Furthering making pacifistic stealth a viable way to play in Morrowind, this mod allows you to do stealthy takedowns along with means of dealing with your adversaries that aren't murder.
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Changelogs
Version 1.5.1
Guess who got excited about the new builds feature and fudged one of the MCM options? Yep. It was me. Sorry about that. The slider for medium helm chance will work now.
Version 1.5
A preliminary new feature, spellbinder! Knockout foes with fatigue spells! Check the description to learn more.
A new menu system with a brilliant piece of art as the header provided by my talented partner!
This release coupled with the latest WulfLib should fix difficulties with getting combat to end using the Stay Down feature. Prior, if enemies were clumped together (and/or clumped together near containers), the game would get confused about who the target of the Stay Down attempt was. This should no longer the the case. I did a lot of testing with enemy clumps and it looks good! I hope it works for you, too.
Other under-the-hood tamperings. Refactoring and all that.
Version 1.4
This will mostly be a summary of prior experimental releases...
All remaining Fatigue Damage Only issues should be fixed.
An option has been added to disable enemy fatigue regeneration in combat.
An option has been added to multiply the fatigue damage done.
An option has been added to claim the damage event should Fatigue Damage Only not work right.
Bonk is now extremely modular, undesired features can actually be deleted.
Changes have been made to reflect recent changes in WulfLib. Version-checking for WulfLib is now in place.
Version 1.3.5
[Experimental] Version-checking for WulfLib is now in place. This will make it easier for users to know they have the correct version going forward.
Version 1.3.4
[Experimental] This release modularises all of the features of the mod into self-contained modules—the idea being that if you don't like a feature, you can actually delete the module itself. It was more done in preparation for future projects than anything else. Plus, I really like modularity.
[Experimental] Efforts have been made to further lock down any issues with Fatigue Only Damage. Also, claiming the damage function has become its own option as this will make for easier testing. If you're having issues with Fatigue Only Damage, please try testing with that option on and off. It'll be revealing if it works only with it on for anyone having difficulty.
Version 1.3.3
[Experimental] This version sets e.claim = true on the damage event to see whether that'll stop things from tampering with Bonk setting e.damage to zero when the Fatigue Damage Only option is on. This shouldn't cause problems with other mods because the event is only claimed after a battery of checks are performed, including that the Fatigue Damage Only option is on.
Version 1.3.2
[Experimental] An option has been added to disable enemy fatigue regeneration.
[Experimental] A slider has been added to multiply fatigue damage (0-1 results in no difference, 'cause maths).
Version 1.3.1
[Experimental] I've added a debug print to report on damage done when Fatigue Damage Only is off.
Version 1.3
The sound issue that occurred when Fatigue Damage Only was on has been fixed.
NPCs now properly respond to being hit with Fatigue Damage Only on.
This miiiiight fix any incompatibility-related discrepencies regarding non-HtH fatigue damage.
Version 1.2
Staves now work properly. This code should eliminate any further issues with recognising weapon types. (Thanks to itsWHISPERn7 for reporting this!)
Version 1.1
I went over the code with a fine-tooth comb in preparation for separating out the code common to both Bonk & Feedbag into its own library, WulfLib, which i've now done and you'll need to grab
I goofed the sound options, not sure how i didn't catch that sooner.
Version 1.01
Both: Under-the-hood optimisation and code cleaning.
Feedbag: I derped the debug logic where it wouldn't show the mesh info of an unfamiliar creature type, which... kind of defeats the purpose of having that debug print as it's mostly for people to be able to report animals they want supported to me. Oops. Not a bug in the mod's function per se, but definitely something that needed to be fixed.
Version 1.0 RC3
Bonk: So, I don't like fighting the betmer, the beast races. I have a big soft spot for them. Twin Lamps all the way! It's a testament to that that I didn't even think to include them in Bonk as I just... wouldn't fight them. I was looking over the tables today and the lack of their inclusion hit me. "Oh no." Well, they're covered by Bonk too now. If you actually want to hit them in the first place.
