Update on the progress (2013/05/05): Hey everyone! I will definitely be working on this mod in the summer. The first things on to-do list are to add a MCM version, add more control over where you wake up, recognition of guards vs. outlaws, etc. I also have plans on incorporating afterlife & bargaining for resurrection options if I can.

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* No Death Mod v0.03 by Zolmir/Solmyr
* Update: 2013 01 03
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2013 01 05 - Minor bug in the respawn menu corrected
2013 01 03 - Second update for refinement and cleaning. Also checked using TES5Edit
2013 01 02 - First update is here! Most of the features have been made configurable as requested

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* Executive summary
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Your character gets knocked out instead of dying. You will lose your items. They can be reclaimed through a side quest.

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* Why did I create this mod?
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Skyrim - like most of the single player games - has a save-load feature. Unfortunately, such a system makes player death less meaningful. If you can just load a save you made a minute ago, death is not a strong enough punishment. Soon the game loses its challenge, and the suspension of disbelief is gone - how exactly did your Dragonborn manage to defeat countless enemies while suffering no defeat himself?

Because of this, some people choose to play the game in "ironman", where they promise themselves not to load a previous save if their character dies. However, this has two problems: 1) It's hard to honor your commitment at times, and 2) Even vanilla Skyrim can sometimes throw monsters at you that can basically one-shot your PC in an unexpected moment. Although save-load is too easy, pure ironman might be too harsh.

This mod aims to address this problem by finding a middle way.

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* Description
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The mod will prevent your character from dying. When your character's health drops below a certain threshold, (s)he loses consciousness, and wakes up at a random location in the wilderness.

But there is a caveat: All your items (except quest items) will be stolen by bandits. If you are determined enough, you can find out where they took your items, and reclaim them. However this won't be a cakewalk...


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* Configurable Options
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When the mod is initialized, a spell called "NDM Main Menu" will be added to your spells (listed under Restoration School). Using this spell, you can configure most aspects of the mod.

HEALTH OPTIONS:

- Set player essential or not (Default: Player is not essential)
- Set health threshold below which you are knocked out (Default: 30%)

LOOT OPTIONS:

Gold:

1) Destroy Gold: When knocked out, your gold is gone for good
2) Steal Gold: When knocked out, your gold is stolen and can be recovered
3) Leave Gold: When knocked out, you don't lose any gold

Items:

1) Destroy Items: When knocked out, your items are gone for good
2) Steal Items: When knocked out, your items are stolen and can be recovered
3) Leave Items: When knocked out, you don't lose any items

INFO OPTIONS:

1) Costly: You need to pay a Dunmer in Riften 100 gold to learn where the bandits are (Default)
2) Immediate: You immediately know where the bandits took your items.

RESPAWN OPTIONS:

1) Your character wakes up in the closest wilderness spot. (Default)
2) Your character wakes up in a random wilderness spot.
3) Your character wakes up in Whiterun Temple of Kynareth
4) Your character wakes up in the closest temple

OTHER OPTIONS:

- Prepare for uninstallation option
- Deactivate/Reactivate the knockout script altogether
- A Fortify Health 50 ability that can be toggled on and off (Default: Off)
- A Recover Items spell that will instantaneously retrieve all your stolen items. Intended to be used for debugging and before an uninstall

PRESETS:

1) Easy:
- Player is set to be essential
- Knockout below 10% of health
- Bandits leave everything (nothing is stolen)
- Information is immediate (but meaningless, since your items aren't stolen)
- Your character wakes up in Whiterun Temple of Kynareth

2) Convenient:
- Player is set to be essential
- Knockout below 10% of health
- Bandits only steal your gold
- Information is immediate
- Your character wakes up in the closest wilderness

3) Normal:
- Player is set to be essential
- Knockout below 10% of health
- Bandits steal your gold and items
- Information is costly
- Your character wakes up in the closest wilderness

4) Hard:
- Player is not essential
- Knockout below 30% of health
- Bandits steal your items. Your gold is destroyed
- Information is costly
- Your character wakes up in the closest wilderness

5) Hardcore:
- Player is not essential
- Knockout below 30% of health
- All your items are destroyed
- Information is costly (but meaningless, since there is nothing to recover)
- Your character wakes up in the closest wilderness


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* Q&A on Mechanics
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Q: When does the mod trigger?
A: When your character's health falls below an adjustable percentage of the maximum following a hit, your character faints. Your controls are frozen; your character is healed to prevent death; and the screen fades to black.

Q: Does it ever fail to trigger?
A: If you choose to make your character essential (available as a menu option), it always triggers.

Q: What happens when my character loses consciousness?
A: This is completely configurable, please see options part.

Default: All the items on your character except quest items are transferred to a hand-placed non-respawning container; and your character is moved to a location in the wilderness. The locations are not exactly random, and the one closest to your location will be chosen.

Q: How can I reclaim my items?
A: Rumor has it that a particular Dunmer in Riften hears about every theft in Skyrim. Some coin might help loosen his lips. (You can turn this off)

Q: Is there a chance for my items to completely disappear?
A: None that I know of. All the containers are hand-placed, and set to be non-respawning. Still, I make no guarantees.

Q: What happens if my character loses consciousness more than once before reclaiming what (s)he lost previously?
A: The first time you lose consciousness after the mod starts (or after a reclaim); a chest is chosen from the list of hand-placed containers, and fixed. If you lose consciousness many times before reclaiming your items, all the items you lose up until you actually activate the chest will be stored in that same chest.

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* Future Plans
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Minor:
- Creating a configuration spell to alter features of the mod - Done
- Creating a debug spell to help you get all your items back instantaneously - Done
- Adding diseases and injuries following a knock-out

Major:
- MCM Support
- Code optimization and adding more respawn/chest locations
- Recognizing a knock-out caused by guards, where you will be imprisoned rather than knocked out.
- Creating side quests after knock-out. Examples:
(i) Becoming a prisoner/slave of outlaws or semi-intelligent enemies. Possibility to prearrange a ransom payment for your freedom.
(ii) Going to afterlife after death and receiving a resurrection from the Divines or the Daedra Lords in exchange of past or future deeds.
(iii) Possible integration with mods similar in spirit.

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* Requirements
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Just the game itself.

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* Installation
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Manually copy all the files in the archive to their respective places in the Skyrim\Data\ folder.

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* Uninstallation
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Use the "Prepare for Uninstall" option in the mod menu

Make sure you have reclaimed all your items, as the chests will be gone when you uninstall the mod. Unchecking or deleting the .esp file should be enough for an uninstall.

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* Important Disclaimer!
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This mod is a Work in Progress. As such, you should be aware that it might create problems. It's a good idea to keep a save file from before you start using the mod.

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* Credits
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Il Ducey, s7o, Verteiron, Michele, caleb68, Antares, and hypno88 for their helpful comments on Bethesda Skyrim forums.

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* Copyright
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Feel free to alter the mod and play with the scripts for your personal use. If you plan to release your work, I would appreciate a private message.

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* Version History
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v0.03 - Minor bug in the respawn menu corrected
v0.03:
Loot options for gold and items are separated
"Closest Temple" respawn option added
A fortify health 50 ability that can be toggled on and off is added
Recover Items spell added for debug and uninstallation purposes (under Other in the Main Menu)
v0.02 - Added new features, and made most settings configurable via a menu spell
v0.01 - Initial Release