Skyrim talk:Crime/Archive 1

This is an archive of past Skyrim talk:Crime discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page, except for maintenance such as updating links.

Stolen Horse

hallo, i have a problem, i have stolen a horse and whenever i come to any city or village they just kill me and are not even trying to arrest me, what can i do? — Unsigned comment by 89.173.81.220 (talk) at 14:02 on 14 November 2011

Have you tried unsheathing your weapon and then immediately sheathing it? That usually signals to a guard that you are yielding. However, if your bounty is high enough (it might be, because you get a bounty every time a guard sees you riding a stolen horse) the guards will attack you on sight and not allow you to yield. If that is the case, try finding the "bounty collector" NPC, and he will pay off your bounty for you.

--Pushasha 17:47, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Clarification on above comment: You get a bounty every time someone (including horses) sees you mount a stolen horse. Once you are on the horse (witnessed or not) you will not receive additional bounty, unless you get off and are witnessed getting on again. Also, don't forget to get off the horse to yield to the guard. --Amsuko 21:03, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Go To Jail

I was arrested in the Reach and rather than going to jail, I was sent to a mine. Anyone else?69.255.57.130 03:11, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

The prison is a mine, they put prisoners to slave labour. Fairly efficient system. — Unsigned comment by MetalFlame666 (talk • contribs) at 23:00 on November 22, 2011

Killing guards and remounting stolen horses.

Could anyone shed some light how this system works with killing guards (since they are the ones being informed). If you kill a guard, will the system still know of your crime, though all witnesses are dead? I have the feeling that all guards act as if they all have walkie-talkies or something like that. Killing one guard, no matter where (regardless of witnesses being present or not) seems to give you a bounty (not sure).

Also, is mounting a stolen horse always considered a crime, e.g. if you go to a town with a stolen horse and you dismount and remount it in front of a guard, will he attack you because you "steal" the horse again?

I'll look into it myself as soon as I have time... — Unsigned comment by 91.176.210.164 (talk) at 22:45 on November 16, 2011

Uh look at the Skyrim Crimes section. And as for remounting I have no idea, I was smart enough to get Shadowmere. — Unsigned comment by MetalFlame666 (talk • contribs) at 23:02 on November 22, 2011

Yes, each time you mount a horse and the "steal" tag is shown, you are committing an additional crime. Once stolen, the horse is not your. The horse "knows" who it belongs to. When you dismount, the horse will leave you to return to it's original home, and you will have to steal him again. Also, yes, there are many instances where "walkie-talkies" or "telepathy" seems to exist in the game. For example, a horse will telepathically tell the "guard-network" that you have committed crime. --Amsuko 21:13, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Paying My Fine

The guards in Whiterun won't arrest me or give me the option to pay my fine. I'm not a thane there yet, and I'm trying to complete the Time of Need quest - I have to pay the Redguard's fine to let him out so I can get information from him. However, because I have a bounty on me (for taking an object the game did not mark as "Steal") I need to pay mine first. Unfortunately the guards just yell "Hey, I know you!" at me and then stand there staring at me like they can't remember what to do next. Is this a glitch or what? Atypicaloracle 13:49, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

Do you happen to remember what the item was that you stole?

--Pushasha 17:41, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Talk to the guards and they will give you the option to go to jail or pay your bounty.

--Sentinel 14:59, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

You could also try hitting them with your weapon and then yielding; this worked for me in similar circumstances. — Unsigned comment by 86.135.236.152 (talk) at 17:17 on 7 February 2012

Avoiding confiscation of stolen items

Simply store your stolen items in your companions inventory. Get arrested. When ur released, you'll find the items where you left them. — Unsigned comment by DrunkinNirn (talk • contribs) at 18:27 on November 19, 2011

Category for this?

This should be in a Crime category, not hints. This page is hard to get to, and having this category would make it easier to find. --Cyblackeagle22 06:53, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

How high does your bounty have to be to be attacked on sight?

