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About this mod
Introduces new birthsigns based on Daedric princes, intended for challenge or roleplay runs. Whether your character chooses to embrace their fate or fight it, they can never forget their past. Does not replace or change vanilla birthsigns.
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
What does this mod do?
Adds new birthsigns for the player to choose from, intended for challenge or roleplay runs. Each new daedric birthsign has at least two extreme weaknesses, and several benefits from their patron lord. Regenerating magicka, health, and awesome daedric powers will be unlocked for your character, but watch out for lore-friendly consequences. This mod is intended to challenge the player with new playstyles, and should be viewed as a nerf, in contrast to the vanilla birthsign buffs.
Update 8/17/23: I have made a companion mod, Ritual Shields of the Daedra, to compliment and assist with roleplay and min/maxing of characters born under these birthsigns. Sixteen shields, one for each prince, with unique looks, enchantments, and icons. Each shield has its own drawbacks and powerful buffs.
Compatibility
Does not replace or change vanilla birthsigns. Adds new birthsigns and corresponding abilities, powers, and spells. Need to make a new game to use, does not override any birthsigns, spells, or abilities on old saves. Tribunal and Bloodmoon required.
Challenge & roleplay
Various weaknesses to elements, magic, normal weapons, and poison abound, in addition to nerfs to stats like Luck or Personality. Each of the weaknesses was placed with attention to the lore of each daedric prince, in addition to their boons.
The backstory to why your character was raised under the rituals of the birthsign of a daedric prince are up to you. Whether hungry for power, or the victim or circumstances beyond their will, this character will have remarkable weaknesses and abilities that stay with them to their death... and beyond with immortal life in the realm of their daedric lord.
Extreme challenge
The latest version 0.43 adds two new extremely challenging birthsigns: Azura's Orphan of Twilight, and Maleficence of Molag Bal. Something went terribly wrong when these birthsign ceremonies were performed, and the player character will be broken with terrible weaknesses. Although their patron daedric prince does not yet know of them for reasons unknown, perhaps one day they will meet Azura or Molag Bal in Morrowind.
These last two birthsigns are essentially the most difficult so far: they incorporate some different nerfs and powers so that the playthrough is challenging in certain circumstances, but by creative use of powers could be rewarding. The idea behind the huge weaknesses to fire and frost is that they stick with you for your entire playthrough, offering another tier of challenge, and making you fear enemies that use these elements, perhaps for the first time.
Dark side of power
The damaging of your attributes by using your powers gives you control over how far you fall for your daedric lord. See the the article included on information about restoring your attributes.
If you overindulge in your powers, NPCs may hate you, you can't concentrate on spells, you may fall down in combat more, or be able to carry less, perhaps you will lose your wits and magicka, or even run slower. Maybe most challenging of all, the Ashpit Cursed may lose Endurance itself and thus health if they use one of their powers. This last challenge is best enjoyed with a mod that gives you dynamic health, like Modern Combat, so that your health will fluctuate throughout your battles and playthrough, instead of a flat nerf at the beginning.
Some deadric birthsigns use blind, sound, or even paralyze for different effects. Weakness to magicka will amplify all of these effects, as well amplify the damage to your attributes. Mora's Mindbloom gives a crippling weakness to magicka, so only the most advanced and prepared of Mora mages can utilize their daily power, Well of Apocrypha, granting them immense reserves of magicka and protection.
A note on difficulty
These Daedric birthsigns have different levels of complexity to be overcome. Complexity leads to difficulty at first, but eventually most of these downsides can be overcome.
For a fun experience free of many downsides, I recommend the Peryite and Namira birthsigns. Peryite has regenerating magicka, and Namira has a large passive reflect buff. Both only experience damage to their personality trait, which can be easily restored with heather.
For a much more challenging experience, Azura, Bal, and Mora have numerous crippling weaknesses to overcome. Your build will have a strong influence on how the difficulties effect you. For Aura, consider Thief and Warrior-style classes. For Bal, spellcasters and thieves will be best. For Mora, the extreme weakness to magicka is best countered with the Orsimer or Breton class, as well as using enchantment to restore attributes instead of shrines.
