Zera LeSaar's Theoretical Rift
by Zera LeSaar

If you download, please play before you rate, and if you rate, please try to rate based on the Rift itself; the lead-up is merely a formality.

REQUIREMENTS: Shivering Isles, latest Oblivion patch, border-removal mod or .ini tweak

NOTE: There are two available versions, only download one. If you're a casual player or are (as you should be) more interested in the home than a fight, pick the first file. If you fancy really working for your new home, pick ZLTRC, which adds three more bandits in the 80-95 level range with extremely strong special abilities.

ADVISORY: There is a fight during the quest with anywhere from one to three bandits, who are a level 52 warrior, level 54 archer, and level 56 wizard. It is strongly advised that you come prepared, especially against the mage, who possesses custom spells.

The Order of Psijics, at home on the Isle of Artaeum, is an old and venerable society of some of Nirn's mightiest magisters. They, however, are not aware of everything. Such was the case with the Rifts, which were revealed to the Psijics by an unknown and rather anonymous visitor one day, a man who had swept aside the Psijics' wards and security as though they were made by novice mages. This man spoke atlength to one Psijic in particular, named Mathesir, who was keenly interested in the nature of the "Rifts" the man was telling of. He compiled the man's words into a book, called A Treatise on Rifts in Mundus, and set out for where the fellow had told him he could find a simple example of one of the rifts.

Mathesir never returned to the Isle of Artaeum, and scouts were sent to find him. They discovered the charred, pasty remains of Mathesir in a small village called Bleak Hopes, which had recently been raided by slavers. Alongside him, they found the manuscript of his Treatise as well as another unusual tome containing a spell. While they brought the Treatise back to be published, they left the other tome, saying that picking it up filled them with a profound sense of fright and dread.

Some say the book remains, and the path to finding it and investigating the rifts is supposedly in a publisher's note in the back of the now-published Treatise, which is sold exclusively at Southern Books, in Leyawiin.

Installation
============
Installing this is very easy.
1. After downloading the provided archive, unzip the files to temporary location.
2. Open the unzipped folder and cut/copy the "Data" folder into "C:/Program Files/Oblivion
3. Open the Oblivion Launcher or WryeBash, OBMM, etc. and tick the boxes next to "Zera LeSaar's Theoretical Rift.esp" and "StaticAlchemyMod.esm"

Updating from a Previous Version
================================
1. Run Oblivion, remove all of your items and yourself from the Theoretical Rift, go to a safe waiting place, and save your game.
2. Uncheck the Theoretical Rift.esp in your Data folder, then run your game and save again.
3. Follow the above steps for Installation to install ZLTR v1.1
4. Run your game, go to Leyawiin, buy the book, and do the paper-trail quest.

Attempting an install-by-overwriting is possible, although certain bugs may occur (mostly with the floating orbs that provide light--they tend to wander if you just overwrite). I am unsure at this time whether or not your items will remain in place, and thus recommend making a clean insall to update as detailed above.

Acquisition
===========
To begin your search for the Theoretical Rift, pop in on Bugak gro-Bol, shopkeeper of Southern Books, in the town of Leyawiin. For anywhere from 1750 to 5000-odd gold, you can own a copy of A Treatise on Rifts in Mundus, which will point you in the right direction. Follow the given clues from there to find the ruins of Bleak Hopes, and the Tome that scared off even the scouts of the Psijics.

Features
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Once inside the Rift, take in the surroundings of your new home. You'll find...

-A strangely decorated entrance portal designed to provide some aesthetic pleasure upon entering the Rift.
-A large atrium leading off to the other parts of the home
-A master bedroom with a roaring fire, study corner, sitting area, shelf space, luxurious bed, and modest dressing area
......attached is a small room with an altar for curing your afflictions and maladies
-A spare sleeping area with beds and storage for up to four companions
-A fine dining table overlooked by statues of Sheogorath and Azura meant to enhance your dining pleasure
-A kitchenette to prepare your meals, store perishables, and even put your cold goods in iced coolers
-A mage's area complete with static alchemy gear, two rift-bound anchors that let you siphon energy from the Rift, and enchanting and spellmaking crystals
......attached is an alchemy garden with a variety of plants from Tamriel, the Isles, and Oblivion all preserved in arcane ice for you to harvest
-A small, courtly area for visitors to your Rift dominion
......attached is a throne in a small rotunda, purely aesthetic
-A generous display hall with many pedestals and invisible barriers to prevent your precious trophies from falling into the void


The Theoretical Rift, being a "pocket dimension" also comes with the ever-handy feature of being reached by teleportation. As long as the Tome from Bleak Hopes is in your possession, you will have a Lesser Power that will take you to the Rift. Casting the spell from inside the Rift will teleport you back to where you were.

WARNINGS
========
1. The Theoretical Rift is placed out in the middle of a vast black abyss. Only the display hall has barriers to prevent you from hurling your items off into the void. As a result, throwing things into the abyss is highly unadvised, as you will never get them back. Ever

2. Due to the tenuous existence of the Rift as a hole in the fabric of reality itself, one should only ever enter or exit the Rift by using the spell the Tome provides. Any other means of entry and/or exit will result in a bug that will permanently lock you out of the Rift. So remember: ONLY USE THE SPELL!


Changelog
=========
v1.15 Added ZLTRC to provide a far harder fight for anyone interested.
v1.1 Added altar and guest area, improved quest, strengthened scavengers protecting the Tome, improved general decorations, added static alchemy apparatus
v1 First release, basic version. No longer available.


Credits
=======
Lemunde for his pocket-dimension teleport scripts, and the inspiration his pocket dimensions provided for me.
Academecian_Nwahs for his Static Alchemy Mod.
LHammonds for his ReadMe generator.
The TESNexus community for their support and feedback.
Dark0ne for hosting this site.
Bethesda for making another great TES game and Construction Set.
God for all of us.