Alternative beginning of Skyrim special edition. Alternate Start - Live Another Life

“Live a Different Life” is a mod created for those who have become tired of the dungeons of the destroyed Helgen. Players will be able to choose an alternative start for Skyrim, deciding on the new life of Dovahkiin and his race.

Eric the Terrible The Killer - my childhood friend

Your whole life has been spent in the village of Rorikstead. Hot blood has long demanded adventure, and with the support of your like-minded friend Eric, you leave the province. The whole world is waiting for two brave heroes!

Escape from the Cage

You are the last prisoner to survive the flooded prison. The guards were forbidden to release criminals from their stone traps, and now the fortress is filled with wailing ghosts. You have to deal with disembodied spirits in order to return to the world of the living.

Warlock Thrall

All you remember: the sorcerers caught you and plunged you into oblivion. Now an unusual ring has appeared on the finger, and the mind seems to obey someone else. Is it really possible that some kind of black magic can enslave you, making you a willing servant of the necromancers?



Whatever alternative Skyrim start you choose to start the main storyline, you should talk about Helgen with any character. Soon the protagonist will see Alduin in the sky and, as usual, will be able to go to

Pet9948 help with the technical part)

Description:
If you are tired of going through Helgen every time you start a new game, then this mod is for you. He lets you skip it. By installing this mod, you can play a role at the very beginning of the game: an assassin, a bandit, a thief, a hunter, a vampire, a necromancer, an ally, a soldier of the Empire or the Stormcloaks, a farmer, a drunkard in a tavern, watching Stendarr, etc. In addition, each role requires unique starting locations and a unique set of equipment, as well as unique characteristics. Moreover, unlike the original Skyrim, there is no clearly positive choice; each role has both its positive and negative traits. The mod will give you the opportunity to experience alternative starts of the game if you are tired of constantly going through Escape from Helgen. You will be given the opportunity to choose a race and start a new life for your character. Perhaps you want to become a wealthy homeowner, owner of an inn or farm, or maybe, on the contrary, you are tempted by the role of a guard of a Khajiit caravan or a sentinel of Stendarr?

Update:3.1.7
* Added Russian voice acting for dialogues for the statue of the goddess Mara, especially for the site from the creative studio Blue Broccoli Rec. (thanks to the guys who did the voice acting for the statue’s dialogue).
- Fixed an issue with starting the Thalmor Embassy Agent quest resulting in embassy triggers not being enabled properly for diplomatic immunity.
- The player's chest in the Druad Stronghold was in the wrong location. Fixed (Bug #22353).

Update: 3.1.6a
- The mod version number when tracking was not initialized correctly in the new game, causing false update warnings for jail cell saves.

Update:3.1.6
- The guard who repels attacks and attacks in Whiterun at the city gates is now a very important character, ultimately he cannot be accidentally killed if the main quest drags on for a significant period of time. If he is already dead and the control quest is still running, he will be resurrected as his role is crucial.
- The guard at the gate will also move to his place at the moment the quest is activated, because he leaves his place at the right moment. (Bug #21815)

Changelog:
- Read the readme in the archive for the entire list of changes in all versions.

Start of the main quest:
- The mod will offer you different options for starting the main quest, even if you complete the initial quest “Escape from Helgen”. Nobody forces you to complete the main quest after Helgen. The mod will provide a system that allows you to not complete the starting game quest and avoid meeting Alduin
- When you start the game, you will be asked to choose your path

Options for alternative starts

Dunmer Refugee (Windhelm)
- Morrowind is still very hostile and you decided to return to Skyrim. Upon arrival, it turned out that you were not in Windhelm
- Looks like it's time to let go of your expectations of an easy life and become an adventurer
- Note - the sleeping bag and bag will be nearby, these are your things. Bag for safe storage

Dunmer Refugee (Raven Rock)
- The mainland of Morrowind is still hostile. You are going to the island of Solstheim in Raven Rock
- After your arrival, you hoped for the best. All the residents treat you like a stranger. It seems that life will not be easy. Maybe it’s time to go on an adventure
- Please note that there are no safe storage chests in Raven Rock, so do not expect things to stay in the chests!!!

Agent of the Thalmor Embassy
- You are assigned to be an agent of the Thalmor Embassy. You are tasked with regulating various issues in Skyrim. Although Elenwen does not yet trust you with the task
- You start the game inside the Thalmor Embassy on the top floor, standing next to the bed. You will be a member of the Thalmor faction, so you can take what you want from the building at any time and can sleep in any bed
- Once you arrive in Helgen, you will be expelled from the faction and the embassy. The Thalmor may become hostile towards you due to the assumption that you have abandoned your post. It must be remembered that membership in the Thalmor faction may also make the Stormcloaks hostile towards to you!

Caught trying to cross the border illegally
- For those who prefer the standard start of the game through Helgen, this option will speed up the process by skipping the race selection dialogue before the execution itself. Most tutorial tips will also be removed.

Moved to Skyrim
- You will arrive by ship at the port of Solitude, Dawnstar or Windhelm. You will have with you some supplies, middle class clothes and a modest amount of money to start a new life.

Property owner
- You will start the game in a fully furnished house in one of the 4 main cities. The house in Windhelm is not included in the list due to a quest that is directly related to it.
- You will be dressed according to the status of your home, and you will have some remaining amount of money. And in the bedroom chest you can find a set of weapons typical for this city.
- If owning a house in the city is not interesting, or you want to have access to all the quests here, then you can become the owner of a farmhouse instead. The lodge is located next to the main road southeast of the Dragon Bridge. There you will meet two NPCs who will be your workers. Your farm will bring constant profit, which you can take from one of the workers. You will have to return home from time to time to pick it up.

Guild Recruit
- You will become a recruit to one of the guilds available in the game. Companions, College of Winterhold, Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild. Your starting equipment will correspond to the guild you have chosen.
- After choosing the Thieves Guild, you will find yourself in the Ragged Flask, next to the exit from the Rat Hole. Talk to Brynjolf to join the guild.
- By choosing the Dark Brotherhood, you will find yourself right inside the Falkreath shelter. Talk to Astrid to join the guild.
- Having selected the College of Mages, you will appear next to the entrance to the Hall of Elements. The first stage of joining the guild will already be completed.
- After choosing Companions, you will find yourself inside Jorrvaskr and will begin at the stage of a training match with Vilkas.
The College of Bards will be added later if Bethesda finalizes this guild. At the moment, it is just a formal guild, not worthy of attention.

Guest in a tavern
- You can choose from several taverns throughout Skyrim. Some of them are relatively safe, while others are not so much. For example, the Night Gate tavern is isolated in the mountains, making it more dangerous than most others. Be careful.

Criminal on the loose
- You will start the game as a member of a group of bandits. For variety, a group of bandits will be randomly selected. You'll start out in standard bandit gear. The bandits in the starting location will be friendly to you until you anger them. But be careful, because you will be rewarded with 500 gold, in the possession that the game chooses. - The guards will not kindly stand by and watch you rush through populated areas unless you are willing to pay a fine.

Soldier in the army
- You will start the game as a recruit of the Stormcloaks or the Imperial Legion. Your starting outfit will depend on your choice of side. The test before joining the ranks of one or the other, which is little more than entirely a “go and kill” task, will already be completed.

Your camp in the forest
- You are a lone hunter camped in the forest. You have the appropriate low-level equipment, a fire, a pot, a sleeping bag and a tent. The camp is located in the forest/hills near Helgen, allowing you to witness a dragon attack without being directly in the village itself. The camp will always be in the same place, so you can return and settle in it.

Shipwrecked
- Shipwreck! You were a passenger on a merchant ship bound for Solitude, but the ship hit an iceberg and capsized. Try to escape from the sinking ship, not forgetting to grab some useful things along the way, and then get to the nearest ice floe. From there you can determine how far from the shore you are.
- Be careful if you use survival mods, especially hypothermia mods. You can quickly freeze to death!

