Hedge Mage Armor
A rugged set of magically upgradable light armor for females.
Hedge Mage Armor
Special Edition (PC) | XBox One | XBox One – No Camp | Xbox One – Crafting
v2.0
-Fixed some texture issues
-9 new color options
-Gloves are a separate item
-Fortification bonus is applied per-piece
-Adjusted base armor values and fortification values
-Changed equip slot of tokens to 48
*See below for important updating instructions.
*See Change Log and sticky post in the comments for details on changes made
Female Only. Beast Race Compatible.
A hedge mage is a wanderer – an aimless mercenary without allegiances, who owes her talents to the highest bidder or reserves them for personal ambitions. She is forever on the move and forever adapting, driven to make ends meet with whatever means available. Times are often difficult, but she has the tools she needs: time-tested gear and well-worn boots ready to take her anywhere, never free of dust from the road.
UPDATING to 2.0 FROM ANY OTHER VERSION
VERY IMPORTANT. This update is major, and totally rebuilds the way the fortifications are determined and applied. The updating process is easy, but you may encounter bugs if you do not follow these steps:
1) Load the save game(s) you wish to update.
2) Unequip every piece of Hedge Mage Armor from your character, or any NPC. (You do not need to remove it from your inventory.)
3) Save the game, and exit.
4) Uninstall “HedgeMageArmor – No Hood Dependency.esp” if you have it (you don’t need it anymore, and it will break everything.)
5) Install Hedge Mage Armor 2.0. Be sure to overwrite any old files.
6) Load up your save game. A script will perform the necessary updates, and you will be greeted with a confirmation message.
***You do not need to perform a “clean save”. In fact, doing this may mess-up the update process.***
What it does
Adds a set of (female only) light armor to the game. By casting a spell, the player can “fortify” the armor’s defense ratings. The player gains new ranks of fortification by earning points in magical skills, alchemy, and light armor.
Each piece of the set gives a different amount of bonus armor. The armor bonuses also apply to followers and any other NPC wearing pieces of the set.
The set contains four parts: armor, boots, gloves, and hood.
How to use it
After installation, head to Rorikstead. A very short “quest” will begin.
To use the upgrade spell:
The armor will initially only give its base defense ratings. To gain the bonus, you must first gather all the items listed under the “Hedge Mage Armor” quest entry, and then cast the “Fortify Hedge Mage Armor” spell (school of alteration) while the armor and all upgrade components are in your inventory.
After the first upgrade, the quest entry will continue to track your progress. When you qualify for a new rank of fortification, you will be notified and a list of required components will appear in your quest log.
Tip: Many possible skill combinations and play styles will allow you to reach the highest rank of fortification. The fastest way to reach the top rank would be to level up enchanting, alteration, and light armor.
Extras
The armor:
The armor can be tempered to Legendary, and will benefit from all light-armor perks. It is also enchantable. The “fortification” spell effect will stack with mage armor spells, making the armor quite effective even during late-game.
The hood allows circlets to be worn underneath. Be aware that some clipping may occur with vanilla circlets or other large pieces of jewelry.
The Khajiit version of the hood has ear holes!
The camp where the armor is found has a few small features:
The backpack and small sack are safe storage, and the campfire and lantern can be toggled on and off. The “mess” can be cleaned by activating the broom propped behind the tent. The area surrounding the camp contains a few of the ingredients that will be required for fortifications. The camp will also be marked on your map and is fast-travel enabled.
Options
Main Files:
Hedge Mage Armor (Recommended)
Adds a unique set of armor to the world, including a new camp. -Includes Tamriel world-space edits-
Hedge Mage Armor – No Camp
Adds armor, spell, and journal to player’s inventory on game load. *NO world-space edits*. Use this is you have a conflicting mod, or do not wish to play the quest.
Optional Files:
Crafting Module
Adds a set of “Worn Travel Armor” (light armor) and “Worn Travel Robes”(clothing) to the tanning rack. The armor is visually identical to Hedge Mage Armor. It CANNOT be upgraded with the spell. Create as many sets as you like. *Can be used with or without the main mod*
Hood With Hair
By default, the hood hides your character’s hair. This will replace the hood mesh with a version that has hair attached. The hair is like a wig – it WILL NOT automatically match your character’s hair color. Please choose one of the included texture files that best suits your character’s hair color.
Recolors
A set of 9 new cloth colors for the hood, tunic, and trousers. Textures can be mixed-and-matched.
Installation/Uninstallation
NMM:
Choose ONE of the main files, and click the big, green “Download With NMM” button. Then install from the NMM application.
Install crafting module in the same manner, if desired.
To uninstall, unequip the armor and remove it from your inventory. Save your game, and uninstall the mod with the NMM application.
Manual:
Click “Download Manually”. Unzip the file, and merge the file named “Data” with Skyrim’s Data folder. (Usually found within Program Files>Steam>steam>apps>common>Skyrim ).
To uninstall, unequip the armor and remove it from your inventory. Save your game, and delete all files added.
Installing Hood With Hair (Manual installation only):
Unzip, and merge the Data folder with Skyrim’s Data folder. “Yes” to overwrite. Choose the color you want from the “Hair Colors” folder, copy the file, and paste it into your Data>textures>elleh>hedgemage>armor folder. “Yes” to overwrite.
Installing Recolors (Manual installation only):
Unzip the file. Choose the colors you want from the “Color Options” folder (hedgemagearmorhood_d for hood, hedgemagearmorpants_d for trousers, hedgemagearmortorso_d for tunic), and copy the files into data>textures>elleh>hedgemage>armor folder. “Yes” to overwrite.
Disclaimer: Uninstalling a mod part-way through a playthrough is NEVER 100% safe. However, I have created this mod to be as save-game-friendly as I am capable. Serious issues with uninstallation are unlikely.
Load Order and Compatibility
This mod will not conflict with any body mesh mods, but may experience clipping with mods that alter the female skeleton.
This mod will conflict with any other mod that makes cell edits to the area south of Rorikstead (Tamriel world space, cell (-22,-4)). (Player homes, and similar mods). Whichever mod is loaded LAST will take precedence.
This mod will also conflict with any mod that adds items to unused biped slot 48. If you encounter a conflict, first equip the armor, then equip whatever item conflicts with the tokens. The tokens will then be replaced. (This will not affect the armor bonus. The tokens are purely cosmetic.)
Players using mods that alter skill caps (such as SkyRe), may be able to reach higher levels of fortification more quickly. This is because they have a larger amount of total possible “magical” skill points in schools that provide higher bonuses. However, I have not found the impact to be large enough to be unbalancing.
Known Issues
•Some clipping on the strap under the arm.
•Khajiit earrings and hair tufts on ears will vanish when the hood is worn.
•The “Fortify Hedge Mage Armor” magic effect does not display properly in the Active Effects menu. (This is a Bethesda bug.) However, the effect is properly applied to your total armor rating while viewing the equipment menu. You can also view the individual armor piece bonus values in your Hedge Mage Armor quest entry.
