe have a cutscene of your kid want to sleep in you room in the middle of the night because of a scary storm or a horrible nightmare(words of comfort? Say something that affects their personal reactions, tough guy approach vs. smart/intellectual approach vs. sarcastic/joker/little easygoing approach maybe?)

 

-read your kid/s a bedtime story, buy certain books and put them on little book shelf in kid/s room, kids can request a bedtime story or you can prompt start one through dialogue option

 

-tuck in your kids (kids can request or you can prompt start through dialogue option) cute forehead kiss option maybe?

 

-kids change clothes periodically(automatically)

 

-if you take your kid with you to someplace cold/snowy/wet you dress them appropriately(optional toggle: they can freeze to death) if you make them warm furry boots/shoes and a adorable little cloak you will find them lined up against a wall/something somewhere in their room, maybe make a little hook on the walls to hang stuff, make them a raincoat and gift it to them hooray for traveling gear, maybe a child's messenger bag or backpack?

 

-kids have favorite foods I just wanna watch people eat

 

-have difference chores for kids to do(pick vegetables, clean your room, chop firewood, help player's spouse[mother/father/papa/etc], collect branches/dry brush for kindling, take care of dog/pony/pet, set dinner table, wash dishes, etc)

 

-if you have daughter/s then give one a pretty dress or something(they don't have to wear it all the time, couple this idea with periodic clothes change)

 

-tell your kids when you're going out, if you don't trust goes down, maybe they'll get sad/mad both? Also tell them how long you'll be out(few days? Months? A year?!) Like that "Better Wife" mod request, the kids get a little more and more subsequently unhappy when you're gone for long periods of time with no contact whatsoever (Add a letter system that prevents this, send letters from across Skyrim via messenger/mail system to your kids, let them know that they haven't been re-orphaned you know?

 

-if you have multiple kids(coupled with the adoption limit extender mod, not sure about the name, can't we just add more rooms and beds? Why sacrifice a preexisting room >_>;)

 

-chlidren have rivalries with some of their siblings better than others and you can intervene with dialogue options to nurture that rivalry or foster close sibling friendship instead based on interaction(hunting trip, fishing trip, family bonding, bandit attack? The possibilities are endless) Maybe they compete for your affection/attention since you're out a lot

 

-kids who share a room will butt heads every once in a while, make them fight over something, a toy, space, clothes(not just argue, throw something are each other, refuse to talk to one another)

 

-kids could develop hobbies/interests like in that 'Better Wife Overhaul' mod request I read a while back, maybe one of your kids wants to learn magic(you could teach them some, with hilarious/not-so-hilarious results), maybe the kid likes art and sits and draws on pieces of paper/parchment and you could pin them around the house which ups their affection for you(since the fridge doesn't exist yet), maybe your kid wants to be a warrior/archer/rogue and you could have beginner training sessions w/ praise/criticism dialogue that affects how they react to you(personality-wise, people react differently to praise vs criticism, some work harder when criticized while others fold-up and would otherwise flourish better under praise and positive reinforcement)

 

-I don't know why but I just want to throw my parenting weight around outside the family every once in a while, your kid interacts with other children, make a bully child somewhere, or a bully teen(I don't thing people would be that picky) advise your kid on what to do(maybe add a trust/affection meter?), or maybe YOU do something(kill/beat up or scare the crap out of that little bullying s#*!, 'bully my kid will you?' Possible consequences for some of those solutions)

 

-Make all existing children different from each other? I mean, what about all those hinted backstories of all the orphans/kids that never go anywhere? Questlines? Enemies? (Coupled with the mods that add more kids and different race(mer, argonian, khajiit that could be interesting)

 

-maybe some enemies kidnap one or more of your kids, or monsters take your kids, Dovahkiin Mommy/Daddy to the rescue!

 

-Monster Under the Bed is real, you end up fighting some sort of ethereal child-eating monster/s

 

-difference between younger children vs older children, some more mature than others, different emotional dependency and trust gain difficulty

 

-hide and seek can sometimes resolve in a quest(maybe your kid gets lost in the monster infested woods, slavers kidnap them, bandits)

 

-once, just once have your kids come save YOU, maybe your enemies have the drop on you, Dovahkiin Mommy/Daddy is drugged or poisoned, no magicka, no stamina, epic cutscene this may be the end of the Dovahkiin, when suddenly... TERROR FROM ABOVE! Your kid/s armed with their preferred weapons/epic magical outburst are like surprise attack 'keep you DIRTY mitts off my Mom/Dad!' but it's a little hopeless considering their lack of experience/strength but cue heroic second wind as Dovakiin has an opening and finishes those jerks off, and collapses, cue temporary control of the kid helping you limp to the nearest town with potions/help/a healer)

 

