Skyrim Special Edition

About this mod

Babette has finally realized being a 300-year-old vampire in the body of a child isn't all it's cracked up to be, and she needs the Dragonborn's help to solve her problem.

Requirements
Permissions and credits
Changelogs
Version 2.0 Released!
I've been listening in on a lot of the comments since this mod was originally released, and it seems many of you would like to play the mod independently of whether you Destroy the Dark Brotherhood or join them. Well, I've heard you, and version 2.0 now makes exactly this possible!

So, whether you decide to to kill Astrid in the Abandoned Shack, or whether you decide to kill one (or all) of her prisoners and join her organization, you will be able to play For the Love of Babette. In the latter case, the story will, of course be slightly different, especially at the beginning, and the quests where you restore the Dawnstar Sanctuary will be skipped entirely since the player already does that during the normal Dark Brotherhood questline.

Version 2.0 incorporates all the necessary changes to allow playing from both sides, fixes many bugs that have accumulated in the previous versions, and streamlines the quests to make various objectives less confusing. I very much appreciated KaiserC5's assistance in pointing out these issues. Be sure to use the version 2.0 patch files if you need them.


Overview
Beginning with version 2.0, it's possible to play this mod whether you Destroy the Dark Brotherhood, or if you decide to join the organization and essentially become its leader. Should you decide to Destroy the Dark Brotherhood, your play-though might look something like this:

Tavern Guest 1:
"So, Dragonborn, you've managed to
Destroy the Dark Brotherhood. That's quite an achievement! And since everyone wants to buy you a drink, it's high time we break out the mead and celebrate, right?"

Tavern Guest  2: "Well, now, hold on a moment. Let's think about this. Because by destroying the Dark Brotherhood, you've also managed to piss off one of the oldest and most powerful vampires in Skyrim. And I've heard rumors that she thinks you owe her. I mean, hey, all you did was murder her friends and destroy her home, so what's the big deal? She's murdered plenty of people, so I'm sure she's not taking it so seriously."

Tavern Guest  3: "Wait, you got a
Mysterious Letter from someone who says you owe them? And they want you to meet them at the Windpeak Inn in Dawnstar to discuss how you'll repay the debt? Oh, so they said you shouldn't keep them waiting. And they signed the letter with a 'B'. Uh-huh. Okay, um...you know what, I just heard my wife's going into labor, so I'll... No, what's it matter that I don't have a wife! I'll just be going for, uh...well, just think of a reason, and we'll say that's why I'm going. But, um...Dragonborn, you have a nice life, now. Uh, that is, what's left of it. See you. Or not. Whatever..."

And so begins a long and strenuous questline in which the vampire-child assassin Babette strongarms you into helping her resolve the issues she claims you created for her, like finding her a new home. But as she spends more time with the Dragonborn, she finally begins to admit to herself that being a 300-year-old vampire in the body of a child isn't such a boon as she constantly declares. Babette then asks the Dragonborn to help her locate and acquire the Stone of Desire so she can finally grow up. This launches the main part of the story, which will require Babette and the Dragonborn to pass three very difficult trials in what is called the Trial of Ashes. But can you really trust her? Or is this all an elaborate ruse so Babette can wield the Stone of Desire to gain even more power and become the unspeakable evil some claim her to be?

During this adventure, you'll restore the Dawnstar Sanctuary and receive some of the rewards you missed out on because you didn't play through the Dark Brotherhood questline. For instance, during the quest to restore the Dawnstar Sanctuary, you'll be sent to the last resting place of the Assassin of Old. And after you've restored the Sanctuary, Shadowmere will be waiting for you outside of the Sanctuary's main entrance. Also, the loot on many of the enemies you encounter during your quests will be well worth the effort. 

If you decide to Join the Dark Brotherhood, the quest will be similar, but you'll skip the steps to restore the Dawnstar Sanctuary, since that is already taken care of during the normal Dark Brotherhood questline. The player also won't need to spend quite so much time with Babette, since she already knows the Listener from their time together in the organization.

Depending on the decisions you make, you can gain up to two new followers after completing the quest: the grownup version of Babette, and Babette's "friend", the vampire  Persephone

Since I wanted the child version of Babette to be a full-fledged follower, I had to redefine her as an adult. I mean, she is 300 years old. She can therefore aid the Dragonborn if they are attacked. But it also means certain adult mods will work on her. To make this more difficult, the mod currently only offers the child version of Babette in a Never Nude form. 

The quest series is Fully Voiced using xVASynth and contains more than 1,400 voiced dialog lines!

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The images in the Images Section were taken from the nine video walkthroughs in the Videos Section. Sadly, the video walkthroughs were created using an older version of the mod, and the dungeons have had a lot of work done on them in the meantime.

