Illiteracy (OpenMW)

By default, the mod runs in a simplified mode: all you need to do is raise your base Intelligence to be able to read most of the books, and your current Intelligence for difficult books. But you can change it in the settings.

If you turn off the Simple Version, then learning to read becomes a proper process:

• []You need at least some base intelligence to get through "ABCs for Barbarians." That's your primer. Reading it teaches you to read simple books and notes.[/]

  []Once you've read some different simple texts (6 by default) you know the language well enough to understand most texts.[/]

  []But the hard stuff stays out of reach: complex scientific and philosophical treatises, as well as archaic language or texts in Aldmeris. To read those, you need to raise your current Intelligence much higher and train on intermediate texts (6 by default).[/]

The journal isn't treated as text you read, but rather as your character's own thoughts — so by default it isn't blocked. You can block it in the settings if you want, but be warned, the implementation isn't great: it flickers for a split second before closing.

Quest items are NOT an exception. They follow the same rules: illiterate characters can only use them if they contain no text or the text is gibberish (e.g., Package for Caius Cosades).

Disclaimer: I'm no expert on English or Morrowind lore — this isn't a serious academic project. If you have any feedback, I can move books between tiers.