1.Skyrim with the most actual patch and all DLC's (1.9.32.8)
2. Skyrim Script Extender
3. SkyUI
4. UIExtensions(optional)

Installation with manager:

1. Press the download with Manager button on the Nexus and confirm the requested programm, or copy paste the url directly to your manager of choice
2. Once downloaded open up the manager and click this Mod to import the package.7z
3. After installation don't forget to enable the plugin file(s) in your prefered Mod organization tool
4. Use L.O.O.T to automatically sort your load order

Manual Installation:

1. Download and unzip the file anywhere
2. Move the .esp and .bsa file(s) (if present) to your 'x:\...Skyrim Special Edition\Data' folder
3. Choose the patch file(s) (if present) you wish to use and copy to your Data folder
4. After installation don't forget to enable the plugin file(s) in your prefered Mod organization tool
5. Use L.O.O.T to automatically get the correct load order


If you are using a new version of Follower Mod upon an existing character made with FM, make sure to make a clean save before playing on. But remember, adding or removing Mods during serious gameplay is a VERY bad idea, no matter what kind of safety measures you've prepared. How to do this? 

1. Load your game and find an interior cell, save the game inside
2. Exit game, turn off the old .esp and load the previously made save, then save again inside
3. Exit game, install new version, turn on the new .esp, then go into the game and save again
4. Exit the game once more and then start playing with the clean save
If you happen to have left over script artefacts in your savegames, I recommend using Script Cleaner.


You ever wanted a Follower Mod with lots of features, awesome widgets, hotkey controlable and general convenience that other follower mods couldn't give you because of refusing to use SKSE, SkyUI and other third party Mods as resource? Well, then this is exactly the follower mod you've been looking for. It has all the same basic features then all other prominent follower mods, plus it features complete DLC support, a MCM menu, follower widgets, custom skill and follower magic menu, the option to teach spells and powers to followers, setting their combat style and actor class from a range of 18 shemes, setting their carry weight, speed, aggression, confidence, assistance, morality and skills. It also features hotkeys for trading, commanding (including wait/follow), summoning, relaxing, combat avoidance, follower camera, drawing weapons, showing skills and exchange spells/powers.

Widgets will show the name, health, magicka, stamina, carry-/inventory-weight, level and distance to the player. All Widgets are completely configurable via MCM and can also be turned off. The widget will also show you if your follower is waiting, relaxing or avoiding combat. To round it all up from version 0.3 there's a wage system, configurable in MCM. Followers will now actually want money from you in order to stay with you. Now for in Detail descriptions:

Follower features:

- followers want money to stay with you, if you don't pay them, they'll leave
- recruit up to 3 followers
- followers can be interacted with via dialogue and hotkeys
- followers can be customized in MCM menu
- followers can learn spells and powers if their appropriate skill is high enough
- followers can dual wield
- followers no longer use default outfits and can be redressed to your liking, they will keep the clothes after dismisal
- all followers can be married
- all female followers have female animation
- occasional changes to follower outfits to make them less overpowered or look more appropriate
- housecarls will automatically sandbox at your home if not following you
- followers are now completely quest and area aware, this plays very nicely with Follower Commentary Overhaul
- followers wil now react to combat near you
- followers will no longer directly react to combat when the player is sneaking, this plays nicely with Better Stealth AI for Followers
- followers will use various idle animations when relaxing, sandboxing or not following you
- followers can relax, avoid combat and summoned
- follower camera showing the first follower looking at you
- diverse options for drawing weapon behaviour in MCM and via hotkey
- you can essentialize followers, ask for their skills and make them ignore friendly hits
- all followers from all DLC's supported as well as custom followers using vanilla follower system(Hoth, Harold, Arnulf)
- followers can be set to react faster when bumping into them
- follower perk system based on MCM menu, they will have access to perks when leveling up the right skills
- followers class is configurable in MCM menu, which will also automatically define their caombat style
- option to make anyone a follower via spell or dialogue, this includes every single follower from every custom mod, yes, even Inigo, Vilja and Lucien
- dialogue option to make followers put away their torch when sneaking
- dialogue option for advanced stealth behaviour on followers
- all followers, vanilla and mod added, will automatically level with you, once they've reached the same level as you
- custom menus to show follower statistics and follower spells/powers
- whistle for followers when interacting with them

There's also a option to make anyone a follower by using a lesser power or via dialogue, which is in fact cheating. But users were asking for it, so I did it. You'll need to enable the feature in MCM. Unfortunately some NPC's are excluded by their voicetypes, and prone to bug out, specially elder people and children. So for now, I don't recommend recruiting them until I squished this bug. I don't want to exclude them per se, but if nothing else works, this is what's going to happen.

