I'fv been playing OB since it first came out on the 360. Now I play on my PC. The vanilla OB is great and never seems to surprise me when i start new characters. Now I want to try something new. What would a first time mod user start with and were would i get it. Thanks for your input :foodndrink:

Try Unique Landscapes: Imperial Isle. It will be close by for a new character. Come out of the starter dungeon, and there it is!

Off the top of my head, a few must have mods include:

• http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10763 is solid gold and the first mod I load over a fresh install. In conjunction with http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8958, the UI becomes 110% easier on the eyes.
• http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2037 is a must. It makes it so plants are visually harvested.
  
• http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13536 relevels spells and items so you don't have to plan your game around waiting until level 15 to get the good versions.
  
• The http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5296 and http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9969 fix all sorts of bugs and generally smooth over the game.
  
• http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9562 is a fantastic mod which adds all sorts of new spells and more.
  
• http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10223 adds an aqueduct and fountains. Definitely should be in any modded Oblivion game.

Those are all relatively easy to install. Once you've gotten the installation process down, you'll definitely want FCOM.

Elsweyr: http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25023

Lost Spires: http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=12997

Stirk: http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22401

OOO: http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3688

Windfall: http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21989

They'll add in lots of new enemies, content, and regions.

First, I would suggest (unless you have the GotY edition, IIRC) the latest official patch (the Shivering Isles version if you have SI, and the plain Oblivion one if you don't).

Next, get either Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) and/or Wrye Bash. Get to know how to use one or both for installing mods, at the very least. Learning how to use the Bashed Patch (with Wrye Bash) is a good idea, but you won't need to for a while, unless you choose many mods indeed, and/or multiples of certain kinds of mods in particular (e.g., overhauls).

Then, pick up the Unofficial Oblivion Patch (as well as the latest update for this, which is - I believe - still UOP Supplemental 3.2.6), and - if you have the relevant official "mods" - the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch (UISP) and Unofficial Official Mods Patch (UOMP) as well.

Right. Now you're ready* to actually install mods that really "do something" (other than patching obvious, objective errors in the vanilla game, that is). From here on in, it's totally a matter of taste. Get to know what you like, or might like, before adding tons of mods, is my advice. What do you think is not quite right with vanilla Oblivion? Or, possibly, dead wrong? What might you like to see added in? Removed? And so forth...

As far as *my* tastes go, I like increased "immersion" / "roleplaying", more beautiful, dark and compelling graphics, as well as a whole bunch of other things, depending how I feeel at the time. I might like to go the whole nine yards with Paladin-style (surprised? ) in which case, there might well be gameplay adjustments, quests, weapons and armour, clothing, and housing to suit. Recently, I decided to install a very particular race-adding mod (in this case, Sirens and Tritons) along with underwater houses/fortresses/ruins/quests and some other things to go with. Essentially, themes work well for me, Sometimes, I manage to fit several in the one load order, so I can successfully have several characters on the go, each extreemely different from the next, and each doing extremely different things in the same world (well, mostly in the same world... or at least, partly so).

But some of my own staples would be: FCOM (OOO + MMM + Fran's + WarCry + a few other things, all in one) because it suits my playstyle for the most part, and is simply awesome; DarkUId DarN (a cross between DarkUI and DarNified UI - nearly perfect, IMO); Atmospheric Loading Screens (suits DarkUId DarN very well, and is just... better than all other options I've seen); Unique Landscapes (all of them, along with all required patches - they really do make Oblivion that much more interesting and beautiful); Alternative Start Revamped (choose between the usual lead-in, a number of houses in various parts of Cyrodiil, or a couple of other options altogether - I love this one); and LAME (or another magic system overhaul/tweak, depending - essential, IMO, as vanilla magic is exceedingly annoying, hence the name of LAME I suppose). Plus a few more, but I could go on forever.


* Actually, some other basics: Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) and Common Oblivion (Cobl). Perhaps I missed a couple more...

Along with that is Harvest Containers. It will provide an animation and an opened state so you know which containers you've already checked out. Sorry, I'm too lazy to provide a link, you'll have to search for it at TESNexus. You also might want to look for Super Hotkeys while you're there. It greatly expands on the default 1-8 keys and gives you various options for configuring them. Along with that you can also add Hov's Hotkeys and Hotkey Casting 3.5 and have almost every key on your keyboard be a hotkey for something.

Man, how long did you spend making to that post Justin? That was an awful lot of flags.

There are thousand of mods and most of them are great. You should have an strategy for start. Think about what is the first do you want to change. "I dont like the ugly interfaz" = search for interfaz mods. "I want to change at all the oblivion game" = you want an overhaul. "I want a nice character" (Races, cosmetic, eyes, hair...). In my case for exemple, the first thing I installed was Oblivion Oscuro Overhaul and the second was Oblivion XP. Afther that came hundred of installations, uninstallations and reinstallations.

Good call. http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3979 is good stuff.

<= 10 minutes, but time well spent plugging some of my favorites. 'Twas a cakewalk compared to the http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1098878-relz-fook2-v11-beta-2/. That thing's a bastard to edit and somehow I've still got a BB code error in there somewhere. >_< *wants HTML*

I would start with these first, these were the mods I used to overhaul my game, many making it more like Morrowind:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2518 is my choice of leveling remover, it stops every enemy being dependant on your level.
Next I would reccomend http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10791 as it balances magic and makes it much more fun.
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4787 little mod adds fatigue damage while running. I chose this one because I didn't want the hyper-realism of some other fatigue mods, but it is suprisingly dynamic.
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4520 is a must if you want to return to the glory days of Morrowind, it adds good old fashioned buyable fast-travel and travel spells, and comes packaged with a ring that lets you turn normal fast travel on and off.
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4520 is a master piece of a mod that makes guards so much more realisitc and interesting.

Those are the ones I would get first, but there are loads of others. I can't be bothered to add links right now but try Light Within, Harvest Flora, No Backwards Running, Perfect No Working Quest Markers and Enhanced Economy.

Hello, PeltDragon!
Welcome home! because modded Oblivion is my virtual home.

First, make your home comfortable - add things bethesda missed: Keychain(hide unneccesery clutter); Darnified UI - better inventory etc; Denock Arrow - no more shooting in the skies to unload your bow
Second, use Race balancing Project - more races, hairstyles, eye colors etc.
Third, choose world improving mods - Better Cities, Unique landscapes etc.
Fourth - try overhauls - OOO, MMM, FCOM etc.
Fifth add new worlds, quests, places.

And, of course, enjoy.

Remember, don't install everything at once. Install mods individually so you can test them, and so it's easier to identify conflicts or other problems.

Just out of curiosity, have there been any other magicka mods besides LAME/SM?

I know of Fiersome Magicka.

For magic overhauls, i.e. mods changing the vanilla spell system, see http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/814477-magic-overhaul-comparison. Otherwise there are mods adding spells, such as Midas Magic and Fearsome Magicka for example but those don't change the vanilla magic system.