Oblivion

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Lena Wolf

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LenaWolfBravil

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About this mod

Custom companions based in Cyrodiil, Shivering Isles and Morroblivion using a common companion framework with extensive functionality. Each companion is unique and comes with its own ESP - mix and match as you like.

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Changelogs
Lena's Companions is a companion framework using common scripting and AI for custom companions. It is completely self-contained and does not clash with any other companion system. This system consists of a master file with common scripting and AI, a resources BSA file, voice files for the common dialogue and a common INI file. As such, the master package does not contain any companions, however it has game changes such as the Ally Assist and Wakestones systems that act on the player as well as any other companions. These effects can be disabled in the INI file, please keep reading.

Companions come in their own ESPs and can vary greatly in their abilities, quests, items, and location. Please read their summaries below. This system is also used in some of my other mods - the master package remains the same everywhere. Common functionality is available in the master file, but not every companion uses all aspects of it. Companions' version numbers correspond to the lowest version of the master package that each individual companion file can be used with. Higher versions of the master package remain compatible with the lower version of a companion module.

This mod requires OBSE 22.6. If you are using an older version, Ally Assist system may not function.

All generic companion dialogue is voiced with original Oblivion lines. I tried to choose different voices for the companions so you wouldn't have too many of them talking in the same way. Companions often have their own dialogue as well, generated with xVAsynth. It isn't quite as good as natural speech, but better than silent, I think.

I have also included a template ESP for making your own companions. Instructions are included. Find it under miscellaneous files. Beware that it's a start and not a functional mod! Due to time constraints, this template is provided without support.

Additional files may be found on my mirror.

Known issues
Please check the Comments section - I keep a list of known bugs in a sticky at the top.

I post an update every time I find a significant bug - something that noticeably interfers with the game play. Please check the changelog to see whether you want to update or not.

Conflicts
Any mod that intercepts damage, imposes or modifies knocked-out or unconscious state or drastically interferes with Oblivion disposition mechanics may conflict with the Ally Assist and Disposition systems. You can disable these systems in the configuration INI or remove the offending mod.

Note that many mods permanently displace an NPC's disposition value that will not be fixed when they are removed. You will have to fix it artificially through the console.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Nibenon76 and PsymonPrime for the help with testing!

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Main features
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Basic functionality
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Recruit and dismiss companions. When dismissed, they return to their homes and their "off-duty" routines.

Access companion's inventory, also without recruiting them. Weight limit applies - you cannot give them more than they can carry.

Companions follow on foot or mounted and sneak with the player.

Companions stop combat and catch up if falling behind.

When following the player, companions automatically sit down when the player is sitting down, sleep when the player is lying in a bed (use See You Sleep to see the player lie in bed).

When the player equips a special City Wear token, companions automatically switch from armour to clothes and unequip weapons.

Tell companions to wait, relax or pick herbs in the area. Waiting means stand where you left them, relaxing switches them to eating, sleeping and wandering near where you left them, and picking herbs has them go picking herbs for a while, then switch to relaxing.

After companions have been waiting or relaxing for a number of days, they quit the player's party and return home.

You can track your companions on a map through their individual quests. Useful when they are off-duty and you want to find them.

Companions typically have their own set of armour that cannot be removed from them. This armour has a fairly standard rating for its type, but significantly improved durability. However, they will wear any other armour that is better than theirs, taking into account their skills. Beware that mages suffer reduced magic efficiency if they are wearing armour. This is particularly detrimental to Illusion spells on higher levels.

Companions also often have their own weapons - named with their names in the inventory, as well as other personal items such as keys to their houses. You should not be seeing these items during inventory share, but this system is not fool-proof. Avoid taking these items because the companions will take them back from you with a drop in disposition.

All companions level with the player and are essential - they don't die but can be knocked out instead.

Companions will use any scrolls, potions or poisons given to them - this is standard Oblivion functionality. However, they will not use potions or spells to restore damaged attributes, hence the need for healing during sleep. As all NPCs, companions are immune to diseases, but they can drown if they can't cast a water breathing spell. Experiment with different potions - whether they will use them, is governed by the game engine and can vary from companion to companion. This goes for alcohol and skooma too!


Automatic healing and repairs
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Companions restore their health and other attributes during sleep - either when they sleep themselves or when the player sleeps.

