Introduction:

I want Skyrim to have an abundance of life and the mods I'm listing below add over 1000 new NPC's and creatures into your game. These mods are fully compatible, but usually require more resources on your pc when all added to your list.

If you want your roads, forts, holds, towns, dungeons, battlegrounds and more to be fully populated for modern Skyrim playthroughs then this is the list for you. I run this list on top of Elysium and it works very well.

This has made for extremely fun encounters especially at low levels. You may find yourself surrounded by 5 bandits on the road at much higher levels and end up being saved by a knight and a pack of adventurers traveling along the road. I have had massive battles between Whiterun and the Forsworn with upwards of 30 NPC's fighting at once. The areas of Riverwood and Whiterun become the most populated road network in Skyrim adding over 150 buildings between the two settlements and hundreds of new NPC's. The Bannered Mare will now have 20 NPC's drinking and talking between the hours of 10pm and 2am. The markets are full with people and the Jarl's house has adventurers looking to speak to him regarding tasks that were given. It is fun to walk in on a group of adventurers speaking to the Jarl about something they did organically in Skyrim.

The hundreds of new creatures will create a true fantasy experience when Griffins swoop down outside a major hold and packs of undead come out at night to patrol the lands between settlements. Massive gravelords will spawn a dozen undead followers and Bolgans will swing their giant hammers with bandits in forts along the roads of Skyrim. Turn Skyrim into a magical world, filled with ancient mysteries and exciting challenges, populated by everything from raging Minotaurs to mischievous Goblins, ancient Woodland Spirits to venomous living Slimes.

I will also be adding the nemesis system when it is released by syclonix:

https://www.nexusmods.com/users/59982?tab=user files

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System:

I run Ryzen 7 8 Cores with 32GB RAM and a 2080 Super. All stats are at 1440p with Elysium. 40-50 FPS on roads. Interiors 40 FPS. Whiterun Exterior 30 FPS. Large battles (30 NPC's) 30 FPS. Elysium comes with 1600 mods including dozens of texture packs, lighting enhancements, fixes, QOL enhancements, and more. You can use Wabbajack to install and MO2 to manage. 250GB of mods and takes a few hours to install. I run Skyrim SE with Anniversary update. It is required for Elysium.

Let me know if you need any help getting these mods running. I will send you my mod order if you would like it. Just DM me.

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Demo's:

Encounters:

I recorded a Twitch video of what my experience looks like. There are 2-3 encounters where you will see a dozen enemies or more. Excuse the white capes. I have to figure out which of my added cape mods caused this. It is not in the base Elysium mod pack:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1506240876

7:00 to 25:00 is most of the action

27:30 Wandering Knight and Vigilant's vs Bandits

33:30 Adventurers

1:35:44 to 1:39:00 Bandits outside Bleakfalls. Level 6 and 2 followers vs 8 to 10 bandits.

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Whiterun, NorthEast Whiterun, Whiterun Valley and Riverwood Expansion Tour:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1506456620?t=0h9m42s

The video above for the Expansion Tour shows off Whiterun Valley, Whiterun Expansion Redone, Willybach's Whiterun and Amazing City of Riverwood. These mods add the Marsh District, Wind District, North East District, Greenfields District, the town of Hvidfal, Fiefdom of Aeldsten, Apothik Guild, Skalsgeld Encampment, Whiterun Tradeposts, hunters and herder camps, and adds 20 new buildings to Riverwood. The video will show dozens of NPC's around Whiterun and many travelers and traders along the road connecting Whiterun to Riverwood.

