Better Dungeons
by Scot and WalkerInShadows
Table of Contents
Description
Are you tired of all those bland, dreary, cookie-cutter caves? This is the mod for you! Better Dungeons makes almost all the caves unique and interesting.
New Features:
- Caves that allow light have some plants growing inside, so now you can also harvest ingredients from vegetation inside the cave.
- Some areas are too tight to pass, so you need to choose the option to squeeze through.
- Ropes to climb, some of which lead to hidden treasures.
- Unique treasures, some of which can be acquired by solving little "puzzles".
- Caves that have torches along the way means there are bandits, necromancers, conjurers or other inoffensive NPCs; by following the torches, you will eventually find them.
- The only lights in the caves are the ones from daylight, so now torches make sense to use.
- There are 5 safehouses to store your loot, among other things.
This mod does not touch certain caves that are quest-related - to avoid breaking things - as well as others that didn't really need new features. These caves are: Amelion Tomb, Darkfathom Cave, Dunbarrow Cave, Glademist Cave, Haynote Cave (avoids conflicts with CDEP Fanaceya), Lake Arrius Caverns, Nonwyll Cavern, Serpent's Trail, Sideways Cave, Underpall Cave (avoids conflicts with CDEP Underpall), Vahtacen Cave, and Wellspring Cave.
Requirements
Oblivion with the 1.2 patch.
Installation
There are two versions of Better Dungeons - a BSA version and a non-BSA version. The non-BSA version is for people who wish to avoid conflicts with other BSAs - it's a known issue with Oblivion that if two or more BSAs have the same file path, it can lead to crashing. Better Dungeons' BSA is known to conflict with MMM and Better Cities' BSAs, so if you're using those, you're better off getting the non-BSA version. This version can also be made into an OMOD for easier install/uninstall.
In either case, the installation procedure is the same - drop the esp and BSA or files into the Data folder. Use BOSS to place Better Dungeons.esp, or move it by hand using OBMM/Wrye Bash.
Compatibility
Better Dungeons is compatible with FCOM and most other mods, as long as they don't make major changes to the caves. It has been tested in a load order with ~170 other mods, including several quest mods. Mods that add new monsters, like WAC or OOO/MMM, work well with this, as do new sound mods. We highly recommend using a texture replacer mod to truly enjoy the added features.
Known Issues
None at this time.
Hints and Spoilers
Better Dungeons contains a number of small puzzles and hidden treasures, not all of which are immediately obvious. This section covers all of them. Spoilers are blanked out - just highlight the text to read it.
Where's the key to the vault in Black Rock Caverns?
This is a tough one, but if you suspect it's in the cave, you'd be correct. More specifically, it's in the weeds right behind the vault itself.
Where's the key to the second tower in Capstone Cave, and what does the pullrope at the top do?
The key is in the top level of the tower in Capstone Great Cavern It may be a little hard to see, because it blends in. The pull rope activates a small secret door in an altar in the Great Cavern (it's on the east side) that reveals a great treasure.
Where's the key to Crayfish Vents?
It's on the body of a dead fisherman in Crayfish Capillaries, in the large room in the southwest (as you're looking at the map, not the compass).
Where's the key to the vault in Newt Cave Chapels of Light?
It's on the undead monk - you'll have to kill him to get it.
Where's the real key to Red Ruby Hollows?
There's a journal in Red Ruby Cave that mentions where the key is located. If you're still having problems finding it, it's in Toadstool Hollow Doubleback, on the body of a dead female bandit.
Credits
Badco - gore resource
Elveon, Malo, Mikal33 and Alienslof - spider creature resource
Lady Nerevar - Lady N's Paper Goods
Meo - Various resources
Momo - various resources
MrNico - CrystalStone resource
Mr_Siika - various resources
mr. Toru Miyazawa and Sjors Boomschors - clear stream fish resource
LauraCroft - ferns
Lazarus89 - Undead knight resource
Peecee - skydomes resource
Phaerus- turil church
Phitt - Mudwater hut
Phitt and Koldorn - loreless creature pack
SachielMF - rock resources
Stroti - various resources
WalkerInShadows - big thanks for cleaning the mod and fix conflicts
Zman - skeleton horse
Ztree - spider eggs
Legal
You may make a translation of Better Dungeons, but it must be the esp only - due to conditions put forth in some of the modders' resources, they cannot be distributed anywhere besides Oblivion Nexus. You can upload a translated esp wherever you wish, however.
All resources used in this mod are the property of their respective creators; see the individual entries for reuse.
Changelog
Version 11
* Changed all the Argonian and Khajiit NPCs so they use the beast skeleton instead of the standard skeleton.
* Added No Low Level Processing for all the dead NPCs.
* Fixed the filepath for the Sunken One so it'll appear properly.
* Moved a rock in Fyrelight Cave 03 that was clipping with a vanilla chest and some flora.
Version 10
* Adjusted/grounded various objects and flora.
* Grounded/adjusted some of the crystal rocks in Arrowshaft Cavern.
* Fixed a number of clipping/floating/buried coffins in Barren Cave.
* Added a platform under a pallet in Charcoal Cave.
* Replaced the flaming corpse in Kingscrest Cavern with a non-flaming version.
* Fixed some pathgrid nodes in Shinbone Cave.
* Fixed several minor conflicts with OOO, and one with TAS.
Version 9
* Adjusted/grounded various objects and flora.
* Adjusted the crawlthrough in Bramblepoint Cave to avoid a conflict with KDQ.
