Skyrim breathes philosophy, but rarely expresses it. Kagrenfahlz fixes that by giving Tamriel a philosophical tradition. Dovahkin can now finally challenge their assumptions and become a critical thinker. This mod adds books, philosophers, quests, dungeons and even a new land for you to explore.
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MOD HAS BEEN UPDATED TO v 2.4 and is now FULLY VOICED
Everything should work as it should, but please let me know if anything is not working.

Do not use versions 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, or 2.3.
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Introduction
This mod is for lovers of philosophy, those that admire the written word, scavenger hunters, and mystery solvers. This is neither a combat nor ... no wait! That was the original version for legendary edition. (you can find it here) 

This is the official port of philosophy in skyrim and much, much more. At first, inspired by a community member (Aragonit), I decided to simply port the mod. But as I got more and more familiar with the Creation Kit I decided to make some adjustments. It went a little bit out of hand... I will be secretive about what this mod does fully because I do not want to spoil anything. But, in contrast to the legendary edition, Kagrenfahlz does add NPC's and combat encounters.


I added compatibility notes below at the FAQ.

-------IMPORTANT STUFF-------

Let's Play
Youtuber EnragedBard is doing a Let's Play on this mod! Check it out here
Check out the other content too! 


French Translation



What does this mod do?
Kagrenfahlz adds:

• 20+ books
• Quests, both miscellaneous quests and side quests, as well as a philosophy main questline, that consists of six interrelated quests
• A couple of NPC's in Skyrim as well as a bunch of NPC's in a hidden location
• A context of philosophical practice in Tamriel
• An ancient riddle waiting to be solved, and more little riddles
• Puzzles (I tried to do something different than the pillar puzzles in the original Skyrim)
• Dungeons
• And... yes... a small, just a small new land.
• And some little surprises (e.g. check the Khajiit Caravans for an oddly named book, but there is more...)
• Easter eggs
  

Now Fully Voiced
Thanks to the power of xVASynth 2 and DanRuta and their team, it was possible to generate voices for all characters in this mod. Also a huge thanks to Starscream to jump in at the last moment and make sure all lines were voiced. In sum: all voices (but three) are generated by xVASynth 2.

Philosophy books
These books were not created by a simple copy paste technique. All the texts have been carefully read and edited to ensure that they fulfill the two following conditions: lore-friendliness and readability.
lore-friendliness was achieved by creating references to elder scrolls lore and adding a context of philosophical practice. Readability was implemented by editing the original texts and turning them into a more easy read during the game.
All these books, except the rare ones, have been added to leveled lists. You will therefore find them in loot chests and you can buy them at certain vendors. Some books are also hand placed in the gameworld.
Most of the fragments are from philosophers such as: Heraclitus, Anaximander, Parmenides, Confucius, Plato, Descartes, Machiavelli, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, and Wittgenstein. Others have been written by me, but were inspired by Eloise, Pierre Abelard, Duns Scotus, Occam, Geraud de Cordemoy, Norman Malcolm, Schopenhauer, Bertrand Russell, and Marcus Aurelius. 

Quests
There is a philosophy main quest that (at least) covers seven interrelated quests.
There are also some sidequests and miscelaneous quests.
Some of theseother are similar to the ancient falmer tome quests of Dawnguard. Others are akin to simple fetch quests, with some minor twists. In a few quests you are able to make choices that will have an affect on how certain NPC's relate to you. Then there are some larger quests, two of them use Skyrim's radiant system, and others guide you through dungeons. (Guess what kind of dungeons?)

For the best experience, talk to Duns Scotus in the Sleeping Giant Inn and ask if he needs help. Just follow the hints and you will be guided through all the quests. I used objectives, but the mod does not hold your hand all the time. Sometimes you just have to use your brain.

But, if you do not feel like arranging an access to the College of Winterhold, you could also look for Sticks in the Winking Skeever in Solitude.

However, although the structure is linear, you are somewhat free in what order you follow some of the quests.

Recommended Level
A minimum level of 10 is advised. It also helps if you have already access to the Winterhold College (this is for the first two quests, you could skip them, see the section above).

Philosophical Context
For this mod a background of philosophical practise was invented. This is reflected in a) the introductions written to some translations of ancient works of philosophy, b) the names of the philosophical authors, c) a written introduction to Tamrielic philosophy, and d) some rivalry between authors implicit in the books. This will make philosophy come alive in skyrim. It will make it feel real.

Merchants/NPC's
The books are added to the levelled lists. But there are some merchants added to Skyrim that will sell philosophy books. Each of them will always sell two kinds of books (one about Tamrielic Philosophy and one, Bibliographica Philosophiae, listing all the known books to use as reference guide to check on what books you still have to gather). However, it can be quite the adventure to find all the books. The merchants will give you hints about some of the rare books.


Any feedback is welcome!

Any images are welcome too! (My graphics are not the best...)