Whiterun Interior Additions:

https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1704/images/18317/18317-1567721419-1002714674.jpeg

https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1704/images/18317/18317-1570133933-1224974562.jpeg

Whiterun Exterior Additions:

https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/80269-0-1479433576.png

https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1704/images/11917/11917-1573096723-256075603.png

https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1704/images/11917/11917-1573096719-179810258.png

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11917?tab=images&BH=3

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----Mod List----

Roads:

Immersive Patrols:

Add patrols for various factions on Skyrim roads.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/718

Populated Skyrim Reborn:

Mod pack that covers cities, towns, villages, dungeons, caves, ruins, towers, lands, roads, paths and prisons.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/32190

Travellers of Skyrim:

adds 50 new NPCs that travel between over 30 locations in Skyrim Including Alchemists, Apothecaries, Mercenaries and Merchants.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1973

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Faction Enhancements:

WARZONES - Civil Unrest:

It adds 1000s of really pissed NPCs, new SCENERY, new BATTLEFIELDS and new BOSS-LIKE characters.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2360

SSE Organic Factions:

Organic Factions are groups which can level up, expand territory, secure resources, and be slain completely independent of the player.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10289

SSE Organic Factions Extension:

Adds 14 independent factions that control areas of Skyrim. All have stories, quests, gear, and all are fighting for power in these regions. Add's hundreds of NPC's.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/25471

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Generic Additions:

Diverse Skyrim:

Adds over three hundred new NPC:s with unique appearences to the Vanilla levelled lists for added variety and racial diversity while staying lore friendly.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/7707

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Holds, Towns, Keeps and Villages:

Whiterun Valley:

Turns Whiterun into the trade capital of Skyrim and modernizes the city for next gen. Add's 90 buildings and 260 NPC's.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11917

Whiterun Expansion Redone:

Whiterun will almost double in size by expanding the northeastern region of the city. This mod adds 16 new buildings to Whiterun, 26 NPC's and more.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/32195

Willybach's Whiterun:

This overhauls the streets, adds buildings and over 100 NPCs to the city and beyond. It includes a new district and adds Guards, Citizens, Merchants, Traders, unique fauna and much more.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/18317

Amazing City of Riverwood:

a massive and gorgeous expansion of Riverwood, adds two new sections to riverwood and expand upon the already existing structures with new NPCs and new activities,this is the ultimate Riverwood mod.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/66876

Cities of the North Mods by JPSteel2:

These mods add buildings and NPC's to the holds of Skyrim.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/users/19519279?tab=user files

Expanded Towns and Cities SSE 0.7:

7 towns expanded with over 44 buildings and 76 NPC's. Expands upon existing towns. So far includes: Darkwater Crossing, Dawnstar, Kynesgrove, Morthal, Riverwood and Rorikstead. Available in "Complete" - All the towns packed together; and, "Modular" - Individual towns à la carte versions. (You need to exclude Riverwood or it will conflict with the Amazing City of Riverwood mod)

https://www.afkmods.com/index.php?/files/file/2377-expanded-towns-and-cities-sse/

The Great Town and Village Mod Series by Archinatic:

Karthwasten, Shor's Stone, Kynesgrove, Mixwater Mil and Old Hroldan. Add's 20 buildings and NPC's to these towns and villages.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/users/10182460?tab=user files

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Creatures and Monsters:

Mihail Mods:

Mihail's mod packs were pulled from NexusMods but most creatures are available on his mod page so you will need to install individually unless you get the pack files in this Google Drive. If it is taken down please DM me.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1x0kMM5zrrOqwODJ_Gl6hZZwvfTsH203P?usp=sharing

https://www.nexusmods.com/users/37834630?tab=user files

4thUknown Mods:

Various creature mods of extreme quality.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/users/49002333

Skyrim Immersive Creatures:

Skyrim Immersive Creatures adds dozens of new creatures to enhance your gaming experience. This mod adds brand new creatures which fit in to the world of Skyrim, alongside variations of existing creatures, adding diversity and improving gameplay.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/24913

Behemyths:

Behemyths, creatures of legendary power and strength have entered Skyrim. Ultra-strong and ruthlessly powerful, the Behemyths will prove a challenge to even the strongest adventurers in Tamriel. Adds 43 massive bosses to various locations around Skyrim.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/35235/?tab=description

Deadly Dragons:

Adds 14 new dragon types of various levels. Can customize spawn rate for increased difficulty.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/3829

Diverse Dragons Collection SE:

Adds 28 leveled enemy dragons with unique models, textures, & abilities, uniting work from over a dozen mod authors. 7 ranks of strength for each dragon.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/695

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Cheers!

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