**Hidden Gems** - mods you use that nobody really knows about!

[Kelmych]

IMO Forgotten Magic has a fatal flaw. While the author feels the impact perk in destruction is overpowered, I feel the author needs to spend more time in Skyrim as a mage without the impact perk. Archers and Mages fight at a distance; the armor they wear even with the best non-overpowered magic enchantments and buff spells still yields frequent single hit melee kills by enemy NPCs. A shout helps, but before they can be reused the NPC will recover and reach the mage. A much better solution IMO is the approach in Mighty Magic that leaves staggering but reduces its effectiveness with lower level spells; higher level spells can't be cast often anyway because they use so much magicka. Combined with potions that work over time vs. instantly (so magicka can't be quickly restored), it's possible to be a mage but still very challenging.

[z929669]

moving from Mods to a more appropriate forum

[MontyMM]

It'd be great if some of you magic experts could define a fairly simple magic pack, describing how to blend the best mods together for a really good, balanced mage experience. I'd like to use a solid magic overhaul alongside the pack I've been talking about. I found the magic-user experience to be pretty convincingly nerfed (as Kelmych puts it), and have never persevered enough with it to get a sense of the best mods to improve it.

[phazer11]

IMO Forgotten Magic has a fatal flaw. While the author feels the impact perk in destruction is overpowered' date=' I feel the author needs to spend more time in Skyrim as a mage without the impact perk. Archers and Mages fight at a distance; the armor they wear even with the best non-overpowered magic enchantments and buff spells still yields frequent single hit melee kills by enemy NPCs. A shout helps, but before they can be reused the NPC will recover and reach the mage. A much better solution IMO is the approach in Mighty Magic that leaves staggering but reduces its effectiveness with lower level spells; higher level spells can't be cast often anyway because they use so much magicka.[/quote']

That is more or less what I've done with my setup (I didn't completely follow Iroha's guide so that may very well be what he intended too), best of both worlds as it were.

@Monty Yeah me, and Kelmych could probably come up with something, who knows if Iroha and/or FCqt are still around (haven't seen you) it could be glorious... like the four horsemen or... something.

[Aiyen]

I like empowered magics approach to the issue.

Staggering is higher with higher level spells, but only on enemies that are already weakened. Hence the weaker they get the easier it is to keep them staggered. Also it balances out nicely when you have a mod that makes sure you can only drink a single magicka potion at a time.

[johnnyboy88]

Profile Manager

https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/10345//?

and

ENB Switcher

https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/33319/?

 

These are kinda useful. The only problem with the profile manager is; if you use it with MO the saves don't show up in MO's save tab list to check which mods you need. The only thing you can do at the moment would be to create a profile for your character in MO as well. Then, when you need to make some mod changes you could just manually move your save files back into the default save directory to check them if you needed to; then move them back to the profile manager directory when done.

Or use the console in game and prefix all your saves, then there is no need for the Profile Manger I suppose. But if you haven't been using a prefix or unique save name every time, then this will sort your saves based on character name.

 

The ENB Switcher currently only works with the wrapper and not the injector enb version.

[Eliian]

I'll go ahead and share some of mine. Great suggestions so far!! I use some of them myself.

 

Happens to be most of mine help me with immersion. So your mileage may vary =)

 

- Morrowind Imports -- A rather simple mod that allows several of the vendors in Windhelm to sell certain imported Morrowind items. Specifically Brand-Shei who always brags about his wares from his homeland but never has them in stock. It also makes sense that the patrons of the cornerclub would both eat and drink of their culture.

 

- Oblivion gates of Skyrim -- It makes sense to me that there would be several oblivion gates in the wilderness. Where no one really goes. Remnants of the past that I enjoy seeing. They are well placed, and blend in even if there are only a few added by the mod.

 

- Varied Guards and Stromcloaks -- Personally, I enjoy being able to see the guard's faces. This fixes the issue for me in a way no other mod does. Most of them are replacers. This, however, adds varied helms to the leveled lists. So not all of them are wearing the same one and you can see their faces. It is outdated, but I have never had very many problems with it outside level list conflicts. I also do not use the Witcher helms version.

 

-  Cultural Diversity - Khajiit-Argonian-Dunmer -- -- I personally only use two of the modules. One that changes Argonian dock worker clothes. Enjoy seeing them wearing something at least a little more unique and correct. I also like how some Dunmer's clothes are changed, but alter it too my liking depending on the npc.

 

- Khajiit Speak -- This is essential to me when playing my Khajiit. Since I rp him as someone who was orginally born in Elsweyr. Very well done and I am sure some of you have heard of it =)

 

That is all I have! Little things really, but they are what matter to me.

