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 finding interesting ways to improve its combat or adding everything from fully voice-acted quests to unique player homes and fresh alchemy recipes to it, with a few even going as far as re-creating weapons from other Elder Scrolls games or creating their own meme-worthy armaments.
If you’re someone who was underwhelmed by some of the works listed on the game’s controversial Creation Club store, a new mod, which is perfect for those who love injecting a horror-themed atmosphere into their Elder Scrolls Experience, might be worth adding to your load order.
Fancy taking on truly terrifying tides of foes from beyond the grave during your next trip to Tamriel?
The mod in question is called ‘The Unbidden’, and is the work of modder PastChristmas. Some of their previous projects have overhauled the magical arsenals of dragons and added new enemies to the random encounters you’ll stumble across as you explore the province.
This time, they’ve decided to massively overhaul the ‘Plague of the Dead’ creation from the Creation Club, turning it into an incredibly in-depth and lore-friendly zombie apocalypse mod that aims to “to humanise the (zombies), but also make them more compelling threats.”
The mod, which is similar in ethos to PastChristmas’ ‘Heritage Enemies 2’ mod for bandits and vampires, accomplishes this goal via a raft of changes, the most noticeable of which is that the zombies can now equip and wear the vast majority of clothing and armour found throughout the game.
In addition to combining with the updates PastChristmas has made to zombie models to make each brain-eater look more unique, this intact gear and some unlootable dishevelled armour will provide some of the undead with extra protection to make them more challenging foes.
Also helping to boost their combat capabilities are several changes to the classes and levelled lists associated with both regular zombies and their tougher dread zombie counterparts, all of which will ensure these creatures are packing a range of loadouts in addition to the ability to pass on debilitating diseases.
Assuming you’ve run across one that isn’t headless, you also might have to contend with the ‘vile vapours’ shout, which will see the foul zombies spit poison in a similar manner to the Peryite worshippers from the vanilla quest ‘The Only Cure’.
Naturally, in order to give the mod a go, you’ll have to grab ‘Plague of the Dead’ first.
Regardless of whether your Dragonborn is now battling their way towards preventing yet another potential apocalypse, 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: