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About this mod
Become a WIZARD from zero to hero. Literally. From zero. Compatible with everything.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
Zero Magicka Overhaul
Small disclaimer if you're lazy to read: This mod is almost surely compatible with whatever you have installed. As always, new saved games are recommended. It is an overhaul mostly affecting magic related stuff.
Brief philosophy rant
I've always wanted to feel like magic is a hard-but-rewarding skill path, where you need to THINK and make your own character choices to define your playstyle. However, this is not the case in Skyrim.
You start with a few spells (90%+ of the population in Tamriel don't know how to control magicka), and in less than 10 minutes of playtime you can already learn new spells: mind controlling, summoning ghosts and who knows what else.
Most magic overhauls making magic 'harder' mostly cause headaches without any rewarding feeling, and force you to use non-magical resources to survive in the meantime, nullifying your attempt to become a wizard. This mod is not about that.
And this is the first step in that road.
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This mod minimally changes the way magicka dynamics work in Skyrim, introducing a few interconnected features that aim to enhance the overall magical experience. Let's delve into the specifics.
- True Zero Magicka: Unlike the vanilla experience (and most modded experiences), where characters initially possess a small amount of magicka, this mod grants everyone, including NPCs, a true level-one experience – zero magicka. This means you can't even conjure a basic flame.
- Magicka Incentives: The absence of starting magicka fosters two new incentives: prioritizing magicka pool enhancement during character leveling, utilizing enchanting to augment magical reserves artificially, and employing alchemy for similar purposes. NPCs also benefit from this system, with their magicka pools increasing alongside their levels. Your choice.
- Emerging Role of Teachers: With zero magicka at the outset, the quest for magical mastery becomes more immersive. To learn spells, you'll need to seek out experienced teachers and enroll in their classes. For this purpose, I highly recommend Zim's Trainer Expansion, it improves every aspect of learning from teachers, making it an attractive option. This experience was designed around that mod.
- Spell Mastery Requirements: Related to the teacher-student dynamic, spell tomes now have a minimum skill requirement for learning. For instance, you'll need to reach level 5 in the magic skill tree to acquire any spell. This aligns with the notion that mastering arcane arts takes time and dedication. Don't worry, it's not very demanding. Just invest in your desired skill tree and you will see the rewards.
- Spell Tomes – A Pricey Investment: Spell tomes, once easily obtained, now carry a significant premium, becoming three times more expensive. However, this increase will not be an issue because of...
- Loot overhaul: In a world where innate magicka is scarce, staves become the primary tool for wizards. They are prevalent in loot drops and can be purchased from various merchants. Additionally if you use Scrambled Bugs (read below), you can train destruction by using a destruction staff, eliminating the need for magicka altogether. Spell tomes are also more common in the wild. Sorcerer is a highly recommended mod.
- Soul Gems – Affordability Revisited: To balance the higher cost of spell tomes, soul gems have been reduced in price. This counteracts the potential imbalance created by the pricier spell tomes, making enchantment and usage of staves more viable.
- Spell Merchants – Specialized Expertise: The widespread market availability of spell tomes has been curbed. General vendors will no longer offer them, except in rare cases. Spell merchants, such as court wizards, will now specialize in selling spells aligned with their own expertise: they have to write the spell tomes with their own hands after all. This encourages exploration and discovery of magical knowledge.
- Deleveled Spell Merchants: This is a big one. Spell tomes are no longer restricted by your skill level. You can now purchase them from the beginning, with level one, though their effectiveness depends on your character. Naturally, if you have zero magicka you can't cast them. This allows you to make your own road of progress. Want to skip beginner level spells of Alteration altogether and start with adept level? Go for it.
- Magician's Rest: If you are a wizard (50 or more magicka from any source) and sleep, you will receive an additional 100 magicka upon waking up, making sleeping more beneficial for magical characters. This helps starting wizards for sure, 100 extra magicka is not a joke.
- Staves help you focus: They're a very valuable tool for initiating wizards (50 or more magicka from any source), given that using a staff in any of both hands gives a boost of 100 magicka! In the long run, it won't really matter if you have a massive magicka pool. But for beginners, it may be almost mandatory!
- Compatibility-first mod: This mod is designed around compatibility and my main focus is on that, sacrificing features for that purpose when necessary. If you find an incompatibility, comment about it so I fix it.
Regarding Spell Learning Restriction
- I'm patching Spell Learning Restriction (excellent mod) to control the requirements to learn a spell: magicka requirement and skill level requirement. You will likely never face a lack of skill situation in your favorite skill tree. It is an optional but recommended requirement.
Regarding Scrambled Bugs (staves & scrolls giving exp)
Scrambled Bugs comes with several settings that allow staves and scrolls to generate experience for their relevant school. These settings are: Staff Experience, Scroll Experience, and Staff Experience Ignore Enchantment Cost. Turn all three of these values to true, in the .json Scrambled Bugs provide, inside its folder once installed.
Optional Files
Zero Magicka Basic exclusively edits magicka stats in you (player) and other humanoid characters. The rest of features are not in there. It requires SkyPatcher.
If this mod, my first one, has a decent welcoming, I will definitely work towards improving it. Already brainstorming