Version 0.44
Due to an interaction with a mod I play with, Modern Combat, I missed that Bal's birthsign was unplayable due to the strength drain without any feather effect. This patch adds 75 points of feather to Lesser Lamentation, instead of 50 points of Burden.
For previous saves of Molag Bal birthsigns that wish to have this new ability , in the console you can execute these commands:
player->removespell "lesser lamentation"
player->addspell "lesser lamentation"
New games will start with the new, patched ability.
The new birthsigns
Ashpit Curse - Malacath:
Orphaned into the ashpit to be raised by Ogrims, most scholars agree the chance for survival of the Ashborn is slim to none. The ashpit remains in their lungs, eyes, and ears. Their health and luck always fails at the wrong time. They rejoice in combat, and somehow gain energy from challenging and slaying enemies. Their path to greatness is narrow, but they are fearsome warriors that hit like a daedroth.
Bastard of Sanguine:
With a ritual so vivavious and bizarre it would make a lusty Argonian blush, a horrible coupling of many like-minded, inebriated individuals is progeny of the daedric prince of revelry itself. Addicted to alcohol and vice, these bastards of Sanguine are nonetheless beautiful and exciting to be around, although their depravity knows no bounds. They are often diseased and weak to heat and cold, but a drinking buddy is always one call away. They give Drunken Speeches and commit Walks of Shame.
Blessing of Boethiah:
The bloodletting and dark rituals required for the Blessing of Boethiah are talked about in hushed whispers of Vvardenfell. Turning eventually into savage warriors, they are prized fighters and arena combatants, however they can be felled by strong poison and magic. Once per day, they unleash the hunger of their patron prince, regenerating health and gaining a powerful ally in combat.
Dreamweaving of Vaermina:
Stolen nightmares are administered to the forgotten Dreamchildren over a period of many years, until they can barely stand the elements of the normal world. Uniquely, they can tap into the Dreamscape of Vaermina, and be protected from harm while regaining magicka.
Flood of Amibition - Mehrunes Dagon:
Every few decades the stars are flooded with heavenly fire for one night. The children born on this rare occurrence sometimes rise to the highest of ranks among men and mer. Even greater are the consequences of their ambition: destruction, change, and hope. These acolytes of Dagon move through the world at a prodigious pace, but fear shock and cold. They can ambush their enemies with a daedric battleaxe and full armor conjured out of thin air.
Madness of Sheogorath:
With vast bales of cheese and yarn, the festivals of madness are sometimes blessed with a birth, and these children are in turn blessed by the mad god. Only lightning can return them to a lucid state, but subjecting them so kills them instantly. Once per day, they may enter a manic state, almost flying through their world like an airborn crazed version of themselves. They naturally are creative and have vast reserves of magicka. Sometimes they rant like a madman, and confused enemies are calmed by their craziness.
Mark of Hircine:
With both moons in the air, a primal hunt is enacted upon an unsuspecting town. One survivor is taken and marked by Hircine, with the strange power of wild animals now flowing through them. Afraid of flames of any kind, they usually stay clear of civilization. They can mark their enemies with the Call of Nature, and always relish a fair fight or depraved hunt.
Mindbloom of Mora:
Those born under the rituals of the Prince of Lost Knowledge are wise beyond their years, and know ancient incantations that have long been forgotten. Reading tombs of lore as babies, they seemed to know more than the adults around them. However, their mind has never recovered from their meeting with Mora, no matter how much they age, and they are consumed with the need for knowledge and magicka at all times.
Namira's Rot:
Unspoken rituals are preformed on a rare moonless night when this individual is born, disfiguring them with a rotten appearance and mannerisms forever. In return, they reflect magic naturally, and can blind their enemies with Namira's Shroud. Entering into a Frenzied Feeding, they can drain the essence of their enemies.
