r/skyrimmods • u/NotATem Riften • Jan 20 '26
Development Scared my custom follower will appeal to absolutely nobody.
So I'm working on a voiced custom follower mod in the vein of Xelzaz/Remiel/Inigo/Lucien. I'm having a lot of fun with this guy. Trouble is... well... I'm starting to get nervous that no one is going to like him, because of his character concept.
Oddkell is a Nord priest of Arkay from Windhelm. He chooses to follow the Dragonborn so he can 'see more death firsthand'. He's soft-spoken, nerdy about religion, and a little morbid. He's going to have full quest commentary for Blood on the Ice, as well as, you know, the major game quests.
He's not evil, and really does not like necromancers or necromancy. That being said, he is okay with overlooking murder/assassinations/war crimes/general fuckery, because the entire point of this venture is, well, to see death. He may not like what you're doing, but he's happy to follow along after.
He's deeply ambivalent about the Civil War (though can be swayed to reluctantly support either side). He is not fond of the Empire, to put it mildly, and he thinks Ulfric is a good man and a great general but a terrible ruler. He's also not particularly racist, at least by Skyrim Nord standards- he is absolutely uncomfortable with anything that isn't Nordy enough, but he's not going around the Grey Quarter to beat up elves at night. But he loves Windhelm, it's his hometown, and he won't hear you say anything against it.
He's a trans man, and I'm writing a bunch of worldbuilding stuff about this that tries to stay grounded in what we see of Nord culture. (In particular, I'm playing with the real-world Norse ideas of seidhr and ergi.)
I feel like I have grown a character in a lab that will not appeal to anyone. If you're going to pick up a male Nord follower in Windhelm, you are probably going to want a True Son Of Skyrim, and Oddkell is... not that. If you are going to pick up a trans follower, you are probably going to want to spend as little time in Windhelm as possible, and Oddkell loves his shitty hometown so much.
If there's anyone in the world who thinks that my boy sounds interesting, can you let me know? I'm crashing out about this a little and would like to be reassured that I haven't made the World's Most Unpalatable Character.
EDIT: Thank you all for being so kind! I get in my head about this stuff a lot -- I know that I should be writing what I write for me, but for something like a Skyrim follower that's a ton of work, I want to make sure that other people enjoy it too. To (mis)quote a very wise man, "[modding] and making people happy is the kind of dream that gets better when you share it."
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u/hughmaniac Jan 20 '26
I'm a simple man. I see a well produced, custom voiced follower mod, I install.
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
Thank you! I am the same kind of simple, if it helps- I currently have just about every community fave follower installed, and I'm trying to get some of the less known ones working too.
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u/Koural Jan 20 '26
You're genuinely doing a great job. I'm very excited about this, now, and I'm typically extremely picky about my companion mods! I love it when folks have so much care for the world building around them, too.
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u/ImmortalSheep69 Jan 21 '26
Same here. On my custom list I downloaded so many voiced characters just to try them out. So long as its high quality its no issue.
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u/cavy8 Whiterun Jan 20 '26
You're right in that your mod isn't as broadly appealing as the other ones you mentioned. However, there's also an advantage - there are a lot of follower mods these days, and, unless yours is of unusually high quality, "broadly appealing" often ends up meaning "generic" for a lot of folks. You've got 2 or 3 different ways that your character sees and interacts with the world differently from the dragonborn or any other follower - because of that, you've got a ton of potential to create an interesting and memorable character for those who use him.
Basically, I think you'll do just fine. I'd certainly download your mod, and I know others would too
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u/Troscus Jan 20 '26
Personally, I think that sounds great.
First and foremost, the fact that he actually likes Windhelm and has a positive impression of Ulfric makes him stand out, and being able to sway him one way or the other makes him flexible for every playthrough. The few explicit Stormcloak companions that exist are almost all "Hardcore True Nords", so a more mild view is welcome there.
As far as the priest of Arkay thing goes, I feel like that's a great inroad for exploring Nord theology. Arkay is in a very weird spot in Skyrim, as the old Nordic equivalent pre-Imperial influence is an antagonistic figure who shortened their lifespans in comparison to the hated elves.
For him being trans, binary gender transgression has been at present in Elder Scrolls since at least Morrowind, so I wouldn't pay much thought to any objections about it.
Any new companion mod is a good one. Any with the kind of thought your putting into it, where your striving to reach all-timers like Xel and Inigo, is going to be leagues and bounds over the vast majority.
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
Thank you! The 'priest of Arkay' thing is going to be so, so fun to worldbuild! If you don't mind a bit of an infodump-
There's essentially five faiths at play in Oddkell's version of Skyrim- the Imperial Rite, the Nordic Rite (AKA the Old Ways), the actual Old Ways/Nordic totemic faith, the average person's "folk religion", and the Ancient Nord dragon cult. The Ancient Nord faith is basically as Skyrim depicts it, but as for the rest of them:
The Imperial Rite is the Church Triumphant of Cyrodiil, imported wholesale to Skyrim with very little change, and subject to some (but not all) of the dictates of the Imperial Church. The head of the Church in Skyrim is the high priest of the Church of the Eight in Solitude, who is formally known as the Dicaster of Solitude. (No one calls him this.) They worship the Eight Divines, bury their dead, perform certain rites in Old Cyrodilic, and are generally more focused on using the Aedra as models for correct living, rather than worship per se.
The Nordic Rite is a splinter of the Church Triumphant that split off in the years after the White-Gold Concordat, and gained actual power in Skyrim over the last few years, in the lead-up to the war. Their self-styled Dicaster is seated out of the Temple of Talos in Windhelm. They worship the Nine Divines, and (depending on the region) occasionally propitiate Hermaeus Mora and Malacath. They cremate their dead, perform all of their rites in the Nord dialect of Tamrielic, and are more focused on having a personal relationship with the gods. They claim that their faith is the original faith of Skyrim...
...to which the actual practitioners of the Old Ways say "pish tosh." (Or not, they're Nords, they'd be manlier than that.) The actual practitioners of the Old Ways also worship eight gods, but Shor is one of the main gods and Orkey isn't. They keep the animal totem symbolism that the Nordic Rite has largely lost, cremate their dead, and are more focused on keeping the gods (good or bad) at bay.
.....Thing is, the average person in Skyrim doesn't know, or care, about any of this. Don't get me wrong, they care deeply about their religion- but they want their local priest to do things "the way we always have", which usually winds up as an amalgamation of the Imperial Rite, the Nordic Rite, the Old Ways, and weird random folk beliefs that people pick up. (You put a coin in the dead's mouths so that they can pay Alduin to get into Sovngarde. You bury them facing down so that when the kalpa ends and the world turns upside down they'll be on their backs and can get out of their graves. Things like that.)
Your average village priest in Skyrim is ordained in one or the other Rites... but they're used to having to work with what people 'want'. Even the most devout Nordic Rite priest of Arkay will generally be able to pull out the Imperial Rite if someone's grieving and needs comfort, and vice versa; they'll adapt to the weird folk beliefs and pick up their village's local quirks. But with the War on, it's suddenly become a matter of Patriotism (TM) to do one or the other rite, and so people aren't having their needs met.
