SPID: The Complete Reference
as of SPID 7.2.0
Everything you need to know to start creating SPID mods.
Changelog
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- 09.06.25
- Updated for SPID 7.2.
- 17.04.24
- Removed section about special Outfits ordering. The reverse ordering was removed in SPID 6.5.0
Table of Contents
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- General Distribution Info
- How does SPID load configs?
- When distribution happens?
- In what order forms are distributed?
- Syntax
- Form Type
- Type Inferring
- Distributable Form
- Filtering
- String Filters
- Supported Strings
- String Expression Modifiers
- Form Filters
- Supported Filterable Forms
- Form Expression Modifiers
- Level Filters
- Supported Values
- Ranges Syntax
- Leveled Distribution
- Traits Filters
- Supported Traits
- Trait Expression Modifier
- Note on Templated NPCs
- Count or Package Index
- Item Count
- Package Index
- Package List Type
- Chance
General Distribution Info
SPID distributes all configured forms at runtime, it doesn't have effect on either loaded plugins nor on save. SPID distributes everything from scratch each time you launch the game. You can think of SPID distribution as a "virtual plugin" that applies changes last in your load order. This makes any SPID-based mods safe to install/uninstall at any time, as they don't leave a trace.
- How does SPID load configs? (Order)
- At startup SPID looks into Skyrim's Data/ folder and finds all ini files that have a _DISTR suffix in their name.
- Then it orders them alphabetically from A to Z and loads in that order.
- Each file is read from top to bottom, preserving relative order of each type of forms (this order is used later during distribution. (each type of forms is guaranteed to be distributed in the same order as they appear in the file as well as the global order of files).
- When Distribution happens?
Distribution is performed "lazily": when NPCs are loaded into the world (typically, on cell load).
- In what order forms are distributed?
SPID distribution processes forms of each type separately.
The exact order at which form types are processed is:
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- Keywords
- Factions
- Perks
- Spells
- Shouts
- Packages
- Items
- Skins
- Outfits
Within each type forms are distributed in the same order that they were loaded with an exception:
- Keywords are additionally sorted to make sure that keywords that depend on other keywords will be distributed later than their dependencies. This allows you to freely use keywords as requirements for other keywords without manually ordering them.
Syntax
General syntax for a distributable form looks like this:
FormType = FormOrEditorID|StringFilters|FormFilters|LevelFilters|TraitFilters|CountOrPackageIndex|Chance
required required optional optional optional optional optional optionalDefault: Index=0; Count=1 Default: 100
Optional sections can be either left blank or marked as NONE.
Example:
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So both
Item = MyItem|||||5
and Item = MyItem|NONE|NONE|NONE|NONE|5
are valid.Form Type
Type of a distributable form that you want to configure.
Here is a list of all supported Distributable Forms that you can specify in FormType:
Form type Signature
- Spell [SPEL, LVSP]
- Perk [PERK]
- Item [ALCH, AMMO, ARMO, BOOK, INGR, KEYM, LVLI, MISC, SCRL, SLGM, WEAP]*
- Shout [SHOU]
- Package [PACK, FLST*]
- Keyword* [KYWD]
- Outfit [OTFT]
- SleepOutfit [OTFT]
- Faction [FACT]
- Skin [ARMO]
* When distributing FormList it must contain only Packages, otherwise game most likely will crash.
* SPID can also create Keywords dynamically, so you can distribute custom keywords.
Example:
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This will create a new keyword and distribute it to NPCs
Keyword = MyVerySpecialKeyword
Type Inferring
You can also specify Form as a generic Form Type and let SPID work out proper Form Type based on provided Distributable Form.
IMPORTANT
Keep in mind that SleepOutfit and Skin can't be inferred,
because they use the same forms as Outfit and Item respectively, so the latter will always be detected first.
Example:Spoiler:ShowForm = SteelSwordis the same as
Form = DefaultOutfitItem = SteelSword
Outfit = DefaultOutfit
Distributable Form
A unique identifier of the Form to be distributed.
