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About this mod
Appropriate Requiem-related perks for all vanilla Skyrim followers.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
Ever tried to use a follower in Requiem: The Roleplaying Overhaul?
Well, with few exceptions, they suck. This is because combat effectiveness in Requiem is almost entirely dependent on perks, not character level or stats. By default, Requiem also does not dole out many perks to the game's vanilla followers. Most heavy armor-earing followers at least have the appropriate heavy armor perks - but that's about it.
In particular, melee followers' lack of block and weapon perks, and spell-casting followers' lack of perks in the appropriate schools of magic severely limits their effectiveness in combat (i.e., their stamina and/or magicka tanks pretty much immediately and then they're useless).
At least one Requiem overhaul, Minor Arcana, seeks to remedy this in part by assigning perks to a handful of followers; however, in my opinion this mod massively overcompensates, turning those few followers into demigods with the equivalent of skill-level-100 perks and massive health and stamina bonuses. It is also limited to those few followers as well.
Requiem - Perks for Vanilla Followers takes a more even-handed approach, giving only low- to mid-level perks to most followers, unless lore suggests they should be more powerful (the Circle members of the Companions, for example).
All followers in the vanilla game have been covered (to my knowledge - if I've missed any please let me know!)
I have tested these changes and in my experience they do make a sufficient difference, without making the followers in question too powerful. However, please note I have not exhaustively tested every single follower - so again, please do let me know if any changes I have made have unintended adverse effects!
Changes in detail:
Favor Followers
Mercenaries for Hire
Housecarls
Daedric Quest Followers
The Companions
College of Winterhold - Apprentices
The Dark Brotherhood
The Blades
Note: Dawnguard followers are not covered by this mod, as they appear to have received full suites of appropriate perks with their inclusion in the official Requiem package as of Requiem 2.0.
Installation:
Install via your mod manager of choice. Contains only one .esp file. No scripts or assets.
As always with a mod changing something in Requiem, you will need to re-run the Reqtificator (SkyProc patcher).
Load Order:
Load after Requiem, obviously.
Before or after Minor Arcana? Up to you. Do you prefer Minor Arcana's "super follower" versions of Uthgerd, Goldir, etc.? If so, place my mod before MA. If you would prefer my somewhat more subdued take on it, place my mod after. My mod overwriting Minor Arcana may affect some of the changes that mod makes to the Companions NPCs, but (afaik) even in this case it should not break anything important.
In general, I always recommend using xEdit to check for any conflicts with your existing mods and resolve these manually.
Requiem Version Compatibility:
Main file is for use with Requiem 3.1+
Versions specifically for 2.0.2/3.0 can be found in "Old Files".
An optional file for Requiem 1.9.4 is also provided - thanks to user CodeNamed1 for combing through the patch and finding out the (surprisingly few) points that needed to be fixed for this. I don't play this version anymore, though, so don't expect any prompt support if something goes wrong :-p
Form 44 conversion with USSEP master also available under Optional Files for those playing Requiem on SSE.
Well, with few exceptions, they suck. This is because combat effectiveness in Requiem is almost entirely dependent on perks, not character level or stats. By default, Requiem also does not dole out many perks to the game's vanilla followers. Most heavy armor-earing followers at least have the appropriate heavy armor perks - but that's about it.
In particular, melee followers' lack of block and weapon perks, and spell-casting followers' lack of perks in the appropriate schools of magic severely limits their effectiveness in combat (i.e., their stamina and/or magicka tanks pretty much immediately and then they're useless).
At least one Requiem overhaul, Minor Arcana, seeks to remedy this in part by assigning perks to a handful of followers; however, in my opinion this mod massively overcompensates, turning those few followers into demigods with the equivalent of skill-level-100 perks and massive health and stamina bonuses. It is also limited to those few followers as well.
Requiem - Perks for Vanilla Followers takes a more even-handed approach, giving only low- to mid-level perks to most followers, unless lore suggests they should be more powerful (the Circle members of the Companions, for example).
All followers in the vanilla game have been covered (to my knowledge - if I've missed any please let me know!)
I have tested these changes and in my experience they do make a sufficient difference, without making the followers in question too powerful. However, please note I have not exhaustively tested every single follower - so again, please do let me know if any changes I have made have unintended adverse effects!
Changes in detail:
Favor Followers
Spoiler:
Show
Followers acquired by completing simple fetch quests, "kill the bandit leader of X" tasks, or by winning fist fights. In general, all have been given a set of perks that corresponds to a low-mid-level PC character, based on their in-game backstory and skills.
