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About this mod
An overhaul of the vanilla Gargoyles and their variants. With this mod, these golems created from vampire magic will become even more terrifying, and a greater challenge to explore.
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- Do you have any doubt? Read my Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
While generally in the TES universe, gargoyles are simply humanoid-looking statues with bestial traits, animated via magic, usually with protective functions, the specific type added by the Dawnguard expansion, and the only one to officially appear in the game, has some particular features. Especially connected to vampires, this type is animated by these factions with techniques that allow them to switch from the petrified appearance of when in a dormant state, to an organic-like appearance when active in combat, returning to stone form after fulfilling their protective function. This transformation to an (apparently) organic form is only temporary, as when they die they return to their previous state as proved by their loot consisting of ore and gems. Of course however, like almost everything else in the Dawnguard expansion, they were done in a sloppy way, with lots of plotholes, and lots of untapped potentials. This mode aims to fix that.
But, let's go by parts, so that users understand perfectly
what this mod does, and how this mod works in the game:
How Gargoyles are implemented in the vanilla game? - They appear in various forms, inside castles, forts and ruins inhabited by vampires, and randomly accompanying them in outdoor night events across the map. When inside, they are often in the form of statues, which explode to reveal a newly formed second layer of skin similar to an organic creature, when the statue "becomes alive" to fulfill its protective function. If their action is successful, they tend to return to petrified form until needed again, while some remain in their alert/active state. Any and all existing Gargoyle statues can theoretically be turned into an active golem;
But, let's go by parts, so that users understand perfectly
what this mod does, and how this mod works in the game:
How Gargoyles are implemented in the vanilla game? - They appear in various forms, inside castles, forts and ruins inhabited by vampires, and randomly accompanying them in outdoor night events across the map. When inside, they are often in the form of statues, which explode to reveal a newly formed second layer of skin similar to an organic creature, when the statue "becomes alive" to fulfill its protective function. If their action is successful, they tend to return to petrified form until needed again, while some remain in their alert/active state. Any and all existing Gargoyle statues can theoretically be turned into an active golem;
What are the problems with them? - Although much better implemented than other problematic creatures like Hawks, Magic Anomalies or Werebears, Gargoyles still have problems related to abilities and characteristics, besides, minor details can be improved making all the difference in the experience of facing Gargoyles in your game;
- Although there is a difference between the common Gargoyles and the Brute and Sentinel variants, in terms of the formation of the head and horns, the latter two are the same in shape, differing only in color. With this mod, each variant has its own skeleton linked separately. The smaller ones (green), which are the most common, have the original skeleton attributed by the vanilla game, while the Brutes have longer wing tips, slightly larger heads, in addition to vanilla anatomical differences and color, and are slightly larger also in size. The Sentinel variant, in addition to the vanilla differences, now has wings not only larger at the ends, but also at its base, having a larger back, with a more accentuated hump, in addition to a more prominent head. Its forearms are longer and its nails sharper. Furthermore, it is the largest among the three variants; (check image above)
- The Sentinel variant was very overpowered compared to the regular variant and the Brute. Now, even though it's still stronger than these, it's more closer in terms of damage, and its levels are a little lower too in comparison to vanilla, so it doesn't get so overpowered compared to the others;
- A very problematic version of a 4th type of vanilla Gargoyle, boss-like, not implemented in the final version of the game, has been rescued from the files of the dawnguard dlc, fixed in its texture and model issues, and implemented, now as Ancient Gargoyle, much larger, with color close to that of the common variant, but in a darker hue, with larger wings, horns and head, and spikes covering the whole body. I also added some extra changes to their arms and claws, making them bigger. Naturally it is the most powerful version, above the 3 of the final release of the vanilla game. This version as an enemy found in the world, except for the summons that I will mention later, is very rare, being found only in very remote and specific places where vampires plot against humanity; (check image above)
