IHAH - Improved Housecarls & Hirelings
by DrNewcenstein

**DISCLAIMER: This is my interpretation of how things could go.
You don't have to agree with this interpretation.**

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Pre-face:

Let's be honest, with the notable exception of Erik The Hoe-Pusher,
most of the people in Skyrim you can get as a Follower have been doing
this sort of thing for a while. It's not unreasonable to assume, therefore,
that they might have a little more skill than you, the player.

The Greybeards are known as Masters of the Way Of The Voice, and while
they wait for a Dragonborn, their doors are still open to those with the
fortitude to make the climb, the desire to learn, and the will to persevere.

Ulfric Stormcloak possessed these qualities, so who's to say no one else
did? Klimmek made the climb several times just to bring them beer and
beef jerky.

Some warriors strive for the pinnacle of their abilities, even just
for their own personal satisfaction. To challenge oneself; to push beyond
the boundaries of their own physical limitations and reach for a higher
level of skill.

As such, it's not too much of a stretch to assume that a determined few
have distinguished themselves by mastering at least one Shout under the
Greybeard's tuteledge. In doing so, they are a valuable asset to their
Jarl, who honors them with the title of Housecarl.

While some are content with the relative comfort of service to the Jarl,
others constantly pursue the greatest challenges they can find, and so
offer their services as Hirelings. The fire burns brightly in them, and
their battle-lust cannot be quenched sitting in a tavern. They yearn for
adventure, to pit themselves against the ever-present foes: old age and
complacency.

**THE SHORT VERSION:

The following Housecarls and Hirelings have Shouts:

1. Rayya: Cyclone (the whole Hammerfell desert sandstorm thing)
2. (I had Valdimar here with a really cool backstory, but blew a major point in it so now it's on the back burner)
3. Lydia: Unrelenting Force. Because it's hilarious when she yells "Skyrim belongs to the BA-KOWWW!" :D
4. Iona: Ice Form, to match those eyes. And that look on her face that says "I would kill you and skin you and use your shinbone for a pencil box."
5. Jordis: Fire Breath, to go along with the "hot air" blown by the Imperial fops in Solitude.
6. Janessa: Marked For Death, because she's an unrepentant murderer-for-hire. She'd join the Dark Brotherhood, but they think she's just a bit too scary.
7. Mjoll: She gets the Top 3 Shouts: Ice Form, Fire Breath, and Unrelenting Force. She's certainly got the lung capacity for it, what with the incessant chattering when she follows you.

As well, they are all Essential (Mjoll was already), and they come with an Amulet of Jurgen Windcaller which lets them spam Shouts (100% recovery - you can take it away from them if you want the game to be boring).

And they all have a selection of perks befitting their combat style (or at least how I outfit them - Iona does axe and shield, Lydia and Jordis do Sword and Board, Jenassa and Rayya dual-wield, etc). I thought about giving them armor perks, but the housecarls all come in heavy armor, and I like to mix them up (especially with MAK07's Remodeled Armors! Iona in the Studded Imperial, Mjoll in the Dwarven, Lydia in Dragon Scale....)

I also gave them all the Light Foot perk, since Bethesda though it would be funny to load up so many places with traps that were specifically designed to wipe out your followers, especially Ashfallow Citadel in Solstheim. Jeez, if that's not a blatant case of "wehh, we don't want you using a bunch of followers here, wehh" I don't know what is.

Lastly, I tweaked their levels a bit higher than standard, to go along with the whole "we've been doing this long enough and well enough that we have surpassed the player-n00b who was going to have his head chopped off for being such a pwnable n00b" thing.

I mean, really, why else would you be on that cart?
"You there, what skills do you possess?"
"Umm, well, I'm kinda mediocre in just about everything, really."
"You're coming with us, worthless n00b."
""

So yeah, it's not like they have a base of 20, though. Lowest I think was 12, highest was like 16? Can't recall now. At any rate, it suits my needs. Use them if you want, or not if you don't.

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Here's a list of who got what in this mod:

Iona (Honeyside):
Shout: Ice Form

Perks:
AllowShouting (derp)
ShieldWall40
ElementalProtection
BlockRunner
PowerBash
DeadlyBash
DisarmingBash (and it WORKS!)
Armsman40
CriticalCharge
SavageStrike
ParalyzingStrike
LightFoot
dunTargeOfTheBlooded (because I like giving her the big-spikey shield)
BoneBreaker60
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Lydia (Breezehome):
Shout: Unrelenting Force

Perks:
AllowShouting (well duh)
Armsman40
BLadesman30
BoneBreaker60 (cuz she could, y'know)
CriticalShot60
Overdraw60
Ranger (if the so-called "leveled" enemies can have it...
QuickShot (if the so-called "leveled" enemies can have it...)
Bullseye (if the so-called "leveled" enemies can have it...)
SavageStrike (the head-chopper-offer for those pesky Forsworn and backpedaling Mages)
LightFoot (for those dungeons that are littered with Follower-Sweeping floor traps that your lackeys can never seem to figure out how to avoid)
PowerShot
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Jordis (Solitude):
Shout: Fire Breath