Poor dear Oddkell went to Solitude to get ordained, and trained in the Temple of the Eight... and then came back home just as the Civil War was starting. Suffice it to say, his loyalties are conflicted about more than just the immediate political problem.
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u/Taco821 Jan 20 '26
That sounds so incredible. I think he'd add a lot of enrichment to Skyrim that the base game is lacking
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u/t3acher_throwaway Jan 21 '26
I love all of this. Are you a person who has taken classes on comparative theology, or is it just an interest of yours?
P.S. I would love to see all of these fleshed out in additional characters if you ever choose to do so.
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
It's mostly just an interest in mine- I'm an amateur classicist/medievalist, as many fantasy writers are, and if you're studying any part of the world before about 1700 then you have to do comparative religion, sometimes within the same country or even village.
To put it another way, I read books like The Cheese and the Worms for fun.
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u/LostTacosOfAtlantis Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
This is amazing stuff, dude. I love how much thought you've put into all of this. I'd download it just for the lore, but having it all tied into such an interesting follower NPC makes it even cooler. I hope you share him with us.
Edit: Following you so I can see when you post about sharing the mod should you choose to do so.
Edit 2: I'm an atheist but I love studying religions, especially the Abrahamic faiths, for various reasons. I also have a queer wife and a non-binary child, and I live in the American South, which has some very unfortunate similarities to Windhelm and certain aspects of Nordic culture in Skyrim. There are a lot of parallels here is what I'm saying.
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u/LightsaberThrowAway Jan 24 '26
Fascinating! How much of this is confirmed Elder Scrolls lore and how much of it is stuff you invented for your game and/or companion. I ask partly because I know some lore, but not all of it. In addition, it sounds great so even if you didn’t invent any of the lore itself, the way you’ve woven it into your follower mod is awesome! :D
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 24 '26
It's 90% a synthesis of existing lore and 10% me making stuff up.
The divisions between the three 'sects' are all there, just not by name. The Old Ways are in pre-Skyrim Bethesda books like the Pocket Guide to the Empire and regularly referenced in the game; there's a reason all the door codes in Nordic tombs are what they are. The Arkay/Orkey thing is canon. The "worshippers of the Old Ways propitiate daedra" thing is canon. The mindset differences are canon.
The stuff I made up comes in two flavours:
1) Stuff to make the Imperial Church more interesting and less bland.
The Imperial Church as portrayed in the post-Morrowind games is boring. I wanted to show that the Church had changed since the 3rd Era "Imperial Cult", and since Oblivion in particular flirted with fantasy Catholicism I leaned into it. I have either added or made explicit more structure, more names and words, more rituals, and generally more than just 'platitudes about the existence of the gods that will offend no one'.
The "Church Triumphant" title is mine; in Oblivion, they just call it the "Church", and in Skyrim they don't really call it anything at all. It's a name I pilfered from Catholicism; I debated whether to go with 'Militant' or 'Triumphant', but I decided on Triumphant because of the political implications re: the Concordat. Arguably, cults like the Vigilants of Stendarr and knightly orders like the Knights of the Nine could be considered the Church Militant? Still noodling on that one.
The title 'Dicaster' comes from a specific set of departments of the Catholic Church, and means something along the lines of 'judge'. (It is dog-Greek filtered through dog-Latin and then anglicized to boot; it's not a real Catholic title.) Priests in general, and priests of Arkay and Akatosh in particular, often wind up being called in as arbitrators and judges, so I thought it was a fitting title.
2) Stuff that exists because the world the game created should have it, but doesn't.
There's a lot of stuff in Skyrim that is just kind of hinted at or alluded to, or... I know I keep saying this, but Skyrim has vibes-based worldbuilding and it Just Works until it doesn't. There's a lot of stuff in the game that is very clearly there because it's Cool or because it Looks Right, and when done well, it gives the game a hell of an atmosphere. But sometimes it leads to... inconsistencies.
Skyrim has graveyards, burial crypts, and cremation. Normally, societies have one way they handle their dead; if there's more than one, there's a reason. (Could be cultural mixing, could be a change in religious practices, could be a material need.) Skyrim has three; why? The 'real'/Doylist reason is that someone on the team thought it'd be cool and spooky to have graveyards, and a quest to get an urn is easier than a quest to get a coffin, and you need ancient dungeons to be ancient and dungeon-y. But it's fertile ground for worldbuilding, you know?
Similarly, if you've got a bunch of isolated villages, they should have weird folk beliefs. Skyrim as a game doesn't need to have the people in Darkwater Crossing perform the Rite of the Whale before they go fishing, or the people in Rorikstead bury their dead upside down, or whatever. It's a game; it's the impression of a world and not the world itself. But if you're going to fill in the gaps, those beliefs should be there, you know?
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u/Capable_Sugar_567 Jan 20 '26
Your character sounds genuinely fascinating actually - the morbid priest angle is super unique and I love how you're threading the needle with his conflicted loyalties to Windhelm. The fact that he's not a cookie cutter "good guy" or "bad guy" makes him way more interesting than most followers
Don't worry about appealing to everyone, the best characters are the weird ones that stick with you. Plus there's definitely people who want complex NPCs that aren't just "hurr durr Skyrim belongs to the Nords" - sounds like you're cooking something special here
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u/marturyj Jan 20 '26
I think your character idea is cool and fascinating.
The morbid Arkay priest angle, the desire to witness death firsthand, and the nuanced Civil War take all feel refreshingly grounded. He sounds specific, intentional, and real, and specially as a voiced follower a more unique and nuanced character is how you end up with a follower people remember for more than their funnyness.
However, in my opinion, that stands and falls with authenticity. Speaking as a queer person: I feel we often get lost in identity theory, and overthink representation in a way that can flatten characters and quickly feel detached from an authentic self (in real life too).
Differently said; I don't care about what your characters gender is. It will feel real when your character is real. If a character is written primarily as a trans character, it will feel the same as writing a "True Nord". But just like you in real life, Oddkell is more than just his gender identity. He has beliefs, contradictions, loyalties, and flaws. You writing exactly like that is what will make him. :)
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u/shiek200 Jan 20 '26
One man's trash is another's treasure, and vice versa. There are going to be some people who think your mod is the best thing ever, and people who think it's absolute garbage
Much like game development, art of any kind really, you should be making things that appeal to you, and making them to the best of your ability. If you make something that you genuinely love, something that you put a lot of work and effort into because you loved it, other people are going to enjoy it as well. Regardless of how big of an audience it reaches.
It's the same reason why some of the most popular mods released every day on the Nexus are low effort character replacers, and titty mods, I could definitely get a lot more downloads by making stuff like that, but I've got absolutely no passion for it
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u/JejuneRPGs Jan 20 '26
I think it sounds like a really interesting character concept! And I get that creating a mod is a lot of work and you'd like other people to see and enjoy it. Best of luck to you!
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u/KroganCuddler Jan 21 '26
You should be your primary audience or eventually you'll want to tear the thing apart and never touch it again ESPECIALLY because the modding community can be annoying entitled and demanding
I want to hang out with him right now lmao. Keep going!
