I'm looking for a mod that makes minimal changes to the game, doesn't require you to start a new game (safe to dynamically apply on existing save file), and prevents all random combat encounters in cities, towns, and villages.


Specifics:

-Shouldn't interfere with scripted/storyline combat (example, the Forsworn at the meat stall in Markarth) or combat that the player starts.

-Avoid use of scripts. Must be compatible with existing save files.

-100% reliable, assuming there aren't any mod conflicts.

-Only has to prevent random monster attacks specifically on cities, towns, and other populated areas (this means that the player can lure monsters to towns).

-Minimal configurations. I tested the "Timing is Everything" mod and it was too convoluted with too many exceptions. Just remove the offending encounter zones with minimum of fuss. If there's a config, it shouldn't be any more than picking which areas to enable/disable.


The most prominent monster attacks on towns to prevent would be vampires and dragons.

There's no way to avoid scripts with this, afaik. But "Run for your lives" and "When Vampires Attack" (made by the same dude..) are well scripted.

If you want to avoid scripts entirely, then just get a mod that makes NPCs essential. Like "NPCs Protected Redux".

Yes, that's correct. If a mod does something advanced, http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/11811 is a good example why scripts are necessary, scripts is defintely needed and on top of that SKSE/SKSE64 (whenever SKSE64 is released) is required for any similar mod.

https://afkmods.iguanadons.net/index.php?/topic/3024-relzbetawipz-arthmoors-collection/ created both mods which are excellent mods.

Do any of these stop attacks on cities/towns/villages? That's the basic requirement - completely prevent vampires/dragons from spawning in populated areas, with no exceptions allowed.

They do not prevent the event, but they make sure to have NPC's run inside where it's safe to prevent unfortunate deaths.

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/31088/? actually does prevent any vampire attacks in towns, while still allowing them to occur in the wilderness. I use it and am quite happy with it. For SSE there's a mod which disables Dawnguard altogether until a level you choose: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/2399/? (level choices 20 to 90, but has to be used on a new game.)

there you go now you have the basics for your first mod....im sure people will appreciate it.

The other cool thing is NPCs still run out after dragon attacks and comment as they do in vanilla. It's minor, but it's a nice touch. The mod is very transparent... but improves on vanilla. My favorite kind of mod really.

edit: btw, the scripts are few and far between, much like Bethesda's scripts. You don't have to worry about scripts in general. Just hefty and/or persistent ones.

So far, Serethil's post (#6) is the only useful reply I have received.

Is there anything else I should know about Random Vampire Attacks In Town Disabled? Save bloating, navmesh crashes, ...? Can I apply it in the middle of an existing save?

Also: Are there any similar mods that also prevent dragon attacks in town?

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A reminder to everyone else: Only existing mods that 100% prevent hostile spawns in towns are acceptable. Compromises (such as NPCs running away) aren't 100% guaranteed safe and are off topic in this thread.

Snide comments such as qwert's (#7) are spam and off topic.

Well golly gee....why not read the mod page you were directed to and see if there's any incompatibilities and known problems and if that's to snide and spammish just jump onto the post boards and leave some inquiries....yea.

I have no idea. I've never had a problem with "save bloating" in all the years I've played Skyrim (that would be since 11/11/11). So I really don't know what to tell you about your issue there. As far as "off topic in this thread" - honey, this is a public forum. If you post a topic, you WILL get responses that you personally consider "off topic".

I kind of hate to say this. But - if you want THIS particular mod, exactly specified to your requirements - then you're probably going to have to make it yourself. I've always been unhappy with those of the mod community who've said it....

But in this case.... I concur.

You could possible use a mod that make NPC protected if you are worried about NPC's getting killed. I believe the only way they can die is if you kill them unless that NPC has the essential flag on it.

There is no mod that is 100% reliable, The game is not even 100% reliable. Likely the closest mod that is reliable is the unofficial patch from Arthmoor

Most mods are compatible with current game saves but if you want to remove the mod it is recommended to go back to a game save before that mod or mods were added.

For the most part using scripts will not cause issues since mod makers have become quite good with keeping the uses to a minimum and avoiding the scripts which are heavy on the performance.

If on the PC game save bloating is not much of an issue as it is on the consoles and I believe the Unofficial Patch might help prevent some of it.

All the posts that I have read are trying to help you. No need to be rude to them, Next time you might not get any help at all.

It might help us to know what mods you have if you are worried about mod compatibility. The more mods you use the more likely you will have compatibility issues. Most are likely minor and can quite often be resolved by using a bash patch.

As for your request of the mod I have not heard of a mod that does that the closest was the mods from Arthmoor that were suggested earlier and he is one of the top mod makers and his mods are quite reliable. Serethil did have suggestion for a mod but I have never heard of it or used it.

Maybe someone will make that mod for you but it might be up to you to make it.

If you ask for help and/or suggestions, it's unnecessary to get rude with people who are trying to give you feedback. Everyone was just trying to help.


I think everyone can relax and move on, no one was trying to offend or go off topic.

I'm planning on installing "Random Vampire Attacks In town Disabled" - if anyone knows a mod that fits my specifications better, please post it.

