TR Stirk is a part of the basic map now, so no overlay is needed apparently. Could you please check that it all aligns correctly with your stand-alone version? If not, I'll make an overlay.

I am not sure about Cybiades - please check. If it isn't on your map, we'll need an overlay.

Valenwood Islands use the same map as Valenwood Improved. Being in its own world space does not say much in itself - if the world space is anchored in Tamriel, it will use the general map. I think Valenwood Islands are anchored in Tamriel because their locations turned up on the map when I loaded them.

Sutch Village will not trigger an overlay, but I don't know if it is needed. Have a look at the Ini\DynamicMap.ini that defines which overlays are loaded - they are linked by mod file names. If you replace the Sutch Reborn mod name with the one you're using, the overlay will be loaded and you can check whether it works for the village or not. If it does, we can add a block in the INI file for it, or else make a new overlay.

Thanks for your help with testing!

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Dec 3 2021, 11:28 AM

'Like an iceberg in a forest fire Areldur melted. Wasn’t long before that haughty Altmer was babbling like a baby,'
- - Nicely put!

You've put your own fun and unique twist on this piece of the KotN questline. Are those gauntlets any good?

Thanks for the compliments. It is sometimes difficult staying in character over such a long period. Do you agree? I hope I have been consistant with that. Kaleah says the Jandaga should be more assertive when dealing with the aedra and daedra.
At my level, 38, the gauntlets have their max adjustment of +9-points Restoration and 50% Disease Resistance.


The Light of Dawn comes with Oscuros Oblivion Overhaul. It shines brighter and gets a damage increase at 100, 200, & 300 vampire kills. The only detraction is the horrible sunlight damage animation at the max level.
In a normal game play it is very difficult to achieve 300 vampire kills. But with mods like Vampire Hunting-Order of the Virtuous Blood, MOO & Snus Dungeons my game is far from normal.

Sunshine Superman brings back memories those long lost hippie dippie days when I was 16. Love, Peace and Happiness ruled the day.

This post has been edited by macole: Dec 4 2021, 07:09 AM

20211208 KotN - Nature's Fury
(Funny, this part of Knights of the Nine is the only quest that I remember from when I first played KotN nearly 12 years ago. I was having a difficult time with the bear.. Took some time for me to figure out that the Moonshadow custom race I was using had Damage Reflection as an attribute. So this led to my first attempt to use the CS to fix a problem. I edited out the Moonshadow Damage Reflection attribute. It worked much to my surprise. Recently I’ve found there are other options to calm the bear other than taking a severe beating.)

After nearly a day of travel through the Great Forest the gleaming gold streaked white marble linchpin known as the White Gold Tower was peeking through the treetops. A few more hours and we’ll be in the Imperial City.

The sound of devotions caught our ears and drew us to the Shrine of Kynareth. There we met a priestess, Avita Vesnia. We asked her about the Boots of the Crusader. She tells us that to obtain the Boots of the Crusader one of us must demonstrate worthiness by passing Kynareths’s test in the Grove of Trials.

With my Ladies all agreeing that I should be the one to take the test (why would I think I could sit this one out?) we agreed to the trial.

In preparation for the trial Elenya rhythmically brushes me with her sacred branches as she recites a druidic ritual;

In a gadda da vida, honey, Don't you know that I'm lovin' you
In a gadda da vida, baby, Don't you know that I'll always be true
Oh, won't you come with me, And take my hand
Oh, won't you come with me, And walk this land
Please take my hand

With a final warning to show respect when in the house of nature Elenya declares me ready to take the trial.

Taking the Dragon Shield away from me, Kaleah grasped me by the shoulders, looked me in the eye, and tells me, “Remember you are Loved. Go with Peace and Happiness.�

With that they sent me on my way. Don’t know what that was all about but I sure felt good as I headed off to find the Grove of Trials.

It wasn’t far but still it was dark by the time I reach the Grove of Trials. Standing there in the grove alone without my Ladies at my back the weight of the man/merish derogative, “an elf lord is nothing without his ladies� fell upon me.

Out of the darkness a great bear, the Forest Guardian approached. When it attacks, I remember Elenya’s words, “Show respect when in Nature’s house�.

