ATTENTION:As the followers are unvoiced, it is highly recommended to use Fuz Ro D-oh - Silent Voice. In fact, I would consider it a requirement.


What does this mod do?

This mods adds 4 different followers to various inns in the game. These followers aren't meant to be very advanced and are modelled after Mount & Blade: Warband's "Heroes" system thus the name "Warband-like". While not as advanced as the other companion mods, these followers do have their own personalities and stories to tell. They even have comments about each other if you ask them.

What in Oblivion does "Warband-like" actually mean?

Think of "Warband-like" as the middle way between traditional companion mods and the base game mercenary companions. As I written before, these followers do have their own backstories but you aren't involved in them, the stories are just there so you can decide who is sympathetic enough for you to recruit and also serve as flavor to their personality.

Alright, so where do I find them? What is their basic info and story?

All followers start at level 5 and their level multiplies x1.5 the player level. This along with their relatively low-tier gear and a simple self-heal spell should ensure a relatively balanced experience through the game. Be aware that the cost to recruit can vary from free to 1000 gold at most: this is merely for roleplay purposes and don't affect the performance of the followers.

As for the locations and an abridged, very simplified story background (highly recommended to listen to their full story in-game to get the full picture):

• Felicia: Found in Moorside Inn, can be recruited for 50 gold. Haughty, noble(?) Khajiit lady loses all her septims on a tavern game. As for her equipment, she has an iron sword and (possibly looted) noble clothes.
  

• Ewond: Found in Nightgate Inn, can be recruited for 1000 gold. Old Breton engineer loses his job because of a dumb customer's fatal mistake. His equipment consists of a massive Iron Warhammer, a pickaxe and some old job clothes. Also has Oakflesh.
  

• Indrel: Found in Old Hroldan Inn, can be recruited for 500 gold. Green Pact Apostate Bosmer finds infinite money trick but gets her house and farm burned down by a scammer. Carries around an iron axe and an iron bow but she seems to like her Flames spell more. Don't know why, she probably likes the way it burns plants.
  

• Mettius: Found in Frostfruit Inn, can be recruited for free. Imperial kinslayer runs away from home to try and redeem his sins. Has a measly dagger for self defense, an old hunting bow with some arrows and some regular clothes.
  

Important: All of the above characters are marked as "Protected". This means that while NPCs cannot kill them, you still can. This is an intentional thing so you can still roleplay a betrayal or a follower going rogue while ensuring the mammoth/giant combo won't turn them into minced meat.

So what can these followers do?

Nothing groundbreaking, mostly simple things with one or two specialties:

• Follow
• Wait (with optional marker to toggle)
• Relax (makes character the idle and sandbox in the current environment: has a 2048 radius)
• Trade
• Dismiss (will make your followers return to their default locations, which are the inns mentioned above)
• Ask for thoughts on each other. This works if both followers are considered in the player's followers faction: this means if you dismiss one of them, the option disappears (reappears if you ask the dismissed one to follow you again). Should work if you just tell one of them to wait or relax though.
• A random number picker between 1 and 6 (Felicia only. She will say some of her insights regarding them)
  

Nice, so how do I install this?


It should be a standard install procedure: just install it with your favorite mod manager or put the files insides your data folder (NOT recommended, any mod manager is preferable to this method). All follower quests are start game enabled but it should work mid-game too.
How would I go on about uninstalling this mod?

I recommend the following procedure:

•  Dismiss any followers from this mod.
•  For a safe measure, stay away from the vicinity of inns mentioned above. Don't enter them at all.
•  Use the following console commands. (If you have only recruited one, you may use only the one tied to your follower. However, I highly recommend using all of commands below as it will 99% ensure that no quest fragments remain after the uninstallation. Skip this step at your own discretion.
  
  

stopquest GFEwondFollower
stopquest GFFeliciaQuest
stopquest GFIndrelQuest
stopquest GFMettiusQuest

4. Make a safety save.

5. Uninstall the mod.

6. Reload the save you made, you should be good.

Can I ESLify this?

I would advise against it. xEdit told me that I would have needed to compact the formIDs of several entries: however, this would cause problems with addons related to this mod and the faces would be broken too. ESLify at your own discretion.

Any major incompatibilities?

Nothing that I know of. However, mods majorly changing the interior of the inns mentioned above might cause problems. As for follower frameworks: these followers have a custom recruit and dismiss dialogue, so importing them to a framework's dialogue is NOT recommended. However, the health/mana display should still work without importing in case they have any.

What are the future plans for this mod?

Not much, except a few bug fixes and maybe a few lines + grammar fixes to flesh out the other followers besides Felicia. The functionality part is pretty much done, no plans to add anything significant there.

As for voice acting: I do not have plans to voice this mod in any way (no real voice actors, nor AI or spliced line programs like xVaSynth). However, if you wish to voice even one of the characters, I would be more than happy to link and promote your creation here, on this page. See the next section for more info.

Any plans to make one of the characters standalone?

Not right now, but once I'll learn more things about follower modding then maybe. The most likely candidate is Felicia though, as I like her the most. Ewond and Mettius is a most likely a no (too many bad memories fixing their problems) and Indrel is a toss-up.

I had an interesting idea for an addon (voice acting, additional lines, more functionality, looks overhaul etc.). Is there anything I should know?

First of all, I am glad to hear that! Second of all, you don't need permission from me to add anything to this mod (personal modification or otherwise). If you want me to put your addon on the top of this description, then feel free to write me a private message on here. If not, that's fine too.


Credits

• Giant shout out to Joseph Russell for his amazing follower tutorial videos and also for Lucien. I couldn't have done this without his videos.
• Robbobert for a great method that allows followers to relax easily.
• Shademe for Fuz Ro D'oh, so I could actually read the dialogues.
• TaleWorlds Entertainment for making Mount & Blade: Warband, the main inspiration for the concept.
• Bethesda for making Skyrim and providing the Creation Kit.
• Nexus Mods for providing a place for hosting mods.