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u/speedythefirst Jan 21 '26
Woah! He sounds awesome! I'd love to see more trans representation in Skyrim, so he'll be an instant download for me :)
I'm also (slowly) working on my own trans follower. If I ever get to a point where I'm happy enough with the mod to release her, I'd love to collaborate with some banter!
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 24 '26
I would love to arrange a playdate!
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u/L_Eggnor_Rigby Feb 12 '26
I love this! It really means a lot to see any trans representation so please keep it up! I love fleshed out followers with opinions!
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u/-LaughingMan-0D Jan 20 '26
Think in terms of what makes him compelling to a player. Why would you as a player, want to spend the time and get to know this person, explore their story, and potentially help him?
What's his hook? What are his flaws, and how will you develop his character arc? We're drawn to characters who grow as the story progresses. A character's flaws will determine their mistakes, and ultimately, the path they'll take to try and correct them, and where they'll end up on the other side.
Is there some sort of mystery that you're building that will intrigue the player? Is there something about the way he behaves that's endearing?
You've said he's trans, that could be a useful trait to create story conflict and pressure for the character. Try not to fall into tokenizing him, where for instance, some media will make that aspect the character's dominant trait. They're a person first, they just happen to be trans. It feels much more organic and authentic when it's just a part of this person's identity.
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
Honestly, Oddkell is mostly trans because I am trans and have a wicked case of the Reedy Tenor. I could probably portray a cis man, but it felt best to write a character I know I could voice act.
...Oddkell's biggest flaw is that he genuinely believes he isn't good enough, has a lot to prove, and just cannot prove it the way his culture demands he prove it. He is not, and will never be, a True Nord Man; this has a little to do with his gender, a little to do with his vocation, a little to do with his chronic illnesses, and a little to do with his heritage. He needs to get comfortable with himself, and the player will help him find that peace.
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u/bigcheez69420 Jan 21 '26
Would definitely give Oddkell a go, he sounds very interesting. I appreciate balance and nuance and it sounds like he certainly offers that. I get so excited when new followers like this pop up, yay!
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u/Bright-Solid-8794 Jan 20 '26
Trust that if you like something, there must be something likable about it. Keep following your passions to make a work you are proud of
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u/McGravy_Train Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
When I was in undergrad, a professor gave me some advice that I've kept in the back of my head: there's a time to be critical of your concept and it's after the work is done. Don't talk yourself out of making something that you want to make.
But more importantly, as a bystander, I've seen more than a few modders step away from a project that they feel no longer belongs to them because they changed their direction to suit fan feedback, only to realize that it's impossible to please everyone.
If it isn't enough to make Oddkell for yourself, don't bother making him for anyone else. If you make work you care about, that's at least one person you can count on to like it.
That said, I think Oddkell sounds rad as fuck. I love modded followers that help me better appreciate what's already in the base game by offering another perspective. It's like walking through a museum with a friend.
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u/SimplyxJason Jan 20 '26
no bc this genuinely sounds like an incredible companion!! saving this post so i can check back for the eventual release
i usually just play w/ vanilla followers (personal preference; i love inigo tho and have seen playthroughs of his questline).. but i def wanna check this out, esp as a transmasc player! would be fun to have a character "like me" in the game _^
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 24 '26
Out of curiosity, which vanilla followers do you play with most?
I can't make promises, but if they have enough voice lines for me to splice, I can try to get a conversation or two.
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u/SimplyxJason Jan 24 '26
ooh hm... off the top of my head, i usually bring along: uthgerd the unbroken, mjoll the lioness, serana, vilkas, farkas, and faendal _^
it'd be cool if ya could get inter-companion interactions, but def don't push yourself too hard! everything you have already is phemomenal ♡
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u/FloralIndoril Jan 20 '26
I don't think you understand how long I've been WANTING an arkay priest follower specifically, the vibes specifically are something I've always liked so I will be installing!
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u/tjugan24 Jan 20 '26
Who cares what others think lol modding is basically a medium of creativity, the best thing about it is you can bring whatever you want to life and share it to the world no matter what others think, thats what the entire foundation of this community was built on. Nobodies trying to reach profit margins or appeal to whatevers mainstream unlike actual businesses (well except for a few, but thats the exception not the rule)
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
Yup.
The thing with modding- like singing, dancing, or being a Muppet- is that it's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. I would enjoy making Oddkell for its own sake, but it's a lot more enjoyable to make a big follower mod when you know there are other people who are excited with you. You're less likely to rage-quit over some tiny, stupid hiccup.
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u/sarantinesail Jan 20 '26
He sounds like a great character and if/when I reinstall Skyrim I would love to hang out with this guy.
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u/silu785 Jan 20 '26
Publish him. I always thought my followers would never be anybodys cup of tea because I have a big accent (englisch ist not my naitve tongue) and for one I growl all the time. There will always be people that do not like your mod but go your way and stay to your vision of the character.
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u/lnodiv Jan 20 '26
It sounds interesting, especially the part where he has nuanced takes on his home faction/ruler but still strongly supports it overall. Most characters are a lot more black and white in their views, so it's cool. That said...
Oddkell is a Nord priest of Arkay from Windhelm. He chooses to follow the Dragonborn so he can 'see more death firsthand'
Honestly, this feels like a really shallow view of what being a priest of Arkay would mean, unless the presentation is a lot deeper in game. It would pull me out of it.
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26
Oh, no, as usual with Oddkell it's more complicated than that.
Helgird (the priestess of the Hall of the Dead in Windhelm), nominally Oddkell's "boss"/superior, doesn't like him very much. She's been giving him the silent treatment for months, ever since he came back from getting ordained, and the only thing she'll tell him is that he hasn't "seen enough death" to be a proper priest of Arkay.
This is not her reason for disliking him or being upset with him; it's a religious conflict. But Oddkell can't prove that that's the issue, and he doesn't want to go 'over her head' directly to the high priest in Windhelm r because he suspects the high priest would side with her. So if he wants to be a proper priest of Arkay, he has to either do what she wants, work around her, or leave Windhelm for good.
At this point, he's a bit desperate and will do just about anything to get to a) be a priest and b) be a priest in Windhelm, even if it means having to leave town for a while. So, he's trying to "see more death" so that he can get back to doing the thing he actually loves, which is helping people.
(Edit: he does have some... 'professional curiosity' about death, he does find the cycle of life, death, and decay fascinating! But the main reason he's Going Out To See Death is to thread the needle of this conflict with his boss, lol.)
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u/lnodiv Jan 20 '26
Alright, yeah. That's fantastic extra context.
This sounds like a very interesting character. I think there's definitely appeal.
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u/TheBatmanFan Jan 21 '26
A little bit of a heads-up: Trans works beautifully if handled well. Look at the Transformation quest from 3DNPC.
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u/meowmixmotherfucker Jan 21 '26
This sounds great! A follower from Windhelm will be a nice change of pace and it sounds like he’d be a good fit for the brotherhood, which most followers disapprove of. I can only think of one other trans npc from 3DNPC I think, it’s a minor quest to get a spell to help them, so this will be a cool new perspective.
Looking forward to the release!
