Self-Preservation v1.0 for Oblivion

Forum thread: http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=988256


This mod makes NPCs less suicidal. They will now care more about saving their own skins instead of sacrificing themselves on your sword or arrows. Each time their health falls below 35% health, there will be a one-time random check to see if the NPC flees or not. The flee percentage chance is based on their character class. Certain classes will be more willing to stay in the fight until the bitter end, while other classes will more likely flee.


The following classes and flee percentage chances are listed below:


90% chance to flee:

Commoner, Farmer, Healer, Herder, Merchant (all), Pauper, and Pilgrim


80% chance to flee:

Acrobat, Bard, Bandit Archer, Bandit Wizard, Conjurer, Dark Mage, Dremora Mage Class, Mage, Marauder Archer, Mythic Dawn Adept, Necromancer, Priest, Sorcerer, Thief, and Trainer Mage


70% chance to flee:

Archer, Dark Archer, Agent, Assassin, DB Enforcer, Hunter, Mythic Dawn Assassin, Mythic Dawn Agent, Nightblade, Ostler, Rogue, Scout, Savant, Sharpshooter, Trainer Agent, Trainer Nightblade, Trainer Scout, Herald, and Noble


60% chance to flee:

Battlemage, Dremora Archer, Spellsword, Warlock, Witch, and Witch Hunter


50% chance to flee:

Bandit Melee, Marauder Melee, Monk, and Pirate


40% chance to flee:

Archer Guard, Blademaster, FG Champion, Monk Ancestor, and Grey Fox


30% chance to flee:

Bandit Boss, Barbarian, Crusader, Blade Class, Dremora Class, Battle Mage Guard, Marauder Boss, and Warrior



20% chance to flee:

Guard, Dark Guard, IC Palace Guard, Kvatch Soldier, and Knight


I based the above percentage chances on the character class stats. Melee classes will be much more willing to stay in the fight until the end, while non-melee classes will be much more willing to haul butt out of there once things get dicey.

If the NPC flees, they will continue to flee for the next 24 hours, or until healed. They will resume their normal behavior and stop fleeing once their health goes back above 50%. If you are in a city and attack an innocent NPC, and they flee, be careful. They will continue running around looking for a guard and you will be reported.

The main reason I created this mod is because I got tired of NPCs fleeing for 30 seconds, and then coming back for certain slaughter, regardless of their health level. Now they will take into consideration saving their own lives. The player will usually flee when their health is low, so why shouldn't the NPCs? This mod makes things particularly interesting when a slower melee player tries to hunt down and kill a fleeing faster class, such as an archer, thief, or assassin.


*This mod does not adjust any original NPC flee modifiers. NPCs may still flee before their health falls below 35% due to original game flee modifiers*

*This mod was tested on an average pc with a GeForce 7900GS video card and 2 gigs of ram at medium game settings with no noticeable performace loss*

*Occasionally in interior cells, fleeing NPCs may huddle together for protection if they are all fleeing at the same time. They will not run until only one of them is left alive. I couldn't figure out a way to change this. Perhaps it's hard-coded*


*This mod does not affect any new character classes introduced from Shivering Isles or Knights of the Nine. Only works for original Oblivion classes*

*This mod may not be compatible with other mods that add or make changes to NPC scripts*


Created by Talonhoff