Defining your Character
4 minute read
We use two mods that allow us to further differentiate our characters, building a backstory for them as well as defining their “class”. Follow the steps below to set up and understand these two mods.
Dealing with Backstories
It is highly recommended you give this wiki page a read. Many changes have been made to the mod with this list to better integrate it and make it more accessible, but the mod does quite a bit!
This mod is mostly for role-playing, however it can provide you with a very interesting set of buffs and debuffs. Many of these are very helpful in a gameplay sense. However, you can completely ignore this mod by choosing to ignore the visions in the message prompt on a new game.
Integration with Alternate Perspective
When leaving the Alternate Perspective starting room, you will see a prompt to access the Dealing with Backstories character creation area. You are given the option to ignore it, and NOT have the below spells added to your inventory, or you can have the spells added to access the backstory creation later. If you use the Dragonborn > Vanilla Start option in Alternate Perspective, the prompt will appear a short time after you leave Helgen Keep via the cave with Hadvar or Ralof.
The Spells
This mod adds three main powers to your Spell menu. A few others may appear in different scenarios after you have used one of the main three. These three main powers allow you to do a few different things in terms of how you your characters backstory will be formed. Having said this, I have made changes with this mod list to incorporate Dealing with Backstories into Alternate Perspective, so you will always need to use or have access to these spells.
By using the “Forget your Past” or “Focus on the Present” powers, you will start the game like vanilla, with no additional buffs or debuffs, and with normal starting skills. This will also remove all three powers the mod adds from your powers menu.
By using the “Let Time Pass” power, you are able to basically wait for a significant period of time. This allows you to emulate “settling down” after accomplishing a major task such as completing a questline.
If you use the “Remember your Past” power, you will enter a special area where you will “write” your characters backstory. This will NOT clear your inventory. This is also accessed indirectly if you choose to after leaving the Alternate Perspective starting room.
Character Backstory Building Process
Walk up to the large tome in the center of the room and activate it. This will bring up a smithing style menu, where you can use your “resources”, which represent your “trait counts” (similar to how character creation in Fallout games works) to select what traits your character has.
When hovering over a choice in this menu, you should see a description of what each choice does. These have been added for this list with Description Framework. You should have no issues understanding what your choices will do, however the author has posted images on the modpage that will also show you the options.
After you have exhausted all options in the tome, walk into the dark end of the hallway and activate the end of the hallway. The mod takes some time to finalize everything and send you back to your original location. You can run around and look at the things that are in the hall to pass time.
Sets of Skills
This mod adds a very simple and non-intrusive class system to the game, that can work alongside Dealing with Backstories perfectly. You can access the perk trees for this mod in the Custom Skills menu in your Tween menu (press TAB in game).
Within the “Path of the Warrior”, “Path of the Mage”, “Path of the Thief” or “Path of the Priest” perk trees, you can add new benefits to your character that suit your build, and further differentiate them!