Reconfigurable bow. Pre-enchanted or no?

[stonefly]

Once the Skyrim Creation Kit is released too the public, I am planning on making a mod that adds a bow that can be reconfigured with different enchantments depending on the situation. The bow will use normal arrows as is the style Bethesda adopted for Skyrim. The one thing I am still undecided on is how exactly I am going too do each of the altered bows. Right now I am thinking of having it be a dwarven style bow. So far this is the idea I have:

 

1: Player finds a piece of the bow in an early dungeon along with a note. This will start a quest too find the other parts of the bow. Each part will either be in the same dungeon, or scattered in different ones. For now, I think, I'll have them in the same locations visited by the player during the main quest line. With all the pieces acquired, the player will be able too reforge the bow using any forge in the game. I will try too make a custom smithing pattern for the bow for the player too use too recreate it.

 

2: Along with the bow, there will be pieces of what will be called the Master Key. This item will allow the player too reconfigure the bow into one of it's other forms. This way, the one bow can have several different enchantments that can be changed out as the player sees fit, while still only having one bow in their inventory. I will try too add a smithing pattern too recreate the Master Key as well.

 

3: ???The different forms of the bow will either have an enchantment already placed on them, once the Master Key is forged. Or each form of the bow will not be enchanted, allowing the player too place any enchantments they want on each form differently. Preferences on this part? Note: I'm not sure yet if the script will even allow the bows too be enchanted by the player. In order too work, it will be calling on the unique reference ID for each form of the bow and I don't know yet if enchanting the bow changes this reference ID...

 

4: ???I might give each form of the bow the ability too summon its own arrows using the players own magicka. Though how much this would cost per arrow and whether or not I even need too do this is still in question. Any suggestions?

 

5: Initially, the bow will be fairly simple. But I plan on adding scaling too later versions of the mod so that the bow will not loose its usefulness as the player goes up in level, making it a leveled item as well.

 

This mod will be using multiple scripts too move the different forms of the bow around, summon arrows, and alter the players magicka pool in response too each summoned arrow. Everything will be tied in some way too the Master Key. The Master Key its self will be what is used too select which form of the bow is equipped and will stay in the players inventory. The scripting used will bring up a mini menu that, once the type is selected, will automatically switch too the form of the bow selected, unequip the Master Key, and equip the selected form of the bow. Hopefully I'll be able too get all the scripts working together so that it all runs unnoticed in the background, and only when the player wants it too.

 

I have already made a mod for both Morrowind and Oblivion that use a similar idea and scripting, but are far simpler in design. So hopefully I'll be able too draw on what I learned from those two and expand it into this mod.

 

Any suggestions on how you think I should tweak this idea?

 

Waiting impatiently for January and the Skyrim Creation Kit: Stonefly