======== Data gathering: ========

RAB_CountFiles: Iterates selected files, outputs the number of records per file, and at the end, the total number of selected files. Good for finding low-record-count files, or quickly determining how many files are left over after applying a filter.

RAB_ListEntriesOfType: Iterates selected records, and outputs some info for every record of type X it finds. Change 'NPC_' to whatever record type you're looking for. Used to make an easily-exportable list of records, for whatever reason.

RAB_FindFaction_AddToLevList: XEdit script to place NPCs of a specified faction into a specified leveled list. Now adds masters, and adds the NPCs at the appropriate level. See included Workflow.pdf for instructions/example.

======== Merging, smashing, and patching ========

RAB_SmashOverLoadSplitter: I'm a big fan of ESL-tagged ESPs, which let you bust the 255-plugin limit. However, there's still a 255-master limit, which becomes problematic when you try to create a smashed patch. This scripts goes through your whole loaded mod stack, and dynamically divides it up by record type, allowing you to create multiple smashes. Example: One smash patch contains NPCs, containers, and alchemy objects. A second patch that contains weapons, armor, and books. Combined, they'd bust the 255-master limit, but individually they do not. (NOTE! This is an old version of this file. I've rewritten it to be faster, more user friendly, and eliminate a lot of the tediousness involved in this process. Check out the new version, on its own mod page, HERE!)

RAB_CreateStaticQuickLoaders: Same as RAB_SmashOverLoadSplitter, but works with a defined list of which records belong in which split. Modify the Arr_Types_QLX arrays based on your mod stack, to ensure none of them go over the 255-master limit.

RAB_AddAsMasters: Prompts for name of a destination ESP, then adds all selected files as masters to that ESP. Good for adding files left over after a filter to an ESP for whatever reason.

RAB_AddLowCountPluginsAsMasters: Prompts for a name of a destination ESP, then iterates all displayed files. If the file has less than 200 records, it's added as a master to the user-entered ESP.

RAB_FindLowImpactMods: Finds what I call 'low impact' record type. Mods that ONLY modify existing content: comparability patches, minor game setting tweaks. Potentially merge-able to reduce plugin count.

RAB_FindMergeable: Iterates selected files, and helps to determine 'merge eligibility' based on a few checks: Do any other mods have this as a master? Does this file have CELL/NPC/NAVMESH/WORLD records? Is this file part of a conflict? Enable or disable these checks by commenting them out in the source code. Right now it's just a prototype

RAB_ShowRecTypes: Iterates selected files, and outputs the type of records each contains. Good for finding mods that only adjust a few record types, and might be good candidates to be merged.

======== Batch modifications ========

RAB_LimitNPCHealth: Iterates selected records, and for each NPC, sets their 'Health Offset' to zero, and reduces their health if it's super high. Created to get rid of 'damage sponge' enemies, since I prefer AI-boosting, combat-tweaking, ability-adding mods to increase difficulty versus just making it so you need to hit enemies 300 times to kill them.

RAB_BoostGoldValue: Iterates selected records, and if it's an item with a gold value under 50, boosts it a bit. I used this to increase the price of all books in my load order, since I thought 5 gold was crazy low for a book back in the day.

Just a small patch between these two great mods. Now you get the bonus-ingredient-harvesting effects of CACO, with a chance to get the bugs from Haladoon! Packed up as an ESL, so it won't count against your ESP limit.

[Note: Both CACO and Haladoon's Bugs mods still required. Load this patch after both of them.]

I play with those hardcore darkness mods, and have found myself feeling around in the darkness on more than one occasion, with no ability to craft a torch... even though there are plenty of linen wraps and flaming braziers all around. I'd like to think my character would be smart enough to use something, anything, in the vicinity and craft a makeshift torch.

This tiny mod adds a few "recipes" to construct a torch - using a linen wrap, and a handful of arrows from your quiver. Maybe not the most comfortable handle, but it'll work in a pinch.

[Note: Requires CAMPFIRE mod, as it uses Campfire's "Create Item" power/feature. This way, you can create them any time, any where, even in a pitch black dungeon.]

iNeed is my favorite needs mod, hands-down. I also enjoy Real Names, which gives unique names to the generics NPCs in the world.

One nit-pick I found when using these two mods together: Even though Real Names gives these NPCs unique names, the default iNeed follower notifications use their (generic) base object names (example="Riften Guard grumbles about the lack of drinks.")

This is a small edit to this script, so they are called by their unique names instead (example="Torvjar grumbles about the lack of drinks.")

