Put it in its Place : Enhanced Grabbing mod for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

One of the many oversights made by Bethesda was the irregular way the Havok physics engine and the crime system worked together. The Grab key, apparently, is under used due to the fact that grabbing an object, which belonged to an NPC, caused the crime system to add a bounty to the player, assuming that the player was "stealing" the object.

This mod changes that aspect of the game and adds a completely new substratum of mechanics which work in tandem, seamlessly blending into the original game. In short, PiiiP : Enhanced Grabbing gives you every reason ( and then some ) to use that underrated Grab key.

Short Feature List : -

• Vanilla Grabbing Crime Evasion : Using the Grab key on NPC-owned objects no longer counts as a crime. Now you could place that stray apple in Ongar's House back on the table, or in a bowl, without bracing for a fight with that burly Bruma guard! [Video : 1]
• Elevation Perks : Throwing things around will no longer go unnoticed – If you grab and throw something around, you'll probably lower your standing with any NPCs nearby, who had witnessed your antics. On the other hand, lending a hand will most definitely get you places. If you thought placing that stray book in its shelf was a thankless job, think again. [Video : 1 | 2]
• Crime Handling : Gone are the days when touching a worthless clay pitcher would get you a bounty on your head ! No longer will you hear the cry of "Thief! You won't get away with this!" when you pick up a bow to have a good look at it. Committing a crime using the Grab key is more of an intellectual chore now. NPCs will reason and think before they blatantly accuse of crimes that you'd never committed. [Video : 1 | 2]

For instance, you grab an expensive dagger and the NPC start's to watch you closely. You move around grabbing it, while staying in sight, he won't mind. Now you make a move by starting to sneak and trying to get out of sight. A few seconds later, you manage to get undetected and after making sure you are not seen, you pocket the silver dagger, chuckling to yourself all along (mumbling about the stupidity of the game characters). You've hardly closed your inventory, when the dagger's owner gets the willies and runs around looking for you, eventually arriving at the place you were last seen by him. You sit barely a foot away; almost sure that he won't find you. Then all of a sudden, he figures out that you are there and lets fly a cheesy remark – "This better be good ...". He looks around for the dagger, while you desperately hope that you'd get lucky. Unfortunately, your luck doesn't hold and he discovers that you'd stolen his precious merchandise. "Thief! You won't get away with this" (or something similar) is his 1st response to the outrage he just figured out, which is swiftly followed by a cry for help. A minute later, you're answering to a guard.

That's just one of the many (slight exaggeration) outcomes of such an event. The reaction of the owner is determined by the various factors where logic is the key element of the formula used and chance plays only a very little role.

• Neatnik NPCs : NPCs, shop owners especially, like to keep their premises neat. You grab some mead ( grab, get it ! ) , you drain it and throw the bottle around – The barkeep mumbles curses, stops his work, picks up the bottle and puts it back in its place. In the same pattern, any NPC, whose article's been thrown around by the player, will retrieve and replace his possession. [Video : 1]
• Player Push Over : While it may be a well accepted fact that watching NPCs doing menial chores such as the above is an amusing sight, one needs to be careful as to not push the poor fellow into a corner. Repeated throwing of objects and the subsequent retrieval by the owner will end up aggravating the NPC, who will try to send the player out of the premises. Humiliation's guaranteed if the player refuses to comply. [Video : 1 | 2 | 3]
• Noise Maker : Objects can be grabbed and flinged to cause a noise. Any creatures or NPCs nearby will investigate the sound, creating new opportunities to get about with your business. You can thereby lure enemies into traps and ambushes, or just distract them so that you can sneak past them. [Video : 1 | 2 | 3]

For instance; you are cleaning out a dungeon, looking for a particular treasure chest. When you finally venture upon it, you find to your dismay, that it's being guarded by a huge and rather menacing bandit. He hasn't seen you yet – but he will – should you consider a direct approach. A sneak attack is out of the question as he stands on an elevated platform, which can only be reached by jumping. You evaluate your options - You've got a heavy set of Dwemer boots and the "Deadly Reflexes 5"mod. A conclusion is reached - You remove the boots from your inventory and throw it within hearing distance of the bandit. The huge oaf hears the noise and gets down investigating, while you wait patiently for the right moment to pass by. The bandit reaches the noise's point of origin and looks around for the source. Not yet, you say to yourself. After a few futile seconds of searching, the "victim" abandons his attempt to locate the perpetrator of the noise and focuses his attention on the shiny set of boots at his feet. Greedily, he reaches down to pick them up; thinking about his luck …when the moment arrives! You leap into action and trigger the DR 5 sneak attack, the dazzled NPC just looking up to see your sword coming down on his neck. A second later, his body goes limp. Five minutes after that, you happily prance out into the sun with your loot bag filled to the brim.

Comes bundled with the Item-Dropper™, which scans your inventory and drops the heaviest object for quick use.

For those using Hex_0ff's brilliant 'Unnecessary Violence', there is now a patch available that allows Noise Maker to be triggered by it's Throw Item feature. So you can enjoy better accuracy and math when it comes to the flinging !

• Toggle-able Grab : The Grab key doesn't need to be held for the whole duration of grabbing anymore. Tapping the Grab key once will initiate grabbing and tapping it again, while grabbing, will release the grab control. And with it's Auto-Flinger™, the grabbed object gets flinged automatically when it gathers enough momentum ( mostly hype, but it works ).
• Voice Acted NPC reactions : Now, how about that ! Well worth the download – you'll see … NPCs don't sit and stare at you when bring down their house around them. You'll aptly receive a sharp comment when there's need of one.