Hey guys, I'm back with another modding guide. Today I'll be sharing a list of mods guaranteed to enhance your play through, as a vampire. The vanilla game's vampire is pretty impressive in its own right, but as always, whatever Bethesda has done modders have done better. With this basic list of mods I'm going to help you build a better vampire, and once we're through you will be a true master of darkness.
~ Core Mods ~
* Alternate Start - Live Another Life
Requires: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: No
An absolute must for any truly immersive roleplay experience. Alternate start gives you the chance to begin your adventure as a vampire, rather than some nobody bound for the chopping block. You can begin as a vampire in a remote lair randomly chosen among any of the vanilla dungeons occupied by vampires. The vampires found within will be flagged as friendly to you. Or, you can even start off as the newest member of the dreaded Volkihar clan.
* Better Vampires
Requires: SKSE, SkyUI
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: Yes
A complete and total overhaul of all vampiric abilities both in human and vampire lord form. Better vampires greatly expands what you're able to do by adding well over two dozen new abilities and customization options to make you feel like a true vampire. Every aspect of this mod is customizable through the MCM menu, allowing you to tailor you vampire as you see fit. You want to be a vampire that burns to a crisp at the first sight of sunlight? Or how about a terrifying blood sucker hunted relentlessly by the Dawnguard's top soldiers? Better Vampires makes all that possible. Be sure to download Better Vampire NPC's, a mod that is quite similar to Better Vampires but affects all vampire NPCs instead.
* Sacrosanct
Requires: SKSE
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: Yes
For those aspiring to be a monster of truly nightmarish proportions, this mod is for you. Sacrosanct brings new life to vampirism with countless new powers. Each race starts off with a unique vampiric ability. Think racial powers and passives but for vampires. How your new found powers will progress and which of them you'll have access to are determined by your feeding habits, stage of vampirism, The vanilla game's lopsided feeding and power progression system has been greatly overhauled. Now feeding serves to increase your powers rather than diminishing them, although many, albiet far more beastial powers are only accessible if you are utterly blood starved.
* Dynamic Vampire Appearance
Requires: SKSE, Dawnguard
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: Yes
DVA dynamically changes the appearance of vampire players to visually represent the different stages of vampirism. DVA makes other visual changes such as glowing eyes in combat and when using vampire night vision, as well as visible blood stains forming around the mouth after feeding. DVA is also fully customizable via SkyUI's Mod Configuration Menu.
~ Armor & Weapons ~
* Lustmord Vampire Armor
Armor: Light
Acquired: Mini start-up quest: investigate a disturbance near Lost Tongue Overlook
Compatible: Vanilla body; beast races ok; UNP & CBBE compatible; female only
If you're looking for a seductive armor set for your vampire mistress, look no further than the Lustmord Vampire Armor. The set comes in many different pieces which can be combined in a variety of ways to achieve just the right look you want. The set even comes with a dark vampiric themed crossbow and bow.
* TDN Vampire Armor Retexture
Armor: Light
Acquired: Same as vanilla vampire armors. Can potentially be crafted.
Compatible: Vanilla body; beast races ok;
This mod is a simple, yet beautiful HD retexture of the vampire armors we all know and love. Certain colors are adjusted and changed to make the armors look even better. The mod even comes with an optional feature that will allow you to craft the armors.
* Volkihar Knight Armor
Armor: Light & Heavy
Acquired: Craftable with Daedric Smithing; Found in loot
Compatible: Any
This mod adds new sets of light and heavy armor reminiscent of both the vanilla Volkihar light armor and Royal Vampire Armor from the Dawnguard DLC
* Lilith's Thorn
Weapon Type(s): 1Handed, 2Handed, Dagger
Acquired: Craftable with Daedric Smithing; Found in loot
Compatible: Any
This mod adds Lilith's Thorn, a rather sinister looking rapier, to the game. The weapon can be crafted or found, and comes in a variety of weapon types to suit any playstyle. The Thorn can be upgraded into its "awakened" which causes it to deal more damage and emit a sinister dark red glow.
* Better Vampire Weapons
Weapon Type(s): 1Handed, Shield, Bow
Acquired: Via small hidden lairs throughout Skyrim
Compatible: Any
From the creator of Better Vampires & Better Vampire NPCs comes a mod that adds 4 new weapons to the game along with a short series of non linear quests to attain them. Rumors and hidden missives scattered throughout Skyrim speak of unique weapons being crafted by vampires for the sole purpose of thwarting vampire hunters. Each weapon boasts unique abilities well suited for vampire characters.
