MOD NAME:
Akaviri Battle Cat

AUTHOR:
Zella and yyy721

Version 4, 5, & 6 have swim & spell casting animations & are better at sharing the fighting.

DESCRIPTION:
Katana (Tanto or Mifune-san), the late Emperor's Battle Cat, is a very powerful magical companion, who has toggle 'Stay' & 'Follow' commands and a 'Summon Spell'. He is Essential, Player owned, & will not turn on you even after 'Friendly Hits'. He will never run from a fight and will defend you to his "death". He purrs when Idle & answers you (Meow + Message) when he receives commands. He follows closely vigilantly watching out for danger.

He will be an equal partner in combat, one level above you (3 in the beginning of the 4 & 5 versions & 4 in version 6), & levels with you. He has self-healing abilities,'Reflect Damage' 20 & 25 for Mifune-san(It's like Jujitsu!), & Water Breathing. He Resists Magic (50% in versions 4 & 5, 55 in version 6), Poison, & Disease 100 %, to prevent permanent effects requiring a reinstall. His stats are pretty much those of the Mountain Lion buffed as a bred & trained Battle Cat's might be. He is fast enough to keep up with a mount.

The Battle Cats areparticularly useful in Role Playing non-warrior types, such as youngsters, traveling Healers, Bards, merchants, or Alchemists who want an interesting companion to help defend them in a dangerous world. Intrepid Adventurers will have a partner not a liability. The 4 & 5 versions are designed to be more equal partner versions that allow plenty of time for you to participate, yet be able to prevail when you do not. The Mifune-san version is intended to be a bit stronger as befits an experienced veteran & the type of character we loved to see Toshiro Mifune play. This version is produced in homage to both Toshiro Mifune & HISSSSA.

To begin:

The late Emperor's Battle Cat, Katana (Tanto or Mifune-san), is stationed outside the IC Prison Sewer Exit where you enter the game proper. S/he is on, or by, the huge boulder in front and to the left of you, as Tamriel loads.

If you have numerous mods that give you starting announcements, you can move toward the boat dock on your right and receive them so that they do not obliterate the Battle Cat's initial responses. Dispatching the local mudcrab may also be advisable if he attacks you.

You may choose to activate the Battle Cat now, or later in the game. When you activate him you will receive his Summon Spell & he will be set to Follow Mode.

If you appear later in the game, he will still fully bond with you at that location, where he has waited in mourning all alone for the first time in his life. Possession of the Amulet will not affect anything either way.

Lore: It may be more immersive to consider that he recognizes you at the start because you carry the Emperor's Amulet of Kings. It is a magical item that resonates with a magical beast, and it is associated with his/her loved companion of many years. (Who but the Emperor would have such a rare and magical guardian?) She was stationed to guard the Sewer Exit for the Emperor's escape. He knows he is dead (because his 'Wait' command released then), & he is inclined to bond with the Amulet's new bearer.The Amulet is NOT necessary for any game function. It is merely part of the story that supports the Battle Cat's existence, placement & behavior. If you return later without it, he will still 'remember' you & bond. If you use another Beginning Mod, you will have to make up your own story. ;-)

The Akaviri Battle Cat was inspired by Mojodajojo's Fufu & the old type of Siamese cat that would physically fight to defend their people. I experienced such a cat for 21 years & heard of one that belonged to an English soldier sleeping in his tent when an assassin crept in to stab him to death. The Siamese tapped his person's face to wake him, to no avail, & then leapt into the assassin's face to claw & bite him, as he bent over the soldier, thus saving his person's life. I imagined the Akaviri breeding such cats for their bravery, prowess, & magical abilities, then giving them combat training. They would be priceless guardians for kings & emperors.

REQUIREMENTS:

Oblivion with the Patch or the Oblivion GOTY version. SI is not necessary.

COMPATIBILITY:

There should be no incompatibilities unless the huge boulder or the shore by the IC Sewer Exit is altered.

Conflict with the IC Island Mod has been reported. You must temporarily uncheck that mod in the Loader 'Data File' before you choose 'Play' at the start of the game. Activate the Battle Cat & move her away form the area changed by the IC Island Mod & save your game. Now you can Quit, recheck the IC Island Mod in the Data Files Launcher & choose to load that Saved game. You will now have BOTH the Battle Cat & your IC ISland Mod.

This mod has been tested with 184 other mods without a noticeable problems.

VERSION HISTORY

Version 6.0 November 6, 2014
This version is similar to versions 4 & 5, but Mifune-san is at level 5 at the start, & his stats are a bit better as well. He also heals faster & has a stronger Reflect Damage Ability. Mifune-san is taken directly from HISSSSA's meshes & Textures with his scars & Happa Leaf. He is the battle scarred low key type of Mifune character that many of us have enjoyed seeing Mr. Mifune portray. Thanks to HISSSSA, he is now available as our companion in our Oblivion Game adventures. A no-leaf mesh file (hs-cat-b2.nif in the NoLeafMeshesFiles folder) is included in the mod.He has the swimming and healing animations. He has the new summon spell also. yyy721 has has co-authored this version, provided the special deeper Mifune voice sounds, the No Leaf mesh file, cleaned it, & & tested the stats.

