» Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:00 pm Live Another Life
Misery and despair have haunted you all your life. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, you've been arrested and thrown in the dungeons. Your trial was supposed to be weeks ago, only nobody has come for you. It's been so long since seeing daylight you no longer know what month it is anymore. The dungeon is cold, damp, and worse still, you're running out of food. At least you have that leak in the wall for water. It seems as though you've been forgotten, soon to rot away and die. The eight have forsaken you! Or... have they?
Live Another Life provides an alternative means to start the game for those who do not wish to go through the lengthy intro sequence at Helgen. You will be given the opportunity to choose your race and then choose a new life for your character to lead. A wide variety of choices will be available. What you choose will have a lasting impact, so choose carefully or the gods may forsake you again!
Reasonable suggestions for more options are welcome. Especially anything fitting for specific race origins as I've done with the orcs.
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=9557
http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/1108-live-another-life/
http://www.tesvskyrim.com/skyrim-content-11-live-another-life
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=14243
Installation Requirements
Official Skyrim patch 1.4.27 or greater.
Installation - Wrye Bash BAIN
Drop the archive into your Skyrim Mods\Bash Installers folder, then install as usual.
Make sure the mod is active in the Wrye Bash mods tab.
Installation - Steam Workshop
Subscribe to the mod via the Workshop page, then use the Skyrim launcher to allow it to download and install.
Make sure it's active in the Data Files menu.
Installation - Nexus Mod Manager
Use the "Download with Manager" button on the Live Another Life page at Skyrim Nexus. The installer should take care of things from there.
Or add it to NMM manually through the "Add File" dialogue.
Then simply make sure NMM has the mod activated.
Installation - Manual
Drop the Live Another Life.esp and the two included folders into your Data folder.
Activate the mod using whatever management tool suits you.
Upgrading From Version 1.1 or Older
When upgrading to version 1.2, it is necessary to uninstall the loose files from version 1.1 or older.
Version 1.2 now comes packed as an ESP+BSA combination since it is now available through the Steam Workshop. Leaving the old loose files behind will cause all of the scripting to break.
Use whatever mod management solution you're using to uninstall the old version, then install the new one. You won't lose any data and there is no need for a clean save.
Uninstalling Live Another Life
If you used one of the mod management tools, uninstall it using that. Otherwise check against the archive and remove the files added by the mod.
Load Order
Load order should not make a great deal of difference except for mods that may alter the quest "Unbound" (MQ101), which is the default startup quest in Helgen.
Incompatible Mods
Any other alternative start systems that require editing the quest "Unbound" (MQ101).
Known Issues
The Thane offer won't be available in every city right away if you use a property owner start. The quest interaction makes doing so impossible without sacrificing too much of the content to it.
When picking the Companions guild start, you need to go watch the fight before Vlikas will go outside to train you.
Large chunks of dialogue is going to speak to you as though you were at Helgen and that the Imperials were about to execute you. There's too much of this scattered throughout the game to try and hunt it all down and flag it to stop working. Doing so could in fact break the main quest.
Options Available
Choose from one of the many options to start your character. As more ideas are fleshed out, this list will grow.
Caught Crossing the Border Illegally
For those who wish to use this to play through the original game start at Helgen, this option will streamline the process to skip the race selection dialogue during the lead up to your execution. All of the tutorial prompts will be removed as well.
Immigrated to Skyrim
You will arrive by ship in the port of Solitude, Dawnstar, or Windhelm with little more than some basic supplies, middle class clothing, and a decent sum of gold to start over upon your arrival.
Property Owner
You will start off with the fully furnished house of your choice in one of 4 major cities. Windhelm is not included due to the quest that interacts directly with the house there.
Each house will start you off with appropriate class clothing and some leftover cash to spend. There will also be a selection of weapons fitting to the city available on the storage chest in the bedroom.
If owning property in a city is boring, or you'd prefer to have access to all of the available hold questing, you can choose instead to own a farmhouse. The farmhouse is situated on the main road east of Dragon Bridge and comes complete with a pair of NPCs to act as your farm hands. Your farm will generate a regular income that you can collect from the farm hands. You do need to come home from time to time to collect it though.
Member of a Guild
You will be a new recruit in one of the joinable factions in the game. The Companions, College of Winterhold, Dark Brotherhood, or Thieves Guild. Your starting equipment will be geared toward the faction you have chosen.
For the Thieves Guild, you will begin just inside the Ragged Flagon, having just emerged from the Ratway. Talk to Brynjolf to seal the deal.
For the Dark Brotherhood, you will begin immediately inside the Falkreath Sanctuary and need only speak to Astrid to complete the process.
For the College, you'll be placed just inside the Hall of Elements and will have completed the initial joining phase.