[exploiteddna]

i like it! i think youd be the perfect person to author such a pack.

[WilliamImm]

I have heard of Khajiit Speak and Cultural Diversity before, and I am planing on trying them. Tried to convince the author of Khajiit Speak to Khajiitify EBQO, but I haven't heard back on the situation.

[rootsrat]

Ok, time for my little precious gems :) All of them are unintrusive, lore friendly and not overpowered. Mostly they do little things, but they add a lot if you bring them together. They make my game more immersive and I really cannot imagine playing without them now.

 

 - Dovahkiin Prayers - Simply adds a meditate animation when activating any shrine of divines. It's simple, but it adds MASSIVELY to the immersion! I can't play without it now.

 - JDR soundtrack compilation - This mod adds 8 new tracks composed by JDR composer, a freelance composer operating on youtube. The tracks are well produced and fit in the atmosphere of Skyrim perfectly. After a while they feel like they always were there! I made a Dawnguard patch for it, as it was overwriting a few tracks fro that DLC, the patch brings them all together.

 - Farmers Sell Produce - did you ever wonder why you can only buy fresh fruits and vegetables in the market stalls, but the farmers never have anything to offer? Well, this little mod changes that!

 - Hunterborn - this is perhaps a more popular mod than the others, but some of you may not know it. It changes the simple routine of kill-and-loot on animals into something more immersive. It introduces the actual processes of dressing down a kill, skinning it for its pelt, taking material from it for alchemy, and finally butchering its meat - based on the animal's weight, not just a single cut of venison.

 - Starting Spell Choice - why do all the characters in Skyrim start the game with always the same spells? What if you want to roleplay a Nord that hates magic? How he would know spells at all? What if you want an Orc mage wannabe that can only ever learn Destruction and any other magic school he fails at? Now you can!

 - Left Hand Rings - Look, I have 10 fingers, but I can only wear 1 ring! THE ONE RING! What is it, Lord of The Rings? No, it's The Elder Scrolls, you should able to wear more than 1 ring! With this, you can wear 1 on left and 1 or right hand - because more rings would make it overpowered. This is balanced. Unfortunately, the LH rings cannot be seen in 1st person view... That's why I also use:

 - Left Hand Rings Visible in 1st Person - and since I use SkyRe, I made a patch for it as well

 

All the above mods I can vouch for, I use them in every build and I've never had any problems with them. Now, the below ones I either currently test or plan to use in a future playthroughs, so I don't know if they work correctly, cannot say much about compatibility with other mods etc... But they are worth checking for sure!

 

 - Fine Goods from Morrowind - Dragonborn - "It does no more, no less than making Brand-Shei's advertisement true: he now actually sells Morrowind goods. Also, it seems he has pimped out his stall a bit with some decoration from back home. I bet the other shopkeepers are jellier than a herd of Netches now." 

 - Additional Amulets - Unenchanted Necklaces - appropriate for a posh high elf female mage RP

 - Become a Skooma Dealer - self explanatory - "Are you tired of the thieves guild's repetitive, low-paying jobs? Well, throw away your lockpicks and sneaky boots! Now you can pursue an alternate career in crime. Make your own illegal substances and peddle them across Skyrim."

 - Forgotten Windmill - I used this mod before, it's a very atmospheric and well done player home

 - White Phial Realignment - "This mod lets you refill The White Phial yourself with any potion you want, you can align it yourself from the inventory. Thus making it into the ultimate alchemy artefact it was always meant to be. If you want to use one of the alignments from Quintus again, you can ask him to align it for you."

 - Wolf Master - Wolf companions. I did not test it, but I may actually try it in my current playthrough. You have to wipe a bandit camp and kill their master before you can tame them

 - Your Market Stall - "With this mod you can open a fleamarket stall and sell merchandise to NPC. Requires SKSE. NPCs wander off to your store and sometimes buy your stuff at legal price. You can gain more earnings than wholesaling to usual store, since it's direct distribution to consumer". This is good for roleplaying - I do intend to use it, but haven't tried it yet.

 

So there you go, quite a list! 

[Nearox]

Nice list rootsrat. Kinda excited about JDR as I find that FMO just adds way too many tracks which makes it less immersive rather than more. Gonna replace it with JDR now and see :)

[DICEROLL]

What I have considered as my personal 'hidden gem' is

 

(the gem) Mike Fox's Darker Nights - https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/11356/

Stealth Skills Rebalanced - https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/28418/ (I always used it, even if not playing a stealth character)

 

I've tried some weird looking 'darker night' mods before, and I thought they were so stupid. Because those mods just darkened your screen, and dimmed down any light sources where they should of shined in the dark. But Mike's mod actually controlled the real light sources at night, it makes very realistic nights and it does not dim down anything as the other mods I tried.