Attacked and left for dead
- Bandits robbed you and left you to die in some wilderness. They left you nothing but old, torn rags. Will you be able to survive in this wilderness and get to safety?

Vampire in a secluded lair
- The Eye of Mary pond has always been your home, as long as you can remember. You have already forgotten how long ago you became a vampire, but you know for sure that you are hungry and still crave adventure.
- Keep in mind that you will start the game at stage 4 of vampirism. From the moment you leave the safety of your lair, everyone you meet will try to kill you. If you are going to remain undetected among the townspeople, then you first need to quench your bloodlust.

Necromancer in a secret laboratory
- The laboratory you discovered in the Black Reach is starting to run out of supplies. It looks like you will have to leave it and replenish your food supplies, and at the same time see what is happening in the world now.
- I warn you right away that behind the door you will encounter a Dwemer sphere. You need to have a plan of action in mind before going out.

Stendarr's Watcher
- You were accepted into the Watch of Stendarr and were given a room in the Watch Hall, which is located south of Dawnstar.
- There is a chest in your room in which you can safely store your things.

Life in an Orc Fortress
- You will start the game in the orc fortress Dushnik-Yal. Even though you have been living there for quite some time, the local orcs still call you an outsider. And now you are thirsty for adventure again.
- Some people may see this feature as unbalancing, since you start out with a full set of Orcish armor and a great two-handed ax to boot. But you are still level 1, so even a weak enemy can easily kill you.

Khajiit Caravan Guard
- You accompanied the caravan for a long time and finally the leader hired a new guard. It's time for new adventures, but you will still be welcome at the caravan camps near Whiterun or Markarth. This feature is only available to Khajiit.

Rogue Tribe Warrior
- Being the true masters of the Reach, your fellow tribesmen and relatives are forced to eke out a miserable existence in the middle of the rocky mountains, far from a comfortable life. It's time to leave home and go in search of your own adventures. Available only to Bretons.
- Remember, you will have your own chest in the starting location, which is safe for storing things.

Argonian worker at the docks
“You’ve been working at these docks for many months, and maybe even longer.” The local Nords have not become any friendlier to you, and therefore it is time to change something. A life of adventure and glory is what you need now.
- Remember, the first nightstand on the side of the door, with a stand for soul stones on top, belongs to you and can be used as storage. It is safe for storing things.

Refugee from Morrowind
- Morrowind is still a very hostile place, and therefore you decided to try your luck in Skyrim. However, upon arrival at the place, you saw that Windhelm was not at all what you expected and hoped. It looks like it's time to give up dreams of a carefree life and embark on the road of adventure.
Note:
You own the sleeping bag and mesh next to which you appear. You can safely store your belongings in the bag.

Alik'r warrior
- Having experienced disappointment from life in Hammerfell, you joined the Alik'rs and went on a mission to Skyrim. But you clearly do not share the beliefs of these spies, and it seems that the time has come to find your own path. In any case, no one at home is talking about this finds out. Available only to Redguards.

surprise me
- The game itself will randomly select one of the above options, except for the standard start through Helgen. The start of the game, unique for each race, will only be available if the player chooses the appropriate race for his character.

Requirements:
-
Game version 1.9.32.0.8 and higher (mod 3.1.6a at the main link)
- Game version 1.8.151.0.7 (mod 2.3.0 via additional link above)
- DLC Dawnguard
- Dragonborn DLC
- DLC Hearthfire
- Unofficial patches USLEEP (for new versions of the mod) or USKP (for the old version of the mod 2.3.0) are highly recommended!
- - so that the mouth and lips of unvoiced NPCs move

Important:
You need to turn on subtitles to see the text when talking to the statue in the starting location.

Compatibility:
Compatible with Open Cities Skyrim, tested.
Incompatible with any mods that remove "essential" flags from characters in Helgen.

Known Issues:
You will not be offered to immediately become a thane in the city if, having started a new life, you have taken possession of a house there.
When you start the game as a Companion, you will need to watch the battle before Vilkas starts training you.
Having chosen one of the sides in the Civil War, it is recommended to watch the scene with the Jagged Crown, otherwise the quest may not start and the entire line associated with the Civil War may be ruined.
There may be some other unfound dialogues that mention Helgen. If you come across any of these before activating the burnt corpse, please report it to the author of the mod.

Installation:(can be done manually or through NMM manager)
Place the files Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp, Alternate Start - Live Another Life.bsа, Alternate Start - Live Another Life.ini into the Data folder in the game and activate the mod in the launcher

Removal:
- Before deleting the mod, you need to make sure that the main quest of the game has been started. The "Live Another Life" quest must be marked as completed, and the "Before the Storm" quest must be in your list of current tasks, otherwise deleting the mod will disrupt the main quest and the civil war chain.
- If you chose to start the game in a farmhouse, then before deleting the mod you need to pick up all your things from there, otherwise you will lose them
- After that, you can delete the mod in any convenient way. The .esp and .bsa files must be completely deleted

Loading order:
The mod should load as low as possible. Many other mods change Helgen and the character generation menu. Loading this mod at the bottom of the launcher should help in case of problems. It is recommended to follow the order specified by BOSS (if installed)




Questions and solutions

Nothing changed. I started a new game, but found myself back in Helgen
Make sure the mod is actually activated. Even if the mod is activated in your mod manager, check if it is activated in Skyrim Launcher

I tried to use the bed but nothing happened
This can happen if you have not yet removed the old version of the mod, which uses free files and not the BSA archive

The quest "Live a different life" has not been completed and remains in the list of current quests in my journal
That's how it should be. The quest remains ongoing until you find an adventurer and begin the main quest.
The quest will only end when you save one of the guys in the cave, or immediately go to Jarl Balgruuf to report the attack on Helgen.

General Tullius and Ulfric Stormcloak are missing
I didn't do anything like that. You must start the main quest before they become available again. It's a shame, but this means you won't be able to take part in the civil war until the main quest begins. Don't blame me. Bethesda has messed things up so much that there's no way to sort through the whole mess without breaking a whole bunch of stuff.
If you want to have some fun, you can always use the player.moveto console command to move to their location. You have to admit it :P But don't do this if you are playing seriously, otherwise it might hurt something.

I found your burned body and clicked on it, but nothing happened
AHA! This is not my body at all. This is some other body. If you find mine, you won't be able to examine it in the usual way. You need to activate it, after which the diary will be automatically added to your inventory.
At this point you should also see Alduin flying overhead. If you didn't see it, then something went wrong.
Read the diary to continue or go straight to the Jarl of Whiterun. The main quest will begin immediately after you do all this.

I did everything, went into the cave, but there was nothing there
The quest marker does not have GPS accuracy. You need to find two poor unfortunate souls who are lying on the ground, bent over in pain. This is Hadvar and Ralof. Go up and talk to one of them.
If these guys are NOT here, then you have another mod installed that changed the AI ​​priority and caused them to move somewhere else. There's nothing I can do about it except increase the priority on my quest scripts. The order in which mods are loaded will not solve the problem.

No you did not understand! A whole piece disappeared from Helgen's cave. What have you done?
It's not me!
No, really. It's not me. There is a bug that is becoming more noticeable as different mods are released that make changes to the same locations. It is not yet known what exactly is causing this bug. This issue has been widely reported in a number of different mods. As a rule, it is impossible to determine exactly where this bug will appear.
I believe that this is due to mods created with the help of unofficial editors that were used before the advent of CK. Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to detect such a mod. If, when using Wrye Bash, you see a message that one or more mods have bad version headers, then you should disable such mods first.
Usually such mods can be fixed by loading them into CK and then immediately saving them without changes. But this method does not guarantee results.

