Jump to content

Minimalist Alternate Start


Recommended Posts

Posted
View 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:

 

-Prison Overhaul

 

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.


  • Submitter
  • Submitted
    11/25/2014
  • Category
  • Requires
    Alternate Start - Live Another Life, Dragonborn DLC
  • Special Edition Compatible

 

Posted

Tested last night. The pressure plate didn't work for me sadly, has to tcl to bypass it. Overall I really liked it!

 

Gvies me ideas on using LAL to start a story based slavery adventure that when completed then turns into the normal skyrim start... Blah I'm to lazy to do it, ignore my brain dreaming!

 

 

Posted

Tested last night. The pressure plate didn't work for me sadly, has to tcl to bypass it. Overall I really liked it!

 

Gvies me ideas on using LAL to start a story based slavery adventure that when completed then turns into the normal skyrim start... Blah I'm to lazy to do it, ignore my brain dreaming!

If memory serves me correctly there is instructions on how to do so when you download Alternate start mod. You have to download the extra files etc. I know .. for when you arent' being lazy..:). I am sure there are lots of people here interested in a slavery based alternate start. They might help .. if you take the first couple of steps.

 

Interesting.

I think i need to test this :)

But not now, already in one play right now.

I can play many optional mods and starts using MO. It is a bit more complex to start however very flexible. Allows multiple Profiles. That is multiple characters, saves and mod list. Think about it the next time your system breaks and you have to reload Skyrim. There is a thread here for more info and Gopher has tutorials on how to set it up etc. A simple Google search can give more info if you are interested.

 

@OP. Hows the progress with the final solution? (book).

Posted

 

Tested last night. The pressure plate didn't work for me sadly, has to tcl to bypass it. Overall I really liked it!

 

Gvies me ideas on using LAL to start a story based slavery adventure that when completed then turns into the normal skyrim start... Blah I'm to lazy to do it, ignore my brain dreaming!

If memory serves me correctly there is instructions on how to do so when you download Alternate start mod. You have to download the extra files etc. I know .. for when you arent' being lazy.. :). I am sure there are lots of people here interested in a slavery based alternate start. They might help .. if you take the first couple of steps.

 

I used the tutorial that Arthmoor (the author of alternate start) provided to make this scenario. It's pretty straight forward.

 

@OP. Hows the progress with the final solution? (book).

 

I'm afraid I don't have anything to report with tying up the loose ends in the known issues section currently.

 

Posted

 

I used the tutorial that Arthmoor (the author of alternate start) provided to make this scenario. It's pretty straight forward.

Cool. I heard it was pretty simple and direct.

 

I'm afraid I don't have anything to report with tying up the loose ends in the known issues section currently.

Ah.. still working on it. Must have missed that .. my bad.. :blush:

 

I have a little skill/understanding of the process. I have seen people solve those problems with a quest to talk to an individual. Perhaps the DB has to go to each hold and talk to the leader? That would make for a more immersive quest (could always use the cart for a quick travel to the hold). As far as the guards stopping and arresting the DB.. Dialogue could be given (like the one related to being a thane, same results. Of course not stating he/she is a thane but he / she has a book that the leader needs to see. ) the guard ignores it for the time being. Like the Thane option if you continue to cause trouble you will still get arrested. That should give some cushion to get the DB to the proper person if he/she don't goof off and take their time. (with other quest etc)

 

If that works you can add to the story with a group that is trying to steal the book back to protect those that covered up the crime. They can have a squad that is sent out to try to kill/subdue the DB to get the book back.

 

Then you can continue as far as the imagination will allow.. :P Who knows others might like to add to this story.. ;) However at that time.. it wouldn't be so minimal.. lol. (content that is not starting equiptment... ;))

  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
Posted

Nice little quest, and it's the only alternate start I know of where you can really start with nothing at all, which I always wanted to try.

 

One little improvement that would be great though is if you could find a torch in the first room. For those who play with realistic lighting mods most of that dungeon is in complete pitch black darkness, making it almost impossible to navigate. And it would make sense, I mean if this was real life I'd just break that chair for instance and light one of its legs at a fire.

Posted

Always wanted to start with nothing at all and try to make due. Makes my favorite playstyle in Skyrim, a life as an assassin, and gives it a nice little backstory.

 

Edit: Beat the bandit outside of the Swindlers Den while randomly roaming and got some equipment. Pretty satisfying start which quickly became my prefered start along with the Argonian Dock Worker start.

Posted

Always wanted to start with nothing at all and try to make due. Makes my favorite playstyle in Skyrim, a life as an assassin, and gives it a nice little backstory.

 

Edit: Beat the bandit outside of the Swindlers Den while randomly roaming and got some equipment. Pretty satisfying start which quickly became my prefered start along with the Argonian Dock Worker start.

 

The primary aim of the mod is doing mostly what I want it to do: To make the player build themselves up from absolutely nothing, to include not even having their own freedom (which admittedly is still pretty weakly implemented but captivity escapes and plots are so darn hard to think up - seriously, if someone has a suggestion, PUH-LEEZE share it with me! I'm trying to come up with one right now for another mod I'm working on).

 

Going back to my original point, the mod is inspired somewhat by survival games like Minecraft, 7 Days to Die, etc where you start with nothing and build up to something. In this case, you're out and about and have to find some basic things to survive with (or craft it, if you're like me and using mods like Frostfall and/or Hunterborn which allow you to craft basic tools and weapons and turn animal hides into fur clothing/armor). Meanwhile you're locked out of civilization until you become strong enough to defeat something that will unlock civilization to you. All this while maintaining proper hygiene (Bathing in Skyrim is what I use for this) and having to stave off hunger, thirst and fatigue (currently using iNeed for this) makes for a much stronger narrative to me.

