• Disclaimer. I am the author of the publication. The author of the mod is Russian-speaking, he is lazy to distribute this mod, so he gave the go-ahead for publication on third-party resources. This mod is an order of magnitude superior to Undeath with addons. Get ready for a very extensive description. Also, to get help, please visit our Fashion Discord, because no one will follow the comments. Thank you for your attention, we are starting.
  

It's time to explore the darkest aspects of the magic of the world of Ancient Scrolls. Master the mysteries of necromancy, and raise hordes of the dead from the ground. Turn your enemies into submissive meat dolls and make the souls of the dead serve you. Immerse yourself in the dangerous magic of blood and imbue your spells with the lives of fallen enemies. Turn to the ancient powers in the blood of mortals to bend the otherworldly spirits of Oblivion to your will. And finally, if you have enough strength, then challenge death itself, and know eternity as an immortal lich.
The Dark Rituals mod expands the possibilities for playing a dark magician in the broadest sense of the word, adding new spells, quest options and game mechanics. The main focus of the mod is necromancy, but the mod is not limited to it. All the features added by this mod are inspired by in-game literature, as well as quests from different parts of the series and are made with maximum respect for the lore of Ancient Scrolls. This version of the mod is still far from the final one, but all the elements that are already present in the game have been thoroughly tested. Also, when releasing further updates, I will focus on their compatibility with the saves made on the current version of the mod. And so, what exactly does this mod add?




New mechanics within the school of witchcraft. Witchcraft minions are magical creatures subject to your will. Unlike summoned creatures, minions exist until they are destroyed, and their number is unlimited. Minions can be controlled as companions. Humanoid minions are able to carry things for you, crack chests (to the best of their skills and if they have lock picks), use scrolls, armor and weapons issued by you. Minions can be freely left in homes and other places as guards. However, although the total number of minions is unlimited, only a small number of them can follow you at a time, determined by your maximum supply of magic. The stronger the minions following you, and the greater their number, the more difficult they are to control. And if you lose control, the minions may rise up and attack you. A separate branch of perks has been added to the school of witchcraft to make it easier to control minions, and if you want to assemble a really strong squad, then these perks will be useful to you. The mod implements several ways to create minions. The expert spell "Enslavement of Spirits" has been added to the school of witchcraft, allowing you to turn any defeated Daedra and undead into minions. Did you like this Draugr executioner? You are welcome! Do you want this terrifying Dremora valkinaz to drag sweet rolls after you? You're welcome! (well, only if you are really strong). The spell "Hideous Compulsion of Urelu", available to lich players (see below), will allow you to enslave the living, like the undead and spirits. Necromancers controlling hordes of mindless undead are obsolete! As a lich, you can become the undead that controls the necromancers. If you are too lazy to wait for an expert level of witchcraft, then a bunch of "Blood-bound" perks and "Undead Creation" spells are provided for you.



Another mechanic added to the school of witchcraft. The only form of necromancy available to us in the original game is the short-term resuscitation of the recently deceased, followed by their disintegration as soon as the magic subsides. It is obvious from the lore Scrolls that the necromancer's abilities are not limited to this. Through proper rituals, necromancers can raise undead capable of existing for centuries, regardless of, and often "outliving" their own creators. Now you can too. Three undead creation spells have been added to the game, varying in strength, but not in the general mechanism of action. The weakest of them is already available to the student, although it will not allow him to create strong creatures. Having mastered at least one of the relevant spells, you will gain the ability to study bodies, and by studying them, you will learn how to revive them. The higher your witchcraft skill, the more information the study of bodies will give, and the more powerful undead you can create. The same spell can create completely different forms of the undead, depending on the condition of the body, the ingredients placed in it and other conditions. In total, there are currently 6 main types of undead available to you: skeletons, zombies, mummies, ghosts, corrupted shadows and undead. Skeletons, mummies, and zombies also have many subtypes differing in strength and abilities. The creation of weak skeletons and zombies is available to you from the moment you study the weakest spell. To create ghosts, you need to become an adept at witchcraft and use stronger magic. Creating corrupted shadows will require you to first encounter them and Malcoran's magic in the game world. You will learn how to create mummies and reinforced skeletons by finding and studying the relevant literature in the game world (it is added to the level lists, but it is quite rare, sometimes sold in the Arkaneum). And finally, the undead are intelligent higher undead related to the Lich, and potentially the most powerful of your creations. To create them, you will first have to master the skill of mummification, expert knowledge in the field of alchemy and witchcraft, as well as get at your disposal the infamous Volume of the Undead (see below). But you don't have to become a lich to create wights. One way or another, all the undead you create will be completely independent of you, and you can create as many undead as you want. Well, up to 256 of each type, in the case of ghosts, shadows and undead, for technical reasons. In the case of zombies, mummies and skeletons, there really are as many as you want. As a minus, the creatures created in this way will not obey just like that, and if you do not take some measures, they will simply pounce on you. However, a combination of the "blood bound" perk and blood magic will help you with this.



Another new mechanic, this time from the school of change (for the most part). Blood magic allows you to use your own blood and someone else's to fuel spells. Using vials of blood collected from fresh corpses, or using the "Sacrificial Blood" spell, you can temporarily reduce the price of all your spells. Using the Ritual Bloodletting ability, you can pay for spells with health instead of magic. There are also a number of spells (so far extremely limited) the use of which requires you to be under the influence of the effect of blood magic. In future updates, there will be much more such spells.