Since Crime is treated differently in each Hold, there needs to be a section of the article detailing how high your bounty needs to be for the guards to attack on sight, and what is required for this to happen in each Hold. — Unsigned comment by 107.3.105.179 (talk) at 01:13 on November 26, 2011

^^ I'm not sure this can be done yet. There seems to be a bug that results in the guards attacking on sight even for a minor infraction. I had guards attacking on sight for a 2 bounty stealing crime. I had to leave the hold, wait a day or two, and return to pay the fine/bribe. 174.17.96.18 04:40, 26 November 2011

Do they not attack you if you give it a couple of days away? I'm being attacked on site for 40 bounty, which is ridiculous, but I really need to complete the mission I was at :o — Unsigned comment by Alexpb333 (talk • contribs) at 16:32 on November 26, 2011

^^ If you're having that problem, then, correct, just go away for a few days. (I added a blurb to the main article about this, but it's not very prominent.) 174.17.96.18 02:48, 27 November 2011

I believe it is 1000 gold, because thats the point where I cannot leave and come back and they stop attacking Theskyrimnerd 03:22, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

Not really, since I ended up with a 1500 bounty in Solitude, managed to resist arrest and leave the area and after I returned to the area after a couple of days, I was given the chance to pay off my bounty. --Chill02 04:31, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

I believe over the 10000 mark makes them always try to kill you, seeing as I had a bounty of 8000 in Whiterun, and they let me serve prison time. Of course, at the 8000 mark they wouldn't let me simply pay bounty, it was jail time. If you are under 10000 bounty and you think the guards kill you on sight, unsheathe your weaponry, then sheathe it. If they still fight after you sheathed your weapons, it means your bounty is too high, or they are bugged. 83.109.135.41 02:39, 8 January 2012 (UTC)

Dead victim sent hired thugs.

Just a note for whoever is doing up this page, my first time in Riverwood I killed Faendal. Looted the key to his house and took some stuff, potions, arrows, can't remember what all.

Funny thing is, later I get tracked down by 3 hired thugs who have a letter from good ole Faendal to come teach me a lesson. I guess his ghost won't rest easy till I'm gone huh? — Unsigned comment by 68.209.233.8 (talk) at 05:53 on November 28, 2011

- I had a similar incident. I found Faendal lying dead in the street so I ransacked his house. Apparently his ghost hired thugs to avenge the theft. — Unsigned comment by 70.95.110.164 (talk) at 12:54 on December 2, 2011

clearing your bounty

Could someone put something in here on clearing your bounty and all the possible ways of doing it? — Unsigned comment by 86.42.248.146 (talk) at 18:44 on December 4, 2011

Clarification on Bribe guard (thieves guild)

I don't always get the option (without having just burnt it by previously getting caguth). Can someone clarify if the option is only available in certain cities? Do you only get it when you have completed the thieves guild jobs in the city in question? — Unsigned comment by 86.42.248.146 (talk) at 18:47 on December 4, 2011

The option is only available under one of two conditions: A) Riften guards or B) Imperial guards. If you completed the Civil War with the Stormcloaks, you're limited to Riften only. Completing the Civil War for the Imperials allows the Thieves Guild bribery option in every city. 24.156.216.144 19:51, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Gaining XP past level cap?

Quick question. Would it be possible at level 79 to exploit the skill reduction in jail time, so that you could continue to gain experience past the intended level cap? Thekidd84 21:17, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

No, because jail doesn't take away from your skills. All it does is take down any progress you have. The skill it's at remains.-Zydrate[][] 21:37, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

Plus, I believe the level cap is 81 and half an xp bar. I glitched a character with Oghma Infinium to that. I'm unpatched if that makes a differance Theskyrimnerd 03:22, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

Animals Reporting Crimes

I think it should be noted that animals can report crimes. And according to some users, your own horse can report your crimes. Though I haven't tested out the horse theory myself. — Unsigned comment by 108.202.166.131 (talk) at 09:36 on December 20, 2011

How exactly are crimes reported?

I'm guessing the crime is telepathically reported to the guards after a few minutes. And if the other villagers see a victim of mine fleeing, does it automatically inform the people around the victim that I was the the criminal, and lead them to attack me? — Unsigned comment by 108.202.166.131 (talk) at 09:36 on December 20, 2011

Details of Crimes

I think that there should be a list of details of what exactly causes a bounty. And explain the details of a bounty, such as why killing an NPC often gives you two bounties. Like killing a chicken will give you two bounties, one worth 40, and another worth 5. — Unsigned comment by 108.202.166.131 (talk) at 22:43 on December 20, 2011

The first bounty is for assault, then the second is for the actual murder. 24.1.236.102 03:17, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

