Modder brings ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’-esque sketchbook to Skyrim

A sketchbook to journal all your explored locations in Skyrim is finally a reality thanks to gghumus’ Adventurer’s Sketchbook mod. This is a fantastic addition to the plethora of smaller mods that add immensely to the roleplaying options in the world of Skyrim.

Arthur Morgan’s journal in Red Dead Redemption 2 carried a lot of significance throughout the course of the game’s lengthy campaign. The sketches drawn by Arthur not only etched the memorable vistas of the Wild West, his ramblings in the journal about the various events around him brought out various nuances of his thought process.

For many roleplayers, journals are of paramount importance since they give the character a substantial footing in the premise of the game. Although the Adventurer’s Sketchbook mod only adds a sketchbook, this makes exploring the multitude of locations in the northernmost province of Tamriel a somewhat artistic-cartographic experience.

While RDR2’s journal is, of course, one of the inspirations the mod is based on, one can also draw parallels with the paintings present in games like Eastshade and the Uncharted series.

---

Adventurer’s Sketchbook mod is a fantastic addition to any exploration-focused roleplayer’s arsenal in Skyrim

The Adventurer’s Sketchbook mod by gghumus is not a mod destined to do a lot of things. However, it aces its small niche.

To retrieve the sketchbook, the player has to travel to the much-familiar Guardian Stones, which lie to the north of Helgen overlooking Lake Ilinalta. There, the player can find it leaning against the mage stone.

At first, the journal contains glimpses of the sketch locations in the faded drawings of an old adventurer. To make a sketch, players simply have to open the sketchbook in an area of interest. Standing Stones and Hold Capitals are good places to start.

Adventurer's Sketchbook consists of sketches from 66 hand-picked locations. Finding 30 locations will give the player's character the first stage of The Lay of the Land perk.

This perk grants the player a small movement speed or critical chance boost. Successive stages can be unlocked at 50, 60, and 66 completed sketches.

---

Mods that would pair well with Adventurer’s Sketchbook

This mod should not have any incompatibility issues whatsoever. Other mods that would pair well with this one would be the various exploration roleplay-focused mods.

The Dear Diary mod overhauls the Skyrim user interface to a book-themed one that would go hand-in-hand with Adventurer’s Sketchbook in a medieval explorer playthrough. For more roleplay-focused players, Take Notes - Journal of the Dragonborn SSE adds a player journal that lets you create and view your own journal entries.