Feedbag: I added an option where feeding requires the character to crouch. This is for those who'd like to bind the key to space so it fits in with other duck-to-activate systems in Bethesda games. I know that's a thing, and now it can be a thing with Feedbag too if that's what you'd prefer!
Version 1.0 RC2
Both: Did some sanity cleaning and refactoring to keep things from getting overloading, creeping ever closer to 1.0.
Bonk: The Fatigue Damage Only system now obeys the same humanoid NPC/creature only rules that the rest of the mod does. It turns out that fatigue-boxing ghosts isn't actually that fun. (This was actually a bit of an oversight rather than anything intentional.)
Feedbag: Critters with a fight stat of 0 wouldn't enter combat if the player attacked. I feel that's strange behaviour, so I fixed that. I will stress, so long as the player doesn't attack them after feeding, they won't enter combat. IF fed again, they'll leave combat again and stay out of combat until hit again. AI logic stuffs.
Feedbag: Added some debug prints revolving around the AI behaviour when critters are in/out of combat.
Version 1.0 RC1
Both: Almost comfortable enough to call both of these 1.0-ready. RC1 for now.
Bonk: My testing yielded no issues, thus no changes. I just updated the interop/doc version.
Feedbag: For those that use the option (as I do), I've changed how feeding to end combat works. Now, a creature will only exit combat on the feed where their fight stat hits zero. If a creature has a fight stat of zero and they aern't in combat, they won't enter combat again unless you hit them. I have code in place to ensure this. Morrowind's AI is very wonky and this was the best solution.
Feedbag: Due to the above, I've raised the default fight/flee point reduction to 25.
Feedbag: Fixed the debug index, it was misreporting which section was doing what.
Feedbag: Changed the default appended text for failing to end combat to — But they're still too hungry to be placated.
Feedbag: Changed the default appended text for ending combat to — They seem calm and docile.
Feedbag: No creatures were harmed in the making of this mod, despite some fairly exhaustive testing this time. (Bloody cave rats.)
Version 1.0 - Stable
Both: So much refactoring, so much. I might've fixed some things along the way, possibly even potential future issues. Just... a lot of coding to get these two to 1.0.
Bonk: When stay down is invoked on a target, that target is removed from combat. If all targets are out of combat, so is the player. No longer is your only option fleeing like a lily-livered coward after a bout of fisticuffs with some surly vagabonds.
Feedbag: If you hit a critter after you've fed them, it'll reset your progress. I feel better about this as it doesn't result in almost effortless experience.
Version 0.20
Both: If there are no major bugs, these are the versions that will become 1.0 RC1.
Bonk: Fixed a bug where fail messages would occur if the player wasn't sneaking (you should be sneaking to do bonk/clean-up/wake-up things).
Bonk: Added a health check to the check function, none of Bonk's shenanigans should work on dead actors.
Bonk: Shimmied the combat check up in the check function a bit as references aren't returned via activation in combat anyway, this way the debug prints make it more clear what's going on.
Feedbag: Fixed a bug where activation references would linger, same bug that was in Bonk. Fixed with the new common.lua.
Feedbag: Fixing the above bug meant that Feedbag no longer worked in combat (no activation references in combat), so I rebuilt the scan function to fix that! That was fun.
Feedbag: Fixed a bug that prevented Feedbag from working on console-spawned creatures.
Feedbag: Added a fatigue check, as you probably can't successfully feed unconscious animals. At least without an IV.
Feedbag: Debug prints now report on the animal's name and mesh, so if you find an unsupported animal you'll be able to give me their mesh info (this is super helpful).
Feedbag: Refactored the code to match Bonk, most of the work was already done in the common.lua file it shares with Bonk though. So hooray for that.
Feedbag: This is a very important update that I strongly recommend getting.
Version 0.19
Bonk: Fixed an issue where activation references would linger and not be cleared properly, this could easily cause false positive malarkey.
Bonk: Helping up an NPC will now properly reset the pickpocket menu (the new Pickpocket Overhaul Patch update is required for this, sorry).
Bonk: Extra fail notifications (configurable) for other fail states than just the helm check; Seen while sneaking, Out of range. All of them are controlled by the Fail Messages toggle.
