20 Best Skyrim Creature Mods For Custom Animals & Fierce Monsters
This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. (Learn more).The vanilla monsters that Skyrim presents are quite cool.
But if you’ve been playing the game for over five years like me, you’re probably wondering why the Skyrim fauna isn’t a bit more diverse. But worry not my friend, as there have been countless modders who thought the same.
And they’ve created some fantastic mods that add new creatures to the game!
Some of these mods will add scary creatures to the game, while others will simply enhance the way you perceive the animals of Skyrim while traveling throughout it’s isolated landscapes.
In any case I think you’ll completely fall in love with some of these amazing additions.
Most of these mods should all be compatible with one another, so just be sure that you’re installing them correctly and you should have no issues at all with any of them. And since these mods are directly affecting the way creatures spawn and which mobs show up in your game, I strongly advise you to start a new game before giving them a test run.
20. Diverse Dragon Collection
Ah, being the Dragonborn is such a fantastic way to live life.
Killing dragons and absorbing their souls for your own benefit is surely one of the best ways for you to experience action, isn’t it?
Well, in my opinion it is. However satisfaction can only be so good when you’re fighting the same dragons over and over again… as it really gets old pretty quickly to see the same old dragons fight you and die.
With the Diverse Dragon Collection mod you’ll be able to fight many different dragons (over 20, in fact!) and see them fall in battle against the might of the person who was born to free Skyrim from the rule of these mighty flying lizards.
19. Farm Animals
Look, according to the Elder Scrolls lore there really weren’t any farm animals in most farms.
It doesn’t really feel right visiting a farm and seeing only cows, right?
Well I’m pretty sure Bethesda added just a few farm animals to keep the game stable, but technology has evolved a lot since the release of the game. So it’s time we add some damn ducks and pigs to those sad farms.
The Farm Animals mod adds a bunch of new mobs to the game, albeit some of them are super annoying just like in real life. But it adds new layers to the game that will surely help you undergo a completely new experience.
18. Beast Skeletons
I find odd how this refers to the other Skyrim races that aren’t human as “beasts”.
It somehow feels a bit racey, doesn’t it? Well let’s not judge the descriptions here too much – Beasts Skeletons simply makes it so the random skeleton mobs that you see in Skyrim aren’t exclusively human skeletons.
You will be able to come across a bunch of different skeletons to those that come with the base game.
Why shouldn’t the dead bodies of Khajit, Argonians, and Orcs be able to become undead foes, right?
I really doubt the entities in charge of undead-ness are as racist as one would think…
17. Elemental Dragons
Oh my.
If you’re looking for variety as well as quality, this mod might be exactly what you’re after.
It adds a grand total of 45 new dragons to the game, all of which have a special element in which they are strong.
So you will face a wider variety of challenges than you did in your first playthrough back when Skyrim was released.
Just keep in mind that Elemental Dragons has a few compatibly issues with other mods, so you might want to check out the list of incompatible mods in the descriptions of this one.
16. Unicorn Mod
I know I shouldn’t be so triggered about this, but why on Earth does a world with a bunch of mythical creatures doesn’t have unicorns?
I mean, aren’t those some of the most legendary creatures that never supposedly exist?
It truly feels like a huge opportunity to have left them out, and the creator of this mod thought exactly that – which is why there are now unicorns in Skyrim (if you installed this mod, of course).
I really like that the creator of the mod tried to make the unicorns as lore-friendly as possible. So those of you who care about it as much as me can be satisfied playing through the authentic game.
15. Real Wildlife
Ay, new species!
Real Wildlife adds almost 500 new species to the game, which will basically allow you to redefine your Skyrim experience by introducing more creatures than you’ll ever be able to see into the game.
The mod is truly something else, as it adds new species as well as variants to each species into the game. Which is sure to make you feel like you’re playing at totally different game that looks eerily similar to Skyrim.
14. One with Nature
Now this mod might not add new mobs per se to the game.
But it allows you to edit the way all of the mods in vanilla Skyrim interact with you.
As such you’ll be able to set some creatures to be friendly towards you, even though they might’ve been aggressive in the first place.
And you will be able to become “one with nature” and interact with creatures that you couldn’t have gotten near before. How damn cool is that?!
13. Dogs of Skyrim
Why aren’t there various dogs in Skyrim?
Seriously, there seems to be like three dog models in the entire game. I refuse to believe an entire region offers as little variety as it was portrayed when the game came out.
Thankfully I’m not the only one.
