Animal Research: The Insatiable Scholar

[eflat01]

On 11/17/2025 at 10:19 AM, dunderhead59 said:

In my game, Tirwin spawns next to the wooden pillar on the left as you enter the Bannered Mare, and Naryu spawns between and just behind the two chairs to the East of the table on the left.  Naryu immediately moves to Tirwin and their conversation starts, unless Naryu's path is blocked, in which case she never moves and the quest stalls.

  Hide contents

 

 

That's where they spawn normally.  AR does not add in much to the Bannered Mare, a trigger, couple heading markers and the two npcs.

 

Spoiler

 

 

On 11/17/2025 at 6:28 AM, dunderhead59 said:

I think your scenario 3 is what's happening, but I don't have any evidence apart from my own observations. 

 

It seems to me that Naryu needs to walk over to Tirwin to start their conversation, but is getting blocked by another NPC (probably one added by another mod, such as Troubles of Heroine).  It also seems as if she only gets one chance to move - if she can't get to Tirwin at once, the scene stalls.  Setscene 10 doesn't help, but setscene 20 allows the quest to continue by skipping their conversation. 

 

I can suggest two possible solutions but, not being a modder, don't know whether either would work: 1) spawn Naryu next to Tirwin, or 2) somehow allow the conversation to happen when they are further apart (a bit rude - shouting across the inn!).  Alternatively, remove stage 10 altogether and just have Tirwin force-greet the PC.  Is Naryu used later, or could she just be deleted?

 

BTW - great mod, thanks to everyone involved for all your hard work on it.

 

I've yet to have the issue I do not know why it happens for some players. Naryu is used later and is a very interesting npc... 

Edited November 20, 2025 by eflat01

[dunderhead59]

11 hours ago, killer905 said:

We know about this problem, but we don't know why, and it doesn't help that in my case and Gristle, when I enter the inn, the girls talk to each other without any problems. Since we do not experience this, it is difficult to find a solution to this problem.

I believe that it happens when something (typically an NPC added by another mod) prevents Naryu from reaching Tirwin. 

 

Troubles Of Heroine causes the problem if its main quest has started (i.e. PC is female and has accepted Pirve's quest at the Whiterun Bridge).

 

The Jarl's Wife quest from Dovahkiin's Infamy starts with an attack on Balgruuf in the Bannered Mare.  This also triggers the problem.

 

Maybe installing one or both of the above mods would let you see it happen.  I also run Crowded Streets, which does not, on its own, cause the problem, but may contribute to one of the others doing so simply be adding more NPCs.

 

Hope this helps.

[Gristle]

On 11/17/2025 at 5:12 PM, Maidenslayer said:

- 17 Aliases for quest 'VAR_MainQuest' (2B005900)-

REF  'WolfCageKey' -> NONE

 

On 11/17/2025 at 5:40 PM, Maidenslayer said:

REF 'TirwinLH' -> NONE

This is the problem. The aliases for Tirwin and for the key are not filling. These should not say "NONE" but should have IDs next to them. The Tirwin alias is used for the Tirwin-Naryu scene, and the key alias is used to enable the key in the chest.  These aliases should be filled on quest start. And the quest has started if you are on stage 10. Something is preventing these aliases from filling. I double-checked the aliases and they are set up right with the correct references to Tirwin and the key.

13 hours ago, dunderhead59 said:

I believe that it happens when something (typically an NPC added by another mod) prevents Naryu from reaching Tirwin. 

This certainly could happen, for example, if phase 1 of a scene was to travel to a spot, and phase 2 was set to not start until the NPC reached the spot. But this particular scene is not set up that way. Naryu's speaking phase is phase 2, but it does not require phase 1 to complete (where Naryu walks towards her). It only requires phase 1 to start, which is that Naryu gets her travel package. So, in this case, blocking Naryu should not prevent her dialogue from starting.

 

In any case, the scene won't run at all if the actor aliases don't fill.