While sitting down, companions repair equipped weapons and armour using repair hammers and level up their armourer skill. Repair hammers get used up in the process the same way as with the player. A special animation is played during this time, so you can actually see your companion repair armour. Make sure to give them more repair hammers when they use up theirs!

While sitting down, companions recharge equipped weapon using soul gems, picking the best fit for the size of soul from the gems in their inventory. They do not use gems with larger souls than what is needed.

Companions continuously recharge their currently equipped staff with a trickle charge based on their Intelligence and Mysticism skill.

Companions attempt to repair their gear whenever possible, but note that when the player has the City Wear token equipped, companions unequip their weapons and armour and therefore no regular repair or recharging can occur. However, they will still attempt to re-equip and repair their own gear, if they have it.

You can ask your companion to repair their armour instantly at the same cost as with a smith. This only applies to their own armour.


Magic
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Spells that companions can cast, vary per companion as you would expect. However, they have a number of common properties. This only applies to special spells - standard spells are left vanilla.

Area of effect spells no longer affect every potential target within the area. Offensive spells only affect enemies, beneficial spells only affect allies, and reanimation spells only affect the dead (surprisingly so).

Reanimation spells use the standard magic effect, so OBME is not required. However, they augment it with a script that makes reanimated thralls always fight for the caster. Otherwise what's the point in reanimating an enemy only to have it turn on you?

Companions do not cast area of effect spells unless there are actually targets within the area. This leaves them free to cast regular spells in the meantime.

Companions are able to resist certain types of magic, selected by magic effect. For example, some companions resist charm and will tell you off for trying to manipulate them.


Configuration
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Configuration comes in two parts: configuration of the master module in LenasCompanions.ini and configuration for individual companions in their respective configuration files.

Master configuration
File: Data\Ini\LenasCompanions.ini.
This file contains options that govern functioning of the different subsistems, such as Ally Assistance, Immortality, Disposition, etc. Please read the corresponding sections for details.

Companion configuration
Companions' behaviour can be adjusted in separate configuration files where you can set aggression and confidence values. If no configuration file is found, then defaults are used - typically aggression is set to 10 and confidence to 80.

If you set aggression to 0, the companion becomes invulnerable, but also cannot attack. If confidence is also set low, he will run away from battle, otherwise he will stay close. However, he will not heal you because this is not a part of standard Oblivion AI. If you want a healer, use one of the Healer companions - they have special scripting to heal you and your party.

Most companions silently appear in the game - you have to go to their town and talk to people to find them. However, if you prefer to have the quest start immediately upon load, look in the configuration file and set QuietStart to 0, if this option is available.


Horses
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If a companion comes with a horse, it is stationed somewhere near the companion's home. Horses are immortal, and although they do not die, they can be knocked out or run away. If that happens, the companions are able to recall their horses, so after a while things return back to normal.

Companions' horses follow their respective owners when the player is riding a horse. Companions can call their horses if the horse is too far away and the companion needs to catch up.

The player can call his or her own horse and the companions' horses by pressing a hot key (configurable in an INI file).

The player can command his or her own horse and the companions' horses to follow or to wait by pressing another hot key (also configurable). The default behaviour is wait - the horses remain where you dismount. The hot key is a toggle between wait and follow.


Houses and correspondance
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Buy a stamp from a general trader and write a letter to the companion asking him to meet you in one of the cities or another location - a choice of locations is fixed for each companion. The companion sets off to the requested destination and waits for you there. You can watch his travel on a map. A message is displayed when the companion reaches his destination.

If a companion owns a house, he may allow you to sleep there and store your gear while you are traveling together. He will tell you if that's the case and which containers can be used for storage. Such designated storage always remains safe, but you can only take the gear without stealing when the companion is in your party (you have recruited him and not dismissed). Useful if you want to keep certain items for use only with that companion, or if you want to use the companion's house as a temporary base when exploring the nearby area.

Some companions can be asked to move house. They will evaluate the house you're offering, and if it meets their approval, they will move in there. This means that once dismissed, they will return to this new house instead of their original home. Requirements on the house may vary, but generally you have to be the owner of the cell, and there should be a bed and a chair in it. The companion's horse also moves: its home stables becomes the spot where your horse is located at that moment.


Disposition
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The Disposition system can be enabled and disabled in the configuration file.

Some companions modify their behaviour depending on their disposition towards you and the other members of your party. They are more likely to cast complex spells or perform risky maneouvres when they hold you in high regard. If their disposition drops too low, they will quit your party and refuse to join you again until their disposition improves.

