Dawnguard Sentries SE

[Shadowhawk827]

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After many days of work I'm proud to bring you all the evolution of my Dawnguard Sentries mod from Steam. This mod adds Dawnguard vampire
hunters as extra guards to all the hold capitals in Skyrim, as well as some towns. In those towns, you'll see Vigilants of Stendarr working
with the Sentries. That's done for immersion and variety in NPCs. The Dawnguard are supposed to be reforming after centuries and the Vigilants
need a way to regroup after their HQ was burned

Now compatible with Open Cities and Interesting NPCs


First, Dawnguard is required, as are SKSE64 1.0.5 or newer and SkyUI SE 5.2 to support the MCM Menu.

For Those Who Don't Like SKSE or SKyUI, or just like to keep their mods as simple as possible, I now have a "Lite" version; Dawnguard Sentries Classic in the downloads tab.  Like the main fiile, it's Interesting NPCs and Open Cities Compatible, and it includes all the AI improvements in ver 1.1

So what features does the mod have:

1) TWO DAWNGUARD SENTRY GUARDS AT EVERY VAMPIRE SPAWN POINT IN HOLD CAPITALS
All of them are unique NPCs with distinct faces and a full range of Dawnguard gear. Some even have unique weapons. Some villages are also
patrolled by teams of Dawnguard and Vigilants of Stendarr. VIllages covered are Dragon Bridge, Ivarstead, Riverwood, Rorikstead and Shor's
Stone.

All Sentries are set up as members of guard factions to make this mod more compatible with When Vampires Attack and Run For Your
Lives. This also means they'll assist guards, make arrests AND FIGHT DRAGONS. Sentries are set to react neutrally to player and follower
vampires however, meaning player vampires can go into town to sell and do quests, so long as they don't attack anybody or have a bounty. Other
NPC vampires will be attacked mercilessly on sight however.

Depending on your personal playing style and which side you're playing on the Dawnguard DLC, the Sentries can be set to Essential, making them
unkillable, or to respawn only, meaning if they're lost in a vampire attack they'll re-appear after 10 game days.

A note on Riften: I also took into account the Thieves Guild quest in the market and positioned the Dawnguard patrols wide enough from that spot to not impact the quest significantly. All Sentries also should disable during Civil War sieges (vanilla game script) so the fight doesn't become unbalanced


2) EXTERIOR SENTRIES OUTSIDE THE CITIES OF RIFTEN AND SOLITUDE
Riften's North gate seems a spot of constant attack spawns for me. Now that spot, and the docks are watched by the Dawnguard, as is the Road just
above the Solitude harbor. Mostly for immerison bu they will help with the occasional dragon attack at the Solitude stables. These particular
Sentries can be toggled to Essential or completely disabled in the MCM


3) A DAWNGUARD PATROL BETWEEN RIFTEN'S NORTH GATE AND THE ENTRANCE TO DAYSPRING CANYON
Mostly for immersion. After all, the Dwnguard has to keep it's supply lines open. This patrol does a great job of clearing bandits and wolves from
the road. Again they can be set to Essential, Respawn OR toggled completely off if they're too much for you or you're already using Immersive Patrols.


4) VAMPIRE GUARDS OUTSIDE CASTLE VOLKIHAR
A handful of unique Vampire guards now protect the outside of the Castle. Since the mod has all NPCs walking 24/7, these Vampires have a modified
version of the Vampire sunlight weakness magic effect. They will be significantly weaker in sunlight, but won't take actual damage from it.
Ergo, you have an advantage attacking during the day. These guards are respawn only but can be toggled off


5) DAWNGUARD RECRUITS IN DAYSPRING CANYON
Similar to Castle Volkihar, Fort Dawnguard has it's own security. 10 unique NPC Dawnguard recruits are positioned along Dayspring Canyon standing
guard. They're respawn only but can be disabled via the MCM
 

So there you have it; a lore friendly, non-cheating and extremely customizable way to protect your favorite NPCs from Vampires and Dragons. The 'When Vampires Attack' and 'Run For Your Lives' mods are also recommended and compatible if you want maximum lore friendly protection for your NPCs. The mod was built with the MCM Menu being the only script added to the game also, so it should be very uninstall and compatibility friendly.

The best part is that thanks to the new MCM Menu, you have multiple options on how to configure the number of Dawngaurd Sentries running about and
if you want them to be killable or not (via essential state toggle options). Basic protection for the capitals and bigger towns, or max it out, it's all up to you.

