Rather than pollute other threads with developing my Skyrim character, I'll start a new one.
Fleur, an Orc is following a family tradition by becoming a bear-rider. Her ancestor Uzgash (a daughter of the legendary Gortwog himself) was one, and it's a profession her family approves, unlike some of the others they've had in the past.
She has a white bear to ride, and she's a two-handed fighter, preferring axes. They're the happy medium between the faster swords and the greater damage of hammers. She's current unsure if she likes them enchanted, and needing a supply of soul gems, or just plain.
Her bear is complaining about the armour she's wearing. It's supposed to look like this with plate top, plate boots, and as little as possible in between as detailed in the manual, in my Oblivion mod.
I suspect I'll have to make some for her, although there's a goodish selection of suitable boots. I'm unsure at the moment whether to classify it as Light or Heavy when I do so.
Any advice on the other skills she'd find useful? I'm assuming that Smithing will be one, and enough Alchemy to keep her in health potions, but what else?
Full Version: Fleur in Skyrim
Some progress:
She now has an outfit although it probably has issues, as I'm getting CTD's more often now. I need a good (text) tutorial on making new armors that I can use as a reference. It needs some frost resistance added, too!
She's riding her bear around the place, and has been to all the major cities, so she's getting to know her way around. Having the roads visible on the map has helped a lot with that.
The first picture shows her in her Lakeside Manor home (Hearthfire build-it-yourself one) which has helped her build up her smithing skill. She can't finish it until a few things like filled grand soul gems start appearing on the leveled lists. The smithing has let her improve her weapons as well, and I suspect she'll stick with her steel battle-axe and just keep improving it.
She now has an outfit although it probably has issues, as I'm getting CTD's more often now. I need a good (text) tutorial on making new armors that I can use as a reference. It needs some frost resistance added, too!
She's riding her bear around the place, and has been to all the major cities, so she's getting to know her way around. Having the roads visible on the map has helped a lot with that.
The first picture shows her in her Lakeside Manor home (Hearthfire build-it-yourself one) which has helped her build up her smithing skill. She can't finish it until a few things like filled grand soul gems start appearing on the leveled lists. The smithing has let her improve her weapons as well, and I suspect she'll stick with her steel battle-axe and just keep improving it.
Fleur looks fun! And, along with her bear, very dangerous. I think armor for the part of the rider that sits on the bear simply has to be smaller than the rider's circlet? 
I'm afraid it isn't a text tutorial, but this guy seems to know a lot about making outfits and stuff for Skyrim. Link. He's even got a video on how to convert Oblivion armors to Skyrim.
Of course, soon after tit wrote that, I found some very useful stuff on the Nexus Wiki. My crashes were down to a naming problem between the sub-meshes of the cuirass_0 and cuirass_1 nif's. That apparently is critical to fitting the armor, as it controls the morphs.
So she's gone back to Azura's shrine and repaired the star (white-only). Onward!
So she's gone back to Azura's shrine and repaired the star (white-only). Onward!
Glad to hear it!
Meur Fleur, puer faveur! 
There's not much more to tell. Fleur is my test character for Skyrim, and so she's spent most of her time exploring the map. She's made a couple of higher-grade outfits - elven and steel plate - to test out the looks and see what's suitable for a bear rider. The intent was always to make a Skyrim bear rider mod, with its own quests etc. to provide another faction to join.
So I'm now working on adding a headquarters for the Bear Riders near the border with Cyrodiil. They'll have moved there from Bruma some time in the last 200 years, and are no longer affiliated with the Legion. The Mede Emperors weren't as supportive as Ocato had been, and they got their funding from the Jarls and Counts of the local regions instead - i.e. Falkreath, Bruma, Cheydinhal, Helgen, and probably Mournhold - to keep the mountain roads safe for trade between the provinces.
My Oblivion mod had them in the Jeralls, with one patrol in the Valus Mountains. Uzgash supoosedly patrolled on a bear in the Wrothgarians, as part of Gortwog's equivalent corps. That would have been defunct after the sack of Orsinium, and the riders may have joined up with the Nordic one prior to the Skyrim period. Claudia was a Redguard from the Hammerfell part of the Jeralls, and I'd expect a few of her ilk to be members of the new Bear Riders, too.
