This SkyProc patcher is an all-in-one armor and weapon merger and distributor. Merge all armor and weapon mods you enjoy into a single plugin that also intelligently distributes them to loot lists, outfits, enemies, and vendors. However, this is not an easy mod to use. If you don't have much experience with mod managers, or try to install mods manually, you shouldn't use this mod.

Please read through the instructions below thoroughly before attempting to use this patcher.

Installing

Before using this patcher, you will need to organize and arrange the armor and weapon mods you want to merge in your Mod Manager of choice:

• Create a new category, called something like "Exotic Equipment", and move all the mods you want to merge into that category. This will help you differentiate between the mods included in the merged plugin, and the mods you leave alone.
• Create a new mod in your Mod Manager, called something "Exotic Equipment Plugins", and move all the .esp files from the mods you want to merge into that mod. This will allow you to enable the resources of the merged mods in your normal profile, while allowing you to update your merged plugin easier.
• Make a new profile, called something like "Exotic Equipment Profile", and enable the plugins mod you made in step 2, as well as the Exotic Equipment patch downloaded from this page.
• You will need to add the patcher to your Mod Manager as an executable. This process varies between the different Mod Managers, but if you've ever had to setup FNIS, it will be similar to that.
  

Once you have completed these preliminary steps, just run the patcher in your new profile. This will create the Exotic Equipment plugin, as well as some additional files. DO NOT LOSE ANY OF THOSE FILES! If you wish to update the plugin to add more mods to it, you will need those files to prevent the mod from breaking in-between saves.

You should add the created plugin and files to a new mod, named something like "Exotic Equipment Patch YY-MM-DD". Now, you can go to your normal gameplay profile, enable the patch, enable all the resource files from the mods you've merged, and use your usual patchers or bash scripts to incorporate the leveled list changes and equipment to your game.

Updating

If you want to add more mods to merge, or you want to edit and re-incorporate some equipment, the process is fairly simple:

• Return to the Exotic Equipment Profile.
• Install any new mods you want to merge, and move their plugins to the Exotic Equipment Plugins mod, make any edits to the original mods you want, and make sure their plugins are all enabled.
• Make a copy of the patch mod, renaming it to reflect the current date, and make sure it is enabled and has all the loose files that came with it.
• Run the patcher again, and move any newly created files to the new patch mod.
• In your normal gameplay profile, disable the old patch, enable the new one, and enable all the resources of any newly merged mods.
  

 Compatibility & Merging

I tried to make this patcher compatible with as many different mods as I could, but there are still a few that are better left un-merged, or require tweaking before being merged.

When merging, any scripts and non-vanilla enchantments are removed from the equipment, so any unique artifacts or quest-based loot should be left in their own mods, and armor using the HDT HighHeels System is incompatible. If you have any experience with NifSkope you can easily switch over to the NiOverride high heels system by adding a string tag to the meshes.

Additionally, this mod organizes armor into outfits by looking at the armor file paths and names. So, if an armor set places it's pieces in different folders, like many of DeserterX's armors, or if the armor isn't named naturally e.g. "(Color) (Type) Cuirass", then it likely won't be organized into outfits, and will only appear as scattered pieces.

Finally, the patcher checks if there are both male and female file paths for all merged armors. If there isn't, then the armor won't appear on NPCs, it will only be found as loot. However, many armor mods use either a random vanilla armor model for one of the file paths, or use the same file for both paths, or just use a broken mesh. All of these armors slip past this check. So, unless you aren't bothered seeing male guards in shapeshifting bikinis and bandits wearing ebony costumes, you should look through the armor mods you have installed in TES5edit, and remove any egregious file paths in the Armor Addon forms.

A final thing to note, this patcher attempts to balance armor and weapons based on their weight, value, and material type. So, if a modded iron sword that's twice as valuable and twice as heavy as a vanilla iron sword is merged, it will do much more damage than a vanilla iron sword. The relation is dampened somewhat, but if you add a modded iron weapon worth as much as Proudspire Manor, it might beat out daedric weaponry. So, take a look at their value before you merge them if you care about that sort of thing.

Armor Distribution

If an armor set is properly named and its files are properly organized, it will be incorporated into the game through two main leveled lists:

• A set leveled list that gives one piece for each equipment slot the armor supports; chest, feet, hands, head, and other addons.
• A piece leveled list that gives one random piece from the entire set.
  

These two leveled lists will be distributed onto NPCs, End-of-Dungeon Chests, and Merchants depending on the material type of the armor.

End-of-Dungeon Chests and Merchants can spawn either full sets, or a number of random pieces. Merchants in larger cities will store rarer material types, while small towns will only stock iron and steel equipment. Likewise, bandit chests will have less valuable stuff compared to nordic crypts and dragon hoards.

If an outfit has both chest and feet armor, then it has a chance to appear on NPCs. These outfits will only appear on wandering mercenaries that you find out on the road.
If a piece of armor has it's mesh file in the same folder as vanilla armor, or if it has the same material type and has the material's name in its name (i.e. has ArmorMaterialLeather keyword attached and has "Leather" in its name) then the armor is considered a variant of the vanilla armor. So, the modded variant has the value, weight, and rating of the vanilla equipment copied onto it, and wherever that vanilla equipment is found, you can find the variant as well. You are also able to craft the different variants from the original, and the original from the variants, at any tanning rack.

Clothing Distribution

Clothing sets are distributed very similarly to armor, but instead of material type, they are placed depending on their value. Larger cities and more dangerous dungeons can hold more valuable clothing. The Khajiit Caravans will also carry clothing outfits of any value.

Like armor, if the modded clothing shares the mesh folder of a vanilla equipment, the clothing will be added as a variant, and will appear wherever the vanilla clothing did, and can be converted back to, or from, the vanilla equipment at a tanning rack.

Weapon Distribution

Modded weapons are distributed similarly to armor, just as individual pieces and not as sets. Again, their damage is changed based on their value and weight compared to vanilla equipment of the same material and type. Again, rarer materials are found in larger cities and more dangerous dungeons.

Modded weapons are marked as vanilla variants if they are named appropriately for their material and type, i.e. a modded weapon that includes "Iron" and "War Axe" in its name, while being marked as made of iron and as a war axe, will appear in place of vanilla Iron War Axes. Again, the value, weight, and damage of the vanilla equipment are copied onto the modded weapon if it is marked as a variant.

Permissions

I don't intend to update this patcher, and I realize that SkyProc has been replaced by newer scripting languages, so I allow and encourage anyone to do whatever they want with this patcher. I especially encourage people to try to transcribe it into the newer scripting languages like xEdit or zEdit if it is possible.