KainXavier
New member
Edit: The mod is now available on Bethesda.net! PC and Xbox are supported.
Original Post Follows:
Hi all, it's been a while since I've put out any new content for Skyrim, but BCE inspired me to change that!
My new mod is called Bardic Thu'um, and it adds three perks to the skill tree in Bards College Expansion. The new perks will allow you to earn Speech XP by shouting, dueling, and / or busking. I'll dive into how they work in a little bit, but here are some screenshots to give you an idea.
I plan on releasing the mod through Bethesda.net, but I thought I'd do a soft launch here. This is the first time I have ever ESL-ified one of my mods, so I want to make sure there aren't any issues there. I'd also love to get some feedback on the skill gain for busking and shouting. (Please see the attached zip file to download the mod.)
Going back to the perks, here is a deep dive into how they work, and my thought processes behind them.
General:
All three perks cost 1 Bardic Inspiration and require that you have rank 1 of the Spiritual Connection perk unlocked.
Bardic Thu'um:
Shout XP = Shout Recovery Time * Shout XP Multiplier * Shout XP Limiter
With the Bardic Thu'um perk, the amount of XP you earn is based on the shout's recovery time. That can be challenging to balance because you have some shouts that take less than 30 seconds to recover and others that take 5 - 10 minutes. You also have the Cadence Rod and shout recovery crystals which eliminate cool down times. As such, I have set the XP multiplier to 5, and I'm concerned even that is too much. (Feedback would be appreciated!) I have also taken steps to limit the amount of XP earned for shouts with longer recovery times. Shouts that take 200+ seconds to recover have their XP halved, and you only earn 75% for shouts >= 150 seconds. I feel like this lessens the XP gap for most shouts without coming across as too heavy handed. (Again, feedback would be appreciated.)
Also, you can play around with the XP multiplier by adjusting the global variable, kmx_kgcbard_Speech_ShoutXPMult. You can also see how much XP is being awarded by setting kmx_kgcbard_DebugMode to 1, and you can disable the limiter by setting kmx_kgcbard_LimitShoutXP to 0.
Retortionist:
Duel XP = Duel Difficulty XP * Duel XP Multiplier
The XP formula for the Retortionist perk was a lot easier to come up with. I just patterned it after Speech challenges. Per the UESP, the amount of XP you earn is based on the difficulty of the challenge multiplied by 75. (I'm honestly not sure where the 75 comes from, but the base XP for each difficulty is a game setting.) The only real wrinkle is that Duels of Wit feature an additional difficulty level. Since Very Hard duels / challenges net you 50 base XP, I decided to make Legendary duels award 75. Or more accurately, Game.GetGameSettingInt("iXPRewardSpeechChallengeVeryHard") * 1.5.
You can adjust the duel XP multiplier by altering kmx_kgcbard_Speech_DuelXPMult. Enabling kmx_kgcbard_DebugMode will also show you how much XP you're earning.
Busker's Boon:
Busk XP = Gold Earned * Busk XP Multiplier
The XP formula for Busker's Boon is pretty straight forward. The amount of XP you earn is equivalent to the amount of gold you earn multiplied by 5. That said, the amount of gold you earn in a busking session can vary greatly. (Perks play a role, earnings diminish over time, and each NPC's wealth and relationship to you is taken into account.) I am more than willing to increase the multiplier if people think it's too low.
You can adjust the busk XP multiplier by altering kmx_kgcbard_SpeechBuskXPMult, and you can see how much XP you're earning by setting kmx_kgcbard_DebugMode to 1.
And that's everything I wanted to cover. Hope you all enjoy!
Original Post Follows:
Hi all, it's been a while since I've put out any new content for Skyrim, but BCE inspired me to change that!
My new mod is called Bardic Thu'um, and it adds three perks to the skill tree in Bards College Expansion. The new perks will allow you to earn Speech XP by shouting, dueling, and / or busking. I'll dive into how they work in a little bit, but here are some screenshots to give you an idea.
I plan on releasing the mod through Bethesda.net, but I thought I'd do a soft launch here. This is the first time I have ever ESL-ified one of my mods, so I want to make sure there aren't any issues there. I'd also love to get some feedback on the skill gain for busking and shouting. (Please see the attached zip file to download the mod.)
Going back to the perks, here is a deep dive into how they work, and my thought processes behind them.
General:
All three perks cost 1 Bardic Inspiration and require that you have rank 1 of the Spiritual Connection perk unlocked.
Bardic Thu'um:
Shout XP = Shout Recovery Time * Shout XP Multiplier * Shout XP Limiter
With the Bardic Thu'um perk, the amount of XP you earn is based on the shout's recovery time. That can be challenging to balance because you have some shouts that take less than 30 seconds to recover and others that take 5 - 10 minutes. You also have the Cadence Rod and shout recovery crystals which eliminate cool down times. As such, I have set the XP multiplier to 5, and I'm concerned even that is too much. (Feedback would be appreciated!) I have also taken steps to limit the amount of XP earned for shouts with longer recovery times. Shouts that take 200+ seconds to recover have their XP halved, and you only earn 75% for shouts >= 150 seconds. I feel like this lessens the XP gap for most shouts without coming across as too heavy handed. (Again, feedback would be appreciated.)
Also, you can play around with the XP multiplier by adjusting the global variable, kmx_kgcbard_Speech_ShoutXPMult. You can also see how much XP is being awarded by setting kmx_kgcbard_DebugMode to 1, and you can disable the limiter by setting kmx_kgcbard_LimitShoutXP to 0.
Retortionist:
Duel XP = Duel Difficulty XP * Duel XP Multiplier
The XP formula for the Retortionist perk was a lot easier to come up with. I just patterned it after Speech challenges. Per the UESP, the amount of XP you earn is based on the difficulty of the challenge multiplied by 75. (I'm honestly not sure where the 75 comes from, but the base XP for each difficulty is a game setting.) The only real wrinkle is that Duels of Wit feature an additional difficulty level. Since Very Hard duels / challenges net you 50 base XP, I decided to make Legendary duels award 75. Or more accurately, Game.GetGameSettingInt("iXPRewardSpeechChallengeVeryHard") * 1.5.
You can adjust the duel XP multiplier by altering kmx_kgcbard_Speech_DuelXPMult. Enabling kmx_kgcbard_DebugMode will also show you how much XP you're earning.
Busker's Boon:
Busk XP = Gold Earned * Busk XP Multiplier
The XP formula for Busker's Boon is pretty straight forward. The amount of XP you earn is equivalent to the amount of gold you earn multiplied by 5. That said, the amount of gold you earn in a busking session can vary greatly. (Perks play a role, earnings diminish over time, and each NPC's wealth and relationship to you is taken into account.) I am more than willing to increase the multiplier if people think it's too low.
You can adjust the busk XP multiplier by altering kmx_kgcbard_SpeechBuskXPMult, and you can see how much XP you're earning by setting kmx_kgcbard_DebugMode to 1.
And that's everything I wanted to cover. Hope you all enjoy!
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