 

I've even gone so far as to disable nearby dead bodies and lock normally unlocked chests. So for the most part, the mod is doing what I want it to do.

Posted

 

Always wanted to start with nothing at all and try to make due. Makes my favorite playstyle in Skyrim, a life as an assassin, and gives it a nice little backstory.

 

Edit: Beat the bandit outside of the Swindlers Den while randomly roaming and got some equipment. Pretty satisfying start which quickly became my prefered start along with the Argonian Dock Worker start.

 

The primary aim of the mod is doing mostly what I want it to do: To make the player build themselves up from absolutely nothing, to include not even having their own freedom (which admittedly is still pretty weakly implemented but captivity escapes and plots are so darn hard to think up - seriously, if someone has a suggestion, PUH-LEEZE share it with me! I'm trying to come up with one right now for another mod I'm working on).

 

Going back to my original point, the mod is inspired somewhat by survival games like Minecraft, 7 Days to Die, etc where you start with nothing and build up to something. In this case, you're out and about and have to find some basic things to survive with (or craft it, if you're like me and using mods like Frostfall and/or Hunterborn which allow you to craft basic tools and weapons and turn animal hides into fur clothing/armor). Meanwhile you're locked out of civilization until you become strong enough to defeat something that will unlock civilization to you. All this while maintaining proper hygiene (Bathing in Skyrim is what I use for this) and having to stave off hunger, thirst and fatigue (currently using iNeed for this) makes for a much stronger narrative to me.

 

I've even gone so far as to disable nearby dead bodies and lock normally unlocked chests. So for the most part, the mod is doing what I want it to do.

 

 

I wandered too close to an area Whiterun guards roam so I wound up serving time. I use Bathing in Skyrim as well with Disparity to basically create the previous Elder Scrolls experience with classes and birthsigns.

Posted

 

Tested last night. The pressure plate didn't work for me sadly, has to tcl to bypass it. Overall I really liked it!

 

Gvies me ideas on using LAL to start a story based slavery adventure that when completed then turns into the normal skyrim start... Blah I'm to lazy to do it, ignore my brain dreaming!

If memory serves me correctly there is instructions on how to do so when you download Alternate start mod. You have to download the extra files etc. I know .. for when you arent' being lazy.. :). I am sure there are lots of people here interested in a slavery based alternate start. They might help .. if you take the first couple of steps.

 

Interesting.

I think i need to test this :)

But not now, already in one play right now.

I can play many optional mods and starts using MO. It is a bit more complex to start however very flexible. Allows multiple Profiles. That is multiple characters, saves and mod list. Think about it the next time your system breaks and you have to reload Skyrim. There is a thread here for more info and Gopher has tutorials on how to set it up etc. A simple Google search can give more info if you are interested.

 

@OP. Hows the progress with the final solution? (book).

 

 

I have gone from NMM to Mo now so I will try this again, really interesting since I play very immerse whit RND Bathing B-F and other nice mods :P

 

Posted

Hi!Thank you for your hard work. I'm a Chinese player and like your mod so much . Can I translate it into chinese and share it on a free mod share website skycitizen net? I will follow your update.

  • 1 month later...
Posted

It's not, and I've no idea as to why it's doing that. I really need to get around to cleaning that darn thing up.

  • 1 month later...
Posted

Just thought I would pass on a few thoughts I had while using this.  Clearing your name should involve taking the information you find to some person of authority.  Also, the imperial soldiers should probably be on the lookout for you as well since you have supposedly slaughtered a group of them.  I walked right into several Imperials camps and all they did was try to recruit me :)

 

Great mod though, the two things I listed above are the only changes I can think of.  The mod does an excellent job doing what it was designed to do.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

An interesting idea and a well designed dungeon. It's a shame that you couldn't make the quest more immersive but maybe you could do it if we were to give the journal to a specific npc and not just a random guard? Take a look at other scripts/quests involving fetching an item for someone. I'm sure you could copy that into your mod and make it work.

 

Regarding the bounty I don't think it would apply in all of the holds, since it takes time to get word out, there is a civil war going on and the Stormcloaks would hardly care if you killed a few imperials. So you should only be wanted in the Imperial holds and Whiterun because it's neutral and close to Helgen.

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

An interesting idea and a well designed dungeon. It's a shame that you couldn't make the quest more immersive but maybe you could do it if we were to give the journal to a specific npc and not just a random guard? Take a look at other scripts/quests involving fetching an item for someone. I'm sure you could copy that into your mod and make it work.

 

Regarding the bounty I don't think it would apply in all of the holds, since it takes time to get word out, there is a civil war going on and the Stormcloaks would hardly care if you killed a few imperials. So you should only be wanted in the Imperial holds and Whiterun because it's neutral and close to Helgen.

 

But you are not really sure how long you were in that dungeon, so word could have made it to all the holds :)   Makes it a challenge starting out with all those bounties on your head.  I have started this way a few times and both times I lived in the wilderness for quite some time lol.

  • 2 months later...
Posted

Here is an idea..

 

Instead of making the quest end at the cultist, try adding a new level.

 

Have to sneak into Solitude and find an NPC (like a judge or someone) and only by talking to them does the quest 'end' and your name be cleared. It's harder but getting into Solitude can be done.

 

It's a little more work, but would be better than just finding the book and it ends.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...