Form must be one of the supported types listed in Form Type section.
A form can be identified by using one of the following IDs:
- FormID - a hexadecimal number (0x12345) with a plugin name as a suffix (e.g 0x12345~MyPlugin.esp). Read FormIDs and You for more details on how this ID is formed.
- EditorID - a text identifier of the Form as seen in Creation Kit or xEdit. (e.g. ElvenMace or ImperialBow).
Generally, EditorID is considered to be a more stable way of referencing a Form since, unlike FormID, it will remain the same when the mod is merged, converted to esl or compacted.
Filtering
Distributable Form can be restricted to a group of NPCs that match specific criteria. These criteria are configured by a handful of filtering sections, that we'll talk about in a moment.
All Filters sections are multiplicative (combined using logical AND operation), while expressions within the same section are additive (combined using logical OR operation).
Example:
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So the entry
can be read as "give a form 0x12345 when NPC has (A OR B) AND (0x12 OR 0x34)".
Form = 0x12345|A,B|0x12,0x34can be read as "give a form 0x12345 when NPC has (A OR B) AND (0x12 OR 0x34)".
TIP
Use multiple entries for the same distributable forms to target different groups of NPCs.
Example:Spoiler:ShowKeyword = FemaleBandits||BanditFaction||Fwill give the keyword only to NPCs that are both Female AND part of Bandit Faction. ButKeyword = FemaleOrBandits||BanditFactionwill give the keyword to all members of Bandit Faction as well as all Females in the game.
Keyword = FemaleOrBandits||||F
String Filters
A list of comma-separated textual expressions that allows you to filter eligible NPCs by their textual properties, such as a name.
Form = 0x12345|StringExpression1,StringExpression2,...
Supported Strings
String Filters allow you to match NPCs by the following criteria:
- NPC's Name (e.g. Balgruuf).
- NPC's EditorID (e.g. BalgruufTheGreater).
- NPC Templates* EditorID. This allows you to target all descendants of a template.
- NPC's Keywords (e.g. ActorTypeNPC). This also includes Keywords distributed by SPID.
- NPC Race's Keywords (e.g. ActorTypeAnimal).
Example:
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Give a form to all Whiterun Guards
Give a form to NPC with ActorTypeNPC OR ActorTypeDragon
Form = 0x12345|Whiterun GuardGive a form to NPC with ActorTypeNPC OR ActorTypeDragon
Form = 0x12345|ActorTypeNPC,ActorTypeDragonString Expression Modifiers
By default, String Expression looks for the exact match of the specified term, but this behavior can be changed with several modifiers.
- Exclusion modifier (-). Placed in front of a term. This will invert the expression and make it only match NPCs who does NOT have the exact term.
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Give a form to every NPC except specifically "Balgruuf" (so "Balgruuf Junior" would still be allowed)
Form = 0x12345|-Balgruuf- Partial match modifier (*). Placed in front of a term. This will make the expression allow partial matches of the term. (e.g. "Guard" in "Whiterun Guard")
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Give form to every guard, this will match all "Whiterun Guard", "Falkreath Guard", "Markarth Guard", etc. Note that this will also match NPCs like "Guardian" or "Bodyguard".
Form = 0x12345|*Guard
- Combining modifier (+). Placed between multiple terms you want to combine. This will make the expression only match NPCs who have ALL of the exact terms.
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Give a form to NPCs who are simultaneously ActorTypeNPC, Bandit and ActorTypeGhost
Form = 0x12345|ActorTypeNPC+Bandit+ActorTypeGhostIMPORTANT
Only one modifier can be used in a single expression.
Example:Spoiler:ShowNone of these are valid:Form = 0x12345|-*Guard
Form = 0x12345|-Guard+ActorTypeNPC
Form = 0x12345|ActorTypeNPC-Guard
Form = 0x12345|*Guard+ActoryTypeNPC
Form Filters
A list of comma-separated expressions containing FormOrEditorIDs that allows you to filter eligible NPCs by their form properties, such as Race, Class, etc.
