SASTIMASA! 

PALEGORE is a mod series intended to make Skyrim feel more like a dark fantasy game, with an emphasis on immersion, roleplay as well as the grimdark and the gritty. 

This mod however, is more about the former two than the latter. So let me explain what this mod does.

First off, let's get a few things out of the way: 

1. YES, the Khajiit are heavily inspired by Romani and gypsy culture. Deliberately. Bethesda based their language off of Romani Chib and Persian.

2. Gypsy is not the same as Roma, but there is a big overlap. 

3. Gypsy is not a bad word, nor is it racist. Aside from dumb white progressives, when have you ever heard someone say it's a bad word? 

4. I come from a mixed family, and one side is Kalderashi Romani. So please don't lecture me on my own culture. Between my grandmother's charm bracelet, my mother's fortune telling and my sheepskin jacket I got a lot of Romacred. No need to argue with an expert.

5. The word gypsy simply describes someone who lives in a nomadic commune. That's it. Bedouins are gypsies, Irish are gypsies, Romani are gypsies and yes, even Khajiit are gypsies. 

6. The reason some Romani take issue with the word gypsy is because thanks to the Soviet Union and the Republic Of Yugoslavia, 95% of us live in houses now. It's not insulting, it's just inaccurate. 

7. The decision to abandon the word gypsy was made by the World Romani Congress in England. And far from everyone recognises their importance within the many Romani subgroups. In fact, majority of Romani people didn't even have a representative at the congress. It was a cool idea, but in practice things are a lot more nuanced. 

So keep all that in mind before gadjosplaining things to me in the comments. 

What this mod is about is two main objectives: 

1. To make the Khajiit the best and most interesting merchants in the game.
2. To hopefully disarm some of the many frustrating misconceptions about gypsies and Romani people by showcasing the real traditions and history regarding how most of us actually made a living throughout pre-industrial history.

Part 1: History and Lore

First off, it's very accurate that gypsies are depicted as petty thieves and pickpockets. It is, in fact, a tradition in my culture for people to become petty thieves, to rely on wily and cunning nonviolent crime in order to survive, taking small things that people can afford to lose. We are not as civilised as the great western Europeans who steal by rounding people up into concentration camps and prying the gold fillings from their dead bodies. I will be the first to admit that we still have a lot to learn about being civilised. 

So having Khajiits being good pickpockets is very accurate. Of course we are deeply ashamed of this, but perhaps some day the great wise westerners can teach us how to stage pogroms and sell slaves. Until then I fear we must be wicked criminals.

Secondly, less emphasis on drug dealing. You can find some moon sugar here and there, but if you want skooma, talk to a skooma dealer. Instead the Khajiit caravans will be selling proper gypsy goods. Including: 

- Shoes and hats and baskets and other handicrafts 
- Rare and exotic imports from Morrowind
- Alchemy ingredients collected on the road
- Fine gemstones
- Medical potions 
- Rare books
- Furs and leathers 
- Precious metals 
- And lots and lots of charms 

Let me break it down: 

First off, Romani peoples have lots of different regional ethnicities. Many of whom are distinct by the dialect of chib we speak, and also our crafting traditions. Some are metalworkers, some are cobblers, some are tinkers, some are tailors, etc. etc. This is how life used to work back when we were majority gypsy.

As such, the Khajiit merchants should not only be relying on trade goods, but also stuff they made and produced themselves. Gypsy economics have always been grounded in creativity and resourcefulness and being able to adapt to new and changing environments. The new goods represent this. 

Secondly, religion: Romani Gypsy religion is a mix of ancient Hindu tradition and more conventional European religions (for the most part). There is no black magic, no voodoo, no creepy rituals or anything like that. Yes, there is old magic, but old magic is a mix of pagan influences and Hindu ancestral veneration. Old magic has to do with omens, spiritual protection, being connected to nature and ancestry and medicine. Old magic also had a lot of utility when it came both to physical and mental health. For instance we figured out germ theory 1500 years before the microscope jerks stole credit for our discovery. 

As such you'll find a lot of religious items. In fact, oldschool Romani would almost always wear a medallion of a patron saint. Skyrim equivalent of that are of course the divine amulets, so it's a good place to pick up some church merch. 

Gypsies are also EXTREMELY cautious when it comes to dark and evil magic. So all magic items will be focused on healing and beneficial spiritual things. No more poisons or conjuration spells. Khajiits will sell scrolls for healing, as well as ones to rebuke undead and daedra. There's a big difference between the esoteric and the occult. We dabble in the esoteric. The modern day ideas of the occult mostly came from Alistair Crowley, and he was basically just a bored British rich kid who did lots of drugs at weird orgies. Occult ideas are generally spiritually vacant and very pretentious. 

Esoteric religion refers to the mystical, which in turn refers to developing deeper spiritual connections to the world around you in various transformative ways. And if that sounds vague, then that's because it is. It's a word that can describe anything from ceremonial bloodletting to lighting incense. But generally speaking it has something to do with improving your mind and emotional awareness. For further info: See literally anything written on folklore and symbolism by Carl Jung. 

