Overview
At some point, all of Bethesda's Alternate Armor Creations have been free. I picked them up but never really tried them out. Eventually, I decided to give them a chance, and played through them all one after another. They weren't my favorite things in the world, but they had some nice moments. On the whole, though, I wasn't sure who these people were or why I was fighting them.
The last quest I played was Heart of Crimson. Finally, after I defeated Tyra Blood-Fire, I found yet another of the Crimson Dirks books on her and finally decided to read it. My first thought was "Aesrael and Peladius? Didn't I fight those guys in other quests?" My second thought was that I should read the other stories and see if they were any good. And it turns out they're all connected; each of the Alternate Armors quests features a former member of the Crimson Dirks, a notorious gang of bandits who threatened Cyrodiil, and there was a surprising amount of backstory available for what felt like a series of no-context boss fights. Between that backstory, Heart of Crimson, and Over the Edge, I decided: there was probably enough there to make a decent quest if you could find a way to tie them all together, present the fights in a way that tells the player who these people are and what's going on. And so began this mod.

Alternate Armors: Requirements
No Creations are actually required. Each can be integrated into the quest, but you can play through with anywhere from just one to all seven of the Alternate Armor Creations. Yes, this was a pain to set up; yes, it was worth it because seriously, how many people actually own all of the Creations? I still recommend playing with all of them for the best experience, but I wouldn't recommend buying them if you don't already have them.

Alternate Armors: Integration
The original quests were about tracking down the new armor, which then added it to lists and allowed you to craft it. The quest requirement has been removed; armors can now be crafted any time you have the perks, and will always be in leveled lists.
Several sets have been completed; Elven Hunter and Daedric Mail armors came without helmets originally. The armor sets have been added to leveled lists in the same ways that vanilla items are, at appropriate levels.



Other Creations
Chrysamere comes with a patch to remove its quest entirely, and allow you to take it from Peladius after you fight him.
Arcane Accessories will receive an integration in a future update. Unfortunately, the integration got a little out of hand and was delaying the rest of the mod, so it isn't ready yet.

Starting the Quest
To start the quest, you just have to find and read the bounty letter for the Crimson Dirks. There are several ways to do this.
Near each of the locations you'll eventually end up fighting one of the Crimson Dirks, you'll find a dead bounty hunter - you aren't the only one trying to collect, just the best-equipped. They'll carry a copy of the bounty letter and dossiers describing your opponents.
The same bounty and dossiers can also be found at Castle Dour and the Penitus Oculatus Outpust - look for a Bounty Dispatch Strongbox.
Finally, the first time you read any of the Crimson Dirks books, a copy of the bounty letter will fall out. The books have been handplaced in several locations each, and added to leveled items as generic books.

A Crimson Trail
The Crimson Dirks might be in hiding, but they've been bandits all their lives. They tend to leave trails of destruction. Once you've started the main quest, you'll get general locations where the Crimson Dirks were last seen, and you can speak to local innkeepers for leads. If you're in the area of a Crimson Dirk, they'll start that Dirk's individual quest.
Most of the Crimson Dirks are designed to be boss fights. It is strongly recommended that you are at least level 20 for most of the quests. Your goal is to retrieve proof of death, unlike the vanilla quests which simply want you to get the armor. Most of the armors have been changed as rewards. Since generic versions are craftable and in the leveled lists, the Dirks now have enchanted versions of the armor to reflect their character or playstyle.
Note that you're not expected to do the quests in any order beyond Tyra being last, and you're not expected to do all of the quests at once. I don't even recommend doing them all back to back, it's not that interesting with how much fast traveling you have to do. Just talk to innkeepers as you travel and you'll find the individual quests.

Compatibility
Using any of the Alternate Armor Creations without a Crimson Trail integration patch is not supported. I have heavily edited all of the involved quests' scripts, and attempting to run the unmodified Creation with the heavily modified scripts will almost certainly break the quest.
Don't use this with the Unofficial Skyrim Creation Club Patches for any Creation that you have integrated into Crimson Trail. The scripts and quests have been edited heavily; they will not be compatible. All relevant fixes were forwarded while making this mod.
Rodryk's Dragon Bridge changes the interior of the Four Shields Tavern, moving several quest items from Over the Edge out of bounds. A patch is provided.
A Book Covers Skyrim patch is provided that gives a new appearance to this mod's added books.

Credits
See the Credits section of the permissions tab for assets.
A huge thanks to Tate Taylor for playtesting, screenshots, and general feedback, as well as getting me started on Creation Club integration as a concept.