Form = 0x12345||FormExpression1,FormExpression2,...Supported Filterable Forms
Form Filters allow you to match NPCs by the following criteria:
Form type Signature NPC's Record in xEdit
- Combat Style[CSTY] ZNAM - Combat Style
- Class [CLAS] CNAM - Class
- Faction [FACT] Factions
- Race [RACE] RNAM - Race
- Outfit [OTFT] DOFT - Default outfit
- Perk[PERK] Perks
- Specific NPC [NPC_] FormID, EDID - Editor ID
- NPC's Template* [NPC_] FormID, EDID - Editor ID
- Voice Type [VTYP] VTCK - Voice
- Known Spell [SPEL] Actor Effects
- Skin [ARMO] WNAM - Worn Armor
- Editor Location* [LCTN] XLCN - Persistent Location (of ActorRef)
- FormList* [FLST] Recursively looks for any form from the list.
* This is the location where NPC is placed in the Editor, NOT the location where NPC is right now.
* List can contain any of the forms from this table, including another nested FormList.
Example:
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Give a form to all Nords (NordRace "Nord" [RACE:00013746])
Give a form to NPCs that are located in Whiterun (WhiterunLocation "Whiterun" [LCTN:00018A56]) OR report crimes in Whiterun Hold (CrimeFactionWhiterun "Whiterun" [FACT:000267EA]).
Form = 0x12345||NordRace
Give a form to NPCs that are located in Whiterun (WhiterunLocation "Whiterun" [LCTN:00018A56]) OR report crimes in Whiterun Hold (CrimeFactionWhiterun "Whiterun" [FACT:000267EA]).
Form = 0x12345||WhiterunLocation,CrimeFactionWhiterunAdditionally, here you can specify only name of the plugin where NPC is defined. This will match only NPCs from given plugin.
Example:
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Give a form only to NPCs from CoolNPCs.esp plugin
Form = 0x12345||CoolNPCs.espForm Expression Modifiers
By default, Form Expression checks whether an NPC has the specified form, but this behavior can be changed with several modifiers.
- Exclusion modifier (-). Placed in front of a form. This will invert the expression and make it only match NPCs who does NOT have the form.
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Give a form to every NPC except Nords (NordRace "Nord" [RACE:00013746])
Form = 0x12345||-NordRace
- Combining modifier (+). Placed between multiple forms you want to combine. This will make the expression only match NPCs who have ALL of the forms.
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Give a form to NPCs who are simultaneously Nords (NordRace "Nord" [RACE:00013746]), Report Crime in Whiterun (CrimeFactionWhiterun "Whiterun" [FACT:000267EA]) and know Stoneflesh spell (StonefleshLeftHand "Stoneflesh" [SPEL:00072316])
Form = 0x12345||NordRace+CrimeFactionWhiterun+StonefleshLeftHand
IMPORTANT
Only one modifier can be used in a single expression.
Example:Spoiler:ShowNone of these are valid:Form = 0x12345|-NordRace+WhiterunLocation
Form = 0x12345|CrimeFactionWhiterun-NordRace
Level Filters
A list of comma-separated expressions with numeric ranges that allows you to filter eligible NPCs by their leveled properties, such as level or skill.
Form = 0x12345|||LevelExpression,SkillExpression1,SkillExpression2,...
IMPORTANT
Only one Level Expression can be specified.
Providing multiple Level Expression will cause SPID to only recognize the last one.
Example:Spoiler:ShowIn the entryForm = 0x12345|||5/10,7/12only 7/12 levels will be stored. 5/10 will be discarded.
Supported Values
Level Filters allow you to match NPCs by the following criteria:
Value Expression
- Level min/max
- Skill Level skillIndex*(min/max)
- Skill Weight Same as Skill but prefixed with letter w.
