FollowerForge

Read your load order. Build an installable Skyrim follower.

Out-of-game Windows app that indexes Vortex or Mod Organizer 2 and writes an ESPFE plus assets.
FollowerForge itself is not a Skyrim mod. Do not install the application into Skyrim Data, Vortex, or MO2 as game content.

Download · Quick start · Honest status · Changelog

_{Studio workspace, Obsidian Gold. Screenshot from the 3.7.0 tree (Studio shipped in 3.6.0).}

Quick start

Latest release: v3.7.0 (FollowerForge-3.7.0-win-x64.zip). Self-contained Windows x64; no separate .NET install.

1. Extract the ZIP anywhere outside Skyrim Data.
2. Run FollowerForge.exe.
3. Start from Studio. Follow the next recommended action through the seven categories.
4. Press Build follower.
5. Install the generated follower package with Vortex or MO2, enable its plugin, and deploy.

RaceMenu Export Head NIF/DDS files are required for a custom face. A slider-only preset without usable exported head geometry may not reproduce the face on an NPC.

Recommended face workflow: FaceForge → RaceMenu Export Head → FollowerForge.

Vortex and Mod Organizer 2

FollowerForge auto-detects Vortex first unless MO2 is preferred. The manager control in the left sidebar can switch between them before or during indexing.

MO2 users can click MO2 setup... to pick the exact ModOrganizer.ini and profile, inspect resolved paths, save that selection, or return to automatic detection. Click Paths... for xVASynth and the built-mod output folder.

Empty path boxes keep automatic detection. Game Data and the Skyrim saves folder are refused as output. Saved GUI settings live under %LOCALAPPDATA%\FollowerForge. FollowerForge does not modify MO2 profile/INI files, Vortex deployment data, Skyrim Data, or saves.

Do not point FollowerForge at a houseCARL Vortex shim unless you intentionally override the safety gate.

Detailed MO2 notes: FollowerForge 3.7.0/docs/MO2.md.

Studio (3.6.0+)

• Seven Focus categories and a next recommended action
• Expert Deck for installed records (FormID + EditorID)
• Guided / Expert (Ctrl+E) — Expert opens the catalogue; it does not hide fields
• Command palette (Ctrl+K); Ctrl+0–Ctrl+7 jumps categories
• Five themes. Theme, experience, and window size are stored separately from follower profiles
• Sex on Identity updates she/her or he/him. Gear lists show FormIDs so identically named items can be told apart

CLI and environment

Option	Purpose
GUI manager button	Prefer MO2 or Vortex
GUI MO2 setup...	Select and persist the exact MO2 instance/profile
GUI Paths...	Set xVASynth and the built-mod output folder
FFORGE_XVASYNTH / --xvasynth	Override xVASynth discovery
FFORGE_PREFER_MO2=1	Try MO2 before Vortex
FFORGE_MO2_INSTANCE=D:\path\to\instance	Use that MO2 instance folder
--mo2-instance DIR	Exact MO2 instance in the CLI
--mo2-profile NAME	Exact MO2 profile in the CLI
cli\FollowerForge.Cli.exe env	Print the detected environment
cli\FollowerForge.Cli.exe index	Rebuild the catalogue
cli\FollowerForge.Cli.exe races	Races she can be built as
cli\FollowerForge.Cli.exe races --creatures	Races the transform picker offers

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• Skyrim Special Edition or Anniversary Edition
• Vortex or Mod Organizer 2
• RaceMenu for custom faces

Optional integrations include xVASynth, dialogue overhauls, High Poly Head, and FSMP when the selected follower assets require them.

Sharing generated followers

FollowerForge does not grant redistribution rights for third-party assets. Check every asset author’s permissions before uploading a generated follower.

Honest status

Verified in this tree:

• FollowerForge 3.7.0/ is the ship snapshot (CURRENT.txt)
• 489 Release tests (478 inherited + 11 new)
• End-to-end CLI build of legacy outfit + armour pieces + a creature transform race: BUILD OK, one warning, no errors
• Published plugin VMAD carries the chosen beast race; ship gate reads HEDR=1.71, ESL light

Not claimed:

• A creature transform surviving a real fight in game. SetRace() on a follower is engine behaviour this build cannot exercise
• That a RaceMenu body shape or overlay transfers into the plugin — they do not. The build now warns when shaped bodyMorphs are present
• Nexus upload of 3.7.0 (GitHub release is current; Nexus still lagged when this snapshot shipped)

Build from source

Ship tree: FollowerForge 3.7.0\. Needs the .NET 8 SDK.

cd "FollowerForge 3.7.0"
.\Build-FollowerForge.ps1
.\Publish-FollowerForge.ps1 -Version 3.7.0

Credits

Skyrim, Vortex, Mod Organizer 2, RaceMenu, and related names belong to their owners. This project is unofficial.

License

MIT

Notes in 3.7.0

• Combat transformation can turn her into a creature (dragons, wolves, trolls, spriggans — whatever installed mods provide). Creature races stay out of the identity picker because they have no head data; that rule never applied to the race she turns into
• Choosing a legacy outfit and hand-picked armour no longer hard-fails the build. The outfit is what she starts in; the pieces stay in inventory
• Build warns when a RaceMenu preset carries a body shape a plugin cannot store

Earlier 3.6.x notes (Studio, Copy diagnostics, Clear on pickers) live in CHANGELOG.txt.