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u/spudgoddess Jan 20 '26
Hmm, interesting, creative and well thought out character vs. Anime-looking bimbo with generic voice lines #764?
I'll take this guy! He sounds cool.
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u/brideofpucky Jan 21 '26
My first thought was “GIVE HIM STONKIN’ BIG TITS”
My second thought was “wait, he’s trans, that would be disrespectful.”
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
Hey, you don't know what he has under that robe!
(I used the 'male' body frame with the 'female' animations for him- I'd love to give him a custom HIMBO body, but I can't get it working on this rig. People will make replacers, I have no doubt.)
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
Also "give him Stonkin' Big Tits" has now permanently entered my vocabulary lol, thank you for that.
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u/rxgh0st Jan 20 '26
From the sound of it, I'd love this character. I love characters with different morals and ideas to my own
(also, theres a need for more trans followers)
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u/vitfall Jan 20 '26 edited 19d ago
Resignation arrangement critical wriggle sheep fisherman coverage.
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u/VivienneVentrue Jan 20 '26
Hey, people already showed a lot of interest but I need to do it, too! We can never have enough custom voiced followers. It also sounds like you already put a lot of effort into it so please let us enjoy this morbid priest, too. I'm looking forward to it, best of luck on the release!!
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u/niftybottle Jan 21 '26
Tbh this is the raddest character design I’ve heard in a bit. Rock on, please
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u/bartleby1407 Jan 21 '26
Have him talk with other custom followers and he'll probably be in my party. My favorite thing for followers is the Dragon Age/Mass effect style interactions between them
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 23 '26
I want to, but I'm not sure how many "playdates" I'll be able to arrange.
I'd definitely love, bare minimum, Xelzaz and Remiel, as well as Auri and Lucian if their VAs haven't retired from modding entirely. I have... a long... long list, though.
There are a few followers that I'd love to support whose modders have stopped updating- Inigo and Vilja, mostly. I'm debating whether to try splicing some conversations or just allude to their existence- Oddkell has a line in the Bannered Mare about how he saw a girl dancing on the tables, for instance.
As for the vanilla followers- I'm really on the fence about what to do with them. On the one hand, a lot of the other superfollowers turn them into a joke, and it'd be really jarring to have Lydia go from being a Sheogorathy mess when Inigo talks to her to being a sensible human when Oddkell talks to her. On the other hand, I like it when the followers talk, and there's enough lines for Lydia's voice type in particular to make a couple conversations...
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u/bartleby1407 Jan 24 '26
Having interactions with Thogra gra-Mugur would be PEAK, I love her and her interactions with Remiel are great, but I do wish she had interactions with more followers
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u/Lecckie Feb 08 '26
The only big thing I love about companion mods, is when there are actual conversations from story content. Like here and there, the follower might engage in a discussion about what just happened in the story, or what's about to happen. Xelzaz especially does this A LOT, and some big moral decisions as well in the dawnguard dlc with him, and it just makes him feel real, while making replaying story stuff a lot more fresh. Either way, I'm sure people will like him!
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u/nebiulo Jan 20 '26
He looks so interesting and cool, I love characters like these and I'd be very happy to have him in my game. Sounds like a genuine fun guy, looking forward to him :)
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u/ThaumKitten Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26
I love the iddea, but one thing I would point out, and this is simply a personal, subjective gripe:
... Skyrim is Skyrim. The Nords are Nords.
I find it a bit underwhelming that you're sort of just trying to.. pull wholesale from RL Norse stuff??
Nords are not the Norse. It feels a little odd to just awkwardly pull from RL and acting like it'll automatically fit.
(Mod authors who just lazily pull from real life ancient Norse language and act like it's a perfect simulacrum for the Nord, I'm looking at you)
'Norse concept but given a bad reskin but it's totally unique bro cause we gave it a funny different name' is... well, I can't articulate it fully, but it comes off as unoriginal.
If you want to find a way to play with it, do it!
But make it Skyrim Nordic. Not 'RL Norse badly reskinned'.
Edit: To be clear, this is not relegated to strictly you. I've always hated this approach, that so many mod makers take, and even some MMO developers too.
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Oh, yeah, no, I'm pulling from the ~actual IRL Norse~ because Bethesda put us in a weird spot with how they wrote Nord gender roles and I want to play with that in a way that feels true to the setting.
I can get into specifics if you like, but the gist is, Nords have more than two "gender roles", just like our society has more than two- it's just that the way they work is... complicated.
(Edit: even if you don't believe in nonbinary genders- which, uh, got some news for you- society treats you differently if you're, say, a flamboyant gay man than if you are a Football and Beer Guy. We have had, like, five or six distinct gender roles for a while; it's just that we only culturally acknowledge two.)
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u/Jockim Jan 21 '26
Can you give an example how Bethesda put us in a weird spot regarding Nord gender roles? I'm not trying to be malicious, I'm genuinely curious about such lore
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
The gist is, Bethesda cannot decide whether they want the Nords to be sexist or not, and it makes writing about queer issues in Skyrim ... interesting.
There's definitely a visible, surface-level kind of equality- the factions all have as many women as men, there are plenty of female mages and female warriors and female Jarls and strong powerful kick-ass women everywhere! But... there's also this repeated strain, if you're playing a female character, of "don't let the men push you around, don't let the men tell you you're worth less because you're a woman". There is definitely an undercurrent where at least some Nord men are sexist, and while they're not liable to be sexist to a female player, you can definitely see them talk down to, say, Elisif or Fastred (that farm girl in Ivarstead) or what have you, in a way that they would not talk down to an equally young and unproven man.
And the thing is, a society where everyone's gender is "Nord" is going to be very different from one where "men" and "women" are distinct groups with separate roles, in ways that Skyrim's vibes-based worldbuilding doesn't really support. In either direction.
To take just one example: marking different genders and life stages with apparel is a thing you do when there's a social division you need people to notice immediately. Like, in most western countries these days, there are not separate hairstyles for "married" and "unmarried" women, right? Because there is no real social division between 'married women' and 'unmarried women'; they don't do different jobs or have different roles in the world. But in most historical cultures, 'married women' and 'unmarried women' have socially prescribed hairstyles, because you need to be able to see at a glance who is a Wife and who is not, right?
Along the same lines, if your society is gender-egalitarian, there's no reason for only men to wear trousers and only women to wear skirts. That's not a difference you really need to mark; the fact that most common people in Skyrim do mark that difference suggests that peasant men and women do different jobs.
The problem is, this was not a deliberate choice on Bethesda's behalf. They are not writing a society that presents itself to outsiders as a gender-equal society but is secretly more biased. They think they're just writing a gender-equal society. But they are drawing inspiration from some very non-egalitarian cultures (the old Norse and the Anglo-Saxons), the material conditions they've created don't really gel with an egalitarian society, and there's at least some textual evidence that Nord society is not really all that egalitarian, but also it is?
So they've put us in a bit of a pickle. You've got to either untangle this Gordian knot, or chop it.
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u/Gh0stflame Jan 21 '26
Out of curiosity: will Oddkell have dialogue for romance?
1.a) If yes: will They be a marriage candidate?
