Vanilla Follower's AI


The other introduction videos are in videos section.


This mod assigns special custom AI Packages to some vanilla followers.
Priests will heal Player and other followers. Members of Dark Brotherhood will do stealth attacks to enemies in darkness (or in light). Housecarls will really become your sword and your shield.
You can always turn off custom AI by giving followers "broom(Misc item)".
Custom AI packages may not be so perfect as you expect. However, this mod is very simple and script-free. You can try this mod with ease.

Compatibility
This mod doesn't change any vanilla data, so it has compatibility with almost all mods which change NPCs. However some mods which override follower's AI may not work well while Custom AI of this mod is on.

Their custom AI will work with AFT(Amazing Follower Tweaks), UFO(Ultimate Follower Overhaul), Amazing Follower Tweaks SSE.
Custom AI overrides the follower's AI which those follower overhaul mods assign them. When custom AI is turned on, the follower's AI does not work. Custom AI is turned off, if it is not necessary to work. You can always turn off custom AI by giving followers "broom(Misc item)".

Known issue

• A follower gets stuck.
• A mage follower blinks the spells in one's hand very fast and doesn't attack enemies.
  

All custom AI may get stuck sometimes. This is always fixed by itself soon or later. Particularly, the healer AI frequently get stuck. Don't wait until the healer AI gets to work again. Heal yourself or flee to somewhere safe.

You can stop all custom AI when something goes wrong with custom AI. Open the console, type "StopQuest SL99IVF" and Enter. All custom AI will be removed from the followers. Then type "StartQuest SL99IVF" and Enter. All custom AI are assigned to the followers again. However, this mod's framework is very simple and all custom AI can recover itself from stuck. The case which is required fixing AI via the console will rarely happen.

In-game Description
You can know about this mod's AI in the game. Get a "Roll of Paper" and craft the book "Vanilla Followers' AI" in MISC category at a tanning rack.


[Healer]
J'zargo, Erandur, Aranea Ienith, Illia
(Their Primary skills include Restoration except for J'Zargo. But he has learned "Heal Other")

- AI behavior -
Custom AI is on during combat.
They cast "Healing Hands" to heal Player or other followers, when their health decrease less than 70%.
If healer knows "Heal Other", healer will prefer to use it than "Healing Hands". 
If you give "Amulet of Mara" Erandur(it does not need for him to equip it), he will use "Heal Other". But his magicka is 50 and never rises by level up. Some enchanted armors with Fortify Magicka will be needed.
"Healing hands" needs more than 10 magicka, and "Heal Other" needs more than 80 magicka. Take care of healer's magicka. While healer is bleeding out, healer drops out from combat and can not heal others.

- Special Healer mode -
If you pass a "Diamond (misc item)" to the healers, the special healer AI will be turned on. Healer can use "Heal Other" even if the healer doesn't know this spell. This Heal Other doesn't need Magicka and the range is infinity. They will heal Player or other followers when their health decrease less than 85%.
Healer's combat style will be changed to missile attacks only.
This special AI is very useful, but may not be so powerful.

[Healer for DLC]
Serana(Dawnguard), Frea(Dragonborn)

Serana has the healer AI for undead followers. She doesn't heal non-undead allies, but she can heal undeads via "Necromatic Healing" only when she isn't under the sun. After she cured her Vanpirism, she will be able to cast "Healing Hands" besides "Necromatic Healing". If she learn "Heal Undead" or "Heal Other" via other mods, she will get to use them according to her state.
Serana has the special healer AI too. The healer AI won't disturb any quests of Dawnguard.
Frea is different from the other healers. She can cast "Healing Cloak" instead of Healing Hands or Heal Other. Healing Cloak needs more than 150 points of Magicka. This spell heals allies(except undeads, dremoras, automatons) in the melee range for one minute, 8 points of health per second.
Frea doesn't have the special healer AI.



[Assassin]
Cicero, Two Dark Brotherhood Initiates

- AI behavior -
Custom AI is on, while Player is sneaking with weapons drawn.
They start to assassinate enemies by Player drawing out weapons or magic or fists. They will search NPCs appearing as red by "Detect Life", but they will not attack enemies beside Player. When you hold bow at full draw, an assassin follower doesn't change the target. The follower will continue to attack the target until the target dies.
Searching enemies takes few tens of seconds. The more harmless NPCs(other followers, citizens, bodies) around an assassin, the harder the assassin find the targets. If you want them to stop attacking or to reset searching enemies, sheathe weapons.
If you have used some mods to change enemy detection more real, assassins will be found soon. They cannot sneak better than you do.
When player is sneaking with weapons sheathed, this custom AI has compatibility with "Stealth Kills for Followers".

