Fixing the "dark face" NPC bug in Skyrim SE

fix-skyrim-dark-face-npc-bug.md

created	updated
2021-03-04	2024-05-19

Fixing the "dark face" bug in Skyrim SE

Important

This document is obsolete! Use Face Discoloration Fix SE instead.

Prerequisites

• Skyrim SE Creation Kit (CreationKit.exe) via Steam or Bethesda.net

• xEdit for Skyrim SE (SSEEdit.exe)

• Ensure CreationKit.ini exists alongside CreationKit.exe with these lines:

  [General]
  bAllowMultipleMasterFiles=1
  bAllowMultipleMasterLoads=1

  Note: Oldrim's CK used the filename SkyrimEditor.ini. The 64-bit SSE CK won't find that one.

Diagnosis

If the broken NPC is from a single, obvious source (e.g. a custom companion mod, or a quest mod with new characters), and you don't have any patches for that mod, then you've already found your problem, and you can skip to Repair.

But if a vanilla NPC exhibits this bug, or if the NPC is from a mod with a lot of patches, you will need to know which plugin(s) to fix.

1. Launch SSEEdit.exe. Load any plugin(s) that may have modified the broken NPC(s), or all of them if you're not sure.

2. Find the NPC's record in any ESM/ESP that references it, under "Non-Player Character (Actor)".

3. Search the category "Tint Layers (sorted)" for conspicuously missing data. Any mod with an obvious gap is a potential culprit.

Repair

1. Launch CreationKit.exe.

2. Go to File → Data…, then select (by double-clicking) the plugin file with the missing face data. Click OK. (There is no need to select an "active file".) Click Yes to all to dismiss warnings by category.

3. In the Object Window, expand the tree in the left pane to select Actors → Actor → Actor. In the right pane, find and select the NPC(s) with broken faces. (Select multiple NPCs by holding down Shift or Ctrl.)

4. Press Ctrl+F4 (which will not close the window; it's the command to export facegen data) and click Yes to confirm. Click Yes to all to dismiss warnings by category again.

5. Repeat Steps 4–6 for any other mods with broken face data, then close the CK.

Other games

This procedure can be used to fix the "dark face" bug in Fallout 4, but you will need the Fallout 4 Creation Kit via Steam or Bethesda.net (and the associated .ini entries above), and FO4Edit for diagnosis.