The fantasy lovers of the world frequently go from comic books to video games (and back again) in their pursuit of fun escapism, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is still one of the favorite sandboxes to play in. There's a wealth of ways to get lost in the sheer fantasy immersion that the game provides, and Bethesda's openness when it comes to modding the game takes that premise even further.
There's a ton of mods for Skyrim, and that's putting it mildly. Fantasy fans need only a few to really extend the experience, and they come in a variety of flavors. There are numerous mods that Skyrim fans can install right now, which will greatly expand on what the vanilla base game offers.
10 Dawi (Dwarf) - Provides Players With A Playable Race And Voice (Warhammer Fantasy)
Technically, there is no Dwarven race in Skyrim, but that shouldn't stop fantasy lovers from adding one into the game. Dawi (Dwarf) - Playable Race And Voice is a mod that adapts the Dawi race from the Warhammer series into the world of The Elder Scrolls, allowing players to assume a character of that race.
It's not the most lore-friendly mod of the bunch, but that's a small quibble for fans who would love nothing more than to play through Skyrim as a completely unique character type. It also brings a bit more LOTR-style feeling to the game, as well.
9 Forgotten Dungeons Provides Players With Multiple New Areas To Explore
Skyrim is all about exploration, and deep, dark tombs and catacombs are some of the most immersive. There's always a new D&D-inspired adventure, and a new treasure to uncover in each of these subterranean strongholds, but many veteran Skyrim players have memorized them over the years, which can lead to tedium.
Forgotten Dungeons injects around 50 new underground areas into the game for full exploration. This is bound to offset the boredom of the vanilla dungeon system while offering a few new surprises for seasoned players. Definitely a must for fantasy lovers.
8 Alternate Start - Live Another Life Allows Players To Skip The Intro
While Skyrim does have a pretty interesting storyline, it's rather on-the-rails at the beginning, and that's bad news for players who like to revisit the game multiple times. Thankfully, there's a way to inject a little more choice into the game, thanks to Alternate Start - Live Another Life.
This mod bypasses the original Skyrim execution scene intro and allows players to start off at different points on the map, with different story-based origins. It's a fully immersive mod that doesn't break the main narrative in any way. It simply allows players to begin the game where they wish, and forge their own path.
7 Sounds Of Skyrim Complete Drastically Alters The Soundscape
Here's a mod that fantasy lovers will adore, especially if they also happen to be audiophiles. Sounds of Skyrim Complete is a compendium of original mods that drastically alter the soundscape of the game, for the better. The outdoor environment, towns and cities, interiors and dungeons all sport brand new sound effects to help draw the player in with a greater sense of immersion.
This goes way above and beyond the vanilla base game. Environments feel much more alive and immersive, and that helps sell the fantasy adventure motif much better.
6 Diverse Dragons Collection SE Provides 28 New Dragons To Fight
Dragons are the main focus of Skyrim, and the story revolves around the mysterious circumstances surrounding their return, after centuries of slumber. The base game's dragons aren't all that different from one another, which makes fighting them a bit mundane as time goes on.
Diverse Dragons Collection SE prioritizes variety above all else, with a grand total of 28 new dragon variants for players to fight. Each dragon not only looks unique but attacks with its own set of special abilities based on their character. This switches up the dragon-slaying formula by a huge margin.
5 JK's Skyrim Overhauls Key Location Designs
The fantasy designs of Skyrim's towns, villages and locations are Okay, but they're nothing compared to some of the awesome creations offered by third party, independent modders. The best of the bunch is undoubtedly Jkrojmal and his extensive line of JK's mods.
JK's Skyrim is a compendium of many different mods from the author, which overhaul key locations in the game. It's a virtual transformation that turns cities and towns into reimagined works of art. Don't forget to check out Jkrojmal's full mod page, as he's recently updated it with new overhaul mods not present in this compendium.
4 Simply Bigger Trees Enhances The Landscape
Skyrim's environments are starting to feel a bit dated. It's an older game at this point, and it's becoming easier to slip out of the immersion, especially in light of more recent fantasy titles. To compensate, mods like Simply Bigger Trees exist, which can really add a new level of immersion to the game.
It may not seem like a big deal, but enhancing the size of Skyrim's trees and forests can have a huge effect on immersion. It gives the entire game a Lord of the Rings-style appeal, particularly when compared to the big-screen depiction of the Forests of Fangorn. This mod takes a similar approach, making the player feel lost in a sprawling, otherworldly time.
3 The Choice Is Yours Allows Players To Have More Control
Questing in Skyrim isn't perfect. The base game is loaded with issues that can really detract away from the feeling of choice one has as a player. The Choice Is Yours fixes that by overhauling the quest system, and making the player feel more in control of their destiny.
The mod allows players to pick and choose which quests they want to undertake while refusing others. It also reduces certain quests in the game that the player had to accept, whether they finished them or not. By putting freedom back into the hands of the player, it's far easier to get lost in the fantasy RPG feeling of the game.
2 Elysium Estate Is A Great Place To Call Home
Every fantasy adventurer needs an appropriate home to hang their hat, and there are a lot of house mods for gamers to choose from. Elysium Estate is arguably the best of the bunch. It has evolved several times over the years, and settled into its current form. The house is located just outside of Whiterun, allowing for easy access to the city.
Elysium Estate is gorgeous, inside and out. It's the perfect size, and it has enough amenities inside to satisfy hardcore adventurers. The top floor contains everything a player could want in a hearty home, including a study, a bath house, and a kitchen. The basement is dedicated to housing a collection of items the player can acquire throughout the game, including key artifacts, rare items, dragon claws and more. It even has a bunch of mannequins that can be outfitted with different armor and weapon sets, turning Elysium Estate into a mini-museum. Few house mods are this cozy, or this cool.
1 Immersive Armors Unlocks New Tools
Skyrim may have shipped with a lot of armor and weapons to craft and locate throughout the game, but they are getting stale. Thankfully, Immersive Armors is there to save the day. This huge mod adds a ton of entirely new custom armor sets to the game that can be forged, or picked up throughout the game world.
There's a lot of variety and choices of styles to pick from, allowing players to deck out their character in precisely the kind of garb they choose. For the full experience, it's recommended that gamers also install the sister mod Immersive Weapons in order to expand on the vanilla game's base offerings.