I'm an active member of the Morrowind mod community, being a devout lover of the game, and am on the forum on a relatively constant basis. As such, I've amassed a rather sizable collection of (what I believe to be) quality mods, be they major, game-changing things or simple matters of preference.

So, here's how it works. All mods, unless otherwise noted, SHOULD be downloadable at The Morrowind Summit or Euro-RPG, the two biggest sources. I'll make note of what the mod is, what it does, and then a short review for a more personal response. (I'm sure everyone is incredibly interested in my feelings on the matter.) Note that I'm listing these mods as I read them off my "active mods" screen, so they won't necessarily be best-to-worst.

Note also that some mods require Tribunal or Bloodmoon to run, and may fuck up your game without one or both. Always read the readme before you install.

Without further ado, the list.

Better Bodies
What it Does: Replaces all of the unfortunately ugly default bodies with new models that a) look better and b) lack seams. (the original bodies were segmented, and so there were ugly joints; BB bodies are one continuous piece.)
Review: A must-have, in my opinion. It adds incredibly to the atmosphere to have bodies that actually look--well, impressive. Just makes things look better in general. There were lots of complaints about clipping problems in version 1.0, but the recently-released 2.0 solves them almost entirely. As well, it comes in three different flavors: Default (without armor/clothes, models are nude), Non-Nude (like normal Morrowind, underwear is permanent), and Peanut Gallery (women are nude, men are not--only inmplemented after a lot of homophobes complained about it on the board). I'd call this a necessity. Get it at the BB website.

Better Heads
What it does: Spiritual sequel to the unfortunately-canceled Faces of Vvardenfell.Every head mod you've ever heard of, this either incorporates, or improves on. Replaces every head, both in the ones you can choose as a character and those applied to NPCs, with a better-looking version.
Review: It's the Better Bodies of head replacement. Rhedd's Heads-quality material (including, in fact, Rhedd's Heads) encompassing the entire game experience. Get it at the BB website, too.

The Wilderness Mod
What it does: Adds a plethora of nature-based creatures to Morrowind's general surroundings, from butterflies and bees to fish.
Review: One of my biggest complaints about Morrowind was that, for having such huge bodies of water, the only things you ever found in them were slaughterfish and dreugh. With The Wilderness Mod, this changes drastically. One of the most incredible experiences of my MW life was diving into the ocean for the first time having installed this mod, and being treated to the sight of hundreds of fish of all colors and makes, schooling and swimming about. The butterflies are (admittedly gorgeous) icing on the cake. However, this does add killer bees, beware. It's not a necessity, but for atmosphere, it's nice. Get it at the Morrowind Summit.

GIANTS
What it does: Adds a goodly amount of heavily-scripted enemies to the random spawn list, including giants, liches, seducers, harpies, zombies, mummies, trolls, imps etc. etc.
Review: One of my more iffy mods. On one hand, the monsters are done well: the best example is the Ancient Lich, which can change shape at will(and, in fact, changes into a plethora of rats should you kill him). On the other hand, the mod's been said to have some issues with global scripting that have conflicted with other mods of similar concept. Let the buyer beware, as usual, but if you're tired of Morrowind's monsters, might be worth a look. Get it at the Morrowind Summit.

Morrowind Comes Alive
What it does: Creates and alternates between more than 200 types of randomly-generated NPCs for sake of adding atmosphere and substance, both to cities and fields.
Review: One of my favorite mods, ever. The atmospheric addition is insanely awesome; it's the difference between walking into a tavern and finding the bartender with a couple stragglers and walking into the same tavern only to find waiters/waitresses, musicians, pub crawlers, fences, guards, etc. It even goes so far as to include shirtless drunkards (typically nords) who try to start fistfights with you. All city zones are affected, and if you activate it, there's an included Bandit add-on that populates the wilderness areas with the occasional thief or rogue. In terms of gameplay it's not a necessity, but in terms of atmosphere, there's no better. Get it at Euro-RPG.

Weathered Signs
What it does: Retextures the roadsigns to look like realistically-weather planks of wood with visible script listing their location.
Review: Simple, yet surprisingly affective, and a must for characters who like exploring; not having to actually run up to the sign and hover over it to see its inscription is atmospherically appealing. One of the most popular mods ever. Get it at the Morrowind Summit.