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# Skill
0. One-Handed
1. Two-Handed
2. Archery
3. Block
4. Smithing
5. Heavy Armor
6. Light Armor
7. Pickpocket
8. Lockpicking
9. Sneak
10. Alchemy
11. Speech
12. Alteration
13. Conjuration
14. Destruction
15. Illusion
16. Restoration
17. Enchanting
0. One-Handed
1. Two-Handed
2. Archery
3. Block
4. Smithing
5. Heavy Armor
6. Light Armor
7. Pickpocket
8. Lockpicking
9. Sneak
10. Alchemy
11. Speech
12. Alteration
13. Conjuration
14. Destruction
15. Illusion
16. Restoration
17. Enchanting
Ranges Syntax
- Closed range (min/max). Match values between min and max, including min and max.
- Half-open range (min or min/). Matches values starting from min and to infinity :)
- Exact value (value/value). Matches exact value.
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Give a form to NPCs who are at least level 5
Give a form to NPCs who has 50 in Destruction skill level
Give a form to NPCs who level up their Two-Handed skill slightly more actively than other skills. (controlled by Skill Weight)
Form = 0x12345|||5
Give a form to NPCs who has 50 in Destruction skill level
Form = 0x12345|||14(50/50)
Give a form to NPCs who level up their Two-Handed skill slightly more actively than other skills. (controlled by Skill Weight)
Form = 0x12345|||w2(2/3)
Leveled Distribution
Whenever a Distributable Form defines a Level Filter it becomes a part of the Leveled Distribution. Unlike regular distribution, Leveled Distribution checks levels and/or skills of all loaded auto-leveled NPCs and checks whether they've met requirements of the Level Filter. This happens unless either other filters discard the NPC or a random chance check would fail.
Trait Filters
A single expression that allows you to filter eligible NPCs by traits, such as gender or teammate.
Form = 0x12345||||TraitExpression
Supported Traits
- Female
- Male
- Unique
- Summonable
- Child
- Leveled (Is PC Level Mult)
- Player's Teammate
- Dead (both NPCs who died and those that Start Dead)
Example:
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Give a form to females
Form = 0x12345||||FTrait Expression Modifier
By default, Trait Expression checks whether an NPC has given Trait, but this behavior can be changed with several modifiers.
- Exclusion modifier (-). Placed in front of a trait. This will invert the trait and make it only match NPCs who does NOT have that trait.
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Give a form only to not unique NPC
Form = 0x12345||||-U
- Combining modifier (/). Placed between multiple traits you want to combine. This will make the expression only match NPCs who have ALL of the traits.
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Give a form to all non unique male NPCs who are also adults
Form = 0x12345||||-U/M/-C
TIP
Note that, unlike other filters, Traits actually support mixing of expression modifiers.
Example:Spoiler:ShowSo you can do thisForm = 0x12345||||F/-U/L/-S
Note on Templated NPCs
Templated NPCs are those that inherit their attributes from another NPC, that is referred to as a base template. Filters always check the final NPC that is created after merging attributes from NPC and its base template.
Additionally, String Filters and Form Filters allow you to target specific NPCs using EditorID or FormID, including IDs of templates that they derive from. However, when template hierarchy includes multiple templated NPC, SPID can only reach specific templates. In such cases the following templates can be specified:
For not leveled NPCs:
- Final NPC. This is the resolved NPC that will inherit attributes from its template.
- Base template. This is the immediate parent Template of the final NPC.
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DLC2SV01DragonPriestBoss [NPC_:0401CAD5] => EncDragonPriestFire [NPC_:0002025A] => EncDragonPriest [NPC_:00023A93]
Final NPC Base template Further template in hierarchyReachable Reachable Unreachable
For leveled NPCs:
- Original NPC. This is the top-level NPC that was used to create the final NPC.
- Base leveled NPC. This is the Leveled NPC that is the closest to Original NPC in the hierarchy of templates that was used to pick a random NPC.
- Base template. This is a random NPC that was picked from Leveled NPC and will be used as a template for Original NPC.
