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About this mod
Replaces the more boring standing stones with notable, script free effects inspired by Birthsigns in Morrowind and Oblivion, while being usable for a wide variety of builds.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
Do you too only get reminded that you picked The Lord when examining your active effects? Do you wish that four of the stones did more than speed up your journey through the skills? Are you feeling nostalgic about Birthsigns? Oblivionesque Standing Stones gives simple, script free yet refreshing effects to the stones that need it. No standing stone requires your build to have one or two select skills, and most can be used completely regardless of build.
Standing Stones
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
The four stones that grant a power (The Ritual/Serpent/Shadow/Tower) have not been changed as they confer strong abilities from the Conjuration, Alteration, Illusion and (essentially) Lockpicking skills, without having to invest in them. The daily limit makes them far from spammable, which ensures gameplay variety.
The Apprentice (unchanged)
Vanilla: Magicka regenerates 100% faster. Magic Resistance reduced by 100%.
Perfect as-is, this is the only passive standing stone that has not been changed. The Magicka regeneration bonus sets it apart from The Atronach and The Mage, and the reduced Magic Resistance adds a significant, disadvantageous flavour.
Morrowind: Fortify Magicka 1.5*INT, Weakness to Magicka 50%
Oblivion: Fortify Magicka 100 points, Weakness to Magic 100%
The Atronach
Vanilla: Increases Magicka by 50 points, absorb 50% of the magicka from hostile spells, and Magicka regenerates 50% slower.
The lowered Magicka regeneration can quite easily be overcome with effects that increase it, since the effects are additive, not multiplicative (The Recovery (2/2) perk is enough to counteract it).
Morrowind: Fortify Magicka 2*INT, Spell Absorption 50%, Stunted Magicka
Oblivion: Fortify Magicka 150 points, Spell Absorption 50%, Stunted Magicka
Stunted Magicka in Oblivion prevents the natural Magicka regeneration entirely. Not even effects that increase it can counteract it. This makes each point of Magicka more valuable, as well as potions that restore it. If the player wastes Magicka in easy fights, they might not have enough for the next. Morrowind, which doesn't have natural Magicka regeneration, took it one step further and prevented Magicka from being restored even when resting.
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases Magicka by 150 points, increases Spell Absorption by 50%, and stunts Magicka regeneration. (Same as in Oblivion)
The Lady
Vanilla: Health and Stamina regenerate 25% faster.
Both of these bonuses are too weak to feel impactful. The increased Health regeneration can turn off players who have disabled the natural Health regeneration, which both Morrowind and Oblivion lacked.
Morrowind: Fortify Personality 25 points, Fortify Endurance 25 points
Oblivion: Fortify Willpower 10 points, Fortify Endurance 10 points
In Morrowind and Oblivion, both Endurance and Willpower increases max Fatigue (Stamina). In Morrowind, this boost was called "Lady's Grace".
"Those born under the sign of The Lady are kind and tolerant." -Morrowind
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases Stamina by 50 points, and Gift of Charity is thrice as powerful.
I thought about moving the inconsequential Health Regeneration into the more significant Stamina Regeneration, but that would turn users of The Lady into Stamina-fueled berserkers. Instead, the Stamina boost simulates graceful movement without having the same massive impact in an extended fight. The primary effect, however, is the boost to Gift of Charity which greatly encourages seeking out beggars.
The Lord
Vanilla: Increases Armor Rating by 50 points and increases Magic Resistance by 25%.
Apart from being more effective against magic than physical damage, this defensive bonus can be compared to simply turning down the difficulty a notch.
Morrowind: Weakness to fire 100%, Restore Health 2 points for 30 s on Self
Oblivion: Weakness to fire 25%, Restore Health 6 points for 15 s on Self
"Those born under the sign of the Lord are stronger and healthier than those born under other signs."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases Armor Rating by 50 points, increases Shock Resistance by 50%, and reduces Fire Resistance by 100%.
The vanilla armor boost is a suitable alternative to the health regeneration spell from Morrowind and Oblivion. It was chosen over a passive health regeneration to not force a defensive playstyle, and to keep Histskin unique. A strong and healthy heart is a tremendous help against Shock damage. The returning Fire weakness, however, is what changes gameplay the most.