Every Bethesda-Made Mod Ever
What it does: Varying effects, from simply adding an option to entertain patrons at Balmora to crafting a whole new epic quest involving the Imperial Fort of Firemoth, taken over by the undead.
Review: Be they small or large, Bethsoft's plugins are the most solid and stable you'll find (and obviously so). If you have Tribunal already, you more than likely have these mods regardless, but if you're on basic Morrowind you should grab as many as you can. Get 'em all at the Official Morrowind page.

pancreas' Sound Enhancements
What it does: Adds a crapload of new sound effects to the game, from indigenous animal noises to monster sound effects.
Review: Numerous sound enhancement mods have been released, but this was the first--and it's still the best. No sounds are out of place--no cats, no cows (unlike the more famous mod, Wilderness Sounds)--and every sound does a grand job of enhancing the situation it's applied to. Chainmail (be it yours or someone near you) rustles and clinks with footsteps, platemail clanks and crashes together; skeleton toes scrape along stone floors in tombs, just as bonewalker flesh makes some of the most disgusting squishing noises I've heard. Absolutely recommended. Get it at the Morrowind Summit.

The Adventurers' Mod
What it does: Raises the game's difficulty in various ways, from statistical alterations to AI tweaks.
Review: This is definitely a love it-or-hate it mod. Some people found Morrowind too easy as a whole, so this was invented. To give you an idea of the philosophy, most NPC-style enemies now have healing potions and retreat scripting, the cost of training has been doubled or tripled (depends on which version you get), and enemy strength has been boosted across the board. If you want some more difficulty in the game, this is your favorite mod; if not, pass. Get it at the Adventurer's Guide to Morrowind.

Ring Texture Fix
What it does: Replaces the textures on the default rings in Morrowind. This was a pretty dumb mistake on Bethsoft's part; the rings were solid colors not on purpose, but because they didn't have their textures applied. This fixes the problem.
Review: Obviously this is not a big deal, but for completion's sake, why not. Get it at the Morrowind Summit.

Divine Domina
What it does: Replaces all of the female armor in the game with redone versions based on the Domina-armor model, which was custom-made for a more feminine appearance.
Review: Awesome, awesome appearance/atmosphere mod, done by Jeremy, the community's best armorer. The new armors all use the feminine meshes, but do so without being overtly sexist or revealing. The armor actually looks like it was designed for a woman, rather than the Bethsoft default "male armor with boobies" models. As an added plus, many of the 'unque' cuirasses in the game are, in fact, rendered unique (for women, at least), given their own specific models and appearances. Not a necessity, but definitely gets my seal of approval. Get it at Euro-RPG, and pick up the rest of Jeremy's stuff while you're there.

Dracandros' Voice
What it does: Adds the ability to give commands to members of a faction that are below you in rank.
Review: One of the best mods ever built, and conveniently, also one of the most stable. Not only do you get full sets of commands for every faction (stay here, patrol the area, follow/fight alongside me, etc.), but every faction has a specialized command. As a Hlaalu, you can force subordinates to pay you a monthly tax; as a Thief, your workers will go out and attempt to bring you a valuable item--hell, as a Morag Tong, you can order your lesser assassins to commit suicide (useless, but fun). It's brilliantly made, wonderfully clean, and best of all, it adds incredible amounts of substance to the faction system. Definite necessity. Get it at the Morrowind Summit.

VGreetings
What it does: Re-initializes previously unused speech clips. Full story below.
Review: Alright, here's the deal. Originally, Bethsoft recorded a shitload of dialogue clips for the various NPCs in the game. When time came to release, however, many of these, for various reasons (processor-intensive, bad scripting, etc.) were left on the cutting-room floor. The problem is, most of these clips are actually quite exceptionally cool, and add to the sense of interaction with the game world. Individual shopowners have specific greetings based on their respective shop types, people will address you by your faction title, there are new random speech patterns, etc. The best example I can think is this: it's the difference between walking up to a Dreamer that's been driven mad and having him give you the same greeting every Dunmer does...and him turning to you and hissing "The Sixth House has risen, and Dagoth Ur awaits." It's not a necessity, per se, but it's quite cool, it doesn't lag you at all, and the only mod that used to conflict with it has been fixed (we'll get to that in a second). Get it at this random independent website I found.

