Cutting Room Floor mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition

A content restoration mod for Skyrim and the official DLCs.

From the depths of the ether, or just the cutting room floor, comes forth several NPCs, some quests, and other miscellaneous content which was created but never implemented in the game. If ever you had the feeling that Skyrim was missing something, you were probably right! This mod should relieve a bit of that. Villages that were supposed to exist have been brought back. Quests that were partially implemented have been completed. Various items have been restored that were still in the data files. NPCs have been brought back to the game and given homes where appropriate. Plus plenty of other random bits of stuff that was mentioned in the game but didn't exist yet.

NPCs were implemented using the list available on the UESP: En.uesp.net
Unimplemented quests were seeded by the following list on UESP: En.uesp.net
Some unimplemented items have been added from the following UESP list: En.uesp.net

Cut civil war content is far too complex for me to want to mess with, so for that I'd recommend Simtams's Open Civil War.

CRF Bug Tracker

Check out the video for the mod by Brodual:
Youtube.com

Installation Requirements

Skyrim Special Edition 1.6.1130 or greater.
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch 4.3.0 or greater.

DO NOT extract the contents of the BSA file into your Data folder as loose files, or let your mod manager perform an equivalent function on the contents of the file. Doing so will cause things to load in the wrong order and break the game. Skyrim is intended to load a BSA alongside it's ESM/ESP file. Circumventing this causes issues which I will not provide support for. If you insist on going against this advice, you will receive no support for the problems you generate as a result of this.

Installation - Wrye Bash BAIN

Drop the archive into your Skyrim Special Edition Mods\Bash Installers folder, then install as usual.
Make sure the mod is active in the Wrye Bash mods tab.

Installation - Manual

Drop the Cutting Room Floor.esp, Cutting Room Floor.bsa, and Cutting Room Floor - Textures.bsa files into your Data folder.
Activate the mod using whatever management tool suits you.

Uninstalling

Due to the nature of Skyrim mods, especially those with scripts, it is STRONGLY recommended you do not attempt to uninstall this mod once you've begun using it. The scripts altered by the mod, as well as several portions of the content will be permanently altered and will not restore themselves to their previous states.

This is not a defect in this mod, it is merely how Skyrim works with any mod that includes scripted changes. There is nothing I or anyone else can do about this. You need to load a save prior to having installed this mod in order to restore the game to its previous condition.

If you insist on removing the mod and continuing with the save though, the Cutting Room Floor.esp, Cutting Room Floor.bsa, and Cutting Room Floor - Textures.bsa files must be removed from your Data folder. Any errors or residual changes left behind by doing so are your sole responsibility and any complaints about this will be ignored.

Load Order

Load early, as close to the top of your load list as reasonably possible since this mod deals in restored vanilla content.

LOOT should be used for optimal placement.

Implemented in This Mod

NPCs

Argi Farseer - Stonehills. Works in the mine, has a home in Stonehills, takes a random stroll around the mining camp at night.
Talib - Stonehills. Restored his house, works the mines.
Aleuc - Blacksmith in Stonehills. Has a house and slightly modified exterior forge area. Stonehills ought to be plenty populated now.
Captain Metilius - Castle Dour. Hangs around the war room during Bleak Falls Barrow or Jagged Crown, wanders the castle district outside otherwise. Will be disabled if the Stormcloaks have Solitude.
Grushnag - Placed with the Markarth Khajiit caravan and will travel with them. Serves as a guard due to the dangerous nature of The Reach.
Herebane Sorenshield - Added on the span of Kilkreath Ruins between the first and second interior areas. He will patrol the area there and is now carrying his named reward items too.
Karinda - Dagny's horse that was originally planned for use in the darker side of The Whispering Door. Just for show now though.
Mazgak - Added to the hunters in Bloated Man's Grotto.
Spirit of the Ancient Traveler - Added at Wayward Pass as was apparently intended.
Steirod - NPC planned for use at Irontree Mill.
Trilf - NPC planned for use at Irontree Mill.
Sulvar the Steady - Placed in Niranye's house, spends the rest of his time at the warehouse. It made no sense for him to spend his entire existence in her place.
Tasius Tragus - Added in the Dragon Bridge tavern. Doesn't do much other than sandboxing inside and outside. Sleeps at the inn. Supposedly is Varnius Junius' boss.
Thjollod - Added to the hunters in Bloated Man's Grotto.
Viding - Added to the hunters in Bloated Man's Grotto.
Mithorpa Nasyal - Dark Elf NPC assigned to Barleydark Farm.
Uglarz - Restored for Narzulbur, involved in a quest.
College Guard - A generic guard for the College of Winterhold. Will patrol the grounds, and sleep upstairs in the Hall of Attainment.
Froa - Daughter of Kjeld and Iddra who is mentioned in at least two scenes but doesn't exist.
Guards restored for Half-Moon Mill who will use the cut dialogues for that location.

Items

Gallus' decoded journal - Will appear once the final major portion of the Thieves Guild quest is done.
Spectral Arrow - Spell tome reward for completing Treva's Watch.
Falmer Supple Bow - A slightly better version of the normal Falmer bow. Added to 3 of the encounter varieties of Falmer. A tempering recipe has been provided as well.
Briarheart Geis - A special version of a Forsworn axe, now in the hands of the Briarheart at Lost Valley Redoubt.
Mzinchaleft Guard's Note - A note for the guards who are watching Maluril's room.
Habd's Death Letter - A note left behind by the former owner of Frostflow Lighthouse.
Sild's Staff - A unique item available on Sild the Warlock in Rannveig's Fast that summons subjugated ghosts.
Circle of Vitality - Added a new tome for the spell, plus completed the missing parts.
Stormcloak Cuirass (sleeved version) - An alternate version of the standard Stormcloak Cuirass that was never added to the game.
Letter to Vals Veran - A short note that provides a bit of backstory to Vals Veran.
Robes & Boots - Several articles of clothing that were not added to leveled lists are now available.
Letter from Harkon - A short note carried by Malkus talking about Harkon's promise for finding a Moth Priest.

