Castle Volkihar Rebuilt
=======================

A mod to allow the player to clean up the debris and rebuild Castle Volkihar to its former glory. The North Tower is also converted into a player home with safe storage.

After the Dawnguard quest line is over, have you ever wondered why nobody bothers to rebuild Castle Volkihar? Harkon may have been an obsessive lazy vampire, but that doesn't mean you need to be! Now you can rebuild the castle as you see fit, whether you're a vampire lord yourself and just want the stinking mess cleaned up, or a member of the Dawnguard seeking to expand into a new base and occupy some new territory.

At several locations throughout the Main Hall, Volkihar Ruins, Volkihar Courtyard, the Undercroft, and the docks behind the castle will be rubble piles or debris columns you can use to clean up the area around them. You'll need a pickaxe to do so, but that's it. After that all you need is the patience to see things through.

If you are playing as a vampire, your existing vampire minions will continue to provide their normal functions, just in a much cleaner environment. After all, what are we? Vampires or slovenly trolls? To clear the path to the Courtyard, speak to Garen Marethi as usual.

If you're playing as the Dawnguard, cleaning up rooms in the main guildhall area will bring in new Dawnguard members to man the stations that the vampires used to. The blacksmith, apothecary, and vendor will offer services appropriate to Dawnguard members. Ownership of the various castle cells will also be marked properly so you won't get accused of stealing the stuff you fought so hard to take. As a small added bonus, Fort Dawnguard will get cleaned up properly too. No more cobwebs lurking about!

If playing as the Dawnguard, Serana can now be directed to move into the castle and use her cleaned up room by lighting the candle on the corner of her nightstand (the one with the cloth mat). When the flames are lit, she will stay at the castle when dismissed. If they are out, she will stay at Fort Dawnguard. This candle will be lit permanently if playing for the vampires to indicate she stays there when dismissed. As an added bonus, she will make full use of the entire cell in either location, instead of just being narrowly restricted to the main hall areas.

Valerica's Study and the hallway outside that leads down to the secret fireplace passage will clean up when you go to the Soul Cairn to tell her Harkon is dead. Best to let the senior vampire handle her own affairs :)

Clearing the North Tower attached to the Courtyard provides a player home with safe storage, 3 mannequins, some weapon racks, 3 bookshelves, and a place to sleep too. Be aware though that the North Tower is the ONLY room you can clear out where storage is safe.

My Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/arthmoor

Download Locations
==================

AFK Mods - https://www.afkmods.com/index.php?/files/file/1893-castle-volkihar-rebuilt/
Skyrim SE Nexus - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/324/
Bethesda.net [PC] - https://bethesda.net/en/mods/skyrim/mod-detail/2938171
Bethesda.net [XB1] - https://bethesda.net/en/mods/skyrim/mod-detail/2938189

Installation Requirements
=========================

Skyrim Special Edition 1.5.97 or greater.
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch 4.2.4 or greater.

DO NOT extract the contents of the BSA file into your Data folder as loose files, or let your mod manager perform an equivalent function on the contents of the file. Doing so will cause things to load in the wrong order and break the game. Skyrim is intended to load a BSA alongside it's ESM/ESP file. Circumventing this causes issues which I will not provide support for. If you insist on going against this advice, you will receive no support for the problems you generate as a result of this.

Installation - Wrye Bash BAIN
=============================

Drop the archive into your Skyrim Special Edition Mods\Bash Installers folder, then install as usual.
Make sure the mod is active in the Wrye Bash mods tab.

Installation - Nexus Mod Manager
================================

Use the "Download with Manager" button on the page at Skyrim Nexus. The installer should take care of things from there.
Then simply make sure NMM has the mod activated.

Installation - Manual
=====================

Drop the Castle Volkihar Rebuilt.esp, Castle Volkihar Rebuilt.bsa, and Castle Volkihar Rebuilt - Textures.bsa files into your Data folder.
Activate the mod using whatever management tool suits you.

Uninstalling
============

Due to the nature of Skyrim mods, especially those adding scripts, it is strongly discouraged to attempt uninstalling a mod from your active game. Any mod that is more than pure mesh or texture replacements has the possibility to leave behind permanent changes to your save that you may not want. This is not something modders can correct for. It is how the game was designed by Bethesda. No support will be provided for anyone who uninstalls this mod from an active game and continues on with that save.

To remove the mod: Delete the Castle Volkihar Rebuilt.esp, Castle Volkihar Rebuilt.bsa, and Castle Volkihar Rebuilt - Textures.bsa from your Data folder. Then reload your game as usual. Don't expect the castle to be in any different condition than what you left it in though. You will also lose anything stored in the North Tower. So you best clean that up first too.

Load Order
==========

LOOT (https://loot.github.io/) should be used for optimal placement.

Compatibility
=============

Will not likely be compatible with other mods that make changes to the rooms in Castle Volkihar.

