New Lands, Dungeons, and Suchlike Mods
Many of the vanilla dungeons are tied to quests. Adding new dungeons is, to me, a great way of making my character feel smaller since there are more random places to delve. Additionally, I like the idea that Skyrim is old. I want to run into ruins all over the place.
Forgotten Dungeons – A set of many new dungeons with different themes. Mostly high level. They can be fun although they are rather long. Many of them are connected which can be a problem; on one playthrough last year I ran into a one way door that ended up trapping my character in a high level area because I wasn’t able to fight my way to the alternate exit. Still, I like them and the author did a good job of merging them into unpopulated areas. However, as a player I have to remind myself that unlike vanilla dungeons I might not be able to clear forgotten dungeons in one pass.
Skyrim Sewers – Sewers underneath certain cities. I have only explored a couple but they seem well done.
Skyrim Underground – Haven’t tried it yet but it sounds almost like A World of Pain for Skyrim. I really enjoyed having A World of Pain in both FO3 and FNV.
The Forgotten City – Cool story mod. I enjoyed it quite a bit but I have no desire to play it again on a different character.
Beyond Reach – Big newish mod that creates a new area to explore. I like the look of the new area and the story seems good so far. My only gripe is that it seems it is a onetime trip; you can go to High Rock but once you come back to Skyrim you can’t go back to High Rock. Thumbs Up otherwise.
Beyond Skyrim Bruma – Big newish mod that creates a new area to explore. I haven’t been there but I’ve added it in case it makes sense for my current character to travel there.
Blackreach Railroad – I’ve never gotten to it. It’s probably not all that lore friendly. I installed it on a whim. But there is no reason to take it out so it stays.
Amorous Adventures – A mixed bag but overall I like the little stories it tells. I have no need for animated sex in Skyrim but the “clean” version is good. I think I’ve seen maybe half of the stories. A couple are pretty bad but in a weird way rather than in a coercion sense so it is easy to justify that the character is also weirded out and just drops the quest. It helps that the stories add some background and interest to vanilla characters instead of adding new characters so I sometimes get a surprise when I run into an AA quest.
Ruined Shrine of Phynaster – A small ruined Altmer shrine.
Akaviri Ruins of Savirien-Chorak – An Akaviri ruin in Falkreath.
New People Mods
I wish there were more good male companions! Actually, I wish there were more good companions with quests and stories but I know it’s a fine line between “companion” and “NPC who takes over the game” so I’m not going to complain much. I rarely travel with the housecarls although I’ve been known to use a few other vanilla followers.
Inigo – The one everyone recommends. I’ve started his quest before but for some reason I can’t remember I didn’t travel with him for too long.
Sofia – Somehow she works. Like basically all companions her banter gets old after a while but it works even if it is full of double entendres and breaking the 4th wall. Certainly better than the vanilla companions and available nice and early if you are doing the vanilla start. I often pick her up near the beginning but treat her like a housecarl once I’ve found a home to make my own.
Vilja – Slightly controversial as many people dislike her voice. I think it is fine. Fairly big quest associated and she will remind you to keep working on it. A companion that I either ignore or take with me all game.
M’rissi – Cat girl. She’s better than that makes her sound; her back story and quest are well done. It’s also annoying as there are some things that are timed and one action right at the beginning that can affect the ending hours later. She was worth picking up once but the cat girl looks and voice will likely insure I don’t use her again (even if I leave her in my load order because I can).
Mirai – Seems to get good reviews. I’m not wild about her looks and I have some reservations about a follower who can do dragon shouts. She also has a conflict with the Open Cities mod so while I have her installed I might never go to the trouble needed to find her in game.
Nerida – I saw some good comments about her but she seems to be mostly a vanilla companion. A few interesting lines but no real interactions so far. She can create potions and arrows for the player which might feel like an exploit to some.
Arweden – Good reviews but I haven’t found her in game yet.
Interesting NPCs SSE (also called 3DNPCs) – You can not get this on Nexus but it is worth installing. Lots of new NPCs to talk to. Some are followers. Some are so called super-followers and can be held up against any companion mod. Many new quests although some have very specific triggers and might never be found without reading the wiki.
Player Homes
I have a love/hate relationship with player homes. I love seeing what people do with their designs. In game I love finding a neat home that fits a specific character in amenities and location. Yet I also hate the tendency for player home mod creators to include huge display areas, high level loot just sitting around, and insanely out of the way locations that are only going to be viable if you use fast travel. I’ve used many more housing mods but I am only going to list the ones I currently like.
Blackthorn – A buildable Town
Dusk’s Cabin SE
Halla
Hermit Mountain Cottage
The Well
The Hideaway
Nightgate Cabine
White Elk Shelter