Hey guys-

Just recently got Oblivion for PC, and realized what I was missing out on with the 360 version. One mod that I particularly live is Vilja. I find that traveling with fully-voiced companions is an amazing experience, and I was wondering if there are any other fully-voiced companion mods that are near as good.

Any good answers I get will be posted here, so that I (or anyone else) can come back and look whenever.

They aren't voice acted but http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3027 is my all time favorite companion mod, the quest that goes along with Ruin is excellent, I would also recommend Simyaz' other mods.

Actually, any answers you get will be posted here, good or bad. That's the way the forum works. And as the thread moves down the list of threads, someone else will ask the same question. As happens every month.

But in lieu of suggesting you check those out, I'll state my preferences. Note that all of these are available on TES Nexus. Just go over there, and search on the names.

Companion Vilja: best companion. Tons of dialog, several quests, you can be her assistant, as well as she, yours.
Viconia: lots of quests. Requires a large quest system called the Underdark.
Stoker Wolff: quite a few quests. Romanceable. Also requires the Underdark.
Companion Fergus: good companion following in the footsteps of Vilja. Quite a bit of dialog.
Saerileth: Mild amount of dialog. Earlier mod by the author of Viconia and Stoker Wolff.

Vilja is set to recognize some companions:



I asked about which female ones which she will have most interaction with:



So perhaps Neeshka, if you want a female companion, or otherwise Fergus, which seems to be Emma's favorite sidekick.

Yes, Fergus and Neeshka are my favorite side-kicks for Vilja. Howevere, as Fergus was relatively recently released, the interaction I have added with him is so far only in the WIP-version of Vilja (which will be ver 4 and is in the works). But, Marek (author of Fergus) has added in some interaction with Vilja, following the same kind of system as I have used for Vilja's interaction. Fergus is also able to recognize other companions. I'd say that he is the first companion that belongs in the "same school" as Vilja, i.e. with focus on interaction and personality crafting, and I'm looking forward to see how he develops over time.

Neeshka was the first companion I ever used - I find her good and stable, and with quite a lot of personality for a companion that uses the vanilla voice files and has no storyline attached to her.


P S Talking about companions with personality - don't underestimate the joy in having a borderline criminal http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36966 with optional stalker-behaviour in tow.

The latest Ruined Tail's tale is not voice acted. The old one was.

As for companion control an underrated mod that does away with the many layers of dialogue and menus in order giving - is the mod http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=34576

You can use it alongside other companion mods and it becomes an extra set of controls.

Dremora Companion does not only feature a unique, completely voiced companion but also a challenging quest line that leads you to a unique abode and other treasures - recommended!

Edit: BladeSong is another great fully featured companion/quest mod with complete voice-overs.

I retired Valeria, Valeria 2.0, and Vincente from the Nexus two years ago. So I'm itching my head trying to figure out how Valeria is still making it into conversations about companions.. lol.

@Emma - I'm going to assume the generic comment was directed at Valeria's dialogue. Feature-wise, she was ahead of anything else available when I released her five years ago.

You're right, of course, she lacked in the dialogue department. She had custom dialogue but she wasn't voiced (Valeria 2.0 was fully voiced). She didn't have any idle pvssyr, etc. Five years ago voiced dialogue wasn't a huge necessity. What was a necessity was having a reliable, bug-free companion with quite a few features other companions didn't have at the time of her release. She filled that role for a long time. Many people enjoyed her. People still use her even with the super-companions that are out now. Not bad at all for a "generic" companion. :biggrin:

I have to concede, though, that compared to companions released in the last couple years the original Valeria really is a relic; limited dialogue, no quests, and she's a blind follower. For most people, this late in Oblivion's life, that just isn't enough. People need something to breathe life back into the game. Companions with back stories, quests, and high levels of interaction are doing exactly that.

I haven't played Oblivion for almost a year and a half but I do browse the forums on occasion. If you're still using Valeria you really are overdue for an upgrade. Vilja is a good choice from what I've heard.

