Moon-and-Star

Originally uploaded for old Skyrim in March 2014, this is a relatively well-known mod. It’s a fairly small, but quite lovely little quest mod involving what happened to a certain character vital to Elder Scrolls lore. And when I say lore, I don’t just mean obscure books from the Imperial library, but crucial lore that Elder Scrolls players will know about and take an interest in. While there are some details that may not fit 100%, this is a really good idea and a story that Elder Scrolls veterans are likely to enjoy.

There are several paths to completing the quest and choices to be made that can have a very big impact on your character. These consequences may not be to everybody’s taste, but I for one applaud them. Even if there are always some people who would like to see certain others dead, wanton killing of NPCs in a game should have meaningful repercussions, in my opinion.

As for pacifist potential, despite how the mod begins by asking you to take out a powerful criminal, just play along with it and you’ll find that several times over, although the quest’s text sometimes appears to lead you towards violence, the mod in no way forces you to go through with that. Towards the end of the mod you will have to defeat or help defeat at least one Dwemer construct – but honestly, that really amounts to dismantling a few machines. And other than that, it’s actually 100% completable as a pacifist. Just be aware that not every NPC will appreciate that solution, either, considering your initial engagement – but as a real pacifist, you’ve got your Illusion and stealth skills ready, right?

Also, where the Forgotten City presented a really interesting mystery, this mod features a dungeon with a few really cool puzzles. Now, I’m not generally fond of puzzles, but for this mod, I’ll make an exception: It was really well done, involving putting things INTO a chest rather than the opposite. I totally screwed up the first puzzle . But that was alright, as it brought on a totally unnecessary and somewhat challenging fight, but didn’t stop me from advancing the quest; and the final puzzle was just easy enough that even I could figure it out without using the walkthrough, but challenging enough that it took some thinking and experimenting.

Speaking of rewards, you have a choice in that department too. Lilya Starblaze opted for a weapon, last seen in Morrowind, that gives her access to invisibility when sneaking. Together with a Muffle spell, this is an item that proved immensely beneficial in later quest mods that required stealth abilities and is what has allowed this character to test non-violent approaches in other mods for the sake of science and these reviews.

Pacifist potential: Excellent, 10/10

Final verdict: Short but sweet, though some players may take exception to one possible outcome, or even the basic premise of the mod, which I won’t spoil. 8/10.

You can find the mod at the Skyrim SE Nexus.