#Baloney Pony's Armor and Weapon Mod Guide


Skyrim is somewhat lacking in the armor and weapons in the game; the modding scene for weapons and armor and be a bit of a mess of misleading and outdated mods. This is a compilation of as many weapon/armor/clothing/jewellery mods I can think of from a number of obscure sites. This guide is mostly interested in new armors to incorporate into your world not whatever armors and weapons on the nexus look cool (So no Team TAL or Bikini Armor). I have also chosen to avoid mods that just place a random item somewhere in the world. They're not super interesting and only really work if your character already intends to use that weapon. This is also not a quest mod guide and if the main focus of a mod is the questline and not the weapons and armor I might talk about it but it won't be linked here as that would be more appropriate for another guide. I will also start off with a list of mods I want you to be weary of before installing:

Changelog 6.21.22

- Removed some less than stellar armors I had due to them having been included in Legacy of the Dragonborn. If you're still interested using these just look at the integrated mods on the Legacy of the Dragonborn articles page.
- Added Sons of Skyrim, missing Frankfamily LE mods, Lunar Armory, Imperial Battlemage Armor, Silt Strider armor

Changelog 5.18.22

- Added new links for 4th Unknown armors
- Added Titus Mede armor, Bikini armor, dwemer glowmaps, Knights of the Nine Battlemage, Modernize, JS Daggers, Beyond Skyrim armor teasers, Skyblivion armor teasers and Dwemer Glowmaps.

Changelog 2/28/22
- Added some new mods like Lore Friendly Rifles, Armor of the Velothi, Titus Mede Armor and Vitrium
- Added a section for 4thUnknown
- Added a Skyrim Fuckery Section
- Changed Vibrant Weapons for Vibrant Weapons Lite

Changelog 11/18/21:

- Removed a good bit of the CC section and added a link to my newest CC alternatives guide.

Changelog 10/21/21:

- Removed a majority of CC content because most of it is hot garbage. Only the Divine Crusader remains from the default CC additions.
- Updated my follower so I removed that little blurb at the bottom.

Changelog 9/6/21:

- Added JaySuS swords
- Added Tamrielic Lore - Chrysamere
- Removed Adventurers Backpack since it's already a part of Creation Club in Skyrim
- Added East Empire Company Armors
- Added Unplayable Faction armors other half
- Added Immersive Jewelry back
- Improved Descriptions for other people's guides
- Added a changelog

##Mods I Do Not Recommend/You Should Research Yourself:


As eluded to above there are a lot of mod compilations with weapons and armor that are a confusing web of incompatibilities and issues. By all means use these mods if you're interested alongside this list, but you may run into reoccurring artifacts, broken or un-optimized meshes and lower quality models.

Immersive Weapons:
This has long been an outdated and buggy mess of a mod. Most of the weapons look like they're made of plastic and that's ignoring the laundry list of incompatibles. Of all the mods listed here this one I can't advise against more. 
Alternatives: Lore Weapon Expansion, downloading the weapons from their individual mod pages and ESL-ing them.

Immersive Armors:
This one is much less offensive than it's sister mod and I did use it myself for a long time. However mod of these armors have their own updated and individual mod pages and a number of the meshes have not been properly optimized and will lag your game. I would say you should just avoid this mod all together but if you choose to use it there is a nice MCM that lets you toggle the armors you don't like off. 
Alternatives: Nordwar's armors, downloading the armors from their individual mod pages.

Immersive Jewellery:
I've decided to add this one back to my list because I really like the controversial changes it makes. I tried recreating them with other mods but it just wasn't the same. Read the mod description before you commit to this however. This doesn't have the issue of Immersive Armor or Weapons where most of the mods it merges together have long since updated due to the fact that Jewelry modding isn't really a thing. 
If you want an alternative check out this guide here: https://pastebin.com/8YVwLSv2 .

Complete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul:
I'm sure you must be thinking that I placed this mod here by mistake and that an argument against using CACO isn't appropriate in a guide about armor and weapons. However this mod does add some nifty alchemical bombs and that was the only reason why I used it personally for so long. Now I have switched over to Throwing Weapons and can remove it from my own load order. I recommend you do the same. 
Alternatives: I'm currently working on a gameplay guide to address this in more detail but for the purposes of weaponry use Throwing Weapons.