I walked up to a farmhouse and crashed out of the game.
Most likely the problem is related to navmeshes. Make sure your game version is at least 1.5.24. Changed navmeshes in this version cause crashes to the desktop. Only version 1.9.32.0.8 and higher is supported

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Adversity and despair follow you throughout your life. And when, it seemed, nothing could be worse, you were arrested and thrown into the dungeon. The trial was supposed to take place several weeks ago, but no one came. There is no sunlight coming into this chamber, so you have no idea what month it is. The dungeon is cold and damp, and the worst thing is that food has begun to run out. Well, at least water is still leaking through the crack in the wall. It looks like this is the end. Eight left you! Or not?
The “Live Another Life” modification allows you to start the game in an alternative way. It is designed for those who do not want to go through the lengthy entry and execution in Helgen. You will be given the opportunity to choose a race, and then a new life for your character. There will be many options available. The choice will affect the rest of the game, so choose carefully, otherwise the gods may abandon you again!

INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS:
SLE:
- Skyrim, Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn

SSE:
Skyrim Special Edition 1.1.47.0.8 and higher

You need to turn on subtitles to see the text when talking to the statue in the starting location.
- You can also download and install in order to see subtitles of dialogues only for unvoiced NPCs. SKSE required.

FULL DESCRIPTION

INCOMPATIBLE MODS:
- Any mod that makes changes to the MQ101 quest - "Freedom!" Also other mods that allow you to start the game in an alternative way. There may be conflicts with mods that change Helgen.
- Any mod that makes changes to the quest MQ102 - "Before the Storm".
Making changes to:
- MQ101DragonAttack - the original dragon attack on Helgen
- CW00WindhelmMapTableScene - jagged crown for Ulfric and Galmar (USKP fix was enabled)
- WERoad01 - refugees after a dragon attack.
- May be incompatible with any mods that disable the "essential" parameter for any NPC in Helgen.
- Song of Ice and Skyrim (http://steamcommunit...tails/?id=20793) - causes the game to freeze when loading a prison cell, regardless of the order in which the mods are loaded.
- Descent Into Madness (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/16461) - hangs the game when using mods together.
- The Oblivion Racial Bonuses module from Occupy Skyrim (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12479) - incompatible due to MQ101 change.
- Sellswords (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/27942) - incompatible because it modifies MQ101.

Also mods that affect the following scripts:
dunPostHelgenEnableScript.psc
QF_MQ101_0003372B.psc
QF_MQ101DragonAttack_000D0593.psc
QF_MQ102_0004E50D.psc
TIF__000D50CA.psc
TIF__000D50DB.psc
TIF__000D50E0.psc

REMOVAL LIVE ANOTHER LIFE:
- Firstly, before you remove the mod, you need to make sure that the main quest of the game has been started. The "Live Another Life" quest must be marked as completed, and your current quest list MUST include the "Before the Storm" quest. Otherwise, deleting the mod will disrupt the main quest and the civil war chain.
- It should also be noted that if you chose to start the game in a farmhouse, then before deleting the mod you need to take all your things from there, otherwise you will simply lose them.
- After you have done everything, you can delete the mod in any way convenient for you. The .esp and .bsa files must be completely deleted.
- Steam Workshop users must unsubscribe from the mod before deleting files, otherwise the installer will download them again.

LOADING ORDER:
Due to the complex nature of the plugin, it should be as low as possible in the list of downloadable mods. Other mods can make changes to Helgen's quests and character creation. Moving the plugin down the download list may help resolve some conflicts. I highly recommend using the BOSS utility to sort your mods. This utility is now fully compatible with Skyrim's new mod loading order system.

KNOWN ISSUES:
- You will not be able to immediately become a thane in any city if you started as the owner of a house. The interaction between quests does not allow this opportunity to be implemented without losing a significant part of the content.
- If you started the game as a recruit from the Companions, then first you need to go watch the fight between Nyada and Atis, after which Vilkas will come out and begin your test.
- When starting the game as a Legion or Stormcloak recruit, you must allow the conversation scene about the Jagged Crown to fully complete. If this is not done, the quest may freeze and the further chain of civil war quests will be unavailable.
- You may encounter some lost dialogues related to Helgen. If you find something similar, but have not yet read the adventurer's diary, then please report it in as much detail as possible.

START OF THE MAIN QUEST:
Skyrim provides several options for developing the main plot, even if you start the game according to the standard scenario through Helgen. Alduin's appearance does not force the player to immediately begin the main quest after leaving Helgen. Thus, this mod provides an opportunity to bypass Helgen and also avoid meeting Alduin. The game will wait patiently until you decide to resume the main story. Therefore, you don't need to make any special efforts to avoid resuming the main quest. Just don't start it.

Thus, starting with version 1.4.3, the mod will not allow you to activate the main quest until you go to Helgen and find the burned body of the adventurer among the unfortunate victims of the attack on the village. Follow the road south from Riverwood, past the Guardian Stones, turn the corner, and then go up the hill. On the way you will meet a road sign. The body lies a little ahead on the path, next to a pile of stones.

The exceptions are: starting the game in a camp located next to Helgen itself, and starting as a recruit on one of the sides in the civil war, the quests of which will only work properly after Alduin's flight.

After reading the diary, you need to go to the cave from which you usually exit when starting the game in the standard way. Because people wanted to meet their buddy (Hadvar or Ralof), the game was remade so that they were both lying wounded in a cave. You choose who you want to help by giving one of them a healing potion, or you can leave them both to suffer. If you decide to help one of them, you can go to Riverwood together.

If you don't choose anyone or decide not to follow the one you saved, then you can resume the main quest in the usual way - go to Whiterun and inform the jarl about what happened. After which the main quest will continue as usual.

The standard start through Helgen with this mod will be exactly the same as in the original game.

PROBLEM SOLVING:
Nothing changed. I started a new game, but found myself back in Helgen.
Make sure the mod is actually activated. Even if the mod is activated in your mod manager, check if it is activated in Skyrim Launcher.

Help! I'm stuck in the main menu after starting a new game!
* This mod REQUIRES Skyrim version 1.9.29.0.8. Make sure you have this version of the game. Update the game via Steam if necessary. Older versions of the game are not supported.
* Mods that make global changes that affect the "essential" or "quest item" parameters may prevent further continuation of the game.
* Check the Data\Scripts folder to make sure there are no copies of the following files:
QF_MQ101_0003372B.pex, QF_MQ102_0004E50D.pex and MQ101QuestScript.pex
If these files are present, they may disrupt the Live Another Life quest. You need to find out which mod installed them. Only a third-party mod could install them, because the game’s own files are packaged in BSA archives.
* Check the order in which mods are loaded. This mod should be loaded at the end of the list, not at the beginning. Use the BOSS 2.0 utility to change the boot order.

Help! I tried to use the bed, but nothing happened!
This can happen if you have not yet removed the old version of the mod, which uses free files and not the BSA archive. Follow the instructions in the "Updating from version 1.1 or later" section.

The quest "Live a different life" has not been completed and remains in the list of current quests in my journal.
That's how it should be. The quest remains ongoing until you find an adventurer and begin the main quest.
The quest will only end when you save one of the guys in the cave, or immediately go to Jarl Balgruuf to report the attack on Helgen.

General Tullius and Ulfric Stormcloak are missing. You broke my game!
I didn't do anything like that. You must start the main quest before they become available again. It's a shame, but this means you won't be able to take part in the civil war until the main quest begins. Don't blame me. Bethesda has messed things up so much that there's no way to sort through the whole mess without breaking a whole bunch of stuff.
If you want to have some fun, you can always use the player.moveto console command to move to their location. You have to admit it :P But don't do this if you are playing seriously, otherwise it might hurt something.

I found your burned body and clicked on it, but nothing happened.
AHA! This is not my body at all. This is some other body. If you find mine, you won't be able to examine it in the usual way. You need to activate it, after which the diary will be automatically added to your inventory.
At this point you should also see Alduin flying overhead. If you didn't see it, then something went wrong.
Read the diary to continue or go straight to the Jarl of Whiterun. The main quest will begin immediately after you do all this.

Great, I did everything, went into the cave, but there was nothing there.
The quest marker does not have GPS accuracy. You need to find two poor unfortunate souls who are lying on the ground, bent over in pain. This is Hadvar and Ralof. Go up and talk to one of them.
If these guys are NOT here, then you have another mod installed that changed the AI ​​priority and caused them to move somewhere else. There's nothing I can do about it except increase the priority on my quest scripts. The order in which mods are loaded will not solve the problem.