For the Companions, you'll begin in Jorvaskr and begin with the mission to train with Varkas.
The Bards College may be added later if Bethesda does more to flesh out the faction. Right now, they're just a token guild that's not worth much.
Patron at an Inn
You will be able to choose from one of several inns throughout Skyrim. Some are relatively safe, others not so much. Nightgate Inn in particular is isolated in the mountains and is more dangerous than most others. Do be careful.
Outlaw in the Wilds
You will begin as a member of a group of bandits. For the sake of variety, the group of bandits will be chosen at random. You will begin with standard bandit level equipment. Unlike the Oblivion version, you WILL be inducted into the bandit faction. All indications are that the guards will not be overtly hostile to you. Tread carefully though, you WILL have a bounty of 500 gold in he hold the game chooses.
Soldier in the Army
You begin as a recruited soldier in either the Stormcloaks or the Imperial Legion. Which one you choose will determine the gear you start with. You will begin at the point immediately after what would be each one's first mission, which is little more than a cannon fodder quest on either side.
Camping in the Woods
You are a lone hunter, camping in the woods. This will start you off with decent low level equipment, a campfire, cooking pot, bedroll and tent. The camp will be in the forest/hills near Helgen and will serve as an alternative method for witnessing the dragon attack that will not require you to actually be in the village when it is destroyed. Your camp will be cleared once you have vacated it for longer than 3 days.
Shipwrecked off the Coast
Shipwrecked! You were a passenger aboard a merchant ship on the way to Solitude when the ship struck an iceberg off the coast and then capsized. Make your escape from the doomed vessel, retrieving any useful items on your way out, then make your way to the nearby ice floes. From there, you'll quickly realize it's a LONG way off to shore.
Attacked and Left for Dead
You find yourself in a remote area, robbed and left for dead by bandits. They were kind enough to leave what they thought was your corpse dressed in ragged clothes, but nothing more. Can you survive the harsh wilderness and reach safety alive?
Vampire in a Secluded Lair
Bloodlet Throne has always been home to you, for as long as you can remember. It isn't even clear to you anymore how long you've been a vampire, but you know you still hunger for prey and still have an urge to adventure.
Be aware - this starts you off as a stage 4 vampire. Everyone and his uncle will try to kill you the moment you've left the safety of the dungeon you're in. If you intend to mingle with the city folk, you'll need to feed first.
Necromancer in a Hidden Lab
The laboratory you discovered in Blackreach is running low on supplies. It looks like you'll need to set forth soon to replenish, and perhaps see what's going on in the world these days.
Fair warning - there is a Dwemer Sphere outside the door to the lab. You'll need to plan ahead before leaving.
Vigilant of Stendarr
You have been accepted into the Vigilants of Stendarr and have been granted living access to their headquarters outside of Dawnstar.
The chest next to you when you begin is yours and is a safe storage container.
Live in an Orc Stronghold
You'll begin in the orc stronghold of Dushnikh Yal. Though you have lived there for some time, they still call you outlander, and now you once more hunger for adventure.
For some people, this may be considered an unbalanced option since you get decked out in a full set of orcish armor and a nice big orcish battleaxe, but you're still level 1. Death can still find you easily enough.
Khajiit Caravan Guard
You've been with the caravan for a long time now, and finally your group leader has hired a new guard. Time for some adventure, but you'll always be welcome at the camps in Whiterun or Markarth as always. This option only activates for a Khajiit.
Member of a Forsworn Tribe
Once the true rulers of The Reach, your tribesmen and kin have since been forced to carve out a life in the rugged mountains, away from more comfortable living. The time has come for you to leave and find adventure on your own. Only available for Bretons.
Note - You get a usable chest in the start location that's safe to keep things in.
Surprise Me
Random roll that will pick one of the above. The standard Helgen start will not be included in this. Race specific starts will only apply if the player's race matches.
Starting the Main Quest
Skyrim is a lot less linear in this respect. Even if the start at Helgen is chosen, the actual main quest where the player learns they are the Dragonborn doesn't actually get underway until after the first audience with the Jarl of Whiterun. As a result, there should be no real need to attempt to sidestep it.
If you choose the Helgen start, this will play out as normal.
If not, news of the attack on Helgen will begin to circulate immediately, and any dialogue involving the player saying they were there will be left intact - pretend you're lying about it or something if it helps. Adventurers tell fish stories all the time, and hey, for all you know someone fitting your general description WAS at Helgen and the idiots thinking they recognize you don't realize you're not that person.
Helgen will be destroyed as expected regardless of which start option is chosen.
. Will definitely use for my next playthrough!
Khajiit caravan.... yeah... that could work.
