Dawnguard - Alternate Start Route (Skip Bastion Dawnguard for Vampires)

Added a new way to launch the Dimhollow Crypt mission without accessing Fort Dawnguard.

If you're trying to roleplay as an evil character, the first Dawnguard mission doesn't really make sense. Why would your evil character decide to visit Isran?

feature:

This mod does a few things to improve Dawnguard's startup. There are now two new ways to start the Dawnguard questline. Once the vigilant hall is destroyed, you can search for clues to find the cause of the vampire attack, or head straight to the Dimhollow Crypt. The dialogue options available when talking to Serana depend on whether you have already talked to Isran.

Unlike other mods that may add another way to start the DG questline, this mod still gives the player the option to join the Dawnguard immediately after freeing them or after rejecting Harkon's gift.

Some other tweaks have also been made.

1 or 2 typos fixed in dialogue

The rumor only exists in Riften that "they are revamping the Dawn Defender".

Prevents you from claiming items in Volkihar Castle during your first meeting with Harkon.

The armor settings Gunmar provides players will now depend on your highest armor skill.

compatibility:

Mods that modify certain Dawnguard missions or their scripts are incompatible.

Timing is everything: Compatibility

Load my mod after TiE

Dawnguard as Vampire: Compatible

The loading order between 2 mods does not matter.

The choice is yours: Patches available

The .esl patch provided fixes 1 record of both mod changes. Just load it after two mods.

Dawnguard - Tweaks and Enhancements: Incompatible

I may make a compatibility patch after taking a closer look at the source scripts in this mod.

Path to Volkihar: Incompatible

Superfluous. Both mods try to do the same thing.

Known issues:

If you visit Fort Dawnguard with Serana after freeing her, but have never spoken to Isran before, Serana will not enter Dayspring Canyon and will get the usual "I don't like the look of this place, I'll wait outside" dialog. I'm not sure why this happens, but the effect is minimal as you can still tell Isran that Serana is waiting outside and he will tell you to take her to her father.

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If you are trying to roleplay as an evil character, the first Dawnguard quest doesn't really make sense. Why would your evil character decide to pay a visit to Isran?

Features:

This mod does a few things to improve the Dawnguard start. There is now 2 new ways to start the Dawnguard questline. After the Hall of the Vigilant is destroyed, you can either look for clues to find out the reasons for the vampire attack, or go directly to Dimhollow Crypt. The available dialogue options when talking to Serana will depend on whether or not you have already talked to Isran.

Unlike other mods that might add another way to start the DG questline, this mod will still allow the player to join the Dawnguard if they choose to do so, either directly after freeing Serana, or after refusing Harkon's gift.

Also made some tweaks to a few other things.

1 or 2 typo fixes in dialogues

The "Heard they're reforming the Dawnguard" rumor only happen in Riften.

Prevents you from picking up items in Castle Volkihar during your first encounter with Harkon.

The armor set given by Gunmar to the player will now depend on your highest armor skill.

Compatibility:

Mods that alter some of the Dawnguard quests or their scripts are incompatible.

Timing is Everything: Compatible

Load my mod after TiE

Dawnguard as Vampire: Compatible

Load order between the 2 mods doesn't matter.

The Choice is Yours: Patch available.esl patch provided to fix 1 record changed by both mods. Just load it after both mods.

Dawnguard - Tweaks and Enhancement: Incompatible

I might do a compatibility patch after taking a closer look to the source scripts in that mod.

Path to Volkihar: Incompatible

Redundant. Both mods are trying to do the same thing.

Known Issues:

If you visit Fort Dawnguard with Seran …