Are Followers a big part of your Skyrim experience?

[pgir001]

For me, I wish the answer was straightforward. 1st, I'd like to say, they are my favorite mods. I love followers and almost never travel without them However there are some inherent shortcomings with the system and I'm curious to see what others think or how they deal. Most followers just come up short or don't match up with what I am looking for. The Vanilla follower system is incredibly lacking and far too shallow. The repealed dialog over and over with no root in what's actually happening in the game makes them obviously fake after a very short period. There are mods like FCO which attempt to expand the vanilla system, but unfortunately, it too is limited by the shallow framework so it ends up being the same only more of it. The most obvious aspect lacking from the Vanilla system is the lack of any kind of interaction with the follower based on what's happening in the game. They can't keep up. Some of the custom mods do and this is an absolutely wonderful addition to the game. But these aren't without issues either.

 

As I said, some of my favorite mods are the voiced mods. If nothing else, they ad a fresh new sound to the game. I can make a follower in CK and set it up to do whatever I want, but If I have to assign it the Female Even Toned Voice, I will never be able to use that mod without thinking "Lydia" every time it speaks. Even with the most rudimentary custom voiced follower, this breaks that voice association issue. At least for me.

 

Then we have the big hitters. Vilja, Hoth, Inigo, Sophia, Arissa and Anduniel. The effort, dedication and hard work that went into these is simply amazing. Unfortunatly, while these mods are amazing for what they are, they don't deliver what I am looking for. I was also surprised to discover how important these follower's inherent personalities are to m and how they come across. Vilja's voice acting is fine, others have said it sound's amateurish. I didn't think it was bad at all, but the character that is Vilja......if I'm not looking at her when she speaks, her demeanor comes across like she's some old woman trying too hard to act like a "badass" in front of her grandchildren while at the same time, carefully choosing her words so as not to be offensive in front of them. I've tried Inigo, but, I just don't like the invented backstory. Hoth, I've never tried, but the description doesn't look enough like he'd mesh with my play-style. I play stealth, so I generally don't roll with "heavies". Then there is Sophia. While she has what is in my opinion, the best dialog system out there. Albeit limited, I absolutely love how she stays "plugged into" the main quest ark. It's like she's there and really a part of what you are doing. There are others, who have similar dialog as well, but the way Sophia handles it is very well done. Unfortunately, I can't stand her personality. I don't need a follower acting like a child half her age who recently discovered it's funny to talk dirty to little boys, intentionally trying to create sexual tension at the middle school level. I've used and greatly enjoyed Arissa, but this "no killing" rule is a bit of a deal breaker. I'm not usually looking to play an evil character, but the mod tends to run in conflict with the DB ark. Well, that's not what I need in my followers. They need to enhance what I am doing, not restrict it. Of all the custom voiced followers, I would use Anduniel the most. Her quests are good, The voice acting is decent. She has an extensive dialog. Her commentary does keep up with the story to some degree. But again, The character tends to act a little too light hearted for what I am looking for in Skyrim. Then there is this new one, The Recorder. Great job, well done, pretty, good VA, but, her overall theme..... while I am no lore monger, that breaks the lore far beyond what I want. Her reference to Chocobos was enough for me. I thought I had found a good follower in Aurlyn, but she's a little to be too powerful, and ultimately the personality isn't a good fit. I had created a Saadia replacer and based her on Cicero's combat style. If I use a vanilla voiced follower other than Serana, it's probably this one. But ultimately the limitations of the Vanilla "sultry" voice (or should I say, voices) won't cut it for long. Then there are the followers who are geared for their own quests. Like Mirai and Rigmor. I've enjoyed both mods greatly. And I'd say Rigmor is one of my favorite quest mods ever. Rigmor is not one of my favorite followers. Once outside their quests, they tend to suffer the same issues as vanilla. A limited and shallow dialog.

