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About this mod
When using at least one bound weapon, attacks on enemies grant Conjuration experience, at about 2/3 the rate a One-Handed or Two-Handed weapon would gain for its respective combat skill.
This mod does not touch any bound weapon objects or enchantment files. It should work with any other mod, and may even cover other modded bound weapons.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
One Dependency (SKSE)
SKSE is required for this mod! Get the most current download here (https://skse.silverlock.org)
Overview
When using at least one bound weapon, attacking an enemy will gain Conjuration XP.
The XP gain uses the same system that weapon XP is gained, by checking the base damage of the weapon being used and, after a multiplier, added to the relevant skill. Conjuration XP from using bound weapons progress at about a 2/3 pace of melee weapon skills, not counting the XP gained from the initial spell cast.
None of the bound weapon's enchantments or base weapons were touched in this mod, thus it should work anywhere in the load order, and potentially for other modded bound weapons (assuming they were setup closely enough to the vanilla bound weapons)
This mod's mechanics were designed to cause as little balance issues as possible, so if the mod concept interests you, go ahead and jump in with it. The rest of this description is just info for how this mod works. Nothing should go wrong in the vast majority of cases, and the one case something hiccups would be where you're probably using a rather overpowered item in the first place. You don't need to worry about your Conjuration ballooning out of nowhere.
Installation
Unzip the mod file with something like 7-zip, then place it into the Data folder of your Skyrim Special Edition.
Remember again that this mod requires Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE). Dunno what happens if you try to run without it. At best, it doesn't work, and at worst it'll probably crash.
The XP Math
For bound weapons, this mod multiplies the base damage of one of the weapons by 2 and applies this to Conjuration, which is done due to some hidden XP mechanics. Skills apply their own individual multiplier universally applied whenever the skill advancement function is useed. One-Handed and Two-Handed have a 6.3x multiplier, while conjuration has a 2.1x multiplier. Essentially, the XP gained from using bound weapons gain skill progress for Conjuration at roughly 2/3 the rate the respective weapon stat would progress, which was chosen to try and account for extra XP gained from Conjuration's other uses, including the XP gained from casting the spell in the first place.
However, there were a few critical functions missing for implementation. Which weapon to use for base damage had to be decided on when using two one-handed weapons, which couldn't be accomplished with a simpler method of just checking which weapon was swung with which hand, thus a couple compromises had to be made:
Compromises To Be Aware Of
Implementing this mechanic was not 100% clean, and while everything is set up in a balanced manner, there are some noodley things going on in the background due to limitations of the implementation. Two compromises had to be made, those being that mixing a bound and non-bound weapon couldn't run the XP script solely off the bound weapon, and mitigating exploitation of that first compromise required checking for an element that can let a non-bound weapon circumvent limitations set by the first script.
The basic gist is using two-handed bound weapons works pretty much as intended, as well as using two bound weapons or a bound weapon and a non-weapon. However, using a bound and non-bound weapon still triggers the Conjuration XP even if attacking with the non-bound weapon. To mitigate accidental XP exploits the non-bound weapon's base damage will be prioritized if it's lower than the bound weapon, or the bound weapon's damage will be prioritized instead if the non-bound weapon has higher base damage. Unfortunately, the only way to check within a script itself if a weapon is bound is by checking if it has exactly 4 enchantments. Therefore, if you hold at least one actual bound weapon, a weapon with four enchantments will be treated as a bound weapon and can circumvent the script prioritizing the actual bound weapon over the non bound one.
So, to explain what this all means, here's the first compromise: Mixing Bound and Non-Bound Weapons
While everything else could be checked for fine, the one thing I couldn't check (at least using just the Vanilla and SKSE functions) was checking which particular hand just swung the weapon. The XP code is only run while at least one held weapon is a bound weapon, and XP is then gained if a weapon hits an opponent. Without a way to check which hand just swung, in the case of mixing two one-handed weapons, it's possible to gain Conjuration XP by swinging a non-bound weapon, so long as at least one hand holds a bound weapon. There isn't a way to confirm if the weapon you just hit the enemy with was actually the bound weapon or not. Furthermore, without being able to check which hand's weapon was attacked with, which weapon's base damage to use for the XP calculation has to be picked from one of the two hands.