Negligence of Nocturnal:
Left alone to the shadows by some horrible fate, some lost soul was taken in by Nocturnal. The rays of the sun burn horribly into their flesh, but the Lady of Darkness is generous with her gifts. An infamous nightblade of dubious distinction wore this birthsign once, able to regenerate their magicka quickly and go anywhere she wished.
Plague of Peryite:
A horrible cauldron is filled with rare ingredients from around Tamriel, then heated until bubbling, and an unspeakable rite is committed, with the result a patron of Peryite being born: spreading disease, but themselves looking healthy and in fact vibrant in spirit. Just like disease, these plague-bearers can be destroyed by cold.
Radiance of Meridia:
Infused with the spirit of the Glister Witch, the sons and daughters of Meridia illuminate all those around them with the light of their Lady. The undead and unworthy kneel, or die before them so that the will of Meridia goes unchallenged. However, these proud crusaders are usually foiled by mud crabs, cliff racers, and other humble creatures.
Vile Memories of Regret - Clavicus Vile:
Those born under the rituals of Clavicus Vile turn quite prosperous indeed, however they always seem to reach an alarming end somehow, whether to blade, poison, or betrayal. They are able to break into many locks, but doing so evokes consequences from the lord of regret. Those inclined toward luck and money at any cost always gravitate towards Vile.
Webspun Heart - Mephala:
The ritual of creeping spiders and cacoons is too much to bear for some hearts, but the ones who emerge from the threads of the webspinner are aged and wise beyond their years. They direct the paths of other mortals to uncertain ends. Afraid of the destructive elements of fire, frost, and shock. Able to create weapons and armor out of thin air once per day, they may surprise their enemies (or friends) with bound bow and spear. They can recover magicka with a Webspinners Kiss.
Azura & Molag Bal:
These children of twilight or maleficence share one thing in common: their birthsign ceremony was botched for reasons of the players choosing, and they are left with terrible weaknesses. Traditionally the graves of those marked by Azura are watched over by a perpetually-lit candle. Some speculate that Molag Bal collects the souls of those given to him, for reasons unknown.
**These last two birthsigns are intended as an extreme challenge. Please proceed with caution.**
Adds new birthsigns for the player to choose from, intended for challenge or roleplay runs. Each new daedric birthsign has at least two extreme weaknesses, and several benefits from their patron lord. Regenerating magicka, health, and awesome daedric powers will be unlocked for your character, but watch out for lore-friendly consequences. This mod is intended to challenge the player with new playstyles, and should be viewed as a nerf, in contrast to the vanilla birthsign buffs.
Update 8/17/23: I have made a companion mod, Ritual Shields of the Daedra, to compliment and assist with roleplay and min/maxing of characters born under these birthsigns. Sixteen shields, one for each prince, with unique looks, enchantments, and icons. Each shield has its own drawbacks and powerful buffs.
Compatibility
Does not replace or change vanilla birthsigns. Adds new birthsigns and corresponding abilities, powers, and spells. Need to make a new game to use, does not override any birthsigns, spells, or abilities on old saves. Tribunal and Bloodmoon required.
Challenge & roleplay
Various weaknesses to elements, magic, normal weapons, and poison abound, in addition to nerfs to stats like Luck or Personality. Each of the weaknesses was placed with attention to the lore of each daedric prince, in addition to their boons.
The backstory to why your character was raised under the rituals of the birthsign of a daedric prince are up to you. Whether hungry for power, or the victim or circumstances beyond their will, this character will have remarkable weaknesses and abilities that stay with them to their death... and beyond with immortal life in the realm of their daedric lord.
Extreme challenge
The latest version 0.43 adds two new extremely challenging birthsigns: Azura's Orphan of Twilight, and Maleficence of Molag Bal. Something went terribly wrong when these birthsign ceremonies were performed, and the player character will be broken with terrible weaknesses. Although their patron daedric prince does not yet know of them for reasons unknown, perhaps one day they will meet Azura or Molag Bal in Morrowind.