Quests

Research Thief - An unfinished quest at the College of Winterhold. Nirya has something she'd like you to do. (Repeatable radiant quest)
Filling Soul Gems - Sergius Turrianus doesn't just want you to restock them, the lazy bum! (Repeatable radiant quest)
The Missing Apprentices - Phinis Gestor wants someone to find out what happened to the previous group of apprentices.
Tolfdir the Absent-Minded - His alembic isn't the only thing he routinely misplaces! (Repeatable radiant quest)
Animal Pelt Collection - Restored a radiant quest for the Companions to collect animal pelts. Needed some logic tweaks and bugfix hacks to get it into useable shape.
Rogue Wizard - Tolfdir has more than just his absent-mindedness he needs help with. (Repeatable radiant quest)
Hitting the Books - An extra dialogue exchange was restored between the player and Mirabelle Ervine.
"A Wife For Mauhulakh" (name provided by CRF) - Chief Mauhulakh is lonely and longs for companionship.
Proving Honor - Aela can now be chosen as your shield-sibling if you do more work for her than Farkas.
Suppy Line - Frost River Farm needs help distributing their mead.
Shalidor's Insights - Added the missing fortify magicka scroll to the reward table.
Runil's Dark Past - Restored what little there is for this. Need to retrieve his journal first before the dialogue becomes available.
Mourning - NPCs who lose friends or loved ones may mourn the loss for a set period of time.

Scenes

DialogueRiftenRatway - Restored a non-functional dialogue scene between the player and two thugs in the Ratway entrance. (Disabled if Live Another Life is installed and Thieves Guild start is chosen)
DialogueWhiterun - Scene between Uthgerd the Unbroken and Skulvar Sable-Hilt at the Whiterun Stables.
DialogueWhiterun - Scene where Mikael thanks the audience for their applause as the player first enters the Bannered Mare.
DialogueGenericVigilantsOfStendarr - Restored dialogue for the Vigilants to confront the player when they are wearing/wielding a Daedric artifact item. (En.uesp.net)
Windhelm - 2 scenes between Scouts-Many-Marshes and Ambarys unlocked by giving Scouts-Many-Marshes an AI pack to sandbox in the club after work.
Solitude - 3 scenes involvng Xander have been restored by giving him AI packages to go to each of the stores he should visit.
MS06StartPotemaEscapesScene - Removed condition blocking the dialogue from Potema's escape sequence.

Locations

Thalmor Justiciar HQ in Solitude - Populated with one commander and 4 justiciars who will disable if the Stormcloaks take Solitude. Banners changed from Imperial to Thalmor, and these banners will change again to Stormcloak ones if they take the city.
Castle Dour Tower - Restored access to an unused tower room above General Tullius' room. Captain Metilius will sandbox here for part of the day as well as sleep here since he has no bed otherwise.
Frost River Farm - The meadery that goes with the Supply Line quest that was restored.
Irontree Mill - Restored a missing sawmill originally designated for Haafingar Hold. Haafingar has no adequate space for it, so it's just over the border with Hjaalmarch, located next to the newly restored Frost River Farm. Steirod and Trilf live and work here.
Trilf's House - Added with the relocation of Irontree Mill after discovering that there is a key and location data for a house. Since Steirod has nowhere else to go, he'll be living there too.
Barleydark Farm - Restored a farm southwest of Fort Greymoor occupied by Mithorpa Nasyal. The location was already leveled out and labeled, just never actually built.
Stonehills - Restored the village which was intended to be placed here. (Argi Farseer's house, Aleuc's house [blacksmith], Talib's house)
Wintersand Manor - Nazeem & Ahlam's house, restored to the game at Chillfurrow Farm.
Maiden-Loom Manor - Lilith Maiden-Loom's house, restored to the game across from Whiterun Stables.
Cidhna Mine - Obscured Passage, restored and repurposed as an escape route out of the prison.
Frostbark Lumber Mill - The abandoned remains of the sawmill that Ganna tells you about in Kynesgrove but was never added to the game.
Heljarchen - The village which was intended to be placed surrounding Nightgate Inn has been restored. (Blacksmith, Alchemist, 2 farmhouses, and the NPCs who live in them)
Riften - Restores the southeast city gate to the game, which was boarded over prior to release for some reason.

Other

Restored the Omen of Warding and Stop Rune powers. These were originally designed as Black Book rewards but there is no book to place them in. Instead, they have been attached to standing stones hidden on Solstheim.
Pack Spiders! You can now create a pack spider in White Ridge Barrow that can haul some extra loot for you. Be careful, they're fragile, and you can only have one following you at a time.
Glowing Spiders! Another spider you can also make in White Ridge Barrow that produces light while following you around. They will last for 2 in-game hours, or until killed, whichever comes first.

Credits

Hana - For a ton of beta testing my characters weren't able to do. Bethesda's rat's nest never stood a chance!
Hana again - For the road sign resources used to make the new signs.
nonoodles - Meshes used for the restored Riften southeast gate.

Disclaimer

This mod is not made, guaranteed, or supported by Microsoft, Zenimax, Bethesda Game Studios, or any of their affiliates.