In particular, protection against dragon attacks would be appreciated.

@Erzherzoghans: I know this mod already exists, just wanted help finding it. No sense wasting time reinventing the wheel.

True but it helps us to know what your current mods you are using if you want to make the game the most stable.

Hope that mod suits your needs.

Wow, just forget about the earlier 3 right? Yes turning off everything is the way to go, and what you want. But if one were to be specific and account for important things, scripting is the only way, and you got those suggestions already. Run for Your lives and Vampires Attacks was made by someoene who understands how persistence and other "scripting worrisome mechanics" work.


Scriptophobia is the most annoying mod-user phobia I've ever seen. News Flash: Non scripted mods are known to screw games up too.


Looking forward to SKSE going live, so SKSEtophobia can start again.


Addendum: If you're going to ask for help and looking for an answer that pleases you, don't make it point to imply that peoples suggestions that you didn't like, were useless. People remember that kind of attitude and the next time you need 'help', it might fall on death ears.

I can't think of anything that does what you ask but its probably going to have scripts if it does exist. There are very few encounters in cities anyway except for vampires and "Timing is everything" does help with that. What other encounter are an issue? In 1000s of hours of play I've only ever had two dragon attacks inside a walled city. Riverwood does get its share though.

Although I understand your issue here with people suggesting other alternatives than what you are requesting, you might want to be more tactful in how you answer people. I don't think anyone was being snide until you jumped on with this somewhat snide post, and people reacted. I don't think qwert was being snide with post 7. I suspect there is no mod that does exactly everything you want done and creating your own mod can be rewarding experience.

Now to your specific questions regarding the mod Serethil linked that disables random vampire attacks in towns by Quarn, that mod contains no scripts and will not harm your game in any way. It is an exceedingly simple mod that just adds a condition that can never be met to the two "quest nodes" to the random vampire attacks in cities and towns that were added by Dawnguard. It effectively stops these attacks without any adverse effects. All that happens is when the game checks to see if the conditions for this quest are met, the answer is always no, so the quest never happens (I refer to it as a quest because all random encounters of this type are handled by the games "quest" system, so technically the random vampire attacks are a "quest" although it never appears as such to the player).

I don't think there is a mod that does the rest of what you want, or if there is I haven't heard of it. It should be simple to stop random dragon attacks using the same method as used in Quarn's vampire mod (in fact that is how mods like Timing is Everything and Requiem controls them, with conditions that can change when you alter a global variable by adjusting the MCM). However, unlike vampire attacks in towns, I don't think there are separate quests for in town random dragon attacks and wilderness random vampire attacks. So your choice would be to stop all random dragon attacks or not. If you want to only stop the random dragon attacks in towns but not stop the random wilderness dragon atacks, then you are going to need to do something more complex that may very well involve scripting or disabling spawn points or something that could potentially lead to issues if not done right.

As for disabling other types of attacks, like the cultists that attack in Iverstead or the mage battle or the forsworn attacking Markarth during a certain quest, well, many of them are scripted parts of questlines, so it would be a bit of work to track them all down and rewrite the quest-lines. Timing is Everything handles a lot of this and I am unaware of a "lite" version of it. Good luck though.

Dragons attack inside cities too. Possibly Cultists as well?

There is also the mage duel. That one always happens inside Whiterun for me.

Good news, everyone.

I installed "Random Vampire Attacks in Town Disabled" and it appears to work. Tested fast traveling to cities with arrival time after 9 PM in Whiterun and the stable area outside.

Are there any caveats I should know about? I'm mostly concerned about eclipses in particular (I heard that they will spawn anyway on an eclipse). I also know that vampires will continue to random spawn as enemies in encounter zones (similar to how you can get bandits, wild animals, Stormcloaks, Imperials, Altmer, rogue mages, and similar on the road). Perfectly fine if the vampires want to duel with lightning bolts at low midnight (because high noon would be unfair) out in the middle of nowhere.

The mage duel Turija mentioned is a 1-time scripted event that occurs at some part of the College of Winterhold quest line and a non-issue. The cultists that Selene mentioned are the same, a 1-time spawn after you start the Dragonborn expansion.

Dragon attacks on cities are another problem and harder to prevent. Thankfully, they are uncommon. The main problems preventing them are that dragons are highly mobile and somewhat unpredictable (read http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1616572-a-question-about-dragons/). You can't keep dragons out with a wall, except if you want a completely domed city.

Credit goes to Serethil for suggesting "Random Vampire Attacks in Town Disabled). I'd like to leave this discussion open for others.

In over 2600 hours of play recorded by Steam plus about 6 months of offline play I've only had two dragon attacks inside a walled city. It does happen but.....

Many of those encounters are often scenes and I wouldn't mess with them unless I know for sure what I am doing, which will never happen since I don't know much about modding in general.

Well, one thing I failed to state: if you want to do away with dragon and cultist attacks, you can always use http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71465/?, and disable dragons, shouts, etc. I don't know why I didn't think of it before - I start every girl with Skyrim Unbound now, because I am so DONE with the whole dragonborn stuff....