Northern retreat

This mod adds 3 player residences, 2 followers, 1 dagger and 5 unique swords, a journal explaining the story, and courier quests. V3.0 fixes chest issues, rebalances weapons to be better than Daedric, and EvilPandaButt repurposes custom weapons

story-

Stalkvar Plains-Walker was a master blacksmith whose work was sought after by Tyrael leaders and nobles, who came up with a combination of ores that produced weapons that could penetrate any armor or material and still possess unparalleled superiority. He kept the recipe a secret. His mastery of blacksmithing and metallurgy earned him many commissions. One of the commissions is the sword of the Altmer noble. A rival blacksmith, trying to advance his station, intercepts the cargo and hires assassins to assassinate the nobles with blades and leave the swords at the scene.

Unable to determine who the attacker was and using the sword as evidence, the Aldmeri Dominion blamed Stalkvar and sent the Thalmor Justiciars to interrogate him and learn his secrets. After finding Stalkvar, Thalmor imprisoned, tortured and executed Stalkvar, but found nothing.

Knowing they would soon be arrested, Stalkvar's family gathered all the texts and notes and left. Over the years they had forged alliances with various organizations, so taking advantage of these they simply disappeared, leaving the Thalmor with nothing but the smoldering forge they had confiscated in the hope of learning its secrets. No one heard from the family again until Dragonborn was stopped by a courier with a note...

What's in the mod-

3 player houses - all set up as no reset areas, with plenty of crafting stations.

2 Followers - Katjana and Aerida Plains-Walker, sisters building their own lives in Skyrim. Both are essential, can be married, and specialize in two-handed continuous combat.

6 unique weapons - 1 dagger and 5 swords created specifically for this mod by my good friend EvilPandaButt. Can be obtained through quests or crafting.

Journals - Several journals created by DeThunder and myself to tell the story.

A Great Battle - As you progress there will be a sizable battle to control the northern retreat, so be prepared.

What's not in the mod-

Custom voicing - I haven't learned how to do this yet, I'm not ready for it yet.

Custom Armor - I'm using vanilla armor, but I'm also using replacers, so YMMV.

Text meshes and textures - not included in this mod. Have tested UNP and vanilla with no issues. The appearance of the minion may vary depending on which beauty mode you use.

**This mod has no dependencies, it is standalone.

**This pattern affects cells - 13,2 and a small area around it on the southern plains of Morthal and 39,31 and a larger area around it northeast of Winterhold.

For screenshots I used the following -

Sin Xtreme Realism ENB

UNP Women's Body Update

Leyenda skin

Improve eyes

These weapons are overpowered, on purpose, and unlikely to change.

The glacier top cabin is not a good fit for a follower until I get better at navigating.

As always, I welcome constructive criticism and feedback.

Credits-

Kalilies Stealthic and Shockero for the awesome KS Hairdos SSE and allowing people to use it in their mods.

KS Hairdos SSE

Howiego08 - A better bow that allows people to use it at work

better bow

butcher34550 - for porting Better Bows to SSE

Better Bows SE

EvilPandaButt092 - Used to create weapons for this mod.

DeThunder - The journal used to create Stalkvar (found in Northern Retreat) and the Journal of Asulfurs (found in Katjana's house)

Bethesda Creates My Favorite Game

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The Story-

Stalkvar Plains-Walker, a Master Blacksmith who's work was sought after by leaders and nobles across Tamriel,  had figured out an ore combination that yielded weapons that could cut through any armor or material and still hold an unmatched edge. He kept this recipe a closely guarded secret. His mastery of the forge and metallurgy gained him many commissions. One such commission was a …