 

The most interesting part: While you have these 2 mods on, not only you are 'impaired' by the night and need light to see. But even NPC's :D you actually REALLY become harder to spot by npcs at night. I did tests with this, and disabled the Mike's mod (while the other one was on) and NPC's begun to spot me more easier. I don't know what you guys think, maybe you have something else to suggest on this then I would like to hear that.

[Soire]

Thought to pump =)

 

Aye, it's another Texture mod but - an amazing one. It uses the same name as the one in STEP Core, but it's not the same modder, it's even a fairly new one and parts of his work has still to be considered WIP. But, to say the least, it looks amazing ingame (mountains still under construction, not perfect - i take it xD). He has his stuff uploaded optimized 1k and 2k, DDSopted - STEP moderate so to speak - so no fussing necessary over that one. I use it together (all his 3 mods) with Serious HD Riften, SMIM and some few Clutter/MISC textures taken by different mods.

 

The work is done with ENB in mind but does work without just as good. Refer to comment section for more info. Link to his landscape 'Skyrim Realistic Texture Overhaul': https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/38539/?

 

Some of 'essential' mods i use at every play:

 

RWB - Realistic Wolf Behavior. Unfortunately, i don't seem to find it anymore on Nexus but it is on Steam Workshop. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=94567644

 

Places - by thirteenoranges. Comes with Hearthfire- and non-Hearthfire-Versions. Steam Workshop only. She also has uploaded a couple of interesting Quests, which Sea of Ghosts is one of the popular ones. Roleplayers who are going the Knight/Fighter path will love her Pit Guild. I am not sure of compability with other huge mods on Nexus, will need to figure that one out based on your personal mod-settings. They work with STEP Core as far I can say (i do not use all Core mods, though). Link to her Workshop: https://steamcommunity.com/id/ThirteenOranges/myworkshopfiles/?appid=72850

 

Smithing Perks - Improved Vanilla Perk Tree. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/33959/? Makes much more sense to me o.o check it out, idk if it's on the STEP list, but surely, wouldn't be wrong to have it there.

 

Khjajiit Speak (only if i play Khjajiit, ofc) as mentioned already above (seriously, that one needs Kudos and a STEP entry =): https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/14513/?

 

On playthrough as a Knight/Fighter/Templar (surely for any other playthrough as well) i do highly appreciate Cerwiden as a follower (if certainly not flawlessly working - needs some workarounds, but they are nicely documented in the posts etc. sections). I simply like her comments (even her coffee one and guess what, me being coffee addicted.. hell yes, let's have one *pauses game and goes to kitchen...) and they can be configured regarding frequency. She is basically a Healer, Mage. But don't have her healing only ... she's gonna tell you what she thinks about that one ... even more so, if you expect her to do miracles - plainly, she refuses to pick you up from the floor and rather enjoys the *game reload* consequences - evil her. She is fun, most of the times - especially if she decides to run around naked (here you have to refer to the workarounds mentioned...). Even though she requires some digging and extra-work, she is definitely worth it! Link: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/20787/? Ah, and since i do not like huge follower mods, i combine Cerwiden with kuertee's Simple multiple Followers (works flawlessly): https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/31581/?

 

Whistle, aye, yes. Bloody damn you horse, seriously - where are you ?? freaking... - censored -

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/36701/? now, only need to find something to have it behave like a real horse and RUN from that dragon over there... grrrr, ever seen a freaking horse attacking a dragon that spits fire ?? Warhorses, maybe, but mine's not remotely one o.o Since non of the mods i skimmed through were to my liking, i fired up CK and made my own solution. Cowardly and Essential, aye, might be a cheat but damn you horse -.-

 

goatk player houses. Vanilla, mostly. Immersive. Nicely done, not too much/huge and uses the Vanilla house-buy-system. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/3729223/?tb=mods&pUp=1 With Hjerim you might wanna figure out when to tick it to load exactly, though - if using Neutral Hjerim, it should work fine if you load it before finishing related Quest lines: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/12558/?  As with all modification to Vanilla player houses, you want to install either before you buy the house, or better, when you start a new game. Note: Works with/without DG & DW, but Hearthfire is required.

[Octopuss]

Just when I thought I had finalized the mods I want to use, I discover this thread. Goddamnit!

[SSL]

@Octopuss: I assume you know about it, but in case you don't know, I'll make sure you know: www.skyrimgems.com