Oblivion

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Crowbar Sam

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Just as More Useful Racial Characteristics made races more useful, this mod seeks to make birthsigns more useful and better balanced. The fact that the Apprentice and Mage birthsigns both grant a major Magicka fortification (without the Stunted Magicka of the Atronach) means they are the only choices for characters even considering using Magicka. F

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Just as More Useful Racial Characteristics made races more useful, this mod seeks to make birthsigns more useful and better balanced. The fact that the Apprentice and Mage birthsigns both grant a major Magicka fortification (without the Stunted Magicka of the Atronach) means they are the only choices for characters even considering using Magicka. Furthermore, the other birthsign abilities are either boring but useful (the Thief, +10 to Agility, Speed, and Luck) or interesting but useless (the Ritual, 200-pt healing but once per day, so it's not really that useful). This mod attempts to correct those problems so that all the birthsigns merit serious consideration.

The first major change is that none of the birthsigns offer a Magicka fortification, but the base Magicka of players is increased from (2 x Intelligence) to (3 x Intelligence). This makes magic more viable for every character.

The second major change is that the powers of almost every birthsign have been redone. Once-a-day powers and attribute fortifications have been either removed or replaced by constant effects, lesser powers, or (in two cases) better balanced once-a-day powers. Some of the new powers and effects are admittedly a significant departure from the original birthsigns, but I think all of the effects still fit into the overall nature of their birthsigns and balance the birthsigns much better.

This mod is in beta until I feel more comfortable with the gameplay balance of the new abilities; if you have suggestions or comments, please email me at "hauslajd AT rose-hulman.edu".

Here are the specific effects of each birthsign. All of the birthsign text descriptions have been changed accordingly.

The Apprentice
-Restore Magicka 2 points per second
-Weakness to Magicka 100%

The Atronach
-Stunted Magicka*
-Restore Magicka 1 point per second*
-Spell Absorption 50%
-Draw Magicka lesser power (0 Magicka cost, Absorb Magicka 25 points on Touch)

* The overall effect here is that instead of regenerating Magicka at a rate relative to your Willpower (fairly quick), you regenerate at a fixed rate of 1 point per second (very slow).

The Lady
-Resist Paralysis 100%

The Lord
-Restore Health 1 point per second
-Weakness to Fire 25%

The Lover
-Lover's Kiss lesser power (50 Magicka cost, Calm 25 Levels for 30 seconds on Touch, Damage Endurance 2 points on Self)

The Mage
-Resist Normal Weapons 10%

The Ritual
-Ritual of Restoration greater power* (Restore All Attributes 100 points on Self)

* One of only two once-a-day powers for the birthsigns. Due to the nature of its effects, it is one of the few powers that is both useful and balanced as a once-a-day power.

The Serpent
-Soul Hook lesser power (0 Magicka cost, Soul Trap for 15 seconds on Target)

The Shadow
-Moonshadow lesser power (50 Magicka cost, Invisibility for 30 seconds on Self, Damage Luck 2 points on Self)

The Steed
-Marathon greater power* (Fortify Athletics 100 points for 300 seconds on Self)

* The other of two once-a-day powers for the birthsigns. Its duration means it will be very useful for running between towns or occasionally running from enemies. Making it a once-a-day power keeps it from being unbalancing.

The Thief
-Rogue's Luck lesser power* (50 Magicka cost, Fortify Luck 25 points for 60 seconds on Self, Drain Willpower 25 points for 60 seconds on Self)

* The effect of increasing your Luck by 25 points is that almost every skill is treated as being 10 points higher--this is a power that's useful for almost anything.

The Tower
-Tower Key lesser power (50 Magicka cost, Open Average Lock on Target)

The Warrior
-Adrenaline Rush lesser power* (50 Magicka cost, Restore Fatigue 1000 points on Self, Damage Magicka 200 points on Self)

* The overall effect will be that the power is usable at 50 Magicka or more (since 50 Magicka is the minimum base Magicka), but costs up to 250 Magicka total, depending on how much the user has.