The central mechanics of this mod, as well as what it started with, and my whole path in mod-building as such. Now, having gathered enough power and knowledge, you will be able to fulfill the main goal of any mortal necromancer – to challenge your mortality and win by being reborn as an immortal lich. By becoming a lich, you will gain many unique advantages and disadvantages, including:

• Oblivion's own pocket plan, which can be improved and equipped with all sorts of useful tools (not finished, but there is already something to show).
• The ability to be reborn from the dead as long as the seals connecting you to the mortal world are intact.
  

• Complete invulnerability to poisons and diseases, as well as other properties of the undead.
• Additional properties depend on which of the three states of non–life - skeleton, ghost or mummy - you choose. States are reset upon rebirth (you always return to the form of a ghostly "lower" lich) and can be changed at will. You just need to find a suitable corpse and inhabit it with the help of the spell "Creation of the elder undead".
• A unique look for each of the above states, with full support for all standard game races, as well as almost any clothing, including open and from third-party mods.
• Hover mode with its own unique animation.
• Inability to use ANY potions, food and drinks (* except for the apathy of Vermina, because she is highly spiritual ;)).
• The inability to receive the blessings of the nine gods (actually, it was not done intentionally, but it turned out for the best. It so happens that my mod recognizes blessings as alchemical effects by keywords...)
• Vulnerability to fire, silver, spells against the undead and solar energy (if you suddenly encounter enemies using it).
• The ability to absorb the souls of fallen enemies, accumulating points of spiritual energy.
• Access to a variety of new spells and abilities that consume these very points.
• A unique progress system and a separate skill tree with 16 (!) perks that will significantly enhance your necromancy abilities and endow you with new otherworldly powers.
• A more or less adequate reaction from the game world and unique scenes in some quests (see below). All standard quests of all factions are available to you to complete as a lich. If someone remembers the previous version of this mod ("Lich, Death Rituals"), where to become a lich you had to first go through half the game, then congratulations – there is no more of this. Go through your favorite quest lines as an immortal lich!
• Fear and hatred from the vast majority of the Skyrim population.
• There are several options at once to hide their nature from the vast majority of the Skyrim population (the implemented disguise system is largely inspired by Divinity: original sin 2, if anyone played it for the undead race).
• In my opinion, I have listed all the main things, but how do you become an immortal lich? They will help you with this...
  

A new dungeon with a unique story has been added to the game world, which you can find by chance during your travels, or on a tip from a mysterious person calling himself Wormy Mouth. She will contact you in a dream when she feels that you have become strong enough to fulfill her prophecy. Anyway, after passing through this dungeon, you will get your hands on the mysterious "Volume of Non-Life", which holds the secrets of immortality. Having mastered the knowledge hidden in it, you can, if desired, launch a small, but atmospheric, quest to become a lich. After passing it, you will get at your disposal a demiplane and all the forces due to it. In future versions of the mod, I plan to continue the story of "Wormy Mouths", and introduce a full-fledged necromancer guild into the game, which you will lead and gradually revive from the ashes of oblivion. The story has already been thought out, but there is still a lot of work ahead...

• The line of Dawn Guards is adapted for the passage of the lich on both sides. Everything is tested. The Lich is able to complete all quests, including the additional one. Those who are not capable will not appear.
• Sanguine's quest is an alternative development if you are a lich.
• Azura's quest is an alternative development if you are a lich. If, as a lich, you manage to die inside a star or teleport away from there, then this will not break the quest. Just use your lich abilities to get back.
• The Thieves Guild lineup is an alternative development in the Poisoned Arrow quest, if you are a lich.
• A line of Companions – as a lich, you cannot become a werewolf, but you are still able to complete all quests (except for the search for werewolf relics).
• The line of the Dark Brotherhood – the cook in the Gourmet quest responds adequately to your race and disguise if you are a lich (unique dialog lines have been added). Dying in a burning shelter or teleporting out of it no longer breaks the quest. They'll be waiting for you.
• The main quest line – if you are a lich, then you will have some difficulties with the blood seal. The Blades will probably get nervous. But, everything is fixable. Just come back when you're ready. If, being a lich, you manage to die in a Skuldafn/In the future, or teleport away from there, then you will have a very good opportunity to return.
• The quest of the Dark – if you have enough strength, finish what the necromancers failed to do in the cave. Enslave the spirit of the Wolf Queen.
  

The 2nd new author's books "The Volume of Non-Life" and "Witchcraft Minions", with unique texts based on my somewhat free interpretation of Lore (written as much as possible in the spirit of the game, as I see it).

1 new diary, from which you will learn the story of what happened in the dungeon added to the game.

The 4th book from the previous games in the series. A three-volume book "On the preparation of bodies" straight from Morrowind (if you are going to create the undead, I highly recommend that you find it!) and the "God of Arkay" from Daggerfall.

All skeletons and Mothers of Smoke are now immune to cold and poisons. Yes, the Mothers of Smoke in the original game were considered undead, but, at the same time, they were vulnerable to poisons! And, yes, the cold. And the corrupted shadows of Malcoran, by the way, too. Probably, in order to avoid conflicts with third-party modifications, I should not have touched them. But the henchmen system gives you the opportunity to enslave them and view their characteristics. And every time I studied the characteristics of the Smoke Mothers, I was sickened by their zero resistance to poisons, as well as from skeletons that receive more damage from the cold than draugra, despite the fact that they have, in fact, nothing to freeze.