Bonk: There's now a check to ensure that you can't try to bonk/wake-up/clean-up while in combat, which is how it should be. Besides, the new fail texts are spammy otherwise.
Bonk: Who's been forgetting to update the interop version? IT ME. I remembered all the others, but I forgot that one. I remembered this time! The version shown in the MCM and debug logs will be correct now. Sorry about that.
Bonk: Huge refactoring of the code and further cleaning/unification of debug prints, all in preparation for 1.0 RC1!
Version 0.18
Bonk: The way I changed things meant that Stay Down wasn't working as intended. I forgot to pass the attacker ref, oops. (I love debug logs.)
Version 0.17
Bonk: Included an (optional and configurable) message to let you know clearly when bonk attempts fail.
Version 0.16
Bonk: Fixed a false positive, knockout variable wasn't clearing when it should've.
Bonk: Fixed a bug with NPC attacks in the Fatigue Damage Only system, one that made that descriptor more literal than I'd intended. I derped and forgot to include a check for NPC weapon types for when NPCs are attacking.
Bonk: As usual, did some work to further unify and improve the debug reports because detailed debug reports are amazingly helpful.
Version 0.15
Bonk: A new feature, Fatigue Damage Only, has been added. This is off by default as I understand that the interest in it would be more niche. If this option is on and a combatant is using hand-to-hand or a blunt weapon, then no physical damage will occur. Instead, the physical damage that would've occurred is added to fatigue damage instead. So, if a strike does 12 health damage, that becomes 12 fatigue damage. This applies to both the player and NPCs, though I may change this in teh future depending on how people feel about it.
Bonk: I've learned through testing that the max negative fatigue damage that can occur is -1,000. Thus, that'st he max amount that can be set in the options now (instead of 5,000).
Bonk: The code has been refactored to make the check system even more robust, and rule out any potential false positives/negatives that might occur. This is a worthwhile update to get for this reason, even if you aren't interested in the above changes.
Version 0.14
Bonk: Added a new feature called 'Stay Down' that can be toggled from the options. The idea here is that if you're fighitng a foe, and you get them to 0 fatigue, they keep getting up! That's no fun for the player who doesn't want to kill them. With this option on, if you hit a foe whose fatigue has been reduced to 0 or below, their fatigue will be further reduced by the amount that you have your Bonk fatigue amount set to. For example, if you've got it set to 1,000, then hitting them when their fatigue is 0 will set it to -1,000. This means that using fatigue as a fighting technique is now viable!
Bonk: Better debug reports, because apparently this is my jam.
Version 0.13
Feedbag: The amount of flee/fight points reduced per feeding can now be configured (defaults at 20). If you don't harvest often I recommend setting these a little higher.
Feedbag: The default text appended for ending combat is now 'They seem a little more calm.' in order to better reflect what's happening. Combat stops, but the creature may still engage in combat if you get too close until their fight stat is zero.
Version 0.12
Feedbag: The way the code was structured was that on a feeding, the code to end combat would run before the fight/flee stats were lowered. This meant that combat could only be stopped on the next feed after that. I wasn't happy with that, so I reorganised it so that the stats are lowered before the code that ends combat.
Feedbag: The nottification for feeding was being governed by the wrong toggle, fixed that.
Feedbag: Some combat code was running unncessarily (not a bug, just wasteful), fixed that.
Feedbag: Cleaned up the debug messages a bit.
Version 0.11
Feedbag: After much testing, I found out that the bug involving ending combat had nothing to do with blighted/diseased animals. Instead, it was down to any animal with a fight stat of over 50. Combat seems to be forced to trigger if that's the case. The code has been reworked to handle this gracefully. If you feed an animal enough so that it's fight stat drops below 50, combat will end (if you have that option on). So blighted/diseased animals can now be fed into submission. Hooray!
Feedbag: Removed OAAB's Parasol Spider as I don't believe it's finished/implemented (?).
Feedbag: Merged a few diets. It was an oversight where some critters had unnecessarily separate entries (nothing functionally changed, just wasted space/memory freed).
