u/BoxSalty545

Hi everyone,
I’m currently trying to create a custom recruitable merc/NPC in the Jagged Alliance 3 modding tools and I’m stuck on one specific problem.

What already works:

• the custom unit spawns correctly,
• she behaves like an NPC,
• she fights enemies normally,
• AI routines work,
• banter can trigger,
• animations work.

The problem:
I still cannot interact with her properly.
There is no clickable dialogue/recruit interaction like with normal recruitable NPCs/mercs.

What I already tried:

• cloning existing NPC setups (Larry, Flay, etc.),
• copying UnitMarker settings,
• copying banter settings,
• checking Interaction/Banter sections,
• comparing spawn templates,
• testing Initial Hire Status values,
• creating a separate test mod for reverse engineering,
• checking Unit definitions vs UnitMarker settings.

Interesting detail:
Originally the unit behaved like a static prop (sitting pose only), but after copying more data from Larry she now behaves like a real NPC and participates in combat — still without interaction/recruit dialogue.

So it feels like I’m missing:

• some hidden interaction trigger,
• conversation component,
• recruit flag,
• quest reference,
• or another required object/link between UnitMarker and Unit.

Questions:

1. What actually controls whether an NPC becomes clickable/talkable?
2. Is there a specific component required for recruit dialogue?
3. Does recruitability require quest scripting/events?
4. Which vanilla NPC would be best to reverse engineer for a custom recruitable merc?
5. Are there hidden dependencies outside UnitMarker/Banter/Unit definition?

Any help or examples would be massively appreciated 🙏