So, here's a simple question for you guys. For Morrowind, and for Oblivion, what are the mods that you would keep as your final complete package. Simple, eh? Let me clarify the problem and some paramters. For years now I have, as I am sure most of you have also, collected mods, and installed various ones and had playthroughs with various different mod lists. Which is great and all, but I was just scanning my back folders, and mods for Oblivion is over 34gb (thats not installed or anything, all compressed), which for instance in 2012 I was playing with 980 mods installed.

So the aim here is to trim this down to what is actually useful from 2018 onwards, lots of them are discontinued, lots have been merged up. So I am looking for recommendations following these constraints:
Currently not looking at Skyblivion or Obliviwind - i.e. projects whereby a previous game is played in a newer engine. Whilst these are great they have some ways to go.

All mods must be lore friendly, no aniume graphics for instance.

The Nehrim (Arktwend for Morrowind) series which is excellent is outside the scope of this being a separate entity

Morrowind:
This is pretty straightforward now, as for a while the main two mods I used and kept up with are Overhaul and Rebirth, which can be used togther, and (unless there are serious objections) would form the basis of any modding further. So in this scenario, is there anything necessary to add onto this build and is compatible with this build (can include quests, bug fixes, etc.),

Oblivion:
Again pretty straightforward af the most excellent guide by Bevilex:
https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/47591/
I am considering that install as the basis for any future modding. So the question as above, is there anything you deem to be missing from that, essential quests, bug fixes etc.

Essentially what I am getting at here is that Morrowind and Oblivion are pretty ancient now, and most modders have moved onto Skyrim, so really looking to draw a line under these two and keep what really matters.
I realise that this is still rather a large scope question so interested in opinions and suggestions bearing in mind the base builds given.

I have as I was typing this just come across two further questions which tie in:
Is Rebirth + Overhaul + Tamriel Rebuilt = worth it, or is it better to drop one? I might have a go at all three.
Finally is OpenMW "better" (i.e. more stable better for use nowadays, than base Morrowind? I.e. is rebuilt/overhaul/TR all compatible with OpenMW and with each other in there - just looking at choices for base install.

Yep,had the same problem.I decided to go through the lot and chuck the useless/unworkable mods in the river.Pains taking job but it had to be done,did find a lot of mods discontinued but still work with up to date game and kept them.As for recommendations forget it,my head spins and this is a job for you and your choice.Best idea would be to check Nexus for the most popular and see what new stuff has been made/updated/improved.Oh, and thanks as now I got a bloody headache thinking about this.
And don't even think about marking this as a solution or you might end up in the river.

You a mod? Since when has the General Forum become so picky about threads,which I might add some of the threads are absolutely disgusting.Point them out,no I don't think so as they have disappeared into the black hole as this will also.

Yes, thanks. That was where I was heading too. That's why I wanted a nice solid base for each of them. So many have been superceeded and merged now and everyone and their dog appears to have a mod list or YouTube for it over the years it would be nice to have some sort of stable platform guide. Might suggest this over at nexus.
Have a + as I know you need them. Subforum a have always been a ghost town, so I don't expect one game related question the general forum of Gwent/witcher 3/galaxy questions will bother anyone.

Nobody else got any opinions? Looks like Tauto is going to take the crown...

Nope! Give it to mystral.

Oblivion is a different game with FCOM KABOOM and Skycaptain's Deadly Reflexes.

Thanks for that. Yes, I looked at FCOM (convergence is it not?) quite a few years ago. Its a project to allow Marts, Oscuro and such like to work together. I found I had far too much effort invested to get the thing working and all stable so left it. Maybe I will return to it one day.

Deadly reflexes, yes, I should really add that to my base!

Yes, FCOM is Frans, Oscuros and Marts with some smaller things added in. Deadly Reflexes was really a great combat overhaul.

Actually I started writing a post when I saw this but it came down to a "Mods? We don;t need no stinking mods!" joke and how I feel about playing both of those games without any.

Of course it doesn't help that it took me like 5 months to finish Morrowind with the guide book only to discover that you can do it in less than 30 minutes....

But hey if Tauto can be helpful.....

And who was the lucky man between you, the man who only played Morrowind for 30 minutes or the one who enjoyed it for 5 months? I read about someone beating Oblivion very quickly without exploring the world, they may aswell not have played it.

Also, GCD (Galsiah's Character Development) for Morrowind and nGCD (not Galsiah's Character Development) for Oblivion were musts for me as they changed leveling to be more in tune with Daggerfall and it was smooth character progression rather than getting a level up screen. You'd get skill points for skills used,and stats based on associated skills raised, and levels based on total stat points, all quietly calculated behind the scenes without any obtrusive pop-up screens.

Yes, as vanilla Oblivion has levelled items and lists its as difficult to win the game with a level 1 character as a level 30 character or any level character. This is why most people play with some sort of mod to remove this, Oscuro's for instance.
Will have to try those out.

To add, I have just been through and installed and modded Morrowind following this Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A9SdpWvd9A
It installs Overhaul, Rebirth and Tamriel Rebuilt. Really makes Morrowind look nice and a bit less sluggish as well. Will have to have a play around and see if this could be my new base. Also, had a look through OpenMW, still seems a bit incomplete (in the change log it says shadows are not implemented currently for instance), so wil leave that for the time being.

This is the last post I made in the Bethesda Oblivion Mods forum before it moved to the new site and I abandoned it. It is my advice to another gamer who wanted to play through the game - main quest and perhaps some of the major questlines - for the first time since he had been playing and modding for years.

"I suggest this approach - specially designed to avoid mod creep:

No graphics mods. No texture replacers, no enbs, no godrays, no mesh replacers, no faces, no hairs, no eyes, no nothing. They are not necessary or helpful to getting through the game. And they are an endless time sink. Once you start looking at the gameworld with the mindset, "How could I make this look better," you are lost down the rabbit hole.
No combat overhauls. As much as I love the Duke Patrick mods, they are another time sink. Endless tinkering. And then they take the focus off making progress through the game.
No magic overhauls. Same as above.
No game-wide overhauls. No OOO. No MMM. No MOO. Etc. Too much tinkering, too much taking your focus off progress through the game.
No quest mods. Obviously.
No companion mods.




Add the Unofficial Patches.
Pick a leveling mod. This will actually help you progress through the game, since it will take your focus off of efficient leveling and let you focus on playing. Any will do, really. I like Tejon's NGCD. I also used Oblivion XP for several years.
Add TheNiceOne's Enhanced Economy, Quest Log Manager, Map Marker Overhaul. My experience is that each of these fixes some annoyance that gets in the way of me making progress.
That's it. Play.

A lot of people have a list of can't-play-without mods, like quest delayers and harvest containers, etc. Quest delayers are great if you want to linger. you don't want to linger.

I finished the main quest about 2 years ago and then was able to move on to Skyrim. I didn't get quite as minimal as I recommend here. But I did succesfully put a lockdown on new mods. And when I moved on to Skyrim, I played around and restarted several times until I got a feel for what I liked and didn't. I put together a fairly modest list of mods, around 50, and then lockdown. I finished both DLCs and just last night finished the main quest.

Oh, one more tip: don't ever update your mods to the latest version after you've started playing. This includes the UOP. Searching for the newest update will only lead you back into the forums and the Nexus where the tide will sweep you away.

Good luck!"