Version 0.10
Both: Put in some checks to prevent possible potential crashes.
Both: Kwama Warriors can now be knocked out/fed, the reason they were ignored prior was because Bethesda made a spelling error in the nif filename that I didn't catch (warior).
Both: Have hit the big zero-ten, maybe one day they'll hit ninety-10 and be all natty.
Bonk: The default wake-up key is now bound to right-alt, as with it being on left-alt it could cause engine weirdness when alt-tabbing. I suggest you change your binding if it's still left-alt.
Feedbag: When feeding a blighted/diseased creature, if you have the option to end combat on it'll tell you that these creatures cannot be placated (text is configurable).
Feedbag: Now using more accurate animal names (you'll see).
Version 0.9
Bonk & Feedbag: Now support Unique Lore Friendly Cave Rats. (https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/47193)
Version 0.8
Both: In order to future-proof the mod a bit, deal with code bloat, prepare it for further extendibility, and get the MCM entries working how I want I had to completely refactor the code. As such, a few options will be reset to their defaults. I'm sorry about that, this is the last time that will happen. Ensuring that was one of the goals of this refactoring.
Feedbag: I've rewritten all of the code of Feed the Animals now so it's disingenuous to call it a patch any longer, it's taken on a life of its own and become more of a reimagining. As such, it gets its own name.
Feedbag: You can now set the text for the various notifications within the mod. So you're no longer beholden to my wording.
Bonk: Through a bindable key you can now help a knocked out NPC or animal up. If, however, they were knocked out by attacks they'll likely get right back to attacking you despite your "help."
Version 0.7
Both: Settings changes were being stored but weren't being displayed/used properly after restarting the game. I completely forgot to load them because I'm a bloody dolt. Sorry about that.
Both: Some extra, more granular debug messages added.
Bonk: You can optionally gain a configurable amount of blunt weapon/hand-to-hand XP on a successful knockout (0 disables it).
Feed the Animals: An animal can no longer be overfed if their flee and fight stats are 0, and they aren't in combat.
Feed the Animals: However, an overfeed option has been added so that you can continue to feed them if you want to (though there are no benefits for doing so).
Feed the Animals: The mod no longer runs end combat code on every feeding (Where the ending combat option is enabled), so "they seem calm" will no longer be appended to notifications outside of combat.
Feed the Animals: You can optionally gain a configurable amount of speechcraft XP on ending combat (0 disables it).
Feed the Animals: Fixed a crash that would occur on hitting cancel/right-clicking to close the menu. Oops. Sorry about that, too.
Version 0.6
Bonk: The base amount chance for light, medium, and heavy helms can now be configured.
Bonk: Better debug prints regarding helm check information, in case something ever goes wrong there.
Feed the animals Patch: Feeding an animal is no longer a guaranteed way to end combat, it now requires the player to pass a (configurable) check which takes into account their (also configurable) luck and personality.
Version 0.5.1
Feed the Animals Patch: I forgot to lowercase the OAAB ingredients, oops.
Version 0.5
Both: I've removed the Tamriel Rebuilt additions. My reasoning is that in order to get access to the content you need TR itself installed, not just the data. The ingredients are in the main mod, not Tamriel_Data as I would've hoped and thus available for spreading across Vvardenfell without TR itself. This is a pain in the butt to deal with. In Feed the Animals, for example, the Durzog's diet was made up entirely of TR ingredients and I wasn't comfortable with that. If TR were to move its ingredients to Tamriel_Data, then I'd reinclude them. As it stands though, it's not worth the effort. I don't want to have TR itself installed as it's very incomplete. It's fun to poke and test, but not great for an actual playthrough yet. I imaginet hat in the future this will change and the TR additions will make their way back.
Both: OAAB is supported, with additions for its ingredients and animals. Unlike Tamriel_Data, OAAB_Data has its ingredients where I'd hope they'd be, in the so-named data kludge. Furthermore, OAAB_Data is used by a number of feature-complete mods, unlike TR_Data, hence my decisions regarding which of the data kludges to support right now.
