Alternative Beginnings

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37382
http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/785-alternative-beginnings/
http://download.fliggerty.com/download--399

Tossed in jail for waylaying a royal caravan on the highway, your trial was mere days away. Something is wrong though, the days have turned to weeks, and the weeks to months. You no longer have any idea how long you've been down here. The guards stopped checking your cell almost a week ago, and now the last of your food is running out. Your cellmate died months ago and they never removed the body. It won't be long before your bones decorate the cell as well. The Gods have forsaken you! Or have they....

Alternative Beginnings puts you in the position of the poor forgotten prisoner lamenting life's choices. You will be able to choose from several different options on how to begin the game, all from the discomfort of your dank prison cell. Your choices influence the circumstances by which the game begins, and hopefully the Gods won't forsake you this time around!

System Requirements

Official Patch version 1.2.0416.
http://obse.silverlock.org/ or higher.

Installation

Copy the ESP to your Data folder and activate it.

Make sure to load the mod after TIE or any other mod which directly edits the tutorials and the "Deliver the Amulet" quest (Charactergen, MQ01 and MQ02) otherwise things will not go well.

Uninstallation

Simply remove the ESP and the files this mod adds from your Data folder. Strongly recommend using BAIN to handle this though.

Short on mod slots? If you are occupying Geldall Septim's Manor at some point during the game, you'll want to remove anything you've left there, then you can uninstall the mod, but ONLY after you have retrieved the Amulet of Kings and at the very least delivered it to Jauffre.

Known Issues

If OBSE is not detected, or an incorrect version is installed, the mod will inform you of this and then shut down all scripts relating to the chargen sequence. So if nothing seems to be working, check your OBSE setup to make sure it's correct.

If you are starting with a lot of mods that have message spam, it's best to wait for all of those to settle before doing anything.

Options Available

There are several options for how you can start your life in Oblivion. Many of these have been done before in other mods, and probably won't seem terribly original. Each option is intended to provide some variety in starting locations and equipment.

All start options remove the initial prisoner clothing as well as the wrist irons. You will also start with 5 apples for food, which should hold you over long enough to get your own if you are using survival mods.

Prisoner in the Imperial Bastion

The gods must not think too highly of you! From one prison to another? What could you possibly have done? You've only been down here a few days and that Valen Dreth guy just won't SHUT UP!

This places you into the standard vanilla prison start and will proceed as normal, without the tutorial spam or further prompts to pick class or birthsign. You start with nothing but the clothes on your back, be glad they gave you that much.

Immigrated to Cyrodiil

You arrived in Cyrodiil by ship, looking to make a fresh start after leaving your homeland.

You arrive wearing middle class clothing, carrying a weapon suited to your chosen skills, and a small amount of gold to get started with.

Available ports are: Imperial City, Anvil, Bravil, and Leyawiin.

Arrival in Bravil will require that Open Cities Reborn is installed. Arrival in Leyawiin requires either Open Cities Reborn or Better Cities.

Own a house in a city

You will begin the game owning the player house in the chosen city. Anvil will not be available as a start option due to the involved quest.
You will begin with upper class clothing and a variable amount of gold. Each house choice will have a starting selection of fine steel weaponry.

Due to necessity, the house quest in the city you choose to live in will signal its completion as though you just bought the last furniture voucher from the merchant who sells them. This will allow for other mods that check the stage on the house quests for configuring their options, such as map markers in OOO or OCR.

By the power of OBSE, you can also choose to start in the player house in Bartholm.

New member of a guild

You can join the Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, Thieves Guild, or Dark Brotherhood as a new member.

Joining the Fighters Guild will provide you with a complete set of either steel or chainmail armor depending on your major skill selections.
Joining the Mages Guild will provide you with basic mages robes, two randomly chosen magic rings, as well as a basic supply of mana and health potions.

Fighters and Mages both start in Chorrol.

Joining the Thieves Guild will start you off with a set of leather armor, a dagger for a weapon, and 10 lockpicks.
You will be ranked as though you had just finished the first quest in the storyline.
Thieves start off in the Imperial City Waterfront, near the Garden of Dareloth, at 2am so Armand Christophe will be available immediately to talk to.

Joining the Dark Brotherhood will supply you with a set of DB armor and begin as though you had just arrived at the Cheydinhal sanctuary after killing Rufio.
You will have just spoken to Ocheeva and have been instructed to see Vicente for your first contract.

Patron in a local inn

Patrons of local inns will start off with basic middle class clothing, a weapon, and a modest amount of random gold. You will be credited with having paid rent for the available room in the inn, so if you want to sleep, you've got the room for the usual time period.

The inns you can choose from are: Faregyl Inn, Roxey Inn, Gottshaw Inn, Brina Cross Inn, Olav's Tap & Tack, Drunken Dragon Inn, Five Claws Lodge, Wawnet Inn, and King and Queen Tavern.

