So I just bought Oblivion a few weeks ago in anticipation of Skyrim. I'm loving it so far, except a few minor things:

The game seems very low population, in terms of NPC's in cities and also creatures in the wild. I know there is a HUGE modding community for TES games as my friends have said, so that's why I've come to you people! Help me out!

What I'm looking for is a mod that adds some.."life"..to Oblivion cities and wilderness! I'm not looking for a mod that completely changes the way Oblivion works..etc..or removes CURRENT NPC's to mess up quest..I want to keep everything as is..I just want more! More NPC's, more creatures, heck, more everything if it moves! Even mudcraps for crying out loud, I don't care!

Can anyone help me out? What are some of the best NPC mods, and creature mods? As far as creatures go, I don't want anything too ridiculous, IE, I don't want creatures that just simply wouldn't be found in TES, you know? Like, I don't want Balerocs and Super Saiyans running around in my game. Just normal animals/creatures as well as some lore oriented creatures that are found in the TES universe that Bethesda chose to not include, or some creatures that "fit" in TES, but maybe aren't particularly a part of TES lore. I mean it just has to flow and make sense yeah?

Thanks so much in advance. I registered today just to ask you kind folks these questions, so don't be too harsh as this is my first post.

Welcome to the forums.

For creatures I definitely recommend Martigen's Monster Mod (MMM). There is an active thread on it at:

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1198207-relz-martsmonstermod37b3-public-release-3-relz/

MMM goes very well with OOO (Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul).

For NPCs I don't really have a mod I've used. I think the T.I.E mod (Tamriel Imersion E(something) ) does that, but as I recall has some compatibility issues with OOO. I think there is also a mod called Tamriel Travelers but I haven't used that. So I'm not sure about adding more NPCs. But as far as creatures go, I definitely recommend MMM.

Hey thanks Savlian! I appreciate the quick response!

I'll check out that mod MMM that you suggested. Does anyone have any other mod suggestions for NPC's then? From what I've read TIE is a little more than I want to bite off honestly, it seems to do a lot more than simply add NPC's, which is what I'm looking for. I'm not looking for an overhaul really.

You might like these:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14676
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=17843
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19473

I use this one:
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=32248
And also Tamriel Travellers. MMM is the best for creatures.

There are several mods along the lines of "Crowded Cities", "Crowded Roads" etc, if you like. Keep in mind though that Oblivion's engine svcks when it comes to multi-threading, so you basically can expect your fps to drop considerably the more mods you add. And NPC's are about the biggest performance hit of anything, so you might want to add them in one at a time and see how your game lags, especially in areas like the Imperial City Waterfront district.

For creatures, I would like to point out Waalx Animals & Creatures also known as WAC. Best mod for animal lovers.

Some great looking stuff, but a lot are not very lore friendly.
Another worthwhile alternative is the recently revamped Francesco's http://bit.ly/qWhD36
Nothing lore unfriendly there.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=39872 for better looking NPC.

And probably http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37904 for more Creature/hostile NPC activites.

WAC is amazing, but it's WIP. If you want to try the beta, make sure to apply the http://waalx.com/RealSwordsForum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=419.

I disagree, what's lore unfriendly in WAC?

Ha! "Some great looking stuff .." . More . Much more.
"lore unfriendly" !!!!????. Damn. If you thinking about Rome style Imperial Guards , it's optional. New creatures ? Less lore unfriendly then MMM (vide Balrog).
By the way.
What do you think which will first new FCOM or WAC. And it there any chance it will before TES VI will be born ?