--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: The 10 Best New Skyrim Mods for May 2012 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ce0adbd8893c43d/6998bbfde1ba00e1cd98c533/skyrim-monster-mod.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) # The 10 Best New Skyrim Mods for May 2012 by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) May 31, 2012 10:45 AM CUT  Dogtown1 / Skyrim Nexus by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) May 31, 2012 10:45 AM CUT ## Skyrim Monster Mod 
I'm going to start this list with a cheat. Technically, Skyrim Monster Mod was uploaded in February, but for some reason it slipped under my radar. That's a shame, because it's one of the most comprehensive creature overhauls, adding more than 100 new critters, including 70 types of dragons, each carefully tuned to spawn in areas that make sense, climate-wise. If Skyrim feels a little too "MMO monster-zone" to you, or you're just tired of slaying wolves, snow trolls and ice wraiths, this is the mod to get.



Get it: Skyrim Monster Mod mcpeckham ## Bandolier — Bags and Pouches 
Skyrim already lets you carry ridiculous amounts of cr— I mean, stuff on your person, so why not blow the lid off your carry capacity and be done with it? This mod tosses in bags and pouches such as bandoliers, satchels, box pouches and big belt bags that you can attach to various body parts. In addition to functionally increasing your weight limit, this mod lets you finally resemble the pack mule you are!



Get it: Bandolier — Bags and Pouches mcpeckham ## LC-Become King of Riverhelm 
Last but far from least, this work-in-progress mod lets you be king for more than a day, offering a "giant city and castle" as well as — if you've got the gold to spend — people to rule and knights to do your bidding. What's it like to be king of Riverhelm? You'll get a "giant imposing fortress," for starters, along with four knightly followers, and also a court jester, a treasure room (to show off your loot — includes armor mannequins), 50 new NPCs, guards that personally greet you, unique armor for your soldiers, the world's healthiest piemaker, your own coat of arms and a "beautiful view of Whiterun from your personal tower."



Get it: LC-Become King of Riverhelm mcpeckham ## Wearable Lanterns 
Wouldn't it be great if you could clip a flashlight to your chest in Skyrim, Nathan Drake–style, leaving your hands free but keeping things well-lit while sword-and-boarding at night? This mod does it old-school, clipping a boxy lantern to ... well, I'm not sure how it attaches to your waist, or that it'd meet fire code, but what the heck — if Link could do it in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, why not you?



Get it: Wearable Lanterns mcpeckham ## CLARALUX — More and Brighter Lights 
Sometimes too much realism's a bummer, like before electricity, when torchlight leaves towns looking like murky bogs under starless skies. This mod throws reality out the window to give you much better exterior lighting (especially, notes the modmaker, in mods that increase darkness at night — the shot above is with the mod applied, rendering the town of Whiterun dramatically brighter). You'll also get lampposts on major roads, torches on paths, extra torches and large bonfires at forts, and a few other lighting improvements. Best of all, this mod lets you tweak any of the above on the fly using an in-game console.



Get it: CLARALUX — More and Brighter Lights mcpeckham ## Pets of Skyrim 
If the cat came back, the very next day ... why not sign it up to be your companion? Pets of Skyrim lets you do just that, selecting from 16 cats, 11 dogs, three rabbits and one wolf (poor lonesome fella). You can fiddle with colors (10 for cats, four for dogs) as well as sizes, say, if you want to make like Jon Snow and roll your own Ghost.



Get it: Pets of Skyrim mcpeckham ## Apocalypse Spell Package 
Channel your inner Francis Ford Coppola with this collection of 140-plus "fair and balanced" spells, which aims to "make magical combat more interactive and engaging than simply selecting the highest dps spell and pointing at the enemy or summoning a creature and watching it fight from a distance." The author has also worked to ensure the spells aren't just slightly different versions of familiar ones, and claims that most "are unique and the majority are heavily scripted."



Get it: Apocalypse Spell Package mcpeckham ## YY Anim Replacer — Zweihander 
There's not a lot to say about this mod, save that it makes the way your character wields two-handed weapons look a lot more Final Fantasy (think of the way Cloud Strife has always depicted slinging his Buster Sword over one shoulder). It also alters several animations, including idling, equipping, blocking, turning, walking, running and sprinting.



Get it: YY Anim Replacer — Zweihander mcpeckham ## Vanguard Armor 
This one's another "lore friendly" mod designed to give front-line heavies a little something extra courtesy of "beaten platemail, colored leather and robe elements." Its coolest perk, unseen in any other mod before it: helmets with visors that open and close automatically (open when not in combat stance, closed when you're dishing it out).



Get it: Vanguard Armor mcpeckham ## Belua Sanguinare Revisited — Dynamic Vampires 
Vampires, they're so "magic blood mage" in Skyrim, according to this mod's designer. The goal: to make them more vampire-y. The result: a mod that's like a "best of" vampire-genre mash, making you more prone to damage from fire, silver weapons or anyone carrying garlic. There's also a much more sophisticated, bloodsucking mechanic with six levels of "satiation" and consequent bonuses or weaknesses, and that's just for starters. With its dossier of unearthly abilities like "conjure storms, sap light from the area, bewitch animals to follow you, levitate, have precognition in combat, blend in with civilians" and more, this mod would do Bram Stoker proud.



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