I need a merchant to sell some unique items in Cloud Ruler Temple and give the player some direction. I've searched the CS and the UESP Wiki and I cannot find any merchants in CRT. The only likely choice would be Ferrum, who spends much of his time in the armory. But he dismisses the player any time you try to talk to him. Also, some mods, like UOPS, alter his behavior.

Before I start editing away at his behavior, I'm wondering if it would be simpler and less intrusive to create a new NPC merchant? Ferrum just seems like a good choice.

Thanks for the help.

~ Dani ~

If it's for your own use, then alter his AI. If it's for release then create a new NPC for this. In my experience, I've found it "cleaner" to just set-up a new NPC for a merchant than to edit an existing one.

In general, if you use an existing NPC, then any other mod can undo your work, so you avoid it.

The middle ground is to clone the NPC and temporarily disable the original. I.e. there's still a Ferrum in the game, but now it's yours. Other mods that change Ferrum are changing the original and don't affect yours, and since you disabled the original, aren't doing anything at all. This technique is best used for limited periods, such as during a particular quest stage, so you're also not affecting the other users of Ferrum once you swap them back. Do it while the player's in another cell and you can make it seamless.

I use a mod that adds a NPC vendor to Cloud Ruler Temple. Not sure offhand what it's called, though.