Skyrim Special Edition

File information

Last updated

Original upload

Created by

LazyGirl

Uploaded by

LazyGirl

Virus scan

Safe to use

About this mod

Make your own followers completely ingame using your own or someone elses RaceMenu preset. No Creation Kit work necessary!

Requirements
Permissions and credits
Changelogs
DISCLAIMER - loading presets on NPCs is experimental, it's a prototype feature in RaceMenu. You may experience unwanted effects like tints vanishing, body textures etc. This mod uses the exact same function as "NPC Appearance Changer" so please see that mod page for things that can pop up. 

Do not use this mod in your superimportant save and expect things to work out fine now or later. Personally I haven't had any problem except having to restart the game once or twice when some appearance change lingered in the cache. But it likely depends on what other mods you use so YMMV, no guarantees, warranties yada yada.
Also, having several NPCs with dynamically generated appearances in the same location instead of using pre-made heads will tank your FPS. Especially if you decide to slap SMP hair on everyone. With that out of the way...
 
 
HOW TO USE -  Setting up the Preset
Spoiler:  
Show

  • Start Skyrim
  • At the main menu open console, usually the top left key, and type "coc qasmoke". This will skip past the intro and everything else directly into the game to a built in test location.
  • Once everything has loaded and you have control of the character open console again and type "showracemenu". This will open the RaceMenu character editor.
  • Now either create a new preset or load an existing
  • Once that is done it's time for our next console command - "skee preset-save NN". Replace the NN with the name of the preset the NPC will use. I highly advice against using the same name as the version the player uses, I usally add EXP at the end to indicate it's an exported preset. If successful you'll see notice about "Preset saved"
  • If you need to export more presets just repeat the process, you don't have to exit RaceMenu to use the preset-save command so it's pretty quick
  • Once you're done exit out of the game, do not save. Since we skipped past the normal startup sequence you can't continue playing in this game

HOW TO USE - Setting up the NPC
Spoiler:  
Show

  • Once back in the game, either a new one or an existing save where you want to use this mod open up the LazyFollowers menu
  • Pick a template from the list, this is strictly not necessary since we just started the mod so they're all blank but it's good to make this a habit so you don't accidentally edit an existing NPC instead of making a new one
  • Change the npc name to your liking
  • Select combatstyle. This dictates how the NPC will act in combat as well as what type of attacks they prefer to use, melee, ranged, magic etc
  • Select class. This is very important to match with the combatstyle. NPCs don't gain skills when they use them only when they level up. And when they do the class dictates not only which skills they'll increase but also the stats. For example, if you set the combatstyle to be a caster but the class to 2h warrior you'll end up with a high health, low or zero magicka NPC that'll be generally useless. The LazyClass spreads all skills and stats evenly and isn't a good match for most types of followers.
  • Select the preset you created earlier from the dropdown list
  • Select the desired voicetype. The ones with an asterisk(*) at the end are the ones the standard game uses for followers and should always work showing the necessary dialogue. If you use a mod like Relationship Dialogue Overhaul you can also use the others. Remember that the voice is used from the list you opened last, the "Female Voices" or "Male Voices" menus.
  • If you're satisfied with everything click Apply settings and then Summon NPC to get started

After that the NPC should function just like any other generic follower/marriage candidate.

SAMPLE SETUPS
Spoiler:  
Show

  • 1h tank or 2h warrior - simply pick the matching combatstyle and class
  • Spellsword - pick combatstyle 1h(spellsword) then class Spellsword. Then open the "spells" menu and add "Bound sword" (first entry = right hand), oakflesh (second entry = left hand) and healing (second entry = left hand). The NPC will now first cast oakflesh in combat, then summon a sword to fight with and when low on health try to heal themselves
  • Magic/Annoying archer - pick combatstyle Magic Archer. Pick class Ranger. Open the "stats" menu and set MovementSpeed to 133 (33% increase). Bump Bowspeed to 1.333 if you want them to pew pew 33% faster too. Then open the 'spells' menu and add Conjure Familiar and healing (second entry = left hand). The NPC will now first summon an animal in combat, then use it as a distraction while using a ranged weapon. If the the enemy comes too close they'll use their movementspeed to quickly try to gain range again and resummon their pet if its dead

 
The target for the following menus are either the crosshair-target if the NPC is a LazyFollower, if not, it's the one selected in the NPCs list so make sure to double-check you're editing the right one.
 