I'm trying to make the new Riders Lodge as similar to the one outside Bruma as I can. The Riders have cosy bedrooms in the basement, which need some more furnishings to meet the level of the Bruma one. I think I found a source of teddy bears, but haven't included them yet,
Fleur has defeated Alduin and Miraak, and has also become Arch-mage. She didn't take sides in the civil war, and has no intention of joining the Thieves' Guild, Dawnguard, or becoming a werewolf or vampire. She built a house at Lakeview Manor, and she's spending most of her time there smithing and enchanting, trying to get the perfect bear-riding outfit.
The mod that provided her bear has proved to be a bit disappointing, as the bears are fixed-level, die easily, and don't seem to respawn, even though they're set to do so. I need to learn from its mistakes, and add my own bears for the Bear Riders mod. I'd also like the rider outfits to be craftable only at the Lodge (which has a forge, with grindstone and workbench, in the basement), but I'm unsure how to make location part of the recipe. Improving it should be possible anywhere, as I don't see any reason to restrict that.
Gunilla, the woman who holds the post Gudrun had in Oblivion, will also have bar-tending duties at the Riders Lodge. The Timo equivalent, (also called Timo!) will be the smith.
The part I need to work on most is the supply of bears. In the Oblivion mod, Meija the trainer lived n Falkreath, so I'm thinking that the tradition may continue, and a character in Falkreath will get bears sent to her for training again. She can live at the inn, and the bear will arrive a few days after you pay her to train one. If I make the bear essential, you'll do this "quest' once.
When I get the Riders mod going, I'll most likely create a new character for it, and Fleur will get retired.
So I'm now working on adding a headquarters for the Bear Riders near the border with Cyrodiil. They'll have moved there from Bruma some time in the last 200 years, and are no longer affiliated with the Legion. The Mede Emperors weren't as supportive as Ocato had been, and they got their funding from the Jarls and Counts of the local regions instead - i.e. Falkreath, Bruma, Cheydinhal, Helgen, and probably Mournhold - to keep the mountain roads safe for trade between the provinces.
My Oblivion mod had them in the Jeralls, with one patrol in the Valus Mountains. Uzgash supoosedly patrolled on a bear in the Wrothgarians, as part of Gortwog's equivalent corps. That would have been defunct after the sack of Orsinium, and the riders may have joined up with the Nordic one prior to the Skyrim period. Claudia was a Redguard from the Hammerfell part of the Jeralls, and I'd expect a few of her ilk to be members of the new Bear Riders, too.
I'm trying to make the new Riders Lodge as similar to the one outside Bruma as I can. The Riders have cosy bedrooms in the basement, which need some more furnishings to meet the level of the Bruma one. I think I found a source of teddy bears, but haven't included them yet,
Fleur has defeated Alduin and Miraak, and has also become Arch-mage. She didn't take sides in the civil war, and has no intention of joining the Thieves' Guild, Dawnguard, or becoming a werewolf or vampire. She built a house at Lakeview Manor, and she's spending most of her time there smithing and enchanting, trying to get the perfect bear-riding outfit.
The mod that provided her bear has proved to be a bit disappointing, as the bears are fixed-level, die easily, and don't seem to respawn, even though they're set to do so. I need to learn from its mistakes, and add my own bears for the Bear Riders mod. I'd also like the rider outfits to be craftable only at the Lodge (which has a forge, with grindstone and workbench, in the basement), but I'm unsure how to make location part of the recipe. Improving it should be possible anywhere, as I don't see any reason to restrict that.
Gunilla, the woman who holds the post Gudrun had in Oblivion, will also have bar-tending duties at the Riders Lodge. The Timo equivalent, (also called Timo!) will be the smith.