To mitigate exploiting this issue to gain far more XP than intended (by using a wooden sword or a fork to get the XP equivalent to the bound sword, or just accidentally stumbling into this in normal gameplay with an iron sword or something), and to answer which weapon's base damage to use, the following limitations apply:
If you're using two bound weapons, the Conjuration XP prioritizes the highest base damage weapon.
If you're using a bound weapon in one hand, and the other hand is not holding a one-handed weapon (A shield, a staff, bare fist, etc.), the real weapon's damage will be used for XP (as opposed to say a shield's 0 damage).
If you're using a bound weapon and the other hand has a non-bound weapon, two things can happen: If the non-bound weapon has lower damage than the bound weapon, the lowest base damage weapon will be prioritized for XP. If the non-bound weapon has higher damage than the bound weapon, the bound weapon's damage will be used instead. This works assuming which weapon is a bound weapon is determined correctly, though this wasn't something that could be cleanly determined either.
This system can technically be circumvented in one way: The Bound-Weapon Check is 4 Enchantments
For the purpose of making the prior script run in all the cases it needed, I need to somehow check if the weapon in the given hand was a bound weapon. There's no function for this within Vanilla or SKSE. Though the XP script is run though a perk's activation, which can check if a bound weapon is held in at least one hand, this can't be done within a script itself. So while the only qualification for running the script is a weapon having the "Is Bound Weapon" flag ticked in its weapon object, in order to setup the logic of the script correctly, the compromise was this:
Thanks to Conjuration's bound weapon perks, the bound weapon enchantments universally make all bound weapons possess 4 enchantments. As far as I know, no other weapon in the vanilla game possesses 4 enchantments, and players can ordinarily only apply up to 2 enchantments to an item. Therefore in this non-modded vacuum the only weapons that pass this check are bound weapons.
HOWEVER, if a weapon does have four enchantments, bound weapon or not, it'll register as one when it comes to the XP script. Again, to run the perk to start this script on hitting an enemy at least one weapon needs the "Is Bound Weapon" flag, so one true bound weapon is needed either way. But if the second weapon possesses exactly four enchantments, it'll get counted as a bound weapon for the XP calculation.
That's about it for the compromises though. Stick to weapons equal to or greater than the bound weapons (or just stick with both hands being bound weapons), and avoid using a weapon with 4 enchantments alongside a bound weapon and everything'll work as intended (or use a 4 enchantment weapon on purpose anyway, if that sounds like an appealing method to get some extra juice out of the XP)
My Thoughts
I've wanted a mod like this for a long while, and from what I know there isn't anything out there that does something like this.
Personally, I always wished magic types like Conjuration, Alteration, Illusion, etc. gave you progress for actually using their spell effects, since although it makes sense for the way these spells are themed that it's the creation of the effect that "teaches" the player how to use it better, it creates this issue where, with regards to progressing Conjuration's skill level, you don't really want to be using the cool magic sword you just made, you want to keep recasting it over and over while a mudcrab's standing there.
Basically, levelling magic skills like Conjuration (and others) requires you to do steps that don't involve actually using the effects of the spells you're making, which contrasts stuff like Destruction or Restoration or even Blocking, where you're making use of their effects to level the skills. By adding XP gain to bound weapons, there's at least one case where just using the effects from a Conjuration spell gets you somewhere in the skill level.
I'm quite surprised I got everything working, despite the lengthy compromises. Overall everything works about as well as one could hope for, and it's a nice bonus that this was all managed without overwriting any game files.
I'd like to apply XP when hit under an Alteration armor spell, and maybe even getting XP for sneaking while under Muffle, but from what I've found those XP cases won't be nearly as clean-cut. 90% sure I'll have to overwrite the spells themselves in order to achieve the XP effect, thus this mod'll be released standalone since it's able to be used on its own without any conflicts with other mods.
