About This File
Description:
This is an extension of Arthmoor's Alternate Start - Live Another Life mod from the Nexus. It provides a particularly minimal alternate start that requires the player to live off of the land for a short period of time before engaging in civilized activities. This is because a high bounty has been placed against them. By completing the quest that runs with this alternate start, the player can eventually have their name cleared. Alternatively, the player can just serve their time in each hold if they're feeling particularly guilty about a crime they didn't commit.
Requirements:
This mod has two requirements apart from the latest version of Skyrim itself:
-Dragonborn DLC (There will not be a non-DLC mod)
-Alternate Start - Live Another Life by Arthmoor (Found on the Nexus) - Version 2.5.4 or later
Recommended Mods:
This mod was made to work alongside a number of other mods and is highly recommended (but not required) to be running:
From the Nexus:
-Frostfall (or similar hypothermia mod)
-Basic needs mods (such as iNeed or Realistic Needs and Diseases)
From Lover's Lab:
Additional combat difficulty mods and such are also recommended but everyone uses something different. I wanted a greater starting challenge and I'm sharing it with those who might be interested.
How to start:
At the statue of Mara in the Alternate Start cell, select the option "I was kidnapped by crazed cultists." Use the bed when prompted to.
The Quest:
The player character will awake to find themselves locked in a small cage in a small nordic ruin. The room itself seems to have been the scene of a recent massacre based on the bloody remains scattered throughout. Something annihilated the player's captors. The player must escape the cage, navigate a short dungeon and then finally make their way to freedom to track down ways to clear their name.
The quest will eventually lead the player to Helgen indirectly, which will trigger the main quest. The standard Alternate Start method of starting the Main quest will still work as well.
Installation:
Use a mod manager like NMM or MO.
Uninstallation:
Use a mod manager like NMM or MO. Obviously, you don't want to be on the quest before uninstalling or you risk breaking your save.
Known Issues:
I know it seems a bit immersion breaking to have your name cleared as soon as you pick up the cultist's journal and that's where I reach out to you fine people to help out in implementing some sort of better functionality to clear the player's name. I was trying to add something like an additional dialogue option to guards to show them the journal but I couldn't get it to work. Any help would be appreciated. For now, simply picking up the journal clears the player's name.
It is technically possible to get yourself an infinite number of lockpicks while in the cage at the beginning. I need some guidance on how to detect if there's loose lockpicks sitting around NOT in the player's inventory.
Additional Notes:
I don't intend to add much more to this mod other than to address the issues above in the future:
This was originally for a different mod of mine but ended up turning into this for the following reasons:
-I wanted a highly minimalistic start. The default "escape the cell" scenario had a dagger, a woodcutter's axe, a few imperial swords and bows and a dungeon full of free goodies and armor to stock up with.
-I wanted to try and implement somewhat of a background pertaining to the PC's dragonblood (hence the Dragonborn requirement).
Finally, while this is an adult modding website, this is not a mod containing adult content on its own, neither does it require any adult mods to function. With that said, there is an option to start completely naked or to have a simple Roughspun Tunic on your person. You'll be presented with the option after using the bed in the Alternate Start cell.
Bonus Plugin (OPTIONAL):
There is another plugin available for download here (kzy_DisableResistArrest). It is a very small plugin that removes the option to resist arrest ("I'd rather die than go to prison!") and defaults to submitting to arrest if TAB is pressed instead. You can still pay your bounty and bribe the guards, etc and go on your way still.
It does not require the main mod to function and is completely optional. You could even run it alone if you so desired. In my eyes it's not significant enough to warrant a separate upload.
You might want to drop this below mods that change the affected dialogues. I haven't seen any conflicts with it yet, but I'm just one person. I use guard dialogue overhaul and it seems to play nice.
Possible Questions:
All the containers in the dungeon are empty!
-Yes, it was looted before you could get to anything.
How do I get out of the cage?
-Use the chair to get a lockpick (if you don't have one already).
How do I open the gates in the first room?
-The first gate (on the first floor) has a pull chain in the room behind the second gate (on the second floor).
-The second gate (on the second floor) is activated by placing an object on the pressure plate pedestal behind the little window on the right in the room before reaching the second gate. you may have to remove the item from the pedestal again to get the gate to open.
Where's the puzzle solution for the pillars?
-In the first room. Look around in the upper area.
Soooo... where are the cultists?
If you're too lazy to figure out what happened to you and your captors, have a look at the spoiler below.
Ahaha, you see, they WERE there, but a certain grotesque mass of tentacles had a different plan for his Dragonborn subject: Solsteim. He couldn't have the Dragonborn be killed right there, now could he?
It seems the Dragonborn got to take a little detour on their way to Helgen's chopping block. By murdering the imperial patrol containing the Dragonborn, and the Dragonborn going missing from the chaos, the blame was placed on, you guessed it, the Dragonborn.
What about Ralof, Ulfric and Lokir? Let's pretend the Dragonborn was instead on a different cart. Perhaps a late one? Or an early one? It's an Alternate Start!
Why is this here and not on the Nexus?
The community on the Nexus is not something I totally enjoy the company of. For now, it's here. I may one day give the Nexus another go.
What's New in Version 1.0
Released
- Initial Release