The creator of Dogs of Skyrim has managed to add over 30 different new dogs to the game, all of which have unique models and are from different breeds. You’ll get to choose which dogs you want to adopt and which breed you prefer.
12. Animallica – Skyrim Wildlife Overhaul
Are you looking to enhance the wildlife experience in Skyrim?
If your answer is a swift yes then simply go and download this mod. Don’t even worry about any further questions – just get it.
This adds a bunch of new animals to the game, with over 100 new species as well as smaller species included in the mod.
They are all tweaked so their level shows in accordance to your own character’s so you’ll be able to enjoy these new creatures (and slay them!) regardless of your level.
11. Pets of Skyrim
Cats, Dogs, Skyrim.
For the first time in many years we’ll be able to mix all of those words in a single sentence without adding the words “can’t be found in”.
You’ll finally be able to see all of those small little animals that you love in real life in your favorite RPG of all time.
Pets of Skyrim adds pets that are very detailed. And this mod fits perfectly to the remastered version of the game too.
10. True Wolves of Skyrim
Alright, this one mod doesn’t really add new mobs to the game. In fact, it doesn’t add any type of creature at all.
However I’ve decided to include it because it makes wolves look absolutely fantastic.
True Wolves of Skyrim is basically a high-quality texture replacer for the basic wolf texture that the game comes with.
That texture is outdated to say the least, so the creator of this mod decided to tweak it.
You’ll be fearing for your life whenever you look directly at the eyes of a wolf after installing this mod.
9. Bethesda Performance Textures
This freebie is a graphical enhancer that takes the best textures in the game and turns them into enhanced versions.
Which is nice because it takes up much less resources from your computer, but still manages to look absolutely fantastic on the eye.
You’ll find that the Bethesda Performance Textures are some of the best texture mods around if you’re running the game in an older computer.
8. Bellyaches New Dragon Species
The absolute madman who created this mod (who also happens to have one of the coolest names in the modding community) has created a total of 50 new dragons and added them to the game, spanning 13 new species that you’ll be able to encounter in the wild.
If you’re tired of staring at the same dragons in all of your playthroughs, then rejoice – you’ve found the solution to end all your problems.
7. Armored Sabrecat Mount
Riding horses is cool. But you know what’s even cooler?
Riding a damn armored sabrecat!
Imagine traveling through the planes of Skyrim on top of one of the most majestic beasts in existence, which also happens to be wearing a fantastic piece of armor.
Gone are the days of watching your horse hopelessly attempt to stomp your foes – ride your sabrecat to battle and watch it tear through the skin of beasts like as if they were made of paper mâché!
6. Immersive Horses
If you’re looking for overhauls then this one is one you’ll have to try out.
Apart from the creator’s witty and humorous remarks, Immersive Horses adds to the game a bunch of new commands and settings that will allow you to look at the horses in Skyrim in a completely different way.
It makes them far more useful without making them overpowered.
5. Birds of Skyrim
The one thing that I didn’t know that I wanted until I saw it in action – birds in Skyrim!
This mod adds over 20 new bird species to the world.
They can all be found in different locations according to where you’d find them in the real world (they all exist, so it all depends on their preferred climates).
The creator of the mod was kind enough to add a list for us not to get lost when searching for the birds. However the fun part of this mod is to simply explore the lands that you already know and watch them populated with new creatures!
4. Bellyaches Animal and Creature Pack
Our friend Bellyaches makes it once again to this list with a revamp to the fauna of Skyrim – and this time it isn’t dragons what I’m talking about.
The mod is meant to enhance the look of every animal in the game by introducing over 100 new textures to the environments of the land, which makes it easy for you to think this is the first time you’re playing through the game.
Quite the choice for anyone looking into immersion.
3. SkyTEST – Realistic Animals and Predators
This mod is something else.
The creator made sure to revamp the animal system by creating an entire foodchain to make the animals feel more natural, and he also made sure to revamp the behavior of animals to make them act like their real-life counterparts and not just like mindless mobs.
A stunning mod that every Skyrim players needs to try.
2. Skyrim Immersive Creatures
Immersive Creatures adds over 30 new species of creatures to the game. Seems basic but it’s actually quite detailed.
You will find everything from entirely new creatures to small variations of pre-existing creatures, which still add a lot of variety to this fantastic game.
1. Convenient Horses
When it comes to horse mods, or creature mods in general, this is the best you’ll find for Skyrim.
It lets you herd horses and it even improves the mounted combat system that the game comes with.
It’s an amazing revamp of a classic system which keeps the essence of Skyrim but makes it a hundred times better. What’s not to love?