 

[Guardian_Angel]

On 11/17/2025 at 12:15 PM, fastjack42 said:

Nope, nothing happens. Waited 24 hours (in 1 hour intervals). Pushed the captain around. Even tried boxing him. Nothing. Looks like I'm stuck

Have tried to "force" the Tirwin/Dog interaction with matchmaker? This issue tends to happen less frequently now with the newer versions but the Horse, giant (but not the mammoth) and this scene tend to not start and thus cause the script to "stall". if i use the matchmaker spell on her and the subject NPC, it continues after the scene ends.

[_Minxy_]

First off, thanks for the great mod. I haven't had any problems until now.

I'm currently at the start of the Castel Volkihar quest where I need to enter the Volkihar Catacombs. Problem is that every single time I enter, right after the loading screen, my game crashes. I don't get a crash report (to my knowledge) and I don't know what to do.
I don't have a mod that replaces or adds anything to the castle and I haven't started Dawnguard yet (only have it in my journal).
Is there something I can do? Maybe somehow skip ahead or something?

[saferian]

Sorry, I haven't been able to read since I last looked at this topic, but what are you plans for revisiting old content? I see there's an option with Tirwin, but it doesn't seem to do much?

 

I'd understand if reliving the exact cinematic scene might be impractical, but I see legitimate replayibility with this mod. 

 

I'll be replaying the entire thing in the coming weeks, to remember it all. This quickly became one of the few core content mods I use on my small Vanilla+ modlist, along with Animal Mansion. 

[killer905]

2 hours ago, _Minxy_ said:

First off, thanks for the great mod. I haven't had any problems until now.

I'm currently at the start of the Castel Volkihar quest where I need to enter the Volkihar Catacombs. Problem is that every single time I enter, right after the loading screen, my game crashes. I don't get a crash report (to my knowledge) and I don't know what to do.
I don't have a mod that replaces or adds anything to the castle and I haven't started Dawnguard yet (only have it in my journal).
Is there something I can do? Maybe somehow skip ahead or something?

There is nothing unusual about Volkihar Catacombs. There is only one NPC there, who is no different from any other, and two skeletons. The quest in Volkihar has been designed in such a way that even if you have not started the Dawnguard quest, you can still complete this quest after finishing it. Your problem is strange, to say the least.

Try typing the following in the console on your current save and on a new save:

 

coc VARVolkiharCatacombs

 

If you get a CTD in both cases, we need to look deeper for the problem, but if you only get it on your current save and not on the new one, you may have a corrupted save.

[killer905]

2 hours ago, saferian said:

Sorry, I haven't been able to read since I last looked at this topic, but what are you plans for revisiting old content? I see there's an option with Tirwin, but it doesn't seem to do much?

 

I'd understand if reliving the exact cinematic scene might be impractical, but I see legitimate replayibility with this mod. 

 

I'll be replaying the entire thing in the coming weeks, to remember it all. This quickly became one of the few core content mods I use on my small Vanilla+ modlist, along with Animal Mansion. 

If you mean ‘the option to visit previous creatures you encountered in previous quests’, then yes, they will be added, but we focus on the main storyline. Depending on how much time and motivation Gristle has, he may add more creatures for revisiting. If my memory serves me correctly, there are currently Deer and Bear for now.

 

There are no plans to make it possible to replay these main mod quests.

 

If you plan to replay the storyline, I encourage you to share what could be improved/added, etc. These suggestions will be noted and evaluated, and may or may not be implemented in one of the updates or only in QoL after the entire mod story has been completed.

[_Minxy_]

8 hours ago, killer905 said:

There is nothing unusual about Volkihar Catacombs. There is only one NPC there, who is no different from any other, and two skeletons. The quest in Volkihar has been designed in such a way that even if you have not started the Dawnguard quest, you can still complete this quest after finishing it. Your problem is strange, to say the least.

Try typing the following in the console on your current save and on a new save:

 

coc VARVolkiharCatacombs

 

If you get a CTD in both cases, we need to look deeper for the problem, but if you only get it on your current save and not on the new one, you may have a corrupted save.

So, I tried both with my current and a new save. Both times it hard crashes. It is really weird because normally my game runs super smooth and barely ever crashes.

