Mannequin Enemies

[RS13]

I'd like a mod that replaced some portion of the mannequins with mannequin skinned enemies that don't come alive until you bump then or get too close or something. When I see a mannequin, I want to wonder whether it's just a mannequin or if it's going to try to kill me.

[banan039eu]

This is wonderful idea. Definitely will endorse such mod if it is created. Im no expert in modding but I presume it will be difficult because manequin models have no joints, theyre solid objects

[Warren1317]

Great idea, would be great in an horrror theme mod

[MarkusTay]

Something similar was suggested once before, turning the mannequins into something akin to the 'Weeping Angels' of Dr. Who fame. Unfortunately, it never went anywhere. I am no modder, but I can't see it being too hard converting the mannequin skin to fit a synth.

 

There are some theories out there that the Institute has been watching everyone through the eyes of the mannequins - you'll note they are just about everywhere, in some VERY weird places, and there is even a hard-to-find storyline about them 'coming to life' pre-war in Far Harbor. In fact, it almost seems the people of this alternate Earth have been brainwashed into always having them nearby... just weird.

 

So here was MY idea on how to implement this and keep it within the lore: The Chinese. Now, we all know just about everything is 'Made in China', and even though the U.S. is not on good terms with China (IG), I could still see capitalism winning-out and the Americans still stupidly importing all sorts of stuff from China... including mannequins that were specially made so the Chinese could 'spy through their eyes'. Post-war, the Institute discovers this Chinese 'stealth' tech and figures-out how to tap into it (probably a satellite array similar to GPS). And the best part? The storyline in Far Harbor indicates that just before the apocalypse some of these mannequins were more robotic in-function, probably in order to help with a future invasion (a sort of '5th Column' that could just be turned on at a moments notice, like a 'Sleeper Agent' {Manchurian Candidate}, only better).

 

Now, it seems at some point the Institute switched its focus from more robotic (Gen1's & 2's) Synths to the ones that area quite obviously clones and 'biological' in nature. It could be that they were backwards-engineering some of that old Chinese tech to build their early-model synths, but at some point realized that the longer a positronic brain is active, the more independent it becomes (the robo-brains being an even worse iteration of this), which caused them to switch to the 'living' synths (ones with the 'synth component ' reset unit built in, to avoid anymore wayward servants). An entire quest-mod could be built around a bunch of older Chinese mannequin-synths becoming active, and the player needing to find the Institute control tech to shut them down. You could even choose to play-down the institute's (questionable) involvement with the attacks on the Commonwealth, which never made sense anyway. It could be that they accidentally trigger some robo-mannequins to become active, and it is those that are actually wiping-out settlements in most cases (going with their original 'eradicate all Americans' programming). Regular people would not know the difference between the accidents and actual Institute involvement.... not that the institute's hands would be entirely clean anyway.

 

I picture a cut-scene where the mannequin's painted eyelids open, and you see their real (glowing) eyes for the first time. It would be creepy AF.

 

If I only I had the skills to make that mod happen.