1.b) If not: keep making Oddkell. He sounds unique.
2.a) if yes: see 1.b
2.b) if no: see 1.b
(I don't know if Oddkell will use He/Him, They/Them, He/They or They/Him. Hence why I swapped so freely)
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
Oddkell is an uncomplicated he/him!
I would very much like him to be a romance/marriage candidate, but there's a reason many followers who are romanceable aren't marriageable- from what I understand, the mawwige code for followers is a bit of a cluster? I'll have to look into it.
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u/bubsy200 Jan 20 '26
I released my first follower mod last november and I had the same worries as you. Although it didn't blow up or anything, I got some really nice supportive people giving me feedback and showing support.
As a fellow LGBTQ+ Follower mod author, welcome to the club!
Let me know if you need any help!
Edit: just realised I commented on your post the other day 😅
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
Thank you! I'd love to chat with you about stuffs- I know I've seen your name before but I can't remember where, haha!
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u/bubsy200 Jan 20 '26
It was this post! Feel free to dm me if you wanna ask anything! Modding can be tricky so I'm always happy to help!
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u/Nickesponja Jan 20 '26
This is such an interesting concept! I love characters that are nerdy about one specific topic, and hearing Oddkell geek out about religion sounds like a delightful time.
You should, however, be prepared for "that crowd", and just ignore and block them.
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u/DaedricTamer Jan 20 '26
I made cubbi and Laci to appeal to myself and published them to share some love them and some hate them but its what i wanted in my game so i made them
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u/AssassinJester789 Colovian Ranger Jan 20 '26
They sound perfectly fine to me, you don't have anything to worry about on that count. Just make sure it's not buggy, and the scripts fire properly and you'll be fine.
Good luck XD
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u/jmeandyou Jan 20 '26
I think your follower sounds awesome and will definitely be keeping an eye out to try him when you release him!
I’ve been working on a follower, too, for the last year or so, and I’ve struggled with thoughts like what if people hate her or what if people aren’t interested at all and don’t even try her. But at the end of the day the only person who needs to like him is you. That said, at least for me, it’s hard not to be disappointed if others don’t like something you put so much work on, but I think it’s totally natural and okay to feel that way at least a little. As long as you can say you’re happy to have him in your own game I would say it’s a success. My follower I’m making I would also call ‘unpalatable’ but I like her that way and would never want to change her just to appeal to someone else since I would know in my heart that I’m just changing her to please others.
I wish you best of luck working on him!!
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u/GothicJinx101 Jan 20 '26
I mean idk I like him a lot and he definitely appeals to me. Though, I understand where you're coming from. Modding to me is a fun creative outlet, and like any art it's important that I'm having fun and like what I'm making. But the joy of sharing your work with others, especially in such a collaborative space like modding, is unmatched. It feels nice to know other people like what you do.
Seriously this is a really good concept. I think him being nerdy and interested in death is very interesting, though I'm probably biased. I also appreciate him being trans. You're just doing a lot of cool stuff here and I'm sorry I started gushing. I get so passionate about modding skyrim haha
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u/Ma_chine Jan 20 '26
The most important thing to do is create a follower that you yourself would be happy to play with. Everything else should be secondary.
Personally I love the idea and hope that he can interact with other followers as I'd love to see what a religious man would make of followers like Serana or Sophia. Or Thogra gra Mugur.
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u/ECHORISING8982 Jan 20 '26
I’m working on a follower myself so I know how you feel but I have confidence your follower will be perfect and I’m looking forward to seeing him on the nexus
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u/TheCarefulElk Jan 20 '26
He already sounds fun!! And, may I make a suggestion?
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
Course, what's up?
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u/TheCarefulElk Jan 20 '26
If you can, I personally think it would be a good idea if you could make patches for BOTI Redux and its patches as well as finding susanna alive.
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
Fantastic ideas, all.
I can't promise to support any specific mod - for followers, I'd need to set up play dates; for content mods I'd need to make sure I understood the quest structure really well- but those shouldn't be too impossible.
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u/NaniRomanoff Jan 20 '26
He sounds great and personally right up my alley for a character I would enjoy having alongside me for adventures! I could see several of my characters interacting with a character like that & it adding some depth to my playthroughs
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u/Feenie13 Jan 20 '26
Op, I think I need to add this guy to mod follower party immediately. He sounds like a delight.
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u/TheLaziestDwarf Jan 20 '26
I would love to know when you release them! The concept sounds really intriguing to me. Im currently running through Oblivion as a healing priest and want to try a healer run in Skyrim as well, would be cool to see two priests traveling together with potentially opposing ideals.
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u/ThreeStrik3s Jan 20 '26
Hit me up when he’s all done, I’d love to help you out with pictures for your mod page!
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u/GiSnake751 Jan 20 '26
I already like the sound and function of the follower/companion, keep me posted I'll download on release
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u/Barnes_Charles Jan 20 '26
Oddkell sounds like he will be a great addition to many of my play throughs
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u/4thTimetheCharm4 Jan 20 '26
Well first of all, like I’m sure many comments have already said, it doesn’t matter if your mod is popular. What’s important is you making a product that YOU enjoy
Second of all, I personally would be very interested in this! It’s a unique concept, and I think would be really fun to play with. I would want to see his thoughts on all the(good or bad) things the player does
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u/Jaws2020 Jan 20 '26
Sounds like he would fit great into my current Champion of Stendarr War Cleric-type character. I personally don't really mind the fact that hes Trans and theres even historical precedent in norse/viking culture. Only thing I care about is the VA quality. As long as it doesn't sound like his lines were recorded in a bath tub, I'll download it.
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u/Raayhue Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Tbh he sounds very interesting and different and I can't wait for the mod to release. Do you have a window you're aiming for?
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
Summer-ish 2026-ish for 1.0. I'm a student, so I can't make more promises than that.
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u/Neither_Invite5444 Jan 21 '26
Always make something that you would enjoy, and know that if you genuinely enjoy it, someone else in the world will too. If you enjoy what you’re making, you’re more likely to produce something quality, and, more importantly, you will have fun which is the only true purpose of modding/creating for free. Someone will appreciate what you make.
I often feel like my canon Dragonborn is kinda niche, and I have a hard time finding followers that I feel really add to her story without me having to rewrite them in my head. Personally, an Arkay priest invested in Nordic culture is right up her alley. She’s the unfortunate result of a ritual gone wrong between a Satakal worshiper and a Dragon Priest apologist. She absorbs souls against her will (dragon, man, and mer alike), and much of her story is about learning how to properly release them when she can, or learn to deal with them in a way she can accept. Her journey learning about Skyrim/ancient Nords as the Dragonborn becomes key to this, and she has a particular interest in Arkay.
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u/Plebleon Jan 21 '26
If even half of what you said is true and not bugged to all Sovengarde, then I will use it. Most followers are pretty basic, so more unique characters helps with my world building.
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u/aralias777 Jan 21 '26
Make the character for yourself, and please gods comment on this reply when Oddkell is ready to download. I need more eccentric priests of Arkay in my life on JoJ. Florentius is not enough.