No you did not understand! A whole piece disappeared from Helgen's cave. What have you done?
It's not me!
No, really. It's not me. There is a bug that is becoming more noticeable as different mods are released that make changes to the same locations. It is not yet known what exactly is causing this bug. This issue has been widely reported in a number of different mods. As a rule, it is impossible to determine exactly where this bug will appear.
I believe that this is due to mods created with the help of unofficial editors that were used before the advent of CK. Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to detect such a mod. If, when using Wrye Bash, you see a message that one or more mods have bad version headers, then you should disable such mods first.
Usually such mods can be fixed by loading them into CK and then immediately saving them without changes. But this method does not guarantee results.

I walked up to the farmhouse and crashed out of the game.
Most likely the problem is related to navmeshes. Make sure your game version is not 1.9.29.0.8. Changed navmeshes in this version cause crashes to the desktop. Only version 1.9.29.0.8 is supported

AVAILABLE OPPORTUNITIES:
Choose one of the proposed options for your character. This list will be expanded as new ideas are implemented.

Caught trying to cross the border illegally
For those who prefer the standard start of the game through Helgen, this option will speed up the process by skipping the race selection dialogue before the execution itself. Most tutorial tips will also be removed.

Moved to Skyrim
You will arrive by ship at the port of Solitude, Dawnstar or Windhelm. You will have with you some supplies, middle class clothes and a modest amount of money to start a new life.

Property owner
You will start the game in a fully furnished house in one of the 4 main cities. The house in Windhelm is not included in the list due to a quest that is directly related to it.
You will be dressed according to the status of your home, and you will have some remaining money. And in the bedroom chest you can find a set of weapons typical for this city.
If owning a house in the city is not interesting, or you want to have access to all the quests here, then you can become the owner of a farmhouse instead. The lodge is located next to the main road southeast of the Dragon Bridge. There you will meet two NPCs who will be your workers. Your farm will bring constant profit, which you can take from one of the workers. You will have to return home from time to time to pick it up.

Guild Recruit
You will become a recruit to one of the guilds available in the game. Companions, College of Winterhold, Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild. Your starting equipment will correspond to the guild you have chosen.
After choosing the Thieves Guild, you will find yourself in the Ragged Flask, next to the exit from the Rat Hole. Talk to Brynjolf to join the guild.
By choosing the Dark Brotherhood, you will find yourself right inside the Falkreath Sanctuary. Talk to Astrid to join the guild.
By selecting the College of Mages, you will appear next to the entrance to the Hall of Elements. The first stage of joining the guild will already be completed.
After choosing Companions, you will find yourself inside Jorrvaskr and will begin at the stage of a training duel with Vilkas.
The College of Bards will be added later if Bethesda finalizes this guild. At the moment, it is just a formal guild, not worthy of attention.

Guest in a tavern
You can choose from several taverns throughout Skyrim. Some of them are relatively safe, while others are not so much. For example, the Night Gate tavern is isolated in the mountains, making it more dangerous than most others. Be careful.

Criminal on the loose
You will start the game as a member of a group of bandits. For variety, a group of bandits will be randomly selected. You'll start out in standard bandit gear. The bandits in the starting location will be friendly to you until you anger them. But be careful, because you will be rewarded with 500 gold, in the possession that the game chooses. The guards won't stand by and watch you rush through populated areas unless you're willing to pay a fine.

Soldier in the army
You will start the game as a recruit of the Stormcloaks or the Imperial Legion. Your starting outfit will depend on your choice of side. The test before joining the ranks of one or the other, which is little more than entirely a “go and kill” task, will already be completed.

Your camp in the forest
You are a lone hunter camped in the forest. You have the appropriate low-level equipment, a fire, a pot, a sleeping bag and a tent. The camp is located in the forest/hills near Helgen, allowing you to witness a dragon attack without being directly in the village itself. The camp will always be in the same place, so you can return and settle in it.

Shipwrecked
Shipwreck! You were a passenger on a merchant ship bound for Solitude, but the ship hit an iceberg and capsized. Try to escape from the sinking ship, not forgetting to grab some useful things along the way, and then get to the nearest ice floe. From there you can determine how far from the shore you are.
Be careful if you use survival mods, especially hypothermia mods. You can quickly freeze to death!

Attacked and left for dead
Bandits robbed you and left you to die in some wilderness. They left you nothing but old, torn rags. Will you be able to survive in this wilderness and get to safety?

Vampire in a secluded lair
The Eye of Mara Pond has been your home for as long as you can remember. You have already forgotten how long ago you became a vampire, but you know for sure that you are hungry and still crave adventure.
Keep in mind that you will start the game at stage 4 of vampirism. From the moment you leave the safety of your lair, everyone you meet will try to kill you. If you are going to remain undetected among the townspeople, then you first need to quench your bloodlust.

Necromancer in a secret laboratory
The laboratory you discovered in Blackreach is starting to run out of supplies. It looks like you will have to leave it and replenish your food supplies, and at the same time see what is happening in the world now.
I warn you right away that behind the door you will encounter a Dwemer sphere. You need to have a plan of action in mind before going out.

Stendarr's Watcher
You were accepted into the Watch of Stendarr and were given a room in the Watch Hall, which is located south of Dawnstar.
There is a chest in your room in which you can safely store your belongings.

Life in an Orc Fortress
You will start the game in the orc fortress Dushnik-Yal. Even though you have been living there for quite some time, the local orcs still call you an outsider. And now you are thirsty for adventure again.
Some people may see this feature as unbalancing, since you start out with a full set of Orc armor and a nice two-handed ax to boot. But you are still level 1, so even a weak enemy can easily kill you.

Khajiit Caravan Guard
You accompanied the caravan for a long time and finally the leader hired a new guard. It's time for new adventures, but you will still be welcome at the caravan camps near Whiterun or Markarth. This feature is only available to Khajiit.

Rogue Tribe Warrior
Being the true masters of the Reach, your fellow tribesmen and relatives are forced to eke out a miserable existence in the middle of the rocky mountains, far from a comfortable life. It's time to leave home and go in search of your own adventures. Available only to Bretons.
Remember, you will have your own chest in the starting location, which is safe for storing things.

Argonian worker at the docks
You've been working on these docks for many months, maybe even longer. The local Nords have not become any friendlier to you, and therefore it is time to change something. A life of adventure and glory is what you need now.
Remember, the first nightstand on the side of the door, with the soul stone stand on top, belongs to you and can be used as storage. It is safe for storing things.

Refugee from Morrowind (Windhelm)
Morrowind is still a very hostile place, so you decided to try your luck in Skyrim. However, upon arrival at the place, you saw that Windhelm was not at all what you expected and hoped. It looks like it's time to give up dreams of a carefree life and embark on the road of adventure.
Note: You own the sleeping bag and mesh next to which you appear. You can safely store your belongings in the bag.

Refugee from Morrowind (Solstheim)
Morrowind is still a very hostile place, so you decided to try your luck on Solstheim. However, upon arrival at the place, you saw that Solstheim was not at all what you expected and hoped. It looks like it's time to give up dreams of a carefree life and embark on the road of adventure.
This start for a refugee will be if you have Dragonborn installed. You'll start in an abandoned building on the outskirts of town, and then you're on your own.
When you start in Raven Rock you don't have any secure storage, so don't leave things in containers.

Thalmor Agent
You have been transferred to the Thalmor embassy near Solitude. As part of your assignment, you have been assigned to investigate various minor incidents in Skyrim. Because Elenwen doesn't trust you enough to entrust you with something more worthwhile. But you are happy with this state of affairs, since it will finally allow you to leave the embassy.

You will start the game inside the Thalmor Embassy. All containers there must be safe. You are a member of the Thalmor, so you can sleep in any bed and take whatever you want.