-maybe one small questline with controlling your kid/s coming to rescue you, nobody else was around to get threat/ransom letter, kid/s mount a rescue mission themselves, I have this image in my head of the Dovahkiin's multiple kids of varied races going through the dark, misty woods at night with a couple of lanterns and their weapons of choice that they've been practicing with, they're scared but determined to save their parent, but some of them are aware that if it came down to an all out fight they'd probably die/lose, so it could be a stealth/sabotage mission with the kids as a party, if you have Khajiit children they see in the dark, Argonian children breathe under water, useful. Kids have to pack, prepare, camp themselves, and take those things that you taught them to travel and survive on their own for a while in order to save you. Kids will bond/interact with each other, have to hash out issues with each other and come together as a team to save the one who gave them family. Your kids have to spring you from capture, or maybe they have to sneak into a guarded fortress somehow, I want the kids to face enormous odds stacked against them, but dammit you do NOT mess with their DOVAHKIIN!MOMMY/DADDY! (maybe later you have to comfort/advise some/if not all of them about their first kills)

 

-kids interact with spouse, sometimes your followers with comments, maybe Lydia dislikes them(maybe its mutual, yet another reason to get rid of Lydia), etcetera

 

-enemies send you a subtle blackmail through your kid/s without the kid/s knowing, cue quest to rain parental fury upon those stupid bastards

 

Gee something, anything to spice up the bland and horribly lackluster LACK of familial interaction of vanilla Skyrim. Ideas, suggestions? Comments? I'm no modder, but I hope that I'm not the only one who finds that lack of family interaction positively un-immersive and wants a fix for this too.

[powrightinthekisser]

Really good ideas, I decided not to get Heartfire because it isn't really worth it for what you get. But if someone made a mod like this I would definitely get it.

[Markala]

Seriously, Bethesda could not have failed more spectacularly with family interaction in Hearthfire. It's barebones at best, and a downright snorefest waste of RAM space at worst.

 

It was probably my biggest disappointment since the X-Men Destiny game from Silicon Knights(it so bad that it was recalled, the recalled copies were destroyed and Silicon Knights were sued for rights infringement of a game engine or something of that sort).

 

More kids' toys(there's this cool rockinghorse toy mod somewhere on the Nexus, why not more/different dolls for kids? Or a skipping/jump rope? Little wooden soldiers/figures or something? How about a leather ball to throw or kick around, invention of soccer or basketball anybody, more family bonding!) Or maybe ground your kids when they're being little shits, instead of random scolding...

 

Culture clash between differently raised kids? Bosmer religion eating meat only, do you make them eat veggies? High elf snobbishness? Khajiit? Orcish kids? The possibilies are endless!

 

I bought Hearthfire and got all excited because "yay! Dragonborn and a parent!" but nope, no parenting, just barebones, typical Bethesda BS...

 

I really, really, really hope someone picks up this mod idea...

[cronosnake]

To be fair, Bethesda might have thought they were taking a risk with Hearthfire in the first place. I feel like a large reaction to it was "If I wanted to run a family, I would play the Sims, not Skyrim." Hearthfire honestly doesn't add too much in terms of adventuring; just a few more player houses and a couple extra child NPC's running around some cities. I wonder if Bethesda was expecting the modding scene to make Hearthfire better. I feel as though there wasn't much effort put into it, and it was cheaper than the other two DLCs because it wasn't as ambitious and it wasn't intended to be as far-reaching.

 

I think a large issue with adding more interactions into the game is the voice acting. This proposed mod looks toward greater immersion as being a paternal/maternal figure, so the last thing you would want to do is break immersion. One thing that would do that for me is mix voice actors, unless if they sound VERY close to the original children. The easy way around this, of course, would be to have a custom child fully voiced by a community member. An ambitious modder could even attempt to revoice vanilla children to keep their place in the game and make them work perfectly in this mod as well. Then, you have to find a child voice actor...

 

Still, if such a mod were released, I'd go for it. I haven't actually really spent much time in Hearthfire yet, but this would make me look forward to it.

[Markala]

It's not too too bad, Vanilla Hearthfire was just a tad disappointing. I think it was the hype I sent myself in by thinking "oh GOD finally! A new Skyrim DLC!" in retrospect/hindsight I probably should have known better, since it was really cheap compared to other Bethesda DLC.

 

It kind of made me jealous of Fallout 3 which had like 6 DLCs vs Skyrim getting 3(Hearthfire being relatively tiny in comparison the Dawnguard and Dragonborn).

 

But everyone can look forward to the Skyrim Legendary Edition which comes out 6/4/13 so it's not too bad.

[hopeful_monster]

I like the idea and and here are a few more/ tweaks, most are simple, but some are not

• drawings - give the kids paper and charcoal and the give you notes which have picks on the (stick figures killing dragons, or location specific things like the Gildergreen or solitude windmill)
• have them attempt cooking/ alchemy producing random potions/ food item (which may poison you)
• Ledger diary- kids write a dairy which tells what they do when you aren't around (may be locked, so must be lock picked to read)
• 'I want to be like ma/ pa, can I have armour, a staff, a bow' kids want an item linked what ever skill you are strong in, wooden armour/ shields can be stolen from practice dummies.

