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About this mod
9 new character backgrounds for Merlord's Character Backgrounds, focusing on challenge characters, the wretched, and the weird.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
The Wretched and the Weird
This is an addon for Merlord's Character Backgrounds. It adds 9 new backgrounds for the mod, focusing on characters which are very eccentric or unfortunate, hence the name.
The backgrounds are as follows:
The Wretched
Wretch
Worthless. That is what you've been called all your life. You are weak, stupid, and unpleasant to look upon (all stats set to 10). You have never been trained in any useful profession (skills set to 15 or lower), and lack the capacity to learn from others (training from NPCs is permanently disabled). You have no belongings, you do not have a single coin to your name, and you've been dumped into Morrowind without a stitch of clothing (inventory is completely emptied). It will take monumental effort to overcome these challenges, but if you do, you may blossom into something truly great (special abilities unlocked if you survive to level 20).
Note: This is, essentially, a challenge background for those who want to start in a very bad position. It has no special advantages until you reach level 20, at which point you'll get an opportunity to accept or deny a special boon.
Drunkard
For as long as you can remember (which admittedly isn't very long), you've needed a drink to get through the working day. You've got a strong stomach (Endurance +15), but on days where you can't get a drink your hands shake (-30 Agility) and you feel awful (fatigue debuff). You could probably kick the habit if you endured the withdrawal long enough, but it would be tough.
Note: Basically, you need to drink at least once a day. Any potion with a typical booze name in its ID counts as a valid beverage. If you wish to kick the habit permanently, you must play with the debuff for 6 (real-world) hours without drinking.
Bad With People
People skills have never come naturally to you. Almost every social interaction feels like a struggle (Personality is set to 0 and cannot be increased with level or birthsign), but you have an affinity for working with inanimate objects (+10 Alchemy, Enchant, Security, and Armorer)
Note: A challenge background to make NPCs hate you! Maybe you can earn the esteem of people with faction reputation eventually, but you may be permanently locked out of factions which want personality.
Deprived
Poverty and deprivation have been your lifelong companions. You have no possessions, and the years of want have weakened you greatly (all skills and attributes reduced by 10).
Note: This is a less-extreme version of the wretch, if you like the idea of starting naked and weak but don't want such extreme disadvantages. Unlike the wretch, you can use trainers, but you don't get any special reward.
The Weird
Autodidact
You are entirely self-taught. Your independent way of thinking has sharpened your mind (+10 Intelligence), but you find it nearly impossible to learn from others (training from NPCs is permanently disabled).
Bog Witch
Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog! You are a mysterious bog witch. Your brews are the stuff of legend (Alchemy +10), and you are a master of a swampy sort of magic (spells using only poison effects recoup half their magicka cost when cast). However, a lifetime of breathing swamp gas has left you somewhat frail (Endurance -10), and people seem unnerved by your tendency to cackle (Personality -10).
Note: you are also given a pointy hat at the start of the game
Blood Mage
You are a diabolical Blood Mage. You've studied techniques to directly harm the life force of your victims rather than using elemental magic (spells using only damage health effects recoup half their magicka cost when cast). Years of self-experimentation with your own blood has left you with some vulnerabilities, however (20% Weakness to Magicka).
Note: Along with the Bog Witch, these were attempts at making a mostly-useless magical effect more practical. Damage health and poison both cost about double what fire and frost spells would cost for the same amount of damage without any other real advantage, so choosing one of these backgrounds will let you play with a different type of damage without sacrificing magicka.
Nudist
It is natural! You've always found clothing and armor stifling, and for most of your life you've avoided wearing clothing unless absolutely necessary. Your lack of attire makes you extremely light on your feet (+75 Unarmored ability), but most clothing makes you feel unbearably stifled (-30 Agility, Personality and Speed when clothed). You do, however, tolerate footwear at times where terrain is too rough to go barefoot, and sometimes you adorn your bare form with tasteful accessories (shoes, boots, skirts, gloves, belts, and jewelry do not trigger debuff).
Born on Another Plane
Mundus was not the first world you laid eyes upon. You were born in another dimension, and some of your youth was spent in a foreign reality. This has given you an innate talent in communicating across the planes (+10 Conjuration), but you never quite got used to the physics of Nirn (-5 Acrobatics and Alteration)
Note: The idea of this background is expanded on in the "Oblivion Backgrounds" optional file, allowing you to choose various planar homeworlds, powered by ideas from Glittergear!