STATS MENU
WeaponSpeed 0 means normal speed. WeaponSpeed 1 means normal as well (!), anything beyond that is an increase. E.g a value of 2.0 means 100% faster.
BowSpeed works normally, 1.5 is 50% faster
AttackDamgeMulti can be used to increase OR decrese the physical damage of the NPC. This is useful for example to prevent big parties from killing everything before you can or buff up a single follower so they're useful in harder difficulities
All stats are set directly on the base value. If there is any temporary buffs or modifier from other mods or sources they can change them, potentially to negative values, when they wear off or are removed. In simpler terms, do not change this when the NPC is wearing anything or under the effect of something that modifies these values.

The skills menu will show the values of all the skills the NPC has. Generally speaking you shouldn't need to change this. If the class is set up correctly the game will handle it for you.
There is one exception, the NPCs have ALL perks but most only activates if the related skill is at a minimum level. For the standard game perks this is mostly in increments of 25 so for the perks to kick in at once for a lvl 1 character you need to increase their main skills to that. For example, make sure a ranger has marksmanship at that value. Or the spellsword 25 in conjuration, alteration and restoration to give buffs to their bound sword, oakflesh and healing spells respectively.
 
SPELLS MENU
Spells that are listed more than once are of different versions, the first is general/main hand type while the second copy is left hand only version. 
This can be utilized to set attack spells on right hand and support on left so the NPC can do  both at all time. E.g setting right hand Flames and left hand ward allows them to burn enemies and shield themselves from attacks. 
Selecting a spell again will remove it from the NPC.
 
SHOUT MENU
Do not use this. Adding shouts to a NPC will corrupt your savegame. CreationKit Wiki Link. Again, do not use this until a mod like Engine Fixes offers a patch. 
Regarding Familiar Faces, it circumvents this through a SKSK-plugin integrated into the mod itself which cannot be used standalone.
 
COMBAT MENU
Please see the Creation Kit Wiki for this - https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=CombatStyle
If nothing else make sure to adjust the Mult values so the type of items you want the NPC to use are set higher. E.g MeleeMult to 7-10 and the rest at 1 if you want them to focus on melee. Or spread them around on say Melee, magic and ranged if you want them to switch up between different styles.
Combat behavior  *might* not update until the NPC leaves and re-enters combat again.

DEBUG MENU
Only for troubleshooting. Or shooting yourself in the foot. If it's the latter you're on your own.

Note - Regarding the RaceMenu modes, the FULL variant is used whenever you first create a new follower to apply all appearance data or use the apply-to-all button in the mod menu.
The LITE version is what's used after that to keep refreshing the preset. This happens whenever you load a savegame or the NPC is loaded by the game such as when you enter an area they're in or they enter yours.
In other words - if you're having problems with appearance falling off from NPCs it's the LITE options you can try to tweak. You can set it to do the same complete application as the FULL mode does but keep in mind that will also overwrite any changes other mods have done to body, tints, tattoo or other data.
 
SAVE/LOAD MENU
Offers options to save/load config and NPCs separately. Files are stored in "SKSE\Plugins\LazyFollowers". This can be used to load NPCs from one save to another. Stats and skills are NOT transferred to avoid conflicts with difference in level and scaling. Items ARE transferred but may not be immediately equipped, especially if the NPC isn't in the area when you import their data.
 
NPC PERKS
All NPCs have ALL perks. As for how/if they work who knows. If they do work as intended the perks wont activate until you set the linked skill to the requirement value which will prevent super overpowered NPCs, see the Stats Menu entry above for info.