Most still follow the vanilla Skyrim "level with PC" mechanic, but as combat effectiveness is almost entirely determined by perks in Requiem, this makes little difference in practice. Followers gained from fist-fights all have Requiem's "Martial Arts" perk for increased unarmed damage, just to keep you on your toes.
Ahtar (Solitude)
Light armor 2H warrior favoring the axe. Also basic level perks in 1H, as in Requiem he starts equipped with an Orcish 1H sword.
Can pick simple locks (he's a jailer, after all).
Cosnach (Markath)
Light armor 2H warrior, favoring the warhammer. Can pick simple locks.
Benor (Morthal)
Heavy armor 2H warrior, favoring the axe.
Annekke (Darkwater Crossing)
Light armor ranger. Proficient in bows and stealth, with basic skills in 1H. Can pick simple locks.
Ghorbash the Iron Hand (Dushnikh Yal)
Heavy armor warrior, proficient with all 1H weapons.
Darkeethus (Darkwater Crossing)
Light armor ranger. Proficient in bows and stealth, with basic skills in 1H. Can pick simple locks.
Roggi Knot-Beard (Kynesgrove)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, specializing in blocking techniques. Will do less weapon damage then other followers, but can move quicker with a shield raised and perform disarming bashes; something which most other followers cannot do.
Adelaisa Vendicci (Windhelm)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, basic proficiency with all one-hand weapons and bows.
Borgakh the Steel Heart (Mor Khazgur)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, proficient with all 1H weapons.
Golldir (Hillgrund's Tomb)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, proficient with all 1H weapons but favoring the axe. Added as a marriage candidate, cos' he seemed lonely hanging out there in that tomb.
Kharjo (Khajit caravan)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, basic proficiency with all 1H weapons and bows. Can pick simple locks.
Illia (Darklight Tower)
Apprentice-level casting in the schools of Destruction, Alteration, and Restoration. Adept-level in Restoration (I haven't touched her spell list - so she'll cast the same spells, but should be able to cast more before going OOM).
Also made her a marriage candidate.
Erik the Slayer (Rorikstead)
Heavy armor 1H warrior. No particular weapon specialization, befitting his position as a newb mercenary, but has baseline perks in 1H, archery, and block.
Uthgerd the Unbroken (Whiterun)
Heavy armor 2H warrior, favoring the sword. By default, Requiem actually makes her a static level (30) with high-level skills - although without the corresponding perks, these are largely useless.
I've reverted this to the standard 6-30 level range from the vanilla game, but with the added perks she should have more damage/survivability anyway.
Mjoll the Lioness (Riften)
Heavy armor, high-level 2H warrior. Proficient with all 2H melee weapons.
Most still follow the vanilla Skyrim "level with PC" mechanic, but as combat effectiveness is almost entirely determined by perks in Requiem, this makes little difference in practice. Followers gained from fist-fights all have Requiem's "Martial Arts" perk for increased unarmed damage, just to keep you on your toes.
Ahtar (Solitude)
Light armor 2H warrior favoring the axe. Also basic level perks in 1H, as in Requiem he starts equipped with an Orcish 1H sword.
Can pick simple locks (he's a jailer, after all).
Cosnach (Markath)
Light armor 2H warrior, favoring the warhammer. Can pick simple locks.
Benor (Morthal)
Heavy armor 2H warrior, favoring the axe.
Annekke (Darkwater Crossing)
Light armor ranger. Proficient in bows and stealth, with basic skills in 1H. Can pick simple locks.
Ghorbash the Iron Hand (Dushnikh Yal)
Heavy armor warrior, proficient with all 1H weapons.
Darkeethus (Darkwater Crossing)
Light armor ranger. Proficient in bows and stealth, with basic skills in 1H. Can pick simple locks.
Roggi Knot-Beard (Kynesgrove)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, specializing in blocking techniques. Will do less weapon damage then other followers, but can move quicker with a shield raised and perform disarming bashes; something which most other followers cannot do.
Adelaisa Vendicci (Windhelm)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, basic proficiency with all one-hand weapons and bows.
Borgakh the Steel Heart (Mor Khazgur)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, proficient with all 1H weapons.
Golldir (Hillgrund's Tomb)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, proficient with all 1H weapons but favoring the axe. Added as a marriage candidate, cos' he seemed lonely hanging out there in that tomb.
Kharjo (Khajit caravan)
Heavy armor 1H warrior, basic proficiency with all 1H weapons and bows. Can pick simple locks.
Illia (Darklight Tower)
Apprentice-level casting in the schools of Destruction, Alteration, and Restoration. Adept-level in Restoration (I haven't touched her spell list - so she'll cast the same spells, but should be able to cast more before going OOM).
