Beneath Bronze Waters Start Fix
⚪ Last updated 2023⚠️ Install Order · 5 steps
Install in this order, then this mod last — most mods fail to load without their framework and dependencies in place.
Preview

🔍 Analysis
- 👍 0.4% endorsement rate
- 🏆 #32 of 94 Bug Fixes mods in this game by downloads
📋 About This Mod
This mod has been included in USSEP 4. 2. 9a and is now redundant. The only advantage you get by downloading this on top of USSEP are some minor optimizations to the script.
Description
One of the last quests in the Fishing creation questline is the "Beneath Bronze Waters" quest, during which you unlock the Dwarven fishing rod and get 2 new unique war axes. Unfortunately this quest can fail to start because of a rather dumb reason.
When you install the creation, 2 dwarven spiders are added right outside of the entrance to Bronze Water Cave in a dormant state. They are meant to only get out of their pipes and attack you when the quest is completed, but if you manage to trigger them beforehand by AOE spells or bashing into the hatches and then kill them, then leave the area for long enough for them to despawn, the quest will never start, because both are required aliases for it which won't get filled if they are despawned from the game. Doing this with even 1 of the spiders is enough to completely bug the quest in this way.
This mod changes both spider aliases in the quest to optional and disables the spiders until they should ambush you, so no matter what happens during your playthrough, those 2 spiders won't cockblock you from getting the Dwarven rod.
Requirements
Anniversary Edition's Fishing creation
Installation
Install with your favourite mod manager.
This mod works out of the box if you have not read the "Bounty: Dwarven Investigation" note yet. If you have and the quest has not started, you can use this console command to start it manually after installing this mod:
Compatibility and load order
Not compatible
with anything that changes the "Beneath Bronze Waters" quest. Let me know of such cases and I'll make a patch.
Compatible with everything else.
Load after any mod that changes the same quest. If the quest is still not starting for whatever reason, let me know and I'll look into it.
Credits
Bethesda for Skyrim and the Creation Kit
ElminsterAU for xEdit
A small bug fix mod that ensures the 'Beneath Bronze Waters' quest starts properly in Skyrim, addressing a known issue where the quest fails to trigger. With 878 endorsements and over 220k downloads, it's a community-trusted fix for a specific quest-breaking bug. ESP-FE plugin for efficient load order.
✨ Key Features
📊 Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Community-approved fix with 878 endorsements and over 220k downloads.
- Tiny plugin that won't bloat your load order thanks to ESP-FE flag.
- Directly addresses a quest-breaking bug that can block progress.
⚠️ Cons
- Only fixes one specific quest start issue; doesn't address other potential quest bugs.
- No compatibility notes, so it may conflict with mods that alter the same quest or its triggers.
- Last updated in May 2023, so it might not be tested with the latest Skyrim updates or mods.
For Skyrim players who've encountered the 'Beneath Bronze Waters' quest never starting and want a quick, reliable fix. Also for mod users who want a lightweight patch that doesn't affect other aspects of the game. Skip if you haven't had this issue or if you're looking for broader quest fixes.
💡 Beginner Tips
- Place the plugin in your load order after any mods that modify the same quest or its starting conditions.
- Since it's an ESP-FE, it won't count toward the 255 plugin limit, but ensure your mod manager supports light plugins.
- If you're using a mod manager like Vortex or MO2, just download and enable; no manual sorting needed.
📊 Mod Details
- Game
- Skyrim Mods
- Author
- ferrari365
- Version
- 1.1.1
- Downloads
- 220,113
- Endorsements
- 878
- Category
- Bug Fixes
- Created
- 3/25/2023
- Updated
- 5/27/2023
🧩 Commonly Used Together
Users add these mods to the same collections — a real compatibility signal, not an AI guess.
🔧 How to Install Skyrim Mods
Download from Nexus.
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