Both: Added support for hater8's Crabs Diversity mod.
Feed the Animals Patch: The diets of animals have been separated up into soft/medium/hard plants and soft/medium/hard meat. This is so that savvy users can add their own ingredients if they so desire, and it makes it much easier for me to maintain the patch in the future. It's not even less realistic this way as, for example, insects will often be cannibals who'll eat one another and their own eggs, so there's no reason to distinguish in that way. This is better for the player's gameplay experience and for organisation.
Feed the Animals Patch: You can now feed animals in combat! I mean, why not? Just toss that food at them!
Feed the Animals Patch: Feeding an animal in combat will now optionally end combat. This is controlled via an MCM toggle.
Feed the Animals Patch: You can now change the keybind for feeding animals. The default is left shift.
Feed the Animals Patch: Lots of new log entries for debugging, which can be toggled via an MCM option.
Bonk: The clean-up function's keybind can now be changed via the MCM.
Version 0.4
Pickpocket: The menu will now update and show all lootables on a knocked out opponent without having to move the cursor away and back first.
Bonk: Removed the AI toggle, it was causing undesirable effects.
Bonk: Fixed the debug option, it had a typo.
Bonk: Optimized the code for handling crit mod compatibility. No bugs, just optimisation to stop it from firing when it shouldn't.
Bonk: Sound toggle separated into two distinct options, one for the bonk sound and one for the tying-up sound.
Bonk: Notification toggle separated out into two distinct options, one for the bonk notification, and one for the clean-up notification.
Bonk: The text of both the bonk and clean-up notifications can now be configured.
Bonk: Added range option for configuring how close the player has to be for a successful knockout.
Version 0.3
Bonk: Fixed the erroneous helm reference, so the helm-checking code will work now.
Bonk: After much testing, I've figured out how to ensure that Bonk clean-ups update quests. No more murders necessary!
Bonk: Critical strike and backstabbing mods will no longer break Bonk.
Bonk: An option has been added so that you can decide whether you want combat to begin or not after a successful knockout attempt. It defaults to combat not being triggered. If combat is triggered by knocking out, then it'll be ended per actor upon body clean-up.
Bonk: When doing a clean-up, AI is now toggled off temporarily so you won't be ganked when you're unable to move.
Bonk: A toggle has been added for the mod's sounds.
Bonk: A thorough amount of debug prints have been added to the mod, for testing should issues occur. These can be toggled on/off too.
Mood: Accomplished.
Version 0.2
Pickpocket Overhaul Patch: I derped, there was something I didn't change that I needed to in the patch, which meant that not all items shown in the pickpocket menu were properly lootable (even though they were showing). Now, you can strip someone down to their skivvies if they're unconscious, as was intended!
Bonk: Little has changed, except that cleanup now forces combat to stop between the player and the cleaned up actor. Not doing this can be problematic as the combat state can linger unncessarily and hinder play.
Whether you're the enterprising sneak-thief, the wizened fatigue-draining mage, or the lout with the hammer, Bonk has features for any vocation that would rather not bloody their hands with murder most foul.
In addition, this mod page also serves as a guide to further enhance your gameplay experience. So, that said, what can Bonk offer you?
.o0o. Features .o0o.
> Bonk!
The namesake of the mod. Sidle up sneakily behind a blithely unsuspecting foe and you can knock them out with a strike, be it unarmed or with a blunt weapon. This works on all humanoids and animals, though not daedra. undead, or dwmeeri automatons as it's unlikely you'd be able to fell them so easily.
While down, they'll stay that way for a while. The length of time they're out for can be configured, along with how much your luck factors into your success, and the degree to which your opponent's headwear impedes your chances of success.
the defaults chances for success regarding helms is:
• No helm: A guaranteed knockout; • Light helm: 75% success chance; • Medium helm: 50% success chance; • Heavy helm: 25% success chance.
What of the bodies you leave in your wake? That's where Bonk's next feature comes into play.