Thirdly, charms:
Charms are great. They bring luck, they make people happy, they have sentimental value, they represent memories, they connect you to places far away, and they are easy to craft on the road. Gypsy charms range from small leather bracelets to intricate and ornate metalwork made from master jewel smiths. (One reason we suffer so many pogroms is because westerners are literally always after our lucky charms.) 

As such, Khajiits now have a chance to sell a small selection of enchanted rings, necklaces and circlets. And here's the kicker: It can be ANY common enchanted trinket, including the most powerful ones. But this is balanced by how they only have a handful of these items at a time, but with regular visits to the Khajiit merchants you can find your ideal set of enchanted accessories provided you have the money and patience. 

Fourthly, treasures: 
One thing that is true about orientalism is that we are all about the silks and spices. And that's fine, who doesn't want nice things? As such you will find gemstones and exotic furs that can be yours for a fair price.

Fifthly, foods: 
Khajiits now also sell delicious foods, and just like with real gypsy foods: It's all the foods. I'm like a low level gypsy, I have never been a nomad, but I have migrated a lot. And as a result, I'm really good at cooking because I've been exposed to ingredients and recipes from all over the world. I know the secrets of all kinds of herbs, seeds, spices, oils and seasonings that allow me to make even the most mundane dishes into restaurant quality meals. Being a good chef is effortless to gypsies, and especially gypsy traders. 

Sixthly, writing and literature: 
Did you know that gypsies are great authors? Think about it: We're outside observers, we're constantly seeing new things, and most of us have to learn multiple languages and alphabets by necessity. Granted, for most of history we did not have the means for wide scale publishing, and there was of course a language barrier. That is why most gypsy poetry became relayed through verse and song. But thanks to the Soviet Ministry of Culture, we got a rich and interesting collection of published books in dozens of languages. 

In fact, gypsy curses are a good example of this. Because truth is that they're basically jokes intended to relieve frustration. A good gypsy curse is creative, angry and funny. To the gadjo who pissed us off, it sounds ominous and scary, which is funny. But truth is that if you knew how to speak chib, chances are someone just said something like "May a thousand crows shit in your mouth while you're yawning." 

It's off the cuff poetry that's meant to be a creative outlet for anger in order to reconcile things peacefully. 

Anyhow, point is, Khajiits will now sell rare and valuable books. Much like with enchantments, it's a small amount and a varied selection, but hope is that you'll always find a rare gem or two that you still haven't read even if you've played the game for a long time. 

Seventhly, variety: 
Each caravan specialises in different types of crafts. For now the variety is kind of basic. But some will have special goods that others do not. I'm hoping to expand on this even further in the future.

Eightly, trading: 
Khajiits will no longer have any gold. Instead they will have gemstones. You'll have to actually trade with them. BUT, if you become a master trader they will respect that, and actually double the gold bonus you get from other merchants. 

Ninthly, rare treasure: 
Sometimes they will also have a random and very valuable item. Quite rare, but you might get lucky. 

Tenthly, technical stuff: 
This only affects the Khajiit caravan merchant containers. It does remove the vanilla stuff, refurbishing it with a new selection of things entirely. More emphasis on random generation and volume of goods to assure that each time will be different and interesting. All the perk bonuses and DLC lists are kept intact, it's only the normal mundane goods that's replaced with cooler lists. Should be compatible with most things. 

EDIT: Okay so 99% sure you don't need AE. The steam page for AE is super vague, but after reading the patch notes I see that the AE has a bunch of content that is in fact not in my game. I thought the creation club content in question was that fishing mod and survival mod that's not in Oldrim. So apologies for the mixup, but in my defence: It's a shady-ass DLC with an equally shady-ass store page. 


FINAL NOTES:

And that's what I got so far. I hope you enjoy the mod, and that maybe you'll see one of Europe's oldest cultures in a new light. Because yes, we are European. In fact, we're more European than other Europeans. We speak every European language, practice every European faith, eat every European food, and fought on both sides of every European war. What more do you want from us? 

Truth is, we get mistreated because we never raised an army or conquered someone's land. We're seen as easy targets, and on top of that we refuse to be relegated into a slave race. We would rather be criminals than servants. So people look at the petty crimes and ignore their own moral hypocrisy with a bunch of double standards. I often hear people say "I've had some bad experiences with gypsies, they stole my friend's uncle's therapist's wallet one time, but you seem like you're okay bla bla bla." 

But imagine if we did that?

Imagine if I said to everyone "I've had some bad experiences with the gadje, they put a gun to my head, I was brutalised by police, I've been sexually assaulted by a Catholic priest, and when I was a kid the Neo-Nazis firebombed my family's car." (All things that happened to me btw). 

Makes your missing wallet seem kind of trivial, doesn't it?

But I don't do that. I don't define people by their worst traits, and I don't think anyone should. 

And with that, I wish you all a lacho djes.