"Crude Sword" farming exploit using NPC "Kirgo".

[Quintus24]

Hello, everyone!

I would like to report the following bug:

Describe the bug: This issue can be encountered in the Old Camp if the user defeats Kirgo. A possible "farming exploit" can be used on Kirgo once he is defeated. If the user loots his weapons, the NPC will generate 2 "Blade" items, those Blades will then be turned into multiple "Crude Swords" once he uses the Grindstone.

Expected behavior: NPC "Kirgo" remains permanently unarmed and simply interacts at the campfire. -OR- NPC "Kirgo" generates only one "Blade" item which he can turn into a single "Crude Sword" weapon.

Steps to reproduce the issue:

1. Travel to the Old Camp and find Kirgo at the Arena.
2. Defeat him in combat and loot his inventory of all weapons. (in my case, he already had 11 Crude Swords)
3. Patiently observe his daily routine. (training, sharpening sword, sitting at campfire, etc.)
4. Defeat him again and check his inventory.
5. Notice the 2 "Blade" items and a new Crude Sword.

Additional context If Kirgo is unarmed and starts to do his "training" routine in the Arena, he will simply go there and stand around. He will jitter for half a second when attempting to draw a weapon. When NPC Kharim replaces him, Kirgo will then proceed to go and use the Grindstone. The user can chose to either farm the 2 Blades or the Crude Swords.

Opinion: I'm not exactly sure if this is really a bug, it looks like the intended game mechanic, to be honest. He does need a Blade and Sword to actually perform his scripted routines. However, he does not stop generating new swords, I returned to him and already had 3 in his inventory. The only reason I decided to report it was because I looted from him 11 Crude Swords when I first defeated him. It seemed a bit ridiculous to me. Kharim, for example, only had 1 Crude Sword in his inventory from what I remember, and he does use the Grindstone. Kindly note that this might be a bit difficult to reproduce, because, I'm not exactly sure, but, it's possible he generates a new item whenever the user sees him using the Grindstone. If I sleep and then return to him, he does not seem to have any new swords.

Attaching some screenshots for more clear information.

1. NPC "Kirgo" standing in the Arena unarmed.

2. No weapons in his inventory after being defeated and looted.

3. NPC "Kirgo" using the Grindstone.

4. Kirgo's inventory now has 2 Blades and 1 Crude Sword.

5. Kirgo's inventory now has 2 Crude Swords after generating another one.

Thank You and Best Regards! Quintus24

[szapp]

Good find! It is possible that this is a general issue with NPCs using grind stones (if the player is within AI range). A general fix would be to remove any access swords generated in the grindstone routine. However, this would still allow the exploit as two blades and one completed sword would be spawned after every grind stone use. A more strict fix would remove all related items on completing or interruption of the grindstone routine.

However, then this fix has the potential to break any mod that introduces quests around an NPC creating (a certain number of) swords. That would be a dangerous, game breaking bug. For now, I'd set this issue on the backburner.