Name: Lost Sorceries of the Ayleids Version: 1.0 Date: December 2018 Author: Guinefort1 Description ========= Adds altars for custom Ayleid-themed spells to various Ayleid ruins Details ===== Fingers of the Mountain was one of the most interesting quests in the game, in that it focused on reclaiming the lost magics of the Ayleid precursors, something that the game pays criminally little attention to otherwise beyond the Umbacano quests. But interesting lore stuff aside, the Fingers of the Mountain spell completely sucked. It was a mediocre spell at low levels, and utterly unusable at higher ones. This mod was originally envisioned as just a rebalance of Fingers of the Mountain and was intended as an independent release, but once the idea of Lost Sorceries of the Ayleids took hold, I decided to fold Fingers of the Mountain Rebalanced into this larger project. So here we are, with Lost Sorceries of the Ayleids. This mod adds custom spells to Ayleid altars found at various ruins. For the sake of simplicity (this is my first ever attempt at scripting after all - and by scripting, I mean copying and trimming down a pre-existing vanilla script), the altars will activate and grant you their power if you are carrying a Welkynd stone, without any extra steps or frills. Fifteen altars have been added and will grant the following (see the Cheat Sheet for locations): - Greater Powers (once per day, 0 cost): - Fire King's Ire (fire damage) - Winds of the North (frost damage) - Power Overwhelming (fortify health, stamina, and magicka) - Sorcerer King's Genius (fortify all attributes) - Auriel's Favor (restore health, magicka, and stamina) - Daedrophile's Pact (summon dremora) - Shackled Servant (reanimate) Lesser Powers (comes with magicka cost to cast): - Shadow Walker (chameleon, fortify sneak) - Supreme Domination (dominate & rally animal/humanoid) - The Tiger's Fangs (absorb health and stamina) - Rainbow Shield of Meridia (fire, shock, and ice shield) - Armor of Oblivion (conjure complete bound armor) - Star Orphan's Hunger (spell absorption) - Cloak of Magnus (resist magic) - Twisting Flesh (damage health, stamina, attributes) Fingers of the Mountain has been retooled as a greater power with damage output similar to Fire King's Ire and Winds of the North. Fingers of the Mountain Rebalanced is also available as a standalone bonus plugin in case you just want that. A final word concerning in game balance between these spells: I tried to strike a balance between being suitably overpowered given the lore, usefulness and accessibility to the player across different builds, and still hard enough to find/hefty enough in magicka cost that it won't completely ruin the game. I'm not sure how well I succeeded, but the game's vanilla level scaling is absolutely screwed anyway, so what does it matter is the spells are OP? Version 1.1, for both LSA and Finger of the Mountain Rebalanced, retweaks the Finger of the Mountain spell so that it will work properly (with all the same effects) even if you have already completed Finger of the Mountain II prior to using this mod. Requirements ========== Oblivion Version 1.2.0416 Installation Instructions ================== Copy the plugin to the Oblivion data folder. To update to V1.1, simply delete the old plugin and install the newer version. The name of the updated plugin is unchanged from the old one to prevent the need to backtrack and re-obtain the spells. Uninstallation Instructions ==================== Delete the plugin Incompatibility ============ Will be incompatible with mods that overhaul the layout of Ayleid ruin exteriors. This mod will be incompatible with any other mods that alter the Fingers of the Mountain quest or spell. If you have an alternative mod that alters one or both of them, then load that mod after this one, and the rest of LSA will be intact. Obviously don't use Fingers of the Mountain Rebalanced and Lost Sorceries of the Ayleids together; that is redundant. Change Log ========= V1.1: - reworked the Finger of the Mountain spell so that the changes will work if applied after Finger of the Mountain II is completed V1.0: - original release Known Issues ========== The rebalancing of the Finger of the Mountain spell does not function if you upload the mod after completing the Finger of the Mountain II quest. This issue has been fixed in V1.1. Troubleshooting ============ Feel free to come to me with questions or issues and I will help as best as I can. That said, please bear in mind that I am a novice modder and may not be able to offer much in the way of assistance. Credits ===== Thanks to: Bethesda Softworks TES Nexus LHammonds - Readme Generator The Imperial Library Special thanks to HelelBenShahaar for pointing out the issues with the Finger of the Mountain tweaks Licensing ======= I am making this mod open to revision by the public. If you have any ideas of how to expand or improve upon this mod, then go ahead. No permission needed. All I ask is that you give credit to me and to the creators of these resources. This mod and its contents may not be distributed commercially.