Dragons Keep

[ToppDog]

Dragons Keep

 

The file can be found here. It won't let me post photos here, & I can't post the description as formatted over there, so I'm posting the info in the forums & in the download section. Enjoy :smile:

 

Beta Release Notes

 

I am releasing this bare bones version for those that want to explore the mod & offer feedback. Structurally, all the architecture is in place & looks pretty good. The main themes of many rooms can be observed, but there are still some rooms that have not been decided on, & there is still clutter that needs to be added to everything. Basically, you can walk around, but there is much more that needs to be done to make it fully interactive.

 

Before the next release I plan on working on finishing up the decorating (possibly with different options selected with activators) based on player feedback. I will also be working on the functionality of things such as navmesh, triggers, activators, markers, etc. to make the mod work with NPC's, Hearthfire, & the Hearthfire multiple adoptions mod, etc.

 

Known Issues:

 

• Interiors not navmeshed beyond the basics yet, & followers will not come inside
• Exterior needs more navmeshing to make it work properly. Followers will not cross borders of some exterior cells
• The horses placed in the stable area do not stay put, & either fall through the floor to the ground below, or move to the inside of the house exterior model
• If the landscape seems out of whack, place this mod below any other house mods in your load order (noticed this with a house mod near Whiterun)

Once these things have been worked out, I will release the initial working version & remove this section from the description page. Let me know what you think :smile:

 

Thanks,

 

ToppDog

 

 

Dragons Keep

 

This is my first Skyrim mod. It is a house mod that includes a Dragonsreach style castle/home that has a modified interior that better matches the exterior, an additional Whiterun style house with all crafting facilities/items (which will be compatible with Hearthfire & the Hearthfire multiple adoptions mod), a hidden cave that is kid friendly, & a stable area for six horses.

 

My inspiration for this mod came from the Dragonsmount mod by maxrsp. And, if you're looking for a more cozy Dragonsreach style home, then I highly recommend it. I liked the location & exterior touches, but still wanted to make something that would more resemble a boarding school for all those Skyrim orphans & new child characters being created by the modding community.

 

The main gripe I had with the vanilla Dragonsreach castle that Bethesda made was that the interior didn't match the exterior at all, & there was a lot of unused space. This mod (although still not exactly to scale) has interior spaces that better match the feel of the exterior, which vastly increases the amount of room available.

 

 

Mod Key Features

 

• Dragons Keep Academy – a Dragonsreach style estate that serves as a player home, as well as a boarding school for all those orphans of Skyrim
• Dragons Nest – a practical homee with all the essentials, designed to be fully compatible with Hearthfire & the Hearthfire multiple adoptions mod
• Hideout Cave – a small hidden cave that can be used as a secret hideout or camping spot

 

 

Dragons Keep

 

Exterior:

 

• Set high on a mountaintop near Swindlers Den outside of Whiterun
• Accessed by crossing a Dragon Bridge style bridge between Dragons Keep & Dragons Nest
• Panoramic views from three large patios
• Bathing Beauties style pool built into the private patio off the Master Suite

 

Main Hall:

 

• Redesigned entryway
• Dining Hall with seating for 32 dinner guests
• Lecture Room with 18 student capacity
• Library/Bookstore with 55 normal bookshelves & four encased ones for rare books (enough for 3000+ books, overall)
• Lots of room for trophies, display cases, or mannequins, etc.

 

Inner Hall (an additional wing behind the throne area):

 

• Green Room with bar behind throne area
• Cafeteria/Buffet style dining facilities for staff/schoolchildren
• Massive kitchen with dual fireplaces & large roasting pit
• Staff/servant living/sleeping quarters

 

Dormitory:

 

• Play area with functional & explorable Castle Playset
• Carpeted story telling/book reading area
• Girls Dorm that sleeps six, & has a common room with a dollhouse & action figures (even the dollhouse has a dollhouse)
• Boys Dorm that sleeps six, & has a common room with a mini castle & action figures (mini castle will eventually be a house mod)

 

Lower Hall:

 

• Chapel
• Alchemy Classrooms/Lab
• Enchanting Classrooms/Lab
• Olympic sized swimming pool with three functional diving platforms
• Combat training area with archery range, melee training area, & arena area
• Guard living/sleeping quarters
• Armory/Trophy Room
• Can easily accommodate the addition of lower levels in future updates

 

Private Quarters:

 

• Redesigned dual staircase/entryway which places the private quarters above the second level (where it should be)
• Private Dining area with seating for eight
• Three room master suite with a three person bed & dual exterior doors leading to a patio/private pool area
• Two additional bedrooms
• A Castle/Dungeon style suite (designed as living quarters for Serena)

 

