We all know the story. You start a new playthrough determined to stick to a particular character concept - say, a pure sword-and-board warrior. Then you notice the game has given you a healing spell and a flame damage spell. Then you find a spellbook, and you may as well read it, right? Then you loot an enchanted bow. Then you find yourself sneaking because it's such a good way to get the drop on enemies. So your sneak skill increases. You find yourself picking off enemies with your bow, because you're carrying the bow anyway and sneak ranged attacks do a lot of damage for little risk. And if that doesn't finish the enemy off, wait till they step on your fire rune, or meet your summoned flame atronach. Congratulations, you're playing a magical stealth archer for the 837th time.
This mod is an attempt to allow you to break this habit.
Through an MCM menu, choose various restrictions or effects to impose on your character, in order to assist with roleplaying or to make the game more challenging. All of these restrictions can be enabled or disabled at any time. There is nothing preventing you from disabling a restriction that you imposed on yourself earlier, other than your own self-respect.
The available restrictions are:
- Weapon type - one-handed, two-handed, ranged weapons (bows and crossbows), edged weapons, staves, and each type of one-handed weapon (daggers, maces, axes, swords).
- Equipment type - light armour, heavy armour, shields, jewelry, headgear, footwear. Restrict both armour weights to force a clothing-only playthrough.
- Equipment material - leather, hide, wood, iron, steel, glass, ebony, silver, Orcish, Elven, Dwarven, Daedric, Falmer, Dragonscale, Dragonplate.
- Crafting skills - alchemy, enchanting, smithing.
- Magic - prevent yourself from learning or casting spells from each of the schools of magic. Prevent learning or equipping shouts or powers.
- Speechcraft - debuffs your speechcraft skill to zero.
- Trade and gold - prevent yourself from buying or selling items (separate options). Impose a cap on how much gold you can possess, and choose whether excess gold is destroyed, or stored and returned to you when you toggle the option off.
- Subterfuge - prevent sneaking, lockpicking, picking pockets, and stealing items.
- Cowardly followers - make all your followers unhelpful cowards during combat.
- Enemy factions - make members of various factions attack you on sight. Choose from the Imperial Legion, Stormcloaks, Companions, Thalmor, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Vigilants of Stendarr, or College of Winterhold.
- Burn in sunlight - for a vampiric or evil-themed playthrough. You set on fire and take constant damage whenever you are exposed to daylight.
- No map - prevent access to the map (and therefore most forms of fast travel).
- Illiteracy - you cannot read books or other written material, and cannot use spellbooks or scrolls.
- Encumbrance limit - impose a weight limit independent of the usual in-game limit. If you try to pick up an item that would put you over the limit, you will immediately drop it again.
The idea is that when you start a new playthrough, you go into the MCM menu and choose restrictions that fit the concept of the character you have just created. Examples:
- Evil mage - disallow light and heavy armour, disallow all weapon types except staves and daggers. Disallow Restoration magic. Vigilants faction (and maybe others) attack on sight. Burn in sunlight.
- Bruiser - disallow ranged weapons, staves and light armour. Disallow sneaking, lockpicking, picking pockets and enchanting. Disallow all schools of magic.
- Cleric - disallow edged weapons and ranged weapons. Disallow Daedric and Falmer equipment. Disallow all magic schools except Restoration. Disallow selling items. Disallow picking pockets or stealing items.
- Ranger - disallow two-handed weapons, heavy armour and shields. Allow only leather, hide, or wood equipment. Disallow all magic except Illusion.
- Wild man - disallow staves and ranged weapons. Illiterate. Disallow heavy armour. Disallow enchanting and all schools of magic. Debuff speechcraft. Disallow buying and selling. Disallow picking locks and picking pockets.
- Khajiit thief - disallow all weapon types except daggers. Disallow ranged weapons to force use of stealth melee attacks. Disallow heavy armour. Disallow footwear. Disallow all schools of magic.
- Travelling monk - disallow light and heavy armour, shields, and jewelry. Disallow footwear. Disallow all weapons except staves (forcing an unarmed playthrough). Disallow all schools of magic except restoration and illusion. Prevent selling items. Gold cap of 100. Disallow picking locks, picking pockets and stealing items.