UPDATING THE LAZY WAY
Stick to your usual procedure, if you have none this *might* work. 
Spoiler:  
Show
Load save
Save NPCs and Settings in the MCM 
Run console command "reloadscript _LazyFollowersActorScript" and wait for it to finish
Run console command "reloadscript _LazyFollowersMCMScript" and wait for it to finish
Run console command "reloadscript _LazyFollowersConfigManager" and wait for it to finish
Load save (yes again)
Run console command "stopquest _LazyFollowersMCM"
Run console command  "startquest _LazyFollowersMCM"
Wait for MCM to register the new version of the MCM
Load NPCs and Settings in the MCM
The "reloadscript" commands can also be pasted into a textfile saved in the save folder as the game executable. Then instead of typing everything you simply run the console command "bat nnnn" where nnnn is the name of the file WITHOUT the extension (txt)


CUSTOM  DATA
Custom race  - Read from either the player or targeted NPC and added to the mod as an option automatically.
Custom voice - Read from the targeted NPC and added as above. NOTE - just because you can apply it doesn't mean it'll actually work, the dialogue for most custom voiced followers is controlled by other factors like quests which cannot be transferred this way making the NPC most likely silent.
Custom headmesh - When exporting a headmesh from RaceMenu place both the created nif and dds file in ""data/meshes/CharGen/Exported" . Their name should match the RaceMenu preset. E.g if the preset is named "bigGuy4u" the files should be named "bigGuy4u.nif" and "bigGuy4u.dds". If done correctly the "HeadNif" will be automatically checked in the mod menu. Make sure to re-apply the preset if you add these files AFTER setting up the NPC to make sure the mod assigns them.

KNOWN ISSUES
Spoiler:  
Show

  • Name vanishing/can't interact with NPC - I've had reports My Home is Your Home (unknown which version) and Extensible Follower Framework clearing out the name override effectively setting the NPCs name to nothing. This unfortunately also makes it impossible to interact with them. Re-apply their names from the menu, leave and return to the area with the NPC, bring them along to the next  or restart the game to have the mod do it automatically. If it keeps happening I've  had reports Nether's Follower Framework work. Should be fixed as of 0.40.0. for any issues related to LazyFollowers. If the problem persists it's likely another mod that uses an incompatible method to handle (or not handle) renamed NPCs.
  • RaceMenu sculpt window might stop working - The sculpt window doesn't show the headmesh, just a placeholder IMG picture even in a new game where no NPCs have been set up. Unknown why. Workaround - create your presets with the mod disabled. Should be fixed as of 0.31.1
  • Tints/tattoos/overlays missing and other problems related to the presets being applied by RaceMenu -  I can't fix those and please do not bother Expired about them. He's not responsible for for whatever dumbass mods I make using prototype features. Remember removing ANY mod used in the presets, even just a tattoo, will at best cause problems for the NPC(s) using it and at worst RaceMenu in general.
  • NPCs floating or standing around doing nothing - Skyrim can't handle too many NPCs in the same area. I suspect the limit is even lower when they're appearance changed since those strain the engine even further. You can try mods like  Actor Limit Fix or A.I Limit Increaser if you haven't already.
  • Any other issue not posted above  - Unless it's something that can be reproduced reliably in a bare-bones game, only the required mods, or something you've pinned down to a specific set of mods it won't be looked at. There's no way for me to investigate a problem I can't even recreate let alone fix it. If you're unable to narrow things down try the alternative mods listed under credits instead for your custom NPC needs.
  • Presets not showing up in the MCM - Make sure to install PapyrusUtil SE, I missed adding that as a requirement initially.


The presets used in the images can be found here.
 
Credits
Expired for RaceMenu. Patreon with a Familiar Faces Port here.
Jespergunde for NPC Appearance Changer
SKSE Team
Really everyone making and sharing tools and information to make modding easier and gaming more fun!


Made a follower you're proud of? Feel free to submit a family friendly image and share your work!