[killer905]

1 hour ago, _Minxy_ said:

So, I tried both with my current and a new save. Both times it hard crashes. It is really weird because normally my game runs super smooth and barely ever crashes.

I have no idea what could be causing CTD at this point ;/ Maybe @Gristle can help here, because at the end of the quest in Volkihar, you return to the place where you have CTD and receive your rewards.

[atakaninat]

Wolf Animation didint start when i go to back of the wagoon

[killer905]

18 minutes ago, atakaninat said:

Wolf Animation didint start when i go to back of the wagoon

Do you have ‘Creature Animations’ enabled in SexLab?
Do you have the appropriate animations enabled?
Do you have SexLab P+?

[atakaninat]

14 hours ago, killer905 said:

Do you have ‘Creature Animations’ enabled in SexLab?
Do you have the appropriate animations enabled?
Do you have SexLab P+?

You're right i forget to enable creature animations my bad it works now 

[eflat01]

On 11/21/2025 at 2:28 AM, Gristle said:

This is the problem. The aliases for Tirwin and for the key are not filling. These should not say "NONE" but should have IDs next to them. The Tirwin alias is used for the Tirwin-Naryu scene, and the key alias is used to enable the key in the chest.  These aliases should be filled on quest start. And the quest has started if you are on stage 10. Something is preventing these aliases from filling. I double-checked the aliases and they are set up right with the correct references to Tirwin and the key.

 

I'd wager that's been the issue for some people all along. Certainly an alias should not be null unless the VAR_MainQuest somehow managed to start before the objects (ref ids) exists in game? But they should always exist in the same scope. I really am baffled how a quest script could lose ref id  values... as I'm sure you are.

 

Can you set the "Warn on alias fill failure" on it? What happens if it's forced in?

 

VAR_MainQuest is a "run once" off a trigger isn't it?

1. What happens if AR is loaded up in a game - and we'd yet to actually enter the bannered mare and start playing.
2. Then we save, quit, add/remove another mod displacing AR - moving it further down/up in load order.

Since VAR_MainQuest is already started I'm wondering what the alias and variables may be at that point?

 

Edited November 26, 2025 by eflat01

[Gristle]

On 11/26/2025 at 10:56 AM, eflat01 said:

I'd wager that's been the issue for some people all along. Certainly an alias should not be null unless the VAR_MainQuest somehow managed to start before the objects (ref ids) exists in game? But they should always exist in the same scope. I really am baffled how a quest script could lose ref id  values... as I'm sure you are.

 

Can you set the "Warn on alias fill failure" on it? What happens if it's forced in?

I could try force filling the aliases after a short delay - as a backup. Of course, they should fill on quest start, but it won't hurt anything to force fill them if they're already filled.

On 11/26/2025 at 10:56 AM, eflat01 said:

VAR_MainQuest is a "run once" off a trigger isn't it?

1. What happens if AR is loaded up in a game - and we'd yet to actually enter the bannered mare and start playing.
2. Then we save, quit, add/remove another mod displacing AR - moving it further down/up in load order.

Since VAR_MainQuest is already started I'm wondering what the alias and variables may be at that point?

Yes. Run once, not start game enabled, starts with a vanilla "setstage" trigger box inside the Bannered Mare. So, the quest won't start if you haven't entered the Bannered Mare.

[eflat01]

On 11/27/2025 at 2:53 PM, Gristle said:

Yes. Run once, not start game enabled, starts with a vanilla "setstage" trigger box inside the Bannered Mare. So, the quest won't start if you haven't entered the Bannered Mare.

 

I saw that, and was why I questioned what happens if I enter the bannered mare, save, quit, then displace AR by adding/removing another mod? 

 

I would imagine the script attached to the quest should adjust the Ref IDs in the alias as it had the quest? Now, I am really not sure.   

 

VAR_Naryu = xx00FB0A

VAR_Tirwin  = xx00FB09

 

So if AR is index 20 and I trigger the quest and move AR to index 21, then VAR_Tirwin which was 2000FB0A is now 2100FB0A what may happen?

