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Troubleshooting & Logs

When something misbehaves, the logs almost always say why. This page lists where every relevant log lives, how to turn on Papyrus logging (off by default), and what to attach when reporting a problem.

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Where the logs are

All logs live under your My Games folder. The exact path depends on your edition:

  • Skyrim SE / AE: Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition\
  • Skyrim VR: Documents\My Games\Skyrim VR\

The paths below use the SE folder; swap in Skyrim VR if you are on VR.

Log Path What it tells you
Beeing Female plugin log SKSE\BeeingFemale.log The bundled BeeingFemale.dll (SKSE plugin) writes here. If this file is missing, the DLL never loaded.
SKSE log SKSE\skse64.log (sksevr.log on VR) Why a plugin was rejected — usually a wrong game version or a missing Address Library. Search it for BeeingFemale.
Papyrus script log Logs\Script\Papyrus.0.log Script-side errors and traces (the cycle, conception, children, add-on framework). Only written when Papyrus logging is enabled — see below.

Mod Organizer 2 users

Logs still go to the real Documents\My Games\... folder, not into MO2's virtual file system or the Overwrite folder. Open them directly from Documents — don't go looking in the Overwrite folder for them.

Enabling Papyrus logging

Papyrus logging is off by default (it adds a little overhead, so it ships disabled). Turn it on only while diagnosing a problem, then turn it back off.

Edit Skyrim.ini (in the My Games folder above) and add or update this section:

[Papyrus]
bEnableLogging=1
bEnableTrace=1
bLoadDebugInformation=1
  • bEnableLogging — writes the Papyrus.0.log file at all.
  • bEnableTrace — includes Debug.Trace lines (what BF and most mods log).
  • bLoadDebugInformation — adds script/line names to errors so they are actually readable.

Then launch the game through SKSE, reproduce the issue, and quit. The fresh log is Logs\Script\Papyrus.0.log (older runs roll over to Papyrus.1.log, Papyrus.2.log).

Mod Organizer 2: edit the profile INI

MO2 keeps a per-profile copy of Skyrim.ini and ignores the one in Documents. Edit it via MO2 → Tools (wrench/screwdriver icon) → INI Editor → Skyrim.ini, add the [Papyrus] block there, and save. Editing the Documents copy will have no effect.

Turn it back off afterwards

When you are done, set bEnableLogging=0 (or remove the block). Long sessions with tracing on produce very large logs and a small performance cost.

What to look for

In Papyrus.0.log, search for Beeing Female's script names — most start with FW (e.g. FWSystem, FWController, FWSystemConfig, FWAbilityBeeingFemale). Useful patterns:

  • Failed to load script FWSystemConfig or ... is not a valid type — a missing requirement (usually a wrong-version PapyrusUtil/SkyUI, or a leftover copy of the old Beeing Female). See the Getting Started checklist.
  • X is not a function on a None object / Cannot call ... on a None — a form binding came back empty, often a missing or out-of-order plugin.
  • BF's own diagnostics are written through its internal logger, so filtering for FW or BeeingFemale surfaces them.

In SKSE\skse64.log, a line like plugin BeeingFemale ... reported as incompatible (or a version mismatch) explains why BeeingFemale.log is absent.

A child is stuck in a modded cell (won't follow or teleport)

If you give birth in (or leave a child in) a cell added by another mod — a player home, a camp, a dungeon — the child may refuse to follow you out on foot, even though the same actor travels normally once they grow into an adult.

Why it happens. Children are managed by BF's own order system, not the vanilla follower engine, and the follow behavior needs a navmesh path to the exit. Many small modded cells ship without proper navmesh links to the outside (and often without a Location record), so the child's AI can't path out and simply re-issuing "Follow me" won't move it. A grown adult is a standard follower added to the vanilla follower factions, so it is no longer bound by this — which is why the same actor comes and goes freely once mature.

Confirm it's this. Open the child's info window (MCM Children tab → click the child) — if the location reads "Somewhere in Skyrim" instead of a real place name, the cell has no Location record. That's a strong sign you've hit this, since such cells usually also lack the navmesh links the child needs to walk out.

Workarounds, most reliable first:

  1. Console teleport (always works). Open the console (~), left-click the child so its RefID appears at the top of the console, type moveto player, press Enter, close the console. The child snaps to your exact position regardless of Location data. Then talk to them and pick "Follow me" again. (To send a child to a known follower/NPC instead, select the child and use moveto <RefID>.)

  2. Use the right child-call scroll. BF gives you two child-call scrolls at startup — and only one of them teleports:

    • Scroll of the immediate children (_BFChildCallScroll2, FormID 0x5AB69 in BeeingFemale.esm) — in-game description "Teleports your children to you," and that is literal: it teleports all of your children to your position from anywhere, regardless of cell or Location data. This is the one to use for a stranded child. It is also sold by general-goods merchants and seeded onto NPCs by the SPID patch, so you can restock it. ("Immediate" means your immediate family, not nearby.)
    • Scroll of the children (_BFChildCallScroll1, FormID 0x5AB67) — only re-issues the follow order; it does not teleport, so it cannot pull out a child that can't path to the exit.

    Out of the teleport scroll? Buy it from a general-goods merchant, loot it off NPCs, or console it in: type help "immediate children" 4 to find its load-order FormID, then player.additem <id> 1. 3. "Go home" first. Order the child "Go home" via dialogue, then rejoin them at their home (a vanilla cell) and re-issue "Follow me" there. (This only helps if the child can path home in the first place — if it can't, use the scroll or console.)