About the wage system: This deserves a section on its own. The wage system is completely optional and can be toggled inside the MCM. You can set up the gold amount per hour in the MCM. Default is 1 Gold. It will multiply with the follower count. So if you have 2 followers and a loan count of 3, the amount of payment will raise by 6 Gold every hour, summing to a maximum of 144 Gold per 24 hours(1 day). I recommend using 1 Gold though, or you will be broke faster then Lehman Brothers. It will compare to a threshold, which can also be setup in the MCM. Once the payment amount reaches the threshold, your followers will leave your service...ALL of them, not just one. You can then pay the money to any follower you've previously met and again will be able to recruit them. It's probably a good idea to not even let it come this far, I recommend checking dialogue with them at least once a day (depending on your MCM settings) and pay their loan...specially if you use Needs Mods where you need to sleep. The loan can be payed to all followers following you, but is isn't counted individualy, to reflect the how the followers group behind you for money. Future updates will import the need for food, drinks and time to relax. Maybe I can even implement a feature where followers are brawling each other for the money and treasures you give them, but for now I want to test out the wage only, to figure if the system is probarly running, and to squish bugs in the process. 

MCM Functions:

- configure all wage related settings
- better follower response can be toggled
- vanilla follower draw weapon behaviour can be toggled
- option to reset all previously configured hotkeys
- configurable interval for widget information, to unburden poor systems
- 7 configurable hotkeys for basic and custom functions
- individually customize all 3 followers and their widgets
- configure class, combat style, and attributes
- chose from a range of 12 different perks for your followers, once they've reached the appropriate skill

The MCM menu is an awesome tool to customize Mods to your likings. In Follower Mod, it will enable some basic functions, adjust hotkeys and grant you the option to individualize all followers and their Widgets. You're allowed to configure follower carry weight, their speed and diverse other options, as well as reposition and rescale the Widgets and adjust them how you like it. MCM menu will ONLY work if you have both, SKSE and SkyUi installed, otherwise you're stuck with the default settings.

Hotkey Functions:

- hotkey to trade with all 5 followers without entering any dialogue or menu
- hotkey to combine wait/follow and command function
- hotkey to summon all followers
- hotkey to tell followers to relax
- hotkey to tell followers to avoid combat
- hotkey to go into follower camera mode
- hotkey to make followers draw weapon with you

Follower Trade Hotkey: Which follower you do trade with depends on how long you press the key. If you tab the key, you do trade with the first follower, if you hold it 1 second, you'll do trade with the second follower, if you hold it 2 seconds, you'll do trade with the third and so on. You will need to be in range of your followers (500 units) to prevent cheating and keep it immersive. If you want to trade with any other then the first follower, don't be irritated that the first followers inventory will be opened first, this is a vanilla flaw I can't fix, and once you lift your finge after > 1 secondm the inventory of the corresponding follower will open. 

Follower Wait/Follow Hotkey: You'll tap the hotkey once and the follower waits. You tap it again and the follower follows. This will work for all followers following you, not just one. You'll get a notification when a follower waits or follows you. The corresponding widget will also show your follower in wait stance. 

Follower Command Favor Hotkey: Basically this uses the same key as the wait/follow hotkey, but you'll need to hold the key for at least one second and then release it. Upon release of the hotkey the command favor state will be entered by the follower. The longer you press the key, the more followers will be involved in the favor state. So you can make a single follower open a container for you, OR make all followers gangrape a Bandit.

