Erik the Slayer. The inexperienced, poor farm boy who just wants some adventure in his life. How many of us have fallen for his youthful exuberance and sunny disposition? Erik is an excellent husband and father candidate for the discerning Dovahkiin, as we can see from his conversations with other characters.



He is also the only human male NPC who has scenes with the awesome and well-loved Inigo by SmartBlueCat, who was the real inspiration for this mod - I wanted to go out with my spouse and my best friend at the same time and have them interact.

Whilst Erik in his default state is still a great guy to have around, there are flaws that may make him less appealing as a follower:

He only levels to level 40.
His stats are all wrong for his default equipment.
Like many followers, he is only "Protected," meaning awkward aiming or potential reloads for the overzealous combatant.
He is not a potential husband.

So I decided to fix these problems and give Erik the power to realise his full potential, as a warrior, lover and father.

Changes

Main File: Erik the Slayer - Improved and Marriable
Essential
Doesn't affect stealth
Levels with PC up to level 100
Stamina increased to 100 (was 80)
Added to marriage candidate faction - can now be married (please see sticky post in comments if he doesn't respond to your striking amulet)
Sword and shield replaced with Iron Battleaxe
2H skill increased
Heavy Armor skill increased
Block skill increased to 50
Original "Barbarian" class and Unofficial Patch "Warrior - 1Handed" class replaced with "Warrior - 2Handed"
This Erik is still capable with a one handed weapon and shield, but prefers two handed weapons

Secondary main file - Erik The Defender - Improved and Marriable
Same as main file, with the following exceptions -
Unofficial Patch class change (Warrior - 1Handed) maintained
Unofficial Patch change to improve his default Iron Sword and Iron Shield has been maintained, and these are now his default weapons
Unofficial Patch improvement to one handed maintained

Two optional files, one for The Slayer and one for The Defender, that contain their relevant changes and alter Erik's hairstyle and make minor tweaks to his face. You do not need the main files to use these, just grab one of these instead. Your choice of texture mods will influence Erik's appearance. I highly recommend Skysight Skins by fadingsignal - it's a fantastic male texture overhaul.

Once you have chosen your Erik, download and install with your mod manager or drag the .esp into your data folder.

Note!
I made no changes to pre-adventurer Erik. Between meeting him and hiring him he clearly undergoes a bit of a transformation if you choose a "new look" file - he washes his face, sorts out his hair, his facial hair grows in nicely. He's getting himself ready for the mercenary lifestyle!

Questions? Answers!

How does the marriage work?

Just like any unmodded marriage. Once you have fixed Erik's problem - that is, convinced, intimidated or bribed Mralki into allowing Erik to become an adventurer, visit Maramal in The Temple of Mara (or The Bee and Barb) in Riften, discuss marriage with him, and either purchase or find an Amulet of Mara. Equip your amulet and speak to Erik. He will initiate the usual "is that an amulet of Mara?" dialogue (if this doesn't appear, please follow the steps set out in the sticky post in comments)

Is the marriage dialogue all available and fully voiced?

Absolutely! Erik's voice (male-young-eager) has all the usual available marriage lines and he will refer to you as "my love" once you are married.

Does Erik do all the things a vanilla husband does?

Yes. He provides a homecooked meal once a day if you ask him to. Sleeping with him nearby will grant the Lover's Comfort buff. He'll even invite you to move in with him at the Frostfruit Inn in Rorikstead (although Mralki is a tightwad and still wants you to give him ten gold a day to claim ownership of a bed). You will exchange rings with Erik.

Load Order

There is a default outfit change in Cutting Room Floor that I did not carry forward. I can provide a patch if it's desired, although the change in xEdit is a very simple one if you really want it. Either way, load this after Cutting Room Floor.

Load after generic NPC altering mods to ensure the changes are applied to Erik. Depending on the data they alter you could end up with a brown face bug. You can fix this by opening both mods in xEdit and making a conflict resolution patch by combining the altered records. In the case of records changing the same value, choose the one you wish to have in your game and add that to your patch.

This will (obviously) conflict with other mods that make Erik marriable (although I'm not sure there are any for SE just yet), or mods that change his outfit or stats. Most of these conflicts are easy to resolve.

I am happy enough to make patches if you have no idea what you're doing, provided I have the time - if I don't respond within a couple of days to comments please feel free to PM your request and I'll get back to you.

"Vixsyn, I don't like Erik's vanilla hair or the hair you picked! Can you make another version?" 

Technically yes, but to accommodate many different requests for hairstyles would be exceptionally tedious. I recommend you try one of the following to change his hair (and other aspects of his appearance) in-game: 

KS Changeable Hairs (Wigs)

Project Proteus - This is a more comprehensive tool that will allow you to edit the appearance and skills of any NPC. It also lets you save your character's appearance, skills, spells etc as a template, make your character (or any character) a follower, switch character within the same game world, and more! If you want to use this remarkable achievement in modding, make sure you thoroughly read the description (RTFM!) 

Potential Issues

Erik may stop offering to cook you meals. This is a vanilla bug which does not originate from this mod. It is fixable by resetting your married status through the console. Source



Credits

The Unofficial Patch team for Erik's one handed warrior changes.
Apachii for Apachii Sky Hair (for optional looks overhaul versions)

Permissions

My stuff is very simple. Use it. Or don't. Knock yourself out (Vixsyn claims no responsibility for people taking colloquialisms literally and sustaining personal injury).

Donations and all that jazz

March 2022 - My usual donation policy is has changed due to recent global events. At present, I am opted into donation points. 50% of those points go to Doctors Without Borders, and the other 50% go to the Ukrainian Relief Effort. This change will remain in place for the foreseeable future.