The part I need to work on most is the supply of bears. In the Oblivion mod, Meija the trainer lived n Falkreath, so I'm thinking that the tradition may continue, and a character in Falkreath will get bears sent to her for training again. She can live at the inn, and the bear will arrive a few days after you pay her to train one. If I make the bear essential, you'll do this "quest' once.
When I get the Riders mod going, I'll most likely create a new character for it, and Fleur will get retired.
Ghastley, that all sounds really neat! Love how Fleur's an orc. 
At least the bear will keep her warm!
I haven't found many bears in the Flakreath region in Skyrim, so maybe the bears can come from other places, but the trainer lives and trains the bears in Falkreath? That'll give a little more reason to actually go there...
Someone made a rideable sabre cat mod that is quite popular. Perhaps that would give you some insight?
For the recipes, This might help. Not instructions, but a place to start looking.
I haven't found many bears in the Flakreath region in Skyrim, so maybe the bears can come from other places, but the trainer lives and trains the bears in Falkreath? That'll give a little more reason to actually go there...
Someone made a rideable sabre cat mod that is quite popular. Perhaps that would give you some insight?
For the recipes, This might help. Not instructions, but a place to start looking.
QUOTE(King Coin @ Oct 13 2013, 02:35 PM) 
Thank you! That was just the nudge I needed. I had to clone the blacksmiths forge form and add an extra keyword to make it special, and now I can test the same keyword in the Recipe.
I'm holding off just a bit, as it should also test a variable set by the quest I haven't written yet to recruit the player, and I'm not sure if that needs to be a Global. Doing it that way avoids the need for the Recipe to test if it's a female player, because that will be checked before admitting the player into the faction.
I reloaded Fleur's game again, but using the Bear Riders plug-in in place of her own. She had to go make a new set of her armor at the Lodge forge, but that was no big deal. She has a chest full of ingots, leather etc. at Lakeview Manor in case she wants to craft something new to play with. So she's joined the Riders, and bought another bear from Unna (who's now essential). The one she had from The Bears plugin never respawned when he died, and I never figured out why not.
I noted that she had enough gold to buy Proudspire, so she went off and did the quests in Solitude to let her do that, and she adopted Sophie and Lucia, the Hearthfire orphan beggars, as they were the simplest case. I need them to test the teddy bears that I'll be porting over from Oblivion. Jordis will be a Rider candidate for her game, and I might have her recruit Borghak the Steel-Heart. In Fleur's game, she's wearing all Orcish, so Fleur will have to make her something better, or she won't wear it. That's a useful test. I'm not sure yet if I'll make a higher-level base armor, or improve some Steel Plate past the base Orcish.
Like Pala, she has Mjoll as a follower. Being essential has a lot to do with that choice, and I probably won't have her join the Riders in either game, except once before reloading her back out. Mjoll is in Rider Steel Plate in both games, as it's better than her Banded even before it goes on the workbench.
Fleur has access to the Orc Strongholds that Pala doesn't, so I'm exploring that difference to see how it might affect the mod. Once I'm done with that, she may go back into retirement while I build up a male test character for the other path through the Rider quests. Khajiit/Argonian females are still in my "undecided" pile. I haven't asked the bears' opinion yet.
I noted that she had enough gold to buy Proudspire, so she went off and did the quests in Solitude to let her do that, and she adopted Sophie and Lucia, the Hearthfire orphan beggars, as they were the simplest case. I need them to test the teddy bears that I'll be porting over from Oblivion. Jordis will be a Rider candidate for her game, and I might have her recruit Borghak the Steel-Heart. In Fleur's game, she's wearing all Orcish, so Fleur will have to make her something better, or she won't wear it. That's a useful test. I'm not sure yet if I'll make a higher-level base armor, or improve some Steel Plate past the base Orcish.
Like Pala, she has Mjoll as a follower. Being essential has a lot to do with that choice, and I probably won't have her join the Riders in either game, except once before reloading her back out. Mjoll is in Rider Steel Plate in both games, as it's better than her Banded even before it goes on the workbench.
