Ashe Mod Development Roadmap

Ashe is a Skyrim follower mod designed to enrich gameplay with immersive dialogue, radiant features, and an expansive development roadmap. This page outlines all planned content and updates.

Planned Content and Features

This is what's currently on the dev roadmap in written form. For everything that has already been implemented in the mod since release, please either refer to the changelog.

Disclaimer: This list is tentative and subject to change. (I get new feature requests pretty frequently!)

Spoiler Warning: Please be aware that this changelog contains minor spoilers. I previously included a spoiler-free summary, but ultimately found it to be redundant and less helpful than a comprehensive, detailed list

Version 1.4: (The Shape of a Soul)

Ashe: Crystal Heart - Version 1.4 (The Shape of a Soul)

Status: Work in Progress / Subject to Change
Early Access ETA: Planned for sometime in July 2026, subject to change.

Ashe 1.4 is shaping up to be a major relationship, quest-awareness, and quality-of-life update. The focus is on expanding Ashe’s presence across Skyrim’s main quest, deepening her romance and character content, adding new repeat-playthrough options, and giving players more ways to interact with her during ordinary adventuring.

This update also includes new Ashe and Serana banter, new custom-name support, new custom conversations, and selected Daedric quest awareness tied to Serana’s 4.4 commentary pass.

As always, this is a planned-content article and not a final changelog. Specific details may shift during implementation, testing, or recording.

Ashe 1.4 adds nearly 750 new Ashe lines, including new quest awareness, romance moments, personal conversations, custom-name support, and Ashe/Serana banter.

I. New Ashe Quest and Character Content

Chapter 7.5 - The Phantom Ache

Version 1.4 adds a new post-Chapter 7 conversation/quest beat currently planned as Chapter 7.5 - The Phantom Ache.

This new post-Chapter 7 story beat explores what happens to Ashe after vengeance is no longer the only thing keeping her moving. It focuses on the “price of sentience”: the friction between her body, her soul, her father’s original design, and the person she is becoming.

While this content stands on its own as a post-vengeance reflection, it also acts as a narrative bridge into Ashe’s future Version 1.5 Epilogue Update, planned for the end of the year. That update will feature the larger “Price of Sentience” epilogue quest, giving Ashe the true finale her story deserves.

The conversation branches based on Ashe’s ethical development and relationship state, allowing her reflection to feel connected to the path the player has helped shape - while quietly foreshadowing the emotional and existential questions that will come to a head in Chapter 8.

Chapter 1 Continuity and Character Patches

Version 1.4 also adds new post-Chapter 1 conversations that help clarify emotional and lore-heavy pieces of Ashe’s backstory, including her relationship to Rebecca, Canas, the workshop, and the long gap between Ashe’s destruction and restoration.

These scenes are meant to smooth out lingering questions while deepening Ashe’s sense of personhood, memory, and family.

Chapter 2 Player Agency Improvements

The Chapter 2 investigation path is getting new roleplay support and alternate handling around Nevas.

Planned additions include:

New player options during the Nevas investigation
A Dark Brotherhood-aware dialogue option
An insight-check-style path for reading Nevas’s honesty
Alternate handling if the player obtains key information another way
New follow-up dialogue with Ashe based on how the player handles the situation
Additional combat/dialogue support for the alternate branch

The goal is to make this part of the quest feel less rigid and more responsive to player choice.

Ashe Recruit Skip Dialogue

For repeat playthroughs, Version 1.4 adds a new recruitment skip option.

Players who have already experienced Ashe’s early content will be able to use a new dialogue option during her first recruitment conversation to skip the prologue and move more quickly into the rest of Ashe’s main quest.

This is mainly a convenience feature for returning players: less repeated setup, faster access to Ashe’s core features, and an easier path into the main questline on new saves.

II. Skyrim Main Quest Awareness

Ashe 1.4 adds a large new main quest awareness pass.

