[HELP] Body Mods, their capabilities and applications

[MazderVerhal]

Okay, firstly, hello everyone. I am a returning player to the world of modded Skyrim Special Edition and I have forgotten quite a bit I used to know. Namely body mods.

I used to use UNP and then switched to CBBE the last time I played. However, I have forgotten which is better, and if there were any mods for NPC bodies that did not let them use my player's body. I did use RaceMenu but I can't remember if that gave the solution I want in the most simplest way.

So my questions are as follows;

1) Which body mods are the best/easiest to use?

2) If they do have the capabilities for NPC's to use different modded bodies/Vanilla bodies instead how do I appply/manage that?

3) Are there any NPC body variance mods that are also simple to install?

4) Which of the body mods have the better application for NPC and player armours?

If anyone could assist me I would be most grateful. Thank you in advance.

[anjenthedog]

Better? That's subjective. What you think is better might not be what I think is better might not be what Joe Blow thinks is better...

 

I use CBBE for my female character. I've tried to download and use UNP and its variants, but I can't preview them in Bodyslide studio, (none of them) so I gave up, even though some UNP/UUNP/UNPB/etc bodies looks pretty good.

 

IN any case, I have over a dozen different base model bodyslides installed (CBBE), so I can use one on her, another on a follower that accepts CBBE slides, another on another follower that accepts them, and so forth. That allows me to fit armors to them (as long as I dedicate an armor (or group of armors) to one body type.

 

For my male character, I just use the stock body, so I think it's UNP or some variant thereof. (or so I've been told).

 

Then again, he really doesn't get much more than one set of armor and some accouterments (magic rings, necklaces, and a shoulder fur cape), whereas the chicks get different outfits. I actually allow my followers to pick and choose themselves from a pretty large group of armor I give them. it's weird, almost like they have minds. I can give them the same sets of armor to figure out, and inevitably, one fem follower will pick out certain items, another will pick another group, another follower yet another, etc. And what's more, they all change what they're wearing over time without any rhyme or reason (at least from my perspective) Just like real females :wink:. I find it humorous, oddly mysterious, and surprisingly attractive sometimes (For simulacrums) Same for weaponry. For instance "Sha" (not a cbbe body type SevNbase) seems to prefer the ebony dagger to the ebony sword I gave her, even though the sword has a much higher hit value) Lydia likes broadswords over swords or daggers.

 

edited for spelling

[MazderVerhal]

Better? That's subjective. What you think is better might not be what I think is better might not be what Joe Blow thinks is better...

 

I use CBBE for my female character. I've tried to download and use UNP and its variants, but I can't preview them in Bodyslide studio, (none of them) so I gave up, even though some UNP/UUNP/UNPB/etc bodies looks pretty good.

 

IN any case, I have over a dozen different base model bodyslides installed (CBBE), so I can use one on her, another on a follower that accepts CBBE slides, another on another follower that accepts them, and so forth. That allows me to fit armors to them (as long as I dedicate an armor (or group of armors) to one body type.

 

For my male character, I just use the stock body, so I think it's UNP or some variant thereof. (or so I've been told).

 

Then again, he really doesn't get much more than one set of armor and some accouterments (magic rings, necklaces, and a shoulder fur cape), whereas the chicks get different outfits. I actually allow my followers to pick and choose themselves from a pretty large group of armor I give them. it's weird, almost like they have minds. I can give them the same sets of armor to figure out, and inevitably, one fem follower will pick out certain items, another will pick another group, another follower yet another, etc. And what's more, they all change what they're wearing over time without any rhyme or reason (at least from my perspective) Just like real females :wink:. I find it humorous, oddly mysterious, and surprisingly attractive sometimes (For simulacrums) Same for weaponry. For instance "Sha" (not a cbbe body type SevNbase) seems to prefer the ebony dagger to the ebony sword I gave her, even though the sword has a much higher hit value) Lydia likes broadswords over swords or daggers.

