Helms suxx0rs in NWN, period. The VFX versions are really nice, but one has no shiny metal
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And as the Heads pallette is limited, one cannot even do a heads w/Helm option...*bleh*
Sooo much work as gone into finding a solution, that quite frankly, I doubt that there is one without having the Aurora Engine changed - perhaps in NWNEE? Just add in a new Node with all the movement, etc, and include shiny metal...hehe.
IMHO, the best compromise currently is Ippenhair's VFX helms solution. It does require scripting, and as AD and LoW have proved, can be implemented, ala lots of work involved to do so!
I personally have my own system for SP - Character Pimping is one of my...vices.