Legacy of the Dragonborn:
So I don't dislike this mod very much and I've used it on and off for years but it has some issues. The primary problem lies in the amount of bloat and incompatibility this mod brings to the table. After running a script to discover how many references my mods were using I discovered Legacy uses a whopping 10,058 persistent references, 1/4th the size of base game Skyrim and only rivaled by some massive city overhauls I am using. On top of that, Legacy is not compatible with my favorite alternate start mod: Unbound. The storyline pigeon-holds you into becoming the Last Dragonborn and has so many incompatible or incorporated mods I've lost count. Do your own research on this mod before using it though. I have marked any mod that is incorporated into Legacy for those using it because I know it is a popular mod. 
Alternatives: Artifacts of Skyrim Revised.

Beyond Skyrim:
I have an entire section of this guide devoted to Beyond Skyrim below so this may seem strange to caution against but please hear me out. You do not need Beyond Skyrim: Bruma or Wares of Tamriel to use those items in your world. I have listed a number of rips of Beyond Skyrim items and artifacts for your pleasure that does not require the original mods to function. Personally Wares of Tamriel feels like the equivalent of forcing your guest to enter an amusement part through the gift shop first and without 3rd party plugins you can't even incorporate all the new items into the world. Bruma released 3 years behind schedule and 4 years later feels like a symptom for a deeply troubled development cycle that has seen so many set backs it's hard to count. Outside of wandering around the leaked versions of Cyrodiil, Elyswer and Morrowind these mods aren't worth your time. 
Alternatives: see below.

##Recommended Mods:

##Creation Club and Fixes:


I have recently completed an entire new guide on alternatives to the Creation Club that can be found here: https://rentry.co/g2n6k . Many of the mods I recommend there are listed below however there are a handful of assets from the creation club that have been recycled into the mod Creation Club in Skyrim by Cira poster.

Creation Club in Skyrim: https://pastebin.com/jerJ7QGf
Here's all the armors from creation club that are not already in one of the mods below. This also includes a lot of other smaller ingredients and stuff so it's worth a look. Make sure you load it high up in your load order though unless you want the Vigilant and Silver hand armors from Creation Club popping up.

##Recommended Authors:

##Nordwar Mods:


Nordwar is an insane Russian dude who's been slowly releasing quality armor and weapon mods. While I like all of his armors a lot of them overlap and some of his armors just aren't on the versions uploaded to the nexus. Even writing this guide I have a headache at all the versions of each mod available.

NordWarUA's Armor Variants: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/37797?
These are just some nice variants on the vanilla armor types. There's another version of this mod that will actually replace the vanilla armor but I actually prefer having both. These end up making the game look too realistic.

Guard Armor Replacer: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/22671
Replaces guard armors including the Stormcloaks to a more unique design befitting each hold.

Unplayable Faction Armors: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/30051 AND https://mega.nz/file/ZE5VEI6D#3nBb1NGv_7zHs8qXRVdhcpYszOqdtJqC_TRPLjMSwmE
This adds armors to the Vigilants of Stendarr, Silver Hand, Blood Horkers, Alik'r, Khajiit, Thalmor, Orcs and Black Blood Pirates. I love the Vigilant sets in particular and use them on my own character. For some fucking reason this is split into two mods. I have ESL-ed the addon version. If you use the patch for the Vigilant questline you can make it so the original pack is also an ESL. Nordwar mods are so fucking confusing.

Novus Legion: https://www.mediafire.com/file/4vhms9azy2joww1/Novus-Legion.7z/file
This is a version of Nordwar's New Legion mod edited by Maze. It replaces the Imperial armor sets and this version gives the Penitus Oculatus a fancy purple color. Grab the patch for Legion Signifers, we will be using that.

D-Armory: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/41692
A few mashups of Nordwar assets into new armors. Pretty cool!

Son's of Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/68656
Stormcloak armors that look great. This does work with Guard Armor Replacer btw!

##Registrant Mods:


Registrant is another Russian more focused on unique weapons. His model's look great and add so much to the variety of weapons you'll see in game.

ArteFakes - Unique Artifacts Replacer: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/41254
Every single uniquely named item now has a unique model. The sword Vilkas gives you for 3 seconds is unique. Hjalti's sword that ghost in Old Hroldan sends you out to find is now unique. Grab the patch for Animated Armory.

