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Is there are way to reset all NPCs back to their original starting positions?
In my game half the population of Balmora has fallen into the river and some of the guilds characters have simply disappeared.

I don't want to have to manually move each NPC but is there a command to move an NPC next to you?

Doesn't "ra" reset all actors in the zone?

Yep, it should do but in some cases it fails. When it does it is easiest to use a "placeatpc" command to just put a clone of the NPC where you want them.



Yes, it is the "position" command. Bit of messing about but you first need to find your position. Open the console and enter TDT. Bottom left you will see the x, y, and z co-ordinates so make a note of them.
Then you need the id of the NPC you want to bring to you. In the console enter - postion->"NPC id" x, y, z, 1 and the NPC should appear at your position.

*Note* you need the "1" on the end of the co-ords as it is the z rotation (direction it faces) and can go from -180 to 180. But 1 is easiest.

I've had similar problems. It's most likely because you've used TCL to disable collision detection when you're within speaking range of any NPC's. I think it's a bug that causes them to behave strangely, sometimes following you when you fly up/down, sometimes not. When you use TCL again to re-enable collision detection, they can fall and die or even fall OUT of the game world altogether if they're below ground level!

I once used TCL at the Siltstrider landing in Balmora to fly up for an overhead view of Balmora. Unknown to me, Hul the Pauper (Female Argonian) had followed me up there. I was admiring the view when she approached me from behind and growled, "What does it want"! Needless to say, there's still a head-shaped dent in my ceiling to this day! I'm kidding!

As for moving NPC's around, the console provides no way to do it (at least I haven't discovered if there is a way yet). However, you can "fudge" it by killing them then recreating them at a new position. Here are the console commands relevant to your original question:-

Key:

[] = Meaning of abbreviation.

{} = Placeholder for a TES:CS object ID. If it contains any spaces, they MUST be enclosed in quotes, i.e. ID h8_ball (underscore as separator) is OK, but h8 ball (space as separator) must be enclosed in quotes to make it "h8 ball". The ID of an NPC is usually their name in lower case only.

TCL [Toggle CoLlision]
Toggles collision detection disabled/enabled for yourself AND any NPC's within speaking range. Causes strange effects with NPC's sometimes following when you change height, sometimes not. Wandering NPC's can also end up stuck in walls, etc, often completely hidden from view.

Tip: Use TCL to disable collision detection ONLY when you're WELL out of speaking range of any NPC's. I'm not sure what happens if you THEN come within speaking range, since I've stopped using TCL around NPC's because its effect is too unpredictable.

TAI [Toggle Artificial Intelligence]
Toggles AI disabled/enabled for ALL NPC's and Creatures.

Tip: TAI, TCL might prevent NPC's following you up/down when collision detection is disabled, since they shouldn't move with their AI disabled. Once you're finished flying around, use TCL, TAI to reset back to normal. Personally, I haven't tested this since I don't usually use TCL around NPC's.

RA [Reset Actors]
Resets all actors in the current cell back to their original start positions. I have noticed, however, that after casting Command Humanoid on an NPC, they often won't reset. This may be because their original position is now the last position they were at when your last Command Humanoid spell wore off.

Tip: If NPC's seem missing or are stuck in geometry, TCL, RA, TCL will sometimes reset them, i.e. disable collision, reset actors, enable collision. It doesn't always work, though, definitely not if they've fallen and died.

{NPC}->SetHealth 0
Instantly kills an NPC without penalty. Use if they've fallen off a platform or through geometry and are stuck, then use PlaceAtPC to respawn them, preferably somewhere where they won't do it again!
Example: "dranas sarathram"->SetHealth 0

PlaceAtPC {NPC},0,0,0
Spawns an instance of an NPC at your current location, facing in the same direction you're facing. You'll initially be inside them, but all you have to do is walk out of them. Use to respawn NPC's who've fallen and died, or those you've killed.
Example: PlaceAtPC "dranas sarathram",0,0,0

If all else fails, use SetHealth 0 to kill an NPC, then PlaceAtPC to respawn them again at (or near) their original position.