Also made her a marriage candidate.
Erik the Slayer (Rorikstead)
Heavy armor 1H warrior. No particular weapon specialization, befitting his position as a newb mercenary, but has baseline perks in 1H, archery, and block.
Uthgerd the Unbroken (Whiterun)
Heavy armor 2H warrior, favoring the sword. By default, Requiem actually makes her a static level (30) with high-level skills - although without the corresponding perks, these are largely useless.
I've reverted this to the standard 6-30 level range from the vanilla game, but with the added perks she should have more damage/survivability anyway.
Mjoll the Lioness (Riften)
Heavy armor, high-level 2H warrior. Proficient with all 2H melee weapons.
Mercenaries for Hire
Spoiler:
Show
Mercenaries generally have mid-level perks, and perhaps more importantly, are flagged as "essential" by the game so they cannot be killed by anyone but the player (neither my mod or Requiem changes this - look up how to do this via console commands or xEdit if you're really keen on having *everyone* be mortal).
All mercenaries have been given the perk to pick simple locks.
Vorstag (Markath)
Light armor 1H skirmisher. Basic proficiency with all 1H melee weapon types.
Marcurio (Riften)
Apprentice-level casting in Destruction and Restoration. Enhanced damage on fire and lightning spells.
Belrand (Solitude)
Light armor spell-sword. Requiem actually gives him heavy armor perks - presumably as he wears an iron breastplate by default in the vanilla game. However Requiem changes this outfit to a simple hide one, so I reverted this change to give him light armor and spell-casting perks instead.
Basic 1H weapon skills and novice-level spell casting.
Jenassa (Whiterun)
Light armor ranger. Proficient in bows and stealth, with basic skills in 1H and dual-wielding.
Stenvar (Windhelm)
Heavy armor 2H warrior, basic proficiency with all 2H melee weapon types.
All mercenaries have been given the perk to pick simple locks.
Vorstag (Markath)
Light armor 1H skirmisher. Basic proficiency with all 1H melee weapon types.
Marcurio (Riften)
Apprentice-level casting in Destruction and Restoration. Enhanced damage on fire and lightning spells.
Belrand (Solitude)
Light armor spell-sword. Requiem actually gives him heavy armor perks - presumably as he wears an iron breastplate by default in the vanilla game. However Requiem changes this outfit to a simple hide one, so I reverted this change to give him light armor and spell-casting perks instead.
Basic 1H weapon skills and novice-level spell casting.
Jenassa (Whiterun)
Light armor ranger. Proficient in bows and stealth, with basic skills in 1H and dual-wielding.
Stenvar (Windhelm)
Heavy armor 2H warrior, basic proficiency with all 2H melee weapon types.
Housecarls
Spoiler:
Show
They are sworn to your service, and to carry your burdens, and all that. Most are martial archetypes, focusing on 1H/shield. I've given them all the first perk in archery as well, assuming they would have basic military training and the expectation they would occasionally be asked to hunt for their thanes, etc.
Lydia (Whiterun)
Argis the Bulwark (Markath)
Calder (Windhelm)
Iona (Riften)
Gregor (Dawnstar)
Heavy armor 1H warriors. Basic proficiency with all 1H melee weapon types.
Jordis the Sword-Maiden (Solitude)
Heavy armor 1H warrior. Favors 1H swords over other weapons.
Rayya (Falkreath)
Heavy armor warrior favoring 1H and dual-wielding.
Valdimar (Morthal)
Heavy armor battle-mage. Can cast novice-level spells, favoring ice spells.
Lydia (Whiterun)
Argis the Bulwark (Markath)
Calder (Windhelm)
Iona (Riften)
Gregor (Dawnstar)
Heavy armor 1H warriors. Basic proficiency with all 1H melee weapon types.
Jordis the Sword-Maiden (Solitude)
Heavy armor 1H warrior. Favors 1H swords over other weapons.
Rayya (Falkreath)
Heavy armor warrior favoring 1H and dual-wielding.
Valdimar (Morthal)
Heavy armor battle-mage. Can cast novice-level spells, favoring ice spells.
Daedric Quest Followers
Spoiler:
Show
Followers gained after completing a Daedric quest. Usually higher-level characters with perks to match.
Eola (The Taste of Death)
Light armor spell-sword. Perks in 1H, light armor, stealth. Novice-level spell-casting in all schools of magic, with Apprentice-level in Alteration and Adept-level in Destruction.
