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Modding Origin Characters and NPCs | Beginner Guide

By Poppaja

This is a step-by-step beginner guide on how to mod the Origin character's and NPC race, looks and skills of the DOS2: DE story.
This guide also covers the modding setup and how to upload your mods.

Award

Created by

Poppaja
Offline

Category: Characters, Classes, Modding or Configuration, Workshop

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

21 Feb, 2022 @ 10:55am

12 Mar @ 6:35am

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Guide Index

Overview

Before You Start - Setup

Creating A New Project

Editing Character Appearances

Editing Character Stats & Skills

Export And Upload Your Project

Data You Might Need

More Data

Even More Data

Comments

Before You Start - Setup

Before you can start modding your game, you will need to download the DOS2 Editor:

In your Steam library, right-click Divinity: Original Sin 2 > select properties > DLC > enable "Divinity Engine 2 Data".
In your Steam library, under tools, you will now find the "The Divinity Engine 2" - App.
Start it up and select your game data path, commonly "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Divinity Original Sin 2\Data", hit ok, and you're done with the setup.
Important: select the Data folder, not the game folder.

Setup-Guide from Larian: http://docs.larian.game/Setting_up_the_editor

Creating A New Project

For every mod you make you will need to create a new project.

Something to note:
When uploading your project to Steam, one project will always be one mod. You can't upload one project as multiple mods on steam.

After starting the Divinity Engine, select "New Project" > "Add-on" > Load Data From "Story" > Target Project For "Story" and type in a project name. Then hit create.
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After your project is loaded, a second window will open. Press "Show Inherited Levels",
open the Fort Joy folder and load the level inside it.

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(If you want to edit characters from other levels/acts, e.g. someone in Arx, you will have to load the appropriate level.)

If you see a lot of red text on the bottom bar of your window, showing errors and "failed to load/open" messages you can ignore these (99%of the time). These are mostly other mods you downloaded or created and some engine notices causing those messages.

Editing Character Appearances

To edit Origin characters, or any character, you need to select them in the World Outliner.

Let's say you want to change Sebille's appearance:
Search for her in the Outliner and select the object "S_Player_Sebille".
(Playable characters are always named "S_Player_Name".)
You can also hide object types with the colored icons (we only need objects of type "Character" for this guide).
The Preview will now show you Sebille's character model and on the Sidebar to the left, a lot of information appears but isn't editable yet. For that, tick the checkmark and you can start modifying.

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Changing Appearances

To change the appearance of your selected character, click the 3 dots next to "Visual Set Indices".
This opens a new window. Use

to change visuals and colors and when done hit save.

You will notice that the character preview didn't change.
Just de-select and re-select your character and it will show your changes.

Save your project! (ctrl + s or hit "Save all")

If this is all you want to do, skip ahead to the "Export And Upload Your Mod" section.

Changing Races

To change the race of your character you need to edit:

Equipment Class - which type of armor the character uses
Root Template ID - which race, appearance and skills your character has. Make sure to use the templates with "Hero" in them when editing playable characters.
Ragdoll Resource ID - which physics your character uses
Soft Body Collision Resource ID - which collision resource your character uses
Tags - mostly for making your character undead and making NPCs ignore undead. Playable characters should always have the "IGNORE_UNDEAD_CRIME" tag. Undead characters should always have the "UNDEAD" tag. Add/remove tags with .

When changing the race of Origin characters you also need to edit their stats. See "Editing Character Stats" in the "Editing Character Skills" section!

additionals

Equipment - the equipment the NPC will use. (only NPCs use this!)
Blood Surface Type - whether the character creates a blood, poison, etc. surface when hit
Icon - which default icon your character uses. Changes automatically when using the magic mirror,
Skill Set - which skillset your character has (more info in "Changing Character Skills"-section)
Skills - which additional, singular skills your character has
Stats - your characters stats

Follow the given naming conventions to make things easier for yourself!

Important For Character Creation

When changing the race of playable characters, such as the Origin characters, you need to add some Info outside the Editor.