The Lover
Vanilla: All skills improve 15% faster.
This Standing Stone messed with ones preferred levelling speed, did not increase the power of the character relative to their level, and had no effect on gameplay.
Morrowind: Fortify Agility 25 points, Paralyze 60 s on target and damage Fatigue 200 points on self
Oblivion: Paralyze 10 seconds on Touch and Damage Fatigue 120 points on Self, once per day
Both games grants the "Lover's Kiss" power to paralyze an opponent.
"Those born under the sign of The Lover are graceful and passionate."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Bribes to the opposite sex are free, and converts 10 points of Stamina into Health per second while affected by a potion.
As in previous games, the Lover Stone has somewhat cheeky effects, one of which drains Stamina. I forewent a paralyzing effect since I did not want to encroach on the territory of the Serpent Stone.
The Mage
Vanilla: All magic skills improve 20% faster.
See "The Lover".
Morrowind: Fortify Magicka 0.5*INT
Oblivion: Fortify Magicka 50 points
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases Magicka by 50 points. (Same as in Oblivion)
A flat Magicka boost might seem boring, but it has an advantage over a boost to the other stats. It often makes the difference between being able to cast a certain spell or not, or two in quick succession. Enabling more advanced spells in early levels can dramatically alter your gameplay, and it stays relevant throughout the game. In addition, it increases your regeneration proportionally.
The Steed
Vanilla: Carry capacity increased by 100 points, armor weighs nothing and doesn't slow you down when worn.
The increased carry capacity doesn't go well with mods that lower it to a more realistic level. The armor effect makes two vanilla perks (Conditioning and Unhindered) pointless.
Morrowind: Fortify Speed 25 points
Oblivion: Fortify Speed 20 points
In Morrowind, this increases movement speed by up to 25%, and in Oblivion by up to 8% (depending on your Speed stat).
"Those born under the sign of The Steed are impatient and always hurrying from one place to another."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases movement speed by 20%, and reduces Magicka and Stamina by 50 points.
Even a slight speed boost is powerful since it makes you outrun many melee foes. Since I want this increase to be noticeable, it needed some compensation. The impatience of Steed Stone users is therefore simulated with a lowered Magicka and Stamina, since they don't let themselves fully recover mentally or physically between endeavours.
The Thief
Vanilla: All stealth skills improve 20% faster.
See "The Lover".
Morrowind: Sanctuary 10 points
Oblivion: Fortify Agility 10 points, Fortify Luck 10 points, Fortify Speed 10 points
Sanctuary gives a chance to dodge attacks (10%). Oblivion's boosts to Agility, Luck and Speed also gives the impression of agile users with a bit of luck.
"Those born under the sign of the Thief are not typically thieves, though they take risks more often and only rarely come to harm. They will run out of luck eventually, however, and rarely live as long as those born under other signs."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: 50% chance of avoiding all damage from an attack when at full Health, and take 20% more attack damage when injured.
The Thief stone users excel at dodging attacks, but their luck runs out when a hit finally lands. The value of 50% was not chosen arbitrarily - it is the probability that on average is "the least random". The second effect is not active when at full health to give the user more control over the stone's effect. I did not want it to increase the likelihood of getting one-shotted by tough enemies.
The Warrior
Vanilla: All combat skills improve 20% faster.
See "The Lover".
Morrowind: Fortify Attack 10 points
Oblivion: Fortify Strength 10 points, Fortify Endurance 10 points
"Those born under the sign of the Warrior are skilled with weapons of all kinds, but prone to short tempers. The Warrior's own season is Last Seed when his Strength is needed for the harvest."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: 10% more damage dealt with attacks and blocked, tempering is 10% better, increases Heavy Armor skill by 10 points, and Stamina regenerates 50% slower when injured.
Users of The Warrior are better at everything that requires strength. Their short tempers prevent them from staying calm in combat, reducing their Stamina regeneration. Unlike the effect from the Thief stone, this one is not meant to encourage staying at full health. Damage is inevitable to those who rely much on the combat skills, and thus would have use of this stone's positives. Instead, it is a way to penalize Stamina regeneration in and after combat, but not when going for a morning jog.