Standing there unflinching I accepted the Forest Guardian’s attack. As the forest Guardian beat on me, I recited a prayer.

“Kynareth, daughter to the Mother of all creation, protector of Nature’s gifts, first to fall victim to Lorkhan's lie, receive my pain in recompense for your shame.�

Whether or not the prayer had anything to do with it the Forest Guardian ceased its attack. A heavy ornately carved stone door was revealed. Despite its appearance it effortlessly swung open.

Two spriggans greeted me as I stepped into the green grotto. Flanking a small dais the Spriggans eyed me intently. On the dais sat the Boots of the Crusader

This could be a dangerous situation. As lovely as Spriggans look they can be equally dangerous if not approached properly. Even then they are known to be very volatile.

Extending open hands I announced, “Gental cousins, I come in peace.�

To my relief the Spriggans gave a polite little bow in response and allowed me to approach the dais. Picking up the Boots of the Crusader, I gave thanks to the protectors of Nature and quickly left before they changed their minds.

Returning to the Shrine of Kynareth I met up with the Ladies and we left to continue our journey to the Imperial City.

Thinking they'd be impressed, I related the details of the trial with the Forest Guardian, to my Ladies. They weren't.

“Take care, Feache,� Kaleah sternly warned. “You couldn’t just say Please and Thank You, now could you? You had to go jousting with the high and mighty again. The Jandaga is not yet the Feyfolken of ages past. He may think he's able to stand against the Aedra and Daedra powers but he is not yet ready.�

It was midnight when we arrived at Weye. Tired we stopped at the Wawnet Inn for the night. The Imperial City can wait till morning light.

This post has been edited by macole: Dec 9 2021, 07:16 AM

"Please" and "Thank you" are indeed very advanced magic incantations that require a lifetime of meditation to truly comprehend. Only then do they act to their full potential. Well said, Kaleah!

I know the (original) feeling you had with fixing that problem. I had to edit some stuff out of Vampire Hunting for instance, namely, I made changes to that horrible spell which Paralyzes & Drains Health at the same time. If only one vamp could do this, fine, but when a whole room-full of vampires were using that spell. :rollyes: Anyway, I think I got rid of the Paralyze part. Looking back, maybe I should have gotten some Reflect Spell into RG3's game. But I was too excited by Vampire Hunting to be patient.

You quoted Iron Butterfly today while Elenya chanted. Ah geez that is funny. IB had a lot of great songs. Fields of Sun is one of my faves.

Knights was a great questline, I remember portions of it were Morrowind-style, without quest markers. And they stop by Wawnet Inn to rest.

This post has been edited by Renee: Dec 9 2021, 03:20 PM

Thanks Renee, should I ever write Oblivion's the beginning, Fields of Sun would make a great entrance theme song. In a Gaddda Da Vida has powerfull magic to it. Good thing Elenya only brush him with the branches and didn't blow smoke in his face.

My parents had the LIVE version of In a gadda da vida on a concert album. The entire second side of the album was In-a-gadda-da-vida, complete with a 10 minute drum solo. I didn't really "get it" until I got into teenage years. Uhm, we won't go there....

And the Jandanga nicely navigates Kynareth's trial. Another piece of the KotN set!

As I recall, I enjoyed the KotN questline. I uninstalled the DLC after doing it once though since I could not tolerate what it did to the chapels in Anvil and Bravil.

I keep KOTN disabled now too by default, for the same reasons. It was interesting, but I don't like how it wrecks those chapels. In fact, I keep almost all of the DLC disabled by default. I think Spell Tomes is the only one I keep on with every character.

Acadian and SubRosa I agree with both of you. Sitting here now I can't think of why I included it at all when I loaded up this run back in 2017.

This post has been edited by macole: Dec 9 2021, 10:43 PM

I have the original album in vinyl and a CD. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida takes up 17 minutes on both. KSHE an FM station, would play the entire 17-minute track while the AM radio stations in town fed a 3-minute cut version.

This post has been edited by macole: Dec 10 2021, 06:18 AM

20211212 a day in the city, VH-OVB - Above the Law

Things went well today. Expecting to be leisurely strolling around the higher class districts of the Imperial City I changed to more aelf-about-town attire.

