Modders have put a lot of effort into making sure Skyrim has continually evolved and expanded in the eleven years since it was first released into the world.
Some of these efforts have focused on revolutionising the game by adding massive new quests, huge building projects, or surreal door-based trickery, while others enact changes simply designed to make the game look and sound as beautiful as possible.
If you’re not in the mood for the array of Christmas-themed goodies currently arriving in Tamriel, a new mod, which aims to make the game much more challenging for even the most hardened of dragonslayers, might be worth adding to your load order.
Ready to experience the most challenging Skyrim playthrough of your life?
The mod that delivers this change is called ‘No Hit - Instant Death from All Hits and Falling’, and is the work of modder fadingsignal. Some of their previous work has focused on making the volcanic hot springs of Eastmarch look a lot warmer. There's even one that ensures the Dragonborn won’t make goofy faces while in combat.
This time, at the request of fellow modder Elianora, they’ve produced a mod which renders the game’s prophesied hero a bit less tough than usual, ensuring that you can be instantly killed by the lightest of hits.
Misjudged when to dodge a bandit’s sword strike? Whoops, you’re dead. Failed to anticipate a novice mage’s lightning bolt? Whoops, you’re dead. Think you can gently hop down the cliff face of a mountain instead of taking a detour? Well, with fall damage having been made 10k times more lethal, you’re probably also dead.
With this in mind, fadingsignal suggests that you get through the game’s opening dungeon at Helgen before enabling the mod, as there are seemingly some falling rocks that could lock you into an inescapable cycle of death.
The good news is that it’s designed to be “super lightweight”, meaning that you shouldn’t have to worry about dealing with many, if any, conflicts, no matter which other mods you’re currently running with.
Also, Elianora certainly seems happy with the result of their request, having commented on it: “I ran into a basket and died. 6/5 would install mod again.”
Regardless of whether your Dragonborn is now running around the province trying to avoid the wicker menace, 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 December.