Version 4.0 the white Katana Version and Version 5.0 the black Tanto Version - January 24, 2014 - An equal partner version
These versions are co-authored by yyy721, who has added existing game animations which he 'tweaked' to allow Katana & Tanto to cast Healing Spells for themselves and to swim. He has adjusted the Attack and Hit sounds so that they are no longer as likely to overlap and have a better sound quality. He has also spent many hours testing and adjusting this mod to insure that it works properly and that it presents you with a more equal powered companion to help you fight, but does not take over your battles leaving you with little to do. Katana is still a white cat with a gold (silent) Bell on her collar & Tanto is black with a red collar & gold (silent) bell. They can now be summoned when they are present, & when in a 'Wait Mode' & you are in a conflict, without crashing the game or causing them to freeze on arrival. Their abilities have been lowered a bit, to allow you more opportunity to participate in the fighting, though they can handle a fight when left on their own. yyy721 has also cleaned this version with TES4Edit. I have insisted that yyy721 be a co-author because I think it is only fair since he has contributed at least half of the ideas & the work which has gone into the making of this version. Without him this version would not exist.

Version 2.1 and 3.1 - January 2014 - Strong versions
These versions are updates of versions 2.0 and 3.0 respectively. Their Summon Spells are updated to Toggle the cats into Follow mode before they arrive. The game will no longer crash when you summon the Battle Cat while it is present, or if you do so while an NPC is in attack mode & the cat is in "Wait Mode". It will no longer sometimes freeze on arrival if summoned from a "Wait Here" mode. The Player will receive a Healer's Spell that will give 20 points of healing to any companion or NPC, for a cost of 10. They still have the original sounds, no swimming or spell casting animations, and no self-healing spells. yyy721 has cleaned these versions with TES4Edit. If you are upgrading from the older version of the Battle Cat, you need only install the corresponding esp.

Version 3.0 December 8, 2013

This version is simply a black version of Version 2 named Tanto, who is referred to as male. You may form your own opinion about the gender as there really seems to be no real difference. Tanto has a red collar with a gold (silent) bell. He is inordinately fond of Fishy Sticks.
This version gives you a color choice, but it may also be played with Version 2, giving you two Battle Cats. It is overkill, but may be fun. It is your choice.

Version 2.0 - December 2,2013
This version changes most of the Meshes & Textures, which changes Katana's appearance. She is now a lovely clean white, with a golden (silent) bell on her collar. Her face is now more visible with its expressions more discernible. Her intelligence & will power are raised a bit.The Read Me is slightly updated.

Version 1.1 - November 24, 2013
Makes 3 changes: 1. The Textures Folder MountainLion to Mountain Lion to be in conformity with Maigrets House Cats mod, & 2. Changes the order in the Credits, as requested by Maigrets, to list HISSSSA first instead of second, & 3. Adds a list of all the files that ought to be in this mod's folders when you unzip them.

INSTALL:

Each version comes with its own Read Me with detailed instructions for installing & uninstalling it.

If you have Maigrets House Cats installed, there are directions to install & uninstall that are slightly different.

This is a small & simple mod that does not require more than an esp, Meshes, Sound & Texture folder to be installed.

The 4 & 5 versions have their own new sound files & AkaviriBattleCat Mesh Folder, instead of the old MountainLion Folder. This should make installation easier.

Version 6.0 has its own Sound Folder MifuneSounds & uses the AkaviriBattleCat Mesh folder instead of the MountainLion Folder also.
CONTACT:

Zella by PM here or at The Nexus Forums at Oblivion Nexus. I will reply if possible, though I may not check my messages regularly.

yyy721 by PM at the Nexus Forums at Oblivion Nexus. (???????�????yyy721?????????????????????????????????????????????)


CREDITS & PROFOUND THANKS:

The generously provided beautiful Cat Meshes, Textures & sounds that make this such a beautiful & enjoyable mod are by HISSSSA.

This mod would not exist were it not for Maigret's "My Simple Creature Companion Tutorial" on TES Alliance, her beautiful 'Maigret's House Cats' Mod, AND her generous help and permission to use her work and resources. She must get the 'lion's' share of the credit. ;-)

Mojodajojo's wonderful 'Companion Rabbit Fufu' Mod inspired this mod & some of it's functions.

Malachi Delacot for the generous gift of his time spent in testing and consultation.

goranpaa for his unflagging encouragement, support, advice, & countless hours of testing of every single version.

yyy721 for cleaning versions 4.0, 5.0 & 6.0 with TES4Edit & contributing a LOT of time & work to evaluate & test a dozen or so of the new Summon Spell versions. And especially for being a patient, cheerful, intelligent, knowledgeable & hard working partner.

Mei Ling, a truly advanced soul, for her love & guardianship.

Bethesda for a brilliant game that can be modified to suit so many & has given so much enjoyment to so many gamers.

PERMISSIONS:

This mod is not to be uploaded anywhere else without asking us first. The resource files belong to the original author HISSSSA, who generously offers them as a free resource. It would be appropriate & polite to notify & thank him for your use of them. Tweeting him works