This includes both solo Ashe commentary and Ashe/Serana banter for players using both followers. The intent is broad key-beat coverage: the important moments where Ashe’s tactical perspective, emotional development, or relationship with the Dragonborn can add something meaningful.

Planned coverage includes major beats from:

Bleak Falls Barrow
Dragon Rising
The Way of the Voice
The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller
A Blade in the Dark
Diplomatic Immunity
A Cornered Rat
Alduin’s Wall
The Throat of the World
The Fallen
Season Unending
The World-Eater’s Eyrie
The Main Quest epilogue

This also includes a new early-game nudge that encourages players to finish Ashe’s Chapter 1 after the Dragonborn’s identity becomes clear, since a lot of Ashe’s newer quest-aware content depends on her automaton nature being revealed.

III. Daedric Quest Awareness for Ashe

Although much of the new Daedric quest commentary is part of Serana’s 4.4 update, Ashe also receives selected Daedric quest awareness in Version 1.4.

Planned Ashe-side Daedric content includes:

New Ashe and Serana banter for Discerning the Transmundane, especially around Dwemer mystery, Hermaeus Mora, forbidden knowledge, and Ashe’s own Dwemer-adjacent nature
New Ashe 1-on-1 commentary and Ashe/Serana banter for Ill Met By Moonlight, tying Hircine’s hunt, werewolves, and the Bloated Man’s Grotto into Ashe’s own history
New Ashe 1-on-1 commentary for Waking Nightmare, centered on memory, nightmares, Vaermina, the Miasma, and what it means for a person’s mind to be manipulated or stolen
Additional Ashe/Serana awareness for The House of Horrors aftermath, where Serana’s trauma and Ashe’s tactical concern intersect

This content is meant to make Ashe feel more present in quests where her history, body, or worldview gives her something distinct to say.

IV. Romance and Relationship Content

Version 1.4 adds new romance and relationship beats across several points in Ashe’s questline.

Planned romance-related additions include:

A Chapter 3 follow-up tied to the previously unlocked spooning/comfort feature
A Chapter 4 romance interaction during the Markarth portion of the questline
A Chapter 6 romance interaction with a kiss/fade-to-black path where appropriate
New post-Chapter 7 romance-aware content in Chapter 7.5
Chronology and relationship-flow rewrites to make Ashe’s romantic development feel smoother and better paced

Ashe’s romance is still intended to be a slow burn, but Version 1.4 adds more moments where players can see that flame begin to grow across the questline. The goal is to make her eventual confession feel more naturally earned: not only through player flirting or Romance Meter progress, but through smaller emotional tells, quiet moments of vulnerability, and new relationship beats that show Ashe gradually recognizing what the player has come to mean to her.

For players invested in the romance path, these scenes offer more romantic payoff throughout the journey - tender, intimate, and non-explicit moments that reward the relationship’s progression while saving its fullest culmination for after Ashe’s main story.

V. New Personal Conversations

Version 1.4 adds new “Can I talk to you for a moment?”-style conversations that let the player dig deeper into Ashe’s inner life.

Planned topics include:

Ashe’s connection to gardening and the Nocturne Lily
A tactical reflection involving Dwemer archives and a “glitched directive”
Her thoughts on temples, prayer, the Divines, and the afterlife
Her relationship with Canas and what his years of repair work meant to her
Personhood, memory, and the question of whether manufactured experiences can still be real
Additional companion opinions and smaller reflective topics
New “What’s on your mind?” responses

These are meant to give Ashe more quiet, intimate moments outside the main questline - the sort of conversations that make her feel like a companion you are gradually coming to understand, not just a quest follower delivering objectives.

VI. More Ashe and Serana Banter

Ashe 1.4 also includes a substantial new batch of Ashe and Serana banter.