 

Ultimately, I end up falling back on Serana due to Dawnguard being my favorite ark and since she's going with me anyway, I just use her the most. She is the most comprehensive of Bethesda's followers and with the expanded dialog mod, she's a little better than "out of the box". But Serana feels all wrong. I don't think Bethesda properly developed her character at all. She should/could have been the best follower. But, there's just not enough "Vampire" in her. She's got far too much "mommy and daddy" issues and not enough Daedra issues in her life. I've always felt she should have been a much darker character. Her personal struggle should not have been "mommy and daddy abused me" but rather her struggle should have been one of not wanting to lose her self completely over to her nature being a Daughter of Cold Harbor. And her primary reason for being with the Dragonborn isn't that there is no one else to trust.....she would trust anyone regardless. But rather that the Dragonborn is the only one is Skyrim who is "Badass" enough to be of any help to her. She should act like a vampire, talk like one, feed like one. And her struggle would be to retain her identity and not be entirely consumed by her daedric side.

 

Anyway, weighing out what's there, I usually stick with Serana and the Dialog edit mod by "YeahThatGuy"

 

What follower(s) do most of you run with primarily? Do you use one? Multiples? Do you swap back and forth? If you use a particular follower or mod, what made you chose that one? What turns you off from other certain mods?

 

 

 

[Codifer]

My player character, a lady Breton Archer, usually travels with a fair sized squad. Sophia is there of course (I know that she is about half a bubble out of plumb... but so am I), Selene Kate is next because she is an excellent healer and she can dance, then comes Hikari because she is so dang cute and does mind her own business in a very quiet way and she has a crossbow (I threw away her gigantic two handed axe) and Arissa because she is also quiet and is efficient... plus she reminds me, in her looks, manner and comportment of someone I knew fifty years ago. Vilja often comes with and I am at the point where I do not mind her chatter (well.... since I finally got her damned flute from the Kadjit in Riften so she would stop nagging me about it). I have as yet not explored all of Vilja's potential but I will get around to it. She normally stays at Proudspire and keeps company with Ben Doon.

 

Two other two handed warriors, Vera and Eleanore, stay at Breezehome and keep Lydia from doing anything stupid.

 

Only drawback to such a large party comes when I target a baddie in meelee only to loose an arrow past Sophia's ear (or Vilja's or Selene Kate's) because they are so eager to fight.

 

There was a time, with other PCs, that I did travel with Ceridwen. She was pleasant if a bit enigmatic. She declines to follow my current PC, perhaps I will reinstall her.

 

 

I try to keep combat to a blades and bolts only but Sophie (of course) and Selene will use some noisy magic blast at times despite my MCM instructions to the contrary.

 

Interesting topic, Thank You.

 

Cheers

[pgir001]

Maybe that's my problem...I'm looking for that one follower to be everything I want. Funny thing is that people don't exist like this and I have to accommodate them in my life. Why am I expecting differently here?

[jones177]

I feel just the opposite. I find the big hitters boring & they brake easily.

 

There are 2 levels of moding. The first is to add content. The second is to add strangeness & the vanilla followers react to that strangeness.

 

I will give you a few examples.

 

My Skyrim is silly hard. Without a mage, tank, rouge & healer I can't even walk down a road. Some battles are so long & intense the ai of the followers go a bit nutty. Some walk away, some stay back & cringe with fear, some are just fine & a few are ruined for the rest of the save. They all need rest or they become useless.

 

When they fall in battle they either go into bleed out (Death Alternative) or become unconscious. If they become unconscious & I don't find them & heal them they could be ruined for the rest of the save. I don't have a mod that dose this. It is basically when scripts collide.

 

With UFO & Death Alternative conflicting, followers can walk away or become hostile. It depends on their personality. I know they should not have personalities. That is the strangeness. Some are strong & brave others are weak & cowardly. Some are loyal others are not. The only way to find out is to go into battle with them. I am sure the authors did not intend for these negative traits.

 

The mod AI Overhaul is adding more to the strangeness. I have a follower I forgot about for years. One of the Woman of Middle Earth, Ewoyn. The mod author put her on the Dragonreach porch. After installing AI Overhaul, every time it rains she now goes to the Bannered mare. Strange.

 

FCO is a wonder. I have it set at 10% & I am still hearing new dialog. It has been in my load list since it came out.

 

I have well over a 100 followers in my game. By the time I finish a save there are usually about 60 using MHIYH. It gives me a reason to buy & build homes. The ones I use the most are: SR Elf Followers, Ashara Erin and Sienna Followers, PixeledVixens Ningheim Followers, rk Followers & Zt Followers.

