Skyrim modder brings Fallout’s deathclaws to Tamriel in a lore-friendly way


An image of a deathclaw in Skyrim.

Life in Skyrim is generally pretty chill, with the means to make money never being too far away, especially if you’re good at alchemy or know which NPCs carry the most pocket change.

However, whether it’s via introducing a Shadow of Mordor-esque nemesis system, making dragon priest masks demonically possess their characters, or just jacking up the prices of goods, Skyrim modders are always looking for ways to disrupt this idyllic existence.

In the case of one of these scary individuals, the answer to making life in the Elder Scrolls a little less pleasant was easy, add a notoriously tough enemy from the Fallout series.

Thought you could escape being chased by deathclaws just by closing Fallout? Think again

The mod that does this is called ‘Deathclaws as Gehenoths’ and is the work of modder balladofwindfishes, whose previous work has brought bone wolves to Solsthiem and re-named Skyrim’s default crossbows.

Now, though, they’ve dug into the series’ expansive lore to find a way to integrate the existing ‘Deathclaw Enemies’ mod by m150 into the game in a more lore-friendly and immersive manner.

The key to doing this was their discovery of the Gehenoth, a terrifying creature from and the main boss of The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar, an obscure 2004 spin-off title released as part of The Elder Scrolls Travels series.

Native to Skyrim in the past, as its game’s title suggests, the Gehenoth is a fearsome reptilian beast that serves as a perfect deathclaw equivalent, which is why balladofwindfishes has decided to turn all of the deathclaw variants added by the original mod into different types of Gehenoth.

No matter which of these you’re taking on, from the less troublesome young Gehenoth to the heavily armoured Gehenoth Thriceborn, you’ll want to stock up on potions and items that increase your tolerance of frost damage, as most of the attacks you’ll be facing will have an icy edge to them.

As you might expect, this means that if you want to hunt one down, your best bet is to head for the colder climes that usually serve as the habitat of frost trolls and other winterised predators, with the chilly coast areas around Dawnstar and Winterhold likely offering the greatest chance of a Gehenoth encounter.

So, grab your best hunting gear, pack some stout mead in case you need warming up, and make sure to follow us for more updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the wacky world of Skyrim modding.

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