Planned Asherana content includes:

New suspicion banter before Ashe is revealed as an automaton
New general radiant banter
New dungeon banter, including Nordic ruin, Dwemer ruin, and general dungeon variations
New combat-ending banter
Rewritten/tuned existing radiant banter, including cooldown improvements where needed
New romance-awareness banter for both realistic and fantasy/poly romance setups
New companion-opinion dialogue through drinking/campfire-style systems
New Skyrim main quest banter
New Daedric quest banter in selected quests
New House of Horrors aftermath awareness

Serana can also confront the player if they are already fully committed to Serana (before they meet Ashe) and then begin romancing Ashe afterward, with support for both monogamous and fantasy/poly relationship modes.

VII. Follower Features and Quality-of-Life

Dwemer Mechanical Horse

Ashe is still planned to receive her own Dwemer-themed mechanical horse.

For Version 1.4, the current plan is basic custom horse support and riding functionality. A more involved horse-related quest is planned for a future update.

Sandbox/Roam Feature

Ashe is getting a new “take a break” style option that allows her to sandbox/roam instead of simply waiting in place.

This is designed to feel different from the standard “wait here” command. Instead of standing still, Ashe can interact with her environment, with responses that change depending on where she is.

Outfit and Follow Behavior Improvements

Version 1.4 also includes planned dialogue support for:

Outfit-setting conversations
Adventuring, town, and home outfit options
Automatic outfit switching based on location
A toggle for whether Ashe should auto-switch outfits or wear one outfit everywhere
A catch-up protocol for whether Ashe should rush to the player if separated or follow at her own pace
Additional follow-me and dismiss responses

Dragon Soul and Radiant Hello Awareness

Ashe will also receive new smaller radiant reactions, including awareness for the Dragonborn absorbing dragon souls and additional non-clicked hello greets.

VIII. Custom Names and Custom Conversations

Version 1.4 adds 42 custom-name additions and a bunch of custom conversations.

The names themselves will be announced separately later, but this update includes a new batch of custom-name support, custom conversations, and additional name-drop coverage throughout Ashe’s content.

There are also new Kalin/default-name rewrites and name drops, so players using the default/canon name should see Ashe refer to them more naturally in selected quest and relationship moments.

IX. Bugfixes, Failsafes, and Implementation Polish

Alongside the new dialogue and feature content, Version 1.4 will include additional implementation polish, bugfixes, and recovery handling where needed.

The focus is on making quest progression more reliable, improving edge-case handling, and smoothing out heavily modded playthroughs where possible.

Writing Philosophy - Tactical Minimalism

For both SDA and Ashe, I’m taking a more deliberate approach to new dialogue: fewer throwaway lines, more lines that earn their place. Each line should ideally do more than one thing at once, whether that means advancing the moment, revealing character, deepening immersion, or reflecting the player’s choices.

Current ETA

Early Access for Ashe 1.4 is currently planned for sometime in June-July 2026, subject to change. Full release is expected a month after the closed beta release.

To keep up to date with development and see behind-the-scenes content like the scripts being used for the update, join my Patreon!

Postponed / Later Update Content

As development on Ashe 1.4 has progressed, a few previously mentioned ideas have been moved out of the current update scope so the July release can stay focused, polished, and manageable.

These features are not necessarily cancelled, but they are no longer being treated as headline content for the upcoming Ashe 1.4 releases unless stated otherwise.

Ashe: Crystal Heart — Content Moved to Later Updates

Shattered Orphans and Binding Blade Quest Improvements
The previously discussed improvements to Shattered Orphans and Binding Blade are being moved to a later update. This includes the expanded wolf encounter, more specific item hand-ins for Remy and Lyn, and additional writing polish for Lyn, Remy, and Thorfinn.

Requiem Integration
Planned Requiem-specific touches, such as recruitment cost adjustments and skill-book-related dialogue, are currently being held for a later pass.

Ashe and Aniya Banter
Aniya banter is still planned for this update on the SDA side, with new Serana and Aniya interactions. Ashe-specific Aniya banter is being saved for a later update.

