Andurs and the epic quest for his Amulet of Arkay - broken - Solved

[Bluegunk]

I cannot interact with Andurs in the Whiterun Hall of the Dead.

 

No A (or E if one uses a keyboard) appears.  I have tried everything I can think of, from resetai through recycleactor, to resetting the Cell.  I've killed him a few times, too. Stupid man.

 

OK, it's unlikely I'll ever get him to work, but anyone know how this kind of thing happens?  The rest of the game's fine.

 

Is there any console trick that might get through to him?

 

Otherwise I'm on to Set Stages.  But I would like him to work if possible.

 

Any ideas welcome.

Edited May 23, 2025 by Bluegunk

[anjenthedog]

prolly not helpful but I have to ask...

 

Is he maybe in a "NPC is busy" state?

 

Do you have any mods that alter the hall of the dead or Andurs?

[Bluegunk]

Thanks for checking in, Anjen. I'm very grateful for your input.

 

I'm glad to report he's returned to the land of the living.  And yes, it was a mod.

 

I'm using CHIM AI in game and he was clearly in the grip of a malevolent AI.  😶‍🌫️

 

I had already tried putting him into, and then removing him from the AI system before, but to no effect.  So I'd almost decided the CHIM mod was not the fault.

However, I just tried again, and he started up and delivered his lines. So it was that mod all along. I am aware it may 'hold' an NPC for a few seconds - I've experienced this a couple of times before. But apparently it seems it had a firm grip on Anders.

 

All good now!

 

 

[traison]

1 hour ago, Bluegunk said:

Is there any console trick that might get through to him?

 

There's far too many things affecting dialogue for there to be a "trick" to fix things:

• Is the NPC hostile to the player?
• Is the NPC in combat?
• What kind of AI packages does the NPC have currently?
• Which quest is supposed to provide the missing dialogue?
  • Is the quest running?
  • What are the conditions of the dialogue topic?
    • Does the NPC pass all conditions?
• Which quests reference this NPC in one of their aliases?
  • How do these aliases alter the NPC?

There's probably more I can't think of right now. I usually start by locating the quest that provides the dialogue that's missing.

 

It usually comes down to the following things:

• Relevant quests, quest states, factions and AI packages.
• Mindset of the NPC, i.e. relations and combat state.

 

Edit:

3 minutes ago, Bluegunk said:

I'm glad to report he's returned to the land of the living.  And yes, it was a mod.

 

So, probably some AI package then?

Edited May 23, 2025 by traison

[Bluegunk]

CHIM AI system had put him into a "listening" package for want of a better term. By giving him a kick from the AI system it released him.

The first kick I tried didn't do anything.

 

That's my take on it!