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Gameplay Guide

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1200+ mods can change the game quite a bit. I will try to go over everything of importance, pointing out key gameplay mods, quests, followers, homes, and tips. Some things I have purposely left out, for you to explore.

Contents

What is Nordic Souls?

I should preface this by reiterating that this list does NOT try to turn Skyrim into another game. Instead, it tries to bring aspects from modern games into Skyrim in a way that makes sense. Everything has been carefully selected to fit into Skyrim's atmosphere. Everything plays together nicely, with minimal consistency issues and unnecessary fluff.

Nordic Souls is not vanilla+. Every aspect of the game has been touched in some way, from leveling to loot. It is still recognizably Skyrim, you are still playing Skyrim, but you are (obviously) playing a modified version of the game. It's modernized and streamlined to match modern standards, with inspirations from Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and other games. The list does NOT try to turn Skyrim into other games.

Nordic Souls is fully SFW. Mods like CBBE with the 3BA add-on are included (with a realistic preset), but never-nude options are enabled and there are no skimpy armors or overly-sexualized body meshes.

Let's get started with the breakdown of what you can expect.

Core Gameplay Mods

Nordic Souls uses the SimonRim suite of mods, which includes mods by Simon as well as Delta and many other authors. All of these mods provide a consistent gameplay experience that fits perfectly into the list. It's semi-vanilla+ but also quite refreshing.

The vanilla boss fights and enemies have been revamped. Each Dragon Priest gives Alduin a different buff, so you should hunt down all the priests for an easier Alduin fight. Same thing with Miraak: The Solstheim Dragon Priests will buff him unless killed (killing Vahlok will buff him, however). You can take on these familiar adventures, and explore some new lands and quests as well. You'll find more interesting Draugr fights and harder dragon fights. There are also some new creatures, armor, and weapons scattered throughout the world. New powerful artifacts have been added for you to find, with existing ones balanced and overhauled.

Gameplay is more difficult than vanilla, but also fair. For example, dragons are much harder, but you don't have to fight them randomly until you kill Sahloknir. Draugr are more powerful, but barely use shouts anymore. You won't be able to cheese your way through everything. SimonRim provides a lot of tools for preparation and buffs, which you should use to have an easier time.

Mods To Familiarize Yourself With

From perks to leveling to combat, there are a lot of mods that make up the gameplay elements of the list. You should know what you're getting into. Take a look at the mods linked below so that you can become familiar with them.

  • Leveling Freedom gives you control over the shape of the leveling curve in the game. You can adjust how quickly levels come at first, and how much more they cost as you level up - if any more at all. Vanilla values are set by default, but you can change them in the MCM.
  • Aetherius and Mundus handle races and standing stones.
  • Adamant, Hand to Hand, and Ascension overhaul perks.
  • Scion and Manbeast overhaul vampires and werewolves.
  • Mysticism overhauls magic and adds new spells. All of Dareni's spell packs are included as well, so there is a lot of spell variety and unique mechanics. Sorcerer improves staff and scroll mechanics, and allows you to craft new ones.
  • Thaumaturgy overhauls enchanting, and Artificer overhauls artifacts.
  • Apothecary overhauls alchemy. Gourmet overhauls food. Brewer will let you brew other drinks.
  • Pilgrim overhauls religion, and various other Daedric shrines are added as well.
  • Stormcrown overhauls shouts, and adds a new custom skill tree for the Dragonborn, in the same style as vampires or werewolves.
  • Blade and Blunt provides the base for the combat overhaul, with mods like Precision and TK Dodge, among others, providing an in-depth combat experience. Combat is designed to work well in both first and third-person, with new animations for both gameplay styles.
  • Press H to Horse adds features to horses. Huntsman expands wildlife. The Dragon Cult overhauls Draugr. Dragon War overhauls dragons. King-Priest overhauls Dragon Priests. Lawless and Madmen overhaul bandits and Forsworn, respectively.
  • You can interact with objects you wouldn't normally be able to. Adamant has perks that let you develop your skills as a bard, and Sweeping Organizes Stuff lets you use a broom to clean up physics messes.
  • Sil Gahrot lets you obtain words of power by killing dragons, and Dragon Hunting improves drops and adds a repeatable quest to find and kill dragons.
  • The Dragon Cult - Priesthood adds a Dragon Priest skill tree.
  • Wheeler is a UI mod that adds a quick action wheel. Press G. The mod page has instructions for use, they haven't been modified for the list. It should be noted that there is a crash with self-made potions/poisons/etc. and you use the last one on the wheel. If this happens, open dMenu with PGUP, find Wheeler's config, and reset all wheels. Please do not submit this as a bug report.
  • There is a lot more. Take a look at the load order.

