Frequently Asked Questions: General game functionality - Omni-guides/Tuxborn GitHub Wiki

"I get a mangled quest journal when I try to open the journal with the J key! What's happening?"

We use the Quest Journal Overhaul mod, which has a known issue with the vanilla journal trying to load if you use the J key while also playing with a controller. This is called out as a New Issue on that mod's bugs page. Look for the issue reported on March 29th 2025, subject line "can't go back to the other tabs when pressing Rt (gamepad) and it is completly bugged when opening the journal by pressing J".

This issue is most likely to reproduce for PC players who are playing with a controller, since that set of players is most likely to also periodically hit keyboard keys. Handheld devices players are not likely to see this issue, unless you have a Bluetooth keyboard available and decide to hit J to load your journal. Or, in the case of the Steam Deck, if you map J to one of your back buttons. In which case, you can in fact reproduce the bug.

Since this is reported on the mod's own bugs page, it's not a Tuxborn-specific issue. Until the mod delivers a fix, we recommend that all Tuxborn players who play on PC with a controller, or who play on handhelds with a keyboard available for use when needed, avoid using the J key to launch the journal. Use your available controller buttons instead.

"My save load times are getting longer! What's going on?"

We have a known issue with save load times getting progressively longer, between when you hit Continue on the main menu, and when your save finally loads in. This issue has reproduced on all supported platforms and profiles. But it is limited only to players running Legacy of the Dragonborn, and who specifically have started adding displays to their museums. Players who haven't launched Legacy, or who have launched Legacy but not yet added displays to the museum, should not see this issue.

The cause of this is a mod called Legacy of the Dragonborn Achievements. We confirmed that removal of this mod from the load order eliminates the problem, and also, importantly, that removal of it from the load order should not impact your save.

Therefore, if you see this issue happening in your playthrough, the solution is to disable the mod in your MO2 prior to clicking the Run button to launch the game. You should find it in the Achievements category of the mod list. Simply uncheck the checkbox next to it, to disable it. Then load your game as normal.

!!! This mod has been removed from version 1.1 of Tuxborn, so only players with active playthroughs on 1.0 or 1.0.1 need to worry about this. However, all players who intend to maintain playthroughs on those versions, even though 1.1 is now available, should disable Legacy of the Dragonborn Achievements in MO2 if you haven't already! !!!

"My game keeps crashing every time I use the console on the Steam Deck! What can I do about this?"

Unfortunately, this is a known issue with Skyrim in general on the Deck, and is not specific to Tuxborn. This is a thing that Bethesda will have to fix, there is very little Tuxborn can do about this.

This issue is known to happen regardless of how you actually interact with the console: whether by typing directly on the touchscreen, or by using your sticks and trigger button to select characters that way. Once you actually try to enter a console command, that's the point of failure that invokes the crash.

Some known workarounds are described in this YouTube video and on this Reddit thread.

The Reddit thread also links to this Steam Community post that describes an enchanter table workaround. This workaround has been confirmed as working by Tuxborn players, so try that one first. Note that you will need to do this at the start of every play session, because the workaround will not persist across sessions! Or at the very least, you should do this workaround before trying to open your console.

But honestly, your best solution for this as of this time is going to be to get a keyboard for use with your Deck. You should be able to connect one via USB, or via Bluetooth, whatever is most convenient for you.

If you're going to mod at all on a Deck, having an actual keyboard will make it much easier. Even if the console doesn't crash your game, it's really awkward to try to type things into it with the on-screen keyboard taking up half the screen. And never mind trying to use the additional console features to scroll back through long command output! If you have a physical keyboard, that will free up your entire screen for your review when doing console work.

Talk to Annathepiper if you'd like a recommendation for a keyboard to look for.

"All of a sudden I can't activate anything! Can I fix this?"

This is a known issue, and can basically happen with anything you'd normally interact with by activating it: crafting stations, forges, carriages, etc. It appears to be an issue related to animations.

Fortunately, there is an easy workaround. Unsheathe your spells/weapons (whatever you have wielded), and then sheathe again. You may need to do this a couple of times, and you may find it works better if you temporarily look away from whatever you were trying to interact with.

"How can I change between first and third person view?"

If you are playing on a non-BFCO profile, standard Skyrim functionality should work for this. If you are playing on a PC and using a keyboard and mouse, that means your F key. If you play with a controller on PC, or are playing on a Steam Deck or any other handheld device, click your right thumbstick.

If you are playing on a BFCO profile, the same methods should work, but you have to hold down on the key or thumbstick, rather than just clicking them. A short press will lock onto a target, a longer press will change your camera view.

"Is there a way in Tuxborn to keep smaller sized souls from filling larger sized soul gems?"

This is standard Skyrim functionality, and not something Tuxborn is doing on its own. We don't currently have anything in our load order that would prevent a smaller sized soul from filling a larger sized soul gem, unfortunately.

Within Tuxborn's current selection of mods, you have two options for dealing with this:

  1. Be selective about when you soul trap. This would require you to pay active attention to which size soul gems you're carrying. And you'd also need to only use a Soul Trap spell, or wield a weapon with a Soul Trap enchantment, when you're sure you have the necessary size soul gem to contain the soul of your target.
  2. If you're willing to run the Project AHO plot, there is a side quest involved with that content that can get you access to a Dwemer automaton that has a built-in ability to charge soul gems, including ones already filled with smaller souls, up to full capacity. Information about that specific side quest can be found on the TES Mods wiki page for Crack'n'Chirp, and the TES Mods wiki page for Project AHO.

"I prefer the vanilla Skyrim menu. Is there any way I can get it back?"

Yes. In the Optionals section of MO2, you should see "Main Menu" listed as the first mod there. Since it is classed as an optional mod in the load order, that means it's okay to turn it off if you so choose. Doing so will not invoke Rule 11 and void your access to Tuxborn support.

Turning that mod off will revert to the vanilla Skyrim menu on startup.

"I would like to play Tuxborn on two different devices! Can I use the same save?"

Yes, but you will have two major considerations:

  1. Which profiles to use
  2. How to move the save files back and forth

Consult the Save‐safe page for information on which profiles are compatible with each other, and which can therefore be used for the same save files. Pick whichever profiles work best for the devices you want to play on. This could mean using Desktop profiles on two different computers, or maybe Desktop + Handheld if one of your devices is a ROG Ally or other non-Steam Deck handheld.

Also, be aware that you will need to copy not only the .ess files generated by Skyrim, but also the .skse files generated by the mods in Tuxborn's load order. If you don't copy the .skse files as well, you will be at risk of losing important data for the mods in Tuxborn's load order to work! This has been reported before as an issue with Static Skill Leveling in particular.

Copying files manually is certainly an option, and there's no reason not to do that if that's fastest and most convenient for you.

But if you would like to consider options to let you do this automatically rather than manually, Annathepiper has a couple of unofficial guides for methods you can try. Here are links to the relevant posts on Anna's blog:

(DISCLAIMER: These two links are not officially supported Tuxborn content, they are Anna-supported content. So if you have questions about the links, please talk to Annathepiper on the Discord, or drop comments on her blog.)

"I'm playing a female character in first person, and her hands look really blocky at the wrists when I unsheathe a weapon or spell! Can I fix this?"

Known issue, and not one we can easily fix, unfortunately. We've had reports of this on multiple races, so it's not limited to female characters of any specific race.

Recommended way to deal with this is to get your character gloves, bracers, or gauntlets, which will at least hide the issue.