 

edited for spelling

Coolio, thanks for replying, it's cleared some things up.

 

You don't happen to know about my 2nd/3rd question more specifically though, at all?

I just don't want to have every woman looking like supermodels, especially the old-uns.

[anjenthedog]

re: #2 no, I'm not sure/don't know. Some "NPCs" (specifically, Some follower/companions) have dedicated bodyslide addons (search on 'sofia' for instance) that allow the player to use a specific body ~easily using Bodyslide Studio, most don't and the way I've been instructed to tweak them is a manual replacement of files that I wouldn't advise a "true newb" (I was one only a few months ago, so no insult intended) to jump on...until you've been in game for a while and are more comfortable with how things work.

 

There are of course mods (see below) that allow revising or replacing NPC bodies and faces. Some mods allow limited use of racemenu on targeted NPCs. One is "Lazy Tools", another is Manipulator, but afaik the latter is not available on Nexus (See lover's lab) . there are others too I think, but I'm pretty saturated with ingame modification tools (ie like lazy tools, etc) and getting a bit cross-eyed by what I already have installed. they can end up contending with each other... (I've been fighting with NPC scale - height - values for a while now. soon as I get a follower to the "right" height, they revert due to another mod interfering)

 

3) yes. there are mods that will alter the NPCs.

 

this seems the most likely place to look: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/categories/33/

 

there may be others, but I'm not sure. Many you'll find there are prettifying mods. Hot chicks where vanilla are kinda ugly. Some even make old women look like chicks in their 20s, so be warned. Some just make their bodies into those of chicks in their twenties and leave the faces old women. Some make NPCs a bit uglier. IDK... I've given up control on how they interact. It'l probably take a full reinstall to clean things up, and I don't plan on that any time soon.

 

I'm no skyirm ninja, so just tread lightly, that's all I can say.

 

Hopefully one of the more savvy folks will show up to properly illuminate you, but til then you either have to twiddle your thumbs or jump in and start swimming.

 

I'd recommend, as boring as it might be, plodding through the mods listings and at least briefly reviewing each before installing. The paneled overviews usually offer enough to get started and if they seem interesting or will do "what you want" you can click on them to see the nitty gritty, view example photos of their results, read posts that might reveal problems or benefits, see whether they're UNP or CBBE based, (or both) etc, check requirements for their installation, etc.

 

I scribbled down a list for myself of what I thought was interesting before I began downloading stuff. (No, I don't have it any more, that got pitched when I was cleaning my desk one day...one of those "I'll never need this again" things)

 

I've gone one by one through the entire "All mods" listing as well as by category, although by category not as thoroughly because some categories just don't interest me ... civil war for instance...no desire to take sides...they can fight forever as far as I'm concerned. although I do like putting the high elves (aldemeri) out of everyone's misery. I also don't like the uber fat chick body models some folks seem mesmerized by. If I wanted to see that I'd just hit up the local Walmart. (and that's not a slam on Walmart either, it's just a fact of life at least where I live)

 

for variety, look up RS Children and Diverse Skyrim SSE, the first because vanilla children are freakishly wierd looking, and the second well, you read about it and be the judge.

 

If you use Bodyslide, be careful about using the batch function, you can end up changing all the NPC bodies as a result of the wrong choices. If you pick being a female player, make sure that the only thing you choose is yourself when picking nude/nevernude bodies, and fwiw, I'd avoid using batchmode on outfits until you settle on several you want for your character and only apply changes to those, leaving the remainder as possible armor "fits" for any other installed body types. (that is, leave some so you can fit them to followers that have different bodies. armor/clothing can look annoying when skin is sticking out where it shouldn't be.

 

PS> forgive my vernacular (re: Chicks) I'm an old fart and that's what we used to call young women in their late teens through early 30s, way way way back in the stone ages of the last century during 1970s, 1980s, and even into the 1990s.

 

edited for spelling and content