Ressurecting Dead (and vanished) NPCs

[bryman1970]

I'm using JM's Bar Fights mod. Velus Hosidius, the publican from The Merchants Inn in The Imperial City was apparently killed in a bar fight. Now I can't rent a room there and i'd like to bring him back if possible. Same goes for Maro Rufus from The Best Defense, although i'm not sure who killed him. I found his body in front of the door leading to the inn. I don't use light armor, but he was just another merchant I could sell things to, and i'd like to bring him back as well. I did a little reading on the Oblivion console commands and it said something about being able to 'enable' a missing NPC and resurrect them, but i've tried a few commands and I don't seem to be getting it right. If anyone could show me how to re-enable these NPCs (if possible), i'd greatly appreciate it.

 

The IDs for the NPCs in question are:

 

Velus Hosidius - RefID: 0001d15b; BaseID: 00015EAE

Maro Rufus - RefID: 0001d211; BaseID 00015EAC

 

I'm not sure which ID is needed, so i've listed them both. I assume I can just be anywhere in the Market District when I bring them back. If I need to be somewhere specific, please mention this also.

 

Here's the link to the Oblivion Console Commands page: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Console

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[whalecakes]

I'm pretty sure that if they are killed and allowed to despawn, they are gone for good and cannot be resurrected.

Try 'prid <refid>' then 'resurrect', and if that doesn't work you'd have to use 'placeatme <baseid>' to spawn a new copy of them. I am not sure if the copy will do the same things the original did, though.

[Striker879]

To get an NPC that's dead and now gone from the game (some will persist as dead bodies forever, others only until a cell reset) issue the following commands at the console prompt:

 

prid <reference ID>

enable

resurrect 1

moveto player

 

To find the refID search for the name in the UESP Wiki search box, it will give you the reference ID in the table top right of the page (base ID won't work). I find it best if you're not in the cell that the NPC is usually located. The moveto player will bring them to your location and then they'll walk home on their own. You may want to provide escort if you haven't already cleared all the badguys on their route home (it's not necessary to be a long way outside their home cell ... I've just found that it doesn't work if you're in their normal location). If you can still see their body you can click on them with the console open to get their refID at the top of your screen and then just resurrect 1. The 1 after resurrect allows them to stand up and keep all their inventory.

Edited March 8, 2011 by Striker879

[bryman1970]

So I crossed the bridge outside of The IC near the Market District entrance (i'm using New Roads & Bridges) to The Heartlands and used the mentioned console commands to bring both Velus and Maro back. They appeared and started walking towards the Imperial City. So far, so good. Or so I thought. On the way back over the bridge later on, I noticed Velus lying dead on the ground. I opened the console and typed 'resurrect 1' which brought him back to life again, but he just seemed to stand there. At that moment, an Imperial guard stationed near a guard tower (from the NR&B mod) started running towards him with his sword drawn as if Velus was the enemy. Once again, Velus was cut down. I resurrected him once again and the same thing happened, and he also didn't seem to move. I decided to get out of sight of the guards and try to bring Velus back again. On the way to the Imperial Prison, I noticed Maro walking towards the bridge. I figured he would eventually end up back at The Best Defense, so I left him alone. I brought Velus back again and since they were both alive, I could go to their respective buildings and move them to there through the console. I reached The Merchants Inn and brought Velus back. He walked behind the counter and I assumed everything was fine. Now, off to The Best Defense I went. Once there, I summoned Maro and sold him a bunch of things. Occasionally, he would mention that if I didn't leave, he would call the guards, even though I hadn't been caught stealing anything or tried to harm him. My bounty was also at 0. After a few minutes or so, Varnado started attacking Maro as if he were the enemy and killed him. I resurrected Maro again, who started attacking ME. Varnado continued his attacks against Maro and I just decided to leave the building. Turning around to face the door, I noticed it was locked and it was only 1 pm. It seems that somehow some of the NPCs are taking an aggressive stance against both Maro and Velus, most likely leftover behavior from when they were first killed. Is this something that is permanant or is there a way to remove the 'enemy' status from these 2 NPCs?

[Striker879]

It's quite common when you resurrect an NPC that their AI package takes a while to reset. I usually leave the cell and go into the nearest building that triggers the autosave. When you return they'll usually be headed home. You could also use the console to toggle their AI ... make sure you have their refID showing at the top of the screen first or you'll toggle everyone's AI. I only do one NPC at a time so that I can provide 'escort' home. Not sure about your problem with the guard and then later with Maro and Varnado. The console command 'stopcombat' again with them selected may help. You could also just leave the cell for 73 hours and see what shape they're in ... maybe they'll be best buds again. This works quite often when you need to get the game AI and scripts back on track.

 

Edit: Does the Bar Fights mod say how to reset combatants??

Edited March 8, 2011 by Striker879

[bryman1970]

The Bar Fight's mod doesn't say anything about resetting. It just has an option immortal NPCs and normal NPCs, the immortal ones meaning NPCs shouldn't be killed. This also confuses me since Velus was obviously killed in some sort of brawl, unless it was with an NPC from another mod.

[Striker879]

Had a look at the mod page and I take it you're using the 'JM's Bar Fights mortal.esp'. There doesn't seem to be much recent activity from the mod author supporting the mod so you may not get much additional info from there. One suggestion is to use the 'JM's Bar Fights.esp', but that unfortunately will only protect the additional NPCs added by the mod by making them essential. In the first couple of pages of mod comments I saw concerns similar to your's around losing NPCs. You may get lucky with waiting for cell resets to reset AI status, not sure how that will work vs the guards and bounty for your bar fighters. Experiment with timing for your resurrect, that may make a difference. Maybe you need a 'jail' to hold your resurrected NPCs in until they cool down (I'm thinking doorless room or key required to open from the inside or something ... a bit beyond my capabilities with the CS).

 

Another thing that may help is the 'setav' console command. On this page of actor values I think you'd use 'setav 37 0' to get them bounty free (with their refID at the top of the screen of course). You may need to use 'moddisposition' to get them all buddy buddy after a big fight. If I remember correctly you may need the baseID for the other actor you're trying to modify ... been a while since I toyed with that one.

 

Bottom line ... if you keep this mod you'll be giving lessons on how to use the console in no time. :happy:

[bryman1970]

So i've been playing the game a bit, doing some exploring outside of The Imperial City. After at least a few days of travelling around, I went back to the IC and decided to check on Velus and Maro. They were both in their proper areas, and seemed to be getting along with the other NPCs very nicely. Varnado was even standing behind his counter and not beating the living hell out of Maro, so this is all a very good sign, If it happens againh with them or other NPCs, I assume the same solution will fix this issue.