For Winter Solstice, I took a drive up Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side. The first photo is the twisty turns on old Hwy 30 seen from Rowena Crest.

Starvation Creek Falls has its own exit off I-84 eastbound only. A very short walk to see the falls.

Multnomah Falls is Oregon’s tallest, and almost always a busy attraction. The hike to the top is only a mile long with 11 switchbacks.

For Skyrim, I previously shared some of my favorite modded clothing for mages, Akiviri-related gear, and light armor mods. This post covers some nice heavy-armor mods.

difficulty levels

I usually play mages and stealthy rogues leaving heavy armor choices for followers. Recently, I gave the paladin style a try with a warrior, Regulus, adventuring as an agent for Mara. The experience has been a reminder on how unbalanced the difficulty settings are in TES games. Choices in difficulty only adjust damage given by the player character (PC) and damage taken by the PC.

modifier for damage given by PC - received by PC (eldescrolls.wikia):

• adept: 1 - 1
• expert: 3/4x - 1.5x
• master: 1/2x - 2x
• legendary: 1/4x - 3x

Stealth and magic (mostly) remain the same. Followers always fight 1-to-1 with NPCs, so giving the follower the best armor and weapon is a good strategy.

Some frustrating moments, but for the most part, Regulus manages okay on master difficulty. He must remember to fight smarter: take advantage of terrain and traps; hit hard with ranged weapons; push his follower in front and keep her healed. What hurts most, though, he sometimes feels humiliated watching his follower shrug off multiple hits from large two-handed weapons, but he bleeds profusely when rapidly stabbed by butter knives. Two-handed weapons are very deadly with 2x or 3x damage! On master, might as well ditch the armor and run faster.

I enjoy the game best on expert, and add challenge by limiting schools of magic or making different choices based on role-playing. Regulus fights fair by announcing his intentions and respecting occupied forts. He admonishes necromancy and hunts vampires. He chooses not to use dark soul gems believing the use restricts souls from reaching their destination. Summoning daedra is for the weak.

Regulus’s face uses “Better Males” “YoungerFacesMergedWithMenByGeonix”, “Beards” by Hvergelmir texture update, “The Eyes of Beauty” by Gabriel Mailhot, and Superior Lore-Freindly Hair by skyrimmaguas. His armor of choice: “Dragon Carved Armor Set” by hideto84.

Previously, I shared my favorite Skyrim clothing mods for mages and Akaviri gear. Below are nice mods fit for rangers, rogues, spellswords, and some suited for those playing dark characters. Armor that improves by feeding on blood sounds cool, doesn’t it?

on “lore-friendly” and my preference

When “realistic” armor is mentioned in regard to Skyrim, I assume this refers to protection in combat and from the elements within context of The Elder Scrolls. Removing dragons and magic would leave Skryim as a civil war game with bandit and item-collecting quests. TES is a fantasy series which includes unrealistic fantasy gear such as Golden Saint, Dark Seducer, and some unwieldy oversized weapons. Daedric armors are imbued with dark powers, and are highly decorative to cause fear. Our history is full of armor decorations to confuse the enemy or inspire confidence among the citizens. Practical is nice, but looking cool has its place.

No matter the armor, direct hits hurt. Armor may be simple padded hides or layered with chain and plates. Real chainmale would hurt flesh without padding, but decorative chain can make an ordinary garment look nice. Coverage is more about flak and incidental contact. The warrior’s skill at wearing a particular armor matters, and more important is the skillset at avoiding combat. Speech, stealth, distraction, and fleeing help one stay alive better than any particular outfit. And there are enchantments to consider in this fantasy world. Coverage may be more important for heavy armors, and light armors need to allow for more movement or stealth.

How decorative, revealing, or practical outfit choice is comes down to my character’s taste. My retired mage, Reisha, always prefered normal clothing, the mourner’s dress and “Blades Hakama” her favorites. She blended in better than wearing mage robes or Dark Brotherhood outfits around town. Another character likes intimidating (decorative) armors.

I give preference to original work. Styles should be similar to or inspired by outfits found throughout Tamriel, which is very diverse in style and cultural background. Historical recreation or realistic gear is great, but I prefer a touch of fantasy suitable for Skyrim.

The Akavir (elderscolls.wikia) are a lost people of Tamriel. How much of their culture, skills, and weapons might remain is up to the player. There’s a number of Akaviri-related mods to choose from. Previous TES chapters included limited, and generally more powerful, swords such as katanas and dai-katanas. Considering The Blades have discovered ancient artifacts, and Sky Haven Temple, former crafting techniques have been uncovered allowing Esbern and Delphine to maintain gear for new recruits. Why not add more Akaviri style in Skyrim?

The screenshot from Skyrim above shows Reisha (holding her sword improperly) with gear from various mods: “Blades Hakama”, shawl and satchel from “Arise - Chapter 1 - The Black Sacrament”, “Circlet Replacers for Women”, gloves from “Sotteta Necromancer Outfit”, and “Odems Onime Katana”. I share some clothing mod picks in this post, and in the next few posts I’ll cover Akaviri items, light armor, and heavy armor.

If you’ve never installed mods for TES V: Skyrim before, see my first post in this series. I suggest using a mod organizer like NMM since several armor mods listed here support an installer to choose options. If you change your mind about a texture replacer, a mod organizer makes it easier to remove or switch texture files. Some outfits require specific body replacers (CBBE, UNP, etc). See my post on body mods.

Craft books

Several armor mod creators have taken to including a craft book that must be in your character’s inventory in order to craft the armor or components. This helps reduce clutter within the craft menus by simply storing some of the books away at home when not needed.

Custom outfits and Frostfall

Remember that “Frostfall” treats third-party armor and clothing mods as standard gear. If your new armor from a mod has less coverage, to maintain immersion, consider adjusting the exposure protection classification to reduce warmth and coverage. A high-level vampire or mage can wear whatever pleases her. I’m not going to argue facing a fireball, conjured Dremora Lord, or mind-altering illusions.

In “Frostfall” without SkyUI use Inspect Equipment feature to adjust warmth and coverage. With SkyUI, put on the items and see the MCM.