
I really just need a good keyword to search for, and have tried all the obvious ones (reset/respawn/refresh/NPC/actor/etc).

Use 'player.removeallitems' to clear your own inventory.

This mod resets NPC's inventory 24 hours after you pickpocket them. It works by running a script every time you take something from the person's inventory. Reset npc inventory skyrim Brings a dead NPC back to life.