A note on load screens
I choose to believe in FudgeMuppet's theory on why standing stones have replaced the mechanic of birthsigns. Therefore, load screens refer to the effects as birthsigns to add mystique, as in Oblivion. The load screens are purposely vague in their descriptions, if they reveal anything at all, but the confirmation texts when activating the standing stones are fully detailed.
Requests
If you like the idea of this mod, but you would prefer some different numbers, or to keep a certain stone vanilla, just ask in the comments and I will upload a custom version when I have the time. Alternatively, if you have TES5Edit experience, feel free to change it yourself; the mod is easily configurable.
Installation/Uninstallation
To be on the safe side, switch to a stone that isn't changed by this mod before installing or uninstalling. You can also remove it by the following console commands:
"help [standing stone]" will return an ID for the spell effect that corresponds to the standing stone.
"player.removespell [ID]" removes the effects of the standing stone.
This mod is script free and therefore safe to uninstall mid-playthrough. It does not need cleaning.
Compatibility/Load Order
Incompatible with other mods that change the effects of the standing stones. Functionally compatible (you might get incorrect load screen tips) with mods that only change other standing stones. Can be made compatible by request, so that you get some stones from one mod and some from the other.
Place anywhere in your load order.
Recommended Mods
These mods are great in their own right, but synergize with Oblivionesque Standing Stones:
SkyTweak to reduce the maximum resistances, so that the disadvantages of the Apprentice and Lord stones can't be almost completely negated (I use 50% for Fire/Frost/Shock and 25% for Magic).
Armor Rating Rescaled - SKSE to make the Lord Stone's armor rating bonus actually useful when at low armor, instead of only at high.
Harder Lockpicking to increase the usefulness of the Tower Stone.
Health Regenerating Off to turn off the natural Health regeneration (obviously) while still allowing Histskin and Health Regeneration potions to work. This makes the Atronach Stone appropriately punishing since you have to rely on potions or your limited Magicka (through Restoration) to recover Health.
Skyrim Scaling Stopper so that you don't have to worry about picking a suboptimal standing stone.
Finally, a shoutout to Know Your Enemy since it makes ghosts immune to physical damage, the feature I missed the most from Oblivion.
Standing Stones
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
The four stones that grant a power (The Ritual/Serpent/Shadow/Tower) have not been changed as they confer strong abilities from the Conjuration, Alteration, Illusion and (essentially) Lockpicking skills, without having to invest in them. The daily limit makes them far from spammable, which ensures gameplay variety.
The Apprentice (unchanged)
Vanilla: Magicka regenerates 100% faster. Magic Resistance reduced by 100%.
Perfect as-is, this is the only passive standing stone that has not been changed. The Magicka regeneration bonus sets it apart from The Atronach and The Mage, and the reduced Magic Resistance adds a significant, disadvantageous flavour.
Morrowind: Fortify Magicka 1.5*INT, Weakness to Magicka 50%
Oblivion: Fortify Magicka 100 points, Weakness to Magic 100%
The Atronach
Vanilla: Increases Magicka by 50 points, absorb 50% of the magicka from hostile spells, and Magicka regenerates 50% slower.
The lowered Magicka regeneration can quite easily be overcome with effects that increase it, since the effects are additive, not multiplicative (The Recovery (2/2) perk is enough to counteract it).
Morrowind: Fortify Magicka 2*INT, Spell Absorption 50%, Stunted Magicka
Oblivion: Fortify Magicka 150 points, Spell Absorption 50%, Stunted Magicka
Stunted Magicka in Oblivion prevents the natural Magicka regeneration entirely. Not even effects that increase it can counteract it. This makes each point of Magicka more valuable, as well as potions that restore it. If the player wastes Magicka in easy fights, they might not have enough for the next. Morrowind, which doesn't have natural Magicka regeneration, took it one step further and prevented Magicka from being restored even when resting.
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases Magicka by 150 points, increases Spell Absorption by 50%, and stunts Magicka regeneration. (Same as in Oblivion)
The Lady
Vanilla: Health and Stamina regenerate 25% faster.