Finally, for completeness, PC Console Commands - Full Listing

Hope this helps.

Edit 1: People have posted while I was editing. There's no mention of the Position command in the full list but, if it works, by all means use it.

Edit 2: Aha! Found it in the modding section of the Wiki! TES3Mod:Position. Personally, I find it's easier to just use SetHealth 0 then PlaceAtPC, which respawns them AT your current position without needing to learn any coordinates.

Yes there is.



This is the way the game often moves NPCs - like Mehra Milo to the various places she goes, like those NPCs to the Arena for a duel. You can also move them to an inside cell with "PositionCell" and adding the location of the cell at the end. For example

"bolvyn venim"->PositionCell 1 1 -325 270 "Vivec, Arena Pit"

Rohugh to the rescue again! Thanks for correcting me.

I still prefer my own method (SetHealth 0, then PlaceAtPC) because the NPC takes on MY current position/angle in the current cell. There's no need to figure out x,y,z coordinates, angle or the exact cell name. Too time-consuming and fiddly for me.

Anyway, I'm spending too much time editing posts... Time for some actual gameplay!

I might be wrong, but I'm pretty certain that some quests don't check to see if an NPC is alive, but if he's been killed, so that method might make some quests impossible to complete if you use it for important characters.

Indeed.
Better to use Disable, unless that also sets them as dead...

The quests all check to see if there is a dead count on them, not how they have been killed.



Disable does not set a dead count. An example of this is Caius Cosades who is just disabled when he "leaves" for the mainland. So yes, disable is OK.

some excellent replies. i've learnt more than my original question asked

to answer h8ball, i've never used the TCL command, but it would have been so useful to get through doorways blocked by an NPC. i'll remember it as the TLC command since you kindly move them. up till now i've tried to jump into the corner above their head then use fixme and hope i get in the room. sometimes it takes several attempts.

ok, i tested the RA command. standing on the bridge and watching everyone taking a bath, and... WAZAP! they all discapeared
i checked on Caius Cosades to see if he was back and he wasn't which is correct because he's been recalled. Galbedir is still missing so she couldn't be in the cell otherwise RA would have reset her. i'm guessing she was abducted by aliens and dropped at the center of the world (wherever that is)

Note that RA only resets the NPCs in the cell you are in. So standing outside in Balmora will only effect that area, not the Guild of Mages. You need to be in there and enter it for it to move the actors.

i wondered about that. anyway, went back to the mages guild and tried it. Galbedir is still missing. i guess she is genuinely gone rather than simply misplaced. i'll put her back maybe but she's not a necessary NPC for me now. i just got used to her smiling face

It's TCL, not TLC... TLC stands for Tender Loving Care, which is what you get from us helpful posters!

Did you try TCL, RA, TCL, as I suggested? Sometimes, when NPC's are stuck in walls, etc, RA has no effect unless you use TCL first to disable collision so they can move from where they're stuck.

I've had a few cases where Siltstrider or Boat merchants have fallen off their platforms due to the "NPC drift bug". This is where supposedly completely stationary NPC's sometimes move VERY slightly when you enter their cell. Eventually, they drift SO far they end up partly embedded in walls, furniture, falling through roofs, off platforms, etc. Usual cure for me is regular use of RA to reset them, especially in Balmora since it's my in-game home town and I'm a frequent visitor to many of the interior cells.

If they don't turn up after RA, you'll have to use PlaceAtPC to respawn them because they've probably fallen out of the world. Or, in your own words, Abducted By Aliens!

There's also an "AI Wander bug", affecting NPC's who wander around in exterior cells. Sometimes, they'll wander completely off the invisible Path Grid that tells them the routes they can take around buildings, etc. You can use TPG [Toggle Path Grid] to see it. I once found Hul the Pauper, who normally wanders around the Balmora Silstrider area, completely out of position WAY North of Fort Moonmoth, next to a Daedric Shrine. She must have been suffering from a severe case of wanderlust!