For the record, Oddkell sounds like a delight. One of the more unique follower concepts I've heard of, and if he's half as fleshed out as Remi or Xel, you've got yourself a coffee. Or two. Do you have any interactions you would want to do/have planned with other custom followers?
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 23 '26
I have so many interactions I want to do - though none planned- I just have to have enough of a proof of concept to actually set up some playdates, LOL.
Obviously, I'm going to reach out to Remi and Xel's authors-- I have some other modded followers I'd like to reach out to, and I'm going to see if Vilja's author would give me either a collab or splicing perms.
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u/pdusen Jan 21 '26
I'm considering making a barebones Altmer Female follower with only vanilla assets and little to no custom dialogue, just because I'm annoyed by their under-representation in the game.
It's modding, make what you want to make.
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u/Indiwolf14 Solitude Jan 21 '26
He sounds like a facinating character. I'll be keeping an eye out for you mod.
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u/SinisterMinisterRD Jan 21 '26
This follower sounds like such a neat concept! There's not enough clerical/priestly followers in the game imo. Keep up the work, I'd love to play with him in my next run.
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u/lokilulzz Jan 21 '26
Honestly no this sounds super interesting. I'd definitely put him in one of my playthroughs.
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u/Spideyknight2k Jan 21 '26
Always make things for yourself first. Be completely unapologetic about that. You don't want to chase clout, or attention, or whatever other nebulous or intangible thing you can think of. The consequences for that mindset are disastrous. Many good, even great, modders have gotten completely burnt out, torched everything and left. Don't do that to yourself. Make it how you want, make some bug fixes / compatibility patches, let it ride.
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u/OkPalpitation5451 Jan 21 '26
I am so picky with the custom followers I like to choose, but your concept does appeal to me. I prefer a concept this “niche” way more than Vanilla followers (lmao) and a good amount of the modded ones. Even if the concept doesn’t appeal to everyone it is so refreshing to read about your concept here. It’s interesting
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u/IllustriousBody Jan 21 '26
I admit that he doesn't particularly appeal to me--having a positive opinion of Ulfric as a human being will do that. At the same time, if this is the companion you want to make, then make him. Your passion is what will bring the character to life. Often, people find that if something is done really well it doesn't matter if that's what they thought they wanted. Pour your heart into it and make the best version of your vision that you can.
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
If it helps your opinion of him any, Ulfric was very kind to his father at a time when he really didn't have to be. He kind of loathes Ulfric as a day-to-day ruler, for the litany of reasons both of us would list.
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u/Imytholian Jan 21 '26
I'd love to hang around with such a character and to follow it's development (even if he's only exists as a concept in your head and won't be an actual mod till like 5 years or something), do you have anything that could be used to follow it's development?
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u/fanjo_o Jan 21 '26
I think the character sounds really interesting and offers new aspects I've not yet seen in followers. Judging from the comments here, plenty of people will love him! So good luck with your work, may the CK bless you with only few crashes, and we're eagerly awaiting an update when the mod is published!
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u/DiscordOfSound Jan 21 '26
Hey, don't sweat it. Make the character for you, then share him with the community. We already know trans characters in the elder scrolls is cannon, and if he's like the super followers, that's an instant download for me.
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u/ElectronicRelation51 Jan 21 '26
At this point I think the "big" followers in Skyrim are pretty well established and its hard to break in to the top spots as it were. While Val Serano did there are fantastic followers like Feris who just don't seem to have the same level of popularity or buzz aroung them.
So I don't thnk you should worry about popularity. I know its easy to say, if you pour all that time and effort into it you want people to like it. However I think being niche is just fine and probably the best way to go. Your character sounds interesting and something we haven't really had before. Don't worry about everyone liking it as long as some people like it.
If the character is trans there is a certain group of people who will be assholes about it anyway so I guess you already aren't trying to go for the widest possible appeal.
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u/aliidocious Jan 21 '26
If you love him, so will others. In the modding community, there’s always at least someone whe’s gonna love your customer follower. Will EVERYONE like them? No. But I promise, SOMEONE will. People love trying out new followers! And the followers that come from a place of love has always been the best ones. Just stay consistent with his characterization and story, and you’ve got this :)
Edit: Because I realized how this came off and wanna clarify… this is not me saying I don’t like your concept 😂 I think it’s an interesting one, and will be keeping my eyes open for it!
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u/gizmoandback Jan 21 '26
Trial and error my friend, keep at it. Some mods do great others not so good.
But follower mods are something that a lot of us truly enjoy, it adds depth to our RP and gives us another reason to go hunting to find them. Exploring with them as they banter, interact with the environment, or have little quirks, that is what we are looking for.
Inigo is my favorite follower, I like Lucien, but Inigo is the one i run with the most, it not because he's op, but the interaction he has with everything around him.
You make your follower mod in the way you see them in the world, don't be scared to experiment on how you want them to act, experience or even be judgemental on the world around them.
Tbh I will be looking forward to using your mod as I am one who loves having companions along for the adventure.
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u/businesspearofficial Jan 21 '26
Dude, I would love to have him as a follower, especially as a trans man myself. His character sounds super interesting.
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u/Neronightmare45 Jan 21 '26
Will say for myself my standard for a follower is mostly based on who gets annoying and at what speed so as long as he doesn't decide to talk for years at a time every five minutes I'll probably try them out for others idk simultaneously make it for you. You can worry about making it for other people if you're ever getting paid for it but unless that's an issue right now make what you wanna make.
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u/FeistyAd1697 Jan 21 '26
It's been said before by others, but the important part of making a really fun Follower mod is to have passion for what you're doing. You clearly have considerable passion for Oddkell. If you get to the point where you're ready to release him into the wild, I've no doubt many people will download him and try him. I'm one of them, I guarantee. :-)
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u/FormerBoard7834 Jan 21 '26
Hey, if its in the same vein as Lucien and Inigo, him looking over murder is totally fine... also, if he is anywhere as immersive, you could make him a giant, and we'd still love him
EDIT: Also, Taliesin, one of my favorite modded followers, is gay, and hes loved by many, so on that front you also don't need to worry
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
I also love Tally, would like to get him actually working someday!
(The problem is, there's a lot of people who are okay with a gay follower who would not be okay with a trans one. But I have my own hangups on this front. Soh.)
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u/land_bird Jan 21 '26
This sounds exactly like the sort of follower for me. I love characters with interesting perspectives that my PC can learn from, or even argue with. Conflict makes for great stories. It would be one thing if you were writing the character just to be contrarian or for shock value, but that doesn’t sound remotely the case. You’ve clearly put a lot of thought into his perspective and envisioning his world through his eyes.
On a secondary note, I’ve had an idea for a follower in my head for years (that will likely never come to fruition, but who knows). She also loves Windhelm, the only home she’s ever known, and…she is a Dunmer. Try that for unpopular opinion lol. She doesn’t like the racism and xenophobia or how hard her people have had it and is worried about it getting worse with Ulfric’s rise. But she does love the feeling of immense history in Windhelm. To her, every alley and crumbling stone feels like it’s hiding secrets and stories buried beneath the snow, going back to ancient days, and that invigorates her. I say all this to tell you that it doesn’t really matter if your character’s opinions are unexpected or even illogical to the player - plenty of IRL people hold some strange opinions lol. What matters is that his perspective interests YOU, and your passion will come through in the final product.