Erandur (Waking Nightmare)
Gave him some extra Restoration spells, as befitting a priest of Mara (although, tbh I'm not sure that the AI really knows how best to use them). At least Novice-level spell-casting in all schools of magic (except Conjuration, which he has forfeited) with Adept-level in Restoration.
Aranea Ienith (The Black Star)
A high-level mage. Apprentice-level casting in Conjuration, Adept-level in Restoration, Alteration, and Destruction.
Lob (Largashbur - The Cursed Tribe)
Ogol (Largashbur - The Cursed Tribe)
Two orcs who can be recruited as followers after The Cursed Tribe is completed.
Lob is a light armor ranger. Proficient in bows and stealth, with basic skills in 1H. Can pick simple locks.
Ogol is a heavy armor 1H warrior, proficient with all 1H weapons.
Eola (The Taste of Death)
Light armor spell-sword. Perks in 1H, light armor, stealth. Novice-level spell-casting in all schools of magic, with Apprentice-level in Alteration and Adept-level in Destruction.
Erandur (Waking Nightmare)
Gave him some extra Restoration spells, as befitting a priest of Mara (although, tbh I'm not sure that the AI really knows how best to use them). At least Novice-level spell-casting in all schools of magic (except Conjuration, which he has forfeited) with Adept-level in Restoration.
Aranea Ienith (The Black Star)
A high-level mage. Apprentice-level casting in Conjuration, Adept-level in Restoration, Alteration, and Destruction.
Lob (Largashbur - The Cursed Tribe)
Ogol (Largashbur - The Cursed Tribe)
Two orcs who can be recruited as followers after The Cursed Tribe is completed.
Lob is a light armor ranger. Proficient in bows and stealth, with basic skills in 1H. Can pick simple locks.
Ogol is a heavy armor 1H warrior, proficient with all 1H weapons.
The Companions
Spoiler:
Show
The most renowned warrior guild in Skyrim, certain members that had "unfair" advantages have been brought down a peg, but hopefully their new-found "honest" skills will make up for it. Two Companions NPCs in particular, Farkas and Aela, have a "cheat" perk which simply gives them +300% damage. Presumably this is to make them more formidable in the quests in which they accompany the player.
Still, I thought this was kinda bullshit, so I removed that perk but gave them a suite of weapon, block, and armor perks as a similarly high-level player character would have. They should now do slightly less raw damage than before, but make up for this with better defensive abilities and stamina management.
Also reduced the Circle members' absurd hp/stamina offsets slightly (don't worry - they're still very powerful).
All the "whelps" have been given heavy armor perks regardless of their default outfits - just in case you want to deck them all out in Wolf Armor after you finish the questline or something.
Farkas
Vilkas
Among the strongest warriors in Skyrim, the twins are skilled in almost all martial techniques. They both favor 2H weapons, but are no slouches with 1H either. High-level perks in 2H, block, and heavy armor. Mid-level perks in 1H.
Fixed a bug/oversight in Requiem where Vilkas did not have the carryweight/leadership benefit perks.
Aela the Huntress
A bit of a tricky case, as she's both a "fighter" (wears heavy armor by default) and a "huntress" (implying a stealth archer archetype). These aren't really compatible in Requiem - but I've given her perks for both for now anyway.
Has high-level perks in archery (but not "Ranger", as she seems to favor heavy bows) and 1H weapons.
Athis
Light armor skirmisher. Proficient in 1H and dual-wielding.
Ria
Light armor skirmisher. Proficient with 1H weapons, but especially swords.
Njada Stonearm
1H warrior, with more perks in block than the other whelps. Also fixed a bug/oversight where her static level was set to 1 - corrected to 25 (to match the other whelps) and stats raised accordingly.
Torvar
General warrior. Basic proficiency with both 1H and 2H weapons.
Still, I thought this was kinda bullshit, so I removed that perk but gave them a suite of weapon, block, and armor perks as a similarly high-level player character would have. They should now do slightly less raw damage than before, but make up for this with better defensive abilities and stamina management.
Also reduced the Circle members' absurd hp/stamina offsets slightly (don't worry - they're still very powerful).
All the "whelps" have been given heavy armor perks regardless of their default outfits - just in case you want to deck them all out in Wolf Armor after you finish the questline or something.
Farkas
Vilkas
Among the strongest warriors in Skyrim, the twins are skilled in almost all martial techniques. They both favor 2H weapons, but are no slouches with 1H either. High-level perks in 2H, block, and heavy armor. Mid-level perks in 1H.
Fixed a bug/oversight in Requiem where Vilkas did not have the carryweight/leadership benefit perks.