Open your mods folder, commonly "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Divinity Original Sin 2\DefEd\Data\Mods" and open the "DivinityOrigins" folder.
Copy the "OriginPresets" folder with all its contents.
Go back to the mods folder, select your mod and create a new folder in it called "CharacterCreation".
Paste the "DivinityPresets" folder inside it.
Open the presets folder and delete every file you don't use (aka only leave the one .lsx file of your modded character).
If you do not have a "DivinityOrigins" folder, see my provided file contents and create the following folder structure in your mod: CharacterCreation > OriginPresets.

Your file path should look similar to this now:

"yourmodfolder" > CharacterCreation > OriginPresets > "OriginCharacterName".lsx

Open the .lsx and change the race value to your new race (and gender, if you changed it):
(The .lsx file can be opened with notepad or the standart editor.)

(For correct naming, I provided a table. Scroll to the bottom.)

You have now finished this section, congrats!
Don't forget to save everything!

Editing Character Stats & Skills

If you also want to change some character stats & skills and/or make your own skillsets you can do that with the Stats Editor.
To open it, hit this button >

on your toolbar.
A new window pops up.
In the stats browser you can search for every file related to stats and skills and edit them by doing the following:

open a file
right-click a skill set or skill
select override in > your mod

In this guide I will only cover how to edit skillsets and character stats and not the skills themself.

Editing Character Stats

Editing stats works similar to editing skills.
Instead of the "SkillSet" file, you need to override the "Character" file under
Projects > Divinity: Original Sin 2 > Stats.
This file contains the stat info for all characters in DOS2:DE. Override the character you want to edit.

When changing the Origin character's race, also change it in this file, as well as the racial talents!
They are all labelled "Player_Name"

(For correct naming, I provided a table. Scroll to the bottom.)

Save your files, not just your project! (The editor says "Save and Export".)

Editing and Creating Skill Sets

Open the file "Skillset" under
Projects > Shared > SkillData.

Using Sebille as an example again, you will find two entries for her: Companion_Sebille and Avatar_Sebille. The "Companion_Sebille" set defines which skills Sebille uses as an NPC. The "Avatar_Sebille" set is used during character creation and defines her origin skills(not her class skills).
Let's give Sebille an additional skill:

right-click the afore mentioned skill sets and override them in your project
Open the new "SkillSet" file that's in your project.
right-click the skill set name and press "Add Sub Stat"
In the second column, select the empty entry, press the arrow and add your desired skill. Skills are always named Skilltype_Skillname.

As an example I gave Sebille the "Play Dead" skill:
For a list with all racial sklls, scroll to the bottom of the page.

You can also create new skill sets. Just right-click an empty slot and press "Add New Stat".
The image shows a new skill set named "New_Sebille" and a New empty one:

Make sure to give new skills to both, the companion and the avatar set.
If you want to use a new skill set for character creation, make sure to change the "SkillSet" entry in the .lsx file under the CharacterCreation > OriginPresets folder.
(The .lsx file can be opened with notepad or the standart editor.)
Image example:

Save your file!
You are almost ready to play with your newly created mod!

Export And Upload Your Project

Before You Export

In your taskbar on your main window, select Project > Project Settings.
In there you can:

change your mods display name
add your name and a mod description
add a thumbnail
set dependencies (if your mod uses content from other mods

Export Your Project

Select Project > Publish project from your taskbar, decide whether you want to upload your project as a mod to the Steam Workshop (don't forget to add some tags if you do), hit "Publish" and you're done!

You can now activate your mod in-game and start playing!
Thank you for checking out my guide!

Data You Might Need

Races (for the .lsx)

Races (for the Stats file)

