So, you wanna make a mermaid?



There are four options when it comes to making a mermaid sim, some of course are harder than others. To have a mermaid sim it's important to have installed the expansion pack Island Paradise (no Island Paradise means no mermaid). They are a life state, meaning that you can't simply make them in Create A Sim (CAS).

1. Breed a Mermaid.
This one is a lot more time consuming than the others and in away; pointless. If you've befriended a mermaid (see option 2 on how to do this) enough to have a mermaid baby, then you could have just skipped a step but if you would prefer not to have your main sim turn into a mermaid, than this one is for you.



It's simple. Befriend a mermaid. Sleep with a mermaid. Have a mermaid baby. Now it's a 50/50 chance if only one parent is a mermaid, as is the case with the other life states. So it's easy to see why this would take quite some time.

2. Be Given Kelp
So this is basically the shortcut version of the first option and the easiest to do. You'll need to build up your Snorkelling skill in order to build your Scuba Diving Skill. This gives you the ability to access the Diving Spots and meet mermaids. It might be a bit of work and a bit of luck when it comes to where and how soon you meet a mermaid.



I met a mermaid in Davy Jones' Locker. I met two and each one led me to a chest. Once you see one; greet them. They will end up in your relationships panel. From there you can Signal Mermaid to call them to your house and build up your relationship with them like normal. Once you're good friends with them, take them diving with you. You have to be underwater in order to Ask About Fish Parts.


If your relationship is good enough, the mermaid will give you Mermaid Kelp (it'll appear in your inventory). Eat this and... walah!





4. Buy It With Lifetime Reward Points
You can buy Mermaid Kelp from the Lifetime Rewards section, although it's rather pricey. However, it means you can skip out on everything else. If you have a sim with an aspiration that's making them tons of points then go for it, otherwise it might be the same to just meet a mermaid and friend them.

5. Cheat
You can use various chests in order to become a mermaid. You can:
 - make a mermaid your friend and adjust the relationship bar
 - adjust your diving skill
 - give yourself lifetime reward points
 - add a mermaid sim to the family
 - have an instant baby

If you don't want to spend the time to build your character and/or just want them pre-prepped with the life you want them to have lived before you start your real gameplay then there's a cheat/mod that you can use.

In Sims 3 you have to go through a small process in order to adjust an individual Sim's skill levels. Although it's not as fast as how it would be done in Sims 2, it's still quite efficient as it gives you a chance to adjust ANY skill for that Sim.

1. Click on your Sim and select the interaction [Nraas] and then select the sub-interaction [Master Controller].




2. A little menu of Nraas Master Controller Cheats will now have come up. You want to select [Advanced] and then [Skill Levels].




3. Click on each skill level you wish to change and make sure it's highlighted. You can click as many as you want and so try to get all of the ones you want to change so you don't have to keep going back and forth. Once you've selected all of the ones you want, hit the tick button.


4. Each skill will come up with it's own small window and ask for you to pick a number between 1 and 10. This is going to be your new skill level. Adjust them as you please and once finished that's it; you're done!






Note: Some skills have a smaller range of numbers so make sure you take notice of them. Once you've adjusted your skills you'll also get a notification for each and if you've adjusted the Martial Arts skill your Sim will go through each uniform. I suggest you let your computer sit for a moment and just work through getting rid of the notifications.

Happy Simming!

To be able to have adults and younger Sims start as siblings from when you create them in Create A Sim/Create A Household, you need to have the Nraas Mods in place; Master Controller, Story Progression and Relationships.

There have been a few times where I've had a Sim preparing to do something but they just stand there as if waiting for the path to clear. They don't wave their hands around or complain or anything but they're also not doing anything.

There are two ways you can fix this.

1. Reset the Sim.
2. Return the Sim home.

The first way can be done through the Nraas Master Controller mod by clicking on the Sim and entering the 'Master Controller' option through 'Nraas'. Simply click on 'Reset Sim', it appears under the 'Advanced' option.
The second way can be done through the same way although it's under the 'Basic' option and then 'Go Home' instead.
The easiest option, and best option if you don't have mods, is by using the command bar cheats. Press [Ctrl+Shift+C] and then type in 'resetsim (first name) (last name)'.

Happy Simming!

To make a family with more than eight Sims and be able to control all of them, two mods are necessary: Nraas Master Controller and Nraas Portrait Panel.

