Non-SE Version available here: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/104190The Dawnguard Version of End Times is now available! Download here: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/61087/

INTRODUCTION

Darkest Dungeon has once again inspired me to make a mod for Skyrim, this time based off the "Stygian/Bloodmoon" difficulty which gives you a set number of in-game weeks to beat the game by, otherwise it’s game over. This mod essentially mimics that feature. Alduin is the world eater, and the only person who can stop him is the Dragonborn. If DB is just lounging around all day doing Skooma and crafting iron daggers, you can bet this giant dragon isn’t just going to wait patiently for you to learn how to defeat him!

OVERVIEW

This mod adds a timer to your game that indicates when Alduin will stage his attack against literally the entire universe. This timer will count down from 365 days (by default; can be changed with MCM), and begins from the in-game day that your character was created. If you don’t defeat Alduin before the countdown reaches 0, he’ll attack YOU and rain hellfire from the sky! By default this will result in a cinematic "Game Over" event, with the Dragonborn forced to watch as Alduin manifests himself and destroys the world around them. However, if you don’t want a hard ending, you can change the "Game Over" to an Alduin bossfight instead through the MCM; winning the fight will make Alduin retreat and add a few days back to the timer, though he’ll come back stronger and stronger each time it runs out again.

This mod is best used on a new game. That said, if you already have a save game in progress that hasn’t completed the main quest yet, this mod will still work! However (as mentioned earlier), this mod calculates days passed from the very start of your character rather than from when you install it, so if you have a character that’s more than an in-game year old and hasn’t completed the main quest yet, this mod will not work as expected.

If you run this mod on a character that’s already beaten the main quest, it will automatically disable itself when you load in.

MCM SUPPORT

(SKSE+SkyUI only)** **This mod includes an MCM (Mod Configuration Menu) that you can use to customize this mod’s features. Some key options available with the MCM: -You can configure how many days you want your time limit to be set to. -You can "lock in" your time limit setting here so that you don’t get tempted to move the goalpost if you get close to the expiration date. -You can change the "Game Over" ending to a dynamic Alduin bossfight, and if you win you’ll get a customizable number of days back on the timer. -You can completely pause the countdown timer; useful if you’re using an Alternate Start mod and want to delay the Main Quest, or if you’re playing a non-dragonborn character and wish to avoid the Main Quest entirely.

REQUIREMENTS

Just Skyrim for basic functionality, but SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender) and SkyUI are strongly recommended as you won’t be able to easily customize the mod without them. Also, the only way to view your countdown timer without SKSE+SkyUI is the "Doomsday Clock" Spell.

**COMPATIBILITY **This mod should be fully compatible and will work as expected with just about everything, even mods like Alternate Start. The only mods that may not play nice are those that manipulate the vanilla "GameDaysPassed" GlobalVariable, but I don’t really know of any that do.

NOTE FOR ALTERNATE START USERS: I will re-iterate here that the timer starts when a character is created, not when you visit Helgen. If you wish to keep the timer off until then, you can use the "Pause Countdown" option from the MCM.

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This mod can also be used side-by-side with the Dawnguard version of End Times, if you want to fight off two apocalypses at once.