If I can get this working on Alteration armors, there may be a sort of mechanical sequel to this mod. Hope you enjoy the mod! Have a good one.
SKSE is required for this mod! Get the most current download here (https://skse.silverlock.org)
Overview
When using at least one bound weapon, attacking an enemy will gain Conjuration XP.
The XP gain uses the same system that weapon XP is gained, by checking the base damage of the weapon being used and, after a multiplier, added to the relevant skill. Conjuration XP from using bound weapons progress at about a 2/3 pace of melee weapon skills, not counting the XP gained from the initial spell cast.
None of the bound weapon's enchantments or base weapons were touched in this mod, thus it should work anywhere in the load order, and potentially for other modded bound weapons (assuming they were setup closely enough to the vanilla bound weapons)
This mod's mechanics were designed to cause as little balance issues as possible, so if the mod concept interests you, go ahead and jump in with it. The rest of this description is just info for how this mod works. Nothing should go wrong in the vast majority of cases, and the one case something hiccups would be where you're probably using a rather overpowered item in the first place. You don't need to worry about your Conjuration ballooning out of nowhere.
Installation
Unzip the mod file with something like 7-zip, then place it into the Data folder of your Skyrim Special Edition.
Remember again that this mod requires Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE). Dunno what happens if you try to run without it. At best, it doesn't work, and at worst it'll probably crash.
The XP Math
For bound weapons, this mod multiplies the base damage of one of the weapons by 2 and applies this to Conjuration, which is done due to some hidden XP mechanics. Skills apply their own individual multiplier universally applied whenever the skill advancement function is useed. One-Handed and Two-Handed have a 6.3x multiplier, while conjuration has a 2.1x multiplier. Essentially, the XP gained from using bound weapons gain skill progress for Conjuration at roughly 2/3 the rate the respective weapon stat would progress, which was chosen to try and account for extra XP gained from Conjuration's other uses, including the XP gained from casting the spell in the first place.
However, there were a few critical functions missing for implementation. Which weapon to use for base damage had to be decided on when using two one-handed weapons, which couldn't be accomplished with a simpler method of just checking which weapon was swung with which hand, thus a couple compromises had to be made:
Compromises To Be Aware Of
Implementing this mechanic was not 100% clean, and while everything is set up in a balanced manner, there are some noodley things going on in the background due to limitations of the implementation. Two compromises had to be made, those being that mixing a bound and non-bound weapon couldn't run the XP script solely off the bound weapon, and mitigating exploitation of that first compromise required checking for an element that can let a non-bound weapon circumvent limitations set by the first script.
The basic gist is using two-handed bound weapons works pretty much as intended, as well as using two bound weapons or a bound weapon and a non-weapon. However, using a bound and non-bound weapon still triggers the Conjuration XP even if attacking with the non-bound weapon. To mitigate accidental XP exploits the non-bound weapon's base damage will be prioritized if it's lower than the bound weapon, or the bound weapon's damage will be prioritized instead if the non-bound weapon has higher base damage. Unfortunately, the only way to check within a script itself if a weapon is bound is by checking if it has exactly 4 enchantments. Therefore, if you hold at least one actual bound weapon, a weapon with four enchantments will be treated as a bound weapon and can circumvent the script prioritizing the actual bound weapon over the non bound one.
So, to explain what this all means, here's the first compromise: Mixing Bound and Non-Bound Weapons
While everything else could be checked for fine, the one thing I couldn't check (at least using just the Vanilla and SKSE functions) was checking which particular hand just swung the weapon. The XP code is only run while at least one held weapon is a bound weapon, and XP is then gained if a weapon hits an opponent. Without a way to check which hand just swung, in the case of mixing two one-handed weapons, it's possible to gain Conjuration XP by swinging a non-bound weapon, so long as at least one hand holds a bound weapon. There isn't a way to confirm if the weapon you just hit the enemy with was actually the bound weapon or not. Furthermore, without being able to check which hand's weapon was attacked with, which weapon's base damage to use for the XP calculation has to be picked from one of the two hands.