* Moved a platform in Grayrock Cave so it sits under the floating pallet with a skeleton on it (the UOP doesn't touch this one, oddly).
* Adjusted the rotten plank in Capstone Cave 02 so both ends sit on the stone.
* Deleted some more objects outside Bloodrun Cave and Bramblepoint Cave.
Version 8
* Grounded a sack in Bloodmayne Cave.
* Removed pathgrid nodes going through the crawlthrough in Bramblepoint Cave.
* Deleted objects outside the cave in Greenmead Soggy Hollow.
* Grounded a chest in Newt Cave Chapels of Light.
* Restored a section of passage that was misaligned in Silvertooth Cave (oops), and fixed pathgrid nodes near the beginning of the second level.
* Raised a chest that was slightly buried in the floor of a ruined house in Sinkhole Cave. There's an OOO fire near it under the floor; not much to be done about it.
* Moved some of the ground cover clipping with a coffin in Smoke Hole Cave; it's visible when you open it.
Version 7
* Grounded some vanilla flora and a rock in Arrowshaft Cavern (changes from Better Dungeons override the UOP, so some things like this are necessary).
* Reduced the size of the coffin in Fingerbowl Cave to avoid blocking the path, and added some pathgrid nodes to that room.
* Moved the door on the second level of Shadows Rest Cavern leading to the safehouse to avoid a conflict with KDQ.
* Removed the rope and rocks blocking the doors between the two levels of The Beast's Maw, since the safehouse is no longer there.
* Grounded another wolfskin and raised a couple shelter walls that got missed before in Timberscar Cave.
Version 6
* Resized the skydomes in Bloodmayne and Capstone Caves so they cover the holes properly.
* Adjusted a rock in Capstone Cave to unbury an OOO chest.
* Reduced the size of the shrine in Fingerbowl Cave 04 and restored the altar (an OOO chest sits on it).
* Moved a pallet and some crates in Fyrelight Cave 03 to avoid a conflict with OOO.
* Restored the deleted pallet in Grayrock Cave, and adjusted a cart that was partially buried.
* Grounded the floating journal in Red Ruby Cave.
* Deleted a rock outside of Shinbone Cave 02.
* Moved a rock shelter near the plank bridge in Silvertooth Cave to provide better access, moved few torches, and deleted a rock outside the cave.
* Deleted an Ayleid block outside of Timberscar Cave and grounded the floating wolfskins.
* Added/adjusted pathgrid nodes in numerous locations.
Version 5.5
* Moved a table and a couple crates in Bloodcrust Cavern to avoid conflicts with StarX VVR.
* Moved a rock in Bloodrun Cave that was clipping with a OOO chest; also raised a hanging corpse that was stuck in the ground.
* Raised the roof in the tunnel in Deep Bramblepoint Cave leading to the welkynd crystal deposit so you can actually enter it.
* Moved a rock in Charcoal Cave that was covering an OOO skeleton.
* Restored some deleted containers.
* Deleted objects outside several caves.
Version 5
* Replaced the huge rock in Bloodmayne Cave Labyrinth with another one (the old one had collision issues).
* Grounded some floating vegetation in Fallen Rock Cave.
* Fixed a couple minor conflicts with OOO in Fatback Cave: In the last room of Deep Basins, moved the ledge with the staff to avoid clipping with a chest and adjusted the column to avoid clipping with a corpse.
* Fixed some wild edits in Memorial Cave and Fieldhouse Cave.
* Restored a chest in Fieldhouse Black Balconies that was outside the dungeon, restored several disabled containers to avoid conflicts with Enhanced Economy.
* Fixed numerous wild edits to cells created by the CS that added false water levels.
Version 4
* Reassigned the filepaths so the game doesn´t find two BSA with the same file path/
* Removed all the Textures/LandscapeLOD files.
* Moved the house in Fieldhouse Cave to prevent conflicts with other mods.
Version 3
* Removed more items outside the caves.
* Fixed more wild edits.
* Fixed a couple conflicts with the UOP.
* Barren Cave: Moved/deleted coffins that were clipping or outside the cave, and fixed a minor conflict with StarX VVR.
* Breakneck Cave: Adjusted some rocks in a passage where they were too low to let the player through.
* Newt Cave: Added a script to the chapel door so people don't think it's bugged.
* Outlaw Endre's Cave: Grounded a floating barrel and moved a chest clipping with a rock.
* Robber's Glen Cave: Moved a couple chests to make them more accessible.
* Sandstone Caverns: Moved the spawns in rocks and incorrect music type in the Sandstone Passage.
* Shadows Rest Cavern: Moved a vanilla chest clipping with new rocks.
Version 2
* Edited all the notes/books (spelling, capitalization, etc.).
* Deleted many statics outside the dungeons (flora, rocks, furniture, etc.).
* Moved some items around in Fieldhouse Cave to avoid conflict with the UOP.
* Moved a few torches/fires in various caverns so they weren't in the way.
* Deleted the interior of the chapel in Newt Cave Chapels of Light (there were unfixable collision issues with the interior mesh).
* Fixed a couple wild edits.
* Corrected nine conflicts with OOO, two with The Ayleid Steps, and one with Kragenir's Death Quest.
* Pyffied all the meshes with PyFFI 2.1.10.
* Cleaned the mod with TES4Edit.
Version 1.5
* Last third of the caves done.
Version 1.0
* Second third of the caves done.
Version 0.5
*Initial release; first third of the caves done.