Perks:
AllowShouting (no! really?)
AgileDefender40
BlockRunner
DeflectArrows
DisarmingBash
ShieldCharge
LightFoot
dunTargeOfTheBlooded (cuz with Immersive Armors, I give her the Spiked Draugr Shield, which is a re-tex of Targe Of The Blooded)
Bladesman60
DeadlyBash
Overdraw60
CriticalShot60
Ranger
QuickShot
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Jenassa (Drunken Huntsman):
Shout: Marked For Death

Perks:
AllowShouting (o_O)
DualFlurry50 (give her a matched set of one-handed blades)
Bladesman60
Armsman60
DualSavagery
FightingStance
CriticalCharge
SavageStrike (c'mon, if anyone should have it...)
Bullseye
CriticalShot60
Overdraw60
Ranger
PowerShot
QuickShot
LightFoot (she got them Assassin skillz, yo!)
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Mjoll (Riften):
Shout: Ice Form, Fire Breath, and Unrelenting Force (I couldn't decide which one worked best for her, so I gave her the top 3)

Perks:
AllowShouting (do I really need to keep saying it?)
TowerOfStrength
ChampionsStance
Barbarian60 (the head-remover)
DeepWounds60
Skullcrusher60
Limbsplitter60
DevastatingBlow
GreatCriticalCharge
Sweep (crowd control)
LightFoot
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Rayya (Hearthfires/Lakeview Manor):
Shout: Cyclone (Dragonborn DLC)

Perks:
AllowShouting (x.x)
DualFlurry (she's got TWO curved swords. Curved. Swords.)
DualSavagery (one for each hand)
Armsman60
Bladesman60
CriticalCharge
SavageStrike (2 scimitars means twice the chance to lop off a head)
ParalyzingStrike
Overdraw60
CriticalShot60
Ranger
PowerShot
QuickShot
Bullseye
LightFoot
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A note about the Amulet of Jurgen Windcaller: You might have to take it from them and then give it back for them to equip it. I didn't want to go messing with the Gear List and just stuck it in their regular inventory. When I tested it, Lydia didn't equip it until I gave it back to her.
And I messed up with Jenassa's amulet - it was supposed to be based off the Elder Council Amulet, like everyone else's was, but hers was based off the Talos amulet. Same effect on either one, but if you prefer the consistency of everyone having the same amulet, it might be a concern.

I made an IHAH file for Serana, but gave her some Vampire Lord perks as well (Mist Form and such) but that one's not working right. She can shout, but somehow I got the Mist Form power (and I'm not a Vampire, much less a Lord). Haven't seen her use it yet, so that one's probably toast and won't be uploaded.

I also gave Beleval and Ingjard (Dawnguard) some perks based on their combat style (2-handed, archery) but no Shouts, so they're kinda not-as-fun compared to the Shouting Bunch.

These mods are not reliant on anything except Update.esm, and for Rayya you will need both Hearthfires (to get Rayya) and Dragonborn (for the Cyclone Shout).
I highly recommend Ultimate Follower Overhaul, especially if you're planning to take more than one with you, because you WANT to have the Command Stop Fighting shout it offers. Trust me. When Rayya sets off a Cyclone at the back of the bus and it hits the front line after they've frozen, flamed, and curb-stomped the enemy, and then they get launched into the air, they will break out in fights with each other. Being Essential makes for a very, very long fight. It's funny for a while, but then gets old.

Not really planning on setting up any of the other Hirelings and Housecarls or other Followers just yet, as I really don't use them enough to justify it.

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**Important Info you need to understand:**

#1: Each character has their own ESP, so you can use the ones you want without losing whatever other mod that affects the others. It should be painfully obvious that if you load my Lydia mod, it's most likely going to replace your current Lydia mod, especially if both mods do the same thing.

#2. Rayya's mod REQUIRES both Dragonborn and Hearthfires. There is no way around it.

#3. These files were made with cleaned vanilla files, and TES5Edit and BOSS show no errors. I've been running these mods myself for 2 weeks and have not had any errors related to them.

There are inherent issues with Bethesda's software you need to keep in mind.

**They did not intend for anyone but the Player and every Draugr in the game to Shout. They did not intend for Lydia, the Sentient AI Homocidal Maniac Serial Killer to Shout. This has the potential to crash Bethesda's program. Then again, so does clicking "Play Skyrim" without any mods.**

#4. Ultimate Follower Overhaul is recommended, mostly for the Command: Stop Fighting Shout. It comes in mighty handy.

#5. There is no MCM menu; I don't use MCM. There are no plans to implement an MCM menu; I have no plans to use MCM. I'm sure it's nice and all, but there's a limit to the type of mods I will run, for system stability reasons. I did not ask you to sell me on the idea of using MCM, so please do not insult me by trying. I'm a grown man, I can make these decisions without your help.

INSTALLATION:
1. Manually download the file (no NMM for me)
2. Unzip into your Data folder. If this part confuses you, stop reading and go learn the basic concepts of adding mods to Skyrim.
3. Enable whichever character mods you wish to use in Skyrim's Launcher or NMM if it can do that.
**NOTE: I suggest placing this AFTER/BELOW UFO - I loaded them above UFO and they didn't Shout. I moved them below UFO and it worked.**

Just in case you're confused:

Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
...
...
...
UFO
UFO-Dawnguard
UFO-HearthFires
...
...
IHAH (these mods)

They don't have to be right under UFO, so long as they're not above it.