Human

HumanMaleHero
HumanFemaleHero

Undead_Human

HumanUndeadMaleHero
HumanUndeadFemaleHero

Dwarf

DwarfMaleHero
DwarfFemaleHero

Undead_Dwarf

DwarfUndeadMaleHero
DwarfUndeadFemaleHero

Elf

ElfMaleHero
ElfFemaleHero

Undead_Elf

ElfUndeadMaleHero
ElfUndeadFemaleHero

Lizard

LizardMaleHero
LizardFemaleHero

Undead_Lizard

LizardUndeadMaleHero
LizardUndeadFemaleHero

Racial Talents

Racial Talents in-game name

Human_Inventive
Human_Civil

Ingenious
Thrifty

Dwarf_Sturdy
Dwarf_Sneaking

Sturdy
Dwarven Guile

Elf_Lore
Elf_CorpseEating

Ancestral Knowledge
Corpse Eater

Lizard_Resistance
Lizard_Persuasion

Sophisticated
Spellsong

Zombie

Undead

Racial Skills

Racial Skills in-game name

Shout_InspireStart

Encourage

Target_PetrifyingTouch

Petrify

Shout_FleshSacrifice

Flesh Sacrifice

Cone_Flamebreath

Dragon's Blaze

Shout_PlayDead

Play Dead

Target_DemonicStare

Demonic Stare

Shout_BreakTheShackles

Break the Shackles

Summon_SoulWolf

Summon Ifan's Soul Wolf

Target_Squall

Blinding Squall

Target_MaddeningSong

Maddening Song

Target_TimeWarp

Time Warp

Beast.lsx contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <save> <header version="2" time="1387205254" /> <version major="1" minor="3" revision="0" build="0" /> <region id="CharacterCreationManager"> <node id="root"> <children> <node id="OriginDesc"> <attribute id="OriginDisplayName" value="|Beast|" handle="hcc0bfa3eg2d5cg413egb629g2f4c16673c52" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginName" value="Beast" type="22" /> <attribute id="OriginDescription" value="|Beast origin description|" handle="hcc37794bgb628g4228ga931gcd5528f018c6" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginLongDescription" value="| Beast Origin Long Description |" handle="hc4dfbad8g48c0g4236gba3eg5fb875e12c39" type="28" /> <attribute id="CharacterUUID" value="f25ca124-a4d2-427b-af62-df66df41a978" type="22" /> <attribute id="UserCanAlterTags" value="0" type="19" /> <attribute id="SkillSet" value="Avatar_Beast" type="22" /> <attribute id="PreviewEquipmentSet" value="Origin_Beast" type="22" /> <attribute id="RootTemplateOverride" value="ca2b78c8-85f3-45f1-b8de-9e8363f1aa51" type="22" /> <children> <node id="TalentsAdded"> </node> </children> <children> <node id="SupportedGenders"> <children> <node id="Gender"> <attribute id="Gender" value="Male" type="23" /> </node> </children> </node> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <children> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <attribute id="Object" value="Dwarf" type="22" /> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </region> </save>

Fane.lsx contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <save> <header version="2" time="1387205254" /> <version major="1" minor="3" revision="0" build="0" /> <region id="CharacterCreationManager"> <node id="root"> <children> <node id="OriginDesc"> <attribute id="OriginDisplayName" value="|Fane|" handle="h85706375g7e85g4cdcga688g39da75afb3f8" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginName" value="Fane" type="22" /> <attribute id="OriginDescription" value="|Fane undead origin description|" handle="h2e3b2698g77ccg4c6bg9d50gabb4793e0d71" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginLongDescription" value="| Fane Origin Long Description |" handle="ha7d9ea7dg59c9g432bg8b39gf2bf0956b1f1" type="28" /> <attribute id="CharacterUUID" value="02a77f1f-872b-49ca-91ab-32098c443beb" type="22" /> <attribute id="UserCanAlterTags" value="0" type="19" /> <attribute id="SkillSet" value="Avatar_Fane" type="22" /> <attribute id="PreviewEquipmentSet" value="Origin_Fane" type="22" /> <children> <node id="TalentsAdded"> </node> </children> <children> <node id="SupportedGenders"> <children> <node id="Gender"> <attribute id="Gender" value="Male" type="23" /> </node> </children> </node> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <children> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <attribute id="Object" value="Undead_Human" type="22" /> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </region> </save>

You can also check the Larian wiki for some info:
https://docs.larian.game/The_Divinity_Engine_2