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This is a short, musically enhanced preview of the two new dungeons Babette will encounter on her journey. There is also a nine-part video walkthrough series of the entire mod in the Videos Section. The videos were all created with an older version of the mod, and believe me, I've done a lot of work on the dungeons, and I think they're much more pleasing now, both story- and appearance-wise. An exception is the Part 3 video, which I reworked using footage of the Keystone dungeon of version 1.0.

If you'd like to watch the entire series as a playlist on YouTube, the link is here:

For the Love of Babette - Video Walkthrough Playlist

The videos on YouTube have the advantage of containing links to other mods I used to create my Skyrim build. Also, the YouTube videos, despite being HD, can sometimes be blurry, so I've included download links to the actual videos on Google Drive. Those versions will not be blurry. 

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Features
- Two New Followers: Babette (grownup form) and her vampire friend Persephone
- Over 1,400 Lines of Dialog: Generated with xVASynth
- Two New Dungeons to Explore: Keystone dungeon (Realm of Oblivion) and Trial of Ashes cave complex (Skyrim and Solstheim)
Up To Ten Hours Additional Playtime: Depending on your play style, you will have anywhere from three to ten hours of additional playtime available

If you decide to Destroy the Dark Brotherhood, the following features will also be available:

- Restored Dawnstar Sanctuary: Help Babette restore the Dawnstar Sanctuary to use as her and the player's new home (NO torture chamber!)
- Assassin of Old: During the quest, you will be able to retrieve the Assassin of Old's unique Ancient Shrouded Armor
- Shadowmere Mount: After the Dawnstar Sanctuary is restored, Shadowmere will be waiting for you at the Sanctuary's main entrance


Requirements
- SKSE: Hard requirement.
- Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch (AE): Hard requirement. If you need USSEP for Skyrim SE version 1.5.97, you can get it HERE.
- Relationship Dialogue Overhaul - RDO SE: Soft requirement. Since Babette uses a child voice, essential follower dialog will only be available with RDO.


Compatibility
- Generally, this mod is NOT compatible with other mods that change Babette or the Dawnstar Sanctuary.

- In version 2.0, there is now a patch available for the well-known Penitus Oculatus mod, which delays the start of the Penitus Oculatus quest until you've finished with this mod. (Hint: The Babette you kill in the relevant Penitus Oculatus quest is just a dummy). The patch is flagged as ESL.  

- I've created a patch for the excellent Dark Brotherhood Reborn - Dawnstar Sanctuary SEE created by ALuckyMuse. I actually recommend using this mod, it just makes the Sanctuary look SO much better. The patch is flagged as ESL and is available in the Miscellaneous Files section.

- If you're using both the Dark Brotherhood Reborn - Dawnstar Sanctuary SEE and Legacy of the Dragonborn, there's a patch available in the Dark Brotherhood Reborn - Patch Collection

- I've also created a patch for Nether's Follower Framework created by Netherworks. I never create a Skyrim build without it. The patch is flagged as ESL and is available in the Miscellaneous Files section.


FAQ
Q: How do I start the quest?
A: Depends on whether you decide to Destroy the Dark Brotherhood or join the DB and become an assassin:

  • If you Destroy the Dark Brotherhood, a courier will bring you a Mysterious Letter three days after completing the quest. Reading the letter starts a miscellaneous quest to meet the letter's author at the Windpeak Inn in Dawnstar. The main questline begins after meeting with this person.
  • If you Join the Dark Brotherhood, you will need to complete the quest Where to Hang your Enemy's Head... to restore the Dawnstar Sanctuary. Three days after restoring the Sanctuary, a courier will bring you a Letter from Babette, in which she begs the Listener to meet her at the Windpeak Inn in Dawnstar to discuss a private matter. As before, reading the letter starts a miscellaneous quest, and the main questline begins after meeting with Babette.


Q: Can I install the mod during an existing game?
A: Yes, a completely new installation should be possible. The mod checks whether you've joined the Dark Brotherhood and switches modes depending on where you are in the game. 

Q: Can I update the mod during an existing game?
A: That will only be possible if you haven't yet started any of the mod's quests, and you'll also need to thoroughly clean your save file using the ReSaver from FallrimTools. Be sure to delete any references to OPBabette scripts in the save file using ReSaver.

Q: Why can't I give the child version of Babette other clothing although she's my follower?
A: Yeah, sorry, the child version of Babette uses a custom body, and normal clothes probably won't fit her. As a matter of fact, any new clothes will probably be invisible. And if you use OBody, please use the Zeroed-Sliders option in the body options panel, otherwise you'll get hand, feet, and neck seams.