Reforging - To the Masses: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/49030
Adds unique weapons that slowly get added to the leveled list as you complete certain quests and tasks. Grab the patch for Animated Armory.


##HeirOfTheSeptims


HeirOfTheSeptims is a man of pure salt who hates the creation club with a burning passion. Here are his many Creation Club alternatives I think are worth adding to your game.

Artifacts of Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/49779
This adds nearly 200 new artifacts all over Skyrim with unique abilities and locations. It also comes with a museum display for all these items. While it is compatible with Legacy of the Dragonborn this mod is standalone and doesn't come bundled with the cock sucking or compatibility issues of Legacy. It also adds so many new pieces of content it dwarfs the upcoming anniversary edition. It really is a gem, please try out this mod.

Ruin's Edge: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12792
Adds in the enchanted bow from the Shivering Isles in a cute little quest taking you on a wacky little adventure cleaning out a zombie's basement. I really wish the author would add some voice acting or something to the quest given how adamant he is over the lack of quality in the creation club. Speaking of the creation club model if you think that version is better Legacy has a patch that will allow you to swap the model's. 

The Staff of Sheogorath: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/14468
So I found out recently this mod doesn't just hand the player the staff but instead you borrow the staff for 5 minutes at a time. Consider this an endorsement of a great mod and a great alternative to Creation Club! CC model replacer is also included in Legacy for this one though I think this model is serviceable enough.

Morrowind Armor - Netch Leather: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/26215
Okay so technically this was just retextured by HeirOfTheSeptims but whatever it's a great mod adding in a great armor set.



##Insanity Sorrow Mods:


Insanity Sorrow is an older modder who did some great weapon and armor mods for Oblivion. A lot of his models are used in some of the other mods listed but these are his standalone creations I think are worth grabbing. He also has a lot of great standalone weapons you can use for your own characters.

Lore Weapon Expansion: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/9660
This adds a ton of regional variations from all over Tamriel inspired by Oblivion and Morrowind's designs. I am a huge sucker for Morrowind nostalgia and this one really dittles my down syndrome. Get rid of the extra 3 addon files we're adding better versions of all those artifacts. On the LE page these are separate downloads but for some reason he includes them here.

Unique Uniques: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3334
Adds better unique models to named items. A great compliment to ArteFakes. According to LOOT this is a part of Legacy of the Dragonborn so if you use that mod you don't need to grab this one.

Lilacor: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19xNB7OJemgRnZPC8-635xF8pNpCIWJF7/view
One of two talking weapon mods we're going to be using. Adds the insane talking sword from Baldur's Gate into the game, a long running tradition in the Elder Scrolls series. He can get a bit annoying but his quips are cute and if you hate him enough you can always throw him off a cliff.

Insanity's Shields: https://mega.nz/file/0QZFVKbQ#ClTU1Ub3S_sEHqa4j0CpCHjikvovLBakvaFWxXVTRQA
Solid new shields for your pleasure.


##FrankFamily Mods:


FrankFamily is a modder who makes both amazing models and great quests to accent those models. Check out his retexture mods too.

Tournament of the Ten Bloods: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/15264
Battle in the Tournament of the Ten Bloods from Oblivion to obtain unique artifacts of the Daedric Prince Boethiah. You even can get the easter egg sword from Morrowind.

The Breton Paladin: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/16199
Embark on a quest inspired by the Knights of the Nine DLC to learn about Breton lore (Everyone's favorite lore). I really like the puzzles in this one and the model itself looks great.

The Ice Blade of the Monarch: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/13972
More Morrowind Nostalgia with a dash of Ice Fishing.

Nedhegoth The Butcher: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/68789
Some bosmer armor by Frank. Not his best work but it would work great for a Wild Hunt themed build!

Artifacts of Nocturnal - Bow of Shadows: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/64822
The bow of Shadows and the Gray Cowl are now available with their own cute little dungeon.


##Private Eye Mods:


Private Eye is another older modder with a lot of models used in other mods on this list. His mods are a bit more vanilla than Insanity Sorrow but they're a good time all the same.

