Top 5 spoof mods in Skyrim's modding history

Unlike its predecessor, Oblivion, Skyrim is consistently serious in tone.

The apocalyptic crisis the people of Skyrim face on top of the hardships in a war-torn land perhaps warrants a less light-hearted direction. Nevertheless, the fact remains that much of the campy charm of Oblivion was deliberately put away. While the game still never ceases to amuse with its bug-prone antics, mods like Interesting NPCs and Citizens of Tamriel attempt to re-introduce humor through more colorful dialog.

Spoof mods, however, are a different deal altogether. The whimsy they introduce has nothing to do with the vanilla game's doom and gloom but the author's own inspired vision. In many cases, like with the overused 'SoS' acronym, these mods are oblique jabs at in-jokes about the Skyrim modding community. The following is a countdown of five wildly lore-deviating spoof mods that celebrate the creative freedom that moddability grants a game.

---

5 silly Skyrim mods that had the modding scene in tears

1) Divine Punishment for Mention of Arrows in The Knee

The original Skyrim was released in 2011 and immediately became a gaming milestone in terms of sheer popularity. The accessibility of the game helped it seep into the budding wider meme culture. Specifically, the most attention was brought to Skyrim's final modicum of Oblivion-esque campy dialog in the jaded, sarcastic hold guards.

"I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow in the knee," ranked among the most common memes from 2012. The saturation of this meme, in fact, made it an annoyance for players over multiple playthroughs. This mod pays homage to the legacy of this meme, smiting guards with divine thunder as punishment for saying an overused voice line.

This was not the only voice line to incur Akatosh's wrath. 'Daedric Punishment for Insults Related to Sweetrolls' dispatches guards for saying, "Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll."Perhaps the ultimate cathartic manifestation of this series of mods is 'Dragon Punishment for Cloud District quips'. Released on the same day as the other two mods, this one metes out similarly divine treatment to the sneering nobleman Nazeem.

---

2) Swearing Mudcrabs

The mudcrabs can be killed to find stamina-boosting alchemy ingredients (Image via Nexusmods)

Mudcrabs have been a staple of the Elder Scrolls fauna since Morrowind. While unassuming and meek compared to the hulking nuisances found in Elden Ring, mudcrabs have a symbolic presence in Tamrielic culture. They are identified chiefly through their weak constitution or their ugliness. In Skyrim, however, their metagaming identity became creatures useful to get the Block skill up.

Naturally, the otherwise peaceful creatures that weaponize their chitins in an attempt at self-defense from low-level dragonborns looking to get low-level fodder would not be taking well to their situation. Swearing mudcrabs is a self-explanatory mod that replaces the mudcrab sound files with profane exasperation. Or, as the mod author puts it, "Mudcrabs now colorfully express their discontent with pain." This is best paired with some of the community's other colorful takes on the creature - like 'Posh Mudcrabs'.

---

3) Really Useful Dragons

Skyrim's main plot centers around the dragon uprising crisis and dragons are the centerpiece in all of the game's promo material. It was only a matter of time before the spoof mod train would also touch the deified grand creatures into something even more grandiose.

When it comes to Elder Scrolls, this 'spoof mod train' is quite literal. Community favorites like Brhuce Hammer, Transportato, and Call of Trainwiz are all silly mods pertaining to trains. Call of Trainwiz, for example, gives the player a conjuration spell to rain down locomotives from the sky on the target spot.

Really Useful Dragons converts all of the dragons in Skyrim to trains from Thomas & Friends.

---

4) Crimes Against Nature

Aspects of spoof mods can differ widely in how much ground they cover. A few April 1 releases add small easter eggs or one-time jokes. On the opposite side of the spectrum are mods that overwhelm with their eccentricity, going overboard in their provocative, uncanny content.

One of videogamedunkey's most-watched videos, 'Ultimate Skyrim' is a pageantry of said mods. Crimes Against Nature, unsurprisingly, is the most vehement feature of the video. From the author of "Immersive Heart Attack," Crimes Against Nature gives the player ample roleplay opportunities for their near-psychedelic spoof mod-addled playthroughs.

The mod adds several playable races: Dogmers, Ponies, and Ikea-borns (the player's head is a chair), to name a few. This ranges from mildly amusing, in a separate 'Hold Guards' race, to somewhat unsettling, in Human-kin (preferred pronouns: Hu, Hum, Hu's, Huself), which replaces the player's head with a frostbite spider held in a tin container. In its earlier days, the mod's list of features also used to include a Tommy Wiseau horse model mock-up.

---

5) Uncle Sheogorath's Really Helpful Hints and Tips

The mainstream pantheon of Elder Scrolls for civilized men and mer circles the Imperial Nine Divines. Outside of these, however, there are numerous Daedric Princes with their own realms of existence. Sheogorath, the prince of madness, is one featured prominently in the series. Oblivion's most applauded DLC Shivering Isles, which remains one of the most well-received DLC expansions of all time, is solely dedicated to Sheogorath's shenanigans.

Skyrim also features its own spin on Sheogorath, but it falls short in this regard when compared to Oblivion. Tumbleworld's 'Uncle Sheogorath' adds some more of the prankster god's presence. Functionally, it converts all of Skyrim's loading screen tips into sarcastic renditions befitting of Sheogorath's ever-so-impish antics. 'Uncle Sheo Does Legendary Loading Screens' is an upgrade of the mod released after Skyrim Legendary Edition, covering all DLC content.