These last two birthsigns are essentially the most difficult so far: they incorporate some different nerfs and powers so that the playthrough is challenging in certain circumstances, but by creative use of powers could be rewarding. The idea behind the huge weaknesses to fire and frost is that they stick with you for your entire playthrough, offering another tier of challenge, and making you fear enemies that use these elements, perhaps for the first time.
Dark side of power
The damaging of your attributes by using your powers gives you control over how far you fall for your daedric lord. See the the article included on information about restoring your attributes.
If you overindulge in your powers, NPCs may hate you, you can't concentrate on spells, you may fall down in combat more, or be able to carry less, perhaps you will lose your wits and magicka, or even run slower. Maybe most challenging of all, the Ashpit Cursed may lose Endurance itself and thus health if they use one of their powers. This last challenge is best enjoyed with a mod that gives you dynamic health, like Modern Combat, so that your health will fluctuate throughout your battles and playthrough, instead of a flat nerf at the beginning.
Some deadric birthsigns use blind, sound, or even paralyze for different effects. Weakness to magicka will amplify all of these effects, as well amplify the damage to your attributes. Mora's Mindbloom gives a crippling weakness to magicka, so only the most advanced and prepared of Mora mages can utilize their daily power, Well of Apocrypha, granting them immense reserves of magicka and protection.
A note on difficulty
These Daedric birthsigns have different levels of complexity to be overcome. Complexity leads to difficulty at first, but eventually most of these downsides can be overcome.
For a fun experience free of many downsides, I recommend the Peryite and Namira birthsigns. Peryite has regenerating magicka, and Namira has a large passive reflect buff. Both only experience damage to their personality trait, which can be easily restored with heather.
For a much more challenging experience, Azura, Bal, and Mora have numerous crippling weaknesses to overcome. Your build will have a strong influence on how the difficulties effect you. For Aura, consider Thief and Warrior-style classes. For Bal, spellcasters and thieves will be best. For Mora, the extreme weakness to magicka is best countered with the Orsimer or Breton class, as well as using enchantment to restore attributes instead of shrines.
Version 0.44
Due to an interaction with a mod I play with, Modern Combat, I missed that Bal's birthsign was unplayable due to the strength drain without any feather effect. This patch adds 75 points of feather to Lesser Lamentation, instead of 50 points of Burden.
For previous saves of Molag Bal birthsigns that wish to have this new ability , in the console you can execute these commands:
player->removespell "lesser lamentation"
player->addspell "lesser lamentation"
New games will start with the new, patched ability.
The new birthsigns
Ashpit Curse - Malacath:
Orphaned into the ashpit to be raised by Ogrims, most scholars agree the chance for survival of the Ashborn is slim to none. The ashpit remains in their lungs, eyes, and ears. Their health and luck always fails at the wrong time. They rejoice in combat, and somehow gain energy from challenging and slaying enemies. Their path to greatness is narrow, but they are fearsome warriors that hit like a daedroth.
Bastard of Sanguine:
With a ritual so vivavious and bizarre it would make a lusty Argonian blush, a horrible coupling of many like-minded, inebriated individuals is progeny of the daedric prince of revelry itself. Addicted to alcohol and vice, these bastards of Sanguine are nonetheless beautiful and exciting to be around, although their depravity knows no bounds. They are often diseased and weak to heat and cold, but a drinking buddy is always one call away. They give Drunken Speeches and commit Walks of Shame.
Blessing of Boethiah:
The bloodletting and dark rituals required for the Blessing of Boethiah are talked about in hushed whispers of Vvardenfell. Turning eventually into savage warriors, they are prized fighters and arena combatants, however they can be felled by strong poison and magic. Once per day, they unleash the hunger of their patron prince, regenerating health and gaining a powerful ally in combat.
Dreamweaving of Vaermina:
Stolen nightmares are administered to the forgotten Dreamchildren over a period of many years, until they can barely stand the elements of the normal world. Uniquely, they can tap into the Dreamscape of Vaermina, and be protected from harm while regaining magicka.