Royal Armory - New Artifacts: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/6994
Adds individual weapons to several of the NPCs in the game inspired by the numerous unique weapons the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Grab this remodeling for some sleeker looking models: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/28006 

Heavy Armory - New Weapons: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/6308
Adds a ton of new weapon types into the game. On it's own no new animations exist however with this mod you'll have all new animations and a couple more weapon types. Make sure you grab the patch for Animated Armory: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/15394

Lunar Armory- A Silent Moons Overhaul: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/69438
Those lunar weapons that are fucking shit now have more versions. This has a patch for Heavy Armory and Animated Armory BTW!

##sforzinda Mods:


When I was originally making this guide I had completely forgotten about this author and his amazing gems. Seriously some of the best armor and clothing overhauls ever made for Skyrim and a worthy addition to any load order. Seriously get all of these.

Variations: https://sforzmods.tumblr.com/sse_variations
A series of mashups and recolors for several armors from the base game. Really makes the cookie cutter armor of Skyrim's base game feel more broken up and immersive.

Imitations: https://sforzmods.tumblr.com/sse_imitations
A series of more mashups with roleplay in mind. A good place to start when creating your next waifu/husbando

Fashions of the Fourth Era: https://sforzmods.tumblr.com/sse_fashions
Adds a metric ton of new weapons and armors some completely unique to certain NPCs.


##Beyond Skyrim:


I've been pretty outspoken against Beyond Skyrim myself. At some point I'll make a guide on alternatives and go into more detail on what a mess of a project it is but the TL;DR is a combination of too many cooks in the kitchen, unrealistic goals, self destructive behavior on the part of leads, and overhyping. That being said, a lot of the individual works in the project itself are great.

Beyond Skyrim - Morrowind: 
https://www.mediafire.com/file/ghm79x5bi5vsbrf/BS+Morrowind+Dunmeri+Glass.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file/vuqcelx2atuqxbz/BS_Morrowind_Eastern_Dwemer.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file/3s2dozbf37kbozp/BS_Morrowind_Steel.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file/xadh5upw1lrcpkn/BS_Morrowind_Levellist.7z/file
Beyond Skyrim Morrowind isn't out yet however Maze has kindly integrated them into the Solstheim leveled list. Grab any patches you might need here: https://pastebin.com/L7cBYDrM

Beyond Skyrim - Cyrodiil: https://kiwifarms.net/threads/beyond-skyrim-community.84795/ or https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10917
Divine Amulets: https://www.mediafire.com/file/nhcufzczh85ggls/Divine+Amulets.7z/file
Beyond Skyrim in Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/31787
So I recently started using Bruma again in my load order. It's fun to explore and see the sights. Depending on what mods you're using compatibility can be sketchy so if you're worried use the version on the nexus. Otherwise check out the version on Kiwi farms that has all the content made for the mod so far. The mod adding in the armors should work on either version. There is a broken reputation system that the game keeps trying to call on if you use the leaked version so here's a fix for that: https://mega.nz/file/YroFjYZS#_mXxYTnswATchQ4DlqNl8vxkBhO-rPifIGVDBRo49Y8

Beyond Skyrim - Wares of Tamriel: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/31519
Wares of Tamriel is pretty inoffensive in a vacuum but insulting when you consider it's the software equivalent of forcing your guest through the gift shop before they see an attraction. Coupled with Beyond Skyrim in Skyrim it adds a lot of variety to the items you'll find traveling around Tamriel.

Beyond Skyrim - The Lost Roscrean Blade: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/31548
Adds a small quest meant as a very light teaser for the never ever island!

SKYBLIVION - 3E Cyrodiilic Steel: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/31206
Skyblivion isn't the same as Beyond Skyrim but considering neither will never come out and all they have are armor teasers who really cares!

SKYBLIVION - Master Necromancer Robes: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/57728
Negromancy

Beyond Skyrim Morrowind - Bonemold: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/66906
They really botched this one. To celebrate the 20 year anniversary of the best Elder Scrolls game we got some broken armor. I would say don't bother but they patched away the issues and the sets at least look passable.