Fleur has access to the Orc Strongholds that Pala doesn't, so I'm exploring that difference to see how it might affect the mod. Once I'm done with that, she may go back into retirement while I build up a male test character for the other path through the Rider quests. Khajiit/Argonian females are still in my "undecided" pile. I haven't asked the bears' opinion yet.
Still using Fleur to explore the game. She built Lakeview Manor early on, but I've just decided she needs the other two Hearthfire homes, so we can see more wing options.
Lakeview had a kitchen, and the Alchemy and Enchanting towers. Rayya's looking after that for her as steward.
Heljarchen has a library, storage room, and bedrooms. No housecarl or steward yet - there are enough beds to have two separate people, and I might check that option out, probably adding the bard and driver to get a good local crowd going.
She's in the middle of putting up Windstad, and it will have kitchen, bedrooms, and an Alchemy tower, even though she's done all those before. Greenhouse, Trophy room, and Armory don't suit her, as she'll only wear the Rider Armor, and doesn't care for collecting stuff. Alchemy is a means to an end, not a primary skill. She asked the housecarl/steward Valdimar to furnish the kitchen this time, as collecting iron is getting to be a pain.
I'm also attempting to raise leather armour up to the defence cap. That will take a lot of Fortify Smithing, as there's no perk for Leather, so she's collecting items with that enchantment, (and will eventually make what she can't find) and she's found a few Alchemy ingredients that make the potions. It looks like equipment can get her +100 to smithing, but I'm not sure how strong a potion is possible. She already gets a 303 AR in her Epic leather gear after Light Armor perks, but we'd like it beyond Legendary, please. Her usual Elven gives 400+. She tried on some steel/plate from a bandit boss and it only provided 114, because she has minimal Heavy skill and no perks.
And once I get the Recruit quest done for the Bear Riders mod, she has a number of followers on tap to take to Gunilla.
Lakeview had a kitchen, and the Alchemy and Enchanting towers. Rayya's looking after that for her as steward.
Heljarchen has a library, storage room, and bedrooms. No housecarl or steward yet - there are enough beds to have two separate people, and I might check that option out, probably adding the bard and driver to get a good local crowd going.
She's in the middle of putting up Windstad, and it will have kitchen, bedrooms, and an Alchemy tower, even though she's done all those before. Greenhouse, Trophy room, and Armory don't suit her, as she'll only wear the Rider Armor, and doesn't care for collecting stuff. Alchemy is a means to an end, not a primary skill. She asked the housecarl/steward Valdimar to furnish the kitchen this time, as collecting iron is getting to be a pain.
I'm also attempting to raise leather armour up to the defence cap. That will take a lot of Fortify Smithing, as there's no perk for Leather, so she's collecting items with that enchantment, (and will eventually make what she can't find) and she's found a few Alchemy ingredients that make the potions. It looks like equipment can get her +100 to smithing, but I'm not sure how strong a potion is possible. She already gets a 303 AR in her Epic leather gear after Light Armor perks, but we'd like it beyond Legendary, please. Her usual Elven gives 400+. She tried on some steel/plate from a bandit boss and it only provided 114, because she has minimal Heavy skill and no perks.
And once I get the Recruit quest done for the Bear Riders mod, she has a number of followers on tap to take to Gunilla.
This is my first time seeing this thread, this is exciting! One of the most interesting things about these "behind the scenes" Ghastley threads (for me) - learning all the ups and downs of how your mods come into being rather than just seeing the finished product. I love hearing about your problem solving when issues arrive - you really should give lessons or act as advisor, because your trouble shooting skills are amazing !! Awesome thread, sorry it took so long to find it!
I haven't even finished the third quest of the main mod, and already I've started on an add-on. Fleur wanted to do something to stop all the guards telling her about the Dawnguard, so she went and wiped out the vampires at Volkihar. So then Serana wanted a bear-riding outfit, and we took her to a forge to make some. I'll post pictures tonight, when I get all the outfits together for a shoot. Serana can't yet join, as she's not in the right faction, so I'm working out how to trigger adding her in at a good time. I may decide that needs her mother back from the Soul Cairn, and her vampirism cured, but I'm not ruling out making an alternate path for those who choose the Vampire side.