Blood & Gore
What it does: Adds blood/gore effects to weapon strikes for any and all species, including support for the more popular creature mods.
Review: "But Morrowind already has bloody," one says--but not like this. For one, this blood acts more realistic; it pools on the ground in numerous patterns, and in crowded battles can very easily give the appearance of a bloodbath. (so as not to lag your computer, the splats disappear gradually, or immediately if you walk over them or click them.) It also, however, adds chunks of gore--i.e., you slice someone and you'll see bits of flesh left on the ground. The coolest thing about this, in my opinion, isn't the blood--but rather, the substitutes. Everything bleeds, in some way: strike a Dwemer robot and it'll bleed oil and cogs, smash a Mudcrab to get a chalky blood-substitute and bits of chitin. Skeletons give off powder and bones, corprus walkers/bonewalkers bleed a dark, decayed blood and chunks thereof--in my personal favorite, Dremora blood is almost like lava, littered with chunks of Oblivion rock. If you find the effects too over-the-top, the mod includes in-game 'spells' that allow you to lower the blood levels--or, if you want more, you can do that, too. As an added bonus, the more recent releases of the mod offer elemental effects: being in the freezing ponds of Solsthiem causes water damage (but being in water makes you more resistant to fire), electric damage makes you sizzle, and best of all, fire spells (and damage from walking over fires) now actually make you CATCH FIRE, causing damage over time but turning you into a rather effective moving torch. (you can do this to enemies, too, and it usually makes them panic and run.) Highly, highly recommended. Grab it at TheLys' official webpage.

Adul's Arsenal (formerly Assassin's Armory)
What it does: Adds a plethora of new, balanced weapons, from the cool-inspired to the functionally-sound, and includes 'dual-wield' versions.
Review: Sadly, no one has yet figured out how to actually dual-wield weapons, so we're relegated to the bare appearance thereof: a weapon in one hand, with a shield made to look like a weapon in the other. It only blocks--but then, that's not so bad. It's essentially a matter of preference: if you don't mind that dual-wield method, this is a necessity for you; if you're not so turned on, it's just a functional weapon-addition mod. Get it at Adul's website.

MugFix
What it does: Re-adds the ability to mug people.
Review: This was actually in the initial release, but Bethsoft took it out by mistake with their patches/expansions. Basically, this makes it so that when you knock someone unconscious (read: kill their endurance), you can use their prone body to 'mug' them, looting them of items despite their not being dead. This is theft, however, meaning that it IS a crime if you're caught. A good addition for any chaotic-evil character. Get it at the Morrowind Summit.

Homeopathic Alchemy
What it does: Makes the various effects of alchemical ingredients more sensible; i.e., Ogrim flesh increases strength, Void Salt procs levitate, etc.
Review: For the aspiring mad scientist, this is a good one to have; more sensible ingredients makes for a more satisfying gaming experience. Not a necessity, exactly, but if Alchemy's your thing, you'll want it. You can get it pretty much anywhere, it's a popular one.

The Marksman Mod
What it does: Utterly refits archery, adding a veritable shitload of new bows and arrows, magic arrows, etc., in addition to making the bows more realistic (crossbows are slower but more powerful, you get fatigue from pulling back on a bowstring for too long, etc.).
Review: One of the first mods released for Morrowind and one updated to this day, and still one of the best out there. This was the mod that made archery a feasible character path for a Morrowind character; not downloading it is doing yourself a great disservice as a player. Get it at TheLys' mainpage.

Mountable Animals
What it does: In something previously thought impossible, adds obtainable and rideable guar mounts through clever trickery and illusion.
Review: Alright, it works like this. You find a Bosmer outside Balmora and help him up, and in gratitude, he gives you a whistle. Blow the whistle, your guar appears, staring at you. Use the guar, screen goes black and comes back up with you riding atop the guar. Magic, of course. The way it actually works is that the guar is an illusion, and you're wearing a special pair of pants that have a guar model attached below them. This works perfectly; you get the height difference, your run speed is increased, you can fight from atop the guar, and the bobbing of the guar's motion is done realistically. For everyone who loved riding the horse in DF, this is your mod. Get it at Euro-RPG. There's another mounted mod that sounds like an improvement, but I haven't tested it; use at your own risk.

Vampire Embrace
What it does: Quite excessively adds to the experience of playing as a vampire.
Review: Alright, here's the thing. I myself have not played VE. I have it installed, but I've never experienced it, because I don't get my ass kicked by vampires all that often. In fact, I kill them too quickly to get bitten. With that said, I've read excessively, and for anyone who DOES want to be a vampire, this is highly recommended. It makes being a vampire an experience. You can charm people into accepting you--or, laternately, bribe the fuck out of them. You can bite people for blood (a necessity for survival), or even turn them into your vampire servants. You can have them make a pilgrimage to a location of your choosing, so as not to have to cart them around with you. Hell, you can even get siltstrider pilots to cover you with a sheet when you make a journey, so as to avoid dying instantly when you respawn. Highly recommended for you gothy vampire bastards. Get it at Euro-RPG.

