Constraints
⚪ Last updated 2023⚠️ Install Order · 7 steps
Install in this order, then this mod last — most mods fail to load without their framework and dependencies in place.
Preview

🔍 Analysis
- 👍 0.8% endorsement rate
- 🏆 #123 of 137 Gameplay mods in this game by downloads
📋 About This Mod
We all know the story. You start a new playthrough determined to stick to a particular character concept - say, a pure sword-and-board warrior. Then you notice the game has given you a healing spell and a flame damage spell. Then you find a spellbook, and you may as well read it, right? Then you loot an enchanted bow. Then you find yourself sneaking because it's such a good way to get the drop on enemies. So your sneak skill increases. You find yourself picking off enemies with your bow, because you're carrying the bow anyway and sneak ranged attacks do a lot of damage for little risk. And if that doesn't finish the enemy off, wait till they step on your fire rune, or meet your summoned flame atronach. Congratulations, you're playing a magical stealth archer for the 837th time.
This mod is an attempt to allow you to break this habit.
Features
Through an MCM menu, choose various restrictions or effects to impose on your character, in order to assist with roleplaying or to make the game more challenging. All of these restrictions can be enabled or disabled at any time. There is nothing preventing you from disabling a restriction that you imposed on yourself earlier, other than your own self-respect.
The available restrictions are:
[]Weapon type - one-handed, two-handed, ranged weapons (bows and crossbows), edged weapons, staves, and each type of one-handed weapon (daggers, maces, axes, swords).
[]Equipment type - light armour, heavy armour, shields, jewelry, headgear, footwear. Restrict both armour weights to force a clothing-only playthrough.
[]Equipment material - leather, hide, wood, iron, steel, glass, ebony, silver, Orcish, Elven, Dwarven, Daedric, Falmer, Dragonscale, Dragonplate.
[]Weak ranged weapons - make arrows and bolts only deal 5 damage. This means you can still use them to aggro enemies, or use utility arrows, but you cannot deal significant damage as an "archer".
[]Crafting skills - prevent crafting items via alchemy, enchanting, smithing.
[]Magic - prevent yourself from learning or casting spells from each of the schools of magic. Prevent learning or equipping shouts or powers. Give yourself a limited number of active spell slots, and only allow casting spells which you have assigned to these slots,
[]Speechcraft - debuff your speechcraft skill to zero.
[]Trade and gold - prevent yourself from buying or selling items (separate options). Impose a cap on how much gold you can possess, and choose whether excess gold is destroyed, or stored and returned to you when you toggle the option off.
[*]Subterfuge [
Constraints is a gameplay mod for Skyrim that adds an MCM menu with various self-imposed restrictions to help players stick to character concepts. It includes weapon type, equipment type, material, and weak ranged weapon options, all toggleable at any time. With 64 endorsements and 8,135 downloads, it's a niche tool for roleplayers.
✨ Key Features
📊 Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Perfect for roleplayers who want to stick to a character concept without drifting into stealth archer (64 endorsements).
- MCM menu gives you full control to toggle restrictions on the fly, so you can adjust mid-playthrough.
- Covers a wide range of restrictions from weapon types to materials, so you can tailor the challenge to your playstyle.
⚠️ Cons
- Requires SkyUI and SKSE for the MCM menu, so you'll need those mods installed first.
- Only 64 endorsements, so it's a niche mod that might not be as battle-tested as popular overhauls.
- Since it's from 2023, it may not be updated for the latest Skyrim version, so check compatibility with your setup.
For Skyrim players who love roleplaying and want to enforce character restrictions without relying on willpower. If you're tired of every playthrough turning into a stealth archer, this mod gives you the tools to prevent that. Skip if you prefer gameplay overhauls that add new mechanics rather than self-imposed limits.
💡 Beginner Tips
- Make sure you have SKSE64 and SkyUI installed before adding this mod, as the MCM menu won't work without them.
- Use a mod manager like Vortex or Mod Organizer 2 to install and manage this mod alongside your other mods.
- Start with just one restriction, like weapon type, to see how it affects your playthrough before adding more.
📊 Mod Details
- Game
- Skyrim Mods
- Author
- eeeickythump
- Version
- 1.3
- Downloads
- 8,135
- Endorsements
- 64
- Category
- Gameplay
- Created
- 7/9/2022
- Updated
- 12/1/2023
🔧 How to Install Skyrim Mods
Download from Nexus.
📖 Full step-by-step install guide for Skyrim →
Visit the official mod page for specific installation instructions for this mod.
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