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 adding everything from fresh voice acting to unique player homes and terrifying zombies to it, with a few even going as far as making all of its NPCs non-hostile or freezing player characters until The Elder Scrolls 6 arrives.
If you’re a player who enjoys immersively roleplaying as a vampire and thinking about what it might really be like to be a member of Molag Bal’s bloodsucking flock, a new mod might be worth adding to your load order.
Ever wondered what might happen if Falion’s ritual failed to cure your Dragonborn’s dark affliction in Skyrim?
The mod in question is called ‘Seeking The Cure - A Rising At Dawn Quest Overhaul - Incurable Vampirism’, and is the work of modder IQ88. Their sole previous project has given you the chance to experience being captured and turned into a vampire against your will.
This time, they’ve decided to transform the infamous quest ‘Rising At Dawn’, which sees the Dragonborn seek the aid of Morthal’s wizard to cure their vampirism, into a more story-driven adventure based around what might happen if Falion’s ritual failed to rid you of the affliction.
As you can see in the showcase video above, which helpfully splices in clips from the vanilla quest for comparison, IQ88’s version comprehensively expands on the quest via over 100 new lines of dialogue, many of which are used to make the events leading up to the attempted cure and the ritual itself feel much more engaging and in-depth.
“I made the mod primarily for people who want to play an ‘unwilling vampire’ (of) type character.” IQ88 revealed in a Reddit post about the mod, adding: “The point is to have a diegetic justification for remaining a vampire even if your character doesn’t want to be one.”
In line with this ethos is the addition of the option to murder Falion in cold blood once the ritual has failed, giving more morally ambiguous characters a chance to react to their dark fate in a manner that’ll have an impact on the game’s world for the rest of that playthrough.
On the other hand, if you like some of IQ88’s changes to the quest, but still want it to cure your affliction, the modder also suggested in their Reddit post that they might look into making an alternate version of it that includes a working ritual at some point in the future.
Regardless of whether your Dragonborn is now ruing the day they delved into a ruin full of vampires without a handy cure disease potion, 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 February 2023 or our new series where we delve into the rich history of The Elder Scrolls 5’s setting: