» Fri Oct 09, 2015 9:35 am Dragon Claw Stands
A simple mod to provide display stands for your dragon claws.
People like to display their collectibles in their homes. I am no different, but I've always wanted a way to do the same with the dragon claw keys used on the Nord ruin puzzle doors one they're of no use anymore. It always seemed silly to just toss them in a chest and forget about them since they're among the more unique things about the game. So the idea came up to make a display stand for the claws, but not just any display stand. One that was somewhat unique and fitting with their style and purpose. Thanks to some help from the folks at AFK Mods, this is now a reality
Each vanilla player home, as well as the 3 Hearthfire homes, and Severin Manor in Raven Rock, now have display stands in various numbers. Simply have one or more of the claws in your inventory and activate the stand. If you have only one, it will be automatically displayed. If you have more than one, it will ask you which one you want to display, in much the same way the Paragon Gem platform in Falmer Valley does with Paragon Gems. If you should want it back for some reason, simply activate the stand a second time and it will be returned to your inventory.
Under the hood, the mod takes the claw from your inventory, puts it into a hidden chest, and then places a clone of it in the visible world. When the claw is removed from the stand, the original copy in the chest is placed into your inventory and the clone is deleted to ensure there is no save bloating from creating multiple claws repeatedly. This is done in case the claw is marked in a quest alias somewhere so that the alias is not disrupted.
Not all houses can display every claw due to limited space. Severin Manor is the only one with enough space to hold all 10 in the same cell. The Hearthfire houses split them up between the Main Hall and the basemant, and all of the vanilla houses can only hold some. For example, Breezehome only has room for 4, while Proudspire Manor can hold up to 7. The placement of the stands are also tied to certain room upgrades, except for Severin Manor where they all get enabled once the player owns the property.
As an added bonus, if other mods add more dragon claws, they can be added to the formlist used to track the vanilla game claws. All they would need is a script to access the formlist and add their base object to that list. The only condition is you would need to be sure the mod added claw is the only one in your inventory when you want to place it. This is due to limitations on how the menu works when asking for a claw.
Download Locations
http://afkmods.iguanadons.net/index.php?/files/file/1629-dragon-claw-stands/
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531560683
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/70395/
http://www.darkcreations.org/files/file/1074-dragon-claw-stands/
http://www.theassimilationlab.com/forums/files/file/1218-dragon-claw-stands/
Installation Requirements
Official Skyrim patch 1.9.32.0.8 or greater.
Official Hearthfire DLC.
Official Dragonborn DLC.
Installation - Wrye Bash BAIN
Drop the archive into your Skyrim Mods\Bash Installers folder, then install as usual.
Make sure the mod is active in the Wrye Bash mods tab.
Installation - Steam Workshop
Subscribe to the mod via the Workshop page, then use the Skyrim launcher to allow it to download and install.
Make sure it's active in the Data Files menu.
Installation - Nexus Mod Manager
Use the "Download with Manager" button on the page at Skyrim Nexus. The installer should take care of things from there.
Then simply make sure NMM has the mod activated.
Installation - Manual
Drop the Dragon Claw Stands.esp and Dragon Claw Stands.bsa files into your Data folder.
Activate the mod using whatever management tool suits you.
Uninstalling
Due to the nature of Skyrim mods, especially those adding scripts, it is strongly discouraged to attempt uninstalling a mod from your active game. Any mod that is more than pure mesh or texture replacements has the possibility to leave behind permanent changes to your save that you may not want. This is not something modders can correct for. It is how the game was designed by Bethesda. No support will be provided for anyone who uninstalls this mod from an active game and continues on with that save.
To remove the mod: Reclaim any dragon claws on display. If you don't, they will be lost forever.
Then delete the Dragon Claw Stands.esp and Dragon Claw Stands.bsa from your Data folder and reload your game as usual.
Load Order
Place before any mods which may alter the lighting data for any of the supported housing.
LOOT (http://loot.github.io/) should be used for optimal placement.
Compatibility
May have minor conflicts with other mods that alter vanilla homes, the Hearthfire homes, or Severin Manor.
Should be 100% compatible with any texture replacements for dragon claws.
Compatibility with any mods that may change the default dragon claw meshes cannot be guaranteed.
Known Issues
When placing a claw, you may hear NPCs comment on it saying things like "Be careful" or "Watch what you're doing". This appears to be unavoidable due to how the claws need to be placed into the world.
When reclaiming a claw from a stand, hovering the cursor over the claw itself will show the "take" UI. Move the cursor away to either side and make sure it says "Activate Dragon Claw Stand" instead. There appears to be no way to suppress the "take" UI in the game for objects handled this way.
Credits
Dwip - For the custom made claw stand mesh.
Hana - For providing the collision on the custom mesh, and for helping to resolve some Nifskope issues with it as well.
Bethesda - For the Paragon Gem script in Dawnguard that led to the solution to make this mod work to begin with.