Dedicated Dwemer Horse Quest
Ashe’s Dwemer-themed mechanical horse is still planned for Version 1.4 as a basic custom horse feature. However, a dedicated horse quest will come in a future update.

Expanded Visual and Audio Foreshadowing

The larger visual/audio foreshadowing pass for Ashe’s more emotionally intense moments is being held for a later implementation pass. Version 1.4 will stay focused on its current dialogue, relationship, quest-awareness, and follower-feature scope.

Version 1.5: (Epilogue)

Ashe: Crystal Heart — Version 1.5 (The Epilogue Update)
This will be the massive "Price of Sentience" epilogue quest, giving Ashe the epic, true finale she deserves. By dedicating a full update to this DLC-sized quest, I can ensure the narrative and implementation receive the required polish without crunch.
Current ETA: Production begins sometime in 2026.

Version 1.6: (Unnamed)

Ashe: Crystal Heart — Version 1.6 (The Pause Update)

This will be a smaller, focused update: a new batch of custom names, bugfixes, a few extra radiant lines, and some lightweight awareness patches. I may also squeeze in one or two small gameplay tweaks if they’re low-risk—but the scope will stay tight.

The goal here is to keep Ashe moving forward while I shift my main production focus toward Aela Dialogue Add-On v0.1 (public prototype), which is planned to ship with Ashe banter and Serana trio banter.

Current ETA: Production begins sometime in 2026-27.

New Content:

Aela Duo Banter

Aela+Serana+Ashe Trio Banter

Companions Questline Awareness

Version 1.7: (Unnamed)

Ashe: Crystal Heart — Version 1.7

Content TBA but this update will likely focus on more quest content (namely the custom horse quest), romance content, and quest commentary (Dark Brotherhood and College of Winterhold). More follower banter with other characters is planned as well.

Current ETA: Production to begin 2027.

Overall Planned Content

I. Enhanced Immersion & Character Depth

A. Radiant Dialogue & Interactions: (This subcategory now houses all general dialogue improvements)
- More Radiant Dialogue (Ongoing): Implement new greets, goodbyes, and idles for different contexts, player relationship/romance status, quest complete status, companions, and more!
- Contextual Commentary: Ashe will now offer more frequent and nuanced commentary on her surroundings and events. This includes reacting to smaller details like the layout of bandit camps or the food they're eating, making her feel more present in the world.
- More Radiant NPC Interactions: Expand interactions with NPCs. (List TBA, but expect a similar scope to SDA).
B. Exploring Automaton Nature:
- Further integrate Ashe's automaton origins into dialogue and behavior.
- Consider adding options for her to "consume" dwarven oil during Drinking Buddies conversations.
C: Sandbox Enhancements:
- Humming and Singing: Introduce a subtle touch by having Ashe occasionally hum or sing, potentially referencing "Kaine Salvation" from Nier.

II. New Features

A. Gift Giving:
- Allow the player to give gifts to Ashe.
- Implement a system for Ashe to give gifts to the player.
C. Standalone Hugging Animations (for Player): Introduce standalone hugging animations that the player can initiate with Ashe.

Sandbox Enhancements:

1. Add new animations for Ashe during her idle sandbox behavior, including:

1. Slashing motions (if she has a weapon equipped)
2. Sword sharpening
3. Book reading
4. Bow maintenance
World Reactions:
1. Crafting an item
2. Level Increases
3. Dropping an Item
4. Additional killmove and lockpick dialogue
Radiant Dialogue
1. Contextual Commentary: Ashe will now offer more frequent and nuanced commentary on her surroundings and events.
Drinking Buddies
1. Option for Ashe to "consume" Dwarven Oil during Drinking Buddies
Vanilla Plus/Lore Friendly Outfit (Still similar art direction to default Ashe, just less sexualized and more grounded in Skyrim's default art style while still looking individual and unique)
FOMOD Texture Install Options
1. Remove Barcode, minimal texture ridges (shoulders only)

