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About this mod
Rebalances 7 out of 13 birthsigns in a way that makes sense, according to the book The Firmament and in accordance with the existing ones. As a bonus the full birthsign descriptions are made visible when you hover over them in the UI.
- Permissions and credits
Lore Friendly Birthsign Rebalancing
By Half11
By Half11
Version: 1.0
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Contents
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1. Description
2. Requirements
3. Installation
4. Incompatibilities
5. Changelog
6. Permissions
7. Contact
8. Credits
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Description
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I was not entirely satisfied with the available birthsign rebalancing mods for Morrowind, so I decided to create my own. I wanted choosing your character’s birthsign to be a meaningful decision while staying true to the lore, as described in The Firmament. My aim was to balance the in-game birthsigns without adding effects like skill fortification or resistances that aren't present in the originals. Additionally, I've made the full birthsign descriptions visible when you hover over them in the UI.
Two overpowered birthsigns have been nerfed, five underpowered ones have been buffed, and six that I found to be well-balanced have been left untouched.
Nerfs
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The Atronach:
In Morrowind, the Atronach birthsign is quite overpowered. Unlike in Oblivion, the “Stunted Magicka” drawback isn't a major issue, as magicka in Morrowind only regenerates by resting. It’s not the magicka boost that makes this birthsign overpowered but rather the 50% Spell Absorption, which means half of all spells that hit you do nothing. To address this, I’ve reduced the Spell Absorption effect to 25%.
Cloak Wombburn – Spell Absorption now 25% (instead of 50%)
The Lady:
The Lady's main strength is the Endurance boost, which directly affects hit points gained per level. Since health gained this way isn’t retroactive, gaining Endurance early results in much higher health later on. The Fortify Endurance 25 pts made this birthsign too advantageous. To rebalance it, I replaced the Endurance boost with a Willpower 25 pts boost. This change also matches the lore (“those born under the Lady are kind and tolerant”) since Willpower suggests the willingness to endure and tolerate differences.
Lady's Grace – Now Fortifies Willpower 25 pts (instead of Endurance 25 pts)
Buffs
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The Ritual:
The Ritual is a decent birthsign for roleplaying, thanks to its Turn Undead spells, but is comparatively weak overall. To improve its usefulness, I doubled the healing power of Mara's Gift, similar to Oblivion.
Mara's Gift – Restores Health 200 pts on Self (instead of 100 pts)
The Tower:
The Tower's Beggar's Nose spell (Detect Animal, Key, Enchantment) is quite useful, but Tower Key (Open 50 pts) is underwhelming and easily replaced early on. I increased the Open value to 80 to make it more effective without trivializing higher-level locks.
Tower Key – Opens 80 pts on Touch (instead of 50 pts)
The Serpent:
The Serpent birthsign is intriguing but lacks power. Its Star Curse spell, which deals 90 damage over 30 seconds while also harming the caster, isn’t strong enough to justify the drawback, and there are no other benefits to balance it. In Oblivion, Bethesda made changes, including replacing the self-damage with fatigue damage and adding Cure Poison and Dispel, yet it remained unpopular. To maintain the thematic idea of being both blessed and cursed, I’ve added a separate power for Cure Poison on Self and Dispel 90 pts on Self. This provides both a “cursed” damage spell and a “blessed” healing effect, nicely reflecting the lore.
Serpent’s Blood – Cure Poison on Self, Dispel 90 pts on Self
The Shadow:
Initially, I considered adding Fortify Personality 25 pts to boost The Shadow, given that Personality governs Illusion magic, which includes stealth-related spells. However, this addition would mainly benefit characters not invested in Illusion and would overlap with The Lady’s Personality boost. I also thought of extending Moonshadow’s invisibility duration, but increasing it to 90 seconds wasn’t sufficient to rebalance it. Instead, I opted for adding a Chameleon spell (similar to the powers of other signs), which suits stealth-focused characters who don't use Illusion magic. The values are inspired by Oblivion’s Shadow Stone.
Cloak – Chameleon 15% for 120 seconds (Cost 15)
The Lord:
The Lord is one of the weakest birthsigns in the game. The permanent Weakness to Fire 100% is a harsh penalty, especially given that fire is one of the most common damage types. Although this may have been intended for a more challenging experience, the trade-off simply wasn’t worthwhile. Like Bethesda’s Oblivion rebalancing, I’ve reduced Weakness to Fire to 25%, making it viable for melee characters who need the healing ability of Blood of the North.
Trollkin – Weakness to Fire 25% (instead of 100%)
Note: The changes were based on tier rankings from personal experience and feedback gathered from various forums:
***Overpowered***
#1 The Atronach
#2 The Lady
***Balanced***
#3 The Apprentice
#4 The Lover
#5 The Thief
#6 The Steed
#7 The Mage
#8 The Warrior
***Underpowered***
#9 The Ritual
#10 The Tower
#11 The Serpent
#12 The Shadow
#13 The Lord
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Requirements
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Morrowind
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Installation
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Copy the .ESP file into your Morrowind\Data Files folder. Activate the mod in the Morrowind launcher under the Data Files tab.
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Incompatibilities
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This mod will conflict with other mods that change the original birthsigns. Should be fully compatible with chargen overhauls.
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Changelog
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Version 1.0
- Initial release.
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Permissions
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You are not allowed to convert/alter/modify/translate/improve/commercial use/use assets from or reupload this file to other sites under any circumstances without my permission. This mod can be freely translated into other languages with my blessings however, as long as credit is given to me as the original creator.
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Contact
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Discord: Half11 #2779
Morrowind Nexus: https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/users/36879320/?
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Credits
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Thanks to Bethesda Softworks for developing Morrowind and the Construction Set.
Thanks to Brucoms for developing the TES3 Readme Generator this readme was made from.