 

Dragons Nest

 

Exterior:

 

• House sits atop a castle tower style platform overlooking Whiterun & the tundra wilderness, teaming with mammoths, elk, & deer
• Includes all crafting facilities & equipment (except for alchemy & enchantment crafting stations, which are located inside)
• Has stable area for six horses (in case you want to add a white horse to the five vanilla horse types, & have one of each)

 

Interior:

 

• Downstairs has a dining, living, & den area
• Upstairs has a master bedroom, & two additional adoption ready bedrooms with three beds each
• Can easily accommodate the addition of a basement in future updates

 

 

Hideout Cave

 

• Basically a simple, modified, kid friendly version of Broken Helm Hollow
• Entrance not noticeable until very near the obscured entrance (not on map, & not "discoverable")
• Camping area with campfire & a couple of bedrolls
• Booby trapped treasure chest
• Secret door leading to an additional room in the cave

 

Requirements

 

• Updated version of Skyrim
• Dawnguard DLC
• Hearthfire DLC
• Dragonborn DLC

 

 

Recommended Mods

 

This section will be further updated after additional testing is completed.

 

• Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions (if you want to adopt up to six children)
• Static Objects
• Unlimited Bookshelves
• Books Books Books
• Unread Books Glow
• More Stables

 

 

Installation

 

• Uninstall any prior versions
• Install using NMM, or manually put the .esp file into your Skyrim Data folder

 

 

Uninstillation

 

• Remove any items you want to keep
• Relocate any followers you don't want going missing
• Uninstall using NMM, or manually remove the .esp file from your Skyrim Data folder

 

 

In The Works

 

• Separate vanilla & non-vanilla decorated versions of the mod
• add voc-tech classroom style crafting & smithing areas to an additional lower level of the academy
• add a livestock & agricultural (aquaponics) area to an additional lower level of the academy
• add a basement area to Dragons Nest

 

 

Future Plans

 

• Create a quest or series of quests to be done before becoming headmaster of the school, etc.
• Activators that can change entire rooms, such as the swimming pool to a sports court, or the dining hall to a dance floor, etc.
• Create set weekly schedules for the children to travel to classrooms at designated times of day
• Have the player character or NPC read aloud actual books from Skyrim to the kids in the reading area (if possible, similar mod exists)
• Have weddings conducted in the chapel (if possible, similar mod exists)

 

 

Credits

 

• maxrsp for the Dragonsmount mod, which was the inspiration for this mod
• Tamira for whipping up a no base/no snow version of the MageStatue, lickity split like :smile:
• Bethesda for making the game
• The modding community for your ideas & inspiration
• More to come I'm sure

Edited April 27, 2014 by ToppDog

[tvilleron]

ToppDog, currently Dragons Keep is locked. I hope this is due to you preparing for an update release. I'm really looking forward to moving into Dragons Keep and I believe your mod will be the best dwelling in Skyrim.

[ToppDog]

I think I locked it by accident, so I reopened it up after someone pm'd me about that. I might release the next beta version, it's mostly cosmetic fixes & additional furniture, etc, but I did get the mannequins working.

 

Other stuff I've done won't really be noticeable, but I moved every single piece of the main hall so they would align properly to the grid, & I tried multiple ways to get all those bookshelves working. The default bookshelf settings are too bugged, so I'm going to create static bookshelves that are decorated nicely that will act as containers for player books. I've seen that done in a few house mods that look very nice, so it's the better option at this point. I will still have random bookshelves that players can activate, just not in the library were all the activators overlap or will not function properly. I also still can't keep the horses from falling through the floor, so I'll be working on that too.

[ToppDog]

Okay, this site was giving me all kinds of grief when I was trying to update to the latest version, so I ended up deleting it & putting it up as a new file. I edited the link above, so it will still point to the new file. Sorry to all those who endorsed & were tracking this mod. I'm still a newb to mods here & there is little info on how to actually update your mods, so I'm going by trial & error here (mostly error).

 

Even though this appears as the first version, it has actually been slightly updated for those of you who already downloaded it before.

[JCLangley75]

I am not getting to option to move my children to Dragon Keepm

[ToppDog]

Dragons Keep is the smaller home that is compatible with the multiple adoptions mod. Once you use the "Bless Home" spell inside that house, it will be ready for you to tell your adopted kids & spouse to move in. The idea is that the adopted kids will live in the smaller house, but will still go to the keep to play, etc. The Keep is for the kids you can't adopt because you ran out of adoption slots, & the idea there is that you can recruit them as followers & move them into the keep. There are 12 extra beds in the dorm room for this.

 

You need to have additional mods installed for any of this to work. The read me page here will explain step by step how to get things working well.