III. Quest & Story Expansions

I. New Quest Content

Chapter 8 – The Price of Sentience (Epilogue Questline)
- After finding her purpose, Ashe will face her greatest challenge yet: the unforeseen consequences of her own humanity. This new quest is designed to provide a powerful and bittersweet conclusion to her origin arc, centered on a story of sacrifice and self-discovery.
Branching Axiom Quests (Post-Ch.8)
- New, axiom-specific questlets (1–2 per path) with unique objectives, encounters, and rewards that reflect Pacifist / Utilitarian / Aggressive philosophies.
First-Person Flashback Quests
- Additional playable POV flashbacks (e.g., the werewolf attack night, select workshop vignettes) expanding Ashe’s history.
Romance Quest Expansions
- Added romance beats during the main questline plus a post-romance quest arc, including marriage support and a ceremony.
Remy Hunting Scene (Mini-Quest)
- Short bonding quest where Ashe takes Remy hunting, with light variations based on Ashe’s axiom.
Adoption Support for Lyn & Remy
- Persuade Lyn and complete a relocation/home assignment flow; integrates with Hearthfire-style adoption systems.
Aryo & Thalmor Weapons (Future Arc)
- Originally a cut plot point, this will be explored in a future update.

IV. Follower Interactions & Awareness

A. Follower Commentary: Expand Ashe's awareness and commentary on other popular follower mods:
- Remiel
- Celine
- Mrissi
- Inigo
- Sofia
- IFD Lydia
- Deimos
- Aniya
- Auri
- Kaidan
- Aela (Aela Dialogue Add-On)

V. Lore Deep Dive & Philosophical Discussions

A. Conversation About Origins: Expand upon conversations with Ashe regarding her complex origins, including:
- A mage's journey across timelines, Akatosh's intervention to maintain balance, the influence of Dwemer engineering, and the failed "UC" automaton project that preceded her creation.
B. Akatosh and Time: Introduce a new dialogue topic where Ashe discusses Akatosh's role in managing timelines and the reasons behind his actions regarding time travelers.
C. Afterlife Contemplation: Add a unique, one-time conversation during Drinking Buddies where Ashe asks the player for their thoughts on the afterlife.

VI. Player Identity & Customization

A. New Alt Outfit:
- Introduce a new, alternative outfit for Ashe.
- Players will be able to choose their preferred default outfit for Ashe (Legacy or New).
- The non-default outfit will be obtainable in-game, either as a quest reward or as an item found within Aryo's workshop.

VII. World & Guild Awareness

A. Main Quest Commentary: Expand Ashe's dialogue to include reactions and commentary on various stages of the Skyrim Main Quest, starting from Bleak Falls Barrow (acquiring the Golden Claw from Lucan).
B. Full Hearthfire Awareness: (Locations and Adoptions). Think a similar scope to SDA (post V5.0).
C. Guild Commentary: Implement commentary related to the following Skyrim guilds:
- Companions Guild
- College of Winterhold
- Dark Brotherhood
D. Dwemer-Themed Quests:
- Lost to the Ages
- Discerning the Transmundane
E. Callisto Armor Awareness: Ensure Ashe has appropriate dialogue or reactions when the player is wearing the Callisto armor.
G. Timelost Dwemer Awareness: Some sort of awareness, still unsure what that would entail.

Nier Reincarnation Armor Awareness (https://www.patreon.com/posts/yoruhane-nier-re-92065328)
Rewrites:
- HP Protocol: It now activates only after Chapter 3 and functions as a lore-friendly, in-universe “cheat code” toggle. Dialogue has been added to reinforce Ashe’s autonomy and offer player discussion about enabling or disabling the feature.
- Default Outfit: Rewrote early dialogue and added a new scene to clarify Ashe’s autonomy over her appearance. Players can now engage with her views on admiration and identity more directly.

Support Ashe Dev!

Help me continue developing Ashe by supporting on Patreon or Ko-fi.

www.patreon.com/martimius
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