Class Limitations Mod Files

Overview

This mod is designed to emulate a true pen & paper roleplaying game, where (aside from racial background) every character begins at ground level with no developed adventurer skills. To reflect this, we remove the base 15 points on all skills, remove trainers as a leveling shortcut, and slow down the experience gain, so that characters can actually do a lot more adventureing - side quests and exploration - and avoid the common problem of 'out-leveling' the game.

Installation

1. Unpack the main file, and add Class Limitations.7z as a new mod using your mod manager of choice.
2. Add Classes - All.7z as a new mod, OR unpack it and extract only the class .esp files you want to use, and add them separately.
3. Set Class Limitations.esp and the .esp of your chosen class to Active in your mod load order. (only activate one class per character playthrough or MO2 profile.
4. Start a new game, and enjoy your unique character class!

How it works

1. All starting skills are set to zero when a new character is created.
2. With one (and only one) class mod .esp active, the new character will inherit that class's skill caps, which determine what things they are good at, and what things they are not good at (or would never do). You know, similar to how combat soldiers tend not to simultaneously become nuclear physicists; its too radically different from their dedicated career, and even world view.
3. When the player begins dialogue with an NPC, an event is triggered which removes that NPC from all trainer factions (`JobTrainerFaction` and `JobTrainerXFaction`, where 'X' is the name of a skill). This means that they cannot offer the player any trainer services during the dialogue. When the dialogue ends, removed factions are restored.

Most importantly, what class you are actually means something. Classes were a solid part of reality and daily life for medieval societies, and have a distinct, balancing, and enjoyable presence in roleplayhing games that take place in such settings.

Character Class Definitions

Archer - A marksman, adept at combat at great distances. Able to take down most foes before they have a chance to draw sword.

Interpretation: The archer is a very capable soldier in all respects, however they specialize in the bow or crossbow. Outside of a regimental force, archers may arise as an elite warrior caste among tribal societies like the Bosmer or Argonians, and have peculiar traditions of their own.

Barbarian - Fearsome brutes who inspire fear and dread in the hearts of their enemies. Like a storm, swift and powerful. Finding little use for heavy armor, they rely on smashing their foes into the ground.

Interpretation: These characters worship strength. For a barbarian, there is little else of importance in life, aside from demonstrating their power. But some might bear a burden placed upon them by their primitive society. Perhaps they are exiled from some crime, or tasked with a great purpose by the spirit of one of their ancestors?

Crusader - A combatant who wields the power of brute strength and medicinal knowledge. Cheating death after every fight, they rely on their keen knowledge of restoration to fight yet again.

Interpretation: Knights are meant to protect others, however a Crusader must protect themselves, for they are often the only one who can fulfill their mission. Whether they have taken a solemn oath, were given a religious quest, or are simply driven by revenge, the Crusader is relentless, and knows that if they fail, they will suffer a tragic end – or perhaps far worse than that.

Knight - The most noble of all combatants. Strong in body and in character.

Interpretation: The definition of knighthood is to protect, and they do this very well. However, what is it they are protecting? A knight can serve a king or a temple, but there are other powers who require champions. The nature of that patron can make life rather complicated for it’s knight. Worse yet, the knight who has lost their patron, and is doomed to a hollow life of dishonor.

Rogue - They use speed in combat rather than brute force. Persuasive in conversation, their tongues are as sharp as blades.

Interpretation: This class encompasses many types of people in Tamriel, but most often they are encountered as bandits, raiders, and other such gangs who use speed and stealth to their advantage. These characters have no scruples, and will prey on anyone. A rogue lives a very dangerous life, and only the hardest of them will live to see old age.

Scout - Preferring the rolling countryside to the city life, the forests rather than busy highways, they are gifted with the ability to evade, guard and protect themselves with great proficiency.

Interpretation: A scout for the Imperial soldiers will differ greatly from a Bosmer hunter, or an Altmer envoy. These come from the profession, but they would lead very different lives. One thing is certain – they value their freedom, and have a great desire to travel and explore.

Warrior - Unafraid of light weaponry, they plow into the fray with little regard for injury. Masters of all melee tools, they put little faith in the magical arts.

Interpretation: A warrior lives by the sword; they see life as grim world full of confrontations that they must face. To do so, they have forged themselves into the most effective and versatile fighters alive. From sword masters to protagonists to gladiators, there are many paths a warrior can take.

Acrobat - The kind of person that uses agility and endurance to their advantage. Unafraid of jumping long distances.

Interpretation: This is where we’d find our duelists, martial artists, knife-throwers, swashbucklers, and other extreme personalities, whose attitude alone has driven them beyond the boundaries of most other fighters and rogues.

Agent - Charming when they can be seen and almost invisible when in shadow.

Interpretation: This class is essential a spy, but is potentially more effective than an Assassin, considering that they can put themselves into any position whatsoever. If persuasion doesn’t get them what they want, no lock is going to keep them away from it.

Assassin - Nimble and quiet, they move in darkness to strike at the unsuspecting. Locks hold no doors shut to them.

Interpretation: Masters of stealth and weaponry, this is a pure killer. What makes a person this one-dimensional is probably also holding its leash. The estrangement from life and society would make it very hard to find meaning. Perhaps that is their true quest.

