Morrowind: Perma-death Edition

The Story

Inspired by a couple of let's players and youtubers, namely Veriax and CharmedBaryon, I started thinking about a perma-death run of Morrowind.
The main interest for me, is to be forced to play the game differently.

To do so, I imagined a set up with a bunch of handicaps for my character and a bunch of goals. After selecting a couple of each randomly, I play till I die, or complete my goals. It is very important that there is a way to win.

The Setup

Installing a new Morrowind is always fun (and time-consuming).
For this install, I decided to stream so that I could get the viewers' input as to what mods would work well for perma-death: after all, they actually have more experience that me when it comes to perma-death.
Lucky more me, the chatbot comes in with a handy poll feature so I could ask the chat to simply vote.

I started the stream with a few goals in mind:

  • complete the basic Morrowind installation
  • select a few graphic replacers
  • select a few mods
  • create a few handicaps and goals

As far as the look of the game was concerned, I didn't want to do a full graphic overhaul, installing an HD mod for each item in the game. I was leaning towards Vibrant Morrowind because I hadn't used the texture pack since forever. In the end though, we opted for Morrowind Watercolored that has a nice vanilla feel to it.

Selecting the mods and installing them took the most time but I am confident we made the right choices: we were trying to select mods that would enhance many different types of gameplays.
The categories of mods we looked into were:

  • leveling mods
  • creature mods
  • npc mods
  • necessities mod
  • crafting mods
  • ... and more I'm sure.

The rules (to be updated)

  • saves and quick-saves are allowed in case the game crashes
  • a new character needs 2 handicaps and 2 goals randomly selected from the lists
  • a character that survive and completes their goals will be made a companion for the next character.
  • a character retired because they have dies or their goals have been completed.
  • option to add up to 3 mods to the modlist that would enhance gameplay once handicaps and goals have been rolled

The handicaps

Wear Colovian hat
No potion
No scrolls
No mark / recall
No intervention
No on-hit enchantments
Fight with enchantments only
Random start location
Random stats
Random skills
No [skill]
[vanilla class]
[birthsign] ... need to create bad birthsigns
Will not sleep twice in the same bed
No Combat skills
No Magic skills
No stealth skill
No trainer
No [armour] part
No Admire
Afraid of water
Pacific run
No bribe
Whenever you want to get get a new follower, you have to kill the previous one

The goals

Millionaire
Deadric Favourite (7 Princes)
Camona Tong exterminator (30 npcs)
[npc] murderer
Tribunal Bane
[faction] leader
Acquire [unique item]
Acquire [artifact]
Dwemer collector (30 different items)
Become a vampire
Become a werewolf
Free 30 slaves
Soul dealer: soultrap 30 different creatures
Make an offering in 100 tombs
Tell a joke in every inn (books of riddles)
Complete the Temple Pilgrimages
Tribute giver (Pop Je, Scourge, G.Lyngas, Lord Brinne and D. Bryant)
Vivec Wisdom: 36 sermons
Limeware collector: bowl, cup, flask, platter
Discuss things with Maiq
Collect all 27 Sanguine Items
Curse seeker (20) diamond, heart, emerald, pearl, ebony, ruby
Hide collector: Girith, Marsus, alit, kagouti, guar, netch, bear, wolf, bristleback
Miner: (20) glass, ebony, adamantium, Stalhrim
Necromancer: 20 skulls, 20 servant skulls and dwarven bone
Flavour seeker: (15) ash, salt, frost and void salts
Dagoth slayer (36)
Exorcist: 100 ectoplasm, gateway, Galos, Kanitm Senipul and Mezalf
Magpie: (50) pearls, diamond, emeralds, rubies
Addict: skooma pipe, silver spoon, (50) moon sugar and skooma
Jiub's rival: 200 racer plumes
Oblivion bane: (50) daedra skin, daedra heart, scamp skin
Poisoner: 1 poison goop, 10 corprus weepings, 10 spoiled potions
Heavy drinker: 5 of each beverage (9)

The modlist this one with links

Replacers

Morrowind Watercolored
NX9 guards
Robert’s bodies
Winds of Sheogorad
Better robes
CanadianIce HudyGurdy Robe replacer
Slof’s better beasts
Unique Jewelry and Accessories UJA
Better Dialogue Font
Ultimate Icon Replacer
Better Morrowind armour
Pluginless no glow
Better clothes
More Better Clothes
Azura statue and creature replacer

The rest

Gear/loot

Dwemer loot 1.2
The Morrowind randomizer
Videl’s high heels redux
Traders300
Lucky Coins
Loot Well Urned Unique Finery Replacer UFR

Creatures

Abot’s Water Life
Where are the birds going
Morrowind releveled
Piratelord’s Creatures
Advanced Morrowind
Cliff racers

NPCs

Starfire’s NPC
Children of Morrowind
Feeling Fetchers
Protective Guards
Hold it
Dreamers Expansion
Farmers and Miners
Raym's Absolutely Aleatory Accoutrements
Westly's Female Headpack-Elves & Orcs
Westly's Female Headpack - Humans
Westly's Modelling Agency (a Head Pack)

Gameplay

Official plugins
Chargen Revamped - Expanded Lands
Complete Morrowind Full
Advanced herbalism + patch
Apoapse’s attack
Linora’s leveling mod
Diseases restored
Class abilities
Useful Starting Spells
Expanded Birthsigns for Purists
Animal Realism
Antares' Big Mod
Melian's Teleport Mod
Lazy's Guild Rewards - Abilities
Masters of Abilities
CM Minor Quests
Morrowind Better Blocking

Handy Plugins

MWSE Containers
Alchemy filter
Take my place
Spuzzum's Starting Equipment v1.0

Other / vista

Epic Dagon Fel
Apartments of Morrowind
YAPHM
MCN: Ebonheart
MNC: Ald’rhun
Patch for purists
Morrowind Content restoration
Cavern Overhaul
Vurts Groundcover
Vurt’s corals
Delayed DB Attack V2
Fun Game Tweaks
Wondoors Glow