The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim continues to defy logic with yet another announcement by Bethesda concerning a relaunch. The Anniversary Edition of the game is slated to drop in November of 2021, and it comes packed with 500 pieces of mod content crafted by the Creation Club. Meanwhile, regular Skyrim gamers continue to craft brand new characters and head out on another adventure.
These gamers are fully aware of the plethora of character-related content from the modding community, and they put it to good use to craft the most unique Dragonborn around. Some overhaul facial characteristics and body meshes, while others change everything from hair and eyes to character attributes. Most of these mods focus on the Special Edition of the game, though they do have "Oldrim" equivalents as well.
RaceMenu
• Legendary version | Special Edition version
First, it's important to have the right foundation for building a better character in Skyrim, and that means adding RaceMenu to the load order. This popular plugin is a feature-packed arsenal of extra options, sliders, and body mechanics that go far beyond the vanilla Skyrim experience, allowing players to craft the ultimate avatar.
RaceMenu does have competition in the form of Enhanced Character Edit, but it's generally referred to as superior. Once installed, players can access it by pressing the ~ key to bring up the console, and typing "showracemenu," which will trigger the character creation overhaul. It will also take into account other body-related mods in the load order, and utilize their functions accordingly.
High Poly Head SE
• Download Here for both Legendary and Special Edition
Like it or not, the vanilla body and head meshes in Skyrim aren't aging particularly well, but there are plenty of mods available to bring the game up to modern standards. High Poly Head SE is currently available in version 1.4, and goes a long way towards making Skyrim's characters look their best.
There's a list of prerequisites to install before adding this to a load order, but the results speak for themselves. With more geometry and greater detail, faces look cleaner, sharper, and much more realistic. This can be applied to NPCs and followers, as well as the main character, to overhaul the game's characters.
Imperious - Races Of Skyrim
• Legendary version | Special Edition version
The province of Skyrim is home to many different races from the world of Tamriel, but the game doesn't go nearly far enough in distinguishing them from one another. Imperious - Races of Skyrim seeks to remedy this by implementing a set of values and statistics which gives each race its own set of inherent strengths and weaknesses.
For instance, Nords have a natural resistance to cold, while Orcs are better suited for melee combat. The mysterious feline Khajit race is more nimble and swift, Imperials handle armor better, and Redguards are blessed with a tremendous stamina buff. Regardless of the race, there are certain perks that tailor well to individual player styles.
The Atlantean Race - Powerful Warriors
Though slightly non-lore friendly, the inclusion of the Atlantean race offers players the chance to build quite an interesting warrior character, with a few perks on the side. The race is defined primarily by two things - physical strength, and a natural affinity for moving about whilst underwater.
Atlanteans are a tough breed and make for natural pack mules. Stamina and carrying capacity is enhanced to the point where there's no real need to lug around a backpack for extra storage. They're also capable of zipping about underwater like natural-born fish, allowing for deep-dive explorations of Skyrim's various waterways.
KS Hairdos SSE
• Legendary version | Special Edition version
Hair mods are vital for creating an attractive and cool looking character, especially given how dreadful the vanilla game's hairstyles are. While many Skyrim modders go straight for the popular Apachii hairstyles mod, it's not always the most realistic option. KS Hairdos SSE has quickly gained steam among the Skyrim modding community due to its relatively lore-friendly hairs.
The mod doesn't just offer better hairstyles; it also cleans up the texture work, offering a total in-game replacement from the standard stock hairdos. Modders are encouraged to install the Salt and Wind add-on, which retextures KS Hairdos even further, for maximum realism and attractiveness.
Tempered Skins For Males & Females
• Special Edition only - Males / Females
Players who want to start out as a human character should tack a good skin mod onto the load order in order to improve on what's already there. Tempered Skins for Males & Females offers a variety of options for players to customize the perfect look, right down to the choice of body musculature and chest hair.
The mods were designed to work well with enhanced ENB lighting presets as well, meaning they should look great no matter what. They're a definite step up from the rather bland and low-res textures included in the original game, and when combined with other body mods, helps transform the character roster.
Ordinator - Perks Of Skyrim
• Legendary version | Special Edition version
By default, Skyrim's perk system offers far too much ease when it comes to leveling up, and far too little room to customize the character experience. Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim is one of the most popular perk overhaul mods, primarily due to the way it handles leveling and application of perk points to the skill tree.
Every single perk tree has been reformatted to offer more options for players to build out their character's skill set. This has the added benefit of preventing over-specialization in a particular skill, which may unbalance the game and make it unnecessarily easy. Ordinator is one of the best Skyrim mods that players should install for their next playthrough, if they haven't already.
Improved Eyes Skyrim
• Legendary version | Special Edition version
Like everything else in vanilla Skyrim, eye textures are showing their age, and that can detract considerably from the believability and immersion in the game. Improved Eyes Skyrim overhauls eye textures while working directly with RaceMenu for greater character customization.
Every race gets improved eye textures with sharper detail, more exotic colors, and better shine. Some textures are simply an overhaul of existing race-specific eyes, while others have a glint of the supernatural that can give the Dragonborn a sense of inherent magical power.
Scarified Dunmer - Overhauled - SSE
The Dunmer are generally looked down upon in Skyrim as a troublesome people, but some gamers prefer playing as one to explore the province, regardless. Scarified Dunmer is a mod that overhauls the race to take into account the ritual scarring that takes place within the culture.
The result is a more diverse set of complexions for the Dunmer race, allowing them to stand out more amongst one another. Players can experiment with different looks to create a highly ritualized Dunmer Dragonborn that looks the part, and fits in well with the surrounding characters.
Character Creation Overhaul
• Legendary version | Special Edition version
While many of Skyrim's character-related mods focus on the physical aspects of character creation, some go behind the scenes to work their magic on the attributes system. Character Creation Overhaul is one such mod, and it's popular among the Skyrim community for adding a deeper set of RPG mechanics into the game.
Essentially, CCO focuses heavily on birthsigns, classes, skills, and attributes by allowing players to craft characters based on a series of important choices. This turns Skyrim into something vastly different from freeform exploration and a series of hilarious and timeless quotes.