Follower Summon Hotkey: Vanilla Followers navigation is flawed. They can't jump up, climb or move where there's no Navmesh. This often leads to extremely inconvenient situations, hence why this function is imported. Press they key once and all your followers will be warped to you and placed at your feet.

Follower Relax/Unrelax (Sandbox) Hotkey: Works pretty much exactly like the wait/follow hotkey with the difference, that your followers will enter sandbox(relax) mode. Press the key once and your followers relax, press it again and the followers will follow again. You'll get a notification when followers relax or doesn't.

Follower Avoid Combat/Enter Combat Hotkey: Works like relax hotkey. You'll get a notification. Press once for followers to ignore combat, press again to make them attack again.

Follower Camera Hotkey: Has two functions. When taped shortly will jump to your closest follower, when taped again will jump back to you. If you hold the key for more then one second, it will flip back to you after releasing the key.

Follower Draw Weapon Hotkey: This simply makes you and your followers draw weapons. If you draw your weapon with your followers, and then use the default draw weapon key, the feature of followers not automatically drawing weapons with you, will be bypassed. This is not a bug, but intention. You can set it back to default by pressing the follower draw weapon hotkey again. You need to enable the custom draw weapon function inside MCM menu.

Toggle Follower Widgets: a hotkey to toggle Follower Widgets on and off. Simple as that.

Skill Menu Hotkey: hotkey to activate the follower statistic menu, which can also be accessed via dialogue.

Magic Menu Hotkey: hotkey to activate the follower magic menu, which can also be accessed via dialogue.

Widget Functions:

The Widgets are one part that make this Mod uniquely stand out. They come in a unique optical flavor. The Widgets will work with IHud by Gopher. Every follower has its own Widget showing name, health, magicka, stamina, inventory-/carry-weight, level and distance to the player. Widgets can be turned off/on, repositioned and their size and transparency changed inside the MCM menu. Distance will be showen in meters. Additionally there's a Widget for counting the wage you owe to followers. The upper number is the threshold, the lower is the amount of money you owe to them. I should also mention the new menus in version 0.5 showing your followers attribute/skills and the speels they possess, respectively you've taught them.


- no current bugs in legacy version...please report any bug in the bug section, not the comments, or you will risk to get blocked, if you stay persistent!
- bugs in special edition are to be expected, as some of the scripts have been changed by Bethesda. Please let me know if you find anything critical!


- Compatible with: Interesting NPC's, Immersive Creatures, Follower Commentary Overhaul, Frostfall, Real Needs and Diseases, Convenient Horses, My Home is your Home, Monster Mod, Live another Life, Apocalypse Spells, Thunderchild, Loot&Degradation, Dual Sheath Redux, any body type deriving from CBBE, Enhanced Blood, Immersive Citizens, Immersive Horses, Immersive NPC's in the Dark, NPC Overhaul, Real Wildlife, Revenge of the Enemies, Run for your Lifes, Tame the Beasts of Skyrim II, When Vampires attack, Ultimate Combat, Violenz and Wintermyst.

- Incompatiblities: Ultimate Follower Overhaul, Amazing Follower Tweaks, Extensible Follower Framework, Kuertees Simple Followers, and pretty much any other follower overhaul


Credits and Thanks:

In this case I'll have to thank Bethesda, the Creation Kit Wiki guys and the Official Forum Guys and especially the whole SkyUI-Team, specifically @Schlangster, @psychosteve and @Mardoxx which granted us the gift of cracking the Skyrim UI code open. Thanks to SKSE-Team as well. You guys rock! Inspiration has been drawn from my long time favorit UFO made by Looki, as well as Dragon Age, Dungeons&Dragons and Dark Souls. Also, thanks to @LordConti2 for making his FISS library which files are partly included inside this Mod. Thanks to him we can easily save/load user presets. A huge thanks to @Atardecer for making the Requiem Patch, and finally I need to give gratitude to @Expired6978 for creating UIExtensions and uploading the source on Github...without him I would have never managed to create custom menus.

Enough talk now, lead your followers into battle!

DISCLAIMER:

This software is provided 'as-is', without any express or implied
warranty. In no event shall the authors be held liable for any damages