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About this mod
Don't like spiders? Want only some creatures added by a mod? Sick of seeing Nazeem? With the power of SPID, this mod can dynamically remove any enemy before you encounter it.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
This mod adds several dummy abilities to the game that will kill and/or hide any creature they are added to. The ActorAway.esp plugin contains only those ability resources and doesn't do anything else on its own. To use this mod, you'll need Spell Perk Item Distributor and one or more of the configs I've provided (or you can write your own).
I've included several example SPID configs, which you can install or not in the FOMOD. The provided options include:
Items from creatures removed and killed by this mod will be placed in holding containers for a little while afterwards. When you first launch the game with this mod installed, a lesser power "Actor Away - Lost and Found" will be added to the player character. Using this spell allows you to access the items still in the holding containers, including quest items (such as Habd's Remains in Frostflow Lighthouse). Please pick up anything you need in a timely manner, as items are deleted eventually to prevent massive lag on opening the container. You can also select an option to remove this spell if you don't need or want it; if so, you'll need to use the console if you ever want an item back from an enemy this mod kills and disables.
The Lost and Found functionality doesn't cover creatures disabled but not killed by this mod (because they can be re-enabled by ref ID or another mod) or creatures killed but not disabled by this mod (because they can be looted). It only affects enemies both killed and disabled by this mod.
Installation
SPID or its VR version is a hard requirement. This mod will do nothing if SPID is not installed. However, it's theoretically possible to use another mechanism to add this mod's helper spells to actors, which would also work; permissions are open for anyone to develop such an add-on if they'd like.
The main ActorAway.esp plugin is not ESL-flagged and should not be unless you are confident you know what you are doing. The reason is that while I believe it is technically safe to do so, this plugin does add two new utility cells, so if flagged ESL you may see automated error messages from programs like LOOT and could run into issues if another patch is later created that edits those cells. I can't provide any support for such issues.
This mod can be installed however you normally would.
Insect extermination details
Technical details
Limitations
I've included several example SPID configs, which you can install or not in the FOMOD. The provided options include:
- Remove (and kill offscreen) Frostbite Spiders, Chaurus, and mini Dragonborn spiders whenever you enter the area, so you should never see them at all.
- Kill Frostbite Spiders, Chaurus, and mini Dragonborn spiders whenever you enter the area, but leave their bodies wherever they would have spawned so you can loot them.
- Disable Nazeem from existence. Poor guy.
Items from creatures removed and killed by this mod will be placed in holding containers for a little while afterwards. When you first launch the game with this mod installed, a lesser power "Actor Away - Lost and Found" will be added to the player character. Using this spell allows you to access the items still in the holding containers, including quest items (such as Habd's Remains in Frostflow Lighthouse). Please pick up anything you need in a timely manner, as items are deleted eventually to prevent massive lag on opening the container. You can also select an option to remove this spell if you don't need or want it; if so, you'll need to use the console if you ever want an item back from an enemy this mod kills and disables.
The Lost and Found functionality doesn't cover creatures disabled but not killed by this mod (because they can be re-enabled by ref ID or another mod) or creatures killed but not disabled by this mod (because they can be looted). It only affects enemies both killed and disabled by this mod.
Installation
SPID or its VR version is a hard requirement. This mod will do nothing if SPID is not installed. However, it's theoretically possible to use another mechanism to add this mod's helper spells to actors, which would also work; permissions are open for anyone to develop such an add-on if they'd like.
The main ActorAway.esp plugin is not ESL-flagged and should not be unless you are confident you know what you are doing. The reason is that while I believe it is technically safe to do so, this plugin does add two new utility cells, so if flagged ESL you may see automated error messages from programs like LOOT and could run into issues if another patch is later created that edits those cells. I can't provide any support for such issues.
This mod can be installed however you normally would.
Insect extermination details
Spoiler:
Show
The main difference between this mod's spider options and existing insect removal mods is that this mod touches no records at the plugin level. This may improve compatibility with some load orders. It can also have an unbalancing effect in that the enemies are simply removed altogether, so some dungeons will be much easier and emptier. This caveat also applies if you use this mod to remove another type of enemy from the game.
This module tries to cover as many cases automatically as possible, but if a mod adds new types of spiders that both use a new race record and are named something unusual / set up as leveled, you may need to manually add a line to the config file to make sure they're removed. An example for how to do this for Skyrim Underground's enemies is at the bottom of the config file. I haven't rigorously tested this with Skyrim Underground, fair warning, but it was working in the quick test I did.
There's also an optional add-on to hide insect-related paraphernalia (like egg sacs, insect ingredients, and webs) from the game. Quests, NPC dialogue, notes, etc were not edited. This add-on includes (1) modified meshes that make these objects invisible and uninteractable in the world and modified textures to replace anything that uses the web textures with more of a dust cloud effect and (2) a plugin that edits the various insect drops to hide them from the inventory as well. You don't need to use the plugin if you're ok with seeing spider and chaurus eggs at apothecaries etc. If you have another mod that changes these items, such as an alchemy overhaul, please make sure to load this plugin after it.