-Deep

P.S. If anyone still has a copy of the original Valeria please PM me. My teenager pulled a virus about a month ago and I lost all my mods. I'd like to have a copy of her for my memoirs

*Edited because I can :toughninja:

There are about 50 pages of companion mods on the Nexus which use the CM Companion Mod and about 20 pages of others that don't.

Rather than just a companion you might like one of the quest mods that end with a companion—several have been mentioned already—as opposed to a companion mod with a small quest attached.

Personally I have two favorites: Stoker Wolff (a romance-able companion) in the quest Vampire Hunter, part of the Underdark saga (wherein you can also get Viconia DeVir.) and Heart of the Dead where you have a choice of one of two romance-able companions: Dublin Stormfallow and Wintermoon.

I have recently added Dairanath Avari who is a companion who comes with a rather stretched out quest. (His interactions are metered and he may wait days between conversations) So I haven't even scratched his surface—so to speak.

You answered your own question. As far as I can tell there still aren't nearly enough companions that even come close to those goals.

P.S. Your signature is making me feel a little guilty about mine now.

Thanks and I agree.

I completely forgot about my signature. That was my minor protest to the influx of generic companions a couple years ago. No need to feel guilty about your siggy.

*edit - @cdcooley I just saw today that you are the one scripting Vilja. Quite a technical feat from what I understand. Congrats.

Thanks for the help, guys

What I was refering to with Valeria being "generic" was actually one of her main features, and one that I do appreciate... I meant that you can customize her the way you want, it's up to you to pick her class and skills. Works like a charm, but it means that Vilja cannot talk to her about herself - we don't know where she comes from or what skills she has etc. I probably picked the wrong word and should have used "customizeable" instead of generic - my bad, sometimes my english is a bit "blunt". I do in fact like Valeria and Vincente a lot, they are very well functioning, and I especially tend to drag Vincente along in my game.
Now, the versions of them that I use are probably not the original companions by you - I have downloaded them from TESNexus, they are called Valeria and Vincente revived, and I believe they are some kind of updated version of your original ones. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10266




Yes, since ver 2 Vilja is definitely a teamwork, but I suspect people forget about this a little, as it is my voice they hear all the time :blush:. But without CDCooley, Vilja would just be a pvssyrbox with very modest companion features. :laugh:

I've always known you to be tactful and humble, so I didn't think much of it. I think part of my confusion was which version of Valeria you were talking about.

Yes, those are the GGC Revived editions of the original Valeria and Vincente. They streamlined her quite a bit. What I remember most about the original Valeria is her multi-class scripting was a nightmare. It still is. I had to re-install Oblivion a couple days ago to update a companion I did for the Underdark and peeked at Valeria's code in the CS.. :bonk:

I did release an updated version of Valeria a couple years ago. I think I actually pulled it just before you released Vilja. The updated version of Valeria was OBSE driven and fully voiced. She was still multi-classed but she may have worked better with Vilja.

From what I've heard you definitely outdid yourself with Vilja. My hat is off to you and cdcooley.

-Deep

So how does Illi work now Deep? I don't remember the issues unless it was with voicing?

Hola amigo!

The issue was his armor not showing up after the UD 1.1 release.. so he looked like a drow. In the first version of Illi I had the armor he used listed as unplayable and added to him, and subsequently equipped, via his main script. Something changed with the UD 1.1 release. Not sure if the Mindslayer race got flagged as playable in the UD .esm file but Illi would no longer equip the armor. I had to change his armor to playable and add it to him via inventory. It still perma-equips via his main script.

Everything works as it should now. I've been running him alongside of Vilja and Valeria with no issues with UD 1.1.

-Deep

Hey G, is Sulteric still around? I sent him an email and he hasn't replied.

He's still actively supporting Viconia. Might try messaging him through the Nexus.

-Deep