Look out for special favours you can perform to raise their disposition sharply, but beware that some actions may also cause their disposition to drop by just as much, or more.


The Rift
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Access to the Rift can be enabled and disabled in the configuration file.

The Rift is the space between worlds, also known as the Void or the Fade. Some people even call it Oblivion. It is known to have pockets with tangible dimensions, such as Oblivion Planes, Daedric Realms and the like. Smaller pockets also exist. The Everfall is something that exists in the Rift, it is made up of pockets inhabited by strange outworldly monsters. All pockets are the same, yet none is alike any other. Go figure.

Enabling access to the Rift allows construction of riftstones - gateways to the Rift. Look out for special quests offered by your companions, as well as for other hints. Although riftstones come with a sacrifice, they allow you to enter the Rift and summon your friends. These can be potentially any NPCs - you register them in the configuration file. If you can recruit them, they are summoned. For Lena's Companions this means that they must have already agreed to join you, or else they must be mercenaries. All other NPCs must belong to the Player Faction in order to be summoned.

There is a new faction (the Rift) in which you can progress, plus of course various pockets of the Everfall with the corresponding monsters. You can enable or disable Rift access and reload a save, and the game will continue. There is no need to replay or start a new game - this is meant to be a dynamic setting.

When the Rift is disabled, the Rift faction is removed, no new riftstones can be built, existing riftstones stop to function and all pockets of the Everfall become disconnected from each other, with some of them even closed off entirely. All Rift creatures disappear from the Everfall as well. But if you re-enable the Rift later, your progress with the faction and riftstone building quests is reinstated.


Ally Assistance system
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The Ally Assistance system can be enabled and disabled in the configuration file.

Note: Ally Assistance is incompatible with fighting in the Imperial City Arena! It would be a cheat, anyway. Disable it in the configuration file if you want to fight in the Arena. I have not checked Arena mods, but if they work in the same way as the IC Arena, you'll need to disable Ally Assistance there as well.

When enabled, the Ally Assistance system applies to both the player and all of your followers, regardless of their origin. When they fall in battle, they become knocked out and do not get up until you or one of your other followers touches them with the Ally Assistance lesser power. Followers may not be able to disengage from battle to provide assistance. When the battle is over, all followers and the player rise again.

The system does not modify the NPC's Essential status, so they resume their normal behaviour when they leave your party. Note that occasionally your followers can still receive lethal damage and not have it intercepted by the Ally Assistance system, so deaths or conventional knockouts cannot be fully ruled out.

To be perfectly clear: if the player character becomes knocked out, he/she DOES NOT rise until one of the companions provides assistance or until the battle is over. Depending on circumstances, this can be a long time! If you don't like this feature, either avoid getting knocked out or do not use Ally Assistance.

If your whole party is knocked out, including the player, it's game over. Unless you have a wakestone.


Wakestones
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The wakestones feature can be enabled and disabled in the configuration file. However, you can only use it if Ally Assistance is also enabled.

Wakestones are special items that you can get from some of the creatures in the Everfall - a part of the Rift. The creatures only appear if Rift access is enabled. You will come across these locations during the quests from various companions.

If your entire party falls in battle and you have at least one wakestone in your inventory, you are offered a chance to use it to raise your entire party. If you choose to do so, the wakestone is destroyed but everyone is restored to full health.

When you run out of wakestones, it is still game over.


Immortality
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If ally assistance or wakestones are disabled, what happens when you receive lethal damage depends on your mortality (Essential status). This can be set in the configuration file or applied elsewhere. Mortality setting is below the wakestones setting in the configuration.

If the player is mortal, your whole party is down and you chose not to use wakestones, you die. If the player is immortal, your whole party will rise again after a timeout, but everyone's health will remain very low with an urgent need for immediate healing.

 
Long distance travel
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Release 3 also includes all scripts from LenasTransport.esm. This version should be used with mods that are already converted for it. Please check mod descriptions.

This is only relevant for mods that use long distance travel. It makes no difference for most companion mods as they don't use it.

You should not have LenasTransport.esm enabled together with this version of LenasCompanions.esm as this may lead to unpredictable behaviour and crashes. Not guaranteed, but what is ever guaranteed in Oblivion?


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Companions
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Please see the Articles section for the companions. This page was getting too big!