Devious-Aware Automated Follower Equipment (Helmet/Shield) 1.0.1

This mod allows your followers to automatically equip and unequip their helmets and shields. When combat starts, they will equip a helmet and shield from their inventory. They will unequip them a while after combat has ended. You can register up to three different NPCs to be automated.

 

How To:

 

This mod adds four notes to the player's inventory with which you control most of the mod's behaviour. 

 

Please note that the followers will only equip a helmet or shield that they actually have in their inventory. 

 

Follower Gear: Un-/Assign Tracked Followers

While this note is in your inventory, NPCs will get a new dialogue option "[Follower Gear] I want to start tracking you." Use this dialogue to add them to one of the three tracking slots. You can register almost every NPC in the game here; this is not limited to followers (though probably not very useful for NPCs that don't follow you).

 

Registering a new NPC to an already assigned slot will simply overwrite the registry (the previously registered NPC won't be tracked any more). Alternatively, you can also remove individual NPCs from tracking through the dialogue option "[Follower Gear] I will stop tracking you."

 

You can stop those dialogue options from showing up by simply removing that note from your inventory and storing it somewhere safe.

 

Follower Gear: Toggle Automation

Reading this note will toggle the followers' shield/helmet equipping automation. Simply read the note again to cycle automation on and off.

 

Follower Gear: Manual Equip and Follower Gear: Manual Unequip

Reading these notes will make all registered NPCs equip their shield/helmet or unequip it again. Note that automattion will override this if combat starts/ends.

 

Compatibility:

 

There are several other mods that do similar things as this one does. It is very likely a bad idea to use this mod alongside any of those. My recommendation is to try which one you prefer and then stick with that.

 

This mod might cause issues when used with custom followers who have their own outfit/equipment handling (Vilja, Inigo, the AnnaNPCs, etc.) I advise against registering any such followers to be tracked by this mod. (You can still safely install this mod, just don't use it on said followers).

 

Similar issues might exist with follower overhauls that manage your companions' gear.

 

This mod should be fully compatible with any mods that remove NPC equipment during combat (Acheron, Loot and Degradation, Mortal Weapons and Armor, etc.)

 

Please let me know if you encounter any other suspected incompatibilities.

 

Requirements:

 

Devious Devices (any version)

Scrab's Papyrus Extender: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/115164?tab=description

(You can also use the older Pyramid Utils instead of Scrab's if you already have the former installed).

 

Under the Hood:

 

This mod is fairly simple and should be reasonably lightweight. It process only NPCs which you have registered for tracking (through dialogue, see "How to" section above).

 

Almost the entire functionality is handled by quests. There are no constantly running loops, no line-of-sight checks, no cell scans.

 

The mod listens for OnCombatStateChanged, OnPlayerLoadGame and OnCellDetach (with the Xmarker method). It will make registered followers equip or unequip their gear as needed. A short cooldown period at the end of combat should prevent rapid firing of equip events in cases where tracked NPCs change their combat state in rapid succession (typically when searching, finding, and again losing a combat target).

 

Followers will not try to equip a helmet when already equipped with a Devious Devices hood.