Both of these bonuses are too weak to feel impactful. The increased Health regeneration can turn off players who have disabled the natural Health regeneration, which both Morrowind and Oblivion lacked.
Morrowind: Fortify Personality 25 points, Fortify Endurance 25 points
Oblivion: Fortify Willpower 10 points, Fortify Endurance 10 points
In Morrowind and Oblivion, both Endurance and Willpower increases max Fatigue (Stamina). In Morrowind, this boost was called "Lady's Grace".
"Those born under the sign of The Lady are kind and tolerant." -Morrowind
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases Stamina by 50 points, and Gift of Charity is thrice as powerful.
I thought about moving the inconsequential Health Regeneration into the more significant Stamina Regeneration, but that would turn users of The Lady into Stamina-fueled berserkers. Instead, the Stamina boost simulates graceful movement without having the same massive impact in an extended fight. The primary effect, however, is the boost to Gift of Charity which greatly encourages seeking out beggars.
The Lord
Vanilla: Increases Armor Rating by 50 points and increases Magic Resistance by 25%.
Apart from being more effective against magic than physical damage, this defensive bonus can be compared to simply turning down the difficulty a notch.
Morrowind: Weakness to fire 100%, Restore Health 2 points for 30 s on Self
Oblivion: Weakness to fire 25%, Restore Health 6 points for 15 s on Self
"Those born under the sign of the Lord are stronger and healthier than those born under other signs."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases Armor Rating by 50 points, increases Shock Resistance by 50%, and reduces Fire Resistance by 100%.
The vanilla armor boost is a suitable alternative to the health regeneration spell from Morrowind and Oblivion. It was chosen over a passive health regeneration to not force a defensive playstyle, and to keep Histskin unique. A strong and healthy heart is a tremendous help against Shock damage. The returning Fire weakness, however, is what changes gameplay the most.
The Lover
Vanilla: All skills improve 15% faster.
This Standing Stone messed with ones preferred levelling speed, did not increase the power of the character relative to their level, and had no effect on gameplay.
Morrowind: Fortify Agility 25 points, Paralyze 60 s on target and damage Fatigue 200 points on self
Oblivion: Paralyze 10 seconds on Touch and Damage Fatigue 120 points on Self, once per day
Both games grants the "Lover's Kiss" power to paralyze an opponent.
"Those born under the sign of The Lover are graceful and passionate."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Bribes to the opposite sex are free, and converts 10 points of Stamina into Health per second while affected by a potion.
As in previous games, the Lover Stone has somewhat cheeky effects, one of which drains Stamina. I forewent a paralyzing effect since I did not want to encroach on the territory of the Serpent Stone.
The Mage
Vanilla: All magic skills improve 20% faster.
See "The Lover".
Morrowind: Fortify Magicka 0.5*INT
Oblivion: Fortify Magicka 50 points
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases Magicka by 50 points. (Same as in Oblivion)
A flat Magicka boost might seem boring, but it has an advantage over a boost to the other stats. It often makes the difference between being able to cast a certain spell or not, or two in quick succession. Enabling more advanced spells in early levels can dramatically alter your gameplay, and it stays relevant throughout the game. In addition, it increases your regeneration proportionally.
The Steed
Vanilla: Carry capacity increased by 100 points, armor weighs nothing and doesn't slow you down when worn.
The increased carry capacity doesn't go well with mods that lower it to a more realistic level. The armor effect makes two vanilla perks (Conditioning and Unhindered) pointless.
Morrowind: Fortify Speed 25 points
Oblivion: Fortify Speed 20 points
In Morrowind, this increases movement speed by up to 25%, and in Oblivion by up to 8% (depending on your Speed stat).
"Those born under the sign of The Steed are impatient and always hurrying from one place to another."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: Increases movement speed by 20%, and reduces Magicka and Stamina by 50 points.
Even a slight speed boost is powerful since it makes you outrun many melee foes. Since I want this increase to be noticeable, it needed some compensation. The impatience of Steed Stone users is therefore simulated with a lowered Magicka and Stamina, since they don't let themselves fully recover mentally or physically between endeavours.
