Gooooooood Morning Tamriel!
Ah'vrie wishes you well. It is Middas the 12th of First Seed, and this one woke to the smell of water. There must be a storm rolling in. Anyway, it's time once again for Ah'vrie to tend the inn for our most honored guests. Excuse please while the fires are stoked, and fresh water is put to the flame...
Our brew of the day is Stockholm Lungo, and the biscuits are chocolate chunk. Checking the hot sheets we have 32 new mods from the usual sources. Let's see what catches the eyes of an old cat over a fresh cuppa or two.
Renamon69 released Horse Idle Animation Patch For USSEP as a first mod. Welcome
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/144359
"Idle head & tail fix for horses after installing USSEP"
Now the old cat needs to actually watch his horse idle. While this one highly doubts USSEP has anything to do with 'breaking vanilla idles' The mod itself might have merit. This one uses CH, and has for about a decade. It's quite possible the old cat has never seen the issue this is supposed to fix. Inquiring minds want to know... Thanks
pugsquasher released Convenient Enchanting Research Materials as a second mod
No link needed, it's a cheat chest full of stuff to disenchant in front of Farengar's desk. Good for testing, not for playing, but Thanks.
shazdeh2 released Break Staves and Learn Spells
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/144403
"An alternative means to learn spells and a new use case for the magical staves you find: while you're in your inventory and highlighting an staff, you can press the B key (customizable in MCM) to break the staff and learn the spell that it casts, but the staff is destroyed in the process."
Close but no cigar... The old cat likes the thinking, but it should have been an option to disenchant the staves at a standard enchanting bench at the least. The idea of "snapping it over your knee" and learning the spell..? That's hard to head cannon. While in truth, there are a few the old cat trips over that he'd love to learn in the early game, Unless your player home has a staff enchanter, You'll have to wait on visiting Solsteim.
RealExist released Sloppy Vanilla Landscapes
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/143767
"2K vanilla landscape textures, upscaled using generative AI, remade normals and specular, and some manual edits. For vanilla lovers only. Primarily made for PBR, but a vanilla replacer with parallax textures is also available."
Thanks, The old cat is aware that PBR is all the rage at the moment, but these textures are not very impressive. That said, it's a big step up from vanilla. A nice 'mid point' for weaker rigs looking to add CS/PBR or parallax. Thanks
runescapebot released Aduri Sarethi Replacer
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/144433
Name says it all. The old cat doesn't normally feature replacers, but there's something 'pixie like' in this ones look, that the old cat finds very fitting for the old alchemist's hyperactive baby sister. Might be a little too 'human like' for purests, but it's a cute look for a Dunmer teen. (Of course when you live for hundreds of years, she could be in her 50s and still have her 'teen looks') Worth a look and a cookie for being cute.
And our mod of the day... This one needs actual testing in a new game
Elder Scrolls Immersive Enemies - Witches by FurfanteVigliacco as a first mod? Welcome
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/144352
"The witch faction in Skyrim feels underdeveloped. It consists of only two ranks : Witch (level 4) and Hag (level 8) offering little progression or variety. Visually, they are indistinguishable from generic warlocks, sharing the same outfits and dropping the same weapons. Gameplay-wise, they lack uniqueness, relying on a standard set of spells used by any magic-wielding NPC. This mod seeks to change that by giving witches a distinct identity, both in appearance and combat."
"There are now various witch factions. Encounter the fierce Nordic Fryse hags, the enigmatic Dunmeric Mabrigash, the arcane Glenmoril witches, and those inspired by the mystical Wryd Covens. Every faction boasts its own unique spell repertoire, distinctive attire, and exclusive loot. With an expanded ranking system compared to the base game, each faction presents escalating challenges and a rewarding sense of progression. These factions are far from equal: some are weaker and easily dispatched, while others are rare and immensely powerful, posing a true threat to even the most seasoned adventurers. Their presence is scattered across Skyrim, with each group occupying distinct regions that reflect their nature, ensuring a balance between challenge, discovery, and immersion."
There are warnings for people that push combat difficulty as some of the boss witches are very powerful, but it looks like a lot of thought went into variation and balance. As the old cat said, needs testing in a new game. This one gets a couple of cookies in advance for fleshing out the factions. Worth a look. The author alludes to this being a series. Tracking
And finally, Stan would never forgive me it this wasn't included...
Baby Dragon - A Pet Follower by hanshotfirst01
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/143815
"This is a cute little baby dragon who will follow you on your adventures. He can be found in Eldergleam Sanctuary."
Okay, everyone in unison now... Awwwww! This one gets a sweet roll (baby dragons like sweet rolls) A little toonish, but so cute.
And that will do for today. The fires are stoked, the kettles scrubbed, and the floors are... don't drop your food. We-B-Open! Now where's that mop?
Modding on the Spectrum
Checking the hot sheets we have 30 new from the usual suspects. let's see what catches an old cat's eye over a fresh cuppa today. Hint... Not much.