I now have Leather, Elven, Steel, Steel Plate, Ebony and Vampire armors, and a mage outfit as well. The Vampire gear requires a Potion of Blood, Ebony ingot, and Leather strips to make it, and the mage outfit needs a Linen Wrap, Leather and strips. I note that quality beats quantity, and an improved leather can give much more defence than unimproved plate. Again, needs pictures.
Edit: Pictures as promised.
Quality versus Quantity
Confession: Some of the 303 on her Epic Leather comes from a headband you can't see! The Steel/Plate combo was just taken off a Bandit Boss, and was therefore unimproved.
Basic Steel Armor
Elven Armor
Steel Plate
Same with other boots
Gunilla's Captain Armor (Ebony)
Serana feeling the need for armor
And the results
I'm still tweaking the Mage gear. It's a bit too loose, and doesn't provide any support. There aren't enough potential mage followers to model it, either. Brelyna Maryon and Aranea Ienith are both Dunmer, and relatively slender. I suppose Beth didn't expect mages to bulk up. I haven't checked Illia out yet, but her picture on the wiki makes her look similar to the Dark Elves.
I've had Serana or Aranea tagging along, so Fleur's getting used to friendly fire with spells, especially the AoE kind. Since she's mainly been collecting Dragon Priest masks recently, (so all the bosses are spell-casters), it's hard to tell who cast what. Serana has a bad habit of raising the enemies back up as undead minions, so it's also hard to keep track of who's fighting whom. The blue glow of the revenants easily gets lost in the fireballs and electrical storms of battle. Aranea doesn't revive, but she does use a lot of spells with distracting visual effects.
The bear-rider patrols are a bit hard to set up, as Helgen blocks the roads that lead to the Lodge. I'll most likely have Falkreath as an end-point for the regular part, and have a higher-priority override take them to the Lodge when their R&R turn comes up. I'm still working out the conditions and things for the AI. The procedure stacks within package stacks is more powerful than Oblivion had, but more complex, too.
I now have Leather, Elven, Steel, Steel Plate, Ebony and Vampire armors, and a mage outfit as well. The Vampire gear requires a Potion of Blood, Ebony ingot, and Leather strips to make it, and the mage outfit needs a Linen Wrap, Leather and strips. I note that quality beats quantity, and an improved leather can give much more defence than unimproved plate. Again, needs pictures.
Edit: Pictures as promised.
Quality versus Quantity
Confession: Some of the 303 on her Epic Leather comes from a headband you can't see! The Steel/Plate combo was just taken off a Bandit Boss, and was therefore unimproved.
Basic Steel Armor
Elven Armor
Steel Plate
Same with other boots
Gunilla's Captain Armor (Ebony)
Serana feeling the need for armor
And the results
I'm still tweaking the Mage gear. It's a bit too loose, and doesn't provide any support. There aren't enough potential mage followers to model it, either. Brelyna Maryon and Aranea Ienith are both Dunmer, and relatively slender. I suppose Beth didn't expect mages to bulk up. I haven't checked Illia out yet, but her picture on the wiki makes her look similar to the Dark Elves.
I've had Serana or Aranea tagging along, so Fleur's getting used to friendly fire with spells, especially the AoE kind. Since she's mainly been collecting Dragon Priest masks recently, (so all the bosses are spell-casters), it's hard to tell who cast what. Serana has a bad habit of raising the enemies back up as undead minions, so it's also hard to keep track of who's fighting whom. The blue glow of the revenants easily gets lost in the fireballs and electrical storms of battle. Aranea doesn't revive, but she does use a lot of spells with distracting visual effects.
The bear-rider patrols are a bit hard to set up, as Helgen blocks the roads that lead to the Lodge. I'll most likely have Falkreath as an end-point for the regular part, and have a higher-priority override take them to the Lodge when their R&R turn comes up. I'm still working out the conditions and things for the AI. The procedure stacks within package stacks is more powerful than Oblivion had, but more complex, too.