Creation Club

Creation Club content has been fixed, balanced, and integrated into the world through several different mods. Certain quests have been disabled, namely the Alternative Armors quests, in favor of world integration.

  • RAE - Quest Requirements changes start conditions for some CC quests. For this list, they have default values. This can be tweaked in the MCM.
  • Skyrim Extended Cut - Saints and Seducers lets you return to the Shivering Isles in a fully-voiced overhaul of Skyrim's Saints and Seducers Creation.
  • Creation Club Survival Mode has been overhauled with Starfrost. You won't get any notification about it, just activate it normally in the gameplay menu. Nordic Souls was not built around Survival Mode and is fully optional, but it has been integrated well if you choose to play with it. It is much more lightweight, read through the mod page if you choose to enable it.
  • Goldenhills Plantation, Myrwatch, and Hendraheim have been overhauled.

Quests

Vanilla Quest Changes

There are several changes to vanilla quests, to balance them and provide new role-playing opportunities. Check here to see the different quest start conditions. If you can't start a quest, it is likely because you haven't met the correct conditions, and you should check this document.

New Quests

A few high-quality DLC-sized quest mods are included, with a bunch of smaller adventures as well. Overall, there is dozens of hours of new content for your character to experience.

  • Vigilant is a questline for the Vigilants of Stendarr. It has a very dark and grim atmosphere, heavily inspired by Dark Souls. It includes a lot of unique armor sets, weapons, jewelry, creatures, and more. Check this document for the updated starting conditions.
  • Unslaad is a quest mod about a half-dragon, and includes fluffy equipment and creatures. Unlike Vigilant, it has a colder and sadder undertone, but also a bit of hope. Check this document for the updated starting conditions. Recommended as the finale for your character.
  • Wyrmstooth is a new lands mod. The East Empire Company commissions the Dragonborn to slay a dragon that is interrupting trade routes throughout Skyrim. But is the dragon stirring up trouble with a particular reason and what sinister motive does it have for its actions?
  • The Forgotten City is the first mod in history to win a national Writers' Guild award for its script. It is a critically acclaimed expansion mod offering a unique 6 - 8 hour experience: a murder mystery investigation set in an ancient underground city. You'll need to solve it using your wits, and the ability to travel through time... (level 25+ required).
  • Clockwork is a horror quest mod involving a castle high in the Velothi Mountains, lost to the world for over a hundred years. Once found, you may call Clockwork Castle home... but if you want to leave, you'll need to discover how to escape.
  • Sirenroot is a dialogue-heavy quest with puzzles, platforming, and a focus on water mechanics. You and a team of divers are hired to scour ruins at the bottom of Lake Honrich.
  • Undeath is a quest mod that allows you to become a lich. It's been overhauled by Classical Lichdom. When a powerful necromancer and his followers seek out the forbidden secrets of immortality that could threaten Skyrim, will you defeat him to stop his evil quest, or continue it yourself?
  • The Grand Paladin is a quest mod involving a powerful sword. Venture beyond Skyrim, into the mists of the Sea of Ghosts, and uncover the legacy of an ancient Dragonborn order.
  • Heart of the Reach is a quest mod involving the Reach. Delve into the depths of an unground swamp in the aid of a priest in order to heal the Heart of the Reach.
  • Penitus Oculatus is a quest where you can join the Penitus Oculatus after the vanilla "destroy the dark brotherhood" quest and get all the rewards.
  • The Gift of Saturalia is a quest to help the people of Skyrim and spread the spirit of Saturalia.
  • Calling the Watchmaker is a quest mod featuring an extremely unique story that delves into the creation myth of the Elder Scrolls universe.
  • The Breathing Abyss is an ocean-based quest mod centered around finding out what a mysterious entity is, where it's from, and how it can be stopped.
  • Depths of the Soul features a rather helpful merchant who will aid the player by selling various items for dungeons.
  • Missives adds a large number of localized radiant quests found at Missive Boards of varying difficulty and with varying rewards.

Followers and NPCs

Nordic Souls includes some of the best custom followers available.

