Lots of Ladies (or, why are we so preoccupied with modding just a few)

[Adipose]

Sorry if this belongs in the Mod Talk section. Anyway, we seem to be seriously preocuppied with modding tweaks or replacers for a relative handful of prominent NPCs, such as Jordis or Lydia. Failing that, we seem to resort much more frequently to creating stand alone or unique mods.

 

My question is: Why? In my travels out and about the world of Skyrim, I've run across a number of ladies that are either attractive, flirtatious, or simply standouts for some other reason. Frex, Vivienne from the alchemy shop in Solitude; Greta, the sister of the npc who was executed for treason in Solitude; Thane Bryling, from the Royal Court in Solitude, etc. They're all over the place.

 

This isn't to say that some few obscure npcs haven't been modded. They have. However, it seems to me that modders(I don't have the skill)focus rather heavily on those first encountered in the vanilla game, primarily those found in Whiterun.

 

One fun mod that I'd do if I had the skill would be one in which I was able to hook up with the Thane of Riften and become her Consort. Being of seriously advanced years myself, I find the more mature ladies to be attractive. In fact I'd prefer to associate with mods of those npcs since I tend to run toons that exhibit very high mileage...gray hair, bald on top, badly scarred, eye patched(cudos to the modder to developed the eye patch), and so on. In fact, if someone would develop a hook as a hand replacer I'd probably use it. Shields could be rigged to fit the hook, or blades could be modified as prosthetics.

 

I also like the jewelry and eye patch mods because they can be enchanted, thus expanding the potency of one's gear.

[hardarg]

They have. However, it seems to me that modders(I don't have the skill)focus rather heavily on those first encountered in the vanilla game, primarily those found in Whiterun.

When I read this, this was the first thing that came to mind: First Girl Wins, :D

[gsmanners]

Anything you can imagine has already been made into a TV cliche, so I don't think that explains anything other than the literary device. The reason you see so many compelling mods for those characters is because this is a character game, and those are simply the most compelling characters for several reasons: beauty, availability, durability, etc.

[jet4571]

More of a popularity thing, someone first made a mod of one then others decided to make one themselves, kinda like how most house mods are in Riverwood or a ton of new NPC's get stuffed into The Bannered Mare. Heaven forbid an NPC starts at The Drunken Huntsman for once lol. Anyway Lydia is obvious, she is the first housecarl people get so prime target for modding.

[blitzen]

It's obvious. People will focus on the NPC's with whom the player character will interact the most, or with whom they may potentially spend the most time. This makes perfect sense. I'm not seeing any mystery here. Why put forth the effort to modify an NPC that you may only see a couple of times for short durations? And the keyword in your original post is "prominent". You essentially provided the clue to answer your own question.

[Rooker75]

More of a popularity thing, someone first made a mod of one then others decided to make one themselves, kinda like how most house mods are in Riverwood or a ton of new NPC's get stuffed into The Bannered Mare. Heaven forbid an NPC starts at The Drunken Huntsman for once lol. Anyway Lydia is obvious, she is the first housecarl people get so prime target for modding.

 

It seems like every single mod that adds spells leaves a copy of the spell tome on Farengar's desk. Should have seen the pile of books I had at one point. That's why I made sure to sticks books in out of the way places in my own mods.

[WatchMeGoing]

 

More of a popularity thing, someone first made a mod of one then others decided to make one themselves, kinda like how most house mods are in Riverwood or a ton of new NPC's get stuffed into The Bannered Mare. Heaven forbid an NPC starts at The Drunken Huntsman for once lol. Anyway Lydia is obvious, she is the first housecarl people get so prime target for modding.

 

It seems like every single mod that adds spells leaves a copy of the spell tome on Farengar's desk. Should have seen the pile of books I had at one point. That's why I made sure to sticks books in out of the way places in my own mods.

Haha I'm guilty of that... He is simply the first real mage you see when you start a game, his desk is easily accessible and in my case it also matters that he's the leading expert on dragons (besides Esbern and the Graybeards) so it just seemed like a logical place for my dragon-themed spells. I could've just as easily placed them in High Hrothgar or Esbern's hideout or even the college, but those are all far less accessible. I guess Esbern's hideout would be a good place if I ever wanted to make a balanced version of the spell, but for now it's simply an overpowered spell for the fun of it so why bother trying to find a balanced/fitting location. My guess is that most people who placed their spell tomes at Farengar's desk had similar reasoning.

[EnaiSiaion]

Because people who typically make these mods never really get past Riverwood? ;)

[rizon72]

Because people who typically make these mods never really get past Riverwood? :wink:

So true, you spend all your time making the mod you don't want to travel across Skyrim just to see if it worked.

[jet4571]

 

 

More of a popularity thing, someone first made a mod of one then others decided to make one themselves, kinda like how most house mods are in Riverwood or a ton of new NPC's get stuffed into The Bannered Mare. Heaven forbid an NPC starts at The Drunken Huntsman for once lol. Anyway Lydia is obvious, she is the first housecarl people get so prime target for modding.

 

It seems like every single mod that adds spells leaves a copy of the spell tome on Farengar's desk. Should have seen the pile of books I had at one point. That's why I made sure to sticks books in out of the way places in my own mods.

Haha I'm guilty of that... He is simply the first real mage you see when you start a game, his desk is easily accessible and in my case it also matters that he's the leading expert on dragons (besides Esbern and the Graybeards) so it just seemed like a logical place for my dragon-themed spells. I could've just as easily placed them in High Hrothgar or Esbern's hideout or even the college, but those are all far less accessible. I guess Esbern's hideout would be a good place if I ever wanted to make a balanced version of the spell, but for now it's simply an overpowered spell for the fun of it so why bother trying to find a balanced/fitting location. My guess is that most people who placed their spell tomes at Farengar's desk had similar reasoning.

 

You could put the book on a table in the Drunken Huntsman, or in Bleak Falls Barrow. How about on top of that watchtower just north of Whiterun, maybe one of the guards was trying to learn it but didnt realize he needs to be able to read first? Or the same situation by puting it next to a bedroll in the broken tower you first encounter a dragon? Theres a nice farmhouse thats falling apart along a road by the tower you first encounter a dragon that could have it sitting there. there is hundreds of other locations in can be placed, just because its a spell book does not mean it must be on a mages desk.

 

As for traveling just to check out the mod when making it... add a map marker to it! place a map marker, name it mod test, linked ref to an xmarkerheading, checkmark the "can travel to". there. you can go to it to test and when the mod is good to go remove the map marker and xmarkerheading or rename it if it is a house mod and uncheck the can travel to.