Flood of Amibition - Mehrunes Dagon:
Every few decades the stars are flooded with heavenly fire for one night. The children born on this rare occurrence sometimes rise to the highest of ranks among men and mer. Even greater are the consequences of their ambition: destruction, change, and hope. These acolytes of Dagon move through the world at a prodigious pace, but fear shock and cold. They can ambush their enemies with a daedric battleaxe and full armor conjured out of thin air.
Madness of Sheogorath:
With vast bales of cheese and yarn, the festivals of madness are sometimes blessed with a birth, and these children are in turn blessed by the mad god. Only lightning can return them to a lucid state, but subjecting them so kills them instantly. Once per day, they may enter a manic state, almost flying through their world like an airborn crazed version of themselves. They naturally are creative and have vast reserves of magicka. Sometimes they rant like a madman, and confused enemies are calmed by their craziness.
Mark of Hircine:
With both moons in the air, a primal hunt is enacted upon an unsuspecting town. One survivor is taken and marked by Hircine, with the strange power of wild animals now flowing through them. Afraid of flames of any kind, they usually stay clear of civilization. They can mark their enemies with the Call of Nature, and always relish a fair fight or depraved hunt.
Mindbloom of Mora:
Those born under the rituals of the Prince of Lost Knowledge are wise beyond their years, and know ancient incantations that have long been forgotten. Reading tombs of lore as babies, they seemed to know more than the adults around them. However, their mind has never recovered from their meeting with Mora, no matter how much they age, and they are consumed with the need for knowledge and magicka at all times.
Namira's Rot:
Unspoken rituals are preformed on a rare moonless night when this individual is born, disfiguring them with a rotten appearance and mannerisms forever. In return, they reflect magic naturally, and can blind their enemies with Namira's Shroud. Entering into a Frenzied Feeding, they can drain the essence of their enemies.
Negligence of Nocturnal:
Left alone to the shadows by some horrible fate, some lost soul was taken in by Nocturnal. The rays of the sun burn horribly into their flesh, but the Lady of Darkness is generous with her gifts. An infamous nightblade of dubious distinction wore this birthsign once, able to regenerate their magicka quickly and go anywhere she wished.
Plague of Peryite:
A horrible cauldron is filled with rare ingredients from around Tamriel, then heated until bubbling, and an unspeakable rite is committed, with the result a patron of Peryite being born: spreading disease, but themselves looking healthy and in fact vibrant in spirit. Just like disease, these plague-bearers can be destroyed by cold.
Radiance of Meridia:
Infused with the spirit of the Glister Witch, the sons and daughters of Meridia illuminate all those around them with the light of their Lady. The undead and unworthy kneel, or die before them so that the will of Meridia goes unchallenged. However, these proud crusaders are usually foiled by mud crabs, cliff racers, and other humble creatures.
Vile Memories of Regret - Clavicus Vile:
Those born under the rituals of Clavicus Vile turn quite prosperous indeed, however they always seem to reach an alarming end somehow, whether to blade, poison, or betrayal. They are able to break into many locks, but doing so evokes consequences from the lord of regret. Those inclined toward luck and money at any cost always gravitate towards Vile.
Webspun Heart - Mephala:
The ritual of creeping spiders and cacoons is too much to bear for some hearts, but the ones who emerge from the threads of the webspinner are aged and wise beyond their years. They direct the paths of other mortals to uncertain ends. Afraid of the destructive elements of fire, frost, and shock. Able to create weapons and armor out of thin air once per day, they may surprise their enemies (or friends) with bound bow and spear. They can recover magicka with a Webspinners Kiss.
Azura & Molag Bal:
These children of twilight or maleficence share one thing in common: their birthsign ceremony was botched for reasons of the players choosing, and they are left with terrible weaknesses. Traditionally the graves of those marked by Azura are watched over by a perpetually-lit candle. Some speculate that Molag Bal collects the souls of those given to him, for reasons unknown.
**These last two birthsigns are intended as an extreme challenge. Please proceed with caution.**