- Living up to its origin and essence, and putting an end to the lack of logic in removing minerals and gems from an organic corpse, now when they die, gargoyles explode into petrified pieces, leaving an ash pile on the ground (check image above), which can be looted for gems, but not anymore for specific ores, as they don't make much sense beyond a lazy way of denoting that they are made of stone, and now they also drop a vampire dust sample and a new item, mentioned in the topic below;
- It is now possible to loot a petrified Gargoyle Head Piece (or a larger Ancient Gargoyle Head Piece), after killing a gargoyle and making it explodes into pieces. The item has no use other than decoration, and can be sold; (check image above)
- It is no longer possible to capture the soul of a Gargoyle, as these are soulless golems animated by simple magic, in the case of this type, vampire magic, and it is no longer possible to reanimate them by the simple fact that they now explode when killed;
- Some vampires now summon gargoyles, of all 3 types in the vanilla game. What allows that even at higher levels the simplest variants continue to appear as well, since in the vanilla game, due to leveling done in an artificial and silly way, from a certain level foward the common variant becomes scarce;
- These vampires drop spell tomes that teach you how to summon gargoyles as well, so now you can conjure gargoyles even if you're not transformed into a Vampire Lord, or a vampire at all;
- To keep the Vampire Lord's powers at a higher status, now when using the Amulet of the Gargoyle when transformed, you summon an Ancient Gargoyle and no longer a Gargoyle of common variant. In turn, it is possible for the Ancient Gargoyle to summon a common Gargoyle to help it in combat;
- In his boss battle, Harkon now also summons an Ancient Gargoyle, instead of an ordinary Gargoyle.
A final note regarding the new features: - You might notice that this mod has files in common with other mods of mine, don't worry, they're just shared files. In this case, a small fix created long ago to prevent creatures that use the gargoyle animation as a base from getting sounds very characteristic of these. Let me explain: some sounds are built into animations and are impossible to remove unless they are removed from all creatures that share that animation. The most common are the scream of the gargoyle and the roar the werewolf. In this case, this fix gets around the problem of other creatures making the gargoyle scream sound, by removing the idle taunt-scream sound they do in middle of combat, replacing it with a roar that still matches but is more generic, therefore applicable to a larger number of creatures, and ingeniously puts the original very specific gargoyle scream directly in the process of the gargoyle engaging in combat, via script. Still, when a gargoyle statue breaks its petrified form and comes to life the sound remains as it has a different path in the folder. Unfortunately it is not possible to remove the scream that any creature using the gargoyle animations gives when summoned (only the one they use as taunt in mid-combat), without removing it also from the gargoyle breaking out the statue, so this one remained untouched. But having removed it from that middle combat situation is already positive, and having found a way to still keep it just for the specific gargoyles, it's already excellent. In resume, the taunt sounds of the the gargoyle in middle battle are not lost, they are still present where they matter and for the creatures that must have it (gargoyles), but this fix improves the immersion when it comes to other creatures. In doubt, you can test them and see for yourself, and you will see that everything works the same as always for the gargoyles. Never delete any sound files from my mods, as each one has a very well thought out reason for being there, and in this case, this mod offers an improved version of this fix, since instead of modifying certain things in the looping sound, it modifies them directly via script input, allowing a more organic sound production.
The mod is not compatible with other mods that modify the textures, models, skeleton, attributes, etc., of vanilla Gargoyles. If you have one installed, or think you might have one, put this mod below it/them in your load order. If you are asked about files overwriting those of other mods, press "Yes to all".
If you use my "Vampire Beasts" mod, or the bundle "Vampire Lords and Beasts",
this mod must be allways placed bellow those mods on your load order.
(OBS- If by chance when installing several of Mihail's mods at the same time you are asked about files overwriting those of other Mihail mods or other authors mods, don't worry because they are just the same files shared between mods. I recommend that on these occasions always give preference to the files contained in my mods, and among mine always give preference to the mod you are installing last.)
The Mihail Monsters and Animals series aims to create and make available to the community the most complete set of creatures for TES 5: Skyrim, implemented in an immersive and unique way, with respect to the pillars of lore. Instead of pathetically just throwing models and textures in the game reusing 100% vanilla mechanics, the creatures made by Mihail have uniqueness and extreme zeal in their idealization and implementation, which will provide you with an experience that you have never had before in this area.
Author: Mihail- Ancient Gargoyle model and texture fixing, Gargoyle
skeletons edits, magic effects, spells, loot, game implementation