Since I have now already seen two mods (Convenient Horses and SkyRe) including a dependency on Dawnguard DLC to work, this got me a little worried. I was also consternated that Convenient Horses hid that information away rather inconspicuously in the change log, with no word on it in the description or the installation/update section. I don't have Dawnguard and don't plan to buy it, so I'm now afraid that I will become somewhat caught between a rock and a hard place - wanting to update Skyrim itself to newer versions, but unable to update all my mods because the newer versions require Dawnguard.

I have seen that several mods offer Dawnguard compatibility add-ons as separate *.esp files. That seems a far better way to me to handle things - is there a reason why some mods choose to include the Dawnguard dependency in the main file? Who else plans to add a Dawnguard dependency to their mods and require the DLC for future versions?

I have found the topic that gathered a list of mods compatible with Dawnguard, but none with a list of dependent mods. I'm aware I might be somewhat of a minority not owning Dawnguard, but I can't imagine I'm the only one around not buying it at all or at least waiting for it to be on sale.

All mods that use Dawnguard assets in some way, even if it's just a texture or a mesh, must have a Dawnguard dependency.