Dragonsmount Castle
A fortified and expanded version of Dragonsmount by Maxrsp.
Dragonsmount Castle is my first mod and it started off simple enough: I wanted to add two extra mannequins in the display area. Well, after that I noticed that the interior shape didn’t match the exterior shape, so I rearranged sections so that the interior and exterior echoed each other. It was then I realized that the structure had a TON of unused space, so I started filling it up. After several months of messing with it, I’ve reached a point where I’m pretty much out of ideas, so I’m calling it done and publishing it for others to enjoy (with Maxrsp’ blessing).
This mod requires all 3 DLC and does not need the original Dragonsmount mod.
OVERVIEW:
First off, almost nothing was deleted from the original: a few things were rearranged but 99% of the original is still there. Second, I hate loading screens, so the entire interior is a single cell. I’ve optimized it the best I could with roombounds+portals to eliminate slowdown. I also ran every exterior
door/warp/teleport through 1 of several buffer cells. Loading takes just as long, but I noticed that its a much smoother load.
This is a non-quested player home. Install the mod, fire up Skyrim, the map marker is lit up from the start.
The stables are adjacent to the entry tower. The outer fortifications enclose a courtyard, guesthouse/groundkeepers house and a well. You will also find clearly marked controls for the drawbridge and 2 sets of portculli. Only oddball item is the “Flame trap” lever above the main entrance: hit it to transform the entry tower into a towering inferno. Also found outside is the door to the new barracks/dungeon.
Inside,I made minor additions to the main hall. Kitchen has a new oven and the War Room has a clearly marked lever to change the Imperial/Stormcloak banners scattered throughout the property. War Room also has a new shortcut leading to the library below. The door that originally led to the exterior crafting balcony now leads to an interior crafting area. The exterior area is still accessible from a correctly placed door upstairs. The Mage’s Study now contains a more stable activator-based teleport system with destinations to all 9 hold cities/towns. The desk has your choice of return warp options: a spell tome for mages, and an enchanted ring for non-magic users.
NOTE: The ring’s description says “instantly transported” for a reason – there’s no confirmation prompt. Equipping the ring = instant return.
The stairs leading up to the 2nd level has the door to the indoor pool, and the slightly expanded 2nd level now has a bathroom in addition to a few other minor additions. The Dwemer ruins which make up the “basement” have a library and an indoor courtyard. I’m sure many will notice the 3 non-functional doors and inaccessable elevator scattered throughout this mod. This is intentional. Maxrsp’s choice of an exterior mesh left an interior so vast that I ran out of ideas of things to fill it with. So, I left placeholder doors so future expansions will blend in perfectly.
I made this completely devoid of NPCs (because I’m weird like that), but if somebody wants to make an NPC package for this thing, knock yourself out.
ADDITIONS/IMPROVEMENTS:
Exterior
-Relocated stables to outside entry tower – Horses will stable themselves automatically when arriving from fast-travel
-Added heavy fortifications with functional drawbridge and portcullus
-Added combination Barracks/Dungeon
-Added courtyard with well and guesthouse
-Improved the main structure’s balcony
Interior
-Added 2 additional mannequins
-Added indoor crafting area (to eliminate a loading door)
-Added Mage’s Study with teleport and warp system
-Added indoor pool and bathroom
-Added Dwemer “ruins” below which contain a library and indoor courtyard
-Improved the kitchen by adding the Hearthfires oven
KNOWN ISSUES:
There are a few minor things that have come up that I’m still trying to figure out:
Navmesh works perfectly in all interior cells, but it gets glitchy in a few spots outside on the stairs and on the ramparts. I’ve gone back and completely re-navmeshed these spots, eliminating most, but a few refuse to die.
Depending on how much you’ve explored, you might find a floating mining point next to the well. This is a result from old data in your save game. This can be fixed by bringing up the console, clicking on the mining point so the object id appears on screen, and typing “markfordelete” without the quotes. The mining point will be purged upon reloading the cell. Running in to the castle didn’t work, but a trip to nearby Whiterun did the trick.
If you find a bug, please send me a PM or post on the Posts page with details and I’ll look into it. Any ideas for the unused areas are welcome because I do want to release an updated version. I plan on scrapping the portal based teleport system in favor of a simpler and less troublesome non-portal system. As always, endorse if you like it and feel free to leave a comment.
And special thanks again to Maxrsp for letting me build on such an amazing foundation.