You can get those here: Nraas Mods

Now it isn't as simple as just having the mods correctly installed. There are a few changes to the game that you need to make in order to have more than eight sims and depending on how you want them related there are also extra things to do afterwards.

A few things to know before you start building your large family:

1. With these mods you can only create up to nine sims in Create a Sim.
2. Only up to twenty-four Sims will show up as selectable. This doesn't mean that you cannot select them! You can simply right click on them or use the keyboard shortcut to rotate through the panels. I prefer to right click as it is much faster.
3. Just because you can't make them related in CAS doesn't mean you can't have them related.


Now, let's get to it!

1. Create your household (do 8 or 9)


I was planning to do a fresh game save in order to show you everything but my computer is currently having issues and so I'll only be able to give you a written version until I can fix it.

2. Now move your household in to where you want.


So in this save I only moved eight people in to begin with. I just grabbed an old saved family for the purposes of this tutorial.

3. Now go back to CAS/CAH and create those extra family members. It doesn't matter if you plan on making them related or not, you do not have to add the relationships at this stage as they will change when you're connecting the family anyway.

4. Once you have your other family then move them in somewhere in the world and go back to your active family.

5. Click on the ground and the option 'Nraas' should come up (make sure you click on the ground of their property or some of the options will not show up!). Click on it and then click on [Master Controller] (make sure it is the one with the amber circle beside it) and it will bring up a list of extra options. Click on [Settings] and check the second option [Allow More Than Eight Sims Per House] and make sure it says [True] next to it.

6. Now click the 'x' button and it should take you back to the main list. Next click on [Progression Options]. It should come up with a massive list of options. Go down and find [Household Size: Human] and click on it. It will come up with a little window where you can alter the number. Make this [100] and click the tick. Then exit the all windows.

7. Whilst still in your active family, go to the house you moved the other half into. You may need to visit the household to view it. Keep the game paused so the sims don't run around doing their own thing and you can do it nice and simple. While there, click on one of the Sims. [Nraas] should come up. Click on that and then on [Master Controller] again (again, making sure that it is the option with the amber circle). Go down to 'Intermediate' and click on it. In the next menu you should see [Add Sim] at the top. DO NOT click on [Add Roommate]. Click on [Add Sim] and accept. They will appear to the left in you active household. Do it for all the sims you wish to add.


8. NOW, this step depends on whether or not you want them to be related. The two families I have used are two separate families and so I don't need to do anything after Step 7 except make them walk over to the house. If you want them to be related then there is an extra step for each of them.
Here you need to click on the sim you want to add as a relative. [Nraas] to [Master Controller] like the other steps. Instead of clicking on [Intermediate], click on [Advanced]. Then click on the option [Family]. It will come up with three options: [Add Child], [Add Parent] and [Add Sibling]. If your sim already has parents and siblings it will instead say [Remove] in place of [Add].
Click on the option that is what you want and it will come up with a [Select Criteria] window. This step can sometimes be a little bit frustrating if your Sims are not part of the active family and so make sure you add them before editing their relationships. In the [Select Criteria] window, click on [Active Family], it should be the third one down, and then click on the tick. It will come up with the list of people in your household. If you want to make one or more of these, say the child of the sim you currently are, then click on all of the ones you want. Click the tick and then accept and it will alter the relationships.
If you want to add siblings but it says [Remove Siblings], remove them and re-add all of them.

Note: make sure you work your way down from the family tree as some relationship may have to be removed and re-added. Double check to make sure you have it the way you want.

And then you're finished!

Also, this is really useful for challenges that require you to have several children. With all of the changes in place you will be able to keep getting pregnant and having children without worrying about the normal restrictions.

Happy Simming!

It took me a while to find the best way (well that's merely my opinion) to do this. Some posts and threads were saying delete the school or delete the bus and such but with the Nraas Career Mod you can actually enroll your Sim child or teen into 'Homeschooling'.

You can get the mod here: Nraas Career Mod

When you click on the Town Hall (active as a child or teen) there are the normal options but with this mod there is also the option to 'Enroll in Home Schooling'. Like with any option at the Town Hall, your sim will go there to register. And then it's done! A notification will come up to tell you that your Sim is now registered in Homeschooling and that they will receive daily homework they need to download and then complete as normal. This way they still receive homework that can alter their grades and as per normal, not doing the homework by the next day can cause a drop in their grades.





Happy Homeschooling!