 

TRANSLATIONS (OldRim Version):
Dawnguard Sentries Plus - Traduzione ITA by logan1710

Dawnguard Sentries Plus traduction fr by yassincraft



MOD COMPATIBILITIES and CONFLICTS:
I've played versions of this mod with over 200 other mods installed at once. Thanks to the only scripts it uses being the disable during civil war and MCM scripts, it's very friendly to most other mods.

I have an article on the articles tab listing mods that are known to work with this one, and one that lists all KNOWN conflicts and incompatibilities.  Check those articles before you ask if something works with this mod.

As a basic guideline, the only mods that would probably not work are mods that make major changes to the structure of towns so that the mapped patrol routes for the Sentries wouldn't work. Cosmetic town changes are fine though.  Mods that change AI around or monkey with Factions may also cause erratic behavior by the Sentries.


RECOMMENDED:
FUZ RO D-OH for silent dialog. VERY few voices work with the Dawnguard dialog factions, so this will let you "hear" more than a huh? from some Dawnguard Sentries.

Likewise any mod that improves the Textures on the Dawnguard & Vampire equipment. I personally like EcthelionOTW and MissLexi's (absolutely amazing) EotW DAWNGUARD DLC TEXTURES REMASTERED.

If you use a Sevenbase or UNPB body replacer, I also recommend FastestDogInTheDistrict's SEVENBASE ARMOR CONVERSIONS for the Dawnguard & Vampire Armors. Both look similar to the originals, just better textures and they don't make 7B characters look flat chested. Yes, UNPB bodies are so similar that Fastest Dog's mods have worked fine for me as a replacer.


With all that said, I'd also like to give huge THANK YOUs to everybody who's given me an endorsement here or a thumbs up at Steam. I do this for fun and as a learning experience, but the ratings do help give me the motivation to continue.

Likewise huge thanks go out to Crimson Blade, CPU, CDCooley, DarkFox127, lofgren, pevey, EnaiSiaion, Aqqh, FastestDogInTheDistrict, and several others who have all contributed directly or indirectly to my being able to make this mod work. Crimson Blade, mentioned above, was the author of the original Dawnguard Sentries mod. I took over the mod with his permission after he took a break from the game. While the mod has evolved a good deal since then, ALL credit for the original idea and initial work go to him.

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• Submitter
  Shadowhawk827
• Submitted
  11/14/2017
• Category
  Regular Mods
• Requires
  SKSE64, SkyUI SE 5.2
• Regular Edition Compatible
  No

 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Shadowhawk827
SKSE64 version correction

[Shadowhawk827]

Looks like i *MAY* have gotten the first file of the new site posted, lol

 

This was SLOW going. The creation kit fought my conversion attempts every step of the way. The mod tested fine on two different PCs before upload however.

The full version is a BSA file now since they cause less issues with mod prioritization than loose files. The "light"/ Classic version (available at the Nexus) is loose files however. I have NO clue why but after ten tries I could not get the files to archive properly and always ended up with a gray face bug. Left loose, the light version works fine. Go figure.

Use only ONE of the two files, which should be obvious.

It may take a minute or two for the MCM to recognize the mod, and you will likely have to toggle the options in the menu once to get them to work properly. Beyond that, the mod works fine.

 

 

Nexus Mod Page:  https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/13547

[Celedhring]

You may want to look at the requirements for your Classic version on Nexus as it still requires SKSE64 etc...even though the description says it doesn't require those.   I don't use the SKSE64 because I'm waiting till it's fully done.  Plus, Bethseda can't really screw up my SSE game because I don't have SKSE64.  /sarcasm

[Shadowhawk827]

1 hour ago, Celedhring said:

You may want to look at the requirements for your Classic version on Nexus as it still requires SKSE64 etc...even though the description says it doesn't require those.   I don't use the SKSE64 because I'm waiting till it's fully done.  Plus, Bethseda can't really screw up my SSE game because I don't have SKSE64.  /sarcasm

Nope, you're looking at the "main" file (full version) requirements.  :)    Here's the light version:

 

 

[Shadowhawk827]

AND, a copy of the article about mod compatibilities with the OldRim version:

 

OK, in an effort to track down the cause of the RARE kill happy Sentry problem and to just generally answer the question of what's compatible,
I'm making a list here.  It's going to be alphabetical by mod name. 

Skyrim DLC, Unofficial Patches, SKSE and SkyUI go without saying as being compatible
Clothing, Weapon and Armor mods will likewise be assumed harmless unless they have some sort of script

The list is going to be pretty extensive as I flesh it out, but that's
because a good 1/4 of the time, a mod conflict will be caused by
something that seems totally unrelated to the area where the trouble is
caused.