Once you arrive in Helgen, you will be expelled from the Thalmor faction and the embassy doors will be locked until you complete the relevant main story quests. By then the Thalmor will become hostile towards you since you have left your post. Be careful, Thalmor membership can also turn the Stormcloaks against you, including cities under their rule. Unlike starting as a bandit, you will maintain your Thalmor membership until you visit Helgen.

Alik'r warrior
Having experienced disappointment from life in Hammerfell, you joined the Alik'rs and went on a mission to Skyrim. But you clearly do not share the beliefs of these spies, and it seems that the time has come to find your own path. In any case, no one at home will know about this . Available only to Redguards.

Cell Escape:
You were left to die in a damp, dark cell. All you needed was a second chance to escape! Luckily for you, Mara took pity on you and gave you what you wanted.

By choosing this start, you can find 3 master keys in the chamber. Open the cell door and get out to freedom. It's simple. You will start the game as soon as you go up the stairs. Until you do this, you can go back and ask Mara for a different fate.

Prisoner of the Sorcerers:
While gutting the fish, you find an unusual ring. You’re not even exactly sure why you put it on, but it just so happened. Then it became clear that you had become the prisoner of a couple of sorcerers who were fond of necromancy. Fortunately, unknown to them, you have overcome their power over you, now you have a chance to escape!

You start the game in the Rockfall Cave, the refuge of two sorcerers. In addition to basic clothing and boots, you also have a powerful ring of annulment and a cheap iron dagger. You should hurry up and leave the cave before the sorcerers realize that you are no longer under their control. Run if you want to live!

Note: There are no secure storage containers in this location, so do not leave anything there.

Childhood friend of Eric the Terrible Killer:
Only for Nords

You and Erik have lived in Rorikstead your entire life and have been best friends ever since Mralki took you in. A farmer's life isn't the worst, but once you heard Lokir's stories about the lives of adventurers, that's all you talked about for months. Finally, Eric's father has given his blessing, so now you can set out on the road of adventure!

You start at the Ice Cream Tavern in Rorikstead. Eric's mini-quest has been completed and you can take him on as a companion. You have the same starting equipment.

surprise me
The game itself will randomly select one of the above options, except for the standard start through Helgen. The start of the game, unique for each race, will only be available if the player chooses the appropriate race for his character.

Description:
If you are tired of going through Helgen every time you start a new game, then this mod is for you. He lets you skip it. By installing this mod, you can play a role at the very beginning of the game: an assassin, a bandit, a thief, a hunter, a vampire, a necromancer, an ally, a soldier of the Empire or the Stormcloaks, a farmer, a drunkard in a tavern, watching Stendarr, etc. In addition, each role requires unique starting locations and a unique set of equipment, as well as unique characteristics. Moreover, unlike the original Skyrim, there is no clearly positive choice; each role has both its positive and negative traits. The mod will give you the opportunity to experience alternative starts of the game if you are tired of constantly going through Escape from Helgen. You will be given the opportunity to choose a race and start a new life for your character. Perhaps you want to become a wealthy homeowner, owner of an inn or farm, or maybe, on the contrary, you are tempted by the role of a guard of a Khajiit caravan or a sentinel of Stendarr?

Start of the main quest:
- The mod will offer you different options for starting the main quest, even if you complete the initial quest “Escape from Helgen”. Nobody forces you to complete the main quest after Helgen. The mod will provide a system that allows you to not complete the starting game quest and avoid meeting Alduin
- When you start the game, you will be asked to choose your path

Update:4.0.1
- Fixed missing water data (water flow was disrupted) that needed editing.

Update:4.0.0
- Converted to Skyrim Special Edition
- Corrected “crazy words” in words. The mod version is unchanged.

Options for alternative starts

Dunmer Refugee (Windhelm)
Morrowind is still very hostile and you decide to return to Skyrim. Upon arrival, it turns out that you are not in Windhelm
Looks like it's time to let go of your expectations of an easy life and become an adventurer.
Note - the sleeping bag and bag will be nearby, these are your things. Bag for safe storage

Dunmer Refugee (Raven Rock)
The mainland of Morrowind is still hostile. You are about to go to the island of Solstheim in Raven Rock
After your arrival, you hoped for the best. All the residents treat you like a stranger. It seems that life will not be easy. Maybe it's time to go on an adventure
Please note that there are no secure storage chests in Raven Rock, so do not expect items to stay in the chests!!!

Agent of the Thalmor Embassy
You are assigned to be an agent of the Thalmor Embassy. You are tasked with regulating various issues in Skyrim. Although Elenwen does not yet trust you with the task
You start the game inside the Thalmor Embassy on the top floor, standing next to the bed. You will be a member of the Thalmor faction, so you can take what you want from the building at any time and can sleep in any bed
Once you arrive in Helgen, you will be expelled from the faction and the embassy. The Thalmor may become hostile towards you due to the assumption that you have abandoned your post. It must be remembered that membership in the Thalmor faction may also make the Stormcloaks hostile towards to you!

Caught trying to cross the border illegally
For those who prefer the standard start of the game through Helgen, this option will speed up the process by skipping the race selection dialogue before the execution itself. Most tutorial tips will also be removed.

Moved to Skyrim
You will arrive by ship at the port of Solitude, Dawnstar or Windhelm. You will have with you some supplies, middle class clothes and a modest amount of money to start a new life.

Property owner
You will start the game in a fully furnished house in one of the 4 main cities. The house in Windhelm is not included in the list due to a quest that is directly related to it.
You will be dressed according to the status of your home, and you will have some remaining money. And in the bedroom chest you can find a set of weapons typical for this city.
If owning a house in the city is not interesting, or you want to have access to all the quests here, then you can become the owner of a farmhouse instead. The lodge is located next to the main road southeast of the Dragon Bridge. There you will meet two NPCs who will be your workers. Your farm will bring constant profit, which you can take from one of the workers. You will have to return home from time to time to pick it up.

Guild Recruit
You will become a recruit to one of the guilds available in the game. Companions, College of Winterhold, Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild. Your starting equipment will correspond to the guild you have chosen.
After choosing the Thieves Guild, you will find yourself in the Ragged Flask, next to the exit from the Rat Hole. Talk to Brynjolf to join the guild.
By choosing the Dark Brotherhood, you will find yourself right inside the Falkreath Sanctuary. Talk to Astrid to join the guild.
By selecting the College of Mages, you will appear next to the entrance to the Hall of Elements. The first stage of joining the guild will already be completed.
After choosing Companions, you will find yourself inside Jorrvaskr and will begin at the stage of a training duel with Vilkas.
The College of Bards will be added later if Bethesda finalizes this guild. At the moment, it is just a formal guild, not worthy of attention.

Guest in a tavern
You can choose from several taverns throughout Skyrim. Some of them are relatively safe, while others are not so much. For example, the Night Gate tavern is isolated in the mountains, making it more dangerous than most others. Be careful.

Criminal on the loose
You will start the game as a member of a group of bandits. For variety, a group of bandits will be randomly selected. You'll start out in standard bandit gear. The bandits in the starting location will be friendly to you until you anger them. But be careful, because you will be rewarded with 500 gold, in the possession that the game chooses. The guards won't stand by and watch you rush through populated areas unless you're willing to pay a fine.

Soldier in the army
You will start the game as a recruit of the Stormcloaks or the Imperial Legion. Your starting outfit will depend on your choice of side. The test before joining the ranks of one or the other, which is little more than entirely a “go and kill” task, will already be completed.

Your camp in the forest
You are a lone hunter camped in the forest. You have the appropriate low-level equipment, a fire, a pot, a sleeping bag and a tent. The camp is located in the forest/hills near Helgen, allowing you to witness a dragon attack without being directly in the village itself. The camp will always be in the same place, so you can return and settle in it.

Shipwrecked
Shipwreck! You were a passenger on a merchant ship bound for Solitude, but the ship hit an iceberg and capsized. Try to escape from the sinking ship, not forgetting to grab some useful things along the way, and then get to the nearest ice floe. From there you can determine how far from the shore you are.
Be careful if you use survival mods, especially hypothermia mods. You can quickly freeze to death!

