When it comes to video game directors, no one is as prolific as Todd Howard, whose work on Skyrim and the rest of The Elder Scrolls made him such a household name that he was put on the staff of TES5. While the idea of becoming a celebrity is uncommon in the gaming industry, Todd Howard is certainly the face of Bethesda, often the key person responsible for hyping everything related to the studio’s current work.
One of the most successful and greatest open world games of all time, especially in the fantasy RPG genre, Skyrim continues to enjoy legendary status despite its release more than 11 years ago. While Howard and his team are making progress with new projects, many fans tend to think that the fifth installment in the Elder Scrolls series is the entry that best embodies what Bethesda is all about.
So someone decided to honor Howard by adding him to Skyrim. But, he’s not just an ordinary NPC. Instead, Nexus Mods user kbjwasd immortalized the Game Director in a unique way, turning him into a usable employee. Simply called “Todd Staff”, this mod is a small custom addition to the game that can be forged using one Iron Ingot, four Steel Ingots, and three Belts. The image on the download page shows the staff member as just a stick, but with the square face of Todd Howard on it, with an expression that can only be described as bewildered. The magic item is even described as “it just works,” a reference to the man’s own catchphrase, and a video shows Todd’s quote being heard when using the staff.
Over the last decade or so, there have been some really weird Skyrim mods. For every tweak to the visuals or every improvement to the UI, there’s one that turns all the kids in the game into potatoes, or one that makes the Dragonborn travel in Skooma. At least while everyone is waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6, modders are trying to keep things interesting.
Until then, Bethesda is busy finishing Starfield, the developer’s upcoming sci-fi role-playing game due out on September 6. After that, many are hoping the studio or parent company will provide an update on what’s going on with TES6, but it sounds like it might be a long time before fans start playing with it. Meanwhile, Skyrim has all these weird mods to check out.
Skyrim is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.