About This File
Stable Captives is now released in its first official version.
This mod was developed on DoM 8.4.1b and was created solely to fix the naked bandit bug in DoM/PAH/HSH/AYGAS. (It cannot be used with PAHE alone.)
It supports not only bandits, but all hostile spawning NPCs, including Forsworn.
**Existing unique NPCs in Tamriel are not affected by this mod and are never stored in slave slots. This mod targets only spawned hostile NPCs, such as bandits.
In MO2’s mod order, this mod must be placed below DoM so that it overwrites DoM’s files.
This mod was inspired by BaF (Build a Follower).
1. MCM
The current status of slave slots in use can be viewed.
Options are available for cleaning up slave slots and resetting all data.
(The Reset All Data option is a type of factory reset. FaceGen data will not be deleted, but all slave data from every save will be erased. This option must therefore be used with extreme caution. This action can never be undone.)
A debug mode is available.
With the cursor aimed at an NPC, pressing F10 while the console is open displays the FaceGen path and ActorBase information.
2. Mechanism
The mechanism used to prevent naked bandit NPCs is relatively simple.
Player + DoM knocks down a bandit → DoM duplicates the bandit and enslaves the duplicate, while the original is marked for deletion →
Stable Captives mod captures the duplicated bandit in a unique ActorBase slot → Stable Captives loads all information for that NPC, including its FaceGen data →
The loaded slave data is treated as a unique NPC → The slot is saved and locked → DoM resumes full management of the NPC stored in the locked slot.
3. Slot Cycling + Cleanup and Management
All slots are used in a cyclic rotation system, with a maximum of 1,024 available slots.
When a slave is released and disappears from Tamriel, the slot previously occupied by that slave can be reused.
However, release through the DoM MCM was not modified because the DoM source code appears to use specific conditions to determine whether an NPC disappears. At present, slaves appear to disappear only when released through dialogue, but even this does not guarantee that they will disappear. Depending on their Mood state, they may return to being normal NPCs instead, so caution is required.
When a slave disappears, the corresponding slot is moved to the Retiring state. The slot can then be cleaned through the Reclaim option in the Stable Captives MCM. Alternatively, saving and reloading the game will clear the Retiring state and empty the slot.
(Warning: DoM/PAHE contains several items that can restrain slaves. (Example: “Iron Slave Collar of Leashing”)
If a slave is released while wearing an item of this kind, the slot will not be reclaimed. The slave’s inventory must therefore be completely emptied before release.)
Let me emphasize this once again:
Please keep in mind that the Reset feature could corrupt every save file containing existing slaves.
**More precisely, only save files that are currently using this mod and still have slaves occupying slots.**
Please verify it thoroughly multiple times and proceed with extreme caution.
A detailed mod manual is also included.
No further features are planned for the mod, but bug fixes and discussion will continue.