The Blood of Dawnwalker often forces me to solve problems with just my sword, even when stealth would be more useful. A handy mod changes that now.
To me, a vampire is a creature of the night that moves silently through the shadows, lying in wait for its victims in the dark and draining their blood before they can even react. Coen from The Blood of Dawnwalker is a bit different: He usually engages in open combat with his sword or claws—there’s no sneaking around.
To be fair, it’s worth noting that Coen isn’t, of course, a full-time vampire and has hardly any experience in this line of work yet. Still, it bothers me that I don’t have the option to sneak around in the role-playing game. That would be especially useful at the beginning of the game, when Coen isn’t very strong yet, and later on, when every guard attacks on sight. But now, a small mod solves at least part of the problem!
Moving Inconspicuously
Mod author Ashfold doesn’t provide a complete stealth system, but he does offer a disguise mechanic! With the mod Dawnshrouded – Disguises and Concealment
, I can steal the armor of almost any soldier we’ve taken down. When I put it on, I can sneak past patrols unnoticed or even sneak into enemy camps. Even if Brencis has already sent his entire army after me, I can still roam around Svartrau unmolested (of course, I tested this right away).
The mod only reaches its limits during quests: For example, if I want to free a prisoner as part of a quest, the alarm is still automatically triggered as soon as I enter the prison. The guards are then automatically hostile toward me, disguise or not.
Still, it’s impressive how many practical and useful features Ashfold has built into his mod:
- I can wear the armor of any Boyar army.
- Guards speak to me as if I were one of them.
- Optionally, starting at Reputation Level 4, I must wear a helmet to remain unrecognized.
- During cutscenes, the helmet is hidden or, optionally, the visor is opened.
- Hoods also conceal my identity, though not if guards get too close.
- Masks make me look suspicious, but they prevent my reputation from rising further.
One thing is already clear to me: Without the disguise mod, I won’t be playing *The Blood of Dawnwalker* anymore. The new mechanic fits so naturally into the game, as if it had always been part of it: Finally, I can show my face in Svartrau again later in the game without having to fight half an army right away!
The mod author also plans to improve his work in the future. Eventually, disguises will even work during quests, and I’ll even be able to wear Bloodguard armor.