Our first stop was to the Order of the Virtuous Blood office.

It did Publius Scipio a world of good to hear that his hunch about vampire desecrating the chapel in Chorrol was correct. Due to his fear of be arrested while out in public closing the Stand Ye In Holy Places affair gave him a much needed boost in self worth.

Turning in the completed Unending Woe in Kvatch ticket brought much relief to Roland Jenseric. Not hearing from us for such a long period of time was causing him to become concerned for our safety. The only thing that kept him from worrying too much was the fact that he wasn’t hearing anything more about vampires in the Kvatch region. No news is good news.

With the niceties out of the way Roland gave us another ticket to look into. He also gave us a warning.

On the ticket Above the Law we read the credible rumors of vampires sheltering in the house of Jakben, Earl of Imbel in Talos Plaza. Roland cautioned that we should take care to avoid harming any residents of the house, who may be innocent victims under the hypnotic control of the vampires. Go straight to where the foul blood-drinkers are and deal with them.

The warning had to do with a powerful old vampire known only as the Night Lord. It seems my reputation has aroused the interest of this creature. By the information Roland has received this Night Lord is searching for me. With the ability to control other vampires this Night Lord could be very dangerous. Roland warned us to be careful.

Despite its fancy name how bad could this vampire be? We’ll be careful but we’ve got things to do.

Back in the Plaza District we stopped by Umbacano’s manor to deliver the fake crown before going to investigate the House of Jakben, Thinking that the crown of Lindai is the crown of Nenalata he was looking for, Umbacano rewards us and asks if we would assist in one more matter of importance.

Of course we’ll be more than happy to escort him to the throne room of Nenalata. We’ll meet him there in three days time.

Now that gives us plenty of time to go next door and take a look at the home of Jakben, Earl of Imbel. The locked door posed no problem for my Unlock Everything spell. Taking the precaution of scanning the area for guards and seeing none we entered the house.

Expecting having to avoid the occupants in the house we were surprised to find the first floor empty. No sign of anyone living here. Now if I was a vampire where would I be hiding during the daytime? Down in the basement of course.

Not wasting time searching the whole house we went straight to the basement. All was quiet in the basement. So far no one has appeared to challenge us. I was beginning to feel that something very strange was going on here.

We came across an unlocked door. Every door we’ve come across up to this point has been locked making this unlocked door standout like a sore thumb. We open the door and step into the catacombs.

The room was pitch-black. Unable to see my hand in front of my face I summon Twinkle to shine her guiding light on us. As Twinkle appeared, I caught a glimpse of seven figures at the far end of the cavern room. They separated, each dashing for one of the many tunnels dotting the walls of the cavern. As they ran, they vanished under the cloaking of chameleon spells.

Something brush my side as it ran passed me toward the exit door. It was Jakben, Lord of Imbel slipping out the exit. Instinctively I lashed out with the Light of Dawn, missing wildly.

The thought of chasing after Jakben was quickly squashed as the six remaining vampires returned. They attacked. With cover provided by two vampire archers four vampires cloaked with chameleon spells nearly overwhelmed my Ladies.

It’s hard to fight what you can’t see. I called for the special talents of the Sisters of Insanity. Amazing how the Aureal and the Mazken can see what others can’t.

Chasing down one of the vampire archers I let her feel Light of Dawn’s wrath as it bites with the Newly acquired intense inferno and radiance of the morning sun.

Another vampire emerged of one of the tunnels. Proud and stately this ancient vampire strode in like she was a goddess. The Light of Dawn took a bite and Lady Rosalie Imbel (VH-OVB) ran like a rabbit back down the tunnel from whence she came.

Giving chase I trapped her in a small room at the tunnel’s end. Here in the far corner of the Imbel’s catacombs, Lady Rosalie Imbel succumbed to the full force of Light of Dawn’s intense burst of sunlight.

Jakben may have gotten away but all told we eliminated 7 vampires, 3 ghosts, and 2 zombies from the catacombs beneath the House of Imbel. Such is life of the upper crust in the Imperial City.

The day is done. The comforts of the Arch-mage quarters are calling. So, to the Universitum Arcanorum for the night we went.

