Ossuarium Overhaul Mod Outline - WIP

[Ossuarium]

I'm a noob at this. If you would like to lend a hand, PM me.

 

OVERVIEW

 

To provide a new Skyrim experience, tailored to create a smooth cohesion of certain mods. Emphasis on strong balanced gameplay (combat, magic, economy), followed by strong gameplay (immersion), followed by lore friendliness, and lastly realism. The purpose is to allow gameplay mechanics to follow lore-friendly semi-realistic environment, where the environment supports the gameplay rather than hinders it. This is to modernize Skyrim as much as possible, giving the player as much freedom and world impact as supportable via the game engine.

 

The goal is to take a bunch of mods and combine them to work well with eachother.

 

About Me

 

New to creation kit. Not an RPG fan. Hater of JRPGs. Extreme hater of MMORPGs. Favorite RPG's in order: Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Mass Effect 1, Valkyria Chronicles, YS series, Fable, Guild Wars 2, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Jeanne d'Arc, Final Fantasy VIII. I thought Morrowind's quest system was awesome, dialogue system tedious, and gameplay atrocious. Movement was horrifically slow, combat was both tedious and difficult. I thought Oblivion was both boring AND tedious.

 

 

Major Skyrim Gripes: Respawning, no consquences for crimes, terribad economy, tedious combat, unbalanced combat, low depth combat, bad magic, bad dialogue, bad questlines, few choices, terrible loot, awkward leveled enemies, slow movement, weak random encounters, bland followers.

 

I believe all of these can be fixed by mods except for the bad dialogue, bad questlines, bland followers, and few choices.

 

INSPIRATION

 

 

Project Frostfall, Realistic Needs and Diseases, Requiem, SkyRE, ASIS, Locational Damage, Convenient Horses, UFO. Requiem is the primary inspiration, although I have my differences with the mod. I believe that Requiem scaled badly, with certain areas becoming ridiculously hard and in turn becoming more frustrating than fun. The enemies could do things you could not, such as dodging, moving faster, and took much less damage than you did. It was unbalanced. While Requiem attempts to bring back Skyrim more like "old school RPG's", I myself am not an RPG fan with old school RPG's being my least favorite. What I really dislike the most are old DnD mechanics such as dice roll mechanics and pigeonholed class systems.

 

 

COMBAT

 

More intense, balanced melee combat. Do more damage, take more damage. Actual variation between weapons. Changed perks. Better AI.

 

Dragons souls to perks. Faster movement. Slower sneaking. Faster horses. Cavalry bonus?

 

See: Locational Damage, SkyRE perks, DUEL, TK Dodge, TK Hitstop, Enhanced Blood Textures, Dance of Death, Deadly Dragons

 

Enemy Changes

 

Near complete removal of variation leveled enemies. Bandits have much worse gear. Falmer are much better at detecting sneaking characters. Falmer are tripled in numbers. Guards are much weaker. Soldiers are much stronger. More animals. Giants and mammoths are stronger. Dragons will stay on leveled list. Changed loot.

 

 

Bandits

 

In medieval times, bandits were different from highwaymen. Highwaymen were robbers, who would make money via kidnaps and robbing caravans or travelers at knife point. Highwaymen are not tough men, just tough looking men. They were decent hunters, but managed to rob people based on their sheer numbers. Bandits, for the most part, were not robbers. Bandits (also known as outlaws) were people who lived outside of the law. Outlaws were the majority of the population for a very long time. They lived outside of the influence of barons, thanes, kings, etc. much like the ingame Orc Strongholds. They were essentially villages that lived outside of castles, followered their own law, were not protected by any armies and did not pay any taxes. The infamous William Wallace and his followers were considered bandits, for example. Barons would actually hire mercenaries to go out and massacre bandits, be they men, women or children.

 

Changes Highwaymen: Certain locations, such as Valheim Towers, will be manned by highwaymen. The road will be blocked by blockades. A highwayman pretender wearing guard armor stops the player and asks to pay a fee. If the player pays the fee, they can pass and will not be attacked. If they do not, either saying no or cancelling out of the dialogue, highwaymen will pour outside of the tower and attack the player. They will be equipt with poor iron quality weapons, clothes, and simple hide armor.

 

Highwaymen added to random encounters. 10+ highwaymen will run up to the player (much like the thief encounter) and demand all the player's septims.

 

THE WOLF QUEENS

Vampire necromancers around Solitude. Fort Hraggstaad, Northwatch Keep, Pinefrost Tower, Pinemoon Cave, Ravenscar Hollow, Shadowgreen Cavern, Wolfskull Cave.

 

THE GRAY FOXES

Highwaymen in Falkreath. Fort Neugrad, Haemar's Shame, Shriekwind Bastion, Skybound Watch. Attack caravans heading towards Cyrodiil, and thus are equipt with imperial weapons and armor.