##The Jewellery Section:


 The following are a selection of recommended Jewellery mods mostly taken from another guide here: https://pastebin.com/8YVwLSv2

Immersive Jewelry: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/5336
I decided to add this mod back into the list. Adds a ton of new jewelry items into the game but it also messes with the economy and weights of things. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea all the mods that was used to make this one are in the description and in that guide linked above. 
Grab the summermyst patch: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/30463 and for Morrowloot: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/45674

Ashland Amulets - Morrowind Artifacts for Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/41510
Yet another Private Eye mod focusing on Jewellery. This one adds several Ashlander artifacts around Skyrim. Perfect for anyone roleplaying and Ashlander or Dunmer in general.

Amulets of Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/487
This was one of the big omissions in my original list and I do still think it has a lot of issues. The Daedric amulets in particular are offensively overpowered but I suppose anything made by a god should probably make you feel like a god. Grab the tweaks and fixes too: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/31814


##Vicn Mods:


Vicn is a crazy Japanese modder best known for his astounding series of quest mods Vigilant, Glenmoril and Unslaad which all add great armor and weapons with level list integration for Vigilant and Glenmoril. He has also overhauled a number of stats using the recent Custom Skills Framework (Found here: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/41780) and created his own standalone mods like those listed below and the hilarious Cage of Clavicus.

Zenithar Workshop: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/7874
While I just berated Wares of Tamriel Zenithar Workshop was made by an author that finishes his projects. This little gift shop by Vicn is a nice little place to purchase quirkier weapons and armor from other games. I have had issues in the past with certain Whiterun overhauls so do be on the look out for that

Custom Skills - Hand To Hand: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/46425
This mod edges on the border of being beyond the scope of this guide however a handful of "weapons" are added to this mod. It adds back in the Hand to Hand skill from previous elder scrolls games in a somewhat limited but interesting way. Make sure you grab the English patch: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/46453

Custom Skills - Unarmoured Defense: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/52616
Here's another skill mod by Vicn this time focusing on unarmored skills. This one is also limited in how it is integrated into the game. Make sure you grab the English patch: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/52725



##Pulcharmsolis


This is a more recent modder that's been hitting it out of the park lately with this armors. Seriously go grab them all they look amazing!

Armors of the Velothi Pt. I: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/62752
One of the best armor packs recently released with a ton of new dunmer armor including a remade Redoran Exile! Some of them have HDT physics too! Grab this!

Armor of Titus Mede I: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/63376
One of the coolest Imperial armor sets released recently!

Morag Tong Grandmaster Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/53330
We have another Morag Tong mod on this list but this is a separate mod altogether for more legal assassin guild greatness. And if you're gonna bitch about it being heavy armor there's a patch for that here: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/53423 

Mephala's Prelate Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/53617
Alright this is a more standard Morag Tong look and can even be used to replace the vanilla armor in game. I have another mod I prefer for that but the standalone of this still looks great.

Titus Mede I Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/63376
Really great Cyrodiilic armor.

Silt Strider Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/69920
More Morrowind looking armor for you!

#4th Unknown

One of the best creature modellers has moved to armor mods recently. They're really good so come check them out! Too bad Paypal ruined his finacial situation causing him to take down all of his mods on the nexus.

Armory: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-cS86K1ZXAkxPEruC7Oz3SQeDDHdU1fo/view?usp=sharing
Adds a bunch of new armors and weapons to the game you can choose from

Bestiary: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kg99pWdnFjtwb3QVXwgJm2W_bQgwSgdo/view?usp=sharing
Adds a bunch of new monsters to the game. Not quite in the scope of this guide but I thought I'd include it here anyways!

#Skyrim Fuckery

A little known modder who mostly posts on Tumblr and 4chan. He makes some really nice armor mods!

Adventurer's Wardrobe: https://mega.nz/file/SMlzASbZ#cz-o5g_E3UeWfqjg02KQhifZj8VUgtEHLSvo_bSHXL0
This is a nice mashup of good looking armors. It even comes with a patch for Morrowloot.

Brigandine Outfit: https://mega.nz/file/CY1yjQTJ#m49LuXaGQW2aVGw6EOF-XYcfC3WGLWit8-28PihQ53s
Really nice remix of just a single armor set with some cool accessories!

Defender's Cuirass: https://mega.nz/file/OVEVFYRQ#zav8-fIqdO85XgZ6VRn2kTBR5Hpl7rDblie5m19Mg1g
Breton armor inspired by Spanish knights. Also has a really nice little quest attached!