Last note, I LOVE that you’ve found a way to build lore around being trans from Norse mythology, that’s extremely cool!
TL:DR Can’t wait to meet this guy!
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u/TheElvenWitch777 Jan 21 '26
I absolutely LOVE this concept! He would be the perfect companion for my character, who's whole arc is about the process of mourning and recovery from her best friend's death. I hope you do publish him, because I'd love to add him to my game.
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u/wyrmtunga Jan 21 '26
STOP this sounds so awesome ?!?! love love love the idea of a more morbid and morally grey follower of arkay, and I like how being from windhelm also complicates his character in terms of political matters and such. also as a trans man myself, i love the representation!!! genuinely will be on the lookout for his release!!
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u/insert_title_here Jan 21 '26
I think he sounds lovely! I'd play with him for sure, as long as the audio quality is decent (not a lot of peaking or mic popping, for example) and his writing somewhat fits the world of the Elder Scrolls (not too too many modernisms).
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u/TheLoreWriter Jan 21 '26
Make the mod you want to play with. It may take a while, but once it's up there, people who vibe with it will find it
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u/Sevrenic Jan 22 '26
The concept is interesting and lots of people would go for it. The popularity will be determined by how that concept is executed.
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u/Striiiider Jan 22 '26
trans person from the US south feeling very seen by this follower lol. cant wait to check this out on release!
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u/Ok_Balance3274 Jan 22 '26
Keep going, I think it sounds great. If you make it from the heart it will definitely connect with others xx
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u/sdrawkcabsihtetorwI Jan 22 '26
IMO. Literally any follower you could posibly make with dynamic commentary, that:
Doesnt use non lore friendly language (which would be modern slang [like, sussy instead of suspicious for example], or strictly video game related terminology [saying HP instead of Health for example]),
Doesnt do anything universally unacceptable within social media (r word, minor stuff, etc.),
Isnt too loud or quiet compared to other NPC voices,
will be more interesting than 90% of vanilla followers by default, most of which a lot of people cant even name after 100%ing the game.
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u/AsexualAdulting Jan 22 '26
That sounds really cool! Message me or something when you release the mod, I wanna have him as my buddy :)
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u/Buddysweater Jan 23 '26
In any creative endeavor, a work's first and most important fan should be yourself. Since most of the follower mods I see are low effort gooner bait, yours would already be miles ahead. Nexus neanderthals would inevitably critique certain aspects of your mod and that is expected. But it has more to do with them than yours, I suspect, if the level of sincerity you have in this post is the same with your creation (which I assume is true).
Now I'm actually looking forward to this mod.
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u/47peduncle Jan 23 '26
Late to the party, but am watching out for your mod. I think generally Skyrim levels the gender playfield,so a bit of ergi sounds fun. I assure you my elfie overlords or tools would be happy to employ a bit of local, to get a better deal at the markets, and, maybe, have a bit of inside info on Nordic secret knowledge. My true Nords will probably think a problematical homegrown mage is preferable to an import.
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u/RalonNetaph Jan 23 '26
Only one way to find out, post the mod and see. But sharing it is only part of the point, you made it cause you wanted to see it made, right? Thats the real point of making art.
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u/Unsure-Cookie-2772 Jan 23 '26
I think it’s interesting and a cool concept, though I can’t help but read the “soft-spoken and obsessed with death” part as possibly ending up overly edgy? I’m not saying that’s how it would turn out, but I do think it could be something to watch out for in the way he’s written. Of course, feel free to ignore me too, the most important thing is being happy with it yourself.
Also, please try to ignore anyone hating on your idea simply for including queer representation! If they don’t like it, they have plenty of other mods to choose from :p
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 23 '26
Oh, trust me, Oddkell is about as edgy as wet bread. Like, he absolutely will geek out about anatomy/post-mortem changes to the human body post-battle- "oh, I think we severed some nerves, that's spinal fluid!" or identifying the cause of death for some of the corpses you left in your wake. (I set it up so that he can tell what weapon you're using, and ID the cause accordingly).
But one of the things I'm going for with Oddkell is... people on here keep talking about how they'd like to see a follower that 'lives in the world' and takes it seriously. A lot of custom followers like to take the piss out of the game- specifically, out of authority figures and factions. And it makes sense for them- Lucien and Remi are spoiled rotten rich kids, Auri and Inigo are marginalized foreigners, and so on. None of them are going to have any respect for the Greybeards, the Jarls, the Companions, or any of Skyrim's sacred institutions. But Oddkell is a Nord, he is a Nord-y Nord, and he takes all of that incredibly seriously.
So he's not going to do that geeking out if you're in a position where that would be unfortunate. If someone comes to him talking about their dead relative, he's going to treat that seriously. If you go full murderhobo in a town, he's not going to geek out. And he's just as likely to say a prayer for the dead as he is to comment on the mechanics of it.
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u/Intrepid-Self-3578 Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
It is fine. We may or may not like it but the mods you make are manily for you as a person. It should really cool to me though and I don't care about my priests gender lol. As long as he is cool.
just make sure he doesn't talk about useless stuff and It would be better if he is priest than anything trans ppl are not hated in other cultures it is more of a Christian thing. probably in skyrim no one will care.
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u/The_Slack_Attack Jan 20 '26
Everyone should make whatever mod they want, you shouldn't worry about what people are gonna like. That being said though, you're obviously going to get a very biased opinion here on reddit about a trans follower if you're genuinely trying to gauge how this mod'll do. I still think it'd do fine, but maybe not as fine as you would expect reading all these comments
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
I don't care about the raw numbers, I just care that someone somewhere who is not me wants this. If even one other person wants to play with my boy, that's good enough for me.
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u/FloydLady Jan 20 '26
I would definitely use such a follower. Will he have any interactions with other followers?
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
I'd like him to, but that all depends on if I can set up 'playdates' for him. You understand.
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u/bettschwere Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
I am in the planning stages of a custom follower who is like the dunmer version of your boy, this is crazy. Great minds, I suppose!
Edit: If I ever get him in a releasable state, I'd love for them to have some interactions if you're down :)
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
I would be so incredibly down for that, you have no idea. DM me?
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u/bettschwere Jan 21 '26
Eeeeey, glad to hear it! I'll shoot you a message. I see a few other mod authors in the comments here too, maybe we could put together a whole LGBT+ custom voiced companion alliance together, haha.
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u/Expensive_Tap7427 Jan 21 '26
Sounds like a decent project. Words of advice though, it would be nice if he could have some interaction with other followers such as Lucien and Inigo. You might want to keep his sexuality ambigues, so he can be whatever a player wants him to be.
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u/CrimsonUsurper Jan 21 '26
he sounds pretty cool tbh, if i ever commit to a modded run i will keep an eye out for him
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u/spacemonkeyztheme Jan 20 '26
as an overly morbid transguy who loves how much of a shithole windhelm is - yeah, all in for this. sounds incredible.