Attacked and left for dead
Bandits robbed you and left you to die in some wilderness. They left you nothing but old, torn rags. Will you be able to survive in this wilderness and get to safety?

Vampire in a secluded lair
The Eye of Mara Pond has been your home for as long as you can remember. You have already forgotten how long ago you became a vampire, but you know for sure that you are hungry and still crave adventure.
Keep in mind that you will start the game at stage 4 of vampirism. From the moment you leave the safety of your lair, everyone you meet will try to kill you. If you are going to remain undetected among the townspeople, then you first need to quench your bloodlust.

Necromancer in a secret laboratory
The laboratory you discovered in Blackreach is starting to run out of supplies. It looks like you will have to leave it and replenish your food supplies, and at the same time see what is happening in the world now.
I warn you right away that behind the door you will encounter a Dwemer sphere. You need to have a plan of action in mind before going out.

Stendarr's Watcher
You were accepted into the Watch of Stendarr and were given a room in the Watch Hall, which is located south of Dawnstar.
There is a chest in your room in which you can safely store your belongings.

Life in an Orc Fortress
You will start the game in the orc fortress Dushnik-Yal. Even though you have been living there for quite some time, the local orcs still call you an outsider. And now you are thirsty for adventure again.
Some people may see this feature as unbalancing, since you start out with a full set of Orc armor and a nice two-handed ax to boot. But you are still level 1, so even a weak enemy can easily kill you.

Khajiit Caravan Guard
You accompanied the caravan for a long time and finally the leader hired a new guard. It's time for new adventures, but you will still be welcome at the caravan camps near Whiterun or Markarth. This feature is only available to Khajiit.

Rogue Tribe Warrior
Being the true masters of the Reach, your fellow tribesmen and relatives are forced to eke out a miserable existence in the middle of the rocky mountains, far from a comfortable life. It's time to leave home and go in search of your own adventures. Available only to Bretons.
Remember, you will have your own chest in the starting location, which is safe for storing things.

Argonian worker at the docks
You've been working on these docks for many months, maybe even longer. The local Nords have not become any friendlier to you, and therefore it is time to change something. A life of adventure and glory is what you need now.
Remember, the first nightstand on the side of the door, with the soul stone stand on top, belongs to you and can be used as storage. It is safe for storing things.

Refugee from Morrowind
Morrowind is still a very hostile place, so you decided to try your luck in Skyrim. However, upon arrival at the place, you saw that Windhelm was not at all what you expected and hoped. It looks like it's time to give up dreams of a carefree life and embark on the road of adventure.
Note:
You own the sleeping bag and mesh next to which you appear. You can safely store your belongings in the bag.

Alik'r warrior
Having experienced disappointment from life in Hammerfell, you joined the Alik'rs and went on a mission to Skyrim. But you clearly do not share the beliefs of these spies, and it seems that the time has come to find your own path. In any case, no one at home will know about this . Available only to Redguards.

surprise me
The game itself will randomly select one of the above options, except for the standard start through Helgen. The start of the game, unique for each race, will only be available if the player chooses the appropriate race for his character.

Requirements:
- Skyrim Special Edition 1.1.47.0.8 and higher
- Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch is highly recommended!

Important:
You need to turn on subtitles to see the text when talking to the statue in the starting location. After you choose who you want to play with, you can turn them off.
The 3rd person camera will not be available until you make a choice and use the bed

Compatibility:
Compatible with Open Cities Skyrim, tested.
Incompatible with any mods that remove "essential" flags from characters in Helgen.

Known Issues:
You will not be offered to immediately become a thane in the city if, having started a new life, you have taken possession of a house there.
When you start the game as a Companion, you will need to watch the battle before Vilkas starts training you.
Having chosen one of the sides in the Civil War, it is recommended to watch the scene with the Jagged Crown, otherwise the quest may not start and the entire line associated with the Civil War may be ruined.
There may be some other unfound dialogues that mention Helgen. If you come across any of these before activating the burnt corpse, please report it to the author of the mod.

Installation:(can be done manually or through NMM manager)
1. Place the files Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp, Alternate Start - Live Another Life.bsа, Alternate Start - Live Another Life.ini into the Data folder in the game and activate the mod in the launcher
2. Read how to install mods in this topic.

Removal:
- Before deleting the mod, you must make sure that the main quest of the game has been started. The quest “Live Another Life” must be marked as completed, and the quest “Before the Storm” must be in the list of your current tasks, otherwise deleting the mod will disrupt the main quest and chains about the civil war
- If you chose to start the game in a farmhouse, then before deleting the mod you need to pick up all your things from there, otherwise you will lose them
- After that, you can delete the mod in any convenient way. The .esp and .bsa files must be completely deleted

Loading order:
The mod should load as low as possible. Many other mods change Helgen and the character generation menu. Loading this mod at the bottom of the launcher should help in case of problems. It is recommended to follow the order specified by BOSS (if installed)

Questions and solutions:
Nothing changed. I started a new game, but found myself back in Helgen
Make sure the mod is actually activated. Even if the mod is activated in your mod manager, check if it is activated in Skyrim Launcher

I tried to use the bed but nothing happened
This can happen if you have not yet removed the old version of the mod, which uses free files and not the BSA archive

The quest "Live a different life" has not been completed and remains in the list of current quests in my journal
That's how it should be. The quest remains ongoing until you find an adventurer and begin the main quest.
The quest will only end when you save one of the guys in the cave, or immediately go to Jarl Balgruuf to report the attack on Helgen.

General Tullius and Ulfric Stormcloak are missing
I didn't do anything like that. You must start the main quest before they become available again. It's a shame, but this means you won't be able to take part in the civil war until the main quest begins. Don't blame me. Bethesda has messed things up so much that there's no way to sort through the whole mess without breaking a whole bunch of stuff.
If you want to have some fun, you can always use the player.moveto console command to move to their location. You have to admit it :P But don't do this if you are playing seriously, otherwise it might hurt something.

I found your burned body and clicked on it, but nothing happened
AHA! This is not my body at all. This is some other body. If you find mine, you won't be able to examine it in the usual way. You need to activate it, after which the diary will be automatically added to your inventory.
At this point you should also see Alduin flying overhead. If you didn't see it, then something went wrong.
Read the diary to continue or go straight to the Jarl of Whiterun. The main quest will begin immediately after you do all this.

I did everything, went into the cave, but there was nothing there
The quest marker does not have GPS accuracy. You need to find two poor unfortunate souls who are lying on the ground, bent over in pain. This is Hadvar and Ralof. Go up and talk to one of them.
If these guys are NOT here, then you have another mod installed that changed the AI ​​priority and caused them to move somewhere else. There's nothing I can do about it except increase the priority on my quest scripts. The order in which mods are loaded will not solve the problem.

No you did not understand! A whole piece disappeared from Helgen's cave. What have you done?
It's not me!
No, really. It's not me. There is a bug that is becoming more noticeable as different mods are released that make changes to the same locations. It is not yet known what exactly is causing this bug. This issue has been widely reported in a number of different mods. As a rule, it is impossible to determine exactly where this bug will appear.
I believe that this is due to mods created with the help of unofficial editors that were used before the advent of CK. Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to detect such a mod. If, when using Wrye Bash, you see a message that one or more mods have bad version headers, then you should disable such mods first.
Usually such mods can be fixed by loading them into CK and then immediately saving them without changes. But this method does not guarantee results.





The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Alternate Start



Description:

The modification saves you from having to go through Helgen at the beginning of each new game. By installing this mod, you can at the very beginning of the game play as an assassin or a bandit, a thief or a hunter, a vampire or a necromancer, a warrior of the Empire or one of the Storm Brothers, a farmer, a drunkard in a tavern, a watcher of Stendarr, etc. and so on. By the way, each role requires its own starting location, a unique set of equipment and unique characteristics. It is characteristic that, unlike the original Skyrim, in this modification there is no clearly positive choice: each role has its own positive and negative traits. The mod will give you the opportunity to experience alternative starts of the game if you are tired to death of constantly and without fail going through the boring “Escape from Helgen”. You are given the opportunity to choose a race and... a new life for your character.