Indestructible's Bank Mod
What it does: Adds Daggerfall-styled banks to various locations in the mainland.
Review: Anyone who liked DF's bank system will like this. You get numerous outlets for the Bank of Vvardenfell, in which you can deposit/withdraw money, earn interest, use safe-deposit boxes, and even buy buildings (given enough money in your account). For the more shady, you can go to loan sharks and take out illicit loans if necessary, but they do in fact send people to break your legs if you don't pay them back in a timely fashion. Good mod all around, cleanly manufactured, and a good addition. Get it at TheLys' mainpage.

Amulets & Rings
What it does: Replaces all of the amulets and rings in the game with newer, better models/textures.
Review: Again, this is a relatively small thing, but for those who like a completely attractive game world, this makes for a nice atmospheric shift. Hell, the Necromancer's amulet becomes a tiny, golden void skull with a spike through it: doesn't get cooler than that. Get it at Euro-RPG.

Key Replacer
What it does: See above, but with keys.
Review: Arguably even LESS noticeable than Amulets & Rings, but again, there's a truly impressive amount of detail put into the mod, and that makes it one well worth downloading. Get it, too, at Euro-RPG.

Morrowind Visual Pack
What it does: Replaces almost every single world texture in the game with a new, better and hi-res version.
Review: One of the most impressive and awesome mods ever made. I can't justify it with words; check out the screenshots on the website for a before/after comparison. Extremely, extremely recommended. Get it at Khalazza Production.

Sell-N-Sail Galleon
What it does: Adds a galleon and a smaller fishing boat) that can be bought and sailed freely around the world's seas.
Review: Another mod project previously thought impossible, this is really quite a flawless production. You buy the galleon (for a sizable amount of money) and end up with a ship that you can activate and sail around at will; you can even set it to sail forward at a certain speed, and walk around the ship freely while it moves. When not in motion, you can move between decks, and it keeps cargo you place in the cargo hold. The ship does, in fact, have HP that fade as you hit other objects, which normally would make landing quite a chore--but in a particularly slick feat, they added a landing boat, which controls just the same as the galleon and can be detached and reattached at will. Necessary, no; bloody cool, yes. Another great throwback to DF. Get it from this random direct link I found.

Necklace Pack
What it does: Adds outwardly visible necklaces.
Review: The first step towards a more realistic wardrobe for the game, this does just about what it says it does: adds necklaces that appear over the chest (and a few tiaras). Neat addition that'll be built on in the future, if the modder gets off his ass. Get it at Morrowind Summit.

Open Helm Pack
What it does: Adds a bunch of open-faced helms, meaning that a) fashion-conscious adventurers can see their pretty faces without sacrificing protection, and b) beast races can wear all the helms in the game.
Review: Quite good if you don't mind a little extra work to find the open helms. They're all really well-made, and all add to the open-ended playability of the thing. Get 'em at the Morrowind Summit.

Deny Your Crimes
What it does: Adds an option to attempt to bullshit your way out of guard interrogations.
Review: Based on your speechcraft and personality scores, you can said "Lie to the guard" when confronted with your crimes, and if you make a successful check, you get off with only a tiny rep hit with that specific guard. Once again, something cool from DF that was missing, but is now much appreciated. I cannot for the life of me find a download link, so if you want it, IM me and I'll send it to you myself.

QuestFix
What it does: Fixes assorted bugs, problems and typos in the normal quests in the game and its expansions.
Review: Worth its weight in gold. I love Bethsoft, but they leave an unfortunate amount of bugs; this fixes a great many of them. Get it at any site you want, it's everywhere. Highly recommended.

Scripted Spells
What it does: Adds transformation, damage-strike and wall spells.
Review: What Marksman Mod does for archery, this does for magery. Adds the spells necessary to change into damn near any animal in the game, with proper effects--i.e., if you change into a bat or a cliff racer you can fly, chang into a slaughterfish and you get swift-swim and waterbreathing, etc. You change visibly, too; watching yourself cruise around is great fun. The wall spells are just as great, with a Firewall straight out of Diablo. Recommended absolutely. Get it at Euro-RPG or the Summit.

Vivec Interiorator
What it does: Recreates the interiors of Vivec for a more unique and cosmetic appearance.
Review: One of the best atmosphere mods I've ever played. Each canton of Vivec gets its own feel; the Arena becomes a pitfighting home, St. Olms becomes a homeless shelter, the Foreign Quarter gets a huge market, etc. etc. Takes Vivec from a horribly boring cut-and-paste town to a place that's actually interesting to wander around in. Get it at Euro-RPG.

