This is a blog for posting updates about Cirinel Direnni, my mod that I've been working on for the past year or so.
This is Nellie. She's my daughter.
Who is she?
She's an Altmer from High Rock! Specifically Isle Balfiera. It's an island off the coast owned by the Direnni Clan, which, through their messy history, are the reason Bretons exist.
Who voices her?
That would be the very talented Alice Irvin! You can find her Casting Call page here. And this is what she sounds like!
Why is she in Skyrim?
Escaping the Thalmor. Trying to, anyways.
What's in her arsenal?
So far (based on personal playthrough, will probably cut some that don't work as a follower):
Her granddad's steel hand axe
Fury
Healing
Flames
Conjure Flame Atronach
Soul Trap
Conjure Storm Atronach
Lightning Bolt
Chain Lightning
Fast Healing
No ice spells?
Skyrim's cold enough as it is! And she thought High Rock was bad...
What's up with her eye?
She's half blind from Thalmor torture. No archery for her!
What's her opinion on-
Hold it right there. That's for the ask box.
Will she be romanceable?
That's the plan. Not on initial release, though; that's for her quest update.
Will she interact with other follower mods?
In a perfect world, yes. However, that requires a solid foundation to build off of (meaning a functional, test-ready Nellie) and the collaboration and coordination of another mod author, so don't expect anything unless I explicitly announce it. And definitely do not bother other creators about it.
She had a braid before, didn't she?
Yep, she sure did! I've since decided that she's not about to step out of enemy territory with flawless hair, so her updated look reflects that. I really wanted it to look like she's trying to appear dignified despite her...less-than-optimal situation.
Where do I find her?
Outside of Reeking Cave, which is that death pit on the way out of the Thalmor Embassy. She made her escape, but got nicked by a Frost Troll.
Can I have her?
She's not currently out for beta testing, but once she is, she'll be linked here!
Are you using any other mods to make her?
Planning to! Here's what she currently has:
Clothes: Clean and Improved Mage Robes (as of last check, permissions say "yes with credit")
Axe: Nord Hand Axe (as of last check, permissions say "yes with no credit required")
Hair: KS Hairdos SSE (as of last check, permissions say "you are free to use this mod for your followers and npc mods")
Calian: Calians - Altmer Accessories (I made that!)
If the permissions on these change, understandably, so will this list.
What mods are you using for her appearance here?
Tempered Skins for Females
KS Hairdos (see above)
Clean and Improved Mage Robes (see above)
RaceMenu (to get more face customization options, not required to replicate in your own game)
As of now, everything necessary for her appearance will be in her mod as a standalone, meaning you won't need to download any dependencies, except Tempered Skins. You're gonna have to deal with vanilla Skyrim looks if you don't get that.
When's this mod expected to come out in full?
When it's ready to. I do have a roadmap of her progress, though, so you're welcome to have a look at that.
Bi! She swings both ways, with a slight preference for women. She is impulsive, though, so good luck pinpointing her tastes amidst her ping-ponging between crushes.
hey! congrats on the 1.0 release! I was reading the roadmap and saw the bit about riding and the trouble with it, and I just wanted to give a heads up that goredev for gore has open permission for scripts like his horse one, as long as you give him a heads up and ask beforehand. It's, imo, the best script for having a custom mount and riding for cvf's.
Oh nice! I'll have to ask him when I get there (that's a bit of a ways down the line) but thank you!
Meet Cirinel, an Altmeri fugitive of the Thalmor! This adds a custom voiced follower (VA: Alice Irvin) to the world of Skyrim for you to tra
She's finally here! After 3 years of writing, rewriting, learning code, and all that jazz, I am happy to finally introduce you all to the real Cirinel Direnni!
What's new?
Introductory quest start: Nellie has an entire script to play when you first meet her, explaining her situation.
Direnni paraphernalia: Her equipment and clothing can be found in the cave at Mara's Eye Pond.
Full follower functionality
Passing dialogue for all nine holds (only plays outside, and out of town!)
A summoning spell
High Hrothgar quick addition: Nellie moves out of the way when you're learning "Ro" from the Greybeards
Two atronach summons
Over 200 lines of dialogue!
What's next?
City commentary! Her next non-hotfix update will have her speaking about the goings-on of Whiterun and its nearby towns.
Condition her current lines so they only play outside
Make Nellie's custom summon gift
Make a "summon Nellie" spell and set that up
Finish making Nellie sit away from the Dragonborn when they get their Fus Ro Dah from the Greybeards, both at the first meeting in the main quest and at the end of the Jurgen Windcaller quest
Fix the axe I accidentally deleted in the Abandoned Prison
One of my favorite lines to come out of Nellie so far--Alice really nailed the delivery! This plays randomly in Haafingar.
Transcript: "Okay, if anyone asks, I'm Summerset nobility and you're my hired bodyguard. (clears throat) Gods, this human-dominated wasteland is ABOMINABLE. Dreadfully fitting, I suppose. How do you stand living here?"
After a lot of thought, I've decided to change the plan from a closed beta to an open beta! I figure that'll get me more input faster so I can bug-fix her quickly.
What does this mean?
Beta Nellie ver. 0.1.0 is going to debut on Nexus! She'll be free to download in her unpolished state, and I'll update her regularly there.
What do the version numbers mean?
The first digit is for her phase, the second is the package, and the third is for minor changes. Phases are full-release-level sweeping changes, while packages are sections of progress. For example:
0.1.0 = First package released. Nellie talks about every hold she's in.
0.1.1 = She was accidentally saying her Whiterun lines in Winterhold. Fixed that.
1.0.0 = First phase released, all Phase 1 packages included. Nellie has idle dialogue for the entire world, and is considered player-ready.
How many packages do you expect to do?
I have a whole roadmap! In short, though...a lot. Phase 1 has 15 packages—though, granted, the first one (currently in final development stages) was the longest and most difficult.
Where is she?
I'll link her here when she's ready. Stay tuned for release info!
🎉Writing for the Holds Package is officially done! 🎉
I have three more dedicated voice sessions with Alice and a handful of programming things to do, but she should be ready for her first test run around the middle of next month!
If you want to be part of the beta, now's the time to ask! Hit me up!