 

I also use a mod called Follower goes on Trip http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/52235/? to assign 24 of them to the road. This allows for chance meetings.

 

 

Another good thing about these types of followers is that removing them will not mess up your save.

 

 

 

Later

[Moksha8088]

I think follower and quest mods are what makes Skyrim great. However, when you see many posters list of mods, it seems they mostly go in for graphics and other effects.

 

Followers: My favorites are Vilja, Inigo, and the Interesting NPCs. Anduniel which as been mentioned has a great voice actor. Vanilla characters seem boring after using these mods. Take them on quests from Falskaar to Death Mountain. Inigo and Vilja always liven the place up, especially when used together. Interesting NPCs not only brings fun characters, but it is also the premier quest mod for Skyrim. Vilja has over 9000 lines of dialogue (probably more than the entire city of Whiterun). Inigo also has a lot to say and it is hilarious. The author Smartbluecat is one clever feline.

 

Ceriwiden has some fun quests and Sophia should be a staple for young male players.

[Tony the Wookie]

I'm not quite sure what point you are trying to make other than how good you are at nitpicking and complaining about everything?

 

What are you actually looking for that you are not getting from all these mods? What is your suggestion on fixing it and moving forward to creating better mods in the future?

 

 

 

 

I'm a Fallout modder, not a TOS modder, but I am always interested in brainstorming and ideas on how to progress storytelling in games into something better.

 

 

 

 

I like what Jones said about the gameplay mechanic creating personality and story in these characters rather than just the script and voice acting. I think that is a huge point that can't be ignored, the importance of letting things play out and not micromanaging interactions. I love it when story forms organically through the way you play.

 

I wouldn't touch your Skyrim with a 20 foot pole, it sounds like you have made a gaming nightmare designed to take everything that is fun about videogames and throw it out the window in favor of frustration... But you did make a good point.

 

 

 

 

And in response to Codi, I have actually been playing around with the idea of creating a party of followers that are specifically designed to work together. Each one has unique skills and disadvantages that play off each other. Then have them interact with each other and have them grow as characters through how you interact with different members of the group and how they interact with each other.

 

I have conversations where you talk to npc A about npc B, which opens up a conversation with npc B about something. Then later on you overhear npc A and B talking to each other about it. I have come up with much more complex ways to use that simple mechanic.

[Kriiks]

My only 100% permanent follower is Inigo and he is definitely big part of my Skyrim experience and feels mostly as a actual person and not "just one more npc". Usually I have Vilja (custom dialogues with Inigo) and Arissa installed too and they take turns as my second follower. Arissa and Inigo are good companions for some less "moral" quests and Thief's Guild storyline. Never done Dark Brotherhood tho ... I hate them with passion since Morrowind, where they attacked and killed me countless times on my first playtrough (had expansions installed) and I always enjoy destroying them... sick bastards.

 

Interesting NPC's mod can offer some very food followers, but of course none of them doesn't have depth of my first three favours. I do not use random "eyecandy" followers.

Complete solo Skyrim can feel a bit lonely :smile:

 

And for OP - Inigos own backstory doesn't change of course, but do you want to be part of his backstory or not is up to you. You can always tell him that you're not the right person.

[SMB92]

I find i make em wait outside dungeons all the time and use them for loot mules. In the end i always have Erandur and Vorstag for some reason, i play as a female NPC (Albeit decently dressed ;) and i tend to have em engage at a range and then run in with one or 2 hand swords, mainly one with shield. Then i make them wait. I did about 30 hours with 2 battlemages, Lydia and that other dark elf whos name escapes me, but i dropped them after one massive bandit fight.

 

I am a sucker for having them tag along with me, but then the majority just become ornaments in my homes. So they all get turned into housecarls, except Erandur and Vorstag which i have taken a liking to even though if you asked me this question in general, i dont like to have followers. Which makes about as much sense as a one cent coin.

[pgir001]

I think one of my biggest frustrations probably isn't so much the followers, but rather their framework. I prefer stealthy characters.

 

I'm going to dump my present game and try starting over as a warriror and see if it makes a difference.

[SMB92]

I prefer the ranger/stealth approach, having followers forces me into straight forward hack n slash more than i want it to. In saying that i dont mind sometimes, but its at the best of times they stuff me over.