Q: There's a new spell called Babette - Reset Sneak Mode in my Restoration spells panel. What's it for?
A: Babette can sometimes have the annoying tendency of getting stuck in sneak mode. If this happens, using this spell on her will get her to stand up again.

Q: The enemies in this mod are really tough, and there are so many of them! I keep dying.
A: Yes, this is deliberate, so you should probably be at a relatively high level when you begin. Although, there are tricks to almost all the quests to complete them without dying. For instance, have you read the book at the beginning of the Keystone dungeon, or the plaques at the entrances to the Keystone chambers? They contain clues. Also, if you feel there are too many NPCs to deal with, use an Illusion spell like Frenzy or Mayhem that will make the NPCs attack each other, or use my Flower Girls - Irresistible spell, and the targeted NPCs (if they're human) will turn on their former allies and fight for you. Another possibility is to use my Dragonborn Powers mod, which will allow you to make the Draugrs and Lurkers friendly, or the Dragonborn all but indestructible. In some instances, just standing outside the chamber with the enemies and killing them with ranged weapons might do the trick (draugrs can sometimes be really dumb LOL). 

Q: The puzzles in this quest are very difficult, and I hate puzzles!
A: Yeah, if you don't like puzzles of any kind, this mod probably isn't for you. But if you want to try it anyway, you can often ask Babette for help (at least in the Trial of Wisdom, and in the third Trial of Endurance puzzle). And be careful: If you pull the chain to open the portcullis in the main Trial of Endurance chamber without correctly solving the pillar puzzle, you'll be attacked by multiple Draugrs who arrive via the portal in the chamber. And they'll keep coming no matter how often you pull the chain until you finally solve the puzzle! 

Q: Strange, I played this mod once before and got the solution to the Trial of Endurance pillar puzzle. But this time around, that solution no longer works. What's going on?
A: Yes, sorry, the pillars are rigged so the puzzle solution changes every time you play the mod. Meaning you can't just solve it once and then use that solution the next time you play. So, you'll really have to go through the entire dungeon again to get all the pillar puzzle keys.

Q: I went through the upper temple entrance, was suddenly outside on Solstheim, and started exploring. But when I got to Raven Rock, a lot of things weren't initialized, for instance, the ship was missing. 
A: If you don't enter Raven Rock the normal way, i.e. via the Dragonborn quest, it's very possible things won't yet be initialized properly. A possible workaround is to fast-travel to the center of Raven Rock, even if you're already there. That should solve the issue. Same goes for other areas on Solstheim. If you didn't go through the proper trigger, just try fast-traveling. 


Installation/Uninstallation
As always, please use a mod manager such as Vortex to install or uninstall this mod. I prefer Mod Organizer 2. If you must install manually, then move the ESP and two BSA files into the Data folder of your Skyrim SE installation. To uninstall manually, remove the ESP and two BSA files from the Data folder.  


CREDITS
- TDN Improved Lucien - Spectral Assassin Replacer: Created by TheDNightshade and Aisaka; Ported to SSE by bchick3; Thanks to bchick3 for allowing me to use the assets from this great mod; Used for the spirit of Lucien Lachance in the Keystone dungeon.
Animated Dragon Wings By Anton SE: Thanks to Anton0028 for the original dragon wings, and to DRAGONJOE69 and EiraSvero for porting and uploading the mod to SE; Used for the Guardian of the Heart.
- KS Hairdos SSE: Created by Kalilies and Stealthic; Used hairstyles are Nymph (child Babette), Orchid (grown Babette), Asity (Persephone).
Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE- by Ousnius and Caliente; Used for Babette and Persephone.
Bijin Skin UNP and CBBE SE: Created by rxkx22 and Shiva182 ; Used for Babette and Persephone.
Oblivion Gates in Skyrim - a Modders Resource: Created by Hanaisse; Used in the Keystone dungeon.
- Missing Totem Puzzle Pillars: Created by MadCat221 and uploaded by SteveTheKoala; Used in the Trial of Endurance.


Recommended Mods
- The marvelous Dark Brotherhood Reborn - Dawnstar Sanctuary SEE created by ALuckyMuse
- The indispensable Nether's Follower Framework (NFF) created by Netherworks
- Penitus Oculatus by wSkeever is always a lot of fun, but it only works if you Destroy the Dark Brotherhood
Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE- by Ousnius and Caliente (used in the screenshots and on Babette and Persephone)
KS Hairdos SSE by Kalilies and Stealthic; (used on Babette and Persephone)
The Eyes of Beauty created by LogRaam and uploaded by docteure (used in the screenshots)
Bijin Skin UNP and CBBE SE by rxkx22 and Shiva182 (used in the screenshots and on Babette and Persephone)


My Mods