^Nope, I tried just attacking the chicken, and leaving it alive by only bashing it with my bow. I still got a bounty of 45 total. Also, while messing around with the stealth, I noticed a weird thing with the stealth system. I killed 3 chickens, with the only witnesses being the chickens. When I killed one, I only got the bounty of 40 removed(all witnesses killed), but I didn't get the the bounty of 5 removed. The exact same thing happened with the second chicken, bounty of 40 removed, but bounty of 5 remained. But when I killed the last chicken chicken, both the 40 gold bounty and the 5 gold bounty got removed, saying "all witnesses killed", and in addition, I got the remaining 10 gold bounty(from the previous two chickens) removed as well. I'm guessing that that means that animals(or at least chickens) can only report the secondary crime of 5 for actually witnessing a crime. But chickens(and presumably all animals) apparently can report the larger 40 bounty if they themselves were the ones being attacked. — Unsigned comment by 108.202.166.131 (talk) at 22:29 on December 22, 2011

Necromancy

I thought necromancy is illegal since oblivion (Wuunferth will tell you it's illegal too), but when I walk around with my thalmor dead thrall in the main city, NPCs and guards just says some kind of "The spell is dangerous get away from me"... — Unsigned comment by 219.80.131.150 (talk) at 16:51 on December 21, 2011

No, the only place Necromancy was ever illegal was Morrowind. In Cyrodiil during the oblivion crisis, the mages guild banned it for their members, it was not the government. It is just frowned upon (along with most other magic, especially summoning) by the people of skyrim. Theskyrimnerd 03:22, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

Followers flaggin items stolen

When I drop items to have my follower pick up when they are at there wieght limit they become tagged "stolen". Its frusterating and annoying. Especialy at low levels when I sell everything in a dungeon and have my packmule pick it up. Is this donte on purpose? A bug/glitch? What? Perhaps the game devlepers did it on purpose for people using followers as beasts of burden.(thats what i meant by this lol) as far as preventing you, can ou say thieves guild lol. eather way hopefully its patched. followers cant pick up more or not flagged.

Any ideas?

This should be noted under the stolen items section as well. — Unsigned comment by 71.123.205.9 (talk) at 17:22 on December 22, 2011

^Well, that actually seems like a nice way for them to prevent you from exploiting the game. I mean, you aren't supposed to be able to make them carry more than their weight limit anyway. If Bethesda patches anything, it should be preventing them from picking up things when they are overburdened to begin with. — Unsigned comment by 108.202.166.131 (talk) at 22:47 on December 22, 2011

Update: I actually ran into the same issue too, by complete accident. I was annoyed because the game gave me NO indication that he was over incumbered, so I was annoyed that those items were now all considered stolen. I actually found a way to fix it though. If you put all those stolen items in a container, and then order your follower to pick up all the items in the container, the items will no longer be flagged as stolen. However, I think you have to make sure that your follower will not be over incumbered when he picks up those items again, or else they will stay marked as stolen. — Unsigned comment by 108.202.166.131 (talk) at 01:21 on December 25, 2011

I just want to confirm what the last poster wrote that the key is the follower’s carry limit. I’m on the PS3 so I can only know when I’ve reached that limit by trying to give them something via the trade menu and my items become greyed out. Once they pass it then EVERYTHING they’re carrying gets marked stolen. Once that’s done just empty their inventory and have them pick up the stolen items in amounts you know won’t pass that limit and viola-not stolen anymore. Get’s to be a pain though if you really loaded them up: staves of reanimation work much better for pack muling before you get the thrall spell. As a side note, it’s been my experience that you can’t use this method to clear the stolen tag from items that you’ve actually stolen: my followers refuse to pick up stolen items off the ground. At least Faendal won’t; I’m not sure about other followers. He seems to be an especially big prude when it comes to breaking the law, always giving me a hard time when I steal stuff in front of him, but I digress…kolokoL 20:47, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Who all counts bounty?

Every Hold counts bounty on their own. Also Tribal Orcs and Penitus Oculatus faction count bounty. Who else counts bounty on their own list and should we add this on this page? --89.212.123.233 22:59, 1 January 2012 (UTC)

The Companions have their own bounty. --46.64.31.105 14:26, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Bounty collectors

Hi, I had the chance to pay off my bounty through (random?) meeting a person called Bounty Collector. He simply offered me to pay bounty + 20% more and my bounty would be erased. It worked.