##Miscellaneous Mods:


All the one hit wonders and smaller vanilla edits I personally use.

Bonemold Expanded: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/47640
BUG ARMOR FOR BUG BOIZ. Expands the types of Bonemold for all the various Dunmer great houses.

Kthonia's Unique Weapon Pack: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/15050
BUG WEAPONS FOR BUG BOIZ. Adds some unique bug weapons to Solstheim.

Bonemold and Chitin Weapons - Morrowind Armory - Remade: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10044
MORE BUG WEAPONS FOR BUG BOIZ. This time adding the bonemold and chitin weapons from Morrowind into Skyrim.

Tribunal Robes and Masks: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4937I rarely see love for Tribunal temple characters so here's another rescue from Immersive Armors.

Classic Morrowind Morag Tong Armor Replacer: https://anonfiles.com/x5R6D69fu7/Classic_Morrowind_Morag_Tong_armor_replacer_SSE_zip
Makes the Morag Tong set look more like it did in Morrowind. For some reason the guy who ported the mod took it off the nexus. I swear this is the last Morrowind mod for right now I'm sorry guys I just really like Morrowind.

Better Shrouded Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3608
Changes the look of Dark Brotherhood armor. I am really into the look personally.

Legion Signifers: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/29894
Adds signifiers to the legionaries of the Imperials. I think they're originally from New Vegas but I'm not much of a Fallout person.

Ghosu- Horker Weapon Pack: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/13711
Scroll down a second to the Old files to find this one. It adds Horker tusk weapons to the game. Makes Skyrim feel really unique with it's own primitive form of weaponry.

MATY743's Lore Armor Pack - Bosmer - Talos Housecarl: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/36904
Adds bosmer themed armors to help round out additions to every race. Even comes with a cute little boss fight to get one of the higher tier armors. Adds some Nordic armor too for you to craft in case we didn't have enough of that crap already.

Hammerfell Armory: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/8336
Adds some nice Redguard weapons and shields. This will help round out our Redguard additions.

Real Bows: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3144
Not a lot of people like this one and say the bows look too bland for them. As someone who did archery though the vanilla bows look too goofy for my tastes. Take a look for yourself before downloading.

Common Clothes and Armors: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/21305
This is actually a combination of two other mods that add more variation to the clothing and armors of the game. I really like the dresses in this one.

Warmonger Armory: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/17809
More mashups this time focusing almost exclusively on armor mashups. It's a solid addition.

Sleek Wolf Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/44812
Remodels the Wolf Armor to be more sleek.

Believable Weapons: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/37737
This one is similar to Real Bows this time with swords and whatnot. I am also a person who did fencing and the yaoi paddles of the base game are a bit too much for me. This one is less controversial though.

Vibrant Weapons Lite https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/56556
Adds new enchantment effects to the Fire Frost and Shock effects. This is the lite version which works the same but has more compatibility and some performance advantages! They look really cool and remind me of the Knights of the Nine trailer with the burning effect. Grab the Summermyst patch while you're here.

Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/6285
This is more of an overhaul of the enchanting system but it's a must have and has it's own artifacts to discover.

Wizard Hats: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2385
I really like these stupid little hats. I can look like Snufkin from Moomin. 10/10

Cloaks of Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/6369
Want some capes with special abilities to collect. Go nuts.

Winter is Coming - Cloaks: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/4933
Want to look like Jon Snow from A Song of Ice and Fire? Here's a great mod that adds the warmest looking cloaks I've ever seen.

Bandolier - Bags and Pouches Classic: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2417
Adds neat little bags to the game that increase carrying capacity and look stylish.
 
Animated Armoury: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/15394
Adds new animation types and tons of new weapon types like Spears, Whips, Rapiers and more. Also adds a handful of artifacts for some of the new weapon types.

Stoneheart Weapons Pack: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/36395
Some really cute animated weapons that can be integrated into the leveled list. Very weird vibes but I like these a lot.

Ulag's Legacy - Apotheus Light Armor - Blooded Heavy Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20510
A great example of why not the use Immersive armors this is an updated and fixed version of several armors that were integrated into Immersive armors originally. Go grab it.