 

BLACK BLOOD PIRATES

At all shipwreck and broken oar grotto. Steel Warband gear, and scimitars.

 

Changes Bandits: Create bandit gangs. Bandits have chiefs, with either unique armor or mid-level armor. Bandits are neutral to the player, although attacking them will cause all of them to become permanently hostile.

 

SKULLDIGGER CLAN

In Whiterun, fort greymoor, redoran's retreat, halted stream camp, silent moon camp, swindler's den occupied by the Skulldigger Bandits. Blockades added around silent moon camp. Silent Moon Camp adds a small village, with a handful of armed bandits, women, children, a merchant. The merchant will sell lunar iron and steel weapons and buy meat and animal skins. Dialogue option to sell wood at a higher price 10g compared to 5g at towns. Fort Greymoor will not allow the player to enter, but will have a merchant outside willing to buy wood and food, and will sell food and weapons. Swindler's Den will be guarded, and the player may not enter. Used for alik'r quest. Redoran's Retreat will be guarded, and the player may not enter. It will house the Skulldigger Chieftain, Redoran Skull-breaker. The warriors will wear the skull-shaped facepaint.

 

COALITION OF THE CHILLING

In all tombs, barring Bleak Falls Barrow and Alftand, the bandits will be neutral with the player. A scholar will be outside of the tombs, with a sizable amount of gold and will buy all ancient nord, falmer, and dwemer artifacts.

 

ORC OUTCASTS

Found in Knifepoint Ridge, Cracked Tusk Keep, Embershard Mine. Will attack non-orc players. Will allow orc players to enter and to trade orc armor, weapons, and buy all ores, meats, pelts.

 

SILVER HAND WARBAND

Gallows Rock, Lost Knife Hideout, Fort Fellhammer, Snowpoint Beacon, Driftshade Refuge. Hostile at all location but Fort Fellhammer. At Fort Fellhammer, will buy all weapons and armor, pelts, food, and will offer cheap weak mercenaries. Will become hostile during a certain questline.

 

 

 

Falmer

 

3x as many Falmer. Falmer caves will be realistically dark. Individually weak, they win fights by massively swarming and dropping when unexpected. Will be better at detecting sneaking characters. Going alone into a falmer cave should be a terrible terrible idea. Resistant to frost.

 

I feel as the falmer were intended to be this spooky creepy encounter, but how its played out in game, they are weak and you have the advantage over them rather than vice versa. The caves are always oddly lit up giving you a massive advantage. Falmer caves should be hard to see, giving a massive dreadful environment. Extremely low vision, weird mindnumbing ambient noise, incredibly dangerous environment, swarms of enemies. This mod aims to make falmer caves become the claustrophobic nightmare as intended.

 

 

Dwarven Automotons

 

High defense, medium hp. Immune to frost. Resistant to fire. Weak to shock. Easy to sneak past.

 

 

Undead

 

2x as many. All draugr crypts will have a dragon priest. Much much slower. High rate of enchanted weapons and armor. Medium attack, low defense. They should swarm. Immune to lightning, resistant to shock, weak to fire.

 

 

Bugs

 

Low defense, 3x as fast. Low health. Poison poison poison. Weak to all elements. 10x as many SWARM!!!!

 

 

Melee

 

 

Locational Damage: Attacking neck always deals criticals. Attacking head deals criticals depending on the weapon. Attacking legs causes slow. Attacking arms causes dropping gear.

 

Bleeding: Causes a visual bleeding effect. Lasts for 10s. Stacks.

 

Unarmed attacks disarms enemies.

 

Light Weapons:

 

Daggers: very low weight, low damage, very low damage to armor, medium bleeding damage

Swords: low weight, medium damage, low damage to armor, high bleeding damage

Axes: low weight, medium damage, medium damage to armor, medium bleeding damage

Maces: high weight, high damage, high damage to armor, low bleeding damage

 

Heavy Weapons:

 

Greatswords: medium weight, high damage, medium damage to armor, very high bleeding damage

Battle Axes: high weight, high damage, high damage to armor, high bleeding damage

Hammers: very high weight, very high damage, very high damage to armor, medium bleeding damage

 

Revamped attack distances. Hitstop effect. Dodge. Timed Attacks. Stamina drain per hit, block, hit taken. More aggressive enemy AI. Enemy AI heavy armor will taunt often.

 

Light armor lowers bleed damage and has low damage resist. Heavy armor slows down character, negates most bleeding damage, negates most arrow damage. Low weight heavy armor slow down characters, negates most bleeding damage, negates most arrow damage, but offer much less damage resistance.

