Static Switching SystemDocs
recipe

Actor Scaling and Equipment

Target one placed actor, equip a set, and apply an absolute scale.

Goal

Change one known NPC without affecting every NPC with the same record ID: force equipment onto the actor and set its scale to a fixed value.

Smallest YAML excerpt

instances:
  - conditions:
      - record_id: "caius cosades"
      - content_file_target:
          Morrowind.esm:
            - 67647
    once: true
    actions:
      - equip:
          "imperial helmet armor": 1
          "imperial cuirass_armor": 1
          "imperial shield": 1
          "imperial broadsword": 1
      - transform:
          transform_type: absolute
          scale: 0.1

The example is in Examples/InstanceModifier_DiminutiveCaius.yaml.

Why it works

record_id provides the broad actor check. content_file_target narrows it to reference 67647 originating in Morrowind.esm; both conditions must pass. equip applies the requested items to an actor, creating and moving a missing item into its inventory before sending the forced OpenMW use operation. transform_type: absolute makes scale: 0.1 one-tenth of the normal reference scale instead of a relative multiplier.

Persistence

once: true records that the rule applied to this actor, and the equipment and transform become part of the saved world state. Test changes to broad rules on a copy of an existing save.

Caveats

  • Equipment actions use OpenMW's UseItem behavior. An item that is usable but not equippable may be used or consumed; do not treat equip as a guaranteed armor-only operation.
  • content_file_target needs the exact content filename and local reference number. It is preferable to a stale standalone ref_num condition.
  • A numeric scale is relative unless transform_type: absolute is explicit.
  • The referenced equipment records must be supplied by active content. A missing item can make the intended equipment set incomplete.

Use wildlife randomization for a broad creature rule instead of a reference-targeted actor patch.