Bard - Intelligent and personable, they prefer to accomplish tasks with their words first, and sword second.

Interpretation: There is more behind a Bard’s mercurial personality than meets the eye. They come from a time before the Empire, when history was recorded by a living oral tradition. Protecting this knowledge from the corruption of scribes and propagandists is a formidable task.

Monk - Quick and cunning with the empty hand, they are strong in spirit. They prefer to solve conflict by arrow or by fist.

Interpretation: Tending the needs of a temple provides a great deal of security and privacy. Some monks do turn to cooking, brewing, or martial practice as a way of passing the time. But they are also in the perfect position to harbor the largest collection of alchemical knowledge in the realm, and have the means to practice it undisturbed.

Pilgrim - Hearty folk, well-versed in the tomes of old. They profit in life by bartering in the market, or by persuading the weak-minded.

Interpretation: Pilgrims travel to many strange sights in Tamriel, among which are countless Dwemer ruins. Who else has had the opportunity to study these places and plumb their contents? The Pilgrim would be in a position to have acquired the greatest secrets of metallurgy and crafting.

Thief - Profiting from the losses of others is their love. Able to be swift in shadow, and crafty in bartering. Locks are enemies, and lock-picks are their swords.

Interpretation: This character has deep and unquenchable desire for precious things; ‘I want therefore I am.’ Being the most materialistic people in Tamriel, they have absolutely no interest in magic or glory. To what lengths will they go to get those things which they have set their heart on?

Battlemage - Able to resolve most conflicts with either spell or sword. They are a deadly mix of scholar and soldier.

Interpretation: The Battlemage is someone who simply isn't talented enough with magicka to have been a true Mage, so they must bolster their abilities with combat skills and powerful items. Being a kind of mage that can be controlled by authorities, they are of especial use to their patrons, and would be in a position to collect many 'very interesting' objects of power - for the safety of the realm, of course.

Healer - Fighters of poison and illness. The ancient art of restoration is their ally, and the deadly art of destruction is their weapon.

Interpretation: Healers preserve life with magic and alchemy, however there are other ways this can manifest. To rid the land of undead is certainly within their power. Both their main disciplines can also be put to creating poisons, and plagues – this is where we would find characters like a witch doctors or shamans.

Mage - Preferring to use their extensive knowledge of all things magical, they wield a might more powerful than the sharpest blade.

Interpretation: The most fearsome magic users, the mage can reach the pinnacle of destructive power, but is also adept in every other school of magic. With so much at their disposal, it is understandable that their power sometimes goes to their heads. Mages are famous for rivalries, plotting, and getting themselves (and their societies) into trouble with forces they should not have disturbed.

Nightblade - Spell and shadow are their friends. By darkness they move with haste, casting magic to benefit their circumstances.

Interpretation: When assassins have failed, there is another shadow who can be put to task. Masters of illusion, these dark specters can transcend the power of their adversaries, and take control of a situation. Can the mind endure such a shadowy existence without being changed? When the perception of reality is bent too far, one might attract the attention of things from outside it..

Sorcerer - Besting the most well-equipped fighters, they rely on the spells of the mystic arts. Unique to these mages is the bodily stamina to be armed with the thickest armor.

Interpretation: The sorcerer is the most willful of the magic users. They will not submit to serving anyone, and in fact, dedicate their talent to the employment of other beings. Combined with their destructive power, they have the capability to explore other worlds, and learn things that would wither the minds of those Winterhold dust bunnies who are mere children by comparison!

Spellsword - More nimble and athletic than the sorcerer, and better suited for spell-casting than the knight, their attacks are unpredictable. Students of combat and magic.

Interpretation: What you cannot do by skill and technique, you can accomplish by preparing wisely. Like battlemages, spellswords spend time preparing themselves, but do so with magic rather than artifacts. Through alteration, they can create structures within reality that can aid them in times of need.

Witchhunter - Swift on foot and clever with spells, they use distance as their ally. Slower adversaries are fodder for their arrows, not advised to get up close with enemies of greater strength.

Interpretation: The slayer, the monster-hunter, the inquisitor. There are many ways this profession can manifest, but it is always driven by the moral conviction to cleanse a perceived evil from the world. What if they were to discover that the evil is not what they expected it was? The blood of innocents can be a heavy burden indeed.

--==Varian Classes ==--

Warlock

Interpretation: The Warlock is a sort of anti-knight, who defends witches and their coven. Masters of the mind, they use fear, misdirection, and illusion to control their opponents, and magnify the effectiveness of their summoned minions. A terrifying death knight, a dark shaman/skinwalker, or daedric champion are a few ways this class can manifest.

Witch

Interpretation: The Witches are an incredibly ancient society whose methods are steeped in primordial knowledge and traffic with dangerous beings. Societal notions of good or evil have no place in their explorations in all the schools of magic. They make extensive use of alchemy, both as a weapon and in the crafting of rituals. The establishment of a daedric cult, the quest for knowledge of a lost dead ancestor, or revenge against the witchhunters, crusaders, or even mages – the RP background possibilities are endless.