[MerDryad]

Love this idea. Mabye the ability to have children of your own instead of just adoption? After all, My powerful Altmer and his lovely wife Taarie need to keep the bloodlines pure! None of this "Adoption" nonsense! (Btw I am a girl in case you were mislead by the male altmer thing. I play both genders.)

[JonSnoow]

Good ideas.

[TheVargr]

You could actually do a lot with the children's voices already ingame used by children before you can adopt them or their parents die and just cut and reuse that when you actually adopt them (such as Sofie saying "I'm so cold", or Braith's dialogue for wanting to fight and have her very hostile to any other children) and use them for certain locations you have them living in. Also the kids in the orphanage that you put there all only say the same thing and lose their indiviuallity. Adding some of their previous dialogue would be cool and say still have Britte chasing Sissel, but now inside the Orphanage (in mine Aeta is glitched and says she must get back to her village which I like as it her saying something different from the rest)

 

As for the orphanage when Grelod is in charge the children should do work such as brushing the floors all day, also perhaps have one kid locked in "the room" randomly with a lock on the door that only Grelod has the key for, and then maybe playing more in the garden when throughout the day when Grelod is dead and having some play with toys.

 

I would love to have actual different clothes for the children so they look different with some clothes looking very dull and raged like for the orphans, and better off kids such as Lars Battleborn wearing very fancy wealthy clothes.

 

I also hate how in the unmodded game how when your children leave the house that they do not interact with the other children at all (unless play tag), In solitude they walk to the front gates of the city walking past and completely ignoring the 3 local children. I would like for them to talk to local kids (reusing whatever dialogue is already ingame). In Whiterun my daughter always claims to get bullied by Braith or plays with Lucia yet I Never see her interact with either, and sons always claim that the Dragonreach is "so cool, but the kids there are mean". Why not have them visit it once a day and have the noble kid's say their mean dialogue towards them.

 

There is also a mod that changes the childrens looks which I have seen so add this to this mods and it would be awesome. This face-changing mod makes the children look less like identical potato heads and makes some of them the correct race such as Braith who becomes a Redguard.

 

Another idea, howabout when the children ask for money depending on how much you give them the house and their clothing changes so if you give them loads the house will be full of food and children wearing nice clothes, and if you give them little or no money the house will run low or out of food and the child will wear more ragged clothes. Also you could use Lucia's "I'm so hungry" dialogue if she never gets any money.

 

Also the children's pets could be improved such as have the child lie down and play with the pet at least rather than them always ignoring it and it simply following them and never sitting or lying down (such as when the child is in bed and the pet just stands looking at them the entire time).

 

Boys also can't be given dolls so why not make them a toy soldier or allow them to use the children's doll. Furthermore when I make the children do chores or give them a doll they always go and stand at the exact same posistions to do them, why not give them more, and add more interactions between kids such as two of them sitting or lying facing each other interacting such as playing with their dolls with each other or fighting each other with wooden swords (which you could interact and tell them to stop it). You could also give girls baskets like the one Sofie has when she is living on the streets and have them go outside and look like they are picking flowers (I think there is dialogue where girls say they will pick flowers). How about adding action where when fighting a child may swing her/his arms in a punching or pushing way.

 

I really hope someone makes some of these ideas into a mod as I'm quite surprise no one has improved kids at all yet (bar the changed heads mod). Here's a link to it http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/38712//?

 

 

Another idea Samuel states that he sneaks out of the orphanage when Grelod is working in her room so why not have this happen ingame where if you watch him he will leave the orphanage and go around Riften trying to pickpocket of the locals (then runaway if spotted and hide in an alley).

Edited August 29, 2013 by TheVargr

[KeeperOfJericho]

I'm really sad that, a year after Hearthfire's release, there hasn't been even a single mod that gives us even the smallest of the many great suggestions in this thread. The lack of immersion and interaction with NPCs, my followers, my spouse and my children is really what sucks all joy out of Skyrim for me. You can do a lot of fun quests, with a good storyline and interesting NPCs (like Serana or Aela), but once you finish the quest-line, all of that just stops. It's especially sad with the kids in this game. There's no reason at all to even adopt a kid in the first place. It gives no gameplay benefits or, lacking those, fun with immersive scenarios. I'd love to see a lot of these ideas implemented. Taking your kids with you on your adventures, teaching them the trade, truning them into a werewolf, having my children rescue me... All of them would make having kids so much more fun and rewarding.

 

I managed to turn Lucia into a follower after messing a bit with the CK, but it really adds nothing to the game or makes it any more fun. Lacking any other mods that work on implementing these ideas, I wish I had the skills to do it myself, but I really don't have the talent (or patience) to deal with the CK.

 

Does anyone know if there's anyone out there working on any mod based on some of these ideas?