LE Vampires. 'nuff said?

[sylenthyll]

So, probably been on here before but I'm old and forget stuff.

 

I enjoy vampires from time to time but like other PS4 users, I find myself using up to three or four mods sometimes just to play out a single idea or archetype or general character design. The best mods I've found for vampires thus far on PS4 are "Vampires & Magic" and "Vampiric Eyes + Overhaul Survival Edition" by Worlds and Blair_Ipswich, respectively. Here's my problem with vamps, though...

 

First, it's important to note that vamps in Skyrim are considered undead; for that matter, so are werewolves (which is odd to me, but this post isn't about them). The reason this is important is for one very important feature: water-breathing. Why, exactly, do vampires need to breathe beyond for the purpose of speaking? Even magic is done mostly by focusing or channeling, both mechanically and by lore. Yes, there are incantations in lore, but the mechanics of Skyrim's magic really don't go too deep into that. So it makes sense that vampires wouldn't need to breathe, and yet...they...do?

 

Second, even fledgling vampires are traditionally more physically and supernaturally powerful than mortals. To me, one of the most significant advantages would be a lack of (or greatly reduced) falling damage. Yet none of the few vampire mods I've found address this. I actually have a ring from another mod (that, interestingly, is mostly focused on letting you cast a spell to choose which size fits for your character - sometimes to hilarious effect, but I mostly just adjust rather than drastically alter my character's size...but I digress) that prevents falling damage; sadly, it can be disenchanted, which means that I've done so accidentally a few times. I think greatly reducing falling damage would be important for a vampire mod, if not eliminating it altogether.

 

Sun damage and reversed stages - stronger when fed, weaker when starving - and the ability to protect yourself at least to some extent from sun damage are also important features of the vampire mods that I've found. As far as I can tell, the only detriment from sun damage is that you don't regen anything. The mods I've found at least cover this nicely, providing a more traditional mechanic in actual DOT to your health; and since Serana can protect herself from direct sunlight with a hood, we should be able to do the same. On top of this, it never made sense to me that your most dangerous and powerful abilities are at their peak when you're barely able to function due to being starved to the point that you're almost bestial in your obsession with blood. So reversed stages are essential.

 

Beyond this, I do like the strong resistance to cold and the idea that Namira's Ring slakes your thirst when you feed on a corpse. This, combined with reversed stages and sun damage, being able to protect yourself from the sun with a hood (and possibly gloves?), and water-breathing and a lack of or significant decrease in fall damage make for the perfect set of latent vampiric traits. It's difficult to find really good vampire mods for SSE on PS4, and the best qualities seem to exist only in conflicting mods. It seems to me that combining these things without directly touching on magic or drastically altering a given race would be ideal.

 

Oh, one more thing. I love the idea of not having a vampire's eyes look like someone stuck Halloween light bulbs in them. One of the mods I mentioned above accomplishes this by reverting them to pre-Dawnguard form. The idea of having smooth features is also good, something that's been done with a couple of different races but falls apart the moment you become a vampire. Why exactly do all vampires have to look like walking corpses? Paler, sure, but are the freshly turned really going to look like they've been decaying for a century or be twisted into something overtly monstrous? Doesn't that negate one of the biggest advantages in hunting?

 

So TLDR, the last three paragraphs there really summarize what I'm looking for in a basic vampire mod. If someone has time to throw that together, thanks; if not, I get it. The thing is, I have a lot of mods that I use, including one that rebalances magic and adds a few custom spells as well as modding a race on occasion, so vampire mods that cover a broad spectrum don't interest me as much as ones that are self-contained and focus more on traits and advantages/disadvantages than on abilities and powers. Sure, expand the Vampire Lord perks and make Vampiric Drain deadly (as opposed to useless, which it basically is), but the above is what I really see as essential for vamps.

 

To make things even easier, for those of you who like lists (I can definitely empathize):

---Waterbreathing

---No fall damage or significant reduction in fall damage.

---Reversed stages (stronger when fed, weaker when starving).

---Direct sunlight damages your health over time.

---You can protect yourself from the sun by wearing a hood and possibly covering yourself in other ways.

---Strong resistance to cold (for survival mode).

---Namira's Ring slakes your thirst when you feed on a corpse.

---Fix the eyes! Make them look...not like a glowing hot mess.

---Smooth out the features so they aren't overtly monstrous and hideous.

---Make Vampiric Drain powerful and useful instead of weak and useless.

---Expanded/improved perks for Vampire Lord (optional).

---Please don't focus on things that don't directly affect vampires, lest they conflict with other mods.

---Oh...and is it possible to put a potion in Helgen Keep that turns you into a vampire? Maybe in that empty chest on Hadvar's side.

 

Thanks for reading this; thanks to anyone who throws this together (assuming that ever happens); and most of all, thanks to all the modders who give us their time and brilliance.

Edited January 15, 2022 by sylenthyll