 

 

Magic

pending... I don't know how to balance this myself, so best take pieces of the best magic mods available.

 

GAMEPLAY IMMERSION

 

Dungeon loot will actually be valuable. Bandits, merchants, and highwaymen will no longer have enchanted stuff. Only witches, mages, and draugr will.

Humans drop a heart and flesh.

Falmer drop 2 ears.

Hunting drops more pelts and meat. Hunting should be a viable source of money.

Revamped hunting. Massive explosion of elk, deer, rabbits. Elk cry more. Wolves are endangered, run away from combat. Cave Bears only in caves. Regular bears no longer near roads. Sabre Cats always near roads in mountains. Sabre Cats aggressive. Trolls have much more regen. More trolls. More horkers. Boss monsters.

Massive hordes of slaughterfish.

Warzones styled NPC battles, with much less NPC's to scale down the lag.

New spawnpoints for NPC battles and animals must avoid Hearthfire homes.

Made to integrate Frostfall and Needs and Diseases as much as possible.

Towns taken during civil war will get a garrison of winner troops.

Guards no longer respawn.

Keep guards are better armed.

New Vegas Casino style weapon confiscation before entering keep.

Carry Weight Revamp. Add a need for backpacks, bandoliers, and enchanted carry weight gear for loot whores.

Killable and pickpocketable children.

Higher crime charges, including longer sentences if you sleep it out.

Murder is no longer a forgiveable crime. Murder someone, and you can't ever walk into town for a month.

More marriage candidates.

The dead no longer keep ownership of items.

 

NEW GEAR

Immersive Armors (choice selection)

Call of the North (choice selection)

Cloaks of Skyrim (choice selection)

Backpacks and Bandoliers (choice selection)

 

all must be compatible with all races, both genders, Frostfall's W.E.A.R.

Remove all camping gear, but Frostfalls.

Remove all Follower Overhaul horse related stuff.

All UNIQUES WILL LOOK UNIQUE

 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMMERSION

 

All torches replaced with actual torch sconches.

NPC loot made realistic.

Less armed civilians.

No more respawning besides dragons, if the Dragonborn wishes to murder the world, then he gets an empty one. Simple as that.

A lot of beggars outside of city walls.

Towns cleaned up after civil war.

Remove Draugr where they don't belong.

Red Eagle is no longer a draugr, but an imprisoned Briarheart Vampire, has Briarheart Geis, custom armor.

All unique weapons and armor will be boosted to actually be worth calling legendary. If you could enchant something better at level 35 enchant, uniques are pointless.

 

ECONOMY

 

Horkers drop fat used for lantern oil. Horker meat staple of all of northern Skyrim. Venison staple of all lower skyrim.

More expensive horses and houses (property).

No more radiant quests.

Actual bounty systems (bandits, giants, dragons will drop a proof of kill that can be traded to the jarl for money).

 

Bounty Quests should present a moral dilemma. Support the jarl and murder for money? Or keep the bandits around for more merchants?

 

Small crappy quests give actually good rewards (non-monetary).

Region-bound economies based on wildlife and live mines.

No more weird random loot in houses. Each house will have a chest containing all the family gold and expensive stuff (depends on the wealth of the family).

Jarls will have chests of gold in their halls, guarded of course.

Daedric armor super rare.

Dragon armor only craftable by player.

Glass and Orcish armor are uncommon and expensive.

Steel Plate and Elven armor are expensive. Elven armor is uncommon, should only be via travelling caravans and thalmor kills.

Uniques are worth money.

Merchants will have more or less gold. Jarl court mages will be carrying serious cash and will buy up magical artifacts. The only people who are rich enough to buy your ultra-rare magical artifacts are now certain jarls.

 

WORLD

 

 

 

QUEST IMMERSION

 

More thieves in the thieves pub on completion of thieves guild quests.

After Whiterun Arwen's Sword quest, he equips sword.

Cursed Tribe giant drops Shagrol's Hammer, change to giant's club. When placed on altar, Giant's Club model.

After Jagged Crown Quest, Ulfric/Elisif wears the crown.

After Windhelm Blacksmith Sword quest, Ulfric equips a nord hero sword.

Balgruuf's kids get sent to Solitude.

If siding with the forsworn, be friendly with all forsworn factions.

Stormcloaks will wear Wolf Skin headgear, better armor.

Imperials will wear heavy armor. Imperial archers will no longer wear helmets.

Quest related retrieve this armor / weapon changed to fit the quest better.

 

BETTER GUILDS

 

Low cost training.

Better radiant quest rewards.

Dark Brotherhood assassination quests to actual NPC's instead of new ones.

Mages guild needs a total revamp.

 

Possible forsworn faction?

Possible Potema faction?

Edited June 20, 2013 by Ossuarium