More Data

Ifan.lsx contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <save> <header version="2" time="1387205254" /> <version major="1" minor="3" revision="0" build="0" /> <region id="CharacterCreationManager"> <node id="root"> <children> <node id="OriginDesc"> <attribute id="OriginDisplayName" value="Ifan ben-Mezd" handle="h82de0040g23f7g45c6gb72agb2b243c73b14" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginName" value="Ifan" type="22" /> <attribute id="OriginDescription" value="Nobody escapes the Lone Wolves unscathed, and your freedom was won at a terrible cost. You swore you were done, but there's one last wrong you need to right." handle="h0a696f9agc9d2g43ceg98f1g6f1a1baf0d69" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginLongDescription" value="| Ifan Origin Long Description |" handle="h90883952g6631g43a9g8e28gf1094228aae8" type="28" /> <attribute id="CharacterUUID" value="ad9a3327-4456-42a7-9bf4-7ad60cc9e54f" type="22" /> <attribute id="UserCanAlterTags" value="0" type="19" /> <attribute id="SkillSet" value="Avatar_Ifan" type="22" /> <attribute id="PreviewEquipmentSet" value="Origin_Ifan" type="22" /> <children> <node id="TalentsAdded"> </node> </children> <children> <node id="SupportedGenders"> <children> <node id="Gender"> <attribute id="Gender" value="Male" type="23" /> </node> </children> </node> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <children> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <attribute id="Object" value="Human" type="22" /> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </region> </save>

Lohse.lsx contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <save> <header version="2" time="1387205254" /> <version major="1" minor="3" revision="0" build="0" /> <region id="CharacterCreationManager"> <node id="root"> <children> <node id="OriginDesc"> <attribute id="OriginDisplayName" value="Lohse" handle="h82de0040g23f7g45c6gb72agb2b243c73b13" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginName" value="Lohse" type="22" /> <attribute id="OriginDescription" value="You were never normal: mind a playground for demons, body prone to violent episodes. The Divine himself couldn't save you. Can you save yourself?" handle="h0a696f9agc9d2g43ceg98f1g6f1a1baf0d63" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginLongDescription" value="| Lohse Origin Long Description |" handle="h90883952g6631g43a9g8e28gf1094228aae3" type="28" /> <attribute id="CharacterUUID" value="bb932b13-8ebf-4ab4-aac0-83e6924e4295" type="22" /> <attribute id="UserCanAlterTags" value="0" type="19" /> <attribute id="SkillSet" value="Avatar_Lohse" type="22" /> <attribute id="DefaultClass" value="Enchanter" type="22" /> <attribute id="PreviewEquipmentSet" value="Origin_Lohse" type="22" /> <children> <node id="SupportedGenders"> <children> <node id="Gender"> <attribute id="Gender" value="Female" type="23" /> </node> </children> </node> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <children> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <attribute id="Object" value="Human" type="22" /> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </region> </save>

RedPrince.lsx contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <save> <header version="2" time="1387205254" /> <version major="1" minor="3" revision="0" build="0" /> <region id="CharacterCreationManager"> <node id="root"> <children> <node id="OriginDesc"> <attribute id="OriginDisplayName" value="The Red Prince" handle="h82de0040g23f7g45c6gb72agb2b243c73b11" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginName" value="RedPrince" type="22" /> <attribute id="OriginDescription" value="Unique among your own kind, you are a prince exiled from your Empire. This land is hostile, its inhabitants inferior, but no one will stop your march to vindication." handle="hfd87a628g8b16g44a3gac9bg08d0e72d536c" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginLongDescription" value="| Red Prince Origin Long Description |" handle="h68ac6946g74a8g492eg999eg94b756a5377e" type="28" /> <attribute id="CharacterUUID" value="a26a1efb-cdc8-4cf3-a7b2-b2f9544add6f" type="22" /> <attribute id="UserCanAlterTags" value="0" type="19" /> <attribute id="SkillSet" value="Avatar_RedPrince" type="22" /> <attribute id="DefaultClass" value="Knight" type="22" /> <attribute id="PreviewEquipmentSet" value="Origin_RedPrince" type="22" /> <children> <node id="SupportedGenders"> <children> <node id="Gender"> <attribute id="Gender" value="Male" type="23" /> </node> </children> </node> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <children> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <attribute id="Object" value="Lizard" type="22" /> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </region> </save>