For some reason, the ‘quantity’ side looks a lot more protective in a sword fight. 
I like that the basic steel gloves are fingerless. That’s a requirement for my Khajiit. Any other light armors? Aravi would want to wear something with the bear armor, though Kharjo will probably like it!
I like that the basic steel gloves are fingerless. That’s a requirement for my Khajiit. Any other light armors? Aravi would want to wear something with the bear armor, though Kharjo will probably like it!
ghastley, love how you can craft greaves out of circlets!
Ooo, just found the pics. These look great! I like how the Elven and Steel Plate circlets complement the armor type.
I think I like the steel plate with the tall boots best. Gunilla’s Ebony is a close second. Oh, and the regular steel looks awesome. And… Yeah, they all look great!
I chuckled at the AR comparison. Skyrim is indeed a magical world!
Fleur’s friendly fire situation sounds familiar. I recall a follower once picking up or accidentally being given a staff that cast Wall of Storms. Yikes. Yay for the Atronach Stone!
So, does Gunilla want tall boots, too, and a circlet with onyx stones?
I really like her face. She has that strong-jawed warrior look.
I think I like the steel plate with the tall boots best. Gunilla’s Ebony is a close second. Oh, and the regular steel looks awesome. And… Yeah, they all look great!
I chuckled at the AR comparison. Skyrim is indeed a magical world!
Fleur’s friendly fire situation sounds familiar. I recall a follower once picking up or accidentally being given a staff that cast Wall of Storms. Yikes. Yay for the Atronach Stone!
So, does Gunilla want tall boots, too, and a circlet with onyx stones?
I really like her face. She has that strong-jawed warrior look.
This is what the mages will wear to ride bears (when I get that far with the mod). It's being modeled by Aranea Ilenith, from Azura's shrine. Fleur took the Star to her, rather than Nelacar, so she's a valid follower in that game. (Pala took the black star route, and enchanted her sword with Soul Trap.) I may still make a few more tweaks to the body part, and she needs some mage-appropriate gloves.
She helped Fleur collect a few bottled bugs. Not the bee, as you can only reach that one by joining the Thieves Guild, and she doesn't think she could be a proper Rider and do that.
She helped Fleur collect a few bottled bugs. Not the bee, as you can only reach that one by joining the Thieves Guild, and she doesn't think she could be a proper Rider and do that.
The mage robes would be difficult to shape like the other armors were.
Your bug collection is larger than Aravi’s!
Your bug collection is larger than Aravi’s!
Wow, I knew the bears wouldn't tolerate armored legs astride them but didn't realize they would balk at the soft fabric of a mages robe as well. Oh well. . . a mage has gotta do what a mage has gotta do.
It's more of a skirts versus wide-astride posture thing. The bears would be happy with cloth pants, but that takes more work. Side-saddle animations ditto.
I had her mount a bear in her default costume, and it looks silly.
I had her mount a bear in her default costume, and it looks silly.
I just discovered an "Orc child" mod on the Nexus, so I'll be investigating how the Orc tusks were used and adapting an elf kid or two for Fleur. She already has Sofie and Lucia, so the first cut will be a replacement for one or both of those, and I'll place a new one or two later.
One thought is to have Borghak the Steelheart's young cousin tag along when you recruit her, for the same reasons - she wants to escape the Orc traditions and be more free to do her own thing. Orcish orphans are looked after by their relatives, so she's not as needy as the others, just fiercely independent. Male Orc kid is more likely to be pushed out as future rival of chief, so we could find him living solo in another shack - I need to check out Orcish architecture to see if there's a suitable building I can use, or if it will have to be the generic shack kit.
One thought is to have Borghak the Steelheart's young cousin tag along when you recruit her, for the same reasons - she wants to escape the Orc traditions and be more free to do her own thing. Orcish orphans are looked after by their relatives, so she's not as needy as the others, just fiercely independent. Male Orc kid is more likely to be pushed out as future rival of chief, so we could find him living solo in another shack - I need to check out Orcish architecture to see if there's a suitable building I can use, or if it will have to be the generic shack kit.
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