The Thief
Vanilla: All stealth skills improve 20% faster.
See "The Lover".
Morrowind: Sanctuary 10 points
Oblivion: Fortify Agility 10 points, Fortify Luck 10 points, Fortify Speed 10 points
Sanctuary gives a chance to dodge attacks (10%). Oblivion's boosts to Agility, Luck and Speed also gives the impression of agile users with a bit of luck.
"Those born under the sign of the Thief are not typically thieves, though they take risks more often and only rarely come to harm. They will run out of luck eventually, however, and rarely live as long as those born under other signs."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: 50% chance of avoiding all damage from an attack when at full Health, and take 20% more attack damage when injured.
The Thief stone users excel at dodging attacks, but their luck runs out when a hit finally lands. The value of 50% was not chosen arbitrarily - it is the probability that on average is "the least random". The second effect is not active when at full health to give the user more control over the stone's effect. I did not want it to increase the likelihood of getting one-shotted by tough enemies.
The Warrior
Vanilla: All combat skills improve 20% faster.
See "The Lover".
Morrowind: Fortify Attack 10 points
Oblivion: Fortify Strength 10 points, Fortify Endurance 10 points
"Those born under the sign of the Warrior are skilled with weapons of all kinds, but prone to short tempers. The Warrior's own season is Last Seed when his Strength is needed for the harvest."
Oblivionesque Standing Stones: 10% more damage dealt with attacks and blocked, tempering is 10% better, increases Heavy Armor skill by 10 points, and Stamina regenerates 50% slower when injured.
Users of The Warrior are better at everything that requires strength. Their short tempers prevent them from staying calm in combat, reducing their Stamina regeneration. Unlike the effect from the Thief stone, this one is not meant to encourage staying at full health. Damage is inevitable to those who rely much on the combat skills, and thus would have use of this stone's positives. Instead, it is a way to penalize Stamina regeneration in and after combat, but not when going for a morning jog.
A note on load screens
I choose to believe in FudgeMuppet's theory on why standing stones have replaced the mechanic of birthsigns. Therefore, load screens refer to the effects as birthsigns to add mystique, as in Oblivion. The load screens are purposely vague in their descriptions, if they reveal anything at all, but the confirmation texts when activating the standing stones are fully detailed.
Requests
If you like the idea of this mod, but you would prefer some different numbers, or to keep a certain stone vanilla, just ask in the comments and I will upload a custom version when I have the time. Alternatively, if you have TES5Edit experience, feel free to change it yourself; the mod is easily configurable.
Installation/Uninstallation
To be on the safe side, switch to a stone that isn't changed by this mod before installing or uninstalling. You can also remove it by the following console commands:
"help [standing stone]" will return an ID for the spell effect that corresponds to the standing stone.
"player.removespell [ID]" removes the effects of the standing stone.
This mod is script free and therefore safe to uninstall mid-playthrough. It does not need cleaning.
Compatibility/Load Order
Incompatible with other mods that change the effects of the standing stones. Functionally compatible (you might get incorrect load screen tips) with mods that only change other standing stones. Can be made compatible by request, so that you get some stones from one mod and some from the other.
Place anywhere in your load order.
Recommended Mods
These mods are great in their own right, but synergize with Oblivionesque Standing Stones:
SkyTweak to reduce the maximum resistances, so that the disadvantages of the Apprentice and Lord stones can't be almost completely negated (I use 50% for Fire/Frost/Shock and 25% for Magic).
Armor Rating Rescaled - SKSE to make the Lord Stone's armor rating bonus actually useful when at low armor, instead of only at high.
Harder Lockpicking to increase the usefulness of the Tower Stone.
Health Regenerating Off to turn off the natural Health regeneration (obviously) while still allowing Histskin and Health Regeneration potions to work. This makes the Atronach Stone appropriately punishing since you have to rely on potions or your limited Magicka (through Restoration) to recover Health.
Skyrim Scaling Stopper so that you don't have to worry about picking a suboptimal standing stone.
Finally, a shoutout to Know Your Enemy since it makes ghosts immune to physical damage, the feature I missed the most from Oblivion.