Skyrim Special Edition

About this mod

Adds 28 leveled enemy dragons with unique models, textures, & abilities, uniting work from over a dozen mod authors. Now fully configurable.

Requirements
Permissions and credits
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Uniting resources from 13 different mod authors, this is a dragon mod like none seen before.

  • 28 new dragons, each with a unique model & texture
  • 7 ranks of strength for each dragon, creating a challenge that scales with your level
  • 16 new breath attacks & 19 new abilities used by the dragons
  • Integrated into vanilla leveled lists to appear in your game seamlessly
  • Now fully customizable. See only the dragons you want to see!
  • Now fully compatible with other creature mods! No bashed patch required.




Installation
Dawnguard and Dragonborn required.
SKSE64 and SkyUI are "soft requirements" -- you can run the mod without them. But SKSE64 will improve compatibility with other creature mods, and SkyUI will be easier than using the spell menu.
You can configure the mod without SKSE by using the Spell Menu.

As of v2.1.1, patches are not needed to use this with other mods that add dragons. If you have a patch from an old version, delete it. If you already built a Bashed Patch with an old version of DDC3, rebuild it. Otherwise you don't need a bashed patch for this mod.


FAQs
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Will this come to PS4? No, that's not possible due to Sony's requirements.

I don't like x dragon, can you remove it? Use the MCM menu if you have SkyUI, or the SpellMenu if you don't. You can disable any dragon.

I'm getting a pop-up window warning me that my leveled list has more than 255 entries.
(1) Make sure you aren't using old patches for this mod. This mod needs NO PATCHES other than one for Deadly Dragons (and you must update that one). That includes Bashed Patch etc (rebuilding your bashed patch should solve the problem).
(2) You might just have too many dragons added by other mods. DDC3 adds a maximum of 196 to each leveled list, but it will be less if some dragons are disabled (Lava and Eldergleam are disabled by default so it actually starts at 182). You can check LCharDragonAny and DLC2LCharDragonAny in xEdit to see what dragons are added by your mods -- if the farthest-right value of LLCT (with all your mods and patches loaded) is 59 or less, you are in the clear. If it's higher you have to make sure enough DDC dragons are disabled in the menu (each one adds 7 entries), or remove some dragons from other mods.

I'm getting a CTD whenever I try to save the game. You have overfilled leveled lists, and you don't have SKSE to detect and prevent the overfill. See the previous question for how to fix.

Where is the MCM? (Requires SKSE) Go to "Mod Configuration" below Save/Load. It might take a while for my mod to show up in the list. If it never shows up, open the console (~) and type: setstage SKI_ConfigManagerInstance 1
(Some users have reported issues when using multiple mods that have optional FISS support without FISS installed. If your MCM continues to refuse to appear, and in particular if it does appear after you disable another mod with FISS support, try installing FISS.)

Where is the Spell Menu? Powers -> ACCM: Diverse Dragons Col. 3 Menu

I don't want a spell menu, can I get rid of it? It will be automatically removed the first time you open the MCM.

Is this compatible with x?
1) This mod should not cause conflicts with anything except DDC2.
2) There may be inconsistencies with some dragon difficulty mods though. Use the new patch for Deadly Dragons. No patch is needed for Dragon Combat Overhaul or Simply Stronger Dragons. Other dragon difficulty mods you will need to patch yourself (see the next question).
3) If you use The Dragon Engine, you will not see the extra variation on DDC's dragons, but you will still see it on vanilla dragons when you encounter them.

Will your dragons be effected by the changes to dragons in mod x? 
All of my dragons will inherit: -Stat changes to the base vanilla dragons -Abilities added into the dragon's crDragonUnarmedDamage abilities (even if they aren't related to unarmed damage) -AI changes -Faction changes -Script changes (if the author is able to get the script changes onto LeveledActor dragons in the first place) -Animations.
Some of my dragons will inherit -Changes to AbDragonFire and AbDragonFrost -Changes to fire breath and frost breath.
My dragons will probably not inherit new attacks or abilities unless they are added via one of the above methods.

The dragons are too weak.
1) Use a dragon difficulty mod (see previous two questions for info on which ones are compatible).
2) The dragons are balanced with vanilla dragons, but they have a greater variety of abilities. So please take into account your resistances and weaknesses as well as those of each dragon (see ability spreadsheet).
3) Note that Skyrim has level limits that vary based on Encounter Zones as well as auto-downscaling through the FLeveledActorMult settings, so you might be encountering dragons of the lowest level no matter what your player level is (see this mod for an explanation of both of these phenomena and also a possible solution).

I haven't encountered any dragons. 
1) Try decreasing the dragon attack recharge time (bottom of Control tab in MCM).
2) Dragons don't appear until you complete Dragon Rising.
3) A Blade in the Dark disables dragon attacks until completed.
4) This is a common vanilla bug not caused by my mod.

I only see vanilla dragons. Certain situations will only spawn vanilla dragons. These include some quest-related spawns and some map locations.

I killed a dragon and it didn't give me a soul.
1) Make sure you have the Unofficial Patch installed and active.
2) Was it spawned from the config menu or console? If so that isn't a bug.
3) If you have script overload, then I didn't cause that bug.
4) If a dragon respawns, it won't give you a second soul -- this is a bug introduced by Bethesda that I can't fix. This can be especially tricky, since it might respawn as a different type of dragon and it may fly to a different location.

A dragon didn't burn up when it gave me its soul, it just disappeared and left a skeleton. Most dragons will play the dissolve animation correctly. I actually had to add these animations myself because no other custom dragon meshes that I've ever seen can play the animation. A handful of dragons have very unique meshes/textures that prevent me from fixing them, so they don't play the animation. Also, see previous question.

When a dragon's soul is absorbed, my game crashes! This has been caused by some bugged versions of RaceMenu. In theory other mods that edit equipment nodes or overhaul how equipping works could be related, or of course mods that override the dragon soul absorption script or the skeletal dragon model.

I encountered a dragon before the first dragon quest. Caused by a different mod.

Are these replacers? Non-replacing -- you will occassionally encounter vanilla dragons but the vast majority will be mine (exceptions include some quests and statically-placed dragons, which will not be effected by this mod.)

Can I ride these dragons? I believe you can ride all of them but I haven't tested it thoroughly.

Will there be more dragons in the future? Possibly. 

Is it safe to uninstall this mod? Revert to an old save file and remove/disable the plugin. It's never safe to uninstall a mod without reverting to an old save, but if you absolutely insist, use the Disable All button in the config menu, move to an interior, then use the console to clear cached cells and reset all cells.

Do you have permission to use <some mod author>'s assets? Yes.

Can I use your assets? Many of these assets belong to other authors. You are welcome to use assets created by me, as long as you give me credit. However, if you use assets that were partly or entirely made by another author, you MUST have that other author's permission prior to use. Detailed authorship info is included in the Readme.




Credits
Meshes: yousukeve, opusGlass, Zerofrost, Madcat221
Textures: Bellyache (wrig675), opusGlass, yousukeve, Zerofrost, sepherose, luddeman, digitalLion, Versispellis, Aipex8, LoginToDownload
ESP content & scripts: opusGlass

Helpful dragon texture template: LoginToDownload

Video: DonProtein
Screenshots: fiszi
Testing: DonProtein, fiszi

Detailed authorship info can be found in the Readme


Recommended Files:
SPLENDOR: DRAGON VARIANTS




Also on Skyrim Legendary Edition!