Gladiator in the Arena

Arena starts will begin with basic middle class clothing along with credit for having joined the arena faction and completion of your first match. So it will be basically like getting a free rank. You will also start off with a reasonable amount of gold to reflect winnings.

You will start off with a 2-handed weapon based on your choice of weapon skills. If no weapons skills have been selected as majors, it will default to a 2-handed claymore. The weapon will be chosen from the random lists of enchanted weapons. You will be equipped with the appropriate battle raiment for your chosen armor skills.

An outlaw in the wilds

You will begin with basic leather armor and either a waraxe or shortsword depending on weapon skills. You will have a randomly chosen amount of gold reflecting the fact that you've been somewhat successful at waylaying people on the road, along with some randomly chosen treasure items.

This start begins the game with you manning your camp at Fort Ash, along the road between the IC and Chorrol. You will *NOT* be made a member of the bandit faction due to complications this causes. Be aware that this also starts you off with 5 infamy and a criminal bounty of 500 gold. So try not to get too close to guards until you're ready to deal with it.

Shipwrecked off the coast

Disaster! You were part of the crew of a merchant vessel on the way to Anvil. A storm rose up and wrecked your ship. Everyone aboard is dead except for you. You're trapped in an air pocket, the ship is going to sink, and you need to get out! You'll have the bare minimum - lower class clothing and a cheap dagger. If you explore the wreck before leaving, you may find some better equipment, but be warned, you could die as you'll need to go underwater to get to anything useful. You'll also need to go underwater long enough to reach the hull breach in the ship to escape and swim to the surface.

You'll notice right away that getting to shore is no easy task. You're going to have to swim for it.

Note: Fast travel is disabled until you've swam a considerable distance away from the ship.

Squire in Geldall Septim's Manor

Betrayal! You are a loyal squire in Geldall Septim's manor, when tragedy strikes. The Mythic Dawn have attacked the manor without warning and slain the Emperor's son. You were caught off guard and knocked out while on watch, and when you awaken, everyone save one lone Blade is dead! You are tasked with delivering the news of Geldall's assassination to the Imperial City. A horse awaits you outside and you can arm yourself with available equipment before departing. Report to the Palace at once before all is lost!

You start off with nothing but basic middle class clothing, outside on a balcony where you were knocked unconcious during the Mythic Dawn's brazen attack on the Emperor's family. You may either follow through on the report to the palace or simply ignore it and run for the hills on your horse. If you choose to report the death to the Palace, you will be informed that the Emperor has been assassinated and that word has come of the slaying of the other heirs as well. From here, it's all up to you.

Note that the building you start in is a permanent location. If you choose to remove this mod after initiating the main quest at Fort Ash, keep in mind anything you've left inside the manor will disappear. If you use one of the other starts, this location will still exist but you will have no association with it. Also, fast travel is disabled until you have exited the manor through the front door.

A secluded Necromancer

You will begin as a necromancer in Fort Cuptor, far from civilization. You will initially be placed in the necromancer faction so that denizens of Fort Cuptor won't attack you. This will not protect you from other non-aligned factions. You will start with 5 infamy, but no criminal bounty. You will start with basic equipment reflecting your status as a necromancer. Soul gems, appropriate ingredients, and a staff for a weapon. If you have chosen conjuration as a primary skill, you will be given two undead related summoning spells.

If you leave the starting area you will be removed automatically from the Necromancer faction to avoid issues with being in an enemy faction later. As a result, the necromancers inside will turn hostile toward you when you return. Make sure you take what you want before leaving or you'll have to fight for it.

A secluded Vampire

Probably the most difficult way to start the game. You will be a vampire afflicted with the full strength version of vampirism. The game's clock will be adjusted to just after sunset, so you won't be stuck waiting in your cave all day before you can leave. You'll begin with basic middle class clothing, on the second level of Fort Hastrel. The vampires living there will leave you alone, until you leave the fort. After this point they will become hostile toward you if you return. Before leaving, check the coffin you start next to for equipment.

Ranger in a Remote Camp

You have traveled far, with the promise of meeting one of the greatest rangers who ever lived. Unfortunately it seems as though Aerin is not going to show up. It's been you and Torbern camped out here for days. It's time to pack up and move on to bigger and better.

A simple start, you will begin with basic fur armor, a shortsword/axe, a bow, and some arrows. Aerin's camp is high up in the Valus Mountains, almost to the border with Morrowind almost directly below Dive Rock. Be on the look out as you attempt to leave, because this is pretty far from civilization and you're on your own.

Starting the Main Quest

If you did not choose the standard prison start, the main quest will not initiate itself without your intervention.

In order to actually begin the main quest, you will need to travel the road from the IC to Chorrol. At Fort Ash, there will be a dead adventurer's corpse near the road which has a letter from Baurus along with the Amulet of Kings. Picking up the letter begins the MQ with you assuming the role of the dead adventurer. Read the letter to understand the situation, which will allow for you to slip seamlessly into the role.

The tutorial dungeon will not be accessible to you unless you use the prison start. It will be assumed to have already been locked down by the Legion.