To mitigate exploiting this issue to gain far more XP than intended (by using a wooden sword or a fork to get the XP equivalent to the bound sword, or just accidentally stumbling into this in normal gameplay with an iron sword or something), and to answer which weapon's base damage to use, the following limitations apply:
If you're using two bound weapons, the Conjuration XP prioritizes the highest base damage weapon.
If you're using a bound weapon in one hand, and the other hand is not holding a one-handed weapon (A shield, a staff, bare fist, etc.), the real weapon's damage will be used for XP (as opposed to say a shield's 0 damage).
If you're using a bound weapon and the other hand has a non-bound weapon, two things can happen: If the non-bound weapon has lower damage than the bound weapon, the lowest base damage weapon will be prioritized for XP. If the non-bound weapon has higher damage than the bound weapon, the bound weapon's damage will be used instead. This works assuming which weapon is a bound weapon is determined correctly, though this wasn't something that could be cleanly determined either.
This system can technically be circumvented in one way: The Bound-Weapon Check is 4 Enchantments
For the purpose of making the prior script run in all the cases it needed, I need to somehow check if the weapon in the given hand was a bound weapon. There's no function for this within Vanilla or SKSE. Though the XP script is run though a perk's activation, which can check if a bound weapon is held in at least one hand, this can't be done within a script itself. So while the only qualification for running the script is a weapon having the "Is Bound Weapon" flag ticked in its weapon object, in order to setup the logic of the script correctly, the compromise was this:
Thanks to Conjuration's bound weapon perks, the bound weapon enchantments universally make all bound weapons possess 4 enchantments. As far as I know, no other weapon in the vanilla game possesses 4 enchantments, and players can ordinarily only apply up to 2 enchantments to an item. Therefore in this non-modded vacuum the only weapons that pass this check are bound weapons.
HOWEVER, if a weapon does have four enchantments, bound weapon or not, it'll register as one when it comes to the XP script. Again, to run the perk to start this script on hitting an enemy at least one weapon needs the "Is Bound Weapon" flag, so one true bound weapon is needed either way. But if the second weapon possesses exactly four enchantments, it'll get counted as a bound weapon for the XP calculation.
That's about it for the compromises though. Stick to weapons equal to or greater than the bound weapons (or just stick with both hands being bound weapons), and avoid using a weapon with 4 enchantments alongside a bound weapon and everything'll work as intended (or use a 4 enchantment weapon on purpose anyway, if that sounds like an appealing method to get some extra juice out of the XP)
My Thoughts
I've wanted a mod like this for a long while, and from what I know there isn't anything out there that does something like this.
Personally, I always wished magic types like Conjuration, Alteration, Illusion, etc. gave you progress for actually using their spell effects, since although it makes sense for the way these spells are themed that it's the creation of the effect that "teaches" the player how to use it better, it creates this issue where, with regards to progressing Conjuration's skill level, you don't really want to be using the cool magic sword you just made, you want to keep recasting it over and over while a mudcrab's standing there.
Basically, levelling magic skills like Conjuration (and others) requires you to do steps that don't involve actually using the effects of the spells you're making, which contrasts stuff like Destruction or Restoration or even Blocking, where you're making use of their effects to level the skills. By adding XP gain to bound weapons, there's at least one case where just using the effects from a Conjuration spell gets you somewhere in the skill level.
I'm quite surprised I got everything working, despite the lengthy compromises. Overall everything works about as well as one could hope for, and it's a nice bonus that this was all managed without overwriting any game files.
I'd like to apply XP when hit under an Alteration armor spell, and maybe even getting XP for sneaking while under Muffle, but from what I've found those XP cases won't be nearly as clean-cut. 90% sure I'll have to overwrite the spells themselves in order to achieve the XP effect, thus this mod'll be released standalone since it's able to be used on its own without any conflicts with other mods.
If I can get this working on Alteration armors, there may be a sort of mechanical sequel to this mod. Hope you enjoy the mod! Have a good one.