> Gains
If you like, you can enable an option to gain a configurable amount of hand-to-hand/blunt weapon (whichever you used to knock your foe out) skill upon a successful knockout. I'd advise it even as levelling up as a pacifist can be painful otherwise!
> Clean-Up
Whether you've knocked someone out with a fatigue spell, a blunt weapon, or a stout nerve pinch, you're going to have an unconscious soul who might draw unwanted attention. Thankfully, with Bonk, you can dismiss these troubles by tying them up and hauling them off to some dark corner. A tap of a configurable key and you'll be free of your burden.
For now, this is a fade-to-black and you'll hear your erstwhile adversary being tied up, but I have plans in the future to greatly expand this feature. Regardless, using this option will also mark any quests involving cleaned-up critters of persons as dealt with. So you'll be able to complete quests this way without committing mass genocide, which is nice!
> Wake-Up
"What's that? Some surly vagabond got the drop on you? You don't say, here, let me help you to your feet."
If you knocked out someone you didn't intend to, or you simply knocked out someone to take all of their hard earned goods, you can now get them back on their feet with a keypress (which is configurable). There's little more to be said about this as it's fairly self-explanitory!
> Stay Down
You've just persevered at a bout of fisticuffs and you've come out of it the victor, a paragon of pugilistic perfection. What's this? No! Your foe stands again. And again. And again. Somehow, a two-second nap on the ground is enough for them to get their second wind? No longer!
With this option enabled, if you hit a foe when they're down, it knocks them out. The amount of time they'll stay knocked out for is the same as what you've set for Bonk. Another bonus is that this will remove this vagabond from combat. Indeed, if you have no other conscious foes around, it'll remove you from combat too. No longer will you have to scamper away like a lily-livered coward just because you're stuck in combat.
> Fatigue Damage Only
It's disappointing that there's no means of combat to do only fatigue damage. You can do it through magic, though a character less adept in the erudite arcane arts might find their options lacking... Or, well, non-existent.
I hope to add a ranged option in the form of knock-out darts eventually, but for now the noble art of pugilism and the use of blunt weapons will do only fatigue damage if this option is enabled. So now you can engage in martial combat without the intent to kill. The choice is yours, in that you actually have one now.
If you feel that the fatigue damage done isn't potent enough, you can find a fatigue damage multiplier in the options that should help. If enemy regen is posing a problem, as health tends to not regen in combat like fatigue does, then you can also find an option for disabling enemy fatigue regeneration in combat. You can use these options to balance the Fatigue Damage Only feature as you see fit. Make it as difficult or easy as you like!
Finally, if you're having difficulties, there's a Claim Damage Event option at the bottom of the options page. This is only to be used if Fatigue Damage Only isn't working quite right for you. You shouldn't have any issues beyond that.
> Spellbinder
This is a preliminary inclusion of a new feature.
Spellbinder allows you to do fatigue knockouts with spells that damage fatigue. Just sneak up behind a foe as you would with a physical attack, and cast your fatigue spell. If their will can't overcome yours then... down the go! Indeed, it is quite the battle of wills, literally. With how much of a battle being configurable in the options. Player and foe alike compete with willpower, with a configurable random buffer sitting on top.
Right now, the notification messages can't be disabled. There's a reason for that and I'm looking into what I can do about it. I'm also not quite happy with the handling of whether the player enters into combat after a successful knockout (the same configurable element that the knockout feature has). It works, but these two caveats stand.
> Configurable
It was my goal with this mod to put as much power into your hands as possible, that way you can tailor your experience. If you want it to be more difficult to knockout those in helms, if you want to change the distance required for a knockout, or if you just want to change what the notifications say (or turn off the notifications/sounds)? It's all doable via the MCM menu.
> Modular
If you don't like a feature? You can delete it. No, really. You can head into the modules folder and just delete it.
.o0o. Installation and Uninstallation .o0o.
I recommend the use of Mod Organizer for all mods as it's an absolute doddle to install and uninstall mods that way.
You can also drop these files into your DAta Files directory if you like. That'll work just fine. If you want to remove it at some later date, head into the MWSE folder, then into the mods folder, and delete the Bonk folder therein.
