Skyrim:Survival Mode

thumb|right|Map of Survival Mode changes
Survival Mode is a Creation that introduces a new gameplay mode for Skyrim Special Edition. It was released for PC through Steam beta on September 28, 2017 and became available on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on October 4, 2017. It was free for the first week of release and then cost 500 CC Credits to purchase; it is now free again on all platforms with the release of the Anniversary Edition on November 11, 2021.

This Creation works well in conjunction with the Camping and Adventurer's Backpack Creations, which help alleviate some of the difficulties in Survival Mode.
 

Official Summary
:In Survival Mode, your greatest adversary is Skyrim itself. Unrelenting cold, harsh wilderness, famine and fatigue -  do you have the strength to endure? (Creation can be turned on or off in Settings menu. For details, consult Help Menu.)

Overview
Survival Mode introduces several challenging changes to gameplay and new gameplay features in order to transform the majority of the map into a harsh, cold wilderness. Survival can be played on any Difficulty setting, with Legendary difficulty recommended for the most challenge.

Most Survival features are disabled until after the quest Unbound is completed.

The specific changes are as follows:
Hunger: Over time, you will become hungry, which will impact your total stamina, as well as your ability to wield most weapons. As you become hungrier, your total available stamina will decrease, represented by a dark region inside the stamina bar. Eat food to restore your hunger. If you eat enough, you will receive the Well Fed bonus. Cooked food restores more hunger than uncooked food. If you eat raw meat, you may contract Food Poisoning, which can prevent you from receiving health benefits from food until the effect wears off. Hot soups can now be cooked by using fire salts, which restore your cold and also grant a bonus to your warmth rating.
Fatigue: Fatigue decreases your total available magicka, represented by a dark region inside the magicka bar. As you become more fatigued, the effectiveness of potions will begin to decline, and your ability to recover magicka and stamina will begin to suffer. You will need to periodically sleep in a bed in order to restore your fatigue. In Survival, the Well Rested bonus is no longer granted automatically after sleeping. If you sleep outside, you will not be able to get a restful night's sleep, waking up Drained at best. If you sleep in a bed indoors, you will receive the Well Rested bonus.
Cold: Skyrim is now divided into warm, cold, and freezing climates. Traveling in snowy or rainy areas will increase your Cold. Cold decreases your total available health, represented as a dark region inside the health bar. As you become colder, your movement speed and ability to pick locks and pick pockets will begin to suffer. If you reach the highest level of Cold, your health will be reduced to zero and you will die from exposure to the elements. You can warm up by standing near a fire, eating hot soup, or moving to a warmer location. A sun or snowflake icon will appear near the compass to note whether you are currently getting warmer or colder.
Warmth: The higher your Warmth rating, the more slowly you will feel the effects of cold environments. Most clothing and armor  provide warmth, displayed on the item's description. Some armor is exceptionally warm, while others are ill-suited to protect their wearer from harsh climates. You can also temporarily increase your warmth rating by eating hot soup or holding a torch.
Freezing Water: If you swim in a freezing area, you will immediately become colder and begin taking health damage. Exit the water as soon as possible in order to begin warming up and stop the loss of health. Using a Flame Cloak spell or the Dunmer Ancestor's Wrath ability can make you temporarily immune to the effects of freezing water.
Disabled Fast Travel: If you wish to go somewhere, you must do so on foot or by horseback. You can also take a carriage or boat to your destination, but note that you may arrive hungry, cold, and in need of rest after a long journey. Fast travel is enabled while riding a dragon, but not every map marker can be flown to.  See the Transport article for more information on how to get around.
No Health Regeneration: You must use Restoration spells, food, and potions to replenish your health.
Leveling Up: To level up, you must now sleep in a bed. You may still spend your perk points later once they have been granted after sleeping.
Reduced Carry Weight: Carry weight values have been significantly reduced. Becoming over encumbered also quickly drains your stamina and causes you to become fatigued much faster. All lockpicks now have weight and the new types of arrows added in the  anniversary edition have weight as well (including Bound Arrows from Bound Bow, which is probably a bug.) The Extra Pockets perk and The Steed Stone now each grant 50 extra carry weight instead of 100. If you use enchanted apparel to fortify your carry weight, and then exceed that higher weight limit, the only way to stop the stamina drain is to remove the enchanted equipment and reduce your weight to under your natural limit. Adding another enchanted carry weight item will not stop the drain, although it will let you move at the normal rate. Once the drain has stopped, you can again put on the enchanted equipment and then carefully add back items up to the limit. 
Disease: Creatures across the land now carry threatening new diseases, and previous diseases are now even more debilitating. Eating uncooked meat can now cause Food Poisoning. If you fail to cure a disease, it may progress into a more serious version over time.
Afflictions: Time spent while unwell puts you at risk of contracting an affliction, which causes effects that can linger long after you have improved your condition. Afflictions will naturally wear off, or can be cured like other diseases. Some Afflictions include Weakened, Addled, and Frostbitten.
Shrine Offerings: Shrines are no longer free; you must now make a gold offering in order to receive the shrine's benefits. Shrines you craft in a Hearthfire house can be used for free.
Vampires and Werewolves: Both vampires and werewolves can restore their hunger by feeding on their victims. While transformed into a Werewolf or Vampire Lord, you are immune to health penalties associated with the more severe stages of cold, but will lose the Warmth of any gear you were wearing in humanoid form.
Standing Stones are less effective: For example, the Steed Stone only confers +50 to fortify carry weight.

Racial Passives
Argonian
Weakness to Cold
Raw Diet (no food poisoning)

Dark Elf
Resist Fatigue

High Elf
Resist Fatigue

Khajiit
Raw Diet (no food poisoning)
Resist Cold

Nord
Resist Cold

Orc
Resist Hunger, Fatigue and Cold

Wood Elf
Resist Fatigue

Tips for Survival Mode
You can gain access to free beds and food by raising an NPC's disposition. Completing favor quests, such as chopping wood, is an easy way to accomplish this.
You cannot die of cold while in Werewolf or Vampire Lord form.
The Ring of Namira is a great artifact for survival, as you can feed on dead humanoid enemies.
The most weight-effective player cooked foods are Salmon Steak, Seared Slaughterfish, Rabbit Haunch and Steamed Mudcrab Legs.
Swimming while riding a horse prevents freezing from cold water.
You can gain health regeneration if you fortify your health regeneration, for example by the Lady stone, as survival only reduces it by 100%, but does not disable it.
You can use dragon lairs to move around fast after you have unlocked the Bend Will shout. The dragons won't give you a dragon soul once they respawn so they can safely be left to fly back to be used later without the need to wait for the lair to respawn.
It takes 11 hours of rest to restore you completely from absolute fatigue.
It takes 1334 units of food to become well fed after being completely starved.

Content
:;Items
:*Hot Soups (12 new recipes)

Notes
While the author of this Creation is unknown, they are referred to as 'QDR' in the game data.

Bugs
Due to a bug it is sometimes possible to fast travel when survival mode is enabled. After getting out from an instance (house, dungeon, city or even after taking a carriage) into Skyrim and without moving, if you open the map, you will be able to fast travel. After fast traveling your survival status (tiredness, warmth and  hunger) will be updated.