 

I do not think that's the problem though...

 

I did notice the alias for the wolf cage key is forced.

 

I started testing a little mod myself and while looking into this checked online and had found this :

 

Spoiler

A "Run Once" quest in Skyrim can become stuck if an alias fails to fill, which happens because aliases typically only try to fill when the quest starts.

 

To fix this, you can use the console command sqv [QuestID] to check the quest's status and identify the missing alias.

 

Common solutions for this in the Creation Kit include either checking the "Optional" flag for the problematic alias, using ForceRefTo to manually fill it, or ensuring all necessary references are enabled and reserved. 

 

I think @Maidenslayer's post shed a lot of light on this mystery,

Edited November 28, 2025 by eflat01

[Hatoc123]

Just want to say that so far this has been one of the most bug free sex quest mods I have experinced(this and the bimbo mod) but I will just say that Im going to have to use console to partly skip the dog part as for some reason She says lets find somewhere off the road but no new markers come up and even if you move off road nothing happens.

 

May just be the vast amount of mods I have I do have a sexlabutil.log if you want it but not sure whether that would help.

For those having this issue moving the stage to 90 fixes the issue for now but yeah just wanted to give the heads up that there seems to be a bug

Edited November 30, 2025 by Hatoc123

[Gristle]

4 hours ago, Hatoc123 said:

Just want to say that so far this has been one of the most bug free sex quest mods I have experinced(this and the bimbo mod) but I will just say that Im going to have to use console to partly skip the dog part as for some reason She says lets find somewhere off the road but no new markers come up and even if you move off road nothing happens.

 

May just be the vast amount of mods I have I do have a sexlabutil.log if you want it but not sure whether that would help.

For those having this issue moving the stage to 90 fixes the issue for now but yeah just wanted to give the heads up that there seems to be a bug

Do you mean where she is talking to Ragnar after getting the dog book? When that dialogue ends a script calls Sexlab and tells Sexlab to start the sex animation deeper in the Khajiit camp. So, there is no marker. Sexlab handles moving the actors to the designated position. I assume the animation is not starting. Are other creature animations working?

[Hatoc123]

10 hours ago, Gristle said:

Do you mean where she is talking to Ragnar after getting the dog book? When that dialogue ends a script calls Sexlab and tells Sexlab to start the sex animation deeper in the Khajiit camp. So, there is no marker. Sexlab handles moving the actors to the designated position. I assume the animation is not starting. Are other creature animations working?

After you convince her to do it with the kajeet watching and she says well lets get somewhere private. nothing happens it compeltes the marker saying talk to talk to her again but apart from that nothing happens.

 

it works completely fine if I skip forward to stage 90 and try the sex scenes from there.

[eflat01]

5 hours ago, Hatoc123 said:

After you convince her to do it with the kajeet watching and she says well lets get somewhere private. nothing happens it compeltes the marker saying talk to talk to her again but apart from that nothing happens.

 

it works completely fine if I skip forward to stage 90 and try the sex scenes from there.

 

First thoughts

 

I assume you have animations to suffice the quest.

Some other mod also editing the area? 

 

 

[Guardian_Angel]

22 hours ago, Hatoc123 said:

After you convince her to do it with the kajeet watching and she says well lets get somewhere private. nothing happens it compeltes the marker saying talk to talk to her again but apart from that nothing happens.

 

it works completely fine if I skip forward to stage 90 and try the sex scenes from there.

for anyone having issues with animations not starting, check that you have the recommended animations installed. if you do then also install the Sex Lab Match Maker mod to test the animations outside of this mod. 

if it works great, then when you get in this situation, you can 'force' the next scene and 99% of the time it will allow the mod to progress.

in your case, you would tag Tirwin and Ragnar and then after the mod will continue.. no need to setstage anything....

 

this is what i do but it happens rarely now... 

 

hope this helps

[_Minxy_]

After alot of troubleshooting I finally found out what makes my game CTD when entering the Volkihar Catacombs.
It's the goddam "DX Crimson Blood Armor" + The SDA Patch for that armor. Now it works.....