Should I add this to the wiki page? It really happened, but may be quest-related, I can't say. There is UESP forum thread at [1] with more info on this. I'm willing to cooperate on this subject if somebody is interested. But don't ask me for savegame, I probably don't have it. Maybe dead body of the collector is still there...

It would be good if someone could confirm this. --Pavouk106 14:45, 2 January 2012 (UTC)

I encountered a bounty collector on the road to dragon bridge, paid off my bounty (well I thought I did). The next guard i see runs up to me and tries to arrest me and i still have the bounty. The money was definitely removed so i'm not sure if thios is a bug or what --— Unsigned comment by 109.145.145.220 (talk) at 18:03 on 5 January 2012

I have encountered him at Ironback Hideout, the same hold as you (Haafingar). Was your bounty from one of the late DB quests? Mine was from that one. I don't have any problems with guards after paying him and my Haafingar bounty is away, so it worked at least for me. It seems you really encountered a bug. Or you may have bounty from other hold? Maybe Bounty collector collected that bounty and not from Haafingar? --Pavouk106 18:50, 5 January 2012 (UTC)

I met a Bounty Collector, I think they should have their own wiki page.

He offered to clear my bounty for 6000 gold, my only bounties are on 8000 gold and more than 10000 gold, so I thought he would just take the gold and run, I declined his offer, and he promptly tried to beat the shit out of me, he used an enchanted orc 2H sword, steel armor, and an iron shield. He dropped no gold, potions, gems or stuff like that.

Most people will probably be confused when they see one for their first time.

Oh and, I met him as I entered the area of Mixwater Mill. 83.109.135.41 17:52, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

According to the official guide, you need to have a bounty of at least 1000 gold for him to show up as a random world encounter. The hold you have the bounty in is irrelevant.--108.28.52.248 20:59, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the info, it was editted into the wiki page. Is there anyone else who met Bounty collector? Under what circumstances? What was your bounty, where you met him, etc... --Pavouk106 21:01, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

I had a meeting with one near Yngol's Barrow that was badly glitched, since he demanded a bounty of 0 gold, which I was only too happy to pay him. My actual bounty was 2000 gold but it was for a different hold; I didn't owe anything for the one I was in when he met me. --174.6.51.17 15:02, 27 January 2012 (UTC)

If there is some sort of wiki admin (or guru, maybe) here reading this, would you please consider if "Verification needed" at Skyrim:Crime is still needed? I added it myself when creating the section, but I don't know at what time I can delete it... --Pavouk106 16:35, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Just remove it if you don't think it's necessary any longer. --AKB ^{Talk Cont Mail} 17:23, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

(←) Verified - http://steamcommunity.com/id/maximreapage/screenshot/651002022715060433/?tab=public - will add to main page — Unsigned comment by 76.188.182.149 (talk) at 04:45 on January 23, 2012

Suggestion

I think that the searchwords "steal" and "stealing" should lead to this page. --Jreynolds2 16:49, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Confiscated Gold

Under the subject 'Stolen Items' it makes reference to gold never being marked as stolen or confiscated (I think it was like this in Oblivion & MW), but I've had gold confiscated and found it in the Evidence Chest. I've also paid off a bounty collector then ran into town where I had the bounty and been arrested. Ashvelvyn 08:35, 6 January 2012 (UTC)

i can confirm this on the ps3. i think i had some ten or so stolen gold, but do not know where i got thm from. also after i served in cidhna mine for the foesworn quest i later (much later) got back there to make my revenge on the guards there, came to the confiscated goods container, opened it and saw another single gold piece in it along with few other things i remember wondering where they'd been the whole time ^^.

so gold can have the stolen tag, but i really wonder in which cases this might happen.--84.227.14.215 23:54, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

"When you steal it", unsurprisingly. :P The article's been wrong about this (or at least, misleading / incomplete) forever: I just can't think of a way to correct it that's concise enough to be worth doing. What's "important" is really just that "you can buy stuff from non-fences with stolen gold", which is what the article gets across in its current form. If you can come up with a more accurate description that includes this case without being overly long or confusing, go ahead and change it: that's what the wiki's for. Aliana 01:40, 27 January 2012 (UTC)

It may be worth modifying the article to explain that the game keeps track of stolen gold seperately to gold that has been obtained legitimately. When you are arrested, some or all of your stolen gold may be confiscated by the guards, and stolen gold counts towards your total gold when purchasing items. It's entirely plausible for a merchant to hear that an Iron Dagger with certain identifying marks has been stolen, and thus refuse to buy it, but rather less likely that a merchant could distinguish between gold that you gained as a quest reward and gold that you half-inched. --Reka 09:12, 27 January 2012 (UTC)

Remove "Stolen" tag.