FUTURE PLANS
The following is in progress:

• Making a lite version with only the books
  

CREDITS
This mod uses assets or tools from the following resources and/or authors:

• xVASynth 2 and DanRuta
• Dwarven Magetta, by MihailMods
• Dwarven Driller, by MihailMods
• Dwarven Sentinels, by MihailMods
• Dunmeri Leaf Swords, by billyro
• Dunmeri Great House Robes, by Anduniel (I used the blue original version)
• DLC Colored Lanterns, by SpectralDragon
• Duathfel Resource Pack - SE, by UnimpressedPanda (check also the upcoming mod duathfel!)
• Akaviri Dungeon Tileset, by RonnieMagnum
• Elianora's Extra Resources, by Elianora
• Insanity's Room Dividers, Morrowind Candles, and Dwemer Spyglass, by InsanitySorrow
• Weapons Collection 2, by PraedythXVI (I used the Hammer of War, the Doomhammer, and the Celtic Greatsword)
• Phitt's Sheogorad Resource - Part one and Part two, uploaded by Tamira (the following authors worked on these assets: Phitt, Dave91, MrSilka, Kzinistzeg, and SpeedyB) (I mainly used te ashlander tents, the ashlander lanterns, and some of the ropes, among others)
• Stroti Resource Pack, by Stroti, and uploaded by Tamira
• Antique Statue and Wind Chime, by Tamira
• Phitt's Morrowind Style Lanterns, by Phitt  and uploaded by Tamira
  

A lot of thanks to all these authors. Without their work, the looks of my mod would have been dull and repetitive. 

This is my first big mod, so all feedback is welcome. It started as a simple way to add philosophy books to Skyrim in an immersive way. Instead of using the console, one would find them in game, on vendors, etc. But as I started modding, the idea evolved and turned into something larger. I share this now with you. Why do I share this? Well, I have taken a lot from the modding community (first under a different name) and now it is time to give something back. I hope you enjoy! I also hope it will inspire some of you to check out the covered philosophy books for real. This mod only contains either fragments or abridged versions… 

Special Thanks
I wish to thank the following great minds: Confucius, Anaximander, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Plato,  Marcus Aurelius, Duns Scotus, Pierre Abelard, Eloise, Machiavelli, Rene Descartes, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, Gottfried Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Norman Malcolm, Geraud de Cordemoy, Bertrand Russell, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. And a huge thanks to Bethesda and the modding community.

And a special thanks to Marinos and Yannick for their ideas and support.

A great thanks to the Nexus community and the Nexus forums, and especially to maxarturo, whose answers to my silly questions always nudged me in the right direction.

Also many thanks to Aragonit who inspired me to port the original mod to Special Edition. Aragonit was also the first to port the original mod to SE for me (before I had SE). That was the start of this mod and therefore I am in her/his debt.

Many, many thanks to Ghia, who went over the trouble to test v 1.2 twice and gave me constructive and honest feedback. This greatly helped to create version 1.3. 

And of course many thanks to Jihan02 for translating this mod into french. So if french is more to your liking, click here.

And a lovely thanks to Peach and Anuska Petruska, my muses and without which life would have been unbearable.

TECHNICAL

Installation/Uninstallation
The use of a mod manager, such as Vortex, is highly recommended.

Requirements
None (fuz ro doh is only required for versions 1.3 or lower)

Compatibility
This mod should be compatible with most mods. Conflicts can arise when combining this mod with other mods that change the book levelled lists. It should be compatible with bookcovers of Skyrim. The mod makes some minor changes to the Tamriel worldspace but it should not lead to any major conflicts. I checked the mod thoroughly without mods and with my extended modlist and everything worked fine. Still, if you use a lot of mods, you should go through your mod order to check for conflicts. In general, the use of SSEEdit and common sense to ensure a good gaming experience is highly recommended.

This mod makes changes to the book levelled lists and to the contents of the Khajiit Caravans Containers. Any mod that changes these might need a patch to work properly with Kagrenfahlz. A mod that also changes the book levelled lists, for example, is Beyond Reach. However, it is quite easy to make a patch for it. Morrowloot Ultimate also makes changed to book levelled lists, so for fans of that fantastic mod, you might want to patch it as well if you want to find any philosophical books.

I know that the following mods are compatible:


I know that the following mods are incompatible

 

I hope to add more mods to these lists soon.

Under the following spoilers I will list all the changes this mod makes so mod users can determine much better whether this mod will conflict with their current mod list:


NPC's added to Tamriel


Edits to Tamriel



FAQ
Will you add book X to the mod?
Probably not. I think the current collection is balanced. It is big enough to make it feel real, but it is still small enough to keep philosophy a rare profession.

Can you make a patch for mod X?
I am a working father and husband. So I won't have the time. But you can easily make a patch yourself with SSEEdit. Not only is it easy and fun, it also helps you to understand how a game works.

Is this mod script heavy?
It implements quests, so it uses scripts and script fragments. But none of them are anything weird or heavy. All the scripts are mainly there to push quests forward. None of them loop. I even rewrote all scripts from scratch.

Is this mod follower friendly?
I tested it with and without followers and the followers were always able to follow me all the way through. There are some points, however, in which the follower might nog be able to follow you immediately, but if you move on, it will catch up with you. In other words: all the new areas are fully navmeshed.

This is way too hard, I cannot find any solution.
There are clues, always, both visual and in text. Puzzles might seem incomprehensible at first, but take a good look, take your time, there is always something to nudge you in the right direction. My best advice: look for notes, journals, and books and read them carefully. Also, levers start in the off position. I recommend not to flip them willy-nilly in some cases...

Having trouble finding Ludz's Workshop?


This mod broke my game! I hate you and hold you responsible.
I am very sorry that your game broke. Please let me know what happened and why you think this mod is responsible and I am sure we can work something out.

Can I make an overhaul for your mod?
Feel free! 

Can I make a mod that adds voice acting to your mod?
No longer needed, but if the metallic sound bothers you, feel free to do so.


Disclaimer
Any resemblance to real persons, both living and dead, is unintentional. No books were burnt during the making of this mod, but a lot of wine and beer was consumed. Three computers were brutally destroyed after unfortunate crashes of the Creation Kit.