Still thank you killer905 for trying to help me  

[killer905]

1 hour ago, _Minxy_ said:

After alot of troubleshooting I finally found out what makes my game CTD when entering the Volkihar Catacombs.
It's the goddam "DX Crimson Blood Armor" + The SDA Patch for that armor. Now it works.....

Still thank you killer905 for trying to help me  

Am I to understand that this mod or patch (I haven't checked) changes Vanilla Vampire Armor to DX Crimson Blood Armor? That would make sense, because you get the Vampire Armor Set for completing the quest in Volkihar.

 

However, this would suggest that the DX Crimson Blood Armor mod was probably installed incorrectly, or that another mod (not Animal Research) is causing a conflict.

I also suggest reinstalling the mod with the patch and checking if, for example, on Seran/Valerica (if I understand the mod page description correctly) or even adding these items yourself via AddItemMenu and removing them from EQ.

Nevertheless, it's good that you found the culprit ❤️

[kamithemoon]

Just want to say that I'm finally getting to play this mod and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!  Now I can see that all the praise for it is well deserved.  Tirwin is a likable character who goes down an interesting path in a fairly realistic and believable way.  I'd say this mod is like an R-rated film with a believable romance as opposed to a porno with a wam bam thank you ma'am.  Currently at the netch part and looking forward for more.

 

One very minor gripe: The deer quest takes you to an elk, not a deer.  They use the same animations so it wouldn't be noticeable, really, except that deer was the last animal I need for SexLab Achievement's achievement and running one down was problematic so I was pleasantly surprised to find the deer quest.  Only, it was actually an Elk, so it didn't count =(.  I did eventually find a random deer to complete the quest though and had to reload 3 times because they run away quite fast.

 

Another minor issue, Ragnar doesn't seem to count as a follower so mods like I'm Walking Here do not apply to him.  I feel bad that I had to dismiss him but he kept getting in the way and blocking doorways.

 

I can also say that now that I'm finally getting to hear my voices I can hear that many of them are very far off and off putting.  I lacked all context when making them so I'll blame it mostly on that. but I can make some of them better.  But 2600 lines is a bit much to go through again so I'll just focus on her general idles once I finish playing.  I'm looking at that "I'll make some light" dialogue in particular.  She says it often and it sounds horrendously slow lol.

[killer905]

2 hours ago, kamithemoon said:

Just want to say that I'm finally getting to play this mod and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!  Now I can see that all the praise for it is well deserved.  Tirwin is a likable character who goes down an interesting path in a fairly realistic and believable way.  I'd say this mod is like an R-rated film with a believable romance as opposed to a porno with a wam bam thank you ma'am.  Currently at the netch part and looking forward for more.

 

One very minor gripe: The deer quest takes you to an elk, not a deer.  They use the same animations so it wouldn't be noticeable, really, except that deer was the last animal I need for SexLab Achievement's achievement and running one down was problematic so I was pleasantly surprised to find the deer quest.  Only, it was actually an Elk, so it didn't count =(.  I did eventually find a random deer to complete the quest though and had to reload 3 times because they run away quite fast.

 

Another minor issue, Ragnar doesn't seem to count as a follower so mods like I'm Walking Here do not apply to him.  I feel bad that I had to dismiss him but he kept getting in the way and blocking doorways.

 

I can also say that now that I'm finally getting to hear my voices I can hear that many of them are very far off and off putting.  I lacked all context when making them so I'll blame it mostly on that. but I can make some of them better.  But 2600 lines is a bit much to go through again so I'll just focus on her general idles once I finish playing.  I'm looking at that "I'll make some light" dialogue in particular.  She says it often and it sounds horrendously slow lol.

Does it really lead to elk instead of deer? Looking here: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Deer it is indeed possible to confuse deer with elk.

 

Ragnar should move a little further away if you run into him.

 

Which specific locations did he block? And so we came to the conclusion that Ragnar should follow Tirwin, because he liked him, not the PC. But he could follow the PC in tight spaces.