LE Sacrificial Magicks - A longwinded request by some loser

[KochDerDamonen]

So I've been going back into the lands of Skyrim, trying to play mage type characters as it's not something I'm used to. There's all sorts of mods out there to enhance this experience. Whether you want a variety of spells, a new way to use your spells or even just a rebalance of the vanilla magick. However I have noticed something missing from both the vanilla game and any mods I've come across: the idea of making a sacrifice to gain power. Think about it, you side with a daedric prince or take up a bit of necromancy and... oh wait, there is no "and". The closest I can think of is the method of levelling the Ebony Blade, pretty sinister but it's all there is.

 

So my idea for a mod, or mods more likely, is to do something about this.

 

FIrstly, working off of what's in skyrim itself, I'd like to see some reactions from the NPCs related to your bad life decisions. Freaking out at your animated skeleton, assaulting you for representing your daedric pride and the like. You already get punished if you get caught practicing cannibalism or drinking someone's blood, so why not for wielding the mace of the Daedra that created vampires? Besides the NPCs, it would be nice to see the Aedra and Daedra react to your choices of worship. If you were the champion of the encourager of lie and deceit, do you think the perpetuator of love and compassion would like you very much? Perhaps recieving debuffs by praying at a shrine of a god opposed to your choices, or being attacked by their followers. Another thought along these lines I had was limiting the recharging of daedric artifacts to black soul gems.

 

I know of the mod "Corpse Preparation - True Necromancy" which looks great and I'm excited to try out, as far as this first request goes.

 

Then, I have a more original-content centric idea. New spells and enchanted artifacts that require a sacrifice of sorts to acquire: whether it's a loss of stats, unique debuff or simply being hated by those around you. I really like the creativity I see around the Nexus, so I'll leave the specifics of my idea on this part in the spoiler below if you've already heard enough.

 

The basis of the magicks I've thought up are four areas from which sacrifices will be taken.

Mind - Loss of Magicka, magickal skills or other unique debuffs to gain special and powerful active abilites.

Heart - Loss of Health, defensive skills or other unique debuffs to gain special defensive passive and active healing abilities.

Will - Loss of Stamina, offensive skills or other unique debuffs to gain special offensive and utility type abilities.

Body - Loss of equipment slots or other unique debuffs to acquire special bound equipment.

 

The Mind Magicks are the result of channeling the spirits of ancient mages to accrue powerful spells. Perhaps this sorcerer was known for being swift at casting, particularly capable with fire magicks or eerily obsessed with conjuration. Whatever it was, it certainly show in these spells. However, merely obtaining knowledge of these spells requires great focus on the part of yourself. You must sacrifice part of your mana pool, to keep a grasp on the spirit of the ancient mage whom imbued you with it, or perhaps they will even drain some of your skill in a magickal specialization. For the aspiring mage, willing to perform the ritual and take on the burden of a spirit, there is powerful magicks to be had!

 

The Heart Magicks are a mutation of the powers that brough vampires into being. These powerful spells and enchantments tug at your very lifeforce, and grant you new ways to sustain it. Whether a powerful flesh spell that drains the health of your attackers or a simple passive buff to your regeneration, the powers that be will gladly tear away some of your health in exchange for these magicks. For the berserker, unafraid of a little danger, these spells will terrify your foes as your body reconstructs itself before their very eyes!

 

The Will Magicks are actually living organisms that seek a host, also known as a parasite, that will drain away at your physical energy. However, if you seek their powerful physical magicks then you may think of them as symbiotes. Acquire specialized physical and poison damage spells and passive abilities that enhance your hand to hand and blade to blade combat prowess by letting these critters dig into your flesh. For the druid, seeking to become more in tune with nature, these magickal affects will grant you the strongest defense: a good offense!

 

The Body Magicks do not generally make you weaker, they instead use you to manifest themselves. Powerful equipment and unique enchantments await you, assuming you are okay with being as bound to them as they are to you. However, keep in mind that these magicks generally leave the user in a disfigured and terrifying state. While this is great for stunning your foes, it may not be in your best interest to leave the vendors cowering behind their counters. For the artificier, seeking the most powerful gear at any price, these magickal artifacts will surely stick to you like glue!

 

Edited January 27, 2014 by KochDerDamonen

[Adecurus]

Sounds like you've got some pretty sweet ideas. I know that SkyRe and Requiem have some Divine/prayer system similar to yours, where your ability to receive buffs from the gods depends on your actions. Your spoiler'd ideas seem like a magic overhaul. I'd say that it's better to have the Cons and Pros of each sphere of magic being opposites, otherwise they kinda cancel eachother out. For example, a mind spell which damages your magica but at the same time makes spells cost less magica to cast either negates the negative entirely, or the negative negates the positive so that there is no benefit at all.

 

I would think that it would be better the have something like:

 

-Mind: Channelling the spirit of ancient mages puts great strain on your body, reducing stamina and health regen or even negating it entirely.

-Heart: The turmoil that your physical body goes through in these changes causes you to lose the ability to cast spells at all (?) or lose your racial bonuses

-Will: The will parasites feed off of your lifeforce, reducing health and magica regen or even negating it entirely. Makes you enraged in combat, halving your armour rating and making you 50% more susceptible to elemental damage but doubling the damage dealt.

-Body: Your idea sound interesting, not sure if it's possible though.

 

Hope I helped. You have some good ideas.