Lore Friendly Birthsign Rebalancing

Lore Friendly Birthsign Rebalancing

Version: 1. 0

1.    Description

2.    Requirements

3.    Installation

4.    Incompatibilities

5.    Changelog

6.    Permissions

7.    Contact

8.    Credits

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Description

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I was not entirely satisfied with the available birthsign rebalancing mods for Morrowind, so I decided to create my own. I wanted choosing your character’s birthsign to be a meaningful decision while staying true to the lore, as described in The Firmament. My aim was to balance the in-game birthsigns without adding effects like skill fortification or resistances that aren't present in the originals. Additionally, I've made the full birthsign descriptions visible when you hover over them in the UI.

Two overpowered birthsigns have been nerfed, five underpowered ones have been buffed, and six that I found to be well-balanced have been left untouched.

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The Atronach:

In Morrowind, the Atronach birthsign is quite overpowered. Unlike in Oblivion, the “Stunted Magicka” drawback isn't a major issue, as magicka in Morrowind only regenerates by resting. It’s not the magicka boost that makes this birthsign overpowered but rather the 50% Spell Absorption, which means half of all spells that hit you do nothing. To address this, I’ve reduced the Spell Absorption effect to 25%.

Cloak Wombburn – Spell Absorption now 25% (instead of 50%)

The Lady:

The Lady's main strength is the Endurance boost, which directly affects hit points gained per level. Since health gained this way isn’t retroactive, gaining Endurance early results in much higher health later on. The Fortify Endurance 25 pts made this birthsign too advantageous. To rebalance it, I replaced the Endurance boost with a Willpower 25 pts boost. This change also matches the lore (“those born under the Lady are kind and tolerant”) since Willpower suggests the willingness to endure and tolerate differences.

Lady's Grace – Now Fortifies Willpower 25 pts (instead of Endurance 25 pts)

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The Ritual:

The Ritual is a decent birthsign for roleplaying, thanks to its Turn Undead spells, but is comparatively weak overall. To improve its usefulness, I doubled the healing power of Mara's Gift, similar to Oblivion.

Mara's Gift – Restores Health 200 pts on Self (instead of 100 pts)

The Tower:

The Tower's Beggar's Nose spell (Detect Animal, Key, Enchantment) is quite useful, but Tower Key (Open 50 pts) is underwhelming and easily replaced e