Reverse pickpocket item onto a merchant then buy the item from the merchant. No fence needed! Daedremor 12:59, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

Won't work. Merchants have a hidden chest under the map that decides what they sell. Reverse pickpocketing then killing the person who you gave the item to works but may result in a bounty — Unsigned comment by 208.54.86.231 (talk) at 20:00 on January 15, 2012

I think you need the merchant perk for this, as the perk allows them to sell items from their inventory. --139.153.52.1 18:49, 18 January 2012 (UTC)

NO OPTION TO WAIVE BOUNTY, EVER.

On Xbox: I've completely finished the Thieves Guild questline and STILL I am not given ANY option to waive my bounty by paying a lower amount with the guards. I've never had a bounty beyond or for that matter anywhere NEAR 3000 gold, so PLEASE can someone tell me why the this isn't working?? AND on top of which, none of the guards will yield when I do. They just keep attacking and it's driving me insane. I've been looking for help for MONTHS and have gotten NOTHING. I am only ever given the same three options of "Caught me, Pay bounty" "Take me to jail" "I'd rather die." WHY WON'T IT WORK?!? 69.76.222.152 06:13, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

First of all, STOP SWEARING. Secondly, we need more information. Where is the problem occurring? ?• JA^Talk 06:20, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

SOLUTION You have to flee the town and go to a secluded area and wait two days then comeback and they will try to arrest you and you can pay your bounty. Also you need either a higher speech level and the bribe perk or to gain more thieves guild influence in the hold by doing side jobs to be able to pay a lower amount. — Unsigned comment by 71.109.155.54 (talk) at 16:13 on 18 February 2012

Thalmor and Bounty

I just thought this was of interest. I was stealth attacking Fort Snowhawk when a Thalmor decided to do a frontal attack. Rather worked in my favor but as I'd already completed Diplomatic Immunity (stealth style) & had a Thalmor hit order out on me so they were no friends of mine. So after he killed the last bad guy I killed him and received the message that I'd killed the last witness and a bounty I didn't know I had was cleared. I figure I got it during the Diplomatic Immunity quest at some point but I'd never checked my bounty stat. Oh Well. Anyway, I did the quest many - many game weeks before. Just thought this was interesting that the game mechanics track witnesses, especially random ones, for so long. Heck, he's probably been chasing me this whole time. Philbert 01:06, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Escaping Jail

If you escape a jail, is your bounty in that hold removed?--Sentinel 20:15, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

No, it actually increases your bounty by about a hundred.— Unsigned comment by 70.189.201.83 (talk) at 03:03 on February 8, 2012

Wont arrest me or let me pay fine just starts attacking

While completing the mission as an imperial i accidentally attacked the imperial soldiers (i guess i went bonkers attacking anyone ) now the imperial guards are after me where ever they see me, and i stop try to pay bounty or arrest me, no options come up. what do i do to get rid of this .. please help. — Unsigned comment by 59.177.128.135 (talk) at 20:18 on 14 February 2012

See if you can pay bounty at a city. Otherwise just kill them because you don't really need them for the missions. After you take over Windhelm you should be ok. You could also try using a calm spell. If you are on pc you might be able to use console commands. RIM 21:25, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

Drop to remove "stolen" tag

My family and I have discovered that dropping items in public places and coming back days later may sometimes remove the "stolen" tag and allow for picking up items and selling them. In playing I have encountered instances where items confiscated off of enemies is marked "stolen" for no discernible reason. These will always lose the "stolen" tag if dropped; however it seems kind of random whether the "stolen" tag is removed from truly stolen items. This is a good way to deal with stolen items early in the game when you don't have a way of fencing or otherwise disposing of stolen goods. Storing the items in a containter won't work, then have to be dropped in a public place where other NPC's are about. Xbox 360. — Unsigned comment by 64.30.210.207 (talk) at 16:40 on 17 February 2012

Tip if you are about to be arrested

Since guards confiscate your stolen goods if you drop them right before they do you can come pick them up later. Thought this might me helpful for thieves. — Unsigned comment by 71.109.155.54 (talk) at 16:06 on 18 February 2012

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