Note: simply re-picking "Follow me" while standing next to the child usually won't get it out of such a cell — the order is set, but the AI still has no path to the exit. The teleport scroll (#2) or moveto player (#1) are what actually relocate it.

Avoid: importing a still-a-child actor into a follower framework (NFF/EFF/AFT) to force it out. While a child, BF manages its AI directly and the two systems conflict; and at the grow-up transition the child actor is replaced by a new adult actor, leaving the framework with a stale reference. Wait until the child becomes an adult, then import freely — that is fully supported.

Birth animations not playing

If the mother gives birth but just stands there — no lying down, no labor animation — work through these in order. The birth itself (baby spawn, recovery, events) still happens regardless; only the visuals are affected.

There are two separate animation layers, and they fail for different reasons:

  • Core birth events — LayDownBirth, Birth_S1/S2/S3, GetupBirth. These are custom animations BF triggers with Debug.SendAnimationEvent.
  • OAR labor pack (optional) — the alternate lying-down labor loop, an Open Animation Replacer set BF ships under meshes/.../OpenAnimationReplacer/BFL/.

1. Run your behavior tool (FNIS / Nemesis / Pandora)

This is the most common cause. BF's birth animations are custom animations registered through FNIS_BeeingFemale_List.txt. The engine only knows about them after you run your behavior generator and let it patch — otherwise BF fires the birth event but nothing is registered to it, so the actor just stands there.

  • FNIS users: run GenerateFNISforUsers.exe, confirm Beeing Female appears in the mod list, then launch.
  • Nemesis / Pandora users: run the engine, tick its boxes, Update/Launch, then start the game.

Re-run it whenever you install or update BF. (BF does not hard-block if you skip this — it just can't show the animation.)

2. Turn on "Play Animations" in the MCM

MCM → Beeing Female → Settings page → "Play Animations." It must be enabled. With it off, BF skips all birth animation events on purpose (the birth still completes silently). The reset-to-default state for this toggle is off, so a fresh profile may need it switched on.

Next to that toggle the MCM shows the animation version (e.g. 1). If it reads a mismatch like 0/1, the behavior patch isn't registered — go back to step 1. Note this readout only updates in third person (an engine limitation of animation-variable checks), so check it there.

3. Furniture or heavy bondage = deliberate silent birth

BF intentionally skips the animation if, when labor fires, the mother is:

  • occupying furniture — a chair, bed, crafting station, or any furniture-bound idle, or
  • in heavy Devious Devices bondage — armbinder, yoke, etc.

Forcing a birth animation on top of those breaks both, so BF gives birth without it. The Papyrus log says exactly which:

FWController.IsBirthAnimationBlocked: <actor> is occupying furniture - birth animation will be skipped (silent birth)
FWController.IsBirthAnimationBlocked: <actor> is in heavy bondage - birth animation will be skipped (silent birth)

Fix: get the mother off furniture / out of restraints before the third trimester ends.

4. The actor must be loaded (and use third person to see your own)

Animations only play on an actor whose 3D is loaded. A mother in an unloaded or distant cell won't animate — move closer, or wait for her to load.

For your own character the animation still plays in first person — you just can't see it, because the camera is looking out through your character rather than at her body. Switch to third person to actually watch it. (This is also why the animation-version readout in step 2 only updates in third person.)

5. OAR labor variants, and the "NOT IsChild" condition

This is only about the optional variety pack "Labor Animations - Beeing Female" (by Laethas) — 24 OAR alternates that replace the base Birth_S1/S2/S3 for variety. It's not what makes birth animate (that's steps 1–2). First confirm Open Animation Replacer is loading (SKSE\skse64.log → OpenAnimationReplacer).

All 24 variants gate on the same IsChild (negated) + IsFemale + Random conditions. OAR's IsChild keys off the actor's race (the engine child flag), not apparent age — and some custom races carry that flag, so a mother on such a race fails it and OAR skips every variant. You'll then get the plain base birth (if your behavior tool registered it), or nothing if you rely on the OAR pack alone.

Fix: disable the IsChild condition across the whole set — easiest in OAR's in-game editor (open "Labor Animations - Beeing Female" → disable IsChild on each Labor N; saved to an update-safe user.json), or by removing the IsChild block from each BFL/700001…700024/config.json. Risk is minimal — these are cosmetic, and BF only triggers labor on tracked fertile females anyway.

6. Still nothing? Capture a log

Enable Papyrus logging (above), trigger a birth, then search Papyrus.0.log for:

  • FWController.GiveBirth: — the line includes playAnimations=true/false. If it says false with no furniture/bondage line nearby, the MCM toggle (step 2) is off.
  • IsBirthAnimationBlocked — confirms a furniture/bondage skip (step 3).

Attach that with the items below.

Reporting a problem

When you report an issue, attach:

  1. SKSE\BeeingFemale.log (or SKSE\skse64.log if BeeingFemale.log is missing).
  2. Logs\Script\Papyrus.0.log, captured with Papyrus logging enabled while reproducing the problem.
  3. Your load order and the BF version (MCM Info / System page), plus whether you are on SE, AE, or VR.

A clear "what I did → what happened → what I expected" plus those two logs is usually enough to pinpoint the cause.