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Unreachable Reachable Unreachable
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[NPC_:FF000D45] => LvlDraugrAmbushMelee2HMale [NPC_:0004A04E] => LCharDraugrMelee2HMale [LVLN:0001E772] =>
Dynamic Final NPC Original NPC Base leveled NPCUnreachable Reachable Reachable
SubCharDraugr02Melee2HM [LVLN:00023BFF] => EncDraugr02Melee2HHeadM05 [NPC_:0001FF2C] => EncDraugr02Template2H [NPC_:0005B753]
Nested leveled NPC Base template Further template in hierarchyUnreachable Reachable Unreachable
Count or Package Index
A numeric value that is interpreted based on associated Distributable Form.
Item Count
When Distributable Form is an Item, this section is interpreted as a number of items that should be added.
If this section is empty or absent Default count is 1.
You can also specify a numeric range as a Count and let SPID pick a Random Item Count to distribute from this range.
Example:
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Give a single bow (default count 1)
Give 3 swords
Give somewhere between 10 and 20 arrows
Form = ImperialBowGive 3 swords
Form = IronSword|||||3Give somewhere between 10 and 20 arrows
Item = SteelArrow|||||10-20Package Index
When Distributable Form is a Package, this section is interpreted as an index where given Package should be inserted.
If this section is empty or absent Default index is 0.
Note that Package Index is zero-based, so the first Package has index 0.
Example:
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Set Patrol package (Patrol [PACK:00017723]) as the second package
Set Travel package (Travel [PACK:00016FAA]) as the first package (default index 0)
Package = Patrol|||||1
Set Travel package (Travel [PACK:00016FAA]) as the first package (default index 0)
Package = Travel
Package List Type
When Distributable Form is a FormList, this section is interpreted as a type of the Package List that should be overwritten.
If this section is empty or absent Default type is 0.
Type can be one of the following:
# Type NPC's Record in xEdit
0. Default Package List DPLT - Default Package List
1. Spectator Override SPOR - Spectator override package list
2. Observe Corpse Override OCOR - Observe dead body override package list
3. Guard Warn Override GWOR - Guard warn override package list
4. Enter Combat Override ECOR - Combat override package list
Example:
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Set default package list
or, since default type is 0, we can simply write
Package = DefaultPackageListLinkedPatrol|||||0
or, since default type is 0, we can simply write
Package = DefaultPackageListLinkedPatrolChance
A percentage value that sets a chance of given Distributable Form to be distributed.
Chance is a decimal value from 0 to 100. There is no limit on how small you want the chance to be (good luck hitting those 0.0001% chances though :D)
If this section is absent Default chance is 100 (e.g. guaranteed).
Example:
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Give a form with a 60% chance
Give a form with a 0.01% chance
Form = 0x12345||||||60
Give a form with a 0.01% chance
Form = 0x12345||||||0.01
469 comments
This will make it easier for people who are looking for a particular type of help to search for answers in the comments.
Thanks!
I was wanting to give this spell to all Blacksmiths so it wouldn't restrict what they can craft when using Honed Metal.
I made the following and it doesn't seem to work.
;Dwarven Styles
Spell = 0x00000810 - Forgemaster.esp | ActorTypeNPC | JobBlacksmithFaction | 1 | NONE | NONE | 100
The spell only targets "Self" in SSEEdit but would that mean giving it to NPCs render no effect?
Is there any way to exclude distribution of spell for actors with another distributed spell
i mean:
for example im distributing spell equiping black cloak to npc
and want to distribute another spell equiping white cloak, but dont whant to distribute it to npc with spell equiping black cloak
i already tried something like:
Spell = 0x802~DNPCsWinterIsComing.esp|ActorTypeNPC+isRegionFreezing+NUDE_CommonNPC||NONE|NONE|NONE|100
Spell = 0x805~DNPCsWinterIsComing.esp|ActorTypeNPC+isRegionFreezing+NUDE_CommonNPC|-0x802~DNPCsWinterIsComing.esp|NONE|NONE|NONE|100
but its not working - npc has both spells on them
or its to complicated and im asking too much?
