Skyrim Special Edition

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notwaterproof

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notwaterproof

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About this mod

Fry Dwarven circuitry. Torture sensitive Falmer ears. Crush Bandits under the weight of their armor. New spells that combat specific enemy types by exploiting in-universe weaknesses in unique ways.

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  • Spanish
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Specialised Spells 
"Because the best defence is a good offence."

These 11 spells (and one staff) present new ways for non-Destruction mages to take on specific enemy types in direct combat by exploiting inherent in-universe weaknesses. Mages are scholars, and should have more options to think their way out of a problem before resorting to blowing things up. 

For example, 

Years of living underground have rendered the Falmer blind, but their other senses have become more acute as a result. (Vanilla loading screen.)

So, Falmer have sensitive ears, and likely rely on their hearing to move around. One might assume that a particularly loud sound would overwhelm those ears and therefore cripple them, not to mention causing them great distress and pain. Hence, Falmer's Torment, a spell which does exactly that. 

I created this mod as a cross between a gameplay mod and a roleplay mod. The spells are designed to help widen the magical world of Skyrim, spice up the sometimes repetitive mage gameplay, and diversify the methods of researching and acquiring new magical abilities. 

The new spells are acquired through a variety of methods, which are specified in the relevant sections below. 

Dwemer Constructs:

Arniel Gane's research into the Dwemer cogs sourced by the player character (during the quest Arniel's Endeavour) reveals special physical properties of the mystical Dwemer metal. He passes these findings onto Tolfdir, who is able to formulate Alteration spells that manipulate these properties through magical means. 

  • Dwemerend - Alteration, adeptRupture Dwarven machinery, causing 20 damage per second for 3 seconds and briefly disabling Spiders under 50% health. 
  • Deconstruct - Alteration, expert: Strip most machines' magic resistances for 30 seconds, reducing a further 50% if disabled. Affected Spheres can now be disabled. 
[Centurions' resistances are not affected]
  • Electro-Magnetic Pulse - Alteration, master: Deconstruct nearby machines' magic resistances for 60 seconds, disabling most for 10 seconds. Affected Ballistas and Spheres can now be disabled. 
[Centurions' resistances are now affected, but they still cannot be disabled]

Complete the first stage of the quest Arniel's Endeavour to add the tomes for these spells to the Alteration vendor lists. 


Dungeon-Dwelling Creatures:

Creatures that spend their lives underground grow accustomed to darkness, making them very sensitive to light. An Alteration mage familiar with Light spells can use this to their advantage. 

  • Flash - Alteration, adept: Blinding light blasts away dungeon-dwelling creatures, stunning them for 5 seconds while dealing 12 damage per second. 
  • Flare - Alteration, expert: Blinding light blasts away dungeon-dwelling creatures in a 15 foot radius, stunning them for seconds while dealing 18 damage per second. 

The tomes for these spells can be found in vendor lists from the start of the game. 
The spells use a series of conditions to function:
Spoiler:  
Show

The target must:
  • Be inside a clearable dungeon that is not an ice cave (they have too much light)
  • Be either a creature or an animal
  • Not be undead
  • Not be a Hagraven, Falmer, Daedra

Targets immune to knockback/ragdoll effects will not be blasted away or stunned, but will take damage. 

Armor-Wearing Enemies:

Telekinesis, a discipline from the Alteration school of magic, is the art of moving objects with one's mind. Use it to crush enemies under the weight of their own armor. The damage to health is tagged as physical, so will begin below the stated amount at first but increase above the stated amount as the target's armor rating decreases (the visual effect on the target will turn red once their armor falls below zero).

  • Constrict Armor - Alteration, apprentice: Constrict target's metal breastplate, dealing 10 physical damage to health, armor rating, and stamina per second for 4 seconds. 
  • Crush Armor - Alteration, expert: Crush target's metal breastplate, dealing 20 physical damage to health, armor rating, and stamina per second for seconds. 

The tomes for these spells can be found in vendor lists from the start of the game. 
Some armors have little or no metal in them and are therefore too flimsy to crush the wearer. The spells will not work on targets wearing the following chest pieces:
  • Hide armor
  • Fur armor
  • Leather armor
  • Forsworn armor

Falmer:

Generations of blindness have caused Falmer to develop extremely sensitive hearing. Therefore, overwhelming their ears can cause intense physical and mental pain. Famous mage Calcelmo has formulated an Illusion spell to do just that, in an effort to make research expeditions in Dwemer ruins less dangerous. 

  • Falmer's Torment - Illusion, adept: Falmer up to level 30 flee, with a scaling chance to faint and lost 50% magic resistance. Dual cast to deal up to 16 damage per second based on proximity. 

The tome for this spell can be found on display in Calcelmo's Dwemer museum amongst a collection of books. 
The chance to faint is calculated as follows:
Spoiler:  
Show

Half the player's Illusion skill as a percentage. E.g. if you have a Illusion skill of 50, then there is a 25% chance per second for the Falmer to faint.


Spriggans:

A quick-thinking Destruction mage can take advantage of a Spriggan's wooden skin, starting a wildfire with just a few flames. 

  • Forest Fire - Destruction, apprentice: For 30 seconds, fire spells cast on a Spriggan have a scaling chance to explode for 20 fire damage in a 15 foot radius. 

The tome for this spell can be found in Snapleg Cave, near a captive Spriggan. 
The chance to explode is calculated the same way as Falmer's Torment, but with the Destruction skill.
Burnt Spriggans are immune to this spell as they are partially made of fire. 


Hagravens:

Investigating a Hagraven staff reveals findings about the dark magic that fuels the horrid creatures. A talented Restoration mage can use their knowledge of purification magic to cleanse such a staff and turn it into a weapon that can temporarily reverse the Hagraven ritual, restricting the target Hagraven's access to dark magic. 

  • Staff of Hag's Absolution: Deplete Hagraven's magicka by 50 points per second, suspending regeneration. Damages health if target is out of magicka. 

In order to acquire this Staff, reach level 40 in Restoration and take the vanilla Staff of Hag's Wrath to a staff enchanter, along with a Potion of Cure Disease and a Heart Stone. You will be able to convert the Staff of Hag's Wrath into the Staff of Hag's Absolution.


Forsworn Briarhearts:


Through risky self-experimentation, daring Restoration mages can use their talent for manipulating life forces to learn to control Briar blood. With this control, they can overstimulate a Forsworn's Briarheart, supercharging its effect on Reachman biology to a level too high for the body to cope with. 

  • Briarheart Attack - Restoration, expert: Touch a Forsworn to quicken their Briarheart, doubling their attack damage and movement speed for 10 seconds before killing them. 

To acquire this spell, reach level 60 in Restoration and take a Briar Heart to a cooking pot. You will be able to craft a potion vial of Briar Blood. Upon consumption, it will deal high amounts of damage per second and prevent access to the magic menu, but equipped spells can still be cast. If the player survives the duration of this effect, knowledge of the spell will be granted.

Compatibility

Spells are added to level lists via script, so won't interfere with other mods that edit level lists, and no need for a bashed patch.

This mod makes no edits to vanilla assets, so should not conflict directly with any mods.

The anti-Dwemer spells use the ActorTypeDwarven keyword to identify Dwemer targets, so if mod-added Dwemer enemies use this keyword then the spells should work against them. 

Similarly, any mod-added creatures will be affected by Skylight/Starlight if they meet the conditions. If there are any mod-added creatures which are affected by these spells and logically shouldn't be, or vice versa (or any mod-added armors that shouldn't be affected by Crush Armor), let me know and I *might* make a patch for them. I have a lot of university work though so no promises.