Changelog

  • When receiving rumors about Helgen in the Prancing Mare, an error was thrown. Corrected.
  • After talking to the guard at the gate and visiting Whiterun and going to Helgen, the Helgen gates were blocked and would not open, and the map marker would turn off. Corrected.
  • Added a trigger for Dragon's Reach to turn on a marker on the map just in case, so that the player can safely enter the city without conflicts arising with the guard standing at the gate.
  • Starting as an Imperial, you can now start the game as a member of the Penitus Oculatus organization, at an outpost in the Dragon Bridge location.
  • Fixed a bug where the entrance to Whiterun would be blocked because the guard would not approach you or open the gate.
  • Fixed an issue with the friendly faction attack system where attacks against the Thalmor were not recognized by faction members.
  • Added the ability to join the civil war without visiting Helgen first. To develop the quest "Message to Whiterun" you need to start the main quest.
  • The diaries you find on a charred corpse no longer contain specific listed dated data. A slightly different version of the diary will be provided if the player was in Korvanjund after completing the Jagged Crown quest.
  • If the player completes the Jagged Crown quest before arriving in Korvanjund before going to Helgen, Hadvar and Ralof will no longer appear in the Helgen Fortress cave.
  • Tavern Rumors have been changed to simply provide a simple answer that directs the player to Helgen. Dark Sam will remain in the game as an Easter egg, and he no longer has any corresponding functionality in the mod. Your quest stage will be automatically adjusted to reflect this change if you were halfway through.
  • By starting the game as a soldier, the war will no longer trigger background events in Helgen.
  • When starting the game as a Bandit or Vampire, you could not move to the designated places due to incomplete verification of keywords in the quest start conditions and the task controller. (Corrected).
  • Updated Frostfall 3 detection/detection to be compatible.
  • Fixed: When approaching Helgen and entering the cave at the back of the fortress, the game trigger would not fire and Alduin would not appear under very specific conditions. This led to skipping several stages of the quest, the trigger did not work, preventing Tullius and Ulfric from appearing correctly, and as a result, access to the Civil War was blocked. If you started your journey as a Thalmor, you did not reset your diplomatic immunity, or the main quest could be seriously disrupted.
  • When starting my journey as a Bandit, the trigger for applying the bounty on the head did not work in the starting location.
  • Starting your journey in Solitude in the Laughing Rat tavern, the trigger did not fire correctly, for the scene of Roggvir's execution when leaving the inn, now everything is fixed.
  • When starting out in one of the houses from the Hearthfire DLC, the house became inaccessible and the dialogue trigger did not work, stating that the player did not have the funds to purchase, an unused variable script was to blame for this, now everything is fixed.
  • Skeletons and Draugr were hostile to vampires in their original locations, this has now been fixed.

Start of the main quest:
  • The mod will offer you different options for starting the main quest, even if you complete the initial quest “Escape from Helgen”. Nobody forces you to complete the main quest after Helgen. The mod will provide a system that allows you to skip the game's starting quest and avoid meeting Alduin.
  • When you start the game, you will be asked to choose your path.

Options for starting the game.

Dunmer Refugee (Windhelm):
  • Morrowind is still very hostile and you decide to return to Skyrim. Upon arrival, it turned out that you are not in Windhelm.
  • Looks like it's time to let go of your expectations of an easy life and become an adventurer.
  • Note - the sleeping bag and bag will be nearby, these are your things. Bag for safe storage.
Dunmer Refugee (Raven Rock):
  • The mainland of Morrowind is still hostile. You are about to go to Solstheim Island in Raven Rock.
  • After your arrival, you hoped for the best. All residents treat you like a stranger. It looks like life won't be easy. Maybe it's time to get adventurous.
  • Note that there are no secure storage chests in Raven Rock, so don't expect things to stay in the chests.
Thalmor Embassy Agent:
  • You have been assigned to be an agent of the Thalmor Embassy. You are tasked with regulating various issues in Skyrim. Although Elenwen doesn't trust you with the task yet
    - You start the game inside the Thalmor Embassy on the top floor, standing next to the bed. You will be a member of the Thalmor faction, so you can take what you want from the building at any time and can sleep in any bed.
  • As soon as you come to Helgen, you will be expelled from the faction and the embassy. The Thalmor may become hostile towards you due to the assumption that you have abandoned your post. It is important to remember that being part of the Thalmor faction can also make the Stormcloaks hostile towards you.
Caught trying to cross the border illegally:
  • For those who prefer the standard start of the game through Helgen, this option will speed up the process by skipping the race selection dialogue before the execution itself. Most tutorial tips will also be removed.
Moved to Skyrim:
  • You will arrive by ship at the port of Solitude, Dawnstar or Windhelm. You will have with you some supplies, middle class clothes and a modest amount of money to start a new life.
Property owner:
  • You will start the game in a fully furnished house in one of the 4 main cities. The house in Windhelm is not included in the list due to a quest that is directly related to it.
  • You will be dressed according to the status of your home, and you will have some remaining money. And in the bedroom chest you can find a set of weapons typical for this city.
  • If owning a house in the city is not interesting, or you want to have access to all the quests here, then you can become the owner of a farmhouse instead. The lodge is located next to the main road southeast of the Dragon Bridge. There you will meet two NPCs who will be your workers. Your farm will bring constant profit, which you can take from one of the workers. You will have to return home from time to time to pick it up.
Guild Recruit:
  • You will become a recruit to one of the guilds available in the game. Companions, College of Winterhold, Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild. Your starting equipment will correspond to the guild you have chosen.
  • After choosing the Thieves Guild, you will find yourself in the Ragged Flask, next to the exit from the Rat Hole. Talk to Brynjolf to join the guild.
  • By choosing the Dark Brotherhood, you will find yourself right inside the Falkreath Sanctuary. Talk to Astrid to join the guild.
  • By selecting the College of Mages, you will appear next to the entrance to the Hall of Elements. The first stage of joining the guild will already be completed.
  • After choosing Companions, you will find yourself inside Jorrvaskr and will begin at the stage of a training duel with Vilkas.
  • The College of Bards will be added later if Bethesda finalizes this guild. At the moment, it is just a formal guild, not worthy of attention.
Guest at the tavern:
  • You can choose from several taverns throughout Skyrim. Some of them are relatively safe, while others are not so much. For example, the Night Gate tavern is isolated in the mountains, making it more dangerous than most others. Be careful.
Criminal on the loose:
  • You will start the game as a member of a group of bandits. For variety, a group of bandits will be randomly selected. You'll start out in standard bandit gear. The bandits in the starting location will be friendly to you until you anger them. But be careful, because you will be rewarded with 500 gold, in the possession that the game chooses.
  • The guards won't stand by and watch you rush through populated areas unless you're willing to pay a fine.
Soldier in the army:
  • You will start the game as a recruit of the Stormcloaks or the Imperial Legion. Your starting outfit will depend on your choice of side. The test before joining the ranks of one or the other, which is little more than entirely a “go and kill” task, will already be completed.
Your camp in the forest:
  • You are a lone hunter camped in the forest. You have the appropriate low-level equipment, a fire, a pot, a sleeping bag and a tent. The camp is located in the forest/hills near Helgen, allowing you to witness a dragon attack without being directly in the village itself. The camp will always be in the same place, so you can return and settle in it.
Shipwrecked:
  • Shipwreck! You were a passenger on a merchant ship bound for Solitude, but the ship hit an iceberg and capsized. Try to escape from the sinking ship, not forgetting to grab some useful things along the way, and then get to the nearest ice floe. From there you can determine how far from the shore you are.
  • Be careful if you use survival mods, especially hypothermia mods. You can quickly freeze to death.
Attacked and left for dead:
  • Bandits robbed you and left you to die in some wilderness. They left you nothing but old, torn rags. Will you be able to survive in this wilderness and get to safety?
Vampire in a secluded lair:
  • The Eye of Mara Pond has been your home for as long as you can remember. You have already forgotten how long ago you became a vampire, but you know for sure that you are hungry and still crave adventure.
  • Keep in mind that you will start the game at stage 4 of vampirism. From the moment you leave the safety of your lair, everyone you meet will try to kill you. If you are going to remain undetected among the townspeople, then you first need to quench your bloodlust.
Necromancer in a secret laboratory:
  • The laboratory you discovered in Blackreach is starting to run out of supplies. It looks like you will have to leave it and replenish your food supplies, and at the same time see what is happening in the world now.
  • I warn you right away that behind the door you will encounter a Dwemer sphere. You need to have a plan of action in mind before going out.
Stendarr's Watcher:
  • You were accepted into the Watch of Stendarr and were given a room in the Watch Hall, which is located south of Dawnstar.
  • There is a chest in your room in which you can safely store your belongings.

