Modifying Existing Character's Racial Abilities

[tesiscool]

So I was pretty pleased with the aesthetic of the Moonshadow Elves mod (http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=30707) but I wanted to play a mage character so I tried to copy over the racial bonuses (+50 magicka, etc) to the Moonshadow Elves race. However the changes don't seem to show up on my pre-existing character that I wanted to keep. I tried using the "showracemenu" console command and simply reselecting the Moonshadow race but this resulted in my character loosing all of her active abilities, even ones conferred by quests and gear.

 

Is there some way to change the racial bonuses (get rid of the reflect damage, add the +50 magicka) on my existing Moonshadow character?

 

By the way, I'm really new to modding Oblivion. When I made this edit to the Moonshadow race I did it in a new .esp file, is that the correct way to go? Wasn't sure if I should make the edit it's own mod so I don't mess up the original incase I need to revert or if I need to edit the original and I just need to back it up.

 

Thanks!

 

Other facts that I'm not sure are relevant:

- I use OBSE, OBMM, and I'm using the Steam version of the game.

[The_Vyper]

When I made this edit to the Moonshadow race I did it in a new .esp file, is that the correct way to go?

That's the problem right there. The character you're playing is based on the race from the original .esp and the changes you want are in the new one. Make the changes you want into part of the original .esp and they should appear in game.

Edited January 7, 2011 by The_Vyper

[tesiscool]

When I made this edit to the Moonshadow race I did it in a new .esp file, is that the correct way to go?

That's the problem right there. The character you're playing is based on the race from the original .esp and the changes you want are in the new one. Make the changes you want into part of the original .esp and they should appear in game.

Hey, thanks for responding. So I just edited the original Moonshadow mod's .esp file and loaded up my save, no changes seem to have taken. All the original Moonshadow racial bonuses that I removed are still on my character and the Breton racial bonuses that I copied over are not present.

 

I know the modifications I made are present though. I loaded up an old save that is at the very beginning of the game just as you are about to exit the sewers and it allows you to change your race. Before I was a Moonshadow Elf and had all the old Moonshadow bonuses. I then selected to leave the Sewer and changed my race to something else then back to Moonshadow Elf. After doing that I got what I wanted, no Moonshadow bonuses and I had the Breton bonuses.

 

So it appears that rechoosing my race via the chooserace console command blanks out all of my active magical effects but rechoosing my race via the sewers exit correctly updates the racial bonuses to what I want.

 

Any ideas how to get the racial bonuses to update correctly without having to restart my character?

[megamog]

I could be wrong but I think that your character stats are saved in your saved game file. So every time you load it up, you will get what ever they where the last time you save.

Using the "showracemenu" console command will reset your character back to basics as if you just left the sewer and you will lose all your leveling up you have done.

 

Another way to approach this, is you could change your stats via the command console, that way they will be permanent from any save after that.

[Kjkirimi]

A useful trick if you want to add some abilities to your race: open the CS, choose Oblivion.esm and select Moonshadow esp as active file, go to magic menu, right click on the spells and select add new or chose the Moonshadow Bonus or something like that. Type z and you'll find it. If you create a newv ability spell , choose any id that you want like Amyspell ( i always use a as the first letter since it's easier to find it ) and add whatever effects you want like Fortify Magicka 50 pts.

Go then to the race menu ( it's above, Character - Race ) and choose the Moonshadow Elves. Choose General Menu then Specials. Select your spell and drag it to where it says spells.

Save the esp and you now have a new ability.

[InAComaDial999]

Any ideas how to get the racial bonuses to update correctly without having to restart my character?

 

Showracemenu will always cause your racial abilities to disappear if you change an existing character to a new race. The way to fix this is to add them back to yourself via console, using "player.addSpell <formId>", e.g. if you want to add Dunmer fire resistance to yourself you do "player.addSpell 00047AD4". Of course if this is a custom race that uses custom abilities you have to look up the form IDs for their abilities in the CS.