[Tank]
Golldir, Borgagkh the Steel Heart, Ogol, Cosnach
(Their skills, Heavy Armor, Block and One-Handed, increase with their character level. The maximum of their character level is 30. Golldir has perks, Champion's Stance, Deflect Arrows, Fighting Stance, Tower of Strength and Well Fitted.)

- AI behavior -
Custom AI is on during combat.
Tank does melee attacks and prefers defense more than offense. Tank seldom does missile attacks unless their enemies are flying(in most cases, they are dragons). This combat style is sometimes inconvenient for the battle against enemies far. If you sheath your weapons, tanks will try to come near to you. You can lead them.
The shout of Tank provokes enemies to the battle or to flee from the battle and improves Tank's armor rating.

[Housecarl] Requires diamonds, Sapphires or Rubies
Argis the Bulwark, Calder, Iona, Jordis the Sword-Maiden, Lydia, Gregor(Heathfire), Rayya(Heathfire), Valdimar(Heathfire)

- AI behavior -
Custom AI is on during combat.
The housecarls have the multiple Combat AI list and obey the command by your shout.
When they do melee attacks or behave as Tank, you can lead them with your weapon sheathed.

- The multiple AI list -
1. Tank (Diamond, not "Flawless Diamond")
2. Cover (Sapphire, not "Flawless Sapphire")
3. Harmony (Ruby, not "Flawless Ruby")

Give housecarls the required gem to turn on each AI. The priority of their AI is Tank > Cover > Harmony. If you give a diamond and a ruby to Lydia, Lydia will become tank.

- Tank -
Refer to Tank AI at the above section.
- Cover -
They take the opposite combat style to Player's style.  When you use a bow(crossbow) or are equiped with spells in your hands, they will do melee attacks. When you don't use a bow(crossbow) or are not equiped with a spell in the right hands, they will do missile attacks. Changing their combat style takes time(about ten seconds). When their AI cannot detect your combat style, Cover AI will not be turn on.
- Harmony -
They take the same combat style with Player's style.  This AI is opposite to Cover AI.

For example, if you are a spellsword(a one-handed weapon in the right hand and a spell in the left hand), Cover AI or Harmony AI will not be turned on. Housecarls will do their combat with their default combat style or the combat style assigned by a follower overhaul mod.

Command Shout
Open the console to learn this shout.
In the console, type the following and Enter.
Player.TeachWord xx006911
Player.TeachWord xx006912
Player.TeachWord xx006913
("xx" is the loadind order number of this mod)

The first word "Sword": Melee combat (Duration: 3 minutes)
The second word "Free": Cancel the command
The third word "Arrow": Missile combat" (Duration: 3 minutes)

This command override housecarl's custom AI(Tank, Cover, Harmony).

[Mercenary] Requires sapphires
Belrand, Erik the Slayer, Jenassa, Marcurio, Stenvar, Vorstag, Teldryn Sero(Dragonborn)

- AI behavior -
Give a sapphire to a mercenary. Custom AI is on during combat.
When the player's health is less than 50%, the mercenaries try to do their combat near to the player. Even if they fight far from the player, they will stop their combat and run to help the player.
Belrand, Marcurio, Teldryn Sero sometimes heal the player but not always. They are not the healer, they give priority to defeating their enemies.

[Sneak AI for Jenassa] Requires garnets

- AI behavior -
Give a garnet to Jenassa. Custom AI is on with garnets, while Player is sneaking with weapons drawn outside combat.
Jenassa's sneak AI is very similar to Assassin AI. She uses the power "Mark of Death" instead of killing enemies. Mark of Death can reduce the armor rating of the target for three minutes. Jenassa is not good at sneaking very well. She will need some enchantment for the sneak skill.

[Modders resources:Healer AI and Assassin AI can be used with your custom followers]

Feel free to use Healer AI and Assassin AI in your mods. But it's hard for me to explain all steps in English. So I made the tutorial videos in Youtube. I used the old Creation Kit for the previous Skyrim in the videos, but all the step with the new Creation Kit are the same as the steps with the old CK.

Tutorial video: Healer AI - How to assign the standalone Healer AI to a custom follower with Creation Kit.
Tutrial video: Assassin AI - How to assign the standalone Assassin AI to a custom follower with Creation Kit.