Alright, so I got the idea to make a hunter (he's technically an Argonian archer, but that's beside the point) and I found out that even though hunting is fun, it's not profitable; venison costs less than my arrows. I have to go out and find wolves and kill them for their pelts, but they're harder to find, so in the end I wind up spending every day in dungeons killing bandits. It just doesn't seem right to get all my money from looting runs; I set out to be a hunter, after all!

I'm currently working on a mod for hunter characters. I've only gotten three ideas so far:

1. Some sort of house to stay in at night (for all the role-players out there). It could have hunger-specific elements, too. Maybe trophies?

2. A "tame animal" spell: It can tame one animal, no undead, Daedra, etc., and it has to be a lower level than the character. I'm considering replacing this with a rare "injured animal" spawn in other creature's spawn lists. Something like that one snow bear in Bloodmoon, except you get to keep it.

3. Something to make deer profitable to hunt. Just a little, enough to pay for iron arrows. Increased max amount of venison? Haven't thought this one through yet.

Please leave any comments or suggestions of how to improve this mod. All help is appreciated!

Although I don't want to dissuade you from making a hunting mod (I like hunter/barbarian characters too), I feel I should at least give you a heads up on some mods that might help already before you take all the time to make a mod.

Craftybits (although occasionally buggy) is an excellent mod for hunters that will make the business more profitable. Taking the deer example...not only can you take the meat as normal, but with any dagger you can skin the animal for more meat, sinew, fat, and hides. You can cut wood from any tree and make fires or arrow shafts (or many other items) and mine iron ore for the arrow heads. There is much more (such as armor and clothing from hides), and it is very useful if you use survival mods (eating, etc).

Another, lighter weight, mod is Axebane's Hunting mod that allows you to make arrows from bones and feathers as well as adding various priced pelts to animals which you can either sell or make armor from.

So...

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6918

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=28924

Yeah, I had guessed somebody had done this already. :poke: (Best smiley in existence)

Well, I appreciate the heads up and mods, but the main reason I want to make this mod besides making a hunter more interesting is for the experience. I've used the Morrowind CS for years (6, I think) but I've only had Oblivion for a year or so, if even that, so I need to try new stuff out. Anyways, I'll check out those mods later, when I get back to actually playing the game. They both sound pretty cool, but I do think I'll keep working on the mod, just for the practice and whatnot. Maybe I'll focus more on other aspects of hunting. Maybe the house? I hate my little shack in IC...

Well that depends if you want to stop at the craftybits level of dismembering a fallen animal. Theoretically an animal that has fallen must have plenty of alchemical parts that can be used. There is more to an animal than the meat and hide

As for the house, I guess it is up to you where you want to place it. I tend to use portable campsites since it is the most hunter-ish. For yourself, maybe it is a question of where you plan on doing most of your hunting.

Since you are an Argonian, maybe a small Blackwood cabin or the ability to buy a room (or extended rent) in the Drunken Dragon Inn or perhaps in that small village NE of Leyawiin near the Atakhan Ayleid ruins (I forget the name)? Just some suggestions.

Good idea! Leyawiin is a lot better suited to me. I'm Argonian to the bone. Or, tail-bone? Uh...

I also thought about putting the house near the Imperial Reserve (between Skingrad and Chorrol), since it seems like it would have a lot of animals. Then again, Kvatch, you know... bliviongate: Not entirely sure what village you mean, but it's just one more thing to look for.

Renting a room seems like a good idea, since I haven't worked with dialogue before. Also, I don't want to overdo in this mod, and adding a free house would be a little unbalanced. Besides, I'm looking at the Drunken Dragon Inn right now, and I'm seeing a perfect place for a trapdoor... Basemant time! Victory poke! :poke:

Thanks for the help, Wulfgar. And now, I work on my mod.

The village I was thinking of is Blankenmarch.

I think the Drunken Dragon is best though...but be aware that the tavern keep is part of a Dark Brotherhood quest...and depending on whether or not you plan on ever doing that quest line, this might be detrimental to you.

Otherwise, enjoy.