Even More Data

Sebille.lsx contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <save> <header version="2" time="1387205254" /> <version major="1" minor="3" revision="0" build="0" /> <region id="CharacterCreationManager"> <node id="root"> <children> <node id="OriginDesc"> <attribute id="OriginDisplayName" value="Sebille" handle="h82de0040g23f7g45c6gb72agb2b243c73b22" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginName" value="Sebille" type="22" /> <attribute id="OriginDescription" value="Slave no more, you still bear scars your master gave you, and wield the skills he taught you: femme fatale, spy, assassin. Skills you plan to use against all masters." handle="h0a696f9agc9d2g43ceg98f1g6f1a1baf0d61" type="28" /> <attribute id="OriginLongDescription" value="| Sebille Origin Long Description |" handle="h90883952g6631g43a9g8e28gf1094228aae1" type="28" /> <attribute id="CharacterUUID" value="c8d55eaf-e4eb-466a-8f0d-6a9447b5b24c" type="22" /> <attribute id="UserCanAlterTags" value="0" type="19" /> <attribute id="SkillSet" value="Avatar_Sebille" type="22" /> <attribute id="PreviewEquipmentSet" value="Origin_Sebille" type="22" /> <children> <node id="SupportedGenders"> <children> <node id="Gender"> <attribute id="Gender" value="Female" type="23" /> </node> </children> </node> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <children> <node id="SupportedRaces"> <attribute id="Object" value="Elf" type="22" /> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </children> </node> </region> </save>

20 Comments

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𝔐𝔬𝔱𝔬 30 Mar @ 10:12pm

@Poppaja
Thanks, I found my mistake, I put the .lsx file in the wrong folder.

Poppaja [author] 12 Mar @ 6:48am

@𝔐𝔬𝔱𝔬
Please check the "Editing Character Stats" (under "Editing Character Stats & Skills") and
"Important For Character Creation" (under "Editing Character Appearances") segments again.

Sounds like you didn't create or you put the .lsx file in the wrong place.
(Create a new .txt-file, copy my provided content for the Fane.lsx and paste it into the .txt, save and then change the filetype into .lsx.)
Or maybe just change your mod loading order.

𝔐𝔬𝔱𝔬 12 Mar @ 4:27am

Hello.Did everything as written in the guide, tried to make Fane a woman undead elf, in the editor all displayed as I wanted, but in the game when creating a character he is still a male undead human. What can this be related to? Thank you in advance for the answer.

Poppaja [author] 15 Jan @ 7:11am

Did you edit the lsx-file? Otherwise in the editor, on the upper taskbar, hit "File" > "Reload Level and Story" after changing his appearance.
Then check if the small preview window displays your character correctly when selecting him.

Maciej 10 Jan @ 12:59pm

hey there i wanted to make my own mod with Human fane i've done exactly what's there with tutorial "his opens a new window. Use to change visuals and colors and when done hit save." so i've change it then when i'm open game he's got an defeault human male face which is bald and in toolset he's got hair and other face

Poppaja [author] 21 Sep, 2023 @ 3:27am

Beast is a bit of a special case. I found out what works:

- after changing his "Root Template ID" to whatever you want, right-click the text saying "Root Template ID" and copy to clipboard
- in the Beast.lsx, change the value after "RootTemplateOverride" into the one you just copied
- save and you should be good to go

Belle End 3 Aug, 2023 @ 1:30am

Beast works fine as undead for me. I even made a mod. He is just in the flesh on character creation screen for some reason.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3007616793

Hope you can enjoy.

aselnor 1 Aug, 2023 @ 6:52am

Thank you very much for this wonderful guide.

But any idea why Beast absolutely refuses to be a skeleton?

Out of the 6 origin characters, it's the only one that won't retain its undead appearance thus he is undead but in flesh and without the veil status.

Belle End 23 Jul, 2023 @ 12:09am

I was so tired when I did all this I must have missed some stuff.

I made it work without doing anything about that folder though.

I did read that the equipment thing was just about NPC, but once I poked into it i realised playable characters must count as NPC until you control them.
Beast will still be without a hat when meeting him though. But that's fine I suppose.

Thanks for your effort, great work.

Poppaja [author] 22 Jul, 2023 @ 6:17am

Just to quote what is already there: "If you do not have a "DivinityOrigins" folder, see my provided file contents and create the following folder structure in your mod: ... "yourmodfolder" > CharacterCreation > OriginPresets > "OriginCharacterName".lsx"

The equipment can be changed in the sidebar with all your character's stats(something like "Class_Rogue_Start_Undead"). If you did everything right, your character should wear a hood when starting a new game.
Alternatively, you can add a singular item in said sidebar under "Items", which you can then quickly equip before you get detected.

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