SkyrimProvement: Replay Skyrim as an Old-school RPG

We haven’t really followed all the various articles dedicated to modding Skyrim that have cropped up lately, but I thought our readers might be interested in this feature from GameSpy, that suggests two mods that will apparently make Skyrim much closer to an old-school RPG.

The main one is the Requiem overhaul:

Requiem

The other thing that’s going to make a second playthrough of Skyrim properly fresh is a pretty major overhaul to the entire game. Requiem brings classic RPG mechanics to the world of Skyrim, essentially replacing all of Bethesda’s “streamlining” with something far more intricate and in depth. Perfect for a second playthrough once you’ve mastered the basics and want something with a bit more teeth.

The most obvious and major change Requiem makes is to remove dynamic levelling. Nearly every bandit, bear, and dragon in the world has its own set level and power, making Skyrim much more daunting when you’re starting out, but as you grow in power, you’re safe to feel more assured in your abilities.

The way you level your own character has also been altered, with perks having more of an impact and skill points less. The idea is to push you into more of a specialized role, rather than just spreading your skill points around so you’re a jack of all trades, master of none. In an added attempt at building immersion, Requiem takes out the statistical descriptions of perks, instead giving them an ‘in character’ description. Cute.

Weapon damage and spells hit harder, both when dealing them out and being on the receiving end, which, when coupled with things like traps and falls being vastly more lethal, makes Skyrim a much more dangerous place to be. Even Stamina works differently; running around in full armour is going to tire you out, but walking around lets you slowly regenerate.

To list everything Requiem does would have you here for pages, but some of the other highlights include removing sneak attack bonuses for creatures without visible vulnerable points, and mages telepathically monitoring the surrounding area to make it harder to sneak. The best part, though, is that the RPG classic of just bashing a chest or door until it opens has been reinserted, meaning that the barbarian who just destroys troublesome locks is a completely viable strategy once more.