This post has been edited by macole: Dec 13 2021, 07:16 AM

Oh yes, the Hunter's Sight and Embrace of Shadows. Every vampire has the Hunter's Sight, but Embrace of Shadows is only granted to the most powerful ones, they say. In reality, a weaker version of it is also granted to any vampire who hasn't fed for three days or more - invisibility instead of chameleon (vanilla versus augmentation). Looks like you met with some powerful vampires there who were also hungry. Why would they go hungry though? Plenty of cattle in the Imperial City. It just makes no sense...


This made me chuckle and wonder: don't you people use Detect Life at all? Can't see in the dark indeed!

Interesting also that Lady Imbel and Lady Syl have the same tailor...

Just another day in the IC - not!

You were right when you mentioned the growing power of Light of Dawn a few episodes ago - that is some serious sunlight wrath!

As ever, great to see Twinkle again. Oh, and the Sisters of Insanity too. They certainly helped.

No luck ashing Jack B. Nimble though. Well, not this time anyway.

I imagine they spent the afternoon at the Goddess Store, followed by an evening in one of the more posh taverns sipping Tamikas.

I thought it was chameleon because all I could see was a shimmering in the air when they got close. The way vampires are used in the TES games, starve to get stronger and other things, never made sense to me.

The Jandaga's companions and summoned auxiliaries use something to locate their targets. They never seem to fail in that. The Jandaga, well he just prefers not to. Let’s say that being one of the Fae the Jandaga sees life in everything. From moss on the stones to the miniscule viruses and bacteria floating in the air, they all would register. So if he would use Detect Life it would look like Light of Dawn’s sunlight damage. Only it would be a constant pink. Besides he kind of likes watching the Ladies running around.
(My personal thought; adventuring with companions as I do grand melees tend to get confusing and with everyone being pink it's even worse.)

This post has been edited by macole: Dec 14 2021, 04:32 AM

I read an interesting explanation somewhere: vampires are technically undead but also a little alive (thanks, Molag Bal) with their powers coming from the undead part. When they drink the blood of the living, they make themselves a little "less undead", and therefore their powers weaken. However, they gain health and endurance, temporarily. They cannot not drink blood at all either - they will crumble to dust over time, which was what happened to the wife of Janus Hassildor: she refused to drink blood, and so crumbled to dust when they tried to cure her of vampirism. She had been in a coma for a long time by then, her "living part" was already dead.

There must be a "living part" present somewhere because otherwise vampirism could not be cured, but it can be. The person becomes living and mortal again. This is not possible for Ancient or Pure Blood vampires - they are completely undead and cannot be cured. But they also have far greater powers than "regular" vampires.

In vanilla Oblivion you don't get a penalty if you abstain from drinking blood as a vampire. However, they tell this story of Rona Hassildor and there are other similar stories around, I think. So many mods that tweak vampirism immediately add such a penalty: if you go hungry for too long, you start losing endurance and therefore health. So this makes more sense: by going hungry, you gain powers but lose health. On the other hand, overfeeding leads to blunted powers, although you do blend in with the society better.

As for chameleon versus invisibility, again, many mods make this change to the Embrace of Shadows power. I think your vampire hunter mod must have made the changes.


I see how the Jandaga is uniquely handicapped in this matter. And I too find the pink glow rather distracting. I tend to use it in a burst of 5 seconds - just to see what's hiding in the shadows, then clear it. But what about Night Eye? I find it very helpful myself.

I have it disabled too but AFAIK the Anvil chapel is still in ruins inside?

You are dealing with Jakben, ah very good macole. Great pictures of Jandaga fighting alone.

I had some problems with the final ... um... confrontation. Had something to do with the fact that Jakben is also used during a Thieves Guild quest which my character had never done. I don't remember exactly. I just remember I had to jump into the Construction Set to fix it. Then again, maybe you won't any problems at all, as it is sometimes per Bethesda games.


Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Congratulations, another vampire has been slain. Here's your reward *clink!*
Return to me after you have slain another vampire, and I'll reward you.

Do you use Cliffworms - Losing My Religion? Supposedly with the KotN patch that issue is corrected. I hope to find out.