This is an addon for Merlord's Character Backgrounds. It adds 9 new backgrounds for the mod, focusing on characters which are very eccentric or unfortunate, hence the name.
The backgrounds are as follows:
The Wretched
Wretch
Worthless. That is what you've been called all your life. You are weak, stupid, and unpleasant to look upon (all stats set to 10). You have never been trained in any useful profession (skills set to 15 or lower), and lack the capacity to learn from others (training from NPCs is permanently disabled). You have no belongings, you do not have a single coin to your name, and you've been dumped into Morrowind without a stitch of clothing (inventory is completely emptied). It will take monumental effort to overcome these challenges, but if you do, you may blossom into something truly great (special abilities unlocked if you survive to level 20).
Note: This is, essentially, a challenge background for those who want to start in a very bad position. It has no special advantages until you reach level 20, at which point you'll get an opportunity to accept or deny a special boon.
Drunkard
For as long as you can remember (which admittedly isn't very long), you've needed a drink to get through the working day. You've got a strong stomach (Endurance +15), but on days where you can't get a drink your hands shake (-30 Agility) and you feel awful (fatigue debuff). You could probably kick the habit if you endured the withdrawal long enough, but it would be tough.
Note: Basically, you need to drink at least once a day. Any potion with a typical booze name in its ID counts as a valid beverage. If you wish to kick the habit permanently, you must play with the debuff for 6 (real-world) hours without drinking.
Bad With People
People skills have never come naturally to you. Almost every social interaction feels like a struggle (Personality is set to 0 and cannot be increased with level or birthsign), but you have an affinity for working with inanimate objects (+10 Alchemy, Enchant, Security, and Armorer)
Note: A challenge background to make NPCs hate you! Maybe you can earn the esteem of people with faction reputation eventually, but you may be permanently locked out of factions which want personality.
Deprived
Poverty and deprivation have been your lifelong companions. You have no possessions, and the years of want have weakened you greatly (all skills and attributes reduced by 10).
Note: This is a less-extreme version of the wretch, if you like the idea of starting naked and weak but don't want such extreme disadvantages. Unlike the wretch, you can use trainers, but you don't get any special reward.
The Weird
Autodidact
You are entirely self-taught. Your independent way of thinking has sharpened your mind (+10 Intelligence), but you find it nearly impossible to learn from others (training from NPCs is permanently disabled).
Bog Witch
Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog! You are a mysterious bog witch. Your brews are the stuff of legend (Alchemy +10), and you are a master of a swampy sort of magic (spells using only poison effects recoup half their magicka cost when cast). However, a lifetime of breathing swamp gas has left you somewhat frail (Endurance -10), and people seem unnerved by your tendency to cackle (Personality -10).
Note: you are also given a pointy hat at the start of the game
Blood Mage
You are a diabolical Blood Mage. You've studied techniques to directly harm the life force of your victims rather than using elemental magic (spells using only damage health effects recoup half their magicka cost when cast). Years of self-experimentation with your own blood has left you with some vulnerabilities, however (20% Weakness to Magicka).
Note: Along with the Bog Witch, these were attempts at making a mostly-useless magical effect more practical. Damage health and poison both cost about double what fire and frost spells would cost for the same amount of damage without any other real advantage, so choosing one of these backgrounds will let you play with a different type of damage without sacrificing magicka.
Nudist
It is natural! You've always found clothing and armor stifling, and for most of your life you've avoided wearing clothing unless absolutely necessary. Your lack of attire makes you extremely light on your feet (+75 Unarmored ability), but most clothing makes you feel unbearably stifled (-30 Agility, Personality and Speed when clothed). You do, however, tolerate footwear at times where terrain is too rough to go barefoot, and sometimes you adorn your bare form with tasteful accessories (shoes, boots, skirts, gloves, belts, and jewelry do not trigger debuff).
Born on Another Plane
Mundus was not the first world you laid eyes upon. You were born in another dimension, and some of your youth was spent in a foreign reality. This has given you an innate talent in communicating across the planes (+10 Conjuration), but you never quite got used to the physics of Nirn (-5 Acrobatics and Alteration)
Note: The idea of this background is expanded on in the "Oblivion Backgrounds" optional file, allowing you to choose various planar homeworlds, powered by ideas from Glittergear!