The next beta release of Become High King of Skyrim: The Next Generation is here, and with it comes a major leap forward in customization, immersion, and political power. You now rule not only with your sword — but with policy, reputation, and council.This version is absolutely mammoth and checked off MANY of the pieces of the V2 Roadmap.
⚙️ New MCM Menu – Customize Your Reign
The long-awaited Mod Configuration Menu (MCM) is now available, allowing you to adjust key mechanics of your kingdom mid-playthrough:
👑 Title Options: Switch between High King, High Queen, or High Monarch
💬 Essential Dialogue Toggle: Disable the Are You Essential? dialogue option
⚖️ Difficulty Settings: Adjust Realm Management difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard) to control tax income, approval penalties, and treasury upkeep
All options can be changed anytime during your reign via the MCM.
🧥 Follower Outfit System + Kalel’s Blade
All three guild followers — Eldis, Veldar, and Kalel — now wear custom, lore-friendly outfits not found in any other mod. These are unique visual signatures for each follower.
Also included: Kalel’s signature blade, “Bloodtide”, a sleek and deadly scimitar styled in red and gold.
🧮 1. New Council Role – Hadrian Quintas, Master of Coin
Hadrian joins the court with a recruitment quest that starts by speaking to Surgus about filling council roles.
Once appointed, Hadrian unlocks full control of your realm’s economy:
Set tax rates per hold or across all of Skyrim
Watch your riches grow in the treasury - more money in the Ledger = more gold and treasure in the vaults
Unlock loan systems and economic upgrades, borrow from 3 banks but don't let your payments lapse or you'll be locked out of your player homes that you use as collateral
Hadrian is your key to funding an empire — and possibly ending it through debt.
👑 2. Choose High Queen or High Monarch
You can now choose how you're addressed across all titles and NPC dialogue:
High King
High Queen
High Monarch
This can be changed any time via the MCM to fit your character’s style or immersion.
🎨 3. Armor & Weapon Texture Overhaul
Thanks to the work of Simdrew1993, this update includes beautiful new textures for:
Royal Armor Set
Highreach Guard uniforms
The Stormcrown
Royal Weapons
Your court should look legendary — and now it does.
🏞️ 4. Highreach Valley Overhaul – Expanded & Enhanced
The entire Highreach worldspace has received major visual and functional upgrades:
Landscaping now features more seamless transitions and fewer gaps
Highreach River and Coldrun Lake have been enhanced for realism and depth
Dozens of new clutter assets and immersive audio in homes, buildings and the Castle including new unique Highreach lore-friendly paintings
This is no longer just a castle — it’s a full region.
🛡️ 5. New Guards – Crownsguard
A new elite faction of Crownsguard now protects the throne:
Unique models and voice types (male & female)
Custom armor
Stationed throughout the Keep and Treasury
Will eventually be expandable into personal bodyguards and elite units
🗣️ 6. Guard Dialogue Overhaul
Highreach guards now recognize your rule with 20 new immersive lines, replacing tired vanilla guard chatter with royal greetings and reactions.
📊 7. Popularity System – Phase 1
Likely the biggest piece of V2 up to this point and something I don't think has ever been done to this level. Your reign is now measured by how the people see you:
Each hold has a popularity score from 0–100
Most changes are triggered by player decisions — especially tax rates
The King’s Ledger shows per-hold and overall Skyrim approval
NPCs will now change their hellos and goodbyes based on how loved — or hated — you are
Want to be feared or adored? The numbers will show it.
🌊 8. New NPC – The Lady of the Lake
This mysterious figure offers a shortcut to claiming the throne.
She allows you to become ruler, recruit Surgus, and start appointing your council — no need to follow the traditional quest path
She only appears on the island in Coldrun Lake, and only if:
Civil War is completed (either side)
No One Escapes Cidhna Mine is completed
Blessings of Nature is completed
At least one guild main questline is completed
She appears only to those who have proven their will — but not yet claimed their crown. Using her abilities is entirely optional. For returning users, I would recommend having her make you ruler and recruiting Surgus - but give Hadrian's recruitment quest a go. Remember, always go talk to Surgus.
🛠️ 9. Bug Fixes and Map Adjustments
Fixed issue with Lairah’s location — she should now appear earlier and more reliably when ready
Removed Highreach Valley map marker (unneeded and redundant)
Adjusted Highreach Keep map marker for better world map accuracy
Highreach Keep added to all vanilla maps! Go look for it on any of the war maps in Jarl's homes.
Probably 100s more fixes but I can't remember all of them over the last month.
This beta release is available now for all paid Patreon supporters.Your support is what makes these systems possible — thank you for helping build the throne.AND BE SURE TO REPORT ANY BUGS!!!! You're my eyes and ears on this - the biggest update yet.
– Clover 👑Hotfix changelog1.6.4.024 - Added missing audio. Fixed Master of Coin charity quest.