All of the mods within the below guide are lua mods, much as Bonk is, so they can be installed and uninstalled with the same ease and they won't cause any compatibility problems.
.o0o. Recommendations .o0o.
First up, itsWHISPERn7 has a recommendation for users of Next Generation Combat: "I would strongly recommend that if anyone intends on using both Bonk and NGC that you increase the Bonk slider named max range from target from 120 (default) to a minimum of 250 (I set mine to 300 fyi) simply because the hit box on hand to hand is much shorter than clubs/staves." A handy tip, thank you!
With that said, I have some recommendations for the sneak-thief first, then followed by some more generally applicable mods.
First of all, for the perfect experience, I would strongly recommend partnering Bonk with Mort's feat of engineering, the exemplary Stealth Improvement mod. It makes sneaking a viable playstyle in Morrowind. Can you imagine?
Now, I would normally recommend avoiding the option for light-based sneaking as it'll fill your MWSE.log with errors which mar its function. However, I managed to patch it and it seems to work amicably now. If you decide to get this mod (and you should), then I'd also nudge you in the direction of my patch within teh files section too.
I would pair the light-based sneaking of the above with a mod that can remove staticless light sources. My recommendation for this is RedFurryDemon's superlative Let There be Darkness mod. It does the business and without any muss or fuss.
Since Stealth Improved's light-based sneaking is now functional I'd also like to point you toward OperatorJack's nifty Douse the Lights. You can use throwables/ammo to douse flames, dropping the pall of darkness over your foes. You'd better have some capacity for seeing in the dark though or you'll be just as vulnerable as they! For the clever thief, though, this provides a means to go truly unseen.
Alright, so you're sneaking around but there's this one really stubborn guard or smuggler standing on patrol and they. Just. Won't. Move. It makes the life of the opportunistic thief a living hell. And this is where Mort's brilliant Distraction mod shines. You can use throwables or ammo as a means to distract them, as is the mod's namesake.
I'm going to say that Mort's impeccable Pickpocket Overhaul mod is a necessity. I mean, not only does it make picking pockets actually viable, but I have a patch for it in the files section that allows the player to loot the unconscious, which is pretty rad. So if you've knocked out a foe via any means, you can grab everything they own. Even as its own mod, though, it amplifies the pacifist experience as there are a number of quests that can be completed with pickpocketing.
In other games, one thing I've especially enjoyed as a thief is the ability to clamber. It's brilliant. Sadly, Bethesda games didn't really have clambering mechanics... Until now! Mantle of Ascension changes all that and it has a clever name to boot. It even takes into account your skill and how encumbered you are to dictate just how well you can clamber, and clambering can boost your experience in skills. Thus, being an agile thief who gets about is more rewarding than ever.
The next mod I'd like to point you toward is GMST menu. Why? Well, Morrowind doesn't really cater to those who wish to opt for hand-to-hand and unarmoured as well as it should, but we can tweak it to improve this unfortunate oversight.
These are the values I would recommend changing:
• fUnarmoredBase1 to 0.100000 • fUnarmoredBase2 to 0.095000 • fMinHandToHandMult to 0.250000 • fMaxHandToHandMult to 0.700000
If you're using Bonk's Fatigue Damage Only option, I'd also like to suggest the following addition too:
• fHandtoHandHealthPer to 1.3000000
And here's the mod which will enable you to make these changes.
Finally, for thsoe who enjoy our four-, six-, or however many-legged friends, who'd rather not murder an animal for just being hungry? I'd like to point you towards Feedbag. I'm plugging one of my own mods, here, but I think it's applicable! This mod gives the various creatures of Tamriel a diet, along with the ability to feed them. You can find out more over on the mod's page!
My own mod and all the mods I've recommended here are lua mods, which means they can be dropped in and removed at any time sans any worries of breaking your save. Furthermore, the ones I've chosen are especially good at being compatible with other mods, so you shouldn't have any difficulty running all of these togehter with whatever you already use!
No worries, no muss, no fuss, no esp files to merge, no load order or leveled lists to have to worry about. Set and forget.