Modders have put an awful lot of effort into making sure Skyrim has continually evolved and expanded in the years since it was first released into the world.
Many have focused on changing the game by overhauling iconic quests, revamping menus, and adding real-world pets to it, with a few even going as far as re-creating areas from previous Elder Scrolls games or giving players the ability to pretend they’re playing Dark Souls.
For those who’re always on the hunt for something to take their immersion to the next level, a new mod might be worth taking a look at.
Fancy paying for the privilege of being able to retreat inside Skyrim’s safe havens?
The mod in question is called ‘Simple Tolls SE’, and is the work of modder OperatorCactus, whose previous work has helped you to take your spellcasting to new heights and ensured that you can encounter highly levelled NPCs that’ll put these abilities to the ultimate test.
This time, they’ve decided to make travelling the province slightly more costly than it is in the vanilla game, by having the gate guards of each city charge you a small fee, which varies based on which settlement you’re visiting, to open the gates whenever you arrive outside of them.
Paying up will open up the city to you for a period of three in-game hours, giving you a chance to head in and do any of the very useful business, such as trading, making quest progress or simply getting a good night’s rest, that might be on your agenda.
According to OperatorCactus, the idea is simply to: “force the player to consider if it's worth it to go in there or stick to the wilds”, with an optional plugin that gives rare loot a higher chance to spawn in the inventories of city-dwelling merchants serving as an extra underlining of this ethos.
Luckily for those who covet each and every Septim they earn, there are a few ways of circumventing the tools, with the most immersive being to become Thane of the city in question, which will allow you to come and go free of charge.
On the other hand, simply fast-travelling to a city you’ve already discovered will also let you get in without paying, if you’re broke, but still desperate to go and have a chat with Nazeem.
Regardless of whether you’re sitting in a jail cell having failed to steal back the gold you were hoping to spend on a new sword, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the interesting world of Skyrim modding. You can also check out our mods of the month for January 2023.