Handy in a situation where you recruit a handful of Riften guards as a posse to help clear a bandit fort, and one of them starts complaining that he's hungry, but you can't tell which one.

[Note: iNeed mod still required. Load this patch after it, so mine can overwrite the default scripts.]

I added the Wounds mod to my combat load order, to make getting beaten up more meaningful and have long-lasting effects. I like how it forces you to spend time in civilizations, resting and healing up between adventures.

That being said, I wanted more "impact" upon receiving a wound, beyond a text notification... so I added some immediate reactions: A broken arm bone or serious cut to the arm makes you drop the item in that hand. Now you've gotta scramble to get a second weapon out of your inventory, or find where you dropped the previous one and pick it up. A broken leg bone, serious concussion, or serious cut to a leg causes you to fall down for a brief moment (you get right back up, but it's enough of an interruption to potentially throw off your whole fight.)

I also fixed a minor issue in calculating wound severity, when your magic or stamina is negative. (Why would it be negative? Some mods like Spell Research cause "Mental Exhaustion" which drains your magicka to nearly zero. Then get with with any sort of other debuff such as being tired, hungry, or thirsty, and you might find yourself at negative magicka. Not very likely, but I patched it nonetheless.)

[Note: Requires the full Wounds mod. Load this patch/mod afterward, to let my scripts override the originals.]

Spell Learning & Discovery is great mod that makes playing as a mage more interesting and meaningful. It does a great job of replacing the vanilla insta-learn mechanic with something that take time, factors in your skill, and makes each spell in your spellbook more meaningful.

One nit-pick I have with the mod is that its notifications are too subtle. Normally after sleeping, it shows messages in the upper-left corner, and I often miss them... I find that I've learned a new spell without my knowledge, and I wonder "when did that happen!?"

These modified scripts make it so that you receive a pop-up message box every time you sleep, letting you know if you learned a new spell, and if not, approximately how far away you are from learning the next spell in your list.

[Note: Requires the full Spell Learning & Discovery mod. Load this patch/mod afterward, to let my scripts override the originals.]

The Spell Research mod is fantastic - it makes progression as a mage interesting, meaningful, and satisfying. I totally dig it, but one day while playing as a warrior character who can't read and has no interest in carrying a research journal, I came across some of the enchanted objects added by this mod. By default, without a journal, you can't inspect/learn from these objects; they're just clutter.

This script simply removes the journal requirement when inspecting these artifacts. So now, even a brute can pick them up and learn a thing or two - no need to be a journal-toting scholar. (You'll still need the journal for the other features of the mod, such as writing theses, or composing spells.)

[Note: Spell Research mod still required. Load this patch after it, so mine can overwrite the default scripts.]

You can enable a feature that allows you to use a dagger to dissect humanoid corpses in the Vile of of Necromancy mod. It's a great feature for playing as a sociopath, but by default, I felt like you got waaaay too many items: A full skeleton, HUNDREDS of units of skin, dozens of units of blood and fat, a guaranteed heart every time. While that's probably realistic since you started with a whole corpse, I felt it threw off the balance of the game.

This modifies the dissection script so that you get much less stuff, and makes it more random. At most, you'll get 6 units of meat/blood/fat. There's a chance you won't get a heart (damaged it during dissection?) and you'll probably only walk away with a few bones. (FYI, You can increase your chances to get more by having high one handed and alchemy skills.)

This script also gets rid of the blood pool, which was just a cosmetic thing that appeared after the dissection, but was causing me some minor problems.

 [Note: Vile Art of Necromancy mod still required. Load this patch after it, so mine can overwrite the default scripts.]

The Lightweight Grass Overhaul is the only grass mod I've used that looks great and doesn't come at a severe performance cost.... I won't play without it! If you haven't tried it, do yourself a favor and give it a shot.

By default though, the grass was too tall for my taste - it was always getting my my face while playing in first person. I modified the texture files, shrinking most of the grass, but keeping a handful at full height to give the landscape a textured/varied look: dense medium-height grass coverage with a few weeds/plants popping up through. See images tab for how it looks on my system.

I also adjusted the colors for the forest grass, since by default it looked a bit too rich green to me. Now it's slightly less blue-ish, more yellow-ish. (Still green, but just hue adjusted.)

Lastly, by default, LGO uses white grass around the Morthal swamp area. I thought that looked out of place, so the included an ESP patch replaces the white grass with brown grass instead. White grass now only appears in snowy/icy regions!

[Note: LGO mod still required. Load this patch after it, so my texture modifications can overwrite the default textures.]