Alternate Start; Live Another Life - No conflicts but the join Harkon's faction option is broken (I *think* this was caused by the Journal for the Absentminded Dovahkin mod)
A Matter of Time - Works Fine
Apocalypse Magic of Skyrim - Fully Compatible
A Quality World Map - Fully Compatible
Arissa the Wandering Rogue - No Known Issues
Arrows and Bolts Tweaks - Fully Compatible
The Astoria; Dwemner Airship - Compatible

Bag of Holding - Fully compatible
Bag of Trash - Fully Compatible
Bathing in Skyrim - No issues during last play through
Better Sorting - Compatible
Better Vampires - Up through 6.8 is confirmed good, new 6.9 is uncertain
Better Vampire Lord Transformation - Compatible over long periods
Brawl Bugs FIx - Fully Compatible
Breezehome Fully Upgradable - Compatible
BTRH Waifu - No issues, I've used it for a long time

Civil War Cleanup - Fully Compatible
Civil War Overhaul - No known issues
Climates of Tamriel - No Known Issues
Craftable Lockpicks - Compatible
Cutting Room Floor - Compatible

Dual Sheathe Redux - Worked fine in my last, brief play thru

Expanded Cities and Towns - Reported Compatible by 3rd Party after hours of cheking

Faction: Pit Fighter & Pit Fighter Travels - Compatible
Fairies of SKyrim - Compatible
Falskaar - No Known Issues
FISS - No issues
FNIS & It's Add-ons - No Known Issues
FUZ RO D-OH - Compatible & Highly Recommended

Hearthfire Multiple Adoptions - Compatible
Holidays - No Known Issues
Huntsman Bow (by InsanitySorrow) - No Known Issues

Item Recycling - Compatible

JContainers - No Issues
JK's Whiterun - Recently made compatible
The Rest of JKs City Overhauls - Reported no issues by third party
Join the Dawnguard as a Vampire - No issues during 15 minute test
Journal for the Absentminded Dovahkin & its USPK Patch - The last version used was buggy and broke quests

Lilarcor (by InsanitySorrow) - No Known Issues, but I never did find any pieces of the sword
Lustmord Vampire Armor - Fully Compatible

Magicka Sabers - Compatible
Marriable Serana & Its Hearthfires Expansion - Work Fine

Naruto Ultimate Overhaul - 10 minute gameplay test, seems compatible

Portable Hole - Fully Compatible
Princess Riverwood Cottage - Compatible
Pure Water - Worked fine on last play through
Pure Weather - No Known issues, used for a few hours on my last play thru

RaceMenu - No issues with it or several of it's plug-ins
Run For Your Lives - Compatible and Helpful - Recommended

Save Game Script Cleaner - Utility, so no compatibility issues, Recommended
Shorstone Castle - No Known Issues

Tailoring (only on Steam)- Fully Compatible
The Eyes of Beauty - Fully Compatible

Vilja & Vilja in Solstheim - Fully COmpatible

Wet and Cold, W&C Ashes and W&C Holidays - Fully compatible
Wearable Lanterns - Fully Compatible
When Vampires Attack - Compatible & helpful - Recommended
Wyrmstooth - Fully Compatible

XPMS Skeleton and Groovtama's XPMSE Expanded Skeletons - Both Good


The main mods to avoid are ones that change NPC AI.  Those files MAY override the AI settings I put in to keep the Dawnguard friendly to the local guard, and the player, even if they're a vampire.

Likewise mods that change city layouts might interfere with the Dawnguard patrol routes.

 

As a final note that wasn't included at the Nexus (lol), sexlab and all it's mods that I used to use worked fine with Dawnguard Sentries also

Edited November 15, 2017 by Shadowhawk827

[Shadowhawk827]

hat done, I'm also looking for a bit of specific feedback:

 

For one, I'd like to know what areas outside of cities are other players consistently having issues with vampire attacks.  I personally had constant attacks outside of Riften and Solitude, so those cities have exterior patrols.  I've been made aware that others have experienced issues around the stables at Whiterun however. (never had an attack there in my game).   I want my mod to provide the best coverage possible without making the dawnguard look like an invading army.

 

Also, I'm open to suggestions for future improvements to the mod.  I want to add working "shifts" to the dawnguard for starters, so it's not the same guys standing around 24/7 without sleep.   I've thought about working out a way so that if the vampire faction wins the Dawnguard missions that the Dawnguard is replaced by vampires or something along those lines also.  Going full blast there seems morelike why the other vampires turned on Harkon, but perhaps some sort of a more subtle presence....