Helgen Keep

Improves the starting gear you get in Helgen Keep without giving players too much of an early game boost.

1833/5000 I often do vanilla starts for roleplaying reasons, but one thing I really miss about alternate starts is being able to start with equipment that fits my character's play style. Some mods will add immersive chests outside of Riverwood, in Guardian Stones, or other locations that contain some heavy "starter" gear. I chose to do something different.

This mod is very simple. It adds a few extra items in logical locations in Helgen Keep, allowing you to start right away with your preferred playstyle.

What exactly was added?

As you follow Hadvar, the first room now contains chests with a full set of Imperial light and heavy armor, complete with shields. The Warden's chest now has a long bow and 50 iron arrows, because, why don't archers immediately get their preferred weapon?

Gongal's corpse now has an iron battle axe. Vanilla offers nothing for hands unless you leave Helgen.

The satchel in the torture chamber now contains several spellbooks: Oakflesh, Conjure Familiar, and Fury. Yes, I know the last two are racial starting spells. Vanilla gives you sparkle, so I really don't think that's a problem. This way, the mage can instantly obtain a spell from each school of magic.

The dead mage in the cage now has a Frostbite Staff on his body. Staffs are inherently difficult to obtain, and there are mods that improve the way staffs are played. Basically, that's how the whole mod changed - I wanted to have a low-level person for the early game, for the Witcher. Hopefully this is something other people will enjoy too.

If you love the amazing Wayfarer's coats, there's an add-on to add a variety of fabrics to Warden's Chest. I love this dress and I don't think it's unreasonable to get it at the beginning of the game.

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I constantly do the vanilla start for roleplaying reasons, but one thing I sorely miss about alternate starts is the ability to start out with equipment befitting my character's playstyle. Some mods take to adding unimmersive chests outside Riverwood, or by the Guardian Stones, or some other location, containing some hefty "starter" gear. I chose to do something different.

This mod is very simple. It adds a few extra items in sensible locations of Helgen Keep, allowing you to start off with your preferred playstyle right off the bat.

What exactly is added?

The first room when you follow Hadvar now has chests with full sets of Imperial light and heavy armor, complete with shields. The Warden's Chest now has a long bow and 50 iron arrows in it, because, really, why don't archers get their preferred weapon immediately?

Gunjar's corpse now has an iron battleaxe on it. Vanilla doesn't provide anything for two-handed until you leave Helgen, which is kinda lame.

The torture room's satchel now has a couple spellbooks inside: Oakflesh, Conjure Familiar, and Fury. Yes, I'm aware that the latter two are racial starting spells. Vanilla gives you Sparks, so I don't really see it as a problem. This way, mages have access to one spell of each school of magic right off the bat.

The dead mage in the cage now has a Staff of Frostbite on his corpse. Staves are inherently hard to get, and there are mods that improve how staves play. This is basically the change which started the entire mod - I was wanting to have a low-level staff for early game to use on a sorcerer. Hopefully it's something other people like too.

If you like the amazing Wayfarer's Coat, there's an addon that adds the cloth variety to the Warden's Chest. I like this outfit and I don't think it's unreasonable to have it at the start of the game.