MOD NAME:
Ranger's Fox

AUTHOR:
Zella

Version 1.0 February 6, 2014

DESCRIPTION:

Nicki, the Ranger's fox, is a very brave little 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 answers you (woof + Message) when he receives commands. He follows closely vigilantly watching out for danger.

He is a little fox who is very brave & defends you with all of his little might as best he can. He is not a heavy duty fighter. He can hold his own distracting some of your attackers so that you do not become overwhelmed, but he really can use your help most of the time.He never yaps like a neurotic dog & is fast enough to keep up with a mount. He occasionally has trouble climbing stairs & getting distracted with foxy smells & thoughts.

To begin:

You will find Nicki the fox outside the IC Prison Sewer Exit where you enter the game proper. He is by the huge boulder to the right of you, as Tamriel loads. He may be hiding in the large bush there by the boat dock.

If you have numerous mods that give you starting announcements, it is best to wait to receive them, so that they do not obliterate Nicki's initial responses. Dispatching the local mudcrab may also be advisable if he attacks you.

You may choose to activate Nicki now, or later in the game. When you activate him you will receive his Summon Spell, a Healer's 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 all alone for his Ranger, who has been killed by the Emperor's assassins as he guarded the Sewer Exit for the Emperor's escape.

REQUIREMENTS:

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

COMPATIBILITY:

There should be no incompatibilities unless 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 Nicki & move him 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 Nicki & your IC ISland Mod.

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

VERSION HISTORY

This is the initial version.

INSTALL:

Extract the archive to a temporary folder and check to see if you have
1. this Read Me ;-),
2. the RangersFox.esp,
3. a Meshes Folder containing a creatures folder, which contains a dog folder that holds a single fox.nif file,
4. a Textures folder which contains a creatures folder that contains a fox folder that has fox.dds & fox_n.dds inside.

The esp goes into your Oblivion Game Data Folder.
The Meshes go in there also, & the little fox.nif file will need to have the address Data/Meshes/creatures/dog/fox in the Explorer Window when it is in the dog file in the game data folder.
The Textures folder will be in the Data Folder also, & the two little fox dds files will have the address Data/textures/creatures/fox, when they are in the fox folder in your game Data folder.

Save this Read Me somewhere for reference & ease of uninstall. Keeping a Desktop Folder for all of your Read Mes can be very helpful, especially if you note which files the mod adds & where (when the modder does not), or if you forget where to find something.

In the Oblivion game Launcher, where it says 'Data Files' at the Oblivion Start Up, & BEFORE choosing 'Play', Check the Box by the RangersFox.esp.

UNINSTALL:

Make a clean save in a cell where Nicki is not loaded.
Remove the esp, the fox.nif file, the two fox dds files & any EMPTY folders that you have installed yourself when you installed this mod. Never remove any folders being used by any other files or that were in your original un-modded game.

CONTACT:

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

CREDITS & PROFOUND THANKS:

The beautiful fox Meshes & Textures that make this such a beautiful & enjoyable mod are generously contributed by Mr_Siika.

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

goranpaa for his unflagging encouragement, support, advice, testing & beautiful screenshots (the ugly ones are mine).

Maigret's for her "My Simple Creature Companion Tutorial" on TES Alliance which gave me the ability to make this mod.

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

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

PERMISSIONS:

This mod is not to be uploaded anywhere else without asking me first.
The beautiful fox meshes & textures are given by Mr_Siika for the use of the modding community IF he is give proper credit.