East Empire Company Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/54990
Adds some nice custom armor to the East Empire company. It's a mashup of some other armor mods and it looks great!

Revenants of the Forbidden Order: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/35752
I forgot about this one when I was originally writing this guide with is weird considering Cyrodiilic lore is kinda my thing. Adds some really cool Alessian Order armors and a neat little quest to go along side it. Do NOT get the Main file. Instead, look under Optional Files and get the "human edition_2k" file, then the "1st person variant_human edition" file and overwrite it as a patch. Special Thanks to Squiggums for a decent explanation on how to install this great mod.

JaySuS Swords: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/29415
Adds a bunch more swords to craft and find around Skyrim.

Morrowloot Ultimate: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/3058
More of a loot overhaul Morrowloot does add a handful of artifacts including a ton that the CC tried to cover. It will require a lot of patches though less for the scope of this mod list so I'll just list the ones I use: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10218/ https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/41356https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/41356

There is No Umbra: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/47302
For a long time I actually liked the Umbra creation club mod. Then this mod dropped just to prove how much better free mods are. Adds a talking sword but this one you can fuck... I mean when she's in her human forum you might end up a eunuch if you try to fuck her as a sword.  She has some other patches as-well so keep and eye out on those. I use this as her replacer: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/49953

Tamrielic Lore - Chrysamere: https://mega.nz/file/8YQTmCwQ#aw9aOKs-TVROMc1MiCVtOIzlDfnSQwrGw3gPIJv2zdQ
This is hands down the best Chrysamere mod out there. At a certain level you'll receive a key opening a door to a new room in the Temple of the Divines. Inside you will find the paladin's blade and be sent to a pocket realm where you will battle a fucking dragon to prove yourself worthy of such a legendary artifact. If you use Legacy of the Dragonborn there will be a chest in the way of the door but just jump over it and you should be good. I'd love to make a patch myself but the instructions are so weird and the discord was full of 6 different people misunderstanding my question and then explaining what to do like I just needed a refresher. If anyone knows what they are doing and can create a patch for this mod I will love them forever. Oh and a special shout out to the mod Moon and Star that I discovered was using a perfectly working version of the model from this mod. Without that model I could have never gotten this mod working properly in Special Edition! I also recently replaced the model with the one from Frank Family's mod so there's really no reason to not try out this version!

The Doom Drum: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/36752
Okay but what if Pelinal's "Hand of Killing Light" was actually Megaman's blaster? Pretty cool right? Immersive! Free!

Lore Friendly Rifles of Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/60183
Lore friendly guns. And yes 15th century guns are lore friendly if you ever watched a video talking about Redguard!

Vitrium - Spells and Tools Pack: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/57242
Weird animation based alchemy/crafting mod that adds a bunch of Witcher-esq tools for you to use to slay baddies!

Arena Bikini Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/106393
The most Lore Friendly of Bikini armor mods! Works on SE!

JS Unique Utopia: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/65394
Unique daggers by John Skyrim

ElSopa Quivers Redone: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/65921
Nice quivers for your travels.

Weapon Animation Series: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/users/40995060
A series of mods that changes the animations for various artifacts in Skyrim!

Dwemer Weapons Glowmap: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/48232
Glowing dwemer weapons. Just run them over with your car.

Dwemer Armor Glowmap: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/48227
CIA glow in the dark armor.

Imperial Battlemage Robes: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/67763
This armor gives me some nice Daggerfall vibes for some reason.

For my mods check out: https://rentry.co/u5zs6

For my Immersion and Gameplay Guide check out: https://rentry.co/5moa4

For my Creation Club and Beyond Skyrim Alternatives Guide Check out: https://rentry.co/g2n6k

For some great general recommendations check out: https://www.tesgeneral.com/

For a more guided Skyrim modlist check out: http://squiggumsguides.wikidot.com/

For a list of amazing town mods that I use myself: https://rentry.co/xr22w

For a list of amazing creature mods that I use myself: https://pastebin.com/RjHfTt4S

For sex mods of the vanilla and beastial check out: https://rentry.co/vgxyh

For an alternative Immersion guide check out: https://rentry.co/6wfys

For another alternative Combat guide check out: https://rentry.co/smpbi

For some more obscure mods you've never heard of but are all great check out: https://skyrimfuckery.tumblr.com/