RA won't work in cases like this, since it only resets NPC's to their original positions in their original cells. If they've wandered into a different exterior cell, RA has no effect on them. You can use Command Humanoid to lead them back and try RA. If they're too far away, though, it's best to just use SetHealth 0 (which works from any cell) then PlaceAtPC.

Thankfully, I've only so far had to use SetHealth 0 and PlaceAtPC with NON-quest givers. I think Disable only prevents the game rendering an NPC and allowing you to interact with them until Enable is used to reverse its effect. This is how Galbedir temporarily disappears during Ajira's "Fake Soul Gem" quest. She's still there and is still alive, just can't be seen or interacted with. If true, this means using Disable then PlaceAtPC will spawn a SECOND instance of the NPC. If the first instance is Enabled again by a script, there'll be TWO of them! I'm not sure, but a few experiments with SSG [ShowSceneGraph] might prove useful, to see if it actually lists a Disabled NPC.

Best of luck "cleaning up" Balmora. It's a dirty old town, especially when they're up to their necks in it (sic)!

Disable does indeed remove whatever is targetted from existence. Also... Galbedir is never Disabled: During that quest, she merely walks downstairs, then walks back upstairs.

I was thinking of using the ra command myself to put the stilt strider persoin back on their ramp, but does the command also reset NPCs that have ben killed?

No. RA will reset those NPCs who have moved of their own accord but does not replace those who have been killed, have been moved by the game or have left that area and have gone to another.

well, i tried going to the center of the world at Assarnatamat. there weren't any NPCs there (apart from a few hostiles inside). wish i'd taken some grand soul gems cause 3 gold saints spawned.

tried tcl, ra, tcl in the guild. that didn't work. thought about going back to my house and checking under my bed (just in case), but fended off the idea

looks like Galbedir is lost until i can summon her clone. but it'll never be the same Galbedir! even if she doesn't know, i will

would make for an interesting quest plot though. NPCs keep disappearing until no one is left in town. finally you follow the breadcrumbs to Assarnatamat where they'd been abducted in their sleep. you rescue them, but how have to wait in the queue while 100 NPCs pile out of the shrine to find their own way home

Since NPC's can't leave interior cells, Galbedir has obviously fallen out of the game world. You'll have to respawn her using PlaceAtPC.

If you want the original back and next to her desk, first check to ensure she is not dead with

getdeadcount "galbedir"

A return of 0 is alive, 1 is dead.

Assuming she is alive and living in "neverneverland" use this command to move the original next to her desk in the guild.

"galbedir"->positioncell -371, 35, 195, 1, "balmora, guild of mages"

i take it proper capitalization isn't necessary when using the command prompt?

I use mixed case in my explanations to make commands more easily readable. Sorry. I should have mentioned that console commands AREN'T in fact case-sensitive. When I actually type them, I just use lower case. I'm so used to it, I keep forgetting other people don't know...

Re. Rohugh's commands. Because "galbedir" doesn't have any spaces, you can miss out the double quotes, i.e. getdeadcount galbedir. However, "balmora, guild of mages" does have spaces, so double quotes are required to avoid a command syntax error.

yay! Galbedir is back!

i tried getdeadcount and it returned 0.00. so she's alive i thought! if i had created an imposter clone in her place she would have languished in the abyss forever

so, i tried galbedir->positioncell -371,35,195,1,"balmora, guild of mages" and she appeared embedded in the ceiling hanging from the waste. just as well the game spared her blushes as it was quite a view i tell you!

i found replacing the 195 z coordinate with 0 worked. maybe it's relative so since i was standing on the same floor level it needed to be zero? anyway, Galbedir is back!!!

i thank you all for helping me rescue her and sparing her from eternal solitude

I'm pretty sure it does not.

Good-o. Those co-ordinates are the ones I picked from my game and should be the same in every one, but, not to matter, you have your lady back, and you know the colour of her ....... well never mind.

As far as the ones busy with their little pool party in the river, they're too amusing to move. I wouldn't care if the whole town went into the river as long as they gave the right responses when I jumped in & swam over to talk to them.
Don't think anybody has vanished on me yet.