Aela the Huntress
A bit of a tricky case, as she's both a "fighter" (wears heavy armor by default) and a "huntress" (implying a stealth archer archetype). These aren't really compatible in Requiem - but I've given her perks for both for now anyway.
Has high-level perks in archery (but not "Ranger", as she seems to favor heavy bows) and 1H weapons.
Athis
Light armor skirmisher. Proficient in 1H and dual-wielding.
Ria
Light armor skirmisher. Proficient with 1H weapons, but especially swords.
Njada Stonearm
1H warrior, with more perks in block than the other whelps. Also fixed a bug/oversight where her static level was set to 1 - corrected to 25 (to match the other whelps) and stats raised accordingly.
Torvar
General warrior. Basic proficiency with both 1H and 2H weapons.
College of Winterhold - Apprentices
Spoiler:
Show
Onmund
Apprentice-level spell-casting in all schools. Favors ice and shock spells. Added a mage armor spell to his spell list (as he didn't seem to have one).
J'zargo
Apprentice-level spell-casting in all schools. Added a mage armor spell to his spell list (as he didn't seem to have one).
Brelyna Maryon
Apprentice-level spell-casting in all schools, except Alteration up to Adept (she has higher stats in this than the others for some reason). Favors flame spells.
Apprentice-level spell-casting in all schools. Favors ice and shock spells. Added a mage armor spell to his spell list (as he didn't seem to have one).
J'zargo
Apprentice-level spell-casting in all schools. Added a mage armor spell to his spell list (as he didn't seem to have one).
Brelyna Maryon
Apprentice-level spell-casting in all schools, except Alteration up to Adept (she has higher stats in this than the others for some reason). Favors flame spells.
The Dark Brotherhood
Spoiler:
Show
Cicero
Light-armor assassin. High-level perks in 1H, dual-wielding, light armor, stealth, and archery. Can pick basically all locks (Master-level).
Dark Brotherhood Initiates
Similar skill sets to Cicero, but slightly fewer combat perks in dual-wielding and archery. Can pick locks up to Adept.
Light-armor assassin. High-level perks in 1H, dual-wielding, light armor, stealth, and archery. Can pick basically all locks (Master-level).
Dark Brotherhood Initiates
Similar skill sets to Cicero, but slightly fewer combat perks in dual-wielding and archery. Can pick locks up to Adept.
The Blades
Spoiler:
Show
The below two are not strictly followers in the normal sense, but they can accompany the player for potentially long stretches during the main quest, and given their standing in the story and supposed prowess, I felt they could use some attention.
Esbern
High-level conjurer mage. Adept-level casting in Conjuration and Restoration, Apprentice-level in Destruction and Alteration.
Delphine
Light armor skirmisher/ranger. Perks in 1H, archery, light armor, and stealth. Can pick simple locks.
She may be a little more helpful now in the Kynesgrove dragon fight, but I wouldn't count on it.
Esbern
High-level conjurer mage. Adept-level casting in Conjuration and Restoration, Apprentice-level in Destruction and Alteration.
Delphine
Light armor skirmisher/ranger. Perks in 1H, archery, light armor, and stealth. Can pick simple locks.
She may be a little more helpful now in the Kynesgrove dragon fight, but I wouldn't count on it.
Note: Dawnguard followers are not covered by this mod, as they appear to have received full suites of appropriate perks with their inclusion in the official Requiem package as of Requiem 2.0.
Installation:
Install via your mod manager of choice. Contains only one .esp file. No scripts or assets.
As always with a mod changing something in Requiem, you will need to re-run the Reqtificator (SkyProc patcher).
Load Order:
Load after Requiem, obviously.
Before or after Minor Arcana? Up to you. Do you prefer Minor Arcana's "super follower" versions of Uthgerd, Goldir, etc.? If so, place my mod before MA. If you would prefer my somewhat more subdued take on it, place my mod after. My mod overwriting Minor Arcana may affect some of the changes that mod makes to the Companions NPCs, but (afaik) even in this case it should not break anything important.
In general, I always recommend using xEdit to check for any conflicts with your existing mods and resolve these manually.
Requiem Version Compatibility:
Main file is for use with Requiem 3.1+
Versions specifically for 2.0.2/3.0 can be found in "Old Files".
An optional file for Requiem 1.9.4 is also provided - thanks to user CodeNamed1 for combing through the patch and finding out the (surprisingly few) points that needed to be fixed for this. I don't play this version anymore, though, so don't expect any prompt support if something goes wrong :-p
Form 44 conversion with USSEP master also available under Optional Files for those playing Requiem on SSE.