Frostbite

Frostbite adds a simple and lightweight cold weather recognition system to Skyrim. When outside in the elements, or in an icy interior location, your body temperature reduces gradually. When indoors or standing near a heat source such as fire, the cold temperature is counteracted and your body temperature increases quickly.

The goal of this mod is to give the climate of Skyrim a more immersive effect without introducing a "survival" mini-game or discouraging exploration. As always, a mod should balance immersion with fun gameplay. Additionally, Frostbite is designed to be widely compatible with other mods and play styles.

How It Works

Frostbite will be enabled by default, but can be disabled in the provided MCM. When outdoors, ambient temperature is determined by the current weather and time of day. There are six possible temperatures: warm, comfortable, neutral, cool, cold, and freezing. When the sun is below a viewing angle, the temperature is reduced by one step. When the sun is above a viewing angle and the weather is pleasant, the temperature is increased by one step. When actively swimming, temperature is also reduced by one step.

Interior zones are largely warm, but icy interiors are recognized as cold by default. If an interior zone is not recognized as cold, or is a zone added by another mod, either the location or the cell can be added to the recognized form lists in the Frostbite MCM.

Local heat sources, such as a camp fire, will boost the ambient temperature to warm. Stews and soups also have a warming effect if you find yourself stuck out in the elements without a fire. When consuming a food that is not in the base game, you will be asked how Frostbite should classify it. When near a heat source while in third person, a warming animation will play. You can cancel the animation by jumping or drawing your weapon. The animation will not play/cancel if your weapon is drawn or you're in combat.

Clothing in the body, hands and head slots can provide additional warmth. When a new clothing or armor is equipped, you will be asked what its warmth properties are, and this choice will be remembered for the duration of the game. Alternatively, clothing and armor can be automatically detected with an MCM option. Clothing will have minimal protection, light armors some protection, and heavy armors excellent protection.

When the player's body temperature reduces to a configurable level, attribute regeneration is stopped (though buffs such as potions will still have an effect). When the player's body temperature reduces to another configurable level, attributes are actively damaged on each polling interval. The attributes that are affected can be configured in the MCM, but the default is stamina and magicka. Note that when health effects are enabled, there is a chance of dying if your body temperature is too low for too long.