Thanks for the tip. I beat the DB questline once, and I don't plan on doing it again. Mostly out of spite. I was talking to that statue for hours before I realized it was looping. Anyways, I just plan on adding my own character to the basemant who can rent out rooms. I think I'll even make him sell poison/paralyze enchanted arrows and offer repairs. Maybe throw in some hunter-friendly spells; detect creature, night eye, and maybe a couple other things. Making his travel packages might take a while. Are there any unused beds in the top floor?

The only problem I can see with that is that the inn is in a swamp and when was the last time you saw or heard of a basemant in a swamp? Typing from a real life geological point, it would be flooded in a matter of days if not hours. I do realize that it's a game but you seem the type that goes for realism. I say this because I live in Houston,TX. I would just go with the extended rent in the upstairs room. otherwise it sound like a good idea.

Oz

Hmm...you've got a good point there.

I looked around the area a little bit and found an Ayleid dungeon entry nearby. Maybe I can build off of that(literally). The extended rent on the room does seem like a good idea, it's just that the room is pretty small for my taste.

Then again, Ayleid ruins aren't my favorite place to live, either. Tried it before. Got butchered by all those traps...Maybe Belda wasn't the greatest place to camp out for the night.

I'm sure the fact that the Drunken Dragon is on a hill will make the basemant more possible! <-------------- (wishful thinker)

As you said, the Drunken Dragon is on a hill overlooking the swamps...so it should not be an issue to have a basemant if that is what you want. As for the rooms...they are all vacant I believe. It is possible that the keeper uses one himself, but I don't think the legion soldier uses any (and they are the only two visitors to my knowledge).

Yeah, I checked it out and it seems to me like they're vacant. Now that I've picked a location and started thinking about what else to add, I've come up with a few more issues. For one thing, is there a "basemant" tileset, or anything similar? The closest thing I've found is chapel undercroft.

Also, is it possible to make poison that can only be applied to arrows? It's not important, really. I just think it would be cool. And on a similar note, where's the tab for potions? (I know I'm a noob) Nevermind, found that.

Maybe you can make the well outside the Drunken Dragon have a lock on it...give the innkeeper the key and also don't let him talk about the well unless the player butters him up quite a bit. Then perhaps you can make it lead to a small quest of some kind inside the well...which might happen to lead to a lager cave area.

While everyone is tossing around ideas, here's something I would like to see as a mod or part of a hunting mod:

When you do Hircine's Quest, the Unicorn runs away from you if you draw your weapon. Its speed? Faster than any horse you can buy. Its range? All of Cyrodiil. To catch or kill it, you'll have to do a lot of searching to find it again. If you draw your weapon, it'll run someplace else. To help out the player, perhaps the Unicorn could drop shiny unicorn hairs while its running, letting the player track its movements and plan an ambush. And perhaps the Unicorn slowly heals, allowing it to heal each time you fail to kill it. For added benefit for the player's troubles, maybe the Unicorn will yield its horn, blood, hairs, etc that can be used for alchemy, or to make a unique and powerful weapon and/or armor.

Just some thoughts. Would really make the "Hunt" for the Unicorn more of a hunt rather than a fight....

Check out Shadow Ranger for spell ideas. It's a great hunting mod.

Also you could maybe fine a suitable hunting area and add more of the types of animals you want (deer, wolves, lions, bears) so they'd be easier to find. These all should be more profitable to hunt.

A house with trophies would be nice. You could also have full body taxidermy-type animals on display (ala Battlehorn Castle or Natural History Museum) where you have to collect a certain amount of pelts before the animal will display on the pedestal.

One thing I've wanted - with the deer - is the capability to hunt a deer, take the antlers and mount it in a home. You could make it specific to your home, or you could make it a lootable item that people could mount in any home with placing mods. There are mounted antler sets in the game - I've seen them in some in-game homes. If you wanted to expand on this, you could make it so one could make their own unique bear rugs, and other gear with their spoils. Bear-claw necklaces? Fur hats and gear?

There are some crafting-type mods you might want to look at for ideas - check out Korana's http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=28731. Also her Millstone Farm has the capability to kill an animal (in this case a sheep on the farm) and hang the pelt to dry for a specific amount of hours. When you pull it down you can craft it into shoes.