Morrowind Combat Enhanced
What it does: Adds a new engine that allows multiple heavily-scripted mods to run, but specifically, adds a combo-attack system that procs certain effects in combat.
Review: One of the most incredible mods ever. Basically, you run Morrowind Enhanced in the background, the backbone program for all of the modder's future projects, and then (with the MWE plugin activated, of course) and then, when in-game, each weapon style has 5 special attacks, accessible at certain skill levels (10, 30, 50, 70, 90), activated by combos. I.e., to use the Longblade attack "Slash" you hit two horizontal slashes, then a thrust; this causes you to make a strong charging attack, knocking down/back all the enemies directly in front of you. This also includes such feats of awesomeness as disarms, impalings, dismemberments, decapitation, etc. Basically, for everyone who said Morrowind's combat was boring, this is your mod. Go get it at TheLys' mainpage.

Windows of Morrowind
What it does: Makes most of the mainland windows into locked doors.
Review: A good thieving mod, providing numerous cases of strategic advantage for the more acrobatic members of the thieves' guild. Want more atmosphere, want more fun, go for it. Euro-RPG.

Chalk 2.0
What it does: Adds pieces of chalk for sale in various places that can be used to write on walls, ceilings or floors.
Review: Surprisingly original and quite cool mod. Being able to scribble arrows and notes on walls, make yourself summoning circles etc. is just an all-around kickass roleplaying idea. Kudos to the mastermind. Get it at Euro-RPG.

Sharpened Weapons/Armor/Clothes
What it does: Retextures all of the default weapons/armor/clothes to bring out their details; inscriptions, designs, patterns, etc.
Review: Yet another great idea and a definite example of lots and lots of hard work. Pretty much every wearable item in the game ends up looking a whole hell of a lot better with this installed. Recommended wholeheartedly. Euro-RPG.

The Regulars
What it does: Adds a much-needed atmospheric note: people actually sitting down to drink in bars and taverns.
Review: C'mon. It proves that people in Morrowind can actually do more than just walk around. You must download it. EUro-RPG, yet again.

Complete Doors & Locks
What it does: Causes shopkeepers, homeowners and guilds to lock their doors at night, and replaces every locked door/chest in Morrowind, Tribunal and Bloodmoon with an identical door/chest whose lock can be bashed open.
Review: A recent entry, but an undeniably awesome one. THings shake when you bas them, guards charge you for doing so, your bashing is based on your strength and security skills, etc. YET another carryover from Daggerfall, and a fantastically-made one at that. Euro-RPG.

4,069 words. Don't say I never did anything for you people. More updates as mods warrant, if anyone actually gives half a crap about this. =p

Question though: How are the mods for compatibility? I've had more than one mod cause errors when combined with other mods, and you listed a lot of mods.

Humbug

Anyone know where to find that Chalk 2.0 one? I cannot find it on that Eurogamers site, nor google either

You should zip all those files up and set up a torrent you could host sometime.. That'd be awesome.

quote:

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Vorago was listening to Cher while typing:
Leopold hasn't answered my PM for many, many hours

Anyone know where to find that Chalk 2.0 one? I cannot find it on that Eurogamers site, nor google either

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Googled a bit, and found

it.

Oh, and also, as Vorago reminded me: anyone who downloaded the Sharpened Armor mod will find that 5 textures (leather boots, wraithguard, watchman's helm) have been textured. On the ball as always, the fix can be found here.

Damn.

quote:

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Arttemis wrote, obviously thinking too hard:
Downloaded most of them, and found out that like half of them need Bloodmoon or Tribunal.

Damn.

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Yeah I'm in the same boat.

I could go out and buy Tribunal/Bloodmoon, but would I have to restart my game if I have already applied the Morrowind patch? I know the install order is Morrowind > Tribunal > Tribunal Patch > Bloodmoon...

And I'm just now noticing how many stupid typos I made in that post. Ugh. Never type something like that at 3 in the morning.

I'm going to download all of these mods, and test them out, but what I really need is something to make normal Morrowind more tolerable. I've always had a few small problems with the game:

1) The spell editor(in game) makes spells cost more than they would if I bought them. I want to customize my spells, but it just isn't worth it when they cost 50% more mana.

2) The Quest Editor is mind numbingly unorganized. This is supposed to be fixed in the expansions, but is there anything to make it better in Morrowind?

3) I'd mention my problems with Alchemy, but I'll have to download the mod you listed for that. Same with the Magic one for point (1).

Inferno, the expansions help the quest editor, but otherwise things don't chagne much, those're just game mechanisms. An attempt to ensure that unskilled mages can't make ubernukes, etc.

And Vorago, that's a problem with the Morrowind engine. It doesn't have a very good (if one at all) physics engine, so things like that just happen on occasion; flying fish, dreugh running around on land, etc. A flaw, but occasionally pretty goddamned funny.