Life in an orc fortress:
  • You will start the game in the orc fortress Dushnik-Yal. Even though you have been living there for quite some time, the local orcs still call you an outsider. And now you are thirsty for adventure again.
  • Some people may see this feature as unbalancing, as you start out with a full set of Orc armor and a nice two-handed ax to boot. But you are still level 1, so even a weak enemy can easily kill you.
Khajiit caravan guard:
  • You accompanied the caravan for a long time and finally the leader hired a new guard. It's time for new adventures, but you will still be welcome at the caravan camps near Whiterun or Markarth. This feature is only available to Khajiit.
Outcast Tribe Warrior:
  • Being the true masters of the Reach, your fellow tribesmen and relatives are forced to eke out a miserable existence in the middle of the rocky mountains, far from a comfortable life. It's time to leave home and go in search of your own adventures. Available only to Bretons.
  • Remember, you will have your own chest in the starting location, which is safe for storing things.
Argonian worker at the docks:
  • You've been working on these docks for many months, maybe even longer. The local Nords have not become any friendlier to you, and therefore it is time to change something. A life of adventure and glory is what you need now.
  • Remember, the first nightstand on the side of the door, with the soul stone stand on top, belongs to you and can be used as storage. It is safe for storing things.
Refugee from Morrowind:
  • Morrowind is still a very hostile place, so you decided to try your luck in Skyrim. However, upon arrival at the place, you saw that Windhelm was not at all what you expected and hoped. It looks like it's time to give up dreams of a carefree life and embark on the road of adventure.
  • Note: You own the sleeping bag and bag you spawn next to. You can safely store your belongings in the bag.
Alik'r warrior:
  • Having experienced disappointment from life in Hammerfell, you joined the Alik'rs and went on a mission to Skyrim. But you clearly do not share the beliefs of these spies, and it seems that the time has come to find your own path. In any case, no one at home will know about this . Available only to Redguards.
Surprise me:
  • The game itself will randomly select one of the above options, except for the standard start through Helgen. The start of the game, unique for each race, will only be available if the player chooses the appropriate race for his character.
Requirements:
  • Game version 1.9.32.0.8 and higher (mod 3.1.5a at the main link)
  • Game version 1.8.151.0.7 (mod 2.3.0 via additional link above)
  • DLC Dawnguard
  • Dragonborn DLC
  • Hearthfire DLC
  • Highly recommended
    • unofficial patches USLEEP (for new versions of the mod) or USKP (for the old version of the mod 2.3.0
    • Fuz Ro D-oh - Silent Voice (to make the mouth and lips of unvoiced NPCs move).
Important:
  • You need to turn on subtitles to see the text when talking to the statue in the starting location. After you choose who you want to play with, you can turn them off. The 3rd person camera will not be available until you make a choice and use the bed.
Compatibility:
  • Compatible with Open Cities Skyrim, tested.
  • Incompatible with any mods that remove "essential" flags from characters in Helgen.
Known Issues:
  • You will not be offered to immediately become a thane in the city if, having started a new life, you have taken possession of a house there.
  • When you start the game as a Companion, you will need to watch the battle before Vilkas starts training you.
  • Having chosen one of the sides in the Civil War, it is recommended to watch the scene with the Jagged Crown, otherwise the quest may not start and the entire line associated with the Civil War may be ruined.
  • There may be some other unfound dialogues that mention Helgen. If you come across any of these before activating the burnt corpse, please report it to the author of the mod.
Installation:
Through NMM/MO managers or manually.
  1. Place the files Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp, Alternate Start - Live Another Life.bsa, Alternate Start - Live Another Life.ini from the archive into the Data folder of your game (not Data in Data, but on top).
  2. Connect the mod in the launcher.
Removal:
  • Before you remove the mod, you need to make sure that the main quest of the game has been started. The "Live Another Life" quest must be marked as completed, and the "Before the Storm" quest must be in your list of current tasks, otherwise deleting the mod will break the main quest and the civil war chain.
  • If you chose to start the game in a farmhouse, then before uninstalling the mod you need to remove all your things from there, otherwise you will lose them.
  • After that, you can delete the mod in any convenient way. The .esp and .bsa files must be completely deleted.
Loading order:
  • The mod should load as low as possible. Many other mods change Helgen and the character generation menu. Loading this mod at the bottom of the launcher should help in case of problems. It is recommended to follow the order specified by BOSS (if installed).

Questions and Answers Game

Nothing changed. I started a new game, but found myself back in Helgen.
Make sure the mod is actually activated. Even if the mod is activated in your mod manager, check if it is activated in Skyrim Launcher.
I tried to use the bed, but nothing happened.
This can happen if you have not yet removed the old version of the mod, which uses free files and not the BSA archive.
The quest "Live a different life" has not been completed and remains in the list of current quests in my journal.
That's how it should be. The quest remains ongoing until you find an adventurer and begin the main quest.
The quest will only end when you save one of the guys in the cave, or immediately go to Jarl Balgruuf to report the attack on Helgen.
General Tullius and Ulfric Stormcloak are missing.
I didn't do anything like that. You must start the main quest before they become available again. It's a shame, but this means you won't be able to take part in the civil war until the main quest begins. Don't blame me. Bethesda has messed things up so much that there's no way to sort through the whole mess without breaking a whole bunch of stuff.
If you want to have some fun, you can always use the player.moveto console command to move to their location. You have to admit it. But don't do this if you are playing seriously, otherwise it might hurt something.
I found your burned body and clicked on it, but nothing happened.
AHA! This is not my body at all. This is some other body. If you find mine, you won't be able to examine it in the usual way. You need to activate it, after which the diary will be automatically added to your inventory.
At this point you should also see Alduin flying overhead. If you didn't see it, then something went wrong.
Read the diary to continue or go straight to the Jarl of Whiterun. The main quest will begin immediately after you do all this.
I did everything, went into the cave, but there was nothing there.
The quest marker does not have GPS accuracy. You need to find two poor unfortunate souls who are lying on the ground, bent over in pain. This is Hadvar and Ralof. Go up and talk to one of them.
If these guys are NOT here, then you have another mod installed that changed the AI ​​priority and caused them to move somewhere else. There's nothing I can do about it except increase the priority on my quest scripts. The order in which mods are loaded will not solve the problem.
No you did not understand! A whole piece disappeared from Helgen's cave. What have you done?
It's not me!
No, really. It's not me. There is a bug that is becoming more noticeable as different mods are released that make changes to the same locations. It is not yet known what exactly is causing this bug. This issue has been widely reported in a number of different mods. As a rule, it is impossible to determine exactly where this bug will appear.
I believe that this is due to mods created with the help of unofficial editors that were used before the advent of CK. Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to detect such a mod. If, when using Wrye Bash, you see a message that one or more mods have bad version headers, then you should disable such mods first.
Usually such mods can be fixed by loading them into CK and then immediately saving them without changes. But this method does not guarantee results.
I walked up to the farmhouse and crashed out of the game.
Most likely the problem is related to navmeshes. Make sure your game version is at least 1.5.24. Changed navmeshes in this version cause crashes to the desktop. Only version 1.9.32.0.8 and higher is supported.