Modded Followers Attacked by others

[jalanhc]

This is the strangest bug I've yet come across. It started just recently and happens even with new game with an unchanged mod list that has been played previously without a problem. Modded followers (and ONLY modded followers, not vanilla) are treated as hostile by NPCs when they enter Whiterun or the tavern in Whiterun. They even attack or at least consider each other as hostile. I'm using EFF, and if the modded followers are in my party, they just say a hostile line like "there you are". If not in party they kill each other. Other NPCs will attack them going through Whiterun gate in either direction, or on entering or leaving the Bannered Mare. But nobody attacks them entering or leaving any other doorway. The followers are from different mods. This behavior happens even before they are recruited. The Whiterun guards do not get involved, but most other NPCs do. The follower mods have been used in many, many play throughs without a problem. BTW, none of the NPCS think the player is hostile, only the follower(s). Has anybody experienced anything like this? And if so, how was it solved?

[jalanhc]

After a bunch of trial and error, I have solved this problem. The problem was unique, and I don't understand the reason, but since the solution might solve other, different problems, here it is.

 

I had attached a Spell to each of the affected NPCs as part of their starting Actor Effects in Tes5Edit. That Spell invoked a number of Magical Effects that were detrimental to that character (self) given certain conditions in game. Both the Spell and the Magic Effects were constant, but only periodically invoked, and never invoked on NPC first appearance. A very similar Spell was attached as an Actor Effect to the player character as well. The presence of that Spell attached to the NPC (and ONLY the NPC) is what caused the aggressive actions when the NPC appeared through doorway cell change. Removing the spell from initial Actor Effects and just adding it later via console solved the problem, but only for new game. Having that Spell attached as an integral Actor Effect corrupted the character for all save games. The very similar spell attached to the player character was not a problem. Since the Spell and all the Magical Effects were self directed, not hostile merely detrimental, I don't know why the game reacted the way it did, especially since adding the Spell later via console was not a problem.

 

If you, like me, modify your files via Tes5Edit by adding built in conditions to NPCs and then you experience very unusual and seemingly unrelated in-game issues, this might save you some time in solving those issues. YMMV.