Modifiction ideation: Dungeons as lairs

[dag]

I've been wanting this feature as either a mod for a long time. In all Elder Scrolls games, you have mages living in caves as their homes where the commit to their magical studies or you have bandits living in a cave to hide from the law. I have actually done this in Oblivion, Skyrim, Daggerfall to an extent, and tried it in Morrowind. It is an experience I can never get enough of.

In Daggerfall, I had a mage who would lurk at a graveyard to practice their spells in peace. I would practice outside, travel to the same site, regenerate my magicka, and repeat.

In Morrowind, you could use the beds of certain caves such as "necromancer" caves and bandit caves and there was permanent storage. House Telvanni had towers for their mages like I love - as well as the other houses, but that's not what I'm gushing about -
as well as fleshing out the towers with merchants and others I think. Also, the vampire clans had their own caves, dungeons, and Dwemer ruins.

In Oblivion, I'm sure there's a way to do it in vanilla, but I installed a necromancy mod and made a castle my home for necromancers and experiments. I would literally practice necromancy there for my RP.

In Skyrim, I've done a full vampire playthrough multiple times. You're infected with vampirism to the point where people attack you, so I've had runs where I would travel around, kill bandits in their caves, and sleep there for the night. I've had runs where I would just pick one cave too. In regular runs of the game, I would literally pick cracked tusk keep near Falkreath as a permanent base where I would store my stuff, eat, sleep, etc. I would do full roleplaying in that game, literally reading books before bed, going from town to town, returning to my base to unload my loot, etc. It was awesome.

I can't get enough of this because I love the feeling of being a REAL mage with real dwellings. I want to be like those isolationist mages who take to their studies in a place away from society, or like the witches of Daggerfall. I remember reading about Vivec's birth and remember that one slave's and king's wedlock child who was sent to live with the witches in Daggerfall, away from prying eyes. I remember the scene where that same child has to go to town and the description of the townspeople's relationship with the witches. I LOVE THAT.

That plus the reputation system plus maybe some other mods that lets you choose that kind of path would be amazing, but this is an idea I love already. The only problem I think of it would be the huge dungeons and the lack of dungeons out of Daggerfall. Or are they just hidden and as plentiful? They seem to be sparse.

I could imagine a few play throughs like a vampire taking refuge with others in cave as a patron/matron vampire through a mod, a sorcerer isolationist living away from society, a bandit running from the law, etc. I've always done runs like this, and I'm sure others could make other role playing opportunities with future mods or just vanilla.

[HydroHastile]

Yes, they are hidden until a quest sends you there or you find a map. Sometimes even some of the small dungeons (graveyards etc.) are hidden iirc.

And I remember a dungeon in Isle of Balfiera where the Temple of Akatosh had sent me to spend two days chilling in to power up a magical artifact. I had cleared up the place in less than a day, so the rest of my time I spent in a really cozy looking half-flooded room complete with a bed and drawers and a wall torch - perfect for my Argonian! Outside the room was a half-flooded corridor that led both up outside that section via a stairs up, and deep into the water via a stairs down, with a dead end crypt there. I wouldn't have minded setting that place up as a permanent lair of sorts honestly that I can reside in whenever my trips lead me there.

As for what can allow you to do this right now, I believe there was a mod to make dungeon states saved permanently, well, somewhat permanently (you had to set up dungeon amount and time limit and such). You could probably use that for now if that still works.

[Ralzar]

As for what can allow you to do this right now, I believe there was a mod to make dungeon states saved permanently, well, somewhat permanently (you had to set up dungeon amount and time limit and such). You could probably use that for now if that still works.

Hm, that could work pretty well. I’d not reccommend setting the time to reset too long, because then the dungeons will stay empty and quests in them will just be tedious and weird. But if you hit the right balance, a dungeon you keep returning to will stay empty. Unless you stay away too long, in which case someone else moves in

[Kamer]

I wanted to have random encounter and events inside of dungeons occur in Warm Ashes. I haven't developed it yet but I already have it planned out.