EDIT : NVM i seen your comment it was still loading cheers!
can you also give me an example to distribute based on skill level(novice, etc)?
For vampires you gonna need to look into how Skyim has them configured to find the common criteria. For example, I think all vampires have special Races that look like NordVampireRace, or something similar. You'll need to look into xEdit for specifics.
Here are chanced for equal distribution of 6 outfits that completely replace Vanilla: 16.6, 20, 25, 33.3, 50, 100.
The formula is Oi = 100/(N-i) where:
I have an armor mod that contains 3 color variants and I want to distribute them to a certain race so that it replaces the vanilla outfits, how would the N be defined then?
Spoiler: Show Hi, I have this line:Spoiler: Show Keyword = ActorTypeMaster|*Master This distributes the ActorTypeMaster keyword to Daumbra from There is No Umbra III (and potentially other NPCs, I haven't checked around too much). Is this because it is checking against existing keywords? Daumbra also has a "isMasterTwoHanded" keyword from another mod (not sure if that one is SPID or KID though).
Spoiler: Show Edit: Additionally, this line from KCF seems to be affecting the Gauldur Blackblade:Spoiler: Show Keyword = 0x80B~kcf.esm|Weapon|*Gun,*Rifle,*Pistol It does not have any keywords with 'gun' in the name Ive tried:
;Ice mages
FIGURED IT OUT:Outfit = FrostwardenOutfitBlue|ActorTypeNPC+*Ice|0x13179|NONE|F/-U|NONE|100 That does not distribute to anything
Ive tried:
;Novice Fire Mages
Outfit = FrostwardenOutfitRed|ActorTypeNPC|0x44CD7|NONE|F/-U|NONE|100
;Apprentice Fire Mages
Outfit = FrostwardenOutfitRed|ActorTypeNPC|0x45C5F|NONE|F/-U|NONE|100
;Fire Mage Adepts
Outfit = FrostwardenOutfitRed|ActorTypeNPC|0x45C7A|NONE|F/-U|NONE|100
;Fire Mages
Outfit = FrostwardenOutfitRed|ActorTypeNPC|0x45CA0|NONE|F/-U|NONE|100
;Fire Wizards
Outfit = FrostwardenOutfitRed|ActorTypeNPC|0x45CBB|NONE|F/-U|NONE|100
;Pyromancer
Outfit = FrostwardenOutfitRed|ActorTypeNPC|0x45CBE|NONE|F/-U|NONE|100
That does not seem to work either
;Fire Mages
Outfit = FrostwardenOutfitRed|Novice Fire Mage,Apprentice Fire Mage,Fire Mage Adept,Fire Mage,Fire Wizard,Pyromancer|NONE|NONE|F/-U|NONE|6
so simple in Hindsight, I do love SPID
To test, I distributed it to ALL NPCs, and sure enough walking around Riverwood the women had the correct outfit on which I set up in SSEdit, and the men were just floating heads as it's a female only armour.
I fast travelled to numerous locations with bandits, and none of them had the armour on, they were just using their vanilla hide and iron. Am I missing something? The outfit and SPID is definitely working as it changed everyone in Riverwood. But bandits don't seem to be effected.
Unfortunately on my phone right now so can paste the config.
Faction = 0x10A~MyMod.esp|ActorTypeNPC|0x13BAB~Skyrim.esm|NONE|NONE|NONE|100
Would add a faction at Form ID 10A in MyMod.esp to an npc - in this sample Ysolda and will not remove or override factions already there correct? Least would hope so.
Faction = 0x10A~MyMod.esp||0x13BAB
note, that you also don't need to add ~Skyrim.esmOutfit = 0xD65~DOA_Gem_Bikini_Softbody.esp|Elisif
What I'm doing wrong?
I'm using SPID v7.1.3.0
powerofthree's Tweaks 1.13.1
Edit: Solved. Now I'm using this,
Outfit = 0xD65~DOA_Gem_Bikini_Softbody.esp||0x1326a