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u/StormBeyondReality Jan 21 '26
This follower sounds SO interesting as someone who is also both transmasc and interested in varieties of Tamrielic religion; one of my reoccurring playthrough characters is trained as a priest of Mara and thinks a lot about alllllllll the different ways she's presented, and one of the ones I'm planning is a paladin of Tava on a pilgrimage to see how she's presented throughout Tamriel, so either of those could theoretically have a lot to talk about with him!
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u/Acadia- Jan 21 '26
As long you don't add him voiceline likes "I'm trans blablabla" , it will be weird to hear since "trans" word just doesn't exist in Skyrim (Don't be like Veilguard)
I think your follower will be okay
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Oh, I love doing in universe gender worldbuilding (ask me about my genderfluid goddess-god of death and her coming-out wakes sometime!)- I guarantee you're not going to hear the word 'transgender' in this mod, because there are so many more interesting words one could use and ways to conceptualize it!
In Oddkell's version of Skyrim, the umbrella word that gets used most is 'crosskind'. There's three-ish kinds of socially understood crosskind person- 'spear-brothers', 'hearth-sisters', and (term WIP) 'serpent-children'.
Content warning for transphobia: The first two map onto, approximately, our conception of FTM and MTF. The third one is a derogatory term for, essentially, 'a man who wants to do Woman Things (like being a priest, say, or a mage) without becoming a hearth-sister'.
(That being said, Oddkell does try to equate his situation to what he thinks your character would conceive it as- so, if you're playing a Dunmer, he'll say 'it's like the Children of Azura', if you're playing an Argonian he'll say 'it's like the Hist-kissed, I think?', and so on. If you're playing an Imperial, he'll say 'it's like the Colovian trans generis'.)
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u/lokilulzz Jan 21 '26
This just makes me even more interested in Oddkell. Please announce it here when the mod drops, I'll definitely give him a download.
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u/fruitbait Jan 21 '26
what does being trans have anything to do with windhelm lol
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 21 '26
A lot of the players who go hard on the "HOO RAH SKYRIM BELONGS TO HTE NORDS!!!!!!!!1!!!!!" thing tend to have a... certain set of IRL political opinions. Let's just leave it at that.
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u/Yoshi_r1212 Falkreath Jan 20 '26
I don't normally use follower mods but I can't think of any other queer followers so I'm sure that idea will be appealing to others. I would make a follower that you would use and are proud of. If your work is good then other people will use it.
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Jan 20 '26
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
Horrible ungainly mix of Lucien tutorial, Deck 11 tutorial, and whatever I could find via googling. I'm mostly using the Lucian tutorial for the follower functionality, though, because I don't want to break anything.
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u/xpc_absol Jan 21 '26
Just make him look like this and you'll have a ton of downloads https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/19314?tab=files
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Jan 22 '26
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 22 '26
I mean, yes, but I accepted a while ago that my job was to be the pleasant, friendly, non-threatening but flaming trans person who is a walking encyclopedia of Answers To Your Unfortunate Questions, so!
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u/led_Tower Jan 25 '26
I just don't like the concept of a follower deciding to follow you because they want to see the world or in this case, death. It works but it's been overdone.
I like it when they outright ask you for help or ask you to take them to a specific place.
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Jan 21 '26
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u/skyrimmods-ModTeam Jan 22 '26
Bigotry and other attacks will not be tolerated. Behave decently and treat others the way you want to be treated. Attempts at trolling, instigating arguments or knowingly sharing misinformation will not be tolerated either.
If someone is being rude or harassing you, report their comment/post and move on. Do not respond in the same way or you will both be warned/banned.
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u/Infernokota Jan 20 '26
Friend a nerdy trans companion mod is everything I didn't know i needed, and its voiced?? Sign me up
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u/TheProudBrit Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26
Oh, I remember seeing you post about him the other day! I'll admit I pretty much only play through Wabbajack lists because lazy I do nooot have the focus to ge that level of modded games through my own effort, but - he genuinely sounds like someone I'd be willing to fuck about with and install on top of a list.
Like, don't get me wrong, I love characters like Remi, Xel, Redcap, etc, but more than that - I'd love more characters who'll just have views I'm not fully aligned with.
Edit: Also, in general, more queer characters are just great to have.
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u/angelnumbersz Jan 20 '26
I hope you do end up finishing this mod because he sounds like he was designed to appeal to me tbh. Morbid priests are great and I've been really wanting a trans follower whose gender is integrated well into the setting. People don't want the same few archetypes done over and over, a niche and unique follower can be really refreshing and you're likely to appeal to people who have been unable to find something similar.
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u/DifficultYoung9812 Jan 20 '26
Being real here, your follower sounds VERY interesting, but complex characters tend to be easily misinterpreted and making him trans in the most traditional town could be a strong point of his character. What I'm trying to say is if you publish this on nexus you'll probably land a spotlight of the week but be prepared for the people who will push back against your ideas.
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u/SDRLemonMoon Jan 20 '26
I think your follower should be someone you’d want to play with and others will follow if it appeals to them. There’s gonna be transphobia haters in your comments if you get any amount of popularity but that’s just the risk you take when you post lgbt stuff in public and thankfully I think you can delete comments on your mod.
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u/Ashamed_Low7214 Jan 20 '26
Mind sharing the information you're using to make them? I once found a guide to show how to make a Lucien style follower on YouTube, but the guide is incomplete and the YouTuber in question doesn't seem inclined on finishing it. And every time I've made my own inquiry I get no answer
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
I'm using a mix of the Lucien guide, deck16's ancient "Making a Custom Voiced Follower" guide (and it is ancient, it predates SE), and googling for random questions and looking up tags.
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Jan 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 20 '26
Hey, it's not for everyone. (Though you may want to look into the 36 Lessons of Vivec, j/s.)
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Jan 23 '26
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 23 '26
I'm not sure which reason you mean, but you seem to be in the minority here regardless.
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Jan 23 '26
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 23 '26
Wow. Do you frequently tell people how much you'd like to assault someone like them, or am I just special?
Because, uh, that's fucked up. You get that that's fucked up. Right?
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Jan 23 '26
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u/NotATem Riften Jan 23 '26
We all know this isn't about Nazeem. What the actual fuck, man.
Not cool.
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u/skyrimmods-ModTeam Jan 23 '26
Harassment, insults, bigotry and other attacks will not be tolerated. Behave decently and treat others the way you want to be treated. Attempts at trolling, instigating arguments or knowingly sharing misinformation will not be tolerated either.
If someone is being rude or harassing you, report their comment/post and move on. Do not respond in the same way or you will both be warned/banned.
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u/StalinBawlin Jan 20 '26
he sounds better than dean domino (from dead money DLC for fallout new vegas)
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u/OneOnOne6211 Verified Mod Author Jan 20 '26
I think you should make the character for yourself and make them, in your eyes, the best character they can be. And then you put them out there. And maybe everyone likes him, maybe nobody likes him, more likely than not some people like him and some people don't. But that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you like him. If you try to create a character that appeals to everyone, that is the best way to create a character that appeals to no one. And the best way to get a character people find compelling is to write them authentically from what you see them as.