Modders have put an awful lot of effort into making sure Skyrim has continually evolved and expanded in the years since it was first released into the world.
Many have focused on changing the game by adding massive new questlines, fresh movement animations, and luxurious spas to it, with a few even going as far as giving you the chance to rock some butterfly wings or giving you the chance to become high priest of your own temple.
If you’re someone who loves roleplaying as an alchemist, but don’t think any of the existing overhauls or additions to the game’s potion-brewing mechanics are quite immersive enough, a new mod might be worth taking a look at.
Feel like taking up the experiment-filled life of a classical alchemist in Skyrim?
The mod in question is called ‘The Hermetic Art - Alchemy Reimagined’, and is the work of modder Kspace. They’ve previously added an extra district to Riften and helped a few popular overhauls of Whiterun to work together without issue.
This time, they’ve decided to create a “ground-up reimagining of Skyrim's alchemy system” aimed at those who want to roleplay as “a classic alchemist, hunched over old texts and mysterious instruments and trying to discover powerful secrets” and thus want their potion making to be more complex and time-consuming.
The Hermetic Art delivers this via a host of changes to everything from the functionality of the alchemy station itself, to the alchemical properties of ingredients and even the rewards on offer for becoming a master potion crafter.
Most of these changes are designed to encourage you to spend more time experimenting to create the perfect potion out of your ingredients, which have had their effects switched up and can now be refined using the different types of alchemical equipment present at the alchemy station.
This is twinned with a swath of alterations to the potency and values of potions which are designed to ensure alchemy “won’t be such an easy way to amass a huge fortune”, as well as changes to the XP gains and perks associated with potion creation, in order to reward those who’re willing to put in the work to produce extra special elixirs.
That said, the option to brew options based on recipes is still present, meaning that you won’t have to put your thinking cap on every time you get out your mortar and pestle, but will require some rare ingredients and only produces stock brews with “fixed magnitudes”.
Regardless of whether your Dragonborn is now filling their homestead with pungent aromas as they mix up an interesting brew, make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the interesting world of Skyrim modding. You can also check out our mods of the month for March 2023.
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