Known Issues
============

Certain doorways in the castle ruins may not be passable if you enter from Valerica's Study and proceed downward from there. This is due to bugs in the DLC itself which have been addressed in the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.

Credits
=======

Hana - For the flameless static candle used for Serana's AI toggle.

Licensing and Legal
===================

Redistribution is strictly forbidden without prior consent. This means do not upload it anywhere unless you have obtained permission from me.

Non-English translation versions may be uploaded without permission on the following conditions:

1. All mod files contained in this archive are retained with their current names.
2. No alterations are made to the contents of the plugins or master file other than those necessary to translate the English text.
3. No alterations or additions are made to the meshes and textures other than those necessary to translate English text.
4. This readme is included, in ENGLISH, exactly as it is written in the version it was downloaded with.

Compatibility Patches may be distributed ONLY under the following conditions:

1. Permission must be obtained from me in advance. There will be no exceptions to this.
2. The documentation for the patch must mention that I am the creator of this mod.
3. The documentation for the patch must contain a link back to one of the download sites listed at the top of this readme.
4. You are solely responsible for any support issues arising from the use of the compatibility patch.

All inquiries regarding this mod must be directed to me. If after 1 year contact cannot be established or you have not received a response, stewardship of this mod will fall to the community at AFK Mods (www.afkmods.com). I can be contacted via PM at Bethesda Game Studios Forums, TES Alliance, NexusMods, AFK Mods, and The Assimilation Lab under the username Arthmoor. A good faith effort must be made before assuming that contact cannot be established before concluding that I am no longer maintaining this mod.

Mod history archives such as Morrowind Mod History are permitted to keep a copy of this mod within their archives for historical purposes provided all authorship and credit information is retained and the contents of the mod are not altered in any way.

This mod is not made, guaranteed, or supported by Zenimax, Bethesda Game Studios, or any of their affiliates.

Revision History
================

Version 2.0.6 [2021-04-09]
--------------------------

Fixed an issue with the door that is attached to the restored tower that blocked its use.

Version 2.0.5 [2021-01-19]
--------------------------

Serana's nightstand should no longer be missing with objects floating above where it goes.
The large broken main tower will be replaced when the East Tower cleanup is done. LOD has not been adjusted for this so it will still show as damaged from a distance.
Navmesh in the North Tower cell needed to be redone.

Version 2.0.4 [2019-05-08]
--------------------------

The Dawnguard will now display a banner in front of the jetty watch tower if they hold the castle once the cleanup there is complete.

Version 2.0.3 [2018-10-23]
--------------------------

Navmeshes cleaned with newer versions of xEdit.

Version 2.0.2 [2018-07-08]
--------------------------

The wrong set of leveled vampires were being used in the exterior tower when it was rebuilt.
Facegen files for 3 of the new Dawnguard members in the castle were missing.
The wick texture for Serana's candle was missing from the archive.

Version 2.0.1a [2018-05-07]
---------------------------

2 files for the watchtower were missed when the BSA was packaged.

Version 2.0.1 [2018-05-05]
--------------------------

The watchtower in front of the castle and the broken dock at the jetty can now be fixed and manned by clearing a new rubble pile.
The North Wing can now support adoption and marriage in combination with Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions.

Version 2.0 [2016-10-26]
------------------------

Conversion to Skyrim Special Edition.

Version 1.1.2 [2016-07-30]
--------------------------

Several broken railings that were missed will now be repaired when the rooms they're in get cleaned up. Thanks Garth :)

Version 1.1.1 [2016-02-04]
--------------------------

Serana's sandbox system will no longer block her from going to see Falion when the player convinces her to get cured.

Version 1.1 [2015-10-10]
------------------------

Set the LocTypePlayerHouse keyword for the North Tower. Mods which read this for follower interaction should now treat it properly.
Enabled 6 more weapon racks in the back hallway of the North Tower toward the bed that were previously blocked by bad collision on the hallway walls. Update your copy of the Unofficial Dawnguard Patch to use these.
Cleaned up some bits of debris that should have been removed but got missed.
The torture rack and cage will be removed from Harkon's old room if playing for the Dawnguard.
If playing as the Dawnguard, Serana can now be toggled to stay in the fort, or move back to the castle once her room is set up. A candle on her nightstand in Castle Volkihar will toggle this.
Additional lighting has been added to the main room in the North Tower. Sorry, due to engine limitations, none of the new ones cast shadows.

Version 1.0.1 [2015-05-05]
--------------------------

The North Tower cell needed to be switched to the "NoReset" encounter zone. Nothing should have been lost since the container objects don't respawn anyway, this just sets it up to be just like other player owned cells.
A cobweb on the main castle level was still left uncleaned in the main dining area.
Rugs in front of Harkon's sleeping area were assigned to the wrong marker and not being toggled properly.

Version 1.0 [2015-05-04]
------------------------

Initial Release.