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Skyrim mod turns College of Winterhold into an actual school

A Skyrim mod adds a new quest chain to the College of Winterhold aiming to make it feel more like attending an actual school of magic in the open-world RPG game

Skyrim mod turns College of Winterhold into an actual school - a college NPC

If you felt a little disappointed that Skyrim’s College of Winterhold quest line skipped over the opportunity to do any actual studying in favour of high drama, a new Skyrim mod might be the perfect solution for you. The mod aims to make your first few hours at the snowy school feel a little more like you’re actually attending lessons and learning about spells, rather than just being hurled immediately into the deep end with the RPG game’s original trip to Saarthal.

The College of Winterhold Quest Expansion mod, created by JaySerpa, adds seven new quests that players will be given once they complete the first quest to join the college. JaySerpa explains that “these quests are not your ‘save the world’ epic questlines, but basic entry-level apprentice lessons.” Once all of the lessons are complete, the fantasy game’s usual college quests will pick back up again, allowing the pace of action to ramp up once more.

The lessons are split up across the five major schools of Skyrim magic – alteration, destruction, illusion, conjuration, and restoration – as well as one lesson on enchanting and another that aims to improve your studying prowess, an essential skill for any budding mage. Each lesson starts with an introductory lecture teaching you the importance of the skill, followed by a task where applying your newfound knowledge would be useful.

JaySerpa notes that the mod doesn’t modify any spells or make changes to the college’s layout or inhabitants, meaning that it’s compatible with most other mods, including a lot of named mods which affect spells or the college itself. They say that the mod is intentionally lower-key, and designed to replicate the feel of wizard school without everything going wrong straight out the gate.

If the name JaySerpa sounds familiar, it’s probably because they were also behind the recent Immersive Rejections mod for the open-world game. Their latest creation is probably also a perfect companion to the recent Hogwarts in Skyrim mod that aims to make the fantasy game into a viable alternative to Hogwarts Legacy. In other news, the Skyrim multiplayer mod is now officially out, and it’s already racking up huge download numbers.

Image credit: JaySerpa on NexusMods