  • Nether's Follower Framework is a multi-follower system that is light on game resources and allows for up to 10 companions at one time. It provides a wealth of additional features, including immersion and quality-of-life functions to allow you to adventure with a small team of characters. If you get a prompt asking you to import a custom follower (such as Inigo) into NFF, select no. (This prompt should be disabled, but just in case.)
  • Interesting NPCs adds over 250+ fully voiced NPCs, 25+ followers, 15+ marriage NPCs, and 50+ quests.
  • Citizens of Tamriel adds all new, fully-voiced characters, unique followers, branching dialogue and more.
  • Inigo is a fully voiced khajiit adventuring companion with over 7000 lines of unique dialogue - much of it about you. He'll level alongside you and avoid most traps. If you're sneaking he won't chatter and he'll whisper if you talk to him. He can run out of arrows. He's highly skilled in archery, one-handed, and sneak. You can find him in the Riften prison.
  • Lucien is a fully voiced Imperial follower with over 5000 lines of immersive, lore-friendly dialogue. Though he arrives in Skyrim as a cowardly scholar, he'll gradually gain strength and confidence by your side until he grows into a hero in his own right. You can find him at the Dead Man's Drink Inn in Falkreath.
  • Kaidan is a romantic follower featuring over 1200 lines of dialogue, custom home, and mini quests. You can begin looking for him by asking Orgnar at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood if anything interesting is happening in town.
  • Auri is a traditionalist Wood Elf archer. You can find her house somewhere in the Falkreath pine forest.
  • Katana is a not-so-roguish rogue with mysterious powers. The mod also introduces Megara, a healer with a knack for getting information. You can find Katana in the Winking Skeever Inn in Solitude.
  • Gore is a fully voiced, lore-friendly, standalone follower. His story is small-scale, low-stakes, believable, and fits within the lore, so as not to overshadow your own story and is completely optional. You can find him at Peaks Shade Tower, outside of Falkreath.
  • Remiel is a Breton engineer who will accompany you in your travels. She's traveled from Wayrest to explore Dwemer ruins in Skyrim, but she needs your help. While she's not much of a fighter, she boasts a knack for machinery and will reprogram a dwemer spider to fight alongside you both. You can find her at the Silver-Blood Inn in Markarth
  • Xelzaz is a custom fully voiced Argonian lawman of House Telvanni with ~6200 lines. He is on his way to Rivenspire in High Rock, having traveled all the way from Port Telvannis in Morrowind. Xelzaz has just arrived in Skyrim and is looking for a traveling companion. In return he will keep you company, cook you warm meals and brew powerful potions. You can start looking for him by finding a note on the wall in the Bee and Barb Inn in Riften.
  • Redcap is a unique, voice-acted, immersive follower mod with over 2400 lines of dialogue, a ton of fun and useful features, several new quests, new locations, interactive commentary on many quests, and a pet boar named Bigpig who he can summon in battle. You will find him locked in the basement of Anise's Cabin.
  • Garm is a fierce husky companion. What more do you need? He can be found with Andurs at the Temple of Arkay in Whiterun.

Player Homes

In addition to the Creation Club houses, I've added a few custom player homes.

  • Castle Volkihar Rebuilt allows you to turn the North Tower of Castle Volkihar into a player home once the Dawnguard DLC is completed. You can also clean up the castle, and if you side with the Dawnguard, they will move in.
  • Dovahkiin's Vault A small vault in the Throat of the World for storing away all those sketchy arcane objects in a safe location away from innocent people and your family. Only accessible with Clear Skies shout. You can find the key on a skeleton near Paarthurnax's perch.
  • Mörskom Estate is a large player home situated on the hillside of Dawnstar. The mod comes with a short quest to acquire the home before the player will need to restore the building to its former glory, including the exterior and interior. Depending on your play style, Mörskom can be rebuilt using skill and materials or paid workers.
  • Magelight Keep is a spouse and adoption-friendly property in Falkreath Hold. Magelight Keep offers plenty of living space with two towers, a courtyard, and resident blacksmith and housekeeper. You can purchase the house by interacting with the sign near the study tower door.
  • Riverside Lodge is a picturesque and fully equipped player home between Whiterun and Riverwood. You can purchase the house by interacting with the sign near the front door.
  • The Tiniest Shack adds a tiny shack in Riverwood, across the river from the town. You can purchase the shack by interacting with the sign near the front door.