A small number of web meshes were left unchanged because otherwise Arvel the Swift just hangs out in the doorway in Bleak Falls Barrow and can't be hit. Because of the texture changes, these don't really look that much like webs anymore. This could also be solved by an edit in a plugin but I thought this would be easier compatibility-wise.
While I tested this mod in a few vanilla spider-heavy locations and everything looked good to me, I can't 100% guarantee I caught every situation, so if seeing a spider is going to super ruin your day a mod with a more established track record like Insects Begone, Bug Replacer, or Arachnophobia may be a better choice. Otherwise, let me know if you encounter an insect anywhere and I can look at why it wasn't caught by the SPID rules I set up.
Likewise, I cut most of the meshes down in one caffeine-fueled session, so let me know if you see any issues with webs still showing up or anything else weird and I'll have a look.
This module tries to cover as many cases automatically as possible, but if a mod adds new types of spiders that both use a new race record and are named something unusual / set up as leveled, you may need to manually add a line to the config file to make sure they're removed. An example for how to do this for Skyrim Underground's enemies is at the bottom of the config file. I haven't rigorously tested this with Skyrim Underground, fair warning, but it was working in the quick test I did.
There's also an optional add-on to hide insect-related paraphernalia (like egg sacs, insect ingredients, and webs) from the game. Quests, NPC dialogue, notes, etc were not edited. This add-on includes (1) modified meshes that make these objects invisible and uninteractable in the world and modified textures to replace anything that uses the web textures with more of a dust cloud effect and (2) a plugin that edits the various insect drops to hide them from the inventory as well. You don't need to use the plugin if you're ok with seeing spider and chaurus eggs at apothecaries etc. If you have another mod that changes these items, such as an alchemy overhaul, please make sure to load this plugin after it.
A small number of web meshes were left unchanged because otherwise Arvel the Swift just hangs out in the doorway in Bleak Falls Barrow and can't be hit. Because of the texture changes, these don't really look that much like webs anymore. This could also be solved by an edit in a plugin but I thought this would be easier compatibility-wise.
While I tested this mod in a few vanilla spider-heavy locations and everything looked good to me, I can't 100% guarantee I caught every situation, so if seeing a spider is going to super ruin your day a mod with a more established track record like Insects Begone, Bug Replacer, or Arachnophobia may be a better choice. Otherwise, let me know if you encounter an insect anywhere and I can look at why it wasn't caught by the SPID rules I set up.
Likewise, I cut most of the meshes down in one caffeine-fueled session, so let me know if you see any issues with webs still showing up or anything else weird and I'll have a look.
Technical details
Spoiler:
Show
This mod is intended to be used with SPID to distribute the helper abilities to whichever creatures you want to remove from the game. The abilities included with this mod are:
I've attempted to explain in the example SPID configs what each part of the file is doing, so hopefully it shouldn't be too hard to tweak them if you want to apply this mod to a different set of creatures. Let me know if you see any weird behavior.
- __ActorAwayAbility - Disables and kills the creature it is attached to when you enter the area
- __ActorAwayAbilityDisableOnly - Disables but does not kill the creature it is attached to when you enter the area
- __ActorAwayAbilityLeaveBody - Kills but does not disable the creature it is attached to when you enter the area
I've attempted to explain in the example SPID configs what each part of the file is doing, so hopefully it shouldn't be too hard to tweak them if you want to apply this mod to a different set of creatures. Let me know if you see any weird behavior.
Limitations
Spoiler:
Show
This is a very simple implementation; internally each of the helper abilities just disables and/or kills the actor it's attached to, that's it. Nothing about the creature is checked before doing so. What this means is that there are no safety rails; just as disabling General Tullius with the console can stop you from progressing, if this mod disables a creature that you need to interact with outside of killing or looting it for a quest, you won't be able to complete that quest. I would generally advise against using this mod to remove unique actors.
This mod does nothing else beside remove the actors you ask it to. If you remove spiders those dungeons will be empty, although quests, NPCs, and environmental info will still suggest they should be there. I don't plan to address this. Other mods like Insects Begone, Bug Replacer, and Arachnophobia may be a more balanced and/or complete solution for insect-related needs.
This mod will work on NPCs spawned automatically by script. If they're spawned right on top of you there's a possibility you'll see or hear the enemy for a split second before this mod activates.
This mod does nothing else beside remove the actors you ask it to. If you remove spiders those dungeons will be empty, although quests, NPCs, and environmental info will still suggest they should be there. I don't plan to address this. Other mods like Insects Begone, Bug Replacer, and Arachnophobia may be a more balanced and/or complete solution for insect-related needs.
This mod will work on NPCs spawned automatically by script. If they're spawned right on top of you there's a possibility you'll see or hear the enemy for a split second before this mod activates.