~ Sounds & Visuals ~
* BVFE - Better Vampire Fangs & Eyes
Requires: Base game
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: Yes
Vanilla vampire fangs barely look like they're able to pierce through butter, let alone a neck. BVFE retextures your fangs to be longer, sharper and more noticeable. To go along with that, vampire eyes are also retextured to look more like Serana's rather than the ugly mess we get by default.
* Demonic Soultrap Sound
Requires: Base game
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: No
What vampire doesn't enjoy the blood curdling screams of his mortal victims? As a vampire, you'll likely find yourself stealing your prey's soul as well as his life blood (No sense letting any part of your meal go to waste.). As such, here's a fitting scream to go with your prey's final moments.
* Vampire Lord Retexture
Requires: Dawnguard
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: No
A nice and simple hi quality retexture of the vampire lord form. It comes in both the standard armor and unarmored variety. The unarmored version removes the armor pieces completely, leaving only the body. The female vampire lord form removes the ugly brown sports bra for both models, but if you'd like to limit your vampire experience to a PG-13 rating, there is yet a 3rd option that comes with the bra.
~ Facial Appearance ~
* Dawnguard Vampires - Retain Your Appearance
Requires: Dawnguard
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: No
Imagine putting 2 hours of work into designing your character only to look like a 50 pack a day chain smoker when they become a vampire. Well no more! This mod makes your vampire less ugly by using their normal human faces instead of vampire faces. It also edits vampires to have more humanoid vampire eyes (Serana's eyes variant) where possible.
* Dynamic Vampire Appearance (DVA)
Requires: Dawnguard
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: Yes
DVA dynamically changes the appearance of vampire players to visually represent the different stages of vampirism. DVA makes other visual changes such as glowing eyes in combat and when using vampire night vision, as well as blood around the mouth after feeding. DVA is also fully customizable via SkyUI's Mod Configuration Menu.
~ Player Homes ~
* Unique Vampire Dens
Requires: Base game
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: No
Perhaps your vampire is ill suited to live in a lofty castle like that of the Volkihar clan. If so, you may find this mod to your liking. Unique Vampire Dens adds 4 vampire themed player lair within each major hold. Each hideaway is well hidden and take some effort to find, but the effort is well worth it. Each one comes with all the basic essentials you'd expect in a player home as well as a stable of human cattle to feed on.
* Hidden Hideouts
Requires: Base game
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: No
If you're the reclusive sort, you might even find the lairs offered by Unique Vampire Dens to be too posh for your liking. If thats the case you might be interested in Hidden Hideouts, which adds a series of small, secluded player homes dotted throughout the land. Each location is well out of the way of civilization and come with only the most basic essentials to survive. The mod features an option that remove map markers to these hideouts. It also features a deep immersion option which not only removes map markers, but causes some hideouts to be occupied, forcing you to fight for occupation.
* Immersive & Customizable Volkihar Castle
Requires: Base Game, Dawnguard, Hearthfire & Dragonborn
Performance Strain: Low
MCM Menu: No
How many of you thought you'd be able to make something out of Castle Volkihar after defeating Harkon? Sadly in the base game you couldnt even make it into a player home. This mod aims to fix all that by giving you free reign to clean up, repair and remodel the castle as you see fit, upon defeating Harkon. Choose from different motifs to represent different factions and even the lighting scheme of the castle. There are so many options at your claw tipped fingers.
That’s all, folks! Leave a comment with your favourite vampire mods or a recommendation of what archetype we should spotlight next and we'll see you for the nextinstallment of the Build a Better series!
Replies
I was today years old when I learned about better vampire weapons. Thanks for this guide!
an interestng way of putting that lol
Nice list, Curse. A couple others I’d add:
Oh nice. I’ll look into those. My mod guides are far from complete so ill definitely be looking into these and adding them.
Thers other visual overhauls I’m going to include soon such as that one mod that allows one to retain their human appearance as a vampire.
This is a pretty neat guide. I particularly like the armor/weapons segment. I learned about a few I hadn't known of before. Thanks :D
This is a really helpful list, thank you. I have actually managed to install Vortex, thanks to a You Tube tutorial, so I can actually install some of these now. I do have one question though. Which face mods do any of you use to remove the dirty face problem for player characters? I do not want to have an ugly vampiress, as always happens in the vanilla game, because of this problem.
I overlooked that entirely. Stand by I'm going to add a new section to this.
I added a new section with two mods. I use Dawnguard Vampires which simply lets my vampires retain their human appearance.
Thank you. I've been browsing similar mods, but I wasn't sure about them. Dawnguard vampires looks just like the simple kind of aesthetic mod that I was looking for.
I have just noticed that it is for regular Skyrim, rather than SE. For SE, I have noticed this alternative: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11571/?tab=post...; I may give it a try.