Traditional FAQ
(This assumes you have watched the video or read the feature list above)

• Is this a build-defining mod?
  

No, the buffs/debuffs that you get are not big enough for that. Playing music is just another fun activity your character can do. Say you find a flute in your travels. I think it's only natural you will want to play it for a bit. It might develop into a habit, it might not, but now you have the opportunity to do that.

Good thing about this mod is that it does not clutter your menus with spells, it never runs any scripts in the background and it doesn't touch vanilla records. So basically, you can have it installed and never use an instrument and it will be like you never installed it, but if you decide to go that route, mod is ready for you.

•  What are the buffs/debuffs like?
  

All of them last for 10 minutes and *might* apply after finishing a song. Sometimes you will need a couple of songs to activate them, the muses work that way.

Depending on your skill, the number will be tier 1/2 and positive (buff) or negative (debuff). All of effects have good explanations and cool names inside the game. Buffs/Debuffs do not accumulate.

Drum: +10 Fortify Health / +20 Fortify Health (Can be -10/-20 depending on your skill)
Flute: 10% Better Prices / 20% Better Prices (Can be -10/-20 depending on your skill)
Lute: +10 Fortify S+M / +20 Fortify S+M (Can be -10/-20 depending on your skill)

• Why would I tip bards? They play their music for free anyway!
  

Hey! Tipping those that work for free making mods non-stop without sleep in benefit of others is a very important feature! I included the feature cause it's now more consistent with my mod. When you are the one playing a song at an inn and your skill is high enough, you might receive small donations, so it's only fair that you can also contribute to bards. Tipping bards plays a short animation and gives you the gift of charity.

• Where do the songs come from? You copyright thief!
  

The big bulk of the songs come from the amazing BA Bard Songs, kudos to Shiholude for putting together such a fantastic and fitting collection. That mod is required for mine to work, so please, make sure you endorse it after downloading. It will enhance the inns significantly, even if you decide not to install my mod. A couple of extra songs have been added on top of BA Bard Songs, for which I've received permission to use. Full list of artists can be found in the permission tab. Thanks to all the amazing artists that gave me their permission. Special thanks to SureAI, the team behind the amazing Enderal, as 4 of the additional songs come from them, same goes for Santiago Molina, a very talented musician that can play almost any instrument, Tine Sylkie, whose flute songs are beyond this world and covers all sort of game-related music, Evan Handyside and his magic guitar, Jon Antonsson and his love for music and so many more. I very much recommend checking the YouTube channels of the talented artists and subscribing if you enjoy their work. They have some insane pieces and this mod wouldn't be possible without their collaboration. Check the permission tab to see the full list!

• Why are there so many scripts? You're gonna ruin my game!
  

There's only one main script (the one that makes the music plays, and it's quite straight-forward), everything else you see on the script folder are dialogue fragments. Fragments are mini-scripts with one or two lines that are created automatically by the game when adding special dialogue options. Simple things like making the NPC raise their arms when talking or turning around to look at you when saying their line. Nothing you should be concerned about.

Also, as mentioned above, the mod only runs for 30 seconds (duration of a song) when you activate an instrument. It does not run in the background, it does not activate without you playing a song. Once the song ends, my mod stops all its functions.

• I keep playing songs, but I don't feel like I'm advancing!
  

There are 5 ranks per instrument. You need about 25 points to go from one rank to the next. Each rank includes 3 to 8 new songs. Some ranks include songs from other ranks when it's fitting, so the number of songs you can play multiplies.

- Rank 1: Clueless (Debuffs)
- Rank 2: Beginner (Debuffs)
- Rank 3: OK (No Buffs or Debuffs during this stage)
- Rank 4: Pretty Good (Buffs)
- Rank 5: Master (Buffs)

Each time you complete a song, your expertise in that instrument increases by 1 to 5 base points. Final # of points can vary depending on a couple of things: 
- If you have completed the Bard College, you will learn much faster (+2 points per song)
- If you are feeling rested (vanilla effect), you will learn much faster (+2 points per song)
- If you are tired (suffering a debuff from this mod) or diseased, you will learn much slower (-2 points)
- You can also pay a Bard to teach you what they know (via voiced dialogue), which will increase your expertise in all 3 instruments by 10 points. For bards to be able to teach you, you will need 100 Gold and at least be carrying one instrument. Keep in mind: Each bard can only teach you what they know once, so #GoCatchThemAll.

To tell what rank you are in, just read the messages that appear in the top left corner of the screen after performing a song. Besides being funny, they can give you an indication of how much progress you're making. 

• NPCs are not reacting anymore! NPCs are reacting too much!
  

Most of the reactions have a time limit on them, which means characters can say them once per hour. So just wait a couple of hours and they will be more reactive again. If you notice a reaction coming too often, I can look into decreasing how often it comes. But keep in mind: as you know, the voice types in Skyrim are quite limited. If you play songs for the same voice types, they only have 1 or 2 reactions, so it's either they use that or nothing.

Also, when you're in the "middle ground" rank (rank 3), NPCs will not react. You're not good enough for them to gather around you, but also not bad enough for them to roast you alive, so not much will happen then.

• Is this compatible with X bard mod? Can I add my own songs?
  

No, it's not compatible with other bard mods. I'm sure they can work side by side (nothing will break, at least from my mod's side) but they will not be working together, but independently. If you are really into bard stuff, you might want to look at the other mods instead of this one. My mod is just a Lite approach to a bard playthrough. I want it to be there and be good if I choose that route, but I don't want the mod to be defining my entire playthrough. As for custom songs, you could add your own songs, it should be relatively simple, but we'll deal with a tutorial for that at some other point.

• Why only instrumental?
  

This is not Fallout 4, my characters don't have a voice. I think it works best if the songs are just instrumental to work together with the rest of the game.

• "My character has a background in music and progressing through your mod takes too long. Is there a way to speed it up?"
  

Yes, yes, I get it! You want cheat codes! Unbelievable!! I see you're a follower of the doctrines of modern day philosopher Sweet Brown, who once shared her wisdom with all of us when she said Ain't Nobody Got Time For That! To increase your skill instantly open the console and type: Set _Talent_Flute to 100 
This will give you the maximum skill in the flute (by cheating), giving you access to the best new songs. Same can be done for _Talent_Drum and _Talent_Lute. Edit -> If planning to cheat: please look closely, there's a space between set and _talent_lute

• Didn't you say you were taking a break from modding?
  

I know, I know. Hopefully it works this time. DON'T GIVE ME IDEAS FOR MODS, STAY AWAY! I want to play other games too!

